Finding Founders

Today’s interview is, well, a bit different. This isn’t any guest, actually this is a pretty personal story. Today we’re talking to the co founder of my family, my grandmother, Dorothy Donner. This is my dad’s mom but she’s not just my dad’s mom. In fact my dad is one of ten kids, a frikin handful to deal with. She’s raised 10 kids, has lived through the great depression, numerous wars, and a global pandemic. She definitely knows a thing or two about life’s challenges. As we progress through her story—and run into some of our own challenges along the way—I am reminded of the importance of capturing these stories while we still can. And that understanding your family’s history helps you better understand yourself. My grandparents were visiting my family home, so after finishing up some scrambled eggs, Grandma Donner hopped into a quiet room to walk me through some of the stories that made her who she is today. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Navid Seyedali was born in Iran and eventually began living around the world in places such as the US, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. These travels developed within him an exceptional sense of empathy, which, over 25 years ago, led Navid to help establish and further the Child Foundation. The organization's mission is to educate children around the world. Initially Navid began as a volunteer, but became increasingly more active which culminated in his current position where he serves as an advisor to the board of directors. Two of his major accomplishments include the creation of an Afghanistan sponsorship program during his first term of presidency, as well as the creation of the Afghanistan Crisis Fund during his time as an advisor. The ACF has distributed food to hundreds of families and continues to work tirelessly to educate children around the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many chances do we have in life, and what do we do with them? In this episode of Finding Founders, we answer this question with Jay Clue, an accomplished conservationist, explorer, and photographer. Jay began his life as a troublemaker and a bit of an outcast, narrowly escaping jail time on a couple of occasions. He turned things around, studying graphic design in college, working as an art director on ad campaigns, and going to London to get a master’s and Ph.D.  Jay eventually fell in love with scuba diving and found his way to Baja. He then started Dive Ninja Expeditions in 2017 to use an ecotourism platform to combine diving, research, and tourism to promote conservation. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many Americans, debt is a serious issue. A recent study found that the average American holds $53,897 in personal debt. Jason is trying to destroy debt with his new company, Relief. But he didn't always start with these altruistic intentions. His first entrepreneurial endeavor at 12 was hustling kids at lunch with three card monte. Eventually he'd enter the sales world realizing he had the gift of gab, but he soon realized that he was in that world for the wrong reasons. He didn't want his life to just be about making money for himself, he wanted to solve a larger issues. He wanted to help people outside of himself. With his new company, Relief, he's helping others in debt win at the game of debt management. Check out the relief app today! --> https://www.relief.app/ Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much do we value stability? We discuss the answer with Karen Bradfield, a former engineer for Procter & Gamble turn founder of Adventures in Baja. Karen was born in England, and though the ocean was freezing, she still felt drawn to it, constantly swimming or sailing. After finishing her studies she worked a few conventional jobs, but always felt like something was missing. She wanted to dedicate more time to the ocean. Throughout her journey Karen has lived in Australia, Southeast Asia, Panama, Ecuador and finally Cabo. She shares with us the importance of seizing opportunities and confronting our fears. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey this episode is going to be a bit different. I’m usually the one doing the interviewing, but this time I’m on the other end of the mic. A former Finding Founders editor, Nathan Tower, invited me on his podcast, the Phasey Wave show. He did a great job of bringing my story to life! We talk about my weirdest experiences with guests, my founding philosophy, building teams, insulting high profile podcasters, and the future of Finding Founders. Subscribe to the Phasey Wave show here! https://www.phaseywave.show/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we discover our purpose and find work that fulfills it? In this episode of Finding Founders we discuss the answer to this question and more with Philipp Moser. He is an established tour guide, diver, and owner of Cabo Trek. Philipp was born in Austria and always loved nature, the ocean specifically. Following the conventional path, he studied to be a mechanical engineer and worked in product development. But he wasn’t happy. So Philipp quit his job and moved to Australia, working side jobs and pursuing diving. After traveling the world and surviving a tsunami, Philipp wound up in Cabo. With Cabo Trek, he shares incredible experiences with tourists while educating them about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment and marine ecosystems. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Sana Javeri Kadri earned their IB diploma from UWC Adriatic, she worked as a Documentary Filmmaker for P.R.I.D.E India in Maharashtra, India and was a freelance photographer for Kadri Consultants Pvt. Ltd in Mumbai, India before attending Pomona College. While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts, she accumulated an array of experiences during college. At 23 years old in 2017, Sana Javeri Kadri used $3,000 from her tax refund to start sourcing and selling ethically farmed turmeric. Today Diaspora Co. works with nearly a dozen small family farms across India, paying an average of six times more than the commodity price, and sells seven spices including coriander and cardamom. Kadri has bootstrapped the entire operation while going beyond the norm, like paying for healthcare to farm laborers on some of its farms, with the goal of growing enough to be able to provide it to all workers on its partner farms. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there a relationship between visual arts and discipline? For today’s episode we had the chance to spend the whole day with Enrique Bascón, a multidisciplinary artist based in Cabo San Lucas where he has his art studio and gallery. Born and raised in the Basque country in Spain, Enrique’s journey was not always about art. From wanting to follow his own rules and making his own path as a kid, to seeking financial stability, Enrique has always wanted freedom. Throughout his journey he’s studied law, been a policeman, bodyguard, SWAT agent and is now an artist. Enrique’s story explores how ambition and perseverance can get you to amazing places. There is no one path to being an artist. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Raby Gueye emigrated from Senegal at the age of 7 to the United States. Her early childhood emphasized the importance of education, primarily due to the necessity to translate for her family. Her experience translating to teachers, doctors, and even cable/utility companies all reinforced the necessity to pursue an education and eventually lead her to become the first woman to graduate from college in her family.  During this time, she once again learned about the college process (applications, fees, tuition, etc.) all on her own as she went on to study international/global studies at Arizona State University. Eventually, she was given experiences to teach in both India and low-income schools in Arizona which eventually led her to create Teach for Senegal. In doing so, she hopes to address inequality while also encouraging children to be proud of where they come from. Subscribe to our Newsletter! https://findingfounders.co/subscribe Website: findingfounders.co Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samueldonner/ Follow Finding Founders IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingfounderspodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/finding-founders/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices