Aspire with Emma Grede

Andrew Rosen Built Theory and Backed SKIMS – Here’s What He’d Tell Every Founder

<p>Andrew Rosen has spent nearly five decades building, investing in, and shaping some of the most influential brands in American fashion. As the co-founder of Theory and an early investor in brands like TWP, rag and bone, Veronica Beard, Alice + Olivia, Good American and SKIMS, he’s also one of Emma's closest mentors.&nbsp; His advice comes from doing the work — and learning what happens when things don't go to plan.</p><p>In this conversation, Andrew shares the lessons he took from his father, the setbacks that shaped how he built Theory, and the advice he gave Emma when she was becoming a brand owner. They explore how to trust your instincts, choose the right investors, and build a profitable business with staying power.</p><p>They get into:</p><ul><li>Taking over as CEO of the family business in his twenties</li><li>Losing control of the company — and what he did next</li><li>Getting fired, and why he never saw it as failure</li><li>The experience he brought to starting Theory at 40</li><li>Why profitability has to be part of the plan from the start</li><li>What founders should actually look for in an investor</li><li>The lessons he took from his father that still shape how he does business</li></ul>

Inside Cymbiotika: How Durana Elmi Built a Wellness Empire

<p>Durana Elmi knows how to build a business. Before Cymbiotika, she built and exited four companies. She then took a wellness brand with one employee, one product, and almost no infrastructure and helped scale it into a $150 million business alongside her husband Shahab.</p><p>In this episode of&nbsp;Aspire, Emma sits down with Durana to unpack the decisions behind that growth. They also get candid about money, marriage, and leadership. Durana shares why financial independence matters deeply to her, what 27 years of building alongside her husband has taught her about disagreement, and how her definition of success has changed from making money to owning her time.</p><p>You’ll learn:</p><ul><li>Why Cymbiotika bootstrapped for five years before taking outside capital</li><li>What infrastructure needs to be in place when a business starts growing faster than you can keep up with</li><li>The expensive lessons founders can learn from going into retail too quickly</li><li>What a $25 million strategic raise brought beyond capital</li><li>Why celebrity investors became a part of Cymbiotika’s growth strategy</li><li>How to make decisions when data challenges your instincts</li></ul>

How to Build a Beauty Brand People Believe In (ft. Tower 28, Danessa Myricks Beauty, Crown Affair)

<p>It's easier than ever to launch a beauty brand—and harder than ever to make it last. In this first-ever Aspire founders roundtable, Danessa Myricks (Danessa Myricks Beauty), Dianna Cohen (Crown Affair), and Amy Liu (Tower 28) get honest about what it actually takes to build and scale a brand people believe in. <br><br>These aren’t early ideas—they’re Sephora-scale businesses: Tower 28, launched in 2019, now with a reported $228 million valuation; Crown Affair, launched in 2020 and scaled from roughly 55 to 600 Sephora doors, with a dry shampoo that has ranked #1 in the category; and Danessa Myricks Beauty, a profitable-since-launch business that had already grown to roughly 500 SKUs before entering Sephora.<br><br>From getting into Sephora and staying there, to raising capital vs. bootstrapping, to building community you can't reverse-engineer—this is the real playbook for 2026.<br><br>In this episode, you’ll learn:</p><ul><li>What separates brands that last, and why launching is easy but sustaining is hard</li><li>How to build community with soul, purpose, and mission</li><li>The truth about retail and the operational and financial discipline it takes to scale in Sephora</li><li>How to fund your vision, what outside money is really for, and why finding aligned investors is key</li><li>How founders evolve with intention and decide what to control, when to delegate, and different ways to lead a brand through growth</li></ul>

Introducing: Money Moves with Jill Schlesinger

<p>There’s a lot of dopey financial advice out there. Jill Schlesinger is here to call it out, answer your questions, break down the financial news that actually matters, and help you manage your money without losing your mind. No jargon. No judgment. Just clear, actionable financial guidance about saving, investing, buying a home, managing your career, and deciding how to spend your hard-earned dollars. When it’s time to panic, Jill will tell you. When everyone else is panicking and you shouldn’t be, Jill will tell you that too. Your money. Your move. Let’s go.</p>

