High Stakes Growth
Business & Finance
About
High Stakes Growth® takes you inside the boldest decisions behind today’s most exciting consumer brands. We bring you candid conversations with the founders and CMOs who built them—unpacking the high-stakes moments, tough calls, and game-changing strategies that made these brands what they are today. No fluff. No surface-level insights. Just real stories from the leaders who made it happen. Hosted by Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd, they bring a combined four decades of consumer brand expertise to these conversations.
Episodes
- Will Nitze: Building IQBAR to $125M+ in Sales With a 15-Person Team
This episode features Will Nitze, founder and CEO of IQBAR, discussing his journey building the functional health brand to over $125M in sales. Key topics include leveraging Harvard connections for fundraising, a value-based pricing strate…
- Marnie Rabinovitch: Building Thigh Society from Side Hustle to 3M Pairs Sold
Marnie Rabinovitch, founder of Thigh Society, shares her journey of creating slip shorts to prevent thigh chafing. She discusses leaving a corporate job at 40, focusing on one hero product, building a lean remote team, and prioritizing bus…
- Shawn LaRowe: Modernizing Pelican While Protecting the Values That Built It
Shawn LaRowe, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Pelican, shares insights on expanding the brand beyond protective cases into areas like travel, making Pelican more accessible to a wider audience, and leveraging customer feedback for p…
- Melissa Mash: Building a Global Bag Brand and How They Achieved 50% Organic Site Traffic
Melissa Mash, co-founder of Dagne Dover, discusses building a global bag brand with a 14-year partnership, prioritizing product quality over advertising to achieve 50% organic traffic, and strategic international expansion informed by past…
- Isaac Mertens: Building a $40M+ Footwear Brand Without Debt or Raising Capital
Isaac Mertens, CEO of Flux Footwear, discusses building a minimalist shoe brand to mid-8-figure revenue without debt or venture capital. The episode covers transitioning from Etsy to e-commerce, financial discipline focusing on contributio…
- Hector Hughes: How His Tech-Free Cabins Test (and Sometimes End) Relationships
Hector Hughes, co-founder of Unplugged, shares his journey of creating tech-free cabin retreats. The episode covers the business's origin, challenges in scaling, the impact of disconnect on relationships, brand marketing strategies, and hi…
- Lomit Patel: Why Retention, Community, and Brand Win in 2026
Lomit Patel shares insights on how community drives retention and LTV, his early use of AI for growth, and the increasing importance of human trust and brand building beyond performance marketing.
- Ramon Vela: 1,000+ Founder Interviews & the 5 Lessons That Matter Most
Ramon Vela, host of The Story of a Brand, shares five essential brand-building lessons learned from over 1,000 founder interviews. Key takeaways include the power of focus, building for longevity, navigating crises, planning for downsides,…
- Jesse Eisenberg & Josh Suggs: Building the World's Biggest Street Interview Ad Agency
Josh Suggs and Jesse Eisenberg, co-founders of the street interview ad agency StreetTalk, share their journeys from dropping out of college and leaving corporate jobs to building a successful business. They discuss the appeal of unscripted…
- "The Climb" with Michael Fisher: Growing a Candy Brand 10x in 12 Months
Michael Fisher, CEO of Rotten candy, shares his experience growing the brand 10x in 12 months. The episode covers building a unique brand identity, learning CPG from scratch, leveraging TikTok for retail expansion, and managing rapid growt…
- Mark Samuel: Building IWON to 6,000 Doors—Then Starting Over
Mark Samuel, founder of Mark's Snacks and formerly IWON Organics, shares his experiences scaling a brand to thousands of retail doors and the decision to license it out. He also details his approach to building in public through social med…
- Dinah Chapman: Turning a Maternity Leave Side Project into a $10M Brand
Dinah Chapman founded the 8-figure kids clothing brand Little Trouble. She discusses launching the company during maternity leave, scaling to $10M via product expansion and paid media, and building a strong team.
