Wild Business Growth

Ted Xenohristos, the Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer of CAVA, joins the show to share his journey from starting a casual Mediterranean restaurant to scaling to over 400 fast-casual locations and going public. Hear what he learned growing up in a restaurant, how to create a buzzworthy brand, how to prevent menu creep, how CAVA stays fresh & generous, and the Greek Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Ted a...

Sameer Mehta & Sean Kane, the Co-Founders of Smash Kitchen, join the show to share their journey from building The Honest Company & Casper to modernizing the American pantry with organic condiments at Walmart. Hear how to disrupt a category, how to challenge iconic brands, how they partner with Co-Founder Glen Powell, common misconceptions about celebrity business owners, and the movie Sameer & Sean would star ...

Harry Morton, the Founder & CEO of Lower Street, joins the show to share his journey from getting fired for losing audio files to building the podcast production agency for top brands with a team of over 30 people. Hear how to start a podcast production agency, how to win big brands as clients, how to grow your podcast, how to start a successful video podcast, and what podcasts will look like in 100 years. Conn...

Jeff Perera, the Co-Founder & Vice President of Jeff’s Bagel Run, joins the show to share his journey from being laid off to creating the craziest bagel flavors in the world. Hear how to quickly learn a new skill, how to get used to change as an entrepreneur, how to experiment with new flavors, how to push your industry forward while honoring its past, and his dream bagel flavor. Connect with Jeff at JeffsBagel...

Shawn David Nelson, the Founder & CEO of Lovesac, joins the show to share his journey from wanting to create a giant bean bag to creating the billion-dollar couch & bean bag brand. Hear what The Price is Right and Cap’n Crunch have to do with Lovesac, how to stay true to your brand as your company grows, what to focus on as a founder, how to survive as a business for multiple decades, and the top entrepreneursh...

April Wachtel, the Founder & CEO of Cheeky Cocktails, joins the show to share her journey from bartender to creating the bar-quality line of cocktail mixers. Hear the lessons she learned bartending, how to deconstruct your brand, the surprising things you can learn from your customers, how to find inspiration as an entrepreneur, and the Cocktail Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with April at CheekyCocktails.c...

Eric Johnson, the CEO of SurveyMonkey, joins the show to share his journey from building businesses in the music industry to leading the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms. Hear how SurveyMonkey has evolved over the years, how to focus on your core product while innovating, how often to test products & features, how to de-stress as an entrepreneur or CEO, and how running helps with productivity...

Kenny Dunn, the Founder & CEO of Eating Europe, joins the show to share his journey from buying a round-the-world plane ticket to creating the best food tour company in Europe. Hear how to start a business in a new industry, how to expand your business to multiple countries & cities, what makes a great tour guide, how to perfect your customer experience, and the Food Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Kenn...

Charlotte Wenham, the Executive Officer of Shusher & Baby Shusher, joins the show to share her journey moving from New Zealand to Texas and selling millions of baby sound machines. Hear how to turn an idea into a sellable product, how they record the Baby Shusher sound, how to keep your product simple & functional, whether there’s constant shushing in the office, and all the Wild adventures Charlotte’s been on....

Victoria Vaynberg, the Chief Marketing & Customer Officer of Nanit, joins the show to share her journey from ESPN, Anheuser-Busch, Resy, and Zola to leading marketing for the smart baby monitor & parenting app. Hear what you can learn working on your dream brands, how to win the trust of parents as a baby brand, how to come up with new product features, how to build a community, and the best business & life les...

Shraysi Tandon, the Founder & CEO of Kidsy, joins the show to share her journey from filmmaker & TV reporter to creating the TJ Maxx of baby & kids gear. Hear how to turn your idea into a real business, how to build relationships with suppliers, how to find your niche as a brand, how to make babies & children stop crying, and how to get comfortable on camera. Connect with Shraysi at Kidsy.co, on Instagram @Shop...

Ken Gavranovic, the Serial Entrepreneur and Board Member of Product Genius, joins the show to share his journey from growing up poor to leading several exits. Hear the 80’s movie that rocked his world, how to lead your company toward IPO, how to best spend your time as an entrepreneur, how to start a business in the AI space, and how improv helps you as a business owner. Connect with Ken at KenGavranovic.com, P...

Dori Yona, the Co-Founder & CEO of SimpleClosure, joins the show to share his journey from captaining battleships to making it easy to shut down your business. Hear how to start a unique business, when it makes sense to close your business, how to shut down your business, how to keep going when you're ready to quit, and The Mexico Whiteboard Story. Connect with Dori at SimpleClosure.com, on LinkedIn, and on X @...

Sidney Collin, the Co-Founder & President of De Oro Devices, joins the show to share her journey from studying the brain to creating NexStride to help people with Parkinson’s and other mobility disorders walk safely. Hear how the brain works, how Parkinson’s disease affects the brain & mobility, what you can learn from a failed pitch, how to pivot from B2C to B2B, and the best tacos in Austin. Connect with Sidn...

Scott Marshall, the President & CEO of Semester at Sea and the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE), joins the show to share his journey from studying abroad in Japan to leading study abroad on a giant ship around the world. Hear the behind-the-scenes of Semester at Sea, how they manage the cost of a cruise ship, the favorite ports, the best Semester at Sea traditions, and the most beautiful sights on and of...

Emily Cho, the Founder of Juvie for STEM aka JSTEM, joins the show to share her journey from volunteering in prisons to creating the largest youth-led education technology nonprofit. Hear what makes prison so fascinating, what you can learn from teaching in prison, how to structure your business, how to run a business with limited time, and Emily’s work with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Connect with Emily a...

Len Kretchman, the Creator of Uncrustables and Co-Founder of Bread Kneads, joins the show to share his journey from college football star to creating the crustless PB&J sandwich that became a billion-dollar brand. Hear how his wife Emily came up with the idea for Uncrustables, the insights that made them possible to produce, the moment they knew it would be a success, how they sold Uncrustables to Smucker's, an...