Kevin OLeary Gets Honest About the Personal Sacrifices Successful People Must Make Inc. 2017-12-22 | 'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary explains the hard decisions founders have to make for their businesses to be successful.Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: facebook.com/IncTwitter: twitter.com/IncG+: plus.google.com/+incmagazine/postsLinkedin: linkedin.com/company/inc--magazineInstagram: instagram.com/incmagazinePinterest: pinterest.com/incmagazine
FlashBack: How to Ask the Big Questions with Mateo Jaramillo of Form Energy Inc. 2024-10-16 | Most startups set out to tackle massive problems, but working to develop a low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that will enable the electric system to be 100% renewably powered? That's a big one by any standard. At Form Energy, Mateo Jaramillo and his co-founders are working to bring that very vision to life, leveraging the smartest minds in the energy storage space. Mateo shares why he bet his career on the climate tech industry after attending Yale Divinity School, how his time at Tesla taught him the importance of top-quality talent, and what it was like to step into the shoes of a founder at age 40.Original Air Date: 12-16-2020
How to Remain Resilient and Relevant Through Challenging Times Inc. 2024-10-15 | Today’s episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between host Bea Dixon, CEO and Founder of the Honey Pot Company, and Chip Conley, founder of Modern Elder Academy -- a concept that inspires people to re-think time and aging so they can be in the best frame of mind as founders. In their conversation, they dig deep on near-death experiences, the psychological precepts that underlie being a founder and developing the wisdom to be a great leader.
How a Near-Death Experience Inspired This Founder to Revolutionize Office Lunch Inc. 2024-10-14 | Dilip Rao had what he would call “the perfect life” until he was in a car accident on July 5, 2014, in New York City. What followed changed his outlook—and his values. That same year, he founded Sharebite to change the way workplaces bring their employees together for, and show them appreciation through, meals. And he built in a mission that has helped bolster struggling restaurants—and combat food insecurity.The company, of which Dilip is now CEO, is a meal benefit platform built for the modern workforce—one in which some workers are hybrid, some fully in-person, some fully remote—and all want to feel appreciated. It specializes in feeding in-office and remote employees food they want from local restaurants–and lets companies chip in, to make each meal feel like a real benefit for workers. The chipping in goes further than that, though: Through Sharebite, each meal bought is equal to one meal donated.Over the past three years, the company has had a growth rate of 4,914 percent, and it landed at No. 56 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. For this episode of “From the Ground Up,” Inc. executive editor Diana Ransom spoke with Dilip about his accident and recovery process, his stoic philosophy, and Sharebite’s lightning-fast growth.Source notes and additional research and information:Read: How This Food-Ordering Platform Gave Restaurants a Lifeline During Covid inc.com/magazine/202112/diana-ransom/sharebite-food-ordering-restaurants-covid-community.html by Diana Ransom, on Inc.comRead: Sharebite’s Inc. 5000 profileinc.com/profile/sharebiteVisit Sharebite’s websitesharebite.com
How to Unlock Healthcare Access for Millions with Brian Whorley of Paytient Inc. 2024-10-09 | After a career spent inside a hospital, Brian Whorley envisioned a future for American healthcare that, to him, seemed not just possible but inevitable. Witnessing firsthand the growing number of patients burdened by high deductibles, Brian understood that when people have better financial tools to afford care, they seek treatment sooner, leading to improved health outcomes. In 2018, Brian co-founded Paytient, the company that empowers people to pay for care over time with no interest and no fees—ever. Fast forward seven years, and his vision is becoming a reality. Starting in 2025, every single Part D health plan in the U.S. will be required to offer plan members the option to spread their out-of-pocket pharmaceutical costs over time with interest-free monthly payments. Given this new regulation, Paytient is expected to help nearly 25 million Americans more easily access and afford care next year. Brian shares why he believes founders are forged as children, how he built a business among a sea of skeptics, and why he thinks that healthcare entrepreneurs have to partner with America’s existing health system stakeholders to implement the most impactful change.
