Stairway to CEO

Description:  Joining the show today is Matt Feldman, the Founder and CEO of Moku Foods, a mushroom-based jerky.  Matt shares about how he partnered with a Michelin Chef to turn king oyster mushrooms into a delicious alternative beef jerky. In this episode, Matt talks about his childhood growing up in Hawaii, why he joined a vegan meetup in San Francisco, how he earned over 1 million views on YouT...

Description:  Today, Lee sat down with Erin Moennich, CEO of Draper James, a classic American lifestyle brand founded by Reese Witherspoon inspired by her roots in the south. Erin shares about her journey to becoming CEO, what it was like growing up in the midwest, the different jobs she held before landing at Draper James, and why they believe failure should be named something else!  Exclusive De...

Description:  Shane Heath, the Co-Founder and CEO of MUD\WTR joins the show to chat about his journey to founding the coffee alternative company on a mission to heal the mind through their daytime and evening beverages. In this episode, Shane shares with us his journey from experiencing a psychedelic trip as a 14-year-old, to starting his first company ishBowl, to moving to Silicon Valley, to taki...

Description:  In this episode, Sophie Kahn shares her journey to becoming the Co-Founder and CEO of Aurate, a premier direct-to-consumer jewelry brand. Sophie shares with us her journey from growing up in Amsterdam, to working at Boston Consulting, to Marc Jacobs, and how having lunch with a friend led to the idea for Aurate. We talk about why she believes you can learn anything with the right fra...

Description:  Denise Woodard joins the show today to chat about her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Partake Foods, a food company that specializes in selling delicious cookies that are gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, and free of the top 14 allergens. In this episode, Denise shares her journey from growing up in North Carolina, to working at Coca-Cola, to experiencing an allergy scare with...

Description:  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 i...

Description:  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 t...

Description:  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...

Description:  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 pressu...

Description:  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 H...

Description:  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 degre...

Description:  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...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: (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 a...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: (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 Exper...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: (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...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 tim...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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,...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 le...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 h...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 i...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 compan...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 mark...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 w...

In This Episode You’ll Hear About: 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 becaus...