Finding Founders: Recent Episodes
Finding Founders
A podcast about vulnerability and entrepreneurship — learn from the life stories of founders 🚀, activists ✊, and even drug lords 💊 Our aim is to inspire you and let's face it... you aren't inspired when you hear about success. Real inspiration comes from hearing someone's lowest moment, and rising with their success. Using music, sfx, and voiceover, we interview the founders of companies, movements, and even drug cartels to reveal vulnerability so you can learn from victory. I’m your host, Samuel Donner, and together with my team we aim to inspire and educate a global community of leaders.
Kyukei Goto was saddled with massive responsibility from birth. He was the first born son to his father of 50, meaning Goto would have to carry the weight of a tradition going back 28 generations. He comes from a lineage that has perfected the art of Kamakura Buri which is a method of carving wood and then coating lacquer to make sculptures, plates, tea sets, cutlery and other household items. But this sentence belies the spiritual and technical intricacies of this art form. Facing the death of his father, Goto dove deeper into his artistry and craft as a way to understand his father, his ancestors, but also as a way to understand and explore his own identity as an artist. He now owns the Kamakura Carving Gallery in Japan, selling pieces and hosting workshops to continue the Kamakura tradition. From his bamboo art to his popular exhibition in the Tokyo Art Museum, Goto strives for perfection in his work, and he’s not alone in the practice. With 28 generations to make proud, Goto shares with us the story of how this tradition came to be in the first place…
As a photographer David’s eyes are his livelihood. His vision was everything, but somehow David shrugs it off, he takes it stoically, he has this lack of concern for any roadblocks. I mean David has always believed that he would achieve great things. I think that’s why after traveling around the world to 13 countries at 18, he decided to try and make it as a commercial photographer. He started taking classes at New York’s Parsons School of design, and subsequently tried to make it in the biz, but just faced rejection after rejection. However, obstacles are no match for David… he’d eventually strike out on his own as an artist selling his art to Elton John at one of his first shows. Now he has ten published photobooks, sells his artwork all over the world, and it’s a coveted thing to own a “Drebin”. THis interview is wide ranging and we’ll start with a little steaminess…
10,000 subscribers overnight and soaring to 50 thousand a few days later, Rachel Southard was shocked to learn that her Youtube video documenting her first week of medical school was gaining attention so quickly. Growing up, Rachel wanted to try everything and after pushing through feelings of doubt in her early school years and seeing the incredible work doctors do, she began her journey to med school. Wanting to document her experience, Rachel starting vlogging and recording her many weeks of hard work in medical school. Not afraid to show the good and the bad, Rachel created a community founded on emotional vulnerabilty and her authenticity. Rachel did not always know that she wanted a career in medicine, instead growing up feeling that she was behind the other kids in her neighborhood.
With 10,000 Chapters, 13 million referrals, and 21 billion dollars in business… just in the last 12 months, it’s safe to say that Ivan Misner has had world wide impact. Ivan jumped from law school, to a government job, to a fateful unrenewed manufacturing contract that would transform a small consulting network into a global organization. BNI now has different chapters spanning the globe, all working to develop meaningful business relationships through referrals and networking. Now a successful author, blogger, speaker and businessman, Ivan shares his whirlwind of a journey that started simply… it started with his mother’s gift, a paperweight with the word, “diplomacy” in thick black letters on the top….
What had started as a fun business idea between college friends had spiraled out of control. Saddled with international shipping costs, low student funds, and no way to market their product, Olivier and Rick hit a logistical wall before they fully began. Luckily, that wasn’t the only idea these two twenty year olds had in their pocket. Now, Olivier Momma is the young cofounder of Ekster, the groundbreaking company behind the most successful smart wallet in the world. Generating 25 million dollars in 2021 and nearly 40 million this year, Olivier’s place on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 seems like a no brainer. But before he was sewing together prototypes in Hong Kong or launching a kickstarter campaign, Olivier cultivated his adventurous spirit in his unusual childhood. With his father’s job sending the family around the globe every couple of years, Olivier’s cosmopolitan outlook grew as he adapted to each new country he called home.
Utter silence. Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz felt the pulse of his racing heart, the countdown from ground control, and the sense that he’s been here before. I mean he’s prepared his whole life for this moment, the moment of lifting off into space. He’s been preparing since he was a kid, from sitting in a cardboard spaceship all the way to launching into space more times than any human in history. But how did he get here? Well Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz is a record breaking NASA astronaut, with 7 flights into space, and the CEO of the AdAstra Rocket Company. He’s managed to move to a new country, learn a new language, graduate at the top of his class, and persistently chase his dream all the way to space. Now, we launch ourselves back to a time, when space travel was only a dream.
After trying every avenue of corporate life, Michela stood at a crossroads. She could either stay at her steady job and work her way up the corporate ladder, or finally dive full-force into the social media world. Now, we know that Michela Allocca, also known by the handle of Break Your Budget, made the right decision. With over 700,000 followers on Tiktok and 125k instagram followers, a book deal, and a podcast, Michela’s affinity for budgeting has brought her far away from the cubicle and into the eyes of millions of viewers. Yet, to get to this point, Michela first had to learn how to treat her hobbies as serious commitments, and understand how to value her needs before her work environment’s demands. And even further back, her story began with a digital piggy bank and a few cold pitchers of lemonade.
A few inches down and he would have been dead in the front seat of his mom’s Mitsubishi. Yet as Raul weaved in and out of traffic towards his future, untouched and laughing, it seemed like it was just another day in 1990s Los Angeles. Flash forward to the present and Raul Baltazar is still in LA, now an established painter and performance artist working to understand the experiences of Mestizo and Mesoamerican Indigenous communities. With exhibitions held in LA, Mexico, Taiwan, Vienna, and Australia, Baltazar’s exploration of post colonialism and trauma responses has earned him international acclaim over the past decade. But before he ever went to art school or joined a drag show at the navy, Raul first found his love for art in his hometown. Whether he was going to school or merely walking with his friends, El Sereno’s Chicano murals stood out from every wall, telling a story of past resistance…
You just heard from Heather Smith as she describes the moment where her exhibit built a bridge between past and present. In a heartbreaking instant, she realized that her invention, Storyfile, could really work. But what is Storyfile? This company specializes in conversational video and preserving individual memories, posing fascinating hypotheticals for the future of education. Like…what if we could talk to a younger version of ourselves? What if high schoolers could talk face to face with a former president or revolutionary leader? This time travel might not be so far away due to Heather Smith’s 2017 launch with the USC Shoah Foundation and Institute of Creative Technologies. But Heather’s journey wasn’t always grounded in the past. Before she built a bridge between history and modern day AI, Heather worked at her family’s jewelry store, making connections the old fashioned way…
It’s not every day Barbara Corcoran slides into your dms, but for Caleb Simpson this was suddenly the new normal. Now, if this name is sounding familiar at all, it’s because you’ve probably met Caleb before….on your For You page. Known for his casual house tours and the signature question “how much do you pay for rent,” Caleb has amassed over 7.1 million followers on TikTok and 2 million YouTube subscribers in the past few years. Traveling from house to house in New York to LA, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, he isn’t afraid to test out a stranger’s bed or play with your pets, or listen to a soundcloud music sample. But while these videos seemed to go viral in an instant, Caleb’s journey to filmmaking was anything but easy. From finding odd jobs on craigslist to sleeping behind a curtain in someone’s living room, Caleb had to build his skillset from the ground up while learning how to survive in NYC. And before tik tok was even invented, before Caleb first picked up a camera, his journey started in the unlikeliest of places: being homeschooled, amongst his eight other siblings.
It’s easy to tell stories about our lives. I practice storytelling everyday on the podcast, and on some level, the ability to spin a narrative is what makes us human. But sometimes stories can take us out of a moment—what may seem like harmless escapism can also be a boundary to stillness, a wall between us and the present. You just heard from Henry Mitchell, wellness expert and the co-founder of Still Life. Henry has practiced the act of stillness throughout his academic and professional journey, from meditating before big premed exams at UCLA to learning how mindfulness might be the best party drug around. But before Still Life and before he learned how to ground himself in the moment, Henry lived far away from my sunny alma mater, growing up at boarding school in England…
You just heard from Jimmy Edgerton about a crucial time in his entrepreneurship career, a moment when it seemed like his new startup was going down in roasted chickpea flames. Luckily, these hard times didn’t last forever, since today I’m presenting a special episode, a podcast swap with seasoned entrepreneurs and business consultants Jimmy Edgerton and Julie Meyer from AugMentors. Before they taught us to navigate the nuances of networking, Jimmy and Julie learned these lessons firsthand through running their own successful businesses. Julie found her start in writing her book Eat Well Shanghai and now works as the co-ceo of nutrition company Eat Well Global. Meanwhile, Jimmy worked in real estate until a fateful beer garden meeting launched his business career running Watusee Foods. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s hop in a time machine to the start of Julie’s story and see how these lives intersected
You just heard from Alexandra Zatarain as she recounts the few dread-filled hours that preceded her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis. Though this fundamentally changed the course of her life, Alexandra dealt with the sudden grief by asking the same question she had always asked: What can I do? This unshakable dedication to problem-solving has led up to her entrepreneurial endeavors as the co-founder of Eight Sleep, creating a temperature-regulated, health monitoring bed. Spearheading the tech industry’s exploration into sleep fitness, Alexandra’s made Forbes’ 30 under 30 and her product has been recognized two years in a row by TIME’s best inventions of the year. But she didn’t always want to be an entrepreneur…in fact, her life began far from Silicon Valley, it began bouncing between San Diego and Tijuana Mexico.
You just heard Zack Honarvar talking about the moment he realized he needed to move on from the stagnant safety of his traditional finance company and forge his own path. Zack is now the founder of the management company One Day Entertainment, which powers the financial side of channels such as Yes Theory, Airrack, and The Cheeky Boyos. Beyond harnessing the power of multi million subscriber channels, Zack is also the co-founder of the influencer merchandise company Fan of a Fan and CEO of Creator Now, which is basically film school reimagined for the digital age. But before LA’s creator scene, Zack was learning business the old fashion way: hustling Lunchables on the playground and operating alone at home from as early as four. And even before he was born, Zack’s life was primed for practicality. Let’s take a look at the story before Zack’s story, one that paved the way for his unique balance of both steady utility and daring imagination. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
You just heard Josh Johnson recalling the moment where his worst nightmare came true: after finally stepping away from his safety net, he found himself jobless with the rug yanked out from under him. Now well known for his performances on Conan and Comedy Central, his tours with Trevor Noah, and a 2020 Emmy nomination, Josh has come a long way from his first script writing experience on the Tonight Show. Although this all seemed like a sudden rise to success there’s a lot of history behind these shining moments. Before late night talk shows and award ceremonies, there were years of non stop working. By night, he would tour the comedy circuits of Chicago and New York. And by day, he worked the early bird shifts at Aldi’s and Trader Joe’s. Believe it or not, his double life of growing comedian and grocery bagger continued well into his career. There was no ‘making it’, no easy way to fame. Instead, he remembered that for every one step forward, there was a chance at falling two steps back. This cautious approach to his career, this consistent humility, can be traced all the way back to his childhood in Louisiana…where love and danger seemed to be the only constants of his surroundings. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Ronan Levy is the founder of Field Trip Health, a rapidly expanding therapy program which combines psychotherapy and psychedelics to address treatment-resistant mental health disorders. His clinics span across Canada, the United States, and Europe, with Levy aiming to establish 75 clinics over the next four years. But to spearhead a mental health movement, Levy had to go through kidnapping, heartbreak, and the cannabis gold rush. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it might be helpful to look back into the edges of Levy’s consciousness and catch a glimpse of who he was before his career…before college…before childhood even… Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
You are about to listen to Michael Tucker talking about how yet another project, a chance at being legitimized in LA’s film industry, failed before it even had a chance to lift off the ground. We’re going to tell you how he got to this point, and past it… eventually creating the popular YouTube channel ‘Lessons From the Screenplay’. Garnering more than 5 million views on his most popular release with a whopping 1.4 million subscribers, Michael’s channel saw a meteoric rise from its launch in 2016. Yet, before he shared his knowledge of film theory and narrative structure with an audience- Michael had to learn his own lessons from the screenplay. From tracking down DVD commentaries of his favorite movies to printing out and studying the shots he was inspired by, Michael turned his childhood curiosity into a serious, personal study of filmmaking. So, let’s rewind a bit…..and see how this passion started with a simple handheld camera. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
You are about to hear from Stu Krieger, writer of some of your favorite Disney childhood classics. From the animated film The Land Before Time to the Disney Channel Originals Cow Belles and Smart House, Stu’s career shaped the childhoods of a generation. But before he was penning the stories that entertained children across the nation, Stu was just another kid entranced by the spell of movie magic. We’ll hear how his early wish to move to California grew into something more, taking him to Los Angeles, to Steven Spielberg’s desk, and on the Walt Disney studio backlots he had dreamt about. We would also like to congratulate Stu on the release of his new novel "RAFT" which is releasing from PipeVine Press some time in the first half of 2023. If you enjoyed the interview and would like to stay up to date on the release, be sure to follow him on Instagram @stukrieger! Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
You are about to listen to Eric and Ali, a couple who have made their living by farming in the unlikeliest of places: Downtown Los Angeles. Now, you may be wondering ‘Is that even possible?’. Looking at the concrete urban sprawl, there’s little green space to begin with let alone enough to raise a sustainable amount of crops on. Yet, despite the lack of water, space, and quality soil…it seems that Eric and Ali have found a way. For this episode, I hopped on my bike to my nearest metro station and took the train to their community plot in Lincoln Heights. There, I sat down with the pair and heard their story. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
This week I talked to Ruth Askren and Phoebe Piper, owners of the beekeeping company Hive Tribe. Hive Tribe has established and maintained 25 active beekeeping sites throughout LA and Ventura county, working with a variety of estates and celebrity clients. But before we sat down to talk, Ruth and Phoebe gave me a taste of their sweet lifestyle by letting me don the beekeeping suit myself. On a warm spring day, I headed down to Malibu and visited the pair at their hillside operation. There, I helped separate bee boxes to check on the different colonies’ health and the progress of their hives. I watched through my mesh helmet as they monitored white wax, checked for pollen, and looked at the honey on the outside of the young hives. Amongst the seaside flowers and scent of salty ocean breeze, I found that there were few better ways to spend the day than beekeeping in Malibu. Yet, before Ruth & Phoebe maintained hives for a living, this was just a hobby for Ruth. And before that…she didn’t work with bees at all. Her day job was teaching art at a private prep school. But let’s dive into this winding, up hill journey through SoCal and remember that it is never too late to find wonder in your life. Sometimes a new source of excitement is wedged between the tiles on the roof, waiting to be found. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Mina Le, a former economics major who found her career as a fashion Youtuber in the unlikeliest of times: the pandemic. Stuck inside the house with no place to be, many of us turned to unexpected hobbies to fill our time. There was the sourdough bread craze, where people made DIY yeast starters in their kitchens and posted their golden-baked results on instagram. Others learned a new instrument, crocheted, or binged the entirety of Breaking Bad beneath the covers. Mina Le, on the other hand, started her own YouTube channel. She has been creating detailed videos on fashion history, film theory, and pop culture and during isolation at her parent’s house she amassed a loyal fanbase of nearly one million subscribers. Her most popular video now has 3 million views. However, the road to becoming a fashion influencer, pop culture historian, and skilled video essayist began far from the sphere of social media. Mina’s first experience with fashion started in the home, looking at her mother’s style inspiration board in the closet. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Sareen began his fashion education on the steps of the Taj Mahal, picking up snippets from the people he drove. After finishing a Mechanical Engineering degree, he moved to Canada, but had no idea where to start. So he started at the bottom washing dishes for $2 an hour. Soon after he would be making $1.2M a year but a heart attack would have him realize his true calling... founding a fashion company. Bringing cutting edge engineering to the fashion world, Sareen founded Tukatech, the first in the industry to provide an open and fully automatic Computer-Aided Design system. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Tricia Sugita at one point was one of the top Starcraft players in the world. This led to her getting offers to play professionally, and even an early recruitment to stream on JustinTV which would eventually become Twitch. This ascent to the top of the gaming world started early with competitions between her and her brothers. Her natural competitiveness led her to hone her video game skills until she could easily dominate her much older siblings. Fast forward to her college years and early adulthood, and Tricia became a serious competitive gamer and a pioneer in the now ubiquitous world of streaming, becoming an early twitch partner. Now the CEO of her own esports organization FlyQuest, Tricia strives to imbue positivity, happiness, and sustainability in all she does.
UPDATE: Just a heads up, at the time we recorded this episode Tricia was the CEO of Flyquest but in the time since we've talked, she's now working at Cloud9 as their Chief Marketing Officer! On behalf of the FF team, we'd like to extend a big congrats to her. Now let's get on with the episode...
