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Founding DC Podcast

Founding DC

Get inside the brains (and hearts) of local founders of some of the most successful business ventures in and around the nation’s capital.
 
What didn’t happen? What did? What would they like a do-over on? What failures and flops led to something better than imagined? What’s their next move?
 
These candid conversations — led by entrepreneur and restaurateur Dan Simons — reveal the highs, lows and in-betweens that come with nurturing an idea and building it into a thriving enterprise.
 
Our mission is to pay it forward to current and aspiring entrepreneurs by spotlighting the unique paths forged by founders who came before them.

Latest Episodes

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Get inside the brains (and hearts) of local founders of some of the most successful business ventures in and around the nation’s capital. What didn’t happen? What did? What would they like a do-over on? What failures and flops led to something ...
#2, Washington Commanders’ Mark Ein: Cold sweats, close calls and the agility to survive
#2, Washington Commanders’ Mark Ein: Cold sweats, close calls and the agility to survive
Mark Ein has two passions: sports and helping launch companies. We dig into both to discover how he created, invested in and bought several companies over the course of his 30-year career. Mark is one of the founding partners in the team ...
#1, Just Ice Tea’s Seth Goldman: Turning setbacks into shelf space
#1, Just Ice Tea’s Seth Goldman: Turning setbacks into shelf space
What does it take to start an organic ice tea company — twice? In our inaugural episode, we find out from activist entrepreneur Seth Goldman. Seth was a co-founder of Honest Tea (kin to Honest Kids), which Coca Cola bought and then ...
#3, Framebridge’s Susan Tynan: Listening to your customers and scaling smart
#3, Framebridge’s Susan Tynan: Listening to your customers and scaling smart
Disruptive framing. Yes, indeed. Susan Tynan launched Framebridge as an online custom framing business in 2014. Today, with 3 million custom frames produced, Framebridge has grown into an omnichannel company with some 40 storefronts — and more than 600 employees. Find out ...
#4, The Motley Fool’s David Gardner: How to fail 63 times and still win big
#4, The Motley Fool’s David Gardner: How to fail 63 times and still win big
Live in the future. It’s a core belief for David Gardner, who founded The Motley Fool in 1993 with his brother, Tom. David likes best to be known as the financial services business’s chief rule breaker. That and his absolute belief that ...
#5, Georgetown Cupcake’s Katherine Berman & Sophie LaMontagne: An entrepreneurial path to millions of cupcakes while saying no to private equity 
#5, Georgetown Cupcake’s Katherine Berman & Sophie LaMontagne: An entrepreneurial path to millions of cupcakes while saying no to private equity 
Looking for a crash course in what to do when your young business takes off and you want to build a national brand without selling out? Then, this is the episode for you. Host Dan Simons sits down with Katherine Kallinis Berman ...
#6, Olympian Dominique Dawes: Redefining winning and building a legacy in youth sports
#6, Olympian Dominique Dawes: Redefining winning and building a legacy in youth sports
What comes after Olympic gold? For Dominique Dawes — three-time Olympian, trailblazing gymnast and now founder of a growing gymnastics academy — the answer is greater purpose. In this episode, host Dan Simons sits down with Dominique to unpack her remarkable transition ...
#7, Founding Farmers’ Dan Simons: From bussing tables to building a $100M+ biz
#7, Founding Farmers’ Dan Simons: From bussing tables to building a $100M+ biz
In this special episode of Founding DC, we’re flipping the script. Our usual host, Dan Simons — restaurateur and co-owner of the Founding Farmers Restaurant Group — takes a turn in the hot seat. Guest host Joe Ferraro, creator of the acclaimed ...
#8, CAVA’s Brett Schulman: ‘You can’t cut your way to greatness’
#8, CAVA’s Brett Schulman: ‘You can’t cut your way to greatness’
From co-founder of one restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, to CEO of a multibillion-dollar public company with 400-plus locations nationwide, Brett Schulman’s journey with CAVA is anything but ordinary.On this episode of Founding DC, host Dan Simons sits down with Schulman to ...
#9, The Meltzer Group’s Alan Meltzer: From dishwasher to multimillion-dollar deal maker
#9, The Meltzer Group’s Alan Meltzer: From dishwasher to multimillion-dollar deal maker
From washing dishes at a Tenleytown D.C. restaurant to founding one of the region’s most successful insurance firms, Alan Meltzer’s entrepreneurial arc is anything but predictable. In this episode of Founding DC, host Dan Simons explores how a local restaurateur became ...