#0234 - The Anthology of Balaji - Eric Jorgenson 📖

In The Anthology of Balaji: A Guide to Technology, Truth, and Building the Future, Eric Jorgenson curates a collection of Balaji’s wisdom from his entire career. In “Technology” you will see how technology shapes our world today and the ways it could shape our future. In “Truth” you learn how to think for yourself through the constant clamor of information and media. Finally, in “Building the Future,” you will learn how to wield Technology and Truth to change your life, change your community, and—maybe—change the future of our species.

Today's show you'll learn:

📖 How technology is so much more than software
📖 How to identify new opportunities in all markets 📖 What the future of construction might look like!

#0233 - Toast it - Mafe & Coco (as seen on Shark 🦈 Tank)

When 2 sisters moved to Florida from Venezuela there was something they were missing from their homeland and they wanted to quickly solve that problem. Fittingly named "Toast-It," these sisters built a brand out of the one thing they missed the most after moving to the U.S. from Caracas, Venezuela — their mother's cooking.

Mafe and Coco's products are made using ingredients that are true to their Venezuelan culture and after initial success with a handful of retailers, they decided to apply for a spot on Shark Tank! Mafe and Coco's products are made using ingredients that are true to their Venezuelan culture. The Toast-It arepas, for instance, are made using white cornmeal flour, much like the masarepa that's used in traditional arepas. But, they also come in other versions — one that's seeded, combining the cornmeal with flax and chia seeds, and another made with cassava, also known as yuca flour, that is also traditional to Latin cuisines.

On Shark Tank O'Leary made the sisters an offer: $100 grand for 20% equity — Mafe and Coco, were asking for the same amount of money for 5%. Guest shark Daniel Lubetsky matched it, and the girls countered by offering them both 15% equity for $150,000, ultimately striking a deal with Lubetzky.On

Today's show you'll learn:

🦈 How this business grew from a yearning for a hometown food
🦈 How Mafe's background in Pepsi and Coco's marketing insights gave them a leg up
🦈 How they landed guest shark Daniel Lubetzky who founded snack company Kind

#0232 - Ggiata - Jack, Noah, & Max 🥖

On today’s show, we sit down with the founders of what has been dubbed one of the best sandwiches in Los Angeles. The inspiration for Ggiata comes from childhood friends who grew up eating authentic Italian-style deli sandwiches in Montclair, NJ. The deli was always an anchor in the community, the central meeting point for any occasion that invited friends to gather. Ggiata exists to serve exceptionally prepared Italian-style deli fare, inspired by traditional East Coast neighborhood delis. They aim to bring lunchtime staples like fresh chicken cutlets and marinated eggplant to Los Angeles while working with local vendors to source the highest quality ingredients.

In today’s episode you’ll learn:

🥖 how Ggiata started first to start a brand

🥖 where the name came from .. hint “passeggiata”

🥖 just how far they want to take this concept

East Coast Inspired Italian Deli
📍5009 Melrose Ave
📍7998 Santa Monica Blvd
📍83 Windward Ave
OPEN 9 AM - 7 PM 🥖🥖

#0231 - Origo Brands - David Cisneros 🦜

Origo Brands is creating a new way to supply the USA and countries around the world with healthier, more authentic, and more sustainable foods from the origin.

Origo Brands is a unique combination of:

Experience and expertise - Founders with a 30-year track record of food and beverage organization and development.  A Great Team that is contributing to Origo Brands’ expertise and capabilities!

Origin innovation - That experience and expertise, combined with innovative thinking, is resulting in what we like to call—(IN)Credible products—brands that are leading food development in areas around health, convenience, taste, and authenticity.

Chantico Mexican Agave

Monstruo de Gila BBQ Salsa

Avenidas Direct Source Coffee

In today’s episode you’ll learn how:

🦜 How Modelo beer was introduced to Asia

🦜 If agave is better than honey

🦜 Why LinkedIN may be your secret weapon

#0230 - Noshi Food Paint - Tomo Delaney (as seen on Shark 🦈 Tank)

Introducing Noshi Food Paint: A Creative Culinary Revolution 🎨

In a world where artistry and gastronomy converge, a delightful innovation has emerged to redefine the boundaries of culinary creativity. Enter Noshi Food Paint, the ingenious culinary companion that transforms everyday meals into edible masterpieces. Noshi Food Paint is not just a condiment; it's a canvas for your culinary imagination, a tool for self-expression in the kitchen, and a delightful way to infuse color and flavor into your dishes like never before. On Today’s show you’ll hear about:

🎨 How Tomo landed Mark Cuban as a shark

🎨 Why getting kids to play with their food is totally okay!

