#260 Josh Friedlander — Jam by Josh

Josh Friedlander [00:00:00]:
Having an awesome story and an awesome product only gets people so far. What actually matters are the numbers. And so with Miles Farmers Market, I would go there almost every weekend and do samplings. And like every couple of weeks I'd get sales reports, like to see if my demos were working. And I very quickly outpaced the other brands on the shelf. And so I took that to the buyer at one of the largest regional distributors in Ohio. Between him just loving the story and the product and the numbers speaking for themselves, that was enough to get me into 35 more stores off the bat. And then over the last year, I've been slowly, slowly adding the other 40.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:00:37]:
Welcome to the Lay of the Land podcast, where we are exploring what people are building in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio. I am your host, Geoffrey Stern, and today I had the real pleasure of speaking with Joshua Friedlander, also known as the Jam Man, the founder of Josh by Jam, a Cleveland-based small batch jam company that he started at just 10 years old. What began as a childhood love of cooking, gardening, and canning has grown from a backyard hobby into a formidable and rapidly expanding food brand now sold in more than 75 stores across Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and beyond. At just 16 years old, Josh has taken Jam by Josh from his home kitchen to grocery shelves nationwide. In our conversation, Josh and I talk about the origins of Jam by Josh, learning to sell through trial and error, what it takes to earn trust as a young founder, the persistence required to turn rejection into progress, scaling a food business, building a brand that makes jam feel fresh and exciting again, and what Cleveland has meant to his journey. Josh is the youngest guest that we've had on Lay of the Land to date, and this was a genuinely inspiring conversation about bravery, persistence, and starting before you feel ready. So please enjoy this awesome conversation with Joshua Friedlander. Lay of the Land is brought to you and is proudly sponsored by Serity Partners.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:02:00]:
As a wealth management firm, Serity Partners shares Lay of the Land's same dedication to serving local business owners And the Serity Partners Cleveland team understands the challenges that entrepreneurs and founders face here in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, and beyond. Wealth comes with complexity and increased demands on time and resources. It is easy to become overwhelmed. Serity Partners clients benefit from a unified team of local specialists who coordinate across both business and personal needs. With Serity Partners' commitment to transparency and putting clients' needs first, complexity can become clarity. To learn more, please visit seritypartners.com Or call 216-464-6266 today. Serenity Partners, proud to be recognized as one of the top financial advisory firms in the country. So Josh, I am really grateful to, to have you here.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:02:56]:
You are the youngest guest that I've had on the podcast in the history of the podcast. And honestly, part of why I'm so excited to, to have you on is that you and your story personally inspire me. Um, not just because you've built a real business at, at such a young age, um, but because I think there's also a real bravery in, in kind of putting yourself out there in the way that you do. And I, I commend you greatly for it. So just wanted to start by, you know, thanking you for, for coming on and sharing more about yourself. And this amazing entrepreneurial journey that you've been on.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:03:36]:
Thank you for the introduction. I have to say, I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and it's an honor to be able to say that I'm the youngest guest on the show. So that's pretty cool.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:03:53]:
No, it's super cool. Yeah, I think there's a lot of ways that we could go about you know, telling your story, but maybe just to kick us off, if you can share a little bit about who you are. Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:04:05]:
Awesome. Hey, so, so at the start, I like to always just kind of, I like to kind of just, um, put it out there. Um, I have a stutter, um, um, and it doesn't mean that I'm nervous. It's, it's just something that, it's just something that I kind of have to live with. So just for like a heads up, it just kind of takes me an extra second to get my words out, but more about Who I am. My name's Joshua Friedlander, and I'm the 16-year-old founder behind Jam by Josh, which I started when I was just 10 years old. And now I've grown it to over 75 stores across Across Northeast Ohio and even some parts of Illinois and Pennsylvania.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:05:00]:
It's truly remarkable. I, again, I appreciate you sharing and really excited to just learn more about how you've come to build this kind of company and what's inspired you. Normally at the beginning of these conversations, I ask people to take them take them back to when they were a kid. But obviously that's not too far removed from where you are here. So, well, I will hit kind of the obvious question, which is like, what do you feel has contributed to your desire to build something at such a young age?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:05:40]:
Yeah, like, so I think that really ties in Um, like to, like to my story as a whole, I always kind of knew that I wanted to work for myself and want to build something from the ground up. And over COVID, I had, I had way too much free time. So that's when I really kind of fully dipped into, um, uh, into, um, entrepreneurship. Uh, Jam by Josh is actually my third business.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:06:08]:
Oh my God. I didn't know that.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:06:10]:
Yeah. Um, ever since I was just, 2 or 3, even before I could reach the countertops without a step stool, I was already fascinated with the kitchen and I'd help my parents cook whenever I could. And I continued doing more and more as I got older. And in 3rd or 4th grade, I took these I like these step-by-step cooking classes and I always wanted to teach my own. And so I told my parents that, and of course they were like, oh, that's cute. Like the usual parent response, you know?

