The Founder Hour

Daymond John is the founder of FUBU, a hip-hop apparel company and pioneer of the streetwear industry, that he started in 1992 with his three friends from Queens, NY. He’s also the star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” where he’s spent the last 11 years investing in and advising countless startups and entrepreneurs.In this episode, we spoke with Daymond about his upbringing and what he was like as a kid, some of his formative experiences and entrepreneurial ventures that shaped who he is today, the origin story of FUBU along with its successes and failures, how he ended up on Shark Tank and what most people may not know about the show, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Eugene Remm is the co-founder of Catch Hospitality Group, which owns and operates several high-end restaurants based in New York, LA, Las Vegas, and Playa Del Carmen. In 2016, Eugene co-founded Rumble Boxing which has quickly become one of the fastest-growing fitness concepts in America with 14 locations nationwide.During our conversation, we talk about everything from Eugene’s upbringing and moving to New York at age 2 from the former Soviet Union, his college days and early career and the valuable lessons he’s picked up along the way, his thoughts on management vs. leadership, the founding stories of Catch and Rumble, what advice he would give his 18-year-old self if he was just getting his career started, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Will Ahmed is the founder and CEO of WHOOP, which has developed next-generation wearable technology for optimizing human performance and health.In this episode, we talk about everything from Will’s childhood and his passion for sports, how being a college athlete made him obsessed with continuously monitoring his body and performance, his motivation for wanting to be an entrepreneur, how the idea for WHOOP came about and the early days of building the company, his thoughts on failure and how to approach the fear of it, how he feels about networking, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Paige Adams-Geller is the founder and creative director of her namesake brand, PAIGE, which she launched in 2004 after years of being one of the top fit models in the industry. What started out as a women’s denim brand quickly expanded into a full lifestyle collection for men and women, sold at premium retailers internationally.In this episode, we talk about everything from Paige’s upbringing growing up in Alaska, what motivated her as a kid, her successful career as a fit model and some of the challenges that came with it, the opportunity she saw in the denim space that led her to launch her own brand, what she’s most excited about for the future in terms of the fashion industry, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Dave Gilboa is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, a retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses that he started with his 3 friends from college in 2010.Today, Warby Parker is valued at over $3 billion and they’ve truly changed the game when it comes to buying glasses - online and in-store.In this episode, we spoke with Dave about what it was like growing up in between Southern California and Sweden, his early career as a consultant and investment banker, his experience getting his MBA at Wharton and if he would recommend it to others who desire to be entrepreneurs, the story of how Warby Parker came to be and the opportunity he saw in the eyewear market, co-founder dynamics, his thoughts on the future of the company as well as the industry, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Daniel Arsham is a contemporary artist based in New York City whose work exists in between art, architecture, and performance. His company, Snarkitecture, has truly pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with architectural design, some of which include designing the stores for streetwear brand Kith.His past collaborations include Merce Cunningham, Pharrell Williams, and Adidas, and most recently, he was named Creative Director of the Cleveland Cavaliers.During our conversation, we did a deep dive into Daniel’s upbringing and how he became interested in the arts, how he’s been able to build such a long and successful career as an artist, his thoughts on talent vs. hard work, how he feels about education and design schools, what has made the biggest impact on his work, the things he still hopes to achieve in the future, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder of SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm based in New York City which also hosts the SALT Conference, one of the largest investment conferences in the world. In 2017, Anthony was appointed White House Communications Director by Donald Trump, a role that lasted only 11 days before he was fired. Since leaving the White House and the world of politics, Anthony has returned to SkyBridge and recently launched a $310M fund to invest in Bitcoin.During our conversation, we talked about everything from Anthony’s early days, his career on Wall Street and how he started SkyBridge, the story of how he became White House Communications Director and the crazy 11 days that ensued, why he’s so bullish on Bitcoin, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

David Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms with over $217 billion of assets under management, which he started in 1987.In this episode, we spoke with David about his humble beginnings growing up in Baltimore, what it was like working at the White House during the Carter Administration, how he started The Carlyle Group with zero investing experience, his philosophies on life and thoughts on leadership, being one of the original signers of The Giving Pledge and the impact he hopes it can make, his unique approach to fundraising, and some of the biggest business mistakes he’s made throughout the years.His new book, “How To Lead”, where he shares his interviews with world leaders and CEOs such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, and many others is available now everywhere books are found.Get “How To Lead” book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Lead-Greatest-Founders-Changers/dp/1982132159SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

This episode was originally released on February 10, 2020. To round out this insane year, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy!----This is the story of Nick Fouquet (pronounced like “bouquet”). He is the founder and designer of his namesake hat brand, Nick Fouquet, mainly known for its unique style and craftsmanship. Nick shares stories from his early days, moving to France with his parents and five sisters until the age of 8. Upon their return to America, Nick went to boarding school, got kicked out of boarding school, eventually graduated high school, and stole his mother’s credit card to travel to Patagonia for 5 months. That trip changed his perspective and trajectory in life.After traveling around the world and working various jobs, he randomly ran into a guy wearing a hat in Venice, CA - this is the beginning of Nick’s hat-making days. Nick’s passion and perseverance have led his hats to sit on the heads of countless celebrities, helping accelerate the growth of his brand. His entrepreneurial journey is unlike any other, but the lessons he learned are applicable to all.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

This episode with Equinox founder, Lavinia Errico was originally released on February 3, 2020. To round out this insane year, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was their top choice! Happy listening!----Yearning for an alternative to happy hour after work, a daily routine of a New Yorker in the 1980s, Lavinia Errico and her brothers decided to start a fitness club called Equinox. Though money was tight, they managed to barter their way to growing to several locations before ultimately selling the company. Walking away a self-made millionaire, Lavinia fell into depression. Going through an identity crisis, she set out on a journey to rediscover herself and has since dedicated her life to helping others create more mindful, healthy lives.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW US ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Joseph William Foster is the co-founder of Reebok, along with his brother Jeff. His grandfather, who shares his same name, was the founder of J.W. Foster and Sons in 1895 and the pioneer of the spiked running shoe as well as the trainer (sneaker).The story of Reebok hasn’t really been told until just recently when Joe released his new book “Shoemaker” in October of this year. If you enjoy this conversation, we highly recommend picking up the book. It’s available on Amazon as well as the JW Foster Heritage website if you would like a signed copy (link below).Throughout the episode, we cover some of what Joe discusses in the book but also dive deeper into some of the experiences and insights he’s gained throughout his incredible journey.Get “Shoemaker” book: http://www.jwfosterheritage.com/shop-online/shoemakerSUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

You may know Spencer Rascoff as the co-founder and former CEO of Zillow, the online real estate marketplace which he launched in 2006, but before that he was one of the founders of Hotwire.com. Since stepping down as CEO of Zillow in 2019, Spencer has launched several other new companies including dot.LA, Pacaso Homes, and Supernova Partners which is a SPAC - an acronym for special purpose acquisition company - which has been immensely popular this year and something we talk more about towards the end of the episode. Enjoy!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Katerina Schneider is the founder and CEO of Ritual, a health technology company that is reinventing the vitamin. Ritual's number one priority is traceability so customers know where all the ingredients come from and why it’s there.We spoke with Kat about her early days immigrating with her family to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union and living in a welfare hotel in Brooklyn, working at Lehman Brothers on Wall Street during the crash of 2008, leaving her job as a VC to start Ritual when she was 4 months pregnant, her advice for entrepreneurs and what she thinks is the top skill every entrepreneur should have, the issues she sees with the vitamin industry and where it’s headed, and much more!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Todd Carmichael is the co-founder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, one of the most innovative coffee brands ever and the inventor of the first-ever draft latte in a can, which he launched in 1994.During our conversation, we cover everything from Todd’s early days growing up in Washington, being a distance runner and finishing a marathon at age 15, working at Starbucks when they had just three locations, why he wanted to start a coffee business and how La Colombe came to fruition, and the unique approach they took to grow the company and pioneer a whole movement within coffee.Todd also shares what it was like to be the first person ever to walk across Antarctica on his own, a feat he accomplished in 2008, and how that experience shaped the way he approaches life and business.This was one of the most interesting conversations we’ve had on the show and Todd’s passion and energy are truly infectious. Hope you enjoy it!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Alan Fuerstman is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Montage International, a luxury hospitality management company encompassing Montage Hotels & Resorts, Pendry Hotels & Resorts, Montage Residences, Pendry Residences, and management of some of the country’s premiere golf courses and clubs.Starting out as a doorman at a Marriott hotel in New Jersey, Alan worked his way up to managing several hotels and was eventually tapped by Steve Wynn to be the opening Vice President of Hotel Operations at Bellagio in Las Vegas before venturing off on his own to launch Montage in 2002.During our conversation, we talk about everything from Alan’s childhood and college days, how he became interested in hospitality and his advice for those looking to break into the industry today, how his positive attitude and the relationships he built throughout his career helped him when launching his own company, partnering with the founder of eBay to open the first Montage hotel, how the pandemic has impacted Montage as well as the industry in general, what the future of the brand looks like, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Sam Polk is the founder and CEO of Everytable, whose mission is to make sure everyone, everywhere has access to nutritious, fresh food at affordable prices.In this episode, we chat about Sam’s tough upbringing and family life, his college experience and getting kicked out (and reinstated) at Columbia University, working on Wall Street trading bonds and derivatives, leaving Wall Street at the height of his career without a plan, the motivation for founding a non-profit called FEAST, the issues he discovered about food access in America, what led him to start Everytable, his thoughts on non-profit vs. for-profit businesses, Everytable’s innovative business model, and the early challenges of building the company.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Jaime Schmidt is the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals, the natural personal care brand that she scaled from kitchen to acquisition by Unilever in 2017. In the process, Jaime led a movement of modern brands bringing naturals to the mainstream. Today, the brand is sold in over 30 countries and 30,000 retailers, and Jaime continues to support their global expansion.Aside from Schmidt’s, Jaime also runs Color, an investment firm that invests directly in emerging founders, primarily women and people of color. In April of this year, she released her new book, “Supermaker: Crafting Business on Your Own Terms,” which follows the growth of the brand and serves as a blueprint for those hoping to scale into a financially successful business.We had a blast getting to know Jaime and sharing her founder story from growing up in a small town in Michigan to pioneering a global movement of natural products.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

David Rogier is the founder and CEO of MasterClass, an online education platform where users can learn pretty much anything from top experts in their fields, including Serena Williams, Martin Scorsese, Hans Zimmer, Wolfgang Puck, Bob Iger, and many more.In this episode, we chat about everything David’s childhood and early career, his thoughts on the current state of education and what the future looks like, his approach to finding business ideas, how he ultimately got the idea for MasterClass, his biggest learnings and takeaways after 7 years of running the company, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Dominique Crenn is a world-famous French chef, restaurateur, and co-owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, which was named to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019. She’s also the first and only female chef in America to attain three Michelin stars and was awarded “Best Chef in the West” in 2018 by The James Beard Foundation. In January of 2020, she launched VitaBowl with the mission of universalizing access to wholesome, plant-based meals in an effort to cultivate resilient communities.In this episode, we had a chance to chat with Dominique and learn about her adventurous childhood growing up in Paris, how her relationship with food has evolved throughout the years, her incredible career as a chef and why she’s not the biggest fan of culinary school, the early challenges she faced opening her first restaurant Atelier Crenn in 2011, her thoughts on the future of hospitality and food, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Jiake Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Outer, a direct-to-consumer outdoor furniture company that’s turning consumers’ backyards into showrooms.In this episode, we chat about everything from Jiake’s early days growing up in China, how he got into computers and electronics, immigrating to the United States in high school, his early career and various entrepreneurial ventures, what sparked the idea for Outer, and the valuable lessons he’s learned throughout his journey.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhour INTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Ronnie Fieg is a footwear and clothing designer and the founder of Kith, a retail establishment and streetwear brand that he launched in 2010 with stores in New York, LA, Miami, London, and most recently Tokyo.Over the last decade, Kith has absolutely taken over the streetwear game, collaborating with brands such as Calvin Klein, Versace, Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, and many others, as well as launching their own collections of men’s, women’s, and kid’s clothing.In this episode, we did a deep dive into Ronnie’s humble beginnings growing up in Jamaica, Queens, NY, falling in love with fashion and hip-hop culture at a young age, how he got his start working in retail, how his very first collaboration with footwear brand Asics came about, launching Kith and the early days of building out the brand, his insane work ethic and mindset when it comes to the brand’s evolution, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Ellen Marie Bennett is the founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett, which specializes in handcrafted premium aprons and culinary gear for the best chefs, home cooks, and makers worldwide.Her story is a wild one, full of adventure and discovery, so we were excited to get a chance to hear about Ellen’s early days, moving to Mexico after graduating from high school and creating a whole new life for herself there, why she decided to move back to the U.S. and pursue a career in the culinary world, what sparked the idea for Hedley & Bennett, and some of the early challenges she had while launching the company. We also talked about the impact of COVID-19 on the business and what she believes the future of food and hospitality will look like.UPDATESince our interview, Ellen has continued to expand her influence and impact. She authored a book titled "Dream First, Details Later," in which she shares her journey and offers inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs. Additionally, Ellen is working on an exciting TV show called "Kitchen Glow Up," which promises to bring her vibrant energy and creativity to a broader audience.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON X > https://x.com/TheFounderHourINTERESTED IN SPONSORING OUR SHOW? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Steven Galanis is the co-founder and CEO of Cameo. Cameo is a video-sharing platform that allows celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Caitlyn Jenner, Carole Baskin, and over 40,000 others, to send personalized messages to fans, such as birthday shoutouts, congratulations, and more.The company has seen a meteoric rise since launching in 2017, so we were excited to sit down with Steven to see what it’s all about. We talk about everything from Steven’s upbringing and various entrepreneurial ventures leading up to Cameo, the biggest takeaways from his experience working at LinkedIn, the skills he gained early in his career that helped his development as a leader, his timely advice for entrepreneurs, and what sparked the idea that ultimately became Cameo.Steven also shares how they were able to acquire top talent early on, the importance of founder-market fit, their innovative pricing model that allows celebrities to capitalize on their fame while providing value for their users, and how he sees the ever-changing social media landscape as a farm system for Cameo.