Bobby Kim, also known as Bobby Hundreds, is a designer, writer, photographer, and co-founder of the iconic community-based streetwear brand, The Hundreds. In this episode, we go way back with Bobby to learn about his life growing up in the punk scene in Southern California, who and what his inspirations were, the struggles he faced as a closet artist who was forced down a path he wasn’t particularly passionate about, the lawyer that helped change the trajectory of his life, the early days of bui...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 194
Justina Blakeney is a designer, artist, entrepreneur, speaker, and bestselling author. She’s the founder and creative director of home décor brand, Jungalow, and the author of The New Bohemians book series. We spoke with Justina about how her childhood experiences growing up in Berkeley, CA shaped her unique world view and purpose in life, her mindset and the principles that have guided her throughout her career, the early days of launching her blog and building an engaged audience online, what ...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 193
Michael Barlow is the co-founder and CEO of Fernish, a startup that offers consumers a way to rent upscale furniture and decor online. Prior to founding Fernish in 2017, Michael was a Vice President at Atom Tickets and an investment banker at J.P. Morgan. We talked about everything from Michael’s background, life as a college athlete, his takeaways from working on Wall Street, what he believes makes a great storyteller and how it translates to business, the early days and challenges of building ...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 192
Alex Lieberman is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Morning Brew. Morning Brew is a media company bringing informative and digestible daily business news straight to the inboxes of over 2.5 million subscribers. What started out as a business newsletter by a couple of students at the University of Michigan in 2015 has since grown into a full-fledged media business with several newsletters, podcasts, and much more. In 2020, Morning Brew was acquired by Business Insider for about $75 million...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 191
Jeremy Cai is the founder and CEO of Italic, an online retailer on a mission to reinvent the way we shop. They currently offer hundreds of quality products ranging from clothing to cookware from the same manufacturers as top brands, such as Alo, Rag & Bone, and Armani, for up to 80% less. We had a blast getting to know Jeremy and talking about his upbringing and early career, why he started Italic and the long-term vision for the company, some of his observations growing up around manufactur...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 190
Jon Stein is the founder and chairman of Betterment, the largest independent online financial advisor in the U.S. with over $22 billion of assets under management. Founded in 2008 during the global financial crisis, Betterment is one of the pioneers in the robo-advisory industry, using computer algorithms to generate personalized advice and manage investment portfolios. We spoke with Jon about his upbringing and what he was interested in as a kid, his passion for writing and why he loves it so m...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 189
Anne Beiler is the founder of Auntie Anne’s, a chain of pretzel shops that she founded in 1988 alongside her husband, Jonas. Her story is simply incredible. In the episode, we spoke with Anne and heard all about her childhood and what life was like growing up in Amish culture, the series of traumatic events that led her down a dark path in her twenties, how she was able to overcome her struggles and find the light, the story of how Auntie Anne’s came to be, how she scaled the company with no pri...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 188
Andrew Dudum is the founder and CEO of hims & hers. He’s also a co-founder and General Partner at Atomic, a venture studio backed by Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and many of the leading venture funds in the world. Founded in 2017, hims and hers is a telehealth company that sells prescription and over-the-counter drugs online, as well as personal care products. Their mission is to eliminate the stigmas around health and wellness issues and break down barriers for people when it comes to obta...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 187
Morgan DeBaun is the founder and CEO of Blavity, Inc., home to the largest network of platforms and lifestyle brands serving the multifaceted lives of black millennials. Their mission is to "economically and creatively support Black millennials across the African scape, so they can pursue the work they love, and change the world in the process." During our conversation, we talked about everything from Morgan’s upbringing growing up in St. Louis, her early career and what her mindset was like, th...
Mar 22, 2021•54 min•Ep. 186
Nolan Bushnell is the founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, two iconic companies that have truly changed the world. He’s known as the “Father of Electronic Gaming” and the video game industry as we know it, and his story is just incredible. We talked about everything from Nolan’s early days and upbringing, how he built Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, the story of hiring Steve Jobs and why he decided not to invest in Apple early on, the projects he’s working on right now, and his thoughts on Silicon V...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 185
Daymond John is the founder of FUBU, a hip-hop apparel company and pioneer of the streetwear industry, that he started in 1992 with his three friends from Queens, NY. He’s also the star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” where he’s spent the last 11 years investing in and advising countless startups and entrepreneurs. In this episode, we spoke with Daymond about his upbringing and what he was like as a kid, some of his formative experiences and entrepreneurial ventures that shaped who he is today, the origin...
