Early Stage Journal

Lisa Tanh
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Early Stage Journal (ESJ) was founded to provide original and in-depth reporting on early stage founders and the investors and communities behind them. Through longform features, Q&As, and podcast episodes, ESJ goes beyond the results, valuations, and funding rounds to tell the deeper story behind each startup. The gritty, raw, and intimate moments that often go untold but are crucial in how each founder started and grew their business. Plus, get the rundown on what makes their product innovative and disruptive—minus the fluff and jargon.

Episodes

  1. Triple X.O.G.: Felix Chen and Rudy Pham

    12/08/2025

    Triple X.O.G.: Felix Chen and Rudy Pham

    Behind any innovative idea with the potential to become a household name is rarely a single “a-ha” moment, but a trail of experiences long before what outsiders see as overnight success happens. For Felix Chen and Rudy Pham, one of those moments was an eight-to-ten-hour trek through Hanes Valley, B.C., where they tossed around business ideas as they tried to find their way back on the right path. At the top of the boulder field, they landed on one they knew was worth pursuing and, to their surprise, hadn’t been attempted before. Three years later, they would innovate a new category born from an East-to-West staple, catch the attention of major retailers, and sell their products in 100 stores across the province. They’d also appear on Dragons’ Den, where they received multiple investment offers. That idea? Triple X.O.G., the world’s first ready-to-drink cocktail of its kind, ranked among the top sellers in B.C. It blends French cognac, jasmine green tea, and Canadian honey with light carbonation. At 5% ABV, Triple X.O.G. was crafted to offer both an elevated and accessible beverage for any occasion—from intimate gatherings to public events—and to cater to a spectrum of palates: those who seek depth of flavour or lean toward something lighter. The brand’s mission goes deeper than an experience that’s “unlike anything on the market.” It’s intended to represent Asian heritage, culture, and connection. Triple X.O.G. pays tribute to the concoction’s origins in Hong Kong, and it’s a nod to an adapted version found in Vancouver. This is the story of two best friends turned business partners with no background in the beverage industry but infectious energy and relentless hustle, who stayed true to their vision for two years as they bootstrapped the company before launching. 00:00–3:58: Show, episode, and guest intro 3:59–5:00: The moment Felix and Rudy decided to found what would become Triple X.O.G 5:01–6:16: Why they decided to take the risk to pursue the idea 6:17–7:42: Why they believe no one had yet to pursue the idea 7:43–8:39: Being in the “very early innings” of celebrating Asian culture outside of Asia 8:40–11:48: The first six months of navigating how to create the product 11:49–15:42: The process of finding and working with a formulator 15:43–18:57: Why they went with their intuition over feedback to finalize the recipe after 35 iterations 18:58–20:53: The process of finding and working with a manufacturer 20:54–22:15: Building a community of fans / discovering the Dragons’ Den audition 22:16–23:42: Being persistent in getting people to try the product 23:43–26:05: How they got into their first retail store and how that led to getting into their first chain 26:06–27:00: The impact of building in public over in stealth 27:01–31:31: What keeps them grounded during challenging moments 31:32–34:17: What happened after the Dragons’ Den episode and what’s coming up in the year ahead 34:18–37:30: Advice for other early stage founders

    38 min
  2. OHME! Foods

    10/31/2025

    OHME! Foods

    Getting into retail was never part of the plan for Jenny and Han Yue. Two years ago, the couple first shared their freeze-dried fruits at a pop-up after family and friends kept coming back for more. They started making their own snacks while looking for ways to make their oatmeal healthier—only to find that store-bought options were too sweet, stripped of nutrients, or simply didn’t satisfy their cravings. Unlike dehydrating, freeze-drying retains 95% of nutrients instead of 60%, delivers a light, crunchy texture instead of chewy or leathery, and keeps the color and freshness closest to the original. What began as a weekend experiment soon expanded into retail as curious customers kept returning and cafés began reaching out on Instagram. With no background in business, industry connections, or even friends with companies, the Yues learned how to build OHME! Foods entirely through trial and error. Today, OHME! is available in more than 450 stores across North America—from cafés and boutiques to grocers and major chains like London Drugs, Healthy Planet, and Urban Outfitters. The brand has since expanded with its yogurt crunch line—which earned a Good Housekeeping Best Snack Award—and its snacks are now enjoyed in countless ways beyond toppings or on-the-go bites, from baked goods and craft drinks to charcuterie platters and even treats for pets. This is the story of a family who started with a stall, then drove around Vancouver to 10 stores and were rejected by all of them, to getting approached by their dream retailers and growing revenue by over 300% year over year. 00:00–4:35: Show, episode, and guest intro 3:30–7:30: Han and Jenny’s family roots in health 6:39–8:08: Jenny’s entrepreneurial drive 8:09–10:39: OHME!’s origin story 10:49–11:53: How OHME! innovated its yogurt crunch line 11:54–14:06: How OHME! grew from pop-ups to retail 14:07–17:12: How OHME! prepared for retail 17:13–19:13: Why OHME! has taken off 19:14–22:31: Taking risks and overcoming the challenges 22:32–24:29: Finding the right partners to work with 24:30–26:49: What’s been pivotal to OHME!’s growth 26:40–27:49: Jenny and Han quitting their 9-to-5s 27:50–30:35: Reflections on entrepreneurship 30:36–32:04: Advice for other early stage founders

    32 min
  3. AllScale: Shawn Pang

    10/02/2025

    AllScale: Shawn Pang

    When Shawn Pang founded HashMatrix, he never imagined that it would become the agency behind popular AI products from tech giants Alibaba, ByteDance, and Insta360 and fast-growing startups like Rabbit R1, Pix AI, and Kling. As it grew, it came up against the same problem repeatedly—one that it saw big tech and startups had yet to solve: payment. Across their clients, it was often an issue when expanding overseas. Vendors, talent, and contractors in emerging markets that they wanted to work with often requested—or could only receive—stablecoin because of the shortcomings in traditional systems. So, HashMatrix developed an MVP payroll system to handle payments in the cryptocurrency. What started out as running on spreadsheets soon processed “nearly half a million dollars each month.” It’s since evolved to a platform making stablecoin solutions more accessible, intuitive, and compliant for SMBs—from invoicing to payroll to social commerce—and raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding from venture capital firms Draper Dragon, Amber Group, KuCoin Exchange, Oak Grove Ventures, and others. This is the story of how a series of pivots led to a breakthrough that started with an MVP running on spreadsheets and soon processed about half a million each month. 00:00–3:35: Show, episode, and guest intro 3:35–7:40: Identifying what will become a new phenomenon 7:40–17:07: The origin story behind AllScale 17:07–19:44: Why other companies have yet to solve the problem AllScale is tackling 19:44–27:00: How exactly AllScale’s invoicing, payroll, and social commerce products work 27:00–28:39: Rewarding stories from AllScale’s clients 28:39–32:00: Biggest problems faced in building on AllScale 32:00–34:25: Three things that Shawn believes in that’s been pivotal to his success 34:25–35:30: What can be expected next from AllScale in the coming months 35:30–37:11: Reflections on Vancouver’s innovation ecosystem

    37 min
  • 3 Episodes

About

Early Stage Journal (ESJ) was founded to provide original and in-depth reporting on early stage founders and the investors and communities behind them. Through longform features, Q&As, and podcast episodes, ESJ goes beyond the results, valuations, and funding rounds to tell the deeper story behind each startup. The gritty, raw, and intimate moments that often go untold but are crucial in how each founder started and grew their business. Plus, get the rundown on what makes their product innovative and disruptive—minus the fluff and jargon.

Information