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Aline Kamakian is a renowned restaurateur, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Mayrig. Mayrig, which means “mother” in Armenian, Aline’s native language, is one of Beirut’s most beloved restaurants specializing in authentic Armenian cuisine, which she founded in 2003.As you may know, the city of Beirut was hit with a massive explosion on August 4th of this year that decimated the city, causing at least 190 deaths, 6,500 injuries, and destroying half of the city’s homes and businesses which left 300,000 people homeless.Located in the heart of Beirut just 500 meters from the blast, Aline found herself in the middle of an unthinkable situation. With her restaurant completely destroyed, team members severely wounded, and no time to even think about the devastation, she has become a hero in her hometown as she works to rebuild the homes of her employees that were lost and feed 2,500 meals a day to those in need.In this episode, Aline joins from her hometown of Beirut to share stories about her upbringing, how she became interested in food, building a successful hospitality franchise spanning several countries, and the work she’s doing now to help rebuild all that was lost as a result of the explosion. Her story is truly one of passion, perseverance, and resilience and we hope you take away as much as we did during our conversation.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Opal Tometi is a human rights activist, writer, strategist, community organizer, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter. Starting out as a hashtag on social media in 2013, Black Lives Matter has grown to become the largest movement in U.S. history, as reported by the New York Times.We had the unique pleasure of speaking with Opal and learning about her personal background and upbringing, what inspired her to become a human rights activist, how Black Lives Matter ultimately came together, what the organization’s goal and purpose is, and much more.We received an overwhelming amount of questions from our audience for Opal and we definitely tried our best to ask her what most of you were curious to know, so thank you for sending us your questions & we hope you enjoy!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Warren Hogarth is the co-founder and CEO of Empower, a mobile app that helps consumers retake control of their financial lives by offering automated savings, personalized coaching, cash advances, and much more.In the episode, we chat with Warren about his childhood growing up in Australia, his college experience and where he got his entrepreneurial bug from, his biggest learnings from investing in early-stage startups as a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital, why he’s so passionate about fintech and managing one’s personal finances, where he got the idea for Empower, his long-term vision for the company, and his thoughts on the broader global financial system and where it’s headed.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

GT Dave, a.k.a. the “King of Kombucha,” is the founder of GT’s Kombucha (now known as GT’s Living Foods), the #1 selling Kombucha brand in the world and the originator of bottled kombucha. Born and raised in LA, GT dropped out of high school and started the company at just 15 years old, and over the past 25 years, they’ve pioneered and dominated a whole category of beverages that merely didn’t exist before GT bottled his first kombucha in 1995. Today, the company is worth over $1 billion.In this episode, we talk to GT about his upbringing and the roles spirituality and faith have played throughout his life, dropping out of high school after going through an identity crisis, his thoughts on the education system in America, how going against the grain and challenging the status quo helped him as an entrepreneur, the multiple signals he received that inspired him to start bottling kombucha, and some of the early challenges he faced getting the business off the ground.Towards the end, GT also shares what some of his personal aspirations are outside of running his company and how he got into art collecting and architecture.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Alexa von Tobel is the founder of LearnVest, a personal finance company that made financial planning affordable and accessible for everyone, which was acquired by Northwestern Mutual in 2015 for $375 million.She’s now the founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the next wave of tech entrepreneurs.In this episode, we chat with Alexa about her early life and college days, dropping out of Harvard Business School to launch LearnVest in the middle of a recession, what has helped her become a better leader of people, her thoughts on the current venture capital climate and what she’s most excited about as far as the future goes, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Josh Luber is the founder of StockX, the world's first online consumer “Stock Market of Things” for high-demand, limited-edition products featuring a live marketplace where participants anonymously buy and sell limited-edition consumer products such as sneakers, watches, clothing, handbags, and trading cards.In this episode, we talk about everything from Josh’s formative years and how going to law school helped him become a better problem solver, the various business ventures he’s had throughout his life, how the industry for sneakers and trading cards has evolved over the last 30 years, the insane story of how he met Dan Gilbert (owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and founder of Quicken Loans) who he ultimately co-founded StockX with out of pure serendipity, why building a stock market model makes so much sense for the business, why certain sneakers and trading cards resell for thousands or millions of dollars, building a $1 billion company in just 3 years, why he stepped down as CEO in 2019, and what he envisions the future of the company as well as e-commerce and new product launches, in general, to look like.