Fashion & Founders The Podcast

Estelle Palandjian, co-founder of Cake and former early-stage consumer tech investor, explains why she left VC to build a member-based shopping club. She discusses Cake’s member perks, brand partnerships, invite-only model, event-driven growth, and vision to own the shopper relationship. Short, lively takes on loyalty, acquisition challenges, and scaling through curated experiences.

Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I am joined with Helena and Sari, the co-founders of No Standing NYC. No Standing is a luxury vintage and secondhand store with curated pieces at an accessible price.You can find their stunning store in the heart of Soho and browse some amazing vintage selections curated from around the world. With pieces you may have seen on Alix Earle, Your Rich BFF, and other celebrities. Sari and Helena have a lot of fun stories of building a business in your 20s with your best friend. From cornering Daniel Bernstein of WeWoreWhat in the bathroom, giving out free product to the girls of the bachelor, and visiting vintage warehouses in Europe. Whether you're interested in learning more about entrepreneurship or curating vintage pieces from around the world, listen to this episode. If you’re the type of person that every time you hang out with that one friend you you’re like we need to start a business together… let this episode be your inspiration to do it. Featured in Vogue article, “Why Instagram vintage sellers made the jump to physical stores.”Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersPodcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasLocker Links: LockerFollow No Standing NYC:Ig: @no.standing.nycShop!Follow Klein Designs!:IG: @shopkleindesignsShop!Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders, the podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I'm joined with Delaney Delponti, founder of Cherry Pick. Cherry Pick is going to be your one stop shop for everything vintage, combining your most loved online thrift and vintage sites into one place.In this episode Delaney not only gives us a bit of a sneak peek into what cherry pick will be, but she also shares some invaluable and really honest advice about being an entrepreneur from all the questions she had starting out, all the things she didn't know and had to figure out herself for the first time. Showcasing how much she's learned and sharing this knowledge for other people.If you listened to the episode with Brigitte and Ellie, the founders of Zero, they  referenced Delaney as being somebody that they go to when they have founder questions and need advice. This community is so strong and supportive, full of amazing young female founders, and I just feel so grateful to be a part of it.This episode with Delaney is so information and knowledge rich and she really breaks things down in a way that anyone can understand because she's been in that position before too. So if you are someone interested in not just fashion tech, but really anything business or entrepreneurship, there is something for you to take away from this episode from time management, hiring, finding mentors, networking, and an insane, insane story about fundraising as well.Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersPodcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasLocker Links: LockerFollow Cherry Pick:Ig: @cherrypickdotcomSign up for the waitlist: https://cherry-pick.com/Follow Delaney Delponti:Ig: delaney_delpontiFollow Oh What a Match!:IG: @oh_what_a_matchMatchbook Guide: https://owam.substack.com/ Shop: https://ohwhatamatch.com Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Natalie Shine, the host of the Big Silly Trivia Game. If you don't know what the Big Silly Trivia Game is, you are missing out. It is a 30 minute Wednesday night trivia for the girls all about pop culture.Natalie is the host, and she is incredible at it. The prizes are amazing, the questions are so fun, the vibes are high, and you're just guaranteed a midweek pick me up.In this episode, you will hear the origin story of the Big Silly Trivia Game and get a bit of the behind the scenes of how the creative strategy and storytelling works that weaves through every single episode. There's a lot to unpack from the perfectly curated themes, the incredibly strong community that has come out of this, and fun things happening in the future for the Big Silly Trivia Game.The conversation ranges from fun and games, quite literally, to returning to yourself and making the younger version of you proud and doing the things that really truly make you happy. I was laughing a lot in this episode. Natalie is hilarious and definitely wait until the end for a very funny hot take.Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersPodcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasLocker Links: LockerFollow The Big Silly Trivia Game:IG: thebigsillytriviagamePlay!!Follow Natalie:IG: natgawdFollow Spicy Dan:IG: shopspicydanShop! Thank you for listening!

In this episode you will hear behind the scenes from the panelists at EDGE NYFW. I hosted a pop up podcast studio for Fashion & Founders at EDGE and interviewed the panelists to recap the panels they were on and share some behind the scenes!Thank you to the hosts Manya co-founder of Threads of Tech, Mary Korlin-Downs founder of All Things Fashion Tech, and Colette Johnson founder of In Haus. Guests include:Breaking into Fashion Tech: Claire Ilmer co-founder of Future ReferenceJulia O’Mara co-founder of PickleLior Cole founder of InLoom (formerly Ari)Innovating with Brands:Estelle Palandjian co-founder of CakeAndrew Parietti CMO at CroissantJackie Berado founder of Future Of and researcher at MetaAllison Lee founder and CEO of (Re)viveExtending Lifecycles:Chloe Songer co-founder of Supercircle and Thousand FellRachel Ceruti Director of Partnerships at FabscrapDanielle Vermeer co-founder of Teleport and now Head of Social Commerce at ThredUpDevon Rule co-founder of IndyxPersonalized Shopping: Kate Sanner co-founder of BeniAshlyn Greer founder of FashivlyAsna Khan head of product at Fit:Match.Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersPodcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasLocker Links: LockerFollow Threads of Tech:IG: @threadsoftechSubstack: Threads of TechFollow All Things Fashion Tech:IG: allthingsfashiontechSubstack: ATFTFollow In Haus:LinkedIn: Colette JohnsonThank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The Podcast, this week I'm joined with Gab Waller, founder of Gab Waller Dot Com and Sourced By.Gab is a fashion sourcer, her team finds sold out pieces for clients and makes the impossible happen. She is now building a fashion tech business, SourcedBy, an AI powered search tool with StockX founding engineer, Scott Davis, as CTO. She has so much insight to share from founding a business, working in fashion, moving to the U. S., getting investment, finding engineers for her fashion tech business, life advice and so much more.You can also find out more about what Gab is doing through her monthly Vogue column, The Hot List, where she shares top trending pieces that she is sourcing. I am so excited to dive deep into the fashion tech company she is building and what she thinks the future of fashion holds.Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersPodcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasLocker Links: LockerFollow Gab Waller:IG:gabwallerIG: gabwallerdotcomIG: @sourcedbyVogue The Hot ListWebsiteFollow Celestial Vintage:IG: @celestialvvintageWebsite: https://www.celestial-vintage.com/ Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders the podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Ellie and Brigitte, the founders of Zero. I think of Zero as the Revolve for sustainable fashion where you can discover some of the coolest brands that you'll actually want to wear that you haven't already seen played out everywhere and also a way to explore your own personal style.I think what they are building is insanely cool and they have great advice to share from their experiences about building a business in fashion and sustainability with a mission. We talk about how they built out an advisory board, lessons from fundraising, and leaning on a network of other founders, all while still being friends. They met at USC and took what they learned and applied to a business that could create an impact.I learned a lot in this episode, and we also laughed a lot - do not miss the ending when they talk about their hot takes. Let get into the episode!Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersPodcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasLocker Links: LockerFollow Zero:IG: @shopzerofficialTikTok: @shopzerofficialWebsite: https://shopzero.co/ Follow Olivia Latinovich:IG: @olivialatinovichWebsite: https://olivialatinovich.com/Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion & Founders The Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I was joined with Anne Warren, the founder of Next Season. Next Season turns old, damaged, unwanted sweaters into one-of-a-kind knitwear, reducing textile waste.Anne used to work in tech as a product manager with a background in mechanical engineering and always had an interest in fashion so during covid began experiment and asked herself, is it possible to create a completely circular fashion brand.Follow her journey on substack and learn about all things knitwear. One of my personal goals is to learn a new hobby in 2025 and I’m getting a lot of inspo from Anne.Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersLocker Links: LockerFollow Next Season:IG: @nextseason.nycSubstack: Anne’s Circular Knitting JourneyWebsite: https://nextseason.nyc/ Follow Raphaella Santana:Brand IG: @raphaella.santanaFounder IG: @raphybabyWebsite: https://www.raphaellasantana.com/ Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion & Founders The Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith, and this week I’m joined with Cleo Escarez the founder of Redyoos.She has created a way for pre-loved jewelry to be recycled into clean energy solutions. You just order a free mail in kit, fill it up with your preloved jewelry, and Redyoos takes care of the rest. Jewelry that can be melted down can be recycled in solar panels and fashion jewelry that can’t be melted will be donated to their partner at Dress for Success. Think of Trashie or ThredUp but for your jewelry. Cleo shared some really interesting facts and data points about jewelry in this episode that I found super fascinating. As well as her journey to being an entrepreneur and how she started out as “entrepreneur curious.”Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersLocker Links: LockerFollow Redyoos:IG: @redyoosLinkedIn: RedyoosWebsite: https://www.redyoos.com/Follow Melez:IG: @melez.collectionWebsite: https://www.melez.co/Thank you for listening!

Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders The podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined with Claire Illmer, the Co-Founder and CEO of Future Reference.Claire's experience before founding Future Reference includes working at Google for five years, at YouTube in search and discovery, and at ThredUp in search and discovery as well. She is now building a fashion tech company revolutionizing how we sell our clothes. Future Reference is a digital wardrobe and a cross listing platform. Their software allows you to digitize your wardrobe by just connecting your email as they pull your online receipts. Not only that, but they make the resale listings for you. So you just click on the product in your closet that you decide to sell and they cross list it to their partners like Depop, eBay, Poshmark, etc. They are solving a problem I think so many people have faced when trying to sell their clothes.Also right now, while you're looking at your wardrobe on Future Reference, you can go check out your wardrobe wrapped. So basically Spotify wrapped, but for the items in your closet. They have so many data points on your wardrobe from resale value, amount spent per item, color palette, and so much more.I am loving using future reference. I think it's just at the beginning of all the potential that they have and it is so exciting. I can't wait to see all of their success. I'll let Claire share more. So let's get into the episode.Follow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comVictoria TikTok: @vfsmith11Podcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersVictoria Pickle Closet: @victoriasPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersLocker Links: LockerFollow Future Reference:IG: @futurereference.xyzTikTok: @futurereferencej.xyzLinkedIn: Future ReferenceWebsite: https://www.futurereference.xyz/Follow Birdy Bandanas:IG: @birdybandanasWebsite: https://birdybandanas.com/Thank you for listening!