Behind Her Empire

Lee Mayer is the co-founder and CEO of Havenly, an online interior design company that makes interior decorating services more accessible and affordable to all.  In 2013, Lee had just relocated from a small NYC apartment to a larger home with considerably more space in Denver, Colorado. Overwhelmed by all the furniture and decor choices to be made, Lee was frustrated by the lack of quick, simple, budget-friendly interior design options that were available to her. As someone who never thought of herself as an entrepreneur, especially growing up with certain cultural expectations from her Indian family, Lee tried to convince all her friends to start an online interior design company to solve the problem. After spending months in an empty home, Lee, encouraged by her sister Emily, quit her lucrative career in finance and the two started the company together. Neither of them had interior design or tech backgrounds but were confident that there was a need in the market.Under Lee’s leadership, Havenly has raised $58 million dollars in funding from top tier investors and is now the leader in the world of online design while many competitors have struggled or even failed to stay afloat.In this episode, we'll talk to Lee about:* How Lee’s upbringing and cultural expectations of her Indian family impacted her career trajectory [2:25]* Lee shares how she never thought of herself as an entrepreneur & how her own narrative for becoming a tech founder changed [6:00]* Before taking the leap to start her company, Lee walks through how she thought through financial security and leaving her lucrative career [13:33]* Lee opens up about the early days of Havenly, mistakes she made along the way and what she thinks held her back [18:30]* The importance of not taking anything personally in business and blaming yourself for failures [24:35]* How to change your perspective on success and live a more purpose driven life [27:50]* Lee’s experience raising $58 million dollars from venture capitalists & how she dealt with 140 no’s [29:14]* How to overcome imposter syndrome and deal with the naysayers [40:40]* Lee walks through the silver lining of her divorce and how it pushed her to ask for help which benefited both her personal & professional life [44:53]* How Lee manages her family life and a high growth business & why the partner you select in your life is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make [48:38]Follow Lee:* Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leeathavenly/* Havenly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehavenly/* Website: https://havenly.com/Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vicky Tsai, founder of Japanese beauty brand Tatcha, had a nontraditional path to eventually founding one of the top skincare companies today. About 10 years ago, Vicky decided to leave her thriving career and travel the world in search of happiness and meaning in her life. In her travels, when visiting Kyoto, Japan, Vicky had a life-changing meeting with a Geisha. She learned some of their natural skincare secrets which healed her skin & soul in the truest sense and she wanted to bring the same experience back with her to the US. However, when launching Tatcha, there were many barriers she faced: Asian skincare wasn’t popular, direct-to-consumer businesses weren’t common, and consumers weren’t interested in clean products. Fast forward to today, Tatcha is available in Sephora & QVC and is the second fastest growing women-led company on the Inc 5000 list. And last year, Unilever acquired Tatcha for a reported $500 million dollars. Vicky is passionate about giving back. Since inception, they have partnered with Room to Read in their mission to educate girls globally and have sponsored over 3 million days of school.In this episode, we’ll talk to Vicky about: * How 9/11 impacted Vicky’s perspective on life’s meaning and purpose [4:00]* Vicky shares how she used business school to do introspective work on herself [6:28]* Vicky discusses her career trajectory and why Howard Shultz, CEO of Starbucks, played a big role in her leaving her corporate career [10:57]* Vicky shares how she thinks about social entrepreneurship and using business as a vehicle for social change [15:52]* Vicky describes why Kyoto, Japan made such a big impact in her life & truly healed her from the inside out [18:02]* How Vicky thinks about money, risk & success and key tips she shares with entrepreneurs when starting a business [20:28]* How Vicky sold her engagement ring to buy 10,000 blotting papers and bring Tatcha to life [24:32]* Why Vicky decided to not raise money from investors early-on & the personal sacrifices she made to keep the business afloat [26:54]* What Tatcha looked like in the early days and how she eventually got the product in Sephora & QVC [33:45]* Vicky shares her advice on raising money with institutional investors [44:37]* Vicky describes how she felt when stepping down as CEO and the immense