Two hosts, one guest, no script
Maya reads the guest's financials in advance. Daniel reads their reviews. The conversation starts from what each of them found strange, which is why guests say it feels less like an interview than a long lunch.
Weekly founder interviews · recorded in Pilsen, Chicago
Founders on the record: the revenue, the layoffs, the lucky breaks.
Foundry Hour is a Tuesday-morning interview show about the people who run restaurants, machine shops and software companies. Maya Okafor and Daniel Reyes ask the questions a banker would ask over coffee: what did it cost, who said no, and what would you undo?
New episode every Tuesday at 6 a.m. Central. Average length 38 minutes.
Start with one of these
Six episodes our listeners send to friends. Press play to hear how a Foundry Hour conversation moves from the pitch to the part nobody planned.
Now playing · Episode 84The bakery that paid itself last0:00 / 41:00
- Episode 84 · 41 min · Teresa Whitlock, Whitlock BakeryThe bakery that paid itself lastTeresa Whitlock opened with $22,000 and a borrowed deck oven. She walks through the first nineteen months, line by line, including the winter she skipped her own salary.
- Episode 83 · 47 min · Marcus Bell, Bell PrecisionFifteen employees, one bad quarterMarcus Bell had to cut four jobs at his Cicero machine shop. He explains how he told the team, what the severance looked like and why two of them came back.
- Episode 82 · 36 min · Anjali Rao, PawprintWe built the app before we found the customerAnjali Rao spent a year on a scheduling tool for dog groomers and then learned that groomers do not want software. The pivot took eleven weeks and one angry email.
- Episode 81 · 52 min · Panel of three Chicago ownersWhat a landlord actually wants to hearThree restaurant owners compare lease terms, personal guarantees and the clause that nearly closed a taqueria in Logan Square.
- Episode 80 · 33 min · Noor Haddad, Haddad ClayPricing the thing you love makingCeramicist Noor Haddad raised her prices by 40 percent and sold more. She shares the spreadsheet and the awkward conversation with her first wholesale buyer.
- Episode 79 · 29 minListener mailbag: your worst advice storiesForty minutes of emails from listeners about the worst business advice they ever took, read aloud with commentary from both hosts.
An interview show that respects your commute
Every episode is planned, recorded and cut by the same three people, so the show sounds the same in March as it did in October.
Edited for pace, never for truth
We remove coughs, dead air and the third retelling of the same story. We never cut an answer to make a guest sound better or worse.
Show notes with the receipts
Every episode page lists the numbers mentioned, the books and tools recommended and a full transcript within a day.
Full video on YouTube
Three cameras, the same raw audio. Watch the faces when someone says what their rent was.
The two people on the microphones
Maya spent eleven years as a business reporter. Daniel ran a coffee roastery before he ran out of patience for meetings.
- Maya OkaforCo-host. Former business reporter, always asks for the spreadsheet.
- Daniel ReyesCo-host. Sold his roastery in 2022, asks what went wrong.
Sponsor rates, published
Our listeners are owners, operators and the people who work for them. Every read is recorded by a host who has used the product for at least two weeks.
What listeners and sponsors write to us
“I opened my second location after the Whitlock Bakery episode. Hearing someone say out loud that year one is supposed to be ugly saved me from quitting in February.”
“Most business shows end with a motivational quote. Foundry Hour ends with the guest's rent figure, and that is why I forward it to my staff.”
“Our promo code was redeemed 214 times in four weeks. The hosts asked us hard questions before they agreed to read the ad, which our customers noticed.”
Book a slot or pitch a guest
Tell us what you sell or who you would like us to meet. Maya answers sponsor questions within two business days, Daniel handles guest pitches on Fridays.
Questions we get from listeners
Where can I listen to Foundry Hour?
Everywhere podcasts live: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast and our RSS feed. Video versions are on YouTube the same morning.
How long is a typical episode?
Between 30 and 50 minutes. The mailbag episodes run shorter and the panel episodes run longer. Chapter markers let you skip to the part you came for.
Do guests get to see questions or edit the episode?
Guests get a topic outline, never the questions. Nobody approves the edit, though we will fix a wrong figure or a mispronounced name if they tell us within 48 hours.
How do you decide who to interview?
We look for owners who will share real numbers, whether the business is thriving or struggling. A famous name helps less than a good story about a hard decision.
Can I get transcripts?
Yes. Each episode page carries a full transcript and a short list of the figures mentioned, usually published within a day.
Are the sponsor reads labelled?
Always. Reads are spoken in the hosts' own words and marked on the episode page, and we turn down sponsors whose products we would not recommend to a friend.