#159 — Dr. Brent Ridge: The Kindness Operating System for Hiring, Culture, and Growth

Dr. Brent Ridge is the co-founder of Beekman 1802, a skin health brand that began with goat milk soap made at a dining room table and scaled into a nationally recognized business with a devoted community. Brent trained in medicine (geriatrics), built his career in New York City, and even helped launch Martha Stewart’s Healthy Living division—before a recession, a rundown farm, and a herd of goats rewrote his path. He’s also the co-author of G.O.A.T. Wisdom, a new book that distills Beekman’s hard-won lessons into practical principles for entrepreneurs who want to build something that lasts.In this conversation, you’ll learn how to spot real trends before they’re named, build a brand identity customers can feel in seconds, and turn a purpose like kindness into a measurable operating system—not just marketing.In this episode we cover:Why “the true measure of authenticity is longevity” (and how brands lose trust chasing viral moments)The Beekman origin story: layoffs, a farm, goats—and turning constraints into a strategy advantageA simple but powerful strategic question: “Where does this not exist?” (and how it opened the luxury door)Trend sensing without getting trapped by algorithms: building your own daily “signal system”How defining your company as “skin health” (not “beauty”) changes everything—from product to positioningTurning kindness into culture, community, and commercial momentum (inside the company and out)00:00 Introduction to Out Thinkers Podcast00:30 Defining Authenticity in Business01:23 Meet Dr. Brent Ridge: From Medicine to Entrepreneurship02:01 The Birth of Beekman 180202:36 Building a Brand with Kindness04:56 Early Life and Career of Dr. Brent Ridge07:02 Strategic Moves: From Medicine to Martha Stewart08:26 Launching the Martha Stewart Center for Living18:08 The Power of Personal Branding and Sales21:22 Navigating Trends and Building Legacy25:01 Seeing Trends in Unlikely Places26:30 The Birth of Beekman 180228:26 The Science Behind Goat Milk30:32 Rebranding as a Skin Health Company31:35 The Power of Brand Identity37:57 Building a Culture of Kindness40:43 The Kindness Ecosystem48:22 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsAdditional ResourcesBook: G.O.A.T. Wisdom (Brent Ridge)Beekman 1802: https://beekman1802.com/Brent Ridge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-ridge-md-0641791/Kindness Research Foundation: https://www.kindness.orgThank you to our executive producer Zach Ness, our producer Nazanin Homayoun Jam and our editor James Pearce. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast