Tommy Flaim, founder of activewear brand Fox & Robin, joins the podcast to discuss his desire to create a sustainable and humane activewear clothing brand that seeks to partner with manufacturers that provide factory workers with living wages. Tommy talks about incorporating as a benefit corporation, applying for B corp certification, and the importance of ethics in business. We also chat about designing and manufacturing an initial product line, advertising, and competing against the big guys.

Conor and Alex chat with Alessandro DiSanto, the co-founder and head of growth and finance for the catholic meditation app Hallow. Prior to pursuing entrepreneurship, Alessandro worked as an investment banking analyst and private equity associate at Goldman Sachs and GTCR, respectively. During our conversation with Alessandro, we discuss the importance of structure and cohesion amongst the founding team, the lean development process, forecasting and achieving growth benchmarks, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Bryan Ritchie is the first vice president and associate provost for innovation at the University of Notre Dame and he leads the University’s IDEA (Innovation, De-risking, and Enterprise Acceleration) Center. Conor and Alex discuss with Bryan the process of developing an idea from conception to minimum viable product to commercialization as well as the opportunities available for Notre Dame students to find funding for their ideas.