Founders Project Movers and Shakers

THE MENTEE

Maya French

She co-founded Koia, a plant-based shake line that brought in $8.2 million in 2018—enough to land her company at No. 187 on Inc.’s 2019 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. This year, she expects revenue to quadruple.

THE MENTOR

Daymond John

Scrappiness, hustle, and a knack for creative marketing propelled him from the streets of Queens in New York City to the fashion world as the founder of Fubu—and later to Hollywood as a judge on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank.

“Our numbers in conventional retailers aren’t as strong as our numbers in natural. They’re two different customers.”
—MAYA FRENCH

In this mentor-mentee pairing of our Founders Project, Fubu clothing founder and Shark Tank star Daymond John sits down with Maya French, co-founder of the plant-based protein-drink brand Koia.

French is at a crucial moment in her company’s growth. She and co-founder Dustin Baker built the brand by targeting “natural”