Welcome to Dorm Room to Boardroom, the podcast that delves into the incredible journeys of entrepreneurs who kickstarted their companies while navigating college life. I'm your host, Madi Rifkin. I started my company, Mount, when I was 12, raised $4M to date, and am your guide on this entrepreneurial expedition. Join me as we dive deep into the stories of our accomplished guests, discovering the pivotal moments, challenges overcome, and the strategies that propelled them to success or, ultimately, failure. This is Dorm Room to Boardroom, where the journey from campus to corporate isn't just a story—it's a roadmap for the next generation of game-changers.
David Lin, the CEO and founder of Duffl, a company focused on enabling students to start their own snack delivery business, joins Madi in today's episode. Starting the company in his sophomore year at UCLA, David navigated challenges including raising $13 million in funds, pivoting business models, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation explores David's entrepreneurial journey, from the initial struggles to its current success. David shares insights into his philosophy on education, entrepreneurship, and passion, highlighting the value of personalized education over traditional paths.
Connect with David on LinkedIn
Check out Duffl!
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
11 Apr 2024
David Zamarin | Founder of DetraPel, Forbes 30 Under 30 Recipient, & Shark Tank Alum
This week, Madi is interviewing David Zamarin, the young CEO and founder of DetraPel, who shares his journey of launching a successful startup at the age of 15. DetraPel is recognized for creating chemical coatings making materials perform extraordinarily while being sustainable. David discusses his initial venture, Lick Your Soul, a shoe cleaning company, his strategies for overcoming challenges, and his experiences on Shark Tank. He covers the importance of mentorship, the difference between being a CEO and an entrepreneur, and offers advice to young and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Connect with David on LinkedIn
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
4 Apr 2024
Connor Paton | Turning His Capstone Project into Noshable
Connor Paton, CEO of Noshable, is a fellow founder in the short-term rental industry. This conversation dives into Connor's unique journey of founding Noshable, while completing his senior year of college at Miami University, Ohio. Connor shares insights into addressing food insecurity initially, pivoting to the short-term rental space, and creating Noshable to revolutionize grocery access for guests. Madi and Connor explore the challenges and opportunities of startup life, including fundraising strategies, the importance of community, and leveraging college resources.
Connect with Connor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connormpaton/
Check out Noshable: https://www.shopnoshable.com/
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
28 Mar 2024
Bryan Perla | Launching Little ELF as a Stanford Student-Athlete
Bryan Perla, the founder and CEO of Little ELF Products, joins Madi on this episode to share the story of how a simple high school project evolved into a successful business, sparking interest and funding through a Kickstarter campaign and a memorable appearance on 'Shark Tank.' Starting as a Stanford University student, Bryan juggled academics, entrepreneurship, and being a D1 athlete, developing Little ELF in his dorm room. The discussion delves into the challenges and triumphs of being a solo founder, the impact of 'Shark Tank,' and the strategic use of social media, particularly TikTok, to propel Little ELF into a market-leader position in the gift-wrapping industry.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Bryan Perla:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-perla-8b4061158/
Website: https://www.littleelfproducts.com/
21 Mar 2024
Shiven Khera | Co-Founding Linkbase, Utilizing University Resources & Pivoting the Business
Shiven Khera, the CEO and co-founder of Linkbase, joins Madi on this episode. Shiven shares his journey from moving to Canada as an international student to founding Linkbase during his business management program at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Shiven talks about how Linkbase stumbled into the short-term rental (STR) space almost by accident. This pivot dramatically shifted their business focus towards developing a platform that helps STR hosts automate operations, increase their ratings through enhanced guest experiences, and improve profitability with upselling features. Shiven also discusses the importance of university resources and mentorship in their entrepreneurial journey, as well as the challenge and lessons learned from a failed funding attempt.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Shiven:
LinkedIn
Website: https://linkbase.ca
14 Mar 2024
Luka Lamaj | Biochemistry Student Turned Docere Health Founder
Luka Lamaj, CEO and co-founder of Docere Health, shares his journey from being a biochemistry student to founding a healthcare technology company aimed at reducing burnout among healthcare professionals. Luka shares his personal connection to the problem through his mother's early retirement due to burnout and discusses the role of artificial intelligence in revolutionizing patient care and administrative efficiency in clinics. Luka explains his entrepreneurial journey, including customer discovery, team building, navigating challenges with selling to physicians, and leveraging government partnerships for funding and support.
