#0205 - Burn the Boats - Matt Higgins 📚 (Guest Shark Tank and Author)

To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger: “big dreams require relentless focus, and any time we spend planning for failure sets us up for failure.” Today’s guest, Matt Higgins, literally wrote the book on the subject. He grew up in poverty in Queens, dropped out of high school to get his GED, and took night classes just to finish college. At that point, Matt had already beaten the odds, but he didn’t stop there. Matt became the youngest press secretary to the mayor’s office in New York City history, Vice Chairman of the Miami Dolphins, and a guest shark on Shark Tank. His path to success was hardly linear, but for Matt, it’s always been about taking calculated risks, which is why he titled his book Burn the Boats. In todays episode we discuss with Matt Higgins about:

🦈 Why his first impression of Gary Vaynerchuck was that he could make a career out of stealing Gary’s ideas

🦈 Letting his nerves almost get the best of him during his first appearance on Shark Tank

🦈 Why you should always bet on the jockey and not the horse

#0203 - Alegria Publishing - Davina Ferreira 📚

Latinos make up 20% of the population, yet publishing is only 8% Latino, making it the worst field in media for representation according to Publishers Weekly. This underrepresented demographic has so much untapped talent, yet Latinos are always seen as “less than others”. So, Davina, the founder of Alegria Publishing, wanted to focus on supporting new, exciting, and emerging literary voices in the latine/x community. Today, we talk with Davina, about:

📚 Her journey from growing up in Columbia during Pablo Escobar’s reign to starting a luxury magazine in Los Angeles

📚 How art truly has the power to change lives

📚 Why it was a blessing to the magazine prior to the rise of social media

#0202 - Conjure - Ali Ahmed 🚚 (on-demand delivery)

Conjure has created fully automated stores, on wheels. Using the Conjure app, you can hail the store to you in a matter of minutes. The autonomous vehicles show up, the doors automatically slide open, and you choose the products you want. Using the RFID tags, your account is then automatically billed only for the items you selected. You don’t have to talk to the driver, and all the options are truly at your fingertips. In this episode we talk with Ali Ahmed, the co-founder of Conjure, about:

🚚 How they broke the internet at CES, in 2018

🚚 Why they decided to launch specifically with ice cream

🚚 The implications of store hailing for industries outside of ice cream including grocery stores, markets, and alcohol.

#0201 - CoFertility - Lauren Makler 👶

For the first time, the average age to have kids has surpassed 30. Children are getting more expensive, people are living longer, and potential parents are focusing more on their careers. This poses a unique, but severe personal problem. The older people get, the more likely they are to have pregnancy complications. The solution is to freeze the eggs, but that’s expensive, and not top of mind for those in their 20s. CoFertility is creating an ecosystem that lowers the cost and increases the accessibility of egg donation. In todays episode we talk with Lauren Makler, the co-founder of CoFertility, about:

• Why doctors are twice as likely to face infertility as the general public

• Launching Uber in States Across the Country

• How CoFertility is Reducing the Cost of Egg Donations

#0200 - Arrae - Siff & Nish

20 million Americans suffer from digestive issues every day. Whether it’s the food they eat or their lifestyles, it’s not always clear what causes these issues. This quest for better gut health led Siff and Nish, the cofounders of Arrae, down a rabbit hole of natural supplements. In their research and experimentation, they began to realize that herbs, minerals, and vitamins have the power to effectively solve the digestive problems they were once facing. It was a true Eureka moment. And from that moment, Arrae was born. In today’s episode we discuss:

• The step-by-step guide they used to close millions of dollars in funding

• Why “clinically trialed ingredients” is misleading

• Why they are investing one million dollars into paid TikTok ads over the course of 2023

#0199 - Azure - Gene Eidelman (3D Printed Backyard Studios, ADUs & Homes)

The State of California is in a housing crisis, and to meet the demand, the state needs to build 310,000 homes every year for the next 8 years. However, between the high cost of land, labor, and materials, this is a serious problem with no easy solution. So our guest today, Gene Eidelman, began to analyze the issue at a high level, and started to ask himself: why not use 3D printers to create the homes instead? Azure makes prefab units built 70% faster and 30% less expensive than traditionally constructed units, all while using recycled materials. They can be used as backyard studios, and offices, and up to 5 units can be stacked together. In this episode, we discuss with Gene about:

