Turning vision into traction requires far more than a great idea.

In our debut episode of Startup Founder Formula, Diane Moca discovers the immense pressure faced by founders Larry and Cheri Salazar, the husband-and-wife team behind NestSTEPS, a startup helping employees achieve homeownership through workplace benefits.

Their mission to make the American dream more accessible is creating a completely new category and a brutal challenge for the founders to get people to believe in something they’ve never seen before.

In this conversation, Larry and Cheri share the personal struggles, financial pressure, and mindset shifts required to keep building when the path isn’t clear.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why building a great product is only half the battle
• The hidden challenge of creating a new market category
• What founders must do when customers don’t yet understand the problem
• How risk, resilience, and belief shape the startup journey
• What it really takes to keep moving when life forces your hand

This episode is for startup founders, entrepreneurs, builders, and ambitious professionals who want to understand what it really takes to build something from nothing.

If you're building a startup, raising capital, searching for traction, or trying to turn your vision into reality, this episode will challenge how you think about growth.

Because startup success isn’t magic.
You just need the formula.

Host Diane Moca is founder of the MomSub marketplace connecting parents to their ideal child care. Diane spent more than 15 years as a television reporter before becoming a serial entrepreneur and podcast host.

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