Finding Founders

In this episode, we hear from Andrew Rea, the creative mastermind behind the Babish Culinary Universe . He’s amassed over 9 million subscribers on YouTube alone, but the scale of his community is far from what’s most interesting about this interview. With his humor and piercing honesty, Andrew shares a story of continuous self-improvement. Losing his mother at age 11 and enduring secondary school...

I’m here with Jay Clue, a conservationist here in Cabo San Lucas and today we’re going to talk about something a little different. Graffiti, specifically how Medieval Blackletter, a type of font, became a part of Mexican culture and how it became the building block of modern graffiti style. I know what you’re thinking. Medieval font? Modern graffiti style? How do those two have any connection at a...

Who doesn’t love bacon? Today we sat down with Heat Laliberte, the owner and founder of One Arrow Meats, a Vancouver based, small-batch, hand-cured, naturally smoked, hormone-free bacon company. One Arrow is more than just bacon. It represents Heat’s indigenous heritage, his goals, and his ability to overcome obstacles. Spending his childhood in Saskatchewan, the Cree-Metis Chef has called Vancouv...

When was the last time you saw an advertisement for cigarettes? Was it good? Today’s founder wisdom is a snippet of an upcoming episode with Jay Clue, photographer, scuba diver and founder of Dive Ninja Expeditions. Before discovering his passion for the ocean, Jay worked as a freelance creative director for massive companies and tells us his experience working for the Tobacco industry. Links From...

How is it possible that the people who are feeding us cannot afford food? That is one of the questions that pushed this week's founder to tackle food insecurity and look for solutions. In today’s episode of Finding Founders, join us and Rick Nahmias in exploring where our food comes from and who is responsible for the food on our tables. Rick Nahmias is an LA native who, after working as a documen...

Financial manager Chris Tran always knew he’d create something; however, despite her obvious creativity, data analyst Holly Paul never thought she’d be a founder. Working at a serial founder’s startup ignited Holly’s nascent entrepreneurial spirit and she decided to let one of her many ideas take flight. Business partners Holly and Chris wanted their product to incorporate classic Asian flavors fr...

What does it take to make your dreams a reality, especially as a woman in the restaurant industry? In this episode of Finding Founders, join us in exploring the entertainment side of the food industry with Gail Simmons, a food writer, author, cook, and judge on Top Chef. Gail grew up in a melting pot of both the city of Toronto and her Canadian, South African, and Jewish background. Her mother tau...

When ideas are cheap, what does it take to make an idea come to life and become a thriving business? Today we answer this question in our conversation with Eric Chen, a marketing and sales whiz, boba aficionado and board game creator. Throughout his journey, Eric has been in a car accident, had a ruptured intestine but this has not slowed him down. What could have been considered sabotage for some...

Food can serve as a means to bridge culture and conflict. This episode starts our Food Conflict and Unity series, so join us in exploring the power of food with Barbara Massaad, a Lebanese-American cookbook author, photographer, food consultant, and TV host. Barbara Massaad spent the first 10 years of her life in Lebanon and moved to Florida as a result of war. Her lifelong relationship with food...

How does an ingredient like rice help better a community? Today we sit down with JJ Johnson, renowned chef on the African diaspora, and founder of the rice bowl restaurant, FIELDTRIP. Growing up in Harlem, surrounded by his grandmother’s cooking and international flavors, food has long formed part of JJ’s DNA. But as we follow his journey of becoming a chef, traveling to Africa, and establishing h...

How does a girl from SoCal go from making dumplings with her grandmother to co-hosting a TV show with Gordon Ramsey ? Today we sit with Nyesha Arrington, a former Top Chef contestant, professional chef and business owner. Growing up in a Afro-Korean household, surrounded by her grandmother, Nyesha had an early exposure to cooking and a variety of ingredients. As we discover her journey in the worl...

Before Carla Hall was a Top Chef legend, she was an accountant miserable at accounting. One day she got a chance to move to Paris and pursue modeling full time. Desperate for a change, she said yes, abandoning her dull yet stable career for the notoriously competitive and fickle fashion industry. Despite her lack of language skills and threadbare safety net, she transformed herself into a successf...

How do we recover history that has been deliberately erased? And how does that past impact the present? Today we answer those questions in conversation with Mirna Bamieh a Palestinian artist focused on the politics of disappearance. Mirna was born in Ramallah, Palestine in 1983. Throughout her life she expressed and explored her identity through food and art. In 2017 she started the Palestine Host...

In times of persecution, how do the persecuted keep their culture alive? We speak with Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan who enlightens us on what it is like to run his boutique Hosh Al Syrain and its Fawda Cafe in the heart of Bethlehem. As part of one of the “oldest Christian families in Bethlehem,” Fadi provides us with a unique perspective on his experiences as a Palestinian chef and how he...

Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive interviews and behind the scenes! https://findingfounders.co/ When asking people what they put in their coffee, butter probably wouldn’t seem like the most popular response. For health aficionados like Dave Asprey, however, it’s the key ingredient. Founder and CEO of the multi-million dollar Bulletproof empire, Dave Asprey is creator of revolutionary energ...

Today we talk to Duff Goldman. He is the founder and executive chef of Charm City Cakes which has been featured on the Food Network, Iron Chef America, Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a whole bunch more. And this business is successful because Duff is a rebel.  Starting from his graffiti days, he has defied the normal path and found a success that's uniquely him. Duff.com Charm City Cak...

Today we sit down with Amanda Slavin, co-founder of CatalystCreativ; a platform where people and brands become connected through meaningful experiences. Amanda grew up in a small town where she knew everyone, she tried to optimize for popularity. Although the initial need to be popular was misguided, it led her to focus more on human connection, something she continued to pursue throughout her lif...

The Donut Princess of Los Angeles, Mayly Tao was born with entrepreneurial spirit in her DNA. Born to Cambodian immigrants who fled after surviving the Khmer Rouge, family has always been the most important thing in her life. And family was also the thing that got her started. Her great-uncle is Ted Ngoy, known as the ‘Donut King.’ He helped Cambodian refugees survive and prosper in America by cre...

Today we discover the story of Marcus Bullock: TED speaker, entrepreneur, justice reform advocate, and founder of Flikshop, a software company aimed towards helping incarcerated people connect with their families and the outside world. Growing up in Washington DC with his mother and sister, Marcus is no stranger to the shortage of resources and social capital surrounding many neighborhoods today....

It's a phrase programmers around the world fear... "I'll handle the business side." But today we'll talk to Myles Hunter, founder of TutorMe, who turns that phrase on its head.  Myles is a non-technical cofounder, i.e. he doesn't know how to code, but his business was growing, and growing unsustainably. He needed someone who understood tech, but he could find anyone... until he started looking in...

In today’s hyper-individualistic culture, creating community is more important than ever. In this episode, we dive into the idea of creating community with Imani Ellis, founder of The Creative Collective NYC which hosts CultureCon. Imani Ellis was driven by her competitive nature and ambition as a ballerina for 14 years, becoming the first black ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet in 75 years. After q...

Hidekazu Tojo invented the California Roll, but no one knows it. Tojo was in Vancouver when he thought of an idea to attract customers. Little did he know that this idea would spread across the entire world like wildfire. findingfounders.co --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rahaf Harfoush is a thought leader in productivity and burnout. Immigrating from Syria as a kid, Rahaf  developed a strong work-ethic. As she developed her career, and more and more opportunity arose, she felt obligated to seize that opportunity. That's why her family came to North America! But this pursuit led to a breakdown. A fogginess that could not be slept away. Burnout. Rahaf has authored t...

How does a gas station become known for the best Indian food in Los Angeles? We ask that questions to Hiram Mac, the cofounder of the Bombay Frankie Company. He gives us the story of how a world renowned restaurant can arise from anywhere. And to quote my favorite movie, "anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great..." boy is Hiram fearless! Also if you liked this episode, email me and let...

Iz Harris is a D.C. based filmmaker and co-founder of Bright Trip , a video-based educational platform. In the midst of processing childhood trauma, Iz started developing her filmmaking skills while running a wedding photography and videography business with her husband, Johnny. At the same time she was confronted with her son's regressive autism when doctor's didn't even understand the term. As s...