Ready For Launch: Recent Episodes
Ian Black
Insights into hidden challenges of launching new businesses into the world. We chat with founders before they've made it big, to hear what it's really like getting an idea off the ground.
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show about how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses into the world.
This week, Ian Black talks to Aidan Cramer about his business AI Apply, which leverages generative AI to help job seekers find and apply for the best job opportunities. Aidan also shares his experience in building multiple businesses and the importance of finding product-market fit. Aidan shares his philosophy on killing ideas that don't work and focusing on the core offering, as well as his growth targets and the strategies he is using to achieve them, including content creation and influencer marketing.
Website
https://aiapply.co/
Tiktok
https://www.tiktok.com/@aidancramer
https://twitter.com/AidanCramer
We Discuss
What Generative AI is
Common Mistakes in Job Applications
Experimentation with Different Business Ideas
How to Achieve Fast Growth and Profitability
New Perspectives on Defining Product Market Fit
Listening to Customers and Their Ideas
Defining Success and Growth Targets
Content Creation and Strategy
Choosing the Right Co-founder
Sacrifices and Loneliness of Entrepreneurship
Motivations and Rewards of Entrepreneurship
Advice for Starting a Business
–––––––
Host: Ian Black
Intro Music:
https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/new-lifeLicense code: 9TQ4MEAPMU4WJWZ4
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show about how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses into the world.
This week, Ian Black talks to Patrick Manning, the founder of Alio, an allergy-friendly protein bar company, who shares his journey from medical school to entrepreneurship. He saw a need for a protein bar free from the top nine food allergens and high in protein, and decided to create it himself. He shares his perspective on overcoming doubts and challenges as a founder and the unique lessons he has learned through entrepreneurship.
Website
https://livealio.com/
https://www.facebook.com/livealionow
https://www.instagram.com/livealio
Chapters
Introduction and Background
Identifying the Need for Allergy-Friendly Protein Bars
Transition from Medical School to Entrepreneurship
Finding a Mentor and Overcoming Fear
Lessons Learned from Starting a Business
Challenges in Recipe Development and Manufacturing
Rebranding and Refining the Product
Market Response to the Relaunch of Allio
Importance of Customer Feedback and Launch Strategy
Delegating and Bringing in Experts
Building a Team and Seeking External Funding
Organic Marketing Strategies
Effective Sales Tactics through Engagment with Facebook Groups
Sales Channels and Retail Expansion
Profitability and Margin Refinement
Shelf Life and Expiry Dates
Daily Operations and Balancing Work
Future Team Expansion
Overcoming Doubts and Challenges
Advice for Founders and Dealing with Doubt
Setting Goals and Managing Friction
Product Expansion and New Flavors
Challenges in Scaling and Retail Expansion
The Power of Creation and Overcoming Challenges
Where to Find Alio
Host: Ian Black
Intro Music:
https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/new-lifeLicense code: 9TQ4MEAPMU4WJWZ4
Shane Monks O'Byrne teaches people how to build camper vans and live a van life. He shares his journey into entrepreneurship, the philosophy of van life, and the lessons he learned from building his latest startup - https://www.thevanconversion.com.
Contents:
- Introduction and Background
- Shane's Business: Teaching People to Build Camper Vans
- The Philosophy of Van Life
- Shane's Journey into Entrepreneurship
- Choosing the Right Path as an Entrepreneur
- Lessons from Investing Applied to Life
- Balancing Details and Output in Design
- Finding Fun and Passion in Work
- Finding Passion and Interests
- Using Childhood as a Starting Point
- Questioning False Assumptions and Self-Doubt
- Exploring Different Interests and Skills
- Learning New Skills and Trying Something New
- Learning How to Build a Van
- Documenting the Van Conversion Process
- Transitioning from Building Vans to Writing a Book
- Launching the Book and Building a Sustainable Business
- Preparing for a Long-Term Bike Journey
- Handling the Business During Time Away
- Starting a Business: Choosing the Right Direction
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
I’m talking with Lorin Winata, founder of Melati Drinks, and part of the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2023.
Among many things, we discuss:
- The history of Asian tonic drinks, dating back to 1293
- What it means to be a non-alcoholic spirit, in the Better-for-you category
- Borrowing extraction techniques from the perfume industry to create the most accessible drink
- The loneliness of moving the business to a new country, new culture, with no network
- Whittling down 150 classic ingredients from the spice islands of Indonesia, into the two Melati drinks
- What it’s like to leave the male-dominated world of venture capital in Asia, to become an Asian female founder
- The challenges you face doing everything for the first time as an entrepreneur, and why it gets easier.
- And much more...
So sit back and enjoy the show!
Company website
https://melatidrinks.com/
Find Melati near you:
https://melatidrinks.com/pages/store-locator
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Brian Davis, co-founder founder of Parable.
Among many things, we discuss:
- Why Brain Care is so important for an ageing population
- The 4 Pillars of Brain Care
- How to communicate the benefits of a product when customers aren’t problem-aware yet
- The importance of finding founder-fit
- The problems with fundraising and launching a business at the same time
- Deciding to shut down the business
- The problem with taking advice from Outliers
- The lack of failure stories on social media
Sit back and enjoy the show!
Welcome to Ready For Launch. This week I’m talking with Derek Sivers, ex-musician, ex-entrepreneur, TED speaker and four-time book author.
Among many things, we discuss:
- Why New Zealand is the best place in the world to raise a kid
- How to adapt your values to your current situation
- The secrets to becoming a great speaker
- What still terrifies Derek about speaking on stage
- The best way to write a book
- The value of self-publishing and retaining your copyrights
- The importance of doing the opposite of your creative habits
- What Derek’s latest book is all about
- How your belief and perspectives change your actions
- The barbell strategy of living in the extremes
- Why graveyards are a great place to sleep
- Useful beliefs about writing.
And so much more! So sit back and enjoy the show
Website
https://sive.rs/
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Stephanie Golik Founder at Huddle.
Among many things, we discuss:
- From Design to Founder: Steph’s journey from studying Architecture to becoming co-founder of Huddle
- The Power of Building: How Steph used app development as a way to kick start her career in design
- Searching for The One: How moonlighting on different creative projects led to finding the one to go all in on.
- The Idea Graveyard: Learnings from killing small projects that helped launch Huddle
- Getting Paid In Equity: What designers and builders should know about getting paid in equity by startups.
- The Art of Investment: How getting seed funding was a strategic choice in moving quickly and catching the wave of people looking for more work flexibility
- Being Non-Scalable: The importance of doing non-scalable tasks early on to deliver a great customer experience, and how to relinquish that control later on.
- Quarterly Planning: How looking ahead helps Huddle stay on track with their vision to make the future of work more flexible.
Enjoy the show!
Links:
Huddle site
https://www.huddle.works/
Want to join as a builder?
app.huddle.works/builder-invite/itomblack
Want to hire a team?
app.huddle.works/invite/itomblack
Workshops on becoming a founder
https://www.dive.club/course/go-from-designer-to-founder
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Hunter Hammonds, founder of Assembly.
We discuss:
- What Assembly is: a business that builds businesses from scratch
- Hunter’s career pre-Assembly: from skipping college to 8-figure agencies
- The challenges of selling a design agency
- The importance of having your heart in your business
- 6 key attributes of a strong business operator
- Leading with a “Burn the ships” mentality
- A playbook for building a business from nothing
- Pivoting as a company of companies.
- How to decide which businesses to invest in
- 3 components to hiring at speed
- The value of building an audience
Links:
If you need the world’s best design team:
https://offmenu.design/
If you need the most kick-ass high engagement short form viral videos:
https://www.viralcuts.co/
Amazing product demo animation launch videos
https://www.keyframe.design/
The coolest youtube agency in the world
https://www.heyfriends.studio/
https://twitter.com/_hunterhammonds
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Brigitte Kaps CEO & Founder of Rent a PR, a company that offers Public Relations & Communications Advisory on demand.
Among many things, we discuss:
- Brigitte’s finance background before starting her company
- Seeking out inspiration from Silicon Valley: the mindset difference of the USA
- The main components of PR: Paid and unpaid media
- How to create a good PR briefing
- PR for different stages of a company: Startups to mid-cap
- Misconceptions about PR
- Choosing a PR agency: What kind of coverage do you need?
- The cost of PR: from on demand to retainers
- Crisis management for businesses
- And much more!
So sit back and enjoy the show
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigitte-kaps-6912985/
Company Website
https://www.rentapr.ch/
https://twitter.com/rent_a_pr
Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Zach Frantz, founder of Wildland Coffee, a company that makes coffee in tea bags.
Among many things, we discuss:
- The Inspiration for Wildland Coffee
- Product Development: From co-packers to packing in-house
- Business growth: The challenges of finding a scalable sales channel
- When to quit: How to identify the signal from the noise when evaluating business strategies
- Sales before Brand: The importance of revenue in the early stages of a business
- Secrets of success: The power of the ask
- And so much more!
So sit back and enjoy the show.
Company website
wildlandcoffee.co
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachfrantz/
Welcome to Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Jamie Wace, CEO & co-founder of Talamo, a company dedicated to democratising access to dyslexia diagnosis.
Among many things, we discuss:
- Why 80% of children aren’t diagnosed with dyslexia.
- How Jamie overcame the challenges of having dyslexia.
- The prevailing narratives around neurodiversity.
- How working at design agencies set Jamie up for success as a founder.
- How Talamo pivoted over time.
- How to run qualitative customer research for your startup.
- The reality of running a startup as a side hustle - its challenges, and its benefits.
- Coping with imposter syndrome, and dealing with uncertainty.
- Planning for a future in an uncertain market.
- And so much more…
So sit back and enjoy the show!
Podcast
Talamo Thoughts
Website
https://www.talamo.co.uk/
This website is sponsored by The Obsidian Design Lab.
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch.
I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Jesse Vaughan, Co-founder and President at Kopperfield.
Among many things, we discuss:
- How we can make an impact on climate change through our home
- Growing up an in a family of entrepreneurs
- The importance of accounting in business
- Finding the right problem to solve as a founder
- Letting go of your own ideas
- Maintaining a healthy state of mind to make better decisions
- Being vulnerable with your team
- Go-to-market strategies for a two-sided marketplace
So sit back and enjoy the show!
Website
https://www.kopperfield.com/
Careers
https://careers.kopperfield.com/
Contact Jesse
jesse@kopperfield.com
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch.
I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Rishabh Jain - Co-Founder & CEO at FERMAT
Among many things, we discuss:
- The impact of cookie-less browsing on Ecommerce brands
- How to learn to be a leader
- Tactics for getting the most out of your career
- The power of saying No
- The importance of placing big bets in business, to create non-linear changes
- How to come up with ideas that will create non-linear impact
- Deciding when to abandon a business idea
- Advice for fundraising a startup
- And so much more!
Sit back and enjoy the show.
Rishabh on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabhmjain/
Rishabh on Twitter
https://twitter.com/rishabhmjain
Fermat Website
https://www.fermatcommerce.com/
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Matt Bahr, CEO at Fairing.
Among many things, we discuss:
- The importance of the voice of the customer as a data source
- How brands use surveys to improve their products
- Finding product market fit through failure
- The shift in mindset required to go from running a bootstrapped company to a venture backed company.
- Choosing a cofounder
- Renaming the brand
- Why you should dogfood your own products
So sit back and enjoy the show
Links:
Company Site
https://fairing.co/
Matt LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbahr/
Matt Twitter
https://twitter.com/mattrbahr
Blog Post on databases
https://fairing.co/blog/postgres-database-shopify-data-developer-not-required
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Felix Lee, Co-Founder of ADPList
Among many things, we discuss:
- Why free mentorship is so important in a world where people are born with unequal career opportunities
- Growing up in Singapore, and discovering Silicon Valley
- The difference between entrepreneurs in Asia Vs The US
- How Steve Jobs inspired his tech journey
- Tactics for networking in a foreign country
- The one question every designer should ask themselves
- Turning problems of the covid pandemic into a business
- Mistakes in hiring
- And much more!
So sit back and enjoy the show
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixleezd/
https://twitter.com/felixleezd
https://twitter.com/ADPList
https://adplist.org/
Hello and, welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Lena Jüngst, Co-Founder at Air Up
Among many things, we discuss:
- How to create taste from just a scent
- The science of retronasal olfaction
- Turning a bachelor's degree project into a business
- How design school prepares you for building a business
- Growing pains when 10X-ing the team headcount.
- The importance of communicating to investors
So sit back and enjoy the show!
Company Website
air-up.com
LinkedIn - Lena’s
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-juengst/
LinkedIn - Air Up
https://www.linkedin.com/company/air-up/
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Bobak Tavangar CEO at Brilliant Labs.
Among many things, we discuss:
- What is a hackable AR device?
- The disappointment of current AR devices
- The power of open source as a business model
- How Bobak gave up a career at Apple to build this business
- Mistakes made trying to hire quickly
- Validating their first product with customers
- How close we are to the reality of Black Mirror
- The power of building in public.
Sit back and enjoy the show!
Website
https://www.brilliantmonocle.com/
Discord
https://discord.com/invite/vDS9X7gdwg
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. Every episode, we talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week we’re talking with Autumn Schultz co-founder of Dibz.
Among many things, we discuss:
- Why fashion brands suffer from excess inventory
- How design differs from growth stage companies to large corporations
- Tactics for getting teams through a pandemic
- The value of remote work as a startup
- How an evening project became a venture-backed business
- Recovering from being hit by a cargo van
- Building the initial Beta product
- The future for Dibz
So sit back and enjoy the show
Company websitehttps://www.thedibz.com/
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/shopthedibz/
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their businesses into the world.
This week, I’m talking with Corrie Bradley Co-Founder at Lark Love, a sexual wellness company focused on the female body.
Among many things, we discuss:
- Get women talking about taboo topics
- Formulating products with 100 women giving feedback
- The slip-and-slide technique
- The harms of existing lubes on the market
- FDA approval and the lack of regulation
- The value of staying small and bootstrapping your business
- And so much more!
So sit back and enjoy the show
Website
https://larklove.com/
https://www.instagram.com/larklovin/
Lark Love products can also be found in:
- Goop
- Multiple apothecaries across the US.
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week, we’re talking with Emily Tout, Co-Founder at Mighty Slice, a company passionate about making the kind of protein snacks you’ll genuinely look forward to. Cheesecake!
Among many things, we discuss:
- Transitioning from Lawyer to Cheesecake founder
- How long car journeys led to business inspiration
- Dealing with imposter syndrome
- Creating innovating packaging to throw cheesecakes at walls with
- Future plans for their desert range
- And so much more!
So sit back and enjoy the show
Company website
https://www.mightyslice.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/mightyslice_/
Hello and, welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Miles Lim, co-founder and Chief Banana Officer of Bananablades
Among many things, we discuss:
- How he transitioned from photography, to chemistry, to engineering, to running a ski company
- The role of luck in building a business
- Building the prototype skis
- How to build a brand of accessible outdoor products
- Thinking about when to hire
- How to take action
- How to learn to be yourself in business
Sit back and enjoy the show
Website
https://bananablades.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bananablades/
Tiktok
https://www.tiktok.com/@bananabladesskis
Welcome to Ready For Launch.
This week I’m talking to Jake Abrams, Founder of Odyssey, a growth marketing agency focused on direct-to-consumer startups.
We talk about:
- The benefits of working in marketing for small business
- The value of research in selling a product
- Growing from a team of 1 to a team of 10
- How to easily transition from full-time work to your first business
- The power of referrals
- How crucial a foundation of good data is to any business
- Why it’s important to separate those you can help from those you can’t
- So sit back and enjoy the show
Website
https://www.growodyssey.com/
I never feel like you convert someone off your website, you just can’t lose them with your site.
