The Founder Hour

Pat and Posh sit down for one of the most important conversations they’ve had on The Founder Hour. As Armenians, Pat and Posh are passionate about their culture — in all its vibrancy and peace. This timely discussion with Mihran Toumajan, Director of the Western Region of the Armenian Assembly of America*, sheds light on the conflict between Armenians in Artsakh and Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey.The discussion focuses on Azerbaijan and Turkey’s recent bombing of Artsakh, a region governed by Armenians. They delved into the Armenian Genocide and how lack of recognition has played a role in today’s conflict, the United States’s role in brokering peace, how Turkey and Azerbaijan’s dictatorial regimes have impacted the region, and what comes next for the Armenian people.This is a packed episode and very much different than any we’ve ever done. We believe as Armenians, this is a small part of our responsibility to educate others about our people, our history, and our existence.Thank you for tuning in and helping spread the word. If you would like to learn more or donate to help those on the front lines, please visit armeniafund.org or email us at hello@thefounderhour.com.*The Armenian Assembly is the largest, non-partisan Armenian-American advocacy organization in the United States. Since 1972, the Assembly continues to promote public awareness of Armenian issues, encourage greater Armenian-American participation in the American democratic process, and assist in humanitarian and development programs in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, while strengthening the U.S.-Armenia and U.S.-Nagorno Karabakh relationships. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

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 launching their own collections of men’s, women’s, and kid’s clothing.In this episode, we did a deep dive into Ronnie’s humble beginnings growing up in Jamaica, Queens, NY, falling in love with fashion and hip-hop culture at a young age, how he got his start working in retail, how his very first collaboration with footwear brand Asics came about, launching Kith and the early days of building out the brand, his insane work ethic and mindset when it comes to the brand’s evolution, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

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 herself there, why she decided to move back to the U.S. and pursue a career in the culinary world, what sparked the idea for Hedley & Bennett, and some of the early challenges she had while launching the company. We also talked about the impact of COVID-19 on the business and what she believes the future of food and hospitality will look like.UPDATESince our interview, Ellen has continued to expand her influence and impact. She authored a book titled "Dream First, Details Later," in which she shares her journey and offers inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs. Additionally, Ellen is working on an exciting TV show called "Kitchen Glow Up," which promises to bring her vibrant energy and creativity to a broader audience.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON X > https://x.com/TheFounderHourINTERESTED IN SPONSORING OUR SHOW? EMAIL US > hello@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

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 all about. We talk about everything from Steven’s upbringing and various entrepreneurial ventures leading up to Cameo, the biggest takeaways from his experience working at LinkedIn, the skills he gained early in his career that helped his development as a leader, his timely advice for entrepreneurs, and what sparked the idea that ultimately became Cameo.Steven also shares how they were able to acquire top talent early on, the importance of founder-market fit, their innovative pricing model that allows celebrities to capitalize on their fame while providing value for their users, and how he sees the ever-changing social media landscape as a farm system for Cameo.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

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 at least 190 deaths, 6,500 injuries, and destroying half of the city’s homes and businesses which left 300,000 people homeless.Located in the heart of Beirut just 500 meters from the blast, Aline found herself in the middle of an unthinkable situation. With her restaurant completely destroyed, team members severely wounded, and no time to even think about the devastation, she has become a hero in her hometown as she works to rebuild the homes of her employees that were lost and feed 2,500 meals a day to those in need.In this episode, Aline joins from her hometown of Beirut to share stories about her upbringing, how she became interested in food, building a successful hospitality franchise spanning several countries, and the work she’s doing now to help rebuild all that was lost as a result of the explosion. Her story is truly one of passion, perseverance, and resilience and we hope you take away as much as we did during our conversation.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

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 inspired her to become a human rights activist, how Black Lives Matter ultimately came together, what the organization’s goal and purpose is, and much more.We received an overwhelming amount of questions from our audience for Opal and we definitely tried our best to ask her what most of you were curious to know, so thank you for sending us your questions & we hope you enjoy!SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Warren Hogarth is the co-founder and CEO of Empower, a mobile app that helps consumers retake control of their financial lives by offering automated savings, personalized coaching, cash advances, and much more.In the episode, we chat with Warren about his childhood growing up in Australia, his college experience and where he got his entrepreneurial bug from, his biggest learnings from investing in early-stage startups as a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital, why he’s so passionate about fintech and managing one’s personal finances, where he got the idea for Empower, his long-term vision for the company, and his thoughts on the broader global financial system and where it’s headed.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

GT Dave, a.k.a. the “King of Kombucha,” is the founder of GT’s Kombucha (now known as GT’s Living Foods), the #1 selling Kombucha brand in the world and the originator of bottled kombucha. Born and raised in LA, GT dropped out of high school and started the company at just 15 years old, and over the past 25 years, they’ve pioneered and dominated a whole category of beverages that merely didn’t exist before GT bottled his first kombucha in 1995. Today, the company is worth over $1 billion.In this episode, we talk to GT about his upbringing and the roles spirituality and faith have played throughout his life, dropping out of high school after going through an identity crisis, his thoughts on the education system in America, how going against the grain and challenging the status quo helped him as an entrepreneur, the multiple signals he received that inspired him to start bottling kombucha, and some of the early challenges he faced getting the business off the ground.Towards the end, GT also shares what some of his personal aspirations are outside of running his company and how he got into art collecting and architecture.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Alexa von Tobel is the founder of LearnVest, a personal finance company that made financial planning affordable and accessible for everyone, which was acquired by Northwestern Mutual in 2015 for $375 million.She’s now the founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the next wave of tech entrepreneurs.In this episode, we chat with Alexa about her early life and college days, dropping out of Harvard Business School to launch LearnVest in the middle of a recession, what has helped her become a better leader of people, her thoughts on the current venture capital climate and what she’s most excited about as far as the future goes, and much more.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Josh Luber is the founder of StockX, the world's first online consumer “Stock Market of Things” for high-demand, limited-edition products featuring a live marketplace where participants anonymously buy and sell limited-edition consumer products such as sneakers, watches, clothing, handbags, and trading cards.In this episode, we talk about everything from Josh’s formative years and how going to law school helped him become a better problem solver, the various business ventures he’s had throughout his life, how the industry for sneakers and trading cards has evolved over the last 30 years, the insane story of how he met Dan Gilbert (owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and founder of Quicken Loans) who he ultimately co-founded StockX with out of pure serendipity, why building a stock market model makes so much sense for the business, why certain sneakers and trading cards resell for thousands or millions of dollars, building a $1 billion company in just 3 years, why he stepped down as CEO in 2019, and what he envisions the future of the company as well as e-commerce and new product launches, in general, to look like.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour