5 Companies Started in 2015
Learn from founders and CEOs who launched their businesses in 2015

Allison Ellsworth
Co-founder
In this interview, Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth shares the journey of building a prebiotic soda brand from a kitchen counter experiment to a 1.95 billion USD acquisition by PepsiCo. Ellsworth discusses the dynamics of the modern soda wars, the execution of influencer equity deals, and the creation of a viral digital marketing strategy. She details early financial hardships, explains how fun fuels corporate culture, and reflects on the emotional transition of exiting her startup.

Sam Altman
Co-founder & CEO
In this interview, OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman discusses the shifting dynamics of startup creation, the trajectory of model scaling laws, and the geopolitical battle between AI liberty and authoritarianism. Altman shares internal trade-offs, such as pausing Sora to prioritize coding agents, and details his collaboration with Jony Ive. He reflects on managing organizational chaos, aligns incentives through historic economic structures, and examines physical bottlenecks like transistors and energy.

Soham Chokshi
Co-Founder & CEO
In this interview, Shipsy co-founder and CEO Soham Chokshi discusses the transition of global supply chains from just-in-time to resilience amidst geopolitical disruptions and rising costs. He details the labor shortages in logistics and explains how AI can optimize carrier operations, improve address lat-long accuracy, and reduce quick commerce delivery costs. Chokshi highlights Shipsy's strict architectural guardrails, emphasizing that humans must remain in the loop for critical decision-making.

Dan Martell
Founder
In this interview, Dan Martell discusses the principles behind building scalable SaaS businesses and helping entrepreneurs create companies that support their ideal lives. He shares insights on time management, leadership, founder development, and the importance of systems-driven growth. The conversation highlights delegation, personal performance, long-term thinking, and how entrepreneurs can increase their impact by focusing on high-value activities while avoiding burnout.

Luca Martini
Founder & CEO
In this interview, the founder of a YouTube marketing agency shares how he built the business from scratch and grew it into a team of 15 through SEO and content marketing. He discusses client acquisition, scaling a service-based business, building systems, hiring the right people, and the strategies that helped generate consistent growth in a competitive digital landscape.