SheSez with Linda Grasso

Aishwarya Iyer shares her journey from the tech start-up world of New York City to the scenic olive mills in California to found the artisanal olive oil company Brightland . With zero experience in the food industry, launching an olive oil company was nothing the 32-year-old ever could have predicted. A few years ago she decided to begin cooking dinner at her apartment (instead of ordering take-ou...

Forget about putting all your focus on getting your child into a good college. Yeah, you heard us right —you can lighten up on all the tutors, batting coaches, AP classes and STEM projects. If you really want your kid to be successful in life teach them manners. So says, etiquette expert Lisa Gache ( Beverly Hills Manners: Golden Rules from the World's Most Glamorous Zip Code ) and Harvard Univers...

Forget about lingerie and matching sets with piping. What about comfortable, stylish sleepwear with premium fabric? Isn't that what most women really want in bed? Up until four years ago, it hardly existed. 34-year-old Ashley Merrill shares with Linda how she changed that by kicking off Lunya . The mom of two also talks about how having a partner who participates in household chores and childcare...

Alison Marie Ragusa is making waves in the beauty industry. In 2018, she and her partner – her sister Katherine – developed a skincare line with the cannabis extract, CBD . Under the label Lab to Beauty , the line has become the first cannabis-based beauty brand to enter the high-end, luxury market—in this case—the department store, Barney's. Alison shares with Linda the benefits of using CBD on t...

The debut of Just Tell Me What To Do—a new, when-we-feel-like-it SheSez segment that gives listeners a chance to ask an expert how to handle a perplexing, complicated, worrisome situation—of any kind. This week advice guru, Family Circle magazine columnist, author ( Look at You Now ) and former SheSez guest Liz Pryor addresses two hairy situations: what to do when your husband gets sick and your m...

Kara Goldin shares the story of how shifting her beverage of choice from Diet Coke to water flavored with fresh fruit dramatically improved her health, leading her to found Hint, Inc . She also covers how she launched the company while pregnant with her third child, what its like working alongside her husband who is Hint's COO, and why its important not to be sold when you see the word "natural" o...

In this episode Linda chats with Amanda Klane , co-founder of the world's first frozen Greek yogurt bar. Looking for a healthy frozen dessert, she came up with the idea at the age of just 23 and and shared it with her good friend, Drew Harrington , who ultimately became her partner in Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt . Amanda shares how their idea for a frozen bar was initially shot down cold as simply n...

Rachel Steinman grew up in a family riddled with mental illness . She remembers as a girl always being embarrassed and somewhat exasperated trying to explain it to others. When she was 16 her grandfather leapt to his death at his high-rise condo—and she never fully understood why. It haunted her and she wanted to get inside his mind.  She did years later when she'd become a mom of two daughters, a...

For 20 years, Amanda Jones enjoyed a successful career as a travel writer.  Based out of San Francisco, she was also a mom to two daughters and like any mom, cautioned her kids about staying away from drugs. Then a good friend got cancer and she started using marijuana to cope with the side effects of treatment.  The woman constantly grappled with "riding the crazy train" due to the high levels of...

Dina Kaplan , as founder of The Path , teaches meditation to groups and organizations across the globe.  It's a far cry from where she started out. In her early career, Dina was an award-winning TV news reporter and later she became something of an "it" girl in tech after co-founding the online video platform, Blip. Named one of Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2010, Dina wa...

On today's show we meet food entrepreneur Candace Nelson .In 2005, Candace founded the world's first cupcakes only bakery— Sprinkles —which now has 24 locations nationwide. Sprinkles are the Tesla of cupcakes: artfully decorated and made with premium ingredients. With celebrity fans like Oprah and Blake Lively, Candace quickly became known as the Cupcake Queen—and she's gained even more exposure o...

There are many successful red carpet stylists in Los Angeles, but Dana Asher Levine  has a distinction. She is the town's most sought after, influential power dresser.  Dana styles the biggest behind-the-scenes names in showbiz – including producer Shonda Rhimes  who has created TV shows like Scandal and Grey's Anatomy. Dana's path to the top was bumpy. She'd been a stay-at-home mom, got divorced...

Hear the amazing story of how 27-year-old Adi Arezzini  turned her mother's organic tea garden into the Teami Blends empire .  Adi shares with Linda how, after serving two years in the Israeli army, she returned to the U.S. in the shape of her life. But after eating the army's institutional, bland diet, she grappled with constipation and bloating. She tried all kinds of remedies but nothing worked...

