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41 - From Ski Bum to American Knife Maker: How Morgan Keenan Built Cudaway by Hand
Episode 41 • 12th June 2026 • Innovator Insights • Innovator Insights
00:00:00 00:28:02

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What does it take to build a premium, made-in-America knife brand entirely by hand — no overseas factory, no marketing budget, no AI? In this episode of Innovator Insights, we sit down with Morgan Keenan, founder of Cudaway and co-founder of the fast-growing CPG brand Empress of Ghee, to hear how he did exactly that.

We cover:

  • His winding path from a cross-country dirt-bike trip to head knife maker to launching Cudaway in 2020
  • Bootstrapping the brand one 20-knife batch at a time, tested and sold at farmers markets
  • The craft and minimalist design philosophy behind the flagship Sanrok 7
  • The realities of scaling a manufacturing business and managing cash flow
  • Why he sees AI as a powerful tool but a dangerous crutch for founders
  • How Empress of Ghee grew from a single farmers-market batch into 29 retailers in just over a year

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