What To Do Next

For eight years, Bear Handlon was running a fast-growing apparel company while serving as an active-duty Navy SEAL, taking supplier calls at 2 a.m. and wiring seven-figure payments between missions.In this episode of What to Do Next, I sit down with Bear, cofounder and CEO of Born Primitive, to talk about what it actually took to build the business in those early years, from going six years without paying himself to nearly breaking the company with a single inventory mistake. We get into how he learned to hire and delegate after early missteps, why brand identity became a forcing function as the company scaled, and how Born Primitive expanded from a single product into multiple categories across fitness, tactical, and outdoor.—Brought to you by:Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠—Where to find Bear Handlon:• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bearhandlon• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bear-handlon-699688152• Website: https://bornprimitive.comWhere to find David Segal: • Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ —Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:00) What Born Primitive is and how it started(02:53) How Bear balanced building a company with serving as an active duty Navy SEAL(09:13) Bear’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs(11:53) Difficult points in the journey of Born Primitive(16:08) How they turned things around after a major inventory mistake(20:10) What Bear learned about hiring, delegating, and scaling(22:44) Born Primitive’s hiring philosophy: hire slow, fire fast(24:04) From sports bras to expanding into new categories(36:11) How Bear adjusted to civilian life(38:00) Brand identity and culture at Born Primitive(40:39) What Bear learned at Red Bull about building a brand identity(42:39) What Bear learned about sticking to an identity, even when it means losing customers(45:53) Born Primitive’s philanthropy(50:15) How Bear and Mallory’s personalities shaped Born Primitive’s brand(52:18) Applying principles of land warfare to business(56:37) Which SEAL habits Bear had to let go of(58:26) Lightning round—Referenced: • CrossFit: https://www.crossfit.com• Mallory Riley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallory-riley-a02832105• American Eagle: https://www.ae.com• Red Bull: https://www.redbull.com• Thin Blue Line apparel: https://bornprimitive.com/collections/first-responder-blue• Black Rifle Coffee Company: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com• Leadership and Decision-Making Under Pressure: https://www.masterclass.com/certificates/leadership-and-decision-making-under-pressure

Richard Mumby is the CEO of Wip and a longtime operator in consumer brands and growth strategy. Before founding the company, he worked across investing and consulting, helping businesses scale and build durable demand.In this episode of What to Do Next, Richard joins host David Segal to share how Wip is approaching category creation in a market dominated by incumbents. Rather than launching broadly, the company started with a tightly controlled pilot, using early signals to validate demand before scaling.As Wip has grown, that discipline has shaped how the company operates. Richard explains why product performance is non-negotiable, how short planning cycles help maintain tight focus, and why they deliberately hold off on certain opportunities. He also shares how Wip thinks about distribution, retail partnerships, and cash management. —Brought to you by:Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠—Where to find Richard Mumby:• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rpmumby • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rpmumbyWhere to find David Segal: • Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ • LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079⁠⁠⁠⁠ —Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:28) What Wip is and how it started(03:14) The LFGO pilot and early product-market fit(04:50) Betting on a new category in a $190B market(07:31) Why early patterns gave them confidence(10:24) Why product performance matters most(17:58) How Wip uses short planning cycles for tight focus(19:40) The beach test that proved the product(21:05) Why consumers trust Wip’s product(23:01) Hiring challenges (24:22) Lessons from past companies(28:06) A better way to interview(31:16) How Richard thinks about career growth(34:39) Opportunities Wip is not pursuing yet(35:50) What people get wrong about wholesale distribution(37:38) How Wip partners with retailers(40:55) How Wip thinks about branding(44:15) Lightning round —Referenced: • Wip: https://wip.com• Bain & Company: https://www.bain.com• Bonobos: https://bonobos.com• JUUL: https://www.juul.com• Gilt: https://www.gilt.com• Tania Goulart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniagoulart• Zyn: https://www.zyn.com• Slack: https://slack.com

Chris Garcin is the co-founder and CEO of Pit Viper, a brand that didn’t start with a traditional plan. It began as a joke, a $500 experiment built on military surplus sunglasses, irreverent graphics, and a willingness to try things most companies wouldn’t.What followed was less a straight path and more a series of bets, mistakes, and adjustments.In this episode of What to Do Next, Chris joins host David Segal to share how Pit Viper found its footing and grew into a durable business. Early on, the team identified a gap in the market for quality sunglasses at a mid-range price, but product alone wasn’t the advantage. They built a brand infused with their personalities and point of view, and over time, Chris came to see it as a living system shaped as much by customers as by the company itself.As Pit Viper expanded, that perspective shaped how they approached new categories, distribution, and unexpected challenges. Chris shares why rigidity can become a liability, how the company navigated a high-profile PR crisis, and what changed as they moved beyond direct-to-consumer into retail and Amazon.—Brought to you by:Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠⁠—Where to find Chris Garcin:• X: https://x.com/nocigarcin• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garcin• Website: https://chrisgarcin.comWhere to find David Segal: • Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast⁠⁠⁠ • LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079⁠⁠⁠ —Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:07) How Pit Viper got started(03:09) What product-market fit actually looks like(10:05) The naivety of early founders(13:17) How Pit Viper approaches branding(17:30) Lessons from category expansion(22:26) Adapting from scrappy startup to mature brand(26:17) Direct-to-consumer vs. retail(28:36) Why Pit Viper initially avoided Amazon(31:11) Why DTC is a logical starting point(32:16) Why getting customers shouldn’t be so hard(34:01) The insurrection PR crisis(40:11) Bootstrapping Pit Viper(42:40) Pit Viper’s biggest buying mistake(47:29) Lightning round —Referenced: • Pit Viper: https://www.pitviper.com• Chuck Mumford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-mumford-5299713b• EssilorLuxottica: https://www.essilorluxottica.com• Rob Gronkowski on X: https://x.com/RobGronkowski • Travis Pastrana on X: https://x.com/TravisPastrana• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com• DavidsTea: https://davidstea.com• Kilby Court: https://www.kilbycourt.com• The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Original 2.0: https://www.pitviper.com/products/the-cinnamon-toast-crunch-original?variant=41727200624734• Pit Viper’s response to white supremacists on X: https://x.com/PitViperShades/status/1791232320122630500

Steven Borrelli launched Cuts Clothing with $50,000, no full-time employees, and a lot of confidence about what it would take to build a brand. In the early days, the team was spread across four different cities, and Borelli even paid himself in credit card points.What he didn’t have yet was a deep understanding of how to run a business.In this episode of What to Do Next, Steven joins host David Segal to reflect on the lessons that came from learning those skills the hard way. As Cuts grew from a simple t-shirt brand into an 8-figure apparel company, Borelli ran into the kinds of mistakes many founders make early on, from product decisions that didn’t work to inventory bets that tied up cash.Over time, those experiences reshaped how he thinks about growth. Instead of chasing expansion at all costs, Steven now focuses on protecting cash, managing risk, and building a business that can grow sustainably.Along the way, he shares how Cuts approaches marketing, the signals that suggest a business may be heading into trouble, and why slower, more disciplined growth is often the smarter path.—Brought to you by:Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: ⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠—Where to find Steven Borrelli:• X: https://x.com/stevenborrelli• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/borrellisteven• Website: https://www.cutsclothing.comWhere to find David Segal: • Website: ⁠⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast⁠⁠ • LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079⁠⁠ —Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:23) Cuts Clothing’s scrappy early days(03:11) Lessons from expanding beyond t-shirts(13:21) Bootstrapping Cuts(15:50) Learning growth strategy and cash discipline the hard way(19:53) Warning signs a business is in trouble and the case for slower growth(24:29) De-risking inventory(29:58) The biggest buying mistake Cuts made(35:40) Cuts’ marketing strategy and how influencers fit in(43:24) Lightning round—Referenced: • Patrick Mahomes: https://www.chiefs.com/team/players-roster/patrick-mahomes• Winners Wear Cuts with Jeremy Piven: https://www.facebook.com/jeremypivenpage/videos/1491281635538429/• How To Build a Luxury Brand with No Outside Funding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiSRBYp4wa4• Steve Kaplan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Kaplan_(investor)• Steven’s open letter to President Trump: https://x.com/stevenborrelli/status/1912177179552809119 • TJX: https://www.tjx.com• Lululemon: https://shop.lululemon.com• Vuori: https://vuoriclothing.com• Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com• Wayne Gretzky’s quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/wayne_gretzky_383282

Sana Javeri Kadri decided early that Diaspora Spice Co. would never compromise on spice quality or what it pays farmers. The rest of the business had to adapt around those two constraints.In this episode of What to Do Next, I sit down with Sana Javeri Kadri, Founder and CEO of Diaspora Spice Co., to discuss what it takes to build a profitable company within limits like that. Diaspora pays farm partners many times the commodity price and supports processing at the farm, so more value stays with farmers. That model improves livelihoods, but it also ties up cash, complicates forecasting, and slows the company's growth.Sana shares the tradeoffs she made to protect those priorities, and what she learned from partners and investors about growth, capital, and leadership. We talk about what scaling looks like in a supply chain business, and why impact depends on building a durable company first.—Brought to you by:Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: ⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠—Where to find Sana Javeri Kadri:• X: https://x.com/SanaJaveriKadri• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sana-javeri-kadri-b8307058• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanajaverikadri• Substack: https://sanajaverikadri.substack.comWhere to find David Segal: • Website: ⁠https://www.highbeam.com/⁠ • YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast⁠ • LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079⁠ —Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:04) From idea to industry disruptor(03:17) Rebuilding a broken spice supply chain(06:07) The dark history behind your spice rack(08:54) The brutal math of inventory forecasting(11:28) The day she dumped thousands in the ocean(14:27) Turning a costly mistake into a comeback(15:41) Paying farmers 6x more — and still winning(20:27) Why they pay farmers to do more than grow(24:50) The preorder strategy that saved farmers during COVID(30:13) When mission collides with margins(36:56) Choosing investors without selling your soul(41:50) Selling a vision that wasn’t built to explode(43:48) Bringing a friend into the chaos(47:54) Hard goodbyes and rebuilding the team(50:28) Learning to make the HR call no one wants to make(53:38) Boundaries, burnout, and leading with conviction(56:03) Owning mistakes and rebuilding trust(57:41) Lightning round—Referenced: • Diaspora Spice Co: https://www.diasporaco.com• Bi Rite: https://biritemarket.com• Oaktown Spice Shop: https://oaktownspiceshop.com• Wynne McAuley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynne-mcauley-b86a6514• How to Find Gifts That Actually Give Back (and a Few That We Like): https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/gifts/gifts-that-do-good/• Impact report page: https://www.diasporaco.com/pages/impact-report-page• Tyler Malek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-malek-0a590828• Salt and Straw: https://saltandstraw.com• Shelley Kleyn Armistead on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-kleyn-armistead-270945126• Gjelina: https://www.gjelina.com• Meridian Cacao Co: https://meridiancacao.com• Ishtiyaque Ali Sayed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishtiyaque-ali-sayed-69814361• Woven HR: https://www.wovenhr.com• Marisa Robisch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisarobisch• Chez Panisse: https://www.chezpanisse.com

Most people think bootstrapping means working harder or putting your own money into a business. That is part of it, but it misses the deeper question of financial sustainability and self-reliance.In the inaugural episode of What to Do Next, I sit down with Maurice Mosseri, co-founder of Still Here NYC, to talk about what bootstrapping really looks like without outside funding. Maurice and his wife used their wedding gifts to fund the first production run, only to lose everything when Barneys, their first major wholesale partner, went bankrupt. What they still had was proof that the product was selling.Maurice explains how that proof became leverage, from cold calling retailers to structuring the business around cash flow instead of optimism. We also talk about how the COVID pandemic disrupted the company just as it was gaining traction, with retailers canceling orders and plans forced to change, while quietly opening the door to unexpected opportunities.We also talk about some of the harder parts of scaling, including outgrowing suppliers and team members, why building a durable brand means not jumping on every opportunity, and what’s next for Still Here.—Brought to you by:Highbeam—Grow your brand with Highbeam’s cash management platform: https://www.highbeam.com/—Where to find Maurice Mosseri: • X: https://x.com/MauriceMosseri• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauricemosseri• Website: https://mauricemosseri.com Where to find David Segal: • Website: https://www.highbeam.com/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wtdn.podcast • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-segal-80b6079 —Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(02:44) Finding balance in life with a startup(04:17) The origins of Still Here (06:36) How the first production run was funded(08:23) What came next after losing everything in the Barneys bankruptcy(11:10) Why Still Here avoided a direct-to-consumer strategy(12:54) How Still Here funded the next production run with retailer deposits(16:55) Why Still Here chose bootstrapping(20:36) The challenge of outgrowing early suppliers(24:03) When loyal team members no longer scale with the business(29:04) Why Still Here can afford a longer ROI runway now (30:31) Why the retail stores became the key unlock(32:07) How COVID made early store openings cheaper(33:53) What pushed Still Here to open its own stores(37:47) The tradeoffs between direct-to-consumer and wholesale(40:03) Why Still Here pulled back from most retailers(44:16) What keeps Maurice up at night (45:10) Why Still Here is focused on sustainable growth—Referenced: • Still Here: https://www.stillhere.nyc• Sonia Mosseri on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-mosseri-608558b4• Barneys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barneys_New_York• Frame: https://frame-store.com • Agolde: https://agolde.com • Re/Done: https://shopredone.com • Net-a-Porter: https://www.net-a-porter.com• Farfetch: https://www.farfetch.com• Revolve: https://www.revolve.com• Bergdorf Goodman: https://www.bergdorfgoodman.com• Neiman Marcus: https://www.neimanmarcus.com • Browns: https://www.brownsfashion.com• Saks Fifth Avenue: https://www.saks.com• Harvey Nichols: https://www.harveynichols.com • Fred Segal: https://www.fredsegal.com