Your Iconic Image : Profit, Passion and Purpose

Danny Rosin

Brand Fuel for profit

Band Together nonprofit

Danny Rosin, is co-owner of Brand Fuel, a brand merchandising agency, that is a B Corp. He is also the co-founder of the nonprofits PromoKitchen, PromoCares, Reciprocity Road and Operation Smile’s International Student Groups. He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, Raleigh’s mighty “pay what you can” café. 

Rosin is the active co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated over $12 million to 31 nonprofits in the Triangle through live concert experiences. 

Danny is a tireless community builder who likes starting organizations doing things that matter. He is happiest when there is a mix of philanthropy, music, marketing and “familying.”

He is married to Niccole, and they have two teenage daughters. He has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history.

https://www.brandfuel.com/big-change-were-proud-to-be-a-b-corporation/

www.brandfuel.com

www.bandtogethernc.org 

https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/

www.linkedin.com/in/dannyrosin

www.marlanasemenza.com

Audio : Ariza Music Productions

Transcription : Vision In Word

Marlana:

Danny Rosin is a timeless community builder who likes doing things that matter. He's co-founder of the company, brand Fuel, but also has a hand in promo, kitchen promo cares, reciprocity, road operations, smile, A Place At The Table and Band Together. He's happiest when there is a mix of philanthropy, music, marketing, and family. Inc. As a married father of two teenage daughters, he has come to grips with the idea that will behave, women rarely make history, but they learned that from him, along with how to lead a life of purpose. Welcome, Danny.

Danny:

Oh, thanks for having me. I'm, that's, it's nice to hear that the word,   family yang is not a real word, but I want it to be. I want it to be a verb family. 

Marlana:

I think you have made it one. I really do. And knowing the things that you have done and put together,

Danny:

That's nice, that's the one thing that I hope. You know, you think about legacy,   I think Ban Together, the work that I've been involved in with that organization is definitely the stuff of legacy. But the family, I just hope our kids look back one day and all the trials and tribulations of parenting and being invested in that, shines a light on these girls and they say their dad and mom did a good job. That's all I'm looking for. 

Marlana:

Well, it's actually kind of funny to watch you on this journey with them, because I feel like sometimes it's kind of like you've been on a wild bucking horse and you're just trying to hold on and keep the reins in your hand.

Danny:

Yeah, so true. I've got a wild bucking horse as an older daughter and a little bit more calm daughter as a younger daughter. They're 15 and 18, so they're complete opposites. I am more like my oldest daughter, the wild bucking horse. So, I think we relate to each other a lot more, which allows my relationship with my wife to either flourish because I can step in and say, I know what Brooke is going through, or there's just a lot more tension there because,   we don't see eye to eye and my wife doesn't understand, because that's not who she ever was.   she's got a little wild side, but not like Brooke or me. .

Marlana:

And, you know, it's interesting to me because you have taken that wild side and anybody that reads any of your history or even some of the things that you have real and posts that you do, you've taken it and put the reins on it to a large degree and directed it in ways that matter. So how is that a struggle for you to do, or do you

Danny:

? It's not a struggle for me. It's a struggle for my wife and sometimes my daughters. Just for example, I posted this great video of my youngest daughter. I took her to where I went to college at UNC Chapel Hill. A band we both love was playing. I was involved in helping book the band, and also, I was a big fundraiser, raising money for the Children's Hospital. I was like, you should go. We'll have a good time. And she separated and went to go hang out with her friends on the front row, which is where I would normally be watching the Future Birds. I was kind of to the side of the stage and I could see her and she was living her best life, just dancing, just having so much fun, and the band was engaging with her.

And I got a lump in my throat thinking about it because, you know, these are the special moments in life. Like, it was kind of a dad moment. So, I grabbed my camera, I videotaped it, and I thought it was just so great. I put it out on Instagram, you can still find it on my page. I didn't lose the battle when they're like, you've got to take that down of Brooke really rocking out. I get pushback for,   I think from time to time exposing the truth, you know, and being vulnerable and honest about maybe, you know, the Crazy Daughter or,   you know, this recent one that I think you may be, you know, talking about is the,   getting arrested story.   So, just a quick note about that story.

