Professional Jealousy Podcast: Founder Stories, Brands and Business Innovation

Jake Bullock is the Co-Founder & CEO of Cann, the THC-infused social beverage company revolutionizing the way people socialize by providing a range of microdosed beverages that serve as alcohol alternatives made with simple, all-natural ingredients.

Before taking his entrepreneurial leap, Jake was an associate at Bain Capital’s North American Private Equity fund evaluating potential investment opportunities with a specific focus in the consumer space.

Our conversation included:

• Disrupting the social beverage monoculture a new alternative to alcohol

• The changing ways people are socializing

• The challenges of innovating in a regulated market

• Using learnings from his private equity background building the Cann brand from the ground up

• Prioritizing product quality and a strong d

• The importance of building a brand for retail vs. ecommerce

• Focus on innovation over replication as it’s better to fail with something innovative rather than "boring"

• Insights into modern fundraising as a startup founder

Dee Poku is the Founder and CEO of The WIE Suite - a private membership community for women leaders, innovators, creators. Its mission is to redefine the way women leaders achieve success for themselves and for their companies by providing the community and tools for them to thrive at the highest levels.

I love that her career has evolved from brand marketing to senior roles at Paramount Pictures and Focus Features, but then Dee pivoted to entrepreneurship when she realized there weren’t enough safe spaces and resources for women to accelerate their careers and learn from each other in a way that was constructive rather than competitive. Dee was named one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 50 Women Changing the World, a Crain’s Notable Black Leader, a CUP Catalyst Changemaker and she won a Gold Anthem Award from the Webbys. She is a force!

This conversation included:

• Navigating the ‘invisible rules’ of corporate culture as a woman

• Shifting from traditional mentorship to active sponsorship

• Cultivating confidence, self-worth, and visibility

• Owning your own narrative and building confidence

• Differing UK v. US cultural attitudes for ambition and success

• The power of ruthless positivity

• Definitions of success

Dee was professionally jealous of Emma Grede, a British businesswoman, entrepreneur and fashion designer who co-founded Skims and Good American. Dee admires many things about Grede, including her ability to partner with people and brands, and her ability to think strategically about who she can bring to the table to get the results she needs faster.

Check out https://www.thewiesuite.com/

In this episode with serial entrepreneur Craig Dubitsky, co-founder of EOS, Hello Oral Care and Happy Coffee we talk about so many topics including what makes a good brand; the importance of design, but also for products to be good above and beyond how they look; the importance of creating relevance; story doing vs story being; and many more insights into creating iconic, unique brands.Craig has endless optimism, energy, and is incredibly generous of spirit. He believes in the power of design and brand storytelling, and isn’t afraid to question norms and think differently. I am so grateful to have known him for years, and partnered with him at EOS to create the disruptive spherical lip balm. He's a legend!

Check out https://www.happyproducts.com

Designing a better approach to life:

Melissa Shin Mash, co-founder of Dagne Dover came up with the idea for Dagne Dover while leading the turn-around at Coach's first UK/EU location in 2009, where she saw the opportunity for a culturally-relevant, digitally-native bag brand that paired performance materials with smart design.

Today, Melissa is always thinking about ways to live smarter and better – through the products and services we use – to the workplace policies that push our society forward. Melissa and her co-founders are passionate about setting a new standard of leadership, company culture, and workplace norms in hopes of creating a better society. She is a graduate of New York University (BA) and The Wharton School of Business (MBA), where she net her co-founders. 

This conversation included:

• Identifying the market gap for Dagne Dover as a brand that offers fashion and function

• Business school as a ‘breeding ground’ for ideas and where she found her co-founders

• Prioritizing meaningful innovation over simply producing more ‘stuff’

• Retail physical store as community hub and testing ground

• Setting a new standard for leadership, company culture, and workplace norms.

• The reality of being an entrepreneur vs. the trend toward glorification of founders

  
  

Melissa was professionally jealous of Melissa Waller, founder of Beyond Yoga for being a lovely, amazing person, who also just sold her business to Levis after boot-strapping for 18 years.

Arthur Soroken, Co-founder of the AI Futures Fund @ Google - which was created to invest in and collaborate with start-ups by giving early access to Google DeepMind’s latest AI models as well as resources, technical expertise, and equity funding to accelerate their progress. This conversation included:- How the AI Futures Fund is different from other Google units like Google Ventures, Capital G, and Gradient Ventures- Being a "growth and culture hacker" driven to improve innovation, speed to market, etc across Google- Taking a "hands-on" approach that co-develops with entrepreneurs- A vision for AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement and as force for democratization- Advice for getting into AI includes playing with the tools and "Start something, build something, launch something"Arthur is professionally jealous of his mom, who owns a barbershop and has done so his entire life. He describes the barbershop as her therapy, her life, and her passion, despite it being hard work. He notes that she comes home every day very happy and has expressed that she will "die in that barbershop". Check out https://labs.google/aifuturesfund#innovationleader #podcast #careeradvice #inspiredleadership #techleaders #ai #aistartup #aiinnovation #aiinvestments #aistrategy #productmarketing #techcareers #podcastclips #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #culture #communitybuilding #growthhacking

Ana is a global brand executive, author of “⁠Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture⁠,” and “⁠The Business of Aspiration⁠” and has been recognized three times by Forbes for her CMO work. She earned her doctorate in sociology, and is a widely read writer of ⁠The Sociology of Business⁠, speaker and advisor. Ana is known for her strong strategic POV within fashion, lifestyle and luxury, and she specializes in building business-driven cultural programs for brands.

This conversation included:

• The Northstar that guides her is achieving freedom

• Chasing the ‘new’ led to a non-linear career path

• Her philosophy for modern brand building involves cultural programing with "cultural products" replacing traditional brand marketing

• Building brand worlds and narratives that create a lore and a myth

• "Hitmaking" by tapping into the zeitgeist

• In reality, the “most viable, feasible ideas win" not necessarily the "intellectually best" or "most creative"

• Common mistakes include brands repeating past successes or imitating competitors

• Key to her success is a combination of analytical and creative thinking ("left brain, right brain"), coupled with risk-taking, boldness, and decisiveness

The benefit of going with your gut:

Shannon Race is the Co-founder and CEO of Bio.me, a groundbreaking line of clean, fiber-rich gut health supplements designed to optimize and restore the microbiome, inspired by her own battle with IBS. She is also a Principle at Starshot Ventures, where she leads investment strategy and advises portfolio brands. Additionally she sits on the board of Koia, a leading plant-based protein drink. She’s a seasoned marketer having helped transform Vital Proteins from a product-based business into a global lifestyle powerhouse.

This conversation includes:

• The importance of fiber and gut health

• Learnings and growth from her time at Vital Proteins

• Moving from marketing to VC

• Advice for new founders

• Insights from Bio.me brand and product development

• What makes a good brand

• Advice and insights for entrepreneurs

Shannon is professionally jealous of Francois Demachy, renowned French perfumer and ‘nose’ of The House of Dior.

Check out https://bio.me/

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Building Community to Do Good for the Community:

Asmeret Behr-Lumax is a force for positive change, with a deep commitment to social justice and giving back. She’s the founder and CEO of One Love Community Fridge, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing food insecurity and increasing access to healthy foods. She is also a passionate advocate for girls empowerment as board chair of Dream Maker and its Phenomenal Girls Club, and she’s been recognized as a UN Women Champion of Change.

I’ve known Asmeret quite a long time, and always admired her style, coolness, ability to effortlessly balance work and being a mom - but I am also incredibly impressed by the her life story as an immigrant from East Africa to Sweden, and then the US, and the fact that over the years she has found her ‘why’ after a successful career in fashion and beauty.

This conversation included:

• Origin story of One Love Community Fridge

• Healthy food as a fundamental right

• The influence of the immigrant experience

• The importance of design and brand to evoke meaning

• The core tenet of human connection and community building

• Finding your ‘why’

Embarrassingly, Asmeret’s professional jealousy was me! I’m obviously flattered, and not sure I’m worthy - her reasons included my drive over the years to keep creating and trying new things… including this podcast :)

To find out more about One Love Community Fridge go to www.onelovecommunityfridge.org or onelovecommunityfridge on Instagram

Bringing a Unique Flavor of Entrepreneurialism:

Clara is an entrepreneur and founder of Unite Food, the world’s first globally inspired protein bar brand. With a mission to bring unique flavors from around the world to your pantry, Unite Food celebrates global tastes and wholesome nutrition.

Before starting Unite Food, she spent 17 years as the Managing Director of EZ-FLO International, developing expertise in marketing, operations, and leadership. She is also the founder of (included), a non-profit supporting founders in CPG, a mentor at SKU, a leading CPG accelerator, and an active member of NextUp and YPO.

This conversation included:

• How the immigrant experience inspired her founder story

• The white space and creation of Unite Foods

• The entrepreneurial mindset

• The importance of mission and impact

• Insights and advice for entrepreneurs

• Cultivating a growth mindset and manifestation

Clara was professionally jealous of female food founders like Lara Merriken of Lara Bars and Stacy Madison of Stacy's Pita Chips who have had successful exits, and others who are still scaling like Gail Becker of Caulipower and Anouck Gotlib of Belgian Boys.

Check out https://unitefood.com/

www.professionaljealousy.com

Creating a brand world of desire:

Jennifer Zuccarini is a fashion designer and entrepreneur, known for her work in the lingerie space. She co-founded Kiki de Montparnasse, the first luxury brand surrounding intimacy in 2005, and went on to found the premium lingerie, ready-to-wear and swim brand Fleur du Mal in 2012.

Jennifer’s ambition is to change the way women approach lingerie, understanding the power and emotion that it holds. Feminine, chic, and slightly subversive, the Fleur du Mal brand explores the notion of desire and artful provocation, while maintaining style and wearability. Zuccarini's designs have been featured in top fashion publications around the world, and her brand has been worn by everyone from Rihanna to Gigi Hadid.

This conversation includes:

• Finding a passion for fashion design from a young age

• Co-founding her first brand, Kiki de Montparnasse

• Creating an evocative brand world of desire

• What she learnt at her time at Victoria Secret

• Founding Fleur du Mal on her own terms

• Advice and insights for entrepreneurs

Jennifer is professionally jealous of Jacquemus for establishing itself so quickly and gaining industry support; similarly impressed by Skims for their massive scale and then Liquid Death for just being Liquid Death!

Check out https://fleurdumal.com/