When Kate Betts took over the top job at Harper's Bazaar  at 35, she had already earned a reputation as someone with guts. At her previous job at Vogue, she was known as one of the few who, while clashing with infamous, ice maiden Anna Wintour, could hold her own. At the time of taking over Harper's Bazaar, Kate was the youngest editor ever to helm a national fashion magazine. She was also a new m...

When Susan Feldman sold One Kings Lane to Bed, Bath & Beyond in 2016, she could have kicked back. Instead, she founded the on-line, platform Get in the Groove , which offers curated lifestyle articles and retail geared for the middle-aged woman. "I started hearing a lot from women that they were feeling invisible," Susan shares. "So it's important for women to figure out how they can stay current...

Discover how to tap into your creative side—and experience profound personal growth.  For most of us, being creative was something we did as a child. Whether painting or molding play dough, we were creative for the fun of it. But as we've gotten older, with jobs and kids, most of us have let our creative side go. Creativity Coach Robin Finn aims to help people get it back. Robin shares how engagin...

While many designers gravitate towards trends, Rachel Pally  stays true to the elegantly draped dresses, wide-leg pants and feminine tops that put her on the map some 15 years ago. Her line, which includes plus sizes and maternity, can be found at stores including Neiman Marcus and Pea in the Pod…. and at rachelpally.com . Rachel shares with Linda how she stumbled into designing clothes at 22 and...

As a celebrity and as the head of Goop , Gwyneth Paltrow has access to a pretty much anything she wants when it comes to beauty products. So when the lifestyle guru recently posted a video  of her short-list nighttime beauty regimen—which included slathering a $185 skin serum by Vintner's Daughter on her face—women around the world took note.  One of them was April Gargiulo , founder of Vintner's...

Suffering from the autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis , Mecca Elliot  tried nearly every prescription medication on the market. But none would alleviated her crippling pain. On a lark, she tried meditation. "Meditation calmed and centered me—I was so anxious at the time—and I became addicted," she recalls. Then an unexpected bonus: slowly, she saw her arthritis symptoms go away. Today Mecca...

If you're a fan of interior-design-oriented magazines, you may have seen Kathryn Ireland  on the cover of Elle Décor , Luxe and World of Interiors magazines this past year.  And that's just in 2018!   Kathryn's signature style , which is chic and feels grand—but is also comfy and a little boho—has attracted clients including Steve Martin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Caroline Kennedy. She has authored...

Sheena Yaitanes  sha res with Linda the story of how she fused her skills as a chemist and her talent as an artist to found the botanical oil-based, clean cosmetics company Kosas . It started with with her simple desire for a lipstick that was non-toxic, came in natural shades and actually felt good on your lips.  "It's not just about the pure and natural ingredients Kosas puts into products, it i...

Even for a major consumer brand, launching a new product in the food industry is a challenge. So how did Gail Becker  get   Caulipower  frozen pizzas in grocery stores like Whole Foods and Bristol Farms in little over a year? Gail shares with Linda the incredible story of how she created Caulipower line, now available in more than 10,000 grocery stores.    Like so many SheSez guests, it was a circ...

In this episode, we hear the story of how 3 sisters —a techie, a PR executive and fashion designer—joined forces to turn a $7500 investment into the multi-million dollar LA-based clothing line, Naked Wardrobe . Shirin, Shida and Shideh Kaviani (all in their 30s) share with Linda how they got the idea to manufacture form-fitting viscose clothing, how they cleverly used Instagram to market the line...

Lisa Lillien is not a nutritionist or a dietitian, she's just hungry—and that is why she created the Hungry Girl brand . With a website and a daily email that goes out to more than a million subscribers, 12 New York Times best-selling books and her own magazine, Lisa offers tips and recipes with a realistic approach to healthy eating. Listen in as Lisa shares with Linda how she quit her job as a s...

Grace Liang's story  is a thesis in the power of believing in yourself. While growing up in rural China, wearing her brothers' hand-me-downs, she always thought of herself as an ugly duckling.  No one ever told her she was pretty—until she met her husband. He was an American and the two fell in love. In 2007 Grace moved to the US, the two got married and she began working as a teacher.  Then four...