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Originally from Pakistan, Ammar Belal grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. His father ran one of the biggest textile manufacturers in the country, but his parents wanted him to have a global perspective. Cycling through Boston, Geneva, and Lahore throughout his childhood, Ammar always lived an unconventional life. When he finished school he was slated to inherit his father's empire, but 9/11 changed the trajectory of the business completely. He was witnessing a failing company. Ammar diverged from the set path and decided to pursue fashion, starting Bespoke Denim and then ABCD athleisure. He then started the first luxury menswear in Pakistan to great success, expanding to 5 retail outlets throughout the cities and winning national design awards for his work. Still, Ammar found himself unfulfilled and pivoted once again. This time, he found himself at Parsons School of Design as one of 18 applicants accepted to the renowned MFA program. Inspired by sustainable social-impact brands, he started ONE432, a trailblazing company known for its inspiring business model-one that donates 50% of its proceeds to funding female artisans and education in Pakistan. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Don recalled the struggle of keeping family-owned businesses alive under the shadow of multi-million dollar hotel chains. And we wanted to look at this industry, hospitality in particular, to understand one of its unique subcultures. Today we are talking to Don Martine and Cassandra Hazen, founders of California Association of Boutique and Breakfast Inns–better known as CABBI. This organization ensures these beautiful authentic hospitality experiences can continue to exist and thrive. But before Don & Cassandra built CABBI from the ground up, Don was involved with a different kind of project: remodeling the run-down Parkes Mansion. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Jeremy Le is the co-founder of Ismahawk, a production company and youtube channel with over 100 million views. This channel started years ago when Jeremy was a twenty-something-year-old kid who wanted to dabble in some 3D work. Though initially the dream was modest, as he refined his skills, the opportunities grew and grew. Throughout the years, Jeremy and his team honed their editing skills, creative energies, and channeled them into their carefully-made series involving the comic superheroes they love. But right now, we’re going to look back to where this all started: a school-yard bully and a belief in doing the right thing Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Jen Levy grew up in a family and religious school environment that emphasized the importance of philanthropy. After realizing her twenty-year-long career as a teacher wasn’t quite fulfilling her, she decided to combine her love of education with her passion for farming. She moved to Ohio to learn all about the industry. Then, she moved back home to Beverly Hills where she co-founded Beverly Hills Community Farm in 2020. Over the course of the pandemic, BHCF pivoted toward addressing food insecurity in surrounding communities during the pandemic. They opened their commercial space in Beverly Hills in 2021, where they use vertical hydroponics to grow fresh produce and make it their mission to teach others to grow food locally themselves. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Nina Lu is an 18-year-old actress best known for her role in Disney Channel's hit series Bunk’d. Although she became pretty famous during her heyday, Nina never intended to become an actress. But when she was approached in the mall one day, her interest was piqued. She began taking acting classes, and fairly quickly landed Bunk’d. Since then, she has appeared in various shows and films. Now Nina balances acting work & her TikTok career with her studies at USC. She launched her TikTok in the middle of the pandemic and has already accumulated nearly 3 million followers! Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Having known each other since they were teenagers, Christian, Erika, And Josh began their podcast, The Judgies, as a fun experiment in June of 2020. Since then their podcast has grown exponentially! They’ve found massive success on TikTok with over 40 million views a month and are coming up on 1 million followers. And that growth has translated to the podcast which regularly hits the top charts. Although they’re still working their full-time jobs, they’ve been able to create a dedicated and engaged audience base and it seems like in the near future they might be doing the podcast full time. But let’s take it back and start at the beginning of this creative journey… Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Therese got into beekeeping by randomly attending a beekeeper's seminar, and realized this is kinda weird but also kind cool. Initially, Adam supported the hobby as he watched fearfully out the window... but slowly he learned to help. After a long career in the service industry, 40 year old Adam Novicki decided to drop everything and pursue a career with the bees. He pursued a Masters in plant science and eventually started T&A Farms in 2009. Therese & Adam now sell their honey all over and even started selling grain. Their story shows that it's never too late to turn a passion into a career. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
For decades, myths such as psychedelics “create holes in your brain” or that they remain buried in your system forever have incited fear and opposition from the general public. However, cutting-edge research by scientists like Cole has been slowly deconstructing that narrative, paving the way for psychedelics to enter the mainstream medical scene. Cole Marta is the founder of the California Center for Psychedelic Therapy, a clinic in Southern California that is spearheading the use of drugs such as MDMA and psilocybin to treat advanced mental health disorders. Convinced by the healing benefits of psychedelics, Cole and his team are working hard to figure out how to harness drugs like MDMA to serve those suffering from trauma and mental illness. As we follow Cole’s journey, we’ll grapple with the stigmas surrounding psychedelics and explore the consequences of abusing them versus using them safely. We’ll also dance around the concept of time, within our lives and within psychedelic trips, and try to understand how it expands, contracts, and doubles back on itself. But in order to understand Cole’s work as a psychiatrist, we first need to understand how his views on psychedelics formed. https://psychedelictherapyca.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Imagine: Shark Spray from a Helicopter, underwear costumes, and cheesy effects. While Patrick looks back on Batman (1966) with a laugh, he can’t help but credit it as the start of his love of film. Boasting 355K subscribers and 39 million views to date, Patrick Willems is a video essayist and film critic on YouTube. With videos such as “What if Wes Anderson Directed X-Men?” or “Why do Marvel’s Movies Look Kind of Ugly?”, Patrick has found his share of success and self-fulfillment from infusing a personal splash of creativity into his videos. But his path wasn’t an easy one — he experienced a handful of rejections, setbacks, and difficult self-reflections along the way. https://www.youtube.com/c/patrickhwillems Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Erik is redefining the world of fashion through his company Art Hearts Fashion, but before making his mark on the runway, Erik started off as one of those marching band kids — always on the outside looking in. After high school, Erik did a stint with the olympic figure skating team and he began to feel more confident. He would eventually find himself gravitating towards the fashion industry. As he started putting on shows he realized each show would cost over $150k and that it was completely unattainable for most fashion designers. He wanted to create an event that could change the industry. And that led to the creation of Art Hearts Fashion, an event that opens the floor to up and coming designers with shows that cost $15,000–$25,000. And these events have attracted huge names. He's collaborated with the likes of Kendell Jenner and his designers have designed concert wardrobe for pop stars like Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lopez. With his fashion production company, Rosete has been responsible for facilitating some of the most talked about runway shows from Mercedes Benz’s show at Lincoln Center in New York in 2013 to the finale show at NYFW following fashion titans Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, and even Betsey Johnson’s 50th anniversary presentation. https://artheartsfashion.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
The L.A. Times calls it “the epitome of broad scale shopping” while Vox News describes it as “a teen fashion paradise”. Despite its current renown, Melrose still follows the fundamental vision that inspired its inception: uniting the community through arts, education, and entrepreneurship. L.A.’s most beloved open air market initially started as a project to bridge the gap between the students of Fairfax High and the surrounding neighborhood. Today, Melrose Trading Post has raised over 10 million dollars, caters to around 5,000 visitors weekly and hosts hundreds of vendors and local artists. Pierson and Whitney’s journey isn’t one of ambition or personal glory. Instead, it’s a story about service, harnessing your passion to serve the needs of others while building something bigger than yourself. Their example demonstrates that big dreams begin with humble acts. By interacting with someone outside your circle or simply asking, “How can I help with that?”, you just might be setting the stage for the production of a lifetime. And if the stage hasn’t been built yet, remember, you can always build it yourself. https://melrosetradingpost.org/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Andelain Roy is a third generation cannabis cultivator, and weed runs deep through her familial roots. But life on the farm wasn’t always easy. Andelain was also unfortunately exposed to the war on drugs as early as three years old. There was this confusing dichotomy between how the government viewed weed and how her family did. Despite all of this, the cannabis community supported her. It has always been tight-knit and relied on loyalty, trust and support. Although she had a brief teaching job, she would eventually begin to “take cannabis” seriously, encountering difficulties of all kinds ranging from the war on drugs to legalization and its impact on smaller businesses. Despite everything, Andleain’s company DewPoint Farms continues to operate as she holds on to her values and remembers the importance of her local community. https://hcga.co/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Cartel Deals. Helicopter Surveillance. Weed Homesteaders. Artists. Outlaws. It all started with growing weed in Humboldt. Tommy’s relationship with cannabis began at 15 years old. He would plant seeds along bridges and places like the Museum of Modern Art. Eventually, the 60s would lead to a time where Tommy would receive a “life in prison” sentence for smoking a joint. Luckily, the sentence was reduced to 90 days, which encouraged him to ignore the system and instead follow his interests. Eventually, Karen and Tommy would relocate to California after a brief stint in Mexico, allowing them the opportunity to live self-sufficiently while also allowing Tommy the ability to develop as an artist. A Native American would teach them to live off the land, eventually allowing the Hesslers to build their own house and grow their own food. Eventually, their interest would expand to growing cannabis, earning them the title of “original outlaw growers” as well as helping to found the cannabis culture in California. https://hcga.co/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Marijuana Outlaw. Smuggler. Draft Dodger. Commune Founder. Hippie Entrepreneur. Revolutionary. Protector of the Forest. At every opportunity Douglas Fir goes against the system. This philosophy, this way of moving through the world started with the war in Vietnam. Douglas was so opposed to the war that he gave himself two choices: become a revolutionary against the war, or remove himself from the political scene and move somewhere remote. Douglas chose the latter. After hitchhiking around the country and even traveling to South America, Douglas settled down with some friends and started a commune in Humboldt, California. The commune began to really develop when the residents discovered that growing and selling marijuana was a good – though illegal – source of income. The money made off of the marijuana was used to build houses, roads, and eventually an infrastructure for the community. Once the war on drugs began, the peaceful pot-growers stood up for their community against the federal government. https://hcga.co/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
After finishing his education at the Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD), Adam Amaral quickly put his VFX skills to good use in the professional world. He freelanced as a designer and animator for Nike and Target, while working on major studio projects such as Transformers, Star Wars, and Ender’s Game. Despite his great success with large media and commercial companies, Adam wished to create something for himself and started Master of Shapes. This design-driven interactive studio allowed him to showcase all of his skills, dabbling in game design, virtual reality, interactive installations, and app development (to name a few!). His artistry and innovation lead him to work with powerhouses such as DeadMau5 and Miley Cyrus, and extended to the co-founding of the augmented reality program Red 6. With this boundless creativity already evident throughout his young career, Adam Amaral is a founder you'll be inspired by. https://masterofshapes.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Marta Miller was always drawn to the fashion industry. Admiring the work of her fashion major friends in college, she moved to London after finishing her education at the University of Texas Austin and worked as a sales rep for Christian Siriano (who became the youngest winner of Project Runway in 2007). Her desire to deepen her experience led her to Los Angeles, where she was introduced to the fashion scene by Rosetta Getty. At the young age of 23, she started Moody Mamas, a maternity wear brand that drew the attention of Target, Nordstrom, and other large clothing suppliers. Despite these successes, the brand suffered from hurdle after hurdle in the international manufacturing process, which slowed production or even ruined whole shipments of clothing. Seeing firsthand how difficult it was for young designers to get off the ground, Marta co founded Lefty Production Company to streamline clothing brand creation through a US based, customer focused, and environmentally conscious approach. https://www.leftyproductionco.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Myra Christopher’s life changed forever when her mother’s doctor appointment turned into a diagnosis for Stage IV esophageal cancer. Given a life expectancy of two years at best, Juanita Etheredge’s condition deteriorated quickly and Myra fought the hospital tooth and nail to allow her mother to die at home as she had wished. Hospice care was still nearly unheard of at this time. This fact motivated Myra to dedicate her life to helping others choose the medical care they desired at the end of their life. After going back to school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a teacher directed her to talk to philosophy professor, Hans Uffleman. Through her mentorship from Professor Uffleman, she learned about the developing field of bioethics, became a supplemental instructor in the college’s medical department, and was eventually approached with the opportunity to be the executive director of the Center for Practical Bioethics. Myra took the medical field by storm through political lobbying, drafting the Patient Self-Determination Act and directing a national program for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve end-of-life care. She also founded the Coalition to Transform Advanced Illness in Washington, D.C. before her retirement, concluding an impressive career dedicated to providing a voice for the vulnerable. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Kyle Bergman doesn’t like to sit still. On an average day for the founder of Swoveralls, Kyle goes for a 6 mile run in the morning, teaches a class at NYU, leads a few fitness classes at his local gym, and manages his company. Yet, despite this hectic schedule, Kyle keeps his cool. He’s used to this. While working as an Associate Buyer at Bloomingdale’s, he applied for an MBA and joined the Israeli National Lacrosse Team. During his stint at Birchbox, Kyle started his own company and made an appearance on Shark Tank. Even during the height of the pandemic, a time when laying low felt inevitable, Kyle managed to create a virtual fitness company to continue sharing his love for athletics. Tune into this episode to learn how Kyle avoids burnout and how his work-life balance has evolved over the years. https://swoveralls.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
South Central LA: an area of Los Angeles where 31% of its inhabitants are below the poverty line and over 72%, are people of color. As a Mexican immigrant, this is the city Rita Ortiz Contreras grew up in. She spent her childhood in an area with a widespread lack of social support, and when it came to yoga it never seemed to be in the realm of possibility for her neighborhood. From what she saw in mainstream media, yoga was an activity reserved for thin, white, affluent women. So yoga wasn't a big part of her life. But that would soon change. After working in the Army and the fashion industry, she finally sparked her passion for yoga. Determined to make this practice more accessible to those in her community in South Central LA, Rita tells us of how she helped instruct at a yoga non-profit known as The Tree South LA and how she decided to work with others to open up their own POC-owned and run yoga school known as The Tree Yoga Cooperative.
https://thetreeyogacoop.org/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Erik grew up in a family that was quickly building its wealth, but his father still made sure Erik understood the importance of money and a good work ethic. From collecting change, to selling knives, to starting a storm drain businesses; Erik was a resourceful kid. As he moved into adulthood, he went into real estate. Things were looking up, except he graduated into one of history’s worst housing market crashes. However, Erik remained resourceful and became the COO of a multi million dollar startup. Realising he could develop himself more elsewhere, he discovered an opportunity in a truck load of unwanted t-shirts that would eventually lead to his own $100M marketing consultancy, Hawke Media. https://hawkemedia.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
John Quirk didn’t start as a wellness coach. After graduating with a BA in Journalism, he plunged into the fast paced world of sports journalism, only to find himself trapped in his dream job. It was everything that he had ever wanted but the office politics and stress were eating away at him. Then, a miracle struck: he got fired. This blessing in disguise allowed him to discover yoga and find his true calling in leading wellness retreats. Moving to San Diego alongside his two rescue dogs, John transformed his life and made his passion his career as the founder of SoCal Wellness Retreats. https://www.socalwellnessretreats.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Alisha Flecky felt aimless as a talent agent in Los Angeles. In 2010 she decided to drop everything and travel to gain a bit of perspective. The trip was initially six months through the south of India, the Andaman islands, and finally Rishikesh. But it was this final location that transformed a trip into a lifestyle. She spent the next decade training in tantric arts, yoga, and mystical dance. Soon she started a clothing business not to necessarily make money, but to fuel this lifestyle as a nomad and vagabond. This business would be called the Blonde Vagabond, which uses upcycled fabric and materials to recreate pieces influenced by styles she saw abroad. https://www.blondevagabond.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Every weekend, Suze would go to New York City to wander the streets, while her father worked. She quickly fell in love with the city's fashion culture which would spark a successful 20-year career working for Giorgio Armani, Vogue, ELLE, Marie Claire, and Glamour. Suze had made it in the fashion world but was rarely present to enjoy it. Life moved so fast that she didn't realize all the tension she was carrying. In 2012, Suze learned a three minute meditation from her mother-in-law that turned her world upside-down and changed her life forever. She realized that she needed a change of pace. Once she discovered meditation, she was on a mission to keep doing it, but found that it wasn't easy to find a place to pop in, learn, and practice. Suze then realized that meditation needed a makeover and she was the one to do it. In 2014 with loads of research, Suze launched Unplug Meditation, the world’s first secular drop in meditation studio. Now Unplug has multiple studio and an app with over a million users. Her mission is to make meditation simple, powerful, and accessible to all. https://www.unplug.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Vince Ning co-founded Nabis, a company that is revolutionizing the cannabis industry and is quickly becoming the Amazon of Cannabis. But growing up in a conservative Asian household, Vince wasn't exactly raised in a weed friendly environment. His parents wanted him to do something safe and prestigious. After graduating from University of Virginia, Vince landed a great stable job at Microsoft, but that got stale quickly. Vince was doing some side projects with friends, which led to Y combinator, and even an acquisition by Amazon. With this his eyes opened to the world of successful entrepreneurship, Vince was searching for his next big project. Soon he would reconnect with his best friend from high school and start Nabis, a fully-licensed cannabis wholesale platform with the largest portfolio of cannabis brands in the world, supplying 100% of California’s dispensaries and delivery services. https://www.nabis.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
What does it take to build a fitness business from the ground up? In today’s Founder Wisdom we talk with Jacob Saldana, the health and wellness expert behind Fit BAR Superfood Cafe and Space B.A.R. Wellness. Jacob grew up blue collar, and learned the value of a strong work ethic early on. This led him to buy into a gym franchise and eventually create his own gyms. He wouldn’t stop here and actually opened the very first Fit Bar Superfood Cafe in the parking lot of one of his Seattle gyms. He would go on to expand to a chain that is known for acai bowls, plant-based protein smoothies, and health conscious coffees. After opening up and running a few gyms of his own, Jacob tells us how he used his experience and entrepreneurial skills to create a space where his more novel ideas behind health and wellness could be shared with the world. https://www.spacebarwellness.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Larry Fitzgibbon is the co-founder and CEO of Tastemade, a modern media company that creates award-winning video content and original programming in the categories of Food, Travel, and Home & Design. Since its launch in 2012, the company has garnered more than 300M+ Monthly Viewers. However, Larry's path towards building this incredible company wasn’t always so clear. Larry began his journey as a communications major with a special passion for technology. Throughout college, he devoured cyber-culture magazines such as Mondo 2000 and Wired, absorbed information about stocks and IPOs, and began to apply his tech knowledge to the professional world. Starting at Kinko’s and Intertainer, he found that his ambitious visions for online streaming were still too advanced for the current stage of the internet. After facing a series of hurdles during a stint at Demand Media, Larry finally found his niche at Tastemade. Since then, Tastemade has opened studios around the world and their shows can be found on Apple TV, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Roku, Snapchat, Facebook, and many many more. https://www.tastemade.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
In a world where Hydro Flask is now synonymous with water-bottle, how does one break into the insulated drink space? On today’s Founder Wisdom, we talk to Mike Beckham co-founder and CEO of Simple Modern, a drinkware company with the goal of designing water bottles as unique as you. Starting off in the non-profit space, Mike brainstormed a list of 100 products, decided on drinkware, and started one of the biggest companies in that space. In fact Mike has been responsible for over a billion dollars in sales! Mike talks us through his lows, his competition, and Simple Modern’s recent partnership with Disney.
https://www.simplemodern.com/
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Born in Turkey, Ege's flair for design led him to found the clothing brand TUTUNJ. Initially he started with nothing but a few designs in his head and the encouragement of some friends. Since then, TUTUNJ has seen its products donned and praised by superstar models Meredith Mikelson and Alessandra Ambrósio. However, what makes Ege’s story truly inspiring are not only the victories he celebrated but also the challenges he braved. Along his journey, Ege faced an inordinate number of “No’s” compared to “Yes’s”. He grappled with the rejection of a big-time investor in the early days of TUTUNJ. He received one decline after another when seeking influencers to help promote his brand. Though these obstacles might have broken anyone else’s spirit, they did not break Ege’s. Instead, he saw each “No” as an opportunity to simply try again and each “Maybe” as a reason to push himself harder. If there’s anything to be learned from Ege’s story, it is this: With time, patience, and endurance, success is never too far out of reach.
https://www.tutunj.com/
http://instagram.com/tutunjcom
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Alisha Flecky was delving into spirituality and came across a guru that would change her life. She followed him for years, abiding by his wisdom and feeling that her life was improving and slowly becoming the life she wanted. She saw this guru as perfect, as close to a deity. But everything changed when the veil was lifted and behind it was a flawed man that couldn't accept his humanity. This led to a question: Is the image perfection necessary for total devotion?
Our full episode with Alisha will be coming out in a few weeks!
https://alishaflecky.com/meetalisha
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Jason Lee grew up in Kansas raised by a family who idolized education. They even said school is “like Disneyland but better…”. School was important because it led to a “respectable job”, that job being a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. Initially that was ok with Jason, but there was something missing. He didn't feel quite whole. Regardless, he moved forward on the "right" path and attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He assumed his problems would be solved but eventually realized that he still wasn’t fulfilled. That same emptiness remained even as he began making 6 figures at Bain and Company. The turning point of Jason's life began on his 22nd birthday when the Haiti earthquake taught him the importance of empathy. Committed to do something, he decided to film himself bussing at a New York subway station. Jason would make a video that accumulated 10,000 views in a single week and raised hundreds for the cause. Inspired, he decided to pursue his passion for filmmaking, quit his job, and create Jubilee Media which seeks to demonstrate the common ground between people and foster empathy in a divided world.
https://www.jubileemedia.com/
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How does a priest-in-training end up educating the world on anatomy? In today’s Founder Wisdom we speak with Dr. Gil Hedley, Creator and Producer of the Integral Anatomy Series. Beginning his adult life receiving a PhD in Theological Ethics, Gil felt a calling to the priesthood... but at the same time he didn't want to be a priest. Gil describes the winding path that led to discovering the beauty of human anatomy and the courage it took for him to share his knowledge with the world.
https://www.youtube.com/user/somanaut/
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Jay Oliva is an LA-based storyboard artist, film producer, and animated film director. Inspired by comics and the animated cartoons of his childhood, he's climbed his way up to work with major production companies such as Marvel, Netflix, and Warner Bros. His first break was an opportunity at Marvel which came just in time and had him narrowly avoiding gang violence in Orange County. Nowadays, he teaches Cinematic Storyboard courses at his alma mater, Loyola Marymount University. He's also launched his own animation studio and production company, “Lex and Otis” and “Lex on Orange Productions”, in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In addition to creating the show Trese, Oliva is working on other projects at Netflix such as reuniting with Zach Snyder after their original partnership during Man of Steel.
https://lexandotis.com/
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How do you create radically inclusive clothing, while still maintaining a profitable business? What does it take to build a company off a kickstarter campaign? In today’s Founder Wisdom we speak with Hanna Baror-Padilla, founder and owner of the inclusive and diverse clothing brand Sotela. From her childhood years working in her dad’s clothing store to successfully launching several of her own inclusive clothing collections, Hanna guides us through her journey and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
https://sotela.co/
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https://www.patreon.com/findingfounders
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Manuel “MannyJStyle” Jackson has led an incredible career in men’s fashion while also being an advocate for the next generation of stylists and designers.
Manny started his fashion journey from his mom's garage hand painting clothes. This led to developing his first company Ekqualyte Abstract Abstract. Not long after he created The Gents Closet, a Hollywood based men Style Haus where Manuel designed a collection of men's accessories including ties and bow ties. He also carried and supplied the latest upcoming labels from around the world to a high-end clientele of stylists, celebrities and influencers.
https://mannyjstyle.com/
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Today we're talking to Tom Alaimo about his entrepreneurial journey and why it might be better to be an introverted sales person. Tom got his start creating and selling his own sports magazine as a kid. After selling a few issues around his neighborhood, he realized he had a knack for sales but needed some training. Thats when he discovered Cutco, a company whose sales program honed his interpersonal skills and developed his love of sales. Now Tom is a B2B sales professional, blogger, and podcaster. With the Millennial Momentum podcast, Tom aims to create a community to help millennials upgrade their sales game.
http://millennialmomentum.net/
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The year: 2000. The turn of the century marked the beginning of a whole new world, one with anxiety inducing elections, trendy juicy tracksuits, and technological advances like never before. With a world of information available at the swipe of your thumb, it might take you a minute to remember the sound Web 1.0 made when you tried to load a page. In the early 2000s, the internet wasn't yet a place of infinite knowledge but rather untapped potential. Stephane Roulland saw that potential clearly in a future not as distant as the world may have thought. Described as a Yahoo-esque portal to viral videos, Stephane sets the stage for a world at the cusp of an internet revolution and a stubborn man ready to run into the fight.
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This is an update to an episode we did a while back in April of 2020. And we’re doing an update because Jonathan Skogmo, founder of Jukin Media, has some pretty big news… recently he sold his company for a reported $140 million dollars. In this episode we take a behind the scenes look at that 9 figure deal, and try to understand emotionally what it’s like to sell a company you’ve built from your apartment over the last decade.
A bit more about Jon: He’s the founder of Jukin which is an innovative media company that focuses on user-generated content. What is user-generated content? Well, it’s stuff like a video of a mom laughing hysterically while wearing a Chewbacca mask. That video is known as Chewbacca mom and the original video alone received over 140 million views. In fact, the video became so popular that this Chewbacca mask completely sold out around the world. Although the Chewbacca mom, otherwise known as Candace Payne, technically owns the video, the right to license that video belongs to Jukin. By acquiring viral videos, like this one, Jukin media has amassed 200 million fans and receives 3 billion views every month.
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If there's one thing that drives Laura Osuri, it’s serving her community. After college, she sprang into an expedition that would take her across the globe to Europe and Latin America in search of new perspectives. Coming back to the states she felt listless, but soon sunk her energy into Street Sense media, whose mission was to vocalize homeless issues and provide community support. Realizing that she could help the marginalized, Laura once again saw a calling as the Syrian refugee crisis erupted. Taking action, she joined her church in welcoming and supporting newly displaced families. Her work with these agencies eventually inspired her to found her own resettlement nonprofit--Homes Not Borders right in her hometown of Washington D.C. However, things would get more complicated as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
https://www.homesnotborders.org/
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Since Kevin Greene moved to the US from Jamaica at age 6 he's always been hustling. Entrepreneurship was his personality, but at times it wouldn't be fully expressed. In 2006 Kevin got a job at T-Mobile, and quickly realized that the corporate world didn't take kindly to conflict. The same voice that made him such a great entrepreneur, held him back in the corporate world. Although he was passed by for promotions, he did gain insight into mobile phone industry. This would eventually lead him to create Faces International in 2012, a mobile marketing and development firm. Diving deeper into his knack for spotting a trend Kevin noticed the high growth potential of Cannabis and decided someone needed to step in to educationally legitimize the industry. In order to fulfill the need for a qualified workforce in the rapidly-growing cannabis industry, Kevin co-founded the Cleveland School of Cannabis in 2018, the first and only school for cannabis with national accreditation.
https://csceducation.com/
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Jeff and Judy Bowman are the acclaimed founders and owners of the Living Waters Spa, which was an internationally renowned clothing-optional spa in Desert Hot Springs, California. Before becoming key members of the clothing optional community, Jeff & Judy were church folk who started and grew congregations across America. Suddenly Judy was diagnosed with breast cancer which led Jeff to question nudity and soon question his religion. This would send both of them on a quest to understand their relationship with nakedness and come face to face with a new clothing-optional lifestyle.
Words of Wisdom:
Jeff and Judy challenged their beliefs and found that in doing so, they were able to get more in touch with their spirituality. Sometimes trials are what you need to better understand yourself and others around you.
They experimented with clothing optional facilities. Never be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Self discovery can be the most enlightening part of life.
They stayed true to their beliefs and ideals. You may lose people, but you’ll find a community that will be better suited to you.
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Originally from Seoul, Liah was studying architecture and feeling like she didn't really fit into the mold of South Korea. She decided to explore the idea of going into the beauty industry and released her first YouTube video. Not too long later, Liah Yoo is now a beauty guru and has amassed a following of over 1 million. But she wouldn't stop there. In 2017, Liah had a “lightbulb moment” and realized that the skincare market was overwhelming and oversaturated with products that created new skin problems rather than making skin healthier. She decided to launch Krave Beauty, a sustainable brand with a simple array of products designed with only the consumer in mind.
https://kravebeauty.com/
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What does it mean to fall in love with a place? In this episode, we explore this question by talking to Marnie Gustavson, the executive director of PARSA Afghanistan and leader of the Afghan Scouts revival movement. Though her journey actually began in Washington, Marnie was introduced to Afghanistan at 9 years old when her father relocated the family for his new job. Growing up in a foreign country, she struggled against cultural gender roles but eventually found her passion for leadership and directing through bargaining in Afghan markets. After returning to the US, Marnie realized how much she missed Afghanistan and decided she wanted it to be her permanent home. It was there she got her unlikely start at PARSA that led to the creation of her own program Sisters for Sisters and Brothers for Brothers. When the Afghan government unexpectedly collapsed during the 2021 Taliban Offensive, Marnie’s organization was faced with sudden social upheaval. In the face of great adversity, Marnie shares stories of resilience from Afghan citizens and reflects on her duty to the country she loves.
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So today's guest I specifically sought out after reading his book “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.” I was floored by essentially every sentence and thought the book was so incredible that I had to talk to the person who wrote it. That person is Eric Jorgenson. After working at a startup for a decade and technically being unemployed, he decided to delve into a myriad of projects including podcasts, blogs, and a self-paced course on leverage. His recent, and most successful book, is a guide to wealth and happiness curated and distilled entirely from Naval’s spoken and written words. If you haven't heard of Naval, he's semi famous within certain silicon valley circles. He's founder of AngelList, an angel investor, and a modern day philosopher. The wisdom inside this book is near unparalleled, and if you haven't read it already, I highly recommend you do.
You can buy Eric's book, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, right now on Amazon.
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So when I talked to today's guests it was during the Halloween Haunt, an event took place in the same village as my LARPing adventure with John Basset (episode #96). But this interview would be extra special because I would be talking to the head honcho of the LARPs in that area... David Pulcifer.
David Pulcifer is the President of the LARP City Project, an organization with the goal of creating the best Live Action Role Play (LARP) sites across the United States. David has over 20 years of experience, and the LARP City Project is currently pursuing an ambitious goal to build 6 permanent LARP sites across the country over the next 2 decades. David believes in the positive impact of Live Action Role Play, and that it can improve the lives of gamers’ through the encouragement of creativity, positive social interaction, and physical health.
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This is a follow up interview with Andrew Warner (episode 48)-- we told his life story back in November of 2020. Quick recap on Andrew.
Shortly after college, Andrew was handling millions of dollars and taking on massive risk. Only a few years later, he’d resign from that frantic lifestyle, jump ship and head for a respite in the Caribbean. It was here he reflected on his life and returned to his youth, a childhood filled with libraries, books, and learning. He realized that his own life with all the peaks and valleys of the entrepreneurial journey, mirrors that of his initial mentors who lived within the pages of those books. He took those lessons, founded a few companies, and now continues to learn from entrepreneurs with his show Mixergy, asking the question: What do startup founders know that you don’t?
Since our initial interview, we've stayed in touch and he's been giving me great advice. In this episode of founder wisdom we're going to dive into his new book, we're going to learn how to focus on the big vision and ignore noise, and finally he's going to detail how he uses his interview skills to create better relationships and business opportunities.
Towards the end of the episode I'll ask him some advice on the projects I've been working on!
You can buy Andrew's new book, Stop Asking Questions, right now on Amazon.
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How do you make digital art physical? How can you print video? Infinite Objects founder and CEO, Joe Saavedra is answering these questions. Growing up in a small town, Joe tapped into artistic self expression with the saxophone. He took this artistic interest to college as he discovered how he could create art using technology which would spark a life's mission to combine these interests. This journey has lead him to play a leading role in the creation of so many cool products, including the Google Talking Shoe and a wearable personal pollution monitor egg. Most recently, he has become the founder and CEO of Infinite Objects, a company at the forefront of NFT tech that essentially “prints” videos in physical form. However, a journey of passion always has its trials and tribulations.
https://infiniteobjects.com/
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Giuliana Furci was born in London but her family returned to Chile when she was 15 years old. At 19, she stumbled across a bright orange mushroom which caught her eye while doing field work in the forest. This moment inspired Giuliana to devote her life to addressing the lack of information on fungi. Starting her career as a self-taught amateur, she became the first female field mycologist in Chile and started the Fungi Foundation, the first NGO dedicated to fungi in the world. Under her leadership, Chile became the first country in the world to include the Fungi kingdom in its environmental legislation.
https://ffungi.org/eng/
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In this episode, we sit down with Lori Kay, a sculptor, business woman, mother, naturist, and owner of Lupin Lodge. As a kid, Lori learned to adapt and have an open mind as her family moved around due to her father’s military service. When Lori was a young adult she studied abroad in Switzerland, where she experienced first hand a different approach to nudity. When weekly trips to a sauna meant wearing nothing but a towel in a coed room, Lori was not judgmental but rather embraced the cultural difference. When she returned to the U.S. Lori was introduced to Lupin’s community (a nudist retreat) and quickly became a regular member. This led to her falling in love with the owner and eventually becoming an owner herself. Find out how her determination would build a community of body positivity and self discovery.
https://www.lupinlodge.com/
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Elyse Burden founded Real World Scholars (2014), where she works to give students the opportunity and resources needed to become change makers and social entrepreneurs in their communities – not one day, but right now. She provides money for the students to help pursue their business, pay it forward, and invest in the greater good. She believes in creative solutions and recognizes that young people are brilliant, creative, and angry enough to help the world find solutions to some of our scariest challenges.
https://www.realworldscholars.org/
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In today’s episode, we’ll get to hear from Forrest Garvin, former U.S. Air Force NCO, creator of several technology startups, and founder of the PrepperNet community. Forrest had a front row seat during the Y2K crisis, working with computers that were expected to crash at the turn of the century. Even though he couldn’t understand why it was a big problem at the time, it was the initiation of his prepper lifestyle. With a desire to learn and protect his family, Forrest honed in on his survival skills. And although he faced isolation and embarrassment for his wish to prepare for the unknown, those skills would come in handy when the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. In a journey that takes us from North Carolina to Greece, and projects us from the year 2000 to 2020, Forrest teaches us how basic human survival can not only help a lot of people, but also forge a fearless community.
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Eric Molinsky is the creator and host of Imaginary Worlds, a podcast exploring fictional worlds and works, the non-fiction stories behind them, and the communities around those stories. Born in Boston, Eric moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in animation for several years, thinking it was what he wanted. Eventually, he came to realize that his true passion was in crafting stories and “pieces of time.” Eric moved back to the East coast and started working for New York public radio and began finding his footing in the audio storytelling industry. Frustrated with public radio’s tongue in cheek attitude toward covering science fiction and fantasy, Eric became a freelancer to tell stories he wanted to tell, and eventually started his own podcast to do just that. Since then, he’s taught classes at NYU in podcasting and audio storytelling, and through his podcast, he’s discovered whole new imaginary worlds to fall in love with.
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Daisy Luther has learned the hard way how important preparation is. From debilitating poverty, to losing her father, to becoming a single mother, we follow Daisy on her story of suffering through extreme hardship. But we’ll also understand how she managed to survive and thrive in spite of it. Facing loss after loss Daisy never gave up, and now she is a successful author, the founder of TheFurgalite.com and TheOrganicPrepper.com, websites that gets millions of views and teach us how we can be more prepared when things go wrong.
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After graduating from college and getting a corporate job, Chris Bello found himself unmotivated and looking for a new pursuit. Seeking inspiration, he read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Four-Hour Work Week, which led Bello to quit his job and take a one month hiatus to Asia. Afterwards, he returned and began working on his personal brand, working on a mailing list, website, and podcast simultaneously. Along the way, he also ended up working in real estate wholesale. Nowadays, he continues his mantra of “less dreaming, more doing” by continuing to work on all of these things and remaining consistent. With over 50,000 monthly downloads as well as one million total downloads on his Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast, Bello hopes to interview increasingly popular guests in order to expand his reach and inspires others to stay motivated while facing their fears.
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In this episode we sit down with John Basset, founder of Twin Mask and an avid LARPer. Live Action Role Play, or LARP, has been part of John's identity ever since he was in high school, but what is LARP? Well, it's a role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters. The players enter a fictional world but interact with real objects, all while in character. I'll admit even that explanation confused me, so I traveled down to the LARP event to see what it was all about. I learned how a break from reality can help you find your community, understand yourself, and bring the world a bit closer together.
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Christina Catalano is a noted human rights leader and founder of RISE. Although it started small, the RISE Anti-Bullying Initiative has grown to become one of the largest anti-bullying initiatives in the world. And Christina's influence doesn't stop there, in fact, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. But before the awards and accolades, her experience with bullying was personal. Growing up on the Jersey Shore, school was a place she felt isolated and attacked.
https://www.theriseinitiative.org/
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In this episode of Finding Founders, we hear from Hala Taha, a leading podcast entrepreneur, founder, and CEO. Hala’s story shows a journey to realizing your self-worth in the face of post-9/11 obstacles, working without compensation, and failing time and time again. Hala started with a pretty “blessed childhood”, going with her father to work at the hospital, and was a bit of a tomboy. But, after 9/11 her life changed dramatically. In high school, she experienced a feeling of isolation and being shut out of those activities she used to love. It wasn't until college that she really found her stride. She soon found a career in entertainment, working at Hot 97, then blogging with strawberryblunt.com, and eventually starting YAP and hosting the Young and Profiting Podcast. But her journey was far from smooth.
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This is a followup episode with Maxwell Nee from High-Performing Coach. He teaches us how to make our businesses pandemic proof, how he's scaled his business, and the tools and strategies you need to start your own coaching business.
If you'd like to grow your own podcast check out our coaching cohort --> The Pod30
A bit about Maxwell: Maxwell Née spent the majority of his life pursuing a stable career, which left him listless. After 5 years at his corporate banking job, Maxwell had a moment of realization, he didn't like what his life was becoming. To combat his current life path, he picked up and moved across the world from Australia to Canada. He decided to finally start over and pursue what excited him most. This would lead to High-Performing Coach, an online coaching service that has seen amazing growth and success in the past year. In fact, Maxwell has been recognized by BRAINZ 500 Global Honoree for his work and continues to thrive in a career path he built for himself.
Check out our full episode with Maxwell Nee.
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How can private cities use entrepreneurship to create social good? In this episode, we meet Erick Brimen, businessman, entrepreneur, and founder of the special economic zone, Próspera. At an early age, Erick came face-to-face with the social and financial disadvantages that most people face. And that experience would eventually lead to the visionary project of prosperity districts, where entrepreneurship is used to achieve common good. But Erick’s journey was not all glitz and glamour. From not having enough money to buy groceries, to nearly getting arrested over rumors, Erick knows what it's like to experience failure. But through it all, his passion to help others prosper has guided him on a path of success, trust, and purpose.
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In June of 2018, Dan was involved in “The Bucatini Dialogues: A Debate About Pasta Shapes”, a live event in which his controversial opinions about spaghetti would lead to a journey in creating his own pasta shape. From learning about the different types of flour to finding a factory which would take a chance on “the little guy”, Pashman’s 3 year journey would eventually lead to success and 'cascatelli,' a pasta which would beat day 1 expectations and go on to sell over 15,000 pounds in the first day! As for now, Pashman’s pasta story is still being written as he decides on how to pursue the Sporkful brand.
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Today’s interview is, well, a bit different. This isn’t any guest, actually this is a pretty personal story. Today we’re talking to the co founder of my family, my grandmother, Dorothy Donner. This is my dad’s mom but she’s not just my dad’s mom. In fact my dad is one of ten kids, a frikin handful to deal with. She’s raised 10 kids, has lived through the great depression, numerous wars, and a global pandemic. She definitely knows a thing or two about life’s challenges. As we progress through her story—and run into some of our own challenges along the way—I am reminded of the importance of capturing these stories while we still can. And that understanding your family’s history helps you better understand yourself. My grandparents were visiting my family home, so after finishing up some scrambled eggs, Grandma Donner hopped into a quiet room to walk me through some of the stories that made her who she is today.
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Navid Seyedali was born in Iran and eventually began living around the world in places such as the US, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. These travels developed within him an exceptional sense of empathy, which, over 25 years ago, led Navid to help establish and further the Child Foundation. The organization's mission is to educate children around the world. Initially Navid began as a volunteer, but became increasingly more active which culminated in his current position where he serves as an advisor to the board of directors. Two of his major accomplishments include the creation of an Afghanistan sponsorship program during his first term of presidency, as well as the creation of the Afghanistan Crisis Fund during his time as an advisor. The ACF has distributed food to hundreds of families and continues to work tirelessly to educate children around the world.
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How many chances do we have in life, and what do we do with them? In this episode of Finding Founders, we answer this question with Jay Clue, an accomplished conservationist, explorer, and photographer. Jay began his life as a troublemaker and a bit of an outcast, narrowly escaping jail time on a couple of occasions. He turned things around, studying graphic design in college, working as an art director on ad campaigns, and going to London to get a master’s and Ph.D. Jay eventually fell in love with scuba diving and found his way to Baja. He then started Dive Ninja Expeditions in 2017 to use an ecotourism platform to combine diving, research, and tourism to promote conservation.
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For many Americans, debt is a serious issue. A recent study found that the average American holds $53,897 in personal debt. Jason is trying to destroy debt with his new company, Relief. But he didn't always start with these altruistic intentions. His first entrepreneurial endeavor at 12 was hustling kids at lunch with three card monte. Eventually he'd enter the sales world realizing he had the gift of gab, but he soon realized that he was in that world for the wrong reasons. He didn't want his life to just be about making money for himself, he wanted to solve a larger issues. He wanted to help people outside of himself. With his new company, Relief, he's helping others in debt win at the game of debt management.
Check out the relief app today! --> https://www.relief.app/
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How much do we value stability? We discuss the answer with Karen Bradfield, a former engineer for Procter & Gamble turn founder of Adventures in Baja. Karen was born in England, and though the ocean was freezing, she still felt drawn to it, constantly swimming or sailing. After finishing her studies she worked a few conventional jobs, but always felt like something was missing. She wanted to dedicate more time to the ocean. Throughout her journey Karen has lived in Australia, Southeast Asia, Panama, Ecuador and finally Cabo. She shares with us the importance of seizing opportunities and confronting our fears.
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Hey this episode is going to be a bit different. I’m usually the one doing the interviewing, but this time I’m on the other end of the mic. A former Finding Founders editor, Nathan Tower, invited me on his podcast, the Phasey Wave show. He did a great job of bringing my story to life! We talk about my weirdest experiences with guests, my founding philosophy, building teams, insulting high profile podcasters, and the future of Finding Founders.
