Eric Schnell, Co-Founder & CEO, mood33 - Lit Up Founders

Episode 12

Eric Schnell, Co-Founder & CEO, mood33

Before Eric Schnell was actually Eric, he attended Woodstock… in utero. Raised by his hippie parents in the Boston area; his early years were in an Ashram. The respect for our bodies, animals, and the Earth, were values embedded early, and consistently, in his life. Seeds for becoming an entrepreneur were planted early on too: Once, as a punishment, his Mom withheld allowance; his 8 year old self was so upset by this, he vowed to never be dependent on anyone else for money again. During his time at Northeastern, Eric turned what started as promoting fraternity parties, into a $200,000/year income, all before graduating! After a stint as a broker dealer on Wall Street, he needed a change. With his ability to promote, he pivoted back to his root values, taking a position at a family run natural supplement company; trading a Rolex for a Feather Duster. That early venture led to his entrance into the ultra competitive Beverage Industry. With early success, and many ups and downs to follow, he eventually started Beyond Brands: An Incubator and Accelerator to launch Mission Driven brands including mood33. This first foray into the Cannabis Market brought a whole new set of challenges and lessons to be learned. Eric Schnell, Co-Founder & CEO of mood33 has an amazing Founder's Journey, I hope you enjoy it! Eric Schnell, Professional Summary: "Some might call him a socialpreneur. Others, a food & beverage visionary. No matter the title, Eric has been a natural product industry pioneer for over 20 years and counting. With diverse experience in sales, marketing and new product launches, Eric enjoys taking ideas from scratch and turning them into viable businesses that make a global impact, through the game changing brands and consulting agency he founded, BeyondBrands. Currently disrupting the beverage side of the hemp industry as CEO of mood33 CBD infused teas, he previously served as co-founder of Steaz, a leading organic tea brand that was strategically acquired in 2016 as well as a member of Runa tea which was successfully sold in 2018. He is the co-founder of Good Catch, the world’s first plant-based seafood brand as well proud recipient of the 2007 “Sustainable Business of the Year Award”, 6-time Annual Winner of the BevNET.com and Beverage Digest “Best Product of the Year Award”, a Top 50 Beverage World Disruptor and is an active Nutrition Capital Network Selection Committee Member." Show Notes: Beyond Brands: https://beyondbrands.org/ mood33: https://mood33.com/ Mood33Infusions: https://www.instagram.com/mood33infusions/ IntheMood33: https://www.instagram.com/inthemood33/ Good Catch (Vegan Seafood): https://goodcatchfoods.com/ Eat Cool beans: www.eatcoolbeans.com Good Same Foods: https://goodsamfoods.com/ Brad Barnhorn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-barnhorn/ Steven Kessler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-kessler-aa9b445/ Marci Zaroff: Partner in Life & Business: https://marcizaroff.com/ Eco Fashion Corp: https://www.ecofashioncorp.com/ Yes And: https://joinyesand.com/ The Arcview Group: https://arcviewgroup.com/ Evo Hemp: https://evohemp.com/ Alex White Plume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_White_Plume Kenny Morriston: VCC Brands, Venice Cookie Company: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennymorrison/ Ben Witte: Founder & CEO, Recess: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwitte/ Eric Schnell, Co-Founder & CEO, mood33 eric@mood33.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-schnell-b133a425/ Brian Weber, Host, Lit Up: A Founder's Journey linkedin.com/in/briancweber/ www.litupfounders.com www.facebook.com/LitUpFounders/ www.instagram.com/LitUpFounders/ www.twitter.com/LitUpFounders www.linkedin.com/company/litupmedia/ Listen to the episode here or on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio or RSS to your favorite podcast app.

About the Podcast

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Lit Up Founders
A show about the founders of the Modern Cannabis Industry and the Organizations they are building.

About your host

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Brian Weber

In addition to producing and hosting Lit Up Founders. Brian is the Director of Omnichannel Strategy and Partnerships for Flourish Software, a leading ERP Seed-to-sale Software company serving Cannabis and Hemp operators up and down the supply chain.

Prior to Flourish, through his company Digital Realty, Brian served the Retail and Hospitality Industries as a technology and business consultant focusing on POS, eCommerce, Payments, Loyalty, and other related services for the past 9 years.

In researching the Cannabis Industry, largely because of its Federal status and history in the US, he was fascinated in seeing what the entrepreneurs were building. With his experience as an entrepreneur, supporting entrepreneurship, some background in broadcast radio, and a love for the amazing medium of podcasts (especially "How I built this" by Guy Raz); all converged to create the spark moment that spawned Lit Up Founders. I hope you enjoy!

Brian holds a B.S. in Management Science & Information Systems from Rutgers University Business School. He currently lives in Jersey City, New Jersey with his dog Zeke.