growth the Company saw when she stopped caring about what others think [45:48]* Vicky shares what it was like to sell her company for $500 million dollars and the legacy she wants to leave behind [53:20]Follow Tatcha:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tatcha * Website: https://www.tatcha.com/Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaime Schmidt is an entrepreneur and the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals, a brand of natural personal care products that she started in her kitchen. Feeling unfulfilled in her career and seeking purpose for most of her life, Jaime was exploring different hobbies with the hopes that she would find her passion. In 2010, Jaime was pregnant with her son and was experimenting with making her own natural, non-toxic products that would be safe for her to use. After exploring different recipes, she soon created a natural deodorant that “actually worked” and that’s when Schmidt’s Naturals was born. Jaime grew the company from farmers' market tables to a household name that lined the shelves of CVS, Target, Costco, Whole Foods and Walmart. Under Jaime’s leadership, the company was in over 14,000 stores in 30 countries, with year over year growth at 300%. After seven years of running her company, Jaime sold Schmidt’s Naturals to Unilever for a reported nine-figures.Jaime is dedicated to building better businesses and recently launched two new ventures: Supermaker, a media platform that celebrates emerging entrepreneurs, and Color, an inclusive investment fund that supports diverse and underrepresented founders. In this episode, we’ll talk to Jaime about: * Jaime shares her early entrepreneurial path as a child & family values around money and savings [2:38]* Why she decided to leave her corporate job and take time off to soul search & find her new career path [5:15]* Jaime walks through different hobbies she was pursuing to help find her passion & why becoming pregnant was her biggest motivator [7:50]* Jaime shares her business journey in selling natural deodorants at Farmers Markets and when she realized she had a big business opportunity in front of her [10:33] * Jaime shares how she garnered a support system which helped her build a business in an industry she had no experience in [14:08]* How Jaime grew the business without raising any money [15:30]* Jaime’s discusses how persistence and relentlessness was part of her successful retail strategy [17:56] * Key tips in dealing with competitors in your industry [20:15]* Jaime talks about her acquisition story and how she felt when she sold her business for nine-figures [22:16]* Jaime talks about how she is supporting and investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs [25:52]  * Why getting pregnant and officially launching her business was the best decision she ever made [28:06]* Key business advice she shares with new entrepreneurs [33:10] Follow Jaime:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimeschmidt/* Website: https://jaimeschmidt.info/References: * Schmidt's Naturals: https://schmidts.com/* Color: https://color.capital/* Supermarker: https://supermaker.com/* Jaime’s latest book: https://supermaker.com/bookFollow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elissa Goodman is a Holistic Nutritionist, Founder of S.O.U.P., Author and Lifestyle Cleanse expert. Elissa’s early adult life was considered “successful” by her family and society’s standards: she was climbing up the corporate ladder, had her dream job, a great husband, and was financially doing very well. Her life completely changed when she was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 32. It was then she finally realized how unhappy, unfulfilled, and exhausted she was living a life that wasn’t true to her.  After healing herself and quitting her toxic career, she lost her husband to cancer shortly after. This was a huge turning point in her life. She immediately became a single mother to her two young daughters and had to elevate her health & wellbeing in order to be strong for her family & help them through such an emotionally traumatizing time. However, from life’s tragedies, she found her purpose and calling. She’s created one of the top holistic and lifestyle organizations where her mission is to teach others on how to live a healthy and radiant life through the power of nutrition and self love.  In this episode, we’ll talk to Elissa about:  * How Elissa’s family impacted her definition of success & influenced her early career choices [3:13]* Elissa shares the stress and burn out she experienced early in her career & getting diagnosed with cancer [10:08]* How Elissa healed herself from cancer by managing her stress & working on her health from the inside out [17:25]* Elissa discusses how she dealt with losing her husband to cancer & becoming a stronger mother for her two daughters [19:48]* Importance of listening to your intuition and not losing touch of your instincts [22:47]* How Elissa discovered her passion for nutrition & created a successful business around helping people get to the root cause of their issues through emotional & physical discovery [22:59]* How Elissa only started loving herself at the age of 58 & her journey to self-love, happiness and freedom [35:11]* Elissa shares her journey with psilocybin mushrooms which helped her work through childhood trauma & the darkness she had in her life [38:36]* Elissa’s discusses business advice she wish she knew when she was younger [42:20]* We talk about Elissa’s fiancé and what makes a healthy & happy partnership [46:48]* How Elissa’s transformation with self-love helped her build an even stronger relationship with her kids [52:15]Follow Elissa: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elissagoodman/* Website: https://elissagoodman.com/ Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paige Adams-Geller is the Founder and Creative Director of PAIGE, a highly successful premium denim and lifestyle brand. Paige is a true pioneer and one of the first female founders disrupting the billion dollar premium denim industry. Paige employs over 300 people from Los Angeles to London and is sold in over 80 countries. Paige’s journey was far from easy. After navigating multiple career transitions, a health crisis, and sexual assault in the workplace, Paige rose above these traumatic experiences and regained her voice & power. In 2004, she founded PAIGE to fulfill a personal passion she had despite having no formal education in fashion or business. Paige is dedicated to empowering women to find their voice and speak up. We have a very vulnerable conversation around her path to creating a highly successful brand and how she found a sense of hope & purpose in her life. In this episode, we’ll talk to Paige about:  * Paige describes how growing up in a small town in Alaska fueled her creativity and imagination [2:26]* Paige shares how graduating early from high-school and moving to NY was very damaging to her body, mind and spirit [7:50] * Paige describes how she navigated various careers in the most difficult time in her life & how she became fashion industry’s top fit model [14:08]* Paige walks through how she reclaimed her voice & power and became one of the first female founders in the denim industry [22:25]* How Paige launched her company and premium denim brand in only three months [27:51]* Paige talks about how she navigated the huge success she had in early days of the company [32:58]* How Paige transitioned the company to a lifestyle brand for both men and women despite others saying it was impossible [36:50]* Key lessons from Paige's entrepreneurial journey & the importance of living a life with no regrets, asking for help and trusting your intuition [45:33]Follow Paige: * Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paigeageller/* Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paige/* Website: https://www.paige.com Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rana el Kaliouby is an Egyptian-American scientist, innovator, author and CEO. She co-founded the artificial intelligence company, Affectiva, and has pioneered a digital software that can read & analyze human emotion in real time. Rana has raised over $50 million in venture funding and was recognized on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 List & as one of Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech. Rana grew up in Cairo where she was raised, as she says, to be a “nice Egyptian girl.” She defied cultural expectations in both the tech world and in her native Middle Eastern heritage. She earned her Ph.D. at Cambridge, postdoc at MIT and is working in a field of technology that is still overwhelmingly white and male. However, before she broke ground as a scientist and founded her company, she broke the rules of what it meant to be an obedient daughter and, later, an obedient wife to pursue her own daring dream. Rana’s personal journey overcoming self-doubt and embracing her ambition is an inspiration to all women to feel empowered & be the leader of their own life. In this episode, we’ll talk to Rana about: * Rana’s childhood growing up in Egypt & how her family’s conservative yet forward-thinking views impacted her [2:24]  * How she decided to go against the expectations of her culture & pursue her own daring dreams [4:52]* Rana discusses the early days of her company and its impact to her marriage [7:47]* Rana opens up about the immense fear she had moving to the US while leaving her family behind [10:44] * Rana shares life after her divorce as a financially independent woman [12:36]* What it’s like to raise money from top-tier investors as a scientist & first time entrepreneur [15:22]* Why Rana thinks the idea of “balance” is a misnomer when it comes to family and work  [21:49]* Rana shares her journey to CEO & how she overcame her own self doubt and self-imposed barriers [26:07]* The importance of women self-advocating for themselves and