The Founder Hour

Daymond John is the founder of FUBU, a hip-hop apparel company and pioneer of the streetwear industry, that he started in 1992 with his three friends from Queens, NY. He’s also the star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” where he’s spent the last 11 years investing in and advising countless startups and entrepreneurs. In this episode, we spoke with Daymond about his upbringing and what he was like as a kid, so...

Eugene Remm is the co-founder of Catch Hospitality Group, which owns and operates several high-end restaurants based in New York, LA, Las Vegas, and Playa Del Carmen. In 2016, Eugene co-founded Rumble Boxing which has quickly become one of the fastest-growing fitness concepts in America with 14 locations nationwide. During our conversation, we talk about everything from Eugene’s upbringing and mov...

Will Ahmed is the founder and CEO of WHOOP, which has developed next-generation wearable technology for optimizing human performance and health. In this episode, we talk about everything from Will’s childhood and his passion for sports, how being a college athlete made him obsessed with continuously monitoring his body and performance, his motivation for wanting to be an entrepreneur, how the idea...

Paige Adams-Geller is the founder and creative director of her namesake brand, PAIGE, which she launched in 2004 after years of being one of the top fit models in the industry. What started out as a women’s denim brand quickly expanded into a full lifestyle collection for men and women, sold at premium retailers internationally. In this episode, we talk about everything from Paige’s upbringing gro...

Dave Gilboa is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, a retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses that he started with his 3 friends from college in 2010. Today, Warby Parker is valued at over $3 billion and they’ve truly changed the game when it comes to buying glasses - online and in-store. In this episode, we spoke with Dave about what it was like growing up in between Southern Califo...

Daniel Arsham is a contemporary artist based in New York City whose work exists in between art, architecture, and performance. His company, Snarkitecture, has truly pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with architectural design, some of which include designing the stores for streetwear brand Kith. His past collaborations include Merce Cunningham, Pharrell Williams, and Adidas, and most recentl...

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder of SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm based in New York City which also hosts the SALT Conference, one of the largest investment conferences in the world. In 2017, Anthony was appointed White House Communications Director by Donald Trump, a role that lasted only 11 days before he was fired. Since leaving the White House and the world of politics, Anthony...

David Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms with over $217 billion of assets under management, which he started in 1987. In this episode, we spoke with David about his humble beginnings growing up in Baltimore, what it was like working at the White House during the Carter Administration,...

This episode was originally released on February 10, 2020. To round out this insane year, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy! ---- This is the story of Nick Fouquet (pronounced like “bouquet”). He is the founder and designer of his namesake hat brand, Nick Fouquet, mainly known for its unique style and craftsmanship. Nic...

This episode with Equinox founder, Lavinia Errico was originally released on February 3, 2020. To round out this insane year, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was their top choice! Happy listening! ---- Yearning for an alternative to happy hour after work, a daily routine of a New Yorker in the 1980s, Lavinia Errico and her brothers decided to start...

Joseph William Foster is the co-founder of Reebok, along with his brother Jeff. His grandfather, who shares his same name, was the founder of J.W. Foster and Sons in 1895 and the pioneer of the spiked running shoe as well as the trainer (sneaker). The story of Reebok hasn’t really been told until just recently when Joe released his new book “Shoemaker” in October of this year. If you enjoy this co...

You may know Spencer Rascoff as the co-founder and former CEO of Zillow, the online real estate marketplace which he launched in 2006, but before that he was one of the founders of Hotwire.com. Since stepping down as CEO of Zillow in 2019, Spencer has launched several other new companies including dot. LA, Pacaso Homes, and Supernova Partners which is a SPAC - an acronym for special purpose acquis...

Katerina Schneider is the founder and CEO of Ritual, a health technology company that is reinventing the vitamin. Ritual's number one priority is traceability so customers know where all the ingredients come from and why it’s there. We spoke with Kat about her early days immigrating with her family to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union and living in a welfare hotel in Brooklyn, working at Lehma...

