Business School

Big Box Retailers are under fire from multiple angles. Consumers are shopping online, startups are driving up marketing costs and stealing market share, and COVID forced retail to shut down in 2020. Alexa Driansky explains how the large, traditional retailers are responding.

Ethan Song co-founded Frank & Oak in 2012 and within 12 months had 7-figure monthly sales and a team of over 70 people. Over the next 8 years, he learned that to truly disrupt the men’s fashion industry would take more than several rounds of funding – it would take time and a path that differed from his original vision. Ethan discusses his path to a successful exit in 2020 and lessons learned along the way.

Caleb Ebel discusses starting a company with his wife, creating a differentiated paint company, ignoring the competition, and he takes a guest question from a former colleague at Warby Parker.

Lee Mayer describes how patient, disciplined growth was the key to building Havenly, the only online interior design company that has not only survived where competitors failed, but also flourished.

Matt Scanlan discusses how his success as an entrepreneur stems from his ability to operate on his own terms and at his own pace. 8 years into his entrepreneurial journey, Matt is now the CEO of Naadam, Something Navy, and Thakoon.

Squire Technologies raised $93 million in 2020 and are now valued at $250 million, but it wasn’t always that easy. Songe talks about constantly scraping for funding, moving HQ to Buffalo, and all the things they had to do to keep the business alive in the early days to put themselves in the position they’re in now.

This week Stephen and Phineas sit down with Sagan Schultz, Co-Founder & CEO of WellWell, to discuss Sagan's recent decision to raise capital on Republic (ep. 5) and his strategy for growing his CPG business in a pandemic. Link to the Republic page: https://republic.co/wellwell

Stephen and Phineas go back through the season and give some hot takes and updates on each topic and guest.

Stephen and Phineas discuss the importance of mental health and treating co-founder relationships like romantic relationships with Narie Foster, co-founder and former COO of M.M. LaFleur.

Ryan Babenzien talks with the guys about how he utilized collaborations to hack early growth for his sneaker brand GREATS, and how he leveraged strategic relationships to ultimately sell GREATS to footwear giant Steve Madden.

In this week’s episode, Phineas puts Stephen in the hot seat to learn what Burrow’s journey through COVID has been like and how the global pandemic is going to permanently change the way people shop and companies operate.

Casper Sleep went public in February 2020 by way of an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Co-Founder and CEO Philip Krim discusses the process and explains both what a SPAC is and why so many startups are going public via SPAC (vs. IPO) in 2020.

Stephen and Phineas have a fascinating conversation with an OG in word of mouth marketing, Ted Wright. They discuss the science behind why authentic, unpaid brand advocates are the difference maker for consumer brands that win in the long run.

Stephen and Phineas speak with Gregg Renfrew, Founder & CEO of Beautycounter, about how she’s built a health and beauty empire by advocating for clean ingredients and selling through a community of over 60,000 independent consultants.

Stephen and Phineas try out a new format where they answer questions from listeners and give advice to Alex Bertman, founder and CEO of Field Tiles. They help Alex think through pricing, marketing, and fundraising strategies. field-tiles.com/ instagram.com/field_tiles/

Successful startups quickly evolve from ideas to massive, high-growth machines. The skillsets required to lead at one stage are rarely the same for the next. Stephen and Phineas sit down with Slava Rubin to discuss how he and his co-founders at Indiegogo navigated their own paths throughout the company’s evolution.

The employee empowerment movement we’re witnessing is driving positive changes in workplace culture. Stephen and Phineas discuss the pros and cons of employees speaking up, and how founders should respond.

Ignitia Office was a thriving co-working company, fundraising for its second location in September 2019 when WeWork imploded and investors disappeared. 6 months later, COVID-19 erased 80% of the company’s revenue. In July 2020, Ignitia closed its doors forever. Co-founder and CEO Josh Bobrowsky discusses with Stephen and Phineas how he navigated the many tough decisions he had to make and what he’s working on next.

This week Stephen and Phineas discuss how consumer startups successfully market their business models, and put the latest example of this, Italic, under the microscope. They then aim this critical lens at the industry of Public Relations.

This week Stephen and Phineas chat with Liza Landsman, General Partner at NEA. They discuss the role of venture capitalists as investors and board members, how important culture is at startups, and the art and science of operating and investing the right way.

This week Stephen and Phineas chat with Ken Nguyen, CEO & Co-Founder of Republic, an equity crowdfunding platform. We discuss the democratization of fundraising, tokenization, and the future implications on the startup community.

This week Stephen and Phineas chat with Katie Hunt, co-founder of Showfields, about the growth and evolution of startup retail. They explore how hard it is to execute a long term retail strategy and how experiential retail without authenticity is just fluff.

This week, Stephen and Phineas chat with Maude founder and CEO Eva Goicochea about the recent turmoil surrounding the many female startup founders who have stepped down from their companies. They discuss the why behind this moment, how startup culture perpetuates these issues, and the common thread that ties these stories together.

Lesson 1: Corporate Responsibility in the Age of Black Lives Matter with Dave Salvant, Co-Founder & President of Squire.

Depending on who you talk to, the startup landscape is either inspiring or confusing, glamorous or scandalous, and sometimes all of the above. Every week, Burrow co-founder and CEO, Stephen Kuhl and startup veteran and Stereotype Studio founder Phineas Ellis give their honest, irreverent take on what's happening in the world of startups.