Unhinged Founder

LauraAura built a branding agency for 16 years… then sold it and started completely over as a keynote speaker and coach. In this conversation, she and Melinda Jackson go deep on people-pleasing, identity shifts, trusting yourself when it doesn't make sense on paper, and why the pay-to-speak model is garbage. Also: beef in a sports bra went LinkedIn-viral, and it actually says something important a...

Building a business as a female founder can feel isolating, overwhelming, and misunderstood—but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, Crissy Fishbane, co-founder of Her Healthollective, shares how she built a thriving community for moms while navigating burnout, boundaries, and the emotional weight of entrepreneurship. We dive into the real challenges women in business face: loneliness, people-p...

Your wardrobe might be saying more about your business than you realize. In this episode of Unhinged Founder, Melinda sits down with personal stylist and color consultant Emily Burnette to unpack how personal style influences confidence, leadership presence, and personal branding for women in business. Emily spent years working in the fashion industry in both New York and Los Angeles, styling clie...

Building a personal brand as a female founder can feel uncomfortable, awkward, and even terrifying. Most women entrepreneurs know they need to show up online, but few actually feel confident doing it. In this episode of Unhinged Founder, Melinda sits down with brand storytelling photographer Roxanne Engstrom to talk about the real reason so many women in business struggle with visibility, personal...

Reinventing your life after divorce as a female founder isn’t reckless — it’s radical self-trust. It’s choosing alignment over comfort, identity over conditioning, and courage over staying small. In this episode, Melinda sits down with Jackie Smythe to talk about what it actually looks like to leave a 13-year marriage, sell everything you own, move to Tulum, and rebuild your life and business from...

Building an authentic brand as a woman founder isn’t about beige websites and copy-paste marketing formulas; it’s about unlearning the bro-marketing playbook and showing up fully as yourself. In this episode, Melinda sits down with brand strategist Hunter Myers to talk about what it actually takes to build a business that feels aligned, profitable, and real. Hunter shares her journey from corporat...

Building a company isn’t glamorous; it’s chaotic, exhausting, and completely consuming. In this episode, Melinda sits down with agency founder Kristen O’Neall to talk about the real, unfiltered reality of entrepreneurship, scaling a business, and what it actually takes to grow something from nothing. Kristen shares how she went from intern to CEO, built Mirage Media into a global agency, and why s...

What’s it really like writing TV in Hollywood... behind the scenes, on the lot, under pressure, with rewrites happening in real time? In this episode of Unhinged Founder, Melinda sits down with TV writer Will Griffin to talk about his career in film and television, his path into the Warner Bros Writers Program, and what it was like working on Fuller House (yes… that Full House universe). They get...

If you run a client-based business, the scariest part of taking time off isn’t the vacation… it’s wondering if your clients will still be there when you come back. In this episode, Melinda sits down with Leisha Thompson, founder of The Traveling Hairstylists, a company that helps appointment-based professionals step away for maternity leave, medical leave, surgery, or unexpected life events… witho...

Lynda Leonce, founder of Live From Your Truth, shares how she walked away from a high-paying IT career and a life that looked perfect on paper to build a business rooted in authenticity, intuition, and alignment. In this episode, Melinda and Lynda unpack what it really means to live from your truth, why so many women feel disconnected even when they “have it all,” and how small mindset shifts can...

Stephanie Hall (Occupational Therapist) and Tisha Shah (Speech-Language Pathologist), co-founders of TheraFriends Community Partnership, share why they launched a nonprofit to fix the gaps in pediatric therapy access. They break down what occupational therapy and speech therapy really are, how insurance creates massive barriers for families, and why early intervention is critical for child develop...

Lauren Courtney, an energy healer, medium, and author, shares the moment everything shifted: from losing her first love to discovering her spiritual gifts, healing deep-rooted trauma, and learning how the body holds decades of fight-or-flight. Lauren explains her journey from corporate life to Holy Fire Reiki, mediumship, sobriety, and the medical revelation that unlocked her intuition after 41 ye...

Lisa Huff, founder of Stylist Soul Tribe, shares her wild journey: from making only $8,000 a year at a Walmart salon to becoming a successful Mastermind CEO and business coach. Hear how Lisa, a hairstylist by trade, built her online mastermind membership for beauty professionals over seven years. Melinda and Lisa discuss the mindset blocks around money, the power of "fast, messy action", and the t...

She trusted the wrong person, and it cost her 10 months and thousands of dollars. But this founder didn’t quit. In this episode, we uncover what it really takes to rebuild after a business betrayal, how to protect yourself as a woman in business, and why every successful entrepreneur needs stronger boundaries. Melinda and Jamie also talk: The high cost of misplaced trust in business Learning to ve...

After her husband’s medical crisis and a broken hospital system, Kim Feth turned pain into purpose—founding Healthcare Survival Kit, a company helping patients navigate billing errors and unsafe discharges. Her story shows what true advocacy looks like. Links to Today’s Show Notes: — Healthcare Survival Kit: https://healthcaresurvivalkit.com — Kim’s LinkedIn: / kimfeth — Melinda’s Website: https:/...

She moved to Chicago with $20 in her pocket, crashed on her cousin’s couch surrounded by five cats, and worked an unpaid internship while stocking shelves at Victoria’s Secret. Today, Megan Gopp is the Founder and Creative Director of The Adventure Agency, a full-service creative marketing studio helping brands tell better stories. In this episode, Megan sits down with host Melinda Jackson to talk...

Everyone has heard bad business advice, but women founders listen to it on repeat. In this episode of Unhinged Founder, we asked women in business to share the worst advice they’ve ever received… and the answers are brutally honest. From “play it safe” to “don’t charge too much,” these stories reveal the clichés, biases, and flat-out wrong guidance that can derail entrepreneurs if they listen. Ins...

Messy action, burnout, and building a PR empire from scratch. Melinda Jackson reveals how she turned chaos into a thriving business. In this episode of Unhinged Founder, Melinda shares her story of moving to LA with $500, sleeping on a stranger’s floor, battling mental health struggles, and surviving nightmare agency jobs. She opens up about quitting, starting over, and eventually launching her ow...

Welcome to Unhinged Founder, the podcast for entrepreneurs who are tired of polished highlight reels and want the truth about what it really takes to build a business. Hosted by Melinda Jackson, founder of Melinda Jackson Public Relations and a GRAMMY and EMMY award–winning storyteller, this show brings raw, unfiltered conversations about the highs, lows, and messy middle of entrepreneurship. Meli...