Founders in Full

What if screen time could actually help kids build emotional skills?

Melissa Cesarano, PhD, is the co-founder of Think Human TV, a company using the shows and media kids already love to teach emotional literacy and make screen time healthier and more educational.

In this episode of Founders in Full, Melissa shares how her background in cognitive science, education, and even comedy led to the creation of Think Human TV...

Ila Marchetta, Founder of U4U, shares the story behind building the first social wellness platform designed to support teen girls before they reach a mental health crisis.

Before launching U4U, Ila spent years as an innovation and growth consultant solving big problems for companies like Microsoft and Unilever, alongside decades of hands-on work in youth empowerment as a dance teacher, girls basketball coach, and Girl Scout ...

Zoya Lehrer, Founder and CEO of Orgo, shares the story behind building a logistics platform designed to help busy families better manage the hidden complexity of everyday life.

After spending more than 20 years leading large enterprise technology initiatives in banking, fintech, and SaaS, Zoya never imagined becoming a founder. But as the parent of three young athletes, she found herself constantly asking the same question: ...

Erika Warren, Co-Founder of Inciteful Med, shares the story behind building a healthcare research and self-advocacy platform designed to help patients and caregivers better understand complex medical information and make more informed decisions.

Before starting Inciteful Med, Erika spent her career in education and consumer technology marketing — never expecting to become a healthcare founder. But after her co-founder ...

Jonathan Carone, founder of Healthy Sports Parents, shares how a lifetime around sports — from coaching and athletic departments to marketing and entrepreneurship — ultimately led him to build one of the fastest-growing parenting platforms focused on youth sports culture today.

What started as frustration watching unhealthy behavior from parents on the sidelines quickly turned into a much bigger mission: helping...

Sameer Goyal, Co-Founder of Kidzovo, shares the journey of building a new kind of learning platform for kids — one that transforms passive screen time into interactive learning experiences.

After spending years as a software engineer at Amazon, Sameer never planned to become a founder. But a combination of curiosity, emerging AI technology, and conversations with parents revealed a massive opportunity: kids spend hours...

Paul Sullivan, Founder of The Company of Dads and longtime former New York Times columnist, shares how a personal decision inside his own family led to a broader mission: redefining what modern fatherhood looks like at home and at work.

When Paul’s wife launched her own asset management firm in 2013, he stepped into the role of “lead dad” — the go-to parent managing the mental load, logistics, and day...

Dr. Ashley Blackington, Founder of Dovetail, shares how her 15+ years as an occupational therapist—and one unforgettable hospital moment—shaped her mission to build better infrastructure for caregivers. After watching families navigate medical crises alone and overwhelmed, Ashley set out to create tools that reduce friction, increase clarity, and keep caregivers from falling through the cracks.

What began as a hand-drawn...

Karina Muller, Founder of Maripossa Wellness, shares how her journey from individual therapeutic work to large-scale corporate wellness programs led her to build a model centered on human connection, psychological safety, and adaptive teaching. What began as one-on-one support evolved into a mission to equip entire teams—nurses, investment bankers, educators, tech professionals—with the tools they need to navigate stres...

Amy Briggs, Founder & CEO of Aviva, shares how her unexpected path from pediatric speech-language pathologist to tech founder led her to build a virtual scheduling assistant designed to give parents back their time—and their sanity. What began as a desire to lighten the mental load for families became a mission to eliminate the invisible labor of managing school forms, appointments, activities, and the endless stream of e...

Mike George, Founder of Soaring Families, shares how three decades of caring for his son with complex medical needs led him to create a platform that helps families move from overwhelm and exhaustion to confidence and hope. What began as a personal journey evolved into a mission to help caregivers build stronger support systems and navigate their care responsibilities with clarity and resilience.

We explore:

✅ How Mik...

Anthony Snowell, Founder of LifeSummary.ai, shares how his background in computer science—and his personal experience navigating the chaos of family documents after losing his mother—inspired him to build an AI-powered platform that helps families simplify, organize, and truly understand the most important parts of their lives.

What began as a personal challenge to make sense of everyday financial and insurance paperwork...

Barrie Farivar, Founder of leaf, shares how her experience at Google—and her life as a mom—sparked the idea for a private audio app designed to help families preserve the voices and stories that matter most. What began as a personal project to capture her children’s first words has evolved into a mission-driven platform empowering families to build digital legacies that feel as intimate and meaningful as old photo...

Tim Carstensen, Founder of Foam Party All Stars, shares how a summer side hustle turned into a thriving entertainment business that brings joy to kids (and relief to parents) across the Chicago suburbs. A full-time elementary PE teacher by day, Tim started the business with one foam cannon, a DIY website, and a few postcards—and quickly grew it into a multi-location operation serving hundreds of daycares, schools, and familie...

Lauren Clough, Co-Founder of bQuest, shares her path from a 13-year career in her multigenerational family business and a stint in private equity to building a mission-driven platform that helps families navigate aging, loss, and end-of-life care. Lauren explains how bQuest pivoted from a direct-to-consumer idea to partnering with financial advisors—giving them tools to guide families through life’s most emotional trans...

Paul Richardson, Founder of Tumbleweed, shares how his own family experiences—and a 20-year career in healthcare—sparked the idea for a digital platform that helps families plan for aging and end-of-life. After losing six loved ones in six years and seeing first-hand how disorganized the process can be, Paul built Tumbleweed to simplify everything from storing key documents to closing gaps in planning and even supportin...

Michael Taverna, Founder of The Ad Village, shares his journey from a career in digital marketing and ad tech to building a mission-driven platform designed to protect kids online. Drawing on his experience working with major automotive brands and mobile data startups, Michael explains how he’s repurposing the very tools advertisers use—pixels, ad tracking, and programmatic buying—to disrupt harmful ads and instea...

Greg Hearn, Founder of Petunia, shares his journey from a career in automotive and tech to creating a mission-driven platform that helps families navigate the complex, emotional process of senior living. Inspired by his own family’s experience, Greg talks about building Petunia as a solo founder, the lessons he’s learned in the AgeTech/FamTech space, and why he sees a huge opportunity to rethink how families discover an...

Erica Bethe Levin, Founder of Globowl, joins me to talk about her entrepreneurial journey—from launching one of Chicago’s first digital publications to helping scale a venture-backed hospitality tech startup, to now leading a mission-driven CPG brand rooted in culture, nutrition, and flavor.

We dive into how Erica went from being a food writer and new mom to building a baby and toddler food brand that’s cha...