Startups in Stilettos

“So that's the premise of what we do. We show up when you don't know what to say, when it's hard for you to remember those days, but you don't want to leave someone alone.” In this heartfelt episode of Startups in Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Kelly Edmondson, founder of Timely Presence, a year-long grief support service created from unimaginable loss and deep compassion. After the...

Emily has a long and rich history in the branding world. Over the stretch of 14 years, Emily says she's done everything from skinny jeans to french fries, working in the brand development of companies like Abercrombie & Fitch and Wendy’s. But what she really loves more than anything, is working with passionate entrepreneurs to help build authentic brands that deeply connect with clients.   In toda...

“Community forms when people see themselves in your story, your mission, or your message.” In this episode of Startups and Stilettos, Ingrid shares the cornerstone of her business success, community. From building real relationships to creating a support system that persists through both wins and setbacks, Ingrid shares how authentic connection is the true magic behind growing a thriving business....

"I had so many people that were like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Could you just do it? And it took me a while to kind of come to terms with that. And I decided, OK, I am going to do this, but I'm going to do it my way.” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Christina Lenkowski, founder of Publicity by Christina, to unpack how a single shift in strategy—podcast gu...

“So that was really the light bulb moment of, I can't be the only other operator out there feeling this alone and isolated, trying to figure it out every single day.” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Carlyn Bushman and Ingrid Zapata-Read sit down with Megan Long, founder of Second First, to spotlight the often-overlooked role of the second-in-command. After spending a decade as a CO...

“AI cannot read the room. Right. They don't know what mood or mode that your executive is working within right now or what element.” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, we dive into one of the most valuable—and limited—resources every founder faces: time. Carlyn Bushman sits down with operations expert Gwendolyn, founder of Your Virtual Admin Expert, to unpack what it really takes to lead at...

“Just get started, right? Progress over perfection. What I teach all the time, what I coach, what I consult on, progress over perfection.” On this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Carlyn Bushman and Ingrid Zapata-Read sit down with award-winning podcaster and coach Heidy De La Cruz to unpack the real journey behind building a podcast that’s not just a passion project—but a powerful business...

“Don't let it be about control. Don't let it be about guilt. Let it be about, wow, I'm going to be able to accomplish so much more by not having to waste my time on these things that I could hire outsource for.” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, host Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with fractional COO and founder of La Pausa Consulting, Adair Vilella, to unpack what it really takes to build a...

Take Tamara’s bottleneck quiz “This is not what I want. The easiest way for me to get out of corporate because I was like, I'm going to start my business.” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with operations expert and founder of Behind the Screens, Tamara Muñoz, to unpack the realities of building a business that actually works behind the scenes. From her early...

“...when it's 80% women doing all of the cleaning, it's really important to me on that side, not just the guest side, but the people behind taking care of these places.” What if the place you’re staying on vacation could actually support your health—not compromise it? In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, host Carlyn Bushman sits down with Annie Graybill, founder of Havenwith, a wellness-forwa...

“These are my core values. And then whether or not that eventually gets shared with partners down the road, it's kind of like your own North Star.” What happens when one woman decides to solve her own loneliness—and ends up building a 70,000-member community? In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Carlyn Bushman and Ingrid Zapata-Read sit down with Emily Dempsey, founder of The Brickell B...

“…help me figure out what I am, because I, that wasn't clear to me as well. If I'm going to be an entrepreneur, what am I?” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosted by Ingrid Zapata-Read, we sit down with operations strategist Faith Morris to unpack the identity crisis so many entrepreneurs face when they outgrow the way they’ve been running their business—and even outgrow their own job ti...

“Well, you know what? I'm going to put a little twist to it because whether he said yes or not, I was going to do it because it was in my gut and it was in my heart to do it.” In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Jasmine Moseley Beal — award-winning global learning and talent development leader, founder and CEO of Virtue Key Consulting Group — to talk about b...

