Sapphire Stories Podcast

Brian Liu is the co-founder and founding CEO of LegalZoom which is a technology platform giving access to professional legal advice. The company has a $2B+ valuation today with over 1,000 employees.

Brian Lee is an entrepreneur. He is co-founder and former president of LegalZoom.com, co-founder and former CEO of ShoeDazzle.com, and co-founder and former CEO of The Honest Company. Formerly an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, Brian co-founded LegalZoom in 2001. LegalZoom has since become the nationwide leader in online legal services.

Hear the story on how they started their company

Our first episode of 2022 features 2 great marketers in Juhi Pikale and Carly London. 

Carly is the Head of Growth at WearLIVELY

Juhi is a results driven growth marketer with 8+ years in the e-commerce industry, successfully deploying over $500MM so far in direct response advertising across paid social, SEM, OTT, TV, affiliate etc. Early adopter and tester in all major social advertising platforms. Also skilled in other areas of performance marketing such as retention marketing, influencer marketing and acquisition design.

We discuss the following:

• How to crush it on TikTok
• The future of marketing and ways to stay ahead
• Effective marketing channels and understanding data
• Navigating iOS 14 challenges
• The types of content that work effectively

Ziv is the CoFounder of Scale, a next-generation DTC house of brands he founded with his childhood friend and business partner, Ben Flohr to create meaningful connections between brands and consumers—and positively impact thousands of lives. With expertise in strategic vision, product development and creative direction, he built a strong organizational and operational infrastructure that quickly positioned the company for mass multi-million-dollar growth. Always conscious of the ever-changing digital landscape, Ziv is able to anticipate what tomorrow’s consumers want and create cutting-edge solutions that meet demand.

Lila, along with her hubby, Jeremy are travellers. They know firsthand that comfortable footwear is an important staple in every adventurer’s pack. Like they tend to do after scampering up miles of mountainous trails and endlessly exploring new cities, theirs wore out. In a futile search for something durable, unique, and free of painful break-in periods, they did what anyone with an unhealthy obsession with flip flops would do ... they designed and built their very own, right here in Dallas, TX! With unique designs, they married color & comfort with premium construction & materials to establish the new standard in footwear and apparel - Hari Mari.

Sarah and Christine are both the CEO & Co-founder of Glow Recipe. It has been their mission since 2014 to empower everyone to feed their skin the ingredients it needs, when it needs it. Because no one day is the same. Naturally potent, clean formulations with sensorial, unexpected textures and antioxidant-rich fruit extracts are their thing, and they like to have fun along the way.

Take it day by day, skin by skin.

Co-Founder of Lalo, Michael Wieder, realized very quickly that when it comes to shopping for baby products, parents tend to get overwhelmed by their unlimited options. As a result, Lalo focuses on two core products, the Daily Stroller ($515), and a 2-in-1 high chair and play chair combo called The Chair ($195). When it came to designing these products, Michael wanted to create solutions that would grow with the baby. Thus, parents are able to decrease the height of the high chair as their child’s height increases, allowing him or her to become a crucial member of the home dining experience.

Michael shares his top tips for those looking to start a baby gear brand:

• Target angel investors and small funds. It is important to do your research and know what sector and stage each fund represent. It is important to choose strategic investors who can add value to your company versus just writing checks.
  
• Be smart about managing your cash. Future funding isn’t guaranteed, especially in this time of the coronavirus, so balance your growth and profitability.
  
• Don’t compare your growth to other companies. Every company should be focused on building their own playbook.
  
• Define your ideal consumer early on. Build a brand in relation to their needs, vernacular, and aesthetic.
  

Cody is in business with his older brother, Julian, who's in L.A. right now, and Lenny Kravitz, who’s their third business partner. They all came together four years ago alongside their family. Cody's dad is a dentist in New York, or more like an oral health expert scientist turned entrepreneur and philanthropist. His father with his mom, launched a company called GLO Science. It’s a professional at home teeth whitening device, it’s a pretty innovative brand. They kind of led the trend of those LED devices. They launch about six years ago, his dad built it in his office and used it on his patients and had all these amazing clinical studies and then went to market with it.

Through their marketing, they are taking a holistic approach to oral health — as the mouth truly is the gateway to the body and they believe that improving one's oral health starts with the basics of brushing twice a day.

An entrepreneur who finds opportunity in under-utilized assets and hidden human potential.

Ben is currently on a journey building exciting, unique short-term rental spaces by transforming vacant retail spaces into thriving creative hubs for professional and social uses.

His business is growing quickly and is always looking for new partnerships, ideas, and passionate people...so feel free to reach out to Ben and he'd be happy to to connect!

Richard Henne is a Temple graduate entrepreneur and the Co-Founder of Ivory Ella, an elephant themed charitable women’s e-commerce brand, as well as the Co-Founder of TM38 LLC, a full-service digital agency servicing entrepreneurs and established businesses alike with its proven grass root marketing strategies.

His newest brand; Soothe LLC, is a health and wellness brand providing high quality and transparent CBD consumer products meant to better the lives of humans and animals alike. You can see it now at Soothelife.com. Richard is always searching for networking opportunities to meet like minded individuals with work ethic and a desire to provide something beneficial to others.

Scott Norton is co-founder of Sir Kensington's, best known for making condiments with character.  With a mission to bring integrity and charm to ordinary and overlooked food, Sir Kensington's has become an integral offering at the leading retailers and restaurants across the country. In 2017, Sir Kensington’s was acquired by Unilever to join a family of global food brands, and help define the future of good food and good business.

Scott has been named one of Fast Company's “Most Creative People in Business” and listed on Forbes' “30 Under 30.” Previous to founding Sir Kensington’s, he began his career at Lehman Brothers in Tokyo and traveled across 23 countries in Asia on a folding bicycle. Scott is an alumnus of Brown University and a member of the University’s Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship. As an angel investor and mentor, he advises purpose-driven startups in food and technology.