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...
Jul 02, 2025•44 min•Ep. 333
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...
Jun 25, 2025•46 min•Ep. 332
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...
Jun 18, 2025•31 min•Ep. 331
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...
Jun 11, 2025•38 min•Ep. 330
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...
May 29, 2025•48 min•Ep. 329
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...
May 14, 2025•41 min•Ep. 328
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...
May 07, 2025•39 min•Ep. 327
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...
Apr 30, 2025•40 min•Ep. 326
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...
Apr 23, 2025•42 min•Ep. 325
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...
Apr 16, 2025•30 min•Ep. 324
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
Apr 09, 2025•31 min•Ep. 323
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 BreadKneadsL...
Apr 02, 2025•32 min•Ep. 322
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 A...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 321
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 Lin...
Jan 22, 2025•44 min•Ep. 320
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, Bi...
Jan 15, 2025•44 min•Ep. 319
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...
Jan 08, 2025•47 min•Ep. 318
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...
Dec 31, 2024•40 min•Ep. 317
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...
Dec 18, 2024•39 min•Ep. 316
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
Dec 12, 2024•53 min•Ep. 315
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-Every...
Dec 04, 2024•55 min•Ep. 314
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...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 313
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...
Nov 20, 2024•38 min•Ep. 312
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...
Nov 13, 2024•53 min•Ep. 311
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...
Nov 06, 2024•42 min•Ep. 310
Warning: the activities discussed in this episode are extremely dangerous. Vitaliy Raskalov, the Urban Explorer, Photographer, and Founder of On The Roofs, joins the show to share his journey from climbing trees as a kid to scaling the tallest skyscrapers in the world. Hear how he pulled off his most famous climbs, how to find your courage, how to be strategic with your social media content, whether he ever gets afraid of heights, and Wild tales from his motorcycle adventures across Asia. Connec...
Oct 30, 2024•44 min•Ep. 309
Hannah Redmond, the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Happy Box, joins the show to share her journey from creating a breakup care package for her sister Ariel to building the one-stop shop for gifting with her. Hear the Valentine’s Day breakup that inspired Happy Box, how to build an eCommerce website, how to create your own fulfillment center, how to start a business with your sibling, and some fun facts about SNICKERS. Connect with Hannah at HappyBoxStore.com , on Instagram @HappyBox , ...
Oct 23, 2024•51 min•Ep. 308
Maxime Barbier, the Co-Founder and CEO of Timeleft, joins the show to share his journey from going all in on vertical video to connecting strangers for dinner around the world every Wednesday. Hear the logistics behind Timeleft, how they match people, what’s driven their growth, how to keep your business concept strong and simple, and the Sydney Segment of operations questions. Connect with Maxime at Timeleft.com , on LinkedIn , and Instagram @MaximeBarbier...
Oct 16, 2024•42 min•Ep. 307
Cara Bognar, the Founder and CEO of Top Tier Lessons, joins the show to share her journey from Captain of the University of Illinois Swim Team to matching student athletes with parents looking for sports lessons for their kids. Hear the impact of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), how to expand your business to multiple cities, how to keep the hours flexible for your team, the hardest swimming stroke, and what Cara learned growing up as the oldest of 5 siblings. Connect with Cara at TopTierLessons...
Oct 09, 2024•37 min•Ep. 306
Ben Erwin, the CEO of Charitybuzz, joins the show to share his journey from deciding between money and nonprofits to leading the provider of once-in-a-lifetime experiences that support charities. Hear how to inspire your team and customers, provide magical experiences, create new offerings, start a business with a charity component, and the most memorable experiences offered on Charitybuzz. Connect with Ben at Charitybuzz.com
Sep 25, 2024•48 min•Ep. 305
Jess Weiner, the Cultural Expert and Founder and CEO of Talk to Jess, joins the show to share her journey from playwright to advising the world’s leading brands on the issues facing women and girls today. Hear the story behind the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and the rebrand of Barbie, how to establish yourself as an expert, how to get your first big client, how to decide if a risk is worth taking as a brand, and what happened when Jess missed that ferry in Crete. Connect with Jess on LinkedIn ...
Sep 18, 2024•48 min•Ep. 304
