Female Founder World

Susan Yara, founder of Naturium, joins Jasmine on the show this week to talk about building a skincare empire, navigating controversy, and selling her brand for $355 million to e.l.f Cosmetics.
Susan’s brand, Naturium, is a clinically effective, biocompatible skincare line that’s accessibly priced and designed to deliver real results. In this episode, Susan shares her journey from beauty influencer and content creator with over 2 million followers to co-founding one of Target’s fastest-growing skincare brands and ultimately leading it to a major acquisition.
Susan dives into the scrappy early days of building Naturium, including how a chance LinkedIn message during the pandemic led to her partnership with Ben Bennett, the founder of The Center, and exactly what she looks for when partnering with influencers (it isn't a big follower count!). She also opens up about the challenges of being a female founder in the public eye, the lessons she learned from navigating a viral controversy, and how she stayed focused on building a profitable, acquisition-ready brand.
Plus, Susan shares actionable advice for entrepreneurs, from leveraging community and content to identifying the right retail partners and building a team that thrives. She also gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to sell a brand, the importance of financial literacy, and how she’s using her success to create a life of freedom and wellness.
LINKS:
Become a Business Bestie subscriber: ⁠https://bestie.femalefounderworld.com⁠

Brynn Putnam is the founder and former CEO of Mirror, a fitness smart mirror that she sold to Lululemon for $500 Million. Now she’s building a new business, Board.

In this episode, Brynn tells Jasmine how she built a business to $500 Million in just a couple of years and what she’s doing differently in her second business.

Whether you’re a first-time founder or a seasoned entrepreneur, this episode is packed with insights on building, scaling, and innovating in new categories.

LINKS:
Become a Business Bestie subscriber: ⁠https://bestie.femalefounderworld.com⁠
Find Board: ⁠https://board.fun⁠

Libby Leffler, founder and CEO of First, is on the show with Jasmine this week talking about prenups and building a tech company.

Libby's business First is an online prenup platform that makes it easier to protect yourself and your business when you get married.

In this episode, Libby shares her journey from working at tech giants like Google, Facebook, and SoFi to founding First, a platform Fortune has dubbed the "TurboTax for prenups." She dives into the scrappy early days of building her business, including cold-calling family law attorneys, designing a seamless customer experience, and raising $4M in seed funding to bring her vision to life.
Libby also unpacks the misconceptions around prenups, why they’re not just for the wealthy, and how millennials and Gen Z are using them to protect everything from student loan debt to pets and intellectual property. Plus, she offers actionable advice for women building businesses, from starting small to leveraging community and content for growth.
LINKS:
Become a Business Bestie subscriber: https://bestie.femalefounderworld.com

AJ Addae, founder, chemist, and CEO of SULA Labs, shares her expertise on formulating and clinically testing beauty products tailored for melanin-rich skin and textured hair. With an impressive client list including Pattern Beauty, The Honey Pot Co., and John Legend’s skincare line, AJ knows exactly what it takes to build innovative, inclusive products that work.
In this episode, AJ dives into the biggest challenges beauty founders face, from navigating claims testing to balancing clean beauty with product efficacy and shelf life. She shares why inclusivity starts in the R&D lab and offers actionable advice on creating scalable formulations, leveraging ingredient research, and meeting industry standards to secure retailer partnerships. Plus, AJ unpacks key beauty trends like the rise of hybrid skincare-makeup products, niche body care, and textured hair solutions, giving founders a head start on what’s next.
Whether you’re launching your first product or scaling your brand, AJ’s practical insights and expert perspective will help you create beauty products that stand out and succeed.
LINKS:
Become a Business Bestie subscriber: https://bestie.femalefounderworld.com
Learn more about SULA Labs: https://www.sulalabs.com

Kirsten Carriol, founder of LANOLIPS, joins Jasmine Garnsworthy to share how she turned a childhood memory of lanolin on her family’s sheep farm into a globally recognized beauty brand. From launching in 2009 to selling in 30 countries and 25,000 stores, Kirsten reveals the scrappy, determined journey behind building a cult-favorite product that sells every 30 seconds.In this episode, Kirsten dives into the early days of LANOLIPS, including how she bootstrapped the business for over a decade, navigated production disasters, and rebranded to stay ahead of shifting beauty trends. She also shares her hard-earned lessons on breaking into retail, managing cash flow as a bootstrapped founder, and why obsessing over product quality is the ultimate growth hack.
You’ll hear Kirsten’s advice on pitching major retailers, balancing long-term vision with day-to-day problem-solving, and how to stay focused on building a legacy brand in a world full of distractions. Plus, Kirsten opens up about the mindset shifts that helped her scale LANOLIPS into a global success story.
LINKS:
Become a Business Bestie subscriber: https://bestie.femalefounderworld.com
Check out LANOLIPS: https://www.lanolips.com