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Blake Mycoskie is the founder of TOMS, a for-profit company that designs and markets shoes, as well as eyewear, coffee, apparel, and handbags, that he founded in 2006 after a trip to Argentina. He recently launched his new company, Madefor, a simple 10-month program that harnesses the proven power of neuroscience to elevate your mental and physical baselines while cultivating a mindset that allows you to achieve everything you are truly made for.In this episode, we talk about everything from his upbringing and being a top tennis player in the country well on his way to going pro, how an Achilles injury in college completely changed the trajectory of his life, traveling around the world as a contestant on The Amazing Race and almost winning the $1 million prize, the valuable lessons he’s learned from his successes and failures, the trip to Argentina that sparked the idea for TOMS, why he walked away from the business after 8 years when the company was doing $500M in sales, the toxic side of the public acclaim he had received throughout his career and why he ultimately started Madefor.If you’re interested in giving Madefor a try, we have a unique discount code for our listeners - go to www.getmadefor.com and use the code “FOUNDERHOUR” for 20% off!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square, a financial technology company powering millions of small businesses that he launched in 2009 with Jack Dorsey, who’s also the founder and CEO of Twitter. The company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2015 and is currently worth about $53 billion.Jim is also the author of “The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time,” where he breaks down what it truly means to be an entrepreneur and build a world-changing business. It’s one of our personal favorite books that we’ve read in a very long time and we wanted to dive deep into some of the concepts and stories Jim shares in the book, so we definitely recommend picking up a copy if you enjoy this conversation.We talked about everything from Jim’s personal story and how being an outcast at a young age helped him as an entrepreneur, how he got into glass blowing and eventually opened up his own studio which he still runs today, hiring Jack Dorsey as an intern at his first company and how their relationship has evolved, how losing a sale at his studio gave him the idea for Square, the evolution of the word “entrepreneur” and what it truly means, experience vs. naïveté when it comes to innovation, how he literally built the Square reader and went against Apple’s rule and regulations, the meeting with Steve Jobs that never happened, how they went up against Amazon and won, managing fear and staying motivated, and what his definition of success is.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Bedros Keuilian is the founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, one of the nation’s fastest-growing franchises, as well as a best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and investor in startups.In this episode, we spoke with Bedros about his early days and immigrating to the United States at 6 years old, what influenced his path to entrepreneurship, the valuable lessons he learned from his mentors growing up, the worst and best deal he ever made, what inspired the idea for Fit Body Boot Camp, why he decided to franchise the business, and how they got to over 800 locations worldwide in just 10 years.Bedros also shares how he’s been able to build a world-class team, the few books that changed his life and made him a better leader, what his insanely regimented daily schedule looks like, know what your “zone of genius” is, and how people can ultimately be better following the Covid-19 crisis and everything that’s going on in the world right now.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Trevor Milton is the founder and executive chairman of Nikola Corporation. Founded in 2014, Nikola is an energy technology company that designs and manufactures hydrogen-electric semi-trucks, pickup trucks, and more. In June 2020, the company debuted on the Nasdaq and is worth over $20 billion. They are expected to fully reveal the Nikola Badger, the company’s first pick-up truck built with hydrogen fuel-cell technology, at their highly-anticipated event, Nikola World, in December 2020.In this episode, Trevor joins Pat and Posh to share stories about his upbringing and what his childhood was like, how an unexpected encounter with a train engineer when he was 6 years old shaped the trajectory of his life, learning to survive on his own and never to give up, his lifelong fascination with machines and the electric motor, his experience in school and overall thoughts on the American education system, and the difference between instinct and knowledge when it comes to learning.Trevor also opens up about the successes and failures he’s had throughout his career, what inspired him to start Nikola, how he views entrepreneurship as a game of chess, his true feelings about Elon Musk and Tesla, the early challenges Nikola faced, why he decided to take the company public in the midst of a global pandemic, his long-term vision for the company, what he thinks of $NKLA’s current valuation despite ongoing criticism, and much, much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Chip Wilson is the founder of Lululemon Athletica, the athletic apparel company that pioneered a whole industry in performance clothing, which he launched in 1998.In this episode, we talk to Chip about his upbringing and younger years as a troubled student in school, how he was able to make $750,000 at 19 years old working on the Alaska pipeline, what motivated him to have his own business by age 30, his advice for entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to enjoy long-term success, his entrepreneurial journey and what sparked the idea for Lululemon, the evolution of women’s clothing since the 1980s and why he thinks Lululemon was successful, his feelings about the term “athleisure,” how Lululemon gained a cult-like following, why he stepped down as CEO in 2005, what he would’ve done differently had he stayed with the company, and much more.Chip also shares what he feels is the biggest opportunity in the next 5-10 years and what he’s been up to since leaving Lululemon.