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:06:53]:
Yep.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:06:54]:
Yep. Yep. But then over COVID, I was trying to think of ways that I could bring people together when we physically had to be apart. And I thought to myself, What better way than through food? And so, and so I saw that as my perfect opportunity to finally start my cooking classes. And so in 2020, when I was just, just 10 years old, I started Cooking Classes for Kids by Kids, which was a virtual step-by-step cooking class, which I taught on Zoom. And over the course of 2 summers, I taught hundreds of classes to kids from all over the country.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:07:38]:
Wow.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:07:40]:
Thank you. And then the following year, that's when I picked up another hobby, gardening. And whenever I do anything, I have to do it in the biggest way possible. And so with the with the help of my grandpa, we built like this 50-foot by 50-foot garden in the backyard. And then I sold produce at farmers markets.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:08:10]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:08:12]:
And one day I had way more produce than I could possibly sell. And so as opposed to freezing it or throwing it out, I thought it would be cool to try to combine my 2 hobbies for cooking and gardening and to teach myself how to can the vegetables I grew. And then after getting good at canning vegetables, I was thinking about other things I can can. And then, and then that's when I came across jams and actually brought a jar to my grandma's house. And then, and then She was the one that, uh, that tried it and tried it and liked it so much that she, that she convinced me to start selling it. And so what I tell people, and so what I tell people now is when your grandma approves the jam, you know, it's good. Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:09:13]:
When grandma approves, that's, that's always a good sign.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:09:17]:
Yes.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:09:18]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:09:19]:
Um, and so I sold, I sold at my first, I sold jam at my first farmer's market when I was in 6th grade. And then in, um, 8th grade, um, that's when I, uh, that's when I registered my business. Uh, and then, and then, uh, 9th grade was a big year because, because, uh, uh, that's when I, that's when I, uh, launched my website. And I got into my first grocery store and, um, uh, now I'm, I'm going, going into my junior year of high school and my jams and my jams are sold in 75 grocery stores. Um, and I shipped orders to every single state off my website.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:10:06]:
Amazing. I mean, congratulations.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:10:08]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:10:10]:
So a ton of questions about like how you've accomplished that, but even just going back to the beginning, you know, it's beyond, you know, your grandmother when you're trying to, I guess, where did even like the gumption, how did you learn about what it takes to sell and stand in front of people at a farmer's market and try and get them to buy a jar of of Jamf?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:10:35]:
Yeah, like, so almost, almost, almost everything that I know all came, all came from trial and error, learning to sell, learning to sell at a market. And that just kind of came, um, like from practice. But, but I realized all that, all that selling really is, is just trying to convince, is just trying to convince the customer to believe in you. And ever since I was very young, all of my teachers used to tell me I should be a lawyer because I'm good at convincing people. Yeah, but that seems—