We fit into the category of growth generalist.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abramsjake/
Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their businesses. This week I’m talking to Bohdi Valentine, Founder of Burgerland Smash Up, a brand delivering regional burger and hot dog experiences to the mouths of Vancouver.
We talk about:
- Transitioning from tech to food
- Hitting rock bottom and rising from the ashes
- Learning how to run a business
- The history of the smash burger
- The problems with 6000kg trucks
- How not to take things personally
- So sit back and enjoy the show
https://www.instagram.com/BurgerlandSmash/
https://www.instagram.com/sausagelandvancouver/
Website
https://www.burgerlandsmashup.ca/
Main Street Brewing
261 East 7th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5T 0B8
https://www.mainstreetbeer.ca/food
If you mention this podcast, you will get a discount!
Hello and welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch.
I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their businesses.
This week I’m talking to Paul Owusu, CEO and co-founder of Phreshly, a brand making ready-to-drink canned cocktails from all-natural ingredients.
We talk about:
- Social mining your way to product market fit
- How cocktails can transport you to a particular place
- The 3 tier process of selling liquor in the US
- The growth of the DTC beverage market
- The importance of surprise and delight for customers.
- Where not to spend your money as an early-stage brand.
- And so much more
- So sit back and enjoy the show
Website
https://phreshly.co/
https://www.instagram.com/wyd.paul/
https://twitter.com/wydpaul__
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulowusu/
Hello and, welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking to Rhain Beutler, CEO and founder of Govalo, a brand that’s reinventing the gifting experience for ecommerce.
We talk about:
- The importance of speaking to users
- The role of the CEO as both optimist and pessimist
- Life as a second time founder
- The loneliness of leadership
- The desire to build a billion dollar business
Website:
https://govalo.com/
https://rhianbeutler.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/rhiankatie
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhianbeutler/
Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.
This week I’m talking with Adrian Alfieri, CEO, and founder of Verbatim Labs. A content studio that helps early-stage teams launch and scale their online content production.
We discuss:
- Why brands should turn on their content machine
- Why expert interviews are such a powerful content tool
- How Adrian discovered the company pain point that launched him into building his company
- Interview mistakes he made early on
- The difference between pillar content and SEO
- Why he’s purposeful about limiting the growth of his business
Company Website:
https://www.verbatimlabs.com/
Adrian’s LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-alfieri/
Adrian’s Twitter
https://twitter.com/adrianalfieri
Hello and, welcome to Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. This is a show where I talk to early stage founders about how they launched their business into the world.
This week my guest is Sarah Becker, founder of Becker Talks Money, a business that helps entrepreneurs make a plan for their future by making individually tailored financial plans.
Among many things, we discuss:
- John Bogal’s Enough philosophy
- Turning a free service for friends into a viable business
- Creating an online course
- Marketing through instagram and podcasting
- Preparing for the launch
- Tools for building your own online course
Sit back and enjoy the show :)
https://beckertalksmoney.com/
https://www.instagram.com/beckertalksmoney/
Hello and, welcome to Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. This is a show where I talk to early-stage founders about how they launched their businesses into the world.
This week my guest is Maruti Agarwal, co-founder, and CEO of ShopAgain, a software company that helps e-commerce brands running on Shopify improve their customer retention through machine learning. If you’re a business finding your social media ad spending has suddenly shot through the roof in the last few years, this episode is the one for you.
Among many things, we discuss:
- What customer retention looks like for online brands
- What most businesses get wrong about retention
- How Maruti came up with the idea for the business
- Listening to customers
- Sales tips for people who non-salespeople
- Finding mentors, and many more things
So sit back and enjoy the show.
Links Website - http://shopagain.io/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/marutiagarwal
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marutiagarwal/
Welcome to Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. This is a show where I talk to founders about how they launched their business into the world.
We’re stepping away from our usual startup focus today, and entering the world of music. My guest is songwriter Jake Brewer, who has just released his first album into the world.
