How Marcus Milione built Minted New York

What happens when a real estate banker trades spreadsheets for sterling silver?

We sat down with Marcus Milione, the founder of Minted New York, to hear how he built a multi-million dollar brand without chasing virality, buying followers, or running ads.

Here’s what we learned:

Start Before You Have a Plan

What Happened: Before Minted ever existed, Marcus was just a guy walking around his neighborhood, recording TikToks during his lunch break.

No business plan. No viral growth hack. No audience.

Just an arbitrary challenge to himself: post three videos a day for a full year and see what happens. Those daily reps helped him build an audience that trusted him before he ever sold a single product.

The Fathers Take: You don’t need a grand plan to start — you need motion.

Momentum beats strategy when you’re starting from zero. Too many people wait until they have the perfect idea, the perfect logo, or the perfect product. Marcus showed up, posted what he loved, and the business found him.

Posting the Process

@marcusmilione

Replying to @benbutler37 some math for the math types

What Happened: Marcus didn’t just post the highlight reel.

He showed everything: from packing order to the supply chain delays, the anxious nights and the moments he thought it might all fall apart.

While most people wait to share success stories, Marcus shared the messy middle.

The Fathers Take: People don’t just buy your products, they buy into your journey.

Most brands are scared to show the parts that aren’t polished. But letting people see the full grind builds a deeper connection than any ad campaign ever could.

Community > Virality

What Happened: Minted didn’t grow because of influencer gifting, paid ads, or viral stunts. It grew because Marcus built real relationships — replying to DMs, answering questions, and documenting every step.

Even today, he’s never run a traditional influencer campaign. It’s all been fueled by audience trust, loyalty, and word of mouth.

The Fathers Take: Virality is a moment. Community is a moat.

A one-time viral video might sell a few products, but a real community will sell out every launch, line up for pop-ups, and follow you across every product category you expand into.

Presented by OnePLTFRM.com 

Marcus built Minted the hard way — finding partners, manufacturers, and creatives one by one.

Today, brands like his have an easier option: PLTFRM connects brands with vetted agencies for creative, paid, retail, and more.

Final Sermon

Building a brand isn’t about chasing hacks.

It’s about showing up every day, talking to your people, and stacking trust — even when nobody’s watching.

Check out our full interview with Marcus to hear more on how he built Minted New York into a cultural mainstay:

Blessings,

The Brandfathers