David Karr

Co-Founder, Guayakí Yerba Mate · 1 appearance on the record.

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founderexecutiveguayaki.com ↗

David Karr co-founded Guayakí Yerba Mate in 1996, introducing organic, shade-grown yerba mate to North American consumers. He developed the company's brand identity and spearheaded its Market Driven Regeneration model, which uses beverage sales to fund South American rainforest restoration and fair-trade initiatives.

7statements → 4claims → 0claims resolved → 3.71/5average certainty → 1.29/5average debate potential → 1said about them ↓

4 not checkable as stated how the 4 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

4 assertions · 1 opinion · 2 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 4 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 0 are resolved, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how David argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of David Karr on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

Everything David Karr said on How I Built This that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Opinion
Karr: Argentine sun-grown yerba mate tastes 'offensive' to unaccustomed consumers
“If you drink the Argentine stuff that's sun-grown, it's really like almost offensive, unless you grew up drinking it. It's pretty bad tasting.”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 15:52 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann
Disclosure
Guayakí secured an initial $50,000 local bank loan without physical collateral
“Yeah, we got a 50,000 dollar bank loan locally.”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 21:47 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann
Disclosure
Guayakí co-founders funded the business with nine maxed-out personal credit cards
“I mean, I think we had nine personal credit cards maxed Chris and my brother, Steven and myself, we got every, you remember that time that was that time. In the mid nineties, they just started sending everyone credit card offers. So we just like said yes to th…”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 23:33 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Co-founder Alex Pryor demanded 10-20% equity to source yerba mate from Argentina
“So he basically says, give me 10 or 20% of the business, and I'll send you the yerba.”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 27:35 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adding soy milk and honey raised Guayakí product acceptance over 50%
“So we started putting honey and soy milk in the mate and making mate lattes. And then the, like the percentage of like maybe 15, 20% of the people actually trying and liking it went up to like 50 or more.”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 31:57 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Guayakí's founders personally served over 5 million cups of mate on tour
“And I think Steven Dolmiguel and I personally served over five million cups of mate.”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 34:50 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Guayakí's first eight tons of yerba mate were hauled in a U-Haul
“He was actually the very first one who started helping out Alex and I, even before Steven and Chris, because he actually ended up kind of joining as a quote unquote intern and helping drive up like the first eight tons of Yerba Mate from Los Angeles to Slowtow…”
David Karr Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 26:22 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann

The other half of the tape: David Karr's own voice is left out of every number here. 1 statement on the record names them. every mention, with the transcript →

Statements about David Karr, by other people (1)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Guayakí avoided 2003 layoffs by instituting company-wide pay cuts
“We actually did not lay anyone off through that experience, and I bring it up only because it was a big decision, and it was kind of formative to how we grew. We decided that everyone would take a pay cut rather than lay people off, and so the Samiyas, we took…”
Chris Mann Nov 28, 2022 ▶ 41:38 Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann Nov 28, 2022 23m
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