Kiki Couchman and Elan Halpern are the co-founders of Beny Yogurt, an organic, probiotic-packed yogurt brand born from their shared passion for health and nutrition. After meeting at Stanford, where Kiki studied human biology and Elan studied computer science, they went on to work in private equity and product management before teaming up to start Beny. Drawing on complementary skill sets, they’ve bootstrapped the business through smart financial planning, scrappy marketing, and a focus on building a product they genuinely believe in.
For a deeper dive into the episode, check out Carly's Substack: https://carlymalatskey.substack.com/
Where to find She Leads:
Where to find Carly:
Where to find Kiki:
Where to find Elan:
🥣 Follow Beny Yogurt:
Referenced:
- Alchemy: https://www.alchemy.com/
- Alpine Investors: https://alpineinvestors.com/
- Beny Yogurt: https://eatbeny.com/
- Blue Apron: https://www.blueapron.com/
- Stanford: https://www.stanford.edu/
- Mandy Ginsberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-ginsberg-b37b701/
Timestamps:
(1:39) Kiki and Elan’s childhoodÂ
(3:26) The influence Kiki’s father had on her
(6:32) The world of D1 rowingÂ
(20:24) A friendship is born
(22:04) Why Elan is drawn to dataÂ
(25:32) Kiki’s experiences in private equity
(29:42) What Elan learned as an Alchemy PM
(32:39) The origin of BenyÂ
(36:42) The late-twenties life crisis
(38:52) The first steps to selling yogurt
(45:17) Mentors that shaped the early daysÂ
(49:13) Navigating co-founder conflictÂ
(57:51) The secrets behind Beny’s marketing
(64:23) What’s been most surprising so farÂ
(71:07) How Kiki and Elan define success
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