Luminate with Lan Anh Vu

Steve Blank – The Art of Entrepreneurship

Today’s guest is Steve Blank, an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University. Steve is widely regarded as the father of modern entrepreneurship. Prior to academia, Steve’s career spanned eight different startups. Credited with launching the Lean Startup movement and the curriculums for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps and Hacking for Defense and Diplomacy, he’s changed how startups are built; how entrepreneurship is taught; how science is commercialized, and how companies and the government innovate. Steve is also the renowned author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany and The Startup Owner’s Manual. Steve blogs at www.steveblank.com. In this episode, we dive into:- How Steve made his way into the world of startups and Silicon Valley and how that led to his creation of “The Lean Startup Movement”- The differences between large corporations and startups- How founders can transition to CEOs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Rolph - Achieving Hyper-Growth Outside Tech

Today’s guest is Jessica Rolph, cofounder and CEO of Lovevery, a subscription brand that sells early-childhood development play kits and solutions. To date, Jessica has raised over $132 million for Lovevery from top-tier investors, including, TCG, Google Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Lovevery has 350,000+ active subscribers. It has been named one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies" and has been recognized on TIME's list of "Best Inventions". Prior to Lovevery, Jessica was the cofounder and COO of Happy Family, helping to launch, build and lead Happy Family to its position as a top organic baby and toddler brand in the US. Happy Family was acquired by Group Danone in 2013 for about $300 million. Jessica also co-founded the Climate Collaborative , a non-profit organization helping companies in the natural products industry take meaningful steps to reverse climate change. She is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and was awarded the Park Leadership Fellowship.  In this episode, we dive into: Jessica opens up about how she never thought of herself as an idea person when it came to starting a business How she found purpose in life and how she discovered a market for Happy Family and Lovevery How to find product market fit Why ugly prototypes are the way to go Exiting to Danone and dreaming about Lovevery Her fundraising experience and how she deals with rejection Delegation versus what to control as a leader Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Lee – Building Multiple Billion-Dollar Companies

Today’s guest is Brian Lee, a rock-star serial entrepreneur. Brian has cofounded several companies worth over a billion dollars each, such as Legalzoom with Robert Shapiro, The Honest Company with Jessica Alba, ShoeDazzle with Kim Kardashian and Arena Club with baseball legend Derek Jeter. Brian is also the cofounder and managing partner of BAM Ventures, an early-stage VC firm. Brian wrote the first investment check into Honey, which went on to sell to PayPal for $4B. Brian was formerly an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP.  Brian graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics and Business from UCLA. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. In this episode, we dive into: The incredible stories of how LegalZoom, ShoeDazzle, The Honest Company and Arena Club came to fruition. The secret sauce behind celebrity partnerships How Brian made his transition into VC venture capital The types of founders that VCs want to invest in Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Magnus Grimeland – Lessons from Thousands of Antler Startups

Today’s guest is Magnus Grimeland, founder and CEO of Antler, one of the world’s largest day zero investor. Antler’s pre-seed strategy canvasses 27 countries, more than 1000+ portfolio companies, 8,000+ founders, and over 100,000 annual applications. Magnus previously co-founded Zalora, Southeast Asia’s largest fashion e-commerce company. It was later acquired by Global Fashion Group (GFG), where Magnus served as COO and Managing Director, rolling out the firm’s marketplace across 26 countries.  Magnus is an alumnus of Harvard University and McKinsey & Company, where he worked for six years. His last role at McKinsey & Co was as a Junior Partner, working across North America, Europe, and Asia in the global telecom, media, and high-tech industries. In this episode, we dive into: Magnus’s journey from growing up in a farm countryside in Norway to building a global startup platform. What Magnus has learned reviewing thousands of applications to Antler The importance of finding founders with drive, spike, and grit The process for building the infrastructure for founders to solve important problems in the world What it feels like to find product-market fit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Hikade – Going from the CIA to CEO

Today’s guest is Emily Hikade, founder and CEO of the luxury sleepwear brand Petite Plume. Emily launched Petite Plume in 2015 and it has been profitable since its first year. The company has also doubled its revenue every year since launch, and it has reached almost $100 million in revenue. Petite Plume pajamas are coveted by the Royal Family, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anderson Cooper, Miranda Kerr, and Kourtney Kardashian, just to name a few.   Prior to founding Petite Plume, Emily worked for the CIA as an operations officer in the Clandestine Service for nearly two decades. In this episode, we dive into: Emily’s experience working in the CIA What it was like to make such a major career pivot Where her idea for Petite Plume came from The art of failing forward How she builds a high performing team How she’s able to sustain and grow the business without raising external capital Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.