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:11:24]:
You're too entrepreneurial to be a lawyer. Wow. So all trial and error. That's amazing.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:11:31]:
Pretty much.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:11:32]:
Yeah. On, on the, call it product development side, like how, how did you know that it was good enough? How, how much iteration on the recipe was there? What, what, what decided, what, what did you see that made you feel comfortable calling it a, you know, Jam by Josh product that it met the quality bar that you had?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:11:56]:
Excellent question. Okay. So, so over the years, the recipe definitely changed, but I think it's, but I think it's changed for the better. I like to believe that, that I'm also like a scientist. Like I love trying new things and just kind of seeing what happens when I change something up.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:12:16]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:12:16]:
So over time I learned what kinds of pectins work and I've tried I've tried fruit that's came from all sorts of places. I like to figure out what my favorites are. I like, and actually now all of my strawberries are from Egypt and my, and my peaches are from Greece and so on. Like, so with every, every iteration, I think I just, I just get it a little bit better each time.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:12:48]:
Yeah, it, it's, uh, it's trial and error through sales, through product development.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:12:52]:
Yes.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:12:52]:
A lot, a lot of just putting it out there.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:12:56]:
Pretty much.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:12:56]:
So the, the journey from 1 to 70-something stores is, is awesome, and I definitely wanna hear about that, but I'm always super interested in sort of the formative moments, the, the inception. Like, how do you actually get started? What did it look like to actually convince, you know, the first, the first retailer to, to say, yeah, we're, we're going to, we're going to partner with, uh, with Jam by Josh and we're going to start selling these products together.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:13:23]:
Yeah. Like, so the first store, it was, um, way harder than I thought it would be. I would just call up like my local Giant Eagle or, um, uh, like, or, uh, or Heinen's and just try to like pitch the store over the phone. But then I quickly realized, um, um, um, um, that, that wasn't, that, that wasn't the way you get into stores. Like you have to go through, uh, like their buyers or a, um, a distributor.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:13:52]:
Distributor.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:13:54]:
And so I, and so I knew that I had to start smaller. And so I found, uh, like this local, uh, store, it's called, um, Miles Farmers Market, which is, um, In, um, uh, in Solon last year.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:14:07]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:14:09]:
I went there with some samples and, and I talked to, um, one of the people like at the front desk and I, and I explained how I was 15 at the time.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:14:20]:
Mm-hmm.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:14:21]:
And how, and how I make all these all-natural, um, lower sugar jams. And then I wanted to, uh, speak to the manager. But the lady thought that I was trying to prank her because I was young. On a joke. Yeah. So she told me the manager wasn't there and she couldn't help me and just to leave and to maybe come back another time and the manager may be there. So anyways, what I ended up having to do was just to call the store and then I Eventually got, got ahold of the manager who was a very nice guy. And then after like a month or two, like a back and forth, then they eventually brought me into the store and that's what started it all.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:15:10]:
Yeah. Wow. So all of the, the retail progress has happened in the last 2 years?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:15:16]:
Um, um, yeah. Yeah, almost.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:15:19]:
That's amazing. So obviously the, you know, the results speak for themselves.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:15:23]:
So thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:15:24]:
The, uh, okay. So it, you know, persistence gets you in the door. How do you, how do you scale that from, from 1 to 70 locations now?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:15:35]:
Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:15:35]:
70 plus.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:15:36]:
Yeah. Yes. Yes. So having an, having an awesome story and an awesome product only gets people so far. Like what actually matters are the numbers. And so with Miles Farmers Market, I would go there almost, almost every weekend and do, um, samplings. And like every couple of weeks I'd get, uh, like these, uh, like these sales reports, like to see if my demos, demos were working.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:16:09]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:16:11]:
And I very quickly outpaced Um, the other, the other brands on the shelf. And so I took that to the buyer at, at one of the largest regional distributors in Ohio. Uh, and between him just loving the story and the product and the numbers speaking for themselves, that was enough to, to, um, get me Get me into 35 more stores off the bat.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:16:47]:
Wow.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:16:48]:
Thank you. Um, and then over the last year, I've been slowly, slowly adding the other 40.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:16:55]:
So product, story, and numbers. Yes. Lave the Land is brought to you and is proudly sponsored by Roundstone Insurance. Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone shares Lay of the Land's same passion for bold ideas and lasting impact from our community's entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders. Since 2005, Roundstone has pioneered a self-funded captive health insurance model that delivers robust savings for small and medium-sized businesses. They're part of the solution to rising healthcare costs, helping employers offer affordable, high-quality care while driving job creation and economic growth throughout Northeast Ohio. Like many of the voices featured on Lay of the Land, including Roundstone's founder and CEO, Mike Schroeder, Roundstone believes entrepreneurship, innovation, and community to be the cornerstones of progress. To learn more about how Roundstone is transforming employee health benefits by empowering employers to save thousands in per-employee, per-year healthcare costs, please visit roundstoneinsurance.com.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:17:59]:
Roundstone Insurance, built for entrepreneurs, Backed by innovation, committed to Cleveland. So to grow from 1 to over 70 retailers, I imagine requires a, uh, a fair amount of evolving of the supply chain and the manufacturing process and the sophistication of, of how you manage all that. You know, what, what does it actually look like to, to scale the business from the making of the product side of it?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:18:29]:
Yeah. So, so like most small, small food businesses when they're starting out, I started out as a cottage food business. I'm making, making everything out of my house, which is great for farmers markets. But when I decided that I wanted to move into retail and to launch my website, I knew that I, I knew that I had to make the transition. into a commercial kitchen. And so at the end of 2024, I moved into a shared kitchen and I got my canning license, which is pretty cool to say I got at 15. And so I was there for almost a year. But then eventually I grew out of the shared kitchen.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:19:27]:
