PODCAST · business
The Irresistible Factor
by Kristi Bridges
The Irresistible Factor Podcast focuses on brands in the health and wellness space that want to become irresistible to consumers, investors and retailers. Kristi Bridges is the President and CEO of The Sawtooth Group where she has worked for over 20 years to create innovative, relevant strategies to bring brands and their consumers closer together. She is one of the creators of I-Factor®, the first and only research tool designed to understand today's digital consumer's relationship to brands.
Episodes
-
Aletha Health with Founder Christine Annie
Before You Make It, Make Sure Someone Will Buy It. People saying they'd buy your product means nothing until they actually do. And confusing enthusiasm with demand can be a very expensive mistake. On this episode of The Irresistible Factor, I talk with Christine Annie, founder of Aletha Health,...
-
Maïzly with Tim Leclercq
The instinct that makes you a successful founder can become the thing that keeps your brand small. Founders are wired to see opportunity. Actually, they have to be. They see a product that doesn't exist yet and think, Why not? A retailer shows interest? Go. A new channel opens up? Try it. A new...
-
De Soi with Morgan McLachlan
One sentence from my conversation with Morgan McLachlan has been stuck in my head: "We're outsourcing our wisdom." It's easy to hear that as an argument against AI. It's not. It's a reminder that technology can accelerate our thinking, but it can't replace our judgment. As founders and marketers,...
-
Seattle Chocolate with Jean Thompson
Jean Thompson did not plan to run a chocolate company. She just couldn’t let it die. Jean was an early investor in Seattle Chocolate when an earthquake destroyed the building the company was renting. No earthquake insurance. Broken machinery. A condemned building. A business that might not…
more -
Choulie with Alison Cayne
She had the distribution. She had the buyers. She had the product. And she shut it down anyway. This week on The Irresistible Factor, I welcomed back Alison Cayne. A few years ago, she came on the podcast to talk about building Haven's Kitchen. This time, she came back to talk about something...
-
Harmony Baby Nutrition with Del Afonso
“We’re Not Building for Scale. We’re Building for Disruption.” I’ve interviewed a lot of founders, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that before. And, it completely changed the way I thought about this conversation with Del Alfonso, founder of Harmony Baby Nutrition. Because most...
-
Altar Native with Yasmin Crystal Santos
“Let It Be Easy.” “Let it be easy.” That was one of my favorite moments from my conversation with Yasmin Crystal Santos, founder of Altar Native. Not because building a company is easy. Clearly, it’s not. She’s dealing with: inventory shortages changing manufacturers regulatory hurdles…
more -
Brutus Broth with Kim Hehir
“If Someone Slams the Front Door in Your Face, Go to the Back Door.” That was one of my favorite lines from my conversation with Kim Hehir, co-founder of Brutus Broth. And honestly? It might be one of the best descriptions of entrepreneurship I’ve heard in a while. Because Brutus Broth didn’t…
more -
Vine to Bar with Ed Klein and Scott Forsberg
Sold a Little. Learned a Lot. Most brands try to skip this part. They go straight to scale. More distribution. More spend. More everything. And then wonder why nothing sticks. I interviewed Scott Forsberg and Ed Klein on the podcast this week, the founders behind a chocolate brand called Vine to...
-
Quinta Marugo with Ugo Uberti Foppa
You Don’t Have to Build the Biggest Thing. You Just Have to Build the Right Thing. Most of the conversations I have on this podcast are about growth. Scaling. Raising capital. Winning in crowded categories. This one isn’t. And that’s exactly why I love it. I sat down with Ugo Urberti Foppa…
more -
How Rudy Aldana Built PARCH Differently
The brands that win in crowded categories aren’t chasing trends. They’re built from something real. In this episode, I sit down with Rudy Aldana (Co-Founder & CEO of PARCH) to break down what’s actually happening in non-alcoholic—and why most brands are missing it. What we get into: • Why non-alc...
-
Interview with Michael Ramsey – Co-founder and Co-CEO of Strong Pilates
There are some categories where it feels like the world does not need one more brand. Fitness is one of them, especially Pilates. So when I sat down with Michael Ramsey, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Strong Pilates, I wanted to understand how they’re breaking through in spite of that. This was the…
more -
The Future of At-Home Diagnostics with Nanowear CEO & Co-Founder Venk Varadan
Most wearables track one thing at a time: steps, sleep, heart rate. Nanowear is building something entirely new: a single piece of fabric that acts like a full physical exam whenever you wear it. CEO and co-founder Venk Varadan started the company nearly ten years ago with his father, Dr. Vijay...
-
Mothering the Mothers with Arisa Katayama of For Her by Arisa
When Arisa Katayama had her daughter in LA during COVID, she did what most first-time moms do: focused on the birth and the baby, not herself. Then the fourth trimester hit. Sleep-deprived, still breastfeeding late into the night, she kept opening a half-empty fridge filled with leftovers and...
-
Reinventing Practitioner Commerce with Jon Armstrong
Reinventing Practitioner Commerce with Jon Armstrong When tech entrepreneur Jon Armstrong set out to simplify his own supplement routine, he uncovered a much bigger problem: practitioners were losing patients, and profits, to Amazon. His answer was GetHealthy.store, a turnkey e-commerce and...
-
Leading from Within with Gary Seelhorst of Prime Peak Executive Coaching
After two decades in biotech and a near-fatal heart attack at 43, Gary Seelhorst realized that success without self-awareness isn’t sustainable. He left corporate life to build Prime Peak Executive Coaching, a practice that helps leaders align peak performance with personal well-being. What…
more -
Turning Data Into Healing with Mette Dyhrberg of MuneHealth
Economist turned founder Mette Dyhrberg didn’t plan to enter healthcare; she just wanted her life back. After collecting six autoimmune diagnoses in her twenties, she started tracking everything she was doing, eating, and feeling for months and months. She then used that data to uncover the cause...
-
Taking Cues from Travelocity in Healthcare with Dr. Cristin Dickerson
Radiologist turned founder, Dr. Cristin Dickerson, didn’t plan to run a company, she just wanted to do her job. But after seeing hospital acquisitions triple imaging prices and claims processes fail patients and doctors alike, Dr. Cristin looked to an unlikely category to find a solution. She…
more -
From CPG Founder to Investor with Kelly Spillane
“It was very hard to accept, but I had to face the reality that our business was never going to give us the return we deserved. That was a mature set of decisions, to give up on dreams and accept defeat,” she says. As you can see, Kelly Spillane has lived both sides of the CPG journey. She…
more -
Building a Global Wellness Movement with Matt Soule, Founder of Cold Club
What began with Matt’s own martial arts injury grew into a business model that now includes international instructor training, wellness retreats, and tailored protocols for everyone from elite athletes to entrepreneurs. His story is both exciting and inspiring. But building Cold Club hasn’t been...
-
How an overlooked health issue became a real business. An interview with Emily Stein, Co-Founder and CEO of Teef and Primal Health
For Emily Stein, the path from Stanford scientist to startup founder wasn’t straightforward. What began with a deeply personal motivation, preventing her grandmother from losing more teeth after a stroke, has turned into building Primal Health, an international company tackling one of…
more -
Advice on selling in the Healthcare Space with Brendan McAdams, Founder of Kiinetics
If you’re trying to sell ideas, products, and technology in the Healthcare industry, this podcast is for you. For Brendan McAdams, sales in healthcare isn’t about pushing products, it’s about creating real fit, listening deeply, and helping founders build businesses that last. As the founder of...
-
Turning Burnout Into a Business: Aisha Chottani’s Mission With Drink Moment
After nearly burning out at her high-pressure job, Aisha Chottani knew something had to change. She swapped caffeine for meditation, cut sugar from her diet, and started paying attention to how she felt. The results were transformative, and they sparked the idea for Drink Moment. Launched in…
more -
How intuition led this founder to start a business and a movement with Roger Ford
When Roger Ford heard the word “move” during a late-night meditation, he didn’t expect it to uproot his life. But within weeks, he and his wife had sold their healing center in the UK, bought a home in California online, and launched a brand-new chapter. That leap of faith became Healing in...
-
How a boutique brand competes in a crowded global market. A topic all brands looking to scale can learn from with Lisa Boduch.
Lisa Boduch is taking it head-on, with a career that began in the salon and evolved into national leadership roles. She understands both sides of the beauty industry. Now serving as VP of Sales and Education at Alfaparf Milano, Lisa is applying decades of experience to drive growth for a...
-
Reshaping Healthcare. A 90-Day Workout for Practitioners with Shareef Mahdavi
“PX stands for patient experience,” says Shareef Mahdavi, founder of the PX Movement. “My mission is to change the way that patients experience going to the doctor.” With PX90, he’s applying his decades of experience in healthcare and customer service to help practices rethink their environments,...
-
Alively Is Changing How Companies Approach Employee Wellness with Lou Zameryka
“You should always be heading toward something you’re proud of,” he says. “Something that feels like a meaningful contribution.” That’s why, after a career negotiating some of the biggest deals in the travel industry, Lou Zameryka decided to build something with a much deeper impact. That mindset...
-
If you can’t find it, build it! With Peter Conroy
After struggling to lose weight and finding existing fitness apps confusing or ineffective, Peter Conroy, former investment banker and now healthcare advocate, decided to build his own solution. That decision led to The Difference App, a predictive, AI-powered tool that helps users track weight...
-
Nodal Brings Ethics and Technology to Surrogacy with Brian Levine
Dr. Brian Levine wears two hats: founder of Nodal and founding partner at CCRM New York. His career began with a passion for genetics, but over time, it grew into something bigger, helping families. “I’d have to say, it’s been one of my greatest achievements, having the opportunity to work here…
more -
The Scale Was Only The Beginning For A Company With A True Purpose with Paul Buckley
For Paul Buckley, U.S. Director of Sales and Marketing at Withings, joining the company was about more than a new role. “I wanted to do something that makes a difference in people’s lives—and Withings does that every day,” he says. Withings has been innovating since 2009, when it launched the...
-
No shortcuts, just smart execution with Anthony Kjenstad.
“There is no secret sauce of overnight success—it’s just a constant ‘what’s next.’” — Anthony Kjenstad, Founder & CEO of Firefly Recovery Anthony Kjenstad didn’t set out to build a consumer brand. But after a career in medical device distribution and a request to solve a real problem, helping...
-
Are Robots the Future of Massage? with Eswar Priyadarshan
Aescape isn’t replacing therapists—it’s expanding access. And for health tech founders, it’s a masterclass in engineering innovation that sticks. At Aescape, innovation isn’t theoretical. It’s tactile. Their intelligent massage tables, powered by robotic arms and therapist-recorded movements, are...
-
The Business of Birth: Scaling Smart, Compassionate Care at Partum Health with Emily (Steinberg) McCareins
"Our aim is really to find mechanisms by which we can reach more families." — Emily (Steinberg) McCareins What started as a pandemic-era pilot has become one of the most ambitious care models in maternal health. Partum Health delivers a full suite of perinatal services, from doula care and pelvic...
-
Rebuilding Telehealth from the Inside Out, with Mark Noble
“We’re saving people’s lives every day, and that’s the driver behind what we do.” — Mark Noble Mark Noble isn’t leading a startup; he’s reinventing a legacy. As CEO of ViTel Net, one of the earliest telehealth companies in the U.S., he’s helping health systems deliver smarter, faster, more...
-
Giving Cancer Patients More Than Care with Michele Gannon
Every once in a while, I meet someone who makes me pause. Someone who reminds me why I started this podcast in the first place. Michele Gannon is one of those people. She’s the founder of Mary’s Place by the Sea, a nonprofit home in Ocean Grove, NJ, that offers women with cancer something most of...
-
What Founders Can Learn From Building A Successful Business—And Doing It Again, with Dr. Samuel Hetz.
“You just need to start. That first step leads to a second, which leads to a third. You just need to start moving in the direction you want to go.” — Dr. Sam Hetz Mergers, exits, new launches. Dr. Sam Hetz has built two businesses by betting on what the healthcare system is missing and what many...
-
The Startup That Pays You to Log Off—and Why Founders Should Pay Attention, with Corey Scholibo.
What if you could build a business around less screen time, not more? That’s exactly what Corey Scholibo, co-founder and CEO of Dayo, is doing. Dayo is a digital wellness app that pays users $5 a day to stay off social media. Go over 30 minutes? You start losing money. Stay under? You save and...
-
The Business Case for Guaranteeing Weight Loss, And Delivering It, with Dan LeMoine.
Most wellness companies shy away from guarantees. Re:vitalize Weight Loss & Wellness built their business on one. Dan LeMoine, Co-founder of Re:vitalize, offers every client a clear, measurable promise: real weight loss, fast, and sustainably. “We typically guarantee a minimum of 20 lbs on our...
-
Redefining Cardiac Rehab: How RecoveryPlus Is Saving Lives Without Leaving Home, with Peter Niemi
After a heart attack or surgery, cardiac rehab can be the difference between recovery and readmission. But for a variety of reasons, 80% of patients never go. RecoveryPlus.health was built to change that. The company delivers virtual, insurance-covered cardiac rehab to patients in 47 states. They...
-
The Clinic That Solves What Others Can’t—By Only Doing What Matters, with Dr. Clayton Skaggs.
“When you stop managing symptoms and start solving root causes, everything changes.” Most clinics treat symptoms. Dr. Clayton Skaggs built CIHP to solve root problems, and his results are drawing patients from around the world. Forget high-volume throughput. Skaggs’ model is unique, deliberate…
more -
When Big Brands Come for You—Why Ceres Chill Keeps Winning, with Lisa Myers.
“Nobody should have to choose between a paycheck and how they want to feed their baby,” she says. Lisa Myers was a partner at a major law firm when she had her first baby. It was then she realized: there was no safe, discreet way to store breast milk at work. So she invented it.. That’s how a...
-
Why Nurse-Led Clinics Are the Infrastructure No One Saw Coming, with Alicia Ortiz.
The data is clear: fewer doctors, growing populations, worse outcomes. The bottleneck? Primary care access. In this episode, Alicia Ortiz explains how Duet is flipping the script, helping nurse practitioners launch independent practices in underserved communities, and pushing insurers to finally...
-
Could Rewiring The Brain Make Us Rethink Medication? With Dr. Kamran Fallahpour.
In a world that rewards quick fixes, Dr. Kamran Fallahpour is building something slower, but far more powerful. As the founder of the Brain Resource Center and co-founder of Vital Neuro, Dr. Fallahpour is pioneering a neuroscience-first approach to emotional regulation, attention, cognitive...
-
Healthcare Wasn’t Built to Keep You Well, But It Can Be Rebuilt, with Dr. Nisha Chellam.
After decades in traditional medicine, Dr. Nisha Chellam made a bold move: she left the system behind to practice in one that actually works. In this week’s episode, we talk to Dr. Chellam about why she joined Parsley Health and what it’s like to stop managing decline and start building real...
-
Skin in the Game: The Visionary Founders Turning Aesthetics Into Access, with Mike Jafar and Ian Metz.
When Mike Jafar founded Joya Health, it wasn’t just about skincare, it was about equity, prevention, and confidence. After 20 years of working with major aesthetic brands like Botox and Juvederm, Mike saw an industry full of innovation but out of reach for most people. Treatments were expensive,...
-
AI Is Making Longevity Care Scalable. Without Losing the Human Touch, with Samir Mitra.
For years, personalized longevity care (daily biomarker tracking, 1:1 coaching, and precision lifestyle plans) has been limited to those who can afford high-end concierge programs. But Samir Mitra, founder and CEO of Reya.ai, is working to change that. Reya is building AI-powered coaching...
-
From the Brink to Breakthrough: How Jigsaw Health Saved Itself by Scaling Back and Leaning into Fun, with Patrick Sullivan Jr.
They were $4.5 million in debt. Revenue had flatlined. And Patrick Sullivan Jr. and his father were seriously considering closing the doors on the supplement company they had built from scratch. That was Jigsaw Health in 2008—just three years after launching with 66 products, a handful of...
-
From Runway to Real Peace: How a Fashion Editor Created a Mindfulness Movement, with Suze Yalof Schwartz.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re spotlighting a founder whose journey is as unexpected as it is inspiring. After years of working in high-stress environments at Vogue, Marie Claire, and Glamour, Suze Yalof Schwartz found peace—not in a pill or a retreat, but in a three-minute...
-
When the Business Works but the Story Doesn’t: The Challenge of Scaling Complex Solutions, with Justin Roethlingshoefer
You’ve built something truly transformative. It delivers real results. Customers love it. But the market doesn’t get it... That’s the story behind Own It, the high-performance health platform founded by Justin Roethlingshoefer. Designed for executives and entrepreneurs, it’s part functional...
-
Building a Culture of Fitness and Family: How GreatLIFE is redefining what it means to live well. And do it together, with Nick Ovenden.
Building a Culture of Fitness and Family: How GreatLIFE is redefining what it means to live well. And do it together. Nick Ovenden is proving that fitness can be a powerful vehicle for family connection and community change. By creating spaces where families grow stronger—physically, emotionally,...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Irresistible Factor Podcast focuses on brands in the health and wellness space that want to become irresistible to consumers, investors and retailers. Kristi Bridges is the President and CEO of The Sawtooth Group where she has worked for over 20 years to create innovative, relevant strategies to bring brands and their consumers closer together. She is one of the creators of I-Factor®, the first and only research tool designed to understand today's digital consumer's relationship to brands.
HOSTED BY
Kristi Bridges
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Irresistible Factor have?
The Irresistible Factor currently has 196 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Irresistible Factor about?
The Irresistible Factor Podcast focuses on brands in the health and wellness space that want to become irresistible to consumers, investors and retailers. Kristi Bridges is the President and CEO of The Sawtooth Group where she has worked for over 20 years to create innovative, relevant strategies...
How often does The Irresistible Factor release new episodes?
The Irresistible Factor publishes regularly with 196 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Irresistible Factor?
You can listen to The Irresistible Factor on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Irresistible Factor?
The Irresistible Factor is created and hosted by Kristi Bridges.
URL copied to clipboard!