Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show about how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses into the world.

This week, Ian Black talks to Aidan Cramer about his business AI Apply, which leverages generative AI to help job seekers find and apply for the best job opportunities. Aidan also shares his experience in building multiple businesses and the importance of finding product-market fit. Aidan shares his philosophy on killing ideas that don't work and focusing on the core offering, as well as his growth targets and the strategies he is using to achieve them, including content creation and influencer marketing.

Website

https://aiapply.co/

Tiktok

https://www.tiktok.com/@aidancramer

Twitter

https://twitter.com/AidanCramer

We Discuss

What Generative AI is

Common Mistakes in Job Applications

Experimentation with Different Business Ideas

How to Achieve Fast Growth and Profitability

New Perspectives on Defining Product Market Fit

Listening to Customers and Their Ideas

Defining Success and Growth Targets

Content Creation and Strategy

Choosing the Right Co-founder

Sacrifices and Loneliness of Entrepreneurship

Motivations and Rewards of Entrepreneurship

Advice for Starting a Business

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Host: Ian Black

Intro Music:

⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/new-life⁠ License code: 9TQ4MEAPMU4WJWZ4

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show about how founders of early-stage companies launched their businesses into the world.

This week, Ian Black talks to Patrick Manning, the founder of Alio, an allergy-friendly protein bar company, who shares his journey from medical school to entrepreneurship. He saw a need for a protein bar free from the top nine food allergens and high in protein, and decided to create it himself. He shares his perspective on overcoming doubts and challenges as a founder and the unique lessons he has learned through entrepreneurship.

Website

https://livealio.com/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/livealionow

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/livealio

Chapters

Introduction and Background

Identifying the Need for Allergy-Friendly Protein Bars

Transition from Medical School to Entrepreneurship

Finding a Mentor and Overcoming Fear

Lessons Learned from Starting a Business

Challenges in Recipe Development and Manufacturing

Rebranding and Refining the Product

Market Response to the Relaunch of Allio

Importance of Customer Feedback and Launch Strategy

Delegating and Bringing in Experts

Building a Team and Seeking External Funding

Organic Marketing Strategies

Effective Sales Tactics through Engagment with Facebook Groups

Sales Channels and Retail Expansion

Profitability and Margin Refinement

Shelf Life and Expiry Dates

Daily Operations and Balancing Work

Future Team Expansion

Overcoming Doubts and Challenges

Advice for Founders and Dealing with Doubt

Setting Goals and Managing Friction

Product Expansion and New Flavors

Challenges in Scaling and Retail Expansion

The Power of Creation and Overcoming Challenges

Where to Find Alio

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Host: Ian Black

Intro Music:

https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/new-life License code: 9TQ4MEAPMU4WJWZ4

Shane Monks O'Byrne teaches people how to build camper vans and live a van life. He shares his journey into entrepreneurship, the philosophy of van life, and the lessons he learned from building his latest startup - https://www.thevanconversion.com.

Contents:

• Introduction and Background
• Shane's Business: Teaching People to Build Camper Vans
• The Philosophy of Van Life
• Shane's Journey into Entrepreneurship
• Choosing the Right Path as an Entrepreneur
• Lessons from Investing Applied to Life
• Balancing Details and Output in Design
• Finding Fun and Passion in Work
• Finding Passion and Interests
• Using Childhood as a Starting Point
• Questioning False Assumptions and Self-Doubt
• Exploring Different Interests and Skills
• Learning New Skills and Trying Something New
• Learning How to Build a Van
• Documenting the Van Conversion Process
• Transitioning from Building Vans to Writing a Book
• Launching the Book and Building a Sustainable Business
• Preparing for a Long-Term Bike Journey
• Handling the Business During Time Away
• Starting a Business: Choosing the Right Direction

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

I’m talking with Lorin Winata, founder of Melati Drinks, and part of the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2023.

Among many things, we discuss:

• The history of Asian tonic drinks, dating back to 1293
• What it means to be a non-alcoholic spirit, in the Better-for-you category
• Borrowing extraction techniques from the perfume industry to create the most accessible drink
• The loneliness of moving the business to a new country, new culture, with no network
• Whittling down 150 classic ingredients from the spice islands of Indonesia, into the two Melati drinks
• What it’s like to leave the male-dominated world of venture capital in Asia, to become an Asian female founder
• The challenges you face doing everything for the first time as an entrepreneur, and why it gets easier.
• And much more...

So sit back and enjoy the show!

Company website

https://melatidrinks.com/

Find Melati near you:

https://melatidrinks.com/pages/store-locator

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Brian Davis, co-founder founder of Parable.

Among many things, we discuss:

• Why Brain Care is so important for an ageing population
• The 4 Pillars of Brain Care
• How to communicate the benefits of a product when customers aren’t problem-aware yet
• The importance of finding founder-fit
• The problems with fundraising and launching a business at the same time
• Deciding to shut down the business
• The problem with taking advice from Outliers
• The lack of failure stories on social media

Sit back and enjoy the show!

