How Losing Her Brand Made Nicole Swartz A Top Trademark Attorney

Nicole Swartz is a trademark attorney in Austin, TX. In 2015, she started a CPG brand that was sold in hundreds of retailers around the world. But there was one BIG problem: She didn’t trademark her brand. One day, she woke up to a cease + desist letter in her inbox. Someone trademarked her brand name and now they owned it. She had to rebrand everything in 30 days. A total nightmare! Nicole became a trademark attorney to help other CPG founders own their brands. Today, she runs one of the top 3 trademark law firms in the U.S. Bread & Butter Law. She's filed over 1,200 trademarks with a 99.8% success rate. Her favorite snacks are sour candy, non-alc bevies, and hot chips.

In this episode:

• Nicole’s personal story of losing her CPG brand overnight after a trademark mistake—and how it led her to become a top trademark attorney.

• The biggest trademark pitfalls CPG founders make (and how to avoid them before it’s too late).

• Why not trademarking or having issues with your TM could lead to an inability to raise funds.