The Founder Who Found Fashion’s Fit Problem

The Bay Area's Unofficial Meme King

Abe Woodliff is a writer, poet, filmmaker, and the memelord behind @RealBayAreMemes—a project that has become the sharpest cultural mirror San Francisco has of itself.  Abe grew up in Section 8 housing in the Bay, watched the city transform around him. Through this experience, Abe developed an almost anthropological eye for the the Bay’s absurdities: the cold machinery at the center of its progressive mythology, the hypocrisies that nobody wants to name, the way good intentions curdle into cruelty.  What makes Abe dangerous as a critic is that he’s devastatingly funny. He wields humor like a scalpel, cutting through the phoniness and self-delusion that defines contemporary San Francisco culture with a precision that makes you laugh before you realize what he’s just said about you. Join us for a biting conversation made for everyone who loves the Bay deeply enough to be furious with it.  Warm Intro [https://warmintropod.com] A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things.  Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube. YouTube: @warmintro [https://www.youtube.com/@WarmIntro] Instagram: @warm.intro [https://www.instagram.com/warm.intro/] Hosted by Chai Mishra [https://chaimishra.com] Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley. Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider. Presented by Wefunder [https://wefunder.com] Wefunder created The Community Round. — allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities  — allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success. Raise on Wefunder [https://wefunder.com/raise] Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

The 25-Year-Old That Made an Oscar-Qualifying Film

Thomas Percy Kim is a 25-year-old filmmaker who's already won critical acclaim at Sundance, been selected for the Oscars, and raised $1.6 million from retail investors to fund his feature film. But here's what makes him different: he didn't wait for permission. When he wanted to make a stop-motion film in high school, he taught himself. When he wanted a name actor, he cold-emailed agents. When studios wouldn't fund his vision, he went straight to his community. What emerges is a conversation about the immigrant experience, the difference between chasing badges and doing the work, and what it actually means to be obsessed with something. Thomas grew up as the only Korean-American kid in a predominantly white Massachusetts town, arrived at USC film school with a clear mission to become a director (and then skipped most of his required classes to do exactly that), and has spent the last decade proving a simple thesis: you don't have to wait for the gatekeepers to let you in. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about being named after Thomas the Tank Engine, what changed when he first saw a room full of successful Korean-Americans his age, why film school actively discourages you from becoming a director, how to raise money by proving competence in small steps, the difference between wanting badges and doing the work, what makes a film actually move people, and what he hopes someone will feel when they watch a film made about his life. Warm Intro [https://warmintropod.com] A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things.  Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube. YouTube: @warmintro [https://www.youtube.com/@WarmIntro] Instagram: @warm.intro [https://www.instagram.com/warm.intro/] Hosted by Chai Mishra [https://chaimishra.com] Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley. Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider. Presented by Wefunder [https://wefunder.com] Wefunder created The Community Round. — allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities  — allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success. Raise on Wefunder [https://wefunder.com/raise] Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

The Founder Who Found Fashion’s Fit Problem

Isabella Sun gave up a job on Wall street to solve fashion’s fit problem — one hiding in plain sight — nearly half of American women are 5'4" or under, yet almost nothing is made to fit them. With no fashion background whatsoever, Isabella founded Short Story — a personal styling service for petite women — out of her apartment in 2019. She packed boxes until 3 AM, ran to the post office so often her doorman thought she was losing it, and got into Y Combinator that first summer. Today, Short Story has dressed hundreds of thousands of women. In this cathartic conversation, we talk about growing up in a family of founders, the many horrors of running an ecommerce company, why the fashion industry ignored petite women for so long, and what it actually means when a piece of clothing fits you for the first time. Warm Intro [https://warmintropod.com] A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things.  Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube. YouTube: @warmintro [https://www.youtube.com/@WarmIntro] Instagram: @warm.intro [https://www.instagram.com/warm.intro/] Hosted by Chai Mishra [https://chaimishra.com] Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley. Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider. Presented by Wefunder [https://wefunder.com] Wefunder created The Community Round. — allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities  — allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success. Raise on Wefunder [https://wefunder.com/raise] Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

The World's Greatest Knot Artist

Windy Chien is one of San Francisco's greatest living artists. But that's just her most recent life. In a previous life, Windy owned San Francisco's coolest record store, Aquarius Records. In yet another, she was on the original iTunes team, building the way we all now experience music.  Today, as the undisputed queen of knots, her work proudly hangs everywhere from the MoMa to Google's HQ. Her path here took her through every possible complication in the line. Join us for a rich conversation about what it feels like to call yourself an artist, Steve Jobs' motorcycle, the zen of art and the best Cambodian Beatles cover bands. Warm Intro [https://warmintropod.com] A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things.  Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube. YouTube: @warmintro [https://www.youtube.com/@WarmIntro] Instagram: @warm.intro [https://www.instagram.com/warm.intro/] Hosted by Chai Mishra [https://chaimishra.com] Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley. Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider. Presented by Wefunder [https://wefunder.com] Wefunder created The Community Round. — allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities  — allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success. Raise on Wefunder [https://wefunder.com/raise] Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

The Philosopher Sharing Indian Thought with the World

Professor Purushottama Billimoria is a philosopher, historian, and one of the people most responsible for getting the world of philosophy to take Indian and Eastern thought seriously, not as spirituality or religious studies, but as philosophy proper.  He's also my former professor and friend.  Join us for a deeply human conversation about philosophy, the corrupting power of wealth, the Parsi Diaspora, and Bob Dylan. Warm Intro [https://warmintropod.com] A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things.  Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube. YouTube: @warmintro [https://www.youtube.com/@WarmIntro] Instagram: @warm.intro [https://www.instagram.com/warm.intro/] Hosted by Chai Mishra [https://chaimishra.com] Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley. Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider. Presented by Wefunder [https://wefunder.com] Wefunder created The Community Round. — allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities  — allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success. Raise on Wefunder [https://wefunder.com/raise] Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.