Female Founder World

Lindsay Holden couldn't think of an affordable, clean haircare brand that she actually wanted to shop. So, she created one. Odele Beauty is a clean masstige brand creating salon-grade, cruelty-free hair care products in super cute packaging that's now stocked all over the United States. Tune in to episode 42 of Female Founder World and learn how Lindsay and her cofounders aren’t building the brand...

Cyndi Ramirez, founder and CEO of Chillhouse, is paving the way for a modern approach self-care, both at her spa, and in your home. When Cyndi first launched Chillhouse in 2017, she dreamed of creating a modern spa and cafe hybrid oasis in NYC. Since launch, Chillhouse has evolved into a thriving CPG brand stocked in retailers all over the United States. How did she make it happen? We dig into it...

Keira Rumble is a serial entrepreneur. She's an influencer and the founder of two businesses: functional snack brand, Krumbled Food, and Habitual Beauty.  In this ep we cover:  - Keira's roadmap for launching a new business - Trademarking tips - The framework underneath Krumbled Foods' Beauty Bites Collagen Snack Bar influencer programs - The tools and programs underpinning Krumbled Foods and Habi...

Emily Harpel launched Art of Sucre in 2016, spinning fresh cones of cotton candy at events. Then the pandemic hit, events stopped and Emily had to pivot. Fast. She turned to TikTok, posting 3 times a day to attract 1.2 million followers, and flipped a potentially fatal challenge into her biggest business opportunity. In this episode of the Female Founder World podcast, Emily shares her formula for...

Amy Liu, founder of Tower28 Beauty is the guest on today’s show. For over 15 years, Amy Liu worked as a beauty executive at some of the fastest growing prestige beauty companies, including Smashbox, Kate Somerville and Josie Maran Cosmetics. But as a longtime eczema sufferer, Amy couldn’t even enjoy the best part of working in the beauty industry: trying out all the products and treatments. Even t...

Have you thought about creating a game to reach new customers? Scarlett Leong is the cofounder of Sugarbreak, a new biz curbing your sugar intake and manage your blood sugar levels by blocking sweet taste. You can find them in just about any Target store across the US.  Sugarbreak created a Roblox game to reach new customers.  Scarlett joined the founding team at Sugarbreak after her first startup...

How can the founders of consumer brands use NFTs as a marketing and community-building tool, and to generate revenue? Which brands are already doing this well? Who can help you get an NFT project off the ground?  Today’s guest, Shirin Bucknam, is one half of Crypto Witch Club, an inclusive and equitable space to learn about blockchain tech. Tune in for a 101 on Web 3 geared specifically for entrep...

Few business buzzwords have reached the status of ~community~. It’s a marketing catchall phrase used interchangeably to represent everything from mildly-interested Instagram audiences to deeply-connected and engaged paid groups.  Today’s guest Katya Libin created HeyMama with her cofounder to connect working mums who are growing careers and families. Today HeyMama has ~4,000 members, and has conne...

Does the thought of posting your face on TikTok still make you cringe? Would you do it for $100,000? What about $100,000 in one day? Kat Norton goes by Miss Excel on TikTok and Instagram, where she has a combined social media following upwards of a million people. She operates entirely as a one-woman show to leverage that following into a software training business that, according to one report, m...

It’s time to rest and regroup ahead of the new year, so we’re dialing back our publishing schedule throughout December. We'll be back dropping daily episodes in January.

It’s time to rest and regroup ahead of the new year, so we’re dialing back our publishing schedule throughout December. We'll be back dropping daily episodes in January.

More than 50 million people experience menopause each year, and this number is growing as the population ages.  And yet, their wants and needs are largely ignored in the startup and wellness space.  These are two trends fueling the growth of Sally Mueller’s new wellness company, Womaness. She’s bringing a modern, millennial aesthetic and innovative products to the menopause space, becoming the go-...

Jordan Rondel started out baking and decorating beautiful cakes in Auckland, New Zealand. Now, she lives in LA selling cool-as-hell DIY cake kits through her online store and national retailers alongside her sister (and business partner).  Jordan’s growing her business through collaborations with influencers and likeminded brands, and breaks down the different ways she structures her partnerships...

Kinfield wasn’t Nichole Powell’s first business idea, but it was the one she quit her job to pursue full time.  How did she decide this was The One?  Nicole explains her thought process and the actions she took to make the leap into entrepreneurship in this episode, as well as how she launched Kinfield without any paid advertising budget, and other lessons from creating a recreation-ready skincare...

Abena Boamah won the Glossier Grant Initiative in 2020 to grow her business Hanahana Beauty.  The clean beauty brand originally fostered its following by creating fairly sourced shea butter ingredients, made ethically in Ghana. Fast-forward to 2021, with an injection of funding and a glossy rebrand, Hanahana is branching out into new products and figuring out how to scale while staying true to its...

Isabel Aagaard didn’t just create a product, she started a movement.    Her business, LastObject, creates eco-friendly, premium, beautiful I-should-have-thought-of-that! alternatives to single-use products. It all started with LastSwab: a reusable 'cotton' swab made with a material that's more like rubber or plastic. Unlike its disposable predecessor, it can be cleaned with soap and water and re-u...

The truth is, you don’t need to be an industry expert to start a successful business in a particular field. But it sure doesn’t hurt.  Marisa Zupan spent 12 years working to help modernize some of the world's most iconic brands before she became an entrepreneur. She's led innovation across product development, branding and strategy and has experience at brands like Target, Pepsi and Nestlé. In 202...

Julianne Fraser is a superstar influencer marketer with experience shaping the influencer strategy for your favourite millennial brands like Brooklinen, Sakara Life, Seed Probiotics, and Our Place.  Not every founder will have the opportunity to work directly with Julianne or her agency, Dialogue, but you can DIY your way to an impactful influencer marketing strategy with the advice she shares in...

“The #1 Smart Mattress with bed cooling technology, designed to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep.” That’s the SEO line that comes up when you Google the company Alexandra Zatarain cofounded, Eight Sleep. Basically, they’re the world's first sleep fitness brand, and create smart mattresses that use data to help you get a better night’s rest. Alex has been working on her company since 201...

Let’s start with some facts: Sales of wine in cans have reportedly jumped from just $2 million in 2012 to $183.6 million in 2020. Nielsen reports that canned wine sales grew 79.2% over 2019, while wine sales increased just 1.4% over the same period. This is a trend that Kristin Olszewski, Sommelier and founder of premium canned wine company, Nomadica Wine, is tapping into. Since creating Nomadica...

Do you have a great idea for an app? Dipsea cofounder Gina Gutierrez created the first version of her app, Dipsea, in her kitchen with a 200-person email list and a big vision for a new kind of sexual wellness company. Today, more than 58 million minutes of Dispea content has been listened to since launch, and the app has been downloaded more than 2 million times.  Dipsea creates sexy audio storie...

I first connected with Michelle Cordeiro Grant when she was just getting started on LIVELY. I was working as a fashion editor and stopped by LIVELY’s pop-up in New York to pick up something from the new underwire-free, comfy bra brand everyone was talking about. That was in 2016, and by 2019 Michelle had sold LIVELY to Wacoal for $105 Million.  I went back to the early days of LIVELY in this inter...

Sarah Moret is the founder and CEO of Curie. Like most good ideas, Curie was born out of a personal need, as Sarah struggled to find natural personal care products that were non-toxic, but actually did what they promised. When she wasn’t the only one with this problem, she took her $12k savings, and within six months was hitting six-figure revenues — with zero marketing budget.  Sarah’s background...

Do you want to start a company in the wellness space, but it feels like all the good ideas are taken? Carly Stein tapped into a lesser-known ingredient, bee propolis, to create her company Beekeepers Naturals. Her business is experiencing hockeystick growth right now, and has grown up to offer a full line of products that use modern science to back up the efficacy of ancient remedies. In this epis...

Lauren Haynes is the herbalist-turned-entrepreneur behind Wooden Spoon Herbs, a down-to-Earth wellness brand making organic tinctures, teas and tonics.  Lauren has been a practicing herbalist for 10 years and is in deep on all things herbal healing — from biochemistry to energetic flower remedies. In 2014 she started Wooden Spoon Herbs at the local farmers market. Today, she has a growing team and...