Among many things, we discuss:
- The imposter syndrome of being a musician
- What it means to define success for yourself
- The role of the producer in music creation
- Giving up control of your art
- The feeling of performing on stage
- Making money as an artist
So sit back and enjoy the show.
LinksJake Brewer - Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear - Album on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/321BDzYeJQzVy0x0Q2hCy6?si=Li9CqoG_RI6LzoSH8SLSbA
Jake's Media company:
https://www.frndlymedia.com/
Jake Brewer on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jakebrewermusic/
Welcome to Ready For Launch. This is a show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world, going from zero to one, and beyond.
This week I’m talking with two guests - Rob Palumbo, and Erika Fabian, CEO and Head of Sales respectively at OutPoint App. OutPoint is a SaaS platform built to enable the effective allocation of paid media budgets through automated media mix modelling.
We discuss:
- How OutPoint empowers marketing leaders to make more predictable and sustainable decisions about their ad spend
- What Predictive Mix Modelling is in relation to advertising
- Trends in digital and offline advertising
- Finding their first customer, and how their sales strategy will change as they grow
- Mistakes they’ve made along the way
- What the future looks like for OutPoint
Site Link https://www.outpoint.app/
rob@outpoint.app
erika.fabian@outpoint.app
Recommended Twitter Account
Dr. Julie Gurner’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/drgurner
This week I’m talking with Ari Tulla, CEO and co-founder of Elo. A brand that believes that our diet is making us unhealthy, and wants to turn your food back into medicine.
We discuss:
- The modern obsession with Finnish names for brands
- Why health tech is so important in the US
- The impact of wearables on health
- The importance of dietary changes versus supplement use
- Testing and changing their business model
- Building trust as an online brands
- The problem with food nutrition today
Find out more at:
https://www.elo.health/
This week I’m talking to Sam Lee, founder of IndeCollective, a community + learning platform where independent workers can learn to translate their specialized skills into personally fulfilling careers.
We talk about:
- The move from Full-time employment to consulting
- Why Sam started a second business
- How he developed his product through research
- The curriculum of the IndeCollective course
- How he grew his customer base
- Plans for scaling the product offering
Enjoy the show!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-lee-b15b892/
Website
https://indecollective.co/
https://twitter.com/indecollective
https://www.instagram.com/indecollective/
Modern Independent Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-modern-independent/id1587977611
This week I’m talking to Tahira Rehmatullah, co-founder & CEO of Commons - a natural wellness brand that offers products, education, and a community of coaches around CBD usage. If you’re interested in learning more about using cannabis for health, and the growth of the legal cannabis industry, this is the show for you.
We talk about:
- The difference between the two major cannabinoid players - THC and CBD
- The ever-growing world of lesser know cannabinoids
- How a family illness led Tahira down the path of exploring the Cannabis industry
- The social injustice prevalent in the growth of the legal cannabis industry
- The need for consumer education around cannabinoids
- Understanding the different types of products on offer from Commons
- How brand ambassadors play a crucial role in the education of customers, and the development of new products
Find out more at:
https://www.commons.co/
https://www.instagram.com/commons_co/
This week I’m talking to Jen Zeszut, co-founder of Goodles, a fantastic new Mac and Cheese brand that is all about great taste, great nutrition, great fun, and sillyness. Please enjoy this uplifting conversation about the beginnings of brand that brings joy to the world, by playing by its own rules, through my favorite food - pasta.
We talk about:
- How to decide if you should marry your husband
- When to move jobs
- Why Mac and Cheese needed reinventing
- Sneaky Nutrition
- The pizzle of noodles and cheese
- Having a celebrity founding partner (Gal Godot, of Wonder Woman fame)
- Joy
Kavnia is sustainable cold drip coffee powered by women.
Did you know that cold brew coffee is experiencing 40% year over year growth in America? No? Well, If you love coffee, this is the episode for you.