- Allison Taylor: How a Chrissy Teigen Shoutout Sparked 30,000 Orders
Allison Taylor, co-founder of Le Prunier, discusses her journey from growing up on a plum farm to achieving significant business success. The episode covers early retail breakthroughs, a viral moment leading to 30,000 orders, and strategie…
- AJ Patel: Inside the Growth Engine of a Luxury Skincare Brand
AJ Patel, SVP of Global Growth at U Beauty, discusses the luxury skincare brand's growth strategies, including focusing on education over discounts, leveraging the Sephora partnership for awareness, prioritizing creative testing on Meta, a…
- Charles Brun: Building IZIPIZI into a Global Eyewear Brand Sold in 80+ Countries
Charles Brun, co-founder of IZIPIZI, discusses the eyewear brand's journey from its 2010 founding by friends to its global presence in over 80 countries. The episode covers their growth strategies, including expanding beyond wholesale, reb…
- Ryan Rouse: Scaling Factor and Now Taking MALK from $40M to $100M
Ryan Rouse, formerly of Factor and Serenity Kids, is now President at MALK Organics. He shares his journey from finance to scaling businesses, including co-founding Factor and his current role aiming to grow MALK from $40M to $100M.
- Myriam Belzile-Maguire: The Rise, Setbacks, and Reinvention of Maguire Shoes
Myriam Belzile-Maguire, co-founder of Maguire Shoes, discusses the brand's origin, its journey through financial challenges, and strategic shifts towards European wholesale and brand refresh. The company aims for $20 million in annual reve…
- Joe Welstead: From Pro Swimmer to Exiting His First Brand and Launching His Second
Joe Welstead shares his transition from professional swimming to entrepreneurship, detailing his experience with exiting his first brand, Motion Nutrition, and launching his current venture, Oshun, focusing on electrolyte and magnesium sup…
- "The Climb" with Meredith Mills-Merritt: Starting a Gin Cocktail Brand From a Family Recipe
Meredith Mills-Merritt shares her journey founding The Original Southside, a canned gin cocktail brand. She details her transition from beauty brand management, the extensive R&D process, securing partnerships like the Florida Panthers, an…
- "The Climb" with Ben Dancer: Building One of the World's First Performance Sleepwear Brands
Ben Dancer, founder of Zed Sleep, shares his journey from Harry's to starting his first venture in performance sleepwear. The episode covers the inspiration behind Zed Sleep, the development of technical apparel in partnership with fabric…
- Steven Sashen: From Stand-Up Comedian to Building a $70M Footwear Brand
Steven Sashen, co-founder and CEO of Xero Shoes, shares his journey from stand-up comedy to building a $70M footwear brand. The discussion covers his experience on Shark Tank, strategies for scaling the business, insights on partnerships,…
- Aaron Zagha: How Smart Marketing Turned a Bootstrapped Brand Into a Category Leader
Aaron Zagha, CMO of Newton Baby, shares his journey from banking to e-commerce, detailing how he bootstrapped the DTC brand to 8-figure sales. The discussion covers data-driven marketing, influencer strategies, capitalizing on the COVID-19…
- Brad Woodgate: How He Built Three $100M CPG Brands Without Raising a Dollar
Brad Woodgate, founder of Joyburst and The No Sugar Company, discusses building CPG brands without raising capital. He shares insights on recognizing the 'no sugar' trend, a Disney partnership for Inside Out 2, and collaborating with Vanil…
- Henrik Jonsson: Building the World’s First Circular Phone Case Company
Henrik Jonsson, CEO of agood company, discusses building a profitable, circular phone case business. He shares insights on their circular model, the shift from DTC to retail, adapting to consumer purchasing behavior, and the strategy behin…
- Human Thread: Emotional Content—When Does It Become Too Much in Marketing?
Dr. Andrew Hughes discusses the responsible use of emotion in marketing with Forest and Leah. The episode covers how emotional triggers capture attention, the dangers of emotional overload and fatigue, and the ethical considerations of emo…
- Nick Saltarelli: How He Built a $40M Brand with Family—and the Push Toward $100M
Nick Saltarelli, co-founder of Mid-Day Squares, discusses building the $40M chocolate brand with family, their strategy of avoiding Facebook ads in the first year, and leveraging their fanbase to achieve significant sales milestones.
- "The Climb" with Jenny Casson & Manuella Widjaja: Redesigning Bras for Broad Shoulders
Jenny Casson, Olympic rower, and Manuella Widjaja, former YC operator, co-founded Daylilie to create bras for broad-shouldered women, focusing on silhouette over size. They detail their journey from cold DM to co-founders, navigating proto…
- “The Climb” with Tiana Ravden: Eroe’s 10-Year Journey and a Today Show Breakthrough
Tiana Ravden, founder and CEO of Eroe, details the decade-long creation of her innovative lingerie brand, from its DIY origins and patent struggles to a significant Today Show feature that boosted orders.
