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REAR VIEW MIRROR (RECENT EPISODES)

Big Break: $3M Is In the Cards

"We, with our own love of sports cards and coming from backgrounds of video games, FinTech, live video, We kind of put all our superpowers together and said, "Hey, we can build a unified platform of live e-commerce, but we're going to specifically target the sports card vertical first."

Chad Capellman spoke with Eric Doty, founder of the sports card box breaking app Loupe (pronounced “loop”). Fresh off announcing an initial $3M fundraising round, Doty talks about how past experiences working in radio, with Xbox, Minecraft and other ventures prepared him for the app, which bundles live streaming of sports card “box breaking,” micro-transactions, and online community in one app. He also speaks candidly about learning how to pitch to venture capitalists, what cards he’s personally seeking and why he’s not a huge fan of the comedy Silicon Valley.

Journey Shows He's No Poser

“Our company in particular never tried to sell a Sector 9 to skateboarders, from day one, our goal was to sell them to everybody else. In that sense, you know, I guess in our minds, we were somewhat freedom fighters for making skateboarding fun and available to everybody.”

In this episode of the Views From The Bus Podcast, Bob talks with Steve Lake, the co-founder of Sector 9, a truly legendary brand and a fundamental part of the San Diego lifestyle. Steve shares his background on how he started the brand, and also gives advice to young entrepreneurs who are looking to convert their passion into a business.

HEADLINES ON OUR MIND

UCLA Gymnast Floors Viral Social Media Audience Again

A year after going viral with a routine that landed her on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis kicked off the season with another viral that was anything but routine, Pop Sugar reports. Check out our previous interview with Dennis' former coach, Valorie Kondos Field, who spoke to Laurenn Cutshaw about her 29-year career that included leading the Bruins to seven NCAA championship titles and 18 Pac-12 championships.