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

Sameer Mehta & Sean Kane, the Co-Founders of Smash Kitchen, join the show to share their journey from building The Honest Company & Casper to modernizing the American pantry with organic condiments at Walmart. Hear how to disrupt a category, how to challenge iconic brands, how they partner with Co-Founder Glen Powell, common misconceptions about celebrity business owners, and the movie Sameer & Sean would star in. Connect with Sameer & Sean on LinkedIn and at SmashKitchen.com

Harry Morton, the Founder & CEO of Lower Street, joins the show to share his journey from getting fired for losing audio files to building the podcast production agency for top brands with a team of over 30 people. Hear how to start a podcast production agency, how to win big brands as clients, how to grow your podcast, how to start a successful video podcast, and what podcasts will look like in 100 years. Connect with Harry at LowerStreet.co, on LinkedIn, and on X @PodcastHarry

Jeff Perera, the Co-Founder & Vice President of Jeff's Bagel Run, joins the show to share his journey from being laid off to creating the craziest bagel flavors in the world. Hear how to quickly learn a new skill, how to get used to change as an entrepreneur, how to experiment with new flavors, how to push your industry forward while honoring its past, and his dream bagel flavor. Connect with Jeff at JeffsBagelRun.com, on social media @JeffsBagelRun, and their Jeff's Bagel Run app

Shawn David Nelson, the Founder & CEO of Lovesac, joins the show to share his journey from wanting to create a giant bean bag to creating the billion-dollar couch & bean bag brand. Hear what The Price is Right and Cap'n Crunch have to do with Lovesac, how to stay true to your brand as your company grows, what to focus on as a founder, how to survive as a business for multiple decades, and the top entrepreneurship Shawnisms from Let Me Save You 25 Years. Connect with Shawn at Lovesac.com, on social media @ShawnOfLovesac, and check out his book & podcast Let Me Save You 25 Years

Justin Lunny, the Founder & CEO of Everrati, joins the show to share his journey from his first word being "car" to electrifying iconic sports cars. Hear how they create electric vehicles, how to sell high-ticket items, how to sell your business, how to bounce back from failure, and the Dream Car Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Justin at Everrati.com and on Instagram @EverratiCars

April Wachtel, the Founder & CEO of Cheeky Cocktails, joins the show to share her journey from bartender to creating the bar-quality line of cocktail mixers. Hear the lessons she learned bartending, how to deconstruct your brand, the surprising things you can learn from your customers, how to find inspiration as an entrepreneur, and the Cocktail Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with April at CheekyCocktails.co, on social media @CheekyCocktails, on LinkedIn, and Instagram @CheekyApril

Eric Johnson, the CEO of SurveyMonkey, joins the show to share his journey from building businesses in the music industry to leading the world's most popular platform for surveys and forms. Hear how SurveyMonkey has evolved over the years, how to focus on your core product while innovating, how often to test products & features, how to de-stress as an entrepreneur or CEO, and how running helps with productivity. Connect with Eric at SurveyMonkey.com and on LinkedIn

Kenny Dunn, the Founder & CEO of Eating Europe, joins the show to share his journey from buying a round-the-world plane ticket to creating the best food tour company in Europe. Hear how to start a business in a new industry, how to expand your business to multiple countries & cities, what makes a great tour guide, how to perfect your customer experience, and the Food Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Kenny at EatingEurope.com and on social media @EatingEurope

Charlotte Wenham, the Executive Officer of Shusher & Baby Shusher, joins the show to share her journey moving from New Zealand to Texas and selling millions of baby sound machines. Hear how to turn an idea into a sellable product, how they record the Baby Shusher sound, how to keep your product simple & functional, whether there's constant shushing in the office, and all the Wild adventures Charlotte's been on. Connect with Charlotte at BabyShusher.com and on Instagram @BabyShusher

Victoria Vaynberg, the Chief Marketing & Customer Officer of Nanit, joins the show to share her journey from ESPN, Anheuser-Busch, Resy, and Zola to leading marketing for the smart baby monitor & parenting app. Hear what you can learn working on your dream brands, how to win the trust of parents as a baby brand, how to come up with new product features, how to build a community, and the best business & life lessons from tennis. Connect with Victoria at Nanit.com and on LinkedIn

Shraysi Tandon, the Founder & CEO of Kidsy, joins the show to share her journey from filmmaker & TV reporter to creating the TJ Maxx of baby & kids gear. Hear how to turn your idea into a real business, how to build relationships with suppliers, how to find your niche as a brand, how to make babies & children stop crying, and how to get comfortable on camera. Connect with Shraysi at Kidsy.co, on Instagram @ShopKidsy, and on LinkedIn

Ken Gavranovic, the Serial Entrepreneur and Board Member of Product Genius, joins the show to share his journey from growing up poor to leading several exits. Hear the 80's movie that rocked his world, how to lead your company toward IPO, how to best spend your time as an entrepreneur, how to start a business in the AI space, and how improv helps you as a business owner. Connect with Ken at KenGavranovic.com, ProductGenius.Guru, and on LinkedIn

Dori Yona, the Co-Founder & CEO of SimpleClosure, joins the show to share his journey from captaining battleships to making it easy to shut down your business. Hear how to start a unique business, when it makes sense to close your business, how to shut down your business, how to keep going when you're ready to quit, and The Mexico Whiteboard Story. Connect with Dori at SimpleClosure.com, on LinkedIn, and on X @DoriYona

Sidney Collin, the Co-Founder & President of De Oro Devices, joins the show to share her journey from studying the brain to creating NexStride to help people with Parkinson's and other mobility disorders walk safely. Hear how the brain works, how Parkinson's disease affects the brain & mobility, what you can learn from a failed pitch, how to pivot from B2C to B2B, and the best tacos in Austin. Connect with Sidney at GetNexStride.com and on LinkedIn

Scott Marshall, the President & CEO of Semester at Sea and the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE), joins the show to share his journey from studying abroad in Japan to leading study abroad on a giant ship around the world. Hear the behind-the-scenes of Semester at Sea, how they manage the cost of a cruise ship, the favorite ports, the best Semester at Sea traditions, and the most beautiful sights on and off the water. Connect with Scott at SemesterAtSea.org and on LinkedIn

Nikki Seaman, the Founder & CEO of Freestyle Snacks, joins the show to share her journey from avoiding olives to reimagining olives in delicious snack form. Hear why olives are so polarizing, how to get customer feedback early on, how to differentiate your food brand, The Brineusual of fun facts about olives, and olive the puns. Connect with Nikki at FreestyleSnacking.com and on LinkedIn

Emily Cho, the Founder of Juvie for STEM aka JSTEM, joins the show to share her journey from volunteering in prisons to creating the largest youth-led education technology nonprofit. Hear what makes prison so fascinating, what you can learn from teaching in prison, how to structure your business, how to run a business with limited time, and Emily's work with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Connect with Emily at JuvieForSTEM.org

Len Kretchman, the Creator of Uncrustables and Co-Founder of Bread Kneads, joins the show to share his journey from college football star to creating the crustless PB&J sandwich that became a billion-dollar brand. Hear how his wife Emily came up with the idea for Uncrustables, the insights that made them possible to produce, the moment they knew it would be a success, how they sold Uncrustables to Smucker's, and Len's favorite route to run as a wide receiver. Connect with Len at BreadKneadsLLC.com and [email protected]

Anne Candido & April Martini, the Co-Founders of ForthRight People and Co-Hosts of Strategic Counsel by ForthRight Business, join the show to share their journey from P&G and the agency world to helping businesses grow through strategy & brand building. Hear how to find your business partner, how to know when it's time to pivot your business, how to use your podcast as your primary marketing strategy, how to batch your podcast recordings, and the song Anne can't stand. Connect with Anne & April on LinkedIn, ForthRight-People.com, and check out Strategic Counsel by ForthRight Business. Stay tuned at the end of this episode for a special announcement about the Wild Business Growth podcast

Greg Fisher, the Kelley Professor of Entrepreneurship and Author of The Principles of Entrepreneurial Progress, joins the show to share his journey from accountant in South Africa to teaching the next generation of entrepreneurs at Indiana University (IU). Hear how to become a college professor, the mistakes many new entrepreneurs make, how to keep things simple as an entrepreneur, how to maintain a sense of urgency, and the moment Greg felt truly at home in Bloomington. Connect with Greg on LinkedIn and check out his book on Amazon