I’m chatting to Olivia VonNieda about the launch of her cold brew coffee concentrate that’s recently arrived in stores in Chicago. We chat about coffee brewing techniques, the benefits of bootstrapping your startup, sustainability in coffee manufacturing, the importance of gender equity, and much more.
www.kavnia.com
This week I’m in conversation with Afshin Mehin, founder of design agency Card79 about their recent renaming. We talk about blurring the lines between the digital and physical realms, the old and the new, his family of fortune tellers, and the creation of their beautiful NFT artwork series - the KintsugiUpgrades.
Links https://card79.com/
https://www.instagram.com/card.79/
https://twitter.com/card_79
https://opensea.io/Card_79
Email: afshin@card79.com
Rough Show Notes
https://readyforlaunchpodcast.com/#/blog/018-card79
We're kicking off the new season with a chance for you to get to know your podcast host Ian Black as he shares stories about how Ready For Launch came to life.
This week I have Zach Laberge on the show - a young Canadian entrepreneur with dreams of revolutionizing the way rental businesses operate.
We talk about:
- Joining the movement of the sharing economy
- How he got into dropshipping at the age of 10
- The key to successful instagram marketing for your pet.
- Finding the right team
- Consistently developing your network
- What it's like building venture backed business while you're still meant to be in school
- The 51% rule for getting investment
- And so much more.
https://zacharylaberge.com/
https://frenter.com/
Reach our for investment opportunities or partnerships
This week my guest is Justin Clegg, Founder of Allset (https://www.allsethq.com/). We dive into why home services is an area ripe for technological innovation, and how he wants to bring the power of AI and automation to the 5 million home services businesses through their mobile commerce platform.
Show notes:
https://readyforlaunchpodcast.com/#/blog/15-show-notes-justin-clegg-founder-of-allset
Today we're going to talk about Periods!
If you've never stopped to think about why they are still considered a taboo topic of conversation, then this episode is just for you.
We've got Nick Jain on the show. Nick is one half of the founding team of August, a modern period care company built for Gen Z, that's ready to redefine how the world talks about periods, and truly have an impact on a new generation of consumers.
We dig into a bunch of important topics like:
- What Period Poverty and the Tampon Tax are, and how they negatively affect menstruators
- What August wants brands to do about it
- What the word Impact means for a new brand like August
- As well as diving into the research process August used to create a truly consumer-built brand, and why this process is something every business should be doing.
So listen up and enjoy the show!
Web - https://www.itsaugust.co/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/itsaugust/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@itsaugustco
This week I have Matt Walsh in the house, founder of distributed experience design agency Green Stone, and newly formed digital talent advisory company Morel.
We discuss:
- the difference between distributed work and working from home
- the future of hybrid working models
- why businesses should treat freelancers just like full-time employees
- how the role of CEO changes as a company matures
- and why starting a business definitely isn't fun at first!
Enjoy the show!https://morel.gs/
https://www.greenstone.co/
This week I'm chatting to Braden Parker, co-founder, and CEO of custom footwear company Casca. We had a great conversation where we dove into how Casca are working to revolutionize the shoe manufacturing process that hasn't really changed in a century. We also discuss the difficulties of hiring a team that will take your business to the next level, how to focus your product messaging for the right consumers, the ways in which phone technology will impact custom footwear, and, surprisingly, the pitfalls of trying to launch a cricket pasta business!
https://casca.com/
This week we're taking a trip down memory lane with Byran Mahoney, CEO of Chord Commerce (formerly CTO at Glossier, and Co-founder of Dynamo). We discuss his journey launching multiple businesses over the course of his career, and what he's learned along the way. From his first job scrubbing toilets and cutting grass at age 13, through to the launch of his latest endeavour Chord, a commerce-as-a-service company.
