Founder Secrets with Taylor and Flaviu

Join us as we delve into the world of entrepreneurship with Laurel Mintz, a powerhouse at the intersection of marketing and venture capital. As the founder and CEO of Elevate My Brand, Laurel has spent the last 16 years leading award-winning campaigns for iconic names like Verizon, Paw Patrol, Sprinklr, and Squishmallows. Her expertise in helping brands break through the noise and drive measurable growth is unparalleled.In this episode, Laurel shares her journey from taking over a family business at 26 to becoming a General Partner at Fabric VC, where she invests in the next generation of consumer-tech, health, and fintech startups. With a marketer’s eye and a strategist’s edge, Laurel is passionate about scaling visionary companies and amplifying diverse founders.Discover why most brands fail to stay consistent and how complacency, fueled by social media expectations, creates a false sense of ease. Laurel breaks down the real work ethic behind long-term success and explains why inconsistent efforts often drown even the most promising ventures. She shares concrete tactics for maintaining discipline, building relationships that open doors, and how that consistent presence can turn opportunities into tangible results.Key insights include how to leverage genuine relationships to gain access to exclusive networks, the importance of building your personal brand early in your career, and practical advice for founders outside major markets struggling with capital. Laurel reveals her perspective on current marketing trends—like live shopping and the underestimated power of Reddit—and how understanding these shifts can position your brand ahead of the curve.Perfect for founders, marketers, and entrepreneurs ready to transform fleeting efforts into predictable results. Hit play and learn how to craft a growth strategy rooted in consistency—because in business, stability is the real competitive advantage.

Maya Ayed moved from Tunisia to the US at 17, got diagnosed with SIBO, and found an unexpected fix: a tablespoon of real olive oil every morning. That personal turning point turned into Alya, a DTC subscription brand built from a family olive farm—and a crash course in how broken (and fake) the olive oil supply chain gets once “big food” and middlemen enter the picture.In this episode, Maya breaks down what “extra virgin” actually means, how fraud happens (yes, she says the mafia gets involved), and the practical steps her team uses to protect quality—from fast pressing to lab testing and proper glass bottling. We also get into the founder side: bootstrapping with pre-orders, using offline events to drive online subscriptions, staying mentally steady through wins and disasters, and why “build an audience before you need it” saved her when she needed visa sponsorship fast.

Join us as Ash Straughn, founder of SAM, shares how a career built across JP Morgan, Postmates, and Cody shaped her into one of the most operationally sharp founders in today’s startup ecosystem. What began with discovering she didn’t belong inside massive institutions evolved into mastering complex logistics, scaling operations at breakneck speed, and now building an AI-powered hiring platform designed specifically for startups.In this episode, Ash opens up about the pivotal experiences that trained her to think in systems, move fast without breaking the wrong things, and build trust inside both fast-moving teams and highly regulated environments. She explains the unexpected story behind Cody’s pandemic pivot, how she negotiated flexible commercial contracts that later attracted Andreessen Horowitz, and why SAM is deliberately focused on mid-level, execution-ready talent rather than senior executives. Ash also breaks down how AI changes hiring—from both the candidate and employer side—and what early traction taught her about precision matching, decision velocity, and building a truly defensible product in a crowded market.🔑 KEY HIGHLIGHTSTHE OPERATOR ORIGIN STORYHow JP Morgan taught Ash scale discipline, and Postmates taught her speed, adaptability, and Murphy’s Law problem-solving.THE CODY PIVOTThe inside story of transforming a pandemic-hit startup into a rapidly scaling commercial-space platform that later caught the attention of a16z.THE BIRTH OF SAMWhy fractional, mid-level, startup-trained talent is the missing layer in today’s hiring market—and how SAM matches and places roles in just five days.AI, HIRING & THE FUTURE OF WORKHow SAM’s AI evaluates skills, weighs attributes, integrates references, and filters through the avalanche of AI-generated resumes.FRACTIONAL TALENT AS A SUPERPOWERWhy part-time, plug-and-play operators are the secret weapon early-stage founders need—and why traditional hiring models can’t keep up.FUNDRAISING & TRACTIONAsh shares how SAM crossed early ARR milestones, closed multi-role clients, and chose the right moment to raise their first round.🌐 RESOURCES & LINKSLearn more about SAM: launchsam.comConnect with Ash on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashstraughn/Podcast Website: foundersecretspod.com🔗 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: foundersecretspod LinkedIn: founder-secrets-podcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCASTApple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/4h59tyer Spotify: tinyurl.com/4wjb26v8🔔 DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBEEnjoyed this episode? LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more inspiring founder stories from around the world.

Join us as Sarah Fleischer, co-founder and CEO of tozero, shares how she is building one of Europe’s most innovative deep tech companies focused on lithium-ion battery recycling and critical materials recovery. From her early beginnings in the space industry to launching a company designed to reduce global dependence on imported materials, Sarah opens up about the mission, science, and scale behind tozero.In this episode, Sarah reveals how a breakthrough developed by her co-founder sparked the creation of tozero, why Munich has become a hub for world-class engineering talent, and how lithium and graphite can be recovered cleanly, efficiently, and at industrial scale. She also discusses the realities of fundraising, building a global investor base, and the role of mentorship and serendipity in shaping a founder's journey.🔑 KEY HIGHLIGHTSTHE ORIGIN OF TOZEROHow a scientific breakthrough, a napkin pact, and a shared vision led to one of Europe’s fastest-growing deep tech startups.A CLEANER WAY TO RECOVER CRITICAL MATERIALSSarah explains how tozero’s water-based process extracts lithium and graphite with high efficiency and at a cost competitive with mining.WHY MUNICHWhy Munich’s engineering talent and deep tech ecosystem make it the ideal base for scaling a hardware company.BUILDING MATERIAL INDEPENDENCEHow Europe can reduce its reliance on imported lithium and graphite and strengthen its supply chain resilience.THE REAL FOUNDER JOURNEYSarah shares the ups and downs of deep tech entrepreneurship, mentorship, teamwork, and taking risks that shift entire industries.🌐 RESOURCES AND LINKSLearn more about tozero: tozero.solutionsConnect with Sarah Fleischer on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahfleischerPodcast Website: foundersecretspod.com🔗 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: @foundersecretspodLinkedIn: founder-secrets-podcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCASTApple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/4h59tyerSpotify: tinyurl.com/4wjb26v8🔔 DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBEEnjoyed this episode? LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more inspiring founder stories from around the world.

Join us as Agustin Linenberg, Co-founder and CEO of AeroLab, shares how he turned a small design studio in Buenos Aires into a global product agency trusted by top startups and venture-backed teams. From Dribbble-fueled serendipity to landing Silicon Valley clients, Agustin breaks down the reality of scaling a service business, staying relevant in a rapidly changing industry, and rebuilding his role as a co-founder across continents.In this episode, Agustin opens up about timing, design fundamentals, AI’s impact on agency work, and how he keeps his energy, creativity, and leadership sharp after 13 years in the game. He also reveals the immigrant journey behind his move to New York, the mentor who changed his trajectory, and why founders must learn to design, think, iterate, and measure — not just execute.🔑 KEY HIGHLIGHTSTHE AEROLAB ORIGINHow Agustin grew a boutique design studio from his room in Buenos Aires into a global agency.THE POWER OF SERENDIPITYHow living in NYC and SF opened doors to founders, investors, and opportunities he could never plan for.DRIBBBLE AS A CATALYSTWhy early exposure on Dribbble led to U.S. clients, referrals, and a career-defining relationship with Wences Casares.CRAFTSMANSHIP OVER EVERYTHINGWhy AeroLab stood out by over-delivering in design quality, obsessing over details, and creating work that felt truly custom.THE SHIFT TO CEO — AND BACKAgustin shares why he stepped away from the CEO role, why he returned, and how it redefined his leadership.A NEW ERA FOR AGENCIESHis take on AI, no-code, the decline of junior-heavy teams, and why the future belongs to small, senior, strategic groups.MENTORSHIP, NETWORKING & THE IMMIGRANT WAVEHow saying yes in his 20s continues to pay dividends a decade later.🌐 RESOURCES & LINKSLearn More About AeroLab: aerolab.coConnect with Agustin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/agustinlinenbergPodcast Website: foundersecretspod.com🔗 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: /foundersecretspodLinkedIn: /founder-secrets-podcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCASTApple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/4h59tyerSpotify: tinyurl.com/4wjb26v8🔔 DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!Enjoyed this episode? LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more raw founder stories, global perspectives, and behind-the-scenes lessons from builders around the world.