How Cult Brands Capture Imaginations–and Wallets Inc. 2024-10-07 | This week, we kick off our Inc. feature coverage by exploring the making of–and proliferation of–cult brands. In this episode, executive editor Diana Ransom and editor-at-large Christine Lagorio-Chafkin invite Inc. staff writer Ali Donaldson to talk about an article she wrote that broke open a lot of consumer trends we’ve seen over recent years–and explained the anatomy of consumer-product virality. Certain brands seem to grow cult followings almost overnight. Turns out that’s no happy accident–it’s all in the plan. And Ali lays out precisely what that plan looks like for brands that achieve cult status.Stanley, Kendra Scott, and Bogg Bag are extremely different companies–aside from the fact that each has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. And it turns out, they are all fascinating case studies in appealing to customers, both online and offline. Bogg Bag, founded by Kim Vaccarella, out of Lodi, New Jersey, landed on the Inc. 5000 this year and expects to book over $100 million in revenue by the end of 2024. Kendra Scott, the Texas-based jewelry brand, continues to evolve with its customers online–and meets them where they are on campuses, too. And the Stanley cup stans are seriously engaged and proudly express it through TikTok and other social media channels. They might wonder: How on earth is this a 110-year-old company? Donaldson explains, and also dishes about her interview with the marketing genius behind both the Stanley brand shift that brought it to a new generation and the proliferation of Crocs.Source notes and additional research and information:Read: How Preppy Cult Brands Captured the Imagination and Wallets of Female Consumers (inc.com/ali-donaldson/how-preppy-cult-brands-captured-the-imagination-and-wallets-of-female-consumers.html) , by Ali Donaldson, on Inc.comRead: How This Marketing Pro Got Crocs on Every Celebrity–and Also Was Behind the Stanley Tumbler Trend (inc.com/ali-donaldson/this-marketing-pro-got-crocs-on-every-celebrity-from-bad-bunny-to-justin-bieber-now-hes-the-one-behind-the-stanley-tumbler-you-cant-escape.html) Listen: Kendra Scott interviewed on Inc.’s What I Know podcast (https://megaphone.link/MANV9813083087) Read: How Kendra Scott Crafted a Remarkably Wholesome Customer Service Philosophy (inc.com/christine-lagorio/how-kendra-scott-crafted-remarkably-wholesome-customer-service-philosophy.html) Read: A history of Stanley Cup (stanley1913.com/pages/about-stanley) s, via Stanley1813.comRead: Dive into the 2024 Inc. 5000 list (inc.com/inc5000) of fastest-growing companies in AmericaVisit: Kendra Scott (kendrascott.com/about-kendra.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqQjz0vYr0OcUMEzCHlfA3_DpY0xOitHjs5nnffIQBa9cJpie7Z) Visit: Bogg Bag (boggbag.com/pages/about-us) Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-ground-up/id969518808) Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/7HLvuwrmsZegZJ1UeBCmhG)
How to Stand Firm in Your Integrity with Annie Lamont of Oak HC/FT Inc. 2024-10-02 | Growing up, Annie Lamont was an avid reader with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. This led her to attend Stanford—which coincided with Silicon Valley's tech boom and ignited her passion for entrepreneurship. Immediately, she found herself gravitating towards healthcare investing because of the incredible impact it can have on communities. Today, Annie is the cofounder of Oak HC/FT and is recognized as one of the most influential investors in healthcare and fintech. With over $5 billion in assets under management, she boasts an impressive track record, having backed iconic companies like One Medical, athenahealth, and Devoted Health. To date, she has successfully exited more than 70 companies and achieved 15 IPOs. In addition to her venture career, she also serves as the First Lady of Connecticut. Annie shares her take on how generative AI will impact healthcare and fintech, why she believes the smartest rule in venture is to never compromise on integrity, and how she distinguishes ordinary entrepreneurs from exceptional ones.
Rahul Vohra’s Productivity Playbook Inc. 2024-10-01 | Aisha Bowe talks with Rahul Vohra, founder of Superhuman. Designed to integrate seamlessly with Gmail and Outlook, Superhuman uses features like AI, summarization, and split inbox to create the fastest email experience ever made. Nothing is more valuable to founders than time. This episode offers wisdom from experienced founders about navigating the marathon of entrepreneurship, with insights on how they keep themselves and their teams productive on a day-to-day basis without burning out.
Can Parachute Find Sustained Profitability as DTCs Golden Age Wanes? Inc. 2024-09-30 | Ariel Kaye spent 10 years working in advertising and brand development in New York City before launching the Los Angeles-based home-goods brand Parachute. So she was equipped with insight into consumer purchase behavior and folks’ growing interest in comfort, quality, craftsmanship, and social responsibility—all of which are now tenets of the Parachute brand. When it launched in 2014, Parachute was not only early to focus on sustainability and quality, but also early to the direct-to-consumer party. “We immediately saw this massive reaction from the customer,” Kaye says. And venture capitalists agreed. Parachute raised $47 million by 2018. Kaye didn’t stop there: She pursued an omnichannel strategy, starting with opening her first location in Venice, California. It’s been a wild ride. She now has 25 stores, and plenty of brand collaborations. While the company has had moments of profitability, sustained profits have remained elusive. It’s a fascinating moment in time, as DTC companies across the United States continue a slow death march, and Kaye has stepped down as CEO of her brand. Inc. executive editor Diana Ransom and Kaye get into the future of Parachute in its quest for sustained profitability, what sustainability and circularity mean to brands today, and what it’s like stepping down from the helm of the company she founded.Read more about Ariel, Parachute, and the brand’s quest for profitability (inc.com/annabel-burba/how-parachute-continues-to-pursue-profitability-during-dtc-death-march.html) , on Inc.com How Ariel Kaye opened Parachute’s first brick-and-mortar storefront (inc.com/christine-lagorio/turning-point-parachute-retail-decision.html) , on Inc.comParachute’s website (parachutehome.com/about) Parachute’s mentorship and grant program for Black-owned small businesses (parachutehome.com/mentorship) Read more about Supercircle saves textiles from landfills: How a Supply Chain Startup Is Making Recycling in the Apparel Industry Scalable (inc.com/magazine/202404/rebecca-deczynski/how-a-supply-chain-startup-is-making-recycling-in-the-apparel-industry-scalable.html) Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-ground-up/id969518808) Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/7HLvuwrmsZegZJ1UeBCmhG)
Unwrapping AI: How New Tech Enhances Holiday Season Sales Inc. 2024-09-27 | Are you ready to take advantage of AI and the latest performance marketing tools to elevate your holiday sales? The explosion of AI tools in recent years has transformed key sectors like medicine and finance, but AI is also empowering small and medium-size businesses as they seek to elevate sales via online advertising. This impact is most evident during the all-important holiday season, when last year alone, AI-driven predictive recommendations generated nearly $200 billion in sales, according to Salesforce. From personalization and creative diversification to lead generation and customer support, AI offers a wide range of capabilities for companies looking to create efficiencies, unlock new audiences, and ultimately drive sales. But while AI is the latest trend helping SMBs level up their game, the question is, how else can marketers set up their ad strategies to maximize performance through Q4?In this custom episode, Skai Blue Media Founder Rakia Reynolds sits down with Meta’s Director of Small Business Group North America Becky Bui, KiwiCo Associate Director of Marketing Jonathan Fukuhara, and Jewels & Aces Founder & Designer Grace Wong. They discuss when you should get serious about planning for the holiday season, when the right time to integrate AI into your marketing strategy is, and which tools are most appropriate and for which outcomes? And, finally, how you can make the most of measurement and testing to prepare for the peak sales season.
