The Founder Hour

Justin Baldoni is an actor, director, producer, entrepreneur, and changemaker whose efforts are focused on creating impactful media and entertainment. You may know him from the hit series, Jane the Virgin, where he plays the character, Rafael Solano.  Baldoni was born in Los Angeles and raised in Oregon. He spoke to us about his soccer and track career in high school, which ended after an injury....

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 their unique style and craftsmanship. Nick shares stories from his early days, moving to France with his parents and five sisters until the age of 8. Upon their return to America, Nick went to boarding school, got kicked out of boarding school, eve...

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 a fitness club called Equinox. Though money was tight, they managed to barter their way to growing to several locations before ultimately selling the company. Walking away a self-made millionaire, Lavinia fell into depression. Going through an identit...

Jeni Britton Bauer joins Pat and Posh to share her inspiring story of resilience and relentlessness as she built Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a household name across the country. After discovering her deep connection with scent at a young age, Jeni set out to make a difference in the world through the power of ice cream. As she grew her business and expanded into new territories, she was overcome w...

Nate Checketts is the co-founder and CEO of Rhone, a men’s performance lifestyle company founded in 2014. Prior to Rhone, Nate worked for and consulted with some of the biggest technology and entertainment properties in the world including Cisco, the NFL, Legends, FanVision, and Sport Radar. In this episode, Nate joins Pat and Posh to share his story of growing up in Connecticut and always having...

You’ve heard Marc Merrill’s incredible story of founding Riot Games, creator of League of Legends. You’ve heard Ashley Merrill’s inspiring story of launching Lunya. In this episode, Marc and Ashley are BACK on the show - this time, together! - to share how they did it while building a family, the tough challenges they faced along the way (in both business as well as their relationship), and much m...

Chris Stang is the co-founder and CEO of The Infatuation, a restaurant recommendation website and messaging service based in New York. They are most known for publishing restaurant reviews and guides, and as creators of the hashtag #EEEEEATS. In 2018, the company acquired the Zagat rating company from Google. Chris grew up in Denver and found his way into the music industry after a stint in colleg...

This episode was originally released on May 20th. To round out 2019, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy! ---- Chef Johnny Ray Zone is the founder and owner of Howlin’ Ray's, the famous restaurant known for bringing Nashville Hot Chicken to Los Angeles. Originally starting out as a food truck, Howlin’ has quickly become o...

This episode was originally released on July 14th. To round out 2019, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy! ---- Ashley Merrill is the founder and CEO of Lunya, a company who makes modern, luxury sleepwear for women. Before launching the company in 2014, Ashley was working at a venture capital firm as well as an online med...

Jaclyn Johnson is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Create & Cultivate, an online community and conference for women looking to create and cultivate the career of their dreams. She’s also the host of the WorkParty podcast and the author of a book with the same name. Throughout her career, she’s worked with massive brands such as Microsoft, Urban Decay, L’Oréal Paris, Estée Lauder, and Uber...

Peiman Raf is the co-founder and CEO of Madhappy, an optimistic lifestyle clothing brand focused on positivity and mental health. Peiman was born in Italy but moved to America at a young age. His parents are Iranian immigrants who ultimately brought their family to America for a better life and more opportunities for Peiman and his younger brother, Noah. Before launching Madhappy in 2017, Peiman w...

Everette Taylor is a serial entrepreneur, marketing executive, and public speaker. His entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 19 when he started an event marketing technology company, EZ Events, which he successfully sold 2 years later. Since then, Everette has been a leader in the world of entrepreneurship and marketing, building several multi-million dollar brands. As CEO of ET Enterprises,...

This week, The Founder Hour is coming to you LIVE from Summit LA19, Summit’s flagship event and the world’s preeminent ideas festival, which went down on November 8-11 in DTLA’s historic Broadway Theatre District! Pat and Posh start off the episode by doing a quick recap of the weekend’s festivities followed by an insightful conversation with Summit co-founder, Elliott Bisnow, and legendary chef A...

Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Tony Gonzalez, Drew Bledsoe, Warren Moon, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis, Patrick Mahomes. These are just a few of 300+ pro athletes that Leigh Steinberg, founder of Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, has represented throughout his 45-year career as a sports agent. Growing up in LA, Leigh attended UC Berkeley in the late 1960s during the historic Free Sp...

For the first time ever on the show, we have a mother-daughter power duo, Jenefer and Melissa Palmer, founders of OSEA. OSEA is a line of high-quality, naturally sourced skincare products that are also vegan, gluten-free and biodegradable. Jenefer, the visionary behind the company, originally came up with the formulations for OSEA’s products in the 1980s while she was a spa director, but the disco...

Timothy Hollingsworth is a chef, restaurateur, and the founder of Otium, a contemporary restaurant located next to The Broad museum in Downtown LA. He is also the founder of C.J. Boyd’s, Free Play, and Baste, a streetwear brand. Before opening Otium, Timothy was the Chef de Cuisine at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry in Napa Valley. He was also the winner of The Final Table, an American reality...

Shelby and Sandy are brothers and artists based in LA who are known for creating modern, contemporary art inspired by nostalgia and culture - pretty much their childhood! Born and raised in Orange County, Shelby and Sandy were best friends growing up and both had an undying passion for painting and drawing. Influenced by their parents’ interest in art, they always knew they would end up in the cre...

Robert Keith is the founder and chief creative of Hoorsenbuhs, a luxury jewelry brand based in Santa Monica whose clients include Jay-Z, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez, and Barack and Michelle Obama. Before starting Hoorsenbuhs in 2005, Robert was part of the Hollywood scene, first as a photographer and eventually an actor. After realizing the industry wasn’t for him, he decided to venture off on his o...

Jeff Cole is a digital artist and the co-founder of Ikonick, an online retailer of entrepreneur-inspired art and canvas prints. Growing up in Chicago in the 90s, Jeff was the “art kid” and always had a passion for creating. He majored in Illustration in college and had a deep interest in what was happening in pop culture, citing Michael Jordan as his biggest idol. This would eventually lead to the...

Steve Stewart is the co-founder and CEO of Vezt, a mobile app and platform where music fans can acquire rights in their favorite songs and recordings by the artists they love. Pretty sweet, right?! Before launching Vezt in 2017, Steve was the long-time manager of the Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum rock band Stone Temple Pilots. After 10 years with the band, he ventured off into the world of t...

Joe Fernandez is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder of Klout and, more recently, Joymode. Joymode lends you everything you need to have the experiences you want - from everyday activities to unforgettable moments. Their slogan is “Do More, Own Less” and, since their launch in 2015, they have been responsible for providing countless experiences to their members in Los Angeles, with plans to e...

Scott Campbell is a celebrity tattoo artist, fine artist, and co-founder of Beboe. Beboe is a luxury cannabis brand that designs and sells premium, low-THC products such as vaporizer pens and pastilles. Before launching Beboe, Scott had a successful career in tattooing, doing work for high-profile celebrities such as Marc Jacobs, Heath Ledger, and Travis Scott. At one point, he was the most expens...

Armen Keleshian is a celebrity photographer primarily in the music scene. His work has been featured by countless major publications such as Complex, Billboard, Highsnobiety, XXL, Revolt, and Hypebeast. Some of the artists he’s shot photos of include Kanye West, Drake, Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and A$AP Rocky (the list goes on!). In this episode, Armen joins Pat & Posh to share his...

Arman Oganesyan is the co-founder of Dave’s Hot Chicken, a Nashville-style hot chicken joint based in LA which he started with his two childhood friends, Tommy Rubenyan and David Kopushyan. Before getting into the food and hospitality business, Arman was an actor and comedian who also created videos on Vine and YouTube. After discovering hot chicken following a visit to Howlin’ Ray’s and being ins...

Ashley Merrill is the founder and CEO of Lunya, a company who makes modern, luxury sleepwear for women. Before launching the company in 2014, Ashley was working at a venture capital firm as well as an online media company when she realized there was a gap in the sleepwear market for women. Born and raised in LA, Ashley attended UCLA for her bachelors and MBA as well as culinary school prior to wor...