In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews health‑tech entrepreneur and podcaster Philip Kasumu. Philip shares a pivotal story from his early days in New York, where a bar‑side conversation with a senior banker turned into his first investment, illustrating the power of networking and showing up in any environment. He explains the origins of his men’s weight‑loss app LYLE, noting that men’s health concerns often include body image, dysmorphia, and the desire for wellness beyond the six‑pack ideal. Philip offers practical entrepreneurial advice: start now, don’t overthink, and “build the plane while you fly it.” He tells his younger self to begin immediately, emphasizes that happiness comes from being true to oneself, and cites The Go‑Giver as his favorite book, highlighting the principle of giving more than you receive. His favorite quote, “move fast and break things,” reflects his belief in rapid, disruptive innovation. The episode closes with his online handles (Twitter and Instagram @philippkasumu) and a contact email (philipp@justlyle.com).
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Wags Media. Wags Media provides you with everything you need to generate more customers and grow your brand. Head on over to wagsmedia.com, W-A-G-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com, to enter a contest where you can win a free, done-for-you custom website valued at $2,500 for a limited time only. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Philip Casumu with us. He is a health tech entrepreneur and podcaster. Philip is the founder of a men's weight loss app called Lyle. And the host of two podcasts, Startup Hand-Me-Downs and The Lyle Mann Show. So welcome to the show, man.
Thanks for having me, man. This will be fun.
Of course, grateful to have you here, and it definitely is a lot of fun. Um, we'll dive into the first one. The first one I have for you, Philip, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, this is a hard question. Uh, I mean, there's so many instances that have happened, but I think the most relevant, I guess, for the show would be, so when I moved to New York, hustling and bustling, I really didn't wanna, I was running out of cash and I really didn't wanna take like any crappy jobs, but in the end I ended up kind of working in a bar. My sister introduced me to a friend and the friend ran this bar over in Hell's Kitchen. So I was like, look, I'll do a couple nights there. And you know, we'll just, you know, do what has to be done. So I ended up working at this bar, and then fast forward like 2 or 3 months, I was only doing 2, 3 nights a week. I started speaking to a regular there. Turned out he was, I can't name his name for obvious reasons, but turns out he was a pretty senior guy at a really well-known bank. Told him about what I was doing in New York and what I've been up to. He said we should meet for coffee outside of the bar when he wasn't intoxicated. Ended up meeting up for a coffee, told him what I was up to. And then he ended up becoming our first investor. So I guess the moral of that story is, uh, you know, it doesn't matter where you are, as long as you are like shining in the environment that you find yourself in, um, and you let your needs be known, um, and you're just generally a good person, um, you know, things might just end up falling on your lap when you're least expecting it.
And, uh, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, I guess I was thinking about that question a bit. Can you say a bit more about that?
Yeah, sure. I mean, so from what I see from, you know, about you, men's weight loss, health tech, and podcasting. So I guess for me, at least just for me personally, what's most interesting is the men's weight loss app called Lyall. So like, tell us about how like you even came up with that, how you did it, and like how you even kind of became like an expert to do that? Like, 'cause there's a lot of moving parts. So it's like men's weight loss and app. So yeah, can you break that down for us?
Yeah, so I've been into health and wellness since the age of 16. Love everything there is to do with health, fitness, training, nutrition, mental health now. So LYLE has kind of come out of a number of iterations up until now. When I moved to New York, I worked at Greatest, a health and wellness media company. I got to dig into a lot of their data over there and see how men were engaging with their, I guess, with their articles. I wrote an article for the website around like body image for men, which ended up being kind of the number one article on the site for a couple of weeks, which was cool. So I guess if there was something that people should know about men's health is that not all guys want to have a six-pack. Some guys just want to lose weight and feel good. Some people really care about their health. Um, and I think body image and body dysmorphia, um, and body shaming are all things that men experience that people wouldn't necessarily assume they did. So I think that's one thing I want to get across.
Yeah. And, um, you know, what's your best piece of overall business advice? So I guess maybe we could go over to the start me, uh, startup hand-me-down. So like if somebody was just starting out in the entrepreneurial world or maybe starting a podcast, I think that falls under the umbrella, what would you tell them? Somebody just getting their foot in the door.
I'd say just start. Don't overthink it. Know what you're good at. This is many pieces of advice, but I'd say just start. Don't overthink it and figure it out as you go along because you're not going to have all of the answers from day one. Honestly, you know, you will figure it out as you go along.
Dude, that completely goes along. Somebody else that I had on the show, this is what they said. I think you'll like this. They said, build the plane while you fly the plane.
Yeah, that's good.
Yeah, I was like, oh, that is how it is.
I like that.
The next one I have for you is, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Start now. Because it's going to take long either way. Whether you start when you're 30, whether you start when you're 40, whether you start when you're 16 or whatever it is, you know, everything is a process. Everything takes longer than you think it takes. So start now.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Oof, this is a deep question. I think the key to happiness is being as true to yourself as you possibly can and living life on your terms, not anybody else's.
And what is the best book that you've read and what's the number one thing you learned from that?
This is another hard question. I think Actually, I'll say the best book I've read so far is The Go-Giver. It's a really short book, uh, I would say about 100-150 pages or so, um, and the best piece of advice I got from that was give more than you receive and never look for a 50-50 or a so-called win-win situation. Always do something where the other person feels that they are winning more than you in any deal, because in the long run you will win.
Ah, I like that. And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote, um, it's a really obvious one, but move fast and break things. I like that. Because it kind of sums up entrepreneurialism, right? Like people want to be disruptive. You have to be super fast in tech. You know, you're going to annoy people even when you're building stuff. The technology might not be there. So the app literally might break. But as long as you're moving fast and breaking things, then you're making progress.
Yes, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, for sure. So you can find me on Twitter @philippkasumu, Philip with one L, Kasumu spelled K-A-S-U-M-U. Also on Instagram, same handle @philippkasumu. And you can also email me if you have any questions at philipp@justlyle.com.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for hopping on.
Thanks for having me, dude.
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