Finding Founders

In a world where Hydro Flask is now synonymous with water-bottle, how does one break into the insulated drink space? On today’s Founder Wisdom, we talk to Mike Beckham co-founder and CEO of Simple Modern, a drinkware company with the goal of designing water bottles as unique as you. Starting off in the non-profit space, Mike brainstormed a list of 100 products, decided on drinkware, and started one of the biggest companies in that space. In fact Mike has been responsible for over a billion dollars in sales! Mike talks us through his lows, his competition, and Simple Modern’s recent partnership with Disney.

Born in Turkey, Ege's flair for design led him to found the clothing brand TUTUNJ. Initially he started with nothing but a few designs in his head and the encouragement of some friends. Since then, TUTUNJ has seen its products donned and praised by superstar models Meredith Mikelson and Alessandra Ambrósio. However, what makes Ege’s story truly inspiring are not only the victories he celebrated but also the challenges he braved. Along his journey, Ege faced an inordinate number of “No’s” compared to “Yes’s”. He grappled with the rejection of a big-time investor in the early days of TUTUNJ. He received one decline after another when seeking influencers to help promote his brand. Though these obstacles might have broken anyone else’s spirit, they did not break Ege’s. Instead, he saw each “No” as an opportunity to simply try again and each “Maybe” as a reason to push himself harder. If there’s anything to be learned from Ege’s story, it is this: With time, patience, and endurance, success is never too far out of reach.

Alisha Flecky was delving into spirituality and came across a guru that would change her life. She followed him for years, abiding by his wisdom and feeling that her life was improving and slowly becoming the life she wanted. She saw this guru as perfect, as close to a deity. But everything changed when the veil was lifted and behind it was a flawed man that couldn't accept his humanity. This led to a question: Is the image perfection necessary for total devotion?

Our full episode with Alisha will be coming out in a few weeks!

Jason Lee grew up in Kansas raised by a family who idolized education. They even said school is “like Disneyland but better…”. School was important because it led to a “respectable job”, that job being a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. Initially that was ok with Jason, but there was something missing. He didn't feel quite whole.  Regardless, he moved forward on the "right" path and attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He assumed his problems would be solved but eventually realized that he still wasn’t fulfilled. That same emptiness remained even as he began making 6 figures at Bain and Company. The turning point of Jason's life began on his 22nd birthday when the Haiti earthquake taught him the importance of empathy. Committed to do something, he decided to film himself bussing at a New York subway station. Jason would make a video that accumulated 10,000 views in a single week and raised hundreds for the cause. Inspired, he decided to pursue his passion for filmmaking, quit his job, and create Jubilee Media which seeks to demonstrate the common ground between people and foster empathy in a divided world.

How does a priest-in-training end up educating the world on anatomy? In today’s Founder Wisdom we speak with Dr. Gil Hedley, Creator and Producer of the Integral Anatomy Series. Beginning his adult life receiving a PhD in Theological Ethics, Gil felt a calling to the priesthood... but at the same time he didn't want to be a priest. Gil describes the winding path that led to discovering the beauty of human anatomy and the courage it took for him to share his knowledge with the world.

Jay Oliva is an LA-based storyboard artist, film producer, and animated film director. Inspired by comics and the animated cartoons of his childhood, he's climbed his way up to work with major production companies such as Marvel, Netflix, and Warner Bros. His first break was an opportunity at Marvel which came just in time and had him narrowly avoiding gang violence in Orange County. Nowadays, he teaches Cinematic Storyboard courses at his alma mater, Loyola Marymount University. He's also launched his own animation studio and production company, “Lex and Otis” and “Lex on Orange Productions”, in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In addition to creating the show Trese, Oliva is working on other projects at Netflix such as reuniting with Zach Snyder after their original partnership during Man of Steel.

How do you create radically inclusive clothing, while still maintaining a profitable business? What does it take to build a company off a kickstarter campaign? In today’s Founder Wisdom we speak with Hanna Baror-Padilla, founder and owner of the inclusive and diverse clothing brand Sotela. From her childhood years working in her dad’s clothing store to successfully launching several of her own inclusive clothing collections, Hanna guides us through her journey and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

Manuel “MannyJStyle” Jackson has led an incredible career in men’s fashion while also being an advocate for the next generation of stylists and designers.

Manny started his fashion journey from his mom's garage hand painting clothes. This led to developing his first company Ekqualyte Abstract Abstract. Not long after he created The Gents Closet, a Hollywood based men Style Haus where Manuel designed a collection of men's accessories including ties and bow ties. He also carried and supplied the latest upcoming labels from around the world to a high-end clientele of stylists, celebrities and influencers.

Today we're talking to Tom Alaimo about his entrepreneurial journey and why it might be better to be an introverted sales person. Tom got his start creating and selling his own sports magazine as a kid. After selling a few issues around his neighborhood, he realized he had a knack for sales but needed some training. Thats when he discovered Cutco, a company whose sales program honed his interpersonal skills and developed his love of sales. Now Tom is a B2B sales professional, blogger, and podcaster. With the Millennial Momentum podcast, Tom aims to create a community to help millennials upgrade their sales game.

The year: 2000. The turn of the century marked the beginning of a whole new world, one with anxiety inducing elections, trendy juicy tracksuits, and technological advances like never before. With a world of information available at the swipe of your thumb, it might take you a minute to remember the sound Web 1.0 made when you tried to load a page. In the early 2000s, the internet wasn't yet a place of infinite knowledge but rather untapped potential. Stephane Roulland saw that potential clearly in a future not as distant as the world may have thought. Described as a Yahoo-esque portal to viral videos, Stephane sets the stage for a world at the cusp of an internet revolution and a stubborn man ready to run into the fight.

If there's one thing that drives Laura Osuri, it’s serving her community. After college, she sprang into an expedition that would take her across the globe to Europe and Latin America in search of new perspectives. Coming back to the states she felt listless, but soon sunk her energy into Street Sense media, whose mission was to vocalize homeless issues and provide community support. Realizing that she could help the marginalized, Laura once again saw a calling as the Syrian refugee crisis erupted. Taking action, she joined her church in welcoming and supporting newly displaced families. Her work with these agencies eventually inspired her to found her own resettlement nonprofit--Homes Not Borders right in her hometown of Washington D.C. However, things would get more complicated as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Since Kevin Greene moved to the US from Jamaica at age 6 he's always been hustling. Entrepreneurship was his personality, but at times it wouldn't be fully expressed. In 2006 Kevin got a job at T-Mobile, and quickly realized that the corporate world didn't take kindly to conflict. The same voice that made him such a great entrepreneur, held him back in the corporate world. Although he was passed by for promotions, he did gain insight into mobile phone industry. This would eventually lead him to create Faces International in 2012, a mobile marketing and development firm. Diving deeper into his knack for spotting a trend Kevin noticed the high growth potential of Cannabis and decided someone needed to step in to educationally legitimize the industry. In order to fulfill the need for a qualified workforce in the rapidly-growing cannabis industry, Kevin co-founded the Cleveland School of Cannabis in 2018, the first and only school for cannabis with national accreditation.

Jeff and Judy Bowman are the acclaimed founders and owners of the Living Waters Spa, which was an internationally renowned clothing-optional spa in Desert Hot Springs, California. Before becoming key members of the clothing optional community, Jeff & Judy were church folk who started and grew congregations across America. Suddenly Judy was diagnosed with breast cancer which led Jeff to question nudity and soon question his religion. This would send both of them on a quest to understand their relationship with nakedness and come face to face with a new clothing-optional lifestyle.

Words of Wisdom:

Originally from Seoul, Liah was studying architecture and feeling like she didn't really fit into the mold of South Korea. She decided to explore the idea of going into the beauty industry and released her first YouTube video. Not too long later, Liah Yoo is now a beauty guru and has amassed a following of over 1 million. But she wouldn't stop there. In 2017, Liah had a “lightbulb moment” and realized that the skincare market was overwhelming and oversaturated with products that created new skin problems rather than making skin healthier. She decided to launch Krave Beauty, a sustainable brand with a simple array of products designed with only the consumer in mind.

What does it mean to fall in love with a place? In this episode, we explore this question by talking to Marnie Gustavson, the executive director of PARSA Afghanistan and leader of the Afghan Scouts revival movement. Though her journey actually began in Washington, Marnie was introduced to Afghanistan at 9 years old when her father relocated the family for his new job. Growing up in a foreign country, she struggled against cultural gender roles but eventually found her passion for leadership and directing through bargaining in Afghan markets. After returning to the US, Marnie realized how much she missed Afghanistan and decided she wanted it to be her permanent home. It was there she got her unlikely start at PARSA that led to the creation of her own program Sisters for Sisters and Brothers for Brothers. When the Afghan government unexpectedly collapsed during the 2021 Taliban Offensive, Marnie’s organization was faced with sudden social upheaval. In the face of great adversity, Marnie shares stories of resilience from Afghan citizens and reflects on her duty to the country she loves.

So today's guest I specifically sought out after reading his book “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.” I was floored by essentially every sentence and thought the book was so incredible that I had to talk to the person who wrote it. That person is Eric Jorgenson. After working at a startup for a decade and technically being unemployed, he decided to delve into a myriad of projects including podcasts, blogs, and a self-paced course on leverage. His recent, and most successful book, is a guide to wealth and happiness curated and distilled entirely from Naval’s spoken and written words. If you haven't heard of Naval, he's semi famous within certain silicon valley circles. He's founder of AngelList, an angel investor, and a modern day philosopher. The wisdom inside this book is near unparalleled, and if you haven't read it already, I highly recommend you do.

How do you make digital art physical? How can you print video? Infinite Objects founder and CEO, Joe Saavedra is answering these questions. Growing up in a small town, Joe tapped into artistic self expression with the saxophone. He took this artistic interest to college as he discovered how he could create art using technology which would spark a life's mission to combine these interests. This journey has lead him to play a leading role in the creation of so many cool products, including the Google Talking Shoe and a wearable personal pollution monitor egg. Most recently, he has become the founder and CEO of Infinite Objects, a company at the forefront of NFT tech that essentially “prints” videos in physical form. However, a journey of passion always has its trials and tribulations.

