Built for This

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Edris Yousefi, entrepreneur, growth strategist, and founder of Lucky Dog Mobile Groomers, to explore what it really takes to build businesses that scale by empowering people.

Drawing on experience across franchising, SaaS, healthcare technology, and multi-location business growth, Edris shares the lessons he's learned from launching, scaling, and exiting companies in multiple industries. From founding a franchise analytics platform to growing Lucky Dog Mobile Groomers into a national brand with more than 100 mobile grooming vans, his journey has been shaped by one consistent belief: successful businesses are built by developing successful entrepreneurs.

Edris reflects on the lessons learned from selling his first company too early, the importance of solving real customer problems, and why sustainable growth depends on people more than business models. He explains why he chose a licensing model over traditional franchising, giving business owners greater flexibility while still providing the systems and support they need to succeed.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Edris discuss leadership, company culture, scaling with intention, leveraging technology without adding unnecessary complexity, and creating communities where entrepreneurs learn from and support one another.

Edris also shares how thoughtful hiring, disciplined expansion, and a relentless focus on customer experience have helped Lucky Dog grow rapidly without sacrificing quality or culture.

This episode is a practical and inspiring conversation about leadership, entrepreneurship, and building businesses that create opportunities for others to thrive.

People Are the Real Growth Strategy

Sustainable Growth Requires Discipline

Technology Should Empower, Not Overwhelm

"People drive businesses. They drive the economy. Solving people problems is usually a good thing."

"I'm not just building a business. I'm building entrepreneurs."

"The concept is just the framework. The person is what makes the business successful."

Edris Yousefi is an entrepreneur and growth strategist with more than 15 years of experience scaling businesses across franchising, SaaS, healthcare technology, and consumer services.

Throughout his career, he has helped generate more than $250 million in enterprise value through growth strategy, operational execution, and brand development. He previously founded and exited Franalytics, a franchise analytics platform, and has led marketing and expansion initiatives supporting hundreds of business locations across the United States.

Today, Edris is the founder of Lucky Dog Mobile Groomers, one of the fastest-growing mobile pet grooming brands in the country. Through a licensing model built around flexibility, operational excellence, and entrepreneur development, he is helping business owners build successful companies while delivering premium pet care to communities nationwide.

https://www.luckydogmobilegroomers.com/

https://www.instagram.com/luckydogmobilegroomers/

https://www.facebook.com/luckydogmobilegroomers

https://www.linkedin.com/company/lucky-dog-mobile-groomers

Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edrisyousefi/

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Kate Assaraf, founder of DIP, a sustainability-focused haircare company that is redefining what it means to build a purpose-driven brand.

What started as frustration with ineffective plastic-free haircare products became a mission to create salon-quality shampoo and conditioner bars that could outperform traditional luxury brands while eliminating unnecessary waste. Along the way, Kate built a seven-figure business rooted in sustainability, authenticity, and community impact.

Kate shares the realities of launching a consumer product company during COVID, navigating the collapse of her original manufacturing partner, and making the bold decision to build her own production facility from the ground up. Rather than following conventional growth strategies, she chose a different path, intentionally avoiding Amazon and large retail chains in favor of supporting independent refill stores and local businesses.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Kate explore what it means to build a business around values rather than convenience. They discuss product innovation, customer loyalty, leadership, company culture, and how entrepreneurs can create meaningful impact while still building profitable, scalable companies.

Kate also reveals how conscious commerce can strengthen local communities, why trust matters more than aggressive marketing, and how a commitment to quality became the foundation of DIP's rapid growth.

This episode is an inspiring look at entrepreneurship, sustainability, and the power of staying true to your mission even when the easier path is available.

Exceptional Products Create Organic Growth

Values Should Drive Business Decisions

Strong Cultures Are Built Through Trust and Ownership

"The growth strategy was to make something so good I didn't have to advertise."

"Shampoo is not going to save the world, but it can lead someone into making other choices."

"I knew I could make a bigger impact as a company than I could as an individual."

Kate Assaraf is the founder of DIP, a sustainability-forward haircare company creating salon-quality shampoo and conditioner bars designed to eliminate plastic waste without sacrificing performance.

After years working within the beauty industry, Kate became increasingly frustrated by greenwashing, unrealistic marketing, and products that failed to deliver real results. She launched DIP to create a better alternative, building a brand centered on transparency, quality, and environmental responsibility.

