This month, we will be taking a brief hiatus as we prepare to launch a new podcast series, Secrets of Enterprising Families, airing in November.
In this series, co-hosts Eric Czepyha and Nike Anani will interview experts on the strategies successful families have used to transfer their values, wealth, and legacy to the next generation.
Join us back in November and December for new episodes of The Road to Why.

Our guest today is on a mission to revolutionize the advertising industry and the way Gen Z spends money and spends time with one another.

Sam Obletz is the co-founder of Claim, which he launched with his classmate Tap Stephenson while at Harvard Business School.

The Claim app seeks to build a new way for friends to connect and for brands to reward their customers. This is done not with more screen time, likes and reposts, but through fostering authentic, in-person connections and experiences among peers around a brand.

And investors have taken notice, including the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital which announced its partnership with Claim last year.

In today’s episode, Sam will dive into Claim and share his insights on entrepreneurship, raising capital, and generational attitudes towards spending, among other topics.

In the episode we will learn:

• (2:01) – How did Sam’s upbringing influence his work ethic?
• (3:15) – How did Sam catch the entrepreneurial bug?
• (5:27) – What did Sam’s parents do to help him on his business journey at the age of 12?
• (7:35) – What was the journey like from Sam’s early business ventures to setting up Claim?
• (10:29) – What problem does Claim solve?
• (13:12) – What’s the long-term opportunity for Claim?
• (14:46) – How does Sam approach team building and leadership?
• (16:09) – What would Sam change if he could turn back the clock?
• (18:06) – What advice does Sam have for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital?
• (21:01) – What insight does Sam have on Gen Z spending habits?
• (23:35) – What kind of impact does Sam want Claim to have on the world?
• (25:56) – What is the why behind Sam's entrepreneurial mindset and work ethic?

What if your business could be owned by its own purpose?

In today’s episode, our guests discuss the emerging trend of business owners transferring ownership of their business to a purpose trust. Many business owners have begun to explore this alternative ownership structure as a means of preserving the values of their business, and ensuring that their business is not sold, long after the business owner is no longer around.

Natalie Reitman-White is the principal at Purpose Owned, a consultancy for ownership succession planning. In 2018, Natalie pioneered one of the first purpose trust ownership transitions in the U.S. with Organically Grown Company.

Ari Weinzweig is co-founder of Zingerman's Community of Businesses, which consists of various food-related companies including Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2022, with the help of Natalie, Ari and his business partner transitioned ownership of the Zingerman’s brand to a purpose trust.

In the episode we will learn:

(4:21) – What was the road to Zingerman’s like for Ari?
(7:08) – How did Natalie find her way to Organically Grown?
(10:02) – What interested Natalie and Ari in Perpetual Purpose Trusts?
(17:73) – Why was preserving the legacy of Zingerman’s important to Ari?
(21:32) – How can a business owner generate liquidity when they transfer their business to a Perpetual Purpose Trust?
(26:50) – Can Perpetual Purpose Trusts adapt to changing circumstances?
(29:24) – Who can sit on a trust committee?
(31:49) – What is the process and cost of transferring to a Perpetual Purpose Trust structure like?
(34:20) – Where can business owners start if they want to adopt a Perpetual Purpose Trust structure?
(36:51) – What is the ‘why’ that drives Natalie and Ari?