High Stakes Growth

High Stakes Growth® takes you inside the boldest decisions behind today’s most exciting consumer brands. We bring you candid conversations with the founders, CEOs, and CMOs who built them—unpacking the high-stakes moments, tough calls, and game-changing strategies that made these brands what they are today. No fluff. No surface-level insights. Just real stories from the leaders who made it happen. Hosted by Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd, they bring a combined four decades of consumer brand expertise to these conversations.

High Stakes Growth is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts High Stakes Growth, a business show with 0 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #52

  Arin Schultz: How He Tripled Naturepedic's Revenue With No Marketing Background

  Sep 30, 202640 min

  Arin Schultz is the Chief Growth Officer at Naturepedic, the organic, non-toxic mattress and bedding brand built for healthier sleep. Expect to hear about: – The "Hostile Takeover": How he became head of marketing with no marketing experience and tripled revenue in five years. – Inside the Industry: The shift to organic, how rising interest rates dampen demand, and why a COVID-style "stay home" effect could lift sales. – Pulling Back From Google: Why he's shifting spend toward top-of-funnel brand building, and the lift it delivered. – UGC Over Polished Ads: How creator content replaced $100K studio shoots at a fraction of the cost. – Earning Team Loyalty: His advice for execs on why earning your employees' loyalty is better than buying it (even if that can work too). Find Arin on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/arin-schultz-581a132b/

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  Episode #50

  Lauren Wang: Selling 185M Menstrual Discs and Reaching 30,000+ Stores

  Aug 27, 202651 min

  Lauren Wang is the founder and CEO of The Flex Company, a sustainable period-care brand built around its signature Flex Disc. Expect to hear about: – The Reluctant CEO: How she pitched others to be CEO, before realizing she had to step into the role. – Inside Y Combinator: Interviewing with Sam Altman and the Demo Day investor frenzy. – Surviving the SVB Collapse: How she got through the Silicon Valley Bank collapse by covering payroll from her savings. – The Retail Bet: Why she pushed into Target against her investors' advice, and how it paid off. – Working With Her Husband: How her husband became CFO and how they prevent business from creeping into their personal lives. Find Lauren on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenschulte/

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  Episode #49

  Katie Sturino: From Starting in a Garage to Running an 8-Figure Body Care Brand

  Aug 18, 202629 min

  Katie Sturino is the founder and CEO of Megababe, the body-care brand behind Thigh Rescue, its signature anti-chafe stick, plus deodorants, sweat powders, cooling products, and more. Expect to hear about: – Launching while Divorcing: Why she decided to launch Megababe during a difficult personal time. – The Today Show Sellout: How a man-on-the-street TV segment sold out 20,000 units in a few weeks. – Five Years, Zero Ads: How Megababe grew through PR, organic social, and retail before spending a dollar on paid. – Buses and Low-Fi TV: Why she leaned into NYC buses and deliberately low-fi network TV spots. – Ready to Sell: How a strategic partner could scale Megababe and take the brand to the next level. Find Katie on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-sturino-10b62023/

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  Episode #48

  Shizu Okusa: Exiting Her First CPG Brand and Raising $35M for the Next

  Aug 4, 202647 min

  Shizu Okusa is the founder and CEO of Apothékary, a liquid herbal supplement brand that bridges Eastern medicine with modern Western science. Before then, she launched, scaled, and exited JRINK, a juice brand. Expect to hear about: – Losing a Co-Founder: Why her best friend's exit from JRINK was emotionally difficult and changed how she approaches partnerships. – The Form Factor Bet: Why she built Apothékary on liquid tinctures when pills, powders, and gummies rule the supplement space. – $1M a Month on TikTok: How TikTok Shop became one of Apothékary's top channels. – AI's 12-18 Month Window: Why she gives AI tools that long to live up to the hype before widespread frustration sets in. – The Long Game: How she closed $19M in 12 months while most investors chased AI. Find Shizu on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shizu-okusa-87a25415/

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  Episode #47

  Andrei Negrau: Why Empathic AI Agents Now Outperform Human Support

  Jul 23, 202643 min

  Andrei Negrau is the co-founder and CEO of Siena AI, an empathic AI agent that handles customer service for consumer brands. He built luxury apparel Shopify brands out of Romania starting in 2014, exiting his first in 2018, then founded the SMS marketing startup Cartloop before betting everything on AI-native CX. Expect to hear about: – CX as the Edge: Why he texted stuck-at-checkout shoppers instead of outspending rivals on ads. – Burning the Boats: How one GPT-3 test convinced him to kill Cartloop and rebuild on AI from scratch. – Beating Human Agents: Why his empathic AI consistently outscores human reps on CSAT. – Turning Cancels Into Saves: How DTC brands use Siena to catch why subscribers churn and save them. – Never the Cheapest: Why he refuses to run Siena on the cheapest AI models to cut costs. Find Andrei on: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/negrau/

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