“You have to listen to your customers. You have to listen to your community to find out what their needs are, what they like. Your business is going to evolve over the years based on customer needs and preferences.” We know we say this every year… but once again, 2024 has absolutely flown by. Though the year has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, we’ve had the privilege of experiencing so many learning lessons. Today, we're giving you a behind-the-scenes peek at how we built our businesses t...
Dec 16, 2024•56 min
“Understanding through growth, how to have that balance, and to be yourself has been a really big learning for me as an entrepreneur.” Allison Ellsworth is the co-founder and chief brand officer of Poppi, a revolutionary soda brand that you've probably seen in every store. Allison created Poppi in her kitchen by combining apple cider vinegar with refreshing flavors. After gaining national attention on Shark Tank and then rebranding, Allison has propelled Poppi to become a top-selling beverage. T...
Dec 09, 2024•40 min
“A lot of people are worried if AI is going to take over. Don't be worried about AI taking over. You should be worried you're in competition with people using AI better than you.” Danielle Canty is a former brick and mortar business owner turned successful online entrepreneur. Danielle has now transitioned into the digital space to pursue her passion for empowering others and building a business that could lead to freedom of time. Known for her strategic mindset and dedication, she focuses on cr...
Dec 02, 2024•44 min
Hi Entreprenistas! It’s Steph here with a quick minisode about all things brand building. It’s our goal at Entreprenista to help you have all of the best business information and access to the resources that we’ve used to grow both of our seven figure businesses. Today, I’m walking through our marketing strategies and the tactics that we've used to grow two seven figure businesses. Reach out and send me a DM right here. I can't wait to connect! This week's takeaways from Entreprenista: How build...
Nov 25, 2024•20 min
“I grew up sharing clothes and thought it was lovely and fun. And so rental to me is like that expression helped by the internet.” - Ambika Singh Ambika always had exuberant ideas for what she wanted to do for work. It wasn’t until she decided to quit corporate America to go to business school that she was able to combine her passion for helping women with her need to start her own company. Today, we sit down with Ambika Singh, Founder of Armoire, a subscription based clothing rental company. ...
Nov 18, 2024•54 min
“I don't know that we've cracked the right mix yet, but gifting has gone a long way, and I think the more you gift, the more people see your product, and the more you can collaborate on content, the more views you'll see on your content. And ultimately, what you're wanting is just this feeling that you're everywhere.” Kathryn Shah is the co-founder of Spring & Mulberry, a chocolate company known for its date-sweetened health-conscious chocolate bars. The brand was inspired by Kathryn’s perso...
Nov 11, 2024•40 min
“As the leader, it all starts at the top. If you want a culture where people are kind to each other and people are understanding, you have to be that person." Ramy Brook Sharp is the founder and CEO of Ramy Brook, a contemporary women's fashion brand known for its chic and versatile designs. Launched in 2010 from her apartment, the brand quickly gained recognition and is now available at over 400 retailers. Ramy has successfully scaled her business while maintaining a commitment to empowering wo...
Nov 04, 2024•46 min
“I needed support, community, someone to reach their hand down and pull me up. And now I'm always reaching my hand down to pull someone else up.” Mary Seats is the founder of The Icing Agency and The Bakery CoWork, a co-working space designed for women entrepreneurs. From a young age, Mary showcased her entrepreneurial spirit by selling handmade Barbie clothes to all of her friends. Despite facing challenges, including being fired from her own company, Mary persevered and created a thriving busi...
Oct 28, 2024•57 min
“Anything is possible. It's just about believing in yourself, because that will lead everything.” Sherry Saeedi is the founder and CEO of Verswire, a venture capital music startup. Growing up on welfare, Sherry's entrepreneurial spirit emerged early. At just six years old, she was selling coupon booklets to her neighbors and it was that determination that led Sherry to later co-found Veeps, a live stream ticketing platform that was later acquired by Live Nation. This success fueled her vision fo...
Oct 21, 2024•50 min
“It's not about me having a bunch of locations or having a lot of clients. It's about sharing my SOPs, my systems, with other people so that they can also have that same freedom of life and an elevated lifestyle, should they choose to.” Vivian Olodun is the founder of Flourish Media, a Miami-based marketing training and development franchise, where she coaches entrepreneurs on how to structure their businesses to flourish online. She's also a mom of two who has mastered the art of work-life bala...
