From Scratch with Jessica Harris

littleBits is a hardware company that aims to put the power of electronics in everyone’s hands. The company sells electronic modules that snap together with magnets, making them accessible to both adults and children. Ayah earned a degree in computer engineering from the American University in Beirut, Lebanon and has a Masters from the MIT […]

Sir Kensington’s is a condiment company that sells ketchup, mayo, mustard, etc. Mark and his partner Scott tried to create a gourmet alternative to Heinz and started tinkering with recipes in their off-campus apartment while they were students at Brown University. The product is available in stores throughout the United States including Dean & Deluca […]

Waze is a crowd sourced traffic navigation app. Drivers share real-time traffic and road information to help other users on the same route. Uri founded Waze in Israel in 2007 and the company was sold to Google in 2013 for $1.1 Billion. Uri is also the founder of FeeX, which also uses crowd sourced information— […]

Fadi Ghandour is one of the leading entrepreneurs of the Middle East. Fadi and his family moved from Lebanon to Jordan where his father eventually became head of Royal Jordanian Airlines. Adopting his father’s business sense and knowledge of the aviation space, Fadi recognized and filled the need for dependable logistics transportation and delivery services […]

Shazam is an app that identifies the music or TV show around you simply by holding up your phone to the sound. Shazam was one of the first apps available in the Apple app store in 2008. Now, a hundred million people per month use the service. Chris speaks with Jessica about how he launched […]

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 […]

Tanium is a cybersecurity company that focuses on providing internet safety for the US government and Fortune 500 companies. Clients include Amazon, Target, Best Buy and the Department of Defense. Orion started Tanium with his father David. Orion speaks with Jessica about how he launched Tanium, from scratch. Listen to the interview

charity: water provides clean water to communities in developing countries. Scott launched charity: water in 2006 after raising $15,000 from his friends at his 31st birthday party. Prior to launching charity: water, Scott was a night club promoter, of course. Scott speaks with Jessica about how he launched charity: water, from scratch. Listen to the […]

Casa Dragones is a luxury sipping tequila, made from 100% blue agave. Bob Pittman, founder of MTV, is Bertha’s partner. Madonna, Martha Stewart, Oprah, and Le Bernadin Chef Eric Ripert are among Casa Dragones’ celebrity fans. The first batch of Casa Dragones, about 12,000 bottles, was launched in 2009. Bertha speaks with Jessica about how […]

Dr. Langer is a chemical engineer who has pioneered the fields of drug delivery and tissue engineering. His lab at MIT receives roughly $10 Million in annual grants and has 100 researchers. Dr. Langer has helped to launch close to 30 start-ups, and his lab’s innovations have been licensed or sublicensed by 250 companies. Dr. […]