Ep30: Al Borz — Flushable Innovation, Startup Resilience, and Building a Global Consumer Brand

From London to Buffalo, from a pub napkin sketch to winning 43North — Al Borz shares the decade-long journey behind Twipes, the world’s first fully biodegradable, truly flushable wipe. In this episode, John and Al dive into R&D breakthroughs, fundraising with no safety net, surviving early failures, and what it means to build a mission-driven startup in a massive legacy industry.
Al also opens up about leadership transformation, culture fit, the emotional weight of being a founder, and the exciting future of Twipes as they prepare new product lines and scale into the U.S. market. A powerful conversation for founders, operators, and anyone obsessed with innovation.
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Chapters
00:00 — Intro
02:00 — How Twipes Started
06:00 — Microplastics Problem Explained
10:00 — Passion vs. Money in Entrepreneurship
14:00 — R&D and Early Product Failures
18:00 — Fundraising and Telling Everyone Your Idea
22:00 — Applying to 43North (5 Attempts)
26:00 — Hiring, Culture Fit, and Avoiding Toxic Teams
32:00 — Leadership Evolution & Tough Conversations
38:00 — Future of Twipes: New Product Lines
45:00 — Buffalo, Running, and Mental Health
49:00 — Advice to 21-Year-Old Al