Startup to Storefront

Diego Torres-Palma
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Jan 17, 2023 • 45min

Modern Animal 🐾 - Steven Eidelman (a new approach to veterinary care)

The veterinarian industry is changing, but you probably haven't noticed unless you've been paying close attention. For years, the vet industry has been defined by small mom-and-pop clinics. However, large investment firms have been buying up practices, yet offering nothing new or innovative. These old practices still keep their patient records on paper, don't offer 24/7 access, and if you are out of town, it's nearly impossible to book an emergency appointment. And this is all while, according to Time, suicide rates among veterinarians are incredibly high, and as a matter of fact, women vet suicide rates are 3.5x the national average. Our guest today is changing all of that, from how the clinics are built to waiving exam frees for members, Modern Animal is redefining what it means to practice veterinary medicine from the ground up. In today's episode, we talk with Steven Eidelman, the founder of Modern Animal. We discuss: - How Modern Animal is working to avoid vet burnout with this new approach - Setting up a tattoo parlor at a vet conference - The nationwide vet shortage, and what that means for the pet industry in the coming years
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Jan 10, 2023 • 43min

StoryFile - Heather Maio Smith (preserving history through AI)

Welcome to season five. For centuries, mankind has been obsessed with the possibility of immortality. After Walt Disney's death, reports of his body being frozen in liquid nitrogen spread like wildfire. The thought was that he could be brought back to life by future, more advanced civilizations. These reports turned out to be false, but they didn't stop people from thinking about the concept of living forever. While immortality is still science-fiction, Storyfile has created the next best thing. By having subjects answer upwards of 1,600 questions, a subject's memories are preserved and created into an artificial intelligence so that future generations can hold a conversation in real-time with the deceased. From helping teach social skills to kids with autism to leveling up corporate training modules, the applications of this technology extend way beyond just immortality. In today's episode, we speak with Heather Maio-Smith, the founder of Storyfile. She explains: How Storyfile is preserving history by interviewing holocaust survivors The applications for interactive adult videos, if you know what I mean And The importance of keeping the human element in AI interactions
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Dec 27, 2022 • 40min

Scout - Adam Bent 🦞 🐙 🐟

Canned Octopus, mussels, and squid. In Europe, tinned seafood is a delicacy. But here in North America consumers don't eat as much canned fish. As a matter of fact, most people only know of canned tuna, and that's it. Scout is a craft seafood company that is bringing this tradition back to the North American table. They can lobster, trout, and mussels and take it from the Startup to Storefront team, it tastes delicious. Today we are talking with Adam Bent, the co-founder of Scout. We discuss: Why tuna is the #1 canned fish in the United States How kelp became the new kale Why ever major seafood brand is being forced to change how they fish
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Dec 20, 2022 • 41min

Part 3/3 - How to Build a Distinct Brand: Navigating Setbacks (ft. Founders of Lettuce Grow, Sweet Loren's and Alpha A)

In 1996 Apple had lost $867 million, and by 1997 they were on the verge of bankruptcy. According to the New York Times, they cut 1/3 of their workforce and were about 90 days out from running out of money. In a Hail Mary attempt to survive, the board brought back Steve Jobs as CEO. He eliminated 70% of their product plans, launched the now-famous "Think Different" ad campaign, and reimagined their entire product line. Just a few short years later in 2001, they launched the iPod which propelled them out of the red and into the black. Fast forward to today, and Apple is now worth over $2.3 trillion. Every company has to navigate setbacks. It's an inescapable part of the journey. This is the final installment of a 3 part BrightLive podcast series where we break down how to build a distinct brand. In this episode, we are focusing on navigating and overcoming setbacks. On the panel, we have Jacob Pechenick, the founder of Lettuce Grow, Manu Seve, the founder of Alphaa.io, and Loren Brill-Castle, the founder of Sweet Loren's.In this segment of the series we discuss: dealing with implicit bias while raising capital why embracing big problems can lead to big growth how making the decision to become an entrepreneur is like switching religions
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Dec 13, 2022 • 29min

Part 2/3 - How to Build a Distinct Brand: Creating Company Culture (ft. Founders of Lettuce Grow, Sweet Loren's and Alpha A)

If you're anything like me, the pandemic has completely changed your view on office work. Why go in, when you can ditch the commute and work from home? On the surface, this seems pretty straightforward, but it puts founders and entrepreneurs in a tricky situation. Remote work can make it extremely difficult to develop a real sense of culture. The lack thereof negatively impacts employee retention, recruitment, and overall satisfaction. This is part 2 of a 3-part BrightLive podcast series where we break down how to build a distinct brand. In this episode, we are honing in on developing company culture in a time of uncertainty. On the panel, we have Jacob Pechenick, the founder of Lettuce Grow, Manu Seve, the founder of Alphaa.io, and Loren Brill-Castle, the founder of Sweet Loren's. In this segment of the series we discuss: - How to nurture and develop talent from within your company - How being open about your mission statement can attract the right candidates to you - How to put out fires when key members of the team are on vacation
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Dec 6, 2022 • 40min

