Explore every episode of the podcast Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How This Founder’s Visibility Held Up After She Paused Ads | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:45:41 | |
Join host, Lindsay Pinchuk, LIVE for our 21-day Partnership Sprint starting October 12th. You'll build the exact partnership strategy she used to grow and sell her first company. No hacks, no algorithms, just the relationships that actually move a business forward. Founder visibility does not always come from doing more. For artist Erin Rothstein, it came from doing less herself and letting her team carry more of the work. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Erin Rothstein, founder of her namesake art company and an artist whose work now sells several thousand pieces a year. Erin built her business without a publicist or a strategy deck. She trusted instinct, kept a small, dedicated team, and changed direction whenever something stopped working. Her path offers real founder stories for anyone growing a business without a traditional roadmap. Erin explains why leaving the gallery system became a turning point rather than a loss, and what changed once she stopped answering to someone else's curation. She also walks through how prints entered her business, why she was initially hesitant, and what helped her finally move forward. The conversation covers social media strategy in a way that goes beyond posting advice. Erin describes her decision to pause ad spend entirely this year, and what that choice revealed about her customer base. She also talks about scaling responsibly with a team of about seven people who each have ownership over their own corner of the business. It’s a structure that allows Erin to step back from running every detail while still protecting the creativity and integrity behind her work. Press play to hear how Erin turned an art career into a business built on trust and knowing when to step back. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Erin Rothstein's Backstory in Art 06:36 Leaving the Gallery System Behind 10:39 Selling Her First Paintings and Early Sales 13:49 Investing in Her Art Business Before COVID 17:04 Adding Prints and Scaling Production 21:42 Growth Numbers and Redefining Happiness 28:53 Social Media, Ads, and Founder Visibility 36:16 Building a Self-Directed Team 40:02 Three Tips for Women Starting a Business Connect with Erin Rothstein: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Simple Marketing Strategies That Built a Jewelry Brand Without Paid Influencers | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:46:16 | |
Join host, Lindsay Pinchuk, LIVE for our 21-day Partnership Sprint starting October 12th. You'll build the exact partnership strategy she used to grow and sell her first company. No hacks, no algorithms, just the relationships that actually move a business forward. Amy Goin and Laura Laing spent twelve years building Thatch Jewelry before growing to roughly 300 specialty stores and launching with Nordstrom, and they never paid a single influencer to get there. Their simple marketing strategies prove that real founder stories rarely follow a straight line, and that visibility can come from something as ordinary as sending the right gift to the right person. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Amy and Laura, co-founders of the jewelry brand Thatch, about growing a company that looks effortless from the outside.They explain how they used to slide into the DMs of women whose style they admired and offer them jewelry with no strings attached, a tactic they still credits for early brand awareness. They talk through the pressure of scaling a business during COVID, when a primarily wholesale business suddenly saw online demand explode and had to rethink production to keep up. They open up about watching cheap dupes of their hand-carved gemstones flood the market, and how they’re deciding which battles are worth fighting. For female founders whose businesses are growing more slowly than they hoped, Amy and Laura offer a clear reminder that patience and consistency still work. Listen to hear how two artists turned a struggling small operation into a brand carried in hundreds of stores, and why they still believe the best marketing costs nothing but a little generosity. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Thatch Jewelry's co-founders 03:46 How a jeweler and consultant became co-founders 08:31 Building their first signature collection 12:00 COVID turns into their growth moment 16:39 What Thatch jewelry actually stands for 20:21 Facing knockoffs and cheap dupes 24:50 Breaking down wholesale versus Nordstrom 27:27 Simple marketing strategies without paid influencers 33:11 Building a small, loyal team 36:20 Advice for founders stuck in the middle Connect with Amy Goin and Laura Laing: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| She Bootstrapped Her First Bag at a Dry Cleaner Before Getting Press | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:42:44 | |
Getting press rarely starts with a pitch. For Irene Chen, co-founder of Parker Thatch, it started years earlier with relationships she built long before she had a bag to sell. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Irene Chen about turning a stationery line called Iomoi into Parker Thatch, a founder story rooted in scrappy beginnings. Irene shares how she cut her first pattern with the woman who hemmed her pants and bought canvas at Joann's with a 50% off coupon. Bootstrapping forced Irene and her husband to figure out bag production from the ground up, despite Irene’s background in fashion and finance. She also explains how her friendship with Kate and Andy Spade helped shape two major turning points for the company, with Kate encouraging the move into leather and Kate and Andy pushing them to rethink the Iomoi name. Getting press came easier once those relationships were already in place. Earned media and word of mouth remain one of her biggest drivers of growth today, proof that building relationships in business and networking for women pay off years later. Publicity followed the story, not the other way around. Listen to hear how one friendship changed the direction of an entire company. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Irene Chen, Co-Founder of Parker Thatch 02:30 The Original Idea: E-Stationery Before the Web 05:15 From Paper Goods to Home Products 07:00 Cutting the First Bag Pattern at a Dry Cleaner 09:30 Sourcing Fabric and Leather on a Shoestring Budget 11:00 Getting Press Through Editor Relationships, Not Pitches 12:26 How Kate Spade Sparked the Leather Pivot 13:03 Renaming the Brand From Iomoi to Parker Thatch 17:00 Keeping Customization Alive at Scale 26:19 The Friendship With Kate Spade Beyond Business 39:50 Three Pieces of Advice for New Founders Connect with Irene Chen: Follow Parker Thatch on Instagram Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Join the Dear FoundHer... Forum Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Getting Eyes on Your Small Business without a Publicist | 09 Sep 2026 | 00:15:55 | |
RSVP and join us on Thursday, September 10 for: Your Next Chapter on LinkedIn: Turn Your Experience, Expertise and Network Into Opportunity Host, Lindsay Pinchuk shares her personal journey with public relations, gaining visibility and the challenges small business owners face. She emphasizes that entrepreneurs can achieve visibility without a publicist by mastering the art of pitching and leveraging local and niche media. She provides a four-part framework for effective pitching, strategies for post-press engagement, and real-life examples of success. In this episode you'll find:
For more follow us on Instagram @dearfoundher. Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week. Join our networking community, The Dear FoundHer... Forum Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Bootstrapping a Business on a Car Loan and $2,000 From Mom | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:40:34 | |
Rachel Berliner built Amy's Kitchen for nearly 40 years without taking on a single outside investor. No outside investors, just a loan against her car, $2,000 from her mother, and a $10,000 bank loan. That is bootstrapping in its truest form, and it turned into a company whose products are sold in 57,000 stores today. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Rachel Berliner, co-founder of Amy's Kitchen, about what real founder stories look like once the funding rounds are stripped away. Rachel explains the decision-making behind her very first product and why she chose the best ingredients over the cheapest ones, even when it meant slower profit for the company. Rachel also walks through scaling responsibly, from the moment Publix came on board to the years spent building new plants and working with farmers to expand organic production enough to keep up with Amy's growth. She shares how the company approached sustainable business growth without ever taking on outside investors, and why her advice speaks directly to women business owners building at any stage of their journey. Press play to hear how a bootstrapping mindset turned a kitchen experiment into a private company still owned by her family, and the advice Rachel has for any founder who refuses to give up. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Community update and today's guest introduction 03:58 Pregnant, bedridden, and craving real food 12:30 First trade show and instant customer demand 13:07 Losing their production partner and taking production in-house 14:18 Bootstrapping the pot pie machine themselves 17:55 The Publix meeting that changed everything 22:20 Building new plants and scaling with farmers 28:03 Letting go and building a leadership team 34:10 57,000 stores and Walmart entry 37:11 Advice for women founders just starting out Connect with Rachel Berliner: Follow Amy's Kitchen on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| From $8K to 100 Stores: Scaling a Business as a Female Founder | 25 Aug 2026 | 00:33:09 | |
Michele Henry turned an $8,000 investment into a $25 million clothing business, then walked away and started over with skincare. Her second company shows what scaling a business really looks like when you build it franchise by franchise, growing from a single facial bar in Edina to nearly 80 locations nationwide. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Michele Henry, founder and CEO of FACE FOUNDRIÉ, about the decisions that got her there. Michele explains how a five minute decision led her to sign a lease for her first facial bar just five minutes after selling her shares in her previous company. She breaks down the real estate approach that drove her expansion, and why she believes your first ten franchisees will define your brand. Michele and Lindsay get into managing rapid growth during COVID, why patience matters more than most founders expect, and the years it took Michele to find the right CFO, bookkeepers, and financial team. She speaks candidly about her goal of reaching 100 locations by the end of the year, and joining what she says is a small percentage of female founders who have reached that milestone. Press play to hear how Michele Henry built two businesses from the ground up and what she wishes she knew about scaling a business the first time around. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Michele Henry, FACE FOUNDRIÉ Founder 00:40 From Fashion Boutique to a $25 Million Business 02:55 The Five Minute Leap to Face Foundrié 05:23 Inside the Face Foundrié Facial Bar Concept 07:44 Building Brand Awareness for a New Concept 09:54 Real Estate Strategy Behind Rapid Expansion 11:06 Deciding to Franchise the Business Model 13:14 Pivoting Face Foundrié Through COVID Shutdowns 19:32 Scaling a Business Toward 100 Stores 23:10 Hurdles Behind the Business Growth Stories 25:16 Three Actionable Steps for New Founders 26:22 Why Your Numbers Matter More Than Ideas Connect with Michele Henry: Get actionable tips to move your business forward sent straight to your inbox every week. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com Follow @dearfoundher on Instagram. http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Bootstrapping ESW Beauty: Bad Hires, Late Shipments, and Financial Turning Points | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:32:09 | |
RSVP and Join us for the Dear FoundHer... Virtual Open House and Networking event on August 20th! Bootstrapping a beauty brand to eight figures before bringing on outside investors sounds impossible until you hear the two financial tools that made it work. Elina Wang, co-founder and CEO of ESW Beauty, joins Lindsay Pinchuk on Dear FoundHer to break down exactly how she built a skincare brand now sold in more than 19,000 retail locations across North America, including Target, Walgreens, Whole Foods, and CVS. Factoring and PO financing kept her cash moving while retailers paid on their own terms, and those two tools became the real financial turning points behind the brand. Elina shares the bad hires that slowed her down, the late shipments from overseas suppliers that forced her to rethink timelines, and the moment she overbought inventory out of fear and what that did to her cash flow. Elina shares her decision-making behind scaling a business while bootstrapping the business, including why she waited years before spending on D2C marketing and what made Whole Foods her first true anchor retailer. Managing rapid growth meant learning these lessons in real time, not reading about them first. Press play to hear Elina's three actionable tips for any founder trying to grow without a safety net. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Elina Wang's K-Beauty Family Business Roots 03:47 Launching ESW Beauty From Scratch 05:13 Landing Kohl's and Her First Retail Win 06:58 Building Community Before Chasing Sales 09:53 Finding the White Space in Skincare 14:19 Target, Whole Foods, and Anchor Retailers 16:14 Bootstrapping With Factoring and PO Financing 19:36 Bad Hires, Late Shipments, and Cash Flow 20:39 Turning Personal Brand Into Business Growth 29:34 Three Tips for Founders Starting Out Connect with Elina Wang: Follow ESW Beauty on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Exit, Part 2: Walking Away From My Business, and What I Built After | 12 Aug 2026 | 00:17:14 | |
Join us on August 20th for the Dear FoundHer... Forum Virtual Open House and Networking Event, it's free. RSVP HERE. Lindsay Pinchuk shares the real story of negotiating her way out of her own company, the moment it finally broke her, and how the exit led her to found Dear FoundHer... Part 2 of The Exit picks up where Part 1 left off: a female founder fighting to hold onto the values and the partnership that built her company, inside a corporate acquisition that stopped honoring its promises and contracted obligations. Lindsay shares the breaking point that made her decide to leave, the values conflict with new leadership during a pivotal cultural moment, and the exact negotiation that got her out of her contract on her own terms. She opens up about blacking out on her last day, flying to Colorado the next morning, and how the idea for Dear FoundHer... was born on that trip. The episode closes with the hard lessons from a business exit that didn't go as planned, and why Lindsay chose to tell this story publicly for the first time, as the entry point into her new Premium series, The Aftermath. This episode is for any woman entrepreneur navigating a business partnership gone wrong, negotiating an exit, or rebuilding an identity after leaving a company she built. Check out The Aftermath, Part 1: What Nobody Tells You Happens After the Deal Closes Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week. Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Exit, Part 1: What Really Happens When a Female Founder Sells Her Business | 12 Aug 2026 | 00:13:09 | |
Join us on August 20th for the Dear FoundHer... Forum Virtual Open House and Networking Event, it's free. RSVP HERE. Lindsay Pinchuk pulls back the curtain on her business acquisition, the promises made and broken, and what really happens in the first year after a female founder sells her company. In this Behind the Curtain episode, Dear FoundHer... founder Lindsay Pinchuk shares the story she's never told publicly: what actually happened when she sold Bump Club and Beyond, the parenting community she scaled from a side hustle to three million monthly users. Lindsay walks through the acquisition process from the first LinkedIn message to the signed deal, why she said no to one buyer and yes to another, and the early warning signs that appeared within weeks of closing. She breaks down how her company's most valuable partnership, a seven-figure relationship with Target, was taken out of her team's hands, and what that meant for her earn-out. This is a real, unfiltered look at business acquisition from the founder's side of the table, told for any woman entrepreneur who is scaling a company, considering an exit, or has ever watched a deal not go the way it was promised. Check out The Aftermath, Part 1: What Nobody Tells You Happens After the Deal Closes Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week. Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How to Tell If a Business Coach Has Actually Built a Business | 04 Aug 2026 | 00:18:45 | |
Get action oriented advice sent straight to your inbox every week. Subscribe to our Substack, The FoundHer Files for advice you can put into play to grow your business starting today. If you've ever paid for advice from someone with a massive following and quietly wondered whether they've actually built a real business, this episode is for you. Host, Lindsay Pinchuk breaks down why building an audience and building a business are two completely different skill sets, calls out how AI-generated advice is quietly flooding the coaching and course industry, and walks through The Build Check, her exact three-step process for vetting any coach, course, or program before you hand over your money. Along the way, she gets honest about her own business exit, the parts of it that went sideways, and why that experience, not a follower count, is what actually qualifies her to teach this. What You'll Learn: Why a viral follower-growth number rarely means what it looks like it means, and the ratio math to run before it makes you feel behind • The real reason so few female founders talk publicly about what happens after they sell a business • How corporate acquisitions can turn on the founders who built the company, and the pattern to watch for • Why building a following and building a business are not the same skill set, even when the content looks identical • How AI-generated advice is quietly showing up in courses, coaching programs, and masterminds without being disclosed • The Build Check: a 3-step, 15-minute process for vetting any business coach or program before you pay, including the exact search terms and the exact question to ask • The one question that reveals within seconds whether a coach has actually built and sold a business, or just built an audience talking about it Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week. Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Christine de Wendel on Starting a Business After Corporate and Raising $145 Million | 28 Jul 2026 | 00:40:01 | |
Join Lindsay for a Dear FoundHer... Forum Virtual Open House and Networking Event on Thursday, August 20th. Click here to save your seat, it's free. She spent over a decade scaling two of Europe's most successful tech companies, reaching the C-suite along the way. Then she moved back to her hometown and nobody knew her name. That tension is the heart of this episode of Dear FoundHer, and it sets up one of the clearest examples of starting a business after corporate you will hear this year. Host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Christine de Wendel, co-founder and U.S. CEO of sunday, the digital checkout platform used in over 3,500 restaurants across the U.S., U.K., and France. Christine spent over a decade scaling two of Europe's biggest e-commerce companies before leaving corporate at 40 to build a company of her own. Her story shows what transitioning from employee to founder really looks like once the safety net disappears. Christine describes the three humbling months she spent building connections in Atlanta before the idea for sunday took shape, and how a phone call from an old friend turned into a co-founding partnership. She also opens up about startup funding and whether having a male co-founder changed how easily she raised capital. Lindsay and Christine talk candidly about networking for women, credibility, and why making a career pivot later in life can be an advantage instead of a setback. If you have ever wondered whether starting a business after corporate means starting from zero, Christine’s story offers a clear answer: the experience, relationships, and skills you have already built still count. Press play to hear how she used them to help raise $145 million for sunday. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 From Tech Executive to Unknown in Atlanta 02:56 Christine's Path From Bain to Paris Tech 05:47 Why She Waited Until 40 to Start 08:25 Uprooting the Family and Moving to Atlanta 11:43 The Phone Call That Became sunday 14:47 How the sunday App Works 16:33 A Review Turns Into Real Restaurant Change 19:08 How sunday Makes Money 20:57 The 2021 Raise and What Came After 22:45 Doubling Transaction Volume 24:25 Why Restaurants Are Slow to Adopt 26:15 Building Brand Ambassadors and Referral Networks 29:47 Funding, Her Co-Founder, and Gender in Fundraising 32:55 Motherhood, Pacing, and Doing It All 36:46 Three Tips for Women Starting Out Connect with Christine de Wendel: Follow sunday App on Instagram Connect with Christine on LinkedIn Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How Women Business Owners Are Growing an Audience Without Chasing Followers | 21 Jul 2026 | 00:39:54 | |
For simple, actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files Steph Weibring's Etsy shop made $8,000 in a year. Then she made $8,000 in a single November. The move behind the jump is one of the fastest lessons in growing an audience you will hear this year, and she pulled off the shift without a big following of her own. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, the show for women business owners over 40, host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Steph Weibring, founder and CEO of Joy Creative Shop. Steph turned a 20-cent Etsy listing into a multimillion-dollar stationery brand while raising three kids. She explains how partnership marketing sparked the jump and what it took to scale the business past seven figures. Steph also shares the chaotic weekend behind her signature bag of tags, and why the design makes her products harder to knock off. Copycat versions of her products show up on Etsy and TikTok. Her response will change how you think about competitors. You will also hear why a handwritten note is the fastest way to stand out when anyone is able to send an AI written thank you, and how Steph turned an old habit into a new subscription business. For founders over 40 who dread showing up on camera, Steph gets honest about her personal brand and the social media strategy she resisted for years. She now runs her company as a “lowercase ceo”, a title she made up to strip the intimidation out of leadership. Steph also offers three steps for any woman starting a business this year. Growing an audience starts with borrowing one. Press play and hear the story behind the November her whole business changed. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Steph Weibring, Founder of Joy Creative Shop 02:55 From College Uncertainty to a 20 Cent Etsy Listing 05:45 From $8,000 a Year to $8,000 in One November 08:14 Self-Belief and the Turning Point Toward Scaling a Business 09:44 What Joy Creative Shop Sells Today 12:45 Making Handwritten Notes Feel Modern Again 15:38 Listening to Customers to Solve Real Problems 19:18 Handling Copycats Without Losing Focus 23:32 Building a Brand Rooted in Gratitude 25:15 Growing an Audience Through Influencer and Partnership Marketing 29:04 Personal Brand and Standing Out as a Real Person 31:33 Teaching Kids Entrepreneurship Through Side Businesses 33:26 Inside the Joy Creative Shop Team 34:41 Launching "A Different Kind of CEO" 36:55 Three Actionable Steps for New Women Business Owners Connect with Steph Weibring: Follow Joy Creative Shop on Instagram Join the Dear FoundHer... Forum https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Partnership Marketing and Bootstrapping: How Liz Lange Turned $20,000 Into a Maternity Empire | 14 Jul 2026 | 00:53:24 | |