Connect with Luka on LinkedIn
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
7 Mar 2024
Blake Mischley | Meet Your Class Co-Founder & Current College Student
In this episode, Blake Mischley, the CEO and co-founder of Meet Your Class, shares his entrepreneurial journey while still attending University of Michigan. Blake discusses the creation of Meet Your Class, a social networking platform for students with around 250,000 users across 750 colleges. He also talks about the experience of balancing studies with starting a business, learning from startup accelerators like Techstars, using resources available in college, and continually improving their platform for better community engagement.
Connect with Blake on LinkedIn
Check out Meet Your Class
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
29 Feb 2024
Madi's Entrepreneurial Journey & Building Mount
In this episode of Dorm Room to Boardroom, Madi is sharing her own entrepreneurial journey. She begins by detailing her background where entrepreneurship rooted in her family, and her path of founding her company, Mount, while studying entrepreneurship at Northeastern University. Madi discusses her experiences over the years, including overcoming adversities such as getting hit by a car at 16, dealing with rejection, and fundraising challenges. She offers advice for new founders about building a startup team, emphasizing careful selection and fostering growth. Madi's story is an inspirational journey of determination, resilience, self-belief, and an ambition to change the world.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
22 Feb 2024
Josh Gray | CEO and co-founder of Artemis
In this episode, Madi chats with Josh Gray, the CEO and co-founder of Artemis, a platform that helps prepare one's data for AI applications. Josh was recognized as a 30 under 30 entrepreneur by the League of Innovators in 2023. Throughout this conversation, Josh shares his journey from founding and exiting his first business while still in school at Carleton University, to the funding and scaling of his second company, Artemis. Josh’s key advice for student founders includes understanding that careers are long and the importance of building relationships rather than burning bridges.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Josh on LinkedIn
15 Feb 2024
Peter & Misha | College Teammates to Co-Founders of Earth Brands
In this episode, Madi chats with Peter and Misha, co-founders of Earth Brands. Earth Brands has raised over 6 million dollars from investors, including Mark Cuban, and aims to transform sustainability and environmental impact. The co-founders discuss their path from college roommates to eco-entrepreneurs and how they built an eco-friendly cup business. Encouraging community-building and fostering an ambassador program, Earth Brands has managed to amass a following of several thousand college students. The company has been expanding their product line, moving most of their manufacturing to the U.S., and partnering with material science companies to create more sustainable products.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Check out Earth Brands
Josh Belinsky, co-founder and CEO of Slate Milk, shares his entrepreneurial journey from his time at Northeastern University to becoming the head of a company that has raised over $21 million. He discusses the importance of having a co-founder, the impact of having the UFC as a partner, and how the brand was born out of a lactose intolerance and a love for chocolate milk. Josh also talks about his appearance on Shark Tank, where despite a tough ego experience, it brought valuable awareness for the brand. Finally, Josh shares his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs about starting a business and creating a personal board of advisors.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Josh Belinsky on LinkedIn
Check out Slate Milk
1 Feb 2024
Katie Diasti | Building Viv from a Class Project to 2,000 Stores
On today's episode, Katie Diasti, Forbes 30 Under 30 winner and founder of Viv Period Care, shares her journey of transforming a class-project idea into a successful business, navigating fundraising and breaking ground in the period care industry. Viv is reimagining menstrual health with its toxin-free, sustainable and accessible product line, gaining significant traction in the market. Madi and Katie's conversation touches on the challenges faced by female founders, the importance of being passionate and persevering, as well as innovative marketing strategies, like leveraging TikTok for education and community-building.
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Katie Diasti on LinkedIn
Check out Viv
25 Jan 2024
Keith Corso | Co-Founding BusRight as a Student at Northeastern University
Keith Corso, the founder and CEO of BusRight, joins Madi on this episode to share his journey of starting a company while also being a student at Northeastern University. Keith talks about his experiences of starting BusRight, a school bus management platform. As his company grew, he faced numerous challenges, particularly when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and halted BusRight's primary service. Instead of pivoting entirely, Corso creatively used his technology in different applications, garnering recognition and hardening the product for when schools reopened. From recounting the difficulties in fundraising to examining the dynamics of business relationships with investors, Keith provides a candid look into the life as a startup founder throughout this conversation.
01:26 Madi and Keith reminisce on being students together at Northeastern University
02:33 The Genesis of BusRight
04:15 The Challenges and Triumphs of Fundraising
05:20 The Impact of COVID-19 on BusRight
07:54 The Struggles and Successes of a Startup Journey
18:03 The Reality of Post-Series A
22:44 The Balancing Act of Being a Founder
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Keith Corso on LinkedIn
Check out BusRight
18 Jan 2024
Rebecca Wong | Founding Red Leader Tech as a Stanford Student
In this episode, Madi Rifkin chats with Rebecca Wong, the accomplished founder of Red Leader Tech. Started during her college days at Stanford, Red Leader Tech is a revolutionary deep-tech startup focused on 3D vision and Lidar processing. Among her achievements, Rebecca has successfully led her company to a $14 million Series A raise and was named Forbes 30 Under 30 for manufacturing and industry in 2023. The episode provides valuable insights into Rebecca's journey as a student-entrepreneur - balancing her education, introducing her company to the world, and gaining recognition from influential platforms like Forbes.
00:47 Guest Introduction: Rebecca Wong, Founder of Red Leader Tech
01:11 Rebecca's Journey: Founding a Company in College
01:35 The Genesis of Red Leader Tech
02:25 Deep Tech and Stanford Experience
03:31 The Co-Founder Relationship
06:37 The Early Days of Red Leader Tech
08:09 Fundraising Journey and Challenges
11:46 Transition from Seed to Series A
17:42 The Forbes 30 Under 30 Experience
20:47 Advice for College Founders
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Rebecca Wong on LinkedIn
Check out Red Leader
10 Jan 2024
Chase Robbins | Founder of Handle Delivery & USC Student
This episode features Chase Robbins, a student founder and entrepreneur, who is the creator of Handle Delivery, a snack delivery business for students. Robbins shares his unique entrepreneurial journey, how he balanced his roles as a student and founder, his experience of paying his own seed capital, and the benefits and challenges he faced. As a founder, he discusses pivotal moments, including parking outside a 7-11 to test their inventory delivery system, and enduring rough neighborhood scenarios. Robbins emphasizes the importance of aligning your goalposts with something you have control over and preparing for potential failure. Chase also shares his perspective on venture capital and the importance of managing your expectations.
00:46 Meet the Guest: Chase Robbins, Founder of Handle Delivery
01:04 Chase's Entrepreneurial Journey: From Idea to Execution
01:35 Chase's Origin Story: Founding a Company as a Freshman
03:27 Balancing Act: Being a Student and a Founder
05:38 The Role of Universities in Entrepreneurial Journeys
07:17 The Challenges and Rewards of Founding a Company in College
09:25 The Importance of Networking and Leveraging Student Status
13:54 The Journey from Zero to One: Starting a Business
20:24 The Ups and Downs of Being a College Founder
25:15 Final Advice for Aspiring Student Entrepreneurs
Connect with Madi on LinkedIn
Check out Mount!
Connect with Chase on LinkedIn
Check out Handle Delivery
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5.0 / 5
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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