Subscribe to the Phasey Wave show here!
https://www.phaseywave.show/
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How do we discover our purpose and find work that fulfills it? In this episode of Finding Founders we discuss the answer to this question and more with Philipp Moser. He is an established tour guide, diver, and owner of Cabo Trek. Philipp was born in Austria and always loved nature, the ocean specifically. Following the conventional path, he studied to be a mechanical engineer and worked in product development. But he wasn’t happy. So Philipp quit his job and moved to Australia, working side jobs and pursuing diving. After traveling the world and surviving a tsunami, Philipp wound up in Cabo. With Cabo Trek, he shares incredible experiences with tourists while educating them about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment and marine ecosystems.
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After Sana Javeri Kadri earned their IB diploma from UWC Adriatic, she worked as a Documentary Filmmaker for P.R.I.D.E India in Maharashtra, India and was a freelance photographer for Kadri Consultants Pvt. Ltd in Mumbai, India before attending Pomona College. While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts, she accumulated an array of experiences during college. At 23 years old in 2017, Sana Javeri Kadri used $3,000 from her tax refund to start sourcing and selling ethically farmed turmeric. Today Diaspora Co. works with nearly a dozen small family farms across India, paying an average of six times more than the commodity price, and sells seven spices including coriander and cardamom. Kadri has bootstrapped the entire operation while going beyond the norm, like paying for healthcare to farm laborers on some of its farms, with the goal of growing enough to be able to provide it to all workers on its partner farms.
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Is there a relationship between visual arts and discipline? For today’s episode we had the chance to spend the whole day with Enrique Bascón, a multidisciplinary artist based in Cabo San Lucas where he has his art studio and gallery.
Born and raised in the Basque country in Spain, Enrique’s journey was not always about art. From wanting to follow his own rules and making his own path as a kid, to seeking financial stability, Enrique has always wanted freedom. Throughout his journey he’s studied law, been a policeman, bodyguard, SWAT agent and is now an artist.
Enrique’s story explores how ambition and perseverance can get you to amazing places. There is no one path to being an artist.
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Raby Gueye emigrated from Senegal at the age of 7 to the United States. Her early childhood emphasized the importance of education, primarily due to the necessity to translate for her family. Her experience translating to teachers, doctors, and even cable/utility companies all reinforced the necessity to pursue an education and eventually lead her to become the first woman to graduate from college in her family.
During this time, she once again learned about the college process (applications, fees, tuition, etc.) all on her own as she went on to study international/global studies at Arizona State University. Eventually, she was given experiences to teach in both India and low-income schools in Arizona which eventually led her to create Teach for Senegal. In doing so, she hopes to address inequality while also encouraging children to be proud of where they come from.
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In this episode, we hear from Andrew Rea, the creative mastermind behind the Babish Culinary Universe. He’s amassed over 9 million subscribers on YouTube alone, but the scale of his community is far from what’s most interesting about this interview.
With his humor and piercing honesty, Andrew shares a story of continuous self-improvement. Losing his mother at age 11 and enduring secondary school with no friends, he was dealt a handful of painful challenges early on in life. Upon graduating film school with flying colors and a crew of good friends, early adulthood slammed him with another set of roadblocks. Grinding endlessly to make a living, broken to his core by an emotionally abusive director and stuck in a failing marriage, Andrew spiraled into his darkest days of depression. Through every overwhelming bout of failure, loss, pain, and doubt, we learn how Andrew is able to pick himself up, grow into a better person and discover a more fulfilling life.
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I’m here with Jay Clue, a conservationist here in Cabo San Lucas and today we’re going to talk about something a little different. Graffiti, specifically how Medieval Blackletter, a type of font, became a part of Mexican culture and how it became the building block of modern graffiti style. I know what you’re thinking. Medieval font? Modern graffiti style? How do those two have any connection at all, especially being centuries apart? I was perplexed as well, but I’ll let Jay explain it all from here.
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Further Reading:
https://www.sprayplanet.com/blogs/news/a-history-of-graffiti-the-60s-and-70s
https://books.google.com/books/about/Mexican_Blackletter.html?id=lpkVAQAAIAAJ&source=kp_book_description
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Who doesn’t love bacon? Today we sat down with Heat Laliberte, the owner and founder of One Arrow Meats, a Vancouver based, small-batch, hand-cured, naturally smoked, hormone-free bacon company. One Arrow is more than just bacon. It represents Heat’s indigenous heritage, his goals, and his ability to overcome obstacles.
Spending his childhood in Saskatchewan, the Cree-Metis Chef has called Vancouver home since 2002. After a youth that consisted of running away, racism, and struggling with his identity as a trans man, Heat found a strong sense of family amongst the LGTBQ+ community in Davie Village. Starting as a linecook, Heat would go onto working in the kitchen of top hotels and starting his own business venture.
Throughout his life, Heat has been on a journey to find himself, come to terms with his identity, achieve more and cook delicious food. One Arrow opened the door to reconnect with his heritage and his family.
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Links From the Episode
Heat’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/heat.laliberte/?hl=en
Heat’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatlaliberte/?originalSubdomain=ca
One Arrow’s Website https://www.onearrowmeats.com/
One Arrow’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onearrowyvr/?hl=en
VICE Article https://www.vice.com/en/article/kzd3yy/heat-laliberte-one-arrow-meats-vancouver
The Residential School System - Erin Hanson, September, 2020: https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/
Residential Schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada - Piotr Wilk, Alana Maltby, & Martin Cooke, 03/02/2017: https://publichealthreviews.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40985-017-0055-6
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
When was the last time you saw an advertisement for cigarettes? Was it good? Today’s founder wisdom is a snippet of an upcoming episode with Jay Clue, photographer, scuba diver and founder of Dive Ninja Expeditions. Before discovering his passion for the ocean, Jay worked as a freelance creative director for massive companies and tells us his experience working for the Tobacco industry.
Links From the Episode
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Further Reading
New Camel Brand Contains Crushable Capsule - Winston Salem Journa,(05/05/2008) https://journalnow.com/business/new-camel-brand-contains-crushable-capsule/article_0308f70e-d8ba-54c4-a6b0-1fc3cd0fc101.html
Camel Cigarettes: A Long History of Targeting Kids - Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (06/18/2013) https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/microsites/camel/Camel_History.pdf
FDA Orders Maker of Camel Cigarettes to End Sales of 4 Products - TIME, (08/15/2015) https://time.com/4034638/fda-rj-reynolds-camel-crush-bold-cigarette-end-sales/
African Americans and Tobacco Use https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/disparities/african-americans/index.htm
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
How is it possible that the people who are feeding us cannot afford food? That is one of the questions that pushed this week's founder to tackle food insecurity and look for solutions. In today’s episode of Finding Founders, join us and Rick Nahmias in exploring where our food comes from and who is responsible for the food on our tables.
Rick Nahmias is an LA native who, after working as a documentary photographer, decided to pursue his interest in food and cooking. He soon recognized the abundance of waste around him. From working on “The Migrant Project,” a book which highlighted the poor treatment of migrant farmworkers, to bringing attention to excess produce in his neighborhood through Craigslist ads, Rick is at the forefront of social justice and fighting food insecurity. His organization Food Forward combats food insecurity, food wastefulness and climate change.
We joined Rick early one morning in Glendale, harvested lemons off a tree, and came back to the roots of Food Forward.
Links From the Episode
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Rick’s Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-nahmias-95b0221/
Food Forward’s Website: https://foodforward.org/
The Migrant Project: https://unmpress.com/books/migrant-project/9780826344076
Rick Nahmias TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtjmNdiPLLg
Food Forward Results: https://foodforward.org/our-impact/our-results/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Financial manager Chris Tran always knew he’d create something; however, despite her obvious creativity, data analyst Holly Paul never thought she’d be a founder. Working at a serial founder’s startup ignited Holly’s nascent entrepreneurial spirit and she decided to let one of her many ideas take flight. Business partners Holly and Chris wanted their product to incorporate classic Asian flavors from their childhoods, but struggled to find their ideal niche in the capital heavy food and beverage industry. Tired of hitting dead ends they decided to unwind with some alcoholic sodas, then inspiration struck. After cold calling contract packagers, crunching data and making huge personal investments they launched their hard seltzer line, Mizo. They’re on a journey to carve out a place for their vision in a saturated market and diversify mainstream American food and culture.
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founder IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Additional Links :
Target Selects 30 + startups to join it’s accelerator program - Sam Danley, (08/02/2021) : https://www.supermarketperimeter.com/articles/6939-startups-join-targets-inaugural-accelerator-program
The Hard Seltzer Market is Getting More Crowded - Hudson Lindenberger, (01/12/2021) : https://www.forbes.com/sites/hudsonlindenberger/2021/01/12/the-hard-seltzer-market-is-getting-more-crowded/?sh=45afbe701201
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
What does it take to make your dreams a reality, especially as a woman in the restaurant industry? In this episode of Finding Founders, join us in exploring the entertainment side of the food industry with Gail Simmons, a food writer, author, cook, and judge on Top Chef.
Gail grew up in a melting pot of both the city of Toronto and her Canadian, South African, and Jewish background. Her mother taught cooking classes and wrote a food column and Gail was a food enthusiast growing up, but Gail never saw her career going in that same direction until college. In pursuing food writing after college, Gail realized culinary school was the next step in pursuing this dream. After school and some brutal restaurant experience, Gail was ready to enter the world of food writing.
She began as an assistant for Jeffrey Steingartern, a renowned food critic at Vogue Magazine. She continued to work as an event director at Food & Wine and eventually a judge on Top Chef. But this success was took time, listen to learn more!
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founder IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
When ideas are cheap, what does it take to make an idea come to life and become a thriving business? Today we answer this question in our conversation with Eric Chen, a marketing and sales whiz, boba aficionado and board game creator. Throughout his journey, Eric has been in a car accident, had a ruptured intestine but this has not slowed him down. What could have been considered sabotage for some, he turned into Sabobatage.
https://sabobatage.com/
Website: findingfounders.co
Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/
Follow Finding Founder IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Food can serve as a means to bridge culture and conflict. This episode starts our Food Conflict and Unity series, so join us in exploring the power of food with Barbara Massaad, a Lebanese-American cookbook author, photographer, food consultant, and TV host.
Barbara Massaad spent the first 10 years of her life in Lebanon and moved to Florida as a result of war. Her lifelong relationship with food began with Lebanese culture and at 15, she started helping her father in the family-owned Lebanese restaurant. In 1988, her family returned to Lebanon. Flashing forward, after getting an advertising and marketing degree in college and taking 7 years away from work to start a family, Massaad embarked on a new journey in the restaurant business. Determined to pursue this dream, she trained with several renowned chefs at Lebanese, Italian, and French restaurants.
Driven by her love of using cooking and photography to tell stories, Massaad began the journey of creating her first cookbook called Man'oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery. She continues to use her love for cooking to heal and break barriers, whether it was during the Syrian Civil War and today when faced with conflict in Lebanon.
Links From the Episode
Barbara Massaad Website: http://barbaramassaad.com/food/food.html
Barbara Massaad Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.massaad
First Book (Man'oushe: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery): https://www.amazon.com/Manoushe-Inside-Street-Corner-Lebanese/dp/1566569281/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KPRSSK0WJS4HYVY4ZHG
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
How does an ingredient like rice help better a community? Today we sit down with JJ Johnson, renowned chef on the African diaspora, and founder of the rice bowl restaurant, FIELDTRIP. Growing up in Harlem, surrounded by his grandmother’s cooking and international flavors, food has long formed part of JJ’s DNA. But as we follow his journey of becoming a chef, traveling to Africa, and establishing his own business, JJ’s story teaches us how food can actually break barriers, bring communities together, and celebrate cultural diversity.
findingfounders.co
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How does a girl from SoCal go from making dumplings with her grandmother to co-hosting a TV show with Gordon Ramsey ? Today we sit with Nyesha Arrington, a former Top Chef contestant, professional chef and business owner. Growing up in a Afro-Korean household, surrounded by her grandmother, Nyesha had an early exposure to cooking and a variety of ingredients. As we discover her journey in the world of high class restaurants and TV, Nyesha’s story reminds us of the importance of mentorship and how dedication and attention to detail can take you far.
findingfounders.co
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Before Carla Hall was a Top Chef legend, she was an accountant miserable at accounting. One day she got a chance to move to Paris and pursue modeling full time. Desperate for a change, she said yes, abandoning her dull yet stable career for the notoriously competitive and fickle fashion industry. Despite her lack of language skills and threadbare safety net, she transformed herself into a successful Parisian runway model. During her modeling journey, Carla discovered her passion for cooking. When she returned to the U.S., she dove into the culinary world, first as an executive chef at high-end D.C. restaurants and then as the head of her own catering company. Then Carla said yes to another risky opportunity and joined Top Chef season 5. The chaos and public scrutiny of reality T.V. challenged her culinary skills and business acumen, but it also led her on an adventure with countless possibilities. Saying yes ultimately gave Carla the freedom to express herself across disciplines and mediums as a chef, T.V. Host, actress, children’s book author, and much more.
Links
The Contagious Optimism of Carla Hall- Jessica B. Harris, (August/September 2018): https://gardenandgun.com/articles/carla-hall-interview/
The Untold Truth of Carla Hall - Brent Furdyk (02/20/2020): https://www.mashed.com/189845/the-untold-truth-of-carla-hall/?utm_campaign=clip
Everything you need to know about Carla Hall, the former Co-Host of ‘The Chew’ - Tess Koman, (06/06/2018):https://www.delish.com/food-news/g21097928/who-is-carla-hall/
Carla Hall - Chicago Gourmet: https://www.chicagogourmet.org/page/CarlaHall
Carla and The Christmas Cornbread - Simon & Schuster : https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Carla-and-the-Christmas-Cornbread/Carla-Hall/9781534494695
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
How do we recover history that has been deliberately erased? And how does that past impact the present? Today we answer those questions in conversation with Mirna Bamieh a Palestinian artist focused on the politics of disappearance. Mirna was born in Ramallah, Palestine in 1983. Throughout her life she expressed and explored her identity through food and art. In 2017 she started the Palestine Hosting Society, to rediscover and share Palestinian recipes and cultural identity as a way of reclaiming Palestinian identity in the form of performance art.
https://palestinehostingsociety.com/
https://findingfounders.co/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
In times of persecution, how do the persecuted keep their culture alive? We speak with Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan who enlightens us on what it is like to run his boutique Hosh Al Syrain and its Fawda Cafe in the heart of Bethlehem. As part of one of the “oldest Christian families in Bethlehem,” Fadi provides us with a unique perspective on his experiences as a Palestinian chef and how he wishes to revitalize Palestinian cuisine by returning it to its roots.
History Shows What’s Wrong With the Idea That War Is ‘Normal’ in the Middle East. Stephanie Mulder. January 20, 2020. https://time.com/5764119/middle-east-war-history/
Ussama Makdisi, Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World. Ussama Makdisi. December 20, 2019. https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/40355
In Blind Pursuit of Racial Equality? Evan P. Apfelbaum, Kristin Pauker, Samuel R. Sommers, Nalini Ambady. September 28, 2010. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610384741
Israel-Gaza violence: The conflict explained. June 16, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396
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When asking people what they put in their coffee, butter probably wouldn’t seem like the most popular response. For health aficionados like Dave Asprey, however, it’s the key ingredient.
Founder and CEO of the multi-million dollar Bulletproof empire, Dave Asprey is creator of revolutionary energy drink, Bulletproof Coffee, and 5-time New York Times bestselling author of the Bulletproof health-book series. He is renowned as the Father of Biohacking, which uses science and technology to devise dietary and lifestyle changes for improved physical and cognitive functions.
Today, Dave will map out the story of his Bulletproof Empire, starting from the roots of his family’s scientific legacy, all the way to his life-changing journey to Tibet, where the concept for Bulletproof Coffee was born. Since its inception, Bulletproof Coffee has taken the world by storm, publicly endorsed by celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, Shailene Woodley, Ed Sheeran, and Maya Rudolph.
Dave currently awaits the release of his new book, Fast This Way: Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation, and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be, which will be released on January 19th, 2021 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
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Today we talk to Duff Goldman. He is the founder and executive chef of Charm City Cakes which has been featured on the Food Network, Iron Chef America, Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a whole bunch more. And this business is successful because Duff is a rebel. Starting from his graffiti days, he has defied the normal path and found a success that's uniquely him.
Duff.com
Charm City Cakes
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today we sit down with Amanda Slavin, co-founder of CatalystCreativ; a platform where people and brands become connected through meaningful experiences.
Amanda grew up in a small town where she knew everyone, she tried to optimize for popularity. Although the initial need to be popular was misguided, it led her to focus more on human connection, something she continued to pursue throughout her life. She kept this interest through a broken education system, night life, a psychedelic experience, yoga in India, her current work with CatalystCreativ, and her book “The Seventh Level.”
Links From the Episode
Amanda's Website
CatalystCreativ Website
Summit Series Website
Seventh Level Website:
Tony Hsieh
Richard Branson
Gary Vaynerchuk
Good Teaching Is Not Just About the Right Practices - Sarah Gonser, 11/17/2020
Evaluating ‘No Child Left Behind’ - Linda Darling-Hammond
Why It’s Harder For Women To Say ‘No’ To Extra Work - Jenna Goudreau, 12/17/2014
Do Work That Matters - Ramsey Solutions, 02/25/2021
How to Learn to Be Alone and Happy About It - Jacqueline T. Hill, 01/25/2021
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
The Donut Princess of Los Angeles, Mayly Tao was born with entrepreneurial spirit in her DNA. Born to Cambodian immigrants who fled after surviving the Khmer Rouge, family has always been the most important thing in her life. And family was also the thing that got her started. Her great-uncle is Ted Ngoy, known as the ‘Donut King.’ He helped Cambodian refugees survive and prosper in America by creating donut shops all over Southern California. This would eventually lead through generations to Mayly's innovative work at her family donut shop, DK’s Donut Bakery. Mayly and her donut shop have been an influential and transformative force in LA’s food scene, creating incredible trends and culinary creations.
https://www.dksdonuts.com/
findingfounders.co
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Today we discover the story of Marcus Bullock: TED speaker, entrepreneur, justice reform advocate, and founder of Flikshop, a software company aimed towards helping incarcerated people connect with their families and the outside world.
Growing up in Washington DC with his mother and sister, Marcus is no stranger to the shortage of resources and social capital surrounding many neighborhoods today. His early life was encapsulated by the pursuit of a single dream: the outer appearance of success. Having the means to buy a car and nice shoes was Marcus’ early vision of what success looked like, and he tried to achieve that vision through selling drugs and stealing cars.
But luxury cars and nice shoes came with ramifications that Marcus didn’t expect. At 15, Marcus was arrested for carjacking and sent to prison. After two years of denial, Marcus began to imagine ending his days surrounded by cinder block walls and metal gates, until his mother’s letters ended up saving his life. Once released after an 8 year sentence, Marcus embarked on an entrepreneurial journey filled with connection, empathy, and the breaking of barriers far tougher than a prison’s walls.
Links From the Episode
Flikshop:
https://www.flikshop.com
Marcus’ Website:
https://www.marcusbullock.net
TED Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/marcus_bullock_an_app_that_helps_incarcerated_people_stay_connected_to_their_families
Discrimination Against Formerly Incarcerated People - Greg Lorentzen: https://www.livingwage-sf.org/mass-incarceration/discrimination-against-formerly-incarcerated-people/
Why Are Jail Phone Calls So Expensive? - Tyler Kendall, 10/13/2020: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-are-jail-phone-calls-so-expensive/
Why We Must Rethink Solitary Confinement - Barack Obama, 01/25/2016: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/barack-obama-why-we-must-rethink-solitary-confinement/2016/01/25/29a361f2-c384-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html
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It's a phrase programmers around the world fear... "I'll handle the business side." But today we'll talk to Myles Hunter, founder of TutorMe, who turns that phrase on its head.
