High Stakes Growth

Tiana Ravden is the founder and CEO of Eroe, a lingerie brand that keeps sweat stains off your clothes with an innovative, patented bra design that's been 10 years in the making and launched February 2025. This episode is part of "The Climb," our series featuring founders in the earliest stages of building their brands.

Expect to hear about:

– The DIY Spark: How Tiana cut up a T-shirt and slipped it under a silk dress, sparking the idea that became Eroe.

– Fabric Failures: Losing her “perfect fabric” right before launch and why the timing delay during COVID turned out to be a blessing.

– Patent Patience: Spending three years in back-and-forth battles with the patent office before securing her patent.

– Breakout Moment: How a Today Show feature sent Shopify orders flooding in from across the country.

– What’s Next: Fundraising, hiring key team members, and chasing wholesale partnerships to scale Eroe into a household name.

Tiana's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiana-ravden-%E2%9C%B4%EF%B8%8F-09778a3/

Wylie Robinson is the founder, former CEO, and Chairman of Rumpl, an 8-figure brand that makes performance blankets and sleeping bags for the outdoors.

Expect to hear about:

– Frozen Van Epiphany: How a night stranded in the Sierras inspired the idea for Rumpl.

– Kickstarter Launch: Turning a “sleeping bag blanket” prototype into $250K of preorders in 30 days.

– Co-Founder Split: Why diverging visions led to an early breakup, and Wylie’s advice for navigating founder separations.

– Shark Tank Spotlight: The reality of pitching on national TV, walking away from offers, and what the exposure delivered.

– Stepping Back as CEO: Why Wylie handed over the reins in 2024, and how returning to product and creative has reenergized him.

Extras:

– Wylie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wylierobinson/ 

– Wylie's article (mentioned in episode) on navigating co-founder splits: https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/why-i-had-to-fire-my-co-founder-ceo-and-close-friend/321499 

Abdul Altaf is the 21-year-old co-founder of Yay Nuts, a Gen Z snack brand doing $250K in monthly revenue one year after launch. This episode is part of "The Climb," our new series featuring founders in the early stages of building their brands.

In this episode, expect to hear about:

– First Hustles: How Abdul went from Amazon bans, eBay flips, and vending machines to spotting a gap in the snack aisle.

– Gen Z Branding: Why he saw the opportunity to launch a fresh, trend-driven nut brand his generation could connect with.

– Breakout Growth: The TikTok strategy that drove $40K in the first month and $2M in sales within a year.

– Scaling Pains: The supply chain bottlenecks stopping the brand from jumping from $250K to $1M per month.

– What’s Next: Abdul’s plan to launch new flavors, expand DTC channels, and eventually take Yay Nuts past $50M in sales.

Abdul's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdul-altaf/ 

Chase Fisher is the founder, former CEO, and current Brand Evangelist of Blenders Eyewear, an 8-figure sunglasses brand born in San Diego.

Expect to hear about:

– The Early Hustle: How Chase started Blenders by selling shades out of his backpack, opening up about just how hard the early days really were.

– Buying Out His Cofounder: Why their visions split, and how going solo unlocked 300% growth over the next two years.

– $90M Acquisition: The chaos behind a deal delayed by redlines and COVID, and how Chase held it all together.

– Coach Prime x Blenders: The bold partnership that put Blenders on the global stage and reignited the brand’s momentum.

– Stepping Down as CEO: Why Chase hired a CEO for Blenders in 2025, and how he’s reclaiming his zone of genius as the face of the brand.

Find Chase on:
Instagram - @chasefisher
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-r-fisher/ 

Dr. Andrew Hughes returns to the "Human Thread" series to help Forest and Leah unpack one of the most urgent questions in modern life: why can’t we focus anymore? From brain chemistry to platform design, we explore how attention is being hijacked — and what that means for marketers, brands, and human beings.

Expect to hear about:

• The Brain on Distraction: How TikTok and Instagram reshape neural pathways
• Digital Dopamine: Why the scroll feels good… until it doesn’t
• Neuroplasticity & Burnout: What attention overload is doing to workers and creators
• Marketing in the Attention Economy: Strategy or exploitation?
• Brand Takeaways: How to reach your audience without feeding the noise

Garret Akerson is the co-founder and former CEO (now Chairman) of Kindred Bravely, one of the largest maternity and breastfeeding brands in the U.S. 

Expect to hear about: 

– Origin Story: How Garret and his wife Deeanne started Kindred Bravely after she was expecting and couldn’t find quality maternity clothes. 

– 2018 Crisis: How he saved the business by scaling ad spend and pulling off a make-or-break Black Friday & Cyber Monday sale. 

– Hiring A+ Players Fast: Their unique group-interview process that surfaces top talent quickly and efficiently. 

– 2021 Exit: Why he and Deeanne sold a majority stake to PE, to de-risk and de-stress. 

– Life After Exit: Staying involved in Kindred Bravely and launching a Vistage CEO peer group in San Diego to mentor other founders.

Find Garret on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/garretakerson/ 

Ian Blair is the former co-founder and CEO of the mobile app builder BuildFire, and today is the co-founder and CEO of Laundry Sauce, a laundry detergent brand.

Expect to hear about:

– BuildFire: How Ian started a mobile app builder that built 15,000 apps and sold it during a SaaS downturn.

– CEO x2: How Ian managed 80+ hour work weeks to run both BuildFire and Laundry Sauce at the same time.

– Betting Big on Detergents: How Ian reverse-engineered his financial goals by choosing a high-LTV, non-discretionary DTC category. 

– Leveraging AI: Why Ian believes AI will unlock efficiency in ad creative and customer research across ecommerce.

– Personal Interests: Ian's obsession with biohacking and love for extreme sports like skydiving, big-wave surfing, and heli snowboarding.

Find Ian on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianblair44/ 

Rob Fraser is a former Canadian national team cyclist and current founder and CEO of Outway, a fast-growing DTC sock brand doing 8 figures in annual revenue.

Expect to hear about:

– Pro Cycling to Start-Up Life: How Rob’s athlete mindset helped him build a business from scratch.

– Co-Founder Buyout: Why Rob took on $150K in debt to buy out his cofounder and regain control of his company.

– Name Change Crisis: Being forced to change his company's name under legal pressure, and sprinting on a full rebrand in 6 months.

– Burnout: Rob's story of burning out hard and being sick for a year post-rebrand, and how he recovered.

– 90% YOY Growth: An inside look at the decisions Rob made in July 2023 that led to massive growth in early 2025.

Find Rob on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbfraser/
X/Twitter - https://x.com/robbfraser 

Taylor Offer is the co-founder and former CEO of apparel brand Feat, doing over $50M in lifetime sales, and is now building his new startup in stealth, backed by a16z.

Expect to hear about:

– College Hustle: Launching Feat from campus with $300 and a pop-up table.

– Betting on Influencers Early: Moving to LA and striking deals with Logan Paul, Aly Raisman, and The Chainsmokers.

– Hitting Burnout: Making the difficult choice to sell a majority stake and step down as CEO after 10 years at Feat.

– Finding Himself Again: A healing journey through therapy, psychedelics, yoga, and more.

– Back to Build Mode: A sneak peek at Taylor’s new venture, and why he’s aiming to build a multi-billion dollar company.

Find Taylor on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayloroffer/ 

Adam Schwartz co-founded TeePublic (acquired by Redbubble) and is now co-founder and CEO of Parable, helping enterprise orgs uncover and fix operational inefficiencies through AI-powered analysis.

Expect to hear about:

– Bootstrapping to $20M+: Why Adam focused entirely on supply-side growth at the start of TeePublic—and how it quietly paid off.

– The Exit Decision: How he knew it was time to sell, and why growing “too big” can kill your shot at getting acquired.

– Enterprise Inefficiency at Scale: What Adam saw on public company boards that shocked him—and sparked his idea for Parable.

– How AI Actually Impacts Teams: Why efficiency gains through AI don’t necessarily lead to layoffs and often lead to more hiring, not less.

Find Adam on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgregoryschwartz/