Inc. Founders Project With Alexa Von Tobel

In 2010, professional hairstylist Alli Webb had the idea to open a salon with a simple motto: "No cuts, no color, just blowouts." She teamed up with her brother, and Drybar has since become a clear beauty industry leader, with over 130 salons and full suite of products. Now, a long stream of upstarts claim to be "the Drybar of [insert service here]." Alli and Michael share how they found investors who could add value and not just capital, why Michael joined Alli even though he was skeptical about the market fit, and how they've trained thousands of stylists over the last decade.  Make sure to follow Alli and Michael on social at @thedrybar @alliwebb and @mdlandau.

The era of cars being our go-to mode of transportation may be behind us. At least, if companies like Lime continue on their trajectories of rapid growth. Since launching in 2017, Lime has revolutionized the first and last mile for people around the world, serving more than 15 million users in just a few short years. Toby shares how growing up in a city of over 20 million people inspired his big idea, how Lime grew 10x last year and achieved profitability in key markets, and why he believes our future cities will be built around people—and not cars.  Make sure to follow Toby on social at @lime and @toby.lime.

In today's world, the success or failure of a company is often attributed to its company culture. But what defines culture? That's the question Ben Horowitz sets out to answer in his new book, What You Do Is Who You Are—drawing on key lessons from history and his own experience co-founding Opsware (which sold to HP for $1.6 billion) and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (which counts Airbnb, Lyft, and Slack in its portfolio). Ben shares the two things he looks for in founders before backing them, why culture is how people behave when you're not there, and what prison culture has to do with corporate culture. Make sure to follow Ben on social at @bhorowitz0 and @andreessenhorowitz.

What if 3D printing was 100x faster? That's the big question Dr. Joseph DeSimone posed in his 2015 TED talk, which he gave at the very same moment he unveiled his new company's website. Since then, his company, Carbon, has quickly grown to become the most valuable 3D tech company in the world with a valuation north of $2 billion. Joseph shares how his 20+ years as a professor at UNC lead him to entrepreneurship, what it feels like to have a team counting on you, and how Carbon has achieved an 89 NPS score with the first-ever manufacturing product available via subscription. Be sure to follow Joseph on social at @carbon.

Advancements in fintech mean that entrepreneurs are shaking up every aspect of the financial system. Co-founders Everett Cook and Alex Wheldon have just launched their company, Rho, to do exactly that for business banking. They believe a winning formula is a mix of better rates, best-in-class service, and sleek technology. Everett shares why over-communication is key for a strong partnership, how he leverages his Sunday afternoons to make for more productive weeks, and why he believes in hiring employees who have a sense of urgency. Be sure to follow Everett on social at @rhobusiness

What started as a childhood hobby for sisters Danielle and Jodie has turned into a thriving fashion business, Dannijo. Through a commitment to scrappiness and a knack for marketing via ever-evolving social media channels, Dannijo has managed to stay relevant to its community of super fans for over a decade. Danielle and Jodie share how getting fired gave them the courage to launch, how they put their sisterhood aside in pursuit of a strong business partnership, and why the retail experience needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Be sure to follow Danielle and Jodi on social at @dannijo, @danielleasnyder, and @jodiesnydermorel. 

Money is an inherently emotional topic—and the emotions it tends to inspire are anxiety and fear. Jason Brown is working to change that through Tally. With empathy ingrained in its company culture, Tally now manages more than $400M of consumer credit card debt, and counting. Jason shares why he gets his best ideas on a weekly 60 mile bike ride, the importance of finding an investor who's aligned to your mission, and how he's scaling the business while maintaining a sky-high retention rate. Follow Jason on social at @meettally and on Twitter at @SF_JCB. 

Sometimes, change starts at the top. Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan weren't willing to wait to reach gender parity in the workplace, so they started Chief. These startup vets — who helped build Soap.com, Casper, and Handy — have created a community for senior women executives that already has a waitlist in the thousands. Carolyn and Lindsay share how they've built a no-judgement zone, their approach to creating a game-changing brand, and why coaching is critical to the future of work. Make sure to follow Carolyn and Lindsay on social at @childerscarolyn, @lindsaykap, and  @chiefamongstus. 

What if there was a stock market for private companies? Carta is well on its way to realizing that vision. Henry Ward launched the company to 2012 under the name eShares. Fast-forward and Carta now manages over $575B in equity for 11,000+ companies and has a sky-high valuation of its own at $1.7 billion. Henry shares his vision for closing the wealth inequality gap, how he's hiring 50 new employees each month, and how his previous startup's failure led to Carta's success. Check out the full episode in the player below. Make sure to follow Henry on social at @cartainc

In 2012, Max Levchin launched Affirm to give consumers a new way to buy with instant point-of-sale loans. Max is no stranger to transforming financial services—as a co-founder of PayPal, he's been reimagining our relationship to money for decades. Max shares how his quest to build a better FICO score expanded into a broader mission for Affirm, what he learns from listening to customer service calls, why he set out for Palo Alto after college to start "an internet company" (which became PayPal), and reveals his Myers-Briggs type.  Follow Max on social at @affirm and on Twitter at @mlevchin. 

Will the future of retail be decentralized (think: what Uber's done for transportation and Airbnb for lodging)? This entrepreneur thinks so. Eric shares how Storr is enabling anyone to monetize their style by opening a digital store in just three clicks, why he started by researching the history of retail (all the way back to the 1800s), and how he got creative to sign his first brand partners before raising seed funding. 

While insurance is a $5 trillion dollar market, Daniel noticed an opportunity: most insurance companies are not described as lovable or delightful. He wants consumers to forget everything they know about insurance and start fresh. Daniel shares how Lemonade leverages technology to build trust, how they've achieved an NPS of 70+, and why keeping Shabbat each week helps him set healthy boundaries as a founder. 

70% of American employees work in open floor plan offices—and according to Brian Chen, they don't like it. Brian and his cofounders set out to reimagine the modern workplace and launched their first product, an office phone booth (which already graces the offices of Google, Apple, and J.P. Morgan). Brian shares his own frustration with not being able to find a quiet space at work, explains how he and his co-founder personally delivered and assembled their first prototypes, and why they care about being responsible citizens of the world. 

Bobbi Brown began her career as a freelance makeup artist. She didn't set out to build a billion dollar makeup business, but she quickly accelerated from creating a line of lipsticks to an acquisition by Estee Lauder four years later. Bobbi went on to spend nearly two decades building Bobbi Brown into a household name. Bobbi shares how she adapted to being a corporate employee post-acquisition, why being able to wear jeans to work matters, and how she interviews for work ethic.

Aaron Levie dropped out of college and moved into his uncle's garage to launch Box. Fast-forward and the company has 95,000 enterprise customers and a $3 billion market cap. While one of his first win's was securing an investment from Mark Cuban off of a cold email, it wasn't always an easy journey. Aaron shares how he zeroed in on the right business model, how he hires for culture adds, and why startups have to be 10X better in some way (like simplicity). 

Justin McLeod has an unusual mission: build a dating app designed to be deleted. It was his own offline love story that helped him gain clarity into his vision for Hinge and guided the company through a critical pivot. Justin shares what it was like to be acquired by the Match Group, why he thinks social media is the new smoking, and how to know when a new business strategy is working. 

From the time she was a teen, Misha Nonoo dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. She has since grown her women's apparel company into a powerhouse that constantly stays ahead of seismic shifts in the retail landscape. Misha shares why she forewent the wholesale model to gain a direct relationship with her customer, why sustainability is critical to the future of fashion, and why discipline is the most important trait for entrepreneurs to embody (and to hire for). 

After meeting as freshmen at Georgetown, Jonathan and his two-cofounders set out to open a healthy fast food restaurant in a 500 square feet storefront. From those quaint beginnings, Sweetgreen has grown into a massive food platform, with over 100+ locations and 200+ outposts. Jonathan shares why authenticity is core to the brand, why their inexperience actually enabled innovation, and how he thinks about falling on the right side of this equation: as companies get bigger, they either get better or worse.

From her parents' house to two million+ monthly readers, Leandra has built a media business at the forefront of fashion. With a firm belief that quality content should drive all, the Man Repeller team has grown to over twenty employees and continues to innovate into new lines of business. Leandra shares the blessings (and curses) of building a brand on social media, why creativity is a key ingredient for a great day at work, and the difference between being a good leader and a good boss. 

Susan started Framebridge out of a personal paint point: she tried to frame a series of National Parks posters and realized the process was both confusing and expensive. With $82 million in funding and a major facility in Kentucky, Framebridge has fundamentally transformed the experience for consumers across the country. Susan shares why she always does the hard thing first, the challenge of managing seasonal spikes in business, and how she doesn't waste time on guilt as a working parent.