Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Supsic. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

John, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Hard work. A wise person once told me that when in doubt – just work harder. This holds true in all facets of life; personal development, family, relationships, business, health, and fun/joy. I have personally experienced this throughout my life within business, sports, and relationships. Moxie Sozo was founded on many, many late nights and sacrifices by designers and developers who wouldn’t put the work down until they were satisfied that the solution was fully addressing the client’s business challenge. Three of those designers are now partners at Moxie Sozo.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Moxie Sozo is a creative branding agency that has been in business for 24+ years. We have worked within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space for the majority of that time, creating memorable brands in a wide range of categories. Over time, we have shifted our focus to primarily working with beverage brands, where we develop an unforgettable visual language that allows brands to breakthrough on (the most) crowded shelves and grow market share. With a proven track record of driving market share growth and earning a coveted spot within retailers, Moxie Sozo is your partner in navigating the dynamic world of liquid.

In my everyday tasks, I usually miss out on the cool projects meant for our clients. (Although they once pulled me into a naming gig, and boom—my idea landed on the shortlist! Yep, that’s my little claim to fame, and I’m totally owning it.) I mainly operate behind the scenes on the business side of things. I have been in the finance/accounting world for 25 years, and started way back when in public accounting and have also worked with a couple of non-profit organizations along the way. I entered the branding world 14 years ago because the founder of Moxie Sozo and I met through a mutual connection. After chatting with the founder over a couple of drinks, a role was formed for me within the agency (a lot of business and life is all about who you know). In 2018, three of Moxie’s amazing designers and I purchased the agency from the founder… and we haven’t looked back since (except during COVID when things got really crazy… but we made it through!).

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.

Three long-time Moxie Sozo designers (Charles Bloom, Nate Dyer, Derek Springston) and I (John Supsic) purchased Moxie Sozo from the founder in 2018. We didn’t set out to purchase the business when the founder was ready to sell it, but it made a lot of sense considering 90% of the agency’s portfolio was made up of work designed by Charles, Nate and Derek. Additionally, I had a significant understanding of the numbers that were driving the business.

None of us (or our families) are independently wealthy, so we explored various avenues on how to raise capital for the purchase. After evaluating investor options, none of which seemed to be the right fit, we decided to purchase the business through the SBA loan program. This loan program worked well for our needs, however it also came with some significant challenges. The first is that the loan application and process leading up to closing took a significant amount of time (about nine months) and it felt like a full-time job keeping up with the requests. The other major challenge was that we were required to personally guarantee the repayment of the loan. The personal guarantee essentially ties our personal assets to the success of the business. If things don’t work out, the owners lose everything. Obviously, this adds a layer of stress to the business that is tricky to navigate at times. However, overall, we look at this as a positive as the personal guarantee pushes us to be the best at what we do.

Any advice for managing a team?

The number one piece of advice I can give for managing a team is providing them with the freedom to fail. By creating an environment where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities rather than failures, we encourage our team members to take risks and think outside the box, which leads to new ideas. Embracing failure as a part of the learning process also promotes a culture of continuous improvement within our team.

In tandem with the above advice, we maintain high morale within our team through transparency. Providing full transparency into the business was something that I personally struggled with for a couple of years, mainly because I didn’t think our people wanted to be burden with the financial aspects of the business. We are now openly sharing financial information, goals, and progress, and team members have said that they feel valued and empowered with the information. Additionally, it seems to be fostering trust and a sense of unity, as everyone is aware of the agency’s direction.

Contact Info:

• • Website: moxiesozo.com
  • Instagram: @moxiesozo
  • Facebook: @moxiesozo
  • Linkedin: @moxiesozo
  • Other: TikTok @moxiesozo

Image Credits
Moxie Sozo took all photos.