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The Top Global Venture & Business Podcast
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Conversations with billionaires, unicorn founders, and funders.
Hosted by Sarah Chen-Spellings, Billion Dollar Moves examines how enduring companies — and the capital behind them — are built. Filmed live across global innovation hubs—from Silicon Valley to Singapore—it’s where capital meets conviction, and the conversations catalyze action.
Trusted by governments, family offices, and institutional investors, Billion Dollar Moves doesn’t just talk about the future—it helps build it.
Conversations with billionaires, unicorn founders, and the world’s leading funders.
Hosted by Sarah Chen-Spellings, a global investor and entrepreneur, Billion Dollar Moves examines how enduring companies — and the capital behind them — are built.
Through long-form conversations, the show explores decision-making under uncertainty, capital allocation, and the inflection points that shape category-defining businesses. From early platform backstories to allocator frameworks used across private markets, the focus is on judgment, incentives, and long-term value creation — beyond headlines and hype.
New episodes weekly.
Built for those who take the long view.
Billion Dollar Moves is proud to be part of the Hubspot Podcast Network with 10 million downloads a month as a group.
We’re back—kicking off our 2026 season live from SXSW Austin with the Ayana Foundation.
Featuring:
Allison Ellsworth on scaling Poppi from kitchen experiment to a $1.95B sale to Pepsi;
Rachel Roy on creative control, brand ownership, and navigating legal battles;
Theresa Fette on the identity shift after exit—and choosing yourself over the title.
From Shark Tank moments to hard decisions behind the scenes, this is a candid look at what happens after the spotlight.
If you’re building, scaling, or thinking about your next move—this one’s for you.
Timestamps/Key Takeaways
00:00 Panel Introduction: Women of the New Frontier
01:40 Meet the Panelists: Origins in Soda, Fashion, and FinTech
04:14 The Poppy Story: From Oil & Gas to Probiotic Soda
06:16 Launching in a Pandemic: The Rebrand and the Power of TikTok
09:19 Why Embarrassment is a Secret Weapon for Success
10:20 Rachel Roy on 25 Years of Creative-First Design
12:22 Lessons from a Namesake Brand: Why Names Matter in Business
15:25 Theresa Fette on Luck, Law, and the 50% Opportunity
18:28 Understanding Self-Directed IRAs and the Bitcoin IRA Pivot
21:05 Fighting for Your Name: Rachel Roy’s New York Supreme Court Battle
25:26 The Shark Tank Turning Point: Getting the Deal with Rohan Oza
27:14 Founder Advice: Knowing Your Value and Staying the Face of the Brand
31:36 Negotiating the Exit: Turning a $27M Offer into $100M
34:48 Choosing Partners: Aligning Core Values and Saving Your Soul
37:19 The Power of the Board Seat: Retaining Control vs. Valuation
40:45 Can You Scale and Stay Authentic? The Future of Poppy and Pepsi
43:08 The Identity Crisis After an Exit: Life as an Intuitive Leader
48:42 Audience Q&A: What Investors Really Look for in a Founder
51:21 Testing for Resilience: The Number One Marker for Success
53:14 Advice to a Younger Self: Navigating Stress, Lawsuits, and Motherhood
56:04 Final Takeaways: Why Failure is Inevitable and Fun is Fuel
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About the speakers
Allison Ellsworth is the founder of Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand she scaled from her home kitchen to a massive $1.95 billion exit to Pepsi.
Rachel Roy is a world-renowned designer and the founder of her namesake brand, Rachel Roy Design, who has spent over 25 years navigating the complexities of creative control and brand ownership.
Theresa Fette a serial entrepreneur and tax attorney who pioneered the self-directed IRA space in FinTech, successfully exiting three companies and currently leading Bitcoin IRA and Digital Trust.
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Billion Dollar Moves Podcast | The Top Global Venture & Business Podcast for Founders & Funders | Backed by HubSpot Podcast Network
Conversations with billionaires, unicorn founders, and the world’s leading funders.
Hosted by Sarah Chen-Spellings, Billion Dollar Moves examines how enduring companies — and the capital behind them — are built.
Through long-form conversations, the show explores decision-making under uncertainty, capital allocation, and the inflection points that shape category-defining businesses. From early platform backstories to allocator frameworks used across private markets, the focus is on judgment, incentives, and long-term value creation — beyond headlines and hype.
New episodes weekly.
Built for those who take the long view.
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast Website | Watch on Youtube | Join the Community
FOLLOW SARAH:
In venture, every move can make—or break—a billion-dollar outcome.
Panu Maulaheimo
- "We've worked with Sarah & her team to promote investing in and from Helsinki, leveraging ad spots and a sponsored series of episodes showcasing our nation's best unicorn founders and funders. Sarah's compelling storytelling combined with her targeted reach has resulted in an oversubscribed program for international investors. This was our second year working with her, and we are excited to continue working with her."
Monsha’at
- "Sarah Chen-Spellings brought her signature energy and commanding presence to Biban 2024, making her the ideal host and moderator alongside the Shark, Robert Herjavec. Her deep insights into investing in innovation and women-led ventures resonated powerfully with our audience of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and global investors. With her polished media expertise and natural ability to engage across cultures, she elevated the event, ensuring impactful takeaways and amplifying our reach across platforms. We were honored to have a globally renowned name join our stage, and we are excited to continue to work with her to drive entrepreneurship in our country and beyond."
Ann Cairns
- "We at Mastercard are delighted to be working with Beyond the Billion to address the massive gender venture funding gap holding women innovators back. Too much of our world was designed without women in mind and without women involved. Shelly, Sarah, and their team have done an excellent job of raising awareness about this issue and creating a network of VCs pledged to do more by investing in female-founded startups to address the problem. Working with our team, they seamlessly created an impactful dialogue based on Mastercard's gender balance narrative."
Why Our Sponsors Love Working With Us
This show is about unfiltered conversations about success, failure, fear and courage, in the pursuit of the next big thing in tech and venture.
From boardroom power plays to investor backchannels, you’ll hear the untold stories behind iconic companies like YouTube, Canva, and Vimeo, and go inside the minds of those moving capital at firms like Sequoia, Lightspeed, and beyond.
Whether you’re chasing your first $10M—or your next billion—this show is your front-row seat to how the smartest founders and funders win. Think raw, unfiltered, no-BS insight—designed to help you move faster, smarter, and bolder.
This isn’t just another business podcast. This is your billion-dollar playbook.
Your front-row seat to how the smartest founders and funders win. Think raw, unfiltered,no-BS insight—designed to help you move faster, smarter, and bolder.
Disclaimer
This podcast is an expression of personal opinion and does not represent the opinion of the host Sarah Chen-Spellings (SCS) as an investor personally, her firm Beyond The Billion (BTB) or any company discussed. These discussions are for informational purposes only, including any mention of securities or venture funds; and does not constitute any investment, legal, tax advice. SCS or BTB may hold currently, or in the future, direct or indirect interests in the featured companies or funds. No guarantee of any kind is implied or possible where projections of future conditions are attempted.