Entreprenista

“All we have to say is, ‘Today is the day I do not quit. I'm not gonna focus on tomorrow. Today is the day I do not quit.’ And so, to be able to walk away from a course or a podcast conversation or off a stage or off a plane saying, ‘Well, today wasn't the day I quit, I'm gonna pat myself on the back.’” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Jasmine Star, a world-class speaker, thought...

“You could build the most beautiful products, gorgeous website, phenomenal marketing team strategy. But if your people don't like coming to work, it doesn't matter. None of that will.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Jessica Zweig, a serial Entreprenista, author, and “the one you call when you want to scale your revenue, visibility and impact, but struggle to harness your unique...

“Ignorance, people, is good! Jump in. Enjoy it. Ask the questions. Study. Learn. Be an eternal student. That's how you succeed.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Julia Haart, the founder of +Body by Julia Haart, a body-positive, technologically advanced shapewear brand that aims to empower women to unapologetically express themselves and feel confident in their own skin. Julia is...

“We transitioned almost everyone out of the company and really flipped the entire company around. It was one of the most painful few months of my entire career, but also one of the most impactful. And if we had not done that, we probably wouldn't still be standing today.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Laurel Mintz, the CEO and Founder of Fabric VC, a venture capital firm launc...

“You really have to understand that, in order for you to scale, you have to learn how to do certain things and master them before you move on. If you don't do that, then your audience is going to feel just as lost as you feel.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Ingrid Read, the founder of Working Momkind, the largest community and online resource dedicated to empowering and suppor...

In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Carrie Kerpen, founder of The Whisper Group, an exit readiness practice for women-owned businesses. Carrie previously co-founded Likeable Media, one of the first social media agencies, which she successfully sold for eight figures in 2021. Carrie is an accomplished author and hosts "The Exit Whisperer" podcast, which features women who have scaled...

“It's all about, you know, investors are going to be looking at your background and whether they believe in the idea. Sure, but are you going to be able to execute on this idea?” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Lauren Picasso, founder and CEO of Cure Hydration, a plant-based hydrating drink mix based on the World Health Organization's standard for Oral Rehydration Solution but u...

“It felt like eight, nine years we were like, ‘Did anybody ever see our videos? Does anyone ever comment on our stuff? Like, what is going on? Why? We work so hard, we edit new stuff every day!’ Until we started to commit to the audience and give them more of our attention and our time and listen to them, is when it really shifted.” -Sarah Potempa In this episode of Entreprenista, we talked to Sar...

“Just surround yourself with people that are not necessarily better than you, but that bring something to the table you don't—and [don’t] be intimidated by that or threatened by that. I love collaborating and I love having people on my team that bring something to the table and can teach me, and I feel like we've done a good job of that.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Renee Pa...

“There's a lot of things that come with being able to support a retailer like that… If you're not ready for those things, then go DTC first because you also have to have: Is your product merchandisable? Do you have unit cartons? Do you have UPCs?  All of these kinds of operational tactical things that you can really kind of speak to, but high-level it's like, ‘Do you have enough money?’ It would b...

“So many of us, me included, suffer from imposter syndrome. And it's so misleading because we know so much more than we think we do—and more importantly, we know how to navigate what we don't know.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Taryn Jones Laeben, president and founder of IRL Ventures, a bespoke early-stage advisory and investment firm focused on building operational excellen...

“So often in the beauty world the purpose of the communication is to create a sense of fear and insecurity and I refuse to participate in that.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with April Gargiulo, founder and CEO of Vintner’s Daughter, a Nutritional Skincare brand founded on the principles of unparalleled quality and efficacy. When creating the brand, April was motivated by her own...

“Every email that goes out with a pitch to tell someone about the brand—they may not answer, they may not opt in for product, and we may not gift them, but I built one more touch point of brand awareness and maybe [they] read that email and discovered our brand. You have to be what 99% of the world is not, which is consistent.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Divya Gugnani, a se...

“I realized with every business that I've ever had, that is my strength, being of service. I'm an excellent waitress. I am an excellent people pleaser. I will serve until the day I die because I genuinely love doing it so much.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Cassandra Thurswell, Founder and CEO of Kitsch, an international brand focused on sustainable hair care and beauty acces...

“Step after step, it’s like climbing a mountain. You don’t necessarily get to the peak really fast—it’s consistent, steady growth.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods, a company specializing in kefir to support the gut microbiome.  Born in Ukraine, Julie immigrated to the US and watched her parents pioneer the introduction of kefir to the Amer...

“That journey of self reflection and really being humbled by the business punching you in the face was not something I anticipated. I knew there were going to be hurdles to climb. But actually challenging yourself with ‘I might need to look at myself in the mirror and take a second to reflect on  how I can be a better leader’ and then actually doing the things that you’re fully aware that you need...

“There's a lot of beautiful healing things that we do and they're all amazing, but the thing that will heal those old versions of you the fastest and most effectively is when you embody the version of you who no longer believes that.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Tracy Litt, a rapid transformational hypnotherapist, best-selling author, and TEDx speaker. Tracy is also a certif...

“You're pushing yourself beyond what you feel is comfortable, which means you're gonna have chapters of discomfort or feeling like, ‘I'm not really sure if I'm there yet. And sometimes that's true. Sometimes you're not there yet. It's good to tune into that because then you know where you should be focusing to improve.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Haesue Jo, Head of Clinical...

“Keep the momentum going. And that's continuous meetings, continuous networking. And then set dates really set a, ‘We are looking to raise this by this time,’ so that you give yourself a deadline, and you give the investors a deadline, and you can hold yourself to it.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Emilie Fritz Veloso, founder of One Tribe, an integrative, expert-led community...

“[You’re] spending money and growing not at a sustainable pace, but at this hyper-accelerated pace in order to rapidly take up market share and drown out competitors. When you keep raising money to do that, you keep giving more and more people big chunks of your business. The only way it works is if you have a little bit of luck, but also great execution, the ability to fundraise, and a great prod...

“Expose all of the elephants in the room. We just try to hide them… We're trying to throw our skirt up over the elephant… I have gone into everything. It's been a superpower. I'm like, ‘Here's the elephant. Here's the elephant. Here's the elephant. Yes, I'm new at this. Yes, you might be afraid of this. Yes, I understand that fear of yours around this, but here's why I'm still the person for this....

“It's not just about selling your products anymore. You need to know how your products work, you need to know what you're putting out there, and you need to be the expert at it so that you can educate your consumer. That also builds trust, so it's like, ‘Okay, she did the work. She has her license in cosmetology. She's a hair expert.’ And then being able to talk about it, I think that truly sets u...

“Nothing lasts forever, we're all gonna die. It’s all very short. So, having that perspective kind of makes you say, ‘We're not around for that long, we probably should make the most of it and be happy.’” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Aishwarya Iyer, founder and CEO of Brightland, a stylish olive oil, vinegar, and honey company that sources its products directly from small fam...

“We'll always meet with any business owner to talk about where they are today and what their goals are. That can lead to one of three results. One, we decide to move toward an exit planning and consulting process… The second option is we go to market, we've developed an assessment of value, and we agree that now is the time. And the third option is, it might not be the right option to sell and we'...

In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Dr. Ronak Mehta, founder and CEO of Nerdbugs, anatomically correct plush toys aimed at educating and engaging people about the human body. With a background as a family medicine doctor, Dr. Ronak has leveraged her expertise to develop the toys’ educational content. Her mission with Nerdbugs is to demystify medical and mental health conditions, cha...