• How these can be used to help with the homeless crisis

• Why their early adopters were glamping retreats

• Why Gene finds strength in coming from an immigrant community

#0198 - Planta - Steven Salm 🌱 (plant based restaurant group)

Every year, more and more people are changing their diets to plant-based. There are a variety of factors for this which include health, sustainability, and climate change to name a few. The palate of the average American is evolving, and yet the restaurant industry isn’t keeping up. This gap in the market is where Planta, a 100% plant-based restaurant group, is betting on its figurative farm. Launched in 2016, they’ve expanded to 11 locations across The United States and Canada, with a whole bunch more still on the way including in California, Georgia, and New York. Steven Salm, our guest today and the founder of PLANTA, wants to alter the perception of plant-based restaurants one diner at a time.Today we talk with Steven about:

• How restaurants have the power to make or break hotels

• Re-engineering dishes v. starting from scratch

• The madness that comes with rapid expansion

#0197 - Book Thinkers - Nick Hutchinson & Luke Gifford 📚💡

Research suggests that people reach peak brain Books can change your life, yet 23% of Americans say they didn’t read a book last year. Books can provide entertainment, a portal into an imaginary world, or a series of cheat codes for leveling up your life. It is almost entirely because of this last point that our guests today created BookThinkers, a community of readers and authors centered around the positive power of personal development. We even witness firsthand the stickiness of the topic, as in this episode with Nick Hutchinson and Luke Gifford, the conversation begins on the journey of BookThinkers and quickly flows into a discussion of self-development and improvement. In this episode we discuss:

• Why Luke is selling his house so that it doesn’t become his coffin

• The opportunity cost for not leveraging social media

• Nick and Luke’s top takeaways from interviewing some of the world’s most renowned authors including Grant Cardone, Lewis Howes, and Guy Raz

#0196 - Patrick Schwarzenegger - MOSH

Research suggests that people reach peak brain health at around age 22. By 37, memory begins to decline, and it’s estimated that around 22% of people age 71 and older have mild cognitive impairment. But what’s interesting is that people don’t typically begin taking brain supplements until their late 50s. This is exactly the conversation that todays guest, Patrick Schwarzenegger, had with his mom, Maria Shriver when he moved back in with her during the pandemic lockdowns. He noticed that Maria kicked off every morning with various supplements and a protein bar. This got him thinking. Why not combine the supplements with the bar she was already eating? Thus, MOSH was born. MOSH is a tasty, adaptogen-powered brain fuel for all ages. In today’s episode with talk with Patrick about:

• What it’s like launching a nutritional bar, which is notoriously one of the most competitive CPG categories

• Why his dad would tell him and his siblings to sleep faster

• And how being an early investor in Blaze Pizza showed him the signs of what was to come

#0195 - David Kuo - Little Fatty

1 in 3 restaurants won’t survive their first year. Profit margins are razor thin, staff turnover is high, and there’s a lot of competition. As David Kuo, our guest today and self-titled Head Fatty will explain, discovering product-market fit is a painful process of personal sacrifice.  His first restaurant specialized in California-inspired cuisine, and as much as he wanted it to work, it just didn’t get the support he wanted. So he doubled down, put it all on the line, and re-opened the restaurant as Little Fatty, a Taiwanese soul food restaurant: new cuisine, new name, and new processes. The restaurant exploded in popularity.  They are #1 on Uber Eats for the LA area, and if you don’t make a reservation beforehand, good luck getting in. But now, David is taking this concept to the next level by opening Fatty Mart, and Juntos Market. They’re where food, culture, and community intersect to provide convenience without compromise. In this episode, we discuss with David:

• What it was like working for a Michelin Starred restaurant in New York City

• Why he slept above the walk-in fridge at his restaurant

• How he is partnering with local growers to make the best food possible

#0194 - Ape Water - Andrew Bragg 🐵 🦍

About a year ago, NFTs were all anyone could talk about. Mark Cuban, Justin Bieber, and Jimmy Fallon each spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a particular variety of NFTs called Bored Ape Yacht Club. Seth Green also bought in and began writing a TV show around his Ape, while in Long Beach a fast food restaurant opened called Bored and Hungry using the Bored Ape Yacht Club IP. Since then, the news concerning NFTs has not been great. Seth Green lost his Ape in a phishing scam, and a stock market downturn plunged the budding crypto boom into a crypto winter, sending NFT prices tumbling along the way. While many chalked up the NFT craze as nothing more than a flash in the pan, there were those who still saw the potential in the technology. Our guest today is one such person, who saw the communal aspect of NFT ownership as a feature to be harnessed. Today we talk with Andrew Bagg, the cofounder of Ape Water.
We discuss:

• How they are building a business that isn’t tied to the turbulent NFT markets

• How Ape Water cans are similar to Wheaties Boxes

• How Ape Water uses web3 technology to give its consumers more than just a refreshing beverage

#0193 - "Call Me Anne" 📚 - Heather Duffy (in memory of Anne Heche)

When Anne Heche passed away on August 11, 2022, it shocked the world. After reportedly reaching a top speed of 100 miles per hour, she drove her Mini Cooper into the side of a Los Angeles home. Although emergency responders were able to free her from the wreckage, she passed away in the hospital a couple of days later. Anne Heche left a courageous, complicated past behind.  From standing up for same-sex relationships in the late 90s to an Emmy-winning acting career, she has forever left a mark on modern culture. Today, we are speaking with Anne’s podcast co-host, co-author, and dear friend Heather Duffy.  At the time Anne passed, she and Heather had been working on Anne’s newest book titled, “Call Me Anne.”  They were weeks away from finalizing it when Anne died. Heather was able to finish the book through the notes and outlines that Anne left behind. In today’s episode, we discuss:

• how Anne got escorted out of her own movie premiere for arriving with Ellen DeGeneres as her date

• Getting blacklisted from Hollywood as a result but not letting them have the last word

• how unsubstantiated claims about the fatal crash drowned out the truth in the hours and days that followed

#0192 - Modern Animal 🐾 - Steven Eidelman (a new approach to veterinary care)

The veterinarian industry is changing, but you probably haven't noticed unless you’ve been paying close attention. For years, the vet industry has been defined by small mom-and-pop clinics. However, large investment firms have been buying up practices, yet offering nothing new or innovative. These old practices still keep their patient records on paper, don’t offer 24/7 access, and if you are out of town, it’s nearly impossible to book an emergency appointment. And this is all while, according to Time, suicide rates among veterinarians are incredibly high, and as a matter of fact, women vet suicide rates are 3.5x the national average. Our guest today is changing all of that, from how the clinics are built to waiving exam frees for members, Modern Animal is redefining what it means to practice veterinary medicine from the ground up. In today’s episode, we talk with Steven Eidelman, the founder of Modern Animal. We discuss:

- How Modern Animal is working to avoid vet burnout with this new approach
- Setting up a tattoo parlor at a vet conference
- The nationwide vet shortage, and what that means for the pet industry in the coming years

#0191 - StoryFile - Heather Maio Smith (preserving history through AI)

Welcome to season five. For centuries, mankind has been obsessed with the possibility of immortality. After Walt Disney’s death, reports of his body being frozen in liquid nitrogen spread like wildfire. The thought was that he could be brought back to life by future, more advanced civilizations. These reports turned out to be false, but they didn’t stop people from thinking about the concept of living forever. While immortality is still science-fiction, Storyfile has created the next best thing. By having subjects answer upwards of 1,600 questions, a subject’s memories are preserved and created into an artificial intelligence so that future generations can hold a conversation in real-time with the deceased. From helping teach social skills to kids with autism to leveling up corporate training modules, the applications of this technology extend way beyond just immortality. In today’s episode, we speak with Heather Maio-Smith, the founder of Storyfile. She explains:

• How Storyfile is preserving history by interviewing holocaust survivors

• The applications for interactive adult videos, if you know what I mean

• And The importance of keeping the human element in AI interactions