Hot Takes Big Stakes cover art

Hot Takes Big Stakes

Hot Takes Big Stakes

By: Natalie Holloway and Lana Elie
Listen for free

About this listen

 The real-world highs and lows of building a business—from early ideas scribbled on napkins to multimillion-dollar raises and the pivotal moments in between. Hosted by serial founders Natalie Holloway (Bala) and Lana Elie (Floom). We explore the unfiltered truths most founders are too polished (or too cautious) to say out loud. No hype, no jargon—just honest conversations about what actually works, what doesn’t, and what it really takes to grow something from nothing. Each week, Natalie and Lana sit down founder-to-founder to share sharp insights, fresh perspectives, and the kind of candor you rarely hear in the boardroom. Build your dream. Burn the playbook.Natalie Holloway and Lana Elie Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Loren of Sweet Lorens on Beating Cancer, $120M in Revenue and Building a Cookie Empire | #16

    Loren of Sweet Lorens on Beating Cancer, $120M in Revenue and Building a Cookie Empire | #16
    Oct 30 2025

    Founder Loren Castle shares how a health scare pushed her to reinvent the classic chocolate chip cookie with clean ingredients, then turn that recipe into Sweet Loren’s, a national brand. She breaks down the gritty early years, from farmers markets and a toaster oven in Whole Foods demos to scaling factories, packaging, and distribution. We dig into the allergen free pivot, whytaste still wins, pricing and margins, and the leadership moves that unlocked profitable growth. If you are building in CPG, this is a masterclass on product market fit, retail, and team.More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Loren Castle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorenbcastleLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loren-brill-castle/Website: https://sweetlorens.com/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/



    00:00 Intro, why this story matters
    00:40 The diagnosis, mindset shift to health and food
    03:18 Learning nutrition, cooking, fixing the cookie
    05:07 Iterating hundreds of batches, real feedback
    07:50 Quitting the job, contests and early validation
    09:26 Farmers market tests, writing the business plan
    10:19 Bakery vs CPG, choosing scale and freedom
    11:34 Whole Foods buyer meeting, picking cookie dough
    14:01 The seven month sprint to launch
    15:17 Toaster oven demos, winning customers in store
    19:09 Trade shows and factory upgrades to scale
    20:37 Publix and Kroger wins, going nationwide
    21:23 Customer messages point to allergens
    22:24 Allergen free launch, instant top seller
    23:43 Packaging, taste first, callouts second
    25:03 Selling into different retailers, moms as gatekeepers
    27:43 Less sugar line, listening to data and demand
    31:27 Pricing, margins, and competing on quality
    32:57 From solo grind to profitable, lean team
    35:27 Remote systems, hiring only rock stars
    36:28 Covid bump, brand awareness and new packaging
    38:24 Hiring a president, unlocking founder leverage
    40:17 Staying in vision and growth, avoiding burnout
    45:00 Final playbook, how to build a lasting food brand
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • 5 Things Every Founder Must Do Before Launch | #15

    5 Things Every Founder Must Do Before Launch | #15
    Oct 23 2025

    Before you build, pressure-test your idea the smart way. In this episode, we cover validating the problem, sizing the market, unit economics, stress-testing your time and finances, running a minimum-effort MVP, and checking competitors. You will hear practical tactics like using Reddit to find real pain, building a waitlist and pre-selling with Stripe, and plotting a quick competitor map. We wrap with two hot takes, be naive enough to start, and plan enough to execute.


    More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/


    00:00 Intro, why this matters for new founders

    
00:32 Tip 1, Validate the problem, not the idea

    
01:16 Signals that the problem is real, emotion and willingness to pay

    
02:48 Tip 2, Size the market, top-down vs bottoms-up

    
04:26 Unit economics sense check and payback logic

    
05:26 Tip 3, Stress-test your time and finances

    
07:18 Support systems, partners, housing, and tradeoffs 


    08:22 Tip 4, Run a minimum-effort test, landing page and list 
09:23 Pre-selling with Stripe, early prototypes, and social proof 
11:18 Start socials early and build with your audience 


    12:15 Tip 5, Pressure-check the competition and find your moat 
14:44 Hot takes, be naive enough to start vs plan enough to execute 


    15:36 Closing thoughts and next steps
    Show More Show Less
    18 mins
  • Building A $100M Fem-Care Empire | #14

    Building A $100M Fem-Care Empire | #14
    Oct 16 2025
    "15% off GetRael.comCode: HOTTAKES15Active starting 10/13 - 11/13"A former Disney strategist walks through her unexpected leap into entrepreneurship and the Amazon-first strategy that made her brand a bestseller. She breaks down how brokers, packaging, and buyer feedback helped land Target, why retail demands different marketing from digital, and how pimple patches became a bridge into skincare. We also cover raising $17.5M Series A and $35M Series B, building a US-Korea product engine, and the mindset shift to scale past $100M.More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Yanghee PaikInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/get_rael/Website: https://www.getrael.comMore on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.