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Entrepreneurs En Vogue | Conversations with Successful Millennial Women Entrepreneurs

ENTREPRENEURS EN VOGUE is a weekly podcast that gives a unique insight into the savvy secrets of successful female entrepreneurs of Gen Y. Each week this podcast will feature notable women innovators from around the world and across multiple industries talking about their entrepreneurial journey, their successes, their failures and other trends, happenings, and interesting things. These inspirational women have turned their lives around and stepped onto the path of success, fulfillment and financial independence. But for every woman that has succeeded in pursuing her entrepreneurial dreams, there are thousands who quietly are searching for that inspiration to move forward.
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Now displaying: 2016
Dec 23, 2016

Nikki Warren is the founder of Kaia FIT, a women’s focused program that currently has 55+ locations, in six different states. She has coached gymnastics, fitness, running, triathlon training and snowboarding for 20+ years. She brings the same motivation and expertise to her public appearances, giving attendees the tools to live a centered, healthy life. “Life isn’t a dress rehearsal,” she says. “Every single moment we’re given the opportunity to live our best”. Drawing on these years of experience, Warren has expanded from coaching high-level athletes into leadership training. To women across the country on how to run a successful business, in addition to a successful life. Through the teachings of work-life balance, and simple steps to creating the life you deserve, Warren has streamlined her training down to three simple steps to thrive: Get Your Mind Right, Strength for Life, and Gather Your Tribe. With her non-traditional upbringing, young motherhood, and touch and go birth of her youngest, Kai, Nikki approaches all interactions with a positive attitude and wealth of information, both personal and learned. She is an incredibly encouraging role model for any woman, young or old. She currently lives in Lake Tahoe, running three businesses with her husband Ed, hockey-obsessed son Kai & their active pup, Laila. Warren has more than 15 years’ experience of public speaking on health, fitness and nutrition, and has been featured in various magazines, including Fitness Magazine, while also presenting at both TedX and Vistage.

Dec 14, 2016

New York-based entrepreneur and mom Rachel Blumenthal created Rockets of Awesome, which launched in July, to offer parents a simpler and smarter way to shop for high-quality kids clothing. She began her career at Yves Saint Laurent, before launching her first entrepreneurial venture as designer and founder of the fashion jewelry brand Rachel Leigh. The brand was licensed to GlamHouse in 2011. Rachel then lent her hand to Warby Parker, which was cofounded by her husband Neil, before founding and acting as CEO of Cricket’s Circle, the trusted resource and editorial destination for everything baby and toddler. It was the insights and learnings from the Cricket’s Circle community, in addition to her own experience as a mother that inspired the idea for Rockets of Awesome. 

Throughout her career, Rachel has become a trusted resource on entrepreneurship and startups, thanks to her work starting three successful businesses. In today's episode Rachel speaks to us about:


-Founding Rockets of Awesome, Crickets Circle and Rachel Leigh  
-Her path to becoming CEO and Founder of her latest business, Rockets of Awesome
-How she maintains focus and balance as an extremely successful entrepreneur as well as a mother of two young children who have been the focus and driving force behind her business ideas

And so much more...

Dec 8, 2016

Eleanor is an advisor on women’s leadership development to the Yale School of Management, an award-winning entrepreneur, international speaker and expert in women’s leadership. She has shared the stage with celebrated entrepreneurs including Lisa Sasevich, Loral Langemeier, Sharon Lechter and EBW2020 founder Ingrid Vanderveldt. She has been recognized by award-winning entrepreneur Ali Brown as one to watch in the women’s leadership space.

She teaches women entrepreneurs and women professionals how to dial up their influence and impact so they can position themselves as credible, confident leaders that others will listen to, buy from, and support. 

