# What it Takes to Keep a Brand Alive, Relevant AND Profitable for 20+ Years with Nikita Sernack from Nookie

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-to-lead-7706683/what-it-takes-to-keep-a-brand-alive-relevant-and-profitable-for-20-years-with-nikita-sernack-from-nookie
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-to-lead-7706683/what-it-takes-to-keep-a-brand-alive-relevant-and-profitable-for-20-years-with-nikita-sernack-from-nookie.md
Podcast: [Built To Lead](https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-to-lead-7706683)
Published: 2026-06-29T19:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/TBC2099369166.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/TBC2099369166.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/built-to-lead-7706683/episodes/what-it-takes-to-keep-a-brand-alive-relevant-and-profitable-for-20-years-with-nikita-sernack-from-nookie
Duration seconds: 2048

## Resource

Most brands don’t survive one trend cycle, let alone 20+ years. But Nikita Sernack has built Nookie through the pre-social media days, the rise of founder-led brands, international stockists, COVID, AND the launch of a second label (Rumer). In this episode, I’m sitting down with Nikita to chat about what actually keeps a brand relevant for that long. From building a cult customer base, to knowing when growth isn’t profitable, to hiring people who can take the business further than you can alone. Key moments: 0:00 - How Nikita built Nookie before social media, e-commerce and founder-led brands became the norm 6:21 - Building a guilt following before social media really took off 9:22 - The hiring mistake that makes founders busier than ever 13:48 - What happens when your core product is built for events people suddenly can’t attend 15:03 - Why launching a second brand can expose weaknesses your first brand was strong enough to hide 17:45 - How to lead a team without becoming the person every decision has to come back to 20:13 - What a founder should focus on once the business has grown past the early stage 24:14 - The cost of saying yes to the kind of growth most brands dream of 27:54 - The decision to go global 28:52 - How a major retailer partnership can become more than just a sales channel 29:58 - What it looks like to evolve a brand without losing the reason people loved it in the first place 30:24 - The three hires that can protect the parts of your business customers actually experience Find Nookie on IG @lovenookie and watch Rumer’s relaunch at @rumerthelabel If you want help building your offshore team, send me a message over at @jesswhatman_agentsync - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jesswhatman_agentsync/⁠ Not sure what you could delegate or the next role you need?…

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