StartUp Podcast

On this episode of StartUp, we're introducing you to a new show from Gimlet Media. It's called Mogul: The Life and Death of Chris Lighty. The show charts the career of the hip hop executive, from young hustler in the Bronx, to one of the most powerful men in the music industry.

Concussions have cast a major shadow over contact sports, from youth leagues to the pros. But entrepreneur Anthony Gonzales thinks he can fix it by putting a gadget in the mouths of athletes. Now he just has to convince investors to put their dollars behind his idea.Our Sponsors: Trunk Club | Virgin Atlantic

Mokhtar Alkhanshali is trying to produce the perfect cup of coffee. And he’s trying to do it with beans grown in the midst of an active war zone in Yemen. Despite those challenges, his company’s first batch earned rave reviews, and sold for $16 a cup at one of the fanciest coffee chains around. But can he turn that early success into a profitable business, or will the challenges of trying to achieve perfection using a supply chain that starts halfway around the world do his young company in?

You called with your questions. Alex Blumberg has your answers—about growth, diversity at Gimlet and, oh yeah, that ABC sitcom that’s currently being made about the first season of StartUp.

Mason Gordon’s dream is to create a new global team sport, something that hasn’t happened since basketball came on the scene in the 1890s. But Mason is determined. He invented Slamball—an amped up combination of basketball and football that’s played on trampolines—nearly twenty years ago. He had some splashy early success and got two seasons on TV. And then Slamball seemingly disappeared. But Mason is still at it, and now Slamball is surging in popularity on the other side of the globe.

Jason from Bento started a business that prepared and delivered pan-Asian meals on demand. Lauren and Emma from Dating Ring wanted to reinvent online dating. Mary from Saint Harridan made sharp suits for masculine women and trans men. And Mike moved food across international borders, evading employees of a large grocery store chain. This episode, we return to some of the companies we followed in previous seasons and find out how their founders are doing—and what the label “entrepreneur” means to them now. 

Alex and Matt talk to Josh Muccio, the host of Gimlet's newest show, about his path to podcasting. Then we sample the first half of the latest episode of Josh's show, The Pitch.

Hello, there! This week we’re rebroadcasting an episode from way back in Season 2 when we were following Dating Ring, a company that was different from other dating sites and apps because it used matchmakers to help its customers go out on dates. This episode picks up just after the co-founders of the company, Lauren and Emma, finished Y Combinator and started pitching angel investors. You’ll hear them struggle to raise money—while wondering if their company was floundering for reasons completely outside of their control. 

Researchers who think about the thorny problem of feeding our growing global population have started to point at one possible solution: bugs. They’re protein-rich and ecologically sustainable—but can bug entrepreneurs get lots of Americans to eat something they’re kinda grossed out by? 

Jake Glanville and his small biotech startup are trying to beat big pharmaceutical companies and major research institutions to a potentially game-changing medical breakthrough: the universal flu vaccine. 

This week on StartUp we’re listening in as executive coach Jerry Colonna sits down with Diana Lovett, the founder of a socially responsible chocolate company called Cissé Cocoa. In the episode, they tackle something that many founders struggle with—how to balance entrepreneurship and parenthood. 

Gimlet launched a new podcast this month. It's called "Every Little Thing"and it searches for the extraordinary lurking in the ordinary. It's hosted by science journalist Flora Lichtman, who on this recent episode of the show found the extraordinary in office plants. StartUp will be back with a new episode next week.

After a turbulent start and the firing of its founder, Friendster looked like it was back on track. It was still the biggest social network around and its board—which was packed with some of the biggest names in venture capital—quickly assembled a star-studded executive team. So, why couldn’t all that talent deliver on the company’s promise? Why aren’t we all logging onto Friendster today? Ask AlexGot a question for Alex Blumberg? Leave us a message at 812-641-1231, and your question could end up on the show.The FactsMark Phillips wrote and performed our theme song.Build Buildings wrote and performed our special ad music.Additional music by Typhoon, Jupyter, Marley Carrol and the band Hot Moms Dot Gov.David Herman, Ian Scott, and Rick Kwan mixed the episode.

In 2003, Jonathan Abrams was sitting atop one of the hottest new companies in Silicon Valley. He and his website were at the forefront of an industry that would eventually be worth more than $400 billion. So, what went wrong?--Ask AlexGot a question for Alex Blumberg? Leave us a message at 812-641-1231, and your question could end up on the show.

In 1983 a guy named Stuart Anders invented a toy that would become a huge hit -- one of the biggest fad toys of a generation. But the toy world can be treacherous, and Stuart's big idea left him broke. Now he's back with a new toy and a surprising ally.