Finding Founders

We talk with the founder of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, about how the organization gained global attention after infiltrating a laboratory. This lab was conducting unregulated primate testing and she exposed the horrid conditions that these animals were undergoing. She tells that story along with explaining the mission behind PETA, her life's goal, and the topic of her new book. Buy Animalkind More abou...

Today, we’re visited by Albert Garcia-Romeu, one of the key members of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Coming from Miami, Albert grew up with a thirst for knowledge and a boundless intellectual capacity to improve. He read everything he could, and developed love for poetry and philosophy from a very early age. Those intellectual...

In World War II, the allies didn't have enough troops to combat the Nazis... So they came up with a weird way to scare them before they even thought of approaching. Dennis and I talk about this story and compare it to the fake it till you make it mantra common in entrepreneurial circles. We ask the question: how do we tell a compelling story while still being authentic. Check out more of Dennis on...

In this episode, we discover the story of Matthew Johnson, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins University, and one of the first scientists to publish extensive research on the effect of psychedelic drugs on the brain. Specifically, how compounds like psilocybin can help cure mental illness. He is also the Associate Center Director of the Center for Psychedelic & C...

Today I ask Charles Read, founder of Get Payroll and a certified public accountant, about how to avoid tax fraud. He gives us insight into the weird world of taxes and some tips on how to navigate that world. findingfounders.co --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Finding Founders, I’m Samuel Donner, and today we’re exploring the story of Katie Longmyer--a young cello player who went from nightclub doorkeeper to producing a Made in America festival with a crowd of over 80,000 people. Katie’s story is a whirlwind, taking us through her ascent in the D.C. nightlife scene to landing a gig at Warner Media, to producing events as massive as Brooklyn Elec...

Today I tell Diane the story of how a bad founder relationship at Tinder, led to one of the founders leaving to start her own company. That company would later become Bumble. Diane joins me in this conversation with years of business and coaching experience. She co-founded a business in the back of a house, grew it to $50 Million in 6 yrs and sold it to a public company and she tells us how to hav...

In this episode, we discover the story of James Andrews, a successful NYC record label exec and entrepreneur who was integral in hip hop's rise and currently forming novel creator communities. From wayward beginnings growing up in Palo Alto to learning how to network the Hollywood scene, James’ career spans a myriad of successes. From meeting Whitney Houston and Beyonce, to the founder of Uber, Ja...

Today I tell the story of Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist who was the first person to ever synthesize and ingest LSD. Clancey gives his own perspective on the substances and how we can integrate intense experiences to positively affect our lives. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to emerging psychedelic therapies, how did we get here and where we are going? In this episode, we dive into the historical context of neuroscience and ethical implications of psychedelic experimentation, in conversation with author and bioethicist Jonathan Moreno. Jonathan Moreno grew up on the frontier of psychotherapy. The first 20 years of his life were spent as the center of a “...

Today we hear the story of Julie Holland and her road to redefine psychedelics and psychotherapy. Julie grew up a tomboy, and was super bright for her age. Her intelligence led to curiosity, and she began experimenting with drugs and alcohol at 12. This only fed her interest in the psychology of psychedelics. Through her own research, she learned how the altered mind can change how one perceives t...

Today we tell Tom Kereszti a story about how Alexander the Great motivated his men to cross a hostile desert landscape using servant leadership. Tom is the perfect person to tell this story to because his approach to leadership comes from a lifetime of international experience. He has built and led executive teams in Fortune 500 companies in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Un...

Today, we sit down and hear from Douglas George, who was one of the first producers and distributors of LSD in the US. Coming from humble beginnings in Iowa, George attended college as a physicist in Riverside before deciding he wanted to change the way that people thought about existence. Developing an interest in hallucinogenic drugs, George pushed aside his physics backgrounds and focused on pr...

Today, we sit down with Johnny Harris , an international multimedia generalist based in Washington DC . Johnny was born in Ashland, Oregon in 1988 and attained a BA degree from BYU . His passion and career focus aims at connecting high quality media arts with foreign affairs. He utilizes media in making complex world issues more relatable and easier to understand. Johnny’s work with vox.com in rep...

Today we tell a story of how Dollar Shave Club turned a viral video into a billion dollar company. This video would usher in a new era of businesses built off of engaging sales videos. And to figure out a little more of how it all works, we talk to Jospeh Wilkins, founder of FunnySalesVideos.com. He tells us how viral videos have changed, and how we can create a viral video today. findingfounders....

Many founders love the feeling of being able to work for themselves. Today, we sit down with Maxwell Nee, founder of online coaching service High-Performing Coach, who felt that working for himself was the only option. With Malaysian Chinese parents, Maxwell recalls that high standards for himself were always present, whether he achieved them or not. After suppressing his dreams for the sake of a...

Today I talk with Eric Twiggs about procrastination and a simple trick to combat it. Eric Twiggs, is your procrastination prevention expert. He's conducted 20,000+ hours of procrastination consulting, and in that time has learned the tricks of the trade. In this episode of Founder Wisdom we give you the tools you need to get more done and be more successful. findingfounders.co --- Support this pod...

Let's face it, you aren't inspired when you hear about success. Real inspiration, comes from hearing someone's lowest moments, the point where they almost broke, and then rising with their success. I'm your host Samuel Donner, and on each episode of Finding Founders we interview the founders behind companies, movements, and even drug cartels. We tell their whole life story to reveal vulnerability...

Update: So last week, we finished our drug dealer series and wow what an incredible experience. It was so interesting to dive into this underground world and it was awesome to see so many new listeners come to the podcast. Finding Founders is growing more and more every day and if you’d like to support us, just share with a friend or post a screenshot to your socials. It really helps. Anyway, fini...

Today we tell a story of a battle between Microsoft and Apple. This incident would start a war between the two computer giants that would rage for years to come. After the story, I'll ask business lawyer, Asha Wilkerson, what we can learn from this and how we can apply these lessons. findingfounders.co http://www.ashawilkerson.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/suppo...

In the last episode of the drug dealer series, we sit down with Frederick Hutson, founder of Pigeonly, a platform that helps people connect with incarcerated loved ones. Of course, such an idea was not created without due experience. Growing up around the world of drugs, Frederick knew that the biggest money makers in town were drug dealers. However, Frederick did not turn out to be your average "...

This episode has a little update on the Finding Founders community and then goes straight into a rebroadcast of Founder Wisdom #001 -- You’ve probably been giving your team the wrong criticism. This is the Founder Wisdom. Where we’ll answer that question by distilling advice from our founders and the books they recommend. I asked MasterClass founder David Rogier what book I should read if I’m tryi...

Today, we hear the story of Juan Bedoya, who grew up working on the sugarcane fields of Guatemala. Growing up in poverty, Juan was determined to never return to a life with nothing. To make this happen, he traveled to the US and turned to the drug business, which dazzled him with promises of immense riches and a carefree life. At his peak in the drug business, Juan was moving about $150 million of...

Today we reconnect with Mike Kiamanesh, founder of Oval.bio, a company creating a life extension pod. A few weeks ago, Finding Founders hosted a virtual summit on Biohacking and Mike was one of our panelists. In his panel he talked about a lot of interesting stuff, ( click here for the entire live virtual summit ), and he touched briefly on a really interesting part of his business: the company st...

Growing up in the streets of Harlem, David Norman faced childhood trauma, drug addiction, and incarceration. He dealt heroin and even killed a man. After years of imprisonment, David never thought he would be challenging his mind and graduating from one of the world’s most prestigious universities -- until he did. David kicks off part two of our Drug Dealer series—a compilation of stories about a...