Flatiron, Fridays
Featured founders

Every Friday, one founder.

Each week we feature one person building something. Here is who is coming up, and everyone we have featured so far.

Upcoming

Coming up on Friday.

August 14, 2026
This week
Gabriela Lawrence

Gabriela Lawrence

Co-founder & Chief Brand Officer, Doce Mezcal

Gabriela is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Doce Mezcal, produced artisanally in the hills of Oaxaca alongside a third-generation, family-owned distillery led by Matriarch and Maestra Mezcalera Margarita Blas. Doce was founded by women who share a real appreciation for the history and the rituals mezcal brings to life, and who wanted more from what they were drinking. Gabriela leads the brand and sales side of the company, working through storytelling and live experiences with bartenders, distributors, and creative partners to build Doce as a premium mezcal made for sipping and just as good in a cocktail.

docemezcal.com @docemezcal LinkedIn
The archive

Previously featured.

August 7, 2026
Betsy Kaplan

Betsy Kaplan

Founder, Grief, Sweat & Tears

Betsy is the founder of Grief, Sweat & Tears (GST), a community-centered fitness experience for people navigating life after loss, recently featured in the New York Post and Fluent Mag. The idea is simple but intentional: GST partners with NYC fitness studios to host a workout class followed by a casual mingle. It is not therapy or a support group, just shared movement, release, and a space to connect with others who get it. Betsy founded GST in December 2025 and held its first event in January 2026. The concept was born from her own experience after losing her dad, Joel, to suicide in 2018, when movement became an essential part of her grief alongside therapy, a way to reconnect with her body, process emotion, and feel less alone.

July 24, 2026
Heather Morris

Heather Morris

Founder, AIIR

Heather is the founder of AIIR, a modern communications agency helping category-defining brands build influence at the intersection of wellness, performance, technology, and culture. Founded on the belief that the strongest brands are built through trust, community, and meaningful relationships, AIIR brings together strategic communications, partnerships, experiential, and performance marketing to help brands earn lasting relevance and become category leaders. Over the past decade, Heather has partnered with founders and brands including AG1, Eight Sleep, Fitt Insider, Hyperice, Life Time, Remedy Place, and WHOOP. Her approach to business is simple: do what you say you're going to do, show up consistently, and play the long game.

aiir.agency @aiir.agency
June 26, 2026
Bar Bruhis

Bar Bruhis

Co-founder, Boostcous

Bar is the co-founder of Boostcous, a high-protein, gluten-free couscous brand reinventing one of the world's oldest pantry staples for health-conscious eaters. After more than a decade building software for direct-to-consumer brands, including as GM at KnoCommerce, he went from supporting founders to becoming one, launching Boostcous from his own kitchen: high protein, high fiber, a meal in five minutes. He is also known for building in public, sharing the wins and the challenges of growing a consumer brand.

boostcous.com barbruhis.com @boostcous @barbruhis
June 19, 2026
Erin Barrett

Erin Barrett

Founder & CEO, Goldilocks

Erin is the founder and CEO of Goldilocks, a next-generation canned cocktail brand for a more intentional way to drink. A former McKinsey consultant and Stanford GSB graduate, she launched it after her own health journey led her to question the sugar and additives in most cocktails. Goldilocks reimagines the classics with real spirits, low sugar, and fewer calories, with flavors like Coffee-Tini and Blackberry Spritz.

drinkgoldilocks.com @drinkgoldilocks @erinbarrett1
June 12, 2026
Christina Zhang

Christina Zhang

Founder, OOZ Water

Christina is the founder of OOZ Water, bringing 100% organic birch water to North America. It is a single ingredient, pure birch sap drawn from trees during a short spring harvest, with no sugar, concentrates, or additives. She built OOZ to bring hydration back to its essentials, a quiet, sustainable everyday ritual.

oozwater.com @drinkooz @christinaxzhang
June 6, 2026
Kiki Couchman

Kiki Couchman

Founder, Get Sourmilk

Kiki left a career in private equity to build Sourmilk, a New York Greek yogurt made for gut health: thick, high in protein, and packed with clinically backed probiotics. She grew it from hand-delivering refrigerated jars around the city into a brand with a real following.

sourmilk.com @getsourmilk @couchwoman
May 29, 2026
Nilou Ghazizadeh

Nilou Ghazizadeh

Founder, Perdae

Nilou is the founder of Perdae, a wellness brand reimagining the daily vitamin as a clean, liquid supplement for immunity, skin, and overall health. Drawing on her experience building consumer brands, she set out to turn daily supplementation from a chore into a ritual people look forward to.

perdae.com @perdae_ @niloughaziza
May 22, 2026
Alex Tangen

Alex Tangen

Founder, KABIN

Alex is the founder of KABIN, a Nordic-inspired hospitality concept in New York that blends the warmth of Norwegian cabin culture with the community spirit of a London pub. Born to Norwegian parents and raised in London, she left a marketing career after Wharton to build a modern gathering place rooted in Nordic values. Since opening in 2024, KABIN has become a downtown destination for thoughtful cocktails, Scandinavian food, and community.

kabin.nyc @kabin.nyc @alextangen
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