#076 The Business of Making Moments Matter with Wombi Rose

Built For This Podcast, with Carly Pepin

August 27, 2026 by

Carly Pepin

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What happens when engineering, creativity, and human connection come together to reinvent something as traditional as the greeting card?

In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Wombi Rose, co-founder and CEO of Lovepop, to explore how an idea discovered during a trip to Vietnam became a nationally recognized brand on a mission to create one billion magical moments.

Wombi shares how his background in naval architecture helped inspire Lovepop's signature 3D designs, and how watching customers immediately think of someone they wanted to give a card to revealed the bigger opportunity: they weren't simply selling cards, they were helping people create meaningful connections.

The conversation explores Lovepop's decision to build its own manufacturing operation in Vietnam, the challenges of leading teams across different countries and cultures, and why curiosity and hunger often matter more than having the perfect experience.

Wombi also shares how Lovepop thinks about competitive advantage, why the company's real moat extends far beyond its products, and how a relentless commitment to creativity led to a Grammy-nominated collaboration with OK Go.

Carly and Wombi also dive into AI, including why every employee needs to learn how to use it while remaining accountable for the quality of their work.

It's a fascinating conversation about creativity, leadership, technology, customer experience, and building a business around moments that genuinely matter.

In This Episode

You'll discover how Lovepop turned its mission of creating one billion magical moments into a measurable company goal, why Wombi believes a company's strongest competitive advantage is often the entire ecosystem surrounding its product, and why AI should enhance human capability without replacing human judgment.

About Wombi Rose

Wombi Rose is the co-founder and CEO of Lovepop, a design company on a mission to create one billion magical moments. Trained as a naval architect, Wombi combined engineering with intricate sliceform paper art to help create Lovepop's signature 3D cards. Since appearing on Shark Tankand securing investment from Kevin O'Leary, Lovepop has grown from a three-person startup into a nationally recognized brand.

Memorable Quotes
"The never-ending theme is: how do we do less better?"
"This is the worst AI will ever be."
"The tool is only as good as the craftsman."

Wombi Rose