The Founder Hour

Justin Baldoni is an actor, director, producer, entrepreneur, and changemaker whose efforts are focused on creating impactful media and entertainment. You may know him from the hit series, Jane the Virgin, where he plays the character, Rafael Solano. Baldoni was born in Los Angeles and raised in Oregon. He spoke to us about his soccer and track career in high school, which ended after an injury. Then, he was a radio DJ at a local top-40 radio station in Oregon. He decided to move back to Los Angeles and while moving into a new apartment, he met a manager who advised him to pursue a career in acting. As a devout practitioner of the Bahá'í Faith, he speaks of his purpose and what drives him in life and business. As an entrepreneur, Baldoni co-founded Wayfarer Entertainment—a cause-driven media studio focused on creating content that highlights inspiration, unity, and the power of human connection. Furthering its goal to create projects that are a benefit to humankind, Baldoni recently secured a $25 million development production fund to produce premium social good content.In addition to developing projects from ideation through release, Baldoni created the dinner conversation series, Man Enough, which dives into traditional masculinity while focusing on topics like body image, relationships, and fatherhood. He spoke about his own journey with masculinity and his thoughts on redefining “manhood.” SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

This is the story of Nick Fouquet (pronounced like “bouquet”). He is the founder and designer of his namesake hat brand, Nick Fouquet, mainly known for their unique style and craftsmanship. Nick shares stories from his early days, moving to France with his parents and five sisters until the age of 8. Upon their return to America, Nick went to boarding school, got kicked out of boarding school, eventually graduated high school, and stole his mother’s credit card to travel to Patagonia for 5 months. That trip changed his perspective and trajectory in life.After traveling around the world and working various jobs, he randomly ran into a guy wearing a hat in Venice, CA - this is the beginning of Nick’s hat-making days. Nick’s passion and perseverance have led his hats to sit on the heads of countless celebrities, helping accelerate the growth of his brand. His entrepreneurial journey is unlike any other, but the lessons he learned are applicable to all.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Yearning for an alternative to happy hour after work, a daily routine of a New Yorker in the 1980s, Lavinia Errico and her brothers decided to start a fitness club called Equinox. Though money was tight, they managed to barter their way to growing to several locations before ultimately selling the company. Walking away a self-made millionaire, Lavinia fell into depression. Going through an identity crisis, she set out on a journey to rediscover herself and has since dedicated her life to helping others create more mindful, healthy lives.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Jeni Britton Bauer joins Pat and Posh to share her inspiring story of resilience and relentlessness as she built Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a household name across the country.After discovering her deep connection with scent at a young age, Jeni set out to make a difference in the world through the power of ice cream. As she grew her business and expanded into new territories, she was overcome with several difficult challenges including a listeria-related recall in 2015 that almost crumbled her life’s work.Since then, Jeni’s is bigger than ever, in over 40 “Scoop Shop” locations and 1,500+ groceries and markets nationwide.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Nate Checketts is the co-founder and CEO of Rhone, a men’s performance lifestyle company founded in 2014. Prior to Rhone, Nate worked for and consulted with some of the biggest technology and entertainment properties in the world including Cisco, the NFL, Legends, FanVision, and Sport Radar.In this episode, Nate joins Pat and Posh to share his story of growing up in Connecticut and always having an entrepreneurial bug in him. His father was a successful business executive in the world of sports (former GM of the Utah Jazz and CEO of NBA International) and Nate always felt pressure to be a success as well, in his own way.While in college, he started a technology company which was a mobile app that allowed fans in a stadium to order food directly from their seats, and the company was sold the San Francisco 49ers after 3 years. While selling a company in your mid-twenties may cause people to believe you’ve reached a point of massive success, Nate ultimately felt like a failure. Things just hadn’t worked out the way he had planned and he was eager for more.After a brief stint working for the NFL, Nate left his job to launch Rhone. He had seen a gap in the men’s activewear and lifestyle category and was on a mission to create a brand that made an impact. He also noticed that the behavior of men was changing when it came to their relationship with clothing, and he was compelled to do something about it.Today, Rhone is one of the fastest-growing brands in the activewear category and is the #1 men’s brand sold at Equinox and Peloton.During this conversation, Nate also sheds light on the valuable business lessons he’s learned throughout his career, what takes an idea from zero to one, the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur, fundraising, “athleisure” vs. performance lifestyle, and the challenges as well as benefits of Ecommerce vs. Retail.SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

You’ve heard Marc Merrill’s incredible story of founding Riot Games, creator of League of Legends. You’ve heard Ashley Merrill’s inspiring story of launching Lunya. In this episode, Marc and Ashley are BACK on the show - this time, together! - to share how they did it while building a family, the tough challenges they faced along the way (in both business as well as their relationship), and much more.Marc and Ashley also give us some updates on what’s next for them, their new project “The Deep,” their advice for couples (especially husband & wife founders), and their bold predictions for the 2020s.This is one of our most insightful and interesting conversations yet! You definitely don’t want to miss this!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Chris Stang is the co-founder and CEO of The Infatuation, a restaurant recommendation website and messaging service based in New York. They are most known for publishing restaurant reviews and guides, and as creators of the hashtag #EEEEEATS. In 2018, the company acquired the Zagat rating company from Google.Chris grew up in Denver and found his way into the music industry after a stint in college radio, working in promotion and marketing for 12 years at Atlantic Records alongside massive acts such as Skrillex, Coldplay, Matchbox Twenty, Bruno Mars, and Santigold.In 2009, he had an idea to launch a food blog with his now partner, Andrew Steinthal. After some early growth, they both decided to leave their corporate jobs in the midst of their careers to dive into the world of startups. Since then, they’ve grown a loyal community in over 20 cities worldwide and raised millions of dollars in funding (most recently, a $30 million round from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo).In this episode, Pat and Posh hung out with Chris during one of his trips to LA to learn about his upbringing, experience working in the music industry, the early days of launching The Infatuation, and how he’s been able to manage the company’s massive growth. Chris also shares why they acquired Zagat, the parallels between music and business, the lessons he’s learned as a founder and leader, the next wave of innovation in the food industry, and what’s coming next from The Infatuation and Zagat.Fun fact: The Infatuation was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2014 for writing a review of a fake restaurant called Underfinger!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

This episode was originally released on May 20th. To round out 2019, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy!----Chef Johnny Ray Zone is the founder and owner of Howlin’ Ray's, the famous restaurant known for bringing Nashville Hot Chicken to Los Angeles. Originally starting out as a food truck, Howlin’ has quickly become one of the hottest spots in town - literally. Ever since opening their doors in Chinatown in 2016, they’ve had 2+ hour lines every single day with hundreds of people just waiting to get their hands on a delicious hot chicken sandwich!In this episode, Pat and Posh hang with Chef Johnny to hear about his childhood growing up in LA, what inspired him to become a chef, and the various jobs he’s had up to the launch of Howlin’ Ray's. We also learn about what Nashville Hot Chicken REALLY is, the wild journey he’s had from being $80,000 in debt to growing one of the most popular food concepts ever, and what’s to come next!Whether or not you’re a foodie, make sure to tune in for an amazing story and conversation with Chef Johnny!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

This episode was originally released on July 14th. To round out 2019, we asked our listeners who their 2 favorite episodes of the year were - and this was one of them! Hope you enjoy!----Ashley Merrill is the founder and CEO of Lunya, a company who makes modern, luxury sleepwear for women. Before launching the company in 2014, Ashley was working at a venture capital firm as well as an online media company when she realized there was a gap in the sleepwear market for women.Born and raised in LA, Ashley attended UCLA for her bachelors and MBA as well as culinary school prior to working as a professional. She officially launched Lunya by accident while in business school literally as she was giving birth to her first child!In this episode, Pat & Posh sit down with Ashley to hear about her upbringing, the opportunity she sees for Lunya, the challenges she faced growing the company, their approach to marketing, and what the future looks like for the brand.We also chat about other exciting topics such as the Japanese concept of Ikigai and the impact it’s had on her life and the decisions she’s made, what it’s like being married to an entrepreneur (Marc Merrill, founder of Riot Games, who we had on episode 42!) while raising children and running a successful company of her own, and her advice for other entrepreneurs.Tune in for an awesome conversation with Ashley!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour

Jaclyn Johnson is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Create & Cultivate, an online community and conference for women looking to create and cultivate the career of their dreams. She’s also the host of the WorkParty podcast and the author of a book with the same name.Throughout her career, she’s worked with massive brands such as Microsoft, Urban Decay, L’Oréal Paris, Estée Lauder, and Uber for their social media and events.In this episode, Pat and Posh sit down with Jaclyn to hear about her upbringing, starting and selling her first business No Subject, how Create & Cultivate went from a side project to a massively successful venture, and the tough challenges she’s faced along the way.Jaclyn also sheds light on how she’s been able to navigate uncertainty as an entrepreneur, her advice for picking co-founders, female founders and women in business, and much more!SUBSCRIBE TO TFH NEWSLETTER & STAY UPDATED > http://bit.ly/tfh-newsletterFOLLOW TFH ON INSTAGRAM > http://www.instagram.com/thefounderhourFOLLOW TFH ON TWITTER > http://www.twitter.com/thefounderhourINTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR? EMAIL US > partnerships@thefounderhour.com ***Follow The Founder Hour on:Instagram | www.instagram.com/thefounderhourTwitter/X | www.x.com/thefounderhourLinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/thefounderhourYouTube | www.youtube.com/@thefounderhour