Danny Alexander, co-founder and Chief Product and Purpose Officer of Who Gives A Crap, shares how a cheeky name, clever packaging, and an audacious mission turned a humble household product into a $100M brand. The team bootstrapped for nine years, then cracked growth by treating every touchpoint as marketing and by learning to land initiatives, not just launch them. Highlights include the infamous 51-hour toilet livestream that powered their IndieGoGo debut, and why donating 50% of profits builds real retention and trust. Danny also breaks down the pivot from a multilingual EU push to a focused Canada relaunch and how DTC plus selective retail keeps the brand experience tight.

More Hot Takes Big Stakes Instagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/

More on Danny Alexander

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalexdalex

“Who Gives A Crap” Website: https://us.whogivesacrap.org

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.com

Book a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

00:00 Intro

00:49 Danny’s background in industrial design and social impact

05:12 The name “Who Gives A Crap,” testing and why it stuck

08:20 Packaging as marketing, paper wrap insight

10:00 The stripe concept and present-style unboxing

11:35 Mission talk, 50% of profits to impact

15:56 Bootstrapping for nine years, why investors said no

16:53 IndieGoGo strategy and the $50K threshold

17:48 The 51-hour toilet livestream

24:58 Early UK retail moment and momentum check

26:18 “Everything is marketing,” touchpoints that spread

27:51 One big thing per year, the focus thesis

31:06 Second brand experiment and hard tradeoffs

34:53 Launch vs land, scaling lessons

36:10 Europe attempt, translation reality check

36:44 Pivot to Canada, partnerships and pre-launch plan

37:25 DTC first, selective retail like Whole Foods

52:31 Wrap up and call to action

You never forget your First Million.

On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Floom, are here to help you turn your time into real value.

In today’s episode, Natalie directly interviews Lana about the process of making the first million dollars with her company, “Floom.” For both Natalie and Lana, their companies reached this milestone in only their second year of operation.

Times are changing quickly, and with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the barrier to entry for many software companies is lower than ever. In this conversation, Lana shares her advice on building a company from the idea stage to its first 100 customers, then 1,000 customers, one million dollars, and beyond.

Each episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes brings you real conversations with high profile business leaders. No jargon. No sugarcoating. Just the honest truth about what it takes to build a company from the ground up.

00:39 Introduction & Today’s Topic: Floom’s First Million
02:25 Doing Your First Million in One Year
04:00 Executing an Idea in the Tech Space Without Experience
06:35 Pitfalls to Avoid
09:26 Finding Your First 100 Customers
17:55 Finding Your First 1000 Customers
18:26 Managing Your Mindset
22:00 Biggest Mistakes When Striving for Your First Million
27:23 Hot Takes

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room… Shark Tank.

On Hot Takes, Big Stakes, host Natalie Holloway, founder of Bala, and co-host Lana Elie, founder of Flume, are here to help you turn your time into real value.

In today’s episode, Lana interviews Natalie about one of the most pivotal moments in her career with Bala: her appearance on Season 11 of Shark Tank. The pitch led to a major turning point for the brand when Natalie received an offer from Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova for $900,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the company.

Understanding your brand, defining your valuation, and crafting a razor-sharp pitch are some of the most valuable skills you can develop as a business founder. Whether or not you ever end up on Shark Tank, the insights Natalie shares in this conversation will be key to your ability to attract investors and grow with confidence.

Each episode of Hot Takes, Big Stakes brings you real conversations with high profile business leaders. No jargon. No sugarcoating. Just the honest truth about what it takes to build a company from the ground up.

Key Takeaways:

• Just try. If you get a call, you can discuss timing. But go for it.
• Your pitch is everything.
• Closing the deal itself is a process.
• Respond quickly to emails, it shows you value your employees.

More on Natalie Holloway:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/
• “Bala” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bala/
• “Balacize” Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balacize/
• Substack, “Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com
• Book a 1-on-1 Call: https://intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

• Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/