How to Attract Top Talent with Daniel Chait of Greenhouse Inc. 2024-09-25 | What if businesses were empowered to consistently attract and hire the best-possible candidates—every single time? In 2012, Daniel Chait set out on a mission to help every company become great at hiring. He launched Greenhouse and scaled the business into the leader in hiring software. Almost a decade later, private equity leader TPG acquired a majority stake in the company in a $500M deal. Daniel shares how leadership’s involvement in hiring sets the tone for the success of a businesses’ recruitment and retention practices, why he believes that magical interview questions are a myth, and how AI is actually making life much harder for both applicants and employers.
How to Build Brand Awareness Without Social Media Inc. 2024-09-24 | For many small businesses, social media is the only way to reach customers. But are echo-chamber algorithms stopping you from reaching the right customers? Beatrice Dixon talks with Rachel Roff, Founder of Urban Skin RX, about creating inclusive marketing campaigns, and come away with proven strategies for freeing your brand’s dependence on social media.
What Women Founders Still Have to Prove Inc. 2024-09-23 | Anu Duggal has funded the businesses of hundreds of women—and has seen multiple hundred-million-dollar-plus exits. Now, she’s trying to make a statement. For our season opener, we sat down with Anu Duggal, the founding partner of Female Founders Fund, a seed-stage venture capitalist fund focused on providing early-stage funding for startups by women entrepreneurs. Female Founders Fund has invested in more than 75 companies, including the digital financial service Tala, the razor company Billie, and the women’s health care company Maven Clinic. Ten years into running her fund, Duggal says she still has something to prove: “We’re really trying to make more of a statement than your typical VC fund that’s only looking for returns.” Since starting Female Founders Fund in 2014, Anu has been a helping hand for female founders, but how is she navigating what companies to invest in during an election year? She speaks to Inc. editor-at-large Christine Lagorio-Chafkin about pulling back from funding direct-to-consumer brands, whether AI startups are forming a bubble, the female founder ecosystem, and her journey from being an entrepreneur to leading a fund working to bolster startups by women—and proving a point along the way.Article and transcript (inc.com/christine-lagorio/what-women-founders-still-have-to-prove.html) Read more about Female Founder Fund (femalefoundersfund.com/about) The Female Founders Fund website (femalefoundersfund.com) Apple PodcastsSpotify
How to Test a Hypothesis with Bill Smith of Shipt Inc. 2024-09-18 | When serial entrepreneur Bill Smith relocated his family across the country to build his third startup, the seedling of an idea for his next startup was born. In 2019, Bill founded Landing, the first membership-based leasing model for flexible living. He has since scaled the business to cities around the country with a network of thousands of apartments. Along the way, he’s amassed $255M in funding and been named Forbes Next Billion Dollar Startup, all while making renting your next apartment as easy as ordering takeout. Prior to Landing, Bill founded, scaled, and exited three companies, including the online grocery delivery marketplace, Shipt, which sold to Target for $550M. Bill shares his advice on navigating negotiations, how he discovered product-market fit by asking customers to pay before his product was even built, and why true partnership is critical for a successful acquisition.
Using Public Relations and Marketing to Catapult Growth Inc. 2024-09-17 | On today’s episode host Aisha Bowe talks with the iconic Bobbi Brown. 25 years after she sold her namesake cosmetics company to Estee Lauder, Bobbi is back with Jones Road Beauty, a cosmetics company focused on clean, high-grade formulations for all skin types and tones.Entrepreneurs realize that at all stages of growing a company, it’s tough to make sure your hard work gets the media attention it deserves. This episode offers hard-earned wisdom about shaping a media and marketing plan for your business from launch through sale in an ever-changing media landscape.
How to Shift Consumer Sentiments with Ethan Brown of Beyond Meat Inc. 2024-09-11 | In 2009, Ethan Brown, Founder & CEO of Beyond Meat, faced a dilemma at a rest stop on I-95. Struggling to find a healthy meal for his young children, he realized he had to make a change. That same year, he launched Beyond Meat, the world’s first plant-based meat company, with a mission to drive a global shift from animal-based to plant-based products. Its flagship product, the Beyond Burger, was crafted to look, cook, and taste just like traditional beef. Since then, the company has expanded its offerings and now sells a variety of plant-based products in over 130,000 locations across 65 countries. Today, Beyond Meat partners with major brands like Panda Express and McDonald’s. Ethan shares his predictions for the evolution of the $1+ trillion dollar global meat industry, how he tackled go-to-market for an entirely new food category, and why he believes truths only get truer as his business grows.
