Wild Business Growth

Jess Loseke, the Co-Founder of Midwest Barrel Co., joins the show to share her journey from suffering a scary injury to building the top provider of premium used bourbon, whiskey, and wine barrels. Hear how to find your niche market, the best way to manage your inventory, how to make tough decisions as an entrepreneur, how to find that risk-taking ability you had at the beginning, and a lesson in barrel anatomy. Connect with Jess at MidwestBarrelCo.com, JessLoseke.com, on social media @JessLoseke & @TheBarrelGirl, and on LinkedIn

David Lee, the Co-Founder & CEO of Nex and Nex Playground, joins the show to share his journey from selling a company to Apple to creating the smart little cube with active video games that transforms your living room. Hear how to break down a complicated problem, how David & team put all this cool technology in a small box, how to build a subscription model, how Steve Jobs gave feedback, and David's history with former NBA player David Lee. Connect with David at NexPlayground.com, PlayThatMovesYou.com, on social media @NexPlayground, and on LinkedIn

Ben Lamm, the Founder & CEO of Colossal Biosciences, joins the show to share his journey from 5 successful exits to creating the company trying to de-extinct the woolly mammoth. Hear how to become a serial entrepreneur, the impact of bringing back woolly mammoths, whether the world is ready for de-extinction, mind-blowing aspects of genetics & DNA, and the other species Ben wants to bring back. Connect with Ben at Colossal.com, on X @Colossal, and on LinkedIn

Vy Nguyen, the Co-CEO of Avocado Green Mattress & Avocado Green Brands, joins the show to share his journey from growing up in his family furniture business to creating the top organic mattress. Hear how to offer a high-quality organic product, how to stand out as a brand, how to inspire repeat customers, how to take a 1-minute nap, and where to travel in Vietnam. Connect with Vy at AvocadoGreenMattress.com and on LinkedIn

Dr. Kathrin Hamm, the Founder & CEO of Bearaby, joins the show to share her journey from the best nap of her life to creating the brand of weighted blankets & home wellness products. Hear how to get comfortable taking risks as an entrepreneur, how to quickly scale your business, how to become the leader in your product category, the science behind weighted blankets & napping, and Kathrin's famous puppet shows. Connect with Kathrin at Bearaby.com, @MyBearaby on Instagram, and on LinkedIn

Dylan McDonnell, the Founder & CEO of Foodini, joins the show to share his journey from finding out he has celiac disease to creating the dietary intelligence company with personalized menus for over 150 diets & allergens. Hear how celiac disease works, how Foodini keeps allergies & dietary restrictions simple for restaurants, how Foodini improves the food experience at stadiums, the place Dylan's traveled to that didn't live up to the hype, and his all-time favorite memory as a sports fan. Connect with Dylan at Foodini.co and on LinkedIn

Jason Liebig, the Candy Historian and TV Consultant & Storyteller, joins the show to share his journey from DC Comics & Marvel Comics to becoming the leading expert on candy, snacks, and nostalgia for shows like Stranger Things and Mad Men. Hear how to get good at collecting things, the top candy entrepreneurship stories, which candies are related to each other, the most unusual candies in history, and the most creative use of chocolate. Connect with Jason at CollectingCandy.com, on social media @CollectingCandy, and on LinkedIn

Fran Maier, the Founder & CEO of BabyQuip and Co-Founder of Match.com, joins the show to share her journey from starting the 1st online dating site to creating the #1 baby gear rental service for traveling families. Hear how to keep your business simple, how to build a business powered by moms, how BabyQuip started partnering with Vrbo, how to define your ideal customer avatar, and the best things to do in Santa Fe. Connect with Fran at BabyQuip.com and on LinkedIn

Emma Weinberg, the Co-Founder of Buttah and Best Maid of Honor in History, joins the show for a very special family edition during Thanksgiving week to be interviewed by her cousin's husband, Max Branstetter. Hear how she met her husband Ben from across the pond, her manufacturing trips to Turkey, how she successfully teased Buttah's first drop, the best memories from skiing in Stratton, and the New York vs. London Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Emma at ButtahLondon.com, on Instagram & TikTok @ButtahLondon, and on Instagram @EmmaGWein

