The Brand is Female

October is World Menopause Month — and it’s time to challenge one of the most persistent myths in our culture: that women’s careers, beauty, and relevance come with an expiration date. Graydon Moffat, founder of Graydon Skincare, has made it her mission to defy that idea. She’s spoken openly about ageism in entrepreneurship and about how women navigating perimenopause and beyond deserve to be seen...

Canada is facing a women’s health crisis: three in four women over 40 experience menopausal symptoms that disrupt their daily lives — yet access to care is inconsistent, fragmented, and often out of reach. In this episode of The Brand is Female, highlighting World Menopause Month, Eva Hartling speaks with Dr. Michelle Jacobson, a leading OBGYN who decided to take her expertise beyond the clinic an...

Kelsey Irvine is part of the mother/two-daughters trio behind Birch Babe, a Canadian skincare brand that's making waves in the natural beauty industry. Kelsey's career is a blend of creativity, commitment to sustainability, and a keen eye for storytelling. With a background in commercial advertising and documentary directing, she has a unique ability to craft content that looks good and connects o...

What does it take to challenge centuries of tradition and shift an entire culture’s relationship with alcohol? In this episode, I sit down with Moa Gürbüzer, a former social worker and family therapist who saw firsthand how alcohol harms families and communities. Rather than staying in the therapy room, Moa decided to tackle the issue at its roots: our cultural norms and rituals around drinking. A...

We’re re-airing this episode as it has been one of our favourites this past season. It features a true pioneer in the period care space: Carinne Chambers-Saini, Founder and CEO of DIVA , the company behind the Original DIVA Cup. What started over 20 years ago as a mother-daughter mission to bring a better, more sustainable alternative to pads and tampons has since grown into a global brand that ha...

This week, we’re revisiting one of our fave conversations of the season. Eva chats with Sara Jonsdottir, Founder and CEO of Revol Cares—a company leading the charge in reimagining period care with medically recognized, toxin-free leakproof underwear. Sara shares her journey from identifying critical gaps in women’s health and sustainability to launching an innovative product that puts safety,...

What do you get when a childhood CEO dream, a boring date night, and a refusal to settle for burnout collide? You get Mandy Balak’s playbook for building brands, leading communities, and living life on purpose. In this episode, Mandy—entrepreneur, coach, and President of The Gathering—shares how she turned a last-minute class project into a media company, why her monthly Integration Day is non-neg...

With summer in full swing and fewer people tuning in weekly (because… vacation!)—we’re revisiting some of our favourite episodes from the past year—ones that deserve another listen as we hit the halfway mark. Kaelen Haworth is a designer and entrepreneur who has navigated the ever-changing world of fashion with creativity and adaptability. After launching her namesake brand in 2009 and earning a s...

In this episode of The Brand is Female, Eva Hartling sits down with Cynthia Sakai, founder of evolvetogether , the elevated personal care brand that took the world by storm with its mission-driven, design-forward essentials. Launched at the start of the pandemic with a medical-grade face mask that quickly became a celebrity favourit e, evolvetoget her has since grown into a full line of high-perfo...

When avid outdoor adventurers Jaime Hackett and Erin Prohaska couldn’t find a bug spray that actually worked and felt good on their skin, they decided to create their own. That’s how  Bite  was born — a Toronto-based brand on a mission to make bug protection clean, non-toxic, and enjoyable to use. In this episode, the co-founders share the full story behind Bite’s creation, fro...

Jenn Harper is the Founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty, a brand rewriting the rules of the beauty industry — and redefining what it means to lead with purpose. In this episode of The Brand is Female, Jenn shares the incredible journey that took her from working in food service and sales to launching a mission-driven beauty brand from her kitchen table. A dream about three Indigenous girls covered...

In this episode, Eva sits down with Sara Jonsdottir, Founder and CEO of Revol Cares—a company leading the charge in reimagining period care with medically recognized, toxin-free leakproof underwear. Sara shares her journey from identifying critical gaps in women’s health and sustainability to launching an innovative product that puts safety, comfort, and dignity first. We talk about what it t...

Today’s conversation is one we wish we didn’t have to have—but it’s one we absolutely must. In this episode, host Eva Hartling is joined by Liat Kaplan, founder and CEO of WiSP, a device she created to address a disturbing and all-too-common issue: drink spiking. Drink spiking is more widespread than many realize. While it’s hard to find stats on this issue, recent studies show that 13% of women i...

This conversation features a true pioneer in the period care space. Carinne Chambers-Saini is the Founder and CEO of DIVA , the company behind the Original DIVA Cup. What started over 20 years ago as a mother-daughter mission to bring a better, more sustainable alternative to pads and tampons has since grown into a global brand that has reshaped the menstrual care industry. Back in 2002, Carinne a...

In this episode, host Eva Hartling sits down with Jessica Bosman and Bryn Davis Williams, co-founders of DOUBL, a company that’s reimagining how bras are made and sold . The duo met at university and bonded over their shared passion for entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation. Noticing how little the bra industry had evolved over the years, they saw an opportunity to do things differently. Laun...

Caroline Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist of Anishinaabe and French ancestry, based in Montreal. She has carved out her own path as an artist and filmmaker, building a practice rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary expression. Her work explores identity, community, and the impact of colonialism—offering any creative entrepreneur or artist a powerful model of what it means to...

Dallas Barnes is on a mission to transform reproductive health for individuals with ovaries. As the founder and CEO of Reya Health, a digital platform offering personalized birth control support, Dallas is helping users navigate contraception with confidence and clarity. In this episode, she shares how her own experience with birth control side effects sparked the idea for Reya—and how she turned...

This week, we’re re-airing a conversation with two of our favourite beauty founders from Canada. Three Ships Beauty was founded by Connie Lo and Laura Burget in 2017. What began as a kitchen experiment with just $2,000 each has grown into a thriving skincare brand known for its commitment to transparency and sustainability. Rebranded in 2020, Three Ships Beauty is now stocked in nearly 1,000 store...

Cathrine Delp is the Founder and CEO of Ekvi , and a rising force in Norway’s emerging femtech ecosystem. Norway is part of a growing wave of innovation in women's health, with more founders and startups stepping up to tackle challenges ranging from menstrual health to menopause and beyond. While the region is still catching up to countries like the UK and Sweden in terms of investment, initiative...

In this episode, we're exploring the intersection of design, community, and sustainability with two inspiring women who are reshaping the built environment. Tina Ranieri-D’Ovidio and Hagit Waisman are the founding Principals of ward99 architects , a firm known for creating award-winning public spaces that reflect the diverse communities they serve. With decades of experience and a shared passion f...

Allison Dent is an M&A and financial expert who’s passionate about helping all entrepre neurs — women included —- take control of their financial futures. We all know that starting and running a business takes vision, resilience, and a lot of hard work—but what about planning for the long-term? Whether it’s scaling your company, securing funding, or figuring out what an exit strategy should ac...

In this episode, we’re tackling an issue that’s holding Canada back—our entrepreneurship gap, especially when it comes to women-led businesses. Despite years of investment, progress has been painfully slow, and the numbers tell a troubling story: entrepreneurship is in decline, self-employment has dropped, and gender-based barriers are costing the economy up to $180 billion in lost potential. To m...

Today we’re celebrating IWD with a special episode featuring a history-maker in hockey: Jessica Campbell. In July 2024, Jessica became assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken, breaking barriers in a field long dominated by men. By fall, she made history as the first woman to coach behind the bench in an NHL game. Jessica’s coaching journey has been full of firsts—from coaching internationally in Sw...

Kaelen Haworth is a designer and entrepreneur who has navigated the ever-changing world of fashion with creativity and adaptability. After launching her namesake brand in 2009 and earning a spot in the CFDA Incubator program, she built a reputation for effortless, modern womenswear. She later expanded into size-inclusive fashion with Second Sight and spent time in editorial and celebrity styling....

This episode was recorded in Oslo, Norway, in conversation with the founder of sustainable fashion brand “ As We Are Now ” or AWAN, Anette Miwa Dimmen. AWAN is a modular fashion brand designed for women, by women. Born in Seoul and raised in Norway, Anette’s journey is anything but conventional. From chasing dreams of becoming a music star in London to launching groundbreaking businesses in Norway...