Just Go Grind

Lillian Rafson, founder and CEO of Pack Up + Go, launched the business in January 2016 at 23 years old. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and a graduate of New York University’s Gallatin School with a major in Consumer Culture, Lillian has always had a passion for travel and supporting small businesses. Without raising a dollar, Lillian has grown Pack Up + Go to a multi-million-dollar business with 10 full-time employees. She has been honored as a member of the inaugural Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 class, and as a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow. She is thrilled to share her love for exploration through Pack Up + Go’s mission of embracing the unknown and encouraging spontaneity in all of its travelers. Pack Up + Go is a modern travel agency, planning 3-day weekend trips around the United States. The catch? Your destination is a surprise until the day you depart. Pack Up + Go revolutionizes domestic travel, using the element of surprise to heighten how American travelers perceive and experience their country. They take the pain out of planning by booking travel and accommodation, while providing curated city guides for three-day weekend excursions. Their customer seeks to explore the United States with an angle of spontaneity, ease, and adventure. They work to distribute the socioeconomic benefits of tourism among small and mid-sized cities, while encouraging travelers to experience places they may not seek out organically. Much of current American travel pivots on a few major metropolitan destinations, homogenizing the domestic travel experience. Pack Up + Go challenges the status quo to make travel exciting and unique. Customers select their budget (for travel + accommodation), and complete a quick survey detailing travel history and preferences. Given their budget and survey responses, the Pack Up + Go team selects the perfect destination for the trip. They send customers on their way with a city guide toolkit in hand - since travelers don't have time to do research on their destination. Pack Up + Go provides a curated map of recommendations, tailored to travelers' interests and preferences, all while supporting local businesses. The goal is for travelers to feel as though their oldest friend is showing them around somewhere new. There’s somewhere to explore this weekend. They do the work - you pack up + go. Connect with Lillian Rafson Pack Up + Go Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Pinterest LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Lillian Rafson in this Episode Quitting her job to travel How Lillian started Pack Up + Go in 2016 Coming from a family of entrepreneurs Lillian's informal process of customer discovery Lillian's original model for Pack Up + Go Winning a local pitch competition for women in business Success as a mix of luck and hard work and struggling with impostor syndrome Getting her first customers outside of her social circle Navigating pricing The influence the first few travelers had on marketing and other aspects of Pack Up + Go How Lillian and her team decide on destinations Managing customer feedback Building out the Pack Up + Go team Customer acquisition and media attention Bootstrapping the business and the benefit of partnerships The challenge of Lillian's evolving role as the business has grown What travelers get with Pack Up + Go Balancing building the company while working at a bar The "good problems" that led to upgrading their technology How COVID has affected the business Overnight product development during COVID Building community among fellow entrepreneurs and becoming a Tory Burch Fellow Lillian's book recommendations Lillian's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs Links from the Episode Riga, Latvia How I Built This podcast with Guy Raz The 2016 Business Insider feature on Pack Up + Go Thrillist article on Pack Up + Go Vogue article on Pack Up + Go Pack Up + Go in The Wall Street Journal Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Start with Why by Simon Sinek

Javier Laval, founder of FutureStream, is the ultimate creative director and entrepreneur. If you have attended one of his infamous JL Events in Hollywood entertaining top celebrities, athletes, and trendsetters then you will realize quickly that he is connected to the key influencers in music, fashion, sports, and entertainment. Truestar Media, his marketing company, has worked on major creative campaigns for companies such as Nike, Boost Mobile, Pony, Nooka, and many more.  Javier’s background is in creative brand marketing. His migration into fashion was a move that he chose to make after helping numerous companies build their own brands and products that were specifically geared towards the young influencer market. In 2008 he decided it was time to take the leap and founded his own brand Android Homme. Self financed, and a tightly run operation has led to global distribution and respect from many of his fashion peers as well as the laundry list of celebrity clients and supporters of the brand. His inspirations range from modern architecture to sacred geometry. His belief that the human mind is similar to a computer and therefore can be programmed or “Re-Programmed” is what serves as his ongoing inspiration to try new things. Locking Javier in a construct is a mistake, he is a unapologetic jack of all trades. Javier is a proud and loving father of two children, is fluent in spanish, a dedicated Yoga practitioner, meditation master, and biohacker that is focused on health and wellness through his LOVEMORE Labs. Connect with Javier Laval FutureStream Javier Laval LinkedIn Javier on Instagram Javier on Twitter Lovemore Labs Some of the Topics Covered by Javier Laval in this Episode How Javier views himself as a creator and entrepreneur Javier's experience as a nightclub promoter in the Bay Area The end of Javier's basketball career Promoting artists who would become big names and the opportunity to work with labels How Javier started his first company, Truestar Media How the music industry has changed over the years Nike as one of their first clients What led to Javier's creation of Android Homme and how it changed the men's footwear industry What makes a successful live event Building Android Homme from zero Traveling to China, figuring out manufacturing, and issues with quality The challenges of distribution and scaling for Android Homme How Javier approached designing the footwear itself Building an international brand in the pre-social media era The intense pace of the fashion industry and the toll it took on Javier Starting Lovemore Labs How COVID inspired the creation of FutureStream What is FutureStream and its traction so far The variety of industries the FutureStream platform can support and why creators are choosing it The big vision for FutureStream Links from the Episode Android Homme Karmaloop

Drew Sterrett is the co-founder and CEO of LEX, a commercial real estate securities marketplace for all investors and real estate owners. Drew and his co-founders, Dean Sterrett and Jesse Daugherty, began LEX in 2017. With LEX, you can diversify into commercial real estate properties with the potential to earn passive income and build wealth $100 at a time. LEX makes real estate investing simple by providing investors the freedom to purchase into individual commercial real estate properties through the publicly issued stock of the issuer. Investors benefit from transparency and LEX's research functionality. For property owners, LEX provides a more efficient and cost effective way to raise capital through a public offering of a partial interest in the property at fair market value. Connect with Drew Sterrett LEX LEX app on IOS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn drew@lex-markets.com Some of the Topics Covered by Drew Sterrett in this Episode What is LEX and its origin story Why LEX is the first of its kind The first year and a half spent researching, planning and preparing to raise capital and go full time with LEX Raising funds through VC Why Drew and his co-founders, Dean Sterrett and Jesse Daugherty, make a good team The roller coaster that is entrepreneurship Customer acquisition for LEX Expectation versus reality for Drew and his co-founders while building LEX How COVID has affected LEX and what they're focused on today Scaling supply and demand and managing customer feedback Building out LEX's team and culture Challenges Drew and his team have faced along the way How Drew views his entrepreneurial journey and getting past doubts Networking and asking for advice How Drew structures his time, work-life balance and what he does to recharge Drew's book recommendations Drew's favorite parts of being an entrepreneur Drew's advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode #134: Zuleyka Strasner, Founder and CEO of Zero, on Building a Convenient Zero-Waste Grocery Delivery Service, Becoming the Largest Sustainability Platform in the U.S., and Growing 15X in 5 Months Greycoft ATS The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz Zero to One by Peter Thiel The Tycoons by Charles Morris Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar Acorns

David Potter is the co-founder and CEO of Curu. Curu’s mission is to flip the entire credit system upside down and help the people that need credit the most reach their goals. Curu helps lenders expand their total available market, reduce their customer acquisition costs and fund more loans by building their applicant’s eligibility. David Potter, a Bill Gates Scholar, and Abb Kapoor were randomly assigned freshman year roommates at the University of Maryland. When they applied for off-campus housing their sophomore year, they were rejected from every student apartment complex around the University because they didn't have established credit. This is what started the passion that became Curu’s mission of building a more inclusive credit system and eliminating rejection from credit-based decisions. Curu enables lenders to approve of more applicants. With its “Approval Dashboard”, lenders can service more of their applicants by helping them become a more qualified account holder. Curu has helped hundreds of applicants get approved for financial products and reach their financial goals. Whether it’s using Curu’s automated system or working directly with one of Curu’s certified credit consultants, the company has been successful in helping underrepresented consumers become more financially free. Connect with David Potter Curu Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by David Potter in this Episode What is Curu How and why David and his co-founder Abb Kapoor started Curu Automating Curu's services Creating an app and the resulting quick growth Early customer acquisition Being a first-time founder David's experience and advice for using accelerators Curu's $3M seed round Curu's pre-accelerator fundraising Building the Curu team and scaling How COVID has affected Curu The biggest challenges David has faced building and growing Curu Being a POC in the FinTech startup world Diversity and inclusion in hiring The big mission and vision for Curu David's book recommendations How David recharges away from work Links from the Episode Ycombinator Techstars FIS The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson The One Thing by Gary Keller The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz

Jesse Horwitz is co-founder and co-CEO at Hubble, one of America’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer e-commerce companies. Horwitz and co-founder Ben Cogan earned spots on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list in 2016 and over the past two years have extended Hubble’s footprint around the world. Horwitz wrote and published Selling Naked, a how-to and guidance book on direct-to-consumer marketing. Horwitz is also co-founder at Mockingbird, a baby stroller brand, and BZR, a one-stop shop DTC platform, as well as a board member for Andie Swim, a fashion and apparel company. Horwitz is currently active in advising Resolved CX, a customer service platform for direct-to-consumer companies; AdCouncil, an online campaign to optimize voter registration for the 2020 election; and Humanity Forward, a non-profit dedicated toraising money for those devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Connect with Jesse Horwitz Hubble Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Jesse Horwitz in this Episode How Jesse and his co-founder Ben Cogan started Hubble The benefit of working on friends' projects Deciding to go full-time with Hubble and raising their first seed round Defining roles and responsibilities with his co-founder Identifying a manufacturing partner Customer acquisition and marketing channels Fundraising and what Jesse would've done differently in that regard How the D2C market has changed in recent years Where Jesse sees opportunity in the D2C market How Jesse views competition and standing out as a brand How COVID has affected Jesse and the Hubble team How Jesse views his entrepreneurial journey Jesse's resource and book recommendations Writing his book, Selling Naked Ventures that have been "failures" for Jesse What Jesse does to recharge How Jesse structures his day Jesse's advice for entrepreneurs starting a D2C business Jesse's tips for networking Links from the Episode Harry's shave club Bridgewater Associates Mockingbird strollers Andie swimwear Cheers Black Wolf Jesse's book, Selling Naked Stratechery (Ben Thompson) Disney War by James B. Stewart

Nancy is the CEO and Founder of PathMatch, a platform that matches students to in-demand careers, helps them prepare, and then connects them to top employers.  She’s also a Talent Partner at Hypothesis Ventures, a Venture Capital firm, where she advises high-growth companies on hiring.  Prior to this, she was former CEO of FILD, a recruiting firm that connects top talent to some of the most well-respected companies around the country. After spending two decades helping companies hire, she noticed a huge skills gap emerging.  Students were graduating from college without the requisite skills and experience to land most entry-level jobs companies were looking to fill.  After working with hundreds of students, she realized this was a result of students' lack of knowledge of the modern career paths available today.  She and her team built PathMatch to connect students to compatible career paths and then help them build the relevant skills and experiences they need to land top jobs. Nancy holds a BA in Psychology and Music from Emory University. Connect with Nancy Soni PathMatch Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Nancy Soni in this Episode How Nancy got her start in recruiting Hiring over 100 people in 5 years How and why Nancy started FILD and its early growth The impact of having seen over 4 million resumes The challenges of scaling FILD and building a team The unexpected effect Coachella had on Nancy’s business Things companies should be thinking about regarding hiring and how to know when to hire a recruiting firm Resources Nancy recommends for entrepreneurs to find talent Selling FILD and transitioning to PathMatch What PathMatch began as and how Nancy decided to start it What PathMatch offers today and moving from high-end consultancy to a “freemium” service How Nancy acquires customers How COVID changed things for Nancy and PathMatch How Nancy creates content Joining Hypothesis as a Talent Partner How Nancy went about hiring for PathMatch PathMatch’s traction in the first two years Helping students understand their hireability rating Expanding beyond entry level to mid- and late- career coaching Nancy’s book recommendations  How Nancy recharges from work and her advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode FILD Lunchclub Career Karma Hypothesis Ventures The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore Start at the End by David Lavinsky Traction by Gino Wickman The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib The Leader's Guide by Eric Ries Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely Hooked by Nir Eyal Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown Mastering the VC Game by Jeffrey Bussgang Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson Zero to One by Peter Thiel Trillion Dollar Coach by Erich Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle You are a Badass by Jen Sincero #137: Cole Zucker on His Remarkable Journey from $0 to $60M in Revenue, Selling a Company, and Starting the Influencer Platform Hey Hero

