Danielle DuBoise: Co-Founder of Sakara

When did taking care of ourselves become another job?
On today’s episode, we welcome Danielle DuBoise, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Sakara — one of the pioneering companies behind the modern food-as-medicine movement. Danielle and her childhood friend and Co-Founder Whitney Tingle launched Sakara in 2012, building it from a small meal-delivery startup into one of the most recognizable names in wellness, with plant-based meals, functional foods, supplements, and wellness programs.
In this episode, Danielle shares how her own health journey led to Sakara, what she understood about food and wellness before much of the industry caught up, and how her thinking has evolved along the way. We also get into protein obsession, diet culture disguised as “wellness,” supplement overload, gut health, and whether all of our tracking, optimizing, and biohacking is actually making us healthier. Danielle also shares what it takes to build and protect a mission-driven brand in an increasingly crowded category.
If you’re interested in nutrition, wellness, entrepreneurship, brand building, or simply finding a healthier and less complicated relationship with food — this one’s for you. Tune in now on The Kara Goldin Show. 🎧

Olo Tchala: Founder & CEO of Alaffia

On today’s episode, we welcome Olowo-n’djo “Olo” Tchala, Founder and CEO of Alaffia — a clean beauty brand rooted in West African traditions and built around fair trade, ethical sourcing, and creating economic opportunity.
Alaffia is what happens when purpose isn’t added to a brand — it is the reason the brand exists. In 2004, he co-founded Alaffia with a mission to create sustainable economic opportunities for women in West Africa through women-led cooperatives, while building effective, accessible beauty products using ingredients including unrefined shea butter and African black soap. In this episode, Olo shares how he turned that mission into a scalable consumer brand, what more than 20 years of building Alaffia has taught him about purpose and profitability, and why real ethical sourcing goes far beyond what appears on a package.
He also opens up about bringing in outside investors, losing control of the company he founded, ultimately regaining ownership, and the lessons every founder should understand about capital, governance, mission, and control.
Such an important founder story. Listen now.

Andrew Rose: Founder of Montauk Man

How do you take a place, a memory, and a feeling—and turn them into a fragrance brand that stands out in one of the most crowded categories in luxury?
On The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Andrew Rose, Founder of Montauk Man—a new fragrance house inspired by the raw beauty, contrasts, and character of Montauk.
We talk about Andrew’s lifelong fascination with fragrance, why experiencing Montauk in the quiet of winter inspired him to build the brand, and how he worked with renowned perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Antoine Maisondieu to create the debut collection of four distinct fragrances.
We also get into what actually makes a luxury brand, how you sell scent in a digital world, the connection between fragrance and memory, and how Andrew plans to take a brand rooted in one very specific place and make it resonate far beyond it.
If you’re interested in fragrance, luxury, entrepreneurship, brand building, or what it takes to turn a deeply personal idea into a consumer brand, you’ll want to hear this conversation. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

Jacqueline Prehogan: Co-Founder of Open Farm

Pet food needed a reality check. Open Farm gave it one. ✨
On The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Jacqueline Prehogan, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Open Farm — one of the fastest-growing premium pet food brands in North America.
This is a brand built on a simple but powerful idea: if pets are family, then we should know what we’re feeding them.
We talk about how Jacqueline helped build Open Farm around responsibly sourced ingredients, high animal welfare standards, sustainability, and radical transparency — long before those words became marketing buzzwords in the pet aisle.
And let’s be honest: pet parents are asking harder questions now. Where did this ingredient come from? How was it sourced? Is this actually better for my dog or cat, or is it just another pretty bag on the shelf?
Jacqueline shares how Open Farm has scaled into more than 9,500 retail locations while staying true to its values, what it takes to build trust in a crowded category, and why transparency is not a nice-to-have when people are feeding your product to a member of their family.
We also get into building a certified B Corp, growing a mission-driven brand without watering it down, and what Jacqueline has learned from building both Open Farm and Canada Pooch.
If you care about consumer brands, pet health, sustainability, retail, or what it really takes to build a company with a point of view — this is one to listen to.
You can find it here or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 🎧

Ron Johnson: Author of Shop Different

Retail is not dead. Bad retail is. ✨
On The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Ron Johnson, the creator of the Apple Store and author of Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple’s Genius.
Ron worked directly with Steve Jobs and helped build one of the most successful retail concepts in history — not by making stores look cooler, but by rethinking what a store was actually for.
The Apple Store was not built to move boxes. It was built to teach, help, solve, connect, and build trust. The Genius Bar. Mobile checkout. Employees hired for curiosity, not pressure selling. All of it was designed around a simple but still radical idea: the customer relationship matters more than the transaction.
We talk about what most retailers still get wrong, why physical stores may become even more important in the age of AI, what he learned at Target bringing great design to more people, and what his very public J.C. Penney chapter taught him about timing, leadership, and change.
If you care about retail, leadership, innovation, customer experience, or building something that actually deserves people’s attention, this is a conversation worth hearing.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

