Built To Lead

Hyro: How Steve Chapman Is Building a $100M Brand With a 5-Person Team

June 8, 2026·49 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

What does it actually take to build a brand people trust, talk about and buy from before you have a huge team behind you? Steve Chapman is the founder of Hyro, the Australian electrolyte brand growing fast with high-profile investors including Sarah’s Day, Quade Cooper and Daly Cherry-Evans.  Before Hyro, he scaled Shine to more than $60 million in retail sales across 7,000 stores, so he’s not guessing when it comes to brand, retail, marketing or growth… We're covering everything from how Steve is building Hyro to a $100M brand, his ambassador-investor partnerships, AI agents and the brand strategy that's designed to stand out in one of the most crowded categories in the market right now.  Key moments: 0:00 - How Hyro is building a fast-growing brand with a tiny team and five AI agents  4:33 - What Steve learned after his first business was shut down by Facebook  7:53 - How Steve spotted the gap in the electrolyte market before Hyro existed  9:18 - The high-profile ambassadors into investors that gave Hyro instant credibility  14:31 - How Steve balances building a global brand while raising a young family  16”62 - Why Steve invested in brand and website experience from day one  19:00 - A look into Hyro’s content strategy 22:26 - Tips on finding a product opportunity in Australia 24:35 - The unhinged strategy Steve used to get Shine stocked in major retailers  28:23 - The journey into selling a product in America 30”33 - What Steve knows he’ll need to change as Hyro expands into America  32:49 - How Hyro is using AI agents across customer service, finance, logistics and operations  36:09 - Getting your team bought into AI when it’s replacing their roles 38:31  Which parts of the business Steve believes still need to stay human  39:31 - How building in public helps Hyro attract high-performing talent  40:48 - The responsibility split between Steve and his wife Taylor 43:15 - The leadership mindset that helps Steve move quickly 44:38 - The first three hires Steve would make if he was starting again today  45:13 - What’s next for Hyro as the brand expands beyond core electrolytes  If you want to learn more about Hyro visit www.drinkhyro.com or connect with Steve on IG @stevechapman 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? Ask Andy - https://agentsync.com.au/meet-andy Find out more about off-shore employees over at ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agentsync_/⁠ and ⁠https://agentsync.com.au/⁠ And see behind the scenes content over at https://www.instagram.com/built.to.lead.podcast/ AgentSync

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