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 challenging the status quo. She shares the pivotal moment that sparked the idea for Globowl, what she learned from previous ventures, and how she’s growing a values-driven brand—despite all the complexities of launching a physical product business.

We explore:
✅ The moment she realized baby food in the U.S. was broken—and how other cultures do it differently
✅ How she validated Globowl with real parents before ever launching
✅ The challenges of building a CPG brand from scratch (glass jars, supply chains, allergens, and more)
✅ Why flavor, allergen exposure, and cultural diversity matter so much in early feeding
✅ How she’s building brand trust with minimal budget—using data, retail partnerships, and storytelling

Erica shares honest insights about the highs and lows of solo entrepreneurship, the power of listening to your customers, and how she's building a brand that reflects her values as a mom, founder, and food lover.

👉 Learn more about Globowl: https://globowl.com/

👉 Connect with Erica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-bethe/

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

Cindy Abel, Founder of Vescent, joins me to share how her career in tech and decades of experience running a consulting firm—combined with her personal experience as a parent—led to building a mission-driven platform that supports teen girls through mentorship, mental health literacy, and community.

In this episode, we cover her career path, the early warning signs she noticed around social media and mental health, the evolution of Vescent, lessons from launching with limited resources, and how she’s building a platform rooted in impact, safety, and connection.

👉 Learn more about Vescent: www.vescent.co

👉 Connect with Cindy on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiabel

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

Sara Mauskopf, Co‑Founder & CEO of Winnie, joins me to share how her background in tech and product leadership at companies like Google, Twitter, and Postmates led to building a fast‑growing marketplace that helps parents find childcare.

In this episode, we cover her career path, what drew her to Silicon Valley, the origin and evolution of Winnie, lessons learned from early pivots, and how she’s scaling a platform that supports both parents and childcare providers.

👉 Learn more about Winnie: www.winnie.com

👉 Connect with Sara on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/smausk

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

Katie Taylor, Founder & CEO of Child Life On Call, joins me to share how her background as a certified Child Life Specialist led to building a podcast and a parent‑facing app that supports families through medical experiences.

In this episode, we cover her career path, the origin of the Child Life On Call podcast, how it evolved into a hospital‑licensed app, what she’s learned from early customers, and how she’s growing a community of child life professionals.

👉 Learn more about Child Life On Call: www.childlifeoncall.com

👉 Listen to the Child Life On Call Podcast: www.childlifeoncall.com/podcast

👉 Connect with Katie on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kfdonovan

👉 Follow Child Life On Call on Instagram: www.instagram.com/childlifeoncall

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

In this episode of Founders in Full, I talk with Dale Jarosz, co-founder of Bschool Travel, a company that designs immersive international learning experiences for MBA and university students.

Dale’s journey started in mechanical engineering, took him to Caterpillar designing hydraulic valves, and eventually led him to business school at Michigan—where travel, entrepreneurship, and frustration with the status quo planted the seeds for a new kind of company.

What began as a scrappy startup run out of a student apartment—with a Wix website and a $5 logo from Fiverr—has grown into a trusted partner for top business schools around the world. Along the way, Dale and his co-founder weathered a global pandemic, redefined what a student travel program could be, and built a company that now serves over 40 universities.

We talk about:

✅ Why business school was the perfect time to start a company
✅ How a few bad travel experiences sparked a bigger idea
✅ The real story behind “faking it until you make it”
✅ What universities, students, and global partners really care about
✅ How brand, trust, and scrappiness helped them scale post-COVID

If you’ve ever thought about starting a service business—or if you’re in the education or travel space—this episode is full of lessons about testing demand, building credibility, and growing the right way.

About Bschool Travel:

Bschool Travel partners with top MBA programs and universities to design high-quality, academically driven international experiences. They coordinate logistics, manage risk, and help students connect with global business leaders for unforgettable learning opportunities.

👉 Learn more at: https://www.bschooltravel.com

👉 Connect with Dale on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-jarosz/

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

In this episode of Founders in Full, I talk with Chris Borek, co-founder of Spira Farms, a Chicago-area vertical farm growing nutrient-dense microgreens for restaurants, grocery stores, and health-conscious consumers.

Chris’s journey started in a condo during grad school, growing greens for his family while researching sustainability and nutrition. After his mother’s cancer diagnosis, what began as a personal health project quickly turned into a purpose-driven business rooted in freshness, local food systems, and the power of microgreens like broccoli, arugula, and mustard.

Today, Spira Farms has scaled from basement racks to a climate-controlled warehouse, supplying chefs, distributors, and stores with living trays of microgreens and experimenting with in-house tech solutions to run a modern farm efficiently.

We talk about:

✅ Why microgreens are nutritional powerhouses
✅ The hard lessons learned from direct-to-consumer delivery, and why Spira pivoted
✅ What it takes to build custom farm management software (as a non-technical founder)
✅ The difference between selling to chefs vs. grocery stores—and how to adapt your pitch
✅ How his family background shaped his scrappy, figure-it-out approach to entrepreneurship

If you're building a purpose-driven product—or just trying to get smarter about sustainability, local food, or farm-to-table business models—this episode is for you.

About Spira Farms:
Spira Farms is a vertical farming company based in the Chicago area that grows fresh, local microgreens year-round. With a focus on nutrition, sustainability, and freshness, they supply high-quality microgreens to restaurants, retailers, distributors, and local customers.

👉 Learn more at: https://www.spirafarms.com

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

In this episode of Founders in Full, I talk with Lauren Cain, founder of Elm Dirt, a company reinventing the way we care for lawns, gardens, and soil health—using the power of microbes, composting worms, and a lot of trial and error.

Lauren’s path started in chemical engineering, took her through a high-pressure career at ExxonMobil, and eventually led to launching an e-commerce business with her husband. After years of freelancing and experimenting with product ideas, it was a dirt-loving toddler—and the desire for a safer, chemical-free backyard—that sparked the idea for Elm Dirt.

What started as a small Etsy shop during the early days of the pandemic has now grown into a rapidly scaling business with patented fertilizer formulas, a national customer base, and B2B partnerships with landscapers, retailers, and farmers.

We dive into:

✔️ How a backyard problem turned into a product with wide market appeal
✔️ What it takes to develop and scale a microbe-based fertilizer (hint: a lot of exploding bottles)
✔️ The transition from DTC to retail—and what they had to unlearn along the way
✔️ What happened when they outsourced fulfillment—and how it nearly broke the business
✔️ The marketing message evolution that helped them stand out in a crowded space

If you’re building a product-led brand, navigating early-stage growth, or trying to make organic products that actually work, this episode is for you.

About Elm Dirt:

Elm Dirt is a family-owned company creating natural, microbe-rich fertilizers and soil products made from worm castings. With a mission to make backyards safer and gardens more vibrant, Elm Dirt is helping customers rethink what healthy soil looks like—one plant at a time.

👉 Learn more about Elm Dirt: https://www.elmdirt.com

👉 Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenkcain/

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast

In this episode of Founders in Full, I talk with Joe Weber, founder of Four Star Mushrooms, a Chicago-based mushroom company on a mission to transform our food system through regenerative agriculture, chef-driven partnerships, and urban farming innovation.

Joe’s journey began with a deep interest in ecology and sustainable agriculture. But after a lightbulb moment listening to a Paul Stamets podcast, he realized mushrooms could be the keystone species that brought his vision to life. With no prior experience growing mushrooms, he launched Four Star in 2019—and has been building ever since.

We dive into:

✔️ How a mission-driven vision became a high-growth urban farm in Chicago
✔️ What it really takes to build B2B relationships with top chefs and restaurants
✔️ How the brand grew organically through word-of-mouth and chef credibility
✔️ Why retail is the next big frontier—and the role that consumer education plays
✔️ The power of staying adaptable, making fast decisions, and solving problems that customers never see

If you're building a values-driven business—or thinking about how to scale something rooted in both purpose and product quality—this episode is for you.

About Four Star Mushrooms:

Four Star Mushrooms is a modern mushroom farm growing premium, specialty mushrooms in the heart of Chicago. With a commitment to regenerative practices, local food systems, and strong chef relationships, Four Star is changing the way people think about mushrooms—one dish at a time.

👉 Learn more about Four Star Mushrooms: https://www.fourstarmushrooms.com

👉 Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weberjoe1/

Connect with me (Dan Ritzke):
I’m a Fractional CMO who helps FamTech companies position their brand, sharpen their messaging, create marketing strategies that drive growth, and oversee execution to make sure those plans turn into results.

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com

👉 Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ritzke

Apply to be on the podcast or nominate a founder:

👉 Visit my website: www.danritzke.com/podcast