In this podcast, Eleanor fills us in on a range of topics related to women in business and leadership including:

-Why the majority of new women entrepreneurs don’t replace their corporate income…and what to do about it.
-Insider secrets of the old boys network — what men know but women don’t about influence, money and power.
-Thought leadership: how to position yourself and your ideas so you sound like the expert you are…even when you are just getting started.
-Secrets of highly confident women: Eleanor has conducted in-depth mindset research with some of the continent’s most successful women in business and can share some profound insights about how 8,9 and 10 figure business women think
-Why men still earn more than women in business and what we can do about it
- And how she has built a global business from a small town…while raising two young boys.

Dec 1, 2016

Meet Pratima Aravabhoomi, the founder of Craft Street Design. She was inspired to establish the company based on her own experiences in turning her life around from the brink of suicide, and has since become a successful consultant and business owner.

She shares, “ If not for the words on my kitchen wall which said, 
‘Darkest hour is before dawn, I might have ended my own life.” 

She has since completely transformed that life achieving many of her goals.

Meaningful words have made a huge difference in her life. That’s why Pratima is on a mission to bring meaningful words as products into all of our ever busy, distracted lifestyles so that they remind us to take the time to focus on the important things. 

Listen to find out more about the inspiring Aha moment that led Pratima to launch a successful 6 figure business within a few months!

Nov 24, 2016

Jennifer has a unique story – she was wrongly accused of a crime, convicted and served time at Rikers Island. Charges were dropped after she was released. By that time, she lost her life savings, employment and home. But Jennifer saw an opportunity to create a legacy. She launched Speak Up Women to help women find their voices to “speak up” – something she did not do during this tumultuous time of her life. Her work and its need is getting recognized all over the media and we are grateful she was able to share her story with us for this Thanksgiving special! 

Nov 21, 2016

For Cindy Whitehead, looking through rose-colored glasses is a way of life.

Known for her liberal use of the color pink across her businesses as well as her wardrobe, Whitehead is passionate about equalizing the playing field between genders when it comes to sexual health.

It was precisely this issue which got Whitehead, a lifelong pharma-tech entrepreneur, thinking about the disparities in the sexual health industry, and how she could effectively address them with a pink-hued pill she launched via her parent company, Sprout Pharmaceuticals.

Once she finally received FDA approval in August, 2015, Whitehead decided to sell her company to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion, with the hope that her brand would be built into a women’s healthcare platform, which she says “didn’t end up happening.” According to various medical sources, Addyi has been disappointing in terms of sales, attributed in part to a lack of support from Valeant.

Listen to find out about her billion-dollar acquisition, her new venture the pink ceiling and her thoughts on entrepreneurship trends.

Nov 16, 2016

Shannon is a financial planner who left a “traditional” financial services firm to start her own company, The Financial Gym, because she felt traditional financial services firms did not have the tools or resources to help people in their 20s and 30s who are starting out and trying to build assets while also managing debt. She realized that the key to long-term personal financial success is a commitment to financial fitness and making smart financial choices.

Through her blog, Financially Blonde, her book, Train Your Way To Financial Fitness, her podcast, Martinis and Your Money and The Financial Gym, Shannon is committed to making financial fitness fun, easy and accessible for everyone.

Nov 7, 2016

auren Leader-Chivée is the Co-Founder and CEO of All In Together. She has dedicated her career to closing the most critical personal, professional and political gender gaps for women. In addition to her role at AIT, Lauren is an Executive Advisor to Deloitte working with a range of global companies on their most pressing diversity issues. Formerly the President of the global think tank Center for Talent Innovation and Founding Partner at Hewlett Chivée Partners LLC, she has tirelessly advocated for women’s leadership as a driver of economic growth and opportunity.

 Recently chosen by Fortune as one of the 50 Most Influential Women on Twitter, Leader-Chivée writes extensively for the Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review and Inc and her thought leadership has been featured in a wide range of media including the BBC, Dow Jones, CNN, Washington Post, NY Times and the Wall Street Journal. She is the co-author of Center for Talent Innovation publications “Executive Presence,” “Sponsor Effect UK,” “The Battle for Female Talent in India” and “The X-Factor.” Her forthcoming book “The Thinnest Line” looks at why and how American diversity is its best and most underleveraged asset.

