Founders in Full
Founders in Full explores the future of family-focused solutions—from innovative tech startups to mission-driven services and products that help parents, caregivers, and families thrive.
Each episode features candid conversations with founders on what it really takes to start and scale: from customer research and product-market fit to brand positioning and marketing strategies that drive growth.
Whether you’re a family-focused founder, investor, or advocate, you’ll hear real stories and practical lessons on finding your ideal customer, crafting trust-building messaging, choosing the right channels, and prioritizing time and budget when every decision counts.
Hosted by Dan Ritzke—Fractional CMO and FamTech Marketing Consultant—Founders in Full shares the stories and insights of the people shaping the next generation of family-centered solutions.
Episodes
19 episodes
Erika Warren | Inciteful Med
Erika Warren, Co-Founder of Inciteful Med, shares the story behind building a healthcare research and self-advocacy platform designed to help patients and caregivers better understand complex medical information and make more informed decisions...
Jonathan Carone | Healthy Sports Parents
Jonathan Carone, founder of Healthy Sports Parents, shares how a lifetime around sports — from coaching and athletic departments to marketing and entrepreneurship — ultimately led him to build one of the fastest-growing parenting platforms focu...
Sameer Goyal | Kidzovo
Sameer Goyal, Co-Founder of Kidzovo, shares the journey of building a new kind of learning platform for kids — one that transforms passive screen time into interactive learning experiences.After spending years as a software engineer at ...
Paul Sullivan | The Company of Dads
Paul Sullivan, Founder of The Company of Dads and longtime former New York Times columnist, shares how a personal decision inside his own family led to a broader mission: redefining what modern fatherhood looks like at home and at work....
Dr. Ashley Blackington | Dovetail
Dr. Ashley Blackington, Founder of Dovetail, shares how her 15+ years as an occupational therapist—and one unforgettable hospital moment—shaped her mission to build better infrastructure for caregivers. After watching families navigate medical ...
Karina Muller | Maripossa Wellness
Karina Muller, Founder of Maripossa Wellness, shares how her journey from individual therapeutic work to large-scale corporate wellness programs led her to build a model centered on human connection, psychological safety, and adaptive teaching....
Amy Briggs | Aviva
Amy Briggs, Founder & CEO of Aviva, shares how her unexpected path from pediatric speech-language pathologist to tech founder led her to build a virtual scheduling assistant designed to give parents back their time—and their sanity. What be...
Mike George | Soaring Families
Mike George, Founder of Soaring Families, shares how three decades of caring for his son with complex medical needs led him to create a platform that helps families move from overwhelm and exhaustion to confidence and hope. What began as a pers...
Anthony Snowell | LifeSummary.ai
Anthony Snowell, Founder of LifeSummary.ai, shares how his background in computer science—and his personal experience navigating the chaos of family documents after losing his mother—inspired him to build an AI-powered platform that helps famil...
Barrie Farivar | Leaf
Barrie Farivar, Founder of leaf, shares how her experience at Google—and her life as a mom—sparked the idea for a private audio app designed to help families preserve the voices and stories that matter most. What began as a personal project to ...
Tim Carstensen | Foam Party All Stars
Tim Carstensen, Founder of Foam Party All Stars, shares how a summer side hustle turned into a thriving entertainment business that brings joy to kids (and relief to parents) across the Chicago suburbs. A full-time elementary PE teacher by day,...
Lauren Clough | bQuest
Lauren Clough, Co-Founder of bQuest, shares her path from a 13-year career in her multigenerational family business and a stint in private equity to building a mission-driven platform that helps families navigate aging, loss, and end-of-life ca...
Paul Richardson | Tumbleweed
Paul Richardson, Founder of Tumbleweed, shares how his own family experiences—and a 20-year career in healthcare—sparked the idea for a digital platform that helps families plan for aging and end-of-life. After losing six loved ones in six year...
Michael Taverna | The Ad Village
Michael Taverna, Founder of The Ad Village, shares his journey from a career in digital marketing and ad tech to building a mission-driven platform designed to protect kids online. Drawing on his experience working with major automotive brands ...
Greg Hearn | Petunia
Greg Hearn, Founder of Petunia, shares his journey from a career in automotive and tech to creating a mission-driven platform that helps families navigate the complex, emotional process of senior living. Inspired by his own family’s experience,...
Erica Bethe Levin | Globowl
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...
Cindy Abel | Vescent
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 th...
Sara Mauskopf | Winnie
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.
Katie Taylor | Child Life On Call
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 thi...