Cole Zucker is the Co-Founder and former Co-CEO of Green Creative, a company that offers a comprehensive line of high-performance LED lighting solutions that have been widely adopted by some of the largest companies in the world. After graduating from college, Cole moved to Shanghai, China where he met his business partner, Guillaume Vidal. In 6 years, they took the company from $0 to $60 million in revenue and eventually decided to sell the business. Cole and his wife Katie have since started a new venture, influencer platform Hey Hero, offering a solution for people who want a better way to communicate directly with influencers—and for influencers who want to better monetize that connection. Platform users can search for their favorite influencers and ask questions or request personalized recommendations for a fee. Then influencers can accept the offers, and respond on their own time—via video, voice chat, or text. Connect with Cole Zucker Green Creative Green Creative on LinkedIn Green Creative on Facebook Green Creative on Twitter Hey Hero Hey Hero on Facebook Hey Hero on Instagram cole@heyhero.com Some of the Topics Covered by Cole Zucker in this Episode How Cole and his business partner Guillaume Vidal started Green Creative in Shanghai Why Cole moved to China after college Cole's entrepreneurial spirit and inspirations Cole and Guillaume's napkin business plan Figuring out roles and responsibilities as co-founders and co-CEOs Getting Green Creative off the ground and the challenge of getting their first customers How Cole was eventually able to move past door-to-door sales How their product development and manufacturing evolved How learning from mistakes led to growth Building out a team Standing out against the competition by becoming fast integrators The process of deciding to sell the business What Cole would've done differently looking back Deciding to start another business and what is Hey Hero The customer discovery process for Hey Hero Cole's book recommendations How Cole recharges Cole's advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode The Outsiders by William Thorndike

Micah Green is the Founder, President and CEO of Maidbot, an industrial automation company on a mission to bridge the gap between robots and humans - starting with Rosie - the world's very first housekeeping robot for hotels and commercial buildings. Like a self-driving car, Rosie navigates intelligently through the space while cleaning floors and collecting invaluable operational and environmental data. Maidbot's automated systems deliver unprecedented value to hotel operators, room attendants, and hotel guests. Maidbot is Micah's dream come true. He manages the product vision, sales strategy, cash flows, investor relations, and team development. Over the past decade, Micah has started multiple businesses including two successful smartphone applications. He strongly follows the words of Abraham Lincoln, "the best way to predict the future is to create it." Outside of Maidbot, Micah enjoys longboarding, windsurfing, and producing electronic music. He is currently guest lecturing at Cornell University - where he previously studied - for multiple classes within the Executive MBA and Industrial and Labor Relations programs. Connect with Micah Green Maidbot LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Some of the Topics Covered by Micah Green in this Episode The “aha” moment that led to Micah to starting MaidBot Becoming an entrepreneur from the young age of 7 Turning an idea into a company The customer discovery process for MaidBot Evolving the idea based on need and feasibility Early fundraising and networking The decision to drop out of Cornell Getting accepted as a Thiel Fellow on the 4th try Micah’s advice for fundraising The process and challenges of product development Getting their first LOIs and actually getting their robot into hotels The growth strategy for Maidbot and traction so far How Micah approaches expansion The manufacturing side of things Balancing short-term and long-term planning and the big vision for Maidbot The name inspiration for Maidbot's "Rosie" A typical day for Micah and work-life balance How COVID-19 is affecting the Maidbot team The hiring process at Maidbot Micah's book recommendations Micah's takeaways for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode Shark Puncher app The Thiel Fellowship The Jetsons Calm app Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle Scaling Up by Verne Harnish Start with Why by Simon Sinek Venture Deals by Brad Feld Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson The Wright Brothers by David McCullough Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