And so I started renting space from a co-packer because he'd be there during the day. But then by the time that I'd get off school, he'd be done. And then that's when I would go in to make my jam. And it worked great, great at first, but then over time it became harder, harder, and harder, like to work with the owner. And so that's when I moved into a, a third kitchen this, this, this February. And so, and so I've been making I'm making jam there, uh, while, while I'm, while I'm preparing to, preparing to transition to a co-packer model, uh, to free up a lot more time for me to, for me to work on the more important parts of the business, uh, such as selling and marketing.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:20:31]:
And then, you know, meanwhile, you're also in school.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:20:35]:
Yes.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:20:37]:
Yeah. How's that going?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:20:39]:
Yeah, so, um, I'll say it's, it's not a, um, a perfect balance, but, but I definitely make it work. And it's, and it's taught me how to make, taught me how to make use of very, very small amounts of time. Um, um, my, my school was kind enough to give me a a 40-minute break period during the day, like to get some work done. So that definitely helps as well. But like the short answer is during the school year, I just don't really sleep cuz I'm, um, um, um, um, um, yeah. Yeah. Um, like because, um, between, uh, school and then work, there's just no time. So, but I make it work.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:21:30]:
It's always, uh, it's always a balance.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:21:32]:
Yes.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:21:33]:
So, I mean, you mentioned earlier in the conversation that, you know, if you're going to do anything, you're going to do it big. And so I'm curious, you know, what is your vision for the company? Like, where do you want to take this? What level of ambition do you have for it? Where do you see it going?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:21:52]:
Yeah, of course. I want to grow this into a very large brand with national distribution. At the end of the day, really, what I want is to be able to look back on it, like, and say that I, that I built this with integrity and I, and I, and I made a product that people love, not just because the story's great, but because the product's great. And I want to prove that, that person, sorry, I want to prove that young people Young people can be taken seriously when they do serious work.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:22:33]:
Wow. Beautifully said.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:22:34]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:22:36]:
What, I mean, obviously, you know, age is sort of top of mind in this conversation. How do you find it takes people to take you seriously? Like what, what have you learned about getting people to, uh, to understand the seriousness with which you are approaching this, this company?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:23:03]:
Yeah, I just like any other company when they're starting out, I, I usually, people don't really take any very small business seriously. Um, like, so that's true.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:23:13]:
At the beginning, it's hard to take any of it seriously. Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:23:15]:
Yeah. Like, so, so when I was, First starting out, it was definitely challenging, like, because everyone just assumed that, like, my parents made it for me. Like, and then I sold it. And so I had to explain to people, like, that actually I was the one making all of it. But now that I'm bigger, the numbers really do, Yeah, they tell a lot of the story. Yeah. Yeah. Like, so, yeah, like, so, so that's not, that's not as big of a problem as it used to be.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:23:58]:
What role have your parents played in the business?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:24:03]:
Excellent question. Yeah. So I think my parents, my grandparents, and my siblings have Have always, have always been my biggest supporters and they're, and they're, and they're a big part of the reason of why I'm where I am today. Like, but wasn't like, but, um, how my parents fit in is, is up until about 6 months ago, um, um, I didn't have my license and so my parents had to drive me around everywhere.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:24:35]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:24:37]:
Like, so, um, Without my mom waking up at 4 in the morning consistently to drive me to the farmer's markets, I probably wouldn't be where I am today.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:24:56]:
You have your license now though?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:24:59]:
Oh yeah, I do. Thankfully.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:25:04]:
What do you feel in your trial and error and refinement strategy? What do you feel have been some of the hardest lessons that you've learned so far as you've built Jam by Josh to where it is today?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:25:21]:
Yeah. So like the biggest lesson that I've learned really is how to handle rejection because Something that I learned very early on is no, no, most of the time doesn't mean no. It means either, either not yet or tell me more. And so I learned to not see no as, as the end and to just kind of keep persevering. But then also like when I cold call stores or something, um, Mm-hmm. Like, or other businesses, like to pitch them on my, um, corporate gift boxes. As opposed to chasing yeses, I actually, I actually started chasing nos because, like, because I knew reps mattered more than anything in that every, every no I got, it just meant, just meant that I was, that I was this much closer to a yes. That mindset change was really, was really one of the bigger things that I learned.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:26:28]:
Yeah. But you've always been that level of persistent.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:26:33]:
Yes. Yeah. I always come back to the saying, a water, water doesn't, a breakthrough, water doesn't break through rock because of power. It break, it, it breaks through because of persistence, meaning You don't have to be like the strongest or the smartest or the fastest. You just have to be the most willing to not give up and to just keep going no matter what.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:27:01]:
Yeah, no, it's true and it's wise.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:27:05]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:27:08]:
Who do you find yourself looking to as mentors? Who have been some of the people along the way that have helped you in this journey and that, you know, you kind of look up to?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:27:22]:
Yeah. One of my most influential mentors is probably Ethan Holmes, the founder of Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:27:35]:
Absolutely. Ethan's been on the podcast. I'm sure you know.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:27:39]:
Yeah. Yeah. Um, I was, I was paired with him, um, because of a fellowship that I was in last year, but then, but then after the fellowship, we stayed in touch and he's helped me, uh, win, um, lots of pitch competitions and he even connected me, uh, with most, most of the buyers of the stores that I'm now in. And so Listen, and so, uh, without him it would've taken, yeah, taken me significantly longer, longer to get into all the stores that I'm in now.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:28:18]:
That's amazing. I didn't realize you guys had that, that relationship. That's, uh, that's really cool to hear. What, what, what do you feel you've learned from, from Ethan?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:28:27]:
Yeah. He taught me like, like how, um, how to approach retail, like, and how to be, uh, be successful at it, like, and how there's a lot more to it than most people may think. Like, but then also him and I later also kind of living the same lives, just 15 years apart. Like, because—

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:28:55]:
Yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:28:56]:
Like, we're both in the same space, kind of. Like, and also the first kitchens where I made my jam were the first 2 kitchens that he used to make his applesauce. So yeah, and we were— Wow. Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:29:13]:
And if I remember correctly, Ethan's grandparents were also the ones that kind of got him to make the entrepreneurial plunge.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:29:21]:
Yes. Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:29:25]:
Very cool. Well, what What are you most excited about today with where the business is? Obviously, a lot to be proud of. I think you're well on your way to the kind of big vision that you set out with national distribution and just kind of scaling the company. But when you think about what comes next, what are you most excited about?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:29:51]:
Yeah. So As of last week, we launched into all of the Heinen's stores.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:29:59]:
Amazing.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:30:00]:
Thank you. Including all of the stores in Illinois, which is pretty cool. I like to say that my jams are now sold out of state. Yeah, so I'm currently one of the finalists in the Cleveland Chain Reaction pitch competition. Yeah. Where we compete to win $40,000. Yeah. So that's pretty cool too.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:30:31]:
So I've been working on my pitch, so hopefully that goes well. So yeah, I—

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:30:38]:
I'm rooting for you.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:30:40]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:30:44]:
What advice would you give to another young person who maybe doesn't feel that same confidence that you have to just get started, that maybe doesn't have quite the level of comfort with rejection that you've built up? You know, like, how would you counsel other young people about, you know, taking the first step, getting started, just what you've learned about building this as a young person?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:31:12]:
Yeah. I have a lot that I can add onto that. Yeah. Like, so, so, so everyone likes to, everyone likes to say that they're, that they're waiting for the perfect moment. But the, but the reality is that there's, is that there's no such thing as the perfect time to start. And that And, and that you shouldn't wait and wait and wait until you're ready. Wait until you're ready and then start. You should start and then, and then the, and then the readiness catches up to you.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:31:57]:
And so my challenge to, challenge to all younger, all younger people watching this is to, is to just, is to just take that first leap, like to make the plan or send the email, like, or whatever that first step is. Sorry for my stuttering.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:32:21]:
No worries.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:32:22]:
Yeah. You're not gonna be able to get anywhere if you don't just start. So yeah. Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:32:29]:
Well, I'll tell you, you're Your advice is far more applicable than to just young people.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:32:37]:
Oh yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:32:39]:
It's, uh, that's just, that's just good advice.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:32:42]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:32:44]:
Yeah. You, you really are like wise beyond your, beyond your years. Do you, do you, do you read a lot? Do you like, where, where do you, is it, is it all earned wisdom from just trying to build this company or?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:32:56]:
Yeah, pretty much.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:32:57]:
Trying to. It's the best way. It's tried and true. That's amazing.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:33:04]:
Yep. And also one of my favorite quotes that I heard, I want to say it was from The Rock. He said, if you want to be able to buy something without having to look at the price tag, you have to be willing to work without looking at the clock. So Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:33:24]:
Hmm. That's really good too. What, what does, what does building this in Cleveland mean to you?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:33:32]:
Yeah. So, like, for me, Cleveland means, uh, uh, means everything to me. Like, because, uh, because all of my, all of my first stores and my first customers, like, and everyone that Everyone that believes in me, all that's because of Cleveland. And what I love the most about Cleveland is how connected we are. Like, we have such a big support for small businesses and how connected all of us small businesses really are. I think that's what makes me feel so special. About starting here in Cleveland?

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:34:18]:
Well, I'll tell you that I believe in you and I have a great deal of respect for your persistence and honestly bravery and just putting yourself out there all the time to sell, to pitch, to tell your story, to like learn in public and to keep doing it even as folks may underestimate you for your age. It's really quite admirable. So I know there's a lot more I'm sure we can unpack about the journey, but is there something that feels particularly important that we haven't really talked about yet that you want to talk about?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:35:02]:
Let's see. Recently in my free time, I've been going like to talk at, at, um, high schools and, um, um, uh, colleges. I like to share my story, like, and what it takes to really do it. I do this, do this at such a young age. Um, um, also, also as, uh, as, uh, as, as someone who stutters, I've been really trying like to share, uh, like how, like how, like how people's differences don't mean that you're, uh, People's differences don't make them less than someone else and how, like, to always look at the positive side. Because, like, for me, because it's harder for me to speak, that's made me a better listener. And let's say, like, for someone who may fail at one thing, all it does is just help you learn. All it does is just help you learn and adapt faster.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:36:03]:
Yeah. Like, and so every negative has a positive. Like there's always something that comes out of anything. So.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:36:12]:
Yeah, no, it's incredibly, I think, profound and powerful. And frankly, you know, something that I don't even know a lot of adults have necessarily reconciled with. And like I mentioned at the beginning, I think your whole mindset is really inspiring.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:36:38]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:36:40]:
And so I'm thrilled to have you on, but it's like you said, the numbers speak for themselves. It's an amazing business that you're building. Really, really cool to see.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:36:54]:
Any other, uh, business, uh, kind of questions that, that you wanted to cover?

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:36:58]:
I, well, one thing I wanted to ask about actually that, that we didn't talk about was, uh, just how, how you think about the brand.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:37:05]:
Hmm. Present anything specific or just kind of like the brand as a, as a, as a whole?