Oct 14, 2024•40 min
"I believe in simple business models. The best things in life are simple." Rachel Liverman is the founder and CEO of Glowbar, a revolutionary skin care company offering facials in just 30 minutes. As a third generation esthetician, she struggled to find an effective, accessible and trustworthy source for consistent facial treatments administered by expertly trained estheticians. Realizing she wasn't alone, she set out to create Glowbar, the only Facial Studio that offers 30 minute customized and...
Oct 07, 2024•35 min
"Being an entrepreneur means being a role model, the person I wish I saw when I was younger." Kristen Dunning is the founder of Gently Soap, a brand that crafts pure and sustainable herbal remedies that every body can use. Inspired by a battle with eczema, Kristen pioneered herbal research in college and Gently is a testament to her resilience, innovation, and the power of nature. Kristen’s story led her to ABC’s Shark Tank, where she secured a deal with fellow Entreprenista Candace Nelson, fuel...
Sep 30, 2024•57 min
“An S -Corp is like a secret weapon that you have to fight taxes. And you can unlock the power of it because of this new technology.” With over 25 years of marketing experience, Gabrielle Tenaglia is a consultant, advisor, fractional CMO and entrepreneur who helps her clients solve big, complicated problems. After her own struggles overpaying on her taxes as a business owner, she became the head of marketing at Lettuce, an automated tax and accounting system that works 24/7 to save solopreneurs ...
Sep 23, 2024•43 min
"Being an entrepreneur means owning your power as an entrepreneur. You don't have to be ashamed, you don't have to hold back." Janvi Shah is the co-founder and CEO of Hue, an e-commerce technology company transforming the online beauty shopping experience. Hue has helped shoppers find the best products for their unique skin tones, types, hair colors, and preferences based on recommendations from people that look like them. Janvi’s dedication to enhancing accessibility and personalization in beau...
Sep 16, 2024•51 min
“What we're trying to do as entrepreneurs is move from that band of the starving entrepreneur that's knocking on doors and stumbling, to be like, ‘I know my business, I'm gonna get shelf space, this is how I'm gonna drive, this is how I'm gonna compete, and let's hold hands and grow.’” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Junea Raucha, co-founder of Brazi Bites, a company that transformed the U.S. snack market with Brazilian cheese bread. Growing up in Brazil, Junea was inspired by...
Sep 09, 2024•54 min
“I'm a glass half full kind of person. I really like to think of things like, “Okay, why did this happen?” And, you know, it's like, if life gives you lemons, add vodka.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Marissa Shipman, the founder and CEO of theBalm Cosmetics and Pretty Smart Cosmetics. Under her leadership, theBalm has expanded globally, staying true to its mission of inspiring confidence and creativity through beauty. Recently, she collaborated with Walmart to launch her la...
Sep 02, 2024•42 min
“One of my firm belief systems is that curiosity and imagination are directly correlated. One of the things I learned very early on in my career is that as children, curiosity is at the helm.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Maryellis Bunn, the founder and co-CEO of the Museum of Ice Cream. Inspired by a childhood belief that dreams could become reality, she launched the Museum of Ice Cream as a pop-up in New York City in 2016. After quickly becoming a viral sensation, the mus...
Aug 26, 2024•49 min
"Effective coaching listens for what's really happening in the dialogue, not what's just being said." In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Laurie Arron, a seasoned executive coach and former AT&T leader with over 31 years of experience. Laurie shared her journey from corporate leadership to coaching, emphasizing the importance of investing in oneself and building a supportive team. Her transition from a sales leader to a coach highlights her dedication to unlocking potential an...
Aug 19, 2024•44 min
“All we have to say is, ‘Today is the day I do not quit. I'm not gonna focus on tomorrow. Today is the day I do not quit.’ And so, to be able to walk away from a course or a podcast conversation or off a stage or off a plane saying, ‘Well, today wasn't the day I quit, I'm gonna pat myself on the back.’” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Jasmine Star, a world-class speaker, thought leader, podcast host, CEO, and entrepreneur dedicated to helping you achieve your highest goals. Ja...
Aug 12, 2024•48 min
“You could build the most beautiful products, gorgeous website, phenomenal marketing team strategy. But if your people don't like coming to work, it doesn't matter. None of that will.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Jessica Zweig, a serial Entreprenista, author, and “the one you call when you want to scale your revenue, visibility and impact, but struggle to harness your unique superpowers.” After the 2023 sale of her personal branding firm, SimplyBe. Agency, she launched a n...
