Meet Justin Acosta

We recently connected with Justin Acosta and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Great question! Honestly, I don’t think I’m fully over Imposter Syndrome—it still creeps in sometimes. Even though I know my work is good and people seem to love it, negative thoughts often hold me back from sharing; however, two things do help me a lot.

First, I keep a list of all my wins, no matter how small. It’s easy to lose sight of what you’ve accomplished when you’re caught up in day-to-day challenges. Starting a business is tough, and in the beginning, I was so focused on perfection that I kept pushing back the initial launch; the website wasn’t pretty enough, there weren’t enough designs available, blah, blah, blah. When I finally listed everything I’d done—designing a logo, building a website, sourcing suppliers, ordering inventory, etc—it hit me just how much I’d achieved as a one-person team. Celebrating those wins reminds me of my hard work and helps quiet the self-doubt.

Second, I focus on facts. Yes, Rocky Road is still growing and we have plenty of opportunities, but it’s also a brand that sells hundreds of shirts and hoodies per month. Total strangers see our content and spend their hard-earned money on our products. That’s a fact. People continue to follow and engage with us daily on social media, they take time out of their day and spend it with us. That’s a fact. When I doubt myself, I ask: who/what’s more believable—the small handful of critics or the overwhelming support we get from followers and customers? I choose to trust the latter.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Rocky Road is a mental health-inspired apparel brand with one goal: to create badass clothing that sparks conversations about mental health. What sets us apart is that every design is rooted in real experiences of people overcoming struggles, highlighting how mental health challenges don’t discriminate and often go unnoticed. But what truly makes us unique is that our apparel isn’t just for the people who wear it—it’s for the strangers who see it. Our customers wear these designs to spread positivity and offer encouragement to the strangers around them, which I think is amazing.

Right now, we’re most focused on maintaining authenticity and creating an experience that resonates with our audience. I want to build something that people can really identify with and share with others. There’s such a grey cloud over Mental Health, and I want to help get rid of it. It’s cool to give a s**t. There’s no reason any of us should have to deal with this alone when there are so many people who feel the exact same way.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Starting from scratch is tough. You need the resilience to show up every day, even when it feels like no progress is being made. I spent months designing the logo, building the website, and researching software—tasks that didn’t pay a dime but were essential to laying the foundation. Once the business was running, resilience became even more important to push through slow sales and social media content only getting 5 views just trusting it’s all part of the bigger picture.

I firmly believe people don’t just buy products—they buy brands. There are countless apparel companies out there, but people choose Rocky Road because they connect with what we stand for. Our messaging is consistent and authentic because I genuinely believe in it. That makes creating designs and content feel natural instead of forced.

Creativity is the hardest to define but just as critical. While I am referring to creativity in terms of product development, more so I’m referring to being creative with your daily operations. Without a big budget, I’ve had to get creative with spending, content strategy, and operations. Copying what others do only puts you in their shadow; Creativity is what sets you apart and helps you stand out in a crowded market.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

While there’s value in playing to your strengths, I believe it’s more important to invest in areas where you’re not strong—especially in the beginning. The beauty of learning is that it’s permanent; no one can take that knowledge away from you. Whether in business or personal life, spending the extra time learning new skills makes you more valuable and often makes life more beautiful.

Throughout my career, every promotion I earned was a direct result of going beyond my scope of responsibilities to learn something new. It gave me insight into different areas of business, what I liked and didn’t like, and ultimately helped lay the foundation for launching Rocky Road.

Even after starting Rocky Road, being well-rounded has been a game-changer. I could have played to my strengths and only focused on creating the best shirt designs, but learning skills outside my comfort zone—like managing the website or editing social media content—has saved me money and given me more control. While I do plan to specialize in certain areas as the brand grows, I’ll never unlearn the skills that got me here. They’ve been invaluable in building this business.

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