Rootstrap Radio

Ben sits down with Jeff "The 420 Chef" Danzer to talk about how he went from experimenting in his home kitchen to becoming the preeminent cannabis chef in the world. We also hear about his two game-changing inventions, odorless marijuana and edible cannabis-infused spices that you can sprinkle straight onto your meal. Suffice it to say, a crazy episode with a truly fascinating man!

This week, Ben Lee sits down with entrepreneur and serial disrupter, George Arison. They talk about George’s first venture, Taxi Magic, and why Uber ended up on top in most ride-hailing markets around the role. They also dive into George’s latest startup and discuss how Shift is betting on UX to disrupt the car buying process.

In this episode of Rootstrap Radio, Ben Lee sits down with marketing expert, founder, angel investor and UCLA student, Ivan Todorff. They discuss what digital marketing services looked like in the early 90s, the importance of building a diversified client portfolio, and how it felt to sell his agency to an advertising giant.

In this episode of Rootstrap Radio, Ben Lee interviews a very special guest. Many of you have been asking about the origins of Rootstrap and Neon Roots, so here it is! Drew Harding and Ben started Neon Roots 10 years ago when they were working at Citrusbyte together. Today, they chat about Drew’s agricultural business, how it steered him into the cryptocurrency space, and a healthy dose of conspiracy theories.

In this episode of Rootstrap Radio, Ben Lee sits down with Alexandra Zatarain to chat about how she and her husband ended up starting Eight Sleep, why most founders end up in the wrong role and the dangers of attaching your personal brand to your company’s brand.

This week I sat down with Katie Loeb, the badass in charge of innovation at Loeb.nyc. We talked about how she's rebranded her firm as a venture collective, the wide array of verticals they're investing in (everything from lozenges that stop sugar cravings to anti-aging tech), and the parties at her legendary family home in the Hamptons.

In the first episode of Season 2, Ben interviews actress, influencer, and all-around badass Bianca Van Damme. They talk growing up all over the world, the weirdness of having a famous parent, and how she found her own path to martial arts.

This week I spoke to podcast host/producer Ari Andersen about how he started out in the podcasting world, why millennials don't suck, and how politics is seeping in to everything we do.

Seth Winterroth is a full stack technology investor and partner at Eclipse Ventures in Silicon Valley. We had a wide-ranging conversation, discussing everything from the misconceptions about artificial intelligence and the huge growth opportunities in machine learning to learning about some of his favorite health and fitness hacks and habits.

This week I spoke with entrepreneur Trevor Koverko about transitioning from the NHL to entrepreneurship, his adventures in VR, and how he's building new kinds of business in the crypto space.