it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. good morning. coming up on msnbc's, "your business," have you seen one of these? it's the veggie burger that bleeds. how they got their food into a thousand restaurants nationwide. will this entrepreneur get the opportunity to pitch her friend finder app to bloggers? and the booming business of pampering pooches in five-star style. when it comes to making choices for your business, we have your back and your lunch. that's coming up next on "your business." ♪

>> msnbc "your business" is sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. "your business" is sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. hi, there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg. welcome to "your business," this show dedicated to helping your growing business. it has made headlines as the plant based burger that doesn't bleed. with chefs claiming their love for impossible foods on social media, diversity is one thing this company does right. how is this company getting those same customers coming back after the hype wears off. we take a bite into the company that is changing how the world thinks about meat.

♪ >> i love meatless burgers. i was the first one done. >> it looks like a burger. it feels like a burger and even tastes like a juicy beef burger. but -- >> if i wasn't told it wasn't meat, i wouldn't have known. it was delicious. >> this is the impossible burger, made of a completely plant based meat that has been taking the culinary world by storm. >> it's an incredible product. >> this alternative meat product was created by ceo of impossible foods, pat brown. he never set out to create a brand. >> i had no interest in going into business. zero is overstating it. i was not that interested in food. i was one of the least qualified people to do it.

>> a stanford medical professor while on sabbatical starting mulling over -- >> the use of animals as food production is, by far, the most destructive technology on earth. i quickly realized you are not going to try to change what people eat. it's not going to work. the only option was to figure out a much more sustainable way to produce the foods that people are going to continue to demand. >> so, in 2011, he traded his classroom for a laboratory where he got together a top secret team of scientists to work on finding the answer to one big question. just what is it that makes meat so tasty? they started with ground beef. >> the very first time we tested the prototype, it was characterized by polenta. >> he hung on to one thing.

>> we can get better every day. >> they had a prototype in hand and time to get it in front of consumers. they weren't interested in reaching people open to veggie burgers and other alternatives. >> the only people that matter is the hard core meat lover. they falsely assume delicious meat has to come from animals. to crack through that, we needed people who were not compromising components and whose livelihood depends on serving great meat, serving our product as meat. >> this company is mission based. >> our mission to replace the most destructive technology by creating the most diversive, nutritious, affordable, meat, fish and dairy in the world directly from plants. >> meat lovers are meat lovers.

pat and his team knew impossible foods would be a hard sell. instead of going directly to the consumer, they enlisted the help of top chefs known for their love of all things. >> we those professional chefs. they could take the impossible burger and ensure it would be delicious and delightful to consumers the first time. i'm a good home chef. i know i have messed up many a burger. we didn't want to take that risk. >> they started with david chang. >> david tried the burger, called it a game changer, reached for his mobile phone before i could stop it. that opened the door for people who follow great chefs. >> martin, the chief culinary officer for night life and food brands, including the umami burger. >> mind boggling in a way. you sort of didn't expect

something so real in front of you. this is real meat. >> this partnership is paying off on both sides. putting the impossible burger on the menu for the first time, they saw a lift in sales in 26% in a few weeks. >> we put a big marketing push behind it. i think people were excited, curious. it drove a lot of people to our restaurant. >> it made them curious, but the taste had them coming back. the impossible burger is one of the top three sellers. >> up to 75% of consumers were seeing it and are hard core meat eaters. it's driven great business for them. it's their core customer that keeps coming back, making it the best selling burger for weeks on end. it's why they launched several versions of it. >> they are making a tasty version, but more culinary

whizzes looking to create more impossible foods. >> great chefs love discovering something new and innovative. the undercurrent among chefs is well developed. they follow each other. a great hit suddenly, all the chefs that follow david chang are interested in trying the impossible burger. that's not just true with consumers in social media, it's true for chefs who make decisions on what to serve in the restaurants. >> it is served at more than 1600 locations, spanning every range from top dollar restaurants in napa valley to your local white castle/burger king. with the company's quest to replace animals by 2035, other cuts of meat may soon be on the table. >> we started with the impossible burger because of the

high bar for the american meat eater. now, we have permission with the consumer to pursue all the other products that are coming. we can do impossible fish. just the other day, i had a compelling impossible steak. the sky is the limit for this kind of technology. we are doing something different for this elevator pitch series. instead of having people pitch to potential investors, they are going to pitch to influencers. can they get people to write about them? it doesn't matter how great your company is, nobody knows. it's going fail. the stakes are real and they are big. we are in new york city. we did 75 million people. they have a conference. if the pitcher gets the heart emoji, they are going to get to blog her.

bog her conference in new york city and 3,000 influencers that could change the trajection of their company. let's see how our pitcher does. >> good to meet you. >> so nice to meet you, too. i have been playing with your app. it's amazing. >> thank you. >> what would it mean to get to speak in front of blog her? >> it would be huge. it's hard to get the word out. i love my app and would love for all these people fo know about the app and share it. >> how long have you been working on it? >> three years. >> have you pitched before? >> not really. >> i hope you have been practicing. >> yes. yes. >> you are going to be great. >> thank you. >> fantastic. she runs, she knows. she is the president of it. katie who has her own blog, but

across her social media channel, she reaches 500,000 people. >> incredible. >> you are going to do great. >> thank you. >> hi, i'm sarah. >> hi, sarah. i'm katie. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. i love music. i love festivals. i don't love spending half the day to find your friends. if your friends are like mine, they are bad at giving directions. i'm in the middle. i created a kids game that tells you whether you are getting warmer or cooler in direction. so, it's way more intuitive than looking at a map and a lot more fun. at the moment, $1.4 billion a year on music sponsorship and looking for ways to interact with concert goers. use it as a relevant, innovative

event. imagine using this to find a secret v.i.p. entry. right now, the app is free in the app store. right now, i'm looking for partners to take it to the next level. >> cool. >> all right. >> very cool. >> nice job. >> thanks. >> pitching influnlsers, what did you think of it, not as an idea, but as an idea you would write about. she is out here pitching to influencers to get them to write about it. >> i'm going to give you a second to ask any questions. >> you did a great job. i think it's a really cool idea. one place this could be cool for is theme parks, families and theme parks. myself, i am always losing my friends. new york city has great summer events, but really crowded. i would download this. in fact, i can, apparently. >> you can. it's free.

>> i do run an events series that is very large for women influni influencers. the pitch was tight. very tight. you know what you are saying. you went to strategy, which i love. i imagine you eventually might charge consumers. either way, it's fast to leverage an existing market base, which is brands that pay to get into events. >> the question is, not pitching to a partner, she is pitching to get people to write about her. she is going to want all of those influencers to write about her. i'm going to give you two these. >> okay. >> okay. >> i'm holding the cards here. >> moment of truth. >> are you going to blog her?

>> i really feel like the girls in the audience are going to engage. i feel like this is really going to be a very popular app. only trouble spot we saw, maybe, we are not sure how the tech works. tech has to be tight. it's got to be really good, but you can tighten that up. >> i'm going to add one thing. she can get everyone there to download it. >> you can create an event to get everyone to download it. >> with ticket sales. >> that is absolutely amazing. >> thank you so much. >> maybe i can find my children with it. >> they keep moving. awesome idea. >> thanks, both of you. not that many founders are experts in raising money.

frankly, you don't do it that often. it's not surprising that very smart people that were good at running their company make basic mistakes when raising capital. these are founding partners of the female founder fund and here to tell us whatnot to do. good to see both of you. >> thanks for having us. >> you are entrepreneurs turned investors. you have been on bothsides and have seen great successes. this is going to be great information. let's go through some of your points. do not pitch to the wrong investors. does this happen a lot? >> it's a basic piece of advice. >> sure. i would say it is something we find happens quite often and, ultimately, as an entrepreneur, when thinking of the fund raising, step one is understanding your landscape. who are investors interested in an industry you are focused on, what kind of backgrounds do they

have, are they excited about the space and making sure the leverage platforms like twitter and angel list to tap into that network so that ultimately when you get down to the fund raising process you are not wasting time on investors who aren't interested in the space and can't add value. >> what about talking to investors. you have a whole network coming to you saying, i know this isn't what you dorks but do you know anyone? >> let me give you the quick elevator pitch. >> a great way to build your network as an entrepreneur, especially if you are raising money for the first time. it is daunting to think, how do i meet these people. the first step is meeting one. if they are not the right fit, are there other people you are interested in introducing me to, interested in the industry and the stage my company is in. >> the second part is not

underelling your team. is that what people do? >> the point around that is, as investors, ultimately, across any stage, you are investing in people. of course you want to understand your business and economics, but more importantly, you want to know what drives you, why you are excited about the space, the skill set and how are you going to make this a massive success. >> they may change their business along the way. you need to know you are partnering with a smart team who can turn on a dime, if they need to. >> they are looking for things they are passionate about. >> how do you explain that in the pitch to you, how do you explain, hey, they are saying how great this company is and how big it is going to be and get across, by the way, if it doesn't work, i'm going to

change it? >> i think it's less about addressing that and understanding what is your background and how you tie that into the vision you have for the business. so, you know, the insights you have, what are you going to do from a team perspective to make sure you have the right kind of founding team member that is ensure success. ultimately, i think that, you know, resilience is a key piece of potentially doing it. are you committed to building something and have the flexibility to, you know, take a step back and reflect if this is not working, we may need to rethink the strategy. >> if i were an investor in your shoes, i would want to hear what failure did you have and how did you deal with it. you are going to have them along the way. you talk about not glossing over data. here is the best thing that can happen and here is the worst thing that can happen, do you like people to pitch you? >> we are looking for youds

success. you want entrepreneurs who are enmuse yastic about the business and see that billion dollar opportunity. at the same time, the understanding of data is important. we want to know you know how the business works, what drives revenue, how to reduce cost over time, understanding cost of customer acquisition. they are things that indicate to us that you spent time researching the ins and outs of the industry and how you can build a business that scales over time. >> finally, don't say you have no competitors. nobody has no competitors. i would add to this, don't say your market is everyone. right? i think they are two red lights that say you haven't thought very hard about this business. do you see that a lot? >> we do. we doch. when it comes to competition, it's not true that any company exists in a world where there's no competition. that indicates if you say that, you haven't spent enough time

thinking about it, you vice president se searched it. they can take that point and turn it around to show how thoughtful they have been about building the business, talking intelligently about competitors and why your company is going to do better. you have confidence and spend time and invest in building. >> that's almost the easiest way to sell your business, right? say here is the fact. here are the problems they are not addressing and here with why we are going to. >> right. >> it's great to get to pick your brains since you get to see so many companies. as i said, some very successful ones. thanks for stopping by. >> thanks for having us. a lot of dog owners consider their pets part of the family and send them to get pampers just like people or better at deluxe resorts. we went to check one out. >> reporter: americans have long

had a love aware with their dogs. the secret life of pets may surprise you. massages, blueberry facials and pawcures. >> it's become a big business across america. >> this is where they come for the spa treatment. traditional dog boarding and grooming to a new level. >> we try it on youtube.

facebook and -- rolled out a new line of furniture so you can have matching sofas. freshly cooked meals for your pooch. some calling it the blue apron of dog food. it's all natural. all them. >> a study found people with pets save a total of $12 billion a year in health care costs. >> everybody is looking to reward their pet more in human terms. everybody is finding that the benefits they are feeling, to feel loving and manage it. >> there is no short age of dog owners looking to show their pups. >> this is her disneyland.

she gets out of the car. she runs here. >> i brought here here for her birthday. >> what did she get to do for her birthday? >> she just got to play and got spoild. >> they say sit a small price to pay for all of that puppy love. when we come back, recent surveys show businesses are having a hard time recruiting talent. we'll tell you what you can do in the interview process so people want to work at your company. the line between work and life hasn't just blurred. it's gone. that's why you need someone behind you. not just a card. an entire support system. whether visiting the airport lounge to catch up on what's really important.

or even using those hard-earned points to squeeze in a little family time. no one has your back like american express. so no matter where you're going... we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it.

talk about the things you do that are fun and then talk about what you're doing when you're investing in the employee. they understand when they come to do you they will be built on over the course of the time that they work for you. >> we have now got to top two tips you need to know to help you grow your business. let's get their advice. she is the founder of beauty brand virtue lab. tony is the founder and ceo of luxury handbag designer. good to see both of you. >> beautiful bags, fantastic hair care products.

both of you guys started these from nothing. you have run big businesses as well. let's start with you. what's one thing you learned along the way? >> i raised a lot of money. so if you don't have to raise money don't raise money. if you do have to raise money make sure you build a really strong relationship. it ends up being something you have to be with. so i would really encourage people to do their due diligence if they are raising family office money it is a pretty intense relationship. >> i just did an interview. it will be on the podcast later on. with the founder they did more than a half billion dollars in revenue. never took a dime. i think it's interesting to see there's another way to grow a company and grow it large. it depends what you need to

grow. >> it is a cost of acquisition. getting traction and getting visibility is hard. i agree completely. if you can avoid it, i void it. do it with a sense of discipline and think of it like a marriage. everything can start out graechlt you want to do your diligence and find out deals that work well and didn't before you step into that. >> it is a two way street. >> your handbags, it's over there, i have to say over there in the studio. everyone is going crazy about them. they are beautiful. you have run many businesses. >> i have a nice little segway, perfect. >> and normal path. so what's one thing you learned? >> along all of those paths, if you have a long term vision choose everybody you surround yourself with wisely.

so not just your team and your retailing partners, the artisans that make our bags and everyone we associate ourselves with. i have found no matter how small the business or how large you want to grow you can only be as successful as the person that really provides the highest value and the last person in that's providing the newest value. if you combine all of the energy that are with you in business and that you're doing business with and it's a positive you'll keep growing expo thnentially. >> and how it we eeffects you. >> and that's near new york? >> i found if you let one negative energy in even no matter what it is worth financially it will effect everybody, your team, your partners and your customers. >> you have to avoid it. >> good to see both of you.

great advice for both of you. this week's your biz selfie, she runs a company called writing and wine. participants craft stories an use creativity sip chardonnays or merlots. take a selfie and send it to us at yourbusiness include the name of your company and the location. thank you for yoinijoining us. if you have questions or comments e-mail us, your business at msnbc.com. head over to msnbc.com/your business.

we put up everything from your show and then of course we are on digital and social media platforms as well. finally, check out our podcast. you download it for free where ever you get your podcast. we look forward to seeing you next time. until next time, remember, we make your business our business. it's pretty amazing out there. the world is full of more possibilities than ever before. and american express has your back every step of the way- whether it's the comfort of knowing help is just a call away with global assist. or getting financing to fund your business.

no one has your back like american express. so where ever you go. we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it. good morning. welcome to politics nation. this week we saw the nomination of brett kavanaugh to the supreme court of the united states. if there's one thing this year's supreme court has shown us is the difference it can show us in the progress or stagnation of our nation. president trump's pick of brett kavanaugh