Kristi Ebong is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Orbita, the leading conversational AI platform for healthcare. Orbita’s award-winning, HIPAA-compliant conversational AI platform powers voice and chat solutions for healthcare and life sciences organizations that improve patient engagement, increase clinical efficiency, and improve outcomes. Customers include innovative organizations like Mass General Brigham, Mayo Clinic, Amwell, Yale New Haven Hospital, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, University of Chicago Medicine, and others. Partners included Cognizant, Deloitte, Pariveda, and ServiceNow. Kristi also serves on the advisory board for The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business and as an advisor to global thought leadership consultancy HealthXL. She was previously Head of Emerging Technology at Cedars-Sinai Health System where she served as an advisor on new and emerging technology and launched the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Powered by Techstars. Prior to that, Kristi worked for provider systems, technology startups, and cross-vertical health organizations (including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Healthspottr, and the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT). She was previously a management consultant for #1 KLAS-ranked Stockamp & Associates, where she led operational and revenue performance improvement for hospital systems. Kristi started her career working in implementation and product development at Epic Systems, focused on electronic health record deployment across hospital systems. Connect with Kristi Ebong Orbita Facebook Twitter Kristi on LinkedIn Orbita on LinkedIn Some of the Topics Covered by Kristi Ebong in this Episode What is Orbita Kristi's current role at Orbita Figuring out what patients need and the "access problem" How Orbita approaches partnerships The importance of diversity and inclusion in the sphere of healthcare Patient journey mapping The big vision for Orbita Where Kristi sees opportunity in the healthcare technology industry Kristi's experience serving as the Director of Emerging Technology for Cedars-Sinai Accelerator How to handle the challenges of getting a healthcare startup off the ground Leveraging the Orbita platform to build and adapt quickly in the context of COVID-19 How Kristi prioritizes new projects How Kristi was inspired to work on the business side of healthcare delivery Kristi's advice for those interested in working in the healthcare industry How Kristi structures her workday How Kristi recharges outside of work The biggest lessons Kristi has learned throughout her career Links from the Episode Mayo Clinic Shiv Gaglani of Osmosis Brian Conyer of GIBLIB Cedars-Sinai Accelerator MassChallenge HealthTech (formerly PULSE@MassChallenge) MobiHealthNews MedCity News HIStalk Becker's Hospital Review MM&M

Zuleyka Strasner is the Founder and CEO of Zero, providing zero-waste groceries delivered fast, all to fit with their mission of removing single-use plastics from the food system. They architected a way to save the oceans while eating cleaner, healthier, and cheaper than ever before, and are leading the zero-plastic movement, one pantry at a time. Zero is fighting against the notion that convenience and environmentalism don't go together, and is proving that you can have what you want, when you want it, without ruining the planet. Connect with Zuleyka Strasner Zero Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn zuleyka@zerogrocery.com Some of the Topics Covered by Zuleyka Strasner in this Episode The trip that inspired Zero The challenge Zuleyka faced of going plastic-free at home How Zuleyka's unconventional customer discovery process led to her actually starting Zero What questions Zuleyka asked as she got her business off the ground Fundraising and making Zero her full-time gig The 263 meetings that led to 6 checks making up her first $500K The process of launching and getting to the first 100 customers How Zuleyka made her first hires How Zuleyka and her team have approached product sourcing How COVID-19 has affected the Zero team Growing 15X from February to July 2020 and the challenges of such rapid growth Becoming a "wartime CEO" How Zero's customer acquisition process has changed Zero's traction and team as of July 2020 Zuleyka's vision for scaling Zero How Zuleyka views her role Zuleyka's advice for entrepreneurs Links from the Episode Growth hacking Charles Hudson with Precursor Ventures