BIG BREAKS

Cheeky turned three years old in March of this year, and at this point in the startup journey, I believe that solitary "big breaks" are rare. At least in our case, our growth has been the direct result of insatiable curiosity, a voracious appetite for self-improvement, and a relentless work ethic to make a phenomenal product that people love. There is infinite opportunity to improve, and we are always listening as intently as we can for feedback from our customers on ways to do so.

This mindset has helped us to calibrate and re-calibrate, get things "directionally right," and run like mad to maximize every opportunity that has come our way, whether large or small. As always, Seth Godin says it best when he says you "don't wait for others to pick you, pick yourself." Opportunities don't fall out of the sky (most of the time). It's up to you to create opportunities repeatedly and run with them when you earn them.

That said, some breaks are more significant than others, and we'd be lying if we said we weren't excited about The Big News of the week:)

[The Big News]

Earlier this week, we partnered with Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila to Shake Up The Classics with three limited-edition cocktail kits for National Tequila Day on July 24th! The partnership has gotten some amazing exposure- 3.2M views (and counting) on the original Instagram video, 30+ press mentions, and more!

 Being chosen as the mixer partner for this project was super cool- 818 is beautiful, and the Jenners and Kardashians are some of the top (if not the top) brand builders of our time with incredibly high standards, so it has been a huge honor. Cheeky's goal is to become one of the leading (if not the leading) premium mixer brands in the US, and this partnership is confirmation that we're heading in the right direction.

 **Worth noting: Kendall, Kris, and the 818 team have been incredibly generous in the collaboration. They've been consummate professionals, super organized and detail-oriented, and delivered far more than we could have ever expected. We are so grateful for their partnership and appreciative of the opportunity 🙌🏼 🙏

IN CONCLUSION, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE.

• Brand-building is a long road and a labor of love
• If you're not obsessed with your customers, you will fail (and probably quickly)
• It takes a [large/huge/ginormous/massive/invested/patient (did I mention patient?;)] village to raise a startup*

*On this last point, I counted the number of people who have helped Cheeky over the years. Several hundred people have invested thousands of hours getting Cheeky to where we are today by sharing, re-sharing, doing design/photography/marketing, investor intros, finance, and more, out of the good of their hearts. We are always so grateful for the support and are excited to keep moving forward and putting in the work!! 🤩

If you like this kind of business/founder update please comment below, and thanks so much!

:)

April