Today, DIP operates as a thriving seven-figure business that intentionally supports independent refill stores and local communities rather than relying on large retail chains or marketplace platforms. Kate has been recognized as New Jersey Mompreneur of the Year, is a member of the Forbes Council, and earned Oprah's 2025 #1 Pick for Curly Hair.

https://www.dipalready.com

https://instagram.com/dipalready

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Rohini Kasturi, CEO of HG Insights, for a forward-looking conversation about leadership, business transformation, artificial intelligence, and what it takes to drive growth in an increasingly data-driven world.

Drawing on decades of experience leading SaaS companies, scaling technology businesses, and guiding organizations through major periods of change, Rohini shares his perspective on how companies can move beyond guesswork and leverage intelligence, data, and AI to create more predictable growth, stronger customer relationships, and better business outcomes.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Rohini explore the realities of transformation, from aligning teams around a new vision to creating cultures that embrace continuous learning and adaptation. Rohini explains why successful change initiatives are rarely about technology alone and why leadership, communication, and people development remain the deciding factors in whether transformation succeeds or fails.

The discussion also dives into the future of AI, including how HG Insights is using proprietary data, AI-powered intelligence, and emerging agentic technologies to help businesses identify opportunities, improve decision-making, and accelerate revenue growth.

This episode offers valuable insights for entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders looking to navigate change, embrace innovation, and build organizations that are prepared for the future.

Growth Should Be Driven by Intelligence, Not Assumptions

People Determine the Success of Transformation

AI Creates New Opportunities for Human Potential

"How can AI and intelligence be used to drive revenue growth?"

"The company success, the team success, and the individual success have to be aligned."

"We feel there is a responsibility as leaders to do as much as we can to train our people."

Rohini Kasturi is a respected technology executive, entrepreneur, board member, and advisor with more than two decades of experience building and scaling companies across SaaS, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

An alumnus of both Harvard and Stanford, Rohini has played pivotal leadership roles at organizations including SolarWinds, Pulse Secure, Veritas Technologies, and Avni.io, a cloud virtualization company he founded and later sold to Veritas.

As CEO of HG Insights, he is leading the company's mission to help organizations unlock growth through AI-powered market intelligence and data-driven decision-making. Throughout his career, Rohini has earned numerous industry accolades, holds more than 20 patents, and has built a reputation for combining innovation, accountability, and people-first leadership.

https://hginsights.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohinikasturi/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hg-insights/

https://x.com/HGInsights

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Lance Juhas, Co-CEO of Piada Italian Street Food, for a conversation about leadership, hospitality, growth, and what it really takes to scale a restaurant brand without losing the culture that made it successful in the first place.

With more than 36 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Lance shares the journey behind Piada's growth from a single concept inspired by the street food culture of Italy into a rapidly expanding brand with more than 60 locations and a bold vision for the future. Along the way, he offers an inside look at the unique co-CEO structure that helps drive the business and explains why disciplined growth has always been more important than growth for growth's sake.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Lance explore the role hospitality plays in creating lasting success. Lance explains why taking care of employees is just as important as taking care of customers, and how understanding people's personal goals, aspirations, and motivations helps build stronger teams and stronger businesses.

The discussion also covers leadership development, site selection, company culture, operational excellence, and the importance of creating systems that support sustainable expansion. Lance shares why Piada has remained committed to company-owned locations, how leaders earn the right to grow, and why genuine human connection remains one of the most powerful competitive advantages any business can have.

This episode is packed with practical insights for entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone looking to build a business that grows without sacrificing its values.

Hospitality Is a Business Strategy, Not a Department

Great Leaders Invest in People's Dreams

Growth Must Be Earned Through Excellence

"The secret of the sauce is taking care of the guests. Taking care of your internal guests, which are your team members, and taking care of your external guests."

"Hospitality will always be a part of the business. The day you forget about that, your business is in trouble."

"We wanted to earn the right to grow, and not grow too fast."

Lance Juhas serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Piada Italian Street Food and also holds the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Development Officer. He oversees operations, operational services, real estate, and development strategy while helping guide the company's long-term growth and scalability.

