Stairway to CEO

Lisa Odenweller joins the show today to chat about her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Kroma Wellness, a premium functional health and superfood company on a mission to simplify nutritional wellbeing. In this episode, Lisa shares with us her journey from growing up in Colorado, to working at Nestle right out of college, to working in the software industry, to starting an interior design business, which led to some soul searching and discovering her true passion for health and wellness. We talk about her struggle to allow others to support and show up for her, overcoming negative self-talk, and how she raised over $5.5 million from investors like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Seinfeld, and Amy Schumer. 

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• (1:08) More about Kroma Wellness, a nutrient-rich delicious product, and effortless programs such as the one and five-day resets Kroma helps you form healthier habits, generating real results from the inside.
• (2:40) What it was like growing up in Colorado as a military brat with divorced parents, where she learned how to be independent, starting at a very young age
• (11:45) What her college experience was like doing Semester at Sea, some of her first jobs post-grad, and how she ended up working at Nestle in the Food Service Division, based in the Bay Area, to moving to the software industry
• (25:00) How she took a year off from working to learn about herself and what she wanted to do
• (28:00) How going to entrepreneurial classes inspired her to start her first wellness company, Beaming, but with being an early leader and entrepreneur, she decided to exit
• (41:57) The advice she has for those who feel like they’re at the end of their entrepreneurship journey and how to keep going forward
• (48:30) Some of the challenges she learned in fundraising for Kroma, taking what she learned from Beaming
• (1:06:00) The final advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs and what’s next for Kroma

https://kromawellness.com/

“I think a lot of my entrepreneurial side came from being in the car with my dad listening to him on phone calls.”

“The only person you can count on is you.”

“You have to allow other people to show up for you.”

“At any moment in our life, when things don't turn out as we hope, those are the opportunities to learn and grow.”

“I had this inner anxiety of always kind of knowing I was supposed to have a bigger impact in the world.”

“I think often when we stop forcing and we stop doing, when we’re in the silence is when you get the biggest clarity in life.”

“By losing a brand that I loved so much, it became my greatest teacher and it also helped me become the leader that I am today.”

“So it's very much designed for people to really listen to their bodies and become more in touch.”

“What we’re more interested in is what happens afterward, because I think that's where real transformation happens”

“You have to be willing to risk it all, and you have to be willing to have the confidence in yourself that you are the person to bring your idea to life and have a conviction so strong that nothing's gonna stop you.”

Joining the show today is Paul Voge, Co-Founder and CEO of Aura Bora, making sparkling water a better-tasting experience. In this episode, Paul shares his story from growing up as the youngest of five, to selling vintage t-shirts in college, to quitting his job to focus full time on building Aura Bora in 2019. He talks about how he dropped off some cans to a buyer of Whole Foods at their corporate office desk, the differences between selling to different grocers, how he's had to change his pitch, and how they came up with the name Aura Bora. 

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• (1:07) How Aura Bora makes sparkling water from herbs, fruits, and flowers using unique ingredients, like basil, cactus, and lavender for a better tasting experience all while donating 1% of annual revenue to environmental causes.
• (2:35) What it was like growing up in a small town outside of New York, being the youngest of five children
• (5:25) Some of his early jobs from selling vintage T-shirts, to starting a Christmas tree farm, and working for a venture studio. All of this led him to fall in love with sparkling water
• (14:00) Why they decided to not go down the selling flavor route but to instead stick to making premium water in cans
• (17:00) How he decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship in 2019 and sold the first can of Aura Bora in the fall
• (21:40) How he dropped off some cans to a buyer of Whole Foods at their corporate office desk, which led to being on the shelves just a few months later
• (33:00) How they came up with the name Aura Bora out of 311 names on their list
• (37:00) The perks and some challenges of working with his wife and running the business together, and how they manage situations with their team
• (40:00) How one of the biggest learning experiences he’s had is that there are no shortcuts
• (45:00) The experience of going on Shark Tank, and what it's like having Robert as an investor
• (50:00) The final advice he has for inspiring entrepreneurs, and what’s next for Aura Bora, with new flavors launching every other month. 

https://aurabora.com/

“I loved the idea of trading and making something out of nothing.”