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:37:11]:
I, I mean, I think as a whole, you know, I, I, I've kind of heard brand articulated as, you know, a promise that you're making with, with your customers. You know, what, I guess, what is it that you, want people or hope people associate with when they, when they think about your brand?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:37:29]:
Yeah. Okay. So what makes us stand out so much is, is we're trying to reimagine the whole, is we're trying to reimagine the whole jam industry and to make it exciting again, like to make it youthful. Most of the big jam brands We usually associate them like with toast or peanut butter and jelly. But like with me, I want people, I want people to associate Jam by Josh like it's something you can put on anything. All of our jams are made with only 4 ingredients and about, and about 50% less sugar. Compared to a standard jam.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:38:15]:
Yep.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:38:16]:
That way, that way it actually tastes like fresh fruit as opposed to pure sugar. And so, and so they go great on, on a Greek yogurt or, or cottage cheese, or even with the peach and the mango. I like putting that on, on chicken. I'd like then And then on my website, I have all sorts of different recipes, like if other, other more, other more creative uses for them.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:38:48]:
Which is, is your favorite, favorite flavor?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:38:51]:
Favorite. Let's see. So I like either the blueberry or, or the mango because the mango's so, so unique, but then the But then the blueberry is very versatile. I love putting the blueberry like on literally anything. So yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:39:13]:
Good on everything. Love that.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:39:15]:
Love that.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:39:18]:
Cool. Well, I think that's a good place to bookend it. I'll ask you though, our traditional closing question, which is for a hidden gem in Cleveland.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:39:34]:
I was actually thinking about that earlier and what I came to is I think like the hidden gem in Cleveland would be Miles Farmers Market actually.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:39:45]:
Oh yeah.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:39:46]:
Like, because, yeah, like so beyond the fact that that store has a lot of meaning for my brand, it's just It's just one of my favorite places just because of all the cool things they have. It's not like a traditional grocery store. And there's just nothing else like it in Cleveland, I think. Yeah.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:40:13]:
It's a perfect hidden gem. I don't think anyone's used that one before.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:40:17]:
That's awesome. Yeah. What do people normally say, do you think?

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:40:23]:
Oh, I mean, there's Now 250 different ones for the most part, but to the degree there's common ones, it's often the metro parks. There's been a lot of different individual metro parks kind of highlighted, the lake. But my, yeah, I love the places, the restaurants, the experiences. That's a perfect one.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:40:47]:
Thank you.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:40:48]:
Yeah, Josh, I just want to thank you again. I'm a huge fan of you and what you're building. And I think it's pretty awesome. If folks had anything they wanted to follow up with you about, if they wanted to buy some Jam or otherwise, where would you kind of point them on the internet?

 

Josh Friedlander [00:41:09]:
Yeah, so my website is jambyjoshcle.com. And either you can buy Buy directly on my site, or I have a store locator on my site as well. And then, and then, and then if you wanted to contact me, all of my contact info is on the, on the contact page of my, of my website. Perfect.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:41:37]:
I just, I want to thank you again, Josh. Really appreciate it.

 

Josh Friedlander [00:41:40]:
Thank you. It was fun being on.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:41:44]:
I'm glad, I'm glad we finally got to do it. Yes. That's all for this week. Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear your thoughts on today's show. So if you have any feedback, please send over an email to jeffrey@layoftheland.fm or find us on Twitter @PodLayofTheLand or @SternJefe. If you or someone you know would make a good guest for our show, please reach out as well And if you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on iTunes or on your preferred podcast player. Your support goes a long way to help us spread the word and continue to bring the Cleveland founders and builders we love having on the show.

 

Jeffrey Stern [00:42:22]:
We'll be back here next week at the same time to map more of the land. The Lay of the Land podcast was developed in collaboration with The Up Company LLC. At the time of this recording, unless otherwise indicated, We do not own equity or other financial interests in the company which appear on this show. All opinions expressed by podcast participants are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of any entity which employs us. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. Thank you for listening, and we'll talk to you next week.