Predicting The Turn W/ Dave Knox

With the backing of Mike Tyson and Georges St- Pierre, FightCamp has serious street cred in the at-home connected fitness world. And while FightCamp can take a punch from the likes of Tyson and GSP, the company is on a mission to show people of all skill levels the fitness benefits of boxing and kickboxing. I sat down with FightCamp’s co-founder and CMO, Patrick Chandler, to talk about the company’s evolution and how they differentiate themselves in the increasingly crowded connected fitness space.

With the rise of COVID has come a rise in people rediscoveringthe outdoors.  But that has also comewith mosquitoes rediscovering them. Enter Murphy’s Naturals, veteran owned and family run business that letsyou enjoy life outdoors with their natural mosquito repellents.  I sat down with founder and CEO PhilipFreeman to learn more about why he started Murphy’s Naturals and how the searchfor a new office led him to start a second business alongside Murphy’s.

In the crowded water bottle market, HydroJug stands out by giving consumers exactly what they are looking for. Instead of fancy colors or an abundance of features, HydroJug created a simple, 73 ounce water jug made for people who just need a lot of water. I sat down with co-founders and brothers, Jake and Hayden Wadsworth to talk about building HydroJug, how they found passionate fans well beyond their original fitness audience and how their parents’ entrepreneurial backgrounds influenced their path.

When it was launched in 2016, Theragun was a revolutionary product that created a new category. Since that time, the company has broadened their reach and rebranded as Therabody in 2020 in recognition of that bigger mission. I sat down with Benjamin Nazarian, CEO of Therabody to learn more about the company’s evolution, how he became involved in the business, and how they approach their innovation pipeline. 

As a child, Debbie Wei Mullin was surrounded by the influences of her Vietnamese heritage. As she began her entrepreneurial journey later in life, she turned to that heritage to launch Copper Cow Coffee, a direct-to-consumer Vietnamese Coffee that is launching nationwide in Whole Foods. I sat down with Debbie, the CEO and Founder of Copper Cow Coffee, to learn more about the company, educating the US about Vietnamese Coffee, and how she stumbled across their innovative pour-over design on a supplier’s desk.

When Steven and Brittany Yeng came up with the idea of Skrewball, many of the people they talked with scoffed at the idea of a peanut butter whiskey. Fast forward to today and Skrewball has become of the fastest growing liquor brands in history. I sat down with the husband-and-wife co-founders to talk about their unique journey, what motivated them to launch the brand, and why they celebrate screwballs and misfits.

Twenty years ago, Carla Schneider was a special ed teacher and new mom looking for a solution to help her newborn son stop crying.  That need led her to sew her son’s favorite stuffed animals to his pacifiers, giving birth to the global household brand WubbaNub.   I sat down to talk with Carla about her journey building WubbaNub, what led to her partnerships with brands like the MLB and Jimmy Fallon, and the advice she gives to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Growing up in the Netherlands, Rip Pruisken’s favorite treat was the stroopwafel, a near universal treat in the country. But while he was attending Brown University, he found that it was largely unknown in the US. Pruisken set out to change that with the launch of Rip Van, which has grown into a better-for-you snack food company. I sat down with Pruisken to learn more about the journey of building Rip Van over the last decade and how the brand has evolved with their growth.

When you ask Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, his view on the future of food, he points to what he believes is inevitable change.  But he starts the comparison by pointing to other change that one point people dismissed.  Few believed in streaming music, electric cars, or lab-made diamonds but today they are common place.  Its with this inspirations in mind that Eat Just is challenging two big assumptions on what it means to eat an egg or a piece of chicken. I sat down with Josh Tetrick, CEO and cofounder of Eat Just, to learn more about the company’s journey, why he believes this change is inevitable, and how they are going about driving the change.

For Brett Berish, CEO and co-founder of Sovereign Brands, building industry challenging brands is in his blood. The company he co-founded, Sovereign Brands, is a family-owned, family-run wine and spirits company dedicated to the creation and development of unique, premium beverage brands. I sat down with Berish to learn about the company’s history, his family’s background in the spirits industry and the growth Sovereign has seen in recent years.

