🔥 Most brands don’t test like this…

How Brian Tate Went From Poker Pro to Oatmeal King And Raised $35M In The Process

How do you start your day?

I usually wake up, rub my eyes, and go find a pistachio latte. 

Maybe you do something similar. Wake up, hit the coffee, check your phone and ease into the rest of the day.

Brian Tate doesn’t ease into anything.

Before launching Oats Overnight, he was a professional poker player, trained to spot patterns, play the long game, and move fast when the odds were right.

Today, he’s using the same instincts to build a powerhouse breakfast brand.

This is the story of… Oats Overnights.

The year is 2016, and Brian is tired of the late nights.

After 12 years playing high-stakes poker, the wins don’t hit the same, the game felt hollow, and the thrill was gone.

In his own words,“I didn’t have those ‘feel good’ moments. Winning signals didn’t register as, ‘Okay, we’re doing great.’” 

So he walks away.

Poker was all that Brian knew and stepping away from it was a challenge.

It wasn’t easy. But Brian’s never been 1 to back down from a challenge.

This time, the challenge was personal.

He would rebuild from scratch, bet on himself, and solve a problem he faced every morning: what to eat that was fast, filling, and actually good.

After some digging, Brian realized he loved oats but ONLY when they were done right.

Good oats took time which really isn’t feasible for someone who needed to be out the door.

He wanted something pre-made. Something he could just shake, sip, and go.

That was the lightbulb moment.

If he wanted this, other people probably did, too.

In a short time, Brian’s life began revolving around oats and funky flavors.

He leased a small warehouse, read everything he could about food production, worked 16-hour days, recruited friends to help and ran recipe after recipe until they got it JUST RIGHT.

The 1st order? It came from his brother.

But it was still REAL. Still the start of something.

With demand picking up, fulfillment turned into “whatever works.” 

Which, at the time, meant packing his car trunk with oats and driving to the post office himself.

Eventually, they bought their 1st set of machines. That changed everything. They could finally scale, make more, and grow faster.

And grow they did… FAST.

Boxes everywhere. Orders nonstop. The 1st warehouse wasn’t enough.

It was time to move.

Behind the growth was something Brian hadn’t anticipated: self-doubt. The kind that lingers, even after the wins start piling up.

He found himself constantly questioning whether he belonged in the CEO seat.

Every quiet moment brought a wave of anxiety.

Even downtime felt dangerous: “It could be 8:00 PM. I would finish all my emails and just try to relax. But as soon as I sat down, I’d think: ‘I could be doing something right now to help the business. If we fail, it’s going to be because of this time that I’m sitting watching TV.’ These things were getting to me and causing anxiety.”

What helped him recover wasn’t more work.

It was a community.

Real, honest conversations with other founders about how they were REALLY doing and what they were ACTUALLY feeling.

That mindset shift changed everything.

Brian stopped chasing the imaginary perfect CEO and started showing up as himself.

Turns out, that was more than enough.

PUT IT IN PRACTICE Marketing isn’t guessing. It’s testing. Here’s your homework: Pick 1 idea you’ve been sitting on. A new hook. A different visual. A fresh format. Launch it this week. Don’t overthink it. Don’t wait for perfect. Just hit publish. Then pay attention to what actually happens. Are people clicking? Saving? Watching the whole thing? Do you get replies? Shares? Higher open rates? That’s your feedback loop. Use it. Those signals tell you what’s working. Test weekly. Learn fast. Grow faster.

Which brings us to the present.

Oats Overnight is now a team of 700, with over $35 million raised and a customer base that stretches ACROSS THE WORLD.

Oh, and over 250,000 active subscribers. LTV!!! 

What started in a kitchen shaker bottle has become 1 of the fastest-growing breakfast brands OF ALL TIME.

For 1, they’re a brand that OWNS experimentation.

Case in point: the flavors. 

Instead of sticking to the usual oatmeal suspects, they went bold.

Fruity Cereal.
Chai Latte.
Mocha Dream.
Green Apple Cinnamon.

🤤🤤🤤

Some were hits and some didn’t last.

But EVERY SINGLE 1 was a test driven by real customer feedback and a bias for action.

Which brings us to the data.

Oats Overnight is probably 1 of the most pragmatic brands when it comes to gathering 1st party data.

Just look at their post purchase survey (and yes, I bought some to write this send).

It doesn’t stop at “How did you hear about us?” They ask what flavor you bought, why you picked it, why you liked them, and what convinced you to go through with it.

They even ask you if you’re SICK of answering questions!

It’s a masterclass in no-waste insight gathering.

Every response feeds back into product, Marketing, creative, and CX.

They’re not just collecting data they’re actually using it.

And in 2025, that’s a Marketing Royal Flush.

MARKETING CHEAT SHEET (WHAT TO LEARN FROM THIS STORY):

1️⃣. Your product is your best ad: Oats Overnight didn’t just make oats. They made craveable flavors like Fruity Cereal and Mocha Dream that basically sell themselves. Every new SKU was a chance to grab attention and spark conversation. That’s Marketing baked into the product. If people want to talk about what you sell, congrats. You just lowered your cost to acquire. 

2️⃣. 1st-party data isn’t optional: Most brands stop at “How’d you hear about us?” Oats Overnight goes deeper. They ask why you bought, what flavor you chose, and what actually convinced you. That’s the kind of intel that fuels better ad creative, stronger emails, and smarter product launches. If you’re not mining customer feedback, you’re guessing.

3️⃣. Test. Tweak. Repeat.: They didn’t sit around debating the perfect move. They launched wild flavors, asked for feedback, and cut what didn’t work. That same mindset works for any marketer. Try a new subject line. A different CTA. A bold landing page. Most people overthink and under-test. The best brands treat Marketing like a lab.

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