Blake Mycoskie started and sold four businesses before age 30. But only in Argentina did he discover the idea he'd want to pursue long term. After seeing a shoe drive for children, he came up with TOMS — part shoe business, part philanthropy. PLUS in our postscript "How You Built That," how a long-haired Southern Californian, Chris Healy, co-founded The Long ... Show More
Jul 6
Catalina Crunch: Krishna Kaliannan. From Homemade Keto Cocoa Puffs to Breakfast Aisle Breakthrough
Krishna Kaliannan wanted to start a tech company but failed at every attempt. On the side, he was teaching himself how to cook with high-protein, low-sugar ingredients. Not just out of interest, but out of necessity. As a teenager, Krishna had been diagnosed with diabetes and epi ... Show More
1h 3m
Jun 29
e.l.f. Cosmetics: Joey Shamah. The Dollar Store Formula That Built a Cosmetics Giant
In 2004, Joey Shamah and his partner launched a cosmetics company built on an idea that made almost no sense:Sell high-quality makeup for just $1.At the time, high quality beauty products were supposed to be expensive. The biggest brands spent fortunes on celebrity endorsements, ... Show More
1h 14m
Nov 2022
Mike Meldman: "If the product is bad, no matter who is behind it, it won’t work.”
After a brief stint as a Blackjack dealer, Mike Meldman thought he’d try his hand as a real estate developer. Cut to the present: Mike and his team at Discovery Land Company have created over thirty luxury communities worldwide. But Mike is not just providing four walls and a roo ... Show More
31m 2s
Feb 2019
Hometown Kid Makes Good Code
FOMO Sapiens’ youngest guest, Diego Gonzalez, shares his triumphs, failures, and learnings from his problem-solving ventures born of hackathons: StudentPeer, a peer-to-peer tutoring client, and a novel use of the diagnostic tool Microlisa as an affordable, low-friction lung cance ... Show More
34m 33s
Jun 2025
🏖️ Tommy Bahama's Beach Chair: Fake Dude, Real Billions | 34
Tommy Bahama (spoiler) wasn’t founded by a man named Thomas with a Caribbean address. Rather, this classic lifestyle brand began with two longtime friends and coworkers at a failing apparel company. Facing unemployment at age 50, they channeled their inner Hemingways to invent a ... Show More
40m 53s