Jamie Sonneville, the Founder & CEO of Agri-Trak, joins the show to share her journey from 5th-generation farmer to creating the farm labor tracking software. Hear what many people get wrong about farmers, what to do in your Pre-MVP stage, how to stop doing things the way you've always done them, The Apple Segment, and why Wegmans has such a diehard following. Connect with Jamie at Agri-Trak.com and on LinkedIn

Donna Letier, the Co-Founder & CEO of Gardenuity, joins the show to share her journey from learning the science behind gardening to creating patio container gardens & indoor desktop gardens for all. Hear why gardening is good for your mental health, how she started offering food-inspired gardens, what to look for in potential employees, what she's learned from her daughter Jillian, and Donna's fondest memory from the outdoors of Alaska. Connect with Donna at Gardenuity.com and on LinkedIn

Christa Pitts, the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of The Lumistella Company, joins the show to share her journey from QVC host to creating The Elf on the Shelf. Hear how The Elf on the Shelf came to life, the moments that made it a hit, how to handle rejection as an entrepreneur, how she achieves work-life balance with her identical twin sister Co-CEO, and how to get better on camera. Connect with Christa at ElfOnTheShelf.com, Lumistella.com, ChristaPitts.com, ChandaBell.com, and on LinkedIn

Scott Porter, the Owner, Founder, and Chief Churro Officer of San Diablo Artisan Churros, joins the show to share his journey from starting an airline to revolutionizing the world of churros. Hear how he fell in love with churros, the secret recipe that changed everything, how to come up with new product ideas, how he got Charles Barkley to try his churros, and his 3 dream tacos. Connect with Scott at SanDiabloChurros.com, on Instagram & TikTok @SanDiabloChurros, and on LinkedIn

Goldie Chan, the Founder of Warm Robots and Author of Personal Branding for Introverts, joins the show to share her journey from posting one of the first videos on LinkedIn to becoming The Oprah of LinkedIn and The Queen of Uncool. Hear how to create content for brands & personal brands, how to carve out Off-Brain Time, how to practice Ideal Daydreaming, what sea monkeys actually are, and why Goldie colored her hair green. Connect with Goldie on LinkedIn, on Instagram @GoldieCylon, and get her book at GoldieChan.com/Book

Rob Herzog, the Founder of ZogSports & ZogCulture, joins the show to share his journey from a close call on 9/11 to connecting millions of adults through sports leagues in 6 major cities. Hear the Piña Colada Epiphany that changed Rob's life, how to meet increased demand for your product or service, the Building Block Strategy for adding clients & partners, how to adjust to new chapters in life, and the time Bill Murray showed up at one of their kickball games. Connect with Rob on LinkedIn and at ZogSports.com, ZogCulture.com, and VoloSports.com

Amanda Lacy, the Founder of Bijou Build, joins the show to share her journey from designing toys to creating the revolutionary outdoor play structure for ages 3-103. Hear how to make a modular product, how to design child-safe toys, how to inspire user-generated content aka UGC, fun facts about moss, and the best tapa in Barcelona. Connect with Amanda at BijouBuild.com and on Instagram & Facebook @BijouBuild

Myles Powell, the Founder & CEO of Myles Comfort Foods, joins the show to share his journey from starting a line of BBQ sauces to pivoting to mac & cheese and getting distribution at Whole Foods and Target. Hear how to rebrand your business, how to create meals for the frozen food aisle, how to increase production as a food brand, how to keep learning as an entrepreneur, and his experience on the Food Network TV show America's Best Cook. Connect with Myles at MylesComfortFoods.com, on LinkedIn, and on social media @MylesComfortFoods

Jeffrey Gabriel, the Founder & CEO of Saw.com, joins the show to share his journey from getting into the domain name broker business to leading the Guinness World Record-breaking sale of Sex dot com and completing over half a billion dollars in transactions. Hear the behind the scenes of the $13 million Sex dot com deal, how domain names are valued, how to get through growing pains as an entrepreneur, what to look for in a domain name, and what the Playboy Mansion is like in real life. Connect with Jeffrey at Saw.com and on LinkedIn

Ted Xenohristos, the Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer of CAVA, joins the show to share his journey from starting a casual Mediterranean restaurant to scaling to over 400 fast-casual locations and going public. Hear what he learned growing up in a restaurant, how to create a buzzworthy brand, how to prevent menu creep, how CAVA stays fresh & generous, and the Greek Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Ted at CAVA.com, on LinkedIn, and on Instagram @CAVATedX