Build Your Own Boat

Episode Summary When a tenant secretly manufactured methamphetamine inside Kathi McCarty's Colorado log cabin, she discovered that meth contamination in rental and residential properties is far more common than most homeowners, real estate agents, or insurance companies acknowledge — and that almost no legal or financial protections exist for victims. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, McCart...

Episode Summary When the school and disability-services systems couldn't give her son Chris — now 42 and living with autism — the life he deserved, Anne Patton built the infrastructure herself. In 2013 she founded A Better Life, a state-approved Program Approved Service Agency (PASA) that lets her bill Medicaid directly for Chris's residential, community, and employment supports, cutting out the 3...

Episode Summary After more than two decades leading global technology teams at Oracle and serving as VP of Services at an AI-driven consulting firm, Kristen Harris was laid off at 55 — a moment that felt devastating even though she already knew the role wasn't right for her. In this episode, Harris explains why perfectionism isn't a flaw to "recover from" but a trait that high achievers can sharpe...

Episode Summary This episode is for every woman who has spent decades building an impressive career and wonders whether that experience can fuel something entirely her own. Ramona Schindelheim — award-winning journalist, Emmy and Peabody winner, and former editor-in-chief of Working Nation — answers that question with a resounding yes. In this conversation, Ramona and host Janine Vanderburg trace...

Episode Summary For women who have spent decades being indispensable — and invisible — this episode is the roadmap you didn't know you needed. Bonnie Schutz spent nearly 30 years as an elite executive assistant, mastering the art of making everyone else's vision run flawlessly. Then, after one too many layoffs and a workplace incident that became her tipping point, she gave her boss a month's noti...

Episode Summary After two decades as a talent acquisition executive at Fortune 500 companies, Chelle Johnson found herself successful on paper — and spiritually depleted in practice. In 2019, she made the leap: she launched Best You Talent Advisors, a fractional talent advisory firm, and never looked back. This episode is a masterclass in what it actually takes to build a sustainable business in m...

Episode Summary What does it look like to launch a strategic communications firm in the middle of a global pandemic — and build it entirely around a commitment to equity and social justice? Angelle Fouther did exactly that when she co-founded Kindred Communications in 2020 with her daughter, Darren. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Angelle shares the real story behind the leap: the years of...

Episode Summary Most advertising agencies chase the youngest consumers in the room. Susan Colby built a thriving creative agency by doing the exact opposite. This episode of Build Your Own Boat explores how Susan — a veteran of iconic agencies including Chiat\Day and BBDO — left the traditional ad world, raised her children, and returned in her late 40s with a radical idea: that women over 50 are...

Episode Summary Robin Salls didn't wait for the media to notice women in midlife. When she looked around and couldn't find a single magazine that reflected her experience — embracing her silver hair, redefining beauty, and stepping into a new chapter with confidence — she built one herself. In six weeks. During a pandemic. With no publishing experience. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Robi...

Episode Summary Can art change how society sees older adults? Meg LaPorte, co-founder of Art Against Ageism, built a nonprofit that uses public art, interactive installations, and creative activism to combat damaging stereotypes about aging — and she launched it in her 50s, during a global pandemic. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Meg shares how nearly three decades in aging services journ...

Episode Summary Most birthday cards treat getting older like a punchline. Jan Golden decided to change that. In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, host Janine Vanderburg talks with Jan Golden, founder of Age Friendly Vibes — a greeting card company built on a radical premise: that birthdays deserve celebration, not self-deprecation. Jan launched the business in her 50s, after a career in web dev...

Episode Summary What happens when a woman who spent 30 years writing 32-volume FDA regulatory submissions finally sits down to write the books she's dreamed of since she was seven? She builds her own publishing company, launches a collective to help other women authors over 50 find their readers, and writes unapologetically vibrant older women into the center of every story. In this episode of Bui...

Episode Summary What happens when a 65-year-old corporate executive decides that her biggest career is still ahead of her — in a field she has never worked in? This episode answers exactly that question. Melissa Davey spent decades leading nonprofit disability advocacy and then building a national disability services program for a Fortune-level company. At 65, she walked away from a successful C-s...

Episode Summary This episode answers a question many women over 50 are quietly asking: is it too late to build something new? Sky Bergman — award-winning photographer, former tenured professor at Cal Poly, and founder of Sky Bergman Productions — walked away from a secure academic career in midlife to become a full-time independent filmmaker. Her debut documentary, Lives Well Lived, began as a per...

Episode Summary What does it look like when a seasoned communications professional leaves a respected philanthropic institution in her early 60s—not because she was pushed out, but because she did the math and decided she had something better to build? In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, host Janine Vanderburg talks with Alrie McNiff Daniels, a reframing-aging consultant and communications str...

Episode Summary Age discrimination in hiring is not a fringe issue—it is a structural one, and Sheila Callaham has the three-year job search spreadsheet to prove it. After a 15-year corporate communications career spanning the US, Europe, and the Middle East, Callaham returned to the workforce and received zero offers over three years—despite applying at every level, spending thousands on coaching...

Episode Summary This episode answers a question millions of women in midlife are quietly asking: is it too late to start something new? The short answer, backed by decades of lived experience, is no—and Ande Lyons is the proof. Ande Lyons, 69, is a serial entrepreneur who has launched and closed multiple businesses across completely different industries—from dot-com venture capital and a nationall...

Summary Barbara Brooks, founder of Second Act Women and pro-age keynote speaker, sent out 100 resumes in 2018 as an award-winning marketing director — and received zero job offers. Instead of waiting for a door to open, she built her own. This episode of Build Your Own Boat answers a question thousands of women over 50 are asking right now: Can I really start a business at this stage of life, and...

Kami Guildner spent nearly two decades building a career in oil and gas, rising to VP of Marketing and Branding before a 2008 layoff changed everything. What followed was 17 months of uncertainty, an epiphany in a barn with her horse, and the launch of a coaching practice she has now run for 17 years. Today, Kami works with high-achieving women entrepreneurs through her Movement Maker Mastermind,...

What does it actually look like to walk away from a celebrated career — with nothing in your pocket — and build something new? Liddy Romero did exactly that. For sixteen years, Liddy ran Work-Life Partnership, a nationally recognized Colorado nonprofit social enterprise she founded that helped over 200,000 frontline workers navigate real crises — housing instability, domestic violence, childcare e...

What does it actually take for a woman to walk away from a high-level corporate job—one with status, a good salary, and a brand name on the resume—and build something entirely her own? In this episode of Build Your Own Boat , host Janine Vanderburg talks with Polly Allen , former Principal Project Manager on Amazon Alexa AI and founder of two ventures: AI Career Boost , a program helping professio...

What if the thing holding accomplished women back isn't a lack of skills or experience — but the pressure to start from scratch every time they want something new? In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, host Janine Vanderburg talks with Donna Cravotta — founder of Cravotta Media Group, creator of the Intentional Visibility Project on Substack, and host of the Real 50 Over 50, a weekly livestream...

What happens when a top-performing Fortune 500 engineer decides the system isn't worth fighting anymore—and builds something better on her own terms? In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, host Janine Vanderburg sits down with Colleen Paulson, founder of Ageless Careers and one of LinkedIn's most trusted voices on age discrimination in the workplace. Colleen holds an engineering degree and an MBA...

Build Your Own Boat, an entrepreneurship podcast for women in midlife and beyond will drop on June 4. The podcast will feature stories, lessons learned, and actionable advice from women who have started new entrepreneurial ventures in midlife and beyond.