Behind the Business with Michelle Toh
Behind the Business with Michelle Toh is a Webby Award-winning video podcast hosted by CNN and FORTUNE alum Michelle Toh. It explores the decisions and philosophies behind today's most influential leaders, featuring guests from companies like Airbnb, Rivian, NYSE, Samsung, Canva, Revolve, Peloton, Poppi, and Away. The show is grounded in the belief that business is personal, offering backstories of founders, corporate leaders, investors, and creators. It avoids fluff and performative praise, pairing deep research with thorough interviews and ending with a rapid-fire round. New episodes are released on Thursdays.
Episodes
How to stand out in the attention economy: Samsung US CMO takes 3 Pressing Questions
What do you do when 97% of consumers already know your brand?
Our latest guest is Samsung Electronics America CMO Allison Stransky, who takes 3 pressing questions about winning attention in an increasingly fragmented online world, the future of marketing and where AI fits in.
In this conversation, we dive into:
00:00: Introduction
01:18: How Allison found her path in marketing
02:45: Lessons
'Proud of where I'm at': Jeremy Lin on life after the NBA, reinvention and redefining success
This week, NBA champion, entrepreneur and investor Jeremy Lin takes us on his journey from underdog to global sports phenomenon.
From going undrafted out of Harvard to finding himself at the center of "Linsanity," Jeremy has had a career unlike almost any other.
Now, a year after retiring, he's building the next chapter of his career and seeking to redefine success beyond basketball.
We get
'Everyone had a black luggage': How Away shook up the travel industry
This week, Away CEO Jessica Schinazi takes us behind one of the most recognizable names in travel — and what it takes to keep building when the market moves faster than ever.
In this conversation, we dive into:
00:00: Introduction
02:04: From Brazil and France to building a life in New York
02:41: How family dynamics shaped Jessica’s leadership style
03:16: Leadership lessons from Dyson, Amaz
Peloton’s push into gyms: CEO Peter Stern’s big bet
This week’s guest is Peloton CEO & President Peter Stern. He takes us inside the company’s push to reinvent itself after its post-pandemic struggles — including its latest move into gyms.
Peloton became one of the biggest winners in business during the pandemic, but as consumers returned to gyms and life moved on, the company faced a very different reality.
Stern, a former Apple executive who he
Canva's 'biggest shift': AI, design and the future of work
Joining us this week is Cameron Adams, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Canva — the company that has simplified online design and become one of the world’s fastest-growing tech platforms.
What began in 2013 has grown into Australia’s most valuable private tech company, valued at as much as $40 billion and backed by investors including former Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Canva has transformed how
How to travel for less: The Points Guy takes 3 Pressing Questions
Joining us this week is The Points Guy founder Brian Kelly.
He turned what started as a personal blog while working at Morgan
Stanley into one of the world’s leading travel media platforms — shaping
how millions of consumers spend, earn and think about travel.
In our special new segment, “3 Pressing Questions,” Brian weighs in on
hot topics shaping travel today, and explains how he built a t
Poppi to PepsiCo: Building a $2B soda brand the industry couldn't ignore
Joining us this week is Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth, who takes us behind the rise of one of America's fastest-growing beverage brands — from a kitchen counter experiment to a nearly $2 billion acquisition by PepsiCo.
In this conversation, we dive into:
00:00 Introduction
01:15: Growing up in a household of entrepreneurs, gaining confidence as a dancer and working cleaning bathrooms
03:28:
Beyond EVs: Rivian founder & CEO RJ Scaringe on AI, robotics and the next big bet
Joining me this week is RJ Scaringe, founder & CEO of Rivian, the electric automaker backed by Amazon and Volkswagen.
RJ has wanted to build cars for as long as he can remember — telling his father at age 10 that he hoped to one day start an automotive company.
Years later, in 2009, he took the leap. There was "no money, no team, no technology, no suppliers, no brand and no production infrastruc
Inside global black markets: Emmy-winning investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller
“An estimated 30-35% of the global economy are black and gray markets.”
That’s the world our next guest, Mariana van Zeller, has spent years investigating.
From online scam centers to black-market oil, the Peabody Award-winning journalist has built a career going where few reporters can.
"Trafficked" — her hit Nat Geo series — regularly breaks records at the Emmys.
In this conversation, we div
IPO parade? 3 pressing questions on global markets with the NYSE
The US makes up almost 50% of global market cap. Yet over the past three decades, the number of American public companies has declined dramatically.
So says this week’s guest, NYSE Chief Development Officer Chris Taylor, who joins us for our new “3 Pressing Questions” segment.
After years of a quieter IPO market, there are signs momentum is returning — with a surge in new equity offerings a
From near-failure to global giant: Airbnb's co-founder on how it all almost never happened
We are back! Our first guest of the new season is Airbnb co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk.
Airbnb now spans almost every country in the world.
But there was a point early on where the team agreed: if things didn’t improve in 13 weeks, they’d quit.
In our first episode of Season 2, co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk takes us inside the making of Airbnb — from “ramen profitabilit
Introducing Behind the Business Season 2
💭 Loading: Behind the Business Season 2
We sat down with the people building Airbnb, Rivian, NYSE, Canva, Samsung, Poppi, Peloton, Revolve, Lucid Motors, PHLUR, Away — and more.
Taking you inside the tradeoffs. The pressure. The parts you don’t hear about.
Season 2 drops TOMORROW, June 18. New episodes Thursdays 🚀
👇🏼 SUBSCRIBE + FOLLOW:
YouTube: https://bit.ly/YTBTB
Apple Podcasts: http:/
IM8 CEO on building the 'world's fastest-growing supplements brand' backed by David Beckham
Danny Yeung's entrepreneurial path has been anything but linear.
He's the co-founder and CEO of Prenetics, Hong Kong's first unicorn to list on the Nasdaq, and the leader of IM8, which bills itself as the world's fastest-growing supplements brand.
Prenetics, a breakout name in consumer health, is the parent company of IM8, which has already attracted global stars like co-founder David Beckham an
Future of luxury travel? This company wants you to feel like you're always flying private
Joining us this week is Amina Belouizdad Porter, the CEO of PS, the first operator of private airport terminals for commercial flyers in the US. Its mission? To make you feel like you're flying private — even when you're not. This means even if you're flying — let's say, coach with Delta Airlines — you're getting valet service. Massages. Caviar and champagne. A chauffeur waiting to drive you to yo
NBC News anchor Vicky Nguyen: From Vietnamese refugee to TODAY Show
Vicky Nguyen was just eight months old when she fled Vietnam as a refugee. Today, she's an Emmy-winning journalist, anchor and Chief Consumer Investigative Correspondent for NBC News, now seen on the TODAY Show. Her experiences inspired her new book, "Boat Baby." She joins us this week to discuss: | 00:00 — Introduction | 02:35 — Vicky's early life, escaping Vietnam | 04:53 — Encountering pirates
20X growth in five years: How Factor pushed healthy eating beyond broccoli
Joining us this week is Adam Park, CEO and managing director of Factor US — one of the fastest-growing names in health and nutrition that bills itself as the No. 1 ready-to-eat meal company in America.
You might have seen them around delivering meals to people's doors that emphasize high-protein, veggie-forward, low-calorie or even GLP-1 supportive options, making it easier to eat clean at home.
LARQ: From reinventing the water bottle to being acquired by BRITA
Our latest guest is Justin Wang, who, back in 2017, decided that the way we drink water could use an upgrade.
Justin left a successful corporate career to tackle an everyday problem all of us face at some point: icky water bottles.
He is the co-founder & CEO of LARQ, the company behind the world's first self-cleaning water bottle that it says can eliminate up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria and is
'Not just hand sanitizer': How Touchland built an $880 million brand
This week, we're joined by Touchland co-founder & CEO Andrea Lisbona, who turned an overlooked essential into a brand with $100 million in annual sales. Now, her company is being acquired for up to a whopping $880 million. From rebuilding after a "rock-bottom moment" to landing in Sephora and Ulta, Lisbona shares how she made people want to use hand sanitizer. With a cult following and expansion i
Future of flying? JetZero CEO takes on Airbus and Boeing with jet that aims to cut emissions in half
Tom O'Leary is on a mission to reshape how we fly.
He's the co-founder and CEO of JetZero, an aviation startup building a blended-wing body aircraft that aims to use up to 50% less fuel than today's commercial jets.
That means it could, in theory, cut both fuel burn and emissions in half — making it cheaper and greener for airlines to operate.
The pitch? Helping carriers dramatically reduce cos
Coffee Meets Bagel co-founder on building the 'anti-Tinder' and turning down Mark Cuban
Arum Kang, co-founder and former longtime CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel, is our guest this week.
She's one of three Korean sisters who, back in 2012, were fed up with how online dating often felt dejecting and demoralizing — especially for women.
Their solution? To create a serious dating app.
From the start, it billed itself as a platform for serious daters, boldly calling the app "the anti-Tinder
'Your Rich BFF' Vivian Tu's top money tips: How she made $7M a year by 31
Vivian Tu is the founder and CEO of Your Rich BFF, a leading financial education brand helping millions learn how to build wealth and make smarter money decisions. She left Wall Street and a lucrative career in media sales to become one of the biggest voices in the creator economy, earning over $7 million by age 31 and gaining about 10 million followers across social media. Known online as "your f
Warby Parker's leap: From affordable glasses to AI game-changer
Dave Gilboa is co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, the eyewear brand that started with a pair of lost glasses while he was studying at Wharton Business School.
In 2010, he and three friends pooled their savings and bought the company's URL for $9. Almost everyone they spoke to said the idea would not work.
Dave joins us to talk about the brand's early days, being so frugal they practically re
Introducing Behind the Business
Welcome to Behind the Business, a new podcast and video series hosted by CNN and FORTUNE alum Michelle Toh that aims to explore the decisions and philosophies behind some of today's most influential leaders, such as the founders of Warby Parker, Coffee Meets Bagel, "Your Rich BFF" and more. Recorded in studios across the U.S. as a special interview series, the show is grounded in the belief that b
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