Since joining Piada in 2016, Lance has played a pivotal role in strengthening operational performance, building scalable systems, and creating the foundation for future expansion. Prior to Piada, he spent 16 years with Bravo Brio Restaurant Group and held leadership positions with J. Alexander's and Houston's.

Known for his people-first leadership style and deep operational expertise, Lance has built his career around creating high-performing teams, exceptional guest experiences, and businesses designed for sustainable growth.

http://www.mypiada.com/

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Carlos Diego Cavalcanti, CEO and CTO of Valcann and cloud services leader for EPI-USE Latin America, for a thoughtful conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, technology, and the human relationships that drive long-term success.

Diego shares the story of founding Valcann  in 2014 as a cloud computing startup and navigating its evolution into a thriving professional services business. Rather than pursuing outside investment early on, he chose to grow independently, allowing the company to experiment, adapt, and find its footing without sacrificing its culture or vision.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Diego explore what it means to build a company around people rather than processes. Drawing on his experience as both a technology leader and university professor, Diego explains how education, mentorship, and talent development became central pillars of Valken's growth strategy. By partnering with universities and developing talent internally, the company has built a pipeline of highly skilled professionals while strengthening its culture from within.

The discussion also explores leadership, remote work, resilience, company culture, strategic partnerships, and the rapidly evolving role of AI in professional services. Diego shares practical lessons on scaling teams, navigating uncertainty, and maintaining strong relationships in an increasingly digital world.

At its core, this episode is a reminder that while technology continues to evolve, business remains fundamentally human.

Relationships Are One of the Most Powerful Business Assets

Diego believes that while systems and processes are important, meaningful relationships create the foundation for sustainable growth. Strong connections with employees, clients, partners, and students have been instrumental in Valcann's success and long-term resilience.

Independence Can Create Space for Innovation

By avoiding outside funding during the company's early years, Valcann maintained the flexibility to test ideas, pivot when necessary, and grow organically. Diego explains how this freedom allowed the company to innovate without external pressures dictating its direction.

Resilience Is Built Through Daily Discipline

Rather than viewing resilience as something people either have or don't have, Diego sees it as the result of consistent habits and disciplined action. The routines leaders establish today determine how effectively they navigate tomorrow's challenges.

"You don't scale relationships."

"We make our own champions in-house."

"Discipline creates the structure that allows you to be resilient when challenges come."

Carlos Diego Cavalcanti is the CEO and CTO of  Valcann  and leads the cloud services division in Latin America for EPI-USE. EPI-USE Services for AWS is an enterprise cloud expert with deep roots in SAP and ERP, serving enterprises running mission-critical workloads on AWS and tech-intensive SaaS companies.

With a Master's degree and Ph.D. in Computer Science, Diego combines deep technical expertise with a passion for education and leadership development. He serves as a professor at the Recife Center for Advanced Studies and Systems (CESAR) and has also been a Visiting Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, conducting research in Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence.

Known for his people-first leadership style, Diego has built a reputation for developing talent, fostering innovation, and creating organizations where both individuals and businesses can thrive.

https://www.valcann.com.br/

https://www.epiusecloud.com 

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Jennifer Chow, co-founder of Nurture Life, to explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, nutrition, and the challenge of helping children build healthier relationships with food.

Jennifer shares the story behind Nurture Life and the gap she discovered as a parent. While there were growing options for babies transitioning to solid foods, healthy, convenient meals for toddlers and young children were surprisingly limited. Determined to solve a problem she was experiencing firsthand, Jennifer and her co-founder launched Nurture Life, starting with a small team operating out of a converted restaurant before growing into a nationwide company serving families across the United States.

Throughout the conversation, Jennifer offers an honest look at what it takes to build and scale a food business, from navigating manufacturing and logistics to maintaining quality standards while expanding operations and entering retail distribution channels.

Beyond the business journey, Carly and Jennifer dive into the realities of children's nutrition and eating habits. They discuss picky eating, food preferences, parental influence, and why understanding child psychology is often just as important as understanding nutrition. Jennifer explains why healthy food must be more than nutritious. It must also be appealing, enjoyable, and something children genuinely want to eat.

This episode is a thoughtful conversation about entrepreneurship, parenting, leadership, and the role businesses can play in helping families build healthier futures.