While at the Center for Talent Innovation, Lauren led cutting-edge research and advised global clients across industry including Bristol Myers-Squibb, Genentech, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, EY, Bloomberg, Credit Suisse, HP and many others and drove significant advancements for professional women. Her work has made her a sought after speaker for a wide array of forums around the world.

Lauren began her career in Human Resources at a number of top companies including Weiss, Peck & Greer, Pfizer, Credit Suisse and Office Tiger. She began actively advocating for women’s issues in 2007. In collaboration with National Partnership for Women and Families, she lobbied congress to expand the FMLA. She later worked with a Better Balance to advocate for paid sick leave bills in New York State.

Lauren is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and on the boards of the 30% Club and Inkwell.

Nov 3, 2016

Sara Moylan is America’s newest superwoman. In addition to being a mother of four daughters ranging from ages 4 to 13 years old, working a day job as a sales rep, and being a fitness junkie on the side, she has now managed to solve a problem of so many women. Finally, there is a custom fit and custom adjustable sports bra!

 

Listen to find out how she is juggling many things at once, including a full-time sales job and a thriving company that has done really well on Shark Tank.

Oct 26, 2016

Latina media dynamo and women’s empowerment advocate Nely Galán, dubbed the “Tropical Tycoon” by The New York Times Magazine, is one of the entertainment industry’s savviest firebrand talents. An immigrant and self-made media mogul, Galán was the first Latina President of Entertainment for a U.S. television network (Telemundo). She is an Emmy Award-winning producer of over 600 episodes of television in Spanish and English, including the FOX hit reality series “The Swan”.

After becoming self-made on her own terms, Galán has made it her mission to teach women—regardless of age or background—how they too can become entrepreneurs. Her forthcoming book, SELF MADE: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way, will be published by Spiegel & Grau/Random House in 2016. Inspired by the new revolution in women’s entrepreneurship led by multicultural women, Galán wrote the book as a manifesto to ignite the SELF MADE movement, uniting all women on a quest for an economic future they control.

Oct 12, 2016

She is an MIT-trained engineer, entrepreneur and adventurer whose passion is identifying undiscovered ideas and talent and helping them make impact. She's probably best known for curating and hosting the first ever TEDx and founding two innovation centers at MIT and USC that helped spin-out dozens of startups based on university research. She is currently host of The Art of Manufacturing podcast and Founder & Chief Instigator of MAKE IT IN LA, an initiative of LA Mayor Garcetti that connects and celebrates the largest community of makers and manufacturers in the U.S. She started her career as a manufacturing engineer on the Space Shuttle, then became a tech entrepreneur, playing key roles at startups such as Stylus innovation (acquired by Artisoft), Direct Hit Technologies (acquired by Ask Jeeves) and Jeeves Solutions (acquired by Kanisa). She has been an advisor to nearly two dozen companies and organizations, including the Obama administration and the World Economic Forum. She lives and plays in Los Angeles, and in her spare time she is an avid traveler, backcountry skier, shark diver, mountain biker and authentic food aficionado.

Oct 3, 2016

Changing the World… One Perfect Sports Bra at a Time

Sara Moylan is America’s newest superwoman. In addition to being a mother of four daughters ranging from ages 4 to 13, working a day job as a sales rep, and being a fitness junkie on the side, she has now managed to solve a problem of so many women. Finally, there is a custom fit and custom adjustable sports bra!

After having her first daughter and noticing a significant difference in her chest size (a fact I’m sure at least some of the women reading this can relate to), Moylan found herself doubling up on 2-3 bras at a time. She was walking away from workouts because she was in so much pain; also dealing with becoming very depressed and self conscious. She was competing and modeling, but even with access to all of the the materials that come with the job, nothing was fitting correctly. That lead to one day cutting all of her bras apart and making a prototype that was doing a better job than wearing multiple bras at a time. Moylan wasn’t looking to start a business at first, she just wanted something comfortable to wear. Eventually she found a seamstress to better make her prototype and loved it so much, that she had the seamstress make her another five!


Thus, SheFit was born.

Sep 27, 2016

 Kate works and plays in Boulder, CO after a Venture for America Fellowship in Detroit.​ She helps Detroit Labs get the word out about their industry-altering Apprenticeship program. On the side, she runs a non-profit called Women Rising that helps women in tech find mentors and peers. 

She is also known as one of the subjects in the recently released film GENERATION STARTUP and in this episode she discusses her journey filming the documentary, her passion for help women in tech rise and feel empowered, and her most valuable lessons and advice working with entrepreneurs in Detroit.

Find out more on Kate by reaching out to her on www.katecatlin.com and check out her venture Women Rising at www.womenrising.co  

Sep 21, 2016

GENERATION STARTUP takes us to the front lines of entrepreneurship in America, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, it’s an honest, in-the-trenches look at what it takes to launch a startup. Directed by Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade and award-winning filmmaker Cheryl Miller Houser, the film celebrates risk-taking, urban revitalization, and diversity while delivering a vital call-to-action—with entrepreneurship at a record low, the country’s economic future is at stake. 

Make sure you check out www.generationstartupthefilm.com for airing dates and tickets in your local theaters. 

Sep 8, 2016

Amy Peterson knew she wanted to work in baseball since she was young, so after she went to law school and business school she applied to work for free for any baseball team. She wound up interning for the Detroit Tigers, and she's been "paying it forward" in Detroit ever since (though now she's their lawyer, not their intern). All of this is super, but none of it is the direct reason she's being featured. The reason she's being featured is the creative outlet/hobby she turned into the social enterprise known as Rebel Nell. Initially, she was making jewelry that she sold to mom and pop stores, which made her just enough money to pay for her law books. The rest, is better told in the podcast and below:

  1. What is the product? Rebel Nell’s jewelry line starts by repurposing graffiti, an abundant local resource in Detroit.  They collect this graffiti after it has fallen off of walls.  Initially these scraps of graffiti look a little rough on the surface, just like many people’s first impression of Detroit. However, after they take it through their process, they're able to reveal all the beautiful layers that make up the graffiti, just like the intricate layers that make up the city of Detroit.  After some hard work and TLC, the women of Rebel Nell turn that scrap of graffiti into a unique piece of wearable art. Rebel Nell creates signature sterling pendant necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, tie-clips and pins. All products can be seen here
  2. How is this product solving a problem and/or filling a gap? Rebel Nell prides itself on being a self-sustaining social enterprise. Every piece of jewelry that is sold goes directly toward supporting their mission of empowering women and helping them successfully transition to an independent life  Our product makes it possible for Rebel Nell to implement financial literacy programs, entrepreneurship classes, and empowerment classes. 
  3. How is the creator of the product disrupting the product's respective industry? When Amy moved to Detroit in 2007, she immediately fell in love with one of America’s greatest cities and was adamant about contributing to Detroit’s revival. Living next to one of the city’s most well known shelters gave Amy the unique opportunity to build relationships with many of the residents. The inspirational stories many of the women shared of overcoming emotional, physical and financial abuse were the catalyst for creating Rebel Nell. Amy was adamant about providing women in the shelters with an opportunity to lead an independent life. She believes that employment paired with financial literacy, business education, and a focus on life wellness can transform women's lives and help them regain the confidence they need to lead them on the path to success. Amy and her business partner, Diana Russell were named Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst & Young.
  4. How is it different from competing products? Rebel Nell is not just about the jewelry. They have set up a transitional system that enables the women they employ to stabilize their lives and reclaim their independence. Behind every piece of Rebel Nell jewelry is a story of a woman working towards building a future for themselves and their families. Their goal is not to pigeonhole them to be jewelry makers for the rest of their lives. At the heart of this social enterprise is a need to make better employees, to restore their confidence and to provide the resources necessary for them to realize their dreams and watch them come to fruition.

LISTEN to find out which movie it was that got Peterson to learn about the jewelry making process and how she strives to bridge the gap between the opportunity divide.

 

Aug 30, 2016

Susie Moore serves as an advisor to anyone with potential, whether it be high growth startups or even you (she's a life and business coach). According to Moore, who has written for practically every publication you've ever heard of, there are two main ways to live your life. The first way is by default, or living passively. The second way - the way she lives and teaches her clients how to live - is living by design.

I think it's so important to think, "What is it that I really, really want?" and then, "How can I get there?"

So why is Moore a life coach if she can be whatever she wants? "I know that life coaching works." She's been in the same shoes as her clients time and time again, and she knows that her stories and experiences are proof that there's more to life than doing what's expected of you.

"I still have fear. I'm afraid all the time. I just kind of realized that my desires are more important than my fears." She faces the same [negative] judgment as everyone else, especially when she does something unconventional. "If you share your experiences, people are naturally going to be drawn to you because we're all humans; we all suffer. And if you can be open about what helped you, when you share that information, people will want more of it."

Better yet, Moore has mastered the art of reframing a problem into an opportunity. "The most important thing is to -- No. 1 -- really acknowledge that if you're feeling [any] struggle it's a very positive thing. It means that there's something percolating - like something brewing - something ready to be come to the universe through you. It's a very positive sign."

LISTEN to learn more about:

  • her new book What If It DOES Work Out?
  • the difference between selling and exchanging value
  • what Moore refers to as the competence-confidence loop
Aug 22, 2016

Have you ever had an idea that was so obscure - and brilliant - that the people with whom you’d dare to share it would either pretend they didn’t hear you or bluntly-yet-lovingly tell you it was ridiculous? For example, there’s this scene in the first episode of “Documentary Now!” in which Bill Hader’s character explains that she wears sweatpants on her head and wraps the pant legs around her neck for practicality - like a “built-in scarf.” 

If you're wondering which product I'm drawing a comparison to, I'll tell you: it's Foxers. Sure, they seem like common sense now, but even the creator's husband wasn't immediately on board with the idea when he first heard it. The creator, April Spring, had a moment in 2006, when she was at a restaurant with her husband. Before we get to the aftermath, here's some information on Spring: Spring, who comes from a finance background, has an entrepreneurial spirit. The "always working" mentality doesn't seem to bother her. She worked with NASDAQ for over a decade, doing financial PR at her own investment relations firm, until her husband was offered a job overseas, in Malaysia. It was in Malaysia, where she had the pivotal dinner that changed everything.  

“My thought was that men have always had the protection of the wider, comfortable cotton-gathered boxer band that gives coverage, and it's made of outerwear fabric.” 

She suggested making a female version of boxers, and being a true entrepreneur, Spring went from idea to prototype in 24 hours. 

Foxers Underwear
Photo Credit: Foxers.com

Foxers took off on its own, thanks to the quality of the product and the power of publicity. Wherever Spring went, she found an opportunity to advance. When her friend, a designer for department stores, came to visit her in Malaysia, she took him to tour the clothing factories. At the same time, she made connections for herself and ended up using them for Foxers. When she was visiting her friends in Chicago, she found a representative at who ended up placing Foxers in 74 stores within 90 days. While at the U.S. Patent and Trademark  office, a patent attorney was passing by and casually mentioned that her designs could be patented. She got her design patented in a year. If you're familiar with the process of getting a design patented, that length of time is rare. Not only that, but Spring’s product is so different that she received two U.S. patents for her designs.

When it comes to the product, itself, Foxers have become a staple in people’s wardrobes, beyond underwear. Yes, they’re comfortable. More importantly, they’re functional. And most importantlyespecially in today’s disappointingly intolerant society, they're for everyone. When Bustle puts them on the same list as Thinx, you know you’ve got a winner. Foxers started with 3 panties and now the brand has over 900 SKUS and 21 styles, with new looks coming out every month. Such new looks have inspirations that come to Spring in dreams, or when she's driving on the highway. All looks are of the same luxurious quality.

