Meet The HIBT Fellows: Katie Mitchell & Celena Gill

How I Built This · 13 May 2021 · 23m

What this episode covers

Katie Mitchell and her mother Katherine co-founded Good Books, a mobile bookstore in Atlanta that centers Black authors and brings literature to communities through pop-ups and book clubs. In Washington, D.C., Celena Gill and her three sons, Collin, Ryan, and Austin, launched Frères Branchiaux, a home fragrance company that began with handmade candles and scaled to seven-figure revenue through retail partnerships and a dedicated warehouse. Both founders discuss their family-driven origins, the importance of brand storytelling, and their plans to use a $50,000 fellowship grant to fund physical expansion: Mitchell aims to build a flagship bookmobile, while Gill plans to purchase a warehouse and adjacent homeless training center.

Mentioned

Companies
U.S. Bank, NPR, Macy's, Target
Products
Good Books, Frères Branchiaux
Also
Made in DC, Market 7

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 35m

    Founder Feature: Emmanuel Waters and Courtney Tucker of Old Hillside Bourbon

    Emmanuel Waters and Courtney Tucker, co-founders of Old Hillside Bourbon Company, discuss bootstrapping their premium spirit brand for six years to tell Black history through products like Last Ride Rye, Trifecta, and Harlem Hellfighters. They explain how leveraging stories of Black jockeys and the Harlem Hellfighters helped them break records as the fastest-selling bourbon in North Carolina despite facing significant barriers in a $40 billion industry where Black ownership is less than 1%. The founders emphasize their commitment to quality and community, aiming to be the best bourbon period rather than just the best Black-owned brand, while navigating a crowded market with limited capital.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 30m

    Founder Feature: Tabi and Meena Hoshmand of Tursh

    Tabi and Meena Hoshmand, co-founders of Tursh, discuss bootstrapping their Afghan-inspired green chutney brand from their respective homes in New York and Los Angeles. They detail the product's development based on their mother's recipe, the strategic decision to hire an external designer to translate their cultural vision into commercial packaging, and their cautious, slow-and-steady approach to scaling into boutique retail. The sisters also reflect on the emotional journey of reconnecting with their heritage and the operational realities of running a two-person, side-hustle CPG business.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 33m

    Founder Feature: Becca Wright of Piedmont Pennies

    Becca Wright, founder of Piedmont Pennies, explains how she turned her grandfather's North Carolina cheese cracker recipe into a bootstrapped CPG brand now sold in 35 states. She details the decision to self-manufacture to protect product quality, describing the transition from hand-pinch production to semi-automated packaging and the challenges of finding affordable commercial real estate. Wright also discusses her retail strategy, focusing on boutique and gifting channels rather than mass grocery, and her use of grants to fund early equipment purchases.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 45m

    The Founder Fundraising Journey: Karl Franz Williams, Founder of Uncle Waithleys

    Karl Franz Williams, founder of Uncle Waithley's, details his journey from brand management at Procter & Gamble and Pepsi to launching a Caribbean-inspired ginger beer brand. He explains the critical need for dual fundraising pathways—growth capital and inventory credit—to survive beverage production minimums, which often require $100,000+ runs for 5,000 cases. Williams highlights how crowdfunding on StartEngine and winning $100,000 from Pharrell Williams' Black Ambition prize helped him navigate the 10x wealth gap in friends and family funding, while Whole Foods' investment provided crucial retail validation.

  • Thoroughly Considered · 49m

    134: Kevin Kelly Remains Undefeated

    Dan Provost, co-founder of Studio Neat, discusses his new custom guitar company, Offkilter Guitars, detailing the transition from hobbyist to small business, including sourcing parts from Warmouth and managing a fragmented manufacturing process. Myke Hurley shares insights from his successful Kickstarter campaign for 'Designed in California,' a historical podcast series with Jason Snell, explaining how pre-selling memberships helped fund ambitious production goals and overcome subscription fatigue.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.