“Here's the thing. Systems truly set you free, right? It allows you to scale a business. Once I fine -tuned my machine, you know, after those two years,I literally ran my business remotely between Florida, Massachusetts, because I just put in systems.” In this episode of Startups and Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Sailynn Doyle, founder of Passion Purpose Posture, to unpack what it r...

“...if this goes out and this doesn't work, that's going to suck. But I wanted to actually put it out from a place of very genuine. I don't know how this is going to go. I didn't just publish this because I know what the ending was. So it was a real place of vulnerability for me.”In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Carlyn Bushman and Ingrid Zapata-Read sit down with Lisa Simone Richard...

“And not every idea should be one that you see through, but I feel like the ones that align with your goals and that you feel deeply passionate about are those that you should keep pushing forward.”In this special episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Ingrid Zapata-Read and Carlyn Bushman flip the mic and interview each other. If you’ve ever wondered who’s behind the voices, how this podcast cam...

“But it's also like a rising tide lifts all boats. And I mean that not only from moral support and collaboration, but it also is the gap in women starting businesses, growing businesses, but clearly staying in business.” ‍In this special episode of Startups and Stilettos, co-hosts Ingrid Zapata-Read and Carlyn Bushman turn the mic inward to share the stories, philosophies, and messy middle moments...

“And I feel like being able to teach this at a young age, even if it's like, you know, lemonade stand basics, right? Like, what do you need and how much do you have to spend? And what is it going to take for you to go out there? And what does it mean to actually earn a profit and all of that?”In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, host Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Osayi Lasisi, founder of...

“No one can fund your business. No one can come to your store. No one can purchase your service. If they don't know you exist, if they don't know about it, if they don't know how it can help you, PR does all of those things.”‍What if visibility isn’t about being louder—but being more relevant? In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Ingrid Zapata-Read and Carlyn Bushman sit down with PR po...

“That's that visibility that I teach for that with that consistent content has to drive to your list or here again, it's just noise. It's just content. That's all it's doing. So visibility without strategy is just noise.”In this episode of Startups and Stilettos, hosts Carlyn Bushman and Ingrid Zapata-Read sit down with Tracy Beavers, CEO and Founder of Tracy Beavers Coaching and longtime visibili...

“I never really wanted to be in front of the camera with my brand because I wanted to be an eyewear brand, not a black -owned eyewear brand. I didn't want to be pigeonholed into something in people's mind.”In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Ingrid Zapata-Read and Carlyn Bushman sit down with Entreprenista League member Dionne Ellison, Founder and CEO of Vuliwear, an elevated eyewear b...

“You truly kept going. You learned along the way. And guess what? You asked for help. You figured things out. And I know we sound like a broken record here, but so many wins, so many plot twists. And once again, you're still here.”In this special year-end episode of Startups in Stilettos, Ingrid Zapata-Read and Carlyn Bushman look back on the moments that defined this year—not the polished highlig...

“...Now I feel so secure and confident in what I'm doing that, you know, it's completely different than what I originally set it out to be. But I'm really grateful that it is.” In this episode of Startups and Stilettos, host Ingrid Zapata-Read sits down with Darcy Bennet—founder of DB Executive Services and the powerhouse behind Elevating Administrative Professionals, a fast-growing global event s...

“...I have been able to scale multiple businesses off of organic social media reach alone. No email marketing, no paid ads. Literally just organic reach. And word of mouth. And I mean, I think that speaks volumes to it.”‍In this inspiring episode of Startups in Stilettos, we sit down with Entreprenista League member and Powerhouse Latina founder Nicole Leone—the dynamic force behind El Leone Virtu...

"I think what really sets a lot of different agencies apart is how they acquire backlinks because there's so many. And that's another one of those terms, like, who even knows what that means. It's very important to get other websites to talk about your website.”In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, Carlyn and Ingrid sit down with SEO strategist and founder of HelloSEO, Jade Pruett, to explore...