?? My dog Zoe crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Billion Dollar Sellers - BDSS and BDSN 2025 Events

?? WHAT a DOG CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT LIFE and BUSINESS

Yesterday, my beloved Zoe crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

If ever there was a dog of Amazon, it was Zoe.

She entered my life as a puppy in the summer of 2014, just as I was launching five private label brands.

As I worked relentless 16-hour days building those brands, she was my sanctuary.

My breaks were filled with her joy—training sessions, bonding time, and her favorite thing in the world: “smalks” (smelling and marking walks).

Zoe loved chasing squirrels and lizards, savoring every adventure with that eager heart of hers. She knew 20 or so commands and loved showing them to off to friends.

She never met a dog or a person she didn’t like, and no one ever failed to like her right back. Her tail never stopped wagging until the end.

In fact, her lightning-fast eating habits inspired one of my most successful products: a dog bone-shaped slow-feed bowl that I sold on Amazon, Chewy and more.

Zoe became the face of the brand—her picture gracing packaging, lifestyle photos and everything that followed. She even made a memorable cameo at The Prosper Show in Las Vegas in 2021. Funnily enough, she was one of the only ones who didn’t catch COVID there.

She was a fighter, through and through. I rescued her at eight weeks old from a breeder with less-than-humane practices.

In 2019, she had a close brush with death due to bladder stones that caused a complete toxic blockage. Then, just a year later, she broke her back. The surgeon doubted she’d walk again, but three months later, there she was, running and playing like a puppy, defying every odd.

Zoe stood by me through some of my hardest times, including a separation and eventual divorce. In 2021, when I picked up Tim Jordan of Carbon 6 for lunch, she sat in the front seat dog bed she loved, making Tim laugh as he politely declined to sit the back. Zoe was that kind of dog—the one who took up her own space in your life and heart, where nothing else quite fit the same way.

Zoe lived well. Spoiled? Absolutely.

She had a soft bed in every room, spent the last part of her life in a top floor penthouse, had a private chef and received red light therapy from my masseuse. She adored burrowing under blankets, with just her nose poking out to keep tabs on everything.

This past January, while I was in Iceland with my event producer Mark Daughn doing advance work for next year’s BDSS XI, I got an urgent call on a Saturday night from her doggy hotel back in Austin.

Zoe was vomiting and her paws were bleeding from frantic licking. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis, and after her symptoms worsened, a biopsy revealed Hepatocutaneous Syndrome—a rare, deadly liver disease.

Given just two months to live, I threw massive resources into treatment—all-day weekly amino acid IVs, a dog nutritionist and special diet, supplements—anything to give her more time. It worked for a while and she enjoyed life.

But after 8 months of treatments, October brought progressively more discomfort. Her mouth, paws, and every soft part of her body became sore, crusted, and itchy. It became difficult to walk and she was eating less than normal. The bridge-keeper was calling.

After consulting with her vet and dermatologist last Friday, I made the hardest decision of my life.

She spent her last days doing what she loved: eating her favorite treats and watching sports by my side, safely and comfortably in my arms. From running in the wiener dog races to seeing Germany win the World Cup at just twelve weeks old, to one last game together—watching my Texas A&M Aggies com back in the second half and take down LSU—Zoe was always my loyal unwavering fan and cheerleader.

At 4:14pm yesterday she peacefully & comfortably crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

If you’ve never known the devotion, love, and pure companionship of a pet, there’s a piece of life you’re missing.

Zoe was my little girl. I will miss her profoundly.

In business as in life, we sometimes hold onto things we love—products that fight to survive, that we pour time, money, and energy into.

But sometimes, the universe has a different plan, urging us to let go, even when it feels impossible. Trust that it’s the right thing to do.

Though I look forward to a new puppy one day, Zoe’s legacy will never fade.

Her love, spirit and the lessons she taught me will live on in my heart forever.

?? INSTANT BRAND ASSESSMENT PROMPT

Want to find out if a brand is “good” or not?

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Just grab a link from the brand and use the following prompt to see how it scores with this Quick Brand Assessment using Perplexity.ai .

How to Do an Instant Brand Assessment Using AI

The prompt below performs a brand assessment based on the brand pillar components taught by AI-Branding Academy which include: Brand Name, Brand Summary, Brand Vision, Brand Slogan, Core Brand Values, Core Brand Offer, Brand Voice, Brand Avatar, and Customer Avatar ranked on a 10-point system.

Review the following link and perform a Brand Assessment based on the definitions specified below the link. Rank each specification on a 1-10 point system and deliver a summary of the entire brand, a summarized assessment for each specification, the score for each specification, and the total and average score for the brand.

[INPUT BRAND LINK]

Brand Pillars are the fundamental elements that define and support the overarching identity and positioning of a brand within its market. They encapsulate the brand’s essential attributes, including its name, core values, voice, brand avatar, and customer avatar. Each pillar serves as a steadfast guidepost that shapes every aspect of the brand’s strategic and creative execution.

Brand Name: All acceptable versions of the Brand Name, including Full Brand Name, Abbreviations, Acronyms, Nicknames, and Trade Names.

Brand Summary: A concise statement that encapsulates the essence, focus, and distinguishing features of a brand, highlighting its mission, vision, and the unique value it offers to its customers or audience. It is a powerful, compelling statement that captures the heart and soul of a brand.

Brand Vision: The foundational ethos of a company, distilled into a clear and inspiring statement by its founders or owners. It encapsulates the fundamental reason for the company’s existence beyond profit, articulating the change it seeks to bring about in the world or its industry.

Brand Slogan: A short, memorable phrase that encapsulates the essence of a brand, its values, and its promise to consumers. It serves multiple purposes: to highlight the brand’s benefits, to affirm its position, and to forge an emotional connection with the target audience.

Core Brand Values: The fundamental beliefs or principles that define the identity and guide the behavior of a brand. These values are critical as they serve as the foundation upon which a company constructs its business practices, decision-making processes, and interactions with all stakeholders.

Core Brand Offer: The central, most valuable proposition a business presents to its customers, encapsulating the essence of what it stands for in the marketplace. This offer is specific to the industry within which the business operates and is versatile enough to encompass both products and services as applicable.

Brand Voice: A comprehensive explanation of the specific characteristics, tone, and manner of communication a brand employs across various platforms, aimed at consistently conveying its identity, values, and message to its audience.

Brand Avatar: A conceptual embodiment or personification of a brand’s identity and values. It serves as a relatable, human-like representation of the brand, encapsulating all aspects of its personality, ethos, and style.

Customer Avatar: A representation of your ideal customer—the type of person you want to purchase your products or services. Also known as a buyer persona, marketing persona, or customer profile, it helps in understanding the needs, behaviors, and preferences of the target audience.