How to Take Calculated Risks with Jenny Just of Peak6 Inc. 2024-08-28 | What does it take to become one of the few self-made billionaires in the US? According to the visionary business leader Jenny Just, it starts with a comfortability with taking risks. After just giving birth to her first child, Jenny took a risk and founded her first business, Peak6, in 1997. Peak6 began as a proprietary options trading firm and has since grown into a multibillion-dollar financial services and technology giant housing the next generation of products and service brands including PEAK6 Capital Management, PEAK6 Strategic Capital, Apex Fintech Solutions, PEAK6 InsurTech, and Zogo. On top of these achievements, Jenny also co-founded Poker Power—a company she launched with her daughter Juliette to teach poker and empower women to master the art of risk-taking. Jenny shares how stock rewards could address the persistent issue of financial literacy in our country, why she believes her repeated failures have led to invaluable lessons throughout her career, and how she continues to motivate herself three decades into her career.
This Hands-Free Shoe Is Tackling a Multibillion Dollar Industry | Inc. Inc. 2024-08-24 | Mike Pratt spends a lot of time trying to make life easier. His idea to make shoes hands-free has challenged a multibillion dollar industry and landed his brand, Kizik, at number 407 on our list of this year's 5,000 fastest growing companies in America.Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more. Visit Inc.com for the latest!Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJTwitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRjLinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsInInstagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r
The Man Behind the Wheel of Driverless Trucks | Inc. Inc. 2024-08-23 | For Don Burnette, the autonomous vehicle debate was always about cars, but what about trucks? That thinking helped his startup, Kodiak Robotics, to become No. 20 on our list of the 5000 fastest growing companies in America.Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more. Visit Inc.com for the latest!Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJTwitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRjLinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsInInstagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r
Her Dog Was Sick. His Cure Became Her Successful Business | Inc. Inc. 2024-08-22 | When Katie Spies's dog, George, started getting sick, she switched him to a raw diet and noticed a near-instant improvement. Katie created her raw dog food brand, Maev, from his cure and this year it landed at number 19 on our list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in America.Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more. Visit Inc.com for the latest!Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJTwitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRjLinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsInInstagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r
These Founders Quit Their Jobs to Teach Millions to Crochet | Inc. Inc. 2024-08-21 | For Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang, crocheting isn’t just about making a cute thing. They built their crochet kits and their business around the goal of teaching people a new skill, helping them land their company The Woobles, at number 19 on our list of this year’s 5000 fastest growing companies in America.Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more. Visit Inc.com for the latest!Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJTwitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRjLinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsInInstagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r
How to Use Constraints to Your Advantage with Peter Beck of Rocket Lab Inc. 2024-08-21 | How does an entrepreneur without a college degree manage to build a rocket company exploring life beyond earth? Just ask Peter Beck, the Founder, CEO and Chief Engineer of Rocket Lab, a Nasdaq-listed leading launch and space systems company. At an early age, Peter’s parents taught him that no ambition was too big. So he began building rockets, steadily increasing in their size and complexity. In 2006, Peter founded Rocket Lab and has since grown the company into a global organization of 1,800 employees, taking the business public in 2021 with a market cap north of $2.3B. Rocket Lab’s capabilities span the space economy and Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the most successful small launch vehicle globally. Peter shares why he focused on credibility and capability in the early days of company building, how constraints ensure Rocket Lab doesn’t outspend its peers, and why he thinks some regulation is needed in the space industry.
Managing Cash Flow to Drive Startup Success Inc. 2024-08-20 | On today’s episode host Aisha Bowe talks with the two founders of Farther: Brad Genser and Taylor Matthews. Farther is a technology-centric wealth management firm -- combining expert knowledge with cutting edge tech to create a more holistic approach to money management for their clients.In all stages of its growth, your company’s success or failure will be determined by how you manage its cash flow. This episode offers hard-earned advice from founders about how to make sure well-managed cash flow lets your company scale to its next level.
Flashback: Why Data is the New Code with Alexandr Wang of Scale AI Inc. 2024-08-14 | As a freshman at MIT, Alexandr was struck by his classmates' interest in AI. But he realized that despite all that AI technology could solve, there was no solution for managing AI-related data. So, at 19, he dropped out of college and started Scale AI. Scale now helps customers like Pinterest and Toyota accelerate the progress of AI and has grown to a valuation of $3.5B. Alexandr shares how AI is changing software development, why he believes in surrounding yourself with optimistic people, and how he learned to get comfortable with not being able to do everything at once.Original Air Date 04-7-2021
Brewing Success: Lessons From La Colombe Founder Todd Carmichael Inc. 2024-08-08 | Welcome to Inc's From the Ground Up Summer programming! While we’re hard at work on season two of the show, we wanted to keep bringing you astute conversations , courtesy of our live events throughout the year.In this segment we have Editor In Chief, Mike Hofman in a fireside chat with La Colombe Coffee Founder, Todd Carmichael at Inc's Founders House in Philadelphia. Carmichael transformed La Colombe from a local Philadelphia roaster into a global coffee powerhouse. We hear about the journey that began with opening a local coffee shop, led to a $900 million sale to Chobani, and transitioned with the decision to step down as CEO to start a new venture, Rebel Beverage Labs.
