Brydge Club by Ruffin Mitchener

Hosted by Ruffin Mitchener

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Brydge Club is the must-watch show for anyone inspired by the founders and investors building the next generation of iconic companies. Hosted by Ruffin Mitchener — Deloitte alum, UCLA MBA, and startup operator and investor — Brydge Club brings a rare insider perspective to these conversations. Each episode, Ruffin sits down with the women building their empires — getting the unfiltered stories behind the wins, the pivots, and the hard lessons of building and backing world-class companies. Subscribe to learn from the most inspiring female founders and women in venture!

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August 16, 202644 min

How Bobbie scaled to $100 Million in Revenue and 1 Million Babies Fed with Laura Modi

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I'm joined by Laura Modi, Co-Founder and CEO of Bobbie, the infant formula company she started after a moment of shame in a pharmacy aisle. Laura built her career at Google and Airbnb before leaving tech to take on one of the most highly regulated, capital-intensive industries in America. Bobbie has since raised nearly $150 million, surpassed $160 million in revenue, and bought its own manufacturing facility in Ohio. In this episode, Laura talks about the emotional reality behind Bobbie's founding story, what she learned about sugar and formulation by cold-emailing 20-30 experts a night, and the FDA labeling issue that pulled her product off shelves for 18 months when she had only 100 customers. She explains why she turned off new customer growth during the 2022 national formula shortage against investor advice, how she convinced her board she'd been wrong about owning manufacturing, and what responsibility every formula brand carries when a recall hits the industry. Laura also shares how the Molly Baz Times Square billboard came together, why she hires the atypical candidate, the work Bobbie for Change is doing on federal paid leave and the Black maternal mortality crisis, and the moment with her daughter that finally loosened her grip on mom guilt. I hope you enjoy! This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta's Agentic Trust Platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation, whether you’re pursuing your first framework or managing a complex program. Go to http://vanta.com/ruffin for $1,000 off Vanta today!! More on Laura Modi: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraclairemodi/ Website: https://www.hibobbie.com/ Bobbie for Change: https://www.bobbieforchange.org/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

August 9, 202641 min

From Top Secret Group at Apple to $4 Billion Consumer Venture Capital Fund

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I'm joined by Amy Moussavi, angel investor and advisor at Malo Partners. Amy took an unconventional path into venture. After studying cognitive neuroscience, with no background in finance, she was early at Snapchat, spent years inside a top-secret product group at Apple, and became an investor at a multi-billion-dollar VC fund before building her own portfolio of nearly 20 personal angel investments. In this episode, Amy breaks down how she wrote her very first angel check (and the one category Apple would let her invest in), how she developed a thesis around "building for humanity of the future," and how she evaluates founders from pre-seed to Series A. She shares why she passed on Liquid Death, the speed and precision she looks for in breakout founders, how she works backwards from exit math on market sizing, and the categories she's most excited about now: women's health, longevity, AI hardware, live shopping, and Gen Alpha. Amy also gets candid about why fundraising can feel like "asking for charity" for women founders, the gotchas of stacked SPVs in today's AI-hyped market, and the advice she ignored for a decade: that in venture, relationships are everything. I hope you enjoy! This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta's Agentic Trust Platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation, whether you’re pursuing your first framework or managing a complex program. Go to http://vanta.com/ruffin for $1,000 off Vanta today!! More on Amy Moussavi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-moussavi/ Pitch her: amy@malopartners.com More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

August 2, 202640 min

She sold Primal Kitchen to Heinz for $200M after just 3.5 years

Morgan Zanotti built Primal Kitchen from a scrappy, bootstrapped mayonnaise brand into a $50 million business, then sold it to Kraft Heinz for $200 million just three and a half years after launch, signing the deal weeks after having her first baby at 32 weeks pregnant. After five years running the brand inside a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, she walked away to start again, this time as a solo founder building Waay, a clear whey protein isolate beverage created for women who are tired of choking down chalky shakes. In this conversation, Morgan traces her winding path from accountant to waitress to yoga instructor to CPG operator, and unpacks why she and Mark Sisson kept 95% of Primal Kitchen by refusing outside capital. She breaks down the mechanics of actually selling a company, from the banker "bake off" to the four-day management presentations, and explains why the second time around she raised venture capital from Kate McAndrew at Baukunst instead of mortgaging her own peace of mind. Along the way she gets candid about lifelong imposter syndrome, building all-female teams, the unsexy grind behind a nine-figure exit, and why she believes being a woman in business is a superpower, not a setback. This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta's Agentic Trust Platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation, whether you’re pursuing your first framework or managing a complex program. Go to http://vanta.com/ruffin for $1,000 off Vanta today!! More on Morgan Zanotti: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-buehler-zanotti-31989620/ Website: https://drinkwaay.com/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

July 26, 20261 hr 6 min

How they built Hims & Hers from Zero to $1.6 Billion | What they're Building Now!

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I'm joined by Hilary Coles and Emily Boschwitz, the powerhouse duo behind POCA, a better-for-you coffee syrup that lets people enjoy their favorite café drinks without the sugar crash. Before POCA, Hilary and Emily were on the founding team at Hims & Hers, which they helped scale to a $1.6 billion valuation in just three years and take public. In this episode, Hilary and Emily trace their unlikely paths, from Hilary starting out as an admin and being turned down by nearly every "dream" company, to Emily learning to read in seventh grade and turning dyslexia into a marketing superpower. They break down the early days of Hims & Hers: why they launched with stigmatized products, how men dancing in showers with shampoo bottles became an accidental growth engine, and the channel-diversification strategy that fueled explosive scale. Then they get into POCA, the consumer insight that coffee is "the last allowable vice," how they ran a paint-the-door test before building anything, the food science behind a syrup that actually dissolves in iced coffee, and why brand matters more than ever in the age of AI slop. Along the way, they share hard-won lessons on curiosity as a career strategy, growth marketing, and the AI stack every founder should be using today. This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta's Agentic Trust Platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation, whether you’re pursuing your first framework or managing a complex program. Go to http://vanta.com/ruffin for $1,000 off Vanta today!! More on Hilary Coles & Emily Boschwitz: POCA: https://pickpoca.com/ Gossamer World: https://gossamer.world/ Hilary Coles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilary-coles-11803b187 Emily Boschwitz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyboschwitz More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

July 19, 20268 min

How Figs went from $200 Million Lawsuit to $4.5 Billion IPO

In this episode, I'm breaking down one of the most remarkable stories in modern consumer business: how FIGS went from selling scrubs in hospital parking lots to becoming the first company led by two female co-founders and co-CEOs to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2012, Heather Hasson noticed a nurse friend stuck wearing shapeless, uncomfortable scrubs and saw an opportunity everyone else had ignored. Meanwhile, Trina Spear spotted the same gap from Wall Street, eventually quitting her job at Blackstone and liquidating her 401(k) to bet on it. Together they drove to hospital parking lots at 7 a.m. shift changes, coffee in hand, selling scrubs out of a car and listening relentlessly to the healthcare workers they served. I unpack exactly what it took to build a multibillion dollar business: developing proprietary performance fabric designed for grueling shifts, going direct-to-consumer from day one, and engineering a word-of-mouth marketing machine so powerful their customer acquisition costs actually dropped as they scaled. I also dig into the hundreds of no's they heard before landing a $50 million check, the $200 million lawsuit from a legacy scrub giant they fought and won, and the way they brought 60 healthcare professionals to ring the opening bell and opened pre-IPO access to everyday investors. It's a masterclass in product, distribution, community, and staying close to the people you serve. I hope you enjoy! This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta's Agentic Trust Platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation—whether you’re pursuing your first framework or managing a complex program. Go to vanta.com/ruffin for $1,000 off Vanta today!! More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Sunday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

July 12, 202650 min

How Kate McAndrew Built a $100M Venture Capital Fund (Without a Harvard Business School Degree)

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I'm joined by Kate McAndrew, Co-Founder and General Partner at Baukunst, a $100 million venture capital fund backing exceptional founders at the intersection of technology and design. Writing first checks of $500K to $2M at pre-seed, Kate was the first institutional investor in Bobbie, the first clean infant formula in the U.S. since the 1980s, and has spent over a decade backing founders long before anyone else believed. Kate is an "accidental VC" who broke into the industry without an MBA, management consulting, or a finance pedigree. She got her first taste of investing while volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity job site. In this episode, she shares what she really looks for at pre-seed (hint: the team beats the idea every time), why she describes her job to her five-year-old as being a "professional fairy godmother," and the anti-portfolio deal that still haunts her, passing on Mirror before its $500M sale to Lululemon. Kate also opens up about building her fund in public after a year of PR got her nowhere, how short-form video became her secret weapon for deal flow and LP relationships, her take on the "SaaS is dead" and hardware hype cycles, and why she's moving her own workflow toward more values-aligned tools. We close with rapid fire on killing imposter syndrome, the visioning exercise that changed how she shows up, and the legacy she wants to leave for the next generation of women. This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta's Agentic Trust Platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation—whether you’re pursuing your first framework or managing a complex program. Go to vanta.com/ruffin for $1,000 off Vanta today!! More on Kate McAndrew: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateprestonmcandrew Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kate__mcandrew TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kate_mcandrew Baukunst: https://baukunst.co/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

November 13, 202444 min

How Perelel is redefining women’s health with over 48 million capsules sold

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I’m your host, Ruffin, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Alex Taylor, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Perelel, the first OB-GYN-founded vitamin brand for women offering tailored nutrition for each stage of the hormonal journey. Since its inception, Perelel has made an impressive mark, selling over 48 million capsules in the last year and raising $12 million from investors like Willow Growth. Alex, named a Forbes 30 under 30, has a career built with companies like Vogue, L’Oreal, and Google, and is passionate about creating brands that make a meaningful difference. In this episode, Alex dives into her journey from working with major brands to co-founding Perelel and why they focused on prenatal vitamins. She discusses the complexities of the vitamin industry, including regulation, the importance of transparency, and how Perelel sets itself apart with doctor-led formulations. Alex also shares insights into Perelel's early marketing strategy, their growth despite minimal resources, and key lessons learned in fundraising. I hope you enjoy! More on Alex Taylor: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-taylor-18b19b12/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_alextaylor/?hl=en Website: https://perelelhealth.com/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

October 30, 20241 hr 2 min

Sued by VCs, Sharon Gillenwater Bootstrapped a $25M Startup Sale

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I’m thrilled to sit down with Sharon Gillenwater, author of Scaling with Soul and a resilient entrepreneur. Sharon’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary—she raised $3 million in venture capital for her first business before pivoting to bootstrap her second business, Boardroom Insiders, to a $25 million exit. Now a viral voice on TikTok, she demystifies entrepreneurship for a wide audience. In this episode, we dive into Sharon’s story of navigating venture capital, including her decision to raise funding and the challenges that followed. She shares insights on the venture capital versus bootstrapping paths and offers advice for founders considering both. We also discuss her experience in consulting, building strategic relationships, and selling to large institutions. Finally, Sharon shares key lessons from her M&A journey and tips on managing personal finances while scaling a business. More on Sharon Gillenwater: Buy her book: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Soul-Million-Company-Without/dp/1964377013 Website: https://www.sharonkgillenwater.com/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

October 16, 202445 min

Erin Levine Raised $6.5 Million to Save People 90% on Divorce Fees

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I’m your host, Ruffin, and today I’m joined by Erin Levine, Co-Founder and CEO of Hello Divorce, a platform that revolutionizes the divorce process. Hello Divorce combines self-service software and expert services to make divorce less stressful and more affordable. Erin’s 15 years of legal experience have led her to create a service that costs a tenth of the typical divorce and resolves cases in a third of the time. In this episode, Erin shares her journey to Hello Divorce, insights into the common challenges of divorce, and how the platform supports users through different phases. We also discuss topics like prenuptial agreements, expanding into new states, her experiences raising $6.5 million in venture capital, and her advice on navigating funding and entrepreneurship. I hope you enjoy it! More on Erin Levine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinlevine/ https://hellodivorce.com/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

October 2, 202440 min

Why Valentina quit investment banking, launched a startup, then pivoted into venture capital

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Valentina Rodriguez, investor at Wonder Ventures, an early-stage venture fund based in Los Angeles. Valentina has been involved in investments such as Clutter, Tala, Honey, Whatnot, Coinbase, and Bird. Before entering venture, she began her career at Morgan Stanley and founded Cannaves Oliva, a functional foods company that introduced organic hemp-infused olive oil. In this episode, Valentina dives into her entrepreneurial journey, starting with the creation of Cannaves Oliva and how it shaped her transition into venture capital. She shares insights into Wonder Ventures’ investment thesis, her approach to navigating different industries as a generalist investor, and the lessons she’s drawn from her banking and founder experiences. Valentina also discusses trends she’s excited about in consumer tech and enterprise, the importance of relationships in fundraising, and tips for founders on achieving product-market fit. Plus, she offers advice for those looking to break into VC and a behind-the-scenes look at raising Wonder Ventures' latest $57 million fund. I hope you enjoy! More on Valentina Rodriguez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentinaro/ https://wondervc.com/ More on Host Ruffin Mitchener: https://beacons.ai/ruffin About Brydge Club: Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.