Stairway to CEO

• What it was like growing up in Northern Virginia, choosing to be a vegetarian at eight years old, and having the urge to move away as soon as she graduated 
• How she always had a passion for making the world a better place
• How her time backpacking for a year has taught her a lot and how she uses that information for Bite 
• How she was traveling for work all the time and realized the amount of plastic from the toothpaste tubes and it sparked a need for change 
• How this need to make a different kind of toothpaste led her to take chemistry classes, research, and question dentists about the chemicals in toothpaste to eventually make toothpaste tablets
• The reasoning for the expansion of Bite, to mouthwash, whitening gel, deodorant, and body balm, that it all stems from products Linday sees a need for
• How one of their videos went viral on social media and really helped launch Bite, eventually leading to an offer to go on Shark Tank, and turning both offers down
• How despite being a completely bootstrap business, Bite has become one of the fastest-growing brands in America, snagging the number six spot on Inc. Magazines, Regional Fastest-Growing Companies List for 2022.
• Why she set’s aside time every Friday to talk with customers and gain feedback and understand what her consumers are thinking and saying
• How she faced the challenges during crazy growth when all of it was happening at once and the most important thing was to sustain the growth and keep pushing through
• What’s next for Bite, including continuing to expand into body care, and continuing to help change people's daily routines into something more sustainable

• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://bitetoothpastebits.com/

“I used to think that businesses weren't there to actually help people, they were there to make money. And I really didn't like that.”

“I wanted to really know how to do storytelling and how to puta tv show together.” 

“You can read all the stats all day, but they won't actually impact you on a visceral level unless you can actually see them in your head.”

“It's not eco friendly,  it's plastic ending up in our waste stream, and then gunk ending up in my body. So that was kind of the beginning of me wanting to make something different.”

“If we started from scratch, how would we make it? And so that's how we ended up with dry toothpaste tablets.”

“Our toothpaste tablets, you get the glass jar once, then you keep refilling it with our compostable refill pouches, and same with our deodorant.”

“I block out an hour every Friday and I talk to our customers, I set up calls and I get on the phone with them.”

“The most important superpower you can have, especially as a small brand, is talking to and understanding your customers.”

“Sometimes the right move is to see it play out and be patient.”

“You have to constantly be trying to get better”

“It's not about going from point A to point B, it's about just moving forward. So if point A to point B has a thousand steps in between, it takes you longer, but you're still on the right path. So I would say, in the beginning, especially just not getting discouraged and figuring out what you can do to keep you motivated.”

“There's never been a better time and there are so many resources at your disposal, whether it's podcasts like this, talking to people, getting on Facebook groups and your network. There's never been a more important time for real solutions, there are so many things that we can be innovating on.”

• His story of growing up in Miami and having to move to Boca Raton after Hurricane Andrew destroyed his childhood home when he was just 12 years old
• The decision to study Spanish and attend a liberal arts college
• How three of his buddies from Duke decided to start a college incubator, creating  a place for hopeful entrepreneurs
• How he landed in investment banking, staying in the field for 20 years, and the fundamental things he learned
• The key things he believes make a great entrepreneur
• The energy he felt from attending Expo West, and how it inspired him to start a snack brand
• Why he chose to do a snack brand, as he's always loved the snack industry and choosing dried fruit because he noticed the white space for dried fruit
• How his great-grandma inspired him to be an entrepreneur and helped shift his perspective on being interested in healthy foods
• How RIND has managed to become available in over 3000 retail stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Wegman's, and CVS.

• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://www.rindsnacks.com/

“I held a lot of different jobs so I could understand the value of work and that it is hard and it is, backbreaking sometimes. There's value in all sorts of work.”

“I didn't want to go into a conventional job or career because it felt like there were just too many exciting, shiny new things going on.”

“I wanted to create something out of nothing and create something that had impact and meaning.”

“When you’re learning, it doesn’t feel like work.”

“There is a curiosity that gnaws at most entrepreneurs, it's a thread that needs to be pulled when they encounter something that excites them or they've encountered a problem where there may be a better solution to it.”

“There is going to be resolve that is required to actually push through every single obstacle that is going to be against you. And by definition, you're doing something totally new and novel that hasn't been done before. There is no roadmap it's going to be brutal.

“You're an idea person until you take a first action step, and then you become an entrepreneur.”

“When fruits are growing in an orchard, the skin or the rind is the most nutrient potent part of the fruit because it's exposed to the elements and the environmental stress of the growing season, that it has the most antioxidants and flavonoids and fiber.” 

“Sometimes the safer decision is the riskier decision.”

“You have to share a vision with customers and stakeholders about a company that can stretch into multiple categories with a value proposition that works across all of those categories.”

“We are not a bag of peels, we're the whole fruit and a snackable slice of the whole fruit.”

• What it was like growing up with immigrant parents chasing the American dream, and moving to America to become founders themselves
• How he was given the nickname AP Cai in high school, for taking the most AP classes, although he wasn't thrilled with school
• His early signs of being an entrepreneur in high school, by starting two companies 
• Why he chose to take a leave of absence in college, to focus on his first startup, Fountain
• What he's learned from being a first-time founder, that finding what you’re excited about and having a team you’re motivated to be with, is the most important
• The failures he’s learned from and that being focused on one thing and building that first will make the overall vision stronger
• Where the idea for Italic came from, and why he believes the strategic moves they make are what helps Italic stand out
• Why Italic chose to begin with a membership, and how they’ve recently changed the prerequisites
• The decision to use price analysis for each individual product and include the top competitors 
• The reasoning behind the name Italic, how he chose it, and the six-figure price of buying italic.com 
• The journey to fundraising over $50 million from investors, and what tips he has for raising
• The three universal points he has for aspiring entrepreneurs

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://italic.com/

“My sister and I were kind of pressured to go in and do something great from a pretty early age. So for me, I  tried to manifest that in many ways.”

“I've always appreciated the idea of selling a physical product to someone and delivering a kind of value.”

“The most important thing you can possibly do is either find an idea that you're personally excited about or build a team that you're personally really motivated to be with. Ideally, it's the combination of both.”

“Focusing inherently means you are choosing to do one thing and you're choosing not to do another”

“Where the founder spends his time is where the gravity of the business is pulled towards.”

“Italic really came from that pool of the time to find the financing environment and I think most importantly, the idea of being exciting.”

“We really think of Italic as a flywheel, the more customers we have, the more leverage we have to bring on new manufacturers, the more manufacturers and the more leverage we have with them, the more products we can offer.”

“We want to offer the same quality and same kind of level design as these great brands, but at a much more value-driven price point.”

“If you're sharing an accurate picture of the company, it's up to the investor whether they decide to invest or not and do their diligence, it wasn't because you sold them a false narrative.”

“Playing the game in retail means you have to find some angle that uniquely differentiates yourself from the others.”

“When you're talking to investors they trust that you'll build a good company for them.”

“Whoever you bring into the organization is what the organization is going to become. When you're small, it's more important than ever that you're bringing in people who fit the cultural kind of value you set.”

“Make sure you are working on what is important because that doesn't really change, the heart of the business rarely changes. Of course, you'll hear an occasional success story, like slack or what have you, but more often than not, that doesn't change and it's important that you set the right north star.”

“Execution makes the strategy successful, not the strategy itself.”

• Her journey growing up in Los Angeles, with a passion for food, and her experience having an entrepreneurial parent
• How her French grandma is the inspiration behind French Squirrel, and the story behind how her mom bought the domain name for frenchsquirrel.com when she was 11 years old
• Her time working at Pressed Juicery in college, how she had to take her food handlers license and hated it, but it ended up being worth it for French Squirrel
• How she graduated from college early, unsure of what she wanted to do, so she landed a position as Brand Manager at Erewhon 
• How her boss at Erewhon encouraged her to start French Squirrel, and continued to push her to launch the brand
• How she balances both her full-time job at Erewhon and building her company
• The challenges of expanding French Squirrel and not having direct access to the company with distribution, but the good parts that come with it 
• Why she wants to continue bootstrapping the business and grow organically
• What’s next for the company and continuing expansion into retail and online 

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://frenchsquirrel.com/

“I look at every single grocery store product on the shelf and I think about what the stairway was to get there.”

“I would go as far to say that I could not have built French Squirrel to what it is today without being at Erewhon.” 

“I always knew I wanted to start my own business when I started my French Squirrel Instagram, but I didn't know what the product was.”

“I would make these protein bites, that I would bring to work as my work snack, and I would always eat them behind my computer at my desk around like three or four with my cappuccino.”

“When looking at the data, looking at the sales, people like when something looks homemade.”

“People like to see what they're eating and they want to know that it was made with love and made in a small batch, not on a machine.’

“Sometimes dates on their own can be a little freaky for some people. They don't like the texture or it's too sweet, but when you balance it out with the unsweetened chocolate and the nut butter and the salt, I think it makes it more appealing.”

“I was trying to satisfy my chocolate craving in the afternoon, but without the sugar.”

“There's not a day that goes by where there isn't something I have to fix or resolve.”

“I want the company to be successful and I know it will be successful, but I'm not planning on blowing up, I just want to take it slow.”

“Just start an actionable start, instead of talk, which is the talk is great, but who's actually doing?

Try it. And if it fails, but I don't even like the word fail, because if you learned from it, it's not a failure.”

“If you learned from it, it's not a failure.”

• His love for personality tests, specifically the Hogan Test
• His experience starting an X-Men Club in third grade, and shortly after having it shut down by the principal
• What it was like dropping out of college, and how he just knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, as well as the advice he has for those thinking of quitting college
• How he started a kombucha brand with a friend, and why he felt the draw to the beverage industry
• How at a young age he had the realization of life, and wanting to make his life the best it could be, despite the difficulties he faced
• Why he believes emotional intelligence and soft skills are really important when it comes to leadership, and how he's learned to manage his emotions
• What a recent brain scan said about how he processes information
• The challenges faced in the beginning phases of building Olipop, from design to a nationwide can shortage
• How he came up with the name Olipop and how it's not related at all to lollipop
• What advice he has for inspiring entrepreneurs, to stay true to your authentic self
• What’s next for Olipop, including big retail expansion and many more flavors

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://drinkolipop.com/

“I didn’t want to do the college thing and so I thought, I'm going to go be an entrepreneur.”

“I like to be constantly learning and growing and entrepreneurialism is exactly that.”

“You've got to get your nose bloodied a couple of times before you're able to realize how hard it is and keep holding out.”

“You have to find people who are actually motivated by the mission of your business.”

“Knowing what to look for, having the courage and self-respect to select the right partners across the range is absolutely foundationally crucial.”

“Part of your responsibility as the entrepreneur is to build something that is good enough, that people want to get involved.”

“The design architecture of Olipop is foundational to its success. It really helps to create that first impression and that first attraction for a lot of our customers.”

“There are times as an entrepreneur where even if you're not saying it perfectly, if there's something you have to fight for, then there's something you have to fight for.”

“Spend more time on your underlying concept.”

“If you're getting started, you're building a reputation for yourself, be pragmatic and be honest and build that trust. And even if it's not the right fit, exit this dynamic in a respectful way and build some of that up.”

“Have values and principles that you can articulate that you're willing to fight for, and that means something to you and that you considered. Simultaneously, be ready to morph and upgrade yourself in an authentic way as you go.”

“Build something that actually solves the human problem. Don't just build something because you want to go out and make a paycheck”

• What it was like growing up in a large family, moving from Uganda to Vancouver at just two years old, and getting to experience a vast array of cultures in her neighborhood
• How she was given the opportunity to get into acting while growing up, and how over time she realized she was in love with the business side of it 
• What it was like holding 16 different jobs in the span of 10 years, in different career fields from being an extra in films, working at Guess, and being a nightclub promoter 
• How spending a lot of lunch breaks searching the aisles of Whole Foods led to the idea of Mumgry
• How the goal for Mumgry is to cut out the salt and sugar so you can have a staple nut butter that can be added to any recipe 
• Why Lilian believes one of the most important things is to connect your product in front of others to gain feedback
• The experience of getting Mumgry in a Visa commercial with Dan Levy
• The challenges she's been facing in fundraising, being completely bootstrapped and self-funded
• What advice she has for entrepreneurs looking to build their brand without funding

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://www.mumgry.com/

“It gave me a thick skin at an early age.”

“When I was a kid, I was interested in business, but it never was something that I was exposed to through anyone in my life.”

“It was like all that acting skill. I took it into the workplace and I got every single job except for one job.”

“I became obsessed with the idea of going forward with Mumgry and just seeing what happens.”

“I wanted to be able to eat everything, but I also wanted to be able to know what was going to be good for me and what was going to be bad for me.”

“We want to remove the guesswork from snacking.”

“We don't want someone to have to worry about what they're about to indulge in.”

“For me it was, how do we have a nut butter that just gives you the nuts in a smoother form? How do we take away everything and bring back the smell of the peanuts into the jar.”

“We needed to make this pretty because people need to understand that this isn't going in the fridge, it sits on your countertop. We want people to be able to look at it and be reminded of it.”

“Connect your product with the people beyond your family and friends, because that's where you'll really get the most honest and true feedback.” 

“Because I kept hearing almond butters are so prestigious and so much better, I started to think about like luxurious nuts, and pistachios came to mind because pistachios are considered the  most opulent nut.”

“We became focused on small businesses and just putting our product in as many small businesses as possible.”

“Be consistent. If you say you want to do something, reach the finish line every time, don't stop halfway through.”

“You just have to play the part, you have to start playing the game any way that you can, and that's why I say start cheap. Don't start small, start cheap and then build it up.”

• What it was like growing up in Long Island and spending the summers in Greece, surrounded by family and growing into her Greek heritage
• What her mid-20s were like, interning at Estee Lauder, as well as traveling and working in London
• To attending Harvard University for her MBA, and why she pursued that direction so she could have the career switch into CPG companies
• Her experience starting her first business, Manicube, and what she learned from marketing, running PR, running the business, and what it was like getting acquired by Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas
• What qualities she believes to be important for people when building a consumer products brand
• How taking a deep dive to learn about extra virgin olive oil led her to create Kosterina, in the hopes to create a hero brand across different categories
• Why she’s expanding the brand into the beauty space
• The positive benefits Kosterina experienced with the pandemic, launching just two months prior to COVID-19 hitting the U.S.
• What she wished she had known about selling wholesale, and her experience launching in Whole Foods
• What’s next for Kosterina including a deeper dive into the beauty space and launching more food products

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://www.kosterina.com/

“I fell in love with that autonomy that you get in a small environment when a company is in its earlier stage”

“I started to think about starting my own business. I had this idea that was interesting and I wanted to pursue it.”

“If you’re thinking about taking roles at early-stage companies or venturing out on your own, honestly there's nothing better from a learning perspective than being at a small company because you really just do and learn so much.”

“Authenticity and being mission-driven really, really helps when building a consumer products brand”

“If you do have a team that is mission-driven, they're willing to come along for the ride, even though everything might not line up perfectly for them”

“It's easier to inspire a team when you really believe in the mission of the company and what you're building.”

“Olive oil has very potent antioxidant benefits for skin and hydration benefits.”

“Get it out into the market and get some feedback because it's when you get it into consumer's hands and you're getting that sort of feedback loop that you can really begin to build a business on a product that people love”

“Fundraising can be so demoralizing as an entrepreneur.”

“What I want to build is a wellness platform with extra virgin olive oil at the core.”

“Expanding too quickly can be detrimental”

“There's a lot there that just really gives you sort of the drive and the passion to build and work hard for what you want to create.”

“Loving entrepreneurship is a blessing and a curse.”

• What it was like growing up in Ottawa, Canada, and what it was like for him growing up through his parent's divorce, finding compassion in the situation
• His early jobs as a hockey trainer, working as a cashier, and the leadership opportunities he was given
• What it was like working for SC Johnson, working with brands like Draino and Shout
• What he's learned in marketing and sales, is how it's all about the emotional connection, shared values, and connecting the two for everyone
• What it was like working as CEO for the first time at Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, and what he learned from moving on from the role of not being the best for the company's new transition
• The journey to becoming CEO at Nuun, what it's like working there, how amazing the culture is, and what its been like being acquired by Nestle
• What advice he has for aspiring leaders, creating a strong team, and how being a CEO is about knowing all and being the expert of nothing

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://nuunlife.com/

“My dad was the guy that would try to lift his team up and energize them and keep them going, and I think somehow I inherited that.”

“It’s a small world, and you never know what's going to happen.”

“Anyone can be passionate about anything.”

“You really do need to help people understand what the benefit is, what the value you're bringing is, and we should all work on that.”

“You can only connect the dots in life by looking backwards.”

“Passion for what you have has to instill across everybody.”

“It was a chance to lead a team. And that's the common thread through childhood to today that I realized I get my energy from, from sports teams to today is all about teams.”

“Finding that flow and where you're really good at is a lot of repetition and to keep trying.”

“This is the most magnetic energy of a culture I have ever experienced in my career. I absolutely can't tell you how proud I am of this team.”

“Fix the fundamentals before you try and do other things.”

“I don't think you have to compromise on what you put in your body. You can have natural clean ingredients to give you the best performance.”

“Once you're there, you've gotta be thinking what's my next evolution to make it better and stronger. Then of course you want to figure out how to extract that value.”

“All of us can do almost anything to be clear. It doesn't mean we're all going to be great at anything.”

“​​If there's one thing that people need to take away, the fundamental thing that the best leaders have in businesses and sports teams for that matter is helping people feel valued, like ‘I want to matter.”

“It’s always about the we, versus the I.”

“You need to care a lot and you need to dig in and you need to spend the time.”

“It's harder than it looks. It can be an absolute grind. So you need to believe with conviction in what you're doing. You need to be flexible and adaptable as you get new information. So it's going to shift what you thought was this line to get to a certain point is not going to be the pattern. It's going to be something completely different, but that's okay. You believe in your idea and you've got to be ready for the grind. And you've got to find joy in that.”

“CEO is the knower of all, the expert of nothing.”

• What it was like growing up in New Jersey with family working in the toy industry, having the influence of entrepreneurial parents
• The life lessons learned from being a lifeguard and swim instructor at a young age 
• What he learned from his 13 years spent in advertising, is that products can become very meaningful not only to consumers but to creators 
• How a one way trip to Tokyo with his now wife and Co-Founder Natalie, led to the idea of Bala
• How after a workout class in Indonesia, the idea for Bala was sparked by a napkin drawing
• The insecurities faced in running with the idea of Bala, that it was a redesign of a product no longer used
• The fears they faced of being told no, not being believed in, and the fears of putting their idea on Kickstarter
• The year-long process of finalizing the product and getting it to be everything they needed it to be
• How they landed on Shark Tank, and how their episode airing two weeks before COVID hit helped skyrocket Bala
• The advice Max has for founders wanting to go on Shark Tank, and how it’s been after the fact
• How leaning into product innovation, and not just focusing on bangles has grown Bala further
• What it's like working with a spouse, raising a family, and building a company
• What’s next for Bala from product innovation, more content, and partnerships

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

https://www.shopbala.com/

“I'll admit that I don't think I've ever really known what I want to be when I grow up. I say it in the present tense because I think there's still a lot of life to live.”

“We noticed there had been a redesign of the adjacencies in this category, but not of the products folks are actually working out with, so we started sketching Bala on a napkin.”

“The challenge became, how do we start to bring this thing off the page? Early days it was just an incredibly iterative process.”

“Early insecurity was will people care? It is admittedly a redesign of a product no longer used to the same degree they once were.”

“We took a year to continue to develop the product and get to the perfect velcro closure that allowed folks to throw them on and off really simply.”

“We never thought about it as an at-home fitness product.”

“Like any pitch, focus and singularity around what your product or service is and why it's of interest, not just to your target audience, but the Shark Tank audience as well.”

“We wanted to make a deal, but we didn't want to make a deal that would really be a disservice to what it is we were trying to build at the time.”

“It really is this kind of intersection between fashion and fitness that didn't otherwise exist”

“We realized that making meaningful, functional improvements to the product, but also making them more beautiful would make for a more elevated experience for working out.”

“Baby steps are still steps. And as long as you're taking them, you're moving forward.”

• What it was like growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona as the youngest of five children, constantly craving a job, and finally landing a job at a toy store at the age of 14
• The takeaways she learned in her experience at TIME, CNN, and AOL, that its important to do the little things that people will remember
• Why it's important to be kind and helpful to everyone because you never know where they’re going to end up 
• How it can sometimes be luck that gets you to where you are, but most of the time its persistence
• How after drinking 10-12 diet sodas every day, she came to the realization of how bad they were and gave her the idea to look into alternatives
• The challenges entrepreneurs face in building a business from zero
• Why she believes every founder should have their own personal attorney
• The importance of choosing the right investors, and how to filter for the right ones
• The advice Kara has for inspiring entrepreneurs or those that have an idea but don’t want to be a founder

• Get a 30 day free trial with Rewind HERE
• Use the promo code STAIRWAY200 for $200 off Outer furniture by shopping HERE‍
• Get 2 months FREE with Gorgias by clicking HERE and mentioning the podcast

http://www.drinkhint.com/

“​​All of a sudden I'm going to these toy fairs and understanding margins and understanding less is more and critical things. I would go back into the classroom and I was so bored in the classroom versus what I was learning in these situations.”

“As you're building, you're really focusing on those things that are a little bit hard for you.”

“Years later, I still tell new recruits at Hint that the number one thing they need to do is make sure their boss and their team are successful. I run into so many people who make the mistake of worrying about how they look and concentrating on their own feelings, to the extent that they don't appreciate what's going on around them, focusing outward on those who depend on you and the rest of the team makes you a valuable person, gets you more responsibility and ultimately gives you a chance to not just look like, but also be a superstar.”

“If you walk into a situation and maybe you feel like ‘this isn't my place like my people aren't here or whatever.’ You rise above it and you be who you are supposed to be. You be yourself.”

“There's going to be luck, but there's also this persistence that plays in”

“I was shocked when I saw that nothing like Hint was on the shelf at the store.”

“I've had a lot of good stuff happen, I've had some not so good. And you know, that's life, right? That's how you learn, that's how you make mistakes, and how you get better.”

“Understand what you really enjoy.”

“Having a different lawyer who is actually looking out for you really key.”

“The key thing is to enjoy what you're doing and do something that you think has purpose.”

“Too many people are focused on making a buck and flipping a company quickly. If you actually lead with a concept, a company that is actually going to solve a problem, that you think will actually change people in some way for the better, then the money will come. And I think just always be thinking that. If that's what your purpose is in starting a company, that's the right purpose.”