Connor Gross

Founder @ConstantHire. We recruit the best talent for fast growing e-commerce & consumer brands.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@austin_rief Would be down to pay to use the podcast recording studios!

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

People will always root for the underdog.

When Caraway got sued this year in February this year by "Big Cookware" they put on one of the best marketing campaigns of 2026.

But as much as consumers love the little guy, they're also not dumb.

Read the comments in the post below.

Oasis is being sued for intentionally publishing false data and defaming another company. Massive difference.

[Cormac @cormachayden_]

How a big food brand can pay to shut down a startup.

LMNT is suing my bootstrapped startup Oasis, and me personally, for $255 million in alleged lost sales from our social media posts.

The cost of defending ourselves is likely to bankrupt us.

I started Oasis a couple years ago out of frustration with the lack of transparency from bottled water brands. We began by collecting water quality reports, testing products and sharing the results so people could see what’s actually inside their water. Since then, we’ve expanded into testing other consumer products.

The mission has always been to make this information publicly accessible so people can decide for themselves.

We have no investors or outside funding. We’re an independent team of fewer than 7 people.

LMNT is a 9-figure electrolyte company that built its popularity through paid influencer partnerships.

We shared data showing heavy metals in their product, but twice mistakenly overstated the amounts because of two separate engineering bugs. We owned up, corrected the record and offered to work toward further resolution.

LMNT hired Quinn Emanuel to pursue the case and silence us instead. We dispute much of what they allege, but defending ourselves could take years and cost more than we can afford.

What scares me is that a company with enough money can bring a case against a small team who doesn't have the resources to defend themselves.

The cost of fighting back can be enough to silence criticism before the truth is uncovered.

I believe consumers deserve accurate, transparent information. Protecting access to that information is critical if we’re going to improve the US food system.

Large brands suing over public criticism isn’t new, and can be won with proper backing and support.

Setting a precedent that protects consumers’ access to accurate, transparent information about what they consume, and how it affects their health, is critical to improving the US health system.

Accuracy, transparency and helping people make informed decisions are core to Oasis.

We aim for 100% accuracy, but we are the first platform sharing such extensive product information making it an very complex challenge. When we fall short, we transparently correct the record and strengthen our processes.

We did the very best we could with the resources we had and only positive intent. We acted honestly, owned our mistakes and have substantially improved since then.

Unless the case is dropped, resolved or investors help us defend consumer rights to empowered personal health, we cannot afford both our legal defense and the work of testing/sharing product results with you.

I started Oasis with the goal of improving humanity's health standard, starting with water and food, but it seems the existing system may be too big and powerful to change

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

NYC Subway feels dystopian.

So many ads about selling your data, training on your work, automating your job entirely, etc.

The future is here.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@Camp4 What's the routine? Have you posted about it before?

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@joshsuggss Strong agree

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

Culture is the biggest indicator on a successful hire.

We have a 1 hour cultural interview with every hire before making an offer.

Every interview is the same. Here's how I run them:

I write the last 3 places they worked & ask the same 3 questions:
1. What did you like?
2. What did you dislike?
3. Why did you leave?

As an example:
If they liked their co-workers, I say "What about the co-workers did you like?"

That 2nd question show's what they actually want:

"Oh we were very chill and everyone was a big family." Or "Everyone pushed really hard and was very type A. We brought out the best of one another"

You then dive into this across multiple cultural pieces. What did you like/dislike about:

- Communication style
- Management style
- Speed of the company
- Feedback style
- Growth opportunities

The calls are very repetitive for the first 40 minutes. That's the point.

BUT - they paint an extremely clear picture of what this person wants in their next role.

Then, 1 of 2 things happens:

1. If they're a fit and align with the culture we are building, I put on the sales hat and I run through everything they liked and show them what we do that aligns with that. Same with dislikes. If they disliked needing approval every time they wanted to ship work, I show them how we go out of our way to remove red tape for team mates and empower individuals.

2. We decide it's not a good fit and pass.

This is by far the easiest and most telling interview we do to recruit good talent.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@reaIgorPatricio I agree with that. Always go more niche.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

2 common themes I see from broke founders:

1) Trying to reinvent business models.
2) Trying to educate a market on something new

The problem is most of the famous founders you think about have done both. So there's a survivorship bias into thinking that the way you get rich is by being unique.

But you can build a really big company if you do the following:
1. Find an existing big company
2. Make the product or service better
3. Make it quicker & easier to buy
4. Make it cheaper

In that order.

It's the most risk-adjusted way to make a lot of money without taking huge amounts of risk.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@roblabonne right behind wikipedia

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@dennishegstad down - I'm in Williamsburg wya?

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@BenSharf Would be down

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@LiamKillingstad koi

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

I'm convinced the most likely way to be both happy & rich is to be a big fish in a small pond.

Don't get me wrong:

I'm a firm believer that you are the 5 people you're ending up with.

And moving to NYC or graduating from Harvard statistically will give you a better chance of being quote "successful".

But the problem with raising the bar for your environment is there's always another mountain to climb, and the comparison game is really easy.

I think if you're internally motivated, you'll be both successful and happier by:
• Being top in your class at a state school
• Owning real estate & a booming small business in a small town
• Being civically involved locally and making an impact

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@jasonljin Let's go! Excited to watch y'all crush this 🚀

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

We've recruited for 9 & 10 figure brands.

But nobody

And I mean NOBODY.

Redlines our service agreement contracts more than the 23 year old drop shippers with Claude.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@connorrolain exactly

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

I've heard "The Market/Economy is bad" for my entire professional career so far (last 10 years).

During that same time I've seen friends
• Land jobs making $250k+
• Make millions across businesses in every field
• Raise millions for their ideas

Listen, I get inflation is high and gas is expensive.

But I'm increasingly convinced that everything is hard. It always has been and it will always be hard.

But despite macro economics, I think winners will always win.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@BPindulic facts all around

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

When people say "Nobody wants to work anymore" this is my favorite image to point them to.

People don't change.

[Connor Gross @c_gro]

@barrettjoneill my favorite.