🎨 How Noshi landed in over 2,000 Walmarts

#0229 - Edge Theory Labs 🧊🛁- Joshua Church

On Today’s show, we speak to Joshua Church, Co-Founder, of Edge Theory Labs the creators of the world's first portable, iceless ice bath, The Edge Tub. Since launching in 2022, they have quickly become an industry leader and been the go-to ice bath trusted by athletes, pro sports teams, celebrities, and high performers across the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB, UFC, and Olympic Games. They are on a mission to provide people with the tools that give them the edge so that they can unlock their maximum human potential. Today you’ll learn:

🥶 How Joshua was inspired by a Wim Hof retreat in Iceland.

🥶 How they invited a cold tub can be packed into a backpack and transported in a car.

🥶 How a paddle board inspired the first step

#0228 - The Cupcake Collection 🧁 - Mignon Francois (from $5 to $10M)

This is the life lesson Mignon Francois learned as she turned the $5 she had to feed her family dinner for the week into a multi-million-dollar bakery brand, The Cupcake Collective. With no experience and no recipe for success, nor cake for that matter, her path was truly made from scratch. Today, we chat with #1 national best-selling author of Made from Scratch: Finding Success Without a Recipe, Mignon Francois. Listen in as we chat about: 

💵 Why she started hiding money as a form of fiscal restraint 

😰 How every statistic was telling her she wouldn’t succeed 

✨ The story of how you never lose…you either win, or you learn.

#0227 - Sweetfin 🐟 - Seth Cohen

Today we sit down with Seth Cohen, the President/co-founder of Sweetfin. Sweetfin is a healthful, chef-driven, California-inspired poke concept that uses local produce, sustainable fish, and innovative ingredients. In 2015, Sweetfin was created with the goal of providing healthy, nutritious and flavorful bowls and a more approachable way for diners to enjoy sushi. Our fine-casual restaurant concept takes all the familiar flavors of sushi and puts them in an easy to eat, portable, customizable, and affordable bowl.
Sweetfin is centered in their “Pole to Bowl” ethos which means that in sourcing they aim to use the highest-quality and most sustainable raw fish they can find while still maintaining a reasonable price point. Approaching 20 locations today we speak to Seth about:

🐟 Pitching investors on a fast-casual restaurant before fast-casual was popular

🐟 When a huge investor dinner turned into a near-dire medical emergency

🐟 Why supermarket sushi sales are the litmus test for the overall health of the industry

#0226 - Le Coupe 🐔 - Chef Craig Walker & Kristen Walker (voted #1 Fried 🐔 in Cali by Yelp)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Craig saw an opportunity to engineer restaurant-style food into a quality take-out dining experience- and Le Coupe was born in a ghost kitchen in Koreatown, Los Angeles. The name Le Coupé came about in a few ways… aside from being all cooped up from quarantine, the name Le Coupé in French translates to “The Cut”. The cut of Chef Craig’s Fried chicken thigh is what makes his fried chicken unique. He used a technique that frenches the meat off the bone allowing for a unique look and flavor profile and aesthetic. Nearly two years after closing down the original ghost kitchen, Le Coupe has opened on the corner of Melrose and Western with the same staple menu items and several new great additions. Today we chat with Chef Craig and Kristen, the founders of Le Coupe about:

🐔 How Chef is bringing a slice of Louisiana to East Hollywood at This Low-Key Fancy Fried Chicken Shack

🐔 Why Yelp ranked them the best friend chicken sandwich in the state of California!

🐔 How they made the most of the pandemic and came out knowing the market was eager for their take on fried chicken!

#0225 - Pantone 294 - Alex Soto 🔵

The legendary Tommy Lasorda coached the LA Dodgers for twenty years, leading them to two World Series Championships during his time at the helm. Part of the reason why he is so revered amongst the Dodger faithful is because of how he wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to his love for the franchise. He best put it into words when he said “cut me and I’ll bleed Dodger Blue.”And with that remark, Dodger Blue became so much more than just a color code. So when Alex Soto was trying to come up with a name for his company, a company that specialized in creating fan travel and experiences to away Dodger games, he knew he had found the winner with Pantone 294, the color code for Dodger Blue. In 2016, Pantone 294 organized a trip to watch the Dodgers play at Yankee Stadium. They sold 1,555 tickets, maxing out 7 planes, 3 hotels, and 2 yachts on the Hudson. They then marched into Yankee Stadium and took over left field.  Pantone 294 made their presence known by stretching an absolutely massive flag across the outfield. The story caught fire, and Pantone 294 was published in nearly every major newspaper publication including the LA Times, NY Times, and ESPN. This game put Pantone 294 on the map, and ironically, it’s why the Yankees refuse to sell them tickets now. Today we chat with Alex, the founder of Pantone 294 about

🔵 The first trip over 10 years ago, way before their infamous Yankee Stadium appearance

🔵 What it’s like booking an entire plane for next years trip to watch the Dodgers play the Padres in South Korea

🔵 The steady growth that has gotten them to where they are today.

