Hot Takes Big Stakes Business
Episodes
How MERIT Got To $200M | #39
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
MERIT Beauty grew from launch to over $200 million in sales in just five years, without a hero product, heavy discounting, or chasing marketing trends...
The Fundraising Playbook: Build FOMO & Close Fast | #38
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Raising money is not just about a pitch deck, it is about psychology, momentum, and strategy. In this episode, we break down what really happens durin...
The Brand Turnaround Playbook & Other Marketing Tips | #37
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Oli Walsh shares his journey from launching a fashion agency at 23 to scaling Aritzia from $250 million to $1 billion in revenue. He breaks down the r...
How a Life Coach Completely Changed My Life | #36
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What does a life coach actually do, and how is it different from therapy or business coaching? In this episode, we break down the real-life impact of ...
How Perelel Became the Brand Every Woman Is Talking About in Prenatal and Hormone Health | #35
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Taylor shares the raw, unfiltered journey of building a women’s health company from scratch. From burnout and an autoimmune diagnosis to bootst...
How Much Should Founders Pay Themselves in 2025 | #34
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Founder compensation is one of the most asked and least discussed topics in startups. In this solo episode, I break down real 2025 salary data, what b...
How a Linkedin DM led to the $400M sale of Beyond Yoya with Co-Founder Michelle Wahler | #33
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle Wahler built Beyond Yoga from the ground up with no outside funding and a mission rooted in body positivity and inclusivity. What started as ...
The 10 Tools You Actually Need to Run a Business
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There are thousands of tools out there promising to grow your business, but most of them will drain your budget and lock you into contracts you regret...
Clean, Cool, and Profitable: Scaling a Modern Skincare Brand | #31
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Allison McNamara, founder and CEO of Mara Beauty, shares how she transitioned from entertainment host to building an award-winning clean skincare bran...
Blood Injections, Korean Skincare, and the Beauty Trends That Actually Work w/Vanessa Lee| #29
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Vanessa Lee, founder of The Things We Do, shares what really works in modern aesthetics, and what needs to stop. From facial balancing and bio stimula...
Demystifying Writing A Book | #28
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What does it actually take to write and publish a business book? In this episode, Natalie breaks down the full journey from idea to pitch to landing a...
How Beautyblender Revolutionized Makeup (and Built a Category) with Rea Ann Silva | #27
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Beautyblender is one of the most recognizable makeup tools in the world, but its origin story is rarely told. In this episode, founder Rianne Silv...
How To Launch A Successful Crowdfunding Campaign On Kickstarter With Natalie Holloway Of Bala | #26
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Raising money without investors sounds impossible, but this episode breaks down exactly how it was done. From having only a few thousand dollars left ...
Things You WON’T Learn In Business School | #30
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What are the real lessons you will never learn in business school? In this episode, we break down the unfiltered truths about building a brand, from m...
How Superordinary Cracked TikTok Shop w/ Julian Reis | #25
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Julian Reese shares how he went from investment banking to building Skin Laundry into a global laser facial brand with 68 locations. He breaks down th...
10 Founder Habits That Build Empires | #24
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What actually separates successful founders from everyone else? In this episode, we break down 10 real habits that consistently show up in people who ...
From Beauty Exec to Founder at 40, Amy Liu’s Tower 28 Playbook | #23
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Amy Liu, founder and CEO of Tower 28, shares the raw, behind-the-scenes story of building a bestselling beauty brand from scratch. From raising money ...
The Truth About GLP-1s: What No One’s Talking About | #22
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
GLP-1 is everywhere, but most people do not actually understand what it is or how it works. In this episode, we break down the science behind GLP-1, h...
Couples Therapy Meets Shark Tank | #21
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Co-founders Max and Natalie Holloway share the real story behind Bala, from a napkin idea to a design- driven fitness brand with celebrity fans. They ...
How Chillhouse Went from a Tiny NYC Nail Salon to a Cult Beauty Brand in Target and Walmart | #20
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Founder Cyndi Ramirez breaks down how she turned Chillhouse from a small New York “third space” into a fast-growing nail brand now carried at Targ...
Our Biggest Mistakes Growing a Business to 10 Figures in Revenue (& What We’d Do Differently)| #19
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nat & Lana compare battle scars from growing to eight and nine figure revenue, then surviving the fallout. They break down fundraising runways, hi...
This Episode Will Change Your Life: The Founders of Branch Basics on Non-toxic Living | #18
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Allison Evans and Kelly Love share the origin story of Branch Basics, the non-toxic cleaning brand built on education first. From a personal health cr...
How to Manifest Your Dream Life and Business | #17
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Natalie and Lana swap their most woo-woo wellness practices and what actually helped. We cover the exact “detox bath” they use when they feel a co...
Loren of Sweet Lorens on Beating Cancer, $120M in Revenue and Building a Cookie Empire | #16
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Founder Loren Castle shares how a health scare pushed her to reinvent the classic chocolate chip cookie with clean ingredients, then turn that recipe ...
5 Things Every Founder Must Do Before Launch | #15
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Before you build, pressure-test your idea the smart way. In this episode, we cover validating the problem, sizing the market, unit economics, stress-t...
Building A $100M Fem-Care Empire | #14
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"15% off GetRael.comCode: HOTTAKES15Active starting 10/13 - 11/13"A former Disney strategist walks through her unexpected leap into entrepreneurship a...
How To Come Up with a Business Idea in 24 Hours + 5 Free Ideas | Episode 13
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone says passion matters, but is it required to launch a successful business? In this episode we debate passion versus action, share a simple sys...
How a Motorcycle Crash, a Jigsaw and Justin Timberlake Built Therabody to $300M | #12
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Jason shares how a devastating injury led him to hack together the first Theragun, then spend eight relentless years turning it into Therabody. He...
How I Sold My Company Without the Experts & The Lessons Learned | #11
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lana the founder of Floom, a premium flower marketplace featured in Vogue, Forbes, and The New York Times, breaks down how she sold her company to a s...
From Away to Crown Affair, Building a $30M Haircare Brand ft Dianna Cohen | #10
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Founder Diana Cohen shares how Crown Affair went from a viral haircare Google Doc to a nationwide Sephora brand. She walks through lessons from early ...
Can You Be a Founder and a Mom? Here’s the Truth | #9
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is the honest look at building a business while breastfeeding, corralling toddlers, and cleaning up midnight messes, the kind of chaos th...
From Toilet Paper to $100M, The Story of Who Gives A Crap | # 8
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Danny Alexander, co-founder and Chief Product and Purpose Officer of Who Gives A Crap, shares how a cheeky name, clever packaging, and an audacious mi...
How To Make Your First Million | #7
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You never forget your First Million. On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Floom, are he...
Pitching on Shark Tank and What It Takes to Land Mark Cuban & Maria Sharapova | #6
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room… Shark Tank. On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, fo...
Lucas Lappe on Building Canopy: Why You Need a Humidifier, How To Land Sephora, and Lessons from Founder Therapy | #5
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lucas Lappe, co-founder of Canopy and Doris Dev, joins Hot Takes, Big Stakes to share how he built a successful wellness brand from the ground up with...
How to Start a Business in 2025 | #4
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Starting a business? Expect uncertainty and scrappy decisions. In this Hot Takes, Big Stakes deep dive, co-founders and hosts Natalie Holloway and Lan...
Building a 6M Following (and a Period Empire) with Nadya Okamoto of August | #3
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you build a period care brand that’s unapologetically bold, digitally native, and actually different? On this week’s episode of Hot Takes, ...
From Pitch Deck to $10M: Lana's tried and tested Fundraising Formula | #2
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are you investing in? Time is your most valuable resource. On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Eli...
How Our Place Did $5M in 1 Day w/ Co-Founder Zach Rosner | #1
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who are you investing in? On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Floom, are here to help ...
Welcome To Hot Takes Big Stakes
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Subscribe to listen to Hot Takes Big Stakes every week on Thursday.T