Why Most Founders Fail: Midday Squares’ Jake Karls on Building in Public

For Episode 3, we're joined by Jake Karls, co-founder and Chief Rainmaker of Midday Squares, the chocolate snack company that grew from a tiny condo kitchen in Montreal to more than 10,000 stores across North America. Jake shares why authenticity beats perfection, how building in public helped Midday Squares stand out in a crowded market, and the lessons he learned from multiple failed businesses before finding product-market fit. We also dive into entrepreneurship, storytelling, burnout, hiring, content creation, and what it really takes to build a lasting company. In this episode, we cover: • Why building in public creates stronger customer relationships • The importance of product-market fit before focusing on growth • How Midday Squares went from 50 bars per day to 150,000+ per day • Why authenticity wins in a world full of AI-generated content • How posting online led to fundraising, partnerships, and growth opportunities • The biggest mistake Jake made in his first failed startup • Why founders should focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses • How to build teams with complementary skill sets • Lessons from burnout and sustaining high performance over the long term • Why the people who stay in the game the longest often win the biggest If you're a founder, creator, operator, student, or anyone trying to build something meaningful, this episode is packed with practical lessons on entrepreneurship, storytelling, resilience, and building a business that lasts.#Entrepreneurship #Startups #MiddaySquares #ConsumerBrands #BuildingInPublic #FounderStory #ProductMarketFit #LinkedIn #ContentCreation #BusinessGrowth #ZeroToOnePodcast #StartupAdvice