The Best Businesses Often Solve Personal Problems

Healthy Food Has to Be Appealing, Too

Scaling Requires Strong Systems and Constant Adaptation

"If they don't want to try it, if they're not attracted to it from a visual perspective, we've completely lost the battle."

"One in ten children in our country will eat enough fruits and vegetables per day."

"It's not just about crafting a perfect meal from a nutrition perspective. It has to be delicious, visually appealing, and a kid has to want to eat it."

Jennifer Chow is the co-founder of Nurture Life and a passionate advocate for children's nutrition and healthy eating habits. As a mother of two boys and a lifelong food enthusiast, she has dedicated her career to helping families make healthier choices without sacrificing convenience.

At Nurture Life, Jennifer leads product development, marketing, customer experience, and company strategy, with a mission to make nutritious eating more accessible for children at every stage of development.

Before founding Nurture Life, Jennifer spent 17 years in the technology industry, holding leadership roles in marketing and product development, including serving as Vice President of Marketing at Engine Yard and leading marketing initiatives for SAP's outsourcing business across the Americas.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

http://nurturelife.com/

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Dr. Hany Demian, board-certified chronic pain specialist, healthcare entrepreneur, and founder of Presentia Healthcare, for a fascinating conversation about the future of health, longevity, leadership, and performance.

What started as a career path toward surgery evolved into a mission to fundamentally change how healthcare approaches chronic pain, recovery, and aging. After seeing the limitations of conventional treatment models firsthand, Dr. Demian began exploring a more comprehensive approach that focused on identifying and addressing the root causes of health challenges rather than simply managing symptoms.

Today, through Presentia Healthcare, he leads a growing network of clinics across Canada and the United States dedicated to helping people optimize health, improve recovery, reduce chronic pain, and extend both lifespan and healthspan.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Dr. Demian explore why chronic pain is often the result of multiple systems breaking down simultaneously, including sleep, nutrition, hormones, inflammation, stress, and recovery. They discuss the growing role of regenerative medicine, personalized healthcare, AI-powered health optimization, and the exciting future of longevity science.

Beyond medicine, Dr. Demian shares valuable lessons from his entrepreneurial journey, including the realization that he had built a business completely dependent on him, and how executive leadership training helped him create a scalable, self-managing organization capable of growing beyond its founder.

This episode is an insightful exploration of health, business, leadership, and what it truly means to help people live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

Pain Is Often the Result of Multiple Underlying Factors

A Business Should Not Depend on Its Founder

Longevity Is About Living Better, Not Just Longer

"Pain is actually a multi-system organ failure. You don't have pain because just your disc is herniated or bulging."

"You don't have a company. You have a glorified job."

"I identify the business. The business doesn't identify me."

Dr. Hany Demian is a board-certified chronic pain specialist, regenerative medicine expert, and healthcare entrepreneur dedicated to helping people perform better, recover faster, and age more successfully.

As the founder of Presentia Healthcare, he has pioneered an integrated approach to chronic pain and longevity medicine that focuses on treating root causes rather than symptoms alone. His work combines evidence-based medicine, advanced biologic therapies, peptides, regenerative treatments, and data-driven health optimization to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

Known for his practical, science-backed approach, Dr. Demian continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in modern healthcare while helping patients maintain independence, vitality, and peak performance throughout their lives.

https://drdemian.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drhanydemian/

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with entrepreneur, startup founder, and technology innovator Yakov Filippenko to explore the realities of building companies, navigating failure, and preparing for the future of work.

Yakov shares his entrepreneurial journey from product management at Yandex to co-founding SailPlay, a customer loyalty platform that expanded into 45 countries before being acquired. Along the way, he experienced many of the challenges that define startup life, including failed products, major pivots, fundraising pressures, acquisition negotiations, leadership struggles, and the unexpected experience of being fired from his own company after a failed acquisition process.

Rather than allowing those setbacks to define him, Yakov used them as catalysts for growth. His experiences led him into venture capital, deeper studies in psychology and group dynamics, and ultimately to the launch of Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting businesses with highly skilled part-time professionals and helping talent access flexible work opportunities.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Yakov explore the evolving nature of leadership, hiring, company culture, startup decision-making, and the rapidly changing workforce. Yakov challenges traditional assumptions about employment, arguing that the future belongs to flexible work models where expertise is accessed on demand rather than tied to traditional full-time roles.