How to Build a Distinct Brand: Leadership (ft. Founders of Lettuce Grow 🥬, Sweet Loren's 🍪 and Alpha A) 1 of 3

Approximately 20% of businesses fail in the first year, and around 50% go under in the first 5 years according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The companies that survive do so by navigating setbacks and creating a culture with effective leadership. They build a distinct brand. This is part 1 of a 3-part BrightLive podcast series where we break down how to build a distinct brand. In this episode, we are focusing on leadership and all that goes into becoming an effective leader. On the panel, we have Jacob Pechenick, the founder of Lettuce Grow, Manu Seve, the founder of Alphaa.io, and Loren Brill-Castle, the founder of Sweet Loren's. In this segment of the series we discuss: Quiet quitting Navigating the hiring process Doing personality tests with investors only to have them back out on Christmas Eve
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Nov 29, 2022 • 52min

Michael Allison - The Play Zone 🎾

What separates the world's top athletes is not training, determination, or endurance. It is how they react to stress and pressure in the game. And this isn't a simple mindset shift. It's bigger than that. We are talking about how their nervous system responds to the unknown and unfamiliar. The longest nerve in the body is called the vagus nerve and it's responsible for letting our fight/flight reflex take over OR turning it into PLAY. Our guest today, Michael Allison, has become an expert in how this nerve affects our performance in everything from public speaking to athletic competitions. Through this, he has developed The Play Zone, where he works with coaches to help athletes manage their physiology when it matters most. In this episode we discuss: what western swing dancers have in common with tennis doubles partners how to recognize when our bodies are in a suboptimal state and regain control in order to perform at our best And the application of Polyvagal Theory in helping entrepreneurs make better game-time decisions.
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Nov 22, 2022 • 57min

Taylor & Casey - Cakes Body (Viral TikTok Brand)

NFO. Nipple Freak Out. If you know, you know. In response, Cakes Body has created the world's first, grippy, not sticky nipple covers. They grip using your body's natural heat and have no annoying stick adhesives. It's a real problem all women deal with. So when they began sharing the products on TikTok, videos started to take off. They sold out of their entire inventory after 1 viral video. And then it happened again, again, and again. The founders had tapped into something much larger than just silicone nipple covers. Today we talk with Olivia, Taylor, and Casey, the owners of Cakes Body. We discuss: How Cakes Body is more of a movement than a company How they've built a community of Hype Girls How TikTok drives 90% of their sales Without further adieu, meet Cakes Body.
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Nov 15, 2022 • 42min

Leveraging Social Media - A Masterclass from our past guests

We have a special episode for you this week. We're living in the attention economy. Every day, we are bombarded with nonstop notifications, advertisements, and emails. Since every company is competing for their customer's attention, big brands dump large amounts of money into paid ads to hack the system. But we're going to let you in on a little secret. Sponsored posts on social media don't hit like they did a couple of years ago. Apps like TikTok have leveled the playing field. We've had TikTok videos organically reach 1 million views in 24hrs, and when the client wakes up in the morning, they have tons of orders that came as a result of those videos waiting to be packed. Small brands don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on ads. The playing field has officially been leveled. So this begs the question, "what do you post on TikTok or Instagram to see this same success?" In this episode, we are doing a look back on past episodes to dissect what works, and what doesn't work so you can cash in on this attention economy.
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Nov 8, 2022 • 32min

Max Berg - ELIQS/Barrel Labs

In business school, it's common for college professors to assign semester-long projects where students have to start a business. And to be honest, most students never take this project beyond the final grade. However, Max Berg and his classmate Dave Goldman took this assignment and ran with it. In a world where you can literally customize everything, they couldn't help but ask, "why can't you create customized beer cans"? After all, that's what everyone's drinking in college. After creating custom cans for their families' Thanksgiving dinner, their families, especially the grandparents, just couldn't get enough. Heck, one grandparent was even stashing them away to hold onto the memory. That's when they realized the concept of custom can labels had staying power beyond the classroom. Today we are talking with Max, co-founder of ELIQS, a company that creates customizable beverages made for the moment. We discuss: Why custom drinks pair so well with weddings How they started by soaking Trader Joe's beer bottles in bathtubs And their partnerships with everyone from individuals to businesses including Mischief

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