Behind Her Empire

This week, we’re mixing things up! In this behind-the-scenes Behind Her Empire episode, we take a look at our very own Yasmin Nouri’s journey as a podcast host and first-time entrepreneur. Yasmin’s husband, Dhru Purohit, graciously steps into the role of host to talk to her about the origin story of Behind Her Empire and why she decided to start the podcast. You’ll gain some insight into the...

Starting a business is always a risk, particularly if you’re forfeiting a stable career trajectory to do so. Our guest today is living proof that pursuing your passions pays off. Natalie Mackey is the founder and CEO of clean makeup and skincare brand, Winky Lux. Natalie took the bold leap of leaving her career in finance to start her own business (which came from a “failed” idea) and Winky Lux ha...

We’re back to new episodes starting this week (yay!) and we’re beyond excited to have the lovely Cayli Cavaco Reck, skincare entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Knockout Beauty, a full-service beauty business that is focused on conscious beauty for the modern-minded.  Cayli has always been always dealing with some kind of skin issue throughout her life. As a teenager, Cayli struggled with acne an...

MaryRuth Ghiyam is the founder & CEO of MaryRuth Organics, a family-friendly wellness brand offering over 130 high-quality, vegan, non-GMO vitamins and supplements.  MaryRuth began her personal journey into the health and wellness space after the unexpected passing of her brother and her father, as well as her mother’s diagnosis of two benign brain tumors. While working as a health coach...

Payal Kadakia is the founder of ClassPass, the revolutionary fitness and wellness platform which provides people access to the best boutique fitness classes, gyms, and wellness experiences around the world. Prior to its acquisition by MindBody in October 2021, ClassPass was valued at over a billion dollars, with members logging more than 100 million workouts across 30,000 partner studios in over 3...

Jane Wurwand is the Founder and Chief Visionary of Dermalogica, the number one professional skincare brand in the world. At the young age of 24, Jane immigrated to California and saw a distinct lack of continuing education with skin therapists in the US. Without a college degree or network, she set out to launch her own skin therapy education with only $14,000 in a small classroom in Los Angeles....

Loren Ridinger is the Co-Founder of internet retailing giants, Shop. Com and Market America. Although Loren is now recognized as an internet mogul who has changed the face of the beauty and e-commerce industries over the past two decades, her life started with very humble beginnings. She moved to Greensboro, NC at a young age, worked in retail when she was sixteen, and at eighteen, Loren and her h...

Dr. Sara Gottfried is a World-Renowned Physician, Hormone Expert, Speaker, and 4x New York Times Best Selling Author. Dr. Gottfried’s interview marks the start of our first podcast in the world of health and wellness. One of the biggest myths that women have on their path to building their empire is that they have to sacrifice their health in order to be successful. This couldn't be further from t...

Dubbed by the New York Times as ‘the woman who dresses America’, Jenna Lyons, is a fashion icon and the co-founder/CEO of the beauty brand, LoveSeen.  Having kicked off her career as an intern at Donna Karan, Jenna went on to join the design team at J.Crew, eventually becoming its President. She is recognized as the main driver behind its incredible rise to success, and is a regular feature i...

Amy Liu is the founder and CEO of Tower 28, a beauty company inclusive of all skin tones, skin types, budgets, and beauty philosophies.  For over 15 years, Amy Liu worked as a beauty executive at some of the fastest-growing prestige companies, including Smashbox, Kate Somerville and Josie Maran Cosmetics. But as a longtime eczema sufferer, she couldn’t even enjoy the best part of working in t...

Our guest today has been visualizing her success from an early age, without even realizing she was doing so. If anyone knows how to tune in to the opportunities around her, it’s Anjula Acharia.  She is the founder and CEO of A-Series Management and Investments and works as a talent strategist and strategic investor and advisor to many consumer tech and CPG startups, including two notable earl...

Melissa Hibbért is a beauty icon and the Founder of SHYFT Beauty Consulting, a contemporary multi-cultural marketing agency for women-founded beauty brands.  Melissa’s love affair with all things glam began at an early age when she started experimenting with makeup on friends and family while she was in high school. However, it wasn’t until after a successful 14-year stint in corporate m...

Noora Raj Brown always had a passion for all things creative, but as a child of immigrant parents who were fully immersed in the technology and medical fields, she didn’t know where her creativity would take her. After a wide range of experiences and a very non-linear career path, Noora is now one of the key women behind Gwyneth Paltrow’s booming modern lifestyle brand, Goop, and serves as the com...

Our guest today didn’t intend for her blog to blow up into a successful business that would still be thriving 12 years down the line, but through consistency and authenticity, Camille Styles has solidified her empire.  Camille is the founder of Camille Styles, the leading digital lifestyle publication that garners over 50 million impressions a month. This OG lifestyle blog was born of Camille...

Suneera Madhani is the co-founder and CEO of Stax, an innovative tech company that radically simplifies the payment ecosystem. After graduating from college, Suneera decided to work at a consumer goods company and after three years she realized that the corporate world wasn’t for her. She was later recruited by a payment-processing company, and it was then she realized she wanted to do someone on...

Jessica Rolph is the co-founder and CEO of Lovevery, a company that offers products and information which help create developmental experiences in the lives of new babies and families. Jessica is passionate about giving babies the best and healthiest beginning in life. She was a founding partner in her first business, Happy Family, which she helped grow into being one of the top organic baby food...

As an industry veteran, Gail Federici was the co-founder and CEO of the iconic brand John Frieda and has leveraged her experience to build her latest venture, Color Wow, a professional hair-care line geared towards color-treated hair. Gail has always put “absolute breakthrough” at the top of her product-creation To-Do list and while the beauty industry is notorious for knockoffs, she has literally...

Kirin Sinha is the Founder and CEO of Illumix, an AR technology and media platform. Kirin started Illumix in 2017 with the mission to push boundaries and elevate the quality of augmented reality in the fields of fashion, game design, and film. Today, Illumix powers some of the world’s most popular mobile games and is helping companies and brands bridge the 2D & 3D world so consumers can intera...

Michelle Ranavat is the Founder and CEO of Ranavat, a global skincare line inspired by Indian beauty rituals.  It was after the birth of her two sons that Michelle made the leap into starting her own business, and part of this was inspired by her own desire for products that she could not find. Michelle talks about her postpartum journey, the challenges she faced with hair loss, and how her a...

Dr. Joan Rosenberg is an expert psychologist, best-selling author, and founder of Emotional Mastery & Emotional Mastery Training. After three decades, tens of thousands of hours of clinical practice, and ten years of neuroscience research, Dr. Rosenberg is recognized for her thought leadership and approach that radically changes people’s lives.  In our conversation together, we unpack how...

Christina Stembel is the Founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers, a national floral delivery that offers high-quality and beautiful arrangements.   11 years ago, Christina set out to transform the way we shop for flowers by providing fewer, better options. Today, her beloved brand, which started out of her tiny apartment using $49,000 in savings, has scaled to tens of millions of dollars in...

April Gargiulo is the Founder and CEO of Vintner's Daughter, a cult favorite nutrient-powered skincare brand. Vintner’s Daughter was founded on the principles of unparalleled quality and efficacy, inspired by April’s background in the world of fine winemaking and its uncompromising standards. Admittedly, she knew very little about the skincare industry when she first founded the brand in 2013, but...

Heela Yang is the co-founder and CEO of Sol de Janeiro, an award-winning body care line that aims to capture the beautiful and vibrant energy of Brazilian culture. The path to running a successful business and a life in entrepreneurship can look many different ways, and today's story is a particularly unique one. Heela had a picture-book corporate career, a great life in New York, and a bright fut...

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Lauren Wang, the Founder & CEO of The Flex Co., a top-selling sustainable period care brand known for creating a more comfortable period for everyone After suffering from chronic yeast infections for 15 years related to tampon use, it dawned on Lauren that it was time to change the status-quo--not just for herself, but for menstruators everywhere. She se...

Bassima Mroue is the CEO and co-founder of SkinTē, the first-ever collagen sparkling tea at the intersection of beauty, food, and wellness.  Passionate about developing purpose-driven brands, inspiring women, and destigmatizing self-care, Bassima calls on her diverse professional experience to revolutionize the way we approach beauty and wellness from the inside out. She has over a decade’s w...