Myles is a non-technical cofounder, i.e. he doesn't know how to code, but his business was growing, and growing unsustainably. He needed someone who understood tech, but he could find anyone... until he started looking in Russia.
findingfounders.co
tutorme.com
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In today’s hyper-individualistic culture, creating community is more important than ever. In this episode, we dive into the idea of creating community with Imani Ellis, founder of The Creative Collective NYC which hosts CultureCon.
Imani Ellis was driven by her competitive nature and ambition as a ballerina for 14 years, becoming the first black ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet in 75 years. After quitting ballet, track took her on a full ride to Vanderbilt University where she realized her dream of pursuing work in entertainment.
Through that same tenacity that drove her athletic pursuits, Ellis started work at NBC Universal in New York City, but she struggled to find her community in the bustling city. She decided to create her own space that grew into the Creative Collective and eventually CultureCon.
Links From the Episode
Imani Ellis Website: https://www.imaniellis.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaniimani/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/imaninaomi?lang=en
The Creative Collective NYC Website: https://www.theccnyc.com/
The Creative Collective NYC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theccnyc/?hl=en
The Creative Collective NYC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCCnyc/
The Creative Collective NYC Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecc_nyc
CultureCon Website: https://www.cultureconathome.com/
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Hidekazu Tojo invented the California Roll, but no one knows it. Tojo was in Vancouver when he thought of an idea to attract customers. Little did he know that this idea would spread across the entire world like wildfire.
findingfounders.co
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Rahaf Harfoush is a thought leader in productivity and burnout. Immigrating from Syria as a kid, Rahaf developed a strong work-ethic. As she developed her career, and more and more opportunity arose, she felt obligated to seize that opportunity. That's why her family came to North America! But this pursuit led to a breakdown. A fogginess that could not be slept away. Burnout.
Rahaf has authored three books looking into the way technology affects us. Rahaf is a renowned digital anthropologist who knows what the rock bottom of mental burnout feels like. She's pulled herself out, and with her she's brought wisdom that she wants to share with the rest of the world. Rahaf wants to adjust modern work into something that is more symbiotic, efficient, and ultimately, better for our mental and physical well-being
Links From the Episode
Rahaf Harfoush: https://rahafharfoush.com/
Books: https://rahafharfoush.com/books
The Artist’s Way: https://www.theartistswaybook.com/
Julia Cameron: https://juliacameronlive.com/ .
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
How does a gas station become known for the best Indian food in Los Angeles? We ask that questions to Hiram Mac, the cofounder of the Bombay Frankie Company. He gives us the story of how a world renowned restaurant can arise from anywhere. And to quote my favorite movie, "anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great..." boy is Hiram fearless!
Also if you liked this episode, email me and let me know what you think! sam@findingfounders.co
findingfounders.co
https://www.thebombayfrankiecompany.com
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Iz Harris is a D.C. based filmmaker and co-founder of Bright Trip, a video-based educational platform. In the midst of processing childhood trauma, Iz started developing her filmmaking skills while running a wedding photography and videography business with her husband, Johnny. At the same time she was confronted with her son's regressive autism when doctor's didn't even understand the term. As she searched for an answer she found that she was taking on more responsibility with childcare and that there wasn't an equal partnership in her marriage. Through many conversations, she once again found her creative drive but it wasn’t satisfied by making wedding videos and branding stories. After bingeing Casey Neistat videos, she decided to become a vlogger. In a year, she went from not knowing the difference between a blog and a vlog to having a YouTube channel with 10,000 subscribers. This channel allowed Iz Harris to develop her creative voice, and her videos covered everything from travel to mental health. After working as a producer on Vox Media’s Travel, Eat, Repeat, Iz co-founded Bright Trip with her husband. With this new venture, Iz Harris is creating a community centered on learning and curiosity.
External links:
Bright Trip Website:
https://brighttrip.com
Iz Harris personal website
https://www.izharris.com/
Iz Harris Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRq8WvO55Cnk6GY-WT07KHg
Travel Eat Repeat
https://www.eater.com/travel-eat-repeat-video
RAINN, Rape Abuse & Incest National Network
https://www.rainn.org/
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
https://www.nsvrc.org/
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
https://autisticadvocacy.org/
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
https://dredf.org/
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We talk with the founder of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, about how the organization gained global attention after infiltrating a laboratory. This lab was conducting unregulated primate testing and she exposed the horrid conditions that these animals were undergoing. She tells that story along with explaining the mission behind PETA, her life's goal, and the topic of her new book.
Buy Animalkind
More about Ingrid
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Today, we’re visited by Albert Garcia-Romeu, one of the key members of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Coming from Miami, Albert grew up with a thirst for knowledge and a boundless intellectual capacity to improve. He read everything he could, and developed love for poetry and philosophy from a very early age. Those intellectual pursuits took him through a college career at Tulane University before working for the Forest Service in Montana. Venturing out into the wilderness, Albert had meditative experiences with nature that profoundly moved him.
Albert began to try and study what he called Transcendent Experiences in order to merge his love of psychology and philosophy with this moving experience he had with nature. That quest took him to California, where he started to conduct his research on these seemingly mystical events. From there, he followed his results and began to work in the realm of psychedelic drugs which had him move across the country, change his perspective, and set him on a path into the unknown world of psychedelic therapy.
Links From the Episode
Michael Pollan-How to Change Your Mind: https://michaelpollan.com/
Ken Wilber: https://integrallife.com/who-is-ken-wilber/
Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/BPRU/
Links to presentations by Albert: https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/garcia-romeu
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In World War II, the allies didn't have enough troops to combat the Nazis... So they came up with a weird way to scare them before they even thought of approaching. Dennis and I talk about this story and compare it to the fake it till you make it mantra common in entrepreneurial circles. We ask the question: how do we tell a compelling story while still being authentic.
Check out more of Dennis on his website: https://audiencemagnet.com/
findingfounders.co
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In this episode, we discover the story of Matthew Johnson, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins University, and one of the first scientists to publish extensive research on the effect of psychedelic drugs on the brain. Specifically, how compounds like psilocybin can help cure mental illness. He is also the Associate Center Director of the Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research which recently received $17 million dollars of funding from private donors including Tim Ferriss.
As a disillusioned engineering major and in the middle of a midlife crisis, Matthew’s drive to help others led him to the study of behavioral psychology. Then, as a graduate student at Hopkins, Matthew’s research took a pivotal turn towards the study of LSDs and other drugs, and to the discovery of how these chemical compounds may be the key to solving addiction and even help patients combating cancer.
Now, Matthew tells us more about his scientific journey, and clues us in on how psychedelics can potentially help shape the future of mental health.
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Today I ask Charles Read, founder of Get Payroll and a certified public accountant, about how to avoid tax fraud. He gives us insight into the weird world of taxes and some tips on how to navigate that world.
findingfounders.co
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This is Finding Founders, I’m Samuel Donner, and today we’re exploring the story of Katie Longmyer--a young cello player who went from nightclub doorkeeper to producing a Made in America festival with a crowd of over 80,000 people. Katie’s story is a whirlwind, taking us through her ascent in the D.C. nightlife scene to landing a gig at Warner Media, to producing events as massive as Brooklyn Electronics Music Festival. But as much as it’s a story about her, it’s also a story about her community, the people who supported her, and the people who she sought to uplift. Today’s episode is jam-packed, but before we step into the big leagues we’re going to wind back to humbler beginnings, to Katie’s traditional Southern home just outside of Washington D.C.
DM me on Instagram: @samueldonner or @findingfounderspodcast
findingfounders.co
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Today I tell Diane the story of how a bad founder relationship at Tinder, led to one of the founders leaving to start her own company. That company would later become Bumble. Diane joins me in this conversation with years of business and coaching experience. She co-founded a business in the back of a house, grew it to $50 Million in 6 yrs and sold it to a public company and she tells us how to have great relationships with our founders and the people around us. If you are interested in finding out more about Diane, go to her website: https://dianeprince.co/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
In this episode, we discover the story of James Andrews, a successful NYC record label exec and entrepreneur who was integral in hip hop's rise and currently forming novel creator communities.
From wayward beginnings growing up in Palo Alto to learning how to network the Hollywood scene, James’ career spans a myriad of successes. From meeting Whitney Houston and Beyonce, to the founder of Uber, James knows what it’s like to be surrounded by fame and recognition.
Yet, he’s also familiar with the setbacks of being an entrepreneur, and teaches us how to persevere by placing family first, having confidence in one’s passions amidst doubts, and how to possess a keen, independent mind towards the future through the power of community.
Audio Collective:
https://audiocollective.co
The Authenticated:
https://theauthenticated.mn.co
Recommended documentary The Black Godfather:
https://www.netflix.com/title/80173387
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today I tell the story of Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist who was the first person to ever synthesize and ingest LSD. Clancey gives his own perspective on the substances and how we can integrate intense experiences to positively affect our lives.
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When it comes to emerging psychedelic therapies, how did we get here and where we are going? In this episode, we dive into the historical context of neuroscience and ethical implications of psychedelic experimentation, in conversation with author and bioethicist Jonathan Moreno.
Jonathan Moreno grew up on the frontier of psychotherapy. The first 20 years of his life were spent as the center of a “laboratory of ideas” surrounded by psychiatric patients and psychotherapists at his parent’s institute. His fascination with studying consciousness in treatment began there and took him on the journey to receiving his Ph.D. in philosophy, studying bioethics and military experiments, and eventually psychedelics.
You will learn about the unlikely interaction of psychedelics and national security, as well as how the historical context of human military experiments contributes to our current understanding of consciousness. Just press play.
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Today we hear the story of Julie Holland and her road to redefine psychedelics and psychotherapy. Julie grew up a tomboy, and was super bright for her age. Her intelligence led to curiosity, and she began experimenting with drugs and alcohol at 12. This only fed her interest in the psychology of psychedelics.
Through her own research, she learned how the altered mind can change how one perceives the world. She speaks of how her experiences with PCP made her realize the importance of drug policy and harm reduction. This leads up to her college years where she dove into the science of these drugs.
After school, Julie worked at Bellevue and her book, “Weekends at Bellevue” is based on her experiences of working at this psychiatric ward for nine years. She saw people who were in permanently altered states and empathized with them. Since leaving Bellevue, Julie joined the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and has continued her research on Psychedelics. So join us and hear this story of how the future of psychedelics in medicine may be closer than we ever imagined.
Links From the Episode
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BellevueDoc?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/juliehollandmd/?hl=en
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Weekends.at.Bellevue
Audible for Weekends at Bellevue:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Weekends-at-Bellevue-Audiobook/B002V1CCBQ?source_code=GO1DH13310082090P1&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1262685&ds_rl=1263561&ds_rl=1260658&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1a6EBhC0ARIsAOiTkrEMhdqDY6E-ZjTtPIXrogF5GyheqCpIAMReZvP26WQIXzUhACGimDIaAmRkEALw_wcB
MAPS Website:
https://maps.org/news/multimedia-library/2814-dr-julie-holland-on-treating-ptsd-with-mdma-and-cannabis
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Today we tell Tom Kereszti a story about how Alexander the Great motivated his men to cross a hostile desert landscape using servant leadership. Tom is the perfect person to tell this story to because his approach to leadership comes from a lifetime of international experience. He has built and led executive teams in Fortune 500 companies in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States. His accomplishments include establishing global alliances, acquiring companies, leading successful start-ups, and creating brands. He also recently released a book called C-Suite and Beyond, that you can buy now on Amazon.
Follow us on instagram @findingfounderspodcast
findingfounders.co
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today, we sit down and hear from Douglas George, who was one of the first producers and distributors of LSD in the US. Coming from humble beginnings in Iowa, George attended college as a physicist in Riverside before deciding he wanted to change the way that people thought about existence. Developing an interest in hallucinogenic drugs, George pushed aside his physics backgrounds and focused on producing a compound that was new to the world. Living in Hermosa Beach in Southern California, he tapped into the counterculture wave of the psychedelic experience by traveling up and down the coast handing out his own LSD. George did everything in the vain of scientific discovery as well as opening the public’s mind about the reality they lived in. Meeting Owsley Stanley in the early 1960s, George’s LSD was one of the main causes of the famed counterculture movement that sprouted up in San Francisco.
George’s motivations were always scientific, but that didn’t stop him from meeting and interacting with some of the icons of the Counterculture Movement on his journey. A journey that took him to new horizons, brought existential discoveries, and changed his brain in a way he never could have imagined.
Links From the Episode
Paul Bindrim: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bindrim
Owsley Stanley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley
The Psychedelic Timeline: https://psychedelictimes.com/psychedelic-timeline/
Methedrine (Methamphetamine): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine
LSD Dendrite Connection : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6082376/
Grateful Dead: https://www.dead.net/
Alan Watts: https://alanwatts.org/
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Today, we’ll sit down and hear from Jacob Peters, co-founder of Launch House and Commsor, two community-led and data-driven startups. As a frequently uprooted army brat, Jacob prioritized fitting in with his peers. So, he dumbed himself down and hid his genuine interests, including math and LEGOs. He led a double life playing the part of a “cool kid” at school while secretly running a LEGO empire with the help of his family.
After suffering a traumatic brain injury, Jacob finally dropped the facade and followed his authentic passions. Jacob immersed himself in the world of data science and started creating internal incubators at JP Morgan. In his role, he used the networking skills he’d developed as a LEGO mogul and the emotional intelligence he’d gained as an undercover nerd to build an authentic data science community. This authentic community served as rocket fuel for Jacob’s entrepreneurial endeavors and would ultimately lead to his startup today: Launch House.
Relevant Links
Community Club
https://www.community.club/
Commsor
https://www.commsor.com/
Commsor Twitter
https://twitter.com/commsor?lang=en
Launch House article on TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/15/founders-hacker-hype-homes-remote-work/
Launch House Twitter
https://twitter.com/launch_house?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Brain Injury Association of America
https://www.biausa.org/
Brainline
https://www.brainline.org/people-brain-injury/community-support
LEGO’s Adult Fandom
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lego-60-anniversary-afol-community-adult-lego-fans
LEGO – Turning Your Customers into Your Community
https://hbr.org/2020/01/turn-your-customers-into-your-community
LEGO and Community Building
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/what-lego-taught-me-about-community-building
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today, we sit down with Johnny Harris, an international multimedia generalist based in Washington DC. Johnny was born in Ashland, Oregon in 1988 and attained a BA degree from BYU. His passion and career focus aims at connecting high quality media arts with foreign affairs. He utilizes media in making complex world issues more relatable and easier to understand. Johnny’s work with vox.com in reporting on interesting trends and domestic and global stories pioneered their series, Vox Borders. He is the co-founder of Bright Trip, a video-based educational platform.
Johnny is an Emmy-nominated video journalist who has spent the last 5 years reporting on and sharing human centered stories of borders around the globe. He has a passion for taking the overwhelming and the complex – and using his visual style of motion graphics and cinematic visuals to distill it into a comprehensive, relatable, and understandable message.
This is an exposé on self-discovery, feeling — but not seeking validation, and exploring ones unapologetic experimental creativity.
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Today we tell a story of how Dollar Shave Club turned a viral video into a billion dollar company. This video would usher in a new era of businesses built off of engaging sales videos. And to figure out a little more of how it all works, we talk to Jospeh Wilkins, founder of FunnySalesVideos.com. He tells us how viral videos have changed, and how we can create a viral video today.
findingfounders.co
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Many founders love the feeling of being able to work for themselves. Today, we sit down with Maxwell Nee, founder of online coaching service High-Performing Coach, who felt that working for himself was the only option. With Malaysian Chinese parents, Maxwell recalls that high standards for himself were always present, whether he achieved them or not. After suppressing his dreams for the sake of a stable career, Maxwell came face to face with the realization that he had to take the steps to do what he loves. Join us as we learn how Maxwell explored what he truly needed from his career, and networked with people around the world to make what he wanted a reality.
High-Performing Coach Website: https://highperforming.coach/
Socials:
Instagram: @maxwellnee
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellnee/?originalSubdomain=uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxwellNeeCoach/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/maxwellneecoach?s=20
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Today I talk with Eric Twiggs about procrastination and a simple trick to combat it. Eric Twiggs, is your procrastination prevention expert. He's conducted 20,000+ hours of procrastination consulting, and in that time has learned the tricks of the trade. In this episode of Founder Wisdom we give you the tools you need to get more done and be more successful.
findingfounders.co
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Let's face it, you aren't inspired when you hear about success. Real inspiration, comes from hearing someone's lowest moments, the point where they almost broke, and then rising with their success. I'm your host Samuel Donner, and on each episode of Finding Founders we interview the founders behind companies, movements, and even drug cartels. We tell their whole life story to reveal vulnerability so you can learn from victory.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Update: So last week, we finished our drug dealer series and wow what an incredible experience. It was so interesting to dive into this underground world and it was awesome to see so many new listeners come to the podcast. Finding Founders is growing more and more every day and if you’d like to support us, just share with a friend or post a screenshot to your socials. It really helps.
Anyway, finishing up this series reminded me of first one that we ever did. I actually traveled over to Puerto Rico to interview leaders in the community and hear how the entrepreneurial community recovered after the 2017 hurricanes. Today I wanted to do a rebroadcast of the 1st episode in a three part series on Puerto Rico. I hope you enjoy.
Puerto Rico Series Part 2
Puerto Rico Series Part 3
When all is smooth sailing, community is something that we often take for granted. But when the waves get rocky, there’s truth in the saying “it takes a village” -- after all, difficult times are made easier when we know we have others to lean on.
Today, we sit down with Nelson Colón, CEO of the Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Community Foundation) and Honorary Recipient of the 2014 Martin Luther King and Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Awards for his work in social responsibility and justice. In his 20-year role as President of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, Nelson has effectively spearheaded disaster-relief strategies throughout Puerto Rico, from community restoration in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María, to providing critical medical response during COVID-19.
Tune in now as we have a candid conversation with Nelson about the racial and socio-economic challenges he faced growing up as a black Puerto-Rican; how his upbringing in a protective, tight-knit family inspired a lifelong dedication towards helping others in need; the experiences that continue to mold his passion for community-service-oriented projects in afflicted, at-risk areas of Puerto Rico; and personal advice on how we can each foster stronger communities in times of trial through continual provisions of compassion, support, and hope.
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Today we tell a story of a battle between Microsoft and Apple. This incident would start a war between the two computer giants that would rage for years to come. After the story, I'll ask business lawyer, Asha Wilkerson, what we can learn from this and how we can apply these lessons.
findingfounders.co
http://www.ashawilkerson.com/
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In the last episode of the drug dealer series, we sit down with Frederick Hutson, founder of Pigeonly, a platform that helps people connect with incarcerated loved ones. Of course, such an idea was not created without due experience.
Growing up around the world of drugs, Frederick knew that the biggest money makers in town were drug dealers. However, Frederick did not turn out to be your average "small town hero" drug dealer. After working in the Air Force, he grew an underground marijuana operation that would move $22 million dollars of product a year. His knack for fine-tuning and calibrating a business ended up taking him much farther than he ever anticipated.
Join us as we learn how Frederick’s journey through culture shock, intense contemplation, and a desire to problem-solve led him to founding Pigeonly.
Links From the Episode
Pigeonly Site: https://pigeonly.com/
Socials:
Twitter: @IAMFastFreddy
Instagram: @iamfastfreddy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederickhutson/
Long-Term Recidivism Studies Show High Arrest Rates (Prison Legal News, 05/2019): https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2019/may/3/long-term-recidivism-studies-show-high-arrest-rates/#:~:text=Two%20reports%20on%20long%2Dterm,over%20an%20eight%2Dyear%20period.
The Social Order of the Underworld by David Skarbek: https://www.amazon.com/Social-Order-Underworld-Prison-American/dp/0199328501#:~:text=David%20Skarbek's%20The%20Social%20Order%20of%20the%20Underworld%3A%20How%20Prison,tapestry%20of%20first%2Dhand%20accounts.
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This episode has a little update on the Finding Founders community and then goes straight into a rebroadcast of Founder Wisdom #001 -- You’ve probably been giving your team the wrong criticism. This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. I asked MasterClass founder David Rogier what book I should read if I’m trying to manage people more effectively. He recommended “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop" by Clifford Nas.
