The Breadwinners Podcast

The formula for women's success isn't what you've been told. It's not your title, your salary, or your track record. It's your status — how much others respect and value you. And the way women build it is completely different from what most of us have been taught. Alison Fragale is an organizational psychologist, tenured professor, former McKinsey consultant, and the author of the national bestsel...

What does it actually look like when two ambitious people are building a life together .... from both sides? In this episode, I hand the mic to my husband, Todd Grantham - entrepreneur, father of four, and the person who has seen me at my most magnetic and my most completely undone. No script, no canned questions. Just a real conversation about what modern marriage actually looks like when ambitio...

What does it actually look like to build something sustainable — in your body, your business, and your family — without burning everything down in the process? Juliet Starrett has done it. Three world championship titles in elite whitewater paddling. A law degree. Nearly a decade in Big Law. Co-founder of San Francisco CrossFit, one of the first 25 affiliates in the world. And today, co-leader of...

What does it feel like to reach the pinnacle of your career — and realize it no longer fits? Devon McDonald spent 17 years in venture capital, rising to General Partner at OpenView Ventures while raising three kids and serving as the financial anchor for her family. In March 2020, OpenView had its largest exit ever when Datadog went public, returning the fund ten times over. On paper, it was the m...

One year ago, we gathered a group of extraordinary women around a dinner table at SXSW — and The Breadwinners was born. In honor of our one-year anniversary, we're bringing back the episode that started it all for the listeners who've joined us since. "You're not hitting your skincare routine, being a great mom, crushing it at your job, putting dinner on the table, and having sex with your husband...

What does it take to walk away from 17 years of corporate security — stock options, healthcare, a VP title at Nike — and bet on yourself? In this episode, Alexis sits down with Mel Strong, co-founder of Next Ventures, a health and wellness-focused venture fund. Mel's path has been anything but linear: first-grade teacher, journalist, marketing executive, interim CMO of Oura Ring, and now fund mana...

You're expected to work like you don't have kids and parent like you don't work. Kelly Hubbell, founder of Sage Haus, looked at this impossible equation and decided to build the solution herself. In this episode, Kelly shares her journey from corporate tech sales to launching Sage Haus—a company that provides house managers and holistic family support for busy working parents. After her second chi...

What does modern fatherhood really look like in 2025 - and why aren't more men talking about it? In this episode of The Breadwinners Podcast, host Alexis Contos sits down with Nick Firchau, creator and host of The Paternal Podcast, to have an honest conversation about the challenges fathers face today. From the crisis of male loneliness to the invisible labor dads carry, Nick shares insights from...

Ali Tate Cutler gets brutally honest about what nobody tells you: how to build a business while grieving the version of yourself you once were. Less than 1% of guests on major business podcasts are mothers. The rest? Childless men teaching strategies that don't work when you're building while celebrating your own transformation as a working mom. "Mothers don't grind, we create. We don't hustle, we...

In this episode, Alexis Contos sits down with Patrice Meagher, a 20-year Commercial Real Estate veteran turned Founder and CEO of MilkMate. After spending two decades leasing millions of square feet in Manhattan , Patrice realized that while we can fly to space, the most "innovative" solution for pumping at work was still a storage closet or a bathroom stall. Patrice shares her journey of leaving...

It started with a pinched sciatic nerve and a diet of dollar-slice pizza. In 2012, Sarah Levey was working in fashion on a $32,000 salary, desperate for physical recovery but completely alienated by the performative nature of traditional yoga. She didn't just want a workout; she wanted a sanctuary where she didn't have to look like the teacher or the person in the front row. So she built Y7 Studio...

In this episode, Alexis Contos sits down with Libby Leffler, tech executive turned founder of First, who is dismantling the stigma around prenups and reframing them as the ultimate act of partnership design. After spending nearly two decades building generation-defining companies like Google, Facebook, and SoFi, Libby noticed a glaring gap in how we handle our most significant personal "merger", m...

They say you can't have it all — that mothers must choose between ambition and presence. But what if we're asking the wrong question? On The Breadwinners Podcast, Alexis Contos redefines what it means to be a Breadwinner in modern culture, moving it far beyond the paycheck. Through raw, honest conversations with women like Morgan Zanotti (CEO of Primal Kitchen), Nicole Trunfio (CEO of Bumpsuit), a...

In this episode, Alexis Contos sits down with Morgan Zanotti, the founder behind Waay and former leader at Primal Kitchen, to discuss what it really takes to build wellness brands while being a breadwinner mother. From navigating the competitive CPG industry to creating products that align with her values as a parent, Morgan shares the unfiltered reality of startup life, financial responsibility,...

In this episode, Alexis Contos sits down with Nicole Trunfio—supermodel, founder of Bumpsuit, and mother of three—who's on a mission to do something radical: make motherhood desirable, not just manageable. When Nicole's father told her "You have a strong head on your shoulders and I trust you," she took that trust and ran—straight to New York to model, then straight through every outdated rule abo...

"You're not hitting your skincare routine, being a great mom, crushing it at your job, putting dinner on the table, and having sex with your husband in 24 hours every day,” says Kim Chappell, the chief brand officer at Bobbie. “Nobody is. That's not happening." On our first episode of The Breadwinners Podcast, Alexis Contos talks with Kim about the inaugural “breadwinner dinner” at SXSW, returning...

In this episode, Alexis Contos sits down with Aileen Fitzgerald, an Austin-based landscape artist who embodies "the art of devotion." After eight years as an ICU nurse, Aileen made the bold decision to pursue her childhood passion for painting while raising her daughter Lilah. From overcoming early discouragement to choosing emotional richness over financial security, Aileen shares how she navigat...

In this powerful episode, Alexis Contos reunites with Julie Cordua, CEO of Thorn, an organization building technology to defend children from online child sex exploitation. Julie and Alexis worked together 15 years ago on Thorn's launch, and Alexis has watched Julie dedicate her life to this essential work while raising her own family. Content note: This episode discusses child sexual abuse and tr...