Mar 08, 2021•59 min•Ep. 184
Eugene Remm is the co-founder of Catch Hospitality Group, which owns and operates several high-end restaurants based in New York, LA, Las Vegas, and Playa Del Carmen. In 2016, Eugene co-founded Rumble Boxing which has quickly become one of the fastest-growing fitness concepts in America with 14 locations nationwide. During our conversation, we talk about everything from Eugene’s upbringing and moving to New York at age 2 from the former Soviet Union, his college days and early career and the val...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 183
Will Ahmed is the founder and CEO of WHOOP, which has developed next-generation wearable technology for optimizing human performance and health. In this episode, we talk about everything from Will’s childhood and his passion for sports, how being a college athlete made him obsessed with continuously monitoring his body and performance, his motivation for wanting to be an entrepreneur, how the idea for WHOOP came about and the early days of building the company, his thoughts on failure and how to...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 182
Paige Adams-Geller is the founder and creative director of her namesake brand, PAIGE, which she launched in 2004 after years of being one of the top fit models in the industry. What started out as a women’s denim brand quickly expanded into a full lifestyle collection for men and women, sold at premium retailers internationally. In this episode, we talk about everything from Paige’s upbringing growing up in Alaska, what motivated her as a kid, her successful career as a fit model and some of the...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 181
Dave Gilboa is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, a retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses that he started with his 3 friends from college in 2010. Today, Warby Parker is valued at over $3 billion and they’ve truly changed the game when it comes to buying glasses - online and in-store. In this episode, we spoke with Dave about what it was like growing up in between Southern California and Sweden, his early career as a consultant and investment banker, his experience getting his ...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 180
Daniel Arsham is a contemporary artist based in New York City whose work exists in between art, architecture, and performance. His company, Snarkitecture, has truly pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with architectural design, some of which include designing the stores for streetwear brand Kith. His past collaborations include Merce Cunningham, Pharrell Williams, and Adidas, and most recently, he was named Creative Director of the Cleveland Cavaliers. During our conversation, we did a deep...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 179
Anthony Scaramucci is the founder of SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm based in New York City which also hosts the SALT Conference, one of the largest investment conferences in the world. In 2017, Anthony was appointed White House Communications Director by Donald Trump, a role that lasted only 11 days before he was fired. Since leaving the White House and the world of politics, Anthony has returned to SkyBridge and recently launched a $310M fund to invest in Bitcoin. During our conver...
Jan 25, 2021•59 min•Ep. 178
David Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms with over $217 billion of assets under management, which he started in 1987. In this episode, we spoke with David about his humble beginnings growing up in Baltimore, what it was like working at the White House during the Carter Administration, how he started The Carlyle Group with zero investing experience, his philosophies on life and though...
Jan 18, 2021•55 min•Ep. 177
This episode was originally released on February 10, 2020. To round out this insane year, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy! ---- This is the story of Nick Fouquet (pronounced like “bouquet”). He is the founder and designer of his namesake hat brand, Nick Fouquet, mainly known for its unique style and craftsmanship. Nick shares stories from his early days, moving to France with his parents and five sisters until the a...
Dec 28, 2020•53 min•Ep. 176
This episode with Equinox founder, Lavinia Errico was originally released on February 3, 2020. To round out this insane year, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was their top choice! Happy listening! ---- Yearning for an alternative to happy hour after work, a daily routine of a New Yorker in the 1980s, Lavinia Errico and her brothers decided to start a fitness club called Equinox. Though money was tight, they managed to barter their way to growing t...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 175
Joseph William Foster is the co-founder of Reebok, along with his brother Jeff. His grandfather, who shares his same name, was the founder of J.W. Foster and Sons in 1895 and the pioneer of the spiked running shoe as well as the trainer (sneaker). The story of Reebok hasn’t really been told until just recently when Joe released his new book “Shoemaker” in October of this year. If you enjoy this conversation, we highly recommend picking up the book. It’s available on Amazon as well as the JW Fost...
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 174
You may know Spencer Rascoff as the co-founder and former CEO of Zillow, the online real estate marketplace which he launched in 2006, but before that he was one of the founders of Hotwire.com. Since stepping down as CEO of Zillow in 2019, Spencer has launched several other new companies including dot.LA, Pacaso Homes, and Supernova Partners which is a SPAC - an acronym for special purpose acquisition company - which has been immensely popular this year and something we talk more about towards t...
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 173
Katerina Schneider is the founder and CEO of Ritual, a health technology company that is reinventing the vitamin. Ritual's number one priority is traceability so customers know where all the ingredients come from and why it’s there. We spoke with Kat about her early days immigrating with her family to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union and living in a welfare hotel in Brooklyn, working at Lehman Brothers on Wall Street during the crash of 2008, leaving her job as a VC to start Ritual when she...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 172
Todd Carmichael is the co-founder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, one of the most innovative coffee brands ever and the inventor of the first-ever draft latte in a can, which he launched in 1994. During our conversation, we cover everything from Todd’s early days growing up in Washington, being a distance runner and finishing a marathon at age 15, working at Starbucks when they had just three locations, why he wanted to start a coffee business and how La Colombe came to fruition, and the ...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 171
Alan Fuerstman is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Montage International, a luxury hospitality management company encompassing Montage Hotels & Resorts, Pendry Hotels & Resorts, Montage Residences, Pendry Residences, and management of some of the country’s premiere golf courses and clubs. Starting out as a doorman at a Marriott hotel in New Jersey, Alan worked his way up to managing several hotels and was eventually tapped by Steve Wynn to be the opening Vice President of Hotel Operatio...
Nov 16, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 170
Sam Polk is the founder and CEO of Everytable, whose mission is to make sure everyone, everywhere has access to nutritious, fresh food at affordable prices. In this episode, we chat about Sam’s tough upbringing and family life, his college experience and getting kicked out (and reinstated) at Columbia University, working on Wall Street trading bonds and derivatives, leaving Wall Street at the height of his career without a plan, the motivation for founding a non-profit called FEAST, the issues h...
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 169
Jaime Schmidt is the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals, the natural personal care brand that she scaled from kitchen to acquisition by Unilever in 2017. In the process, Jaime led a movement of modern brands bringing naturals to the mainstream. Today, the brand is sold in over 30 countries and 30,000 retailers, and Jaime continues to support their global expansion. Aside from Schmidt’s, Jaime also runs Color, an investment firm that invests directly in emerging founders, primarily women and people of...
Nov 02, 2020•52 min•Ep. 168
David Rogier is the founder and CEO of MasterClass, an online education platform where users can learn pretty much anything from top experts in their fields, including Serena Williams, Martin Scorsese, Hans Zimmer, Wolfgang Puck, Bob Iger, and many more. In this episode, we chat about everything David’s childhood and early career, his thoughts on the current state of education and what the future looks like, his approach to finding business ideas, how he ultimately got the idea for MasterClass, ...
Oct 27, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 167
Dominique Crenn is a world-famous French chef, restaurateur, and co-owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, which was named to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019. She’s also the first and only female chef in America to attain three Michelin stars and was awarded “Best Chef in the West” in 2018 by The James Beard Foundation. In January of 2020, she launched VitaBowl with the mission of universalizing access to wholesome, plant-based meals in an effort to cultivate resilient communities. In ...
Oct 19, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 166
Jiake Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Outer, a direct-to-consumer outdoor furniture company that’s turning consumers’ backyards into showrooms. In this episode, we chat about everything from Jiake’s early days growing up in China, how he got into computers and electronics, immigrating to the United States in high school, his early career and various entrepreneurial ventures, what sparked the idea for Outer, and the valuable lessons he’s learned throughout his journey. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTE...
Oct 13, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 165
