Behind Her Empire

Jenny Lei is the founder of Freja, the cult-favorite vegan handbag brand that you've probably seen on Hailey Bieber, Sarah Jessica Parker, and all over your feed.

But here's what you might not know. Jenny started Freja with no fashion background, no design experience, and no investors. She funded it herself with money she made from a dropshipping business she built after Googling "how to make money fast online" because she had to pay for her life living in NYC. She launched a work bag brand out of her New Jersey apartment in February 2020, weeks before the entire world stopped going to the office. She signed up two thousand people to an email list, sent her launch email, and didn't get a single sale. And she was doing all of it on a visa, with a clock ticking on whether she'd even get to stay in the country. Today, Freja is a multi-million dollar brand and one of the most talked-about names in the space.

In this episode, Jenny gets really honest about the slow years nobody talks about, why she believes growing too fast can actually be a curse, and the moment she broke down crying in an airport because she'd been holding the entire business together by herself, with no systems underneath her. We talk about the difference between selling products and creating a brand, how intuition is built through failure, and learning to separate who you are from the company you create. She also opens up about burnout, the systems and team she built behind Freja, and what it was like to step into the spotlight after years of hiding. If you're in one of those quiet, slow seasons right now — doing everything right, waiting for it to pay off — this is the conversation you need to hear.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Jenny about:
* Why growth should be measured by learning, not just revenue. [02:37]
* The downside of growing too fast without understanding why it worked. [03:58]
* Growing up with curiosity and the freedom to explore new interests. [04:05]
* Navigating identity after moving between China and the United States. [06:00]
* How a vegan Instagram account became an early entrepreneurial venture. [06:58]
* Separating personal identity from the business you build. [09:08]
* Why the business should work for you—not the other way around. [10:00]
* From Cornell graduate to Googling how to make money online. [13:55]
* Learning the fundamentals of online selling through dropshipping. [15:22]
* The difference between selling products and building a brand. [17:05]
* Creating Freja after failing to find the perfect work bag. [19:25]
* Using naive optimism to design a product without a fashion background. [20:25]
* Launching just before the pandemic and facing an immediate setback. [24:25]
* Why volume, consistency, and paid ads fueled early growth. [26:02]
* The gradual rise of Freja and the success of the Chrystie collection. [27:58]
* Reaching a turning point and finally viewing the company as a real business. [29:07]
* Burnout, team growth, and learning how to build systems at scale. [31:17]
* The marketing channels that mattered most from startup to scale. [35:23]
* Stepping into the founder spotlight and sharing the story behind the brand. [37:48]
* How journaling became the most impactful business tool. [42:33]
* Using ChatGPT and the Socratic method for better decision-making. [44:12]
* Moving to London, evolving as a designer, and reimagining the future of Freja. [45:51]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Jenny:
* Website: https://frejanyc.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frejanyc/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennyyleiii/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mariam Naficy is the founder and chairman of Minted — the online marketplace where independent artists around the world sell everything from cards to wall art to home decor. She's also the founder and CEO of Arcade, an AI platform reimagining how physical products get designed and made.

But before any of that, Mariam was the child of immigrants who fled Iran after the revolution and rebuilt their lives from scratch. Watching her family lose everything left her, by age ten, with one conviction: she would have to take care of herself. That drive carried her through Goldman Sachs and Stanford — where she became one of the only MBAs in her class to skip the corporate path and bet on herself, back when entrepreneurship wasn't really a thing.

In 1998, she co-founded Eve.com, one of the first online beauty retailers — back when investors told her women would never buy makeup online. It sold for over $100 million, just two weeks before the dot-com crash. Years later, she launched Minted. And it nearly broke her. Zero sales for months. Critics who dismissed the idea. A newborn at home. And the fear that her first big win had just been luck. The turnaround came when she stopped guessing, and started asking artists and customers what they actually wanted — and built one of the earliest creator-economy success stories.

