License to Thrive

Let Me Give You A HINT

Kara Goldin is chief executive officer and founder of San Francisco-based HINT, Inc., which produces all natural essence waters, with no sweeteners and nothing artificial. Since its official launch in April 2005, HINT has garnered praise from the likes of Time Magazine and "Good Morning America" for its refreshingly clean tasting products and appealing bottles, which have appeared on popular shows such as "Grey’s Anatomy," "Boston Legal" and "CSI."

In 2004, Kara, a former AOL exec turned mother of 3 (now 4) found herself spending a lot of time in the grocery aisles and she quickly realized that beverages were headed in an unusual direction. Simple, all-natural foods were popping up in most areas of the store, but in the beverage aisle it was all about functional claims. She saw drinks that would make her smarter, more energetic, calmer and more resistant to illness, but there was no good alternative to the juice and soda her family was drinking. Concerned about all the empty calories, but wanting to avoid sugar substitutes and preservatives, nothing on the shelf seemed quite right.

Kara has always had an innate ability to forecast consumer market trends as well as a solid grasp of how retailers, both electronic and brick and mortar, work, but she credits her kids with the idea for HINT. While drinking a glass or water with a slice of lime, Kara saw one of her kids reaching for a juice and said toher “no, please try to make a better choice.”  To Kara’s surprise that choice was the very drink she held in her hand – simple, no calories and no junk – just ice cold refreshing water with a HINT of lime flavor. Thus, the concept for HINT was born.

Kara has an extraordinarytrack record of business success. She is greatly respected by her colleagues past and present for her creativity, drive, and ability to get things done – transforming concepts into reality. As Vice President of Shopping and E-commerce Partnerships at AOL, she grew AOL’s shopping business from startup to more than $1 billion in revenue in less than 7 years.

In the mid 1990’s, she was among a handful of internet entrepreneurs who successfully defined “online shopping”, making her instrumental in the launch of the internet organization, Shop.org, where she served on the Board of Directors. Earlier in her career, Kara sold national advertising for CNN and managed airline circulation for Time Inc.’s family of magazines.

She brings her knowledge of the media and entertainment industries, along with an extensive network of contacts, to the company’s marketing and sales strategy. This rare combination of innovation, persuasiveness and determination is reflected in HINT’s unprecedented success in the industry.

Kara is a graduate of Arizona State University. She currently serves on the board of her childrens’ preschool, Lone Mountain, located in San Francisco, where she resides with her husband Theo (HINT’s COO), to whom she has been married for 11 years.