Podcast Summary

How I Built This with Guy Raz: Advice Line with Angie & Dan Bastian of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP

Release Date: April 2, 2026
Host: Guy Raz
Guests: Angie and Dan Bastian, Co-founders of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP

Episode Theme & Purpose

This "Advice Line" episode brings back Angie and Dan Bastian, the founders of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, for a special call-in edition focused on answering live business questions from budding entrepreneurs. Drawing from their journey turning a family kettle corn stand into a multimillion-dollar brand, Angie and Dan offer practical, hard-won advice on fundraising, scaling, marketing, and staying true to business values. The tone is encouraging, relatable, and full of actionable insights, with Guy Raz guiding the conversation and highlighting leadership lessons.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life After BOOMCHICKAPOP – Angie & Dan’s Update

• [04:05–04:57]
  • Angie and Dan have moved on from daily operations. Angie has focused on nonprofit work (Prospera Foods in Nicaragua), and both mentor food startups.
  • They reflect on the toll the "20-hour days" took and advocate for more balanced entrepreneurship if they could do it again.

"We were the 20 hour a day workers, which was not healthy ... For us, it really did damage to us ... in every aspect of our lives."
— Dan Bastian [05:11]

2. Balancing Life & Business

• [05:34–07:26]
  • They urge founders to intentionally unplug and prioritize relationships, even if the business feels all-consuming.
  • The couple admit missing small but important moments—like having dinner without phones—because of startup pressure.

Caller Advice Sessions

Caller 1: Michelle Pusateri, Nana Joe’s Granola

• [07:42–20:59]

Her Story:

• Founder of a growing, Bay Area-based organic granola company ($2.2M in sales, self-manufactured, dedicated to organic/regenerative principles).
• Main Challenge: Should she seek outside capital to scale, and how can she find values-aligned investors without compromising integrity?

Key Advice & Insights:

• Angie & Dan:
  • Both caution against rushing into the wrong investment relationship and suggest exploring loans, minority investments, or pooling multiple angel investors.
  • Encourage Michelle to clearly pitch her values—there are investors out there seeking exactly the qualities she embodies.
  • Michelle shares having walked from deals when asked to compromise on organic status.

“There are investors out there that want to invest in exactly the set of core values that you highlighted.”
— Angie Bastian [13:32]

• Guy Raz:
  • Suggests alternatives like bringing on an experienced advisor or partner with industry know-how to fast-track distribution and scale, offering the example of Justin’s Nut Butter.

“You are doing this the hard way. Have you thought about bringing on someone who’s exited in CPG to help clear a path for distribution?”
— Guy Raz [19:43]

Notable Quotes

• “It took us 10 years to kind of figure it out before we brought investment on.”
  — Dan Bastian [12:23]
• “You can run the company no different than when [a minority investor] came on.”
  — Dan Bastian [12:58]
• “You can't ever do this being certified organic, and I want to invest in you, but you have to go conventional ... That’s not my plan.”
  — Michelle Pusateri [14:15]

Caller 2: Gloria Kolb, Elida (Elitone Device)

• [22:20–33:59]

Her Story:

• Founder of a women’s health device company (FDA-cleared, at-home pelvic floor stimulator for incontinence).
• Main Challenge: Sales plateaued as digital healthcare marketing costs spiked and stigma limited word-of-mouth; seeks authentic ways to grow WOM in a “taboo” space.

Key Advice & Insights:

• Angie:
  • Suggests reframing the device from "medical" to broader wellness (prevention, sexual health), and pushing exposure via community spaces (gyms, medispas, retreats).
  • Emphasizes stigma is best tackled by education, proximity, and visible leadership.

“Stigma is really about education and exposure ... What you gotta do is expose your product to a much larger target market.”
— Angie Bastian [26:16]

• Dan:

  • Encourages embracing the stigma openly through personal storytelling in digital channels, even if social media targeting now has limits.

• Guy:

  • Highlights the power of authentic founder storytelling—Gloria should lead as the public face, sharing her “why” widely.
  • Suggests seeking a celebrity partner willing to take equity and be public about their journey, like On’s partnership with Roger Federer.

“If you start to talk about it or think about reframing how you're talking about it with you front and center ... you're the best sales rep for this thing.”
— Guy Raz [32:13]

Notable Quotes

• “You are the influencer, you are the face of this. You are a mom ... and you have this incredible background.”
  — Guy Raz [30:31]
• “If you can find the right person who wants to be a partner with you, they can be worth more than millions.”
  — Dan Bastian [33:43]

Caller 3: Eric Poulain, Maple Roux (Organic Maple Sports Nutrition)

• [34:56–48:48]

His Story:

• Sydney-based founder making organic, gluten-free energy products (gels, waffles) centered on Canadian maple syrup; $250k in early sales, seeing unexpected market breadth.
• Main Challenge: How to scale and differentiate against massive, well-funded competitors without losing core product trust and identity.

Key Advice & Insights:

• Dan:
  • Suggests focusing on local, community-based growth and leveraging grassroots, event-based demoing—mirroring BOOMCHICKAPOP’s own path.

“We were a total grassroots brand company early on ... we went to fairs, festivals, events to just get it into people's mouths.”
— Dan Bastian [38:17]

• Angie:
  • Points out the need for packaging that tells the product’s value instantly (“clean carbs,” glycemic index), especially as he moves into retail.
  • Packaging and retail shelf presence should be intuitive and uniform to communicate benefits when Eric can’t be there to hand-sell.

“When you make that transition to retail, have somebody just go put it on the shelf ... ask what they see.”
— Angie Bastian [43:23]

• Guy:
  • Emphasizes the importance of patience and organic growth—target a strong local base and D2C repeat sales before expanding internationally.

“You want to try to grow organically to at least 500k, ideally a million, before you even think about [going international].”
— Guy Raz [46:12]

Notable Quotes

• “If you have unlimited resources, you can move a lot quicker. But I think this idea of, like, locally, you have an opportunity to build it up, learn from your mistakes.”
  — Dan Bastian [47:21]
• “Your job as the leader and founder will be to teach those people how to represent your product the way you want ... That’s where entrepreneurs succeed.”
  — Angie Bastian [47:56]

Final Reflections: Angie & Dan’s “Future Advice”

• [49:13–50:15]
  • Dan: Slow down, be less reactionary, and reflect before pursuing every opportunity—balance is key.
  • Angie: Remember you will survive; prioritize family and rituals outside of work, even in startup “survival mode.”

“Try not to be so reactionary. Be a little more forward thinking in the process.”
— Dan Bastian [49:13]

“Even though you're in survival mode, just put the phone down for an hour and have dinner and don't talk about work.”
— Angie Bastian [49:57]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “Everything but the minivan.” (On putting up their home as collateral)
  — Angie Bastian [51:20]

• Michelle Pusateri: Standing firm on organic values even when it means walking from investors [14:15].

• Gloria Kolb’s vulnerability about facing stigma and the extra weight of being a female founder in health tech [30:17].

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:05] Angie & Dan's post-exit update and life lessons
• [09:33] Michelle Pusateri shares Nana Joe’s Granola growth story
• [13:32] Angie & Dan on finding aligned investors
• [22:20] Gloria Kolb describes Elitone device and stigma challenges
• [26:16] Angie on fighting stigma with education and exposure
• [30:31] Guy’s advice: Gloria as her own influencer/advocate
• [34:56] Eric Poulain explains Maple Roux’s maple-fuel energy products journey
• [38:17] Dan & Angie on grassroots brand-building
• [43:23] Angie on packaging for retail success
• [46:12] Guy on organic growth before scaling internationally
• [49:13] Angie & Dan’s advice to their younger selves

Tone and Language

The conversation is friendly, accessible, and candor-driven—advice is given with empathy and encouragement. Angie and Dan are authentic in acknowledging both the highs and lows, reinforcing that entrepreneurial success is neither easy nor fast. The call-in founders are earnest, and the overall mood is practical but optimistic.

Summary Takeaways

1. Stay true to your values: Don’t compromise mission or product integrity for the sake of growth or funding; aligned investors do exist.
2. Founder self-care: Avoid sacrificing physical and emotional health with endless work—balance creates longevity.
3. Grassroots & local growth: Build community, demo in person, and only scale to mass markets when the foundation is solid.
4. Amplify founder stories: Especially in stigma-laden or niche categories, founder vulnerability and authenticity are effective sales tools.
5. Packaging matters: As retail grows, clear, instantly communicative packaging is key—distance from founder means it must “sell itself.”
6. Organic, patient scaling: Resist the temptation to do everything everywhere; dominate your local or initial market, then thoughtfully expand.