# #219 - Managing People at Work with Seth Goldman of JUST Ice Tea

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2025-10-21
- Length: 45m
- Episode: 207
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-10-21-219-managing-people-at-work-with-seth-goldman-of-just-ice-tea
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/99529045

## Summary

Seth Goldman, co-founder of JUST Ice Tea and former co-founder of Honest Tea, discusses his leadership philosophy of balancing effectiveness with empathy, emphasizing transparency, empowerment, and accountability. He details how JUST Ice Tea leveraged his prior experience to rapidly scale to $30 million in sales by focusing on clear OKRs, lean operations, and treating employees as whole people. Goldman explains how he manages diverse work styles, sets achievable stretch goals, and maintains a strong culture through open communication and equity ownership.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Seth Goldman and the Rise of JUST Ice Tea
2. Leadership Philosophy: Transparency and Empowerment
3. Setting and Managing OKRs for Growth
4. Managing Different Work Styles and Accountability
5. Embracing the Whole Person at Work
6. Structuring Team Communication and Check-ins
7. Lessons from Other Ventures and Advice for Founders

## Topics

- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- JUST Ice Tea (product)
- Honest Tea (product)
- Beyond Meat (company)
- PLNT Burger (company)
- Tony's Chocolonely (company)
- Coca Cola (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Sprouts (company)
- Target (company)
- CVS (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Honest Tea: Seth Goldman (2017)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-06-11-honest-tea-seth-goldman-2017) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Jonathan Neman of Sweetgreen](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-04-24-advice-line-with-jonathan-neman-of-sweetgreen) (How I Built This)
- [Live Episode! Starbucks: Howard Schultz](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-09-28-live-episode-starbucks-howard-schultz) (How I Built This)
- [Sweetwater: Chuck Surack. How a Customer Service Strategy Built a Billion Dollar Online Pro Audio and Music Company.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-07-27-sweetwater-chuck-surack-how-a-customer-service-strategy-built-a-billion-dollar-o) (How I Built This)
- [Atlassian: Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-08-atlassian-mike-cannon-brookes-and-scott-farquhar) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-10-21-219-managing-people-at-work-with-seth-goldman-of-just-ice-tea. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Startup CPG Podcast.