“The most popular item in this pantry is LaCroix sparkling water, and it's probably the least interesting as in we're all drinking it, but no one's enjoying it.”

“It felt weird that there wasn't a craft version of flavored sparkling water.”

“We thought about what if we could make a much better product and as a result, be able to brand it and sell it as a differentiated, more premium offering.”

“Uniquely in CPG, I think you probably have to take the leap earlier than you would like to.”

“Being persistent but also patient is key”

“The beginning of it really was if we could make something memorable.”

“We have had to be deliberate and transparent with every single person we've hired.”

“There is truly no shortcut to this. You just get bigger one account at a time.”

“​Do yourself a favor and pick a hundred stores that are very similar and get really good at selling the product in those stores. And then from there you can rinse and repeat in other channels once you grow.”

“I have felt like Shark Tank has opened us up to actually most of the country, middle of the country, all four time zones, high income, low income, old, young, et cetera.”

“Sometimes it just feels like this is either so close to impossible that we should just call it impossible, or I must be doing it wrong.”

“Learn as much as possible before you need to commit to something.”

“It's really tempting to your point, quit your job, start selling the product, etc, but you’re really well served by learning way more than you might need.”

Today, Lee is joined by Jennifer Zeszut, Co-founder and CEO of GOODLES. Reimagining everyone's beloved mac and cheese, GOODLES is reinventing the prepared pasta aisle, making macaroni nutrient-dense, protein-packed, and tasting as good as it feels to eat. In this episode, Jen shares with us her journey from growing up in the Bay Area, to becoming a buyer at Cost Plus World Market, to being offered $3M to start her first company Scout Labs, to becoming CEO of Cerebelly, to starting GOODLES in November 2020. She talks about a few lucky breaks she's encountered throughout her career journey, her experience with a very shady investor, her views on leadership, and why the way you do work matters.

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• (1:18) GOODLES is founded by an all-star team, including Jen Zeszut, the former CEO of Cerebelly, Deb Luster, the former Co-founder and President of Annie's, Paul Earle, a branding expert, and a former brand manager at Kraft, and Gal Gadot, an award-winning actress known for playing Wonder Woman.
• (4:24) What it was like growing up in the Bay Area with a small family and how she became an assistant to CEOs at the age of 14.
• (12:09) How after graduating from college she became a gourmet foods buyer at Cost Plus World Market, to then being offered $3M to start her first company, Scout Labs. 
• (24:00) What she learned about herself as a leader, CEO, and how she carries that into her day-to-day life at GOODLES.
• (32:00) Why she feels it's important for everyone to have joy when coming into work every day, and how if you don’t, maybe it's time to move on.
• (44:45) Why she believes branding is based on the details, and how they created a fun phone tree…give it a try at 707-GOODLES.
• (46:44) Why she decided to add a fourth skew right before launch.
• (52:00) The advice she has for those not sure where to start, and how to keep going with joy.

https://www.goodles.com/

“I didn't think about entrepreneurship for a really long time, but I was always a leader.”

“I always told my mom that ‘I was the leader of the ones who don't’”

“I learned that the day in and day out of running the operations of a restaurant was kind of boring.”

“It was like CEO training wheels, if the wheels fell off, at least I tried and learned.”

“I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur and here I am four companies later.”

“I love the idea of just mobilizing all the forces to go after something.”

“What I learned is to be able to keep this alive and keep it all going, and somehow persist through really hard times, was an incredible realization of just how much strength that you can bring to a situation.”

“It's all about the comradery of this family that you create when you start a company and the bonds between one another.”

“I just wanna show the world that the way that you do work matters and the bonds that you create with your team, you can do and you can work miracles with that.”

“If it feels wrong and if I'm not happy and I don't have joy coming into work every single day, that's actually the wrong thing. It should change. It's not that I have to work harder, it's that it may not be the best fit.” 

“Being a CEO for hire is definitely a different thing because your job is to execute the wishes of the founders.”

“You set the tone and you set the culture.”

“We were looking for something that was fun and joyful and mac and cheese is kind of universal.”

“It's such a great conduit for this idea of putting little gooders out into the world and to make, be, and do gooder.”

“Brands are based on the details.”

“If we're not doing things that don’t get an ‘oh no you did not’ out of it then we're not hitting the mark.”

“I was less playing to win and more playing not to lose.”

“Stop being scared, be yourself and just shine your joy and your voice, it just gets better and better.” 

“You never know what is the ultimate thing you need, or if you're not sure what the big idea is, just go start doing some stuff and tune in to what parts you love and what parts bring you joy and the parts that you don't wanna replicate, you’ll find it.”

Kailey Donewald joins the show today to share her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Sacred Serve, a vegan, gluten-free, plant-powered line of gelato. In this episode, Kailey shares with us her journey from growing up playing sports and the oboe, to working as a real estate consultant for Deloitte, to taking a sabbatical to India and Bali. We talk about the omnipresent pressure she feels as an entrepreneur, how she started the company with a broken soft serve machine, and the mental challenges she's had to overcome as a solo female founder.

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• (1:17) Sacred Serve is bringing function into the frozen aisle by using a base of organic young coconut meat, combined with superfoods, adaptogens, and medicinal mushrooms.
• (3:10) What it was like growing up in Chicago playing sports and different instruments
• (8:20) How she graduated college and worked at Deloitte, then took a sabbatical to India which led to her passion for holistic nutrition and inspired her to create Sacred Serve. 
• (13:40) How changing her diet while in India made her realize a change in her asthma and allergies
• (22:20) How she discovered young coconut meat which is the hero ingredient for Sacred Serve
• (30:30) Her go-to-market strategy, and the challenges faced in getting into Whole Foods
• (32:00) Her experience getting to be part of the Good Food Accelerator program
• (42:00) What’s next for Sacred Serve from new flavors, new products, and a packaging change 

https://www.sacredserve.com/

“One of the biggest roadblocks to changing careers in becoming an entrepreneur was actually the perception that I felt other people had of me.”

“I think it comes down to the microbiome in the gut.”

“The juice fast break just mentally and physically was such a recharge for me.”

“I'm always just the most interested in how we feel as humans how our food is making us feel, and really listening and tuning into our bodies to understand”

“With this high price point, we needed to make sure that every touchpoint was elevated.”

“I became extremely comfortable with the story, storytelling is the biggest thing in talking about the traction of the brand.”

“When you’re dealing with these category buyers, it's important to get someone on your team that has those relationships.”

“It is incredibly challenging and the early days take all of you.”

“One of the biggest things I've learned through this journey is that if you're not careful you can really get lost in working a ton and giving up a ton.”

“When you're dedicating a lot to this, it can't just be for money, it can't just be for clout, you really have to be dedicated and want something big to happen and make a difference from this.”

“In starting a company, it's gonna take three to four years before you're gonna actually be doing the things you wanna be doing.”

Joining the show today is the CEO of Highkey, Joe Ens. On a mission to drive sugar out of snacks and remove over 10 million pounds of sugar from the American diet by 2025, Highkey is the fastest-growing better-for-you cookie brand in the US. In this episode, Joe shares his journey from growing up in Toronto, to working at General Mills for over 20 years,  to meeting the founders of Highkey. He talks about his experiences leading a Fortune 200 company, how to build trust with your team, why he uses the big plus one hiring strategy, and the difference between a growth versus a fixed mindset.

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• (2:50) What it was like growing up in the suburbs of Toronto, never wondering why his parents divorced, but feeling like he was living the best of both worlds
• (4:50) How he was given the opportunity to join General Mills right out of college and worked there for over 20 years in several different roles and cities
• (5:30) Why he wanted to leave General Mills to see how small of a company he could be part of and eventually start a wildfire
• (12:00) Why he believes in the difference between a growth versus a fixed mindset
• (15:11) The big plus one strategy and why he started to use it in his hiring methods and what the pricing hierarchy is
• (18:00) How he met the founders of Highkey and became CEO just nine months after launch
• (21:00) The different personalities Joe believes make the startup gusto mindset, versus the operators get it done methods
• (26:00) The key traits he believes are beneficial for successful CEOs
• (31:00) How they got to partner up with Ryan Reynolds, and how he became one of the primary investors
• (45:00) How writing in a word doc everything he’s learned and inspirational quotes that stood out to him throughout his career has helped him in his position with Highkey
• (49:00) Why he believes being an entrepreneur is being like JayZ and not Justin Timberlake

​​https://highkey.com/

“I always say I got the best of each of them. I have my mom's heart and my dad's head.”

“I realized that the skill set to progress to the most senior ranks in a Fortune 200 business becomes less about running and building the business and more around managing and building.”

“I wanted to test myself. I wanted to bet on myself a little bit and see, could I build something from close to scratch.”

“I wanted to see if I had the leadership muscle to take a spark and turn it into a wildfire.”

“Failure really is progress.”

“The founder can sometimes be a squirrel hunter because they're just constantly trying to ignite sparks. The operator is a little bit more hunting with a scope.”

“It's a movement, but for us, it's not political.”

“In the startup world, there's no hiding both as the leader, but also, in your ability to make individuals better because there aren't that many to raise the whole boat.”

“Being deliberate in making a connection with people, both their head and their heart is key.”

“You have to be comfortable that you're not gonna get it right every day. In fact, you're gonna get it wrong a lot. One of our core values is make mistakes, learn, move on. And the ability to move on, I think is key.”

“Bet on yourself. And if it makes you really uncomfortable, cover the downside, but still place the bet. And then, you know, your risk tolerance will determine,  what cover the downside looks like.”

Today, Lee is joined by Sofia Laurell, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Tiny Organics, an early childhood nutrition and wellness company that introduces babies and toddlers to their first 100 flavors through organic plant-based fresh, frozen meals. In this episode, Sofia shares her journey from growing up in Finland, to working at Deutsche Bank in New York and pursuing her master's degree at NYU, to becoming an entrepreneur in residence at Human Ventures Startup Studio. They talk about how they validated the concept for Tiny Organics, Sofia’s nontraditional path to becoming an entrepreneur, and the challenges she faced in scaling the business.

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• (4:12) What it was like growing up in Finland as the youngest of three siblings
• (7:50) Her career journey before becoming an entrepreneur from working at a retail store to a coffee shop and why she’s always valued hard work
• (14:00) Her first entrepreneurial idea of starting a travel app geared to New York visitors
• (20:00) How she and her Co-Founder came together for the idea of Tiny Organics
• (22:00) Her experience working with Human Ventures and why she valued working with them for their diverse stances
• (26:00) How they did a food journal with 15 moms and asked them to text what they were feeding their babies
• (28:00) How they validated the concept for Tiny Organics by testing meal flavors with 100 families in Brooklyn
• (34:00) The idea behind baby-led weaning and their choice to take a different option than what you see on the market
• (40:00) The challenges faced in scaling the business, and the obstacles in raising funds
• (50:50) Her final advice for fellow entrepreneurs, and the next steps for growing and scaling Tiny Organics

https://www.tinyorganics.com/

“It's a myth that baby food can't be interesting flavors.”

“Some of the best things happen at rooftop parties.”

“We knew that we wanted to build something for parents, families, and babies, and really bring the important discussion to the forefront around family's health.”

“We came together and realized we could have the biggest impact on childhood development through food.”

“Document as much as you can, because you forget.”

“I’m a big believer in incentivizing your early supporters and early believers.”

“It’s made fresh, and shipped frozen so the shelf life is much longer and there's no prep required.”

“We really wanna just be a trusted friend and a  trusted advocate.”

“Ultimately what we want to do is make parent’s lives easier, make children's lives healthier, and be accessible.”

“Have people around you, you don’t have to do it all yourself.”

“Talk about your idea, wear crazy costumes, believe in yourself, build your networks. A lot of people have openness to new ideas, and this kind of mindset of encouraging different people on their journeys.”

Laura Xiao is joining Lee on the show today to chat about her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Henné Organics, a luxury beauty brand that combines highly effective, clean, organic formulas with nordic design so you can experience healthy radiant skin without sacrificing aesthetics or high-quality standards. Laura shares her story from growing up in Kansas City, with dreams of becoming a reporter, to teaching herself web design and branding, and eventually launching Henné in 2015. She talks about what she does to overcome feelings of defeat and rejection, how she found success by launching in hundreds of independent retailers, and how to deal with family and friends who might have good intentions but sometimes let their own fears get in the way. 

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• (4:30) What it was like growing up in Kansas City, playing competitive table tennis, and later attending the University of Missouri 
• (7:40) What it was like missing out on experiences growing up due to playing a competitive sport
• (14:00) How after college she moved to Sweden to be with her boyfriend (now husband) and they both decided they wanted a change and moved to 
• (21:10) Why she chose the beauty industry and the idea behind Henné
• (29:45) The biggest challenges she had to face in starting Henné, and how the fear of friends and family can be hard to overcome
• (48:00) The thought process behind independent retailers, and how she launched in hundreds of different retailers 
• (51:00) The advice she has for those who feel defeated at times, and the key things she does for herself
• (57:00) The advice she has for those wanting to start something, that planning is great but executing and making progress is the most important

https://henneorganics.com/

“Getting rejected from jobs made me realize that I needed to acquire some new skills in order to be able to make a living.”

“I was noticing in other countries, that even at pharmacies, they were having more natural products. Not fantastic, but at that time way ahead of the States.”

“I bought some organic lip balms and they worked fine, but they didn't work great. And the design lacked, it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing at all.”

“Every path you take has its different barriers, difficulties, or challenges.”

“Sometimes family members, friends, loved ones…sometimes they're wrong.”

“You can always play the victim card, but it’s not going to get you very far in life.”

“What you focus on only expands.”

“I wasn't emailing every store that exists. I started researching what I thought would fit, and started looking through the data and what would fit with Henné.”

“No does not mean never, it just means not yet.”

“Sometimes it's almost easier to solve an issue or tackle it when you've not been thinking about it for a while.”

“Sometimes it's good to start just taking action because maybe you have an idea in your head and you don't know which one to start with. Start testing them out. Take it day by day, try out a few ideas, do some research, make some phone calls, send some emails, and you'll be surprised how quickly you'll figure out which ones to cancel out.”

• (3:00) What it was like growing up in San Antonio, Texas, having a curious mind, and aspirations to become a vet
• (6:20) How he got super into stocks at a young age and learned how to take risks
• (9:30) How he got into competitive horse riding and even switched schooling methods, ended up becoming Valedictorian of his class, chose MIT for college, and chose to be an engineer
• (17:30) How the idea for his first tech company, Tech Trader came to be at the age of 25
• (19:00) The challenges faced in leading his first company, which failed and led him to start his next venture Yellow Jacket
• (26:00) How he took the step and faced the challenges head-on with this second company, to then later launch his film financing company
• (33:00) How he met his Co-Founder, Zooey Deschanel, and what prompted the idea for organic foods
• (37:00) When the idea for Lettuce Grow finally came to be, and the realization of the lack of fresh produce
• (48:00) What he’s learned about building a brand, the advice he has for others, and what he's learned in being a leader
• (58:00) What’s next for Lettuce Grow, including helping consumers within this lifestyle journey, and continuing to make it more environmentally friendly

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https://www.lettucegrow.com/

“I had the innocence which allowed me to do the crazy trading and to start the company because I had this optimism and I was naive.”

“As an entrepreneur, it's hard to be as successful when you're not  totally gung ho.”

“I didn't see them as stealing our ideas, or as like potential competitors, I really saw them as a way to build relationships.”

“I started to look at things a lot differently as a, you know, as a future dad and looking at the food that she was eating, the food that we were eating and just saw chemicals and everything.

“I thought about how organic farming is really inaccessible to most people, and why it cost so much,  so I got so focused on that.”

“Our problems in this country don't have to do with the growing of the food they have to do with getting the food from the farm to the people.”

“I realized if we could take that waste out of the equation, then we could cut the price of fresh food in half.”

“I knew this thing has to be beautiful, it has to be super easy to use, people need to be proud of having it in their living room or on their patio.”

“Never think things are over, there's always a way.”

“If you wanna go fast, go alone. But if you wanna go far go together.”

“Follow the bread crumbs of your passion.”

“You've gotta find that passion and that conviction, it's almost like in another universe this already exists and you can see through that universe and this belief and just go all-in.”

• (2:30) What it was like growing up in Portland, Oregon with two younger siblings and having family in aviation
• (8:30) How she followed the dream of being a matchmaker to cold calling for internships, and the go-to questions she asks to match someone
• (14:30) How she landed her dream job and became a matchmaker at Three Day Rule 

and later became Chief Dating Expert at Match.com 

• (25:00) How she learned of IBS after diagnosis and approached doctors for an honest answer, that more and more of the population is suffering from gut issues
• (26:30) How a survey to 500 people unlocked the realization that the majority of people she surveyed suffer from IBS in silence
• (28:00) How her husband spent five months trying to perfect the perfect chocolate chip cookie that followed the Low FODMAP diet
• (30:50) The three goals they set for BelliWelli to get out of their home kitchen turned business
• (44:45) Why she’s strangely obsessed with customer feedback and experience, and why she views it as building a company along with thousands of new friends
• (49:30) What inspired her to get a billboard with their slogan, “Hot Girls Have IBS” and how the trademark slogan began to blow up
• (1:00) What’s next for BelliWelli and the advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs

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https://belliwelli.com/

“There's something humbling about going from startup back to corporate”

“I was a yes person, right? I was the person who said, let me go to LA for a summer and intern for a professional matchmaker, and here I was saying no to opportunities due to stomach issues”

“I was scared that everything I was going to do or eat was going to hurt my stomach.”

‘I was shocked by the number of celebrities or wellness gurus who could relate to stomach issues”

“I logged in to Facebook and joined a couple of groups, and like a week later, these groups had four times as many members.”

“One thing was sure there was no magic pill, and the really sad thing about gut issues is there's really no fix.”

“We launched a really scrappy site, called it IB Simple and we woke up to hundreds of orders, and so three months in, we were doing $10,000 in sales from our home kitchen.”

“I kept thinking it's not possible to do what I want to do at the same time. I think every woman thinks that at some point.”

“I didn't understand the complexity of getting a product into consumers' hands.”

“Our mission was to be low-FODMAP gluten-free and vegan, and that we've got to stay laser-focused there.”

“​​I kind of view this as building a company alongside thousands of new friends.”

“We want it to be a community that is in it with you, I'm in this with you, I speak your language. Let's all stick together in this.”

“We have every intention and plan of meeting every person at seven or eight points in their day at some point. So this will expand beyond bars.”

“It's more important to build a smart business than to just have an epic, awesome story.”

“The barrier to entry is less than you think.”

“I'm a huge believer in if you want to do it, you definitely can do it. It doesn't mean everyone should sign up to go be an entrepreneur or a founder, because I think the struggle is real, but you can get started if you want to get started.”

• (3:40) Her life growing up in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and what it was like working at the Hershey Chocolate Factory 
• (11:30) How connecting the dots from things she's interested in, to things she has to do but lacks interest in has helped her in her CEO journey
• (12:20) What her time working at J.Crew was like, and what she learned directly from the CEO
• (19:54) How she got connected to the Founder of Bonobos and got to pitch him her idea for AYR
• (28:52) What she learned in launching a brand, and the advice she has for others 
• (38:47) Why she chose to take AYR into retail, knowing that it would be a great place for customers to connect with the brand 
• (40:10) Some of the biggest challenges she faced in running out of cash, and how she had to adjust her mindset from employee to business owner.
• (57:42) The advice she has for those aspiring to become entrepreneurs, that you should talk yourself out of it until you no longer can

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https://www.ayr.com/

“You learn things as you have to learn them.”

“You can always connect the dots backward, but you can never get them forward.”

“You want to interact with customers directly with the product as often as you can.”

“Adjusting from the mindset of being an employee to being a business owner took time, and getting comfortable with conflict and confrontation and making changes that weren't going to make everybody happy took some time.”

“Don't do things the way that you think they should be done, or the way that you're told they should be done. You have to do what's right for you. And you have to figure out how to be yourself in the world.”

“When you're a CEO and you're responsible for the health and the performance of the company and the people in it, you can change everything. It is all in your control.”

“Everything that we make has to be really comfortable, it has to be really versatile, and we will go anywhere in the world that we can source the best version of a product.”

“You can do anything, but you have to do it.”

“You have to hire people that you trust and respect so that you can manage them with trust and respect.”

“There are so many different ways to be involved in the excitement, learning, growth, and the journey of a startup without being the founder or the CEO. So I would try to talk yourself out of it, talk to friends who you trust and respect, and get them to try to talk you out of it. And if at the end of the day, if you can’t be talked out of it, good luck, you gotta do it.”