StartUp Podcast

Mokhtar Alkhanshali is trying to produce the perfect cup of coffee. And he’s trying to do it with beans grown in the midst of an active war zone in Yemen. Despite those challenges, his company’s first batch earned rave reviews, and sold for $16 a cup at one of the fanciest coffee chains around. But can he turn that early success into a profitable business, or will the challenges of trying to achieve perfection using a supply chain that starts halfway around the world do his young company in?

Our Sponsors: .future | Squarespace | Trunk Club | Fiverr

You called with your questions. Alex Blumberg has your answers—about growth, diversity at Gimlet and, oh yeah, that ABC sitcom that’s currently being made about the first season of StartUp.

Our Sponsors:

• Squarespace 
• Cloudflare 
• Microsoft 

Mason Gordon’s dream is to create a new global team sport, something that hasn’t happened since basketball came on the scene in the 1890s. But Mason is determined. He invented Slamball—an amped up combination of basketball and football that’s played on trampolines—nearly twenty years ago. He had some splashy early success and got two seasons on TV. And then Slamball seemingly disappeared. But Mason is still at it, and now Slamball is surging in popularity on the other side of the globe.

Our Sponsors:

• Pipedrive – Pipedrive is an easy-to-use sales management tool designed with small teams in mind. Check out pipedrive.com/startup to learn more
• Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “STARTUP” to get 10% off your first purchase.
• Virgin Atlantic - Listen to their podcast, The Venture, wherever you get your podcasts or go to virginatlantic.com/theventure

Jason from Bento started a business that prepared and delivered pan-Asian meals on demand. Lauren and Emma from Dating Ring wanted to reinvent online dating. Mary from Saint Harridan made sharp suits for masculine women and trans men. And Mike moved food across international borders, evading employees of a large grocery store chain. This episode, we return to some of the companies we followed in previous seasons and find out how their founders are doing—and what the label “entrepreneur” means to them now.

Our Sponsors:

• Ebay – Listen to their podcast, Open for Business wherever you get your podcasts
• Pipedrive – Pipedrive is an easy-to-use sales management tool designed with small teams in mind. Check out pipedrive.com/startup to learn more
• Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “STARTUP” to get 10% off your first purchase.

Alex and Matt talk to Josh Muccio, the host of Gimlet's newest show, about his path to podcasting. Then we sample the first half of the latest episode of Josh's show, The Pitch.

Our Sponsors

• Ebay – Listen to their podcast, Open for Business wherever you get your podcasts
• Sonos – Sonos is a smart wireless speaker system. To learn more go to sonos.com
• Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “STARTUP” to get 10% off your first purchase.
• Ziprecruiter – start posting jobs for free at Ziprecruiter.com/startup

Hello, there! This week we’re rebroadcasting an episode from way back in Season 2 when we were following Dating Ring, a company that was different from other dating sites and apps because it used matchmakers to help its customers go out on dates. This episode picks up just after the co-founders of the company, Lauren and Emma, finished Y Combinator and started pitching angel investors. You’ll hear them struggle to raise money—while wondering if their company was floundering for reasons completely outside of their control. 

Researchers who think about the thorny problem of feeding our growing global population have started to point at one possible solution: bugs. They’re protein-rich and ecologically sustainable—but can bug entrepreneurs get lots of Americans to eat something they’re kinda grossed out by?

Our Sponsors

• Pipedrive - Pipedrive is an easy-to-use sales management tool designed with small teams in mind. Check out pipedrive.com/startup to learn more
• Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “STARTUP” to get 10% off your first purchase.
• Virgin Atlantic - Listen to their podcast, The Venture, wherever you get your podcasts or go to virginatlantic.com/theventure
• Amazon Launchpad - shop now at amazon.com/launchpadfordad

Jake Glanville and his small biotech startup are trying to beat big pharmaceutical companies and major research institutions to a potentially game-changing medical breakthrough: the universal flu vaccine.

Our Sponsors

• Pipedrive - Pipedrive is an easy-to-use sales management tool designed with small teams in mind. Check out pipedrive.com/startup to learn more
• Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “STARTUP” to get 10% off your first purchase.
• Virgin Atlantic - Listen to their podcast, The Venture, wherever you get your podcasts or go to virginatlantic.com/theventure
• Ziprecruiter - start posting jobs for free at Ziprecruiter.com/startup

This week on StartUp we’re listening in as executive coach Jerry Colonna sits down with Diana Lovett, the founder of a socially responsible chocolate company called Cissé Cocoa. In the episode, they tackle something that many founders struggle with—how to balance entrepreneurship and parenthood.

 Our Sponsors

• Blue Apron – Get 3 free meals with free shipping at blueapron.com/startup
• Ebay – Listen to their podcast, Open for Business wherever you get your podcasts
• SoFi – Visit SoFi.com/replyall to get a $100 welcome bonus when you refinance your student loans.
• Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “STARTUP” to get 10% off your first purchase.

Gimlet launched a new podcast this month. It's called "Every Little Thing"and it searches for the extraordinary lurking in the ordinary. It's hosted by science journalist Flora Lichtman, who on this recent episode of the show found the extraordinary in office plants. 

StartUp will be back with a new episode next week.