Flashback: Why Failure is a Path to Progress, with Will Ahmed of WHOOP Inc. 2024-08-07 | As a D1 athlete, Will Ahmed became obsessed with the idea of recovery. How do you unlock human performance, and what data would you need to do so? This interest led to the creation of WHOOP, the next gen wearable technology. Will started WHOOP in 2012, immediately after graduating from Harvard College. Since then, he's raised over $100M in funding, saw 7x member growth in the last year alone, and has been worn by the likes of Lebron James and Michael Phelps. Will shares how the product was born out of his own over-training as an athlete, why he believes WHOOP is fundamentally a data company, and why the most important part of being a CEO is figuring out who to listen to—and when.Note: This episode was recorded in early March, just as the Covid-19 outbreak took hold of the U.S. Since then, WHOOP has been leveraging their data to aid in health research (urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__finance.yahoo.com_news_whoop-2Dinvestigating-2Drespiratory-2Drate-2Dpattern-2D130000699.html&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=ejNFd1pBj53e9G-QpUb6Z8ySNu5LAnlYeSen86nYKy0&m=kZ86pQRVgXoP2P3TsrGIWMB0T1nonQKGrFfShtqy-94&s=ZNqtAT1XBkC-CyeDCXy0KwbERFduNvXr7DqGX4v1qto&e=) . Original Air Date: 4-16-2020
How to Question Everything with Ara Katz of Seed Health Inc. 2024-07-31 | Ara Katz’s respect for the power of science began in high school when her mom was diagnosed with cancer. After founding her first business, Spring—the mobile commerce startup that helped launch Apple Pay on the iPhone—she set out on a new challenge: creating a consumer health company deeply rooted in science-backed research. Its mission? To lead the field of translating breakthrough science into innovations that impact every aspect of our health related to the microbiome. Founded in 2016, Seed Health is the microbiome science company pioneering innovations in probiotics and living medicines to impact human and planetary health. With 800%+ revenue growth in the last 3 years, Seed has quickly become one of the most trusted and beloved synbiotic brands on the market. Ara shares why she believes science isn’t finished until it's widely understood, how we have the power to significantly change health outcomes if we focus on the microbiome, and why her favorite interview question is: ‘When was the last time you cried?’.
How to Achieve Hospitality at Scale with Noah Glass of Olo Inc. 2024-07-24 | What if restaurants were empowered to deliver a personalized experience each time a guest walks through the door? That’s the idea that underpins Olo, a leading open SaaS platform powering over 700 restaurant brands. Noah Glass founded Olo in 2005, drawing on his experience working from the ground up as a restaurant server, cashier, and delivery driver. Today, Olo is a publicly listed company empowering hospitality at scale. Noah shares how he convinced skeptical restaurant vets and customers that online ordering was the beginning of the future for restaurant tech, why he believes going public was the right idea for his business, and how he made the decision to drop out of HBS to pursue building Olo.
Becoming the Best Leader for Your Growing Company Inc. 2024-07-23 | Aisha Bowe talks with Shan-Lyn Ma, co-founder and co-CEO of Zola. One of the biggest challenges of being the founder of a high-growth company is adjusting to the changing demands of leading that enterprise. This episodes offers advice on how to navigate growing and managing teams through all of the stages of a company and how those needs change as a company progresses. It also features hard-earned wisdom about these journeys.
How to Strengthen your Mental Armor with Lindsey Vonn Inc. 2024-07-17 | Growing up, Lindsey Vonn’s parents instilled two important lessons: her mom taught her the importance of finding positivity in every situation, and her dad taught her that any ambition is achievable with a clear plan and dedication. So, at the age of 9, she confidently stated her goal to become the greatest ski racer of all time. Her dad helped her write a 10-year plan to make it to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Today, she is one of the most decorated American ski racers in history and was the first American woman to win a gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Beyond ski racing, Lindsey is a NYT bestselling author, the founder of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation—a nonprofit championing girls through scholarships, education, and athletics—and the creative force behind Apres Productions. Lindsey’s career is a powerful lesson in a differentiated kind of entrepreneurship—one defined by grit, determination, and above all else, consistent work ethic. Lindsey shares how mental toughness is the bedrock of her success, why she views partnerships through a long term lens, and how growing up in a family of seven made her a hard worker at a young age.
How to Capitalize on Information Asymmetry with Andrew Lacy of Prenuvo Inc. 2024-07-10 | Andrew Lacy first encountered whole-body imaging as a patient. In just one hour, he learned more about his health than the American healthcare system had taught him in his entire life. He wondered to himself: why isn’t this technology accessible for everyone everywhere? So he started Prenuvo, the company pioneering proactive whole-body imaging for the early detection of cancer and other diseases—with one 60-minute exam. Prenuvo leverages cutting-edge MRI hardware and software, advanced AI research, and the world's largest database of whole-body imaging to empower patients to proactively manage their health. Andrew shares why information asymmetry amongst physicians was the tipping point that convinced him to start his third entrepreneurial endeavor, how he approached customer acquisition in an entirely new healthcare category, and why he believes humility is a critical quality for repeat entrepreneurs.
Flashback: How to Lean Into the Impossible with David Rogier of MasterClass Inc. 2024-07-03 | Growing up, David's grandmother instilled an important lesson: that the only thing someone can't take away from you is your education. So when a mentor of David's offered to back him as an entrepreneur, he decided to bring the joy back to education and build a school that everyone would want to attend. In 2015, he launched MasterClass, which now provides classes from 100+ of the world’s best practitioners (from Serena Williams to Martin Scorsese). MasterClass has grown into one of the largest online learning platforms in the world and was most recently valued at nearly $3 billion dollars. David shares why a childhood stutter impacted his entrepreneurial ambitions, why starting with the best teachers was critical to his business strategy, and the importance of getting two opinions (and no more) when making a hard decision. Orignal Air Date: 09-22-2021
Flashback: How to Adopt a Learner’s Mindset with Rachel Carlson of Guild Education Inc. 2024-06-26 | What if workers could acquire new skills and training, without taking on debt? That’s the value Guild Education strives to provide. Guild Education unlocks opportunities for America’s workforce through education and upskilling and counts Fortune 500 companies (such as Chipotle, Disney, Walmart, and Taco Bell) among its partners. Since founding Guild in 2015, Rachel has scaled the business to reach working learners in all 50 states and has helped prevent over half a billion dollars in student debt. Rachel shares how COVID-19 has accelerated the future of work, why she decided to make Guild a Certified B Corporation instead of a nonprofit, and what she learned from working on political campaigns.Original Air Date: 07-07-2021
Building the Best Entrepreneurial You Inc. 2024-06-25 | Patrick Dossett, co-founder and CEO of Madefor, talks with Bea Dixon about how his time in the Navy SEALs prepared him for founding his own startup and his tips for success. Discover ways to think differently about how you lead and grow your business.
The Property Brothers Rate Famous Office Spaces Inc. 2024-06-24 | Design duo Drew and Jonathan Scott, review on-screen workspaces, from 'Mad Men' to 'Succession.'Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more. Visit Inc.com for the latest!Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJTwitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRjLinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsInInstagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r
A Fresh Start: Starting a Company Again Inc. 2024-06-20 | Ever wonder what it takes to start a second company? For our last episode of the season, we wanted to take a look at what it’s like to start up from scratch—to scale it, to take it public, to become a household name. And, after all that, to decide to do it all over again. So we sat down with Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, and Mike McNamara, former CEO of Flex. Their new company is called Samara, and their first product is an accessory dwelling unit that can be transported and placed on the property of a typical home. It’s called the Backyard. They spoke about all the challenges of starting a company again, but also about how much easier it is to accomplish certain goals, such as gaining the trust of venture capitalists and hiring employees.Read this story and see full transcript on Inc.com. (inc.com/christine-lagorio/how-a-blind-date-got-airbnbs-joe-gebbia-his-next-co-founder.html) To read more about Samara (samara.com)
Flashback: How to Craft a Viral Product, with Ivan Zhao of Notion Inc. 2024-06-19 | As we all strive to increase our productivity, it's no wonder that productivity startup Notion has taken off. Since co-founder and CEO Ivan Zhao launched a prototype a few years ago, Notion has gained a cult following of over one million users. With a team of less than 30 employees, the company has already achieved a sky-high valuation of $800M. Ivan shares his approach to democratizing software, why he believes engineers are the scribes of our time, and why he moved to Kyoto to reboot the company in its earliest days. Make sure to follow Ivan on social at @notionhq and @ivanhzhao.Orignal Air Date 11-20-19
Alex Rodriguez Says Young Founders Should Check Their Egos | Inc. Inc. 2024-06-14 | The baseball legend and entrepreneur spoke to Inc. about what he looks for when investing in founders, the secret to his longevity, and why its important to enjoy the journey. Inc. Magazine delivers advice, tools, and services to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their businesses more successfully. You'll find information and advice covering virtually every business and management task including marketing, sales, finding capital, managing people, and much more. Visit Inc.com for the latest!Get social with Inc. on:Facebook: http://on.inc.com/ilqUryJTwitter: http://on.inc.com/8FGInRjLinkedIn: http://on.inc.com/gt7KsInInstagram: http://on.inc.com/wLObvE2Pinterest: http://on.inc.com/8lPoT0r
AI Tools, Weird Economy, and Reddits Unusual IPO: This Year In News For Founders Inc. 2024-06-13 | From a business news standpoint, the first few months of 2024 had it all: the rare IPO of a social media company, a very strange economic situation facing founders, and enough developments in artificial intelligence to train a new LLM. Inc.'s editors have been chewing over all of it.In this roundtable episode of From the Ground Up, we hear from Inc. reporter Ben Sherry about the state of AI use in the American workforce, the latest in the AI safety debate out of Silicon Valley, and what's going on within OpenAI.Inc.'s new Editor-in-Chief, Mike Hofman, discusses the unusual state of the American economy, and how entrepreneurs are feeling amid wildly mixed signals from the Fed, consumers, and what seems like a cooling labor market.We also examine what's happened at Reddit since its March IPO--and how the massive community-based social network finally, after years of false starts, made its unusual public debut.
Flashback: How to Put Kindness First with Sarah Friar of Nextdoor Inc. 2024-06-12 | Do you know your neighbors? When Nextdoor was founded in 2008, 50% of Americans knew one or none of their neighbors. Fast-forward and Nextdoor now connects 81 million neighbors across 11 countries, building both digital and real-world connections. Sarah Friar joined Nextdoor as CEO in 2018 and took the company public in 2021 under the ticker symbol KIND. Sarah shares how her childhood in Northern Ireland during The Troubles gave her a lifelong belief in the local power of community, how Nextdoor leverages AI to encourage kindness on the platform, and why one of the company's biggest moments to date was bringing together 18 million people in person around the Queen's Jubilee. Original Air Date: 6-14-23
Creating a Roadmap to Profitability Inc. 2024-06-11 | It’s hard to plan a trip when you’re not sure how to get there. So, it helps to ask for directions. For Your Next Move, founders who’ve successfully charted a course to long-term financial success and big valuations share the paths they took—and also how they were able to right-size their roadmap as their companies grew. In this episode, host Aisha Bowe interviews Suneera Madhani, Founder and CEO of Worth AI.
Preparing for Demand Shocks Inc. 2024-06-06 | There is such a wide range of shocks that can happen to your supply chain and to the demand for what you’re making. Can you ever truly prepare? What kinds of projections are most useful, and how can you set yourself up for success if you do have the ability to anticipate a surge in demand?We decided to ask someone who has worked with many companies, large and small, to make their supply chains more diversified and flexible. She’s also something of a supply chain influencer (the LinkedIn variety, not TikTok!). She’s Lisa Anderson, president of LMA Consulting Group.
How to Understand your Users with Shivani Siroya of Tala Inc. 2024-06-05 | Shivani Siroya started Tala not because she wanted to build a company, but because one problem consumed her thoughts: 4 billion people were excluded from the traditional banking system and lacked access to essential financial tools to help them use, protect, and grow their money. After conducting over 3,500 interviews with micro-entrepreneurs globally during her time at the UN Population Fund, she witnessed firsthand the vast purchasing power overlooked by traditional financial institutions. So in 2011, she founded Tala, the first holistic financial platform designed uniquely for the global majority. Today, Tala is responsible for originating over $5 billion in credit access to a population that was previously blocked from traditional banking resources. Shivani shares how she reimagined traditional credit underwriting to serve a new population, why user experience needs to be at the heart of product development, and how Tala gained the trust of a population that was traditionally turned away.
Demand Surge Inc. 2024-05-30 | No matter how sturdy your supply chain is, sometimes, crisis hits. And sometimes, it's due to something that seems positive: A sudden surge in customer demand.For The Woobles and founder Justine Tiu, a huge order of her pre-started crochet kits was delivered with flaws. Could she get her customer orders out on time? For Bobbie infant formula co-founder Laura Modi, it was a nationwide formula shortage that caused her to rethink her customer communications--and cut off new orders on her website altogether. Hosts Diana Ransom and Christine Lagorio-Chafkin unpack all the complex supply-chain management issues and customer communications strategies that come with a sudden surge in demand.Article and Transcript (inc.com/christine-lagorio/surging-demand-nearly-broke-their-businesses-what-they-learned-is-a-case-study-in-resilience.html) Read more about Bobbie. (inc.com/magazine/202205/christine-lagorio-chafkin/bobbie-laura-modi-sarah-hardy.html) Bobbie's website. (hibobbie.com) How Bobbie handled the formula shortage. (inc.com/leigh-buchanan/how-infant-formula-startup-bobbie-survived-fda-crackdown-recall.html) Read more about The Woobles. (inc.com/magazine/202211/rebecca-deczynski/crochet-woobles-amigurumi.html) The Woobles website. (thewoobles.com)
How to Disrupt a Trillion-Dollar Industry with Paul Monasterio of Kalepa Inc. 2024-05-29 | What does it take to disrupt a trillion-dollar industry? According to Paul Monasterio, Co-Founder and CEO of Kalepa, it starts with a fresh outsider’s perspective. In 2018, Paul launched Kalepa with its flagship product, an AI-powered copilot empowering commercial underwriters to write more profitable business, faster. And just a few years in, Kalepa has been recognized as one of the most innovative insurtechs in the world by FinTech Global. Paul shares why he believes insurance is the safety net that propels the world’s growth, how AI will enhance—not overtake—underwriters’ abilities to evolve with an increasingly complex world, and why a product demo should be used to create real value for potential customers.
Building a Company for the Next Generation Inc. 2024-05-28 | Today’s episode comes from the Your Next Move vault and is a conversation between Bea Dixon and Tim Brown. Tim is the co-founder and co-CEO of AllBirds -- a mission-driven clothing brand focusing on innovating around sustainable materials. In their conversation, they cover Tim’s evolution from professional soccer player to entrepreneur and how to build a strong team.
