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Mar 4, 2025 · 30m · the-pitch

#95 You Asked. Investors Answered. Now What?

Josh Muccio · 9m spoken Chris Murphy · 2m spoken Daniel Melendez · 2m spoken Max Gibson · 2m spoken Laura Alotaibi · 1m spoken Dan Brown · 1m spoken Ben Snyder · 1m spoken Phil Nadel · 27s spoken Charles Hudson · 26s spoken
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Host Josh Muccio and producer Max Gibson follow up with startup founders five months into the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how investor advice held up against the realities of economic disruption and business pivots.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 39.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Josh as informed peer 1.6 Guest teaching 1.6 Guest disagreement 0.8 Josh pushing back 1.2
05100:0010:0020:0030:001:09–5:36 · Josh as informed peer 1/10 Revisiting Pandemic Startup Struggles and Survival Josh and Max follow up with Ben Snyder of Lumineux Chocolate. Ben shares how virtual chocolate tastings helped grow sales during the lockdown, creating an entirely amicable and supportive conversation.5:38–10:53 · Josh as informed peer 2/10 Venues and More Navigates Virtual Celebrations Josh interviews Laura Alotabi about her virtual party bookings, pointing out that the initial investor excitement did not translate to substantial sales. Laura defends the long-term concept while acknowledging bookings remain low.10:54–16:22 · Josh as informed peer 2/10 Bruella's Adapts with Cautious In-Store Protocols Chris Murphy explains why he consciously chose not to follow the investors' recommendation to pivot to third-party delivery apps. He breaks down why coffee and crepes do not work on DoorDash compared to full-scale restaurants.16:22–23:18 · Josh as informed peer 2/10 Teaser for Uno Punto Cinco and Mid-Roll Daniel Melendez explains how he made his staffing service free to help struggling waiters despite draining his own savings. Josh asks direct questions about whether pausing the startup to take a job feels like failure.23:23–29:17 · Josh as informed peer 1/10 Founder Shannon's Success and The Anti-Patent Stance Josh previews a subscriber episode detailing investor hostility toward software patents, followed by a casual segment where founder Dan Brown performs an original song on guitar.1:09–5:36 · Guest teaching 1/10 Revisiting Pandemic Startup Struggles and Survival Josh and Max follow up with Ben Snyder of Lumineux Chocolate. Ben shares how virtual chocolate tastings helped grow sales during the lockdown, creating an entirely amicable and supportive conversation.5:38–10:53 · Guest teaching 2/10 Venues and More Navigates Virtual Celebrations Josh interviews Laura Alotabi about her virtual party bookings, pointing out that the initial investor excitement did not translate to substantial sales. Laura defends the long-term concept while acknowledging bookings remain low.10:54–16:22 · Guest teaching 3/10 Bruella's Adapts with Cautious In-Store Protocols Chris Murphy explains why he consciously chose not to follow the investors' recommendation to pivot to third-party delivery apps. He breaks down why coffee and crepes do not work on DoorDash compared to full-scale restaurants.16:22–23:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 Teaser for Uno Punto Cinco and Mid-Roll Daniel Melendez explains how he made his staffing service free to help struggling waiters despite draining his own savings. Josh asks direct questions about whether pausing the startup to take a job feels like failure.23:23–29:17 · Guest teaching 1/10 Founder Shannon's Success and The Anti-Patent Stance Josh previews a subscriber episode detailing investor hostility toward software patents, followed by a casual segment where founder Dan Brown performs an original song on guitar.1:09–5:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Revisiting Pandemic Startup Struggles and Survival Josh and Max follow up with Ben Snyder of Lumineux Chocolate. Ben shares how virtual chocolate tastings helped grow sales during the lockdown, creating an entirely amicable and supportive conversation.5:38–10:53 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Venues and More Navigates Virtual Celebrations Josh interviews Laura Alotabi about her virtual party bookings, pointing out that the initial investor excitement did not translate to substantial sales. Laura defends the long-term concept while acknowledging bookings remain low.10:54–16:22 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Bruella's Adapts with Cautious In-Store Protocols Chris Murphy explains why he consciously chose not to follow the investors' recommendation to pivot to third-party delivery apps. He breaks down why coffee and crepes do not work on DoorDash compared to full-scale restaurants.16:22–23:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Teaser for Uno Punto Cinco and Mid-Roll Daniel Melendez explains how he made his staffing service free to help struggling waiters despite draining his own savings. Josh asks direct questions about whether pausing the startup to take a job feels like failure.23:23–29:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founder Shannon's Success and The Anti-Patent Stance Josh previews a subscriber episode detailing investor hostility toward software patents, followed by a casual segment where founder Dan Brown performs an original song on guitar.1:09–5:36 · Josh pushing back 0/10 Revisiting Pandemic Startup Struggles and Survival Josh and Max follow up with Ben Snyder of Lumineux Chocolate. Ben shares how virtual chocolate tastings helped grow sales during the lockdown, creating an entirely amicable and supportive conversation.5:38–10:53 · Josh pushing back 2/10 Venues and More Navigates Virtual Celebrations Josh interviews Laura Alotabi about her virtual party bookings, pointing out that the initial investor excitement did not translate to substantial sales. Laura defends the long-term concept while acknowledging bookings remain low.10:54–16:22 · Josh pushing back 1/10 Bruella's Adapts with Cautious In-Store Protocols Chris Murphy explains why he consciously chose not to follow the investors' recommendation to pivot to third-party delivery apps. He breaks down why coffee and crepes do not work on DoorDash compared to full-scale restaurants.16:22–23:18 · Josh pushing back 2/10 Teaser for Uno Punto Cinco and Mid-Roll Daniel Melendez explains how he made his staffing service free to help struggling waiters despite draining his own savings. Josh asks direct questions about whether pausing the startup to take a job feels like failure.23:23–29:17 · Josh pushing back 1/10 Founder Shannon's Success and The Anti-Patent Stance Josh previews a subscriber episode detailing investor hostility toward software patents, followed by a casual segment where founder Dan Brown performs an original song on guitar.

speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Josh 79.1% · guest 20.9%0:00 · Josh 79.1% · guest 20.9%3:00 · Josh 27.6% · guest 72.4%3:00 · Josh 27.6% · guest 72.4%6:00 · Josh 26.1% · guest 73.9%6:00 · Josh 26.1% · guest 73.9%9:00 · Josh 37.9% · guest 62.1%9:00 · Josh 37.9% · guest 62.1%12:00 · Josh 13.9% · guest 86.1%12:00 · Josh 13.9% · guest 86.1%15:00 · Josh 28.6% · guest 71.4%15:00 · Josh 28.6% · guest 71.4%18:00 · Josh 21.2% · guest 78.8%18:00 · Josh 21.2% · guest 78.8%21:00 · Josh 65% · guest 35%21:00 · Josh 65% · guest 35%24:00 · Josh 72.4% · guest 27.6%24:00 · Josh 72.4% · guest 27.6%27:00 · Josh 17.4% · guest 82.6%27:00 · Josh 17.4% · guest 82.6%30:00 · Josh 0% · guest 0%30:00 · Josh 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:41 Chris rejects delivery app premise

Chris explicitly contradicts the investors' advice, explaining that delivery apps would destroy the customer experience and economics that make his cafe viable.

 Hardest push from Josh ▶ 21:22 Josh presses Daniel on startup failure

Josh directly challenges Daniel on whether taking an outside corporate job to survive represents an admission of defeat for his venture.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:41 Chris breaks down boutique cafe economics

Chris educates the host on why high-margin delivery platforms suited for large commercial kitchens fail for small artisanal coffee and crepe shops.

 Josh holds their own ▶ 8:12 Josh cuts through virtual event optimism

Josh cuts through the optimistic spin by directly noting that despite the excitement in the original pitch, the actual pivot yielded only three bookings.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicJosh as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementJosh pushing backWhy
Revisiting Pandemic Startup Struggles and Survival 1100 Josh and Max follow up with Ben Snyder of Lumineux Chocolate. Ben shares how virtual chocolate tastings helped grow sales during the lockdown, creating an entirely amicable and supportive conversation.
Venues and More Navigates Virtual Celebrations 2212 Josh interviews Laura Alotabi about her virtual party bookings, pointing out that the initial investor excitement did not translate to substantial sales. Laura defends the long-term concept while acknowledging bookings remain low.
Bruella's Adapts with Cautious In-Store Protocols 2321 Chris Murphy explains why he consciously chose not to follow the investors' recommendation to pivot to third-party delivery apps. He breaks down why coffee and crepes do not work on DoorDash compared to full-scale restaurants.
Teaser for Uno Punto Cinco and Mid-Roll 2102 Daniel Melendez explains how he made his staffing service free to help struggling waiters despite draining his own savings. Josh asks direct questions about whether pausing the startup to take a job feels like failure.
Founder Shannon's Success and The Anti-Patent Stance 1111 Josh previews a subscriber episode detailing investor hostility toward software patents, followed by a casual segment where founder Dan Brown performs an original song on guitar.

Statements from this episode (6)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Snyder: Lumineux Chocolate is growing 50% month-over-month
“We have been growing 50% month over month.”
Ben Snyder Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 4:41
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hudson: Virtual Events Could Remain a Key Business Line Post-Pandemic
“Like even when things return to normal, if you can crack this digital piece, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up becoming a chunk of your business, even once things snap back to normal.”
Charles Hudson Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 6:36
Disclosure
Alotabi: Venues and More Only Secured Three Virtual Bookings
“You know, to be honest, we only had three bookings through the site.”
Laura Alotaibi Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 7:53
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Phil Nadel: Small restaurants will struggle as post-COVID dining fear persists
“So first, I think there's going to be a trend where people are going to continue to be afraid to go into restaurants for some time, and I think small restaurants are going to have a really tough time making it.”
Phil Nadel Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 11:49
Disclosure
Chris Murphy: Bruella's sales dropped to roughly 25% during pandemic
“Yeah, I would say probably about 25% if not a little bit less, but it is working. I'm definitely staying afloat.”
Chris Murphy Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 15:40
Disclosure
Melendez: Uno Punto Cinco made waiter delivery job placement completely free
“Since the end of May, we decided to give it for free. Because we will not making enough revenue in order to change our lives or the life of Uno Punto Cinco. And probably for a waiter that I, that we charge 50 dollars of his first salary means a lot, so we deci…”
Daniel Melendez Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 19:50
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