Aug 05, 2024•40 min
“Ignorance, people, is good! Jump in. Enjoy it. Ask the questions. Study. Learn. Be an eternal student. That's how you succeed.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Julia Haart, the founder of +Body by Julia Haart, a body-positive, technologically advanced shapewear brand that aims to empower women to unapologetically express themselves and feel confident in their own skin. Julia is a serial Entreprenista whose inspiring journey began when she left her orthodox community at the ag...
Jul 29, 2024•50 min
“We transitioned almost everyone out of the company and really flipped the entire company around. It was one of the most painful few months of my entire career, but also one of the most impactful. And if we had not done that, we probably wouldn't still be standing today.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Laurel Mintz, the CEO and Founder of Fabric VC, a venture capital firm launched in 2022 with a mission to support diverse founders. Fabric VC not only provides necessary fundin...
Jul 22, 2024•46 min
“You really have to understand that, in order for you to scale, you have to learn how to do certain things and master them before you move on. If you don't do that, then your audience is going to feel just as lost as you feel.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Ingrid Read, the founder of Working Momkind, the largest community and online resource dedicated to empowering and supporting mothers from all walks of life. Ingrid is also the founder of Grow With Community, a consulting...
Jul 15, 2024•51 min
In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Carrie Kerpen, founder of The Whisper Group, an exit readiness practice for women-owned businesses. Carrie previously co-founded Likeable Media, one of the first social media agencies, which she successfully sold for eight figures in 2021. Carrie is an accomplished author and hosts "The Exit Whisperer" podcast, which features women who have scaled and sold businesses. As a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, she is passionate about helping women en...
Jul 08, 2024•52 min
“It's all about, you know, investors are going to be looking at your background and whether they believe in the idea. Sure, but are you going to be able to execute on this idea?” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Lauren Picasso, founder and CEO of Cure Hydration, a plant-based hydrating drink mix based on the World Health Organization's standard for Oral Rehydration Solution but updated for a modern lifestyle. Inspired by her experiences as an endurance athlete, Lauren created C...
Jul 01, 2024•44 min
“It felt like eight, nine years we were like, ‘Did anybody ever see our videos? Does anyone ever comment on our stuff? Like, what is going on? Why? We work so hard, we edit new stuff every day!’ Until we started to commit to the audience and give them more of our attention and our time and listen to them, is when it really shifted.” -Sarah Potempa In this episode of Entreprenista, we talked to Sarah Potempa and Erin Potempa-Wall, sisters who, along with their sister Emily, co-founded Beachwaver,...
Jun 24, 2024•35 min
“Just surround yourself with people that are not necessarily better than you, but that bring something to the table you don't—and [don’t] be intimidated by that or threatened by that. I love collaborating and I love having people on my team that bring something to the table and can teach me, and I feel like we've done a good job of that.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Renee Parsons, the co-founder, president, and executive creative director of PXG Apparel, and the co-founder...
Jun 17, 2024•48 min
“There's a lot of things that come with being able to support a retailer like that… If you're not ready for those things, then go DTC first because you also have to have: Is your product merchandisable? Do you have unit cartons? Do you have UPCs? All of these kinds of operational tactical things that you can really kind of speak to, but high-level it's like, ‘Do you have enough money?’ It would be my very first question.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Tisha Thompson, founder...
Jun 10, 2024•52 min
“So many of us, me included, suffer from imposter syndrome. And it's so misleading because we know so much more than we think we do—and more importantly, we know how to navigate what we don't know.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Taryn Jones Laeben, president and founder of IRL Ventures, a bespoke early-stage advisory and investment firm focused on building operational excellence into startups. With a rich career spanning roles at companies like Kate Spade, Casper, and SoulCy...
Jun 03, 2024•45 min
“So often in the beauty world the purpose of the communication is to create a sense of fear and insecurity and I refuse to participate in that.” In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with April Gargiulo, founder and CEO of Vintner’s Daughter, a Nutritional Skincare brand founded on the principles of unparalleled quality and efficacy. When creating the brand, April was motivated by her own skincare struggles and the discovery of harmful ingredients in luxury skincare. She leveraged her wi...
May 27, 2024•43 min