Lots of entrepreneurial activity is boiling over in the Erie, Pennsylvania area. One of the many success stories is Karen Rzepecki and her Mason Jars Company. Karen is a self-described "late blooming" entrepreneur who took her engineering background and put it to good use helping thousands of people find new ways to reuse the mighty Mason Jar.
I love when Founding CEOs like Karen take something old and breathe new life into it in new and creative ways that brings value to so many. She shares some of her personal struggles shifting into the CEO role in this fun interview.
What do you think is the number one leadership skill she wished she learned earlier? You'll have to listen to find out. :)
I have always been fascinated by the growing entrepreneurial spirit in India. In fact, I love reading the website Your Story because it showcases so many wonderful stories of Founding CEOs like Nithin Kamath. I first learned about Nithin on Your Story and found myself fascinated by how several failures led to the co-founding of Zerodha. In this candid interview, Nithin describes the struggles and victories on the road to scaling India's first discount brokerage firm.
What has been the hardest part of building Zerodha? Listen. It may not be what you would expect.
Todd Wichmann truly knows the difference between corporate leadership and startup leadership. He became a Founding CEO after leading the Tide detergent brand for global giant, Procter & Gamble. He took his knowledge gained at P&G and used it to build a company focused on organic cleaning products.
He shares his ups and downs as a Startup CEO AND he shares the story of how he and his team developed one of the hottest new products to combat the Zika Virus - an organic mosquito repellent called FIT® Organic—Mosquito Repellent. It's a game changer for many, including the country of Brazil where the virus has affected so many.
Oh yes, listen carefully to his story about his biggest struggle shifting from Founder to CEO, I think you will learn a lot. I know I did.
Besides leading a growing platform that is getting super high survey responses rates for his SaaS customers, Ryan's interview is packed with unconventional wisdom from how he started the company at a hackathon, decisions about launching non-core products, and shifting from a founder that focused on a product to a CEO that is driving the company's marketing initiatives.