The Matthews Mentality Podcast

Alex Smereczniak explains why raising capital is only worth it when speed is critical, trading equity for faster, higher-quality execution, and the value of investor introductions, governance, and choosing the right partners. He shares how he bought WakeWash in college using seller financing, sold it for about 10x, and how that experience led him to leave Ernst & Young to co-found 2ULaundry and LaundroLab, scaling into a venture-backed national franchise platform while grinding long hours and living scrappily. Alex discusses COVID-era board-driven decisions, raising tens of millions including secondary liquidity, and stepping back after burnout amid family and personal crises. He then details launching Franzy, an AI-powered marketplace and resource hub to make franchise ownership more transparent, address broker incentives and lack of regulation, and help people find the right franchise fit.

Follow Alex Smereczniak:

X: https://x.com/AlexfromFranzy

Learn More About Franzy:

Website: https://franzy.com

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00:00 Speed, Quality, Cost

01:39 Meet Alex Smereczniak

02:56 Buying a Business in College

03:07 Seller Financing the Deal

04:54 Lessons from Early Ownership

06:16 Choosing the Right Partners

08:24 What Franzy Does

10:10 Buying vs Starting a Business

11:48 Why Parents Push the Safe Job

14:35 Quitting EY for Laundry

15:57 Selling WakeWash

17:41 EY Reality Check

18:48 Starting 2ULaundry

21:05 No Work-Life Balance

24:31 Scaling and Hiring

26:37 Lessons from Techstars

26:52 Why Raise Capital

29:06 Equity vs Freedom

30:26 Investor Fit and Intros

32:35 The Value of Board Governance

33:32 Planning Through the COVID Shock

35:43 The Layoff Calls

37:04 Secondary Liquidity and Burnout

39:28 A Crisis at Home

43:52 The Sabbatical

49:35 The Franzy Idea

50:33 The Trouble with Franchise Brokers

53:44 What Franzy Lists

55:14 The Good, Bad and Ugly

57:30 Why Franchisee Fit Matters

58:49 From Validation to Scale

01:00:32 Respecting Franchise Owners

01:02:21 Red Flags in Due Diligence

01:03:31 The Quiznos Cautionary Tale

01:05:44 Nature vs Nurture

01:08:37 Loving the Work

01:14:32 Hard Lessons on Hiring

01:15:28 Execution Beats Ideas

01:18:32 Taking the Leap

01:21:18 Defining Success at Franzy

01:25:00 Closing Thoughts

In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Michael Brennan, Chairman and Managing Principal of Brennan Investment Group, co-founder and former CEO of First Industrial Realty Trust, and one of the most accomplished operators in industrial real estate.

Mike's argument is that industrial is the rare property type technology has helped rather than hurt. E-commerce built the warehouses. Data centers absorb land. And robotics and automation are pulling manufacturing back onshore, because once low-cost labor stops being decisive there is less reason to be in Mexico or China. As he puts it, the best news for industrial may still be ahead.

He has earned the right to a view. Mike bought his first building at 22, in October of 1979 — a six-flat and warehouse on the South Side of Chicago for $53,000, with effectively nothing down. He collected rents weekly and was his own janitor. Fifteen years later he helped take First Industrial Realty Trust public and delivered 40 consecutive quarters as its CEO. After leaving in 2008 over a disagreement with the board he started again, and Brennan Investment Group is now the second largest privately held industrial real estate company in the country.

The conversation also covers how Brennan picks markets, why he watches tenants instead of forecasts, where he sees rates going, and how his company ended up as the single stock inside Warren Buffett's wallet.

Topics covered in this episode:

- Why industrial benefited from technology while office and retail suffered

- Data centers, e-commerce, and the reshoring of American manufacturing

- Buying his first building at 22 with effectively no money down

- The Chicago fireman father who pointed him toward real estate

- Taking First Industrial Realty Trust public in 1994

- Delivering 40 straight quarters and the pressure that comes with it

- Why he stepped down from First Industrial in 2008

- Launching Brennan Investment Group at the bottom of the market

- The five industrial facility types and how Brennan picks markets

- Why he watches tenants rather than forecasts to choose locations

- The single trait shared by every great professional he has worked with

- Where he sees interest rates going and what would move them

- The stock in Warren Buffett's wallet, and the phone call that followed

- Sacrifice, work ethic, and what he would tell his 22-year-old self

Mike also explains why he considers the company his only in trust, and why the point of building something is to hand it to the people who helped build it.

Whether you're a commercial real estate professional, investor, entrepreneur, broker, or someone building a business over the long term, this conversation offers lessons from more than four decades in industrial real estate, investing, and leadership.

Follow Michael Brennan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbrennan

Learn More About Brennan Investment Group:

Website: https://www.brennanllc.com

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylematthewsceo

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00:00 Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation

01:19 Meet Michael Brennan

02:31 What Is Brennan Investment Group

04:01 Five Facility Types Explained

05:11 Key Markets and Strategy

07:04 First Building at 22

10:03 Finding and Financing the First Deal

13:51 Early Career Work Ethic

17:45 Meeting His Future Wife

20:27 Jesuit Education and Character

25:18 Scaling to First Industrial

26:34 The RTC Days

30:00 Going Public in 1994

36:02 Public vs Private Life

38:26 Stepping Down as CEO

41:04 Starting Brennan Investment Group

44:21 Market Selection Strategy

45:37 Learning From Tenants

47:03 Scaling Brennan Investment Group

49:20 Building the Team

50:21 The Trait That Matters Most

52:14 LP Appetite and Product Types

54:05 Strategic Plan and Operations

58:54 Real Estate Cycles

01:04:30 Interest Rates and Technology

01:07:09 Sacrifice and Work Ethic

01:12:50 Building Brennan's Legacy

01:14:27 His Daughter's Husband Joins

01:16:21 Parental Influence and Motivation

01:19:52 Character and Painful Moments

01:20:48 Teaching Work Ethic

01:22:07 Advice to His Younger Self

01:24:16 Reading Recommendations

01:26:01 The Stock in Warren Buffett's Wallet

01:31:39 Closing Thoughts

In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Jennifer Fisher, founder and Chief Brand Officer of Jennifer Fisher Jewelry, founder of Maedyn, and author of Trust Your Gut.

The New York Times called her the Queen of Hoops. Jennifer spent ten years as a wardrobe stylist, starting out on commercials, before making a single piece for herself — a gold tag with her son's name on it, created after years of fertility setbacks because nothing on the market felt like her. She wore it on set, made one for Uma Thurman, and Uma chose to wear it on the cover of Glamour without telling her first.

She has lived with a desmoid tumor, a soft tissue sarcoma, since she was 30, at a point when nobody was certain how to treat it. Twelve rounds of chemotherapy shrank it. Turning 50 and living with Hashimoto's, she later read her way into an anti-inflammatory approach to food that became her signature salts, her cookbook, and Maedyn, the lifestyle and media platform she now runs alongside the jewelry business.

The conversation also explores bootstrapping for almost 20 years before taking on Centric Brands, a roughly $3 billion licensing company, as a manufacturing partner; the surge in demand COVID produced; how she gets her jewelry onto the people who wear it; and what gold prices and tariffs are doing to the business right now.

Topics covered in this episode:

- The New York Times naming her the Queen of Hoops

- Ten years styling commercials before she made any jewelry

- Making the first gold tag for her son after years of fertility setbacks

- Uma Thurman wearing her piece on the cover of Glamour

- Living with a desmoid tumor since the age of 30

- Twelve rounds of chemotherapy while building the business

- Why she wants people in the office rather than remote

- Bootstrapping for almost 20 years before any outside partner

- Why COVID created a surge in demand for the brand

- Partnering with Centric Brands to scale manufacturing and wholesale

- How she approaches getting jewelry onto celebrities

- Hashimoto's, inflammation, and rethinking how she eats

- Where the name Maedyn came from, and what it is now

- What rising gold prices and tariffs mean for a jewelry business

- Her husband coming in to run the company

- How her family, and the tumor, still shape what drives her

Jennifer also explains why the biggest decisions in her career came from listening to herself rather than the people telling her to go another way, and why she kept going through the stretches when nothing went to plan.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, founder, creative, or someone interested in fashion, branding, health, or building a consumer business, this conversation offers a close look at the decisions behind Jennifer Fisher Jewelry and the woman who built it.

Follow Jennifer Fisher:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferfisherjewelry

Learn More About Jennifer Fisher Jewelry:

Website: https://jenniferfisherjewelry.com

Learn More About Maedyn:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maedyn

Get Jennifer's Book:

Trust Your Gut

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylematthewsceo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylematthewsceo

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00:00 Rihanna Walks In

01:01 Meet Jennifer Fisher

02:35 A Day in the Life

03:57 Remote Work vs the Office

11:24 Work Ethic From Family

14:10 Money Loss and Anxiety as Fuel

18:13 Living With a Desmoid Tumor

21:46 The Jewelry Origin Story

24:24 Queen of Hoops

25:59 The Anti-Inflammatory Shift

28:10 Styling Career and Hustle

30:53 Founder Mom Tradeoffs

35:32 Raising Hardworking Kids

38:35 Always-On Sacrifices

40:36 Bootstrapping, Then Partners

42:19 The COVID Demand Surge

44:58 Scaling With Systems

48:15 The Celebrity Seeding Strategy

51:04 Trusting Her Gut

53:45 New Lines and Menswear

54:13 The Maedyn Origin Story

58:03 Adversity and Mindset

01:01:00 Advice for Starting Out

01:02:09 Being a Female Founder

01:04:45 Mentorship and Giving Back

01:08:50 Defining Success

01:10:07 The Nicest Thing Anyone Did

01:11:00 Praise From Anna Wintour

01:12:40 Fashion Favorites

01:13:56 Her Husband as CEO

01:16:11 The Rihanna Amex Story

01:18:13 Gold Prices and Tariffs

01:21:09 Trends and Lab Diamonds

01:23:32 The Long-Term Vision

01:27:16 Family, Motivation, Perspective

01:30:50 Closing Thoughts

In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Dr. Andre Martin, organizational psychologist and Chief Experience Officer at LEAD3R, to break down why even talented executive teams struggle to align and what separates teams that consistently perform at a high level.

Andre explains the idea of "collective confidence," the shared belief that a team can succeed together, and why that confidence often needs to exist before the results show up. Drawing from his experience coaching CEOs and executive teams and working at companies including Google, Nike, Target, Mars, and Disney, Andre shares what he has learned about trust, leadership, culture, hiring, and team performance.

The conversation explores why executive teams lose alignment, how self-interest can undermine trust, and why leaders need precise, shared language around strategy and priorities. Andre also explains how companies can avoid the "telephone game," where a clear strategy at the executive level becomes increasingly distorted as it moves through an organization.

Topics covered in this episode:

- Why executive teams struggle with alignment

- What "collective confidence" means and why it matters

- How Andre coaches CEOs and executive teams

- Lessons from working at Google, Nike, Target, Mars, and Disney

- Why trust is the foundation of high-performing teams

- How self-interest can weaken executive team performance

- Why leaders need precise, shared language around priorities

- How the "telephone game" distorts strategy inside organizations

- Andre's "Wrong Fit, Right Fit" framework

- How to tell the difference between a hard season and the wrong job

- Why companies should hire for how people work, not just what they have accomplished

- Common hiring mistakes and better questions to ask candidates

- Why belief can come before a team's winning streak

- How leaders can intentionally build collective confidence

- Using low-stakes wins to create momentum

- "Borrowed brilliance" and learning from the strengths of others

- Identifying and using each person's "zone of genius"

- Why teams should train and develop together

- Common blind spots for CEOs and executive teams

- Why leaders may need to "re-recruit" their teams as strategies change

- The importance of modeling culture through everyday behavior

- Why leaders should recognize the process, not just the outcome

- How to escape a victim mindset and take ownership

Andre also shares why great teams are not built simply by putting talented individuals in the same room. Alignment, trust, belief, and clarity have to be developed intentionally, especially when an organization is changing direction or navigating a difficult period.

Whether you're a CEO, executive, entrepreneur, manager, or someone trying to build a stronger team, this conversation offers practical lessons on leadership, organizational culture, hiring, trust, and creating teams that believe they can win together.

Learn More About Dr. Andre Martin:

Website: https://www.wrongfitrightfit.com

Books:

Collective Confidence

Wrong Fit, Right Fit

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

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In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Stuart McWhorter, Tennessee's Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and newly named Deputy Governor, to break down why Tennessee has become one of the country's most competitive destinations for businesses, jobs, and investment.

Stuart gives an inside look at how Tennessee recruits companies, supports existing businesses, and competes with other states for major economic development projects. From taxes and regulation to workforce development, infrastructure, logistics, and quality of life, he explains what companies are actually looking for when deciding where to invest billions of dollars and create thousands of jobs.

The conversation also explores the growing push to bring manufacturing and critical supply chains back to the United States, why economic development has become increasingly tied to national security, and how Tennessee is positioning itself for the next generation of American growth.

Topics covered in this episode:

- Why companies are relocating and expanding in Tennessee

- What Tennessee's Commissioner of Economic and Community Development actually does

- How states compete to land major economic development projects

- Why Tennessee's tax and regulatory environment attracts businesses

- The importance of workforce development and access to talent

- How site selection consultants influence corporate relocations

- The role incentives play in attracting new companies

- Why existing business expansions matter just as much as relocations

- Starbucks' plans to create approximately 2,000 jobs in Nashville

- LG Chem's $3.5 billion investment in Clarksville

- Orano's $4 billion nuclear fuel project in Oak Ridge

- Korea Zinc's $6.5 billion investment and the importance of critical supply chains

- Why bringing manufacturing back to America is becoming a national security issue

- Infrastructure, power, water, roads, and TVA's role in economic development

- The opportunities and misconceptions surrounding data centers

- How Tennessee coordinates across government agencies to move projects forward

- What happens when Tennessee loses a major business deal

- Stuart's transition from venture capital and business into public service

- The values behind Tennessee's continued population and economic growth

- Why Stuart believes one word defines what people are searching for when they move to Tennessee: hope

Stuart also shares the realities behind the headlines of billion-dollar economic development announcements, including the years of planning, infrastructure investment, negotiations, and collaboration required to turn a potential project into real jobs and economic growth.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, business leader, investor, real estate professional, or simply interested in why companies and people continue moving to Tennessee, this conversation offers an inside look at the strategy behind one of America's fastest-growing business environments.

Learn More About Tennessee Economic & Community Development:

Website: https://tnecd.com

Follow Stuart McWhorter:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-mcwhorter

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

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In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Dr. Daryl Gioffre, board-certified chiropractor, gut health and longevity specialist, and bestselling author of Get Off Your Acid and Get Off Your Sugar.

Dr. Gioffre shares how his career evolved from chiropractic care into a deeper focus on gut health, inflammation, nutrition, and longevity. After his father's battle with esophageal cancer and his own health struggles involving root canal infections and mold exposure, Daryl began searching for the underlying causes of chronic health problems rather than simply treating symptoms.

The conversation dives into the gut microbiome, acid reflux, sugar addiction, chronic stress, mold toxicity, inflammation, and the everyday habits that Dr. Gioffre believes can have a major impact on long-term health.

Topics covered in this episode:

- Why Dr. Gioffre believes gut health is foundational to overall health

- His father's esophageal cancer diagnosis and how it changed his career

- The common misconceptions surrounding acid reflux and stomach acid

- Why chronic stress can have such a significant impact on digestion

- The "acidic lifestyle" and how anxiety, chemicals, inflammation, and digestive stress affect the body

- Dr. Gioffre's "WMD" framework for foods he believes can negatively affect gut health

- Breaking the cycle of sugar addiction

- How to identify hidden sugars and problematic ingredients on food labels

- Dr. Gioffre's personal experience with mold toxicity

- Root canal infections and the health issues he experienced

- Symptoms that may be connected to poor gut health beyond digestive problems

- Why he believes in "test, don't guess" when addressing gut issues

- Probiotics, yogurt, kombucha, and supporting the microbiome

- Hydration, minerals, and choosing the right water

- Why timing your meals can matter, including avoiding food before bed

- Detoxification and building healthier daily habits

- The "less is more" approach to improving your health

- The story behind Get Off Your Acid and Get Off Your Sugar

- Purpose, motivation, and creating lasting lifestyle changes

Dr. Gioffre also explains why he believes quick fixes rarely address the root cause of chronic health problems and shares practical strategies people can use to become more intentional about nutrition, hydration, stress, sleep, and gut health.

Whether you're interested in gut health, longevity, nutrition, acid reflux, reducing sugar, or simply improving your everyday habits, this conversation offers a deeper look at Dr. Gioffre's approach to understanding what is happening inside the body and making sustainable changes.

Follow Dr. Daryl Gioffre:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdarylgioffre

Get Off Your Acid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getoffyouracid

Learn More About Dr. Daryl Gioffre:

Get Off Your Acid: https://www.getoffyouracid.com

Dr. Daryl: https://www.drdaryl.com

Use code MATTHEWS15 for 15% off all Get Off Your Acid products at:

https://www.getoffyouracid.com

Get 15% off gut testing kits at:

https://www.drdaryl.com/labs

Use code: MATTHEWS15

Get Dr. Gioffre's Books:

Get Off Your Acid

Get Off Your Sugar

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylematthewsceo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylematthewsceo

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n this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Payam Zamani, founder and CEO of One Planet Group, CEO of Buyerlink, entrepreneur, investor, and author of Crossing the Desert.

Payam shares his incredible journey from fleeing religious persecution in Iran as a teenager to arriving in the United States as a refugee with just $75 in his pocket. Less than 11 years later, he and his brother had built an early online automotive marketplace and taken the company public at a $1.2 billion valuation.

But Payam's story goes far beyond financial success. After navigating the dot-com crash, divorce, family illness, and the loss of much of his wealth, he began rethinking the relationship between business, purpose, faith, and fulfillment. Those experiences ultimately shaped his philosophy of "spiritual capitalism," the belief that companies can pursue profitability while creating meaningful value for employees, customers, communities, and society.

Topics covered in this episode:

- Payam Zamani's escape from religious persecution in Iran

- Being smuggled out of the country at 16 years old

- Arriving in America as a refugee with $75

- Starting over and building his first technology company

- Taking an early online automotive marketplace public at a $1.2 billion valuation

- The dot-com crash and losing much of his wealth

- Why money alone failed to create fulfillment

- The philosophy behind spiritual capitalism

- Building One Planet Group without outside capital

- How Buyerlink connects consumers with automotive dealers and service providers

- Turning around Inspirato by cutting roughly $45 million in expenses and reaching profitability

- Leadership, humility, and putting people ahead of short-term profits

- Work-life balance and the sacrifices behind entrepreneurship

- Gratitude for America and the opportunities it gave his family

- Concerns about social media, young people, and the loss of spiritual grounding

- Writing his memoir, Crossing the Desert

Payam also shares why he believes business can be a powerful force for good, why leaders should think beyond maximizing shareholder value, and how some of the most difficult periods of his life ultimately reshaped his definition of success.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, executive, or someone navigating adversity in your own life, this conversation offers powerful lessons on resilience, leadership, faith, gratitude, and building businesses with purpose.

Follow Payam Zamani:

LinkedIn: Payam Zamani

Learn More About One Planet Group:

Website: https://oneplanetgroup.com

Learn More About BuyerLink:

Website: https://buyerlink.com

Read Payam's Book:

Crossing the Desert

https://crossingthedesertbook.com

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylematthewsceo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylematthewsceo

X: https://x.com/kylematthewsceo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylematthewsceo

00:00 America as Hope

00:39 Meet Payam Zamani

02:32 Life and One Planet

04:02 Buyerlink Explained

06:30 Growing Up in Iran

08:38 Persecution and Survival

14:57 Decision to Escape

16:26 Smuggled Through the Desert

19:56 U.S. Embassy Breakthrough

22:42 Landing in America

27:56 Starting Over in California

30:03 First Tech Venture

32:23 Dot-Com IPO Reality Check

36:25 Crash, Divorce, and Faith

38:57 Work-Life Balance

42:17 Spiritual Capitalism Begins

43:13 Greed Versus Community

43:47 Spiritual Capitalism

45:09 One Planet Breakthrough

47:04 Unicorn Doubts

48:43 Writing Crossing the Desert

52:24 Memoir Truths Revealed

57:49 Inspirato Turnaround Playbook

01:04:20 Rapid Fire Reflections

01:07:26 Youth, Screens, and Faith

01:13:35 Closing and Daughter's Music

In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Alberto Crane, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, UFC veteran, entrepreneur, and author of All In.

Before fighting in the UFC, Alberto made a decision that most people would never consider—he went more than $20,000 into debt to chase his dream. With no sponsorships, little money, and no guarantee of success, he moved to Brazil, immersed himself in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and dedicated his life to becoming one of the best martial artists in the world.

After years of setbacks, tournament losses, and relentless training, Alberto became a world champion, fought in the UFC, built multiple successful academies, and inspired thousands through his resilience. Later, an unexpected MRI led to a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), forcing him to face an entirely new battle outside the cage.

This conversation explores courage, discipline, entrepreneurship, mindset, and what it truly means to go all in on your dreams.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Why Alberto went $20,000 into debt to chase the UFC
• Moving to Brazil with no money to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Losing tournaments before becoming a world champion
• Building a career in MMA and earning a UFC contract
• The pressure and reality of fighting inside the Octagon
• Winning, losing, and dealing with performance anxiety
• Knowing when it was time to retire
• Being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Why he chose movement, nutrition, and lifestyle over medication
• The philosophy behind TacFit
• Why courage isn't the absence of fear
• Lessons from writing his memoir All In
• Building resilience through adversity

Whether you're an entrepreneur, athlete, martial artist, or someone facing a difficult challenge, this conversation is packed with lessons on resilience, sacrifice, discipline, and pursuing a life without regrets.

Follow Alberto Crane:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/albertocrane

Website: https://www.albertocrane.com

Learn More About TacFit:

https://www.tacfit.com

Get Alberto's Book:

All In

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN1TCB5B?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylematthewsceo

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X: https://x.com/kylematthewsceo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylematthewsceo

In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Katie Eshuys, President of That's It., the fast-growing clean-label snack company on a mission to help people eat more fruit through simple, minimally processed foods.

Katie shares how That's It. has built a nationally recognized brand around products with just two ingredients, expanded into schools and major retailers across the country, and continues to innovate with new products designed to improve nutrition without sacrificing simplicity or taste.

The conversation explores entrepreneurship, leadership, nutrition, women in business, endurance sports, resilience, and what it takes to scale a mission-driven consumer brand in today's competitive food industry.

Topics covered in this episode:

• How That's It. is changing the healthy snack industry
• Why eating more fruit is one of the simplest ways to improve your health
• The philosophy behind clean-label food and minimal ingredients
• New products including Crunchables and Fruttola
• Growing a national consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand
• Expanding into schools and food service
• Katie's journey from Australia to leading an American food company
• The leadership lessons that helped her become President
• Why advocating for yourself is critical for career growth
• The differences between corporate leadership and startup culture
• Fiber, nutrition, and building healthier habits
• Training for endurance races and the mindset of resilience
• Recovering from setbacks and maintaining a growth mindset
• Advice for women pursuing leadership roles

Follow Katie Eshuys:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieeshuys

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keshuys?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Learn More About That's It.:

Website: https://thatsitfruit.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatsit

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In this episode of the Matthews Mentality Podcast, Kyle Matthews sits down with Leah Solivan, founder of TaskRabbit, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and one of the pioneers of the modern gig economy. What began as a simple idea after running out of dog food during a snowy Boston night grew into a global marketplace that changed how millions of people outsource everyday tasks before being acquired by IKEA.

Leah shares the incredible story of leaving IBM in 2008 to build TaskRabbit from scratch, bootstrapping the business, raising venture capital, scaling through the highs and lows of startup life, and ultimately selling the company to IKEA after discovering that furniture assembly dramatically increased customer purchases.

The conversation also explores artificial intelligence, venture capital, founder resilience, women in technology, work-life balance, and why AI is creating one of the biggest entrepreneurial opportunities in decades.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The story behind founding TaskRabbit
• How a snowy night and a bag of dog food inspired a billion-dollar idea
• Leaving IBM to become an entrepreneur
• Bootstrapping before raising venture capital
• The realities of startup fundraising
• The physical and mental toll of building a high-growth company
• Selling TaskRabbit to IKEA
• Why AI is transforming marketplaces and entrepreneurship
• How venture capital is changing in the AI era
• What investors look for in successful founders
• Women in technology and leadership
• Balancing entrepreneurship, investing, motherhood, and personal fulfillment
• Building Precedent VC and investing in the next generation of AI startups

Leah also shares lessons from nearly two decades in technology, discussing founder burnout, resilience, innovation, and why the next generation of entrepreneurs will have unprecedented opportunities because of artificial intelligence.

Whether you're building a startup, interested in venture capital, exploring AI, or simply curious how one idea can transform an industry, this conversation is packed with practical advice and inspiring entrepreneurial lessons.

Follow Leah Solivan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahsolivan

X: https://x.com/leahsolivan

Learn More About Precedent VC:

Website: https://precedent.vc

Follow Kyle Matthews CEO:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylematthewsceo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylematthewsceo

X: https://x.com/kylematthewsceo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylematthewsceo