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This chat with Atoms CEO Sidra Qasim really made my week. From breaking cultural norms in a small Pakistani town, to building a global shoe brand From working out of KFC for free WiFi, to raising a Series A in Silicon Valley From struggling with English grammar in YC meetings, to becoming a voice for immigrant founders From selling shoes in size 10.5 only, to amassing a 40,000-person waitlist From nearly having to move back home with three months of runway left, to saving the company with pandemic mask sales From learning shoemaking by sitting with craftsmen, to reimagining everyday shoes for the creative class... What an incredible story of resilience. Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali, my hats off to you both. Watch/listen/read links in the comments.

Chatting with these amazing founders made me smarter. Pod/YT links in comments. Cheryl Sew Hoy of Tiny Health showed me the power of combining personal experience with relentless curiosity. Her journey from a C-section birth to launching a groundbreaking microbiome science company began with a simple yet profound realization: your child’s gut health starts from day one. Pauline Sokol Nakios of Lilla P proved that staying true to your vision pays off. With just $10,000, she started her brand by knocking on boutique doors. Over time, her commitment to classic-with-a-twist designs has built a loyal customer base, even as trends come and go. Taylor Johnson of HAZEL AND OLIVE INC. showed me how big dreams can start with small steps. With $300 saved from clipping coupons, she bought six sweaters and sold them on Facebook. Within six months, her online boutique had done over $1 million in sales—all fueled by grit and community support. Cristina Lynch of Mi Golondrina inspired me with her ability to merge heritage and entrepreneurship. Starting with 40 dresses, she built a brand that now collaborates with 850 artisans across Mexico, bringing traditional embroidery to the luxury landscape. Chris Salgardo of ATWATER, Inc taught me that storytelling is the secret to building a lasting brand. Drawing from his decades leading Kiehl’s, he created Atwater with the belief that every product should be part of a larger narrative—showing how a great story can turn products into a loyal community. I hope you get inspired by their stories too!

How would I get started if I wanted to build an e-commerce brand? My Brand Architects chats with the founders below taught me a few things. Adam Pearson of Fortunato Chocolate taught me that true innovation isn't about discovery, it's about making the impossible work. He didn't just find an extinct cacao variety in Peru's jungles—he solved its fermentation flaws. Justin Kerzner of Magic Molecule taught me that the hardest part of selling cutting-edge skincare isn’t the science—it’s getting the FDA and your customers to believe in it. Beau Schmitt of Sunday Scaries taught me that the best R&D happens at bars—because if your CBD gummies don’t work for stressed-out servers, you’ve got a problem. Caryl Levine and Kenneth Lee of Lotus Foods taught me that a good story sells. They turned “a rice reserved for Chinese emperors” into a menu must-have at the country’s top restaurants. Zachary Abbott of ZBiotics taught me that the simplest way to sell a breakthrough probiotic is to make it solve something universal—like the “next day” effects of a few too many drinks. Breanna Hughes of Bird&Be taught me that the fastest way to find your first product is to fake it—she built a pretend company just to figure out which fertility problems people would pay to solve. Justin Hai and Dina Keenan of Rebalance Health, Inc. taught me that cortisol is the “master hormone” that controls everything from sleep to weight loss. Their solution is a lozenge, not a pill, because timing and absorption matter. Watch/listen/read links in comments.

What's it like to build brands in personalized health and beauty? Watch/listen/read my recent founder/president chats on Brand Architects: (links in comments) - The Future of Personalized Health Through AI with Sarah McCollum Dorsett of Viome - Reimagining Affordable Luxury In Beauty with Natalie Mackey of Winky Lux - Breaking Beauty Barriers: KJ Miller's Journey from Harvard to Mented Cosmetics

Last week on Brand Architects I learned about building brands in flip-flop, functional gum/mint, skincare, condiment, fragrance, and laundry spaces. Watch/listen/read my founder chats: (links in comments) -15,000 Flip-Flops and a Dream: Lila Stewart on Bootstrapping Hari Mari To Big Retail - How Kelly Slater's Skincare Brand, Freaks of Nature, Was Created with Co-founder Lukas Derksen - How a Neuroscience Student Built a Functional Gum Empire with Kent Yoshimura of Neuro - Surf Vagabond to $200M Exit: Morgan Buehler Zanotti's Primal Kitchen Journey - How a Backpacking Trip Inspired a Global Fragrance Brand with Julia Kahlig-Garuba of Herb & Root Inc. - How Kind Laundry Turned Detergent Sheets into a Sustainable Self-Care Ritual w/ Angie Tran + Bernard Law

Luck in business is underrated. But you can tilt the odds in your favor. I talked to functional gum/mint brand Neuro co-founder Kent Yoshimura. His 'luck' wasn't just coincidence. Neuro is now by far the biggest brand in its category. He was active in the nootropics community on Reddit, sharing knowledge long before Neuro launched. So when he finally introduced his product, he hit his funding goal in three days because a loyal community already had his back. Then there was Shark Tank. Sure, he didn’t take the deal, but it still aired just as COVID hit, driving massive attention to the brand when everyone was stuck at home. And when Neuro’s memory-boosting gum launched? Kent had a stroke of luck again—Steve Aoki got on board to promote it. But was it luck? Or was it the result of years of building authentic relationships in the right places? Lesson? Be real, show up, and put in the time. The more you do, the luckier you get. Watch/listen links in comments.

Listen/watch/read: https://lnkd.in/e-q38GTJ

Watch/listen/read Kelley's journey: https://lnkd.in/e3EuWEyz

As an avid surfer it was awesome to interview surf legend Kelly Slater's co-founder for his new skincare brand, Freaks of Nature for my Brand Architects podcast. I grilled Lukas Derksen quite a bit to figure out how he was able to persuade the 11-time world champion to start a brand with him. It was a really fun chat! Watch/listen/subscribe links in comments. https://lnkd.in/eFWFru7S

A fake website, a pregnant wife, and a global pandemic. Not exactly the ideal recipe for launching a startup, right? Bora Celik sits down with Robbie Salter, co-founder of Jupiter, the brand that's revolutionizing how we think about dandruff care. Watch/listen: https://lnkd.in/eckfDvtW Robbie's journey from entertainment to scalp health is as unexpected as it is fascinating. After years in Hollywood, he found himself scratching his head (literally) over a new career path. That's when he spotted some dandruff on his desk and thought, "There's got to be a better solution." But Robbie didn't just jump in. He and his partner created a fake brand called Headway to test the market. They spent $20,000 on ads, driving traffic to a website where people couldn't actually buy anything. Instead, they collected invaluable data on what potential customers really wanted. Armed with this intel, they spent 18 months developing a product line that would make dandruff care... dare we say it... cool? Then COVID hit. Just as they were ready to launch. But sometimes, limitations breed creativity. Being forced to go fully digital from day one ended up being a blessing in disguise. Now, Jupiter is stocked in Bergdorf Goodman and is Vogue's top pick for dandruff shampoo. Not bad for a brand born from a few flakes on a desk! Robbie's story reminds us that sometimes, the best business ideas come from scratching your own itch (pun intended). And that with a bit of creativity and a lot of perseverance, you can turn even the flakiest of situations into gold. #BrandArchitects #Entrepreneurship #StartupStory