Greg Kerber Troublemaker at
Gnome Serum

Greg Kerber is an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. He’s a student of the startup. He truly enjoys hearing and telling his own stories of success and failure. Through this podcast you’ll get to know him like I now do. Greg is one of those people you don’t want to lose touch with. He’s always up to some new disruption and will happily share it with you.

Gnome Serum’s Mission

From their website:
We are true believers in the power of the hemp plant. Our mission is to use the most innovative technology to unlock its amazing diversity of benefits, and make them available to elevate mind, body, and life. Each Gnome Serum product is a celebration of our commitment to keeping things simple: essential ingredients in powerful combinations.

The history

It started with soap. One humble, hemp-based bar provided the foundation for more than a decade of research and product development. Today, advanced technologies enable the full spectrum extraction process by our Colorado team, and research drives the ingredient combinations in Gnome Serum formulations.

Their Real Differentiation

On their website, they describe their uniqueness using their product differentiators. And these are truly inventive. But I rarely buy into that as a solid moat around their castle. I think Greg, Gnome Serum (and the next things he’ll invent) are differentiated due to ingenious category shakeups, continual improvement, incredible intuition, and sheer energy. Listen to the podcast and you’ll agree.

Background

Greg Kerber started out in finance, but the arrival of the Internet changed his career path. He and his team built the first block chain on a peer-to-peer network.

He invented a new kind of health and beauty soap line called Rad Soap which his family helped to make incredibly successful and runs to this day. Then Greg branched into a successful entry in the hemp sector with Gnome Serum – full spectrum hemp extract.

Greg, like many entrepreneurs, is an instinctive marketer. At the time (and still today) cabanas was considered a schedule 1 narcotic. He, his children, and ex-wife took advantage of the provocative attraction of the cabanas plant at the time and was very “in your face” with it at farmers markets and other venues selling Rad Soap.

Greg points out the hemp industry is going through a major shakeup. “A lot of pitch forks and shovels have been sold, but no one is getting rich yet.” In large part because the barriers to entry are low. If you’re growing corn, why not grow cannabis or hemp instead?

By the time Greg started in the industry, there were only 102 companies in the sector. By pre-Covid, there were 5,000.

To me this goes back to a theme I see happening again and again – the speed to commoditization is incredibly fast. Greg and Gnome Serum are finding ways around it, including:

Formulation differentiation
Marketing differentiation
Sales differentiation

Podcast Highlights

17:00 – Greg has thought a lot about entrepreneurs and startups. You’ll hear him talk about how disruptors can figure out what consumers need and get there faster than the big companies.
18:30 – Greg identifies a new concept that might lead to the tendency to be a disruptor: curiosity.
18:55 – Is it possible to build and maintain a culture of disruption?
21:15 – Challenges Greg had to overcome.
26:59 – Advice for up-and-coming entrepreneurs

Advice to Entrepreneurs

“Bootstrap it. Before you go for investment money, go to farmers’ markets, keep your expenses low, set up your company with the government, and give it a go.”

“Have a compelling story. People love stories. There’s a reason people love watching Shark Tank.”

The ending chat starting at 32:15 is one of my favorites. Greg likes to pay it forward by helping entrepreneurs succeed. He’s full of advice and has survived the scars to prove he’s a great resource and a highly successful businessman.

Learn More

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Rad Soap

Greg Kerber Troublemaker at Gnome Serum