Pattern Recognition - Investing in the Future

What's it like to monetize love? Justin McLeod, founder and CEO at Hinge, walks us through his story scaling one of the leading dating apps in the game. We'll dig into his differentiated approach to building an app that's 'designed to be deleted' and how he aims to instill transparency in all of his business decisions.

What's it like running America's fastest growing beverage company? Daina Trout, Founder and CEO of Healthade , walks us through how she 'follows her gut' while leading a rocketship. Additionally, we'll also discuss the challenges of manufacturing 36+ million bottles of kombucha a year and the trial-and-error iteration inherent in the founder experience.

How do you balance running one of the highest impact non-profits, one of the largest global homebuilders, and a highly profitable retail store all at the same time? Jonathan Reckord, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, walks us through how he brings for-profit efficiency to the non-profit world. Additionally, we discuss the 'business' of running a non-profit and why combining good business with good impact is crucial for recruiting and engaging today's millennial generation.

Josh Luber, CEO and Founder at StockX, has built the leading marketplace that sits at the crossroads of fashion and ecommerce. Having crossed the one billion dollar revenue run rate market in just three years, Josh and his team are set on redefining the way we as consumers consume goods. In today’s conversation, Josh and I dive into the history of sneakerhead culture, building a unique consumer experience via stock market-esque gamification, and the key lessons Josh has learned from working with famed entrepreneur Dan Gilbert.

How do you build an iconic brand and bootstrap to north of $100M revenue? Doug Bouton, President and COO at Halo Top, walks us through the hustle, grit, and resilience required to succeed along the entrepreneurial journey. We'll also dig into Doug's vision for Halo Top and how the business came to be ranked as one of LinkedIn's "Top Startups to Work For" (hint: it's not just the free ice cream).

Reflecting on a $400M sale to Apple, Chris Barton shares Shazam's founding story and how the business has tenaciously evolved over time from both a technological and monetization standpoint. We'll also cover the key takeaways Chris had in maximizing an exit to a strategic and patterns he observes across viral consumer apps (Uber, WhatsApp, Shazam, etc). 

 Welcome to the Subscription Economy: an age defined by customer happiness, perpetual product improvements, and more resilient business models. Tien Tzuo, CEO and Founder of Zuora ($2 billion market cap), joins us to talk through why shifting from a product-centric sale to a customer-centric subscription is so compelling and how companies like Adobe have successfully transitioned into a subscription-first business. 

How do you convince millions of users to join your online marketplace? How can the sharing economy create a cheaper, better and more convenient customer experience than legacy offerings? What are the key KPIs investors and operators should focus on as they scale marketplaces? Andre Haddad, founder and CEO at Turo, walks us through how he solved the chicken-and-egg problem with starting a marketplace as well as how he and his team optimize conversion on both the supply- and demand-side of the Turo platform.