Inspired with Alexa von Tobel

Over the past 13 years, Warby Parker has become synonymous with offering stylish eyewear at revolutionary prices. The company was born back at Wharton in 2010, when a group of classmates—including co-CEO Neil Blumenthal, came together around an idea they couldn't get out of their heads. Since then, Warby Parker has grown to over 200 brick and mortar locations and went public in 2021. They've also hit a giant milestone: distributing 15 million pairs of glasses globally through their Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, helping people get the glasses they need to learn, work, and achieve better economic outcomes. Neil shares how it took them six months and over 2,000 names to settle on Warby Parker, why getting pricing right was key to their early success, and why empathy is key to business-building. 

The company’s director of finance explains how her job goes well beyond accounting. Tina Hetzer, director of finance at Pink Lily, is one of the rising financial stars who are helping to bring their businesses to the next level. She built Pink Lily’s finance team from scratch and has helped the company become one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country. In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Hetzer discusses the cash-flow challenges unique to fashion retailers and explains how working at a smaller, founder-run company can fuel greater collaboration across the organization.  

In 2014, as an engineer at a delivery startup, Daniel Yanisse identified an opportunity to improve a part of the HR tech world that was known to be high on friction. He co-founded Checkr to leverage technology to transform the world of background checks. Today, Checkr is a leading HR tech company that processes over 30 million background checks annually—and has earned a valuation of $5B. Daniel shares why the company is committed to Fair Chance Hiring, how Checkr grew alongside the on-demand economy companies it first served (like Instacart and Uber), and why being new to the industry was an advantage.

Duolingo’s freemium subscription model, beloved brand and strategic investments have allowed it to execute its educational mission and become a cultural touchstone. Matthew Skaruppa, CFO of Duolingo, is one of the rising financial stars who are helping to bring their businesses to the next level. Since he joined the company in 2020, Duolingo has grown its base of monthly active users by more than 80%. Each month, 75 million users hone their language skills on the Duolingo app. In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Skaruppa discusses how his analytical background has allowed to him to be a more strategy-oriented CFO. For him, that has meant balancing big aspirations and finite resources, and turning the uncertainties of tomorrow into action today.

Athena Calderone is a multi-hyphenate creator through and through. She is widely known as an interior designer, author, chef, and entertaining expert. Since she launched EyeSwoon in 2012, she's grown the brand from editorial platform into an e-commerce destination and hit major milestones along the way: earning over a million Instagram followers, writing two best-selling books, and launching a collaboration with Crate and Barrel that beat its yearly sales projection in the first 60 days. Athena shares how her parents' careers as hairdressers gave her an early appreciation for aesthetics, why finding your authentic voice takes time, and how she structures her calendar to make space for creativity.

Mitch Reback, CFO of Sweetgreen, is one of the rising corporate financial stars who is helping to take their companies to the next level. When he started, Sweetgreen had 25 stores; today, there are more than 220—and Reback says the company is still in its “infancy.” In this podcast, part of the SAP-sponsored Growth Agents series, Reback takes a deep dive into his role as a growth agent. Capital is the engine that drives growth, and Reback says his job is to make sure the company has adequate capital to grow as well as determining how best to allocate it, including investments in stores, marketing, staff, and technology—or, as he puts it, to push innovation forward in a way that’s capital efficient.

In 2010, after a bad customer support experience for a TV delivery, Girish Mathrubootham decided to build a better solution. He launched Freshworks as the first multichannel customer support system. Today, the product has evolved into a robust suite for IT, customer support, sales, and marketing teams. Freshworks now has three offices across eight countries with over 5,000 employees and more than 65,000 customers. In 2021, Girish took Freshworks public on Nasdaq as the first Indian SaaS company to go public in the US. Girish shares why he believes this is the Indian decade for tech, why UI and design are key for product-led growth, and why "pressure is a privilege" is a motto that resonates.

What if brands were empowered to deliver personalized experiences online, just as well as they could do in a store? That's the idea that underpins Klaviyo, the leading customer and marketing automation platform. Andrew Bialecki cofounded Klaviyo in 2012 and now serves over 100,000 brands, helping them generate $28 billion in revenue for its customers in 2021 alone. Andrew shares why he bootstrapped the business until profitability, how early partnerships can be a key to efficient customer acquisition, and why he feels like he's only achieved 1% of Klaviyo's potential.Original Air Date 12-07-2022

Michael Brown, co-founder and CEO of TeamShares, shares his journey from investment banking to revolutionizing employee ownership for small businesses. He discusses the mission behind TeamShares and its impressive growth, having acquired nearly 90 firms. Michael emphasizes the importance of financial education for employees and the ideal balance of kindness and ambition in hires. He also tackles the challenges in family-owned businesses and the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, advocating for purposeful ventures and long-term visions.

What if someone told you they could help you communicate better? That's the mission Max Lytvyn, co-founder of Grammarly, has been on since 2009. After working on plagiarism detection technology, Max realized that the root of plagiarism was people's desire to be better writers. The company was incredibly early to use AI to aid in communication and now has grown to over 30 million daily users and a valuation north of $13 billion. Max shares why their technology started with the mechanics of language, why the first product targeted professional writers, and how his childhood in Ukraine inspired him to become an entrepreneur.