A Couple of Quick Updates From Your Favorite MisFits
Things are moving fast and we have a new edition to our family!
Welcome to Dog Whistle Branding, the official newsletter of The Misfits, brought to you by m "IRON" Mike Steadman, Chief Misfit at The MisFits, and Drew O’Brien, Founder & Creative Director at We Make Cool Shit.
Dear Friend, Subscriber, and Aspiring Dog Whistle Brand Owner,
Let's start by congratulating Drew and Gabi on the birth of their daughter, Sofia, who arrived yesterday.
Drew texted me the news late last night. I look forward to meeting her in person here soon. I’ll even bring her a pair of boxing gloves. One of the many things that push us so hard to do great work is to take care of those close to us. It isn’t always easy, but this is the life we chose.
On a separate note, I meant to send this newsletter yesterday, but I was head down in client work.
I like to write my own newsletters. There’s no automation here yet, this newsletter is very much grassroots. If you’re on this list, that means you are important to Drew and me, and I enjoy writing to you. Below is a list of updates taking place in the coming weeks:
1) We're just over a week out from Collide Con, April 8-9 in Charlotte, NC. If you can make it, I'd love nothing more than to hang out with you all in person. You can purchase your ticket at the link above. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions.
2) We have some badass clients in the shoot at the MisFits. Yesterday, I teased out Gabriella (Gaby) Riffle-Gonzalez's Cigar Co., which we'll reveal by name in the coming weeks. In the meantime, expect the following launches coming soon:
1. Construction Company
2. Hard Tech Startup
3. Cigar Brand
4. Music Band
5. Professional Coaching
6. All-Inclusive Luxury Car Service
7. Conference
We’re looking to build a bench of Advisors, Vendors, and SMEs in our personal networks to support all of our founders. Don't be surprised if we ping you at some point.
3) I spoke with Ruben Ayala from Triple Nikel this week. We are working on some dopeass projects we'll be rolling out here soon, including merch, music, and media. Triple Nikel is the official sponsor of my weekly 15-minute show, The Stand Up with Dan Caulfield.
4) Expect a newsletter from IRONBOUND Boxing to bring everyone up to speed on where we are, where we're going, and how we plan to get there. For those new here, IRONBOUND Boxing is a nonprofit organization I founded in 2016 to provide free amateur boxing, entrepreneur education, and scholarship opportunities to Newark youth & young adults. Drew and I initially met through my work with IRONBOUND.
Lastly, I'm feeling extremely blessed.
When I look at my calendar these days, it's full of exactly the type of people I want to work with, including Veterans, Black Women, and other MisFits. I'm working with Navy Grads, West Point Grads, and Rutgers Alumni.
I have to be honest. I have a special affinity for Marines and Naval Academy grads. I know this term is overused in business, but I mean when I say it, it feels like a family. I have tools and resources for days. If you are an entrepreneur in my network and you find yourself stuck, just hit me up.
Have a great weekend; feel free to share some of your wins from the week by replying to this newsletter.
P.S. The photo below is from my panel on bootstrapping at The Military Veteran Startup Conference hosted by Context Ventures. I got to interview Sahil Lavingia, Author of the Minimalist Entrepreneur & Michelle Penczak, Founder of Squared Away.