A Water Break: The Undaunted Journey of Kara Goldin and Hint

In this episode of Breaking Precedent, host Leah Solivan talks with Kara Goldin, founder and CEO of Hint Water, to talk about her journey from AOL exec to beverage industry disruptor. Kara shares how her father’s influence, a knack for asking the right questions, and a fearless approach to problem-solving led her to create an entirely new category in drinks. She also opens up about learning from visionaries like Jeff Bezos, balancing entrepreneurship with family, and refusing to compromise on product integrity—despite having no industry experience.

Guest Bio and Links:

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., the pioneering brand behind unsweetened flavored water. Before launching Hint in 2005, she was a Vice President at AOL, where she helped grow its e-commerce business to over $1 billion. She is the author of the bestselling book Undaunted and has been recognized as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year and one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.

Listeners can learn more about Kara Goldin at her website, on LinkedIn @karagoldin, on IG @karagoldin

Kara’s Book: Undaunted  

Show Notes: 

• (0:00) Intro
• (3:00) Leah introduces guest, Kara Goldin, founder and CEO of Hint Water
• (5:00) Early life for Kara
• (10:00) Creating Hint - a new beverage category
• (13:00) Lessons from Dad
• (19:30) Challenges in retail and distribution
• (24:00) Joining CNN and meeting Ted Turner 
• (26:30) Making the move to San Francisco
• (37:00) Building the AOL marketplace
• (39:30)  ”Sometimes it's better to look outside of your industry for the answers that you need, especially if you're trying to up your own game.”
• (41:30) Meeting Jeff Bezos in Amazon’s early days
• (47:30) From AOL to family life - new beginnings
• (48:00) The birth of Hint Water
• (56:30) Challenges and innovations in extending shelf life
• (1:04:30) “ It just takes somebody who is curious, who's a little crazy and who's willing to try.”
• (1:07:00) The family influence with Hint 
• (1:11:15) Final thoughts 

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Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 

Instagram: @labunleashed

X: @labunleashed