High Stakes Growth

Ari Murray is the Chief Digital Officer at Salt & Stone, the premium personal care brand reinventing the deodorant category. Previously, she was Chief Growth Officer at Sharma Brands, where she led growth across dozens of consumer brands. Expect to hear about:– Law School to Ecom: Why she dropped out of law school, then found her footing at an ecom brand.– Working With Celebrity Brands: What working at Kourtney Kardashian's and Halsey's beauty brands taught her.– Agency or In-House: Her take that growth marketers should start brand-side first, and how kindness to agencies pays off.– BFCM Sprint: What it was like joining Salt & Stone just weeks before the biggest sales weekend of the year.– Top-of-Funnel Bet: Why she's pushing past a Meta-heavy mix into new channels and taking a longer view of the customer.Find Ari on:LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/arimurray/

Mark Samuel is the founder of Mark’s Snacks, a seed-oil-free kettle chip brand he launched in 2025, and previously the founder of IWON Organics. Expect to hear about: – Scaling IWON to 6,000 Doors: How Mark started IWON and grew the brand to thousands of retail doors. – Knowing When to Walk Away: How Mark knew it was the right time to license the brand out to a manufacturer in 2024. – Building in Public: How years of daily LinkedIn posting grew a 70,000+ follower base and helped launch Mark’s Snacks. – Health as a Founder Edge: Why Mark puts personal health above all else, and how his workout routine has evolved over the decades. – A Seed-Oil-Free Second Act: Why he’s betting on avocado-oil kettle chips and putting his name on the bag to build a connection with customers. Find Mark on:LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/markalansamuel/

Allison Taylor is the co-founder of Le Prunier, a plum-powered skincare brand that partners with her family’s plum farm in northern California.Expect to hear about:– Growing Up on the Farm: Allison's childhood memories of the farm and the deep tie to the land that later shaped the brand.– Early Retail Breakthroughs: Meeting Neiman Marcus early on and quickly earning credibility with retailers like Credo and Goop.– 30,000 Orders Overnight: How an organic Chrissy Teigen post sent demand through the roof, and their sprint to scale operations.– Sustained Growth: How they collaborate with affiliates, use UGC, encourage product reviews, retain customers, use Gen AI tools, and more.– Building With Family: How the three sister co-founders divide roles, leaned on therapy early on to stay aligned, and navigate decisions as a bootstrapped family business.Find Allison on:LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-taylor-98495a115/

Charles Brun is the co-founder of IZIPIZI, a Paris-based eyewear brand designing stylish, affordable glasses now sold in over 80 countries worldwide.Expect to hear about:– Founding with Friends: How Charles and two high school friends of his launched IZIPIZI in 2010, and the rules they set to protect their friendship.– Beyond Wholesale: Why wholesale worked early, and how they layered in DTC and retail channels to build a lasting brand.– The Rebrand Bet: The 18-month switch from “See Concept” to IZIPIZI, and how they picked their new name.– Cracking the U.S. Market: How IZIPIZI plans to turn the U.S. from 15% of their total revenue into their #1 market.– Staying in Control: Charles' thoughts on when PE partnerships truly add value to your brand.Find Charles on:LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbrun/

Myriam Belzile-Maguire is the co-founder of Maguire Shoes, a Montreal-based brand she started with her sister in 2016 that makes fashion footwear for women. Expect to hear about: – The Origin Story: How seeing a pair of shoes that were produced for $20 but sold for $500 convinced her there was room for high-quality shoes at affordable prices. – Betting Her Savings: How she launched with $15K in savings and kept Maguire alive by working a part-time job for two years. – Two Loss Years: Operating at a loss in 2023 and 2024, the toll it took emotionally, and the changes she made to fix it. – Finding the Right Mentors: How guidance from experienced brand founders helped her return to profitability in 2025. – What’s Next: Why she’s betting on European wholesale and a refreshed brand identity to go for Maguire's next goal: $20M annual revenue. Find Myriam on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/myriam-belzile-maguire-6967b213/

Meredith Mills-Merritt is the founder and CEO of The Original Southside, a canned gin cocktail brand made from a family recipe. This episode is part of "The Climb," our series featuring founders in the early stages of building their brands. Expect to hear about: – From Beauty to Booze: Why Meredith left her corporate career in beauty brand management to start her own consumer brand. – 13 Months to Perfect: The long R&D process to commercialize her family recipe while keeping it organic and true to the original recipe. – Stadium Deals: How an Instagram DM led to a Florida Panthers partnership and opened doors with college programs like LSU. – Fighting for Shelf Space: Competing in a capital-intensive RTD category with standout packaging and “liquid to lips” marketing. – What’s Next: New drink products in development, a focus on growing in retail, and Meredith’s vision for Southside’s next stage of growth. Find Meredith on:LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithleahmills/

Steven Sashen is the co-founder and CEO of Xero Shoes, a barefoot-inspired footwear brand doing about $70M in annual revenue.Expect to hear about:– From Stand-Up to Start-Up: What Steven learned as a professional stand-up comedian and how solving his own running injuries led to Xero Shoes. – Shark Tank: Why he turned down Kevin O’Leary’s $400K offer for 50% of the company, and how this experience convinced him to go all in on Xero Shoes.– Scaling: How Xero hit $70M in annual sales and maintains one of the highest repeat-purchase rates in footwear.– PE & Agencies: Why Steven believes that working with PE and agencies can be tricky, and his rules for identifying worthwhile partnerships. – Life Lessons: Steven thoughts on happiness, luck, how to spend wisely, and his top two book suggestions for anybody looking to live better.Find Steven on: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sashen/