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Today, we hear the story of Juan Bedoya, who grew up working on the sugarcane fields of Guatemala. Growing up in poverty, Juan was determined to never return to a life with nothing. To make this happen, he traveled to the US and turned to the drug business, which dazzled him with promises of immense riches and a carefree life. At his peak in the drug business, Juan was moving about $150 million of drugs per year. Undoubtedly, he achieved his goal of living a lavish lifestyle, but his ambition prevented him from realizing he had more than enough. Juan shares with us a story of flying too close to the sun, but while falling down receiving the chance to grow a new pair of wings. So sit down with us as Juan reveals how motivation, faith, and reflection allow for a true success story, where money is not the hallmark of a meaningful life.
1976 Guatemala Earthquake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Guatemala_earthquake
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Today we reconnect with Mike Kiamanesh, founder of Oval.bio, a company creating a life extension pod. A few weeks ago, Finding Founders hosted a virtual summit on Biohacking and Mike was one of our panelists. In his panel he talked about a lot of interesting stuff, (click here for the entire live virtual summit), and he touched briefly on a really interesting part of his business: the company structure. Today we look at how a decentralized company can make sure the power of life extension technology isn't just for the elite.
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Growing up in the streets of Harlem, David Norman faced childhood trauma, drug addiction, and incarceration. He dealt heroin and even killed a man. After years of imprisonment, David never thought he would be challenging his mind and graduating from one of the world’s most prestigious universities -- until he did. David kicks off part two of our Drug Dealer series—a compilation of stories about a different kind of entrepreneur—one who demonstrates the same independence, hustle, and perseverance of our previous founders, but whose attributes evolved under different circumstances.
Sonia Sanchez poem: https://poets.org/poem/not-small-voice
Columbia Article: https://gs.columbia.edu/news/david-normans-journey-incarceration-ivy-league
Learned Helplessness: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/learned-helplessness
Harlem in the 60s and 70s (in pictures): https://medium.com/the-cool/forever-beautiful-harlem-in-the-1970s-d45523262a09
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Pixar had sunk millions of dollars into Toy Story 2 and it was almost deleted... Today on the show we analyze how Pixar failed and the steps they took towards recovery.
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Today we reconnect with Ben Taft, founder of Mira Labs. I first talked to Ben in the summer of 2020 right as the pandemic was getting underway. We talked about the music business, about fish bowl lenses, about crazy investments... take a listen here its full interview #29. In this update episode we cover some developments with Mira, how Ben thinks augmented reality is placed for the future, and what the story is behind his massive success with Universal and the Super Nintendo World.
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In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Longmuir, founder of Regis Banqueting, a catering service that raked in 1.3 million euros back in 2016. But for Ryan, business and catering go far beyond bringing in money, which was his main aspiration when he sold thousands of pounds worth of drugs at 20 years old. How did Ryan flip from selling ecstasy pills to providing a renowned catering service? It took some moments of deep reckoning, a new commitment to faith, and definitely a huge leap of faith as well. Such moments also drove him to help others improve their own lives.
Ryan shares how passion and goodwill intertwined to get him out of a tumultuous and cyclical life and into one filled with meaning and love. Join us as we learn how kindness motivates entrepreneurship and can lead to triumphs over many challenges, in both life and business.
Social Media
Twitter: @RegisBanqueting
Instagram: @RegisBanqueting
Facebook: @regisbanquetingltd
Regis Banqueting Site: https://www.regisbanqueting.co.uk/
Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger and Adrew Quicke: https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Dragon-Struggle-Against-Darkness/dp/0800797035
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Today we explain and employ the Feynman technique to try to understand complex topics. I'm joined by Matthew Fernandez, a senior editor at Finding Founders, and we try to test our knowledge of bitcoin and see, how much do we actually know and how can we improve and expand that knowledge.
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What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? Is it focusing on growing one company after the other? Is it a rejection of the corporate world?
After climbing the corporate ladder and serving as the CEO of several companies, Keith Leimbach sits down with us today to share what running a business means to him-- and why he chooses to run several businesses ranging from laundromats to small companies.
Links From the Episode
Good to Great by Jim Collins - https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996
Keith’s Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diversified-income-experiment-passive-income/id1483644631
Social Media
Twitter: @keith_leimbach
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today we talk to Maxwell Nee, he built a $1M+ events-based, online coaching business that grew 300% during the COVID-19. He tells us how he did by breaking down 10 key principles.
Read more on how he did it below!
10 Steps to Filling an Online Event – Without Paid Advertising
www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellnee/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
How do you make your company bigger, stronger, and more notable? Or, perhaps, that isn’t the right question to ask. After burning through millions of dollars of funding with his first company Shyp, Kevin Gibbon learned that company growth is not necessarily growth through funding or massive scaling.
After working as a developer for companies like Raytheon and Boeing, Kevin Gibbon ventured into founding his own companies and currently runs Airhouse, which helps other entrepreneurs bring their creations to the forefront. Slow and steady doesn’t always win the race -- Kevin’s success has been a result of learning from massive trial and error, while maintaining the vigor to continuously forge ahead. Join us as we talk about his entrepreneurial journey of finding balance between unbounded optimism and incisive problem-solving.
AngelList Venture: https://angellist.com/
Airhouse Website: https://www.airhouse.io/
Kevin Gibbon Social Media:
Linkedin -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevingibbon/
Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/kevingibbon/
Twitter -- https://twitter.com/kevingibbon?s=20
Crunchbase Profile: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/kevin-gibbon
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Last week, Finding Founders partnered with expert biohackers ☕️to share all the secrets of longevity… and maybe even lead you to the fountain of youth! ⛲️Who wants to live forever? 🙋♀️
Time Codes
⏰0:00-0:05m — Welcome & Introductions by Samuel Donner, Host of Finding Founders
⏰0:05-0:30m — Dalton Combs, Temper Founder & CEO
Topic: Behavioral Artificial Intelligence in Biohacking
⏰0:30-0:55m — Michael Kiamanesh, oval.bio Founder & CEO
Topic: Open Source Wellness and the Democratization of Health
⏰0:55-1:20m — Mac Davis, Minicircle Founder & CEO
Topic: DIY Biohacking and Decentralized Production of Gene Therapies
⏰1:20-1:45m — Liz Parrish, BioViva Founder & CEO
Topic: Longevity In Medical Tourism
⏰1:45-2:10m — Dr. Michel Poulain, Blue Zones Founder
Topic: The Effects of Location on Longevity: Discovering Blue Zones
⏰2:10-2:30m — Q&A, All Panelists & Closing Remarks
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Living a life defined by self discovery, personal development, and putting out positive energy, Rachel Bell fulfilled her longtime dream of helping others by becoming a life coach. While she took a fascinating route through entrepreneurship, art, and social media marketing to reach her position helping those around her, she learned how to empathetically share her philosophy with those around her.
As a podcaster, hosting Pay Day with Ray Ray, and running her wildly successful business coaching course Vortex, she helps aspiring leaders take important steps towards loving themselves and others in order to get what they actually want out of life. Informed by her eclectic life experiences, from a farm in Colorado to independence across the Pacific, Rachel shares insights from her most intense memories and role models.
Join us as we talk about her unique journey to her even more unique position as she shares insightful advice on everything from business management, to marketing, to living a fulfilling life.
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Today we are catching up with friend of the show Dalton Combs of BoundlessMind. Last time we talked to him, BoundlessMind was on the verge of being acquired, although we didn't know that at the time of the interview. Since then, Dalton has been searching for his next company, and he's been inspired Dalton to start Temper. For all those interested here's a link to his old episode...
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Valentine’s Day. For couples, it’s an event defined by romantic tropes of chocolates, sunsets, and candle-lit dinners. For singles, however, it’s another reminder that those constant “swipe- lefts and -rights” have been in vain. But according to today’s featured founders, Dani Fankhauser and Natalie Frangi, finding romance shouldn’t have to be so agonizing.
This episode will have two stories linked by the theme of dating.
One story will follow Dani Fankhauser, someone who initially let religion lead her dating life, but after a years-long exploration of self, she recognized the areas where modern dating falls short and founded XO, a revolutionary dating app that gamifies user-matching.
As we forge ahead into Dani’s story, we’ll explore the parallels between her journey to XO, and Natalie’s to NUiT. Natalie Frangi, a woman who fought her way from Lebanon back to Texas to pursue a career in Chemistry, has faced challenges in her life, and was even once held up at gunpoint. However, all of this served to strengthen her resolve. A tumultuous career would eventually lead her to found NUiT with the mission of finding intimate connections across the stars.
So don’t just sit and wait! Go ahead and press play.
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It's not about the books you finish, it's about the books you quit. On Founder Wisdom today, we have one of our scriptwriters, Elise Caldwell, talking about how to read more effectively. We discuss the different types of reading, and when to apply each!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today, we sit down with creative business coach Jennifer Allwood, who aims to empower aspiring creative entrepreneurs. She has not only made a living with interior design; but she also tells intimate stories through her decor, breathing life into seemingly inanimate objects. This work goes deeper than just herself. She’s intensely religious, and views Christianity as a philosophy that not only establishes personal success, but allows her to engage and uplift a great community. As the founder of The Magic Brush, the host of the Jennifer Allwood Show, and a Christian business coach, she has taken her passion for decorating and turned it into a personal brand, reaching countless others to help them unlock their creative potential.
Relevant Links
Jennifer’s Website
Jennifer’s Facebook
Jennifer’s Instagram
Jennifer’s Instagram
Jennifer’s LinkedIn
Fear is Not The Boss of You by Jennifer Alwood
Free Resources Mentioned:
www.jenniferallwood.com/focus → Guide to help discover what you’re gifted at
www.jenniferallwood.com/starterpack → Starter pack to help turn your hobby into a business
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today we chat with Alex Canter, founder of Ordermark. Alex's company works to make online ordering easier for restaurants which has been sorely needed in the midst of the COVID pandemic. In this episode we cover some updates on the business since I last talked to him almost 2 years ago, and we talk about the future of the restaurant industry.
If you want to check out Alex's episode just tap here!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today, we sit down with Andy Paul, Global Sales Expert and CEO of Zero-Time Selling Incorporated. Through his two bestselling books and his Sales Enablement podcast, Andy aims to share his sales expertise with small business salespeople and through a long storied career we talk about how he went from growing up in Japan, to working with Steve Jobs, to selling $100M satellites, to eventually becoming a best selling author!
Andy Paul’s Website
Andy Paul’s LinkedIn
Sales Enablement Podcast With Andy Paul
Zero-Time Selling: 10 Essential Steps to Accelerate Every Company’s Sales by Andy Paul
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today I talk to Vince Del Monte about the book Shoe Dog by Nike Founder Phil Knight, and ask how do we give appropriate praise? Vince Del Monte is a best-selling author, former WBFF Pro Fitness Model, and an online fitness business coach. For the past 12 years, he’s helped thousands of men transform their physiques through his coaching and online programs, while founding the M5 Movement where he teaches men how to Maximize all 5 M’s of Manhood (Muscle, Mindset, Money, Mission, Marriage). Today, Vince is known as one of the world’s leading sales and marketing fitness authorities. Working with online entrepreneurs and business thought-leaders in his high-level 7-Figure Mastermind, Vince coaches his clients to quickly scale their businesses and take a quantum leap, both mentally and financially.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
When asking people what they put in their coffee, butter probably wouldn’t seem like the most popular response. For health aficionados like Dave Asprey, however, it’s the key ingredient.
Founder and CEO of the multi-million dollar Bulletproof empire, Dave Asprey is creator of revolutionary energy drink, Bulletproof Coffee, and 5-time New York Times bestselling author of the Bulletproof health-book series. He is renowned as the Father of Biohacking, which uses science and technology to devise dietary and lifestyle changes for improved physical and cognitive functions.
Today, Dave will map out the story of his Bulletproof Empire, starting from the roots of his family’s scientific legacy, all the way to his life-changing journey to Tibet, where the concept for Bulletproof Coffee was born. Since its inception, Bulletproof Coffee has taken the world by storm, publicly endorsed by celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, Shailene Woodley, Ed Sheeran, and Maya Rudolph.
Dave currently awaits the release of his new book, Fast This Way: Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation, and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be, which will be released on January 19th, 2021 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
External Links
Biohacking Definition
Bulletproof 360 LinkedIn
Dave Asprey LinkedIn
Bulletproof Official Website
About Bulletproof
Bulletproof Coffee
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel Amen, 11/3/2015
Dave Asprey Website
Bulletproof Executive Press Room
Celebrity Endorsements/News Coverage Compilation for Bulletproof Coffee, 1/2/2016
The Better Baby Book by Dave and Lana Asprey, 12/18/2012
The Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey, 12/2/2014
Headstrong by Dave Asprey, 4/4/2017
Fast This Way by Dave Asprey, 1/19/2021
Tibetan Yak Butter Tea, 5/24/2017
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Today we chat with Kevin Ramsey, founder of Warren James. Kevin's company creates merchandise for digital celebrities and he has actually seen a ton of success in the midst of the COVID pandemic. In this episode we cover some updates on the business since I last talked to him over a year ago, and we talk about the difference between lag / lead goals and how to be an effective goal setter.
If you want to check out Kevin's episode just tap here!
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Today, we sit down with Melissa Urban, co-founder and CEO of Whole30, a movement that promotes healthy dieting through a 30-day program cutting out foods such as grains, soy, legumes, and dairy. A 6 -time New York Times bestselling author, Melissa has been featured in the New York Times, People, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Dr. Oz, and Good Morning America. She was also ranked #19 on Greatist’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness.
After spending most of her 20s as an addict, Melissa turned her life around at 26. With the help of her personal trainer, she went on a 30-day diet which later inspired the start of Whole30. Since then, Melissa has been working to serve the needs of her community, focusing on helping people sustain their health for the long-term..
[trigger warning: sexual assault, drug addiction, self-harm]
Relevant Links
Melissa Urban’s Linkedin
Melissa Urban’s Instagram
Whole30 Website
Whole30 Instagram
Whole30 Linkedin
Whole30 Facebook
CrossFit.com
The Paleo Diet: How It Works, What to Eat, and the Risks - Everyday Health (Beth W. Orenstein, 12/19/2019)
National Sexual Assault Hotline
National Substance Abuse Hotline
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Today I welcome Spencer Kahn, a Finding Founders editor, on the show to talk about how to remember things more easily. I put him through a series of tests that effectively increases the amount of information he can remember! The base rule of this lesson? Tell a crazy story!
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Today, we sit down with Sarah Petty, founder of Sarah Petty Photography, a successful photography business specializing in portraiture and Joy of Marketing, which teaches photographers how to increase their profitability. She has also co-authored Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You’re Worth and hosts the Worth Every Penny Podcast.
Sarah grew up in Illinois with a love for sports and eventually played division-one volleyball at the University of Memphis, where she majored in marketing. It was during a tumultuous time in Sarah’s pregnancy that she realized the importance of freedom and flexibility to pursue motherhood alongside her professional goals. This realization drew her towards her entrepreneurial lifestyle today.
Relevant Links
Sarah Petty’s LinkedIn
Sarah Petty’s Facebook
Sarah Petty’s Instagram
Joy of Marketing Website
Joy of Marketing Facebook Page
Sarah Petty Photography
Book - Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You’re Worth by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck
Worth Every Penny Podcast
The University of Memphis
University of Memphis Women’s Volleyball
For Further Study
Inside Coca-Cola’s Marketing Strategy - Forbes, Paul Talbott (4/26/2019)
Why Coca-Cola’s ‘New Coke’ Flopped - History.com, Christopher Klein (3/13/2020)
September 11 Attacks - History.com (9/11/2020)
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Today I welcome my sister and Finding Founders editor, Sophia Donner, on the show to talk about how to speed read. I put her through a series of tests that actually increases her reading speed in just 15 minutes! We learned all this from Jim Kwik's recent book, Limitless.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
What failures have shaped you into the person you are now?
It’s an easy question to ask, but a hard one to answer. Yet for Omar Zenhom, it’s the question behind all of his successes today.
In this episode, we sit down with Omar Zenhom, founder of Webinar Ninja, an online platform that expedites the configuration of large-scale webinars, and host of the award-winning $100 MBA Podcast, which provides aspiring entrepreneurs with free, daily doses of real-world business advice. While Omar may seem like he’s already learned all he needed to succeed, there was a time when he too had a lot to learn about entrepreneurship. And his best teacher at the time? Failure.
Join us as we explore Omar’s entrepreneurial journey, starting from his Long Island roots growing up in an Egyptian-American immigrant family, to his earlier career experiences in Egypt and Dubai, and finally to the momentary reset behind his return to the Big Apple, where his long-lasting passion for teaching fostered his success with Webinar Ninja and The $100 MBA Podcast.
Relevant Links
Patriot Act w/ Hasan Minhaj | Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80239931
Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King | Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80134781
Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table - 57 Real Life Laws on Entrepreneurship | Bobby Hashemi & Sahar Hashemi: https://www.amazon.com/Anyone-Can-Do-Building-Entrepreneurship/dp/1841127655
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! | Robert T. Kiyosaki: https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680194
Coffee Break Language Learning Podcasts: https://radiolingua.com/
John Lee Dumas - Finding Founders episode: https://findingfounders.co/episodes/john-lee-dumas
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers | Ben Horowitz: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205
Shoe Dog | Phil Knight: https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight/dp/1508211809
Webinar Ninja website: https://webinarninja.com/
$100 MBA Podcast: https://100mba.net/show/
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today I talk with Jeff Harry about how we can make our remote work more fun. So much of our lives is over Zoom and Slack, so Jeff is coming in to give us some advice.
Jeff Harry shows individuals and companies how to tap into their true selves, to feel their happiest and most fulfilled — all by playing.
Jeff has worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon and Facebook, helping their staff to infuse more play into the day-to-day.
Jeff is an international speaker who has presented at conferences such as INBOUND, SXSW, and Australia’s Pausefest, showing audiences how major issues in the workplace can be solved using play.
Jeff was selected by Engagedly as one of the Top 100 HR Influencers of 2020 for his organizational development work around addressing toxicity in the workplace.
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Today, we sit down with Max Hertan, founder of Megaphone Marketing and Telstra Business Award Finalist. Since starting the company in 2012, Max has helped businesses optimize their advertising conversion rates and buffed up their social media presences. He also runs a YouTube channel with over 100,000 subscribers where he documents learning a new skill every 30 days, featuring challenges from learning the violin to juggling.
So press play and listen to Max explain the whole journey. Starting as a mischievous elementary schooler who prank called a fire department, Max became the creator of a Uni Party Listing service that has attracted over 50,000 people from across Australia, and ultimately scaled his marketing skills into a global agency that has generated over a billion dollars in revenue for its clients.
Relevant Links
Megaphone Marketing Website: https://megaphonemarketing.com.au/
Max’s Monthly Youtube Challenges: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4b3OepbY-yWGZhUAauK0mtud_W0enSo7
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-dale-carnegie/1100370318
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blink-malcolm-gladwell/1100022866
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79352.Six_Pillars_of_Self_Esteem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2122.The_Fountainhead
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Today I talk with Joanna Vargas about the book Growth Hacker Marketing. We analyze Uber's strategies, talk about Joanna's business ventures, and explore the importance of a customer avatar.
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This is the last episode in our series on Puerto Rican Entrepreneurs and today, we sit down with Sebastian Vidal. Sebastian is the founder of Parallel 18, a start-up accelerator that provides mentors and resources for aspiring Puerto Rican and international entrepreneurs. At Parallel 18, Sebastian has served as a judge and participant for many start-up focused events, including SXSW, Stanford Ignite, and the MIT Innovation Awards Español. Recently, Sebastian was invited to be the standing Chief Innovation Officer at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust.
Born and raised in Chile, Sebastian has always been immersed in numerous cultures. From studying at a predominantly French-populated school in his hometown, to traveling through the Asia-Pacific, Middle Eastern, and European regions in early adulthood, to working in global wine export, and now, heading a Puerto Rican start-up accelerator, it’s no surprise that Sebastian possesses a well-rounded aptitude for cultural understanding and global curiosity.
An innovator by heart with a knack for tackling challenges, Sebastian is passionate about building community and lending help to those who take the road less traveled, because that’s exactly how he got his start. So with this in mind, let’s press play and learn how going against the grain led Sebastian to founding Parallel 18 in a part of the world people least expected: Puerto Rico
Find show notes at findingfounders.co
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Today I talk to a member of the Finding Founders design team, Shruti Ramanand, about how we can be more productive with less work. We discuss the concept of the Pomodoro and how we can apply it to our lives to instantly become more productive!
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This is the second installment of our Puerto Rico series where we are trying to explore how destruction sews the seeds of opportunity and growth. And Carlos embodies this idea perfectly. Today, we sit down with Carlos Goyco, founder of Libros787, an online bookstore focused on selling books by Puerto Rican authors. Rather than letting the winds of disaster pin him to the ground, Carlos’ love for his community mobilized him to create Libros 787, an online bookstore focused on selling books by Puerto Rican authors. He started the company as a passion project to help his country in the aftermath of disaster, but after winning over $70K from multiple accelerator programs, Libros 787 has become much more than a hobby. It’s a way for Carlos to spread the treasure of Puerto Rican culture. And his love for his country started young, in the town of Ponce.
Relevant Links
Libros 787 website: https://libros787.com/
Libros 787 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/libros787/
The Facts: Hurricane Maria’s effect on Puerto Rico - Mercy Corps (11/9/2020)
https://www.mercycorps.org/blog/quick-facts-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico
Island of Puerto Rico ‘destroyed’ by Hurricane Maria - ABC News, Youtube (11/20/2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNFnVIlE6cA
160+ Startup Incubators and Accelerators Around the World - Embroker (6/10/2020):
https://www.embroker.com/blog/accelerators-vs-incubators/
Parallel 18 Startup Accelerator (Libros787 Graduated from this accelerator): https://www.parallel18.com/
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Today we talk to Mark Fidelman, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Fanatics media. I was reading a book called "Growth Hacker Marketing" by Ryan Holiday, and as I was browsing the footnotes I saw Mark's name. I knew I had to talk to him, so we scheduled a call to discuss how to market a product and steal your competitors customers.
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When all is smooth sailing, community is something that we often take for granted. But when the waves get rocky, there’s truth in the saying “it takes a village” -- after all, difficult times are made easier when we know we have others to lean on.
Today, we sit down with Nelson Colón, CEO of the Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Community Foundation) and Honorary Recipient of the 2014 Martin Luther King and Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Awards for his work in social responsibility and justice. In his 20-year role as President of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, Nelson has effectively spearheaded disaster-relief strategies throughout Puerto Rico, from community restoration in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María, to providing critical medical response during COVID-19.
Tune in now as we have a candid conversation with Nelson about the racial and socio-economic challenges he faced growing up as a black Puerto-Rican; how his upbringing in a protective, tight-knit family inspired a lifelong dedication towards helping others in need; the experiences that continue to mold his passion for community-service-oriented projects in afflicted, at-risk areas of Puerto Rico; and personal advice on how we can each foster stronger communities in times of trial through continual provisions of compassion, support, and hope.
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Today we cover conformational and contradictory evidence and why you should try to prove yourself wrong. Joyce Mok, our scriptwriting team lead, and I do a test, analyze the results and see where these results apply in our own lives.
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We're back for part 2 of the Mac Davis' quest for immortality! (If you haven't listened to part 1 there are links below). In the second half of the episode we'll cover a near death explosion, revolutionary discoveries, mysterious deaths, incredible experiments, and the founding of a successful company: Minicircle. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! Listen to Part 1 Apple Podcasts Spotify Anchor
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On today's episode, FF's own Adrian Tapia (editing team lead) and Samuel Donner talk about the issue with second hand information. We delve into why you can't trust any conversation that starts with "My friend did [this]."
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When was the last time you skimmed over a book or article and realized that by the time you finished, absolutely nothing stuck? Well, it turns out speed-reading isn’t as easy as 1-2-3; like any superpower, it needs to be trained. Today we sit down to talk with Jim Kwik, author of Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, & Unlock Your Exceptional Life and founder of online brain-training platform Kwik Learning, which aims to enhance memory and teach speed-reading techniques. With students from over 195 countries, Kwik Learning has become an incredibly successful way to realize Jim’s mission: “No Brain Left Behind.” In this episode, Jim will discuss his early struggles with memory and reading; the life-changing trip to California that sparked his passion for “quick” (no pun intended) learning; the origins and impact of the Kwik Learning platform; and finally, the Limitless legacy that he wanted to leave behind. So kick back, relax, and let’s learn all the ways we can each unlock our own inner genius.
Feature Quotes
“I tell people that their life is like an egg. That if an egg is broken by an outside force, life ends. But if it’s broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things begin on the inside, and showing people that they have greatness inside of them-- that they have genius inside of them-- is my mission. I’m gonna show people how to unleash that genius.”
“If knowledge is power, learning is our superpower. And it’s a superpower we all have. We just have to learn how to unleash it.”
“Your passion is what lights you up, but your purpose is how you use your passion to light other ppl up.”
“It’s interesting that the boy with the broken brain could go out there, and his mission is to build better brains & a better future for people… No brain left behind.”
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Storytelling is an essential part of any business whether you are trying to sell a product, raise money, or get your team on board with a mission. And so it's essential that you know how to tell interesting stories. At Finding Founders we have a motto: "No story is boring, it's just too long." Through a method of contracting and expanding certain parts of the story we are able to make almost anyone an engaging storyteller. In this episode of Founder Wisdom, we delve into how to expand and contract stories to create riveting narratives, and how you can too!
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Today we talk to Andrew Warner and we start with Andrew describing the impossibly fast pace of his first business’s success. Shortly out of college, Andrew was handling millions of dollars and taking on massive risk. Only a few years later, he’d give up that frantic lifestyle, jump ship and head for a respite in the Caribbean. Andrew’s life with all the peaks and valleys of the entrepreneurial journey, mirrors that of his initial mentors who lived within the pages of books. He took those lessons, founded a few companies, and now continues to learn from entrepreneurs with his show Mixergy, asking the question what do startup founders know that you don’t?. Today, we’ll explore Andrew’s story, a page-turner that started in Brooklyn, NY and a community infused with entrepreneurial vision.
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What are questions you can ask to get people more vulnerable? How can you get someone to open up to you in a short amount of time? These are questions that can help us in our personal and professional relationships.
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Today we talk to Brad Lea and he starts with his first few weeks in LA. Not long before he was at the mercy of a crack pipe, he got kicked out of his home in Oregon at 16, convinced a friend to quit his job, and drove to California to pursue his dream of becoming a movie star. And while this dream didn’t exactly pan out, that same charisma he hoped would end up on the silver screen, has helped him become a master salesman. Today, Brad runs his multi-million dollar business, Lightspeed VT, which gives companies world-class virtual training systems with the goal of getting knowledge from those who have it to the people who need it. Brad understands the potential of knowledge to improve lives and a lot of the passion he has for his company comes from his experience growing up with less than everyone around him.
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What is the formula for interesting storytelling? Today we discuss the essential components of a great story and how to craft narratives that matter. It's enough to just have a subject that is of consequence, you have create an interesting and unique take on that subject.
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Today we talk to Cory Allen, meditation teacher, author, podcast host, musician, and today’s featured Founder. Cory’s story begins in Austin, TX, with a choice to live a markedly different life from that of his gun-toting, Republican, cynical, and distrustful father. He tells me about his moment of awakening, and teaches me that enlightenment can happen anywhere, even in a urinal. He speaks about his relationships with his mom, with organized religion, with drugs and Nietzsche and death metal. He talks about his audio mastering company, AlteredEar, and his universal-truth-giving podcast, The Astral Hustle. Telling Cory’s story is hard, because I feel like I’m trying to cram the weight of the universe, all its intricacies and wisdom, into peanut... but let’s delve into it anyway and start a few in Austin.
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Why can't you lie in a podcast? Today we talk about authenticity, otherizing, presidential debates, and why podcasts are better lie detectors than videos.
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Today we are talking to James Altucher and we start just after James went broke. This wouldn’t be the last time he lost money, and we’ll learn that James has an interesting relationship with risk, in fact we’ll talk a lot about risk in this episode. Regardless, James has been incredibly successful. He’s published 25 books and founded over 20 companies, many of which failed. But it seems that failure is something that has defined James. His entire career, and for that matter his personality, is incredibly erratic. One year he’ll have 10s of millions of the dollars in the bank, the next close to nothing. And he oscillates between these two extremes frequently. Yet every failure, every challenge is met with resiliency. Every challenge presents an opportunity to learn. From training with the homeless to become a chess-master, to an obsession with computer science, to getting sucked into poker, to making large bets in angel investing, each of these experiences forced James to learn and grow. Some of the lessons took years to integrate, but some were learned in 1970s suburban New York.
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How can great work be a curse? Today we look at exceptional work, how to deal with it, how to avoid the Sports Illustrated jinx, and how statistical regression can help us make sense of it all.
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We start with Dan Pashman's his live event to promote his food podcast, Sporkful. After seemingly endless hard work and sacrifice, Dan finally felt the excitement, the palpable energy his audience invested into his work. He’s been able to create such an enlivened community around his podcast due to the passion he has for food and high-quality audio storytelling. Today, Sporkful has evolved into something deeper than food; food is just a vehicle Dan uses to explore science, history, culture, and economics. But if we go wayyy back, the podcast started out as a humorous outlet for Dan to ramble on about any given food for 30 minutes. And if we go even further back, to the origin of Dan's love for food, we arrive at his Jewish upbringing, in a family culture centered around eating.
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Does success breed success and does failure breed failure?
We asked Barry Ritholtz what book he recommends to understand the stock market and he recommended the book 'How We Know What Isn't So' by Thomas Gilovich.
We talk about the clustering illusion, coin tosses, basketball, hot hands, and attaching emotion to success and failure.
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Today we talk to Travis Chappell who starts by describing to us just one of the many rules he was taught to abide by in the small, religious town of Lancaster. Growing up in a structured environment where your appearance, your music, your profession are monitored, it seemed that Travis was destined for a life of rigidity and conformity. However, Travis didn’t follow the path his community paved for him, he forged his own and became the host of Build Your Network and the founder of Guestio. And that entrepreneurial spirit was uncovered at a young age. As soon as Travis could walk, he was shadowing his father in the world of real estate.
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How can you persuade people and your team more effectively?
Persuasiveness essentially boils down to two things: expertise and trustworthiness. Expertise describes whether someone is worth listening to; that is how intelligent and knowledgeable the person is about the subject at hand. Trustworthiness describes whether someone should be listened to; that is whether the person has your best interests at heart. To boil it down a little further, expertise is whether they have the knowledge, trustworthiness is whether they are using that knowledge to help you.
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Today we are talking to John Lee Dumas, and much of John’s life, centers around impact. From joining ROTC, to serving in the military, to going to law school, and ultimately to pursuing podcasting, impact is something that John has successfully curated. Now, with the Entrepreneurs on Fire Podcast, John releases interviews with inspirational entrepreneurs and impacts the lives of millions of his listeners. It’s not just his listeners that are rewarded, since 2012, the podcast has brought in a gross income of almost 20 Million dollars.
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How can we easily categorize people’s personality?
This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. Then we’ll show you how we are applying that knowledge ourselves!
Last week we talked about how we could categorize emotions into four categories. Interestingly enough we can also do the same thing with personalities.
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This is Finding Founders, I’m Samuel Donner, and this is the story of Jason Stapleton. Initially we see Jason as a Blackwater mercenary in Iraq and this experience embodies a certain magnitude of intensity that he’s taken with him throughout all his endeavors. He’s been a sniper in the marines, a broke truck washer, a trader, and a wealth coach. Nowadays, he sits safely behind a microphone, hosting his libertarian podcast Wealth, Power and Influence. The though line of his life and his business ventures is built on the core foundation of pursuing liberty and achieving authentic freedom. Growing up, though, he was anything but free. He was stuck in a crummy little town in the middle of nowhere.
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How can you use emotion to structure goals?
This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. Then we’ll show you how we are applying that knowledge ourselves!
I asked Masterclass founder David Rogier what book I should read if I’m trying to manage people more effectively. He recommended “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop by Clifford Nas.
So I think a lot of us think about emotions as this wide ranging huge complicated swath of feelings. I mean just off the top of my head I can think of admiration, adoration, anger, anxiety, awe, disgust, excitement, fear, horror, joy, nostalgia, relief. There seems to be so many ways to feel, but when we really boil these emotions down they all fall somewhere on the arousal/valence xy chart.
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Today on the show we talk to Jen Sargent, founder of the entertainment news site HitFix, and current COO of Wondery, the largest independent podcast publisher. They have a whole hosts of podcasts and I imagine you’ve heard of at least a couple. Before the Cambrian explosion of podcasts we live in today, Jen tapped into a myriad of exciting ventures. From an engineering degree to a JP Morgan desk to work abroad to Harvard Business School, she’s done it all. But the one constant in her zig zagging career is her knack for fixing things. You could say it runs in the family.
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So last week we went over the first pillar of team building which was ‘identification’, check out Founder Wisdom episode 2 if you want a refresh.
This week we’ll go over the other pillar of team building which is interdependence.
What is interdependence? This is a trait of teams that occurs when both of the following are achieved:
The team members believe that their efforts and the efforts of other team members are integral to the success of the team
The team members believe that achieving the group’s goals will serve their own personal goals
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Today on the show we talk to Nick Loper, founder of Side Hustle Nation. Side Hustle Nation is a business podcast, but it’s also more than that. It’s a lifestyle, a way to break the chains of the typical 9-5. It doesn’t talk about giant VC backed startups trying to IPO, it’s a bit simpler and more attainable. But long before he became the side hustle guru, he based his identity around academia.
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How can you build stronger teams using identification?
This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. Then we’ll show you how we are applying that knowledge ourselves!
I asked Masterclass founder David Rogier what book I should read if I’m trying to manage people more effectively. He recommended “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop by Clifford Nas
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today on the show we talk to Barry Ritholtz, co-founder, chairman, and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC, Bloomberg columnist and host of the Masters in Business podcast. I’ll give you a bit of a heads up: you’re in for a wild ride with this one. Barry is an ebullient storyteller with an encyclopedic knowledge of just about everything, whether it be behavioral economics or science fiction literature. Ideas ding and flash around like a pinball. His breadth of knowledge and interests, his big time personality and renegade attitude brought him a lot of success in his many and disparate business ventures. He has this “me against the world” vision of his life, where he is the protagonist bowling over everything holding him back from his way to the top. And boy, does he have a compelling way of telling his story. Act one of Barry’s story: growing up.
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You’ve probably been giving your team the wrong criticism. This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. I asked MasterClass founder David Rogier what book I should read if I’m trying to manage people more effectively. He recommended “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop" by Clifford Nas.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support
Today on the show we talk to Sheera Goren, founder of Zygo. Zygo is the first underwater headset for streaming audio and live communication. I swam competitively for 15 years and always joked to my friends that swimming was the most boring sport imaginable. For hours on hours all I did was swim back and forth on the same stretch of pool looking at the black line below. But Zygo is bringing a little more fun to a sport that is too often dismissed as a monotonous activity for the old and frail...and Michael Phelps. But hey, if trendy Soul Cycling studios can make riding a bike that goes absolutely nowhere fun, why can’t Zygo do that for swimming? While Sheera's days are now spent smelling of chlorine with a constantly damp head of hair, she didn’t start out in swimming. In fact, her early passion for sports can be traced back to the soccer field.
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Today on the show we talk to David Rogier, founder of Masterclass. Maybe you’ve seen the ads? Masterclass is an online platform where you can learn directing from Martin Scorsese, basketball from Steph Curry, singing from Christina Aguilera and everything in between from luminaries in their fields. Its founder, much like its intended audience, is an avid self learner who values education above all else. Education is David’s way of putting himself in the driver’s seat of his life. But as a kid, it didn’t always feel like he was behind the wheel.
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Today we’re traveling to Germany to talk to Patrick Nathen, co-founder of the German aviation company Lilium. The company has won numerous awards and raised hundreds of millions in investment for an idea that at first seemed laughably unimaginable: flying taxis. While this may seem more in line with the fantasies told to WWII vets and the imaginary world envisioned on the Jetsons, Patrick and his team have proved that these innovations are closer than you’d think. Oh also, Elon Musk is a fan, but we’ll get to that later. You may be thinking that those are some pretty ego-boosting accomplishments; well, think again. Patrick is one of the most humble down to Earth guys we’ve ever had on this show. But don’t let his mild mannered demeanor fool you though; he’s got a rebellious streak to him. It all started from his humble beginnings, growing up in Dusseldorf, Germany.
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Today on the show we talk to Dylan Jacob, founder of Brumate, a unique drinkware company to insulate alcoholic beverages. Dylan has brought in more than 50 million dollars and won Ernst & Young’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the year award. Initially, I thought, “How does a glorified beer koozie rack in tens of millions of dollars?” But in talking to Dylan I soon found a driven individual that is passionate about solving problems, has an incredible attention to detail, and a laser focus. Ever since middle school, Dylan has been a hustler, finding his niche in selling weed, phone parts, and even flipping cars. What sets Dylan apart is his disregard for following other people’s expectations. We can trace this all back to a childhood marked by frugality.
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Today on the show we talk to Sam Bakhtiar, doctor, author, podcaster, and bodybuilder extraordinaire. Sam is the founder of The Camp Transformation Center, which now has over 100 locations nationwide. The Camp is a radically different kind of gym; it pieces together components that catalyze weight loss and fitness goals, from community support and group training to health and nutrition. He’s dedicated his entire life to the art of bodybuilding, working his muscles in the gym and his mind in the time outside of it. Healthy living is clearly something that’s vital to Sam; in fact, he couldn’t even sit still long enough to record this interview. Instead, we talked to him from his treadmill.
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Jeremy Greene is no stranger to hard work. Growing up with an alcoholic single mom, Jeremey fought for himself for as long as he can remember. But it wasn’t until he discovered music that Jeremey found something to devote all of this hard-working energy to. Over time, he would soar to incredible heights of success, all to come crashing back down. His ego would follow these waves, as a flashy facade hid the lonely boy desperate to find some connection. These days, Jeremey heads Mojichat, a company that allows its users to create and share personalized, augmented reality avatars. And while this venture has brought him to his newest height of triumph, Jeremey has come to learn that there is more to success than the number of 0’s in your bank account.
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Today on the show we are doing something a little meta. I’m a podcaster who interviews entrepreneurs, and today I’m interviewing Casey Adams. I met Casey at an entrepreneurial run club in West Hollywood, shoutout to Grand AC, and learned that he’s an entrepreneurial podcaster who interviews entrepreneurs. Yes the interviewer has become the interviewee. The audio quality will be a bit different this episode as Casey will soon explain.
We decided to proceed with the interview sans-mic, but Casey Adams doesn’t just tell other people’s stories, he has quite an origin story of his own. Growing up in a small town, Casey had humble beginnings. In fact he was an aspiring football player before becoming the social media savvy entrepreneur he is today. Facing a life changing injury, Casey was left with a gaping hole in his life. With hours of free time on his hands, cooped up in his room amidst the already suffocatingly small town of Chesterfield, Casey had an ample time to reassess his life. And he did. From an unknown small town football player, Casey became a prominent social media tycoon, garnering followers and supporters with his undeniable charm and charisma. Casey is only 19, so going to the beginning of his life doesn’t take us too far back in time. So, let’s start in Chesterfield Virginia.
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This is part 2 of the story of Chris Do, founder and CEO of The Futur. It may seem presumptive of Chris to name himself CEO of your future. But for so many, Chris may have at least some claim to the title. The Futur is an online education platform, dedicated to the mission of teaching one billion people how to be successful in a career they love. All too often, we segment professionals into those that utilize the right brain or use left brain. Artists and business people mix like oil and water, right? Well, that’s not the case for Chris. Chris sits at the nexus of the right and left brain. He employs his creativity, but also his ability to lead and organize. His ability to embody both sides of his brain shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He has spent his whole life at the schism between ideologies, struggling to find a place where he fit in. He suffocated under the weight of the identities that forced upon him. His family fled war torn Vietnam to America and at school, he was the Vietnamese emigre who would never quite fit in. At home, he was a failure; he didn’t adhere to one of three professions deemed suitable by the immigrant model of success: a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. He would never quite fit in. But through years of inner turmoil, he learned to be comfortable forging his own path.
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This is part 1 of the story of Chris Do, founder and CEO of The Futur. It may seem presumptive of Chris to name himself CEO of your future. But for so many, Chris may have at least some claim to the title. The Futur is an online education platform, dedicated to the mission of teaching one billion people how to be successful in a career they love. All too often, we segment professionals into those that utilize the right brain or use left brain. Artists and business people mix like oil and water, right? Well, that’s not the case for Chris. Chris sits at the nexus of the right and left brain. He employs his creativity, but also his ability to lead and organize. His ability to embody both sides of his brain shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He has spent his whole life at the schism between ideologies, struggling to find a place where he fit in. He suffocated under the weight of the identities that forced upon him. His family fled war torn Vietnam to America and at school, he was the Vietnamese emigre who would never quite fit in. At home, he was a failure; he didn’t adhere to one of three professions deemed suitable by the immigrant model of success: a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. He would never quite fit in. But through years of inner turmoil, he learned to be comfortable forging his own path.
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Today we’re talking to Ben Taft, co-founder of Mira Labs, a smartphone powered augmented reality company. But before your mind starts to wander to a Black Mirror-esque dystopia, let me extrapolate. Mira builds cost-effective technology solutions to improve everyday business functions. This technology is helping businesses right now overcome distance and circumstance. Workers that deal with complex engine assembly or navigate the depths of hazardous mine shafts, now can have remote experts directly interact with whatever the worker sees.. all completely hands free.
Mira’s incredible success came from humble beginnings, it actually came from a fishbowl… but we’ll get to that later.
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So this episode is different from what we usually put out. It’s a live virtual summit on the Secrets of TikTok. It won’t have voiceover, music, or sound effects like our other episodes… but it should be pretty informative. Also if you are new here, I’d recommend listening to our recent episodes on Mac Davis and Immortality... some crazy stories in there!
Anyway, we spent a few months prepping for this event and we gathered together a highly qualified group panelists to speak to our audience. The event was a hit! We had almost 500 people RSVP and almost 300 people attend. I’ve been getting email after email and message after message asking if I’d post the full audio… so here it is.
But before we get into it, let me break down our panelists.
Here are the time codes and summaries for each panelist’s sections.
@ [0;01;51]
We’re starting with Nick and Jason who founded Popl. They launched their business with TikTok and gained over 1.5M+ followers in two months and grew their monthly revenue from 0 to over 60k!
@ [0;32;21]
Then we’ll move to Brian Freeman. Brian is the CEO & Founder of Heartbeat, the #1 TikTok Influencer Marketplace. He’s also a contributing writer at Forbes, Inc., MarketWatch, Entrepreneur, and numerous others.
@ [1;01;40]
Next we’ll talk to Marcel Salapa. Marcel is TikTok Lead at Movers+Shakers, a TikTok creative agency responsible for the #1 TikTok campaign in the world. With this campaign, they generated over 5 billion views and 3 million user generated videos.
@ [1;32;35]
Our final panelist is Dare. Dare (a.k.a Captaindare) is a versatile TikTok creator whose ingenious comedy skits skyrocketed him to success with over 800,000 followers and over 20 million likes. He recently had the honor of presenting the first ever Black History Summit for TikTok.
Without further ado, here is the summit, and we’ll hear from Nick and Jason of Popl first.
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Today we’re talking to Jinny Oh, founder of WANDR, spelled W-A-N-D-R, a product strategy and user interface design firm.
Post Corona, working remotely is the norm for many of us, but Jinny was doing it before it was cool and a public health necessity. Bitten by the travel bug in her teenage years, she dreamt of traveling the world while doing what she loved. She’s achieved that dream, and while the firm is supposedly based in Los Angeles (according to its google address), her employees work all over the world and WANDR’s headquarters land wherever the next flight takes Jinny.
When trapped in any pocket of the world for too long, Jinny starts to get antsy. Luckily for us, Coronavirus canceled all her travel plans which appeared to give Jinny enough time between trips to sit down with me and talk about WANDR. When I met with Jinny she had temporarily set her bags down at her apartment in Los Angeles and was doing UX design with her team from around the world.
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We're back for part 2 of the Mac Davis' quest for immortality! (If you haven't listened to part 1 there are links below). In the second half of the episode we'll cover a near death explosion, revolutionary discoveries, mysterious deaths, incredible experiments, and the founding of a successful company: Minicircle.
Listen to Part 1
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Anchor
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Today on the show we talk to Mac Davis, founder of Minicircle, a company that aims to extend the length and quality of human life through gene therapy.
Mac has an incredible story that starts out on a small island with a lone computer connected to the internet. From there he navigated through the dark underbelly of the web, unraveling its secrets which ultimately led him to a small fortune in bitcoin. That was just the beginning, Mac traveled the world seeking leaders in philosophy, came within inches of death after an explosion, started a biohacking lab that culminated in the mysterious death of his business partner, and faced an incredible number of interesting twists and turns.
But first, I want to talk about how I came to meet Mac. I was interviewing Rob Rhinehart, founder of Soylent and asked him if he had any suggestions for our future interviews. He immediately suggested Mac Davis. So a few weeks later, Mac came in for an interview while he was crashing at Rob’s apartment in LA.
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We started the episode a bit differently today, so hopefully you didn’t cringe too hard at my Jony Ive impersonation, but we wanted to set a particular framework for this episode. Today we’re talking to Roger Volodarsky, founder of Puffco, a company that creates the best cannabis concentrate vaporizers on the market. They pay particularly close attention to design, and basically it looks like if Apple made bongs. This attention to detail might seem ridiculous to the uninitiated, but as we tell Roger’s story you’ll begin to understand that these vaporizers change lives. Roger realizes that because it saved his own life from opiate addiction. There was a lot of iteration, heartbreak, and work that led Roger to evolve into the fully-fledged Steve Jobs of the vaporizers, however, before that metamorphosis could transpire, Roger would have to face a myriad of traumatic events.
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Today on the show we talk to Luciano Mazza, an international architect, and designer of H club in LA. The H.Club started as the brainchild of Paul Allen, global philanthropist and co-founder of a little company called Microsoft, and musician Dave Stewart. But Luciano, who’s been an architectural entrepreneur for the past couple decades, brought that idea to reality. Luciano currently is director of Hospitality Architecture at HKS Inc. in London, and his experience designing hotels and luxury resorts includes projects from the Four Seasons to Shangri-La. Luciano describes architecture as the balance between elegance and efficacy. But for Luciano, it’s those intimate, personal aspects of architecture that are most important. Luciano thinks deeply about the people he wants to serve, and the buildings he designs aim to guide emotional reflexes using space. Empathy is paramount to understand the emotional reflexes of various cultures, and in pursuit of this multi-cultural empathy, he’s worked everywhere from Los Angeles to London. Luciano has had an extensive career, and he’s indebted to the myriad of cities that helped to cultivate his creativity and empathy, but probably most impactful was the city where it all started. One of the most beautiful and storied cities in the world: the vibrant city of Mantua, Italy.
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Usually, we interview an inspirational entrepreneur, but today we decided to break down User Generated Content, or UGC. It was brought up briefly on our episode with Jonathan Skogmo, founder of Jukin, and with Kevin Ramsey founder of Warren James, but UGC has a long rich history that continues to impact us today. Every day people post billions of pictures and videos of failures, triumphs, and all of life's most spectacular and ridiculously mundane moments. If you have ever posted a personal video or photo onto Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit, Vimeo, or any other social media platform, you have posted User Generated Content. And with each post you make, you are contributing to the rapid evolution of UGC. But before we go any further, we need to know, what exactly is User Generated Content?
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Today on the show we talk to Kevin Ramsey, founder of Warren James, a custom merchandising firm that specializes in the content creator ecosystem. I just threw a lot of words at you there so let me break down what we’re actually looking at here.
A decade ago when people heard the term content creator, they thought of a bunch of teens with crappy webcams recording vlogs in their room for YouTube. Now, those teens are all grown up and have developed themselves into some of the most recognizable brands in the world. And I’m not talking about small mom-and-pop shop off-brand brands, only known within their respective communities. Content creators are amassing millions of followers, and with those millions of followers are coming millions of dollars. And with this money, has come legitimization. Consequently, the gap between established brands like Gucci and new-age brands like Jefferey Star Cosmetics is shrinking. The brands these creators have built out of themselves have become so massive, so exponentially popular that I think it’s likely that their names will soon come to rival traditional name brands in terms of cultural impact. And this is where Kevin’s company, Warren James, steps in. Warren James is capitalizing on this personal branding, offering custom products that previously were only available to large companies. Basically, with the help of Warren James, these content creators can stop selling crappy off-center screen printed t-shirts, and instead market custom Nikes.
Kevin has discovered a niche within an already-developed marketplace. Content creators were already generating merchandise for their personal brands. But now he was giving them a chance to expand their shops. He wasn’t breaking the wheel, or even reinventing it; instead, think of it as adding customized rims to the car.
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The story of how Milt Larsen turned a century-old mansion into a world-famous, Hollywood cultural icon that brings magic lovers and magicians together form across the world. Countless celebrities have performed at the castle including Orson Welles, Johnny Carson, Steve Martin, Neil Patrick Harris, and many more. Together we'll dive into Milt's magical childhood, how he came to notoriety, and how the Magic Castle continues to stand as a pillar of the magical community to this day.
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This past Monday we held a Virtual Summit with Dalton Combs on the Future of Artificial Intelligence. We talked about the history of A.I., how it can massively improve our lives, and how it also might kill us! Don’t worry if you missed it because you can hear the full live event right now. If you don’t want to miss the next live event and the opportunity to interact directly with our community of founders go to our website, findingfounderspodcast.com, and subscribe to our newsletter, trust me… it’s awesome.
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Today on the show we talk to Jonathan Skogmo. He’s the founder of Jukin which is an innovative media company that focuses on user-generated content. What is user-generated content? Well, it’s stuff like a video of a mom laughing hysterically while wearing a Chewbacca mask. That video is known as Chewbacca mom and the original video alone received over 140 million views. In fact, the video became so popular that this Chewbacca mask completely sold out around the world. Although the Chewbacca mom, otherwise known as Candace Payne, technically owns the video, the right to license that video belongs to Jukin. By acquiring viral videos, like this one, Jukin media has amassed 200 million fans and receives 3 billion views every month. We’ll get into all this and Jonathan’s current entrepreneurial ventures soon enough, but first, let’s go back to his first venture.
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Today we talk to Hollis Carter, co-founder of The Baby Bathwater Institute. Alright, I’m going to give you guys a second to close your eyes and listen to that name one more time: Baby Bathwater. Without restricting that creative mind of yours, try and guess what his company does. Alright, ready? If you guessed it was a group that hosts outdoor networking conferences with healthy food, unlimited booze, outdoor activities, and live music, then you are kinda close. Hollis would probably rephrase that description and say that it isn’t a networking conference, but a connection conference. The word networking has a lot of professional baggage, so Hollis is trying to distance his events from that of the corporate vernacular. He’s creating an experience that guests will cherish for years to come and connection is something that Hollis has been promoting his entire life. Ever since he was a young boy, Hollis has worked to foster an environment focused on community. In fact, Hollis’ discovery concerning the tenets of an ideal community can be traced back to his childhood experiences with his parents.
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Pixar had sunk millions of dollars into Toy Story 2 and it was almost deleted... Today on the show we analyze how Pixar failed and the steps they took towards recovery.
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I’m Samuel Donner, and today on the show we talk to Markian Benhamou, a social media influencer with over 5 Million followers across Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. When I first met Markian at USC through UCLA’s entrepreneurship club, he seemed like a nice, hardworking guy. I would have never expected that he had such a serious following. But he does have a serious following, and he’s serious about the business of being an influencer. While most might see influencers as frivolous, Markian sees entrepreneurs that can transform personal brands into businesses. Influencer marketing, which started as a $1.7 billion industry in 2016, is projected to grow to $6.5 billion this year alone. And by 2025, experts predict that it will balloon to a massive $26.4 billion industry. I was fascinated to take a dive into the life of one of these influencers.
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Today on the show we talk to Brian Freeman, the founder and CEO of Heartbeat, a social media marketplace that empowers creators at any level, from 100 to 100,000 followers, to work with established brands. When I met Brian I noticed pretty quickly that he speaks with a lot of energy. This infectious energy pulled me into Brian's world. I felt that I could see his vision, it was almost tangible. I realized that this energy is an integral component of a captivating leader and an attribute that has propelled Brian to success. But even more than an ability to inspire those around him , I think this energy also let’s Brian inspire himself when everything seems as though it’s on the verge of implosion. Brian is incredibly resilient, and, as you’ll hear, his ability to jump from one venture to another without losing confidence in himself is what part of what makes him such an inspiring entrepreneur.
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We loved Rob’s story but there was a lot of sciencey stuff that came up and it just didn’t fit int he episode, so we wanted to dedicate a mini-episode to the science. To talk about that sciencey stuff I wanted to introduce Luke Riggan, an immunology Ph.D. student here at UCLA. Luke is smart, especially with sciencey things, so at the end of our interview, he used that big brain of his and talked to Rob about the microbiology stuff surrounding Soylent.
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Today on the show we talk to Rob Rhinehart, 27-year-old founder of Soylent, an innovative food replacement startup that has rocked the world of consumer packaged goods. Soon after the interview started I noticed that Rob has an incredibly intentional way of speaking. It seems like each word was meticulously chosen to most effectively communicate his internal dialogue. I think this intentionality directly contradicts the scrappy break it, then fix it later mantra that saturates the mentality of many Silicon Valley startups. With an innate talent for creating and innovating, Rob has led Soylent to insane success with the young company having raised over $75 million. A natural-born inventor and trained engineer, Rob is redefining how the world views nutrition and food.
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Today on the show we talk to Dalton Combs, founder of Boundless Mind, formally known as Dopamine Labs. Dalton has built a company that specializes in persuasion AI, a technology that shapes human behavior. I know what you are thinking: IRobot, The Matrix, Ex Machina, Terminator, death, and destruction. It initially seemed like pretty nefarious stuff to me as well. I was curious on two accounts. One I wanted to see the birthplace of our AI overloads and two I wanted to see who was behind such powerful technology. So, I went to the Boundless offices in Venice to talk to Dalton. There are a lot of interesting points in Dalton’s interview, as you’ll hear, but a theme of this podcast will be free will, and the ability of technology to destroy or cultivate our free will.
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Today on the show we talk to John Terzian, the owner and co-founder of The H.Wood Group, a Los Angeles hospitality and lifestyle company catered to curating some of the most iconic brands in the world. Ranging from upscale nightlife venues to groundbreaking new restaurants, H.Wood Group runs thirteen venues in Los Angeles, five others across the nation and continues to broaden its reach every year. With an artistic background and an innately creative personality, John puts great detail into every venue, concept or event he works on. What really distinguishes him as an entrepreneur is his love for connecting with new people from different backgrounds, cultures, and careers.
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In this podcast, we’ll explore how Cannabis is changing, and how the partnership between Wayv and Hypur will rapidly accelerate the growth of the Cannabis industry. But to understand how this partnership will shape the future of Cannabis we have to take a look at the history of Cannabis and where it is today.
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Today on the show we talk to Glen Irani, a native Angeleno and the founder of Glen Irani Architects, an architecture firm that has been at the forefront of environmental research, sustainability, and breathtaking design for over 20 years. You have probably passed by one of his designs while in the LA area, which is actually how I first met him. I was walking on the outskirts of Venice when I was struck by this beautifully designed house. It was so striking, that I had to get out of the car and take a picture of it. I immediately searched for anyone who knew anything about the house and bumped into someone surveying the land outside. It turned out to be Glen, the architect behind this house. I knew I had to ask him some more questions, so we set up this interview. I want to momentarily go back to the house. When you find yourself in front of an Irani structure, there exists this immediate immersion and connection, not only to the physical structure but the design philosophy behind it. It engulfs you with its unique, self-defined design, while it simultaneously stimulates your senses, causing you to just stand back and drop your jaw. And today we have the opportunity to explore the mind of the man behind it all,
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Today on the show we’re talking about holograms. Now you are probably most familiar with this tech from a little movie called Star Wars. Well, holograms are real and Ben Conway, co-founder of the company VNTANA, has been turning what was once science fiction into science fact. VNTANA is on the bleeding edge of an augmented and virtual reality revolution that will drastically change how we perceive the world. But on the road to change, the world presented a lot of unexpected twists, turns, and pitfalls…
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Today on the show we talk to UCLA undergrad Angel Herrera, and how he went from gang life to becoming a co-founder of Need (now Duffl), an online retailer that delivers everything in a matter of 10 minutes or less. I think the best way to put it is 7-Eleven on wheels.
Along the way, we'll introduce a few of the other cofounders including David Lin and Rohun Vora.
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Today on the show we talk to Keith McCarty, the 4th employee of Yammer which was acquired for 1.2 billion dollars; the founder of Eaze, a company that revolutionized and legitimized the Cannabis industry; which he left while it was still growing massively to start a new even more exciting company: Wayv, the Amazon of Cannabis.
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From selling t-shirts to his classmates in high school, to paying for school by selling phone cases from his dorm room - Marcel loves to hustle. Along the way, Marcel has learned the ins and outs of social media to drive sales and push growth. He’s created viral content garnering millions of views on Facebook and Instagram, and worked with influencers and content creators across the globe. 2 years ago he started Phoros Nutrition, a protein pancake mix brand that uses e-commerce strategies to launch and distribute their products.
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Today on the show we talk to Alex Canter, the 26-year-old founder of Ordermark and one of Forbe’s 30 under 30. But If you’ve lived in LA for any time at all you’ve probably heard of Alex Canter, well at least his last name. Canter’s Deli is one of LA’s longest standing and most famous Deli’s. Alex is part of the 4th generation of owners but eventually struck out on his own and created Ordermark, a restaurant focused solution for online order aggregation.
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Today on the show, we talk to Kong Pham, founder of Simple Pickup and Jumpcut. Kong has never been traditional. In his schooling and entrepreneurial ventures, he continuously breaks the molds set by the establishment. In this spirit, he ventures to disrupt one of the oldest institutions in America and the world, University Education.
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Today on the show we talk to Melinda Moore, founder of Moore Ventures, Loving Eco, Tuesday Nights, Software Television, They, iConsumer… you get the idea. Melinda is a serial entrepreneur and has had many successes and failures, but her insatiable drive to educate herself and those around her keeps her moving forward.
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Dov Charney, Founder of American Apparel and, more recently, Los Angeles Apparel is a controversial figure, but controversy is something that he seems to thrive in. Dov and I talk about his beginnings in Montreal, the start of his company American Apparel, losing that company, and starting anew with Los Angeles Apparel.
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Starting a business in college is all about hustle. There is so much opportunity in the collegiate community, once you identify a market, form an idea, and work tirelessly on that idea; you can achieve anything. Tim Connors, founder of Gradstreet saw an opportunity with the graduation market and seized it. He talks about how he transitioned from just being a student to being a student entrepreneur, how the business has changed his identity, and his plans for the future.
Finding Founders is hosted, produced, edited, and mixed by Samuel Donner
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