The Evolution of Social Mission Inc. 2024-05-23 | This week, we’re following up our discussion about how to make sure your mission fits your business with an interview with one of the most fascinating sustainability experts working today: Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s director of philosophy. Patagonia has been one of the most notable brands in environmentally responsible business practices and production for decades, and Vincent has been with the company, evangelizing about what makes Patagonia unique, since even before it was called Patagonia. Host Diana Ransom talks to Stanley and is told some stories from Patagonia's history that we've never heard before, revealing tipping points that caused the company to adapt its social mission from outdoor-enthusiasm to one that includes a sustainable supply chain and responsible manufacturing, and led to the adoption of a profit-donation model as well. He shares his perspective on making a company's mission more than just a statement, but a way of operating that builds trust and engagement among employees--and spurs creativity too.Read the full transcript (preview.inc.com/christine-lagorio/your-company-grows-heres-how-to-grow-your-social-mission-with-it.html) Learn more about social responsibility at Patagonia (patagonia.com/social-responsibility) Read more about The Future of the Responsible Company: What We've Learned from Patagonia's First 50 Years by Stanley and founder Yvon Chouinard (inc.com/nick-hawkins/patagonias-director-of-philosophy-wants-your-business-to-be-responsible-not-sustainable.html) Learn why Patagonia was Inc.'s 2022 Company of the Year (inc.com/magazine/202212/alex-bhattacharji/patagonia-story-behind-mic-drop-heard-round-world.html)
How to Own the Problem with Hari Ravichandran of Aura Inc. 2024-05-22 | When serial entrepreneur Hari Ravichandran discovered that his credit score had taken a hit due to identity fraud, he realized that consumers were facing an increasing burden to protect their digital safety—and there wasn’t an existing product that provided a holistic solution. So, as an engineer by training and an entrepreneur by nature, he set out to solve this problem for consumers. In 2017, he founded Aura, the company dedicated to simplifying digital security for families. The business has since scaled to over one million users worldwide with celebrity-backers such as Robert Downey Jr. Before Aura, Hari was the Founder and CEO of Endurance International Group, a publicly-traded global hosting and email marketing company, valued at $3.5 billion with more than 3,500 employees worldwide. Hari shares the astounding data that children are spending nearly 50% of their waking hours in the digital world, why a frictionless product experience was crucial to their go-to-market strategy, and how Aura is leveraging AI to protect families in an increasingly risky digital world.
How to Harness the Power of Curiosity with Trevor Martin of Mammoth Biosciences Inc. 2024-05-15 | While Trevor Martin was an undergraduate at Princeton, he decided on a whim to take a class called Integrated Science, a course dedicated to encouraging students gifted in physics, math, or computer science to pursue an academic focus in biology. Unbeknownst to him, this class would end up being the catalyst that led him to his successful career as a biotech entrepreneur. After receiving his PhD from Stanford in 2017, Trevor founded Mammoth Biosciences, the platform revolutionizing CRISPR-based synthetic biology products across therapeutics and diagnostics, with the ultimate mission of finding permanent cures for diseases. Trevor shares his favorite mantra: “Let others say no,” how biotechs need to strike the right balance between commercializing their products and researching the next generation of products, and why Mammoth’s go-to-market strategy facilitates the flywheel needed to build a generational business.
Building Your Team Inc. 2024-05-14 | Hiring and retaining the right team to help your company grow is essential at all stages of a well-run business. This episode offers detailed advice on how to build and retain a highly effective leadership team, from what roles to prioritize hiring for to how to find the best talent to meet your company’s needs. It also features hard-earned wisdom from a founder, Seth Goldman, who has worked at all life cycles of a company from launch fresh from business school to exit to rebuilding again.Seth Goldman is Co-Founder of Eat the Change®, a planet-friendly snack and drink company that recently launched Just Ice Tea, a line of organic bottled tea to go along with the company’s Cosmic carrot snacks. Seth and his co-Founder, Celebrity Chef Spike Mendelsohn are also co-founders of PLNT Burger, a plant-based quick-serve restaurant that offers delicious burgers, fries, and soft-serve. Seth is also the Co-founder of Honest Tea and Chair of the board of Beyond Meat. In 2023 he took on a new role as Chair of the Mission Guardians for Tony’s Chocolonely, an international chocolate company committed to creating an exploitation-free supply chain. He has been widely recognized for his entrepreneurial success and impact, including the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame, Partnership for Healthier America’s CEO of the Year, and EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate Visionary of the year. He is a graduate of Harvard College (1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995). Seth and his Honest Tea co-founder, Barry Nalebuff are the authors of The New York Times bestselling comic book, Mission in a Bottle.
Nailing Product Market Fit Inc. 2024-05-09 | Which should come first, your killer idea or your ideal customer? So many questions about finding product-market fit were raised by our fascinating discussion with Michelle Cordeiro Grant of Gorgie, and Steven and Brittany Yeng of Skrewball. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin spoke with Jeff Bussgang, a venture capitalist and senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, where he teaches a revered class all about product-market fit called Launching Technology Ventures. He has fascinating thoughts on why your early-stage startup should be an experimentation machine; the effect AI has had on startups testing their market; and some of the ethical considerations that put pressure on this process and disproportionately affect BIPOC and women founders.Learn more:Read this story and see full transcript on Inc.com (http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/your-startup-should-be-an-experimentation-machine-according-to-this-harvard-business-school-professor.html) Flybridge Capital Partners (flybridge.com) , Bussgang's early-stage venture-capital firm with offices in Boston and New York City and over $1 billion under management. Jeff Bussgang's Harvard Business School site. (https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=108987) BrightHire (brighthire.com) , referenced at 5:02Read more about Classpass's pivot (inc.com/christine-lagorio/classpass-payal-kadakia-fitness-founders-project.html) , referenced at 17:36 link Bussgang's post about ethical considerations early-stage founders (linkedin.com/pulse/search-product-market-fit-jeffrey-bussgang) need to make, referenced at 20:02 X Factor Ventures (https://www.xfactor.ventures/) , referenced at 21:37
