Rapid Response: Stop creating businesses. Buy one instead, with Codie Sanchez

More from Masters of Scale

1. 

   6 Oct 2026 · 34 min

   Kalshi vs. Everyone: Co-Founder Luana Lopes Lara on the lawsuits and the long game

   Prediction markets incentivize truth. Everything else incentivizes clickbait. That's the core argument Luana Lopes Lara makes for Kalshi — the prediction market platform she co-founded that has gone from $5 billion to $22 billion in valuation in under a year, and is now being sued by New York's attorney general for $36 billion. Luana joins Rapid Response to make the case that Kalshi is fundamentally different from DraftKings — even though 75% of its volume is sports — explain why George Santos got banned for trying to trade on his own congressional attendance, and share what Kalshi's data…

2. 

   1 Oct 2026 · 34 min

   Don't be boring: KCRW's Jennifer Ferro on building a brand people love

   Jennifer Ferro is the former board chair of NPR and president of Southern California’s iconic public radio organization: KCRW. Ferro talks with host Jeff Berman about how nearly two decades as the founder’s deputy taught her to lead, why she thinks we deserve a better internet, and how the best defense of getting ignored is simple: Don’t be boring.Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

3. 

   29 Sep 2026 · 27 min

   Halloween meets GLP-1s: Hershey’s candy Super Bowl, with CEO Kirk Tanner

   The second a brand like Hershey stops being culturally relevant, says its CEO Kirk Tanner, you should be worried. He joins Rapid Response to explain exactly what he's doing to make sure that never happens. Tanner also reveals why GLP-1 users are actually good for the candy business, how AI is now routing Hershey's sales force in real time through Target and Walmart, and why the Reese's Oreo collaboration (which generated $100 million in its first five months) is the model for how iconic brands find new energy. And with a major Hollywood film about Milton Hershey coming this fall, he talks…

4. 

   24 Sep 2026 · 37 min

   How to build a billion-dollar sports team from scratch, with Golden State Valkyries’ Jess Smith

   When Jess Smith became employee number one for the Bay Area’s WNBA expansion team, the future was a blank slate. Now, the Golden State Valkyries brand is boasting a unicorn valuation in just its second season. Smith talks with host Jeff Berman about building the brand from scratch, the rise of women’s professional sports, and why so many women in the C-Suite are former athletes. Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5. 

   22 Sep 2026 · 27 min

   Rebranding in a war zone, with Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps)

   The world has never faced so many humanitarian crises at once, and the systems built to respond to them are fraying. Tjada McKenna, CEO of Prosper Global — the organization long known as Mercy Corps — joins Rapid Response during UN General Assembly week to share what she's seeing firsthand from Syria to Sudan to Ukraine to Gaza, and why she rebranded a 40-year-old institution in the middle of a funding crisis rather than in spite of one. She explains how the Strait of Hormuz conflict is quietly writing next year's food shortages into fragile countries right now, why Russia's playbook of…

6. 

   17 Sep 2026 · 23 min

   Brené Brown & Reid Hoffman on the skills every leader needs now

   Author and researcher Brené Brown joined host Reid Hoffman on stage last year in San Francisco for the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit. She reveals insights about how to lead courageously, the underrated skills leaders need to thrive, and why compassion is essential for success – even if it’s currently being crowded out of the zeitgeist. For more conversations like this, join us at this year’s Masters of Scale Summit, coming up October 20-22 in San Francisco.Go to masters of mastersofscale.com/summit to learn more.Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter:…

7. 

   10 Oct 2026 · 37 minNew

   Pioneers of AI: OpenAI’s Tibo Sottiaux doesn’t want humans to be an ‘afterthought’

   Thibault “Tibo” Sottiaux is OpenAI’s head of Product & Platform, making him responsible for the AI tools used by more than a billion users worldwide. Rana el Kaliouby spoke with Tibo on Pioneers of AI about why he’s “proud” OpenAI delayed its latest Astra model over safety concerns, the new suite of agentic products released at DevDay, and what it’s like to lead inside a frontier AI company in this extraordinary moment in history. Learn more about Pioneers of AI: http://pioneersof.ai/Follow Pioneers of AI on all channels: https://linktr.ee/pioneersofai See Privacy Policy at…

8. 

   8 Oct 2026 · 32 min

   Building a marketplace from scratch, with Hipcamp founder Alyssa Ravasio

   Alyssa Ravasio loves using ‘coyote trickster energy’ to get more people to put down their technology. Her camping marketplace, Hipcamp, has grown into the largest source for booking campsites on public and private land. She talks with host Jeff Berman about scaling the company, learning to prioritize your health as a founder, and more. Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9. 

   15 Sep 2026 · 33 min

   Let’s Kill Sh*t: Axios CEO on simplifying your work-life in the AI era

   AI isn't simplifying your life… Yet. It's mass-producing more options, more decisions, and more noise. Axios CEO Jim VandeHei returns to Rapid Response to make the case that the antidote isn't a better productivity app, it's a ruthless, three-part system he calls Confront, Delete, Amplify. VandeHei shares what he's learned from running Axios by these principles, including calling a leadership meeting with the subject heading "Let's Kill S***," and why he shuttered the Axios app despite years of internal resistance. He also reveals his candid read on the midterms and what they mean for…

10. 

    12 Sep 2026 · 27 min

    Rapid Response: On's 16-year overnight success: Zendaya, Federer, and outrunning competition

    On built a $4 billion sports brand in 16 years with a garden hose, a Roger Federer dinner in Zurich, and a young designer who watched a Halloween YouTube video. Co-founder and co-CEO David Allemann joins Rapid Response to explain why the defining decade for On is still ahead, and why being the most premium brand matters more than being the biggest. He breaks down the leadership shake-up that brought him back into a CEO role, and what the first-of-its-kind LightSpray robotic process says about On’s innovation philosophy. Allemann also makes the case for why the "movement class" is replacing…

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