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Paolo Pirjanian is the founder and CEO of Embodied, Inc. Founded in 2016, Embodied is an industry-leading robotics and AI company creating state-of-the-art companion robots to revolutionize human-centric care and wellness by enhancing quality of life for individuals and families. They recently developed Moxie, a revolutionary new animate companion for children designed to help promote social, emotional, and cognitive development through play-based learning and captivating content.In this episode, Paolo shares his incredible story of being smuggled out of Iran during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s, living as a refugee in Denmark for 15 years and earning his Ph.D. in Robotics, the pressures and challenges he and his family had to deal with as immigrants, falling in love with technology and teaching himself how to code at a young age, where the concept of robotics comes from, starting his first company and selling it to iRobot, being iRobot’s CTO and developing one of the world’s leading technologies for robotic navigation which completely transformed iRobot’s Roomba, the importance of innovating fast, and why he always wanted to be an entrepreneur.He also shares how the idea for Embodied and Moxie came about, how he and his team stay motivated through uncertainty and complexities, the evolution of robotics throughout his career and what the future of the space looks like.Stay tuned towards the end as we get a chance to chat with Moxie (available now for pre-order and shipping in late 2020) LIVE on the show to see what it’s all about!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Vicky Tsai is the founder and Chief Treasure Hunter of Tatcha, a modern skincare brand rooted in timeless Japanese beauty rituals.In this super candid conversation, Vicky opens up about what she was like growing up and her early personal struggles and insecurities and why she never fit with her surroundings. We chat about how she got her start on Wall Street as a credit derivatives trader after college, how being at Ground Zero during 9/11 changed her life forever, getting her MBA from Harvard, and how a spontaneous trip to Kyoto, Japan while seeking treatment for her acute dermatitis led to her founding Tatcha in 2009.We also talk about the importance of her dual heritage as an Asian-American woman, the journey to finding meaning and purpose in her life, hitting rock bottom and choosing to follow her heart, Tatcha’s value system and what makes it different from other beauty brands, being over $500,000 in debt and not paying herself a salary for 10 years, why she ultimately decided to sell the company to Unilever in 2019 for a reported $500M, and much more!Stay tuned towards the end as the tables turn and Vicky asks Pat and Posh a question about the unifying trait amongst the founders who have been guests on the show!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Glenn Sanford is the founder of eXp Realty, CEO of eXp World Holdings, Inc. and Chief Strategy Officer for VirBELA. After being involved with a number of internet start-ups in the 1990s and early 2000s, including a stint at AOL, Glenn started a highly successful real estate career in 2002. In 2006, his fourth full year in the business, Glenn and his team closed over $60,000,000 in real estate almost entirely from online lead generation and was ranked as one of the top 50 teams nationally with Keller Williams. After the downturn in 2008, he and his team developed the first cloud-based brokerage model that uses a 3D avatar-based online office to collaborate and communicate while abandoning the physical bricks and mortar infrastructure normally associated with real estate brokerage. In the last 9 years, since launching with 25 agents, eXp Realty has grown to nearly 30,000 agents in all 50 states and beyond.In this episode, we chat with Glenn about his upbringing and how he fell in love with technology at an early age, the various jobs he held before starting eXp Realty, what made him a successful real estate agent and salesperson, what inspired him to become an entrepreneur, his thoughts on the current residential real estate market and where he sees it going post-Covid-19, his experience as a public company CEO, and pioneering the future of real estate as well as virtually-distributed work with VirBELA.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Stuart Landesberg is the founder and CEO of Grove Collaborative (formerly known as ePantry), an online platform that delivers eco-friendly home essentials, including household cleaning, personal care, baby, kid, and pet products.In this episode, we chat about everything from Stuart’s upbringing to his experience working on Wall Street during the economic crisis of 2008 to where he got the idea for Grove. Stuart also shares some of the early challenges and constant rejection he faced after pitching to 175 investors, and the unconventional path he took to building a successful business that is now valued at over $1 billion.We also talk about his learnings as a CEO and business leader, the long-term vision for Grove, what “changing the world” means to him, raising over $200M in venture capital, and his advice for anyone who is looking to become an entrepreneur.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Gaby Dalkin is a cookbook author, chef, entrepreneur, and writer. Founded in 2009, her website What’s Gaby Cooking established her as the go-to source for all things California, including delicious recipes, videos, and travel guides.After graduating from college, Gaby worked in fashion marketing and PR for less than a year before the financial crisis of 2008. Not sure what she wanted to do next, she pursued her passion for food and hospitality by going to culinary school and working as a private chef for two families while blogging on the side. As her audience grew larger and larger, she decided to jump into blogging full-time and published her first cookbook in 2012.In this episode, we chat with Gaby about her upbringing and how she developed her passion for food, what she draws inspiration from, how she developed her brand, and the inner workings of the cookbook industry. We also talk about what she’s been up to while in quarantine and the future of food and hospitality.