Joe Ariel is the founder and CEO of Goldbelly, the e-commerce marketplace that ships iconic regional dishes from more than 1,000 restaurants and food makers to doorsteps across the United States. A serial entrepreneur who previously led Eats.com and Delivery.com, Ariel built Goldbelly out of a simple frustration - the best food in America rarely leaves the town where it is made. In 2026 he was named Official Food Curator of America's 250th anniversary, leading the 'Taste of America250' program and a national storytelling project to define the canon of American cuisine.
Matt Beaton is CEO of Mike's Hot Honey, the Brooklyn-based chili-infused honey brand he built with college friend Mike Kurtz. He joined in 2015 when the company was pulling in $100,000 a year, and grew a one-SKU business into a roughly $40 million operation stocked in more than 30,000 retail stores and 3,000 restaurants. He came out of brand-management jobs at Wrigley and PUR Water and an MBA from Kellogg, and now runs the classic case study for what happens when you refuse to launch a second product.