Founder's Story

Daniel Robbins sits down with Tal Lev-Ami, CTO and co founder of Cloudinary, to unpack what it takes to bootstrap a developer first platform into a global business while keeping culture, control, and discipline intact. Tal shares how coding became his “art” as a kid, why returning to hands on building through AI agents reignited his creativity, and what founders misunderstand about fundraising, dilution, and long term employee value. They also dive into the future of software, including the “zero person company,” the new reality of ultra low barriers to entry, and why enterprise grade reliability still separates real platforms from vibe coded demos.

Daniel Robbins sits down with beauty pioneer Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills, to unpack how an immigrant with no English, no credit, and no safety net built a category defining global brand. Anastasia shares the brutal early years in Los Angeles, crying daily from culture shock, and the mindset Romania’s communist era taught her: do not complain, solve. She reveals the moment Oprah made her technique mainstream, how private equity changed the game, and why she personally put $225M back into the company to keep control and protect her legacy.

Kate Monroe went from Marine Corps veteran to 8-figure CEO, actress, mother, and one of the most relentless entrepreneurs you'll ever hear from. But the lesson that shaped her life did not come from business school. It came from her dad when she was 7 years old. In this episode of Founder's Story, Daniel Robbins sits down with Kate Monroe to talk about how she scaled her company from $750,000 to nearly $34 million in sales in just three years, why she believes success starts with a decision, and how one childhood lesson taught her to handle pressure, problems, and pain without letting them ruin everything else. Kate shares the difference between being a "makeup bag person" and a "toolbox person," a simple mindset shift that helped her compartmentalize challenges, build a veteran-owned company, run for Congress, step into film, and launch Studio Mint. This is a conversation about grit, discipline, ambition, and what it really takes to keep going when most people would quit. In this episode, we cover: The lesson Kate learned from her dad at 7 years old How she scaled from $750K to nearly $34M in sales Why "decided" became one of the most important words in her life How she writes a full book in just 14 hours Why being the face of your brand can change everything The mindset behind outworking the competition Her move into acting, movies, vertical shorts, and Studio Mint Why she believes social media has made people more disconnected The difference between starting something and actually finishing it Follow Kate Monroe: Instagram / Socials: @KateMonroeCEO Website: KateMonroeCEO.com Subscribe to Founder's Story for more conversations with founders, creators, leaders, and entrepreneurs building extraordinary lives. Episode Sponsors: Take Cheers Restore after your last drink or before going to bed and wake up feeling at least 50% better — or your money back. For a limited time our listeners are getting 20% off their entire order at CheersHealth.com/FOUNDERS. #Cheers #ad Go to Schedule35.co and use code FOUNDERS for 15% off your first order. That's Schedule35.co, code FOUNDERS, for 15% off. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Daniel Robbins talks with retired pharmacist turned author Chuck Knueve about the long, brutal road to diagnosing his son with Cushing’s disease and why he wrote Surviving Cushing’s Disease: A Young Man’s Journey at 73. Chuck explains how the condition mimics common illnesses, why testing happens too late, and how a 20-year delay can leave permanent damage even after treatment. He shares the practical red flags, why families must advocate hard, and the moment he chose to tell the story so others can get an earlier diagnosis.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND and Shark Tank investor, for a raw conversation about fear, identity, and what it means to build instead of destroy. Daniel shares how being the child of a Holocaust survivor wired him for existential worry and pushed him to collect skills so he would not be “expendable,” plus why magic and languages shaped his ability to lead. He breaks down the real reason KIND became a juggernaut, product, culture, and “AND thinking,” and he offers a practical framework for living through chaos: be a builder with curiosity, compassion, creativity, and courage.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Sam Tabar, CEO of WhiteFiber (Nasdaq: WYFI) and Bit Digital (Nasdaq: BTBT), to unpack how he keeps spotting wave-level technologies before they become mainstream. Sam shares how growing up in a lower-income household fueled a primal drive to create security, why he sees technology as “a proxy for magic,” and how Bitcoin’s evolution mirrors the early internet. They break down Bitcoin as a store of value, Ethereum as programmable money, why AI infrastructure will be a defining business of the decade, and the one thing Sam fears most: loss of freedom through AI-enabled control.