For simple actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files Liz Lange proves that the best marketing rarely needs a big budget, just the right people. On Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Liz Lange, founder of Liz Lange Maternity, about what it takes to build a business when the money and the confidence are not there yet. Partnership marketing sits at the center of it all, but not in the polished, strategic sense people mean today. For Liz, it looked like trust. It looked like showing up for people and letting the relationship do the work. Liz talks openly about starting as a bootstrap founder with almost nothing to lose and everything to prove. She is candid about the fear behind every major decision, and how often the loudest advice turned out to be wrong. Her instincts, not her budget, were what carried the business forward. The real thread running through this episode is trust. Trust in yourself, trust in slow relationships over quick wins, and trust that partnership marketing can outperform any ad spend when it comes from something real. For Liz, this wasn't a tactic. Networking with women came naturally to her. This is one of those real founder stories that reminds you that good PR for small businesses often starts with a single relationship, not a plan. It’s proof that female founders do not need permission to trust what they already know. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Welcome to Dear FoundHer and the Growing Founder Community 02:47 Meet Liz Lange, Maternity Fashion Pioneer 03:47 Starting Liz Lange Maternity With a Fax Machine and No Budget 09:13 Dressing Celebrities and Building Word of Mouth Marketing 15:36 Learning the Fashion Business From the Ground Up 19:07 Opening the First Liz Lange Maternity Store in New York 23:27 Landing the Nike Partnership Marketing Deal 27:05 How the Target Deal Changed the Business Forever 33:29 Ignoring the Naysayers and Trusting Her Instincts 39:03 Bootstrapping the Business Without Raising Outside Money 41:37 Balancing Motherhood With a Fast Growing Business 44:06 Life After Liz Lange Maternity and Home Shopping Network 45:15 Buying the Figue Brand and Building a New Chapter 46:17 Finding Community and Connection on Social Media 49:13 Three Actionable Steps for Women Starting a Business Connect with Liz Lange: Join the Dear FoundHer... Forum https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Unlock Business Growth and Scaling Your Opportunities by Leveraging Your Network | 07 Jul 2026 | 00:15:35 | |
For simple actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files Lindsay Pinchuk shares the most important asset you are not leveraging in your business. She shares how leveraging your existing network can be a game-changer for business growth, emphasizing relationships over followers and paid ads. She discusses practical strategies for reconnecting with your network, categorizing contacts, and using relationships to build and scale a business. Important Takeaways:
Lindsay talks about "that email" you can read all about that and grab her templates on her substack here. Join us for this month's Forum Workshop on July 9th: The 2-Part Email System Behind Consistent Scalable Revenue REGISTER HERE Join us inside the Dear FoundHer... Forum, our online networking group supporting you as you build and grow your business so you don't have to do it alone. Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How to Reactivate Your Network: The Email Strategy That Reopens Every Door | 30 Jun 2026 | 00:13:22 | |
For simple actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files Lindsay Pinchuk shares the importance of proactive network outreach for business growth, emphasizing a specific email strategy to reconnect with contacts and generate new opportunities. Learn how to craft personal reintroduction emails that activate your network and boost your pipeline. This episode includes:
Takeaways
Chapters 00:00 The Importance of Communication in Business 02:31 Reactivating Your Network 05:09 Building Relationships for Success 08:17 Crafting the Perfect Reintroduction Email 10:52 Taking Action: Your Email Assignment Join us for this month's Forum Workshop on July 9th: The 2-Part Email System Behind Consistent Scalable Revenue REGISTER HERE Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Invisible Truth Most Women Entrepreneurs Never Say Out Loud | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:45:10 | |
For simple actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files Most women entrepreneurs build a business to solve a problem they found in the market. Sadie Lincoln built one to solve a problem she had been hiding for a decade. Sadie is the co-founder of Barre3, a mindful fitness company with more than 200 studios and an online platform reaching clients in over 100 countries. On Dear FoundHer with host Lindsay Pinchuk, she finally says out loud what took years to admit. A secret eating disorder, a body she was trying to conquer, and a pregnancy that cracked something open she had not been able to reach before. What she discovered in her living room in 2008 became the foundation of everything Barre3 stands for. And every major business decision since then, including walking away from a deal that would have made her a household name in fitness, has traced back to that same truth. Female founders who are scaling a business while trying to stay honest about what it costs will recognize themselves here. Sadie built a community for business the old-fashioned way, face painters at a fountain, free classes above a health food store, relationships that no algorithm can manufacture. She course-corrected when outside pressure pulled her away from her values and called it growing without burnout before that phrase even existed. And the personal brand decision she made, choosing to stay small enough to stay true, is one most founders never have the nerve to make. Know yourself first. Do the research. Surround yourself only with people who are excellent at what they do and who respect why you are excellent too. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Meet Sadie Lincoln, Co-Founder and CEO of barre3 04:00 How Barre3 Was Built Around Mindful Fitness and Why That Was a Radical Idea in 2008 06:19 The Invisible Truth Behind the Business and What Sadie Finally Said Out Loud 09:27 Why the Hardest Moments in Business Are Often the Seed of What Comes Next 13:56 From Living Room Workouts to a Fitness Company Built to Franchise 17:01 The Grassroots Marketing Strategy That Still Outperforms Social Media 21:47 Why Community Is the Actual Product at Barre3 and How That Drives Sustainable Growth 25:25 What Kept Barre3 Standing While Other Boutique Fitness Brands Fell Apart 28:00 The Deal Sadie Walked Away From and the Financial Hit She Took to Stay True 31:53 The Kitchen Moment That Changed Everything 37:27 What’s Next for barre3 40:21 Three Pieces of Advice for Women Starting a Business Connect with Sadie Lincoln: Connect with Sadie on LinkedIn Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| She Got Adidas to Back an Idea on Paper | Female Founders and Bootstrapping with Odessa Jenkins | 16 Jun 2026 | 00:37:46 | |
Odessa Jenkins built a professional women's tackle football league before anyone believed the market existed. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Odessa Jenkins, known as OJ, founder and CEO of the Women's National Football Conference. Her story carries a lesson female founders everywhere need to hear. You don't wait for permission to build something new. You describe your vision so clearly the right people see it before a single game is played. That's how OJ won over ten teams and two major sports brands while the league was still an idea on paper. This is the kind of conversation women in business rarely get to hear. OJ worked a full-time job while selling the league. She convinced her wife to leave a corporate career and build alongside her. Bootstrapping kept the lights on for five years and profit didn't arrive until year three. None of those details show up on a TV broadcast, yet every one of them shaped what the WNFC has become. Sixteen teams, 900 athletes, and a championship game airing live on ESPN2. Female founders will recognize themselves in OJ's honesty about startup funding, partnership marketing with brands like Adidas, and the unglamorous work behind a bold mission. Her message cuts through the noise. Ready isn't real. Ask for what you need. Stop choosing the hardest path when an easier one exists. If you're drawn to real founder stories with heart and grit, this episode will stay with you long after you press pause. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Female Founders Who Build Before the Blueprint Exists 03:05 How Odessa Jenkins Started the WNFC 08:26 Getting Adidas and Riddell to Back a League That Didn't Exist Yet 11:13 Bootstrapping, Profit, and the Real Timeline 14:43 How the Public Responded in Year One 22:41 Fan Growth, Streaming Numbers, and National TV 24:53 Flag Football, the Athlete Pipeline, and What's Coming 27:55 Why the Timing Is Right for Women's Sports Right Now 31:17 Championship Weekend at Ford Center 34:28 Three Things Every Woman Starting a Business Needs to Hear Connect with Odessa Jenkins: Follow Women's National Football Conference on Instagram Submit your most pressing business questions for our Q+A Substack on Thursday: https://form.jotform.com/260218655668062 Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Thought Leadership for Female Founders: How Writing a Book Builds Your Personal Brand | 09 Jun 2026 | 00:35:44 | |
Writing a book is one of the most overlooked thought leadership moves a female founder can make, and most people go into it completely unprepared. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Ruthie Ackerman, author of The Mother Code and founder of Ignite Writers Collective, about what it actually takes to write and publish a book. Ruthie spent years as a journalist and deputy editor at Forbes Women before losing her job, starting a business, and landing a Random House book deal. Now she helps women in business find their voice on the page, and she's honest about how hard the process is. The publishing world has a glamour problem. Most people picture the finished book, not the 90-page proposal, the years of revision, or the media outreach that a publisher will not do for you. Ruthie lays out what female founders need to know before they commit, including how to choose the right publishing path, what a real publicity strategy looks like, and why treating your book like a business launch is the only approach that works. For anyone building a personal brand and wondering whether a book belongs in that plan, Ruthie also speaks directly to the PR for small business reality. Getting press, landing speaking opportunities, and reaching the right audiences all require the same intentionality you bring to every other part of your business. A book done right is a long-term thought leadership asset, not a project you finish and walk away from. If your story has been sitting in the back of your mind waiting for the right moment, this episode is worth your time. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Thought Leadership Starts With Your Story 03:51 Ruthie Ackerman's Path From Forbes to Random House 05:59 Getting Laid Off and Launching Ignite Writers Collective 08:21 How Ignite Writers Collective Grew During the Pandemic 10:35 Starting a Book Three Months After Having a Baby 12:08 Five Questions to Ask Before You Write a Book 13:57 Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing vs. Hybrid 15:50 What a 90-Page Book Proposal Actually Looks Like 18:35 Why Authors Have to Be Their Own Marketers 20:07 Three Tips for Making Time to Write 22:08 What Not to Do When Writing a Book 24:10 How to Find a Literary Agent 26:41 All the Hats You Have to Wear as an Author 28:55 How Ignite Studios Supports Authors End-to-End 32:11 Ruthie's Three Actionable Steps for Aspiring Authors Connect with Ruthie Ackerman: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Master Your Founder Story in 3 Paragraphs: A Step-by-Step Framework, with Host, Lindsay Pinchuk | 05 Jun 2026 | 00:17:10 | |
SUBSCRIBE to The FoundHer Files, our twice weekly Substack filled with actionable tips you can use starting today to build and grow your business. No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works. Host, Lindsay Pinchuk provides a tactical walkthrough on crafting a compelling three-paragraph founder story that effectively communicates your business, builds trust, and attracts the right audience. This episode offers a step-by-step framework, common mistakes to avoid, and practical tips for using your story across various platforms. Grab this week's Deep Dive on The FoundHer Files to read more about The Anatomy of a Story that Converts. Join us for this month's Forum Expert Workshop: Claude for FoundHers with Dara Astmann REGISTER HERE Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Substack: http://foundherfiles.substack.com Join our online networking community for women business owners over forty, The Dear FoundHer... Forum. Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 5 Essential Stories Every Female Founder Must Tell | 02 Jun 2026 | 00:17:57 | |
SUBSCRIBE to The FoundHer Files, our twice weekly Substack filled with actionable tips you can use starting today to build and grow your business. No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works. Lindsay Pinchuk shares the importance of storytelling for small business success, outlining five essential stories every female founder should master. She emphasizes how authentic storytelling attracts the right audience, builds trust, and drives business growth. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Power of Speaking Up 01:43 Your Story is Your Strategy 03:56 Crafting Your Origin Story 07:49 The Importance of Pivot Stories 10:21 Learning from Costs: The Hard Lessons 12:38 Naming the Invisible Truths 14:49 Finding the Right People Through Authenticity Join us for this month's Forum Expert Workshop: Claude for FoundHers with Dara Astmann REGISTER HERE Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Substack: http://foundherfiles.substack.com Join our online networking community for women business owners over forty, The Dear FoundHer... Forum. Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher Listen to our episode with Founder of TaskRabbit, Leah Solivan from last month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How Taskrabbit Sold to IKEA: Leah Solivan on Partnership Marketing and Scaling a Business | 26 May 2026 | 00:35:26 | |
In honor of Mother's Day, get $200 off a new Dear FoundHer... Forum membership through the month of May. Join the community built for women business owners over 40 who are building real businesses on their own terms. JOIN US INSIDE HERE, no code necessary to save. A group of executives walked into a room, and Leah knew exactly who mattered. Dear FoundHer host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Leah Solivan to talk partnership marketing, founder visibility, and one of the clearest business growth stories from Taskrabbit’s path to acquisition. Leah built Taskrabbit from a Boston apartment with no MBA, no startup network, and no idea how venture funding worked. What she had was an idea she refused to stop talking about and the discipline to do the unsexy groundwork for years before the right opportunity arrived. That is the entire lesson of this episode, and it applies to every woman building something right now. This conversation is for women founders who are tired of being told to run ads, chase virality, or wait for the perfect moment. Leah’s story proves that partnership marketing is not a tactic. It is a long game built on real relationships, real data, and showing up consistently in the right markets before you ever get the right meeting. Taskrabbit’s sale to IKEA started with one lucky opening, but the deal did not happen because of luck alone. It happened because Leah spent years trying to get on IKEA’s radar, knew her numbers cold, and was ready when one person in a room of eight finally mattered. Taskrabbit was already operating in London, one of IKEA’s largest markets, and a quarter of its jobs were IKEA furniture assembly. Founder visibility is not about being everywhere. It is about being undeniable when it counts. If you are a woman founder wondering whether the quiet, unglamorous work is moving anything forward, this episode will answer that. Building relationships in business the right way is slow. It compounds in a way quick wins often do not. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 From IBM Engineer to Taskrabbit Founder: Leah Solivan's Origin Story 03:33 Why Talking About Your Idea Is the First Step in Partnership Marketing 08:57 Rebranding From Run My Errand to Taskrabbit 11:09 How Leah Validated the Taskrabbit Concept Before Raising Money 13:23 Raising a Startup's First Round of Funding With No Business Background 19:40 Scaling a Business City by City and the Decision to Go International 21:26 Building Trust in a Gig Economy Marketplace 24:56 The IKEA Partnership That Led to an Acquisition 28:49 Life After the Exit: Investing, Podcasting, and What Comes Next 31:03 Three Actionable Tips for First-Time Founders Connect with Leah Solivan: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Substack: http://foundherfiles.substack.com Free Forum Open House + Networking Session Come see what's inside the Dear FoundHer Forum SAVE YOUR SEAT https://lindsaypinchuk.myflodesk.com/q2forumopenhouse
Join THE networking community for women business owners over forty, The Dear FoundHer... Forum
Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Why Female Founders in Their 40s Build the Businesses That Last | Jeni Britton | 19 May 2026 | 00:55:09 | |
In honor of Mother's Day, get $200 off a new Dear FoundHer... Forum membership through the month of May. Join the community built for women business owners over 40 who are building real businesses on their own terms. JOIN US INSIDE HERE, no code necessary to save. Thirty years ago, Jeni Britton started an ice cream company with no money, no backing, and no roadmap. Becoming a founder later in life turned out to be the best decision she never planned. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay talks with Jeni Britton, founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and Floura, about what it takes to build something that lasts. Jeni started her first company at 22, but she will be the first to tell you that the best entrepreneurs are in their 40s. The data backs her up. The fastest-growing segment of entrepreneurs in the United States right now is women over 45, and those businesses tend to be more durable than the ones built by founders half their age. Real founder stories rarely come with a straight line. Jeni’s includes early risk, hard lessons, public crisis, reinvention, and building again with more clarity. Jeni talks about closing her first business, Scream, and what learning from failure taught her about the difference between making what excites you and building something customers return to again and again. She also walks through the 2015 Listeria recall that nearly took Jeni's down, and why she looks back on it as one of the most important moments in her company's history. Scaling challenges, crisis leadership, and knowing when to simplify your mission so your team has something clear to hold onto are all part of the conversation. She gets into the founding of Floura too, her fiber nutrition company built from produce trimmings, and what becoming a founder later in life looks like when you already know the hard lessons. The second time around, she says, you know who to build with. Her coach and her advisor from the Jeni's years are now her co-founders at Floura. That kind of peer support for entrepreneurs is part of how the work actually gets done. For female founders at any stage, if you have been telling yourself you are behind, this episode makes a pretty strong case that you are not. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Jeni Britton Is a Must-Hear Guest for Women Founders 03:42 How Jeni Britton Started Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams with No Money and No Backing 10:46 The Accidental Product That Put Jeni's on the Map 12:37 Why Word of Mouth Still Beats Social Media for Growing a Business 22:17 The 2015 Listeria Recall and What It Taught Her About Values Under Pressure 29:44 Becoming a Founder Later in Life: Why Jeni Stepped Back and Started Over 33:28 Introducing Floura: A Second Company Built from Produce Waste and Gut Health Research 44:01 How to Price, Scale, and Build a Product the Right Way 47:00 Why the People You Build With Are Your Most Important Business Decision 51:46 Why the Best Entrepreneurs Are in Their 40s Connect with Jeni Britton: Follow Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Join THE networking community for women business owners over forty, The Dear FoundHer... Forum Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Scaling a Business Without a Plan: How Urban Remedy Got Into 400 Whole Foods Stores | 12 May 2026 | 00:38:47 | |
In honor of Mother's Day, get $200 off a new Dear FoundHer... Forum membership through the month of May. Join the community built for women business owners over 40 who are building real businesses on their own terms. JOIN US INSIDE HERE, no code necessary to save. Neka Pasquale turned a side project into a $48 million business, and she'll be the first to tell you she had no idea what she was doing. She was an acupuncturist treating patients when she started making food and juices as part of their care. People loved it, word got around, and before long, Urban Remedy was growing faster than she could plan for. There was no roadmap. Just a lot of late nights, a lot of mistakes, and a refusal to quit. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, Neka sits down with host Lindsay Pinchuk to talk about starting a business for the first time with no roadmap, no business background, and no idea the thing would grow into what it became. She shares what it was like fulfilling 500 juice orders while pregnant, shipping food across the country before she was remotely ready, and learning operations, HR, and food safety by making every possible mistake first. The story of how Urban Remedy landed in Whole Foods is worth the listen alone. It didn't come from a pitch. It came from a bike ride. That's partnership marketing working exactly the way it's supposed to, and it's a reminder that the relationships you're already building matter more than any campaign you could run. Scaling a business that sells fresh organic food nationally comes with scaling challenges most brands never take on. Neka talks about managing rapid growth without losing the mission, the burnout that built up quietly over 12 years of nonstop doing, and why protecting what your brand stands for gets harder the bigger you get. For women entrepreneurs who are building something that actually means something, this conversation offers a candid look at what growth actually asks of you. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 How Urban Remedy Started by Accident 06:25 Managing 500 Orders While Pregnant 08:39 The Operational Chaos of Scaling a Business 11:15 How a Bike Ride Led to 400 Whole Foods Locations 15:36 Staying True to Your Mission at Scale 22:22 The Real Challenges of Scaling Fresh Food Nationally 23:39 When and Why to Hire a CEO 29:14 What Every Woman Founder Needs to Know Before Scaling a Business Connect with Neka Pasquale: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Free Forum Open House + Networking Session Come see what's inside the Dear FoundHer Forum SAVE YOUR SEAT Join THE networking community for women business owners over forty, The Dear FoundHer... Forum Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Why You Can't Run Ads Without This: The Marketing Foundation That Built My 7-Figure Business | 05 May 2026 | 00:25:45 | |
In honor of Mother's Day, get $200 off a new Dear FoundHer... Forum membership through the month of May. Join the community built for women business owners over 40 who are building real businesses on their own terms. JOIN US INSIDE HERE, no code necessary to save. If you're a small business owner who's been told to run ads to grow your business, and you're spending money on Meta or Google ads that aren't working, this episode is for you. In this solo episode of Dear FoundHer…, host Lindsay Pinchuk breaks down why ads alone won't grow a small business, and the marketing foundation almost nobody is teaching women entrepreneurs to build first. Drawing on the same playbook that took Bump Club and Beyond from $500 of startup capital to a seven-figure exit, Lindsay walks through the three types of partnerships every small business owner should be running, the exact moment she finally turned on paid ads at Bump Club (year 7-8, not year 1), and how she's running the same playbook right now to grow Dear FoundHer. This is the foundational episode for May 2026 on Dear FoundHer…, kicking off a full month focused on partnerships as the most underrated growth strategy for women business owners over 40.
Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Substack. Made to Sell: Creating Websites That Convert: Save your seat (free for Forum members, $29 for non-members) Free Forum Open House Come see what's inside the Dear FoundHer Forum SAVE YOUR SEAT Join THE networking community for women business owners over forty, The Dear FoundHer... Forum Follow Dear FoundHer and Lindsay Pinchuk on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Scaling Challenges and The Comeback: How Angie Tebbe Rebuilt Rae Wellness With Her Community | 28 Apr 2026 | 00:36:06 | |
Pausing a business you built from zero is one of the most honest tests of whether you actually believe in what you made. Host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Angie Tebbe, founder of Rae Wellness, for one of those real founder stories that doesn't gloss over the hard parts. Angie built Rae Wellness into a brand with 4.5 million customers in three years. Then came the scaling challenges that most founders never talk about publicly. A retail rollout that went sideways, misalignment with a key partner, and a foundation that wasn't ready for the speed of the growth. Instead of patching holes or chasing short-term recovery, Angie paused the entire company. What happened next is a testament to the authentic relationship Angie built with her customers. The community didn't move on. Customers kept checking the site. They kept spreading the word. They kept asking when Rae Wellness was coming back. That kind of loyalty is the direct result of years of community building for business and treating customers like partners from day one. Angie had been running focus groups with women before the brand even launched, getting feedback on values, messaging, and products before anything hit the market. This episode speaks directly to women founders who are building something that actually means something to people. Angie talks about the decision to return, the team she reassembled, and the mindset shift she brought into this second round. She's growing an audience again, but on different terms. No paid lists, no boosted ads, no manufactured momentum. Word of mouth is driving new customers in numbers she didn't expect. The bigger message is about scaling responsibly as a real strategy, not a fallback. Angie is staying close to inventory, operations, and aligned partners. She's moving at a pace the business can actually hold. If you're facing scaling challenges or questioning whether your business deserves another shot, this conversation gives you something real to work with. Episode Breakdown: 00:01 Rae Wellness Comeback Story and Why Angie Tebbe Paused the Company 02:35 Rapid Growth, Retail Setbacks, and Scaling Challenges 07:55 Community Building Strategy That Shaped Rae Wellness 10:41 What Angie Tebbe Learned During the Business Pause 14:44 Retail Buyer Interest and the Rae Wellness Relaunch 15:37 How Rae Wellness Rebuilt Customer Trust After the Pause 18:33 Relaunch Sales, Subscriptions, and Returning Customer Loyalty 20:26 Word of Mouth Marketing and Growing Without Paid Influencers 24:10 How Angie Tebbe Is Scaling Responsibly the Second Time 32:10 Three Founder Lessons on Values, Non-Negotiables, and Trusting Your Gut Connect with Angie Tebbe: Visit the Rae Wellness website Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Bootstrapping a Consumer Brand: How Jaime Schmidt Built Schmidt’s Naturals and Sold to Unilever | 21 Apr 2026 | 00:31:36 | |
A jar of homemade deodorant at a Portland farmers market became a multimillion-dollar acquisition by Unilever seven years later, and the woman behind it never had a master plan. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Jaime Schmidt, founder of Schmidt's Naturals, for one of those rare, unfiltered conversations about bootstrapping a consumer brand from a kitchen table with almost no money, no manufacturing experience, and a newborn at home. Jaime's path was not linear or polished. She was a social worker who moved across the country, got inspired by the Portland maker community, and started whipping up natural deodorant while pregnant because she wanted cleaner products and could not afford to buy them. That is where it all began. What makes her story so useful for a first-time founder is how unglamorous the early days really were. Jaime hand-formulated everything using basic pantry ingredients, packed jars in a garage with a small team working off a changing table, and sold them on Etsy and at markets before she had a real website. Getting publicity came not from a PR firm but from sending samples to bloggers and YouTubers who were excited for new things to try. An early Today Show feature brought a flood of orders she was not ready for. Transitioning from employee to founder meant learning wholesale, retail pricing, inventory forecasting, and supply chain on the fly as the brand moved into Whole Foods and beyond. Managing rapid growth brought its own pressure. Scaling rapidly through multiple manufacturing spaces while trying to protect product quality and stay cash-flow stable tested everything she had built. Jaime's advice to women starting over or starting late? Stop talking yourself out of it. Find people who support you. And stop fixating on the end game. Just focus on the next real step in front of you. She did exactly that, and it was enough. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Jaime Schmidt on Building Schmidt’s Naturals From Scratch 03:16 How Schmidt’s Naturals Started at a Kitchen Table 06:09 Getting Publicity Through Bloggers, The Today Show, and Early Retail Wins 10:39 Bootstrapping Manufacturing and Scaling Into Major Retail Stores 13:08 Why Jaime Schmidt Sold Schmidt’s Naturals to Unilever 17:28 How to Scale a Consumer Brand Without Losing Your Values 22:20 Jaime Schmidt on Mentorship, Supermaker, and Investing After Exit 26:28 Business Advice for Women Starting Later and Becoming a Founder Connect with Jaime Schmidt: Connect with Jaime on LinkedIn Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com Don't build your business alone, join the FoundHer Forum to build alongside women just like you: https://www.dearfoundher.com/tour Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Scaling a Brick and Mortar Brand From Scratch: Rapid Growth, Managing Teams, and Protecting Your Brand Message | 14 Apr 2026 | 00:38:45 | |
Are you looking to level up your business? Apply for Lindsay's year-long mastermind and mentorship, Marketing Made Simple for Small Business Scaling a business means protecting your brand, your standards, and your sanity as growth picks up speed. On Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Gara Post, co-founder and chief creative officer of The NOW, for an honest look at scaling a business through smart decisions, steady leadership, and a clear brand point of view. Gara shares what helped The NOW build brand awareness early, why partnership marketing and earned media played such a strong role, and how women founders can create momentum without chasing every trend. This conversation gets into the real work behind managing rapid growth, from franchise systems and team support to protecting the customer experience across every location. Gara also speaks to the emotional side of scaling a business, with pressure, risk, and the need for support as the company grows. For women founders who want a clearer path to scaling a business, this episode offers practical perspective, sharper thinking, and a useful reminder that growth works best when the brand stays consistent and the founder stays grounded. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Gara Post on Building The NOW 04:44 The Gap in the Wellness Market That Sparked The NOW 05:50 What Made The NOW Stand Out From Traditional Massage Brands 10:17 Scaling a Brick and Mortar Business in the Early Growth Stage 13:04 Organic Marketing, Press, and Growth Without Paid Influencers 14:54 The Franchise Decision and the Risks of Scaling a Brand 19:44 SOPs, Team Support, and What Helped The NOW Scale 22:51 Brand Consistency, Social Media Control, and Customer Experience 29:25 Product Strategy and Local Brand Awareness 32:00 Gara Post’s Advice for Women Founders and Business Growth Connect with Gara Post: Follow The NOW Massage on Instagram Follow The NOW Massage on TikTok Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Female Founder Story Behind Apparis: Press, Rapid Growth, and Building a Team From Scratch | 07 Apr 2026 | 00:42:26 | |
Join us for our free SWEEP workshop on April 9th to learn how to apply simple marketing strategies to your business. Register here Apparis grew because Lauren knew how to spot demand before the business looked ready for it. On Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Lauren Nouchi, co-founder and creative director of Apparis, about the kind of growth story women founders rarely hear told plainly. Lauren shares how Apparis moved from an early concept that missed the mark to a brand with real traction, and why that shift depended on listening closely to the market, making fast decisions, and building credibility one move at a time. The conversation gets into bootstrapping, growing an audience, scaling challenges, partnership marketing, and founder visibility in ways that feel useful rather than polished. Lauren explains how retail partners, pop-ups, gifting, and brand collaborations helped create momentum, and why staying lean forced better choices. For women founders, the value here is the honesty around pressure, pivots, and the gap between how a brand looks from the outside and how it actually runs day to day. If women founders want a clearer picture of how trust, visibility, and demand are built over time, Dear FoundHer delivers that here. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Lindsay Pinchuk Brought the Apparis Founder to Dear FoundHer 01:25 How Lauren Nouchi Started Apparis 04:28 The Pivot That Helped Apparis Find Product Market Fit 07:25 The Bold Ask That Turned an Idea Into a Brand 12:12 How Apparis Built Credibility and Grew Through Wholesale 19:35 The Marketing Strategy Behind Apparis Growth 23:27 Building a Lean Team and Scaling Apparis 35:38 Lauren Nouchi’s Best Advice for Women Founders Connect with Lauren Nouchi: Join us for our free SWEEP workshop on April 9th to learn how to apply simple marketing strategies to your business. Register here Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Marketing System That Built Two Businesses: How I Use SWEEP to Grow My Audience, Get Press, and Scale Without Burning Out | 03 Apr 2026 | 00:28:41 | |
Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. REGISTER HERE. What does it actually take to grow an audience, get press, and scale a business, without a massive team or a marketing budget? In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk pulls back the curtain on the exact system she used to build her first company, Bump Club and Beyond, from a $500 idea into a 7-figure brand working with Target, Nordstrom, Huggies, and Unilever. The real founder story behind the framework? She didn't know she had a system until after she sold the company. That system is SWEEP, and in this solo episode, Lindsay breaks down how she's applied it, on purpose this time, to grow Dear FoundHer… from a passion project podcast into a full community, events platform, and mentorship program. This is a masterclass in founder visibility, growing an audience without paid ads, managing rapid growth as a solo operator, and building a publicity strategy from scratch. If you're a woman startup founder who feels like you're doing all the things but not getting the traction you deserve, this episode is the one you've been waiting for. In This Episode, You'll Learn:
If You Loved This Episode: Share it with a woman startup founder in your life who needs a real marketing system, not another hack. And if you haven't yet, scroll down and leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It's the single biggest thing you can do to help other women find this show. Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram This episode originally ran on April 18, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Real Founder Stories: How Jiggy's Kaylin Marcotte Went from Zero to Shark Tank by Mastering Partnerships, Publicity, and Scrappy Growth | 02 Apr 2026 | 00:48:43 | |
Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. REGISTER HERE. What happens when a burned-out startup employee discovers jigsaw puzzles as her stress relief, and then decides to completely reinvent the category? You get Jiggy, one of the most creative and scrappy real founder stories we've featured on Dear FoundHer. Kaylin Marcotte is the founder of Jiggy Puzzles, a multi-million dollar brand that transformed the humble jigsaw puzzle into a lifestyle product, a wellness tool, and a platform for emerging female artists. She launched in November 2019, just months before a global pandemic turned puzzles into the hottest product on the internet. She landed in Anthropologie before COVID hit, struck a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank, and built a three-channel business with a team of three. But here's what makes Kaylin's story so compelling for every woman startup founder listening: she did almost all of it without a marketing budget, without paid ads, and without a playbook. Just creativity, partnerships, and a relentless willingness to do the legwork. In this episode, you'll hear:
This episode is for every woman startup founder who is building something from nothing, trying to figure out how to get press without a PR budget, and wondering if it's really possible to grow an audience without throwing money at ads. Kaylin's answer is a resounding yes, and she gives you the exact roadmap in this conversation. Connect with Jiggy:
Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Loved this episode? Share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher. And if you haven't already, subscribe and leave us a five star review, it's how other women startup founders find real stories like this one. This episode originally ran on April 18, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Growing an Audience, Managing Rapid Growth, and Staying True to Your Mission: The Real Founder Story Behind Dudley Stevens | 01 Apr 2026 | 00:44:12 | |
Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. REGISTER HERE. If you've ever wondered what it really takes to go from a kitchen table idea to a brand with a cult following, this episode is your blueprint. Lauren Dudley-Stevens and Khaki Dudley-McGrath, co-founders of Dudley Stevens, are two of the most refreshingly honest women startup founders you'll ever hear from. They started with a simple observation, stylish fleece didn't exist, and turned it into a thriving, self-funded direct-to-consumer brand that women are obsessed with. No outside investors. No big marketing budget. Just real founder stories, scrappy decisions, and an unwavering commitment to their mission. In this conversation, Host, Lindsay Pinchuk, sits down with Lauren Stephens and Khaki McGrath to unpack exactly how they did it, and what they'd do differently. In this episode, you'll hear:
This episode is for every woman founder who is building something real, something slow, and something she actually loves. Whether you're just starting out or navigating the growing pains of a business that's taken off faster than expected, Lauren and Khaki's story will remind you that the best brands aren't built overnight, they're built with intention, consistency, and an unshakeable sense of who you are. Connect with Dudley Stevens:
Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Loved this episode? Share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher. And if you haven't already, subscribe and leave us a five star review, it's how other women startup founders find real stories like this one. This episode originally ran on November 7, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Founder Visibility Gap: Real Talk on Growing an Audience, Getting Press, and Showing Up for Your Personal Brand | 31 Mar 2026 | 00:52:01 | |
Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. Register Here to JOIN US! You Know You Need to Show Up — So Why Aren't You? With Peloton's Jenn Sherman If you've ever felt invisible online despite having something real to say, this episode is for you. Peloton's original instructor Jenn Sherman is back on Dear FoundHer, and this time, we're not talking about her Peloton journey. We're talking about one of the biggest challenges facing women startup founders and entrepreneurs today: founder visibility. Specifically, why so many of us know we need to show up on social media for our personal brand and business, and why we still don't. Jenn made headlines (in our community, at least) when she admitted she had never made a reel. What happened next? An outpouring of real founder stories from women just like her, accomplished, driven, and completely paralyzed when it comes to social media. In this conversation, Host, Lindsay Pinchuk and Jenn get real about the imposter syndrome, the overwhelm, and the very practical steps that finally got Jenn moving. Because here's the truth: growing an audience doesn't require perfection, it requires consistency. In this episode, you'll hear:
This one is for every woman founder who has ever said "I know I should be doing more," and hasn't yet. Whether you're navigating the scaling challenges of a growing business, trying to get press for the first time, or just figuring out how to manage your time and messaging across platforms, this episode will meet you exactly where you are. Connect with Jenn Sherman on Instagram here. Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram If this episode resonated with you, share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher, we want to hear from you. This episode originally ran on March 16, 2023. You can listen to the follow up from this conversation here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Susie Cakes From Rejection to 26 Locations: Scaling A Business, Managing Teams, and Growing an Audience Without a Budget | 30 Mar 2026 | 00:46:15 | |
Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. REGISTER HERE What do you do when every bank says no, the SBA tells you baking is "just a hobby," and you still believe in your idea with every fiber of your being? If you're Susie Sarich, you print out your business plan, hand it to anyone who will listen, and you build one of California's most beloved bakery brands anyway. This is one of the most inspiring real founder stories we've ever shared on Dear FoundHer, and it is packed with lessons that every woman startup founder needs to hear. Susie Sarich is the founder and CEO of Susie Cakes, a now-iconic bakery brand with 26 locations across California and Texas and a thriving nationwide shipping business. But before the empire, there was a woman with a dream, her grandmother's recipe cards, and a fierce belief that the West Coast was missing something: simple, from-scratch, Midwest-style baking made with love. In this episode, Susie and Lindsay dig into the real story behind the brand, the scrappy early days, the grassroots publicity strategy that got the word out before social media even existed, and the hard lessons that come with managing rapid growth across dozens of locations. In this episode, you'll hear:
This episode is for every woman startup founder who has been told no, who is figuring out how to scale without losing her soul, and who believes that the best marketing isn't about budget, it's about showing up and serving your community. Susie's story proves that when your mission is real, your product is good, and your values are non-negotiable, the growth will come. It just takes grit, patience, and a really good cupcake. Connect with Susie Cakes:
Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Loved this episode? Share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher. And if you haven't already, subscribe and leave us a five star review, it's how other women startup founders find real stories like this one. This episode originally ran on December 6, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Lindsay's Own Real Founder Story on Managing Teams, Scaling Challenges & Knowing When to Pivot | 10 Mar 2026 | 00:15:59 | |
In this episode, host and Founder of Dear FoundHer..., Lindsay Pinchuk, gets real with you about a bump in the road, one of the more relatable real founder stories she's lived through: losing a key team member right when you need them most. Lindsay spent three months onboarding and investing in her new VA, only to receive an email saying she was done with no notice, no transition. As someone who is actively managing rapid growth and navigating the scaling challenges that come with running a small business solo, this hit hard. And she wants to talk about it, because she knows so many of you are in the same boat when it comes to managing teams and finding the right support. Here’s what we cover in this episode: • The full story: What happened with the VA and what it really means to leave a small business owner without notice • Why managing teams as a solopreneur is one of the hardest parts of scaling challenges no one warns you about • What’s changing on the podcast this month (and why it’s actually a good thing) • Lindsay's 5-tip framework for pivoting with purpose when your plan suddenly changes Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Get on the waitlist for Lindsay's mastermind, Marketing Made Simple for Small Business. Applications for the new cohort open soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Power of Niching Down: How Dr. Amy Robbins Built Professional Credibility Beyond Building an Audience | From the Forum | 05 Mar 2026 | 00:38:17 | |
Niching down is often the move founders resist most, especially when they are already building an audience and seeing traction. In this Dear FoundHer conversation, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Dr. Amy Robbins, host of the Life, Death & the Space Between podcast, about how niching down became the turning point in her business. What started as a passion project evolved into a focused, revenue-generating offer once she stopped trying to serve everyone and began speaking directly to one specific group. Dr. Amy Robbins spent years building an audience through her show and growing her visibility in the spiritual space. The credibility was there, but the next step was unclear. Through a series of intentional career pivots, she recognized that therapists were asking for structured training in spiritually informed therapy. Niching down allowed her to create a continuing education program that strengthened her professional credibility and made her offer practical and professionally valuable. This conversation also explores the internal shifts behind the strategy. After experiencing exhaustion in private practice, she stepped back to create space for clearer decision-making and a path toward growth without burnout. If you are a founder with momentum but no defined direction, this episode offers a great example of how niching down can sharpen your message, simplify your marketing, and create sustainable growth built on focus rather than volume. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Dear FoundHer From the Forum and Dr. Amy Robbins’ Founder Story 01:24 From Private Practice to Spirituality and Building a Podcast Platform 02:38 Turning a Podcast Into a Business Without Taking More Therapy Clients 06:53 Taking a Sabbatical to Create Clarity and Build the Right Offer 09:47 Pivoting From B2C to B2B With Spiritually Informed Therapy Training 11:19 Using Continuing Education Credits to Drive Course Demand 14:02 Building a Therapist Community and a B2B2C Referral Model 22:10 Leveraging Podcast Guests for Partnerships and Business Growth 27:21 Mindset, Comparison, and Staying Focused on Your Own Growth Path Connect with Dr. Amy Robbins: Listen to Life, Death & The Space Between with Dr. Amy Robbins Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Real Founder Stories: How Elyce Arons Built Kate Spade, The Power of Getting Press, And How She Started Over After Loss | 03 Mar 2026 | 00:44:17 | |
For simple actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files Attention from the media can change the trajectory of a brand, but it is rarely the full story. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Elyce Arons to talk about what getting press really did for her business and how it influenced long term growth. If you are focused on founder visibility and questioning how getting press translates into revenue, this conversation offers valuable insight. Elyce shares one of the most grounded real founder stories about building Kate Spade and later launching Frances Valentine. She shares stories of meeting Katie in college, how the business really started in Katie and Andy’s loft, and how getting press created credibility and momentum for the handbag company, especially in a pre-social media era. Elyce explains that disciplined execution turned that visibility into demand. Publicity can spark interest, but managing rapid growth is what determines whether a company can sustain it. They also discuss scaling responsibly when cash flow is tight and every decision carries so much weight. Elyce reflects on motherhood and entrepreneurship and how her priorities evolved as her business grew. This episode is for founders who want stronger visibility, are navigating expansion, or are thinking carefully about how to build something that lasts well beyond early recognition. Episode Breakdown: 00:01 Elyce Arons On Building Kate Spade And Starting Over With Frances Valentine 02:03 From Kansas To New York: The Friendship That Started It All 10:27 The Small Branding Choice That Made Kate Spade Instantly Recognizable 12:44 Getting Press Before Social Media: Editorial Coverage As A Growth Engine 16:57 Managing Rapid Growth And The Decision To Sell Kate Spade 20:22 Motherhood And Entrepreneurship After Exit: Identity And Chapter Two 25:05 Leading Frances Valentine Through Loss And Protecting Katie’s Legacy 41:29 3 Lessons For Women Founders On Experience, Funding, And Trusting Your Gut Connect with Elyce Arons: Follow Frances Valentine on Instagram FoundHer Faves: Join our online networking community: Dear FoundHer Forum Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Starting A Business and Legal Support | Leslee Cohen, Founder of AllRise Legal Counsel From The Forum | 26 Feb 2026 | 00:35:15 | |
Most Female Founders who are starting a business for the first time only think about legal support when something goes wrong. Leslee Cohen, founder of AllRise Legal Counsel, shares how the right legal guidance can make starting a business safer and less stressful. Drawing on decades of experience advising female founders through fundraising, growth, and exit, Leslee explains why so many first time business owners delay legal decisions and the risk that can create in their businesses. Many legal legal decisions shape a startup from the very beginning, including business structure, equity, co-founders, and long-term protection. Leslee shares how a small shift in how founders talk about their business can open doors and why legal strategy works best when it supports momentum instead of slowing it down. Leslee also reflects on what changed when she became a startup founder herself and rebuilt her firm around flexibility, trust, and accountability without sacrificing quality. If you’re starting a business for the first time and you want legal guidance that feels practical, human, and aligned with real life, this episode offers clarity and a smarter way to think about legal support. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Female Founders Building Businesses For The First Time in the Dear FoundHer Forum 01:30 From Diplomacy to Corporate Law and Startup Legal Work 05:45 How One Sentence Changed Her Startup Legal Business 08:50 Building a Flexible Legal Firm for Female Founders 12:08 Networking Strategies That Drive Business Referrals 16:30 Legal Decisions Every New Business Owner Must Make Early 23:26 Redefining Growth and Success as a Legal Founder 29:44 Practical Advice for Women Starting A Business For The First Time Connect with Leslee Cohen: Follow AllRise Legal on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Scaling Challenges: How This Female Founder Went From $15K on a Credit Card to $20M In Sales Without Investors | 24 Feb 2026 | 00:28:34 | |
Female founders, scaling challenges can test your confidence, especially when you are starting a business for the first time without investors or a clear roadmap. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Tamara Coleman of Bark Bistro to talk about what it takes to keep growing a business when the pressure builds and the answers are not obvious. If you are working through scaling challenges of your own, this conversation will show you a practical path forward. This is one of those real founder stories that focuses on decisions, not hype. Tamara built a $20 million brand through bootstrapping, starting in her kitchen with a $15,000 credit card. She heard “no” from retailers, struggled to get approved on Amazon, and had to rethink her distribution strategy. Instead of quitting, she adjusted and kept moving. For female founders who are starting a business for the first time, this episode offers clarity on what growing a business truly requires. Tamara explains how bootstrapping forced her to understand margins, protect cash flow, and expand at a pace she could sustain. She shares how she managed scaling challenges without losing control of quality or operations. If you are facing scaling challenges and wondering whether you are doing it right, this episode will help you refocus on what really matters. The lessons here are useful, especially for female founders who are growing a business with intention. You will walk away with clearer thinking around margins, momentum, and the discipline required to build something that lasts. Episode Breakdown: 00:01 From $15K Credit Card to $20M Bootstrapping Bark Bistro 04:30 Retail Rejection and the Strategic Pivot to Amazon 10:53 Scaling Operations From Home Kitchen to 25,000 Square Feet 14:18 COVID E-Commerce Boom and Rapid Revenue Growth 24:22 $20M in Sales, Exit Strategy, and Advice for Female Founders Connect with Tamara Coleman: Follow Bark Bistro on Instagram Follow Tamara Coleman on Instagram Connect with Lindsay: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram FoundHer Faves: Tubby Todd Best Face Gel Cleanser Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Getting Press That Drives Sales: How Ariana Carps Sustains a 50-Year Retail Business | 19 Feb 2026 | 00:26:03 | |
If you care about where retail is headed and how a brick-and-mortar business is getting press that converts, this episode of Dear FoundHer is worth your time. Host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Ariana Carps, a woman business owner and second-generation retailer behind Rear Ends, a nearly 50-year-old brick-and-mortar boutique that continues to thrive without chasing scale or trends. Ariana shares what actually drives in-store sales and customer loyalty, and why building a strong community around her retail business has been just as important as the products she sells. You’ll hear why daily social media routines can outperform flashy campaigns, how quiet followers often become high-intent buyers, and why removing friction does not have to mean removing people. Ariana breaks down how personal service, honest feedback, and relationship-based selling create a retail experience that feels human and keeps customers coming back. This conversation reframes retail success as something sustainable, repeatable, and deeply human. If you are a woman business owner looking to get publicity, or build a community-driven retail business, this episode delivers practical ideas you can actually use. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Getting Publicity: How Daily Instagram Videos Drive Retail Sales 02:31 The Story Behind a 48-Year Family Retail Business 05:16 Smarter Retail Buying Decisions That Reduce Stress 06:44 Why Human Connection Still Wins in Retail 12:14 Building Consistent Social Media That Converts 16:48 Selling Without E-Commerce Through Personal Shopping 19:27 Choosing Sustainable Growth Over Retail Expansion Connect with Ariana Carps: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How Getting Press Helped This Female Founded Product Startup Explode With Annabel Love, Co-Founder of Nori | 17 Feb 2026 | 00:37:33 | |
Getting press can feel like a lucky break until you hear how Annabel Love and her co-founder built a repeatable strategy behind it. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Annabel shares how a dorm room hair-straightener hack became Nori, an eight-figure, profitable brand now sold nationwide at Target. This is a must-listen for women founders who want a clearer playbook for building visibility, earning trust, and turning attention into revenue. Annabel walks Lindsay through the early, scrappy days of the company, including customer discovery in the real world, focus groups, and building a product with zero hardware background. You’ll hear what it took to go from idea to manufacturing, then into a go-to-market plan that included Meta ads, influencer partnerships, and getting press that actually moved product. Annabel breaks down how they approached press opportunities like Oprah’s Favorite Things and The Today Show, plus how they repurposed those wins across paid ads, their website, and customer acquisition. This conversation also covers growing an audience before launch, choosing the right agency partners, and why a lean team can be an advantage when managing rapid growth. Annabel shares how Nori expanded from DTC into retailers like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Target, and what changed operationally once mass retail entered the picture. If you are one of the many female entrepreneurs trying to scale without burning cash or building a bloated org chart, you will walk away with concrete lessons you can apply right away. Episode Breakdown: 00:01 Nori Founder Story: From Dorm Room Idea to Eight-Figure Brand 03:24 Launching a Hardware Startup Without Engineering Experience 07:05 Customer Research and Product Validation Strategy 09:32 Direct-to-Consumer Go-To-Market Plan 11:54 Meta Ads, Influencer Marketing, and Getting Press 13:52 Retail Expansion: Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Target 16:10 Fundraising and Profitability in a Consumer Brand 22:18 Scaling to $20 Million With a Lean Team 28:46 The Today Show Impact on Sales Growth 31:14 Advice for Women Starting a Business Connect with Annabel Love: Follow Annabel Love on Instagram Subscribe to The Foundher Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| From the Forum with Kim Oser, Founder of Game Plan Organizing | 12 Feb 2026 | 00:24:07 | |
After more than two decades in business, Kim Oser realized that working harder was not the answer. The missing piece was structure. In this episode of Dear FoundHer from the Forum, Kim, founder of Game Plan Organizing, shares the shift that changed everything. After years of strong results, she realized the real barrier was not the quality of her work but how clearly she could articulate it. Once she stopped winging her own growth and built a clear plan, her business momentum followed. Kim opens up about moving from inconsistent marketing to confident storytelling, and how clarity in her message led to stronger referrals and a calendar that finally reflected the value of her work. She also talks about rebranding, not as a fix, but as an evolution. Game Plan Organizing gave her the language to lead more strategically and the confidence to say no to work that no longer aligned. As demand grew, so did questions about capacity and sustainability. Those questions ultimately led to Clear Game Plan, an online program designed to help people get organized without shame or overwhelm. Throughout the episode, one theme remains constant. Growth became possible and sustainable because it was supported by community, accountability, and shared perspective. This conversation is for anyone who knows their work is solid but feels stuck explaining it, scaling it, or sustaining it without burning out. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Women Founders and the Power of Community 01:55 What Game Plan Organizing Is and Why Planning Comes First 02:52 When Experience Is Not the Problem but Marketing Clarity Is 05:36 How Clear Storytelling Led to Referrals and a Full Calendar 07:32 Rebranding a Service Business for Strategic Growth 11:17 Using Events and Partnerships to Build Trust and Visibility 14:09 Scaling Beyond Personal Capacity with an Online Program 17:26 Why Community Accelerated Business Growth Connect with Kim Oser: Follow the Game Plan Organizing on Facebook Connect with Game Plan Organizing on LinkedIn Visit the Game Plan Organizing website Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How Growing an Audience Centered on Integrity and Community Built This Female Founded, Family-Owned Brand | 10 Feb 2026 | 00:39:24 | |
Building a breakout brand in the baby space usually looks slower and messier than people expect. It means facing real scaling challenges, making patient decisions, and staying committed to the product even when it would be easier to rush. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with female founder, Andrea Faulkner Williams, of Tubby Todd, about what it really took to build a brand parents trust. Andrea shares how Tubby Todd began with a personal family need and a hard reset most founders would avoid. After spending years developing their first product, they chose to start over when it did not work for their own child. That decision shaped everything that followed, including how they focused on quality, earned trust, and started growing an audience through real word of mouth instead of shortcuts or paid hype. Community, consistency, and listening closely to customers became the backbone of the business. That foundation made the next stage possible. Andrea walks through how Tubby Todd expanded beyond direct-to-consumer, first onto Amazon and eventually into Target, without losing what made the brand work. Instead of relying on retail to create demand, they brought an already loyal audience with them. If you are a woman business owner, wrestling with scaling challenges or trying to grow an audience before taking a bigger leap, this episode gives a refreshingly honest look at what steady growth really takes. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 How Tubby Todd Grew Without Paid Ads 03:00 Two Years of Product Development and Starting Over 04:00 Word of Mouth Strategy for Growing an Audience 07:00 “Be a Good Friend” Marketing Philosophy 14:00 Community Building Offline Through Play Dates 19:30 Scaling Challenges: Amazon to Target Retail Expansion 25:00 Founder Challenges: Confidence, Relationships, and Boundaries 30:00 A Simple Founder Framework: Why, One Goal, Quarterly Focus Connect with Andrea Faulkner Williams: Follow Tubby Todd on Instagram FoundHer Faves: Womaness Let’s Neck Serum Roller Kendra Scott 5 Link Match Band Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| From the Forum with Jillian Bernstein, Founder of The Wellness Extension | 05 Feb 2026 | 00:26:32 | |
What it really takes to leave corporate with confidence and build a people-first business that actually works. Leaving a stable corporate role is rarely about courage alone. It’s about timing, clarity, and building the right support before you leap. On Dear FoundHer from the Forum, host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Jillian Bernstein, founder of The Wellness Extension, to unpack what the corporate-to-founder transition really looks like when it’s done thoughtfully. Jillian shares how she assessed her readiness, invested in learning where she had gaps, and resisted the pressure many women founders feel to rush decisions just to make it work. This episode challenges a common misconception about workplace well-being. Jillian explains why surface-level wellness initiatives often fall short for small business owners and how listening closely to clients led her to build a more comprehensive HR concierge model. Her pivots were shaped by real conversations, careful testing, and a willingness to evolve her services based on what businesses actually needed. At the center of it all is community. Jillian reflects on how her network supported her during the quiet early months of building her business and how she now creates paid opportunities for other women through her work. This conversation is for women founders who want to grow sustainably, think strategically, and stop trying to do everything alone. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Investing in Skills You Do Not Have as a Founder 02:52 Building an HR Concierge Business for Small Businesses 06:30 Knowing When You Are Ready to Leave Corporate 11:25 Revenue Goals, Business Pivots, and Sustainable Growth 16:27 The Key Decisions That Made This Business Work 19:49 Why Community and Network Matter for Women Founders Connect with Jillian Bernstein: Follow Wellness Extension on Instagram Connect with Jillian on LinkedIn Visit the Wellness Extension Website Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Most Underrated Growth Strategy for Women Over 40 | 03 Feb 2026 | 00:10:43 | |
If you're a woman business owner over 40, join the Dear FoundHer... Forum to find support, advice, resources and mentorship—JUST FOR YOU. It’s all inside, without the gatekeeping and without the overwhelm. If you’re a woman business owner over 40 who feels like growth should be louder or more complicated than it needs to be, this episode is for you. In this solo episode, Lindsay Pinchuk shares why real business growth rarely starts with a launch, funnel, or rebrand—and almost always starts with a conversation. Drawing from her experience building and exiting a seven-figure company, Lindsay explains how conversations have led to her biggest opportunities, partnerships, and long-term growth. You’ll learn why women over 40 are uniquely positioned to grow through relationships, how one aligned conversation can create more impact than ten pieces of content, and why community—not campaigns—is often the missing piece. If networking feels forced and marketing feels heavy, this episode will help you rethink what growth can look like. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| From the Forum: Jill Beck, Founder of Go Long | 29 Jan 2026 | 00:26:16 | |
Many successful female founders and entrepreneurs are exhausted by planners, productivity advice, and the pressure to always do more, yet they still feel behind when it comes to time management. This episode of Dear FoundHer from the Forum slows that conversation down and asks why time feels so hard, even for capable, motivated women. Jill Beck, founder of Just Go Long and an accountability coach for women over 40, joins the discussion to talk about what she sees again and again in her work. The problem usually isn’t a lack of effort or the wrong system. It’s the absence of accountability in the middle of real life. Jill shares how she supports women through text-based accountability that fits into busy days rather than adding more to them. The conversation covers burnout, boundaries, confidence, and why it’s so hard to follow through when your plate is already full. Jill also shares how her business came together in a very unflashy way, built on trust, referrals, and showing up consistently rather than chasing attention or growth trends. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Productivity Systems Fail Without Accountability 02:27 Text-Based Accountability Coaching for Women Over 40 05:29 Burnout, Health, and Sustainable Time Management 06:48 The Time Pie Chart That Forces Real Tradeoffs 10:12 Visibility, Confidence, and Letting Go of Follower Obsession 16:04 Growing a Coaching Business Through Email and Referrals 23:24 What’s Next for Just Go Long and Corporate Time Overload Connect with Jill Beck: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Growing Side Hustle to 45 Locations with Courtney Claghorn, President and Founder of Sugared + Bronzed | 27 Jan 2026 | 00:37:16 | |
Join us for the FREE Dear FoundHer… Forum Open House + Networking (virtual) Event on January 28th. RSVP HERE we won’t host another Open House until later this spring. This female founded business began as a side hustle in an apartment and grew into a 45-location, company-owned beauty brand by staying grounded in reality. Courtney Claghorn, president and founder of Sugared + Bronzed, a natural sugaring and spray tan company shares how the company took shape while she still worked full-time, learned the service herself, and paid attention to what customers were actually willing to buy. Early decisions focused on cash flow, reinvestment, and keeping costs manageable. Profitability set the pace from the start and made it possible to scale without franchising or giving up ownership. The conversation traces what changes when a side hustle demands more than spare time, how standards hold up as scale increases, and why systems replaced intuition as the business grew. Courtney also talks through choosing when to raise capital, adjusting during COVID, and building something that could keep growing without depending on her presence in every room. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 From Side Hustle To Growth At Scale: The Sugared + Bronzed Story 03:10 Identifying A Market Gap In The Spray Tan Industry 06:00 Early Customer Acquisition Without Social Media 07:00 Leaving A Corporate Job When Demand Takes Over 08:10 Bootstrapping The First Store And Prioritizing Profitability 14:50 Scaling Without Franchising Or Losing Control 16:10 Raising Capital After Proving The Business Model 17:30 Surviving COVID Through Creative Pivots 23:00 Maintaining Quality And Culture At Scale 34:00 Founder Advice On Moving Fast And Avoiding Overplanning Connect with Courtney Claghorn: Visit the Sugared + Bronzed Website Follow Sugared + Bronzed on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| How Women Founders Can Monetize a Podcast and Newsletter | Real Founder Stories With Nina Badzin | 22 Jan 2026 | 00:32:02 | |
Most real founder stories are not tidy highlight reels. They unfold in real time, with experiments, pivots, and steady progress. In this episode, Nina Badzin shares one of those real founder stories, tracing her path from writing advice columns to building Dear Nina into a podcast and newsletter that operate as the business itself. If you are growing an audience and wondering how women founders can monetize their creative outlets like podcasts, blogs, social media platforms and more, this conversation is for you. Nina breaks down how sponsorships support her podcast, how paid subscribers support her newsletter, and why she wishes she had started monetizing sooner. She talks candidly about learning to edit her own show, building revenue streams gradually, and treating content as a long term asset that compounds over time. This is also one of those real founder stories that highlights the power of online community building. Nina explains how joining the Dear FoundHer Forum led to peer support for entrepreneurs that she could not get from friends alone. From partnership marketing opportunities like podcast swaps to brainstorming bigger strategy decisions, the right room changed her trajectory. You will also hear practical event marketing ideas, including how she launched her first live event, secured sponsors for giveaway bags, and is planning future cities with intention. Along the way, she shares lessons about starting before you feel ready, embracing partnership marketing, and building systems that support sustainable growth. This episode gives you real founder stories that show how entrepreneurs build their audience, try out new ways to make money, and get help from other female entrepreneurs. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introducing Dear FoundHer From the Forum and Nina Badzin 01:17 Turning Friendship Advice Into a Sustainable Business 07:55 Starting a Podcast During COVID 10:15 How Dear Nina Makes Money Through Sponsorships and Subscriptions 13:58 Why Substack Works for Newsletter Growth and Discovery 20:53 Why Community Matters More Than Friends in Business 23:55 Real Business Results From the Dear FoundHer Forum 27:11 Three Practical Lessons for New Business Owners Connect with Nina Badzin: Tune in to Nina’s Podcast: Dear Nina Conversations About Friendship Connect with Lindsay: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Growing an Audience Through Community Building for Business | A Female Founder Story With Zibby Owens | 20 Jan 2026 | 00:47:07 | |
When growing an audience feels impossible because your business did not start with a neat plan, this episode is proof you do not need one. Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Zibby Owens, founder of Zibby Media, for a conversation that is part strategy and part reality check for women building in midlife. Zibby shares how a personal reset led to a podcast, then events, then a bookstore, then publishing, all by paying attention to what people responded to. These are real founder stories about testing ideas in public, keeping what works, and letting go of what drains the team. If you are leaving corporate or staring down career pivots, you will hear how both women built momentum without pretending it was effortless. This is also a lesson in community building for business. Zibby explains why bringing people together in real life made it easier to book guests, strengthen partnerships, and keep growing an audience even when algorithms change. Lindsay connects the dots to her own journey bootstrapping a company from $500 to seven figures, selling it, and then building Dear FoundHer into a podcast, a forum, and live events. They also talk about values and visibility. Zibby reflects on the backlash that can come with speaking publicly and why she chose to keep showing up anyway. If you want growing an audience without burning out, you will leave with practical steps for outreach, clarity on what to stop doing, and a reminder that growing an audience is built one relationship at a time, starting today. Episode Breakdown: 00:02 Bootstrapping From $500 to Seven Figures and Building Dear FoundHer With Lindsay Pinchuk 03:48 How Zibby Owens Started Zibby Media Without a Business Plan 07:20 Growing an Audience Through Podcasting, Sponsorships, and Consistent Content 09:36 Community Building for Business Through Live Events and Real-Life Connection 14:09 Leaving Corporate After Acquisition and Making a Career Pivot Into Entrepreneurship 19:07 Rebranding and Streamlining a Growing Business With a Clear Mission 25:12 Values-Driven Leadership, Public Visibility, and Backlash After October 7 31:34 Turning Purpose Into Action With a Bestselling Anthology and Ongoing Community Work 37:05 Hiring, Team Building, and the Reality of Monetizing a Media Business 44:41 Practical Advice for First-Time Founders on Feedback, Clarity, and Growing an Audience Connect with Zibby Owens: Follow Zibby Publishing on Instagram Follow Zibby’s Bookshop on Instagram Follow Totally Booked with Zibby on Instagram Connect with Lindsay: Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Join us for the Dear FoundHer... Forum Virtual Open House + Networking Event on January 28th to meet other amazing women business owners just like you. RSVP HERE to save yourself a seat, it's free. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Two Simple Ways to Get New Clients in 2026 (Send THAT Email + Use LinkedIn Messaging Intentionally) | 16 Jan 2026 | 00:16:01 | |
Two simple, proven ways to get new clients in 2026, without ads, funnels, or burnout. Lindsay Pinchuk shares the email every entrepreneur forgets to send and the LinkedIn strategy that activates your network and drives real revenue. Perfect for women business owners over 40 building their next chapter. If you're a woman business owner over 40 and you’re wondering how to get more clients in 2026, without ads, complicated funnels, or burnout, this episode is for you. In this special teaser episode ahead of Season 5 of Dear FoundHer…, host Lindsay Pinchuk shares the two simplest and most effective client acquisition strategies she’s used at every stage of her career, from launching her first company to building a seven-figure business and scaling Dear FoundHer. You’ll learn: ✔️ The one email every entrepreneur forgets to send — and why it’s your most powerful lead generator ✔️ How to activate your existing network to get new clients faster ✔️ How to use LinkedIn for business development (without cold pitching or awkward sales messages) ✔️ Why “doing great work” isn’t enough — and what actually creates momentum ✔️ The exact strategy Lindsay used when she woke up one January with zero clients What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
This episode is for:
If you're starting a business after 40, pivoting careers, or rebuilding momentum in a new season of life, this episode gives you a clear, simple roadmap to getting visible and getting paid. No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just real strategies that work. Grab THOSE LinkedIn message templates. Follow Dear FoundHer... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Momentum We’re Carrying Into 2026 | 30 Dec 2025 | 00:16:45 | |
If you missed our holiday Dear FoundHer... Forum promo, you didn’t miss your chance. We’re offering one final opportunity to join the Dear FoundHer… Forum at a special rate before they go up in January. Use the code LASTCHANCE for 20% off through December 31st. CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. Momentum grows faster when you’re not building alone. Community is the difference. In the final episode of 2025, Host, Lindsay Pinchuk, reflects on a year defined by momentum—not hustle, but intentional business growth built through community. This solo episode looks back on the wins, challenges, and lessons that shaped the Dear FoundHer… ecosystem in 2025 and shares what it really takes to build a business that’s sustainable, aligned, and built to last. Lindsay breaks down what this year reinforced about growth after 40, the power of boundaries, and why community compounds faster than content. You’ll hear the lessons Lindsay is carrying into 2026—focused on sustainability, clarity, and future goals—along with a reminder that meaningful growth doesn’t come from doing more, but from doing what works. If you’re closing out the year reflecting on what’s next and craving momentum that feels steady instead of exhausting, this episode is for you. Make sure you follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The FoundHer Files. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||