WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY

If you have a vagina or know someone who does, then this episode is for you. Meet Rachel Braun Scherl, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of SPARK Solutions for Growth and author of Orgasmic Leadership: Profiting from the Coming Surge in Women’s Sexual Health and Wellness. Or as she likes to call herself, a “vagipreneur®” (Yes, she registered the term). As a business consultant focused on women’s hea...

Don’t have a clear career path? At a crossroads? Then take Kimberly Soane’s lead. The veteran makeup artist and Executive Director of Artistry at Bobbi Brown has a career she loves, and gets clear about what motivated her. She went from psych major to beauty counter manager, to traveling the world with legendary makeup artist Bobbi Brown. Hear her full story in this episode. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty...

This episode welcomes Natalie and Sue Ismiel of Nad’s to their first podcast recording. The former is the inspiration behind the brand, the latter its creator. This daughter-mother duo takes us back 30 years to the creation of Nad’s, the “green goo” made for hair removal, and its metamorphosis into a global beauty hit thanks to its efficacy and Sue’s charismatic infomercials. Hear how they’ve kept...

For every entrepreneur you hear of, disrupting their industry of choice, there’s usually a corporate counterpart you don’t hear of, quietly team building and evolving their careers more than revolutionizing it. Michael Marquis has certainly been the latter, putting in a solid 22 years Johnson & Johnson and working his way up to his current role as President of recently acquired Vogue Internati...

Taryn Toomey is the founder of The Class, a mind-body fitness experience so unlike anything else, it simply was known as “the class”. In this episode, hear how she traded a career in fashion for one in fitness and mindfulness, how an experience with grief created the beginnings of this unexplainable workout and the steps you can take right now to live more mindfully and authentically. This is the...

Lisa Goodman, Founder of GoodSkin™ Clinics, set out to create a laid-back lifestyle for herself when she opened her business. Instead, word spread like crazy and her business mushroomed into a multi-location operation. Along the way, she went through a divorce, unexpectedly fell in love with a French guy, moved to Paris, and now lives between LA, New York, and Paris. In this episode, hear how she...

Courtney and Tye Caldwell started as partners in life and are now partners in ShearShare, the first mobile app that lets stylists rent space on demand. From marriage, parenthood and startup life, the pair share the key lessons they’ve learned on collaboration and partnership in the decades since they met. You’ll also hear how they’re responding to the changing needs of the hair industry, and why t...

Brian “Gibs” Long, CEO and Founder of GIBS Grooming, is truly an entrepreneur's entrepreneur. When attempting to secure a loan for his first business, “I got 10 nos before I got a yes,” he remembers. “That’s the difference between a normal person and an entrepreneur.” From selling veggie burritos at Grateful Dead shows to creating a bagel store chain to forging an entirely new grooming category, h...

Erika Wasser, Founder and CEO of Glam & Go, didn’t mean to be a beauty entrepreneur. She was a working actor and comedian who just needed a really fast blowout. On that premise alone, she started with a single seat in a fancy gym locker room and the goodwill of her favorite hairstylist. Turns out she wasn’t the only one with a desire for amazing hair in 15 minutes - breakout success unexpected...

In beauty, it’s always about what’s new, what’s next, what’s the latest brand to have. But only a few make it past the 5-year mark, and even fewer celebrate double-digit anniversaries. In this episode, Lisa Price, Founder of Carol’s Daughter, tells us how she kept her brand alive, relevant and privately owned for a solid 25 years before selling to L’Oreal. It’s a candid look at life before and aft...

Meet the duo behind The Sparkle Bar, Arizona’s first full-service makeup studio, Alexandra Bradberry and Leiah Scheibel. They’ve thrown away the rule book and created a space that’s inclusive, pressure-free and most of all fun. But before they could even start, they had one big hurdle to clear: An archaic state law that essentially made their dream business illegal. In this episode, hear how they...

One of Jodi’s best networking channels hasn’t been a coworking space, professional association or trade show - it’s been her gym. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, meet Delon Nelson, founder of said gym, D&I Fitness. Through his people-first attitude, he’s managed to create more than just a place to sweat, but a true sense of connection between himself, his clients and the town in which he li...

Kathy Van Ness, COO of Golden Door Properties, exudes the serene calm of someone who knows she can have it all. . . but, she says, “not all at the same time.” With candid honesty, this seasoned exec recalls choosing work at the expense of missed PTA meetings and bake sales with a refreshing lack of mommy-guilt. “Whether you want to work or have to work, none of that has to do with love,” she concl...

Would you rather have a full head of hair or a healthy sex drive? Sounds like the lead up to a game of “Would You Rather. . . ” but this was the real-life scenario Giorgos Tsetis, Co-Founder and CEO of Nutrafol®, was facing in his early 20s. With a thriving modeling career at stake, he had to make the impossible choice of taking a hair-growth drug that would keep him employed, but in turn, cause h...

There are those who prefer the scrappiness of startup life and those who thrive in traditional corporate settings. Then there’s Danya Klein, VP of Brand Relations at Preen. Me, who has successfully adapted to both scenarios. “Startups know how to think, innovate and be creative, but when they need to package and market their own product, it can be difficult. I think that’s where there’s a strong o...

They say the road to success isn’t always easy, but celebrity colorist, entrepreneur and TV personality Kim Vo knows it also doesn’t have to break you, either. His ever-expanding career now includes four salons, a show with Tori Spelling and a celebrity client list that reads like the homepage of TMZ. All of which have contributed to his reputation as the “Best Blonder In the Business”. In this ep...

In this episode, host Jodi Katz shifts the focus from beauty to media in a new mini-series called Podcasters We Love. Up at the mic is Kelly Campbell, an agency growth consultant and host of Thrive, a podcast that covers topics unique to creative, media and tech agencies. As a former agency owner herself, Kelly shares her own journey from business owner to consultant, the origins of Thrive and the...

By her early 20s, Poppy Jamie was already leading an enviable, “perfect” life: She was a successful TV personality, had her own Snapchat show and designed an accessories line with her best friend Suki Waterhouse. But underneath the gloss of social media was a different reality - an overworked, always-on existence. You know, the kind that paves the road to burnout? She also knew she wasn’t the only...

Hours after the birth of her daughter, Divya Gugnani, CEO and Founder of Wander Beauty, was already asking her husband if he’d be okay with one more. “One more baby?!” he asked, incredulous. Her response? “No, one more company!” Said like a true serial entrepreneur. Formerly an investment banker, she’s successfully founded four companies in three widely different sectors. And like human babies, th...

Change can be slow. Though we’re almost two decades into the 21st century, beauty standards have only just begun widening in scope. Just ask Rachel Winard, founder of skincare line Soapwalla. “I like the way I look, but I’m not the typical face of a skincare company.” With a penchant for designs shaved into her hair and tattooed arms on display, she describes a sense of invisibility within the bea...

There are some jobs you can’t get a degree in, and have no linear point of entry or even a standardized test for qualification. You know, like makeup artist? So, here to break down how to break into this arm of the beauty industry is Cathi Singh, a California-based MUA. Sharing her experience on everything from how to get started to what you need to learn beyond cosmo school, she demystifies the p...

Freelancing isn’t for the faint of heart: No two days are the same, and neither are the paychecks. But there’s a delicious freedom that comes with being your own boss and taking full agency over your career. On this episode, beauty writer and freelancer extraordinaire Gina Way breaks down the strategies that have kept the projects - and the checks - rolling in. From how to hustle, how to get paid...

Mabel Lee’s is the classic story of a hobby, born out of a desire for a better product, turned successful business. Lee created Velour Lashes while still in college in Toronto, and seven years later is defining success in a deeper way than just the numbers. Seeing her team grow as humans both personally and professionally, while delivering a game-changing product that helps women streamline and po...

In classic corporate hierarchy, the CEO pretty much occupies the highest perch. But for those who have made it that far up, what happens when there’s no more corporate ladder to climb? Dawn Robertson, founder of Timeless Beauty Bar, had to ask herself that question after decades as President or CEO of several major apparel companies and retailers. And what she found was a lot like what landed her...

Elise Saetta, Macy’s Fashion Beauty Director graduated from college in the midst of the Great Recession. With a dismal job market, no immediate prospects and little guidance on how to get a job in fashion, she moved home to Boston and picked up a retail sales position. But through strategic moves, pluck and moxie, she took that starter job and made it the first step towards her dream job, climbing...