I was recognized by the Triangle Business Journal as this corporate philanthropist, which is a great honor to be recognized in that way. And Hannah from the Ban Together had submitted my name. Just knowing the work that we do together and the work that she does on the front lines every day just gives me a tremendous amount of pride. And a lot of people are reaching out and saying, congratulations. My head is getting bigger, and my wife is rolling her eyes all the while she knows how hard I work.   very soon thereafter, I decided to post the story about getting arrested in 1988. I guess the moral of the story in context to what you said is that,   you know, idiots, troublemakers, pranksters, people who maybe have a dark pass can shine, can work really hard at trying to recreate their story.

  you know, what's important to them, they can find that, and I've been really fortunate to be able to do that. So, this whole story about me getting arrested and apologizing to NC State for painting their bell tower when I was 20 years old,   it's kind of my way of saying like, Hey, everybody, I'm not all that it looks like in the newspaper and all these accolades that you read in the beginning. I do all that, but I still make lots of mistakes, still a troublemaker. I feel like I'm a 15 year old kid in a 55 year old body, and finding that balance is really important, but also because I have some reach and I've done a lot of things. I feel like it’s a kind of a moral imperative and a responsibility maybe to, you know, share the ugly stuff and be honest. And I think social media is very best. It's like the stories you tell of people. I mean, it's the very best when it's real and it's honest, and people can relate to that, and it gives permission for others to do the same, I hope.

Marlana:

Yeah. And you know, you talked about striking a balance, and what is interesting to me is, you're a business owner, you understand that you have to make money with your business and provide for your family and all these kinds of things, but you have such a beautiful balance between that and making a difference. You have shown by example that these things do not need to be mutually exclusive. So how do you go about doing that?

Danny:

I always say to anybody that looks at my story and says, gosh, how are you managing the, the balance between purpose and profit?  I always say I'm a capitalist and a tweed jacket because I like making money. I like giving it away too. but, I say that, you know, your dreams and your day job can coexist, and they should.  and that means finding a job that is something that you really enjoy. If you're not able to do that, then, you know, go outside of your job and get involved in a non-profit or an activity that you really enjoy and find joy in that. Or, you know, if you look at your company that you work for, where it's thank you for working number 4,221 and just a number, maybe you can create something within the company, a wellness committee or something that drives what you're interested in.

And I think companies are looking at initiatives around wellness and employee engagement, and they're looking for people to lead. So, I think that's important. you know, recently my company Brand Fuel just earned its B Corp certification. And so I think anyone who is working in the world of pop profit driven, but they're looking for a way or a path to get to a place of more purpose, meaning and value and being able to stand for things and DEI initiatives, I could go on and on, employee engagement, attracting more customers, attracting better employees and talent.   you know, the B Corp world is fascinating to me. Basically, is a   people planet profit kind of initiative. When I look at it, it's like fair trade is to coffee,   B Corp is to business.

So, if you look at the guiding principles of what a certification looks like, it's about taking care of employees and doing the right thing. It's about thinking about the environment and,   you know, your impact to the environment.   and then it's also about your supply chain. so thinking about, you know, the things that you bring into the marketplace to make sure that they're safe and that they are produced in safe factories and people are paid a fair wage, and these are important things, like really important things. I don't wanna sell something where there's slave labor behind it. I just don't, I don't think anybody wants to. I also think it's about aligning with nonprofits that maybe are mission driven,   and connected to what your corporate or human values are.   so if you're a tech company, maybe you want to help, you know, girls in STEM and find a nonprofit and align with them and, you know, turn an internship program into your business to invest in those organizations that are aligned with what you do in business.

So, I'm a libra, that means I've got the balance, the scales,   and so maybe there's some of that. But I've worked really hard at trying to find things that, you know, allow me to sleep well at night and to bring good people into my business and to sell to companies that are generous and care. And so, finding like-minded companies. And so we're, you know, some of that's marketing fluff.   but marketing is not just about fluff and promotion, it's about participation. It's about doing the work. And so we've done the work and we're continuing to do the work. It's a very hard, I think, but important journey that will allow this company, but also myself and Robert Fash, my business partner, and everybody who works here, you know, to be a part of something that I hope is the stuff of legacy.

Marlana:

Let me ask you this, and it might be a chicken or an egg kind of question. Do you leave that, if you do what you love, the money will come? Or do you believe that once you make your money, that's when you can turn around and go back and do something that matters?

Danny:

Yeah, I mean, that's a good question. I don't have an answer to be honest. I mean, I can riff on it a little bit.  I think we realize when we get older is that, you know, money is important, but it can be the root of evil and driver of things that are not important in this life. So, I mean, if I had to pick one,   I think you do the thing you love and the money comes, but maybe the money doesn't come, but you do the thing that you love.

Marlana:

Did you seek out a B Corp status, or was that just something that you realized existed and then you worked toward it? How did that come about for you?

Danny:

Yeah, I think the B corporation movement there a little bit over 5,000 companies globally, 2000 companies in the US and Canada that have earned this certification. Companies like Ben and Jerry's and All birds,   new Belgium Brewing, there's some really interesting,   B2C brands,   B2B brands, especially companies like mine that could potentially sell plastic crap from China,   you know, with logos on it, which is not what we do, but, you know, our industry has been known for that, that was actually one reason why we did it, was to try and kind of carve out a unique path of differentiation that was important to us. But the movement's been around for probably 15, 16 years, 12 years ago, we heard about it from some people in our area, you know, and, and knew that we were invested in giving back and there was some social entrepreneurialism in what we were doing.

So, we looked into it, and we decided to apply. This was about 12 years ago, and we failed miserably. There's kind of a couple points here if you are interested at all, even though it's a very heavy lift to go through the process, it's free. You go to B Labs, there's a third party organization that helps guide you around these principles of using your business as a force for good.   you'll learn a lot about your business and where you have weak points.   for us, our weakest point was in sourcing. So, getting products from China, they were cheap plastic crap. We didn't know where they were being made, if they were safe, we had no idea. And years ago, we just didn't have access to that information. So over the past 12 years, we have invested in,  one responsible sourcing and two,   investing in, you know, being advocates in our industry for transparency.

PAI is a sort of an umbrella nonprofit in our industry that has really worked hard to do that. So I joined the board,   I fought the good fight there and now,   you have access into, you know, where our products has been made, who's made it, is it safe of the right materials, there's product testing before it makes its way to decorators in the US and ultimately to end users. So, we sought that out. and over the past 10 years before we reapplied,  we worked extremely hard at the principles that B corporation and B Labs,   feature to really find out what we are made of. And there's certain areas we have got a lot of work to do, and there's certain areas we do great with.   but it's a business education that you don't normally get.   it's worth kind of trying to go through the motions,   in the application process, like I mentioned before, if for no other reason, even if you don't earn the designation of a B certified corporation, even if you don't get it, you will learn things about how you run your business and where the opportunities are to run a stronger, healthier business that will drive not only purpose, but ultimately I think profit.

Marlana:

You grew out in there kind of glazed over it, that you were on the board and it seems like you're on the board or have your hand in so many things. So, what determines for you, project that you are going to get involved in versus not?

Danny:

  yeah. I do say no to a lot of things, and I think trying to understand what my strengths are and I've done the strengths finders and I've done all kinds of personality tests,   and I know that my strengths are in,   philanthropy and marketing and I have a good idea around music and putting on events and things like that, and certainly family. So, I think that those things that are mission driven, they need to align. I need to feel something. even if, you know, the people in the boardroom, I've had some opportunities to be in some really nice high-powered boardrooms with people that I would love to get to know and hang out with, but I didn't feel comfortable. And some of that's, you know, the,   the complex that we all get,   imposter syndrome, I'm sure I could do fine, but,   I'm trying to really stay focused and, you know, I think you and I have talked before, you've asked me to be involved in a lot of things.

I'm always trying to tap the breaks and say no,   as much as I can to be really focused.   there's so many things in this world that I'm interested in , though, it's hard.  and so, I made a commitment not just to myself, but to my family. If I take on another thing, I need to drop something off. And so trying to create, again, going back to balance in my life,   I think for other people who are listening to this,   you know, make sure that its mission driven. You've got the skills or you want to, you can learn and grow and develop.   but I always talk about work, wealth and wisdom or time, treasure and talent in the boardroom. And if you can bring at least two of the three of those things to the boardroom,  then sign up.

And if you bring three of the three of those things, then you're a rockstar. But more importantly, if you get busy and you're going through something hard in life, healthcare or, you know, divorce or whatever is hard in your life or work is sucking the life out of you, you can't commit to that nonprofit or be involved in that activity, raise your hand and tap out. That is how you honor the organization, not by sitting and taking a board seat and wasting that seat so that it's not productive.  people will respect you more and you'll not feel that consummate guilt that I think so many feel when they're not active,   in those situations.

Marlana:

Yeah. And let's talk for a brief moment about two of my favorite projects in which you are involved. We'll take them one by one. talk to us about Ban Together, what that is and how that came about.

Danny:

Yeah. this is a 9/11 story. I was with some friends watching reruns on TV of the Twin Towers going down and people jumping to their deaths. It's funny, I could get choked up like talking about it right now, cuz there's something in this. That moment that, you know, the what's mine to do in that moment,   is really important to realize. Like, I think we all have a story. Most of us have a story about where we were when Kennedy was shot, or you know, the Twin Towers came down, whatever it may be.   I think we all have to ask ourselves what's ours to do in that moment? And we did not,   we did not become what I call slacktivist, you know, which would be someone who just checks a like box on Facebook.

We became activists at that moment, and we decided to do something for these families who had, you know, firefighters had gone in and risked their lives to save these people.  people we didn't know, but, you know, just can imagine. And these families now are living in a really tough place with their loved one. And, you know, pensions and things like that aside, we thought we should do something. And so we rallied and grabbed a larger group of business leaders in the triangle area to raise money for those families. And...