- Wylie Robinson: The Rumpl Journey—Kickstarter, Shark Tank, and Stepping Down as CEO
Wylie Robinson discusses founding Rumpl, an 8-figure brand for performance blankets. He shares the story behind the brand's origin, its successful Kickstarter campaign, challenges with a co-founder, his experience on Shark Tank, and his de…
- "The Climb" with Abdul Altaf: Doing $250k Sales Per Month While in College
Abdul Altaf, co-founder of Yay Nuts, shares his journey of building a Gen Z snack brand to $250K in monthly revenue while in college. The episode covers his entrepreneurial beginnings, branding strategy, successful TikTok growth, and chall…
- Chase Fisher: Blenders’ Wild Ride from Boardwalk Hustle to $90M Sale
Chase Fisher founded Blenders Eyewear, starting by selling sunglasses from his backpack. He discusses buying out his cofounder, the $90M acquisition process, the Coach Prime partnership, and his transition from CEO.
- Human Thread: Hijacked Attention in the Age of Infinite Content
Dr. Andrew Hughes discusses how attention is being hijacked in the age of infinite content, covering topics like brain chemistry, platform design, and the effects of attention overload on workers and creators.
- Garret Akerson: From Nearly Shutting Down His Brand to a Successful Exit 3 Years Later
Garret Akerson discusses the founding and scaling of Kindred Bravely, overcoming a 2018 crisis with strategic ad spend and sales, implementing a unique hiring process, and the decision to sell a majority stake in 2021.
- Ian Blair: A Founder’s Life in High Gear – From SaaS to DTC and Big Waves to Biohacks
This episode features Ian Blair, discussing his experience as a founder, from building the mobile app company BuildFire to launching the DTC brand Laundry Sauce. He shares insights on managing demanding work schedules, strategic brand deve…
- Rob Fraser: Navigating a Full Rebrand & Burnout to Build an 8-Figure Sock Brand
Rob Fraser, founder and CEO of Outway, shares his journey from pro cycling to building an 8-figure DTC sock brand. He discusses his co-founder buyout, a forced rebrand, overcoming burnout, and strategies that led to 90% year-over-year grow…
- Taylor Offer: Building a $50M Brand, Burning Out, and Coming Back Stronger
Taylor Offer, co-founder of the $50M apparel brand Feat, shares his journey from a college hustle to success with influencers, experiencing burnout, and embarking on a healing path before building a new stealth startup. He is now aiming to…
- Adam Schwartz: How Selling His First Company to a Competitor Led to His New Startup, Parable
Adam Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Parable, shares his experience co-founding TeePublic and discusses bootstrapping strategies, the decision to sell, and how AI can improve enterprise operational inefficiencies without necessarily causin…
- Michael Perry: From Food Stamps to a Shopify Exit—And Starting Over Again
Michael Perry, founder of Kit and Maple, shares his experience of building companies, including selling Kit to Shopify. He reflects on the challenges of entrepreneurship, the importance of support, and his mission to change parenting cultu…
- Ryan Beltran: How He Scaled his Watch Brand to $100M in Lifetime Sales
Ryan Beltran, co-founder and CEO of Original Grain, discusses the growth of his watch brand. Topics include the company's early Kickstarter success, scaling to $100 million in lifetime revenue, brand building, and future expansion strategi…
- Jacob Peters: From Hospital Bed to Health Tech CEO – Building the Brand to Fix Healthcare
Jacob Peters, CEO of Superpower, a health tracking app, shares his journey starting the company after a near-death experience and his mother's illness. The episode covers the $30M Series A funding, plans for an AI doctor, building a large…
- Lily Walla: Why “Delusional Conviction” Is the Entrepreneur’s Superpower
Lily Walla, founder of SPOTS and CEO of Auggie, discusses the importance of
- Matt Meeker: From Founder to Rescuer – Saving Bark After They Burned $200M
Matt Meeker, co-founder of Bark and Meetup.com, details his experience leading a major turnaround at Bark, including navigating financial challenges, providing advice on IPOs and fundraising, and sharing lessons learned about hiring and cu…
- High Stakes Growth Trailer
This is a trailer for the High Stakes Growth podcast, hosted by Jetset co-founders Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd.