When start-up olive oil brand Graza faced shipping problems and quality lapses about a year ago, founder Andrew Benin addressed the problem head-on, sending an apology email to more than 30,000 customers. While issuing brand mea culpas is not unusual, the way Benin went about it was. He wrote a stream-of-consciousness style note so informal and non-corporate that, when the Wall Street Journal covered it, they noted Benin “didn’t bother proofreading or showing a draft to anyone” before sending the email.