The Founder Hour

Dave Liniger is the visionary leader of the Denver-based global real estate franchise, RE/MAX, which he co-founded with his wife, Gail, in 1973. Today, the company has more than 140,000 agents in almost 9,000 offices and a presence in over 110 countries and territories. Dave is well respected internationally for his vast knowledge of the real estate industry and influence on housing policy and is...

Rob Petrozzo is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Rally, a first-of-its-kind liquid financial marketplace for buying & selling equity shares in ultra-rare assets the same way you buy & sell stocks. From baseball cards and NFTs to cars and comics, Rally is making investing behind ideas, emotions, and communities safe, easy, and accessible. Prior to Rally, Rob held several positions as a d...

Rich Barton is the CEO and co-founder of Zillow Group, where he leads the company’s work to transform how people buy, sell, rent, and finance homes. Zillow is a real estate marketplace company that was founded in 2006 and has literally become a household name. Prior to Zillow, Rich also founded the online travel company and Microsoft spinoff, Expedia, as well as job search engine and career commun...

John Tabis is the co-founder and chairman of The Bouqs Company, which is reinventing the consumer experience and supply chain in the floral industry by connecting farmers directly to their customers. John and The Bouqs Co. have been featured on Shark Tank, 20/20, CNBC, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal Live, Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times. John is also the Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners,...

David Rubenstein is back on the show for a second time to discuss his new book, “How To Invest,” where he provides a masterclass on investing featuring conversations with the biggest names in finance such as Sam Zell, Larry Fink, Mike Novogratz, and Marc Andreessen. David is the co-founder and co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private invest...

Ben Clymer is the founder and executive chairman of Hodinkee, a luxury watch and lifestyle website. He is an authority and influencer in the world of watches and was dubbed “The High Priest of Horology” by the New York Times in 2013. He recently also launched the Fairgame Golf app, golf’s first digital clubhouse. We sat down with Ben at The Beverly Hills Hotel to learn all about his upbringing, wh...

Miki Agrawal is the founder of several acclaimed social enterprises: TUSHY, THINX, & WILD. She is also the author of the #1 best-selling books DO COOL SH*T and DISRUPT-HER. Miki was named "Fast Company's Most Creative People", “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, and INC's “Most Impressive Women Entrepreneurs”. She passionately speaks about her 15 years of entrepreneurial adventures,...

Kevin Ryan is an investor and serial entrepreneur who has founded several businesses including Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, MongoDB, and Zola. He helped grow DoubleClick from 1996 to 2005, first as president and later as CEO. It was acquired by Google for $3.1 billion in March 2008. Kevin continues to found and invest in companies through AlleyCorp, a venture capital firm he founded in 2008. SUB...

Noubar Afeyan is the founder and CEO of life sciences innovation firm Flagship Pioneering. He’s also the chairman and co-founder of Moderna, known for its Covid-19 vaccine. He has helped start more than 70 public and private healthcare and life sciences companies over the course of his career. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Armenian parents, he and his family fled the Lebanese Civil War to move to Mo...

Troy Carter rose to prominence representing and nurturing global superstars including Lady Gaga and John Legend as founder & CEO of Atom Factory. He is the former Global Head of Creator Services for Spotify and the current founder and CEO of Venice Music and Q&A, a technology + media company focused on powering the business of music via distribution, services, and data analytics. His latest ventur...

Adrian Aoun is the founder and CEO of Forward, an AI-based healthcare system combining world-class private doctors with new technology to enable proactive, data-driven primary care. Most recently, he was the head of Special Projects for the CEO of Google/Alphabet, where he founded one of the Alphabet companies Sidewalk Labs. Adrian arrived at Google upon the acquisition of his AI startup Wavii and...

Seth Goldman is the co-founder and former CEO of Honest Tea, a bottled organic tea company he started with his college professor, Barry Nalebuff, in 1998. After selling the company to Coca-Cola, he stepped down from his role as CEO in 2015 and became the executive chair of Beyond Meat. In February 2020, he co-founded Eat the Change (along with PLNT Burger) which is on a mission to create chef-craf...