Milan Martin: Founder and CEO of Free Spirits

Rethinking the cocktail — without the alcohol. That’s the opportunity. ✨
On this episode of The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Milan Martin, Founder and CEO of Free Spirits — one of the fastest-growing independent non-alcoholic spirits brands in North America.
We talk about how Milan went from a 20-year career in advertising—leading Grey San Francisco to Global Agency of the Year three years running—to launching a self-funded beverage company in the middle of the pandemic. He shares the insight that sparked Free Spirits: what if alcohol wasn’t actually the most important part of a great cocktail?
We also dive into the science behind Free Spirits’ proprietary Distillate Reconstruction technology, how the company recreates the aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, and warming sensation of traditional spirits without the alcohol, and why they’ve chosen to build products for people who genuinely love cocktails—not just people who don’t drink. Milan also shares how his background in consumer behavior shaped the brand, what it means to build an entirely new category, and why Free Spirits has earned gold medals competing head-to-head against traditional spirits.
If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, consumer behavior, the future of the non-alcoholic spirits business, or what it really takes to build a category-defining brand, you’ll enjoy this conversation. You can find it here or wherever you listen to podcasts. 🎧

Malachy Mitchnick: Co-Founder & CEO of burnd

What does it take to enter a crowded category like sunscreen and build something that actually stands out?
Malachy Mitchnick is the Co-Founder and CEO of burnd, a science-driven sun and skincare brand focused on high-performance products for protecting, repairing, and restoring skin. He is building burnd alongside his father, Dr. Mark Mitchnick, the inventor of transparent zinc oxide—the breakthrough that helped make modern mineral sunscreen wearable.
In this episode, Malachy shares the story behind burnd, what he believes the sunscreen industry gets wrong, and how the brand is taking on a category dominated by much larger legacy players. We talk about why great science alone isn’t enough to build a great consumer brand, how to earn attention and trust, and why burnd is focused on creating fewer, highly effective products rather than chasing endless launches.
We also discuss what it’s really like building a business with family, how surfing and outdoor living influenced the brand, the growing problem of skincare misinformation, and why Malachy believes sun protection should be viewed as part of everyday skin health—not just something you think about at the beach.
It’s a great conversation about challenging an established category, turning serious science into a brand consumers actually want, and what it takes to build something differentiated when you’re competing against companies with much bigger budgets.
Learn more about burnd at getburnd.com and follow @‌burndskincare on Instagram. You can also follow Malachy Mitchnick on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

Lauren Schulte Wang: Founder & CEO of The Flex Company

What happens when you stop accepting the status quo and build the solution you wish existed?
Lauren Schulte Wang is the Founder and CEO of The Flex Company, North America’s leading menstrual disc and cup brand. After years of believing her discomfort was simply part of having a period, Lauren realized the products—not her body—were the problem. That insight led her to build a company focused on reimagining period care through innovation, comfort, and education.
In this episode, Lauren shares how she challenged a category that had seen little meaningful innovation for decades, built a profitable company with products now sold in more than 30,000 retail locations, and helped change the conversation around menstrual health. We discuss product innovation, building consumer trust, competing in retail, balancing growth with profitability, and why solving a real problem is still the best foundation for building a lasting brand.
Lauren also shares what it was like taking on Meta, Google, Amazon, and other platforms over restrictions on period care advertising, the lessons she’s learned as a founder and leader, and why she believes there’s still enormous opportunity to innovate in women’s health.
It’s a conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, challenging outdated assumptions, and building products that genuinely improve people’s lives.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

Ann Williams: Founder of Yearly Co.

On today’s episode, we welcome Ann Williams, Founder and Creative Director of Yearly Co. — a Nashville-based fine jewelry brand built around celebrating life’s milestones with timeless, solid 14k gold jewelry.
Yearly Co. started with a family tradition. Inspired by receiving gold bangles to mark meaningful moments, Ann took a metalsmithing class and began making jewelry by hand in her garage during naptime. What started as a second-career experiment in 2016 has grown into an $11.5 million direct-to-consumer business that remains 100% founder-owned and self-funded.
In this episode, Ann shares how she turned a difficult-to-size product into a competitive advantage, why Yearly Co. offers bangles in 11 sizes, how she built loyalty around milestones and repeat purchases, and why she has chosen to grow without outside capital. She also opens up about being diagnosed with breast cancer at 37, keeping the business moving during treatment, and how the experience changed the way she thinks about leadership, motherhood, business, and the moments that really matter.
Such an inspiring founder story. Listen now.

Ana Rosenstein: Founder & CEO of Amante 1530

Can a startup really take on Aperol and Campari—and win?
Ana Rosenstein is the Founder and CEO of Amante 1530, a modern Italian aperitivo that is less sweet than Aperol, less bitter than Campari, and made with 25% less sugar than Aperol.
In this episode, Ana shares how she saw an opening in a category dominated by legacy brands and built Amante as a modern alternative. We talk about challenger-brand strategy, winning distribution, building desire around a premium product, changing drinking habits, and what it takes to compete against companies with much bigger budgets.
Ana also shares what she has learned moving from investor to founder, building with authenticity, and writing Drinking Alone, her Substack on ambition, relationships, identity, and modern life.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