As for the success that doesn't just fall into place, Spring's business acumen more than makes up for that. "As an entrepreneur, you're always thinking about 'what's ahead of this, so that I can be there and be ready?'" But she sees herself as more than just an entrepreneur; she also sees herself as a designer, which comes with extra responsibilities. For example, Spring believes that "[research and development] has to be the designer's thing for her whole life." Because of this, she knows that her time is both valuable and limited. On top of that, the decisions that she makes within the company affect the amount of time she has to handle her direct responsibilities - as is true with anyone. In Spring's case, for example, while she does pay for advertising her and there, she relies more on publicity [that counts]. "It's funny - when you have paid advertising, you usually don't get much from it. It's the free publicity." However, publicity does come with its unforeseen consequences. "As soon as you get all this publicity, you just start getting tons of people wanting to take your time, and you lose track - really - of what you're supposed to be doing." That being said, Spring knows how to spend her time - and finances - strategically. 

When she had first launched, she had tackled the smaller markets in the southern and midwestern regions, but the west coast and the northeastern region were entirely different markets. In order to get her product into those mainstream channels, she knew she had to take some publicity risks and hire PR; "I knew that celebrities sold apparel." Gifting, her not-so-secret weapon, was the catalyst that really got her noticed. She did gift bags for the artists who didn't win at [that] year's Grammys.  At the Jingle Ball (remember, this is back when it was a thing), she was such a hit that PR firms starting contacting her instead of the other way around. She was on the The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch eight times, with one of those times being on the same day she was on the Valentine's Day episode of the TODAY show. Spring was constantly thinking about how to grow her business in the best way in that moment in time, and she acted accordingly. She still does - now she's on the social media train, which is working out really, really well for her. But you'll need to listen to know how well.

What impressed me the most about Spring, aside from her plan to have people learn to sew in Foxers’ factory in Atlanta, was her influence over me. Without once mentioning that she wanted to be featured on Entrepreneurs En Vogue - the website or the podcast, she had me practically begging to feature her. Not only that, but Spring could have name-dropped Beyoncé or any of her other celebrity customers in her email to me.* She didn’t. The only name she dropped was mine. It. Worked. Like. A. Charm. Kids, they don’t make them like these anymore. 

LISTEN to learn about:

  • what Iman thinks of Foxers
  • how Spring sold a product when all she had was a drawing of it
  • things Spring tried that didn't work
  • services she will absolutely not skimp on
  • which social media platform singlehandedly provided $50k in orders on a single pair of underwear
*Name-dropping doesn't actually work. To be considered for a potential feature, email shannon@entrepreneursenvogue.com with the subject line "potential feature"
Aug 15, 2016

Born in Iran and raised in Louisiana, Helya Mohammadian knew she wanted to be in fashion from the start. She studied fashion design at LSU and quickly realized that New York City was where she needed to be to pursue her dream. After working at Bergdorf Goodman and all these “crazy fashion houses,” she decided that traditional fashion was "too stuffy" and not for her. While taking a break from the industry, she had an idea for a product, that we now fondly know of as Slick Chicks and jumped back into the fashion industry - challenging tradition and the industry she grew up loving. 

"I would love to see this be a product that really just changes the way women think about underwear as a whole."

Her mission and passion, however, quickly evolved. Originally, Mohammadian was targeting the “athleisure” market and fulfilling more a want than a need. "I wasn't even thinking about the healthcare market when I launched this product." After receiving emails from handicapped, elderly, and otherwise-disabled women, she realized that her product was necessary for fulfilling a need rather than a want. "The whole idea is to give women a functional, convenient product that's also attractive." It’s so unheard of - even though it shouldn’t be - that Slick Chicks is currently patent-pending for the overall design of the underwear.

Was it a struggle? Absolutely. Has the struggle stopped? Absolutely not. "It's definitely been a process; it's not overnight for sure." But it’s an ongoing process and Mohammadian isn’t stopping or slowing down anytime soon. "Part of it is [that] I don't want to let people down, but I also don't want to let myself down. I don't want to let the people that believe in this product and can use this product [down]."

So how did it start and how is it happening? Here are 5 themes to take away from the podcast:

  1. Research "I pretty much just Googled pattern-makers and asked friends and people that were kind of in the same network of fashion design and apparel. I kind of just did my research, which is what I always suggest for people to do."
  2. Outreach "The number one recommendation I have is outreach. Outreach outreach outreach."
  3. Teamwork "If you really want to grow a business, and you want to grow your product and your brand, you have to bring in a good team of people that are also passionate and that want to see your vision through."
  4. Specialized Startup Accelerator "For anyone who is in this industry, it's really hard to find retail accelerators. Fashion, in itself, is hard to find people that, you know - if you're looking for VCs or angel investors - it's pretty difficult. It's competitive, and this is an actual product; it's not really tech or service-based so TrendSeeder was definitely something I had to jump on.”
  5. Kickstarter "I think Kickstarter is definitely the way to go. Yes, your friends and family are going to support you, but see how much support you get from people that don't know you and the feedback. Is there a proof of concept?"

Want more? LISTEN for details.

Aug 2, 2016

Nora Herting and Heather Willems met as undergraduates in an art history class, and eventually started ImageThink togetherImageThink is a firm that provides graphic facilitation services for pretty much anything and anyone. If you're thinking, "how can I trust some artist without my credentials to synthesize what I'm saying?" ImageThink's answer hits the nail on the head: "It's idea for idea, not word for word."

LISTEN to learn more about how they manage their best friendship and business partnership, how they went from concept to partnership, and whose doodle is hanging in the office of Google's CEO.

Jul 19, 2016

In this week's episode we have combined two experts and moguls in their respective industries to share some exclusive insights as well as a sneak peak into their own personal stories on how they grew local successful businesses that allows them to live their passion! 

 

Jul 7, 2016

From a very young age, Kirsten Potenza, the co-founder and CEO of POUND® was trying to find a job or make a job out of whatever she could. "From stealing sweet peas from the farm behind the house and selling them to my neighbors to having a shop in the backyard where I sold potpourri that I made." After college, where Potenza was a Division I athlete at UCLA, she found herself changing careers often, which concerned her mother. Looking back, Potenza understands her mother’s concerns, but she suggests that others embrace these "opportunities to dip our toes in the water and test out different things and learn more about ourselves through exploring different careers."

It was around the time that she turned down the opportunity to run a company that she met Cristina Peerenboom. “The one thing we had in common was that we were obsessed with music. We were both drummers -  not in the sense of wanting to be in bands - there was something about drumming that appealed to the both of us. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that when we did it, we left our cell phones behind and escaped."

Potenza and Peerenboom (who also comes from an athletic background) had group fitness ingrained in their lifestyles since childhood. "This idea of being fit - and fitness - never really was something we had to think too hard about when we were younger." But as working adults living in Los Angeles, "the gym experience didn't feel super positive to us. It felt like there was a lot of ego."

Cue the light bulb. They should just make their own group fitness class for any gym.

"We had this background of a ton of different mentalities in knowing what it took to be fit, healthy, and strong but we weren't having as much fun doing that, right? So whether you're on a treadmill or in a class, it didn't feel enjoyable to us. So we kind of felt that spark when we were drumming or listening to music or experiencing music. I think for most people, music is an escape."

Using Ripstix®, lightly weighted drumsticks engineered specifically for exercising, POUND® transforms drumming into an incredibly effective way of working out.

"One of the greatest things about POUND® is that I was able to take all of my interests and put them into one thing, which I don't think happens. I'm passionate about fitness and wellness, I'm passionate about fashion, I'm passionate about food, and I get to put all of those things together and package them up in this little awesome, amazing company called POUND® - because we get to experience all of those things on a daily basis - and help people in all those categories so it's been awesome to have an opportunity like that."

The best part of the POUND® empire? "I don't think we spent any marketing dollars for the first three or four years of POUND®. That's right, the duo spent nothing, and yet they still got Kelly Ripa to publicly give POUND® her seal of approval.

LISTEN to learn more about what Potenza thinks are the most valuable aspects of growing a business and living a life, and how Potenza and Peerenboom were able to grow POUND® without a marketing budget.

Jun 30, 2016

Nicole Abboud's story starts off like most of our successful millennials' stories: a "blissfully ignorant" ingenue pursuing her dreams in 2008. Abboud's dream - or, at least, one of them - was to be a lawyer. Until she realized that she was wrong. 

As a lawyer, she started her own practice and differentiated herself by branding herself as a "fashion lawyer." After a few months, however, she shut down the practice. She realized that her heart was not fully in it. 

"And I went through this whole self-discovery phase of just moping around and complaining to anyone who would listen - to my family [and] my friends about this thing that I was feeling." Abboud felt like she was the only one who was feeling it, but she soon found out that she wasn't alone in feeling unhappy.

In March of 2015, she launched her podcast, the Gen Why Lawyer Podcast, in an "effort to reach out to other millennial lawyers across the U.S. to see if they felt the same way - if they were unhappy - and just what they were doing about it."
LISTEN to learn about how Abboud demands what she’s worth and how she plans to change the landscape of the millennial workforce.

Jun 22, 2016

Maddy Hasulak, the Chief Love Officer of Love Grown “gets to spread the love all day every day.” She may seem like another female founder, but she’ll be the first to emphasize that she’s a female co-founder of a company with a male co-founder - her husband, Alex. The pair started a business at one of the worst times to start a business - during the 2008 recession. Between the two of them, they were working five jobs while trying to build Love Grown. One of the jobs was at Wells Fargo, where the managers of City Market, a subsidiary of Kroger, would come in regularly. Alex approached one of them for advice on how to get on their shelves, and the manager requested a sample of the product, which was based on Maddy's mom's granola recipe. Two months later, Love Grown’s products were on an end cap of one of City Market’s aisles. "We sold so well the first month that within six months we went from one store to eighty King Scoopers and City Markets in Colorado, and quit our jobs to take the biggest risks of our lives and pour ourselves into growing this business."

Maddy’s marketing approach was unique and very odd. She and her mother took guerrilla marketing to another level when they purchased an RV, covered it in diapers, and drove it across the country while working through Teach For America to “educate kids on the importance of eating breakfast, what whole grains are, and start delivering educational seminars to groups of kids throughout the country.” 

It’s this same unique drive and ability to be passionately odd that allows Hasulak to think outside of the cereal box. “We didn't want to just be a Raisin Bran or a Cheerio; we want to innovate in a category that's really been stagnant. And so that's where we got this concept and idea that we could take beans - navy, lentil, and garbanzo beans - and make cereal out of them. And so we totally revolutionized breakfast by making the first wheat-free corn-free breakfast cereal, which has higher protein, higher fiber, and they totally taste delicious!”


LISTEN to learn about what sets Love Grown apart from its competitors, what Maddy Hasulak thinks is the most important aspect of a business, and whether she regrets driving across the country in an RV covered in diapers (spoiler alert: kind of, but not really).

 

Jun 16, 2016
Helen Bui is an entrepreneur, media & advertising veteran and economic empowerment champion. Helen is currently the Founder & CEO at Stash-it, a company that is improving the relationship between young women and money. The Stash-it mobile app helps young women save money on a weekly basis and helps them develop new habits that increase their confidence with money. Stash-it has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch and is helping young women all over the US develop positive money habits. Prior to Stash-it,Helen was the Vice President and Head of Innovation at News Corp where she was in charge of establishing and managing the Innovation program that assessed, developed, incubated, tested and launched new digital products and businesses.

Helen makes it a priority to give time to gender equality and economic empowerment. She works with organizations such as UN Women, Grameen Foundation, Children International, Highwater Women and numerous nonprofits in Vietnam. Helen is continuously meeting with organizations that are empowering women around the world and developing new ways to support and work with them.

 

 
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