#0224 - Cup Board Pro - Kaley and Keira Young (as seen on Shark Tank 🦈)

A while ago, we interviewed Mindy Zemrak, who works as the supervising casting producer from Shark Tank. During our conversation, we asked her what her most memorable moment from the show was. Without hesitation, she said that her most memorable moment was the pitch from the founders of Cup Board Pro that left everyone--Sharks included--in tears. Cup Board Pro was invented by firefighter and 9/11 first responder, Keith Young. He was named a two-time Food Network Chopped Champion, and he invented this product to simplify the cooking prep process which always takes longer than expected. Less time prepping means more time with your family. Before Keith could get serious traction with his new product, tragedy struck. Keith’s wife, Beth, passed away at age 47 from breast cancer, and it understandably crushed the whole family. And then, a couple of years later, Keith passed away from 9/11-related cancer, orphaning his three young children. It was their dad’s dream to get Cup Board Pro into homes worldwide, so to carry on his legacy, Kaley, Christian, and Keira all went on Shark Tank seeking an investment to carry on his legacy. By now, we’re guessing you can see why their pitch had enough raw emotional power to leave the Sharks in tears and create one of the most memorable moments in Shark Tank history. In today’s episode, we chat with Kaley and Keira about:

🦈 How they were manifesting the deal moments before making their pitch in front of the sharks

🦈 Launching the cutting board into Williams-Sonoma

🦈 What they’re all doing now after this life-changing deal

#0223 - REZA 👟 - Mustafa Syed

A few years ago, Mustafa Syed walked out of his house wearing custom, light-up shoes that he’d created. Over the course of that one night, not only were people constantly asking him where he bought them, but everyone wanted to be his friend. The shoes were just a form of self-expression, and they had the power to instantly connect strangers. Realizing this potential, Mus decided to launch his own shoe company, REZA, to build a community for people who--as he puts it--Light Their Own Path. After multiple trips to Asia, years of development, and teetering on the verge of failure, he has created beautiful, exclusive shoes that light up to give everyone the magical feeling he felt that first night out on the town. Today we chat with Mus, the founder of REZA about

👟 An upcoming collab with a huge car manufacturer

👟The insights he learned after locking in the designer of Crocs as his first investor

👟 How the brand exploded in popularity after Steve Aoki wore them while performing at a Vegas club

#0222 - Habiza Hummus - Jonathan Srour

While still in high school, Jonathan Srour first started producing hummus in his garage and selling it every Sunday in the driveway. Following his grandma’s family recipe, he used tahini sourced from the mountains of Lebanon. The hummus is creamy, light, and it embodies a homemade taste. However, what started as a small driveway operation, quickly gained a loyal following as people lined up to get their hummus. But then he had to make a decision. Was he going to go to college, or continue to make his family’s hummus?The tricky part came not in the decision, but in telling his family he wasn’t going to college. In hindsight, with his product on the shelves of both Ralphs and Erewhon, it looks like a no-brainer. But at the time, his family just had to trust in his grit and tenacity. For our part, it’s rare that we interview founders at this stage of entrepreneurship. But much like his family trusting his instincts, once we heard his story, the decision to have him on was also a no-brainer. Today with chat with Jonathan, the founder of Habiza, about:

  • How he used his high school friends to help him launch into big grocery chains

  • Why he is targeting shelf space instead of social media followers

  • The time he convinced his boss at Marco’s Pizza to follow his plan to takedown Dominos Pizza.

Habiz Hummus on startup to storefront

#0221 - Stealth Bros & Co. - Braxton Fleming (as seen on Shark 🦈 Tank)

Stealth Bros & Co.Needles are a daily medical necessity for hundreds of millions of people around the world. From insulin to hormone therapy to In Vitro Fertilization, there’s just no better vessel to administer these treatments than a simple needle. Yet with all these legitimate uses for needles, there aren’t a lot of great storage options on the market for injection equipment. That is until Braxton Fleming founded Stealth Bros & Co., which makes beautiful storage solutions for that equipment. Braxton got the idea for the company while undergoing hormone replacement therapy. As both a trans man and a nurse, administering injections was a daily occurrence for him. Upon launch, the product was an instant hit. They quickly sold out of their entire inventory, and Shark Tank reached out to have him come on the show. He ended up closing a deal with Mark Cuban and Barbara Cochran. But unlike so many deals that close on the show but fall through in due diligence, their deal solidified, and it’s been an exciting, nerve wracking ride ever since. Today we chat with Braxton about:

  • Breaking the stigma around injections

  • How this market is a lot bigger than you may expect

  • What it’s like getting investment from Mark Cuban, the founder of Cost Plus Drugs.