Fresh Direct is an online grocer that disrupted the traditional food supply chain by sourcing food where it’s produced and delivering it to consumers without going through additional retailers. Fresh Direct launched in 2002 from its headquarters in a former paper plant in Long Island City, Queens.

Jason speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched Fresh Direct, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Lyft is a transportation network company with a peer-to-peer mobile app that enables passengers to request rides with their smartphones. Prior to starting Lyft, John co-founded Zimride in 2007, a carpooling ride-share company available predominantly in college communities. Zimride was sold to Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 2013. Lyft is available across the United States and through partnerships with ride-sharing companies throughout Asia.

John speaks with Jessica Harris about founding Lyft, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Essie started her eponymous brand in 1981 with $10,000 after working in the hosiery business. When Essie launched, there were very few companies making nail polish, and nail salons were rare. Essie nail polish is now available in roughly 25,000 salons in more than 100 countries. The company was bought by L’Oreal in 2010.

Essie speaks with Jessica Harris about how she launched Essie, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Walker & Company makes beauty and health products for people of color. Prior, Tristan was the first African American entrepreneur in residence at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He is also the founder of Code2040, a program that connects Black and Latino coders with Silicon Valley startups for summer internships.

Tristan speaks with Jessica Harris about how he built Walker & Company, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Luis is an inventor and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon. He is one of the creators of CAPTCHA, a system that allows websites to determine whether you’re a human or a computer. CAPTCHAs are wavy, distorted words that people need to type out when they’re submitting a form to a website. Luis’ company ReCAPTCHA proved users were humans while also digitizing books. The company was sold to Google in 2009. He also founded the language learning app Duolingo, attracting over 150 million users in its first four years. Luis won a Macarthur Genius Grant in 2006.

Luis speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched ReCaptcha and Duolingo, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Robert Stephens started making computer tech-support house calls on his dirt bike while he was a college student at the University of Minnesota in 1994. He’d arrive to a customer’s house on time, take off his shoes, wear a clean uniform, and fix the problem. His cheeky “law enforcement” marketing theme caught people’s attention, and the company grew from one employee to now over 20,000. Geek Squad was acquired by Best Buy in 2002, and there are over 1,000 Geek Squad “precincts” across the United States, Canada and China. Robert tells Jessica Harris how he turned his tiny tech support business into a customer service giant, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Martine is a pioneer in the satellite industry, launching companies including Geostar, PanAmSat, and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Martine is a helicopter pilot and a parent of four children. She also used to be a man named Martin.

Martine speaks with Jessica Harris about her experience transforming gender, satellites, and life duration, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Andrew launched Theory, a contemporary clothing company, in 1997 with co-founder Eli Tahari. Theory used the stretchy fabric lycra to create a more modern, slender look initially for young professional women. Theory was sold in 2003 to the Japanese company Fast Retailing and IPO’ed in 2005. In addition to his role at Theory, Andrew has been an advisor and investor in several other clothing companies ranging from Rag & Bone to Alice and Olivia.

Andrew speaks with Jessica Harris about his family’s deep history in the fashion industry, and how he launched Theory, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Hot Bread Kitchen is an organization that teaches immigrant women to bake artisanal breads from their home country. HBK provides culinary and management training and English classes to these women who have come to New York City from countries including Bangladesh, Mexico, and Morocco, among others. HBK’s breads are available at select grocery stores including Whole Foods and Dean & Deluca, farmer’s markets in the tri-state area, and at restaurants including Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern, and The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art. Prior to HBK, Jessamyn worked in the bakery of Chef Daniel Boulud’s Michelin three star restaurant Daniel, where she was the first women ever hired.

Jessamyn speaks with Jessica Harris about how she launched HBK, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Sometimes the company you start looks a lot different from the company you end up with; Azim Premji turned his cooking fat company into one of India’s largest technology companies. With over 70,000 employees and $3Bn in sales, Wipro provides software solutions, research and development, and information technology outsourcing to multinational corporations. Azim is the Chairman of Wipro, and one of India’s five wealthiest men.

Azim explains how he turned his father’s company into a technology leader, from scratch.

Listen to the interview