High Stakes Growth

Shizu Okusa is the founder and CEO of Apothékary, a liquid herbal supplement brand that bridges Eastern medicine with modern Western science. Before then, she launched, scaled, and exited JRINK, a juice brand.


Expect to hear about:

– Losing a Co-Founder: Why her best friend's exit from JRINK was emotionally difficult and changed how she approaches partnerships.

– The Form Factor Bet: Why she built Apothékary on liquid tinctures when pills, powders, and gummies rule the supplement space.

– $1M a Month on TikTok: How TikTok Shop became one of Apothékary's top channels.

– AI's 12-18 Month Window: Why she gives AI tools that long to live up to the hype before widespread frustration sets in.

– The Long Game: How she closed $19M in 12 months while most investors chased AI.


Find Shizu on:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shizu-okusa-87a25415/

What is High Stakes Growth?

High Stakes Growth® takes you inside the boldest decisions behind today’s most exciting consumer brands. We bring you candid conversations with the founders and CMOs who built them—unpacking the high-stakes moments, tough calls, and game-changing strategies that made these brands what they are today. No fluff. No surface-level insights. Just real stories from the leaders who made it happen. Hosted by Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd, they bring a combined four decades of consumer brand expertise to these conversations.