How to Leverage Opportunities and Build an Authentic Brand Authenticity is something every new business should be striving for when branding. In the era of social media, your followers should translate to engagement and sales at the end of the day which is a good marketing strategy. In this episode of the Page One Podcast, Luke Peters speaks with Ryan Close, the founder, and CEO of award-winning intelligent hardware and consumer package good startup Bartisian. He is a former bartender, life-long entrepreneur, and passionate collaborator who has taken an idea from the garage to global.  Ryan shares how his product Bartisian increased sales tremendously during the Coronavirus period and the marketing strategy they used. Listen in to learn the investor and partnership strategies that Bartisian leveraged to get funding and grow to what it is today. Key Takeaways: How to be authentic and engage customers to grow your business online. How to approach the strategy of looking for a partner. The masterful art of creating a product that sells itself. The benefits of doing something uncomfortable to become stronger and independent in what you’re doing. The qualities of a good leader that leads to team success. How to delegate tasks only to people who are aligned with your business mission and goals. Episode Timeline: [0:29] Intro [1:51] He explains in detail what is Bartisian and how it functions. [4:21] How the Coronavirus has impacted Bartisian positively seeing their sales increase up to 450%. [6:33] How Bartisian got free publicity from a viral TikTok video which was a huge booster for their brand and sales. [7:58] He explains how authenticity leads to customer engagement. [10:34] How they leverage the strategy of a small team that is productive. [11:41] He shares his investor story which took years of looking for funding and forming strategic partnerships. [18:01] How he perfected the design of the product by leveraging their partner. [21:40] How he launched Bartisian with Quickstarter. [23:54] Studying in Singapore and what that taught Ryan businesswise. [27:17] How he learned to be a good leader by joining the team rather than telling them what to do. [30:128] Learning to balance the fire inside of you as an entrepreneur and allowing things to take the course. [33:22] How to be candid with how you’re marketing your business and providing authenticity. [35:12] How he initially made the mistake of trusting the wrong person with his business.   Quotes: “Anything that could make you uncomfortable, is going to make you better.” -Ryan Close