High Stakes Growth
by Jetset
Latest episode
Gillian Liu: Building a $10M+ Asian Beauty Retailer on Organic…
Gillian Liu: Building a $10M+ Asian Beauty Retailer on Organic…
About this podcast
High Stakes Growth® takes you inside the boldest decisions behind today’s most exciting consumer brands. We bring you candid conversations with the founders, CEOs, and CMOs who built them—unpacking the high-stakes moments, tough calls, and game-changing strategies that made these brands what they are today. No fluff. No surface-level insights. Just real stories from the leaders who made it happen. Hosted by Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd, they bring a combined four decades of consumer brand expertise to these conversations.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 56 episodes
- Gillian Liu: Building a $10M+ Asian Beauty Retailer on Organic Content, Not Meta · 37 min · Episode 54Gillian Liu is the co-founder and CMO of Kiyoko Beauty, a Toronto-based online retailer that's building the Sephora for Asian beauty. Expect to hear about: – An Accidental…
- Mariam Naficy: Scaling Minted to $300M and Now Betting on Prompt-to-Product AI · 55 min · Episode 53Mariam Naficy is the founder and CEO of Arcade, an AI platform that turns text or image prompts into real products like jewelry, rugs, ceramics, and more. Before Arcade, she…
- Arin Schultz: How He Tripled Naturepedic's Revenue With No Marketing Background · 40 min · Episode 52Arin Schultz is the Chief Growth Officer at Naturepedic, the organic, non-toxic mattress and bedding brand built for healthier sleep. Expect to hear about: – The "Hostile…
- Meenakshi Lala: Winning in One of DTC's Most Operationally Difficult Categories · 44 min · Episode 51Meenakshi Lala is the CEO of UrbanStems, a premium DTC flower and gifting brand. She spent 20 years in fashion retail before joining UrbanStems as COO in 2022 and transitioning…
- Lauren Wang: Selling 185M Menstrual Discs and Reaching 30,000+ Stores · 51 min · Episode 50Lauren Wang is the founder and CEO of The Flex Company, a sustainable period-care brand built around its signature Flex Disc. Expect to hear about: – The Reluctant CEO: How she…
- Katie Sturino: From Starting in a Garage to Running an 8-Figure Body Care Brand · 29 min · Episode 49Katie Sturino is the founder and CEO of Megababe, the body-care brand behind Thigh Rescue, its signature anti-chafe stick, plus deodorants, sweat powders, cooling products, and…
- Shizu Okusa: Exiting Her First CPG Brand and Raising $35M for the Next · 47 min · Episode 48Shizu Okusa is the founder and CEO of Apothékary, a liquid herbal supplement brand that bridges Eastern medicine with modern Western science. Before then, she launched, scaled…
- Andrei Negrau: Why Empathic AI Agents Now Outperform Human Support · 43 min · Episode 47Andrei Negrau is the co-founder and CEO of Siena AI, an empathic AI agent that handles customer service for consumer brands. He built luxury apparel Shopify brands out of Romania…
- Scott Dancy: How He Built Azuna From 10 Orders a Day to Nine Figures · 38 min · Episode 46Scott Dancy is the founder and CEO of Azuna, an all-natural odor eliminator built on Australian tea tree oil. Expect to hear about: – The Month the World Changed: How COVID took…
- Ari Murray: Getting Brand-Agency Partnerships Right, From Someone Who's Done Both · 47 min · Episode 45Ari Murray is the Chief Digital Officer at Salt & Stone, the premium personal care brand reinventing the deodorant category. Previously, she was Chief Growth Officer at Sharma…
- Hari Ranganathan: Why Growth Is a Machine, Not a Single Star Hire or Lever · 48 min · Episode 44Hari Ranganathan is the Chief Digital Officer at KilgourMD, a dermatologist-founded brand tackling hormonal hair loss in women. Previously, he held senior roles at…
- Jess Hauff: Scaling PrettyLitter From Its DTC Roots Into a Household Name · 45 min · Episode 43Jess Hauff is the General Manager of PrettyLitter, a cat litter brand acquired by Mars in 2021 that uses silica crystals that change color to flag early signs of health issues in…
- Daniel Brady: The Neuroscientist Building AI Segmentation for DTC Brands · 46 min · Episode 42Daniel Brady (DB) is the co-founder and co-CEO of Orita, an AI segmentation platform that helps DTC brands target their maximally addressable audience across email, SMS, and…
- Will Nitze: Building IQBAR to $125M+ in Sales With a 15-Person Team · 48 min · Episode 41Will Nitze is the founder and CEO of IQBAR, a functional health CPG brand built around protein bars, electrolyte mixes, mushroom coffee, and more. Expect to hear about: –…
- Marnie Rabinovitch: Building Thigh Society from Side Hustle to 3M Pairs Sold · 41 min · Episode 40Marnie Rabinovitch is the founder and CEO of Thigh Society, a Toronto-based brand making slip shorts that prevent thigh chafing for women. Expect to hear about: – The Baby…
- Shawn LaRowe: Modernizing Pelican While Protecting the Values That Built It · 33 min · Episode 39Shawn LaRowe is the Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Pelican, the 50-year-old brand known for its ultra-durable protective cases. Previously, he spent 17 years at Nike and…
- Melissa Mash: Building a Global Bag Brand and How They Achieved 50% Organic Site Traffic · 34 min · Episode 38Melissa Mash is the co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover, a New York-based performance bag brand creating functional bags for work, travel, parenting, and everything in between…
- Isaac Mertens: Building a $40M+ Footwear Brand Without Debt or Raising Capital · 52 min · Episode 37Isaac Mertens is the co-founder and CEO of Flux Footwear, a minimalist shoe brand that focuses on style and performance doing mid-8-figure annual revenue. Expect to hear about…
- Hector Hughes: How His Tech-Free Cabins Test (and Sometimes End) Relationships · 39 min · Episode 36Hector Hughes is the co-founder and CEO of Unplugged, a company offering tech-free cabin stays that help people disconnect from their phones and reset in nature. Expect to hear…
- Lomit Patel: Why Retention, Community, and Brand Win in 2026 · 42 min · Episode 35Lomit Patel is the CMO of Try Your Best (TYB), a commnunity rewards platform that helps brands reward its biggest fans and build community. He previously held senior roles at…