Todd Carmichael is the co-founder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, one of the most innovative coffee brands ever and the inventor of the first-ever draft latte in a can, which he launched  in 1994. During our conversation, we cover everything from Todd’s early days growing up in Washington, being a distance runner and finishing a marathon at age 15, working at Starbucks when they had just th...

Alan Fuerstman is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Montage International, a luxury hospitality management company encompassing Montage Hotels & Resorts, Pendry Hotels & Resorts, Montage Residences, Pendry Residences, and management of some of the country’s premiere golf courses and clubs. Starting out as a doorman at a Marriott hotel in New Jersey, Alan worked his way up to managing several hotel...

Sam Polk is the founder and CEO of Everytable, whose mission is to make sure everyone, everywhere has access to nutritious, fresh food at affordable prices. In this episode, we chat about Sam’s tough upbringing and family life, his college experience and getting kicked out (and reinstated) at Columbia University, working on Wall Street trading bonds and derivatives, leaving Wall Street at the heig...

Jaime Schmidt is the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals, the natural personal care brand that she scaled from kitchen to acquisition by Unilever in 2017. In the process, Jaime led a movement of modern brands bringing naturals to the mainstream. Today, the brand is sold in over 30 countries and 30,000 retailers, and Jaime continues to support their global expansion. Aside from Schmidt’s, Jaime also runs...

David Rogier is the founder and CEO of MasterClass, an online education platform where users can learn pretty much anything from top experts in their fields, including Serena Williams, Martin Scorsese, Hans Zimmer, Wolfgang Puck, Bob Iger, and many more. In this episode, we chat about everything David’s childhood and early career, his thoughts on the current state of education and what the future...

Dominique Crenn is a world-famous French chef, restaurateur, and co-owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, which was named to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019. She’s also the first and only female chef in America to attain three Michelin stars and was awarded “Best Chef in the West” in 2018 by The James Beard Foundation. In January of 2020, she launched VitaBowl with the mission of univer...

Jiake Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Outer, a direct-to-consumer outdoor furniture company that’s turning consumers’ backyards into showrooms. In this episode, we chat about everything from Jiake’s early days growing up in China, how he got into computers and electronics, immigrating to the United States in high school, his early career and various entrepreneurial ventures, what sparked the idea...

Ronnie Fieg is a footwear and clothing designer and the founder of Kith, a retail establishment and streetwear brand that he launched in 2010 with stores in New York, LA, Miami, London, and most recently Tokyo. Over the last decade, Kith has absolutely taken over the streetwear game, collaborating with brands such as Calvin Klein, Versace, Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, and many others, as well as...

Ellen Marie Bennett is the founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett, which specializes in handcrafted premium aprons and culinary gear for the best chefs, home cooks, and makers worldwide. Her story is a wild one, full of adventure and discovery, so we were excited to get a chance to hear about Ellen’s early days, moving to Mexico after graduating from high school and creating a whole new life for hers...

Steven Galanis is the co-founder and CEO of Cameo. Cameo is a video-sharing platform that allows celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Caitlyn Jenner, Carole Baskin, and over 40,000 others, to send personalized messages to fans, such as birthday shoutouts, congratulations, and more. The company has seen a meteoric rise since launching in 2017, so we were excited to sit down with Steven to see what it’s...

Aline Kamakian is a renowned restaurateur, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Mayrig. Mayrig, which means “mother” in Armenian, Aline’s native language, is one of Beirut’s most beloved restaurants specializing in authentic Armenian cuisine, which she founded in 2003. As you may know, the city of Beirut was hit with a massive explosion on August 4th of this year that decimated the city, causing a...

Opal Tometi is a human rights activist, writer, strategist, community organizer, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter. Starting out as a hashtag on social media in 2013, Black Lives Matter has grown to become the largest movement in U.S. history, as reported by the New York Times. We had the unique pleasure of speaking with Opal and learning about her personal background and upbringing, what inspi...