Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff

Yeardley Smith may be one of the most candidly open and honest interviews we’ve had on Superwomen. The multi-talented actor and voiceover artist well-known for her role as Lisa Simpson runs her own production company, Paperclip, and hosts Small Town Dicks, a true crime podcast that gets over a million downloads per month. But Yeardley’s outward success didn’t always match the plan she had for hers...

The expectations put upon parents, and mothers, specifically, have changed a lot over the years, but one thing is certain: it’s never been easy. Whether we’re washing clothes in a river with a baby tied to our backs, or managing quarterly reports while soothing a crying child, women have often worked three times as hard to manage work, home and family duties. It’s past time we’ve gotten the suppor...

Ever since she was a child, Jade Watson enjoyed storytelling in all its forms. Inspired by the notion that you could get paid to travel the world and share these stories, Jade knew she was destined for a career in production and media. The major caveat: as a Canadian citizen, Jade had to convince the U.S. Embassy to allow her to run her own company stateside. Luckily, two years at a venture capita...

Jennifer Bandier may not have known much about the fashion and fitness industries, but that didn’t stop her from starting the first boutiques to curate stylish athletic wear across a variety of desirable brands. Getting told “no” every step of the way did nothing to discourage her, and now BANDIER stores can be found in five major cities across the U.S. Though it wasn’t the easy path, Jennifer alw...

You may know her from incendiary baking competition shows such as Cupcake Wars and Sugar Rush, or perhaps you’ve had the pleasure of enjoying one of Candace Nelson’s signature Sprinkles cupcakes that made her famous. But this woman is much more than a pastry chef – she’s an entrepreneur, author, angel investor and more, and she details the best ways to “turn your passion into profit” in her new bo...

Social media, like so many things, is ever evolving, but it takes real talent to discern which trends will have the power to shape popular culture. Call it skill, call it intuition, call it witchcraft; Fadia Kader has honed her ability to distinguish all the noise from the Next Big Thing, and it’s given her an edge every step of her career. Starting in fashion in Atlanta, then joining the entertai...

Even if you haven’t made it to one of the workouts at SoulCycle, you’ve certainly heard of the legendary spin classes by now. The boutique fitness brand that turned stationary bikes into an elevated ritual in exercise now encompasses nearly 100 locations nationwide. At the helm since 2020, Evelyn Webster has cultivated a culture of openness and transparency among her colleagues. Coming from the UK...

When Alice Milligan struck out on her own at the age of 19, she didn’t plan on a career in finance. However, her dedicated work ethic, combined with the experience she accrued while working as an administrative assistant and putting herself through night classes to earn both a bachelor’s and Master’s degree, positioned her well to navigate the upper echelons of banking and marketing. As the Chief...

When Moira Forbes decided to join the family business, she knew she’d have to work hard to prove herself. The only one of five sisters to join Forbes Media, Moira learned over time that her efforts were better spent pioneering new branches of the company than worrying about what other people thought of her. Moira started ForbesWomen in 2006 to highlight women in business, as well as generate inspi...

Whether you’re a tech maven or you don’t know an NFT from 5G, Lisa Mayer’s story of Boss Beauties will leave you inspired. The NFT (non-fungible token) gallery that sells digital images of strong, independent women in bold, colorful shapes sold all its first 10,000 images in 90 minutes. While it’s certainly an emerging marketplace, Lisa saw the potential to utilize Web3 as a natural extension of h...

Like so many women, Nicole Wegman was not a fan of the confusing, convoluted, expensive process of buying engagement rings. Couple that with the fact that the jewelry industry is largely insular and male-dominated, and Nicole was ready to start her own company just to make the process easier and more enjoyable. Luckily she was at the perfect age to help her friends navigate the ring-buying process...

She’s written 27 books, is famous for her fitness and her ability to make people laugh. A true entrepreneur, Suzanne Somers is one of the first people to use her fame to create her own brand, spanning entertainment, beauty, health and wellness during her expansive career. Ever determined, Suzanne has used every challenge she’s faced to strengthen her resolve and push even further. When NBC fired h...

Arian Simone graces us with her insightful, creative spirit once again, diving deeper into the world of venture capital. The CEO and co-founder of Fearless Fund, Arian invests in businesses founded by women of color, a population egregiously overlooked by venture capitalists. If you find the world of investing a bit murky and overwhelming, Arian’s ability to break things down will surely help to c...

This episode contains discussion of trauma, suicide and disordered eating. Raised within the confines of Haredi Judaism, Julia Haart was taught that the smaller you make yourself, the better you fulfill your role as a woman. Like many people brought up in extremely religious communities, barriers to the outside world made leaving seem nearly impossible. Only when Julia saw her own questions reflec...

As talk of sustainability comes more and more to the forefront in the fashion industry, most companies are proud to highlight their environmental awareness. However, Amanda Hearst remembers a time when luxury brands kept sustainable practices hush-hush for fear it would undermine their place in high fashion. The industry has become more transparent, but there’s still a misconception that “sustaina...

Peabody Award-winning journalist Isha Sesay didn’t set out to helm a media company, but her creativity, integrity and spirit of perseverance made her the perfect candidate for it. After working as an anchor and correspondent at CNN for thirteen years, personal matters and professional projects began to pull Isha in another direction. However, as a global pandemic turned everything upside down, Ish...

WTHN co-founders Michelle Larivee and Dr. Shari Auth had the same question: with the rise of wellness modalities worldwide, why had acupuncture remained on the fringes? With a background in finance and Chinese Medicine, respectively, acupuncture had a profound effect on the lives of both Michelle and Shari. They wanted to make it more approachable and accessible, from education to price point. Ins...

Warm cookies delivered straight to your door. Could there be a better business idea? Tiffany Chen’s boyfriend-turned business partner-turned husband didn’t think so. When they were in college he thought delivering her cookies to hungry fellow students would be a great way to make some extra money, and he was right on target. Given time to grow at their own pace, Tiff’s Treats has gone from a singl...

When Maggie Winter started working at J. Crew straight out of college, she received the best workplace education she could get simply by where her desk happened to be. In the open-plan office, she was seated near the CEO, and overheard tidbits about everything from sales to real estate as he held his weekly meetings. This information would come in handy as Maggie was approached to start a project...

After becoming wildly successful as a real estate broker in her early 20’s, Patrice Washington hit a low point. Not low like your car broke down and your SO dumped you, but a real rock bottom where her entire life was turned upside down for several years. And yet, despite losing nearly everything she held dear, Patrice’s faith in her ability to bounce back was unshaken. It wasn’t quick and it wasn...

When you think of businesses that are recession-proof, a kids ear piercing chain might not come to mind. However, when Louisa Serene Schneider was working at a hedge fund for retailers, she was surprised to find that Claire’s, the ear-piercing wonderland, was valued at $3 billion. She was even more astounded to find that the people doing the buyout didn’t see this as a chance to reimagine the busi...

Tali Magal knew she wanted to have a life that centered around three things: travel, creativity, and to be able to use her love of the Italian language. When her peers pointed out that fashion would be the obvious choice, Tali dove in headfirst. But the world of fashion was just the starting point; Tali found that what she really enjoyed was the creativity that went into planning photo shoots and...

Makeup isn’t just about accentuating your cheekbones or plumping up your lip color. For Melissa Butler, former Wall Street worker-turned-beauty-entrepreneur, makeup is more about confidence than anything else. Even so, it took time to build the self-esteem and inner belief that has helped take The Lip Bar, and now, Thread Beauty, from her kitchen to Target and Walmart across the country. Starting...

Meg Epstein’s forte has always been her ability to dream big, and that’s a good thing considering that real estate development is a major undertaking. What started out as an interest in residential construction in her home state of California blew up as Meg started CA South, a real estate development and investment management firm based in Nashville, TN. Meg’s foresight to bring coastal designs to...

Like many businesses, Under Canvas began as a means to solve a pain point for its founder, Sarah Dusek. In this case it was the quest to find a compromise between her husband’s desire to rough it in the wilderness and Sarah’s preference for creature comforts. Entirely bootstrapped for the first eight years, Under Canvas’ elevated camping model surmounted obstacle after obstacle, and is now conside...