Liquid Death: Mike Cessario
Mike Cessario, founder of Liquid Death, explains how he leveraged his advertising background to create a viral canned water brand by targeting the 'extreme' aesthetic of beer and energy drinks. After failing with a brandy startup and finding no US co-packers for canned spring water, he validated demand through a mock Facebook campaign before raising capital to launch. The company scaled rapidly by shifting from Austrian co-packing to US sources, navigating supply chain crises, and building a moat through entertainment-driven branding rather than product differentiation.