The $100M Mushroom Founder: You Can Do What You Love and Build a Billion Dollar Empire

Capitalism.com with Ryan Daniel Moran

Capitalism.com

Entrepreneur, Amazon, Lifestyledesign, Investing, Startup, Ryandanielmoran, Finance, Cashflow, Freedomfastlane, Lifestyle, Business, Passiveincome, Financialfreedom, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 793 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I sit down with Tero Isokauppila, the $100M CEO and founder of Four Sigmatic, as he reveals why he’s starting over from scratch to build a billion-dollar biotech startup. We dive into his new company, HIRO — a plastic-eating mushroom innovation that could reshape the future of waste. Tero shares how he balances running a nine-figure business while launching a zero-to-one venture, why he’s raising millions in funding, and what it really takes to go from $100M to billions. You’ll hear the unfiltered realities of scaling, raising capital, leading a mission-driven company, and how to play the long game in entrepreneurship. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or just fascinated by game-changing innovations, this conversation will show you what it looks like when a $100M CEO bets big on the next billion.

Check out HIRO at: https://hirodiapers.com

Want to start your Road To $1M? Head to https://capitalism.com/playbook-yt

Transcript

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0:00.0	So how big does this vision get?
0:03.0	I mean, tens of billions of dollars in annualized revenue, but...
0:06.0	That sounds nice.
0:07.0	Taro Isacopola is the founder of Four-Sigmatic, which is a nine-figure brand that put mushrooms on the map.
0:15.0	When we, Four-Sigmatic created the original mushroom coffee 10 years ago, we were laughed at.
0:19.0	Today, it's a $2.6 billion industry.
0:22.4	In addition to being the CEO of a nine-figure brand, Taro is now building a startup.
0:28.0	Why are you starting over at zero? I don't know, because I'm stupid.
0:33.0	He and his team have developed a mushroom blend that eats plastic. In this episode,
0:39.0	Taro talks about his launch plan. He talks about funding the company. He talks about balancing
0:44.5	a nine-figure brand along with a startup while raising three kids. Do you think that you have
0:51.4	the chance to do something really special? Yeah, for sure.
0:55.9	It's working by our standards.
1:02.4	A mistake I've done over and over again that I would encourage you to avoid and be smarter than I am is like... Terro, Isocopola, you already have a $100 million business.
1:07.1	Why are you starting over at zero?
1:09.9	I don't know, because I'm stupid.
1:14.2	I guess at this point you're unhirable and institutionalized or something like that.
1:21.4	I can relate to that.
1:22.6	No.
1:23.0	But in more seriousness, it comes down to, you know, seeing a problem that was unsolved. And it's same with
1:30.2	books. Like you shouldn't, it doesn't make any sense to write a book. It's so much work, very little to
1:35.4	no money. And you should only write the book if you like can't sleep at night if you don't write
	...

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