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Ready For Launch: How To Build A Startup

Ready For Launch: How To Build A Startup

By Ian Black

A show about realizing the business ideas of early-stage entrepreneurs.

Ian Black interviews early-stage company founders to hear what it's really like getting a business off the ground. How do you launch a startup? What does it take to turn an idea into a business? How do you turn a profit? On Ready For Launch, we get the answers to those questions straight from the people making it happen today.

Be inspired by their stories. Learn from their mistakes. Understand the mindset it takes to create something from nothing.
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Currently playing episode

001 - How to launch a podcast, with Tinah Ogalo, host at In Your Twentys

Ready For Launch: How To Build A StartupApr 05, 2021

00:00
46:19
Overcoming Your Fears By Bootstrapping An Allergy Friendly Protein Bar Business, with Patrick Manning, founder of Alio.

Overcoming Your Fears By Bootstrapping An Allergy Friendly Protein Bar Business, with Patrick Manning, founder of Alio.

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show about how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses into the world.

This week, Ian Black talks to Patrick Manning, the founder of Alio, an allergy-friendly protein bar company, who shares his journey from medical school to entrepreneurship. He saw a need for a protein bar free from the top nine food allergens and high in protein, and decided to create it himself. He shares his perspective on overcoming doubts and challenges as a founder and the unique lessons he has learned through entrepreneurship.


Website

https://livealio.com/


Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/livealionow


Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/livealio


Chapters

Introduction and Background

Identifying the Need for Allergy-Friendly Protein Bars

Transition from Medical School to Entrepreneurship

Finding a Mentor and Overcoming Fear

Lessons Learned from Starting a Business

Challenges in Recipe Development and Manufacturing

Rebranding and Refining the Product

Market Response to the Relaunch of Allio

Importance of Customer Feedback and Launch Strategy

Delegating and Bringing in Experts

Building a Team and Seeking External Funding

Organic Marketing Strategies

Effective Sales Tactics through Engagment with Facebook Groups

Sales Channels and Retail Expansion

Profitability and Margin Refinement

Shelf Life and Expiry Dates

Daily Operations and Balancing Work

Future Team Expansion

Overcoming Doubts and Challenges

Advice for Founders and Dealing with Doubt

Setting Goals and Managing Friction

Product Expansion and New Flavors

Challenges in Scaling and Retail Expansion

The Power of Creation and Overcoming Challenges

Where to Find Alio




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Host: Ian Black

Intro Music:

https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/new-life License code: 9TQ4MEAPMU4WJWZ4

Mar 13, 202401:03:26
The Van Conversion Expert: How to Unlock the Lifestyle You’ve Dreamed of - with Shane Monks O'Byrne, founder of The Van Conversion Dotcom.

The Van Conversion Expert: How to Unlock the Lifestyle You’ve Dreamed of - with Shane Monks O'Byrne, founder of The Van Conversion Dotcom.

Shane Monks O'Byrne teaches people how to build camper vans and live a van life. He shares his journey into entrepreneurship, the philosophy of van life, and the lessons he learned from building his latest startup - https://www.thevanconversion.com.


Contents:

  • Introduction and Background
  • Shane's Business: Teaching People to Build Camper Vans
  • The Philosophy of Van Life
  • Shane's Journey into Entrepreneurship
  • Choosing the Right Path as an Entrepreneur
  • Lessons from Investing Applied to Life
  • Balancing Details and Output in Design
  • Finding Fun and Passion in Work
  • Finding Passion and Interests
  • Using Childhood as a Starting Point
  • Questioning False Assumptions and Self-Doubt
  • Exploring Different Interests and Skills
  • Learning New Skills and Trying Something New
  • Learning How to Build a Van
  • Documenting the Van Conversion Process
  • Transitioning from Building Vans to Writing a Book
  • Launching the Book and Building a Sustainable Business
  • Preparing for a Long-Term Bike Journey
  • Handling the Business During Time Away
  • Starting a Business: Choosing the Right Direction

Feb 28, 202401:29:23
Launching a non-alcoholic spirit brand in Asia and the USA, with Lorin Winata Founder of Melati Drinks (#50)
Oct 25, 202356:06
049 - Launching and Closing A Daily Brain Care Business, with Brian Davis, Co-founder of Parable.

049 - Launching and Closing A Daily Brain Care Business, with Brian Davis, Co-founder of Parable.

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Brian Davis, co-founder founder of Parable.

Among many things, we discuss:

  • Why Brain Care is so important for an ageing population
  • The 4 Pillars of Brain Care
  • How to communicate the benefits of a product when customers aren’t problem-aware yet
  • The importance of finding founder-fit
  • The problems with fundraising and launching a business at the same time
  • Deciding to shut down the business
  • The problem with taking advice from Outliers
  • The lack of failure stories on social media

Sit back and enjoy the show!

Sep 20, 202301:23:11
048 - Launching A Literary Career: Derek Sivers Reveals His Writing Process For His Forthcoming Book, Useful Not True.
Aug 30, 202301:31:40
047 - Launching a Network of Top Designers and Builders For Startups, with Stephanie Golik, Founder at Huddle

047 - Launching a Network of Top Designers and Builders For Startups, with Stephanie Golik, Founder at Huddle

Aug 16, 202301:00:46
046 - Launching a Venture Studio, with Hunter Hammonds, Founder and CEO of Assembly: Building a $100m portfolio of creator-led businesses
Aug 02, 202301:00:35
045 - PR For Startups: Everything You Wanted To Know About Hiring A PR Firm, with Brigitte Kaps, Founder of Rent a PR
Jul 19, 202354:46
044 - Launching a New Era of Coffee Convenience, with Zach Frantz, Founder of Wildland Coffee
Jul 05, 202353:33
043 - Launching a Revolutionary Dyslexia Screening & Diagnosis Business, with Jamie Wace, CEO and Co-founder of Talamo
Jun 21, 202301:06:09
042 - How to Launch a Home Electrification Startup, with Jesse Vaughan, Co-founder of Kopperfield
Jun 07, 202359:35
041 - How To Launch a Content-native E-commerce Platform, with Rishabh Jain - Co-Founder & CEO at FERMAT
May 24, 202356:43
040  - Launching A Survey Solution Business for E-commerce with Matt Bahr, CEO at Fairing
Apr 12, 202357:32
039 - Launching a Global Mentorship Platform Business, with Felix Lee, Co-Founder of ADPList
Mar 29, 202355:41
038 - Launching a scent-flavoured hydration brand, with Lena Jüngst, Co-Founder at Air Up
Mar 15, 202358:23
037 - Launching a pocket-sized AR device for the imaginative hacker, with Bobak Tavangar, CEO at Brilliant Labs.
Mar 01, 202301:21:35
036 - Launching a curated online shopping experience with Autumn Schultz, co-founder of Dibz.
Feb 15, 202354:06
035 - Launching a female sexual wellness company, with Corrie Bradley Co-Founder of Lark Love
Feb 01, 202356:22
034 - Launching a delicious high-protein cheesecake company, with Emily Tout, co-founder of Mighty Slice
Jan 18, 202351:15
033 - Launching a ski brand with Miles Lim co-founder of Bananablades
Jan 04, 202301:03:13
032 - Launching a Growth Marketing Agency for DTC Brands, with Jake Abrams founder of Odyssey
Sep 19, 202259:52
031 - Launching a Burger Truck Business, with Bodhi Valentine founder of Burgerland Smash Up
Sep 05, 202201:00:13
030 - Launching a cocktail brand, with Paul Owusu, co-founder of Phreshly
Aug 22, 202251:44
029 - Launching an e-commerce gifting company, with Rhian Beutler, founder of Govalo

029 - Launching an e-commerce gifting company, with Rhian Beutler, founder of Govalo

Hear how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses. This week I’m talking to Rhain Beutler, CEO and founder of Govalo, a brand that’s reinventing the gifting experience for ecommerce.

We talk about:

  • The importance of speaking to users
  • The role of the CEO as both optimist and pessimist
  • Life as a second time founder
  • The loneliness of leadership
  • The desire to build a billion dollar business

Website:

https://govalo.com/

https://rhianbeutler.com/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/rhiankatie

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhianbeutler/

Aug 08, 202239:49
028 - Launching a Content Studio, with Adrian Alfieri, CEO and founder of Verbatim
Jul 25, 202252:50
027 - Launching a course on Financial Planning, with Sarah Becker, founder of Becker Talks Money
Jul 11, 202244:17
026 - Launching a Customer Retention SaaS Platform, with Maruti Agarwal CEO of ShopAgain
Jun 27, 202254:43
025 - Launching an Album, with Jake Brewer, Songwriter for Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Jun 13, 202201:03:59
024 - Founding A Marketing Media Mix Modeling Platform, with Robert Palumbo and Erika Fabian of OutPoint App
May 30, 202201:01:58
023 - Founding a smart nutrition company, with Ari Tulla CEO and co-founder of Elo
Apr 25, 202256:24
022 - Launching  the Modern MBA for Independent workers with Sam Lee, founder of IndeCollective
Apr 11, 202259:19
021 - Launching a cannabinoid wellness brand with Tahira Rehmatullah, CEO and co-founder of Commons
Mar 28, 202201:03:08
020 - Launching a delicious (and healthy) Mac and Cheese brand, with Jen Zeszut, co-founder of Goodles

020 - Launching a delicious (and healthy) Mac and Cheese brand, with Jen Zeszut, co-founder of Goodles

This week I’m talking to Jen Zeszut, co-founder of Goodles, a fantastic new Mac and Cheese brand that is all about great taste, great nutrition, great fun, and sillyness. Please enjoy this uplifting conversation about the beginnings of brand that brings joy to the world, by playing by its own rules, through my favorite food - pasta.

We talk about:

  • How to decide if you should marry your husband
  • When to move jobs
  • Why Mac and Cheese needed reinventing
  • Sneaky Nutrition
  • The pizzle of noodles and cheese
  • Having a celebrity founding partner (Gal Godot, of Wonder Woman fame)
  • Joy
Mar 14, 202201:09:25
019 - Launching a cold brew coffee business with Olivia VonNieda, founder of Kavnia.

019 - Launching a cold brew coffee business with Olivia VonNieda, founder of Kavnia.

Kavnia is sustainable cold drip coffee powered by women.

Did you know that cold brew coffee is experiencing 40% year over year growth in America? No? Well, If you love coffee, this is the episode for you.

I’m chatting to Olivia VonNieda about the launch of her cold brew coffee concentrate that’s recently arrived in stores in Chicago. We chat about coffee brewing techniques, the benefits of bootstrapping your startup, sustainability in coffee manufacturing, the importance of gender equity, and much more.

www.kavnia.com

Feb 28, 202257:04
018 - Rebranding design studio Woke to Card79, with founder and designer Afshin Mehin
Feb 14, 202201:00:54
017 - Ian Black - Launching this podcast, Ready For Launch

017 - Ian Black - Launching this podcast, Ready For Launch

We're kicking off the new season with a chance for you to get to know your podcast host Ian Black as he shares stories about how Ready For Launch came to life.

Jan 31, 202258:35
016 - Zach Laberge - The 16-year old Founder of Frenter, the SaaS Platform for Rental Businesses.
Nov 29, 202147:51
015 - Justin Clegg - Founder of mobile commerce platform Allset

015 - Justin Clegg - Founder of mobile commerce platform Allset

This week my guest is Justin Clegg, Founder of Allset (https://www.allsethq.com/). We dive into why home services is an area ripe for technological innovation, and how he wants to bring the power of AI and automation to the 5 million home services businesses through their mobile commerce platform.


Show notes:

https://readyforlaunchpodcast.com/#/blog/15-show-notes-justin-clegg-founder-of-allset

Nov 15, 202144:39
014 - Launching a Direct-to-Consumer Period Care Company, with Nick Jain, Co-Founder of August
Sep 20, 202157:02
013 - Launching a Digital Talent Advisory Company, with Matt Walsh, CEO of Morel and Green Stone
Aug 30, 202101:03:34
012 - Launching a Custom Footwear Company, with Braden Parker, co-founder and CEO of Casca
Aug 09, 202143:28
011 - Launching a Headless Commerce Company, with Bryan Mahoney, Co-Founder and CEO at Chord Commerce
Jul 19, 202101:00:10
010 - Launching an online community for Designers, with Danielle Thompson, founder of Design Club
Jul 05, 202156:55
009 - Launching a #1 Bestselling book, with Charlotte Cramer, author of The Purpose Myth
Jun 21, 202158:00
008 - Launching a London-based Design Studio, with founder Andrew Burton

008 - Launching a London-based Design Studio, with founder Andrew Burton

This week I'm talking to Andrew Burton, founder of Creative agency Shoreditch design studio. We get into the pros and cons of running a product business versus a service business, the importance of picking the right business partners, tips for hiring outside your area of expertise, and how to approach sales.

Andrew is the Creative Director & Founder of Shoreditch Design Studio. Creative agency for your next big thing. Before launching Shoreditch Design Studio, he co-founded a fitness app called Tona, which was then acquired by another company.

https://shoreditchdesignstudio.com/

Jun 14, 202140:04
007 - Launching a Healthy Kids Lunch Delivery Business, with Ryan McKee, Founder of Elemeno

007 - Launching a Healthy Kids Lunch Delivery Business, with Ryan McKee, Founder of Elemeno

This week I'm talking with Ryan McKee, founder of Elemeno, a company that delivers healthy hassle-free kids lunches to Vancouver parents. We discuss what it's like to try and completely reinvent yourself and your career, while also building up a business from nothing.

Topics:

  • The benefits of an MBA
  • Failed side hustles
  • Benefits of customer research
  • Reinventing yourself
  • The slow pace of launching
  • Having self-belief
  • Staying nimble for the future.

https://www.elemeno.co/

Jun 07, 202101:00:52
006 - Launching a Luxury Watch Shopping Product, with JP Holecka, co-founder of Luxxee
May 10, 202152:16
005 - Launching a Direct-To-Consumer Wine Company, with Kendra Kawala, Co-founder of Maker Wines

005 - Launching a Direct-To-Consumer Wine Company, with Kendra Kawala, Co-founder of Maker Wines

My guest this week is Kendra Kawala, the delightful co-founder and COO of Maker Wines, the first Direct to consumer canned wine company, and leading premium canned wine company in the US. We discuss how it feels like to be somewhat of an outsider to the typical founder profile...developing episodic balance in your life... and the importance of making art out of scraps of yarn.


www.makerwine.com

https://www.instagram.com/makerwine/

https://twitter.com/MakerWineCo

May 03, 202151:23
004 - Launching an agency, and turning crazy ideas into a reality, with Alexis Nicolas, founder of Brit Klik

004 - Launching an agency, and turning crazy ideas into a reality, with Alexis Nicolas, founder of Brit Klik

This week I'm chatting with someone I have a huge amount of respect for as a friend, and a founder of Montreal-based agency Brit Klik - Alexis Nicolas. Brit Klik is a specialist in the Google platform Search Ads 360. He has a real passion for business, but uniquely uses that as a way to create the freedom to pursue the other aspects of his life outside of work in incredible ways. We talk about how the process of building a business really helps you believe that through hard work and process, you truly can turn your crazy ideas into a reality.

https://britklik.com/

Apr 26, 202149:21
003 - Launching a Design Agency, with Allegra Poschmann, co-founder of Pact
Apr 19, 202101:00:00