Shows
Warm IntroThe Tech Founder Who Became America’s Best Chocolate MakerTodd Masonis makes the best chocolate in America—but he took an unexpected path to get there.Todd co-founded a startup with Sean Parker (yes, that Sean Parker from The Social Network). After selling it for over $150 million, he walked away from Silicon Valley to make chocolate in his friend’s garage.Seventeen years later, that experiment became Dandelion Chocolate—considered by many to be America’s best chocolate maker (not just a chocolatier, mind you).In this conversation, we talk about:– Building fast vs. crafting slow– What makes good chocolate truly good
2025-10-181h 07
Entrepreneurial Excellence PodcastHow Chocolate Stole the Heart of a Tech MillionaireIn this episode, we chat with Todd Masonis, Co-founder of Dandelion Chocolate, about his journey from tech entrepreneur to leading a craft chocolate movement. Todd shares his story of starting Plaxo, selling it to Comcast, and then diving into the world of chocolate-making with nothing but curiosity and determination.
Todd talks about the lessons he’s learned, from hiring the right people to building a company culture that truly reflects his values. He explains what success means to him, not just in terms of growth, but in creating something meaningful and long-lasting.
We also explore how...
2025-01-171h 09
Know What You See with Brian LoweryWine and Chocolate: Stories and Craft with Chris Gaither and Todd MasonisWine and chocolate may seem like simple pleasures, but for people like master sommelier Chris Gaither and Dandelion Chocolates co-founder Todd Masonis, they’re so much more. Chris sees wine as a way to bring people together to share stories and get in touch with the land and culture. Todd’s approach to chocolate focuses on traditional origins and fostering relationships with small farms. In Brian's conversations with both, we dive into how these everyday indulgences can connect us to people, places, history, and even ourselves.
2024-12-2436 min
Shopify Masters4 Ways to Run a DTC Company Like a Tech StartupTodd Masonis had already sold a tech company before his chocolate-making hobby turned into a full-fledged business. Here are some of the startup learnings he’s applied to Dandelion Chocolate.To learn more about Dandelion Chocolate and show notes: https://www.shopify.com/blog/dandelion-chocolate-startup-learnings
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2023-06-2925 min
Choco Zone PodcastChocozone Podcast: Episode 19: Todd Masonis - Dandelion ChocolateA special guest for the Easter's week. Here we are with Todd Masonis, founder of one of the most important "bean to bar" craft chocolate. We speak about past, present and future of Dandelion Chocolate and, sure, also about the "bean to bar" world chocolate community.Music: Kevin Macelod, m00n.cloud (outro)Our Blog: http://boscolo.it/
2021-04-0131 min
SHACK15 Conversations021 / Coffee + ChocolateWith similar tasting notes, history and terroir, it’s no surprise that coffee and chocolate often go hand-in-hand. In this episode, we’re joined by two legendary leaders in coffee and chocolate innovation: Todd Masonis, CEO and co-founder of SF-based Dandelion Chocolate and Tim Wendelboe of Tim Wendelboe coffee in Oslo, Norway, who is SHACK15's exclusive coffee supplier. With moderator Marcus Colombano, Tim and Todd will unravel the ethos and passion behind creating high-quality products while upholding production transparency, ethical ingredient sourcing and creating deeply supportive relationships with farmers.
2021-03-181h 03
Time For LunchChocolate!Time For Lunch is back with the sweetest episode yet! Hannah and Harry dive into the wonderful world of chocolate. That’s right! We’re talking Willy Wonka, Hershey, PA, and all the delicious shapes this universal favorite comes in.Chocolate expert and founder of Dandelion Chocolate, Todd Masonis gives us a behind the scene look at his chocolate factory in San Francisco. Todd teaches us how chocolate goes from bean to bar and all the steps in between! Cake pioneer, Rose Levy Beranbaum shares her two-ingredient chocolate ganache recipe, perfect for filling a cake or making yumm...
2020-12-1823 min
Feast Yr EarsEpisode 149: Just Dandy! Dandelion ChocolateIn the last 10 years Todd Masonis has taken Dandelion chocolate from producing in his garage through two factories in San Francisco. It's true bean to bar chocolate and is one of the best most carefully crafted chocolates you're likely to find anywhere in the world. Tune in to hear Harry and Todd talk about chocolate, the global economy and what's next for his now iconic brand.
It's HRN's annual summer fund drive, this is when we turn to our listeners and ask that you make a donation to help ensure a bright future for food radio. Help...
2019-06-2448 min
Product Hunt RadioHow to think about raising your first venture fundLee Jacobs and Brian Balfour join Ryan at AngelList HQ for this week's episode.
Back in the day, Lee was one of the first syndicate leads on AngelList and later went on to join as a Partner. He previously started an education marketplace startup called Campus Dock. Ryan got to know Lee at AngelList a few years ago, when Lee was kind enough to help him craft his deck as he went out to raise his first fund. Lee is now a full-time investor with his own fund, Edelweiss, which he started with Brian Balfour, Elaine Wherry...
2019-04-2400 min
The Slow Melt: A podcast about chocolateEpisode 3: We Eat the SeedsMany of us have been eating chocolate since childhood, but few can recognize it in nature. In this episode, we start at the farm with the pod-shaped fruit and its bitter seeds. Those seeds start off bitter, but ultimately become sweet, gooey chocolate. In this show, we’ll explore what gives chocolate its flavor and how one of the top craft chocolate makers in the U.S. transformed that love of flavor into a career.
Guests include:
Emily Stone, CEO of specialty cacao supplier Uncommon Cacao, on the factors that create and enhance flavors in ch...
2017-02-2427 min
The Slow Melt: A podcast about chocolatePreview of Episode 3: We Eat the SeedsMany of us have been eating chocolate since childhood, but few can recognize it in nature. In this episode, we start at the farm with the pod-shaped fruit and its bitter seeds. Those seeds start off bitter, but ultimately become sweet, gooey chocolate. In this show, we’ll explore what gives chocolate its flavor and how one of the top craft chocolate makers in the U.S. transformed that love of flavor into a career.
Guests include:
Emily Stone, CEO of specialty cacao supplier Uncommon Cacao, on the factors that create and enhance flavors in chocolate.
Todd Masonis, founder of...
2017-02-1701 min
The Morning AfterEpisode 178: Bean to Bar with Dandelion ChocolateThis week on The Morning After, Lesley Stockton sits down with Todd Masonis and Greg D'Alesandre of Dandelion Chocolate. Born in early 2010, Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory based in the Mission District of San Francisco, where they roast, crack, sort, winnow, grind, conch, and temper small batches of beans and then mold and package each bar by hand.
2016-07-1700 min