Started in 2017, Ro is a health care technology company building a patient-centric healthcare system. The pandemic gave rise to a remarkable time of growth for the company, marked by the rise of telehealth and multiple acquisitions by the business. Since just this spring, Ro has launched a one of kind in-home vaccination program, raised $500M in funding, acquired two companies (Modern Fertility and diagnostics startup Kit), and premiered its products across 97% of Walmart stores in the US. I sat down with Rob Schutz, Chief Growth Officer and Co- Founder of Ro, to talk about the company’s growth trajectory, the boom of telehealth during COVID, and their new national rollout with Walmart.

For over two decades, Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon has been one of the most sought-after brands in the world. It is a business built upon a family heritage in the bourbon industry that goes back to Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle opening the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in the 1930’s. As the 4th generation of Van Winkles move into the family business, they have expanded it with the launch of Pappy & Company, a bourbon lifestyle brand launched by the three daughters of Julian Van Winkle III. I sat down with the three co-founders / sisters to talk about the inspiration behind Pappy & Co and how the business has grown since launch.

Harry’s, Inc. known as one of the pioneer brands in the direct-to-consumer space and today a family of brands including Harry’s, Flamingo, Cat Person and Headquarters, is on a mission to create things people like more. As the company charts its future strategy, Harry’s is shifting the focus of Harry’s Labs — the company's incubation arm that launched in 2018 — to acquiring disruptive brands that are looking for a new type of strategic partner. I sat down with Tehmina Haider, who's the head of Harry's Labs, to discuss this strategy and why she believes brands can and should look at different types of strategic and financial partners to scale faster and more successfully.

When Steven Szaronos and Rishi Prabhu were in Business School, they decided they’d rather launch their own business than go work for someone else. After realizing their initial startup wasn’t playing to their strengths as founders, the two launched Bespoke Post in 2011. A decade later, the company has gained a loyal following of consumers who turn to them for discovery. I sat down with the two co-founders to talk about their founding story, how the brand has evolved over the years, and how data from their customers drives this evolution.

When Upper Deck was started in the late 1980’s, they brought first-of-its-kind innovation to the sports trading card industry. Over thirty years later, the company continues to push the envelope as the industry experiences a new surge. I sat down with Jason Masherah, President of Upper Deck, to talk about the heritage of innovation at Upper Deck, their efforts in digital, and how they are investing in the growth of the industry through local hobby shops.

Peanut butter is found in nearly every kitchen pantry. But with its high fat content and inherent “messiness”, this staple was missing the trend of people searching for healthier alternatives and higher protein. That is until the invention of powdered peanut butter by PB2. I sat down with Craig Entwistle, CEO at PB2 Foods, to learn more about how the brand is changing the peanut butter category and how they are approaching innovation in growing the business.

On any given day in the US, 50% of adults drink at least one glass of soda. And despite soda’s heritage as a product sold in pharmacies, today it is best known as a sugar-laden beverage linked to weight-gain and obesity. David Lester and Ben Goodwin, co-founders of OLIPOP, want to change that and use soda as a force of good. I sat down with the two of them to learn more about OLIPOP, what goes into the business of a functional beverage, and why they picked soda as the way to change digestive health.

When Michael Browning started Urban Air, the business was a trampoline park for kids like many others in the industry. But with a background in data science and analytics, Browning was able to see the opportunity to create a more innovative model that was centered around the needs of parents and kids both. I sat down with Browning, the founder and CEO of Urban Air, to learn about the founding story of the business, how data plays such a key role in their decisions, and how the business has evolved over the last year.

Aamir Baig, founder and CEO of Article has a simple philosophy for building a business. In his eyes, a business is not a business unless it has a profit formula that comes with it. That approach to business has allowed Aamir and his co-founders to build Article into one of the leading DTC Furniture companies without relying on raising tens of millions in venture capital. I sat down with Aamir to learn more about Article, the original inspiration behind the business, and how the business has grown over the last year.

In June 2020, Zena Arnold took on a new role at Kimberly-Clark as its Chief Digital and Marketing Officer. Despite the difficulty of making this change during the middle of COVID-19, Arnold believes the lessons of the pandemic have shown companies the potential of a newfound agility in how they approach business. I sat down with Zena to talk about moving into this new role during the middle of the pandemic, how her team has responded, and how she is bringing lessons from her time at Google into theworld of CPG.