Stairway to CEO

Description: Joining the show today is Hans Schrei, a passionate entrepreneur who is using his business to create safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community, one cookie at a time. Hans is the Founder and CEO of Wunderkeks, a company that not only sells unbelievably delicious cookies but sees every sweet treat as a pathway to the rituals that allow us to connect with one another. In our conversation, H...

Description: Christopher Gallant joins the show today to share his story and childhood dreams of becoming a lawyer, studying at MIT, starting The Bronx Brewery, and becoming a CEO. Chris is the CEO of the incredible talent-led brand, Chamberlain Coffee and has many years of experience in the beverage industry. In this episode, Chris tells us all about his illustrious career in multiple massive bev...

Description: In this episode, Lee is joined by the Co-Founder and CEO of Genius Juice, Alex Bayer, to share his entrepreneurship journey. Alex opens up about his struggles with social anxiety growing up, how his lifestyle supports him through personal challenges, and the sales ability his introspection has afforded him. We learn about the genesis of Genius Juice and the lessons Alex learned along...

Description: Scout Brisson, the CEO of De Soi, sits down with Lee today to talk about her current leadership role and the unique journey she has had up to this point in her career. With some impactful lessons learned in corporate America, and a desire to head up something important, Scout made the leap into the world of startups, and soon after found herself working with De Soi's amazing co-founde...

Description: Today, Lee is joined by Bill Moses, an influential leader, proven innovator, and inspiring mentor in the beverage industry. Bill is the Founder and CEO of Flying Embers, an alcoholic beverage brand that offers delicious, sugar-free, vegan, and certified organic canned cocktails, including flavored mojitos, hard kombucha, and hard seltzers. In this episode, Bill shares his lifelong lov...

Description:  Today, Lee is joined by Blake Sorensen, the Founder and CEO of Blake's Seed Based. Blake talked about what it was like growing up in Minneapolis, how we got rejected from the NFL, why he originally launched his company as Blake’s Nut Free, and the three-month process he took to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign. He shares how he reformulated and rebranded the business, how lau...

Description:  Joining the show today is MaryRuth Ghiyam, the Founder and CEO of MaryRuth’s Organics. MaryRuth talks about her childhood growing up in New Jersey to tragically losing both her father and brother, which inspired her to shift career paths, leading to the creation of her business and a book called Liquids Till Lunch. She shares how she went from being in debt to scaling her business wi...

Description:  Today, Lee is joined by Tero Isokauppila, the Founder and CEO of  Four Sigmatic. In this episode, Tero talks about his first business attempts that failed, how he began a women's clothing line in Vietnam and progressed to online marketing for a tech company in Switzerland until he realized how coffee and mushrooms were underutilized. He shares how having a vision and mission helped h...

Description:  Emily Griffith joins the show today to talk about her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Lil Bucks. Emily and Lee talk about her struggles with ADHD and feelings of shame, how she hired a burnout coach to help her get back on track, and how she fell in love with buckwheat while living in Sydney, Australia. Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors: Give the gift of the world’s most b...

Description:  Sharing their story today is Steven Eisen, the Founder and CEO, of both the functional beverage brand Elements and the charity bracelet brand Lokai. Steven and Lee talked about how he sold wooden pens in high school, and how his grandfather's diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease inspired him to create Lokai when he was just 19 years old. He shares why the top of Mount Everest might not...

Description:  Joining the show today is Sahand Dilmaghani, the Founder and CEO of Terra Kaffe. Sahand shares how moving to Berlin to work for a startup changed his life, how he came up with the idea to build a new coffee machine, and why luck comes to those who are prepared to receive it. Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors: Give the gift of the world’s most beautiful spice rack and get 15% off by u...

Description:  Liz Whitman joins the show today to talk about her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Exponent Beauty. Liz spoke about what it was like growing up in New York City as an only child, to building an apparel business with a friend before earning her MBA, working for American Express and Beauty Bar, to building her second startup Manicube, which The Red Door by Elizabeth Arden ac...

Description:  Sharing their story today is Hailey Schwartz, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Actual Veggies. Hailey chatted about her childhood growing up in California, running cross country and biking in the mountains, to working on the advertising team for her school newspaper at the University of Michigan, to working at a startup where she realized that work can actually be fun. She talks about ho...

Description:  Today, Lee sits down with Eunice Byun, Co-Founder and CEO of Material. Eunice talked about how she grew up in San Diego with parents who owned a Chinese restaurant, how she started out working for the school newspaper at Northwestern University, why she invested heavily in PR from day one after launching Material, what she did early on to build the brand, and why it's important to al...

Description:  Coming to share their story today is Vanessa Dawson, Founder and CEO of Arber. Vanessa talks about her childhood growing up as the oldest of three in Vancouver, Canada, her first job working at a bed and breakfast cafe, how she came up with the idea for Arber, and how she secured Walmart as her first big box retail partner shortly after launching the company on Earth Day in April 202...

Description:  Today, Lee sits down with Vimla Black-Gupta, the Co-Founder and CEO of Ourself, the first-ever sub-topical skincare system. In this episode, Vimla talks about her childhood growing up in Washington, DC, to realizing her passion for business at a young age. She shares her impressive career journey, from working at Proctor and Gamble to Bobby Brown Cosmetics to becoming the global CMO...

Description:  Amy Shecter joins the show today to chat about her journey to becoming the CEO of Ever/Body. Pioneering a first-of-its-kind approach to cosmetic dermatology, Ever/Body is on a mission to offer results in under 60 minutes. In this episode, Amy shares her impressive career journey, and how she’s earned the CEO title three times. She talks about how she raised $94M in just 11 months, an...

Description:  Yanni Hufnagel joins the show today to chat about his journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Lemon Perfect, a great tasting flavored lemon water. Yanni shares his story from being a college basketball coach, to launching his first startup Lemon Perfect. We talk about how the name Lemon Perfect came to him, why he almost hired a CEO, and how he keeps the energy in his organization...

Description:  Joining the show today is Alexandra Clark, the Founder and CEO of Bon Bon Bon, a chocolate company, reinventing bon bons. Alex talked about how a raspberry truffle during a visit in Europe changed her life and inspired her to use chocolate as an art medium, why she created her own manufacturing, starting with a 650 square-foot space in the back room of a diner, and why she advises en...

Description:  Will Nitze joins Lee on the show today to chat about his journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of IQBAR, a brain-body nutrition startup based in Boston. In this episode, Will shares his journey from growing up in New Jersey playing competitive soccer, to studying neuroscience and psychology at Harvard, to learning about the impacts of food on our brains, which inspired him to start...

Description:  Joining the show today is Jane Fisher, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Harper Wilde, on a mission to take the B.S. out of bra shopping. In this episode, Jane shares with us her journey from growing up in Florida, working as a hostess at a tourist restaurant, to studying business, to earning her MBA at Wharton where she came up with the idea for Harper Wilde. She talks about the challenges s...

Description:  Richard Lee joins the show today to chat about his journey to becoming the Co-Founder and CEO of July. This popular Australian DTC luggage brand is reimagining the travel experience for a new generation. Richard talks with Lee about being born in China, what it was like growing up on a cargo ship for five-six years of his childhood, how he started a furniture business, and why he dec...

Description:  Joining the show today is Greg Vetter, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tessemae’s. Available in retail stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Tessemae’s offers a variety of all-natural salad dressings, sauces, marinades, dips, and condiments that are gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free. Greg and Lee talked about his childhood growing up in Annapolis, what it was like playing professional...

Description:  Amy Errett joins the show today to chat about her journey to becoming the Founder and CEO of Madison Reed, the hair color company revolutionizing the way women color their hair. Amy shared about her experience as a child being the peacekeeper of the family, her experience working as an investor at True Ventures and Mavron Ventures, how she came up with the idea for Madison Reed, and...

Description:  Today, Lee sits down with Steven Borrelli, the Founder and CEO of CUTS Clothing. On a mission to find the perfect t-shirt, Steven started CUTS in 2016 and has since grown the business to a hundred-million-dollar company and created a new category, which he calls work leisure. Steven talks about his childhood growing up in Washington state, to working at an advertising agency and movi...