Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff

We’ll address the big question first: Christina Stembel of Farmgirl Flowers really did  grow up on a farm. Growing up in northern Indiana, Christina was expected to  fulfill her womanly duties as a wife and mother while her brother went  off to college. But Christina had other plans. She hightailed it to New York within two weeks of  graduating from high school and started working. Christina did not grow up with a lot of people cheering her on and wishing her success, and that made her strive for it all the more. Over some years and many different ideas, she saw that the floral industry held an opportunity to do exactly what she desired in starting her own business: disrupt the status quo, create scalability, and do good in the world. While not without its challenges (who knew the floral industry could be so cutthroat?), Christina has scaled from 56K her first year of business to $31 million 8 years later. As Christina fondly says, success is the best revenge. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Big Ideas Less than 3% of women get funding from venture capital. Discussing the disparity in capital support between male and female founders. The value in trusting your instincts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who knew that a mutual love of the Grateful Dead could ignite the start of a cupcake empire? When Melissa Ben-Ishay made tie dye cupcakes for a fellow fan and friend, her colorful creations quickly became the dessert of choice in her circle. At her brother’s urging, Melissa started baking mini cupcakes to order, and 15 years later the direct-to-consumer brand, Baked by Melissa, can be enjoyed in all 50 states. Growing slowly over time has allowed the company to expand with success. And the key to effective leadership? According to Melissa, her curiosity and openness to advice has been her number one asset. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Social Media @melissabenishay @bakedbymelissa Big Ideas Learning to have the confidence to own your leadership capabilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She’s one of the famous faces of E!, made even more famous by her refusal to stay at the network when the company refused to pay her the same salary as her male co-host. Catt Sadler is doing her own thing now, on her own terms. The Emmy award-winning journalist covers all topics near and dear on her website, The Cattwalk, and on her podcast, It Sure is a Beautiful Day. Embracing the vulnerability that naturally comes through using an audio platform, Catt encourages her listeners to think beyond their plans and dream beyond their goals, embracing the true limitlessness inherent in our nature. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Social Media @iamcattsadler Big Ideas Learning to dream bigger than big. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was originally released in September 2019.  Laura has since gone on to found her own multi-platform media company, LB Media. Laura Brown came up in the 80’s – a period devoid of the internet and Instagram, where fashion inspiration came almost exclusively in the form of magazines. To make things worse for a young fashionista living in Australia, as Laura did, those magazines arrived three months after their release date. Laura was hungry for the glitz and the glam, and made it her goal to one day work and live in the heart of the fashion world. After working a few stints at magazines in Australia and London, Laura arrived in New York. Finding herself at a lavish Marc Jacobs show within days of moving there, Laura finally felt the pulse of the life she had so long been yearning for. After working her way up to Features at Harper’s, she was then hired as Editor in Chief at InStyle. In the three years since, Laura has revitalized the magazine, injecting new life into it, forever showcasing her love of fashion, layouts, and a good dose of creative, hard work. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Big Ideas The excitement and satisfaction of pulling off creative, hard work. Advice for those interested in working at a magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jill Kargman is not your neighborhood soccer mom and she doesn’t play one on TV, either. Her dark sense of humor and love of all things goth might put her out of place at most “mommy and me” gatherings, but this is especially true on the swanky Upper East Side where she originates. However, Jill isn’t one to waste her time worrying about what other people think. Instead, she worked her alchemical writing magic and spun this into comedy gold, using her position in society as inspiration for the screenplay – turned book – turned TV show, Odd Mom Out. She also plays the feature role in the show, utilizing the talent honed from acting in numerous plays during her time at Yale. Jill’s creative journey has taken her from arduous internships to writing rooms to the confines of her home office and back again. Jill now plans to return to the big screen as she sets out to script a film inspired in earnestness by the life of her teenagers. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Big Ideas Trusting yourself and listening to your gut. “Better sorry than safe.” The importance of pushing beyond your comfort zone to do the things that are important to you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karolina Kurkova is one of the most famous models to grace print and runway in the last twenty years, and there’s a heck of a lot she’s learned along the way. From her earliest modeling jobs in the Czech Republic to her position as co-founder of children’s wellness brand Gryph & IvyRose, Karolina gives every job her best effort, no matter how big or small. Living her values that center around hard work, open-mindedness and a willingness to be a team player, Karolina is a firm believer that success is not just an individual achievement, but something that can uplift and further the accomplishments of those around you. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Social Media @gryphandivyrose @karolinakurkova Big Ideas Learning not to take things personally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natalie Kaminski attributes her adaptable nature to her adolescence spent growing up in four different countries. Natalie’s willingness to try out different jobs in her field, as well as her resilient outlook in the male-dominated tech industry, helped build the attitude and experience necessary to found custom software solutions company JetRockets. But Natalie is more than an entrepreneurial tech wiz. Her insistence on putting empathy at the center of leadership is evident in her humanitarian efforts, which includes company-funded relocation of employees affected by the war in Ukraine. Leading with as much integrity as empathy, Natalie is the type of CEO we hope to see more of in the future. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Social Media @jetrockets JetRockets Big Ideas Empathy as a cornerstone to successful leadership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Because you’re a follower of RM and all things beautiful and unique, we assume you’ve heard of The Folklore. If you haven’t, however, it’s time to Get. On. It. The brainchild of Amira Rasool, The Folklore is both a DTC and wholesale marketplace connecting buyers to distinctive brands that have been geographically and racially marginalized. Here you’ll find brands across apparel, accessories, homeware, and beauty that utilize styles and materials unique to the countries they call home. A unique business model calls for a unique leader, and Amira has always been up for the challenge. The youngest Black woman to raise over $1M in a pre-seed round, Amira is evolving her leadership style as her business evolves, all while consistently investing in the success of small businesses around the globe. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Guest Website TheFolkloreGroup.com TheFolklore.com Shop.TheFolklore.com AmiraRasool.com Social Media @thefolklore The Folklore Group @amirarasool Big Ideas Keeping investors on board when the business makes a pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being a mom is hard. There’s no other way around it. It’s beautiful and amazing too, but it comes with challenges. Everyone has an opinion on the right way to parent, and sometimes that advice comes uninvited. It takes a special person to share their family life with the world, knowing they’ll receive positive feedback as well as criticism. Naomi Davis has created an art form by way of documenting her family life. What started as a way to share wedding photos with family morphed into a blog that first illustrated life as a young couple in New York, and then grew as her family did. Now, 12 years and five children later, Love Taza covers family life, recipes, and kid-friendly travel guides to NYC. Naomi mixes entertainment with practical advice, and best of all injects her personal experience into the lesser-discussed aspects of parenting that all moms could probably use more support in. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Big Ideas The challenges that come with documenting your own life on a public platform, and the necessity of remaining neutral to both overly negative and overly positive reactions from the public. Becoming comfortable with negotiating and valuing your time and worth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Dana Bledsoe remarks, pain can be turned into power simply by giving it a voice. Her experience with cancer is something she has candidly chronicled in her blog, This Moment, which has led to speaking engagements, collaborations, and campaigns to rewrite the narrative around breast cancer. Calling the presence of cancer in her life a gift, Dana has committed herself to rewriting her life, rediscovering her sense of joy and peace, and helping others to do the same. Learning to put herself first and be her own best advocate, Dana is working to eliminate fear and foster a sense of normalcy and empathy around the way cancer is regarded in this country. To learn more about integrative medicine, check out lifeworkswellnesscenter.com Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Social Media @danabledsoe_thismoment @amplify__voices Links Amplify Voices – Beyond Breast Cancer Event Elppin Breast-inspired Jewelry Big Ideas Illuminating the changes and feelings that come up during menopause. Discussing integrative options around cancer treatment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices