Rathna Sharad is helping make international shipping easy, affordable and friction-free from “anywhere to anywhere” through her company, FlavorCloud, which she co-founded in 2017. Rathna started in the shipping space with her first company, Runway2Street, a marketplace to help smaller companies sell luxury women’s clothing and accessories internationally, after working in supply chain for many years. In just a short time, FlavorCloud has raised $2.3 in venture seed so far and was featured on CNBC most promising upstart of 2019. Rathna shares what it was like growing up in India, her admiration for her parents, and her passion for traveling. She also discusses how she was able to combine her love for both fashion and the tech world as an entrepreneur, her takeaways from raising money and the importance of founders thinking about diversity.

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Clayton Lewis was one of the youngest Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill before he pivoted to the private sector at age 30. Since then, he’s helped take two companies public and was General Partner at Maveron for over a decade. His most recent company, Arivale, had several successful years and raised over $50 million before it closed down earlier this year. Clayton discusses his path into politics, his passion for health and wellness and how closing Arivale’s doors was “tragic” for him. He also chats with us about being a publicly gay leader in Seattle, what his upbringing was like and about being a competitive Iron Man triathlete. You’ll take away a ton from Clayton’s tips on strategizing in an interview, the importance of setting really audacious goals, and learning to “pause, reflect and listen” in life.

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Ben Gilbert’s had the entrepreneurial bug since he was young, starting with building his high school website and developing apps in his college dorm room. Since then, Ben has worked at several incredible startups, become Co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, Co-host for popular venture capital podcast, Acquired, and was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017. Ben attributes much of his success to always “having two careers at once” by working on side projects and being fueled by a sense of accomplishment. In this episode, Ben talks about his first app, SeizeTheDay, that was downloaded over a million times, the story of how Acquired came to be, if he invests in people or ideas and the entrepreneurs he admires outside of PSL. He also shares what growing up in the Midwest was like, what being an Eagle Scout taught him, his involvement with the Anti-Defamation League, and much more.

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Henry Albrecht, CEO of Limeade, founded the software company that elevates the employee experience and helps build great places to work in 2006. His time at Intuit ignited the idea that if they could build a system that helps you measurably improve your financial well-being, then there should be a software system that can measurably improve your overall well-being. On this episode, Henry discusses the concept of burnout, his own personal experience with it, and how it pushed him into building Limeade, which now has $33 million in funding, has acquired two companies and serves some of the most admired companies in the world. Henry also shares details about his personal life including growing up as the youngest of four boys, playing basketball in college and in Europe, and how he’s raising his three children. Henry is a continuous learner, a “self-improvement nut” and a CEO who truly embodies what he’s building at Limeade.

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Mia Lewin, three-time founder, started Spruce Up in 2018 to provide a new personalized way to shop for home furnishings and decor and spruce up any space in your home. Mia had previous success in the design space with another startup, Design Story, as well as experience in venture capital and investment banking. Mia shares details on her experience growing up in Finland, her passion for Scandinavian design, and what it’s been like for her to raise three boys as an entrepreneur. She also discusses the struggles of fundraising as a woman, the role her mentors have played in her career, and how Spruce Up is using AI to create a totally new customer experience in the home design space. Mia’s passion and dedication to creating a curated shopping experience for your home will have you signing for Spruce Up immediately at www.getspruceup.com! 

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