You never forget your First Million.

On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Floom, are here to help you turn your time into real value.

In today’s episode, Natalie directly interviews Lana about the process of making the first million dollars with her company, “Floom.” For both Natalie and Lana, their companies reached this milestone in only their second year of operation.

Times are changing quickly, and with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the barrier to entry for many software companies is lower than ever. In this conversation, Lana shares her advice on building a company from the idea stage to its first 100 customers, then 1,000 customers, one million dollars, and beyond.

Each episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes brings you real conversations with high profile business leaders. No jargon. No sugarcoating. Just the honest truth about what it takes to build a company from the ground up. 00:39 Introduction & Today’s Topic: Floom’s First Million 02:25 Doing Your First Million in One Year 04:00 Executing an Idea in the Tech Space Without Experience 06:35 Pitfalls to Avoid 09:26 Finding Your First 100 Customers 17:55 Finding Your First 1000 Customers 18:26 Managing Your Mindset 22:00 Biggest Mistakes When Striving for Your First Million 27:23 Hot Takes

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/ 
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/ 
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com 
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway 

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/ 

Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room… Shark Tank.

On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Flume, are here to help you turn your time into real value.

In today’s episode, Lana interviews Natalie about one of the most pivotal moments in her career with Bala: her appearance on Season 11 of Shark Tank. The pitch led to a major turning point for the brand when Natalie received an offer from Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova for $900,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the company.

Understanding your brand, defining your valuation, and crafting a razor-sharp pitch are some of the most valuable skills you can develop as a business founder. Whether or not you ever end up on Shark Tank, the insights Natalie shares in this conversation will be key to your ability to attract investors and grow with confidence.

Each episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes brings you real conversations with high profile business leaders. No jargon. No sugarcoating. Just the honest truth about what it takes to build a company from the ground up.

Key Takeaways:

• Just try. If you get a call, you can discuss timing. But go for it.
• Your pitch is everything.
• Closing the deal itself is a process.
• Respond quickly to emails, it shows you value your employees.

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/ 
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/ 
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com 
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway 

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/ 

Lucas Lappe, co-founder of Canopy and Doris Dev, joins Hot Takes, Big Stakes to share how he built a successful wellness brand from the ground up without raising venture capital. From launching his first absurd product (a hot glue gun for string cheese) to designing mold-resistant humidifiers now sold at Sephora, Lucas explains what it really takes to launch and scale a physical product.

This episode covers how Canopy focused on solving real user problems, stayed profitable from day one, and turned a bootstrapped product into a trusted beauty and wellness brand. Whether you're building in DTC, design, or consumer goods, there's something in here for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Bootstrapping forced every dollar to count, which shaped the company’s focus on ROI
• Canopy reimagined the humidifier as a beauty and wellness product
• Sephora helped position the brand as more than an appliance
• The team avoided flashy packaging to cut costs and reduce waste
• Doris Dev was created as a learning platform and support system for launching Canopy
• Having a founding team with clear strengths in product, ops, and brand was key
• Spending time with manufacturers was critical for building better products

More Hot Takes Big Stakes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/

More on Lucas Lappe

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaslappe/ 

“Canopy” Website: https://getcanopy.co/ 

X Profile: https://x.com/lucas_lappe

More on Natalie Holloway:

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/

“Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/

“Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/

Substack,

“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com

Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:15 - Lucas’s Engineering Roots & Startup Beginnings

03:40 - Quirky, Goby & Lessons from Failing Fast

07:10 - Launching Doris Dev to Solve Real Problems

09:45 - How Canopy Was Born from an Idea & a Bad Humidifier

13:00 - The Beauty Consumer Deserves Better

14:45 - Getting Into Sephora Without Funding

17:30 - The Real Benefits of a Humidifier

19:15 - Their Strategy Across Sephora, Amazon, & Baby Retailers

21:00 - Expanding into Shower Heads & Bathroom Wellness

23:30 - Why Canopy Doesn’t Do Fancy Packaging

26:00 - Scaling a Business with a 20-Person Team

29:00 - Why ROI Dictates Every Business Decision

33:00 - Advice for Product-Based Startup Founders

36:30 - Hot Takes: Reinventing the Pet Industry?

38:15 - The Product That Shouldn’t Exist

Starting a business? Expect uncertainty and scrappy decisions.

In this Hot Takes, Big Stakes deep dive, co-founders and hosts Natalie Holloway and Lana Elie break down the real behind-the-scenes of launching a brand. From bad product ideas and co-founder debates to raising capital, faking it with factories, and why launching to crickets still taught them everything. No fluff, just the stuff we wish someone told us.

Real talk. Real tactics. No playbook required.

Chapters:

00:00:01 – Is your idea worth it? How to test your concept even if no one gets it yet. 00:04:02 – Solo founder vs. co-founder What no one tells you about emotional labor, investor bias, and breakups. 00:09:38 – Setting up your company LLC or C-Corp? LegalZoom, lawyers, or Stripe Atlas? 00:11:14 – Bootstrapping vs. raising capital Natalie and Lana take sides. 00:15:15 – Making your first physical product 00:19:07 – What makes a brand stick? 00:24:00 – Naming your company 00:26:22 – How to get your first customers 00:27:58 – Go niche or go broke. The strategy behind showing up in all the right places. 00:30:13 – SEO: underrated, essential

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/ 
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/ 
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com 
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway 

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/ 
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

How do you build a period care brand that’s unapologetically bold, digitally native, and actually different? On this week’s episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes, Lana Elie sits down with Nadya Okamoto—activist, author, and co-founder of August—to unpack exactly how she turned a mission into a movement (and a movement into a business).

With over 6 million followers and major shelf space in Target and Whole Foods, Nadya’s story is anything but ordinary. From launching a nonprofit at 16 to raising a $2M pre-seed and turning period stigma into cultural currency, this is an inside look at what it really takes to build a brand that breaks taboos—and the internet.

Chapters:

00:00:05 Intro to Nadya Okamoto 00:06:05 How Being Bold Helped Grow Nadya and August’s Social 00:10:35 Balancing Being an Operating Founder and Creating Content 00:16:45 Getting Into Retail and Partnering with Big Names in Retail 00:19:45 The Difference In Shopping Experience Between Direct To Consumer and Retail 00:24:00 5 Years Into The Business and The Next Steps 00:27:55 Mental Health, Taking Care of Yourself, and The Value of Sleep 00:35:50 Hot Takes 00:44:20 Conclusion

Whether you’re building a brand, scaling a mission, or just learning to say “period” out loud, this one is unmissable.

More on Nadya Okamoto: Instagram: @nadyaokamotoAugust: itsaugust.co

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/ 
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/ 
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com 
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway 

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/ 
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

What are you investing in?

Time is your most valuable resource. On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Floom, are here to help you turn that time into real value.

After speaking with founders across a wide range of industries, one thing became clear: we’re all getting asked the same questions. So we decided to create a space where we could actually answer them.

In our first ‘Deep Dive’ episode, you're getting exactly what you came for. Natalie and Lana get into the nitty gritty on the most pressing questions about raising money for your business. 

Lana has taken little more than bold ideas and turned them into millions of dollars worth of funding. She's mastered the art of investment strategy, and her perspective on pitch decks, shareholder agreements, and attracting the right investors is clear, actionable, and seriously valuable.

Each episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes features real conversations with founders like Natalie and Lana. No jargon, no sugarcoating. Just the truth about what it takes to build something from scratch.

Key Takeaways:

• Selling the “dream” is easier than selling the data.
• Do your research. You can find investors for almost any company online.
• Raising money is a numbers game… don’t be afraid to send a cold email.
• Focus on your momentum to keep excitement.
• There are so many great resources for crafting a Pitchdeck. 
• Know your shareholder’s agreement front to back.
• Handle rejection by using it as motivation.

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/ 
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/ 
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com 
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway 

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/ 
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Who are you investing in?

On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Floom, are here to help you turn your time into real value.

In today’s episode, Natalie and Lana sit down with Zach Rosner, co-founder of Our Place, a nine figure business with a team of over 100 and more than 90 million dollars raised to date. Before building Our Place, Zach led hiring at brands like MeUndies and Everlane.

Zach is an incredible guest because he’s an open book. In this conversation, he walks us through the highs and lows of co-founding Our Place. From years of struggle in development and fundraising to a breakout moment during COVID, when the company saw over 5 million dollars in sales in a single day, Zach shares it all.

Now, having stepped away from Our Place, Zach is embracing whatever comes next. His story is a powerful reminder that everything in business has an expiration date, and sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come after letting go.

Each episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes brings you real conversations with founders like Zach. No jargon. No sugarcoating. Just the honest truth about what it takes to build something from the ground up.

Key Takeaways:

• Protect your passions. They are your center of gravity
• Talk about your idea early and often
• When launching a product, something should be happening every day
• Everything has an expiration date
• Push for more ownership
• Don’t talk yourself out of it

More on Zach Rosner

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zachrosner
• “OurPlace” Website: https://fromourplace.com/ 

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/ 
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com 
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway 

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/ 
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Subscribe to listen to Hot Takes Big Stakes every week on Thursday.T