Kenneth Cole is an American fashion clothing designer, entrepreneur, and founder of the eponymous company and brand. He founded Kenneth Cole Productions in 1982, which designs men’s and women’s footwear, clothing, and accessories, and has been running the company ever since. Aside from his business, he has been openly involved in publicly supporting AIDS awareness and research throughout his caree...

T.K. Pillan is the founder and chairman of Veggie Grill, the largest 100% plant-based restaurant company in the United States. Founded in 2006, Veggie Grill’s mission is to change American food culture for the better. T.K. is also a founding partner of PowerPlant Partners, a growth equity fund investing in emerging consumer food, beverage, and food service companies. Prior to Veggie Grill, T.K. wa...

Ross Mackay is the co-founder and CEO of Daring Foods. Founded in Los Angeles in 2018, Daring Foods produces plant-based chicken aimed to provide a healthy food alternative. The company's products include vegan meat products that are dairy and egg-free as well as contain no palm oil, genetically modified organisms, hormones, or antibiotics, thereby creating a sustainable, delicious and nutritious...

Toni Ko is the founder of NYX Cosmetics, a cosmetics brand offering a wide range of vegan-friendly products which are sold in over 70 countries at thousands of retailers. Toni immigrated from South Korea to Los Angeles in 1986 and in 1999, founded the company that was later acquired by L’Oréal (in 2014) for a reported $500 million. Following the acquisition and five-year non-compete agreement with...

Rich Antoniello is the founder and former CEO of Complex Networks, a media and entertainment company for youth culture that reports on popular and emerging trends in style, sneakers, food, music, sports, and pop culture. Complex was originally started as a bi-monthly magazine by fashion designer Marc Eckō. Rich joined forces with Marc several years in and helped transform the company into a multi-...

Matteo Franceschetti is the co-founder and CEO of Eight Sleep, the first sleep fitness company. Eight leverages innovation, technology and personal biometrics to restore individuals to their peak energy levels each morning. Backed by leading Silicon Valley investors including Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator, it was named by Fast Company in 2018 as one of the Most Innovative Companies in Consumer...

Ben Goodwin is the co-founder and CEO of OLIPOP, a company on a mission to provide an affordable, delicious alternative to soda that delivers leading-edge health benefits to mainstream consumers. The company has received significant investment from celebrities such as Camila Cabello, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, The Jonas Brothers, Mindy Kaling, Logic, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more, and recently raised a $3...

Brad Hargreaves is the founder and CEO of Common, the nation’s leading residential brand and operating platform that designs, leases, and manages multifamily properties that appeal to today's renters. Before Common, he co-founded General Assembly, a global educational institution empowering individuals to find work they love. General Assembly was acquired by the Adecco Group in 2018 for $412 milli...

Mark Gainey is the co-founder and executive chairman of Strava, an app for mostly runners and cyclists to track their physical activity and engage with others on its social network. We spoke about Mark’s upbringing and early career all the way up to what inspired him to start the company and his vision for the future of the space. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-news...

Gordon Segal is co-founder and former chairman and CEO of Crate & Barrel, an internationally recognized, multichannel home furnishings retail chain. He led the company as CEO from 1962 until his retirement in 2008. Today, he is managing director of Prairie Management Group, a private investment firm. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletter FOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM...

Akash Nigam is the co-founder and CEO of Genies and General Partner of Humans. Genies is an avatar technology company that is building the future of digital identities. We had a super interesting conversation with Akash all about his background, what inspired him to start Genies, his thoughts on Web 3.0 and the metaverse, and more. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-new...

Björn Öste is the co-founder of Oatly, a Swedish food company that produces alternatives to dairy products from oats. He’s also the founder of Good Idea Drinks. He started Oatly in 1994 along with his brother, Rickard Öste, a food scientist and the inventor of oat milk. In 2021, the company IPOed at a $10 billion valuation. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletter...

Jim McCann is the founder and chairman of 1-800-Flowers, one of the first companies to pioneer and popularize the use of both toll-free telephone numbers and Web sites in the early days of the Internet to sell goods and services directly to consumers. What started as a flower shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 1976 has since grown into a publicly-traded company worth over $2 billion with...