Learning Out Loud

#49 - Chat Razdan *Update* - Care+Wear Founder & CEO

In a NEW episode, we caught up with Chat at a recent McIntire event this spring. Chat was also a guest on Learning Out Loud Episode #9 last July. Chaitenya Razdan⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitenyarazdan/] (UVA McIntire '05, UChicago Booth '11) is the Founder and CEO of ⁠Care+Wear⁠ [https://www.careandwear.com/].

#48 - Ashley Young - CEO of Bridal Babes (Shark Tank Company)

Ashley Young is the co-founder of Bridal Babes, the first size-inclusive bridesmaid gown line. Bridal Babes was featured on the 14th Season of Shark Tank, where Ashley and her husband Charles received a $250k investment from Emma Grede. Ashley is a 2009 graduate of the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce.

#47- Griffin Spolansky - Co-Founder of Mezcla

Griffin Spolansky graduated from UVA in 2019 and was part of the NCAA National Championship men's lacrosse team. After being frustrated with the protein bars available after practice, and meeting his co-founder outside his social entrepreneurship class, he started working on his company Mezcla, which is a plant-based snack brand that has started in the protein bar aisle. They have a puff-crispy texture and combine many cultures into the flavors. You can find them in Whole Foods. Griffin was also found in Forbes 30 under 30 in 2023. We spoke with Griffin about How he met his co-founder His decision to pursue his company full-time right after school How being on the UVA and then Israeli lacrosse team has instilled accountability into his values and impacts his leadership in his company How he filters through advice he receives Marketing and attending food shows in the CPG space Much more

#46-Hunter Stoler- Founder of Health With Hunter

Hunter Stoler is the founder of Health With Hunter- a social media platform and website to have “Health Made Simple.” Hunter is a certified nutrition and health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. He coaches clients 1-1 and 1-2 and has helped over 150 people lose body fat in a simple and sustainable way. He has also created guides for food swaps, and is a full-time Business Analyst at American Express in New York, New York, all while managing his social media platforms where he creates health-related content with over 160k on Tik Tok and over 50k on Instagram. Hunter is originally from Long Island, New York and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022.  We spoke with Hunter about: His personal health journey How he started and grew his social media accounts How he started getting brand deals How he manages content creation, coaching, maintaining a healthy life-style, and a full time job at AMEX His advice for people’s health Much more Make sure to follow Hunter on Tik Tok and Instagram for some informative content, but also to have your day brightened because he is the best!

#45 - Katlin Smith - Founder, CEO of Simple Mills

Katlin Smith [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katlinasmith/] is the founder and CEO of Simple Mills [https://www.simplemills.com/], a leader in the natural foods movement. Their products include gluten free, paleo-friendly almond flours, crackers, cookies and baking mixes, and can be found in over 28,000 stores worldwide in locations like Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart and others. Katlin is a 2010 graduate of UNC and attended the University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2013-2014. We spoke with Katlin about: * Finding your first customers * Spending time on branding vs. on the product itself * Benefits of business school * Being a healthy fish in dirty water * Simple Mills’ partnerships with local farmers * Hiring early on * Putting in effort