In this episode, Mariam shares how fleeing Iran shaped her relationship with risk and money, what her mother meant when she said "beat all the boys," and why she bet on herself with no family history in business. We get into building Eve in the earliest days of e-commerce, selling a company before 30, and the darkest stretch of Minted — when she was ready to give her investors their money back. She tells us how she got through those dark times, the mindset that kept her going, and the advice she'd give other founders. She also opens up about motherhood, self-doubt, the pivot that saved the company, and what she's building now with Arcade.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Mariam about:
* How fleeing Iran shaped her relationship with risk and financial independence. [03:24]
* Why financial security became a driving force. [04:20]
* Choosing entrepreneurship over the traditional corporate ladder. [05:20]
* Being one of the only Stanford MBA graduates to start a company in 1998. [06:21]
* Writing and publishing a book to stand out and fund her education. [10:58]
* Convincing a future co-founder to leave New York and build a company together. [14:19]
* Launching one of the first online beauty retailers before e-commerce was mainstream. [15:49]
* Raising $26 million as first-time founders. [17:59]
* Selling the company just before the dot-com crash changed everything. [21:54]
* Navigating the emotional comedown after early success. [23:42]
* The lessons she learned between her first startup and launching Minted. [26:44]
* Facing the darkest moments of entrepreneurship when Minted struggled to gain traction. [30:19]
* Navigating motherhood while scaling a fast-growing company. [40:14]
* Stepping away from the CEO role to prioritize family during a pivotal season. [44:37]
* Building Arcade and using AI to reimagine product creation and manufacturing. [45:33]
* The biggest mistakes founders make when starting a business. [48:21]
* What she looks for when hiring future leaders and long-term team members. [49:19]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Mariam:
* Website: https://www.minted.com/
* Website: https://www.arcade.ai/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mnaficy/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minted/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcade.ai/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by my co-founder of Beeya Wellness, Kaya Purohit, and together we're sitting down with Dr. Tanda Cook and Dr. Katie Collier. If you've been around the show, you already know them. This is their fourth time on the podcast, and there's a reason we keep bringing them back. They're naturopathic doctors who work with women every single day on the stuff most doctors miss. The fatigue that won't quit. The brain fog. The weird rashes. The gut that's been off for years. And the lab work that keeps coming back "normal" while you feel anything but. They have this gift for taking what feels confusing in your body and making it actually make sense.

In this episode, we're talking about autoimmune. Because 80% of autoimmune cases belong to women, and what Tanda and Katie share is genuinely hopeful. They break down what's really happening when your body feels off, the early signals that are easy to miss, why so many women spend years bouncing between doctors before anyone connects the dots, and the simple, doable things that actually move the needle. So if you've ever felt like something is off and you just want someone to explain it in a way that feels human, this conversation is for you.

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Dr. Tanda:
* Website: https://drtandacook.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtandacook/

Follow Dr. Katie:
* Website: https://drkatiecollier.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkatiecollier/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ingrid Carney is the founder of Ingrid & Isabel, the largest maternity brand in the United States.

Before any of that, she co-founded a Silicon Valley startup that ended with the dot com bust. Then she got pregnant, couldn't button her pants on the way to a VC pitch, used a tube top to hold them in place, and that quick fix became the Bellaband, the product that built Ingrid & Isabel.

She launched with $28,000 of her own money. Half of it went to a patent. The rest went to walking into the top maternity stores in the country, demoing the product on her own body, and sending handwritten letters to the number one store in every major market. With no fashion background, no industry connections, and no marketing budget, she taught herself manufacturing, beat back a major company that tried to steal her patent, and bootstrapped Ingrid & Isabel to serve more than 17 million moms with 16 patents to her name.

In this episode, Ingrid shares what 24 years in business has actually taught her, and why feeling "behind" can be an advantage in a world obsessed with overnight success. We get into the patent battle that almost ended everything, how she got into retail and grew the business from there, and why she believes the best ideas come from sharing your idea, not protecting it, and so much more.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Ingrid about:
* Why feeling “behind” in business can become a competitive advantage. [02:23]
* Becoming comfortable in unfamiliar situations from an early age. [04:36]
* Lessons from working in Silicon Valley startups and ad agencies. [07:17]
* Discovering the balance between big corporate thinking and startup speed. [08:27]
* Building her first startup and navigating its shutdown. [09:47]
* The pregnancy moment that sparked the idea for the Bellaband. [12:42]
* Validating the product idea through her local moms group. [15:48]
* Testing early prototypes and refining the product through real feedback. [17:23]
* Navigating postpartum depression while sitting on a promising idea. [18:58]
* Why investing into a patent changed the company’s future. [20:28]
* Fighting a major retailer that copied the Bellaband before the patent was approved. [22:35]
* Why sharing ideas openly can lead to unexpected opportunities and advice. [29:16]
* Trusting intuition while balancing endless feedback from others. [30:58]
* The realities of building a company while raising young children. [32:22]
* Landing early retail accounts by personally demonstrating the product in stores. [34:55]
* How Target became a major growth unlock for the brand. [38:23]
* Using lines of credit and inventory planning to support rapid expansion. [39:35]
* Balancing premium retail, mass retail, and accessibility for customers. [40:45]
* Products she believed would succeed that failed — and surprise hits she resisted. [46:01]
* Hiring lessons, team dynamics, and knowing when someone isn’t the right fit. [48:42]
* Expanding into Walmart while continuing to focus on long-term growth opportunities. [51:02]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Ingrid:
* Website: https://www.ingridandisabel.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingridandisabel/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, we’re re-airing one of our top episodes with Monique Rodriguez, the founder and CEO of Mielle Organics, an all natural hair care and beauty brand.

Monique created Mielle Organics’ first product in her kitchen. Now, the brand has products in over 85 countries – and still pursues the same vision it did from when it operated out of Monique’s kitchen, with the same values.

Monique worked as a registered nurse for almost a decade. She pursued nursing initially to please her mother and secure a financially stable career. As a wife and mother of two girls, it was a big risk to leave her stable career path to pursue her passion. Yet she always had a love of beauty and haircare, and once she saw the engagement of her online community with the products she was creating in the kitchen, she decided to bet on herself and launch her own product, and that’s when Mielle Organics was born.

In 2021, Monique became the first Black woman to raise a non-controlling nine-figure investment, over $100M, in a deal with Berkshire Partners. In 2023, Monique made history again when Mielle Organics was acquired by Procter & Gamble in an unprecedented acquisition, the largest exit ever for a Black Female beauty founder, in which she will continue to serve as CEO of the company. As part of her deal with P&G, she also established Mielle Cares, the non-profit arm of her company, with a $10M donation that was matched by P&G.

In this week’s episode we discuss the many business ventures Monique tried that didn’t work out, why she decided to pursue her nursing career and the biggest skills she learned there that have propelled her when starting her own business. We also chat about her process of building a passionate community through social media, how that helped her create product market fit for her product, and the steps she took to find a chemist to work on her first batch that ended up selling out. Monique also ends on sharing insights on manifesting success, the exact steps she took to bring her ideas to life, her advice on navigating challenging situations both personally and professionally, and so much more.

In this episode, we'll talk to Monique about:
* Confronting fears and building self-belief. [04:06]
* Strong women in Monique's upbringing. [07:27]
* Leaving her comfort zone. [20:09]
* High-risk pregnancy experience in 2013. [22:49]
* Funding Mielle's early stages. [31:35]
* Starting Mielle at home and the initial orders. [35:24]
* Driving Mielle Organics' launch success.[36:41]
* Leaving nursing job to focus on Mielle. [37:54]
* Manifestation steps and vision importance. [40:41]
* Bringing in private equity, alignment with Berkshire. [55:31]
* Timeline of P&G acquisition. [58:05]
* Journaling and gratitude cultivation. [01:00:26]
* Business sale impact on Monique's life. [01:02:33]

This episode is brought to you by beeya:
* Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.
* Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Monique:
* Website: https://mielleorganics.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mielleorganics/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exquisitemo/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.