The Founder Hour

Oct 01 2024 279 ep. 60 mins 212
The Founder Hour Podcast artwork

In this podcast series, we hit the road to find and sit down with incredible founders, entrepreneurs, and creators behind some of the world’s most successful and up-and-coming startups, businesses, and movements to document their stories and inspire listeners to turn their ideas into actions.

  Business
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Vinny Dotolo | Award-Winning Chef and Co-Owner of Jon & Vinny’s

Oct 01 2024 89 mins  
Vinny Dotolo is a Los Angeles-based chef and restaurateur, recognized for his contributions to the city’s food scene. He is the chef and co-owner of Jon & Vinny’s and Helen’s Wines, with locations in Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Fairfax, Slauson, Studio City, and globally. He also operates Cookbook Market in Echo Park, Highland Park, and Larchmont Village, along with Carmelized

Joel Madden | Good Charlotte, Veeps, and the Music Business

Sep 10 2024 83 mins  
Joel Madden is a musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist for the pop-punk band Good Charlotte. Born in Maryland, Madden co-founded Good Charlotte in the mid-1990s with his twin brother, Benji Madden. The band rose to fame in the early 2000s with hits like "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" and "The Anthem," becoming a staple in the punk rock

Troy Arntsen | Crafting a Luxury Candle Brand with Voluspa

Sep 03 2024 56 mins  
Troy Arntsen, co-founder and president of Voluspa, transformed a simple idea into a global luxury candle brand renowned for its exquisite scents and impeccable quality. Hailing from Minnesota, Troy was a self-described "daydreamer" who defied expectations when he traded a promising engineering career for the world of essential oils. His decision, met with initial doubts from his fa

Taylor Hill | Supermodel and Founder of Tate & Taylor

Aug 27 2024 59 mins  
Taylor Hill's life took an unexpected turn at the age of 14 when she was discovered at a dude ranch in Colorado. Born in Illinois but raised in the mountains of Colorado, Taylor grew up snowboarding and enjoying the outdoors with her family. Her mother, a former hairdresser turned stay-at-home mom, instilled in her a sense of creativity and diligence that would serve her well in he

Joe Gebbia | The Creative Force Behind Airbnb and Samara

Aug 20 2024 77 mins  
Joe Gebbia's journey began in Georgia, where his early interest in sports led him to work as a ball boy for the Atlanta Hawks. However, his true passion lay in art, earning him the nickname "art guy" in school as he spent countless hours drawing from comic books. This passion led him to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he discovered industrial design and the work of

Michelle Wahler | Building Beyond Yoga Into a $400 Million Exit to Levi’s

Aug 13 2024 70 mins  
Michelle Wahler is an entrepreneur, business leader and mother. In 2005, she co-founded the active lifestyle company Beyond Yoga, where as CEO, she built the product and brand from the ground up. What started as a mere concept led to a global wholesale business, e-commerce site and opening of six retail stores, selling tens of millions of units around the world over the course of n

Max Levchin | Co-Founder of PayPal and Affirm

Aug 06 2024 75 mins  
In this episode of The Founder Hour, we have an insightful conversation with Max Levchin, a true trailblazer in the tech world. Max’s journey began in Ukraine, where he grew up in a family of scientists who instilled in him a deep respect for knowledge and discovery. After his family relocated to Crimea to escape the fallout from the Chernobyl disaster, Max discovered his passion

Joe Kudla | Innovating Athletic Apparel with Vuori

Jul 30 2024 64 mins  
Joe Kudla is the visionary founder and CEO of Vuori (pronounced VEE-YOUR-EE), a brand that's redefining activewear. Joe's path to success is anything but ordinary, including a career in fashion and modeling that took him to the fashion capitals of Italy and also, accounting. However, his entrepreneurial spirit led him back to the U.S., where he faced the challenges of launching hi

Niki Nakayama | Two-Michelin-Starred Chef and Owner of n/naka

Jul 23 2024 54 mins  
Niki Nakayama’s cooking is driven by intuition. At her two-Michelin-starred restaurant, n/naka in West Los Angeles, she masters modern kaiseki, a Japanese dining discipline focused on taste, texture, and presentation. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nakayama began her culinary career at Takao restaurant in Brentwood and refined her skills in Japan. She later opened Azami Sushi Ca

Larry Fitzgibbon | Co-Founder and CEO of Tastemade

Jul 16 2024 64 mins  
Larry Fitzgibbon is the co-founder and CEO of Tastemade, a global video platform with over 250 million monthly viewers. Under his leadership, Tastemade has created a vibrant community around its Food, Travel, and Home & Design programming, available across digital, mobile, streaming, and TV platforms. Larry helped raise over $130 million in venture capital from partners including R