Ready For Launch: How To Build A Startup

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world. This week, we’re talking with Emily Tout, Co-Founder at Mighty Slice, a company passionate about making the kind of protein snacks you’ll genuinely look forward to. Cheesecake! Among many things, we discuss: Trans...

Hello and, welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world. This week I’m talking with Miles Lim, co-founder and Chief Banana Officer of Bananablades Among many things, we discuss: How he transitioned from photography, to chemistry, to engineering, to running a...

Welcome to Ready For Launch. This week I’m talking to Jake Abrams, Founder of Odyssey, a growth marketing agency focused on direct-to-consumer startups. We talk about: The benefits of working in marketing for small business The value of research in selling a product Growing from a team of 1 to a team of 10 How to easily transition from full-time work to your first business The power of referrals H...

Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their businesses. This week I’m talking to Bohdi Valentine, Founder of Burgerland Smash Up, a brand delivering regional burger and hot dog experiences to the mouths of Vancouver. We talk about: Transitioning from tech to food Hitting rock bottom and rising from the ashes Learning how to run a business The history of...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week I’m talking to Paul Owusu, CEO and co-founder of Phreshly, a brand making ready-to-drink canned cocktails from all-natural ingredients. We talk about: Social mining your way to product market fit How cocktails can transport you to a particular place The 3 tier process of selling liquor in the US The growth of the DTC b...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week I’m talking to Rhain Beutler, CEO and founder of Govalo, a brand that’s reinventing the gifting experience for ecommerce. We talk about: The importance of speaking to users The role of the CEO as both optimist and pessimist Life as a second time founder The loneliness of leadership The desire to build a billion dollar...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week I’m talking with Adrian Alfieri, CEO, and founder of Verbatim Labs. A content studio that helps early-stage teams launch and scale their online content production. We discuss: Why brands should turn on their content machine Why expert interviews are such a powerful content tool How Adrian discovered the company pain po...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week my guest is Sarah Becker, founder of Becker Talks Money, a business that helps entrepreneurs make a plan for their future by making individually tailored financial plans. Among many things, we discuss: John Bogal’s Enough philosophy Turning a free service for friends into a viable business Creating an online course Mar...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week my guest is Maruti Agarwal, co-founder, and CEO of ShopAgain, a software company that helps e-commerce brands running on Shopify improve their customer retention through machine learning. If you’re a business finding your social media ad spending has suddenly shot through the roof in the last few years, this episode is...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. We’re stepping away from our usual startup focus today, and entering the world of music. My guest is songwriter Jake Brewer, who has just released his first album into the world. Among many things, we discuss: The imposter syndrome of being a musician What it means to define success for yourself The role of the producer in music...

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week I’m talking with two guests - Rob Palumbo, and Erika Fabian, CEO and Head of Sales respectively at OutPoint App. OutPoint is a SaaS platform built to enable the effective allocation of paid media budgets through automated media mix modelling. We discuss: How OutPoint empowers marketing leaders to make more predictable...

This week I’m talking with Ari Tulla, CEO and co-founder of Elo. A brand that believes that our diet is making us unhealthy, and wants to turn your food back into medicine. We discuss: The modern obsession with Finnish names for brands Why health tech is so important in the US The impact of wearables on health The importance of dietary changes versus supplement use Testing and changing their busin...

This week I’m talking to Sam Lee, founder of IndeCollective, a community + learning platform where independent workers can learn to translate their specialized skills into personally fulfilling careers. We talk about: The move from Full-time employment to consulting Why Sam started a second business How he developed his product through research The curriculum of the IndeCollective course How he gr...

This week I’m talking to Tahira Rehmatullah, co-founder & CEO of Commons - a natural wellness brand that offers products, education, and a community of coaches around CBD usage. If you’re interested in learning more about using cannabis for health, and the growth of the legal cannabis industry, this is the show for you. We talk about: The difference between the two major cannabinoid players -...

This week I’m talking to Jen Zeszut, co-founder of Goodles, a fantastic new Mac and Cheese brand that is all about great taste, great nutrition, great fun, and sillyness. Please enjoy this uplifting conversation about the beginnings of brand that brings joy to the world, by playing by its own rules, through my favorite food - pasta. We talk about: How to decide if you should marry your husband Whe...

Kavnia is sustainable cold drip coffee powered by women. Did you know that cold brew coffee is experiencing 40% year over year growth in America? No? Well, If you love coffee, this is the episode for you. I’m chatting to Olivia VonNieda about the launch of her cold brew coffee concentrate that’s recently arrived in stores in Chicago. We chat about coffee brewing techniques, the benefits of bootstr...

This week I’m in conversation with Afshin Mehin, founder of design agency Card79 about their recent renaming. We talk about blurring the lines between the digital and physical realms, the old and the new, his family of fortune tellers, and the creation of their beautiful NFT artwork series - the Kintsugi Upgrades. Links https://card79.com/ https://www.instagram.com/card.79/ https://twitter.com/car...

We're kicking off the new season with a chance for you to get to know your podcast host Ian Black as he shares stories about how Ready For Launch came to life.

This week I have Zach Laberge on the show - a young Canadian entrepreneur with dreams of revolutionizing the way rental businesses operate. We talk about: Joining the movement of the sharing economy How he got into dropshipping at the age of 10 The key to successful instagram marketing for your pet. Finding the right team Consistently developing your network What it's like building venture backed...

This week my guest is Justin Clegg, Founder of Allset (https://www.allsethq.com/). We dive into why home services is an area ripe for technological innovation, and how he wants to bring the power of AI and automation to the 5 million home services businesses through their mobile commerce platform. Show notes: https://readyforlaunchpodcast.com/#/blog/15-show-notes-justin-clegg-founder-of-allset

Today we're going to talk about Periods! If you've never stopped to think about why they are still considered a taboo topic of conversation, then this episode is just for you. We've got Nick Jain on the show. Nick is one half of the founding team of August, a modern period care company built for Gen Z, that's ready to redefine how the world talks about periods, and truly have an impact on a new ge...

This week I have Matt Walsh in the house, founder of distributed experience design agency Green Stone, and newly formed digital talent advisory company Morel.  We discuss: the difference between distributed work and working from home the future of hybrid working models why businesses should treat freelancers just like full-time employees how the role of CEO changes as a company matures and wh...

This week I'm chatting to Braden Parker, co-founder, and CEO of custom footwear company Casca. We had a great conversation where we dove into how Casca are working to revolutionize the shoe manufacturing process that hasn't really changed in a century. We also discuss the difficulties of hiring a team that will take your business to the next level, how to focus your product messaging for the right...

This week we're taking a trip down memory lane with Byran Mahoney, CEO of Chord Commerce (formerly CTO at Glossier, and Co-founder of Dynamo). We discuss his journey launching multiple businesses over the course of his career, and what he's learned along the way. From his first job scrubbing toilets and cutting grass at age 13, through to the launch of his latest endeavour Chord, a commerce-as-a-s...

This week I'm learning from the wonderful Danielle Thompson about how she's transforming her existing online community Design Club into a more focussed service called Design Match. We discuss : What it takes to become a confident designer Tips and tricks for managing your time Creating an online community that people want to engage in Avoiding the busy trap The benefits of fear, and the power of v...