Welcome to Ready For Launch. This week I’m talking with Derek Sivers, ex-musician, ex-entrepreneur, TED speaker and four-time book author.

Among many things, we discuss:

• Why New Zealand is the best place in the world to raise a kid
• How to adapt your values to your current situation
• The secrets to becoming a great speaker
• What still terrifies Derek about speaking on stage
• The best way to write a book
• The value of self-publishing and retaining your copyrights
• The importance of doing the opposite of your creative habits
• What Derek’s latest book is all about
• How your belief and perspectives change your actions
• The barbell strategy of living in the extremes
• Why graveyards are a great place to sleep
• Useful beliefs about writing.

And so much more! So sit back and enjoy the show

Website

https://sive.rs/

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Stephanie Golik Founder at Huddle.

Among many things, we discuss:

• From Design to Founder: Steph’s journey from studying Architecture to becoming co-founder of Huddle
• The Power of Building: How Steph used app development as a way to kick start her career in design
• Searching for The One: How moonlighting on different creative projects led to finding the one to go all in on.
• The Idea Graveyard: Learnings from killing small projects that helped launch Huddle
• Getting Paid In Equity: What designers and builders should know about getting paid in equity by startups.
• The Art of Investment: How getting seed funding was a strategic choice in moving quickly and catching the wave of people looking for more work flexibility
• Being Non-Scalable: The importance of doing non-scalable tasks early on to deliver a great customer experience, and how to relinquish that control later on.
• Quarterly Planning: How looking ahead helps Huddle stay on track with their vision to make the future of work more flexible.

Enjoy the show!

Links:

Huddle site

https://www.huddle.works/

Want to join as a builder?

app.huddle.works/builder-invite/itomblack

Want to hire a team?

app.huddle.works/invite/itomblack

Workshops on becoming a founder

https://www.dive.club/course/go-from-designer-to-founder

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Hunter Hammonds, founder of Assembly.

We discuss:

• What Assembly is: a business that builds businesses from scratch
• Hunter’s career pre-Assembly: from skipping college to 8-figure agencies
• The challenges of selling a design agency
• The importance of having your heart in your business
• 6 key attributes of a strong business operator
• Leading with a “Burn the ships” mentality
• A playbook for building a business from nothing
• Pivoting as a company of companies.
• How to decide which businesses to invest in
• 3 components to hiring at speed
• The value of building an audience

Links:

If you need the world’s best design team:

https://offmenu.design/

If you need the most kick-ass high engagement short form viral videos:

https://www.viralcuts.co/

Amazing product demo animation launch videos

https://www.keyframe.design/

The coolest youtube agency in the world

https://www.heyfriends.studio/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/_hunterhammonds

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where Ian Black talks to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Brigitte Kaps CEO & Founder of Rent a PR, a company that offers Public Relations & Communications Advisory on demand.

Among many things, we discuss:

• Brigitte’s finance background before starting her company
• Seeking out inspiration from Silicon Valley: the mindset difference of the USA
• The main components of PR: Paid and unpaid media
• How to create a good PR briefing
• PR for different stages of a company: Startups to mid-cap
• Misconceptions about PR
• Choosing a PR agency: What kind of coverage do you need?
• The cost of PR: from on demand to retainers
• Crisis management for businesses
• And much more!

So sit back and enjoy the show

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigitte-kaps-6912985/

Company Website

https://www.rentapr.ch/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/rent_a_pr

Welcome to Ready For Launch, the show where I, Ian Black, talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Zach Frantz, founder of Wildland Coffee, a company that makes coffee in tea bags.

Among many things, we discuss:

• The Inspiration for Wildland Coffee
• Product Development: From co-packers to packing in-house
• Business growth: The challenges of finding a scalable sales channel
• When to quit: How to identify the signal from the noise when evaluating business strategies
• Sales before Brand: The importance of revenue in the early stages of a business
• Secrets of success: The power of the ask
• And so much more!

So sit back and enjoy the show.

Company website

wildlandcoffee.co

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachfrantz/

Welcome to Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Jamie Wace, CEO & co-founder of Talamo, a company dedicated to democratising access to dyslexia diagnosis.

Among many things, we discuss:

• Why 80% of children aren’t diagnosed with dyslexia.
• How Jamie overcame the challenges of having dyslexia.
• The prevailing narratives around neurodiversity.
• How working at design agencies set Jamie up for success as a founder.
• How Talamo pivoted over time.
• How to run qualitative customer research for your startup.
• The reality of running a startup as a side hustle - its challenges, and its benefits.
• Coping with imposter syndrome, and dealing with uncertainty.
• Planning for a future in an uncertain market.
• And so much more…

So sit back and enjoy the show!

Podcast

Talamo Thoughts

Website

https://www.talamo.co.uk/

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This website is sponsored by The Obsidian Design Lab.

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch.

I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Jesse Vaughan, Co-founder and President at Kopperfield.

Among many things, we discuss:

• How we can make an impact on climate change through our home
• Growing up an in a family of entrepreneurs
• The importance of accounting in business
• Finding the right problem to solve as a founder
• Letting go of your own ideas
• Maintaining a healthy state of mind to make better decisions
• Being vulnerable with your team
• Go-to-market strategies for a two-sided marketplace

So sit back and enjoy the show!

Website

https://www.kopperfield.com/

Careers

https://careers.kopperfield.com/

Contact Jesse

jesse@kopperfield.com

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch.

I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Rishabh Jain - Co-Founder & CEO at FERMAT

Among many things, we discuss:

• The impact of cookie-less browsing on Ecommerce brands
• How to learn to be a leader
• Tactics for getting the most out of your career
• The power of saying No
• The importance of placing big bets in business, to create non-linear changes
• How to come up with ideas that will create non-linear impact
• Deciding when to abandon a business idea
• Advice for fundraising a startup
• And so much more!

Sit back and enjoy the show.

Rishabh on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabhmjain/

Rishabh on Twitter

https://twitter.com/rishabhmjain

Fermat Website

https://www.fermatcommerce.com/

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Matt Bahr, CEO at Fairing.

Among many things, we discuss:

• The importance of the voice of the customer as a data source
• How brands use surveys to improve their products
• Finding product market fit through failure
• The shift in mindset required to go from running a bootstrapped company to a venture backed company.
• Choosing a cofounder
• Renaming the brand
• Why you should dogfood your own products

So sit back and enjoy the show

Links:

Company Site

https://fairing.co/

Matt LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbahr/

Matt Twitter

https://twitter.com/mattrbahr

Blog Post on databases

https://fairing.co/blog/postgres-database-shopify-data-developer-not-required

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Felix Lee, Co-Founder of ADPList

Among many things, we discuss:

• Why free mentorship is so important in a world where people are born with unequal career opportunities
• Growing up in Singapore, and discovering Silicon Valley
• The difference between entrepreneurs in Asia Vs The US
• How Steve Jobs inspired his tech journey
• Tactics for networking in a foreign country
• The one question every designer should ask themselves
• Turning problems of the covid pandemic into a business
• Mistakes in hiring
• And much more!

So sit back and enjoy the show

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixleezd/

https://twitter.com/felixleezd

https://twitter.com/ADPList

https://adplist.org/

Hello and, welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Lena Jüngst, Co-Founder at Air Up

Among many things, we discuss:

• How to create taste from just a scent
• The science of retronasal olfaction
• Turning a bachelor's degree project into a business
• How design school prepares you for building a business
• Growing pains when 10X-ing the team headcount.
• The importance of communicating to investors

So sit back and enjoy the show!

Company Website

air-up.com

LinkedIn - Lena’s

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-juengst/

LinkedIn - Air Up

https://www.linkedin.com/company/air-up/

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week I’m talking with Bobak Tavangar CEO at Brilliant Labs.

Among many things, we discuss:

• What is a hackable AR device?
• The disappointment of current AR devices
• The power of open source as a business model
• How Bobak gave up a career at Apple to build this business
• Mistakes made trying to hire quickly
• Validating their first product with customers
• How close we are to the reality of Black Mirror
• The power of building in public.

Sit back and enjoy the show!

Website

https://www.brilliantmonocle.com/

Discord

https://discord.com/invite/vDS9X7gdwg

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. Every episode, we talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week we’re talking with Autumn Schultz co-founder of Dibz.

Among many things, we discuss:

• Why fashion brands suffer from excess inventory
• How design differs from growth stage companies to large corporations
• Tactics for getting teams through a pandemic
• The value of remote work as a startup
• How an evening project became a venture-backed business
• Recovering from being hit by a cargo van
• Building the initial Beta product
• The future for Dibz

So sit back and enjoy the show

Company website

https://www.thedibz.com/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/shopthedibz/

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their businesses into the world.

This week, I’m talking with Corrie Bradley Co-Founder at Lark Love, a sexual wellness company focused on the female body.

Among many things, we discuss:

• Get women talking about taboo topics
• Formulating products with 100 women giving feedback
• The slip-and-slide technique
• The harms of existing lubes on the market
• FDA approval and the lack of regulation
• The value of staying small and bootstrapping your business
• And so much more!

So sit back and enjoy the show

Website

https://larklove.com/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/larklovin/

Lark Love products can also be found in:

• Goop
• Multiple apothecaries across the US.

Welcome to another episode of Ready For Launch. I’m your host Ian Black. Every episode, I talk to founders of early-stage companies about how they launched their business into the world.

This week, we’re talking with Emily Tout, Co-Founder at Mighty Slice, a company passionate about making the kind of protein snacks you’ll genuinely look forward to. Cheesecake!

Among many things, we discuss:

• Transitioning from Lawyer to Cheesecake founder
• How long car journeys led to business inspiration
• Dealing with imposter syndrome
• Creating innovating packaging to throw cheesecakes at walls with
• Future plans for their desert range
• And so much more!

So sit back and enjoy the show

Company website

https://www.mightyslice.co.uk/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mightyslice_/