Giuliana Furci was born in London but her family returned to Chile when she was 15 years old. At 19, she stumbled across a bright orange mushroom which caught her eye while doing field work in the forest. This moment inspired Giuliana to devote her life to addressing the lack of information on fungi. Starting her career as a self-taught amateur, she became the first female field mycologist in Chile and started the Fungi Foundation, the first NGO dedicated to fungi in the world. Under her leadership, Chile became the first country in the world to include the Fungi kingdom in its environmental legislation.

In this episode, we sit down with Lori Kay, a sculptor, business woman, mother, naturist, and owner of Lupin Lodge. As a kid, Lori learned to adapt and have an open mind as her family moved around due to her father’s military service. When Lori was a young adult she studied abroad in Switzerland, where she experienced first hand a different approach to nudity. When weekly trips to a sauna meant wearing nothing but a towel in a coed room, Lori was not judgmental but rather embraced the cultural difference. When she returned to the U.S. Lori was introduced to Lupin’s community (a nudist retreat) and quickly became a regular member. This led to her falling in love with the owner and eventually becoming an owner herself. Find out how her determination would build a community of body positivity and self discovery.

Elyse Burden founded Real World Scholars (2014), where she works to give students the opportunity and resources needed to become change makers and social entrepreneurs in their communities – not one day, but right now. She provides money for the students to help pursue their business, pay it forward, and invest in the greater good. She believes in creative solutions and recognizes that young people are brilliant, creative, and angry enough to help the world find solutions to some of our scariest challenges.

https://www.realworldscholars.org/

In today’s episode, we’ll get to hear from Forrest Garvin, former U.S. Air Force NCO, creator of several technology startups, and founder of the PrepperNet community. Forrest had a front row seat during the Y2K crisis, working with computers that were expected to crash at the turn of the century. Even though he couldn’t understand why it was a big problem at the time, it was the initiation of his prepper lifestyle. With a desire to learn and protect his family, Forrest honed in on his survival skills. And although he faced isolation and embarrassment for his wish to prepare for the unknown, those skills would come in handy when the world was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. In a journey that takes us from North Carolina to Greece, and projects us from the year 2000 to 2020, Forrest teaches us how basic human survival can not only help a lot of people, but also forge a fearless community.

Eric Molinsky is the creator and host of Imaginary Worlds, a podcast exploring fictional worlds and works, the non-fiction stories behind them, and the communities around those stories. Born in Boston, Eric moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in animation for several years, thinking it was what he wanted. Eventually, he came to realize that his true passion was in crafting stories and “pieces of time.” Eric moved back to the East coast and started working for New York public radio and began finding his footing in the audio storytelling industry. Frustrated with public radio’s tongue in cheek attitude toward covering science fiction and fantasy, Eric became a freelancer to tell stories he wanted to tell, and eventually started his own podcast to do just that. Since then, he’s taught classes at NYU in podcasting and audio storytelling, and through his podcast, he’s discovered whole new imaginary worlds to fall in love with.

Daisy Luther has learned the hard way how important preparation is. From debilitating poverty, to losing her father, to becoming a single mother, we follow Daisy on her story of suffering through extreme hardship. But we’ll also understand how she managed to survive and thrive in spite of it. Facing loss after loss Daisy never gave up, and now she is a successful author, the founder of TheFurgalite.com and TheOrganicPrepper.com, websites that gets millions of views and teach us how we can be more prepared when things go wrong.

In this episode we sit down with John Basset, founder of Twin Mask and an avid LARPer. Live Action Role Play, or LARP, has been part of John's identity ever since he was in high school, but what is LARP? Well, it's a role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters. The players enter a fictional world but interact with real objects, all while in character. I'll admit even that explanation confused me, so I traveled down to the LARP event to see what it was all about. I learned how a break from reality can help you find your community, understand yourself, and bring the world a bit closer together.

Christina Catalano is a noted human rights leader and founder of RISE. Although it started small, the RISE Anti-Bullying Initiative has grown to become one of the largest anti-bullying initiatives in the world. And Christina's influence doesn't stop there, in fact, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. But before the awards and accolades, her experience with bullying was personal. Growing up on the Jersey Shore, school was a place she felt isolated and attacked.

https://www.theriseinitiative.org/

In this episode of Finding Founders, we hear from Hala Taha, a leading podcast entrepreneur, founder, and CEO. Hala’s story shows a journey to realizing your self-worth in the face of post-9/11 obstacles, working without compensation, and failing time and time again. Hala started with a pretty “blessed childhood”, going with her father to work at the hospital, and was a bit of a tomboy. But, after 9/11 her life changed dramatically. In high school, she experienced a feeling of isolation and being shut out of those activities she used to love. It wasn't until college that she really found her stride. She soon found a career in entertainment, working at Hot 97, then blogging with strawberryblunt.com, and eventually starting YAP and hosting the Young and Profiting Podcast. But her journey was far from smooth.

Today’s interview is, well, a bit different. This isn’t any guest, actually this is a pretty personal story. Today we’re talking to the co founder of my family, my grandmother, Dorothy Donner. This is my dad’s mom but she’s not just my dad’s mom. In fact my dad is one of ten kids, a frikin handful to deal with. She’s raised 10 kids, has lived through the great depression, numerous wars, and a global pandemic. She definitely knows a thing or two about life’s challenges. As we progress through her story—and run into some of our own challenges along the way—I am reminded of the importance of capturing these stories while we still can. And that understanding your family’s history helps you better understand yourself. My grandparents were visiting my family home, so after finishing up some scrambled eggs, Grandma Donner hopped into a quiet room to walk me through some of the stories that made her who she is today.

For many Americans, debt is a serious issue. A recent study found that the average American holds $53,897 in personal debt. Jason is trying to destroy debt with his new company, Relief. But he didn't always start with these altruistic intentions. His first entrepreneurial endeavor at 12 was hustling kids at lunch with three card monte. Eventually he'd enter the sales world realizing he had the gift of gab, but he soon realized that he was in that world for the wrong reasons. He didn't want his life to just be about making money for himself, he wanted to solve a larger issues. He wanted to help people outside of himself. With his new company, Relief, he's helping others in debt win at the game of debt management.

How much do we value stability? We discuss the answer with Karen Bradfield, a former engineer for Procter & Gamble turn founder of Adventures in Baja. Karen was born in England, and though the ocean was freezing, she still felt drawn to it, constantly swimming or sailing. After finishing her studies she worked a few conventional jobs, but always felt like something was missing. She wanted to dedicate more time to the ocean. Throughout her journey Karen has lived in Australia, Southeast Asia, Panama, Ecuador and finally Cabo. She shares with us the importance of seizing opportunities and confronting our fears.

Hey this episode is going to be a bit different. I’m usually the one doing the interviewing, but this time I’m on the other end of the mic. A former Finding Founders editor, Nathan Tower, invited me on his podcast, the Phasey Wave show. He did a great job of bringing my story to life! We talk about my weirdest experiences with guests, my founding philosophy, building teams, insulting high profile podcasters, and the future of Finding Founders.

Subscribe to the Phasey Wave show here!

How do we discover our purpose and find work that fulfills it? In this episode of Finding Founders we discuss the answer to this question and more with Philipp Moser. He is an established tour guide, diver, and owner of Cabo Trek. Philipp was born in Austria and always loved nature, the ocean specifically. Following the conventional path, he studied to be a mechanical engineer and worked in product development. But he wasn’t happy. So Philipp quit his job and moved to Australia, working side jobs and pursuing diving. After traveling the world and surviving a tsunami, Philipp wound up in Cabo. With Cabo Trek, he shares incredible experiences with tourists while educating them about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment and marine ecosystems.

After Sana Javeri Kadri earned their IB diploma from UWC Adriatic, she worked as a Documentary Filmmaker for P.R.I.D.E India in Maharashtra, India and was a freelance photographer for Kadri Consultants Pvt. Ltd in Mumbai, India before attending Pomona College. While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts, she accumulated an array of experiences during college. At 23 years old in 2017, Sana Javeri Kadri used $3,000 from her tax refund to start sourcing and selling ethically farmed turmeric. Today Diaspora Co. works with nearly a dozen small family farms across India, paying an average of six times more than the commodity price, and sells seven spices including coriander and cardamom. Kadri has bootstrapped the entire operation while going beyond the norm, like paying for healthcare to farm laborers on some of its farms, with the goal of growing enough to be able to provide it to all workers on its partner farms.

Is there a relationship between visual arts and discipline? For today’s episode we had the chance to spend the whole day with Enrique Bascón, a multidisciplinary artist based in Cabo San Lucas where he has his art studio and gallery.

Born and raised in the Basque country in Spain, Enrique’s journey was not always about art. From wanting to follow his own rules and making his own path as a kid, to seeking financial stability, Enrique has always wanted freedom. Throughout his journey he’s studied law, been a policeman, bodyguard, SWAT agent and is now an artist.

Enrique’s story explores how ambition and perseverance can get you to amazing places. There is no one path to being an artist.

Raby Gueye emigrated from Senegal at the age of 7 to the United States. Her early childhood emphasized the importance of education, primarily due to the necessity to translate for her family. Her experience translating to teachers, doctors, and even cable/utility companies all reinforced the necessity to pursue an education and eventually lead her to become the first woman to graduate from college in her family. 

During this time, she once again learned about the college process (applications, fees, tuition, etc.) all on her own as she went on to study international/global studies at Arizona State University. Eventually, she was given experiences to teach in both India and low-income schools in Arizona which eventually led her to create Teach for Senegal. In doing so, she hopes to address inequality while also encouraging children to be proud of where they come from.

I’m here with Jay Clue, a conservationist here in Cabo San Lucas and today we’re going to talk about something a little different. Graffiti, specifically how Medieval Blackletter, a type of font, became a part of Mexican culture and how it became the building block of modern graffiti style. I know what you’re thinking. Medieval font? Modern graffiti style? How do those two have any connection at all, especially being centuries apart? I was perplexed as well, but I’ll let Jay explain it all from here.

Who doesn’t love bacon? Today we sat down with Heat Laliberte, the owner and founder of One Arrow Meats, a Vancouver based, small-batch, hand-cured, naturally smoked, hormone-free bacon company. One Arrow is more than just bacon. It represents Heat’s indigenous heritage, his goals, and his ability to overcome obstacles.

Spending his childhood in Saskatchewan, the Cree-Metis Chef has called Vancouver home since 2002. After a youth that consisted of running away, racism, and struggling with his identity as a trans man, Heat found a strong sense of family amongst the LGTBQ+ community in Davie Village. Starting as a linecook, Heat would go onto working in the kitchen of top hotels and starting his own business venture.

Throughout his life, Heat has been on a journey to find himself, come to terms with his identity, achieve more and cook delicious food. One Arrow opened the door to reconnect with his heritage and his family.

When was the last time you saw an advertisement for cigarettes? Was it good? Today’s founder wisdom is a snippet of an upcoming episode with Jay Clue, photographer, scuba diver and founder of Dive Ninja Expeditions. Before discovering his passion for the ocean, Jay worked as a freelance creative director for massive companies and tells us his experience working for the Tobacco industry.

Links From the Episode

How is it possible that the people who are feeding us cannot afford food? That is one of the questions that pushed this week's founder to tackle food insecurity and look for solutions. In today’s episode of Finding Founders, join us and Rick Nahmias in exploring where our food comes from and who is responsible for the food on our tables.

Rick Nahmias is an LA native who, after working as a documentary photographer, decided to pursue his interest in food and cooking. He soon recognized the abundance of waste around him. From working on “The Migrant Project,” a book which highlighted the poor treatment of migrant farmworkers, to bringing attention to excess produce in his neighborhood through Craigslist ads, Rick is at the forefront of social justice and fighting food insecurity. His organization Food Forward combats food insecurity, food wastefulness and climate change.

We joined Rick early one morning in Glendale, harvested lemons off a tree, and came back to the roots of Food Forward.

Links From the Episode

Financial manager Chris Tran always knew he’d create something; however, despite her obvious creativity, data analyst Holly Paul never thought she’d be a founder. Working at a serial founder’s startup ignited Holly’s nascent entrepreneurial spirit and she decided to let one of her many ideas take flight. Business partners Holly and Chris wanted their product to incorporate classic Asian flavors from their childhoods, but struggled to find their ideal niche in the capital heavy food and beverage industry. Tired of hitting dead ends they decided to unwind with some alcoholic sodas, then inspiration struck. After cold calling contract packagers, crunching data and making huge personal investments they launched their hard seltzer line, Mizo. They’re on a journey to carve out a place for their vision in a saturated market and diversify mainstream American food and culture.

What does it take to make your dreams a reality, especially as a woman in the restaurant industry? In this episode of Finding Founders, join us in exploring the entertainment side of the food industry with Gail Simmons, a food writer, author, cook, and judge on Top Chef.

Gail grew up in a melting pot of both the city of Toronto and her Canadian, South African, and Jewish background. Her mother taught cooking classes and wrote a food column and Gail was a food enthusiast growing up, but Gail never saw her career going in that same direction until college. In pursuing food writing after college, Gail realized culinary school was the next step in pursuing this dream. After school and some brutal restaurant experience, Gail was ready to enter the world of food writing.

She began as an assistant for Jeffrey Steingartern, a renowned food critic at Vogue Magazine. She continued to work as an event director at Food & Wine and eventually a judge on Top Chef. But this success was took time, listen to learn more!

When ideas are cheap, what does it take to make an idea come to life and become a thriving business? Today we answer this question in our conversation with Eric Chen, a marketing and sales whiz, boba aficionado and board game creator. Throughout his journey, Eric has been in a car accident, had a ruptured intestine but this has not slowed him down. What could have been considered sabotage for some, he turned into Sabobatage.

Food can serve as a means to bridge culture and conflict. This episode starts our Food Conflict and Unity series, so join us in exploring the power of food with Barbara Massaad, a Lebanese-American cookbook author, photographer, food consultant, and TV host.

Barbara Massaad spent the first 10 years of her life in Lebanon and moved to Florida as a result of war. Her lifelong relationship with food began with Lebanese culture and at 15, she started helping her father in the family-owned Lebanese restaurant. In 1988, her family returned to Lebanon. Flashing forward, after getting an advertising and marketing degree in college and taking 7 years away from work to start a family, Massaad embarked on a new journey in the restaurant business. Determined to pursue this dream, she trained with several renowned chefs at Lebanese, Italian, and French restaurants.

Driven by her love of using cooking and photography to tell stories, Massaad began the journey of creating her first cookbook called Man'oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery. She continues to use her love for cooking to heal and break barriers, whether it was during the Syrian Civil War and today when faced with conflict in Lebanon.

Links From the Episode

How does an ingredient like rice help better a community? Today we sit down with JJ Johnson, renowned chef on the African diaspora, and founder of the rice bowl restaurant, FIELDTRIP. Growing up in Harlem, surrounded by his grandmother’s cooking and international flavors, food has long formed part of JJ’s DNA. But as we follow his journey of becoming a chef, traveling to Africa, and establishing his own business, JJ’s story teaches us how food can actually break barriers, bring communities together, and celebrate cultural diversity.

How does a girl from SoCal go from making dumplings with her grandmother to co-hosting a TV show with Gordon Ramsey ? Today we sit with Nyesha Arrington, a former Top Chef contestant, professional chef and business owner. Growing up in a Afro-Korean household, surrounded by her grandmother, Nyesha had an early exposure to cooking and a variety of ingredients. As we discover her journey in the world of high class restaurants and TV, Nyesha’s story reminds us of the importance of mentorship and how dedication and attention to detail can take you far.

Before Carla Hall was a Top Chef legend, she was an accountant miserable at accounting. One day she got a chance to move to Paris and pursue modeling full time. Desperate for a change, she said yes, abandoning her dull yet stable career for the notoriously competitive and fickle fashion industry. Despite her lack of language skills and threadbare safety net, she transformed herself into a successful Parisian runway model. During her modeling journey, Carla discovered her passion for cooking. When she returned to the U.S., she dove into the culinary world, first as an executive chef at high-end D.C. restaurants and then as the head of her own catering company. Then Carla said yes to another risky opportunity and joined Top Chef season 5. The chaos and public scrutiny of reality T.V. challenged her culinary skills and business acumen, but it also led her on an adventure with countless possibilities. Saying yes ultimately gave Carla the freedom to express herself across disciplines and mediums as a chef, T.V. Host, actress, children’s book author, and much more.

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How do we recover history that has been deliberately erased? And how does that past impact the present? Today we answer those questions in conversation with Mirna Bamieh a Palestinian artist focused on the politics of disappearance. Mirna was born in Ramallah, Palestine in 1983. Throughout her life she expressed and explored her identity through food and art. In 2017 she started the Palestine Hosting Society, to rediscover and share Palestinian recipes and cultural identity as a way of reclaiming Palestinian identity in the form of performance art.

In times of persecution, how do the persecuted keep their culture alive? We speak with Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan who enlightens us on what it is like to run his boutique Hosh Al Syrain and its Fawda Cafe in the heart of Bethlehem. As part of one of the “oldest Christian families in Bethlehem,” Fadi provides us with a unique perspective on his experiences as a Palestinian chef and how he wishes to revitalize Palestinian cuisine by returning it to its roots.

Today we talk to Duff Goldman. He is the founder and executive chef of Charm City Cakes which has been featured on the Food Network, Iron Chef America, Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a whole bunch more. And this business is successful because Duff is a rebel.  Starting from his graffiti days, he has defied the normal path and found a success that's uniquely him.

Today we sit down with Amanda Slavin, co-founder of CatalystCreativ; a platform where people and brands become connected through meaningful experiences.

The Donut Princess of Los Angeles, Mayly Tao was born with entrepreneurial spirit in her DNA. Born to Cambodian immigrants who fled after surviving the Khmer Rouge, family has always been the most important thing in her life. And family was also the thing that got her started. Her great-uncle is Ted Ngoy, known as the ‘Donut King.’ He helped Cambodian refugees survive and prosper in America by creating donut shops all over Southern California. This would eventually lead through generations to Mayly's innovative work at her family donut shop, DK’s Donut Bakery. Mayly and her donut shop have been an influential and transformative force in LA’s food scene, creating incredible trends and culinary creations.

Today we discover the story of Marcus Bullock: TED speaker, entrepreneur, justice reform advocate, and founder of Flikshop, a software company aimed towards helping incarcerated people connect with their families and the outside world.

Growing up in Washington DC with his mother and sister, Marcus is no stranger to the shortage of resources and social capital surrounding many neighborhoods today. His early life was encapsulated by the pursuit of a single dream: the outer appearance of success. Having the means to buy a car and nice shoes was Marcus’ early vision of what success looked like, and he tried to achieve that vision through selling drugs and stealing cars.

But luxury cars and nice shoes came with ramifications that Marcus didn’t expect. At 15, Marcus was arrested for carjacking and sent to prison. After two years of denial, Marcus began to imagine ending his days surrounded by cinder block walls and metal gates, until his mother’s letters ended up saving his life. Once released after an 8 year sentence, Marcus embarked on an entrepreneurial journey filled with connection, empathy, and the breaking of barriers far tougher than a prison’s walls.

Links From the Episode

Flikshop:

It's a phrase programmers around the world fear... "I'll handle the business side." But today we'll talk to Myles Hunter, founder of TutorMe, who turns that phrase on its head. 

Myles is a non-technical cofounder, i.e. he doesn't know how to code, but his business was growing, and growing unsustainably. He needed someone who understood tech, but he could find anyone... until he started looking in Russia.

In today’s hyper-individualistic culture, creating community is more important than ever. In this episode, we dive into the idea of creating community with Imani Ellis, founder of The Creative Collective NYC which hosts CultureCon.

Imani Ellis was driven by her competitive nature and ambition as a ballerina for 14 years, becoming the first black ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet in 75 years. After quitting ballet, track took her on a full ride to Vanderbilt University where she realized her dream of pursuing work in entertainment.

Through that same tenacity that drove her athletic pursuits, Ellis started work at NBC Universal in New York City, but she struggled to find her community in the bustling city. She decided to create her own space that grew into the Creative Collective and eventually CultureCon.

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Hidekazu Tojo invented the California Roll, but no one knows it. Tojo was in Vancouver when he thought of an idea to attract customers. Little did he know that this idea would spread across the entire world like wildfire.

Rahaf Harfoush is a thought leader in productivity and burnout. Immigrating from Syria as a kid, Rahaf  developed a strong work-ethic. As she developed her career, and more and more opportunity arose, she felt obligated to seize that opportunity. That's why her family came to North America! But this pursuit led to a breakdown. A fogginess that could not be slept away. Burnout.

Rahaf has authored three books looking into the way technology affects us. Rahaf is a renowned digital anthropologist who knows what the rock bottom of mental burnout feels like. She's pulled herself out, and with her she's brought wisdom that she wants to share with the rest of the world. Rahaf wants to adjust modern work into something that is more symbiotic, efficient, and ultimately, better for our mental and physical well-being

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How does a gas station become known for the best Indian food in Los Angeles? We ask that questions to Hiram Mac, the cofounder of the Bombay Frankie Company. He gives us the story of how a world renowned restaurant can arise from anywhere. And to quote my favorite movie, "anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great..." boy is Hiram fearless!

Also if you liked this episode, email me and let me know what you think! sam@findingfounders.co

Iz Harris is a D.C. based filmmaker and co-founder of Bright Trip, a video-based educational platform. In the midst of processing childhood trauma, Iz started developing her filmmaking skills while running a wedding photography and videography business with her husband, Johnny. At the same time she was confronted with her son's regressive autism when doctor's didn't even understand the term. As she searched for an answer she found that she was taking on more responsibility with childcare and that there wasn't an equal partnership in her marriage. Through many conversations, she once again found her creative drive but it wasn’t satisfied by making wedding videos and branding stories. After bingeing Casey Neistat videos, she decided to become a vlogger. In a year, she went from not knowing the difference between a blog and a vlog to having a YouTube channel with 10,000 subscribers. This channel allowed Iz Harris to develop her creative voice, and her videos covered everything from travel to mental health. After working as a producer on Vox Media’s Travel, Eat, Repeat,  Iz co-founded Bright Trip with her husband. With this new venture, Iz Harris is creating a community centered on learning and curiosity.

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Bright Trip Website:

We talk with the founder of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, about how the organization gained global attention after infiltrating a laboratory. This lab was conducting unregulated primate testing and she exposed the horrid conditions that these animals were undergoing. She tells that story along with explaining the mission behind PETA, her life's goal, and the topic of her new book.

Today, we’re visited by Albert Garcia-Romeu, one of the key members of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Coming from Miami, Albert grew up with a thirst for knowledge and a boundless intellectual capacity to improve. He read everything he could, and developed love for poetry and philosophy from a very early age. Those intellectual pursuits took him through a college career at Tulane University before working for the Forest Service in Montana. Venturing out into the wilderness,  Albert had meditative experiences with nature that profoundly moved him.

Albert began to try and study what he called Transcendent Experiences in order to merge his love of psychology and philosophy with this moving experience he had with nature. That quest took him to California, where he started to conduct his research on these seemingly mystical events. From there, he followed his results and began to work in the realm of psychedelic drugs which had him move across the country, change his perspective, and set him on a path into the unknown world of psychedelic therapy.

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In World War II, the allies didn't have enough troops to combat the Nazis... So they came up with a weird way to scare them before they even thought of approaching. Dennis and I talk about this story and compare it to the fake it till you make it mantra common in entrepreneurial circles. We ask the question: how do we tell a compelling story while still being authentic.

This is Finding Founders, I’m Samuel Donner, and today we’re exploring the story of Katie Longmyer--a young cello player who went from nightclub doorkeeper to producing a Made in America festival with a crowd of over 80,000 people. Katie’s story is a whirlwind, taking us through her ascent in the D.C. nightlife scene to landing a gig at Warner Media, to producing events as massive as Brooklyn Electronics Music Festival. But as much as it’s a story about her, it’s also a story about her community, the people who supported her, and the people who she sought to uplift. Today’s episode is jam-packed, but before we step into the big leagues we’re going to wind back to humbler beginnings, to Katie’s traditional Southern home just outside of Washington D.C.

In this episode, we discover the story of James Andrews, a successful NYC record label exec and entrepreneur who was integral in hip hop's rise and currently forming novel creator communities.

From wayward beginnings growing up in Palo Alto to learning how to network the Hollywood scene, James’ career spans a myriad of successes. From meeting Whitney Houston and Beyonce, to the founder of Uber, James knows what it’s like to be surrounded by fame and recognition.

Yet, he’s also familiar with the setbacks of being an entrepreneur, and teaches us how to persevere by placing family first, having confidence in one’s passions amidst doubts, and how to possess a keen, independent mind towards the future through the power of community.

Audio Collective:

Today we hear the story of Julie Holland and her road to redefine psychedelics and psychotherapy. Julie grew up a tomboy, and was super bright for her age. Her intelligence led to curiosity, and she began experimenting with drugs and alcohol at 12. This only fed her interest in the psychology of psychedelics.

Through her own research, she learned how the altered mind can change how one perceives the world. She speaks of how her experiences with PCP made her realize the importance of drug policy and harm reduction. This leads up to her college years where she dove into the science of these drugs.

After school, Julie worked at Bellevue and her book, “Weekends at Bellevue” is based on her experiences of working at this psychiatric ward for nine years. She saw people who were in permanently altered states and empathized with them. Since leaving Bellevue, Julie joined the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and has continued her research on Psychedelics. So join us and hear this story of how the future of psychedelics in medicine may be closer than we ever imagined.

Links From the Episode

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Today, we sit down and hear from Douglas George, who was one of the first producers and distributors of LSD in the US. Coming from humble beginnings in Iowa, George attended college as a physicist in Riverside before deciding he wanted to change the way that people thought about existence. Developing an interest in hallucinogenic drugs, George pushed aside his physics backgrounds and focused on producing a compound that was new to the world. Living in Hermosa Beach in Southern California, he tapped into the counterculture wave of the psychedelic experience by traveling up and down the coast handing out his own LSD. George did everything in the vain of scientific discovery as well as opening the public’s mind about the reality they lived in. Meeting Owsley Stanley in the early 1960s, George’s LSD was one of the main causes of the famed counterculture movement that sprouted up in San Francisco.

George’s motivations were always scientific, but that didn’t stop him from meeting and interacting with some of the icons of the Counterculture Movement on his journey. A journey that took him to new horizons, brought existential discoveries, and changed his brain in a way he never could have imagined.

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Today, we’ll sit down and hear from Jacob Peters, co-founder of Launch House and Commsor, two community-led and data-driven startups. As a frequently uprooted army brat, Jacob prioritized fitting in with his peers. So, he dumbed himself down and hid his genuine interests, including math and LEGOs. He led a double life playing the part of a “cool kid” at school while secretly running a LEGO empire with the help of his family.

After suffering a traumatic brain injury, Jacob finally dropped the facade and followed his authentic passions. Jacob immersed himself in the world of data science and started creating internal incubators at JP Morgan. In his role, he used the networking skills he’d developed as a LEGO mogul and the emotional intelligence he’d gained as an undercover nerd to build an authentic data science community. This authentic community served as rocket fuel for Jacob’s entrepreneurial endeavors and would ultimately lead to his startup today: Launch House.

Relevant Links

Community Club

Today we tell a story of how Dollar Shave Club turned a viral video into a billion dollar company. This video would usher in a new era of businesses built off of engaging sales videos. And to figure out a little more of how it all works, we talk to Jospeh Wilkins, founder of FunnySalesVideos.com. He tells us how viral videos have changed, and how we can create a viral video today.

Many founders love the feeling of being able to work for themselves. Today, we sit down with Maxwell Nee, founder of online coaching service High-Performing Coach, who felt that working for himself was the only option. With Malaysian Chinese parents, Maxwell recalls that high standards for himself were always present, whether he achieved them or not. After suppressing his dreams for the sake of a stable career, Maxwell came face to face with the realization that he had to take the steps to do what he loves. Join us as we learn how Maxwell explored what he truly needed from his career, and networked with people around the world to make what he wanted a reality.

Today I talk with Eric Twiggs about procrastination and a simple trick to combat it. Eric Twiggs, is your procrastination prevention expert. He's conducted 20,000+ hours of procrastination consulting, and in that time has learned the tricks of the trade. In this episode of Founder Wisdom we give you the tools you need to get more done and be more successful.

Update: So last week, we finished our drug dealer series and wow what an incredible experience. It was so interesting to dive into this underground world and it was awesome to see so many new listeners come to the podcast. Finding Founders is growing more and more every day and if you’d like to support us, just share with a friend or post a screenshot to your socials. It really helps.

Anyway, finishing up this series reminded me of first one that we ever did. I actually traveled over to Puerto Rico to interview leaders in the community and hear how the entrepreneurial community recovered after the 2017 hurricanes. Today I wanted to do a rebroadcast of the 1st episode in a three part series on Puerto Rico. I hope you enjoy.

Today we tell a story of a battle between Microsoft and Apple. This incident would start a war between the two computer giants that would rage for years to come. After the story, I'll ask business lawyer, Asha Wilkerson, what we can learn from this and how we can apply these lessons.

In the last episode of the drug dealer series, we sit down with Frederick Hutson, founder of Pigeonly, a platform that helps people connect with incarcerated loved ones. Of course, such an idea was not created without due experience.

Growing up around the world of drugs, Frederick knew that the biggest money makers in town were drug dealers. However, Frederick did not turn out to be your average "small town hero" drug dealer. After working in the Air Force, he grew an underground marijuana operation that would move $22 million dollars of product a year. His knack for fine-tuning and calibrating a business ended up taking him much farther than he ever anticipated.

Join us as we learn how Frederick’s journey through culture shock, intense contemplation, and a desire to problem-solve led him to founding Pigeonly.

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Growing up in the streets of Harlem, David Norman faced childhood trauma, drug addiction, and incarceration. He dealt heroin and even killed a man. After years of imprisonment, David never thought he would be challenging his mind and graduating from one of the world’s most prestigious universities -- until he did. David kicks off part two of our Drug Dealer series—a compilation of stories about a different kind of entrepreneur—one who demonstrates the same independence, hustle, and perseverance of our previous founders, but whose attributes evolved under different circumstances.