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Born and raised in Canada and fresh out of college, Simon Huck found himself in New York City in the company of A-list celebrities after landing the job of his dreams in PR with Lizzie Grubman and Jonathan Cheban. After quickly establishing himself in the industry as a savvy PR executive, Simon grew to eventually take over Command PR from Cheban in 2012 and rebranded it to Command Entertainment Group, which he’s been running ever since.In 2020, after seeing several friends fall victim to a series of catastrophic events, such as losing homes to wildfires and hurricanes, Simon decided to launch JUDY, a collection of emergency products to help families better prepare for crisis.In this episode, we discuss Simon’s upbringing and experience in the PR world working with countless brands and celebrities, life as a reality TV star, the importance of building meaningful relationships, launching and building JUDY as well as their recent collaboration with Tiger King, why everyone should prepare for emergencies, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Known as the “Father of Modern Wellness,” Dr. Howard Murad is one of the world’s leading authorities on skincare and healthcare and has been practicing in the field of dermatology for almost 50 years.In 1989, he founded Murad, a global prestige skincare brand that he sold to Unilever in 2015.In this episode, we talk to Dr. Murad about his humble beginnings and immigrating to the U.S. from Iraq, going to medical school, his experience in Vietnam after being drafted in the army as a battalion surgeon, his long and successful dermatology practice, why he launched his own skincare brand, and many other interesting topics such as his relationship with failure, developing the concept of “inclusive health,” and the notion of “cultural stress” and its impact on today’s world.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

George Arison is a serial entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of Shift, an online peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling used cars.Prior to Shift, George spent time as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and a Product Manager at Google before starting Taxi Magic (now known as Curb & acquired by Verifone), the first on-demand mobile transportation booking technology, before Uber and Lyft were an inkling in the minds of ride-hailers everywhere.George, a Georgian immigrant, was the first student from the Soviet Union allowed to attend a private U.S. high school without a government sponsorship. He later graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont. George also pursued his other professional passion in politics, helping his native country of Georgia transition to a democracy. He co-founded Georgia’s first-ever free market-focused think tank, Partnership for Social Initiatives (PSI) and authored the book "Democracy and Autocracy in Eurasia."In this episode, George shares stories of his humble beginnings and immigrating to the United States, what he’s learned about entrepreneurship and innovation throughout his career, advice for startups looking to raise venture capital (he’s raised over $300 million), how Airbnb’s founding team helped Shift find their “wow” moment, and the vision for the future of the auto space industry and car ownership in a post-pandemic world.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Marc Randolph is the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix. He’s also the author of “That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea,” where he shares the untold story of what became known as one of the most successful companies in history.In this episode, Marc joins Pat and Posh to share stories from his upbringing that helped shape who he is today, how Netflix was born, his experience as the first CEO of Netflix, as well as answering questions submitted by the audience and his thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic as it relates to entrepreneurship and opportunity.Marc also recalls some of the most pivotal moments in Netflix history, such as the risky shift in focus from selling DVDs to renting, turning down an offer to sell to Jeff Bezos and Amazon in 1998, being passed up by Blockbuster for $50 million, the day the company went public and what was going through his mind, and what ultimately led to him stepping down as CEO.Tune in for an incredible conversation with Marc about what’s possible when you take risks and have conviction in your ideas and vision, as well as thoughts on leadership, focus, maintaining a positive mindset, and never taking no for an answer.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

For our first-ever virtual episode of The Founder Hour (thanks, Coronavirus!), we sat down with Melanie Wolff and Darien Williams, co-founders and co-CEOs of Brella, an on-demand and high-quality center-based child care.A little over 3 years ago, Darien met Melanie on a blind friend date. Darien was an architect living in New York, who brought up the idea of an on-demand childcare space with Melanie, a marketing executive. Both women were working mothers who had not found a good solution to childcare.Darien and Melanie moved to Los Angeles with their families and set out to solve a painful problem in their lives (and the lives of all other working moms). Brella was born.We spoke with Darien and Melanie about how they got the business going, raising $3 million, how Brella is different than other daycare solutions and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their business and its trajectory, as well as the impact it could have on developing children at a young age.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Yancey Strickler is the co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform that has helped bring hundreds of thousands of creative projects to life since its launch in 2009.As of today, the platform has received more than $4.6 billion in pledges from 17.2 million backers to fund 445,000 projects, such as films, music, journalism, video games, technology, and more. Some notable companies that started off with a successful Kickstarter campaign include Oculus VR, MVMT, Popsocket, and Allbirds.Aside from founding Kickstarter, Yancey is also a former music critic and author of “This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World,” as well as the creator of Bentoism.In this episode, Yancey joins Pat and Posh to share personal stories of his upbringing, his obsession with pop culture from a young age, how he fell into writing, his thoughts on creatives vs. businesspeople, and much more. He walks us through the story of how Kickstarter was born, how he met his co-founders and his experience as CEO of the company before ultimately stepping down and returning to a career in writing.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

IN-Q is a National Poetry Slam champion, award-winning poet, and multi-platinum songwriter. His groundbreaking achievements include being named to Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 list of the world’s most influential thought leaders, being the first spoken word artist to perform with Cirque Du Soleil, and being featured on A&E, ESPN, and HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He’s inspired audiences around the world through his live performances and storytelling workshops. Many of his recent poetry videos have gone viral with over 70 million views combined.As a songwriter, IN-Q’s hit single “Love You Like a Love Song” by Selena Gomez went multi-platinum, winning him a BMI award. He has written with renowned artists including Aloe Blacc, Miley Cyrus, Mike Posner, and Foster the People. His songs have accumulated over one billion views on YouTube alone.Ultimately IN-Q writes to entertain, inspire, and challenge his audiences to look deeper into the human experience and ask questions about themselves, their environment, and the world at large.In this episode, IN-Q joins Pat & Posh to share stories of his upbringing and how he fell in love with poetry and hip-hop at a young age, his successful songwriting career, his approach to writing and staying inspired, and some pretty deep topics about life in general.His new book, Inquire Within, a powerful and innovative book of poetry and wisdom designed to take your pain and transform it into growth, drops March 31st - you can find more info at in-q.com.Make sure to stick around towards the middle of the episode for an exclusive performance by IN-Q just for TFH listeners!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Catherine McCord wasn’t your average teenager. While in middle school, she began modeling and traveling the world to be on runway shows and magazine covers such as Glamour, Elle and Vanity Fair, eventually being discovered by the likes of Calvin Klein and Patrick Demarchelier. She was also one of the 15 original Victoria’s Secret Angels. Her modeling career eventually turned into a career in journalism, as she hosted shows such as Extra, The Big Moment, and Loveline. All throughout, Catherine always had a passion for food, so she decided to go to culinary school and gain experience working at various restaurants.It wasn’t always easy balancing school and a full-time career, and modeling at such a young age and traveling on her own often had its lonely moments. Being a woman in the culinary scene in the early-2000s also had its challenges.Shortly after graduating from culinary school, Catherine became pregnant and started a blog for mothers where she posted all the homemade baby food that she had made. Weelicious was born. As the blog grew, Catherine decided to write a cookbook and landed a publishing deal to make her dream into a reality.Since then, Catherine has written 3 books, including her latest book “Smoothie Project: The 28-Day Plan to Feel Happy and Healthy No Matter Your Age,” and launched a company called One Potato, which is a meal delivery kit for healthy, home-cooked meals designed for the entire family.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Greg Steltenpohl is the co-founder and CEO of Califia Farms, one of the fastest-growing plant-based beverage companies in the world. However, Greg wasn’t always an entrepreneur; in fact, he got a degree from Stanford in Environmental Science and at one point in his younger days, set out to be a musician.However, when that didn’t work out, a series of fortunate events led Greg to found Odwalla, a supplier of fresh juice and nourishing beverages, which was eventually acquired by Coca-Cola in 2001.After Odwalla, Greg was involved in several projects, but it was now clear that his background in environmental sciences would become a part of his daily life. Prior to Califia, Greg co-founded Adina for Life Inc., a venture-backed startup focused on building a fair trade brand with a good-for-you, good-for-the-planet mission in the natural beverage category. He did that for 6 years and then founded Califia Farms.Greg is one of the original plant-based visionaries who believed that bringing high-quality, sustainable products with wholesome ingredients to customers was imperative. Since 2010, Greg has led the company’s rapid growth as an innovative leader of premium, natural beverages that make it easy for consumers to go “plant-powered” and live a dairy-free lifestyle. Steltenpohl’s disruptive approach has made Califia Farms the top-selling, ready-to-drink coffee and almond milk brand in the U.S. natural channel and a household name.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Daina Trout is the co-founder and CEO of Health-Ade Kombucha. Before her entrepreneurial journey began, Daina found herself working in corporate America for several years after graduating with Master’s degrees in Nutrition and Public Health from Tufts University, all the while having an itch to start her own business.She finally took the leap after she and her best friend, Vanessa Dew, and husband, Justin Trout, started an “entrepreneur club” to brainstorm potential ideas to pursue. At long last, they decided on selling kombucha - something Daina had been making for many years since her college days - when they stumbled upon the little-known fact that it could help with preventing hair loss. Daina and her new co-founders began brewing batches of kombucha in her apartment, started selling it at local farmers markets, and eventually grew Health-Ade into one of the fastest-growing brands in its category.In 2020, the company will sell close to 5 million cases, generating over $150 million across 30,000 stores. Tune in to experience Daina’s story of perseverance, grit and ensuring success against all odds.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Susan Sarich is the founder and visionary of popular cake company, SusieCakes. She grew up in Chicago watching her two grandmothers always baking and quickly realized that hospitality is something she’d be involved with. Her strong academic marks allowed her to get accepted to Cornell’s hospitality program - one of the best in the nation.After graduating and working at hotels and nightclubs and restaurants, her life partner and her opened a restaurant together in Oregon. It was doing so well until the 9/11 attacks.We spoke to Susan about overcoming those challenges, having the idea for SusieCakes, moving to Los Angeles, raising money and the early days of the cake shop. Tune in to learn how she went from 1 location to 27 and how the cakes will keep coming!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > [email protected] ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour