OnlyFounders

Matt Lo & Anne Gillaspie
  • 4.9 (53)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

What really happens when two founders hit record? Welcome to OnlyFounders, the unfiltered podcast where Anne Gillaspie and Matt Lo—two wildly different founders with wildly good chemistry—let you eavesdrop on the conversations that usually happen behind closed doors. From the brand therapist brain of Anne (Fix & Form) to the tech-obsessed mind of Matt (ChipBot), these are the deep dives, off-the-rails riffs, and philosophical rabbit holes that business owners crave but rarely get. Think of it as your morning coffee with two founders who aren’t afraid to disagree, throw a little shade, and get real about the humanity and science of building things that last. Business. Branding. Technology. Psychology. Strategy. Swearing. It’s all on the table. Grab your mug. You’re invited.

  1. 064: Battle Wounds and Boardrooms: Mojo's Evolution from Solo Hustler to Production Agency CEO

    1D AGO

    064: Battle Wounds and Boardrooms: Mojo's Evolution from Solo Hustler to Production Agency CEO

    In this inspiring episode, Anne and Matt are joined live from Los Angeles by Mojo, the founder and executive producer of Rainbow Creative. Mojo opens up about his incredible founder's journey, tracing his roots from customer service at Apple and marketing at Disney to launching coworking spaces for WeWork during their hyper-growth phase. He shares the raw truth about the physical and mental toll of scaling a mission-driven podcast agency to 25 shows while surviving on just four hours of sleep a night. Realizing he couldn't do it all, Mojo breaks down his crucial pivot to hiring a CFO, embracing executive coaching, and learning the true mechanics of profit and sustainable growth. Packed with lessons on leveraging your Rolodex as an "unfair advantage," this episode is a masterclass in rebounding from setbacks, owning your role as a true CEO, and leading with radical empathy. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "What's a 10 in your life? Imagine if that's a 1—how do you make that into a 10? That 10, I try to make into another 10." — Mojo"...failing is, is an end successes are just metrics on a line." — Matt 📡 Where to Find Us Mojo → Rainbow Creative - InstagramAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

    36 min
  2. 063: The Power of Experience, Adapting to AI, and Building Your Next Chapter with Adrienne Arieff

    3D AGO

    063: The Power of Experience, Adapting to AI, and Building Your Next Chapter with Adrienne Arieff

    In this episode, Anne and Matt sit down with PR veteran and brand strategist Adrienne Arieff to discuss her journey from running a successful firm for a decade to launching a brand-new, mission-driven venture. Adrienne gets real about the harsh realities of industry shifts and job loss, sharing why she firmly believes that age and experience are actually professional superpowers rather than liabilities. The group dives into how Adrienne successfully integrated AI into her consulting workflow to stay highly competitive, the compounding value of a strong professional network, and she gives an exclusive first look at her "Next Chapter Shift" program—an eight-week cohort designed to help midlife women navigate major personal and professional transitions to build their ultimate "life resume." 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "If you're coming from a place of fear, you are not going to be as creative and you are certainly not going to be as productive." — Adrienne"The older you are, I do feel that you have the ability to say no comfortably, which allows you to filter out the things that you are more aligned on." — Anne "Anytime you're going zero to one, it's impossible to figure out where you're going in one year anyway, right? Because you don't even know if your hypothesis is right." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedInAdrienne → Instagram - YouTube

    49 min

  3. MAR 5

    062: The 2-Month Go-to-Market Cycle, AI Coding Tools, and Why "Live" is the New SEO

    In this episode, Matt and Anne dive into how AI is drastically accelerating the founder's journey, cutting the traditional six-month software go-to-market cycle down to just two months. Matt shares his insights on using AI tools to build a fully functional MVP in mere weeks, shifting a founder's focus from heavy development to rapid distribution. They also explore the changing landscape of SEO in the age of AI search and why showing up "live" to interact with your audience is becoming the ultimate differentiator to prove your brand's human authenticity. Finally, Matt drops a reality check on why soundboarding with the actual market—through sales or cancellations—beats relying solely on early supporters. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "Showing up live is actually a bigger signal than anything because you can't AI-fi being live." — Matt "So instead of SEO, right, you're actually backing into the actual content of the website to make sure that AI can crawl it. And then also it's keyword rich for exactly what those search terms are that you want AI to find." — Anne"I like soundboarding with the market. That's the best way. Cause it's not, there's no better feeling than a sale or, or people even canceling the service..." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

    31 min

  4. MAR 5

    061: Vanity Metrics vs. Reality: The Ethics of Buying Followers and Beating the Algorithm

    In this episode, Matt and Anne tackle the murky world of social media vanity metrics, debating whether a high follower count is a valuable business asset or just a digital mirage. Anne shares her temptation to artificially inflate her audience to serve as a resume for her speaking career, while Matt strongly cautions against the ethical and algorithmic consequences of buying bot followers. They also explore the strategic differences between B2B and personal branding, why boosting top-performing organic posts works for some but not others, and how understanding platform "buckets" can help you predict a video's virality. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "If you're not posting every day, someone else is. And social media is a numbers game. It eats data. So you have to feed it." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us  Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

    23 min

  5. FEB 26

    060: The Work-Life Boundary: Why Your Business Shouldn't Be Your Family

    Matt and Anne kick off this episode debating the merits of the "mental health day" versus the classic grit of powering through an illness. Anne shares her philosophy on working intuitively and trusting your energy to get tasks done faster , while Matt questions how that fluidity applies to the rigid demands of a startup. The conversation then takes a sharp turn into the realities of leadership and control. Matt passionately explains why he believes equal partnerships and co-CEOs are a recipe for a standstill , and why trying to run your company like a family can actually be a disservice to both your team and your bottom line. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "I think that there is no separation between work and life. And I think work-life balance, you are the same person, whole person." — Anne "If everyone has equal equity, you don't have authority on paper. You can only persuade. You can never enforce." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

    33 min
  6. 059: The Power of Constraints: Designing Joy, Navigating TV, and Reinventing Retail with Shannon Kaye

    FEB 24

    059: The Power of Constraints: Designing Joy, Navigating TV, and Reinventing Retail with Shannon Kaye

    In this episode, Anne and Matt sit down with color specialist, artist, and former DIY Network TV host Shannon Kaye to explore her unconventional and highly creative career path. From starting as a decorative painter focused on making others' work shine to being unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight as a reality TV host, Shannon unpacks the hidden complexities of the design and television industries. She shares profound lessons on how tight constraints fuel creativity, why avoiding trends in favor of "personal joy" creates timeless appeal, and how she transitioned her artistic skills into a corporate role as a Color Marketing Manager. Through stories of painting stripes on 200 feet of molding to revolutionizing how a 75-year-old paint brand sells its color samples online, Shannon proves that genuine connection and an unyielding focus on the end-user are the ultimate drivers of brand success. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "Well, I mean, that's the end goal of every business exchange, every sales journey, every brand strategy, right, is for the end user to make a confident decision." — Shannon"If you think about the genuine connection between you and the end user, then you're going to come up with something that not only identifies the need of that end user... but you're going to start to see more opportunity within that need." — Shannon📡 Where to Find Us  Shannon → Website - LinkedInAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

    1h 13m
  7. 058: The "People-First" Playbook: Ben Whitehair on Creative Scaling and Acquisition

    FEB 19

    058: The "People-First" Playbook: Ben Whitehair on Creative Scaling and Acquisition

    In this episode, Matt and Anne welcome guest Ben Whitehair, a unique "actor-preneur" who has mastered the art of building businesses alongside a career in Hollywood. Ben shares the journey of his college-founded startup that saved students $30 million and discusses how his current role at the feminist nonprofit Calling All Crows utilizes the same "CEO mindset" required for creative success. The trio explores the counter-intuitive power of "intentional procrastination," the reality that 86% of jobs come from personal referrals, and Ben’s upcoming shift toward entrepreneurship through acquisition. Whether you are balancing a side hustle or leading a major organization, Ben’s insights on why the who always matters more than the what provide a powerful framework for sustainable growth. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "The specific job or what our company was doing mattered almost not at all compared to who we were working with." — Ben"It's only procrastination if you actually don't fulfill your goal... if you did finish, the idea of procrastination never existed." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedInBen → Website - Working Actor - Calling All Crows - Socials (@BenWhitehair)

    1h 18m
  8. 057: The Wedding Industry Reality Check: Pricing, Boundaries, and the "Vibe Check" with Carly Rae

    FEB 17

    057: The Wedding Industry Reality Check: Pricing, Boundaries, and the "Vibe Check" with Carly Rae

    Everyone thinks wedding planning is just pretty flowers and cake tasting. In this episode, industry veteran Carly Rae (founder of Carly Rae Weddings & High Noon Floral) joins Anne and Matt to reveal the gritty reality of managing high-stakes events, from "burning" medical records to burning the midnight oil for Hollywood celebrities. Carly breaks down her journey from undercutting the competition to commanding luxury pricing, sharing why "raising your prices" is often a test of nerve rather than value. We discuss the critical role of a "Bridal Concierge" to protect your sanity, why video "vibe checks" are the new standard for hiring vendors, and how to maintain margin without blowing up your business. Whether you’re in events or SaaS, this conversation is a masterclass in evolving your business model before you burn out. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "I really struggled with my creative identity and someone else's business and their portfolio. So I rebranded it to be High Noon Floral." — Carly"If you're not physically there, then chances are they're upset. It's like the minute you walk out the door... it's like a baby crying." — Carly"There's no nervous, not nervous, they're just stressed... So if you look at it the other way, what if you only win? It's kind of boring." — Matt"I think that’s why I’ve tried to understand you, Matt... because when you say, 'Well, I like to fail and I like struggle,' I am still healing and recovering from a very conditionally formatted home where performance equals love." — Anne📡 Where to Find Us Carly → Carly Rae Weddings - High Noon Floral - InstagramAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

    1h 13m
See All (64)

4.9
out of 5
53 Ratings

About

What really happens when two founders hit record? Welcome to OnlyFounders, the unfiltered podcast where Anne Gillaspie and Matt Lo—two wildly different founders with wildly good chemistry—let you eavesdrop on the conversations that usually happen behind closed doors. From the brand therapist brain of Anne (Fix & Form) to the tech-obsessed mind of Matt (ChipBot), these are the deep dives, off-the-rails riffs, and philosophical rabbit holes that business owners crave but rarely get. Think of it as your morning coffee with two founders who aren’t afraid to disagree, throw a little shade, and get real about the humanity and science of building things that last. Business. Branding. Technology. Psychology. Strategy. Swearing. It’s all on the table. Grab your mug. You’re invited.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Lo & Anne Gillaspie
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    64
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 OnlyFounders
  • Show Website
    OnlyFounders