9 to 5ish with theSkimm

Colleen Cutcliffe, co-founder and CEO of the groundbreaking probiotics company Pendulum Therapeutics, started the company with a big goal in mind: changing the way people think about their gut health. And on her journey, she’s had to challenge traditional – and sometimes outdated – thinking from the medical community and investors. In this episode, Colleen told us how she’s been able to disrupt th...

Alicia Menendez, MSNBC anchor, award-winning journalist, and host of the Latina to Latina podcast, was so concerned about being likable at work that she wrote a whole book about it. She even created a name for that pressure women feel to be amenable in the office – "the likability trap." And as an on-camera journalist, she’s fallen into that trap throughout her career. In this episode, we spoke wi...

For over a decade, Emily Tisch Sussman was one of the top political strategists in the country, advising Democratic candidates and campaigns. Then, after having three children in four years, and faced with no childcare during a global pandemic, Emily realized she couldn’t get back to the top of her game… or back in the game at all. So, she stepped away from politics and the professional identity s...

When Hill House Home first started, founder and CEO Nell Diamond wasn’t focused on selling the now-famous “Nap Dress”, or cultivating her Instagram presence. Rather, the brand started as a bedding company, and Nell’s Instagram was a space for her creativity. Seven years later, the Nap Dress is a cult-favorite, selling out in minutes, Nell’s created the model for the influencer-entrepreneur, and Hi...

Elizabeth Chambers has been through… a lot in the past few years. But the founder and CEO of BIRD Bakery isn’t letting her ex-husband or the headlines define her. She’s focused on expanding her business (which now has four locations) and helping her family heal. This week, we spoke to Elizabeth about how she’s found professional and personal stability. In this episode, shares:  Why she started BIR...

Ashley Merrill, founder and chairwoman of the restwear brand Lunya, started the company when she was pregnant. As she built her brand, she was also growing her family, and her big career moments and her big parenting moments always seemed to align. On this episode, we spoke with Ashley about the misconceptions that being a parent is just a part time job, why we need to speak up about childcare sup...

For most of her career, Isa Watson felt like she was living somebody else’s life. She started out as a chemist working her way up the academic ranks, and then she became a world-traveling VP at JP Morgan. And a lot of people online started to take notice of her impressive career. Isa felt she was always chasing the validation of a ‘30 under 30’ or ‘40 under 40’ list, while neglecting her relations...

Lauren Wesley Wilson worked for politicians and crisis comms firms for years before she decided to start her own organization, ColorComm. ColorComm started as a luncheon series over ten years ago, and now has grown to become the nation’s leading women’s platform addressing diversity & inclusion across the communications, marketing, advertising, and media industries. This week, Lauren told us how s...

You know Erin and Sara Foster as the sister-act behind the VH1 hit show “Barely Famous”, the co-founders of the fashion brand Favorite Daughter, and as the creative minds who’ve helped brands such as Bumble and the Mirror. After growing up in the entertainment world, the sisters not only decided to take on that industry, but also to take on fashion and investing. We spoke to the Fosters about the...

Nyakio Grieco has been paving the way for inclusive beauty and supporting Black entrepreneurs for her whole career. She launched her first beauty brand, Nyakio Beauty, in 2002. Then in 2020, she launched Thirteen Lune, the e-commerce platform dedicated to elevating Black and Brown beauty founders. While Nyakio is one of the most celebrated entrepreneurs in the industry, the road to the top was pav...

To wrap up this season of 9 to 5ish, we’ve got a bonus episode with author Avery Carpenter Forrey. She was one of the first employees at theSkimm, who pivoted her career to become a writer. Her highly-anticipated debut novel, Social Engagement, drops on May 23rd, and explores millennial wedding culture, class, and relationships. This week, we spoke to Avery about how she pulled off the pivot, what...

Today, we’re going back into the 9 to 5ish archives, to bring you one of our favorite episodes from last year - with Glow Recipe co-CEO and co-founder Christine Chang. We hope you enjoy Christine’s advice on how to make the jump from a corporate job to a startup, and we’ll be back with fresh episodes next week. Until then, please enjoy our conversation with Christine.  Every weekend growing up, Ch...

When Anastasia Soare started her brand Anastasia Beverly Hills from one room salon back in the 1990s, eyebrows were pencil-thin and an afterthought. 25 years (and one legendary appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show) later, she’s become synonymous with eyebrows, created a multi-billion dollar brand and revolutionized the beauty industry. Today, we spoke to Anastasia about how she’s still an industry...

Mary Celeste Beall’s life drastically changed in 2016, when she lost her husband Sam in a tragic ski accident. Just weeks later, her professional life also changed, when she was asked to step into the role of proprietor of the legendary Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain resorts, a role Sam had occupied for years. We spoke to Mary Celeste about her experience becoming a leader, while also nav...

Kristin Cavallari created the archetype for the reality-TV star-turned-mogul. She was on the OG reality show, Laguna Beach, when she was in high school. And she turned that fame (and notoriety) into a business empire. She’s now the owner of a jewelry and skincare brand and a New York Times bestselling author. And she made the jump from TV to the boardroom by following her instincts and leaning int...

Two-time entrepreneur Jessica Rolph is embracing what she calls “micro failures” at work. You know, when you say the wrong thing to a team member, make a mistake on a project, or you don’t communicate about something. These moments can feel small, but they can take a big toll on us. But Jessica believes it doesn’t have to be that way. As the co-founder of baby food biz Happy Family, which sold to...

Thasunda Brown Duckett, the President and CEO of TIAA, had a “meteoric rise” in the world of finance. As the former head of Chase Consumer Banking, and now as one of two Black women who currently leads a Fortune 500 company, she realized early on that “work-life balance” was a myth. Instead, Thasunda lives her life like it’s a diversified portfolio, allocating time and shifting her investment in d...

Kaitlan Collins, co-anchor and chief correspondent for CNN This Morning, is no stranger to sleeping four hours a night, or packing up to travel at a moment’s notice. Which is great if you love the news…but it’s not so great if you love your boundaries. This week, we spoke to Kaitlan about how she’s learned to set boundaries – from the anchor desk to the White House Briefing Room.  In this episode,...

Debra Lee was the chairman and CEO of BET, where she worked for over three decades. But even though she was a leader in the entertainment world, Debra said her biggest career weakness was being “too nice”. This week, we sat down to talk about Debra’s new memoir, I Am Debra Lee, and how she stepped into her power as a leader – from taking back control of her senior staff meetings, to literally find...

Bozoma Saint John is one of the most celebrated marketing execs out there. She’s worked for Apple, Uber, Endeavor, Pepsi, and Netflix…just to name a few. But while those big names are on her resume, Boz told us about the other titles that have influenced her and her career. Like ‘single mom.’ And ‘widow.’ This week, Boz explains how her story of love, loss, and survival has made her live “urgently...

Chantel George had a plan to go to law school. Then, she found out she was good at sales. Really good. In fact, she became one of the best sellers in the tech world. Chantel’s experience learning how to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’, asking tough questions, and challenging the status quo convinced her she needed to start her own sales community. So in 2017, she started Sistas in Sales, the largest glob...

For Amy Griffin, being one of the most successful venture capitalists actually has a lot in common with being a college athlete. Amy played volleyball at the University of Virginia, and now as the founder and managing partner of G9 Ventures, she helps early-stage startups perform their best in a different kind of arena. And some of the companies she’s coached include Goop, Athletic Greens, and Bum...

From navigating war zones to negotiating with affiliates of terrorist organizations, Emily Hikade lived for the thrill of working as a CIA officer. But a near death experience at work made her realize: it was time to try a different kind of adventure. While in East Africa, Emily worked nights to start her luxury sleepwear brand, Petite Plume. Today, Emily shares how working in diplomacy prepared h...

Pinky Cole came up with her business, Slutty Vegan, in her apartment in Atlanta. She started by taking orders through Instagram DMs and eventually expanded to multiple locations outside of ATL. Now, her company’s worth $100 million. But she says: she wouldn’t have gotten there without hitting rock bottom first. Today, how Pinky found her success, and why she wants to help people in the Black commu...

When Kimberly Brown wrote a high school paper about her dream of becoming a social worker, she knew helping people would be central to her work. She ended up in higher ed as a career counselor. And after she helped her first student get a job, she was hooked. Since then, Kimberly founded her own company to help people – especially women of color – find meaningful work and level up in their careers...