As well as many great throwback stories from Byran's life, we discuss:
- What headless commerce means
- The importance of business partners,
- The benefits of side projects
- Advice on pursuing venture capital
- Why wine is so important
https://chord.co/
This week I'm learning from the wonderful Danielle Thompson about how she's transforming her existing online community Design Club into a more focussed service called Design Match. We discuss :
- What it takes to become a confident designer
- Tips and tricks for managing your time
- Creating an online community that people want to engage in
- Avoiding the busy trap
- The benefits of fear, and the power of vulnerability
https://www.designclub.co/
https://www.instagram.com/danielletom/
Also mentioned on the show:
https://www.rescuetime.com/
https://sunsama.com/
This week I had a wonderful conversation with the author of the number 1 bestselling book The Purpose Myth, Charlotte Cramer. We dive into the world of vulnerable storytelling, self publishing, and plagiarism, and the effects of ego on decision making.
Listen to learn about:
- The three fundamental needs of humans for their careers,
- How to feel more purpose in your life.
- The importance of honesty in your writing.
- Keyword advice for Amazon's algorithms
- The value of accountability in communal pursuits
https://charlottecramer.com/
This week I'm talking to Andrew Burton, founder of Creative agency Shoreditch design studio. We get into the pros and cons of running a product business versus a service business, the importance of picking the right business partners, tips for hiring outside your area of expertise, and how to approach sales.
Andrew is the Creative Director & Founder of Shoreditch Design Studio. Creative agency for your next big thing. Before launching Shoreditch Design Studio, he co-founded a fitness app called Tona, which was then acquired by another company.
https://shoreditchdesignstudio.com/
This week I'm talking with Ryan McKee, founder of Elemeno, a company that delivers healthy hassle-free kids lunches to Vancouver parents. We discuss what it's like to try and completely reinvent yourself and your career, while also building up a business from nothing.
Topics:
- The benefits of an MBA
- Failed side hustles
- Benefits of customer research
- Reinventing yourself
- The slow pace of launching
- Having self-belief
- Staying nimble for the future.
https://www.elemeno.co/
My guest this week is a veteran in the Vancouver agency world. JP Holecka, founder of PowerShifter. After 12 years building digital product for clients with his team.
Now he's taken the plunge to become a product founder in the luxury watch space with his new business venture, Luxxee.
We discuss what it takes to find product-market fit, attract a diverse audience, and how company culture keeps talent from walking out the door.
getreadyfor.luxx.ee
searchluxxee.com
My guest this week is Kendra Kawala, the delightful co-founder and COO of Maker Wines, the first Direct to consumer canned wine company, and leading premium canned wine company in the US. We discuss how it feels like to be somewhat of an outsider to the typical founder profile...developing episodic balance in your life... and the importance of making art out of scraps of yarn.
www.makerwine.com
https://www.instagram.com/makerwine/
https://twitter.com/MakerWineCo
This week I'm chatting with someone I have a huge amount of respect for as a friend, and a founder of Montreal-based agency Brit Klik - Alexis Nicolas. Brit Klik is a specialist in the Google platform Search Ads 360. He has a real passion for business, but uniquely uses that as a way to create the freedom to pursue the other aspects of his life outside of work in incredible ways. We talk about how the process of building a business really helps you believe that through hard work and process, you truly can turn your crazy ideas into a reality.
https://britklik.com/
This week I chat with the fantastically talented Allegra Poschmann about how losing the best job she ever when her company was acquired by Glossier, led her slowly down the path of creating her own agency that specialized in Direct to Consumer eCommerce.
We talk about the insecurity that comes with going out on your own, the skills required to lead a team, and the important traits to look for in a business partner.
https://twitter.com/allegraposch
http://workwithpact.com/
*This week I'm talking to designer-turned tech-founder Pascal Barry about how becoming aware of digital privacy issues snowballed into launching a business for secure, privacy-focused messaging, cloud storage and collaboration. We discuss what it's like to leave your job when you have no ideas what you're building, the importance of testing your team, hiring great people, and why no matter what happens, the business will never be a failure in his eyes.
https://akord.com/
https://twitter.com/AkordPrivacy
https://twitter.com/pascal_jbarry*
We chat with Podcast Host Tinah Ogalo about her journey to becoming a podcast host and getting to her 50th episode launch.
https://www.instagram.com/tinah.ogalo/
https://www.instagram.com/inyourtwentys/