Naeem Khan is a modern fashion icon, but how did he go from a small town in India to dressing Michelle Obama and Penelope Cruz? Find out on this week's episode of From The Founder.

How did Oren Alexander go from dreaming of working in real estate to co-founding the country's top residential real estate team? Find out in this all-new episode of From The Founder. This episode is sponsored by FX Collaborative.

Julieanna Goddard, better known as YesJulz, went from foster care to conquering Snapchat and transforming the Miami nightlife scene. How did she do it, and what drives her everyday passion? Find out in this all-new episode of From the Founder! This episode has been sponsored by And1.

Joe Martin went from a struggling college student, to creating the largest full-size beauty-box in the world. How did Joe break into the makeup industry, and what did he do to turn Boxycharm into a leading beauty company? Find out in this all-new episode of From the Founder! ***Note from the producers: This episode was filmed in June 2021. Joe is n…

We hope you enjoy hearing about Don’s highs, lows, and all the in between moments. Thank you Mr. Soffer for your warm Miami welcome! The legendary Don Soffer was born during the Great Depression in the steel town of Pittsburgh where he'd eventually go on to develop Pittsburgh's first indoor mall in 1965. But that was just the beginning. 2 years lat…

In recent years the food and beverage industry has transformed to focus on health foods, and at the forefront of the industry is Marcus Antebi, founder of Juice Press. After recovering from his drug addiction, Antebi flipped the script by building a health food empire which attracted prominent investors like Kenny Dichter, Mark Teixeira and Ken Lan…

We continued our tour of Miami by talking with food and restaurant connoisseur Alan Drummond. After growing up in Mexico City, Drummond had a dream of bringing authentic Mexican cuisine around the world, with his first stop being Wynwood. Drummond put Wynwood on the map by opening Coyo Taco, a fresh Mexican street food experience. Drummond, then, b…

This weeks guest is David Grutman, one of the prominent figures spearheading the Miami hospitality and nightlife industry. From humble beginnings as a bartender, Grutman has worked his way to the top as the “King of Miami Nightlife.” He started by opening his operation Groot Hospitality and now runs the world-renowned club Liv and several other pre…

If you’ve ever found yourself marveling over New York City’s designer stores, you have witnessed the masterpieces behind world-renowned architect Kenneth Park.Tune in to hear the story of Kenneth Park, how he overcame incredible adversity and language barriers, to build one of the leading architectural design firms in New York City…

From New York to Paris, from Sardinia to St. Barts, Norma Cohen Productions has orchestrated over 100 events a year for the most prestigious clientele. She started at just 12 years old planning events for her local community center as a volunteer. A natural businesswoman turned designer, Norma created show-stopping spectacles around the world.…

We often talk about businesses embodying the American Dream, but not enough about the impact they have in their own communities. David Lewis Jr., Jarrette Atkins, and Fritz George are the Co-Founders of MacroBites, a meal prep service that has been hard at work to provide healthy food to their hometown in Neptune NJ. As people who have been release…

Meet Joey Shamah, the co-founder of e.l.f Cosmetics. At 23, he was just a kid with a vision. But with the power of e-commerce and a bulldozer mentality, he built a budget cosmetic brand that would eventually evolve into a billion-dollar publicly-traded company. How'd he do it? Find out tonight on this episode of From the Founder.…

When he was 12 years old, Andrew Barrocas was making a thousand dollars a day, shoveling snow. At 16, he made $50,000 in one summer driving a good humor ice cream truck. In his first year out of college, he made $175,000 renting apartments. He eventually went on to launch MNS Real Estate. Today he shares with us his secrets to success and the steps…

Dan is a founding partner of FX Collaborative, the architectural firm that has designed buildings all over the world, most notably in New York City. If you've ever been to Times Square, Penn Station, Hudson Yards, or even The Bronx Zoo, you've been witness to Dan's work. Today, I sit down with Dan on the top floor of his latest masterpiece, 1 Willo…

The BurgerIn its simplest form, it is beef patty on a bun.And that has not changed much over the last 150 years. But the impact of that burger is more significant than one might think.It is the meal that built America and historically championed by the proletariat.Tonight, we sit down with Nissim Levy, founder of The Boutique Butcher, tucked away i…

Fencing Commonly referred to as physical chess, originated from the aristocratic art of sword fighting.Now one of the oldest Olympic sports, it has come along way from its dueling roots. I sit down with former Olympian Dan Kellner who found success in strategy over strength. He continues this tradition today by passing on the torch to the next gene…

Times Square, the Mecca of billboards and selfie sticks. But before Broadway, you used to catch a very different kind of show here. What was once home to the grittier side of New York's nightlife, is now one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. And while the neighborhood has changed a lot over the years, it has been the home to th…

The Donut, originally shared by the Dutch settlers who came to New York, has now become an American staple. Frosted, glazed, jelly, cider. This week we celebrate the entrepreneurial journey of Desdemona Dalia, a New Jersey native, who is committed to bringing back the time-honored traditions of this tasty treat. Broad Street Dough Co, first founded…

You’ve probably seen the recent viral video of a man eating outside during a blizzard. You might’ve even heard that his restaurant, Trattoria L’Incontro, was one of the first Barstool Fund recipients. But what’s the story behind Rocco Sacramone? How did a poor kid from a small town in Italy manage to build a high-quality Italian restaurant in Astor…

How did a guy who got fired from his first camp counselor job end up creating his own summer camp, comprising of 850 campers and over 130 staff members for 17 years?By Elliot Dweck

See the problem for Dylan and Eric was that they always loved basketball but they couldn't dribble in the house because it was too loud. And when they dribbled outdoors the neighbors would complain. So what's a kid supposed to do? You want to practice dribbling but it's just too loud. After years of testing different materials, Dylan and Eric creat…

Ever since she was a little kid in Slovakia, Barbara was knitting, crocheting, and operating sewing machines. You see Barbara comes from a long line of Tailors in Easter Europe, so textiles were in her blood. But at age 7, Barabara became a political refugee, escaping communist Slovakia with her family and moving to America. After graduating from F…

How did a Tony Robbins seminar inspire Joyce Abady to manufacture green juices and ultimately open award-winning vegan restaurants by mistake?By Elliot Dweck

High school sweethearts, Margo and Dan Rusinowitz, combined their talents to create a physical and occupational therapy practice. Through perseverance, creative partnerships, and a lot of laughs along the way, this power couple grew New York therapy and wellness to the point where they now serve three states and manage a team of over 100 therapists…

It all started one night when Joe Kassin had a bad bathroom experience. Flushable wipes were clogging the pipes and dried toilet paper just wasn't getting the job done. Joe got back in bed that night, he was frustrated and he thought to himself there has to be a better way. At that very moment, Aquinelle, the world's first toilet tissue mist, was b…

When she was 19 years old, Adina Kamkhatchi saved up $100 and decided that she was going to make her own jewelry - and so she did. She took the subway up to 47th Street and she bought materials to handcraft pieces of jewelry at her kitchen table. After starting to sell her jewelry on Instagram, and recruiting her brother Meyer as CEO, Adina’s side …

In 2010, Beth founded Beth Warren Nutrition, seeing clients in her basement. Over the last ten years, she wrote 2 books, appeared on Fox and NBC, and has been featured in Women’s Health, Glamour, Shape, and the NY Post. Today, Beth Warren Nutrition served over 100 clients, with weekly meetings conducted across 3 locations.…

Ever since his parents bought him a home computer when he was eight years old, Morris Tabush has always had a passion for computers. When he was in high school, that passion led him to assist people with setting up their first home computer. He eventually transitioned to providing IT services to small businesses and officially founded Tabush Group …

Staycool’s founder, Amin Adjmi, is all about getting us to connect with a simpler time. A time in our lives where happiness meant watching cartoons, playing video games, and eating milk and cookies. Inspired by the vintage aesthetic of the past, Amin launched a retro-futuristic brand centered around nostalgia and positivity. Staycool has been featu…

While it sounds like a ticket brokerage, Front Row Live is actually a fashion concierge sourcing luxury items around the world. Whether it’s the out of stock Prada loafer or the hard to find Chanel bag, Jennifer Nisan is confident she can find it, even though you can’t. With over a hundred requests a day, Jen utilizes the network she built across t…

For as long as he could remember, David Ash has always loved people and connecting people. So much so, that he describes himself as a matchmaker. Growing up, he connected friends through sports, in college, his job was to connect NYU students with a nightclub, and today he connects institutions and funds with property owners. Am I oversimplifying h…

Milain was born in The Democratic Republic of Congo and although he no longer lives there, his life’s mission is to help his country and empower its natives. That’s been the theme across all three companies Milain founded. Milain was driving around Congo one day when he saw a billboard advocating for skin bleaching and it really bothered him, so he…

Lottie is a holistic nutrition coach for some of the best Olympic athletes around the world. She worked with Tour de France winner Team Sky. She ran multiple triathlons and was on the cover of Triathlete Magazine. She formed partnerships with brands including Equinox, Whole Foods, and Proctor and Gamble. Adidas Runners created a position for her th…

How in the world did Doris go from planning her one-year-old daughter’s birthday party to now, 24 years later, planning hundreds of events a year around the tri-state area?By Elliot Dweck

When Morris was 11 years old, he was the only kid on the block building amusement park models in his attic. After a short stint at IBM in Bentanharbour, Michigan, and Munich, Germany, designing internet-connected home appliances and cars for companies including Whirlpool, BMW, and Allstate, Morris started his own industrial engineering consulting f…

Without having studied fashion or having any prior work experience at a fashion house, how did Gracy Accad, in just four years, become a fashion designer who Martha Stewart said could be the next Monique Lhuillier?By Elliot Dweck

After graduating from NYU Stern, Jake Elias found himself alone in a new city recently fired from 3 different jobs. How did Jake start his own recruiting firm poaching software developers from Google, Uber, and Facebook?By Elliot Dweck

How did a culinary instructor go from teaching to becoming a microinfluencer to creating exclusive high end pop up restaurants?By Elliot Dweck

Inspired by her grandmother, Florence started selling string cheese when she was in high school. Along with her husband Maxie, Florence built a wholesale and retail cheese company called Grandma’s Cheese.By Elliot Dweck

Most of us grew up watching cartoons, but not Raquel. When Raquel was just 6 years old, would pop in workout videos into her VCR. 20 years later she's running Raq That Body a workout lifestyle. In the past 4 years, she's taught thousands of classes.By Elliot Dweck

How did a Zumba instructor go from teaching Zumba classes 6 times a week to creating a luxury summer camp experience for children across the country?By Elliot Dweck

When you here the name Smiles 4 Kids, what do you think of? A dentist? A playgroup? Smiles 4 Kids is actually a ticket brokerage that Joe Aizer co-founded Steven Ashaer and Ezra Azizo. Pulling each of their unique talents together, a ticket dynasty was bornBy Elliot Dweck

Josh Spiegel was married at 18 years old, was a father at 19 years, started selling flowers out of his dad’s balloon store in Borough Park, and now produces high end weddings in New York City’s most iconic venues.By Elliot Dweck

For 15 years Jack Ezon was the president of one of the largest travel companies in America. Along with Julie Danziger and Eli Asher, Jack propelled Ovation's leisure department from 2 million dollars to over 400 million dollars in sales. In 2019, the travel gurus founded Embark BeyondBy Elliot Dweck

With a burning passion to get involved in hospitality, 18-year old Teddy Khafif quit his E-commerce job to wash dishes in the back of a French bistro. After climbing the ranks at the most expensive sushi restaurant in the country, Masa, Khafif opened the first kosher omakase experience. But for some this experience may have to wait because Khafif i…

Syrian immigrant Morris Faks started DJing because he could afford to hire a DJ for his brother’s birthday party. Together with his brother Simon, Morris now DJ’s over 140 weddings every year!By Elliot Dweck

In 2017, Z Dweck and Joey Oved joined forces to create Icecap group. 900 loans later, they are now one of the largest private money lenders in the northeast.By Elliot Dweck

When Montreal native, Kim Kushner, moved to Manhattan she quickly realized that her cooking skills were special. And knowing how to cook was not common amongst her peers. After graduating from culinary school, Kim became a private chef for some of New York Cit's most discerning eaters and taught cooking classes out of her apartment. Three cookbooks…

Alone in America, Ohad Fisherman was hungry for success, and his customers hungry for his authentic hummus. New York's Hummus Hunk took his family's 40-year old secret recipe and built a livelihood out of chickpeas. All in an effort to give back to his parents. From importing the ingredients from Israel to waking up at 3am to make it, Ohad crafted …

“A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure.”Elizabeth Sutton started her business during one of the most trying times in her life. After tremendous financial difficulties, a miscarriage, and a divorce -Elizabeth picked herself up and understood that she had to start taking her life into her own hands. She knew that if she put en…