Episodes

Actresses Nina Dobrev and Julianne Hough are best known for their work in films such as “Lucky Day” and “Rock of Ages” along with popular television shows “The Vampire Diaries” and “Dancing with the Stars.” Now, they’re aiming to be equally recognized in the wine business as the co-owners of premium low-calorie wine brand Fresh Vine Wine.

Jason Wright, the co-founder and CEO of chicken- and pork-based chip brand Wilde Brands, explained how he was able to land investment without having a finished product, why he regrets working with a co-packer, how he collaborated with retail buyers to establish a new protein-centric segment within the snack category and why the keys to winning consumers over always begins with taste.

This week, we’re joined by Chris Fanucchi and Samantha Citro Alexander, the co-founders of Bitewell, a new startup platform that aims to make healthy purchasing decisions easier via curated options for grocery and restaurant delivery. Fanucchi and Citro Alexander spoke about Bitewell’s multi-pronged business model, why competition isn’t easily defined and how the company works with emerging food and beverage brands.

Honest Tea co-founder and Beyond Meat chair of the board Seth Goldman discussed how his latest venture, mission-driven platform Eat The Change, fits into the context of his career and why the company led with mushroom jerky for its debut product line. He also addressed criticism of Beyond Meat products as being overly processed, the evolution of Honest Tea as a Coca-Cola-owned brand and why he occasionally eats Pringles.

Caue Suplicy, the founder and chairman of Barnana, which markets premium snacks made from upcycled bananas, spoke about how the company analyzed consumer demand to better understand how to market and promote the brand, its strategy for sourcing and utilizing sales data, why hiring from within has benefited the brand and how he has navigated the industry as an immigrant founder.

This episode features an interview with Oded Brenner, the founder of both Max Brenner, an international chain of upscale chocolate-centric cafes, and Blue Stripes, a unique brand of food and beverages made from upcycled cacao fruit. Brenner spoke about his unconventional approach to entrepreneurship, why he believes that “there will always be a place for the niche,” why he embraces ideas that would commonly be perceived as mistakes and his definition for the ultimate form of success.

Ryan Close, founder of on-demand cocktail machine Bartesian, which today completed a $20 million funding round and added actress Mila Kunis to its advisory board, spoke about the company’s breakout success, why overconfidence was helpful early on, how B2B sales were key to its initial funding strategy, communicating long-term value to customers and how Close assesses opportunities to scale.

Mason Dixie Foods founder and CEO Ayeshah Abuelhiga spoke about how the combination of her family’s history in the food business along with the impact of bias and inequality in her career prompted her foray into entrepreneurship, how she prepared for and managed meteoric growth and why she’s calling out antiquated ways of doing business in the baking industry.

Brandon Schwartz & Lawrence Cisneros, the co-founders of innovative ready-to-pour cocktail brand DRNXMYTH, spoke about how they navigated a complex web of regulation, supplier partnerships and packaging technology to achieve their vision for the products and how they surrounded themselves with investors that understood the impact of technology within an emerging category.

Mike Fata, the co-founder of global hemp foods producer Manitoba Harvest, spoke about how his interest in nutrition and healthy living led him to hemp, overcoming government-led and generational disinformation about the crop, why he laments not seeing greater potential for the company early into its development and where he drew inspiration for confidence as a CEO.