asking for what they deserve [30:15]* The power of empathetic leadership when managing your team’s culture and productivity during the pandemic [32:50]* Rana’s personal journey in embracing her emotions & overcoming her own fears and insecurities [38:10] Follow Rana:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ranaelkaliouby/* Website: https://www.affectiva.com/* Rana’s book - Girl Decoded: https://ranaelkaliouby.com/girldecoded/References:* All Raise: https://www.allraise.org/Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daina Trout is the CEO and co-founder of Health-Ade Kombucha, one of the most successful and delicious kombucha drinks on the market. Although she was going up the ranks in Corporate America, Daina felt less fulfilled as time went on and had the desire to build a company on her own terms. She eventually quit her job and took the risk to develop & build the best tasting, highest quality kombucha there is. Fast forward to today, Health Ade has grown from a small production item that was started in Daina’s closet with only $600 to now the fastest growing brand in the category generating over $150 million in revenue across 30,000 stores. When she’s not giving her heart & soul to Health-Ade and mentoring young entrepreneurs, she’s fully dedicated to her two young boys who she credits have helped make her an even better CEO. In this episode, we’ll talk to Daina about:* How Daina’s upbringing as a “difficult kid” & challenging the status quo paid off in her adulthood [2:52]* Daina talks about how she continued to feel unfulfilled despite having a great life & successful corporate job [6:10] * How Daina’s desire to create a company on her own terms was the main driver in starting Health-Ade [9:07]* How saving the world from baldness led Daina to her business idea [11:40]* Daina describes how quitting her job was the scariest but one of the most important decisions she ever made [15:47]* The challenges & realities entrepreneurs face when first starting their business [20:00]* Daina shares how women can be more confident in business and life [24:27]* Why it’s so important to lean into uncertainty and discomfort [29:05]* The superpower women have as business leaders [30:38]* How Daina manages motherhood and being a CEO of a high growth business [34:50]* How having kids made Daina an ever better CEO [38:50]* Why women need to talk more about money [45:35]* Daina shares tips and examples on how you can negotiate your salary [49:00]Follow Daina:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dainatrout/* Website: https://health-ade.com/Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suzy Batiz is the creative visionary, founder, creator and CEO of Poo~Pourri and supernatural. She’s created an enterprise that’s worth over $500 million and made Forbes' America’s Richest Self-Made Women list without borrowing a dime or raising a single dollar of outside funding. But success didn’t come easy for her. Suzy experienced some of life’s lowest lows — poverty, sexual and domestic abuse, depression, two bankruptcies and a suicide attempt — which led to what she calls the luxury of losing everything. After harnessing the power of intuition, her journey led her to building businesses that only made her feel alive. Her newest project, ALIVE OS, teaches others how to recognize alive ideas by tuning into their intuition and diving into their creative energy to achieve a naturally abundant flow state in life and business.In this episode, we’ll talk to Suzy about:* How Suzy’s upbringing and life’s lowest moments shaped who she is today [2:14]* Suzy opens up about her limiting beliefs around money & how she overcame her poverty consciousness [4:42]* Suzy describes her second bankruptcy & how she deemed herself the “world’s worst entrepreneur” [6:53]* How Suzy’s spiritual journey & overcoming depression eventually led her to getting back in business with Poo~Pourri [10:17]* Four distinct characteristics that help you realize an “alive” business idea that truly resonates with you [15:20]* Suzy shares how she funded the growth of Poo~Pourri & why she decided to not raise money from investors [17:40]* Suzy talks about key hires that helped propel her business in the early days [23:50]* Key advice for women entrepreneurs & myths we tell ourselves about business [29:05]* The importance of thinking big & how Suzy is living a life that’s beyond her wildest dreams [36:31] * Suzy discusses the most overlooked skill of successful people [37:50]* Suzy shares her latest project helping entrepreneurs tune into their intuition & live a naturally abundant life [39:28]* How to overcome fear & identify its impact in your life [43:03]Follow Suzy: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzybatiz/* ALIVE OS Course: https://aliveos.suzybatiz.com/ * Article referenced in interview: https://medium.com/the-ascent/the-most-overlooked-skill-of-successful-people-d5caab283e6e Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toni Ko is the Founder of NYX Cosmetics and Bespoke Beauty Brands. At the young age of 24, Toni was inspired to launch NYX based on her own desire to buy quality cosmetics at a price she could afford. Fifteen years later, Toni sold her company to L’Oreal for a reported $500 million and instantly became one of America’s richest self-made women. We’ll talk to Toni about the personal sacrifices she made in her life and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur even when the odds are stacked against you. Toni shows us how being a college drop out, first generation immigrant and young woman in her early 20s was an advantage when it came to her dreams of starting her own business. In this episode, we’ll talk to Toni about: *How Toni’s childhood moving to the US from Korea & working from a young age taught her about resilience [4:20]*Toni talks about why she decided to leave her family business to start NYX cosmetics [10:12]*Wise words on why failure is a better option than never trying at all [12:55]*Toni describes her first year starting the company and successfully bringing in $4 million in retail sales [15:10]*Toni explains timeless business advice that allowed her to start & scale her company [16:45]*What it means to be an entrepreneur & the power we have as women [20:15]*How to still be successful entrepreneur even when the odds are stacked against you [23:35]*Toni walks through her journey bringing on investors & selling the company to L’Oreal for $500 million [28:00]*Toni describes life after becoming one of America’s richest self-made women & how she lost her sense of purpose [33:35]*Toni shares how she personally overcame depression [37:20]*Toni opens up about how she thinks about motherhood & her own personal journey [38:34]*Toni discusses why her second business wasn’t a success & three key learnings [42:50]*Toni talks about her latest company, Bespoke Beauty Brands [49:35]Follow Toni:*Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonikokoko *Website: https://bespokebeautybrands.com/Follow Yasmin:*Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/*Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nyakio Grieco is the founder of Nyakio Beauty, an award-winning skin-care brand that has been leading the clean beauty movement since 2002. While moving up the ranks in the entertainment industry, Nyakio realized that many cultures were under-represented in the prestige beauty space and saw a white space in the market.She launched her company based on beauty secrets she learned as a child while visiting her grandmother, who was a coffee farmer, in Kenya and watching her use coffee beans to exfoliate & take care of her skin. She has sold her products in retail outlets nationwide, including Ulta, and is now exclusively available at Target. In 2015, Nyakio sold the company to Sundial Brands, which is now part of Unilever.Although she has an incredible success story, Nyakio’s journey was far from easy. She’s managed the ups & down of entrepreneurship with so much grace, and is a firm believer that failure is not an option. She’s passionate about sharing her journey building a business from the ground up & inspiring others to also follow their passions and live a life with no regrets.In this episode, we’ll talk to Nyakio about:  * How Nyakio’s upbringing & Kenyan family inspired her clean beauty journey at a young age [3:50]* Nyakio shares why she decided to move to LA & begin her career in the entertainment industry [8:04]* How Nykaio saw an opportunity to create a product in the prestige beauty space [12:30] * Nyakio describes how she decided to go all-in with her business & the importance of living a life with no regrets [13:46]* Nyakio walks through the early days of the company, the power of storytelling & how she raised money as a first time entrepreneur [17:45]* Nyakio talks about what it takes to support a high growth business [23:56]* The importance, as an entrepreneur, of always going back and editing your business plan [26:35]* How Nyakio thinks about partnerships and what led to Sundial’s acquisition of her company [29:35]* Why mentorship is important when building a business & why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help [33:10]* Nyakio shares words of advice for managing a high growth company and motherhood & why it’s important to have self compassion [38:09]* Nyakio talks about why women authentically supporting women is key to our collective success [41:35]* Nyakio explains why it’s important to know your numbers & how to pick the right business partners [43:55]* Nyakio discusses the realities of raising money as a woman of color & why it only takes one “yes” to get your business off the ground [44:30]Follow Nyakio:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nyakio/ & https://www.instagram.com/nyakiobeauty/* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nyakiobeauty/* Website: https://www.nyakio.com/Follow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.