9 to 5ish with theSkimm

Valerie Jarrett started her career as a corporate lawyer. But in the late 80s, she made a change and headed to work in the mayor’s office in her hometown of Chicago. That’s where Valerie hired a young Michelle Robinson. Who you might know now as former First Lady Michelle Obama. Fast forward a few years, and Valerie is now the longest-serving Senior Advisor to the President in history. And in 2016...

Erika Nardini has spent her career growing and marketing brands, heading up big-name companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, and AOL. She was living in Boston when a tiny sports publication called Barstool Sports got started. And Erika became a superfan. So when she got the chance to come on board as Barstool’s CEO in 2016, she didn’t hesitate to take it. Even though it was controversial. On the Couch,...

Hannah Bronfman knows a thing or two about hustle. She’s been a professional DJ, the cofounder of an app, and an author. And now, she’s the founder of the lifestyle brand HBFIT. One of our favorite bullet points on her resume: she’s one of the moderators on our book tour. On this episode, she talks to us about where she got her entrepreneurial spirit (8:45) and how she makes sure she’s taking care...

Poppy Harlow is an anchor on CNN Newsroom. She’s the host of the podcast Boss Files, where she talks to badass leaders about how they made it to the top. She’s interviewed everyone from Warren Buffett… to Jay Z. And if that wasn’t enough, Poppy’s also a mom of two. On the Couch, she talks to us about how having kids made her more efficient at work (8:00), why she chose journalism (14:03), and that...

Both Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini started their careers when they were really young. Christina shot her first commercial before she could walk and talk. And Linda’s first big role was in college, on “Freaks and Geeks.” They’ve been everywhere since then. But if you’ve logged into Netflix in the last week, you might know that they’re now co-starring on Dead to Me. It’s a new series that...

Joi Gordon is the CEO of Dress for Success. That’s the nonprofit that provides low-income women clothing and career counseling to help them succeed in their careers. But she didn’t start there. Joi got her start as a lawyer and volunteered at Dress for Success on the side. Not long after that, she switched over full time. And she’s spent the last 20 years growing the nonprofit from one storefront...

Shilpa Shah and Karla Gallardo are the co-founders of Cuyana, the fashion brand that’s all about “fewer, better things.” Aka high-quality clothes and bags at a price that doesn’t hurt your wallet. Shilpa spent the first part of her career building web and mobile apps for Fortune 500 companies. Karla grew up in Ecuador and had a quick career in finance before she and Shilpa met at business school....

It’s Stress Awareness Month. Chelsea Handler has been working on managing hers. You know Chelsea as the comedian … turned late-night host … turned Netflix documentarian … turned activist and advocate. And she just became a 5-time best-selling author with her new book “Life Will Be the Death of Me … And You, Too!” – which came out the day we recorded this episode. Chelsea is a long-time friend of t...

Tracy Sun is an expert at making big changes in her career. She started off as a neuroscience researcher. Casual. But then she decided to follow her passion for fashion and business. Throughout her career, she’s helped start – and grow – several companies. Today, she’s the founder and Senior VP of New Markets at Poshmark, the platform that helps 40 million people buy and sell their clothes and acc...

Sarah Goldberg has been passionate about acting since she was a little kid. She got her first big break at the Young Vic Theatre in London, but eventually made the switch from the stage to the screen. Now you know her as Sally on HBO’s “Barry,” the show about an ex-marine-turned-hitman who decides to make a career transition. To acting. On the show, Sarah stars alongside some of the greats: Bill H...

Sarah Kate Ellis started her career in the magazine industry, where she helped launch and revitalize major media brands at outlets like InStyle, Vogue, and New York Magazine. Now, she’s the President and CEO of GLAAD. Translation: she’s an expert at using storytelling to shape coverage of the LGBTQ community in media and entertainment. On this episode, recorded live in HBO’s Inspiration Room in NY...

Arlan Hamilton started her career in the music industry, working with artists like Jason Derulo, Toni Braxton, and CeeLo Green. But in 2015, she took a look at Silicon Valley and saw a major lack of diversity there. So she decided to change it. Casual. Arlan started her venture firm Backstage Capital to invest in startups led by underrepresented founders. It wasn’t always easy (think: sleeping at...

Katia Beauchamp started her career in finance. But after a few years, she decided that she didn’t feel challenged. So Katia switched gears … and went to Harvard Business School. Casual. That’s where she met her cofounder, Hayley Barna. And together, they launched Birchbox, the subscription company that helps people discover new beauty products. Since Katia and Hayley launched it in 2010, the compa...

Rebecca Jarvis grew up with two passions: journalism and econ. As a teenager, she was even a reporter for a local kids’ program in Minnesota. But after college, Rebecca decided to go into finance. Years later, she got back to journalism. Today, she’s the Chief Business, Tech, and Economics Correspondent at ABC News. On the couch, she talks to us about the time she was on “The Apprentice”, how she...

If you like hearing from us once a week, how about audio from theSkimm every day? Our daily news podcast, ‘Skimm This,’ launches on Monday. Every weekday, we’re breaking down the most important stories of the day and explaining why they matter. Search ‘Skimm This’ and subscribe. You won’t want to miss it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might’ve noticed that we’ve been talking about money lately at theSkimm. A big part of money 101: knowing how to negotiate. Peggy Johnson’s an expert. She’s the EVP of business development at Microsoft. Translation: she drives strategic partnerships for the company … and negotiates. A lot. Peggy’s been running the show since 2014. She’s an avid runner, and she’s been known to carry out negotia...

Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong are the partners of Female Founders Fund, where they invest in tech companies started by women. Anu began her career as an entrepreneur -- including starting India’s first wine bar, and an e-commerce company. Sutian came from the investing side of things. In 2014, Anu decided to launch Female Founders Fund. A couple years later, she brought Sutian on as a partner. Togeth...

Valentine’s Day is coming up. And Amber Venz Box knows a thing or two about making relationships work … at work. She’s the president of RewardStyle -- the company she founded with her then-boyfriend, now-husband Baxter. Amber started out as a personal shopper. But she realized that people were buying the products she recommended on her blog on their own … and cutting her out of a commission. So in...

New York Fashion Week kicks off this week. So we sat down with Rebecca Minkoff -- the co-founder and creative director of, you guessed it, Rebecca Minkoff, LLC. That’s the fashion brand she started in 2005 with her brother. Since then, their company has been a leader in shaping the future of fashion: Rebecca Minkoff was one of the first fashion brands to engage with their customers through social...

Arielle Charnas is the super influencer behind the style blog-turned-brand Something Navy. Arielle started the blog in 2009, when she was just 22 years old. And since then, she’s gained a following of more than a million people. Last year, she launched her brand with Nordstrom… which was so popular that it crashed the site. Now, she’s rolling out more and more collections with the retailer. On the...

New Year...new Skimm’d from the Couch. We’re starting off the year with the queen of motivation, Jillian Michaels. You might remember Jillian from her role as a trainer on the hit NBC show, “The Biggest Loser,” or from her fitness DVDs. But you might not know that she also built a wellness empire, including an exercise streaming platform, and her award-winning fitness app. Jillian’s also a best-se...

When Alexa von Tobel graduated college, she still had a lot of q’s about how to manage her cash. So she did what anyone would: wrote a 75-page business plan. And took it to Harvard Business School. Casual. But within a semester, she decided to drop out and start her business for real. Enter: LearnVest, the company that makes financial resources more accessible for everyone. In 2015, LearnVest was...

Samantha Barry grew up in Ireland. And she always knew news was the path for her. Sam started out her career as a researcher, and then became an international reporter. Her reporting took her around the world, where she started to see the power of social media. She took that realization and went on to help major news organizations build out their social media presences. We’re talking huge names li...

Our guest this week is the one and only Martha Stewart. Growing up, she had a knack for all things lifestyle: cooking, gardening and sewing. But after college, she decided to follow a different path. To Wall Street. Martha eventually took the business skills she learned there...and used them to build an empire of her own. There have been bumps along the way. But now, she’s the Chief Creative Offic...

Beth Comstock is the first female vice chair of GE. But before that, she built a career in communications at companies like CBS, CNN, and NBCUniversal. At NBC, Beth helped launch one of your favorite binge-ing sites: Hulu. And she kept working her way up the ranks. All the way to becoming the first female Vice Chair of GE. Most recently -- Beth wrote a book about courage, creativity, and making ch...