Episode 45

From Software to Candy w/ Ben Hindman (Ep #45)

April 17, 2026

00:39:20

Ben Hindman spent a decade building Splash, a venture-backed event marketing software that powered events for Salesforce, Facebook, Amazon, and Spotify. He sold it to Cvent/Blackstone last year. Now he's selling lollipops.This is the story of why a successful software founder walked away from bits and is building with atoms - starting with the world's first functional candy: Le Lick.What you'll take away:- Why the move from software to CPG is a "full 180-degree flip" - and why 45-day iteration cycles change everything about how you build- The shadow side of being an "empath CEO": when people - pleasing quietly becomes bad leadership, and how Ben's wife became his sharpest advisor- A counter-intuitive lesson: 60% of people don't like cherry, 25% don't like honey, 50% don't like coconut - and why building a product means accepting that "your purple is not my purple"- How a self-described dyslexic/ADD learner built three regularly-scheduled book clubs to hack his own brain- Why Ben thinks momentum - not strategy, not product - is the single most important thing a founder hasChapters:00:00 Cold open - "I am a recovering tech CEO"00:30 Splash: from event planner to software CEO, and what it looked like at its peak04:50 Selling to Cvent/Blackstone - and why the sale was actually a relief06:20 Treating business like a full-body art project (blessing and curse)09:55 Introducing Le Lick: the world's first functional candy12:45 The flavors - and what they taught Ben about taste buds17:40 The CPG reality check: $11K in sticks from China and 45-day iteration cycles21:50 Building the team: equity, no cliff, and hiring for mission23:50 Momentum as a superpower ("I call it Benergy")27:20 The shadow side of being an empath CEO28:45 Why his wife is his best advisor - and why it took until 38 to learn30:00 The hack: making your life and your work indistinguishable32:00 Fatherhood lessons (from someone who didn't want kids)34:30 A learning system for a brain that hates reading36:15 What Ben's changed his mind about recently🔗 Links:- Le Lick: https://enjoylelick.com- Ben on Instagram: @bennydotevents- Le Lick on Instagram: @enjoylelick📬 Follow Curiosity Class:YouTubeSpotifyApple PodcastsInterested in sponsoring Curiosity Class? Curiosityclasspod@gmail.com

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Episode Notes

Ben Hindman spent a decade building Splash, a venture-backed event marketing software that powered events for Salesforce, Facebook, Amazon, and Spotify. He sold it to Cvent/Blackstone last year. Now he's selling lollipops. This is the story of why a successful software founder walked away from bits and is building with atoms - starting with the world's first functional candy: Le Lick. What you'll take away: - Why the move from software to CPG is a "full 180-degree flip" - and why 45-day iteration cycles change everything about how you build - The shadow side of being an "empath CEO": when people - pleasing quietly becomes bad leadership, and how Ben's wife became his sharpest advisor - A counter-intuitive lesson: 60% of people don't like cherry, 25% don't like honey, 50% don't like coconut - and why building a product means accepting that "your purple is not my purple" - How a self-described dyslexic/ADD learner built three regularly-scheduled book clubs to hack his own brain - Why Ben thinks momentum - not strategy, not product - is the single most important thing a founder has Chapters: 00:00 Cold open - "I am a recovering tech CEO" 00:30 Splash: from event planner to software CEO, and what it looked like at its peak 04:50 Selling to Cvent/Blackstone - and why the sale was actually a relief 06:20 Treating business like a full-body art project (blessing and curse) 09:55 Introducing Le Lick: the world's first functional candy 12:45 The flavors - and what they taught Ben about taste buds 17:40 The CPG reality check: $11K in sticks from China and 45-day iteration cycles 21:50 Building the team: equity, no cliff, and hiring for mission 23:50 Momentum as a superpower ("I call it Benergy") 27:20 The shadow side of being an empath CEO 28:45 Why his wife is his best advisor - and why it took until 38 to learn 30:00 The hack: making your life and your work indistinguishable 32:00 Fatherhood lessons (from someone who didn't want kids) 34:30 A learning system for a brain that hates reading 36:15 What Ben's changed his mind about recently 🔗 Links: - Le Lick: https://enjoylelick.com - Ben on Instagram: @bennydotevents - Le Lick on Instagram: @enjoylelick 📬 Follow Curiosity Class: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Interested in sponsoring Curiosity Class? Curiosityclasspod@gmail.com

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