It probably doesn’t come as too big of a surprise that cowboy boots aren’t typically sold online. So where is the modern cowboy supposed to shop? This week we’re talking to a founder who carved out a DTC market for western wear. Paul Hedrick, the founder of Tecovas, joins Dom and Becca to discuss the marketing strategy they came up with to change the perception of shopping for cowboy boots online and how the company has expanded to brick and mortar stores.

In this conversation they cover:

• How social media played a big role in the early days of tecovas
• The challenges of modernizing such an old-school industry
• Fundraising when DTC was almost a dirty word.

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This week on Found, we have an interview from TechCrunch's Strictly VC event in DC. Becca sat down with Steve Case, the founder of AOL to discuss policy, innovation, and AI. Case, now the founder of Revolution Ventures, told the live audience that open access not only helped his company back in the 90s but is also why the internet was able to progress in the way that it did. Regulators should aim for the same goal with AI policy despite the potential risks. He argues that opening up access to horizontal AI players like OpenAI and Google would also help expand AI away from being concentrated on the coasts.

(0:00) Introduction

(1:29) AI regulation compared to the internet’s early days

(6:20) Supporting AI startups outside the traditional hugs

(11:49) AI Policy and the innovation economy

(16:40) Entrepreneurship and job creation in the US

Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each

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Many pots and pans on the market are coated in teflon, a poisonous chemical that can be harmful when it gets too hot. Luckily, there is an answer on the market — Caraway, a home goods brand that touts itself as being non-toxic but still high quality. Jordan Nathan founded the company after his own experience with Teflon poisoning that left him searching for a better — and healthier option. On this week’s episode of Found, Dom and Becca are joined by Nathan to discuss how he built a brand around aesthetically pleasing non-toxic home goods as we continue to dive into DTC companies.

In this conversation they discussed:

• Why being the last brand to fundraise can be a benefit to the company
• Sticking to the plan to bring Caraway to retail
• The product launch failure that almost killed the company before it started

(0:00) Introduction

(3:36) Creating non-toxic cookware

(7:31) Launching the brand

(13:05) Caraway Brand Strategy

(16:44) Expanding to new categories

(20:49) Influencer marketing

(25:25) Product launch failures

(29:20) Host discussion

Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each

Connect with us:

• On Twitter
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• Via email: found@techcrunch.com