Alan Kraft & Jim Kabakow, the Co-Founders & Managing Partners of Bin 113, join the show to share their journey from starting, growing, and selling Media Horizons to building the wine marketing company for wineries in all 50 states. Hear how to start a marketing agency, how to add more services to your business, how to sell your business, the marketing opportunity for wineries in the US, and Alan & Jim's favorite wine regions outside the US. Connect with Alan & Jim on LinkedIn, Bin113.com, and check out Wine Across America

Ashley Lynn Priore, the Founder & CEO of Queens Gambit and Queenside Ventures, joins the show to share her journey from 4-year-old chess prodigy to teaching girls and NFL teams chess, life, and entrepreneurship skills. Hear how to start a business while you're in school, start multiple businesses, take risks, work with professional sports teams, and Ashley's top chess tips. Connect with Ashley at QGChess.org, QueensideVentures.com, and on LinkedIn

Sasha Siddhartha, the Co-Founder & CTO of Thrive Market, joins the show to share his journey from growing up in several countries to building the healthy & sustainable online grocery store with over 1.6 million members. Hear how to immerse yourself in a new culture, create a company mission that attracts a strong team, use a membership model, invent new recipes, and the longest coding sprint Sasha's ever done. Connect with Sasha at ThriveMarket.com and on LinkedIn

Tom Kubiniec, the President & CEO of SecureIt Tactical, joins the show to share his journey from heavy metal guitarist to creating the global leader in military weapon storage & armory design. Hear how to become the authority in your space, focus on simplicity & innovation, work with the military, the hardest song Tom's ever played on guitar, and what kept him going on a 2,000-foot ice climb. Connect with Tom at SecureItTactical.com and on LinkedIn

Dr. Steven Pritzker, the Creativity Professor, TV Writer, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Creativity, joins the show to share his journey from writing for The Mary Tyler Moore Show to teaching college students how to stay creative. Hear what makes a great writers' room, why creativity is important for entrepreneurs, how to think outside-the-box, how to create a long creative work, and how creativity has changed over the years

Gary Arndt, the Host of Everything Everywhere Daily and Award-Winning Travel Blogger & Photographer, joins the show to share his journey from selling his house to travel the world in 2007 to starting the daily podcast that gets over 1.5 million downloads per month. Hear what you need to know before traveling the world, how to create a daily podcast, how to stay curious, the most fascinating stories Gary's covered, and the era he'd love to time travel to. Connect with Gary at Everything-Everywhere.com and check out his podcast Sign up for Podcaster's Kit 6: https://bloggingconcentrated.com/members/aff/go/max/?i=91

Dr. Andrew Branstetter, the ER Doctor and best brother in the world, joins the show for a very special family edition during Thanksgiving week to be interviewed by his brother, Max Branstetter. Hear his journey to becoming an ER Doctor, how to switch between being nocturnal and daytime, how to handle when patients die, infamous stories of butterflies & birds, and the best lesson he's learned from Mom & Dad. Connect with Andrew on Instagram @AndrewBranstetter

Nadia Neytcheva, the Co-Founder & CEO of Doctorsa, joins the show to share her journey from starting an in-person clinic in Rome to curating English-speaking doctors for no-stress urgent care across over 30 countries. Hear how to start a business in the medical space, how to pivot to an online business, how to optimize your processes, how to expand your business to new countries, and the most confusing English word. Connect with Nadia at Doctorsa.com and on LinkedIn

Jake Peters, the Co-Founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer of Fora, joins the show to share his journey from studying computer science to building The Modern Travel Agency. Hear why the travel industry is ripe for disruption, the tools & flexibility Fora offers travel advisors, how to stand out with your tech, how to write bedtime stories with ChatGPT & AI, and the best travel perks. Connect with Jake at ForaTravel.com and on LinkedIn

Dane Barnes, the Co-Founder of Shibumi, joins the show to share his journey from learning from Adam Grant at UNC to creating The Original Wind Powered Beach Shade. Hear how to start a business with your sibling and/or best friend, how to prototype your product, the NASCAR Wind Tunnel that helped make Shibumi a success, how to keep your eye out for problems & solutions, and Dane's favorite beaches in North Carolina. Connect with Dane at ShibumiShade.com and on LinkedIn