This episode is a powerful exploration of resilience, leadership, networks, and how entrepreneurs can position themselves to thrive in a world where work is being fundamentally redefined.

Relationships Create Opportunities

Great Leaders Hire People Smarter Than Themselves

The Future of Work Is Becoming More Flexible

"Everything is about people and communications."

"It's not about making smart decisions to grow your company. It's about making smart decisions to prove that you're a smart person."

"I'm actually trying to hire people that are smarter than me."

Yakov Filippenko is a technology entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience building and scaling businesses internationally. Early in his career, he helped grow a major product at Yandex from 700,000 users to 1.2 million while expanding it into international markets.

He later co-founded SailPlay, a customer loyalty platform that scaled to 45 countries before being acquired by Retail Rocket in 2018.

Today, Yakov is the founder of Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting part-time professionals with flexible opportunities. Built around a proprietary matching algorithm, Intch is helping reshape how companies access talent and how professionals build careers in the evolving future of work. In 2024 alone, the platform grew from 65,000 to more than 500,000 active users.

https://intch.org/

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Michael Wu, President and General Manager of Phison Technology USA, to explore the technology powering much of today’s digital world and the leadership principles that have helped drive Phison’s remarkable growth.

Michael shares the story of joining Phison USA as employee number one and helping grow the organization from a one-person operation into a thriving team of more than 80 employees across the United States. Along the way, he played a key role in transforming Phison from a behind-the-scenes technology provider into a recognized leader in NAND flash storage innovation and the launch of its enterprise-focused brand, Pascari.

The conversation dives into the realities of leading global teams, bridging cultural differences between Taiwan and the United States, and building a company culture grounded in trust, accountability, and empowerment. Michael explains how effective leadership often requires acting as a translator between different perspectives, communication styles, and ways of working.

Carly and Michael also explore one of the most exciting developments in artificial intelligence today: the growing demand for memory and storage infrastructure. Michael shares how a simple internal challenge led to a breakthrough innovation that uses NAND flash storage as an extension of AI memory, dramatically reducing infrastructure costs while expanding AI capabilities.

This episode offers a fascinating look at leadership, innovation, AI infrastructure, and how questioning assumptions can unlock entirely new possibilities for growth and technology.

Key Themes:

Memorable Quotes:

“You sometimes lose by winning.”

About Michael Wu:

Today, Michael oversees Phison’s U.S. operations, driving growth, innovation, and strategic partnerships while helping shape the future of enterprise storage and AI infrastructure. Prior to Phison, he worked as a Verification Engineer at RF Micro Devices. He holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Connect with Michael Wu:

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with entrepreneur and innovator Kate Doerksen, co-founder and CEO of Sage Haven, a safer messaging platform designed to protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content, and unhealthy digital habits.

Kate shares her remarkable entrepreneurial journey, beginning with the creation of Ditto, a pioneering augmented reality and AI eyewear technology company that ultimately served more than 70 million users worldwide before being acquired by 1-800 Contacts. She opens up about the realities of building a venture-backed startup, raising $35 million in funding, navigating years of costly litigation, and staying committed through more than a decade of challenges before achieving a successful exit.

The conversation then turns to the deeply personal experiences that inspired Sage Haven. After witnessing the devastating impact of cyberbullying and harmful online content on a close family member, Kate became determined to create a safer digital environment for children. Through extensive research with parents, kids, psychologists, and technology experts, she identified a critical gap in the market and built a platform designed with children's wellbeing at its core.

Carly and Kate also discuss the lessons learned from building multiple companies, the unique experience of partnering with her sister as a co-founder, how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship, and why mission-driven businesses often create a level of resilience and energy that purely commercial ventures cannot.

This episode is a thoughtful exploration of entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, and the responsibility of creating products that positively impact future generations.

Key Themes:

Memorable Quotes:

“I don't follow the trend. I don't give a shit. I'm just building a product that a lot of people need.”

About Kate Doerksen:

Before launching Sage Haven with her sister Anne, Kate founded Ditto, a groundbreaking augmented reality and AI eyewear technology company that served more than 70 million users globally before being acquired by 1-800 Contacts in 2021.

Kate holds an MBA from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship from Ball State University, where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her academic and athletic achievements. She lives in Danville, California, with her husband and two children.

Connect with Kate Doerksen: