The Entrepreneurs
A weekly deep dive into global business. Inspiring stories from startups to legacy brands in hospitality, design, fashion, and retail.
Latest Episodes
Backdrop
Caleb and Natalie Ebel believe that they can use the power of paint to reshape your home, with a transformational approach to the business of selecting, buying and using the product. This husband-and-wife team explain how and why they started on the journey to make buying paint a better informed…
Value Retail
Value Retail founder and chairman Scott Malkin calls in at Monocle’s Zürich HQ for a discussion with editorial director Tyler Brûlé. Picking up a conversation that they began in early 2020, Malkin reflects on retail, property, great brands and the status of luxury – and explains why he remains positive…
Hodinkee
Ben Clymer is the founder of Hodinkee, which began life as an online watch magazine but is now the leading platform for enthusiasts, collectors, novice buyers and anyone passionate about watch-making. In an industry dominated by heritage brands that are conservative by inclination and generally resistant to market challenges and…
Moscot
The eyewear brand was founded in New York more than 100 years ago by Hyman Moscot, who emigrated to the US from Eastern Europe in 1899. He began what his family describes as his own American dream by selling ready-to-wear spectacles from a pushcart. By 1915, having garnered a loyal…
De Tomaso
For more than 60 years, De Tomaso has been a name to stir the blood of automotive aficionados, racing enthusiasts and historians of everything from design to manufacturing and engineering. The ingenuity and innovations of its eponymous founder, and era-defining cars such as the Vallelunga, Mangusta and Pantera, have captivated…
Ghia
Melanie Masarin is the founder and CEO of Ghia, a non-alcoholic beverage brand inspired by Mediterranean aperitivo culture. Originally from Lyon in France and having spent summers along the Côte d’Azur, Masarin has a deep understanding of the best in food and drink. Meant to bring people together, Ghia’s first…
Koio
Johannes Quodt co-founded luxury shoe brand Koio with Chris Wichert in 2015. The company has made a huge mark with its Italian-made leather sneakers and boots, which marry good design, sustainability, comfort and top craftsmanship. Last year it began sourcing all of its leather from suppliers that use regenerative farming…
Dai
Joanna Dai is founder and CEO of Dai, a B Corp-certified womenswear brand that the Orange County native launched in 2017. Having spent many long days in the office and on the road in nearly a decade of working for JP Morgan between New York and London, Joanna set out…
Prestat
Micaela Illy is the CEO of heritage chocolate brand Prestat. The London-based company, which was created by the inventor of the chocolate truffle, will celebrate its 120th anniversary this year. The brand was acquired by the Illy family in 2019. Micaela is the fourth generation of the iconic Italian coffee…
The best of ‘The Entrepreneurs’, part two
In the second part of our favourite interviews of 2021, we hear from Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky on how the turbulence of the pandemic has allowed the California-based company to get back to its roots and focus on being a better partner for cities. Plus: we meet Dr…
