Welcome to Built from Scratch, a podcast hosted by Erik Libby, CEO and founder of the To-Do Dudes. On this show, Erik shares key lessons from his entrepreneurial journey and highlights the stories of entrepreneurs and business professionals who are all under 30. Built from Scratch is dedicated to spotlighting the next generation of leaders ready to change the world.
Welcome to Built from Scratch, a podcast hosted by Erik Libby, CEO and founder of the To-Do Dudes. On this show, Erik shares key lessons from his entrepreneurial journey and highlights the stories of entrepreneurs and business professionals who are all under 30. Built from Scratch is dedicated to spotlighting the next generation of leaders ready to change the world.
After hiring over 150 people, I’ve learned one powerful truth: when someone doesn’t work out, it’s usually our fault.
In this episode, I’m unpacking what truly makes (or breaks) a team member’s success.. your onboarding process.
We’ll cover:1️⃣ The onboarding experience that sets people up to win2️⃣ How to make those first days on the job actually matter3️⃣ And how to retain your best talent long-term
Whether you’re scaling your first team or refining your company culture, this episode will show you how to turn new hires into A-players, starting from day one.
When we started The To-Do Dudes, people didn’t buy into us, they bought into the idea: students showing up, working hard, and helping their community. We charged just $18 an hour and still got plenty of “no’s.” But every stage of growth came with a lesson. From pricing struggles and pushback to finally earning the trust and loyalty of our customers.
In this episode, we break down the full journey that taught us about value, elasticity, and reputation. You’ll hear about the growing pains, the tough lessons in credibility, and the moment we realized that people will pay a premium for reliability, speed, and quality.
In this episode, I share how one of my biggest mistake ended up becoming one of my greatest advantages years later.
This episode is all about trusting the process, learning from what feels like failure, and understanding that sometimes the dots only make sense when you look back.
One year after Olivia’s first appearance on Built From Scratch, we sat down again to reflect on how much can change in twelve months. We revisited her original quotes, talked about the growth of OG’s Bakery (including the story of how she got into her first grocery store), and explored why she’s so passionate about encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs.
And just when it seemed like the conversation was wrapping up, the episode took a turn I’ll never forget, I proposed to Olivia live on the podcast.
This is our story.
Ever get to the end of the month and wonder, “Where did all the money go?”
In this episode of Built From Scratch, Erik Libby (Founder & CEO of To-Do Dudes) breaks down the 7 financial metrics that completely changed the way he runs his business. From cost per lead and customer acquisition cost, to lifetime gross profit, retention, and margins, these are the numbers that turned confusion into clarity.
Whether you’re a founder, small business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode will give you a simple framework to measure what really drives growth and profitability.
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Originally from Egypt, Youssef moved to Dubai at age 3 and later came to the US in 2021 to study Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Future Technology on a full ride scholarship at Boston University.
A serial founder: his first startup failed dramatically—but his second venture was a successful exit, which led him to join a VC firm as a partner.
He was a TEDx speaker, who spoke about the importance of health care over military during the pandemic.
And now, invests in early-stage companies through The Genesis Fund, helping tomorrow’s innovators in the Boston area scale and thrive.
Youssef is only 22 years old.
Contact Info:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/youssefrezkalla/
Website: https://genesisfund.co/
Email: youssef@genesisfund.co
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This episode is part lesson, part documentary to take a real look into where I’m spending my time as a CEO and the adjustments I’m actively making. There are constant challenges around setting the right priorities, and in this episode, I share what’s working, what isn’t, and where my head is at right now.
Here’s what I cover:
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Originally from Dubai and raised in Phoenix, Shaun studied Economics & History at Vanderbilt University.
While at Vanderbilt, and after leading United Nations linked projects like Imagine Land 2040, he co-founded Atlog, an AI voice agent for physical retail (starting with furniture) that handles customer service and collections calls.
In 2025, Atlog was accepted into Y Combinator’s first spring (“X25”) cohort; the team graduated right as Shaun was completing his degree at Vanderbilt.
Shaun is on a mission to bring helpful AI into real-world commerce and make technology serve outdated industries.
Shaun is only 22 years old.
Contact info:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karakkattu/
Website: https://www.atlog.ai/
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Originally from New Jersey, Jake earned a B.A. in Economics (with a minor in Computer Science) from Vanderbilt University.
As COVID-19 shut the world down and his work environment changed, he saved up a six-month nest egg to go all-in on his startup, Pepper—a social-cooking app he co-founded with childhood friend in September 2021.
What began as a group-chat experiment sharing homemade meals has grown into a community of over 1 million home cooks worldwide, with Pepper featured on Fox’s Food Stars and At 27 years old, Jake was named to Forbes 30 Under 30.
He’s on a mission to improve cooking experiences by bringing social media–style engagement to real-world food sharing.
Jake is only 28 years old.
Contact info:
Website: https://www.peppertheapp.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakearonskind/
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Do you ever finish an interview and still wonder, “Should I hire them?”
I’ve been confident one moment, second-guessing the next.
In this episode, I walk through the 5-step process we now follow at To-Do Dudes to confidently choose the right team members. Starting from application and going all the way through their first week on the job.
You’ll learn:
This process has helped us avoid costly mistakes and build a team that fits and stays.
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In this episode, I walk through the real-world framework I use to build and launch internal systems from scratch.
We’re covering:
If you're building anything that involves people, process, or automation, this will save you time, energy, and a lot of rework.
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Andrew is an Ohio native and the founder of dcdx, a branding agency he went all‑in on in 2020 when his senior‑year internship at Vanderbilt was canceled.
In the five years since, he’s helped build magnetic, Gen Z‑focused brands for Spotify, Chipotle, Crocs, Eventbrite and more. He made Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, was an Ad Age Gen Zers to Watch in 2025, and was even featured in FastCompany publication.
I got to interview Andrew after his recent launch of offline, a platform that brings social‑media branding into real‑world experiences.
He’s on a mission to make the future human, he’s redefining how brands connect with the next generation.
Andrew is just 26 years old.
Contact info:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-roth43/
Website: https://dcdx.co/
Website: https://www.offlinetalent.com/
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I finally did it! After nearly two months of late nights, caffeine runs, and endless tabs, our “holy grail” data sheet is live. In this episode, I pull back the curtain on how I wrestled scattered spreadsheets, CRMs, and support tickets into one single, living dashboard and the three “N”s that made it all click.
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In this episode, I share raw entrepreneurial reflections from memos I kept in April, May, and June. You’ll hear unfiltered thoughts on:
Entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster. My hope is that these lessons, even if small, give a boost to those finding their way. Keep moving!
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Originally from St. Pete, Florida, Cole is the founder of Opal, a mental health AI platform built to support therapists and patients. He began his career in machine learning after earning a Master’s in Computer Science from NYU. From there, he joined Morgan Stanley, then moved to Asapp, where he led the core AI team focused on improving communication efficiency for call centers.
That experience set the stage for his next chapter. In June 2024, Cole launched Opal—and in just one year, the platform has already reached 25,000 active users and earned a spot in the Techstars AI Health Accelerator, in partnership with Johns Hopkins and Florida Blue.
Cole is just 28 years old.
Contact info:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cole-s-smith/
Website: https://www.heyopal.com/
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“You gave a great pitch… but did anyone actually buy?”
After 22 live presentations in just 6 months, I realized there’s a big difference between presenting and converting.
In this episode of Built From Scratch, I’m sharing 5 adjustments I’ve made to my pitch that helped me gain more traction — whether I’m in front of real estate agents, potential partners, or a room full of prospects.
From cutting the fluff to closing with a clear CTA, these changes made a real difference.
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After five mentor sessions, I committed to morning deep-work sprints and uncovered three key insights:
Plus a look at how a trusted team lets you disappear into focus work without everything else falling apart. No fluff—just practical steps to carve out uninterrupted time and tackle your most important priorities.
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How blocking full days for deep work—like my ongoing Excel sprint—beats endless multitasking.
How Adam Grant, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Jobs eliminated distractions and embraced the process.
I’ll share my Wednesday deep-focus routine, kitchen-timer sprints, and the prep (sleep, nutrition, team updates) that makes it all possible.
Ready to move your “big rock” forward?
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Originally from Ontario, Canada, Leo’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2020 when he co-founded a nonprofit called Notzr while still in high school. During that time, he scaled to over 50 classes internationally and brought the platform into 20 schools.
In 2024, Leo joined Enttor as an unpaid intern and quickly rose to become its co-founder and CTO. He dropped out of UCLA to go all in, helping close their first enterprise deal for $30,000—with $500,000 in revenue projected this year.
Enttor has since raised $400,000 at a $10M valuation and now works with major DTC brands like Legacy.com. The team plans to raise their Series A by the end of 2026.
Leo is only 20 years old.
Contact info:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leojiaxu/
Email: lzhang@enttor.ai
Website: https://www.enttor.ai/
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Originally from Montreal, Canada, Charles began his entrepreneurial journey in 2020 when he founded a platform for buying and selling crypto mining hardware—just two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
His interest in crypto mining started in 2016, when a friend introduced him to the Ethereum and Bitcoin. Four years later, Charles turned that curiosity into a Asic Jungle that has since grossed over eight figures in revenue, grown to a team of seven, and served Fortune 500 companies.
Recognized for his expertise, Charles was featured in Forbes in 2022 and continues to be a trusted name in the crypto mining space.
Charles is just 29 years old.
Contact info:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-wissa/
Website: https://asicjungle.com/
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