The Science of a Well-Lived Life: How to Create a Life That Feels as Good as It Looks

<p>Arthur C. Brooks believes we are living through an age of emptiness—a time when more people feel distracted, disconnected, and unsure of what will actually make their lives meaningful. In his latest book, The Meaning of Your Life, the Harvard professor and New York Times bestselling author examines why so many of the things we chase in pursuit of happiness can leave us feeling unsatisfied once we get them.&nbsp; <br><br>In this episode, Emma Grede sits down with Brooks to unpack what is driving our unhappiness and what science actually says about building a meaningful life. Brooks reveals the two questions he gives his Harvard students to diagnose whether they’re experiencing a meaning crisis, why our brains struggle in a world of constant comfort, and how to use social media without letting it drain you.&nbsp;</p><p>You’ll learn:</p><ul><li>Why achievement rarely satisfies us for as long as we expect</li><li>What money can—and cannot—do for your happiness</li><li>The five-year exercise that reveals whether your priorities match how you spend your time</li><li>What to do in the first and last hour of the day to protect your attention&nbsp;</li><li>The step most people skip that makes new practices stick</li><li>How to pursue a big goal without becoming emotionally attached to the outcome</li><li>The simple ritual to shift your baseline happiness by 15 percent in 12 weeks</li></ul>

Jennifer Garner on What Only Time Can Teach You

<p>Jennifer Garner is an award-winning actor, producer, longtime Save the Children ambassador, and co-founder of Once Upon a Farm, an organic children’s food brand. After rising to fame on Alias, she built a career spanning more than three decades before entering entrepreneurship at 45 and helping grow Once Upon a Farm into a $724 million publicly traded company.</p><p>Jennifer joins Emma to talk about the side of success people rarely see: losing years of her life when Alias made her famous, disappearing from friendships, and how the constant presence of paparazzi warped her confidence.&nbsp;</p><p>Jennifer shares:</p><ul><li>What Jennifer is only now realizing about approval and earning her place</li><li>How years of rejection and several failed ideas prepared her for entrepreneurship</li><li>What she’s learned about holding anger without burying it</li><li>How to recognize the value you bring without conventional qualifications</li><li>When fame and visibility can help a business, and where they cannot</li><li>What it actually looks like to protect a company’s mission</li><li>Why your biggest chapter doesn’t come with an age limit</li></ul>

Everything I Know About Money—and Why We Won’t Talk About It

<p>In this solo episode, Emma shares how she thinks about money, from the lessons she learned growing up in East London to the principles she uses today. She gets into her personal financial priorities, why your earning power can matter more than your savings, how to negotiate from a position of strength, and why no woman should ever outsource the understanding of her own finances.</p><p>In this episode, you’ll learn:</p><ul><li>What your financial priorities should be in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s</li><li>Why your ability to earn can be more valuable than your savings early in your career</li><li>How your beliefs about money can influence what you earn, ask for, and keep</li><li>How to negotiate salary, equity, and other forms of compensation more effectively</li><li>The difference between earning money, building wealth, and protecting what you’ve built</li><li>Why investing early matters—and what can happen when you wait</li><li>How to think about financial independence as freedom, security, and choice</li></ul>

Can You Turn What You Love Into a Real Business? (Krissy Cela, founder of Oner Active)

<p>Emma sits down with Krissy Cela, founder and creative director of Oner Active, for an honest conversation about building a bootstrapped business on track to generate close to $300 million this year. Before Oner, Krissy spent a decade building a fitness audience and business from a student laptop, long before either was considered a conventional career path. Today, she owns 50 percent of one of the fastest-growing brands in the category.&nbsp;</p><p>But what happens when your life asks you to become someone you don’t yet feel qualified to be, and people still look for reasons not to credit your success to you? This episode is about starting before you feel ready, letting go of the need to prove yourself, and growing into the leader your business requires.</p><p>In this episode, Krissy shares:</p><ul><li>Why feeling underqualified should not stop you from building something big</li><li>How she turned an online audience into a loyal customer community</li><li>The early legal and partnership mistakes that shapes how she operates today</li><li>How people-pleasing weakened her leadership, and what changed since she stopped</li><li>Why the ones who doubt you are rarely the ones who end up mattering</li></ul><p>For more, subscribe to our weekly newsletter at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://emmagrede.com">emmagrede.com</a>.</p>

How to Create What People Actually Want with Erin and Sara Foster

<p>Erin and Sara Foster have spent more than 15 years working across television, fashion, media and investing. Today, they are behind the hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This, the fashion brand Favorite Daughter, a production company, a venture fund and a growing slate of projects—but their success did not arrive according to a master plan.</p><p>In this episode, they join Emma to unpack the failures, pivots and unlikely opportunities that eventually brought everything together. It is a conversation about staying in motion when the path is unclear, discovering your strengths later than expected, and refusing to treat someone else’s success as evidence that you are falling behind.</p><p>In this episode, Erin and Sara share:</p><ul><li>What nobody tells you about the years before anything works</li><li>The power of saying yes before the path is clear</li><li>How they built Favorite Daughter without being traditional “fashion girls”</li><li>The different ways scarcity and abundance shape their relationship with money</li><li>What Erin learned from seven years of IVF and 20 rounds of treatment</li><li>Why it’s never too late to find your lane and how failure can redirect you toward the career you were meant for</li></ul>

What a Divorce Lawyer Wishes Every Woman Knew About Money and Marriage

<p>Every woman should understand the partnership she's entering before a crisis forces her to. This episode is that conversation.</p><p>Laura Wasser has spent 32 years as one of the country's most sought-after divorce attorneys. She’s the person people call when a marriage is ending. But what makes this conversation so valuable is that almost everything she knows matters long before anyone gets divorced.</p><p>This episode is about understanding what you are building when you merge your life with another person. Laura explains why marriage is already a contract with or without a prenup, how to protect yourself whether you earn more or less than your partner, and why knowing your financial reality doesn’t make you cynical or unromantic. It makes you an equal participant in your own life.</p><p>Laura shares:</p><ul><li>How to have the what’s-mine-is-yours conversation about income, debt, assets, spending, and children</li><li>What should go into a prenup—and what does not belong in one</li><li>How a prenup can protect both the higher earner and the partner making financial or career sacrifices</li><li>The signs that you're giving away power inside your own marriage without realizing it</li><li>Why earning your own money doesn’t mean you’re financially protected</li><li>What to do when you realize you have no idea what is happening with your family’s finances</li><li>How to end a relationship with less fear and a clearer sense of what comes next</li><li>Why divorce doesn’t have to mean you’ve failed—and how her online platform is making the process more accessible and less intimidating</li></ul><p>For more, subscribe to our weekly newsletter at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://emmagrede.com">emmagrede.com</a>.</p>

Emma Chamberlain On Building Chamberlain Coffee, Burnout & Walking Away From YouTube

<p>Emma Chamberlain started posting videos at 16, before anyone fully understood what the creator economy would become. Within a couple of years she’d become one of the most watched people on YouTube with over 12 million subscribers, ambassador deals with Louis Vuitton, Cartier and Lancôme, and a Spotify-exclusive podcast. She helped define a new kind of fame, built one of the most recognizable personal brands of her generation, and turned an authentic love of coffee into Chamberlain Coffee, now sold in over 8,000 retail doors across Walmart, Target, Costco and Sprouts.&nbsp;</p><p>Now, at 25, she’s asking a more complicated question: what happens when the business, and the person, need to grow beyond the identity that made them successful? Today, she’s answering why, after years of relentless momentum, she’s giving herself permission to step back and rediscover what actually fulfills her.</p><p>In this episode, Emma shares:</p><ul><li>Why she moved into the co-CEO seat, and the fear that came with it</li><li>The real business story behind choosing profitability over growth</li><li>What she’s learned about running a brand built around one person</li><li>Why she stepped away from her podcast at the height of it</li><li>The personal cost of giving an audience constant access to your life</li><li>Why she believes influencer culture is approaching a major shift</li></ul>

The Culture War Against Women (Reshma Saujani)

<p>Reshma Saujani a leading advocate for women’s economic power, the founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, and the force behind the new documentary No Country for Mothers. After helping change the culture around girls in technology, she has turned her attention to the policies and assumptions that continue to push women—especially mothers—out of the workforce.</p><p>In this conversation, she joins Emma to talk about the cultural and structural forces shaping women’s ambition, motherhood, money, and power. They get into the real cost of childcare, paid leave, and workplace inflexibility; why mothers are still penalized for showing up as their full selves at work; and how the internet has turned “trad wife vs. girl boss” into a culture war that keeps women fighting each other instead of fighting for meaningful change.</p><p>In this episode, Reshma and Emma discuss:</p><ul><li>Who benefits from pitting women against each other</li><li>The motherhood penalty and why it differs from the gender pay gap</li><li>What real workplace support for women and mothers should actually look like</li><li>Why fighting for a better system and taking responsibility for your life can both be true at once</li><li>What it takes to create more choice, freedom, and economic power for women</li><li>How to build a world women don’t have to shrink their lives to fit the systems around them</li></ul>

Kristin Cavallari on the Business That Set Her Free

<p>Kristin Cavallari became a household name before she'd even graduated high school, and spent the next two decades building a life, a business, and a family under constant public scrutiny.</p> <p>But this conversation isn't just about the version of her life you've seen on screen.</p> <p>In this episode, Kristin sits down with Emma for a candid conversation about money, financial independence, and what it actually took to leave her marriage on her own terms. Together, they unpack the financial planning most people never talk about, the power of building something that's truly yours, and why Kristin believes money isn't about lifestyle—it's about freedom.</p> <p>Kristin shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Why knowing her "number" changed the way she thinks about money and success</p> </li> <li> <p>How the success of Uncommon James gave her the confidence to leave her marriage</p> </li> <li> <p>Why she walked away from her divorce giving up money instead of taking it—and why she'd do it again</p> </li> <li> <p>Why she recently replaced her entire C-suite—and the leadership lesson every founder eventually faces</p> </li> <li> <p>How she's building Uncommon James on her own terms while raising three kids</p> </li> <li> <p>How twenty years in the public eye taught her to stop living for other people's approval</p> </li> </ul> <p>How much freedom does financial independence really give you? And what would change if you knew you could always choose yourself?</p> <p>Drop your thoughts in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p>

Ask Me Anything: Pivoting in Your 40s, Plastic Surgery, and Starting a Business With No Money

<p>In today’s solo episode, Emma dives into real listener questions: the actual mechanics of building from nothing, starting a business with no capital, why having no money can be an advantage, plus more nuanced questions about navigating your career, handling tricky mentors, and knowing when to quit.</p> <p>She also gets into more personal reflections about her marriage, what her life looked like in her twenties, and what she does to look after herself. There’s a quick round at the end too, on everything from her favorite crisps to plastic surgery.&nbsp;</p> <p>In this episode you’ll learn:</p> <ul> <li> <p>The type of business Emma would build if she were starting today</p> </li> <li> <p>How to think about fear when you’re making a decision</p> </li> <li> <p>What it takes to start again in your 40s</p> </li> <li> <p>The marketing rule that built Good American</p> </li> <li> <p>How to find your first customers before anyone knows you</p> </li> <li> <p>Her one rule for spending in year one&nbsp;</p> </li> <li> <p>The one thing she thinks every woman needs to stop doing</p> </li> </ul> <p>If your question didn’t make it this time, hold onto it, because she’ll be doing this again. Follow Aspire so you don’t miss the next one, and sign up for the weekly newsletter at emmagrede.com.</p> <p><br></p>

How to Monetize AI and Build the Life and Career You Want

<p>Alicia Lyttle is the CEO of AI InnoVision and one of the clearest voices teaching entrepreneurs and operators how to actually use AI to make money. Her clients run from solo founders to Fortune 500 companies and US government agencies. She's been teaching people how to build online for 25 years, long before the current AI wave. People call Lyttle the Queen of AI for good reason.</p> <p>The AI conversation right now is mostly hype or fear, but this is the more grounded version: specific tools, real workflows, and what actually works when you try to put any of this into a real business.</p> <p>In this conversation:</p> <ul> <li> <p>The one question Lyttle calls the golden ticket for figuring out what to hand to AI first when you're building your business</p> </li> <li> <p>Why getting good at AI has meant hiring more people, not fewer</p> </li> <li> <p>How to build an AI team when you can't yet afford to hire a human one</p> </li> <li> <p>The three-step process for turning any prompt into a "super prompt" that actually pays off</p> </li> <li> <p>How to use AI to create a $20,000 presentation</p> </li> <li> <p>What you should never put into ChatGPT, and how to protect your business while still using it</p> </li> </ul>

Patrick Ta on Accountability, Identity and Building a Beauty Empire

<p>Patrick Ta built one of the most successful beauty brands in the world after dropping out of high school, filing for bankruptcy at 21, and spending years building his career one client at a time.</p> <p>What started with a makeup kit and a dream eventually led to working with some of the biggest names in the world, launching Patrick Ta Beauty, and becoming one of the most influential makeup artists of his generation.</p> <p>But this conversation isn't just about success.</p> <p>In this episode, Patrick sits down with Emma for a candid conversation about the recent controversy surrounding his Transition Blush launch, the criticism that followed, and what accountability looks like when your name is on the brand. Together, they unpack creator credit, intention versus impact, reputation, and the challenges that come with building in public.</p> <p>Patrick shares:</p> <p>• How bankruptcy shaped his ambition and work ethic</p> <p>• Why makeup was the first thing that gave him confidence</p> <p>• The journey from celebrity makeup artist to beauty founder</p> <p>• What he's learned building Patrick Ta Beauty into a leading beauty brand</p> <p>• How he thinks about accountability, influence, and creator credit</p> <p>• The responsibility that comes with having your name on the product</p> <p>• What this experience taught him about leadership and integrity</p> <p><br></p> <p>What's a belief about success you've been carrying that might be costing you more than it's giving you?</p> <p>Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p>

Building a Billion-Dollar Unicorn with Julia Collins

<p>Julia Collins has spent much of her life chasing big goals,first to prove herself and then to save the planet. </p> <p>The path took her from restaurant kitchens in New York City to Silicon Valley boardrooms, where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn and raised more than $450 million in venture capital. But it also came with heartbreak, burnout, a co-founder fallout, and years spent trying to fit into a version of success that never quite felt like her own.</p> <p>Today, Julia is building companies focused on the future of food and the future of the planet. But getting there required unlearning some of the biggest lessons she thought she knew about ambition, achievement, and self-worth.</p> <p>In this conversation, Julia sits down with Emma to talk about what was really happening behind the headlines — the pressure to fit in, the cost of tying your identity to your success, and the belief she carried for years that the more she suffered, the more successful she would become.</p> <p>Julia shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Why showing up as herself changed everything — and what it cost her to try fitting in first</p> </li> <li> <p>What she learned raising hundreds of millions of dollars</p> </li> <li> <p>How she navigated a co-founder fallout and life-changing exit</p> </li> <li> <p>The financial habits that shaped her relationship with money</p> </li> <li> <p>The lesson that took her the longest to unlearn about success and sacrifice</p> </li> </ul> <p>What's a belief about success you've been carrying that might be costing you more than it's giving you? Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p> <p>We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: <a href="http://emmagrede.com/survey">⁠emmagrede.com/survey</a></p>

Success Requires Letting Go of People’s Expectations of You (Jackie Aina)

<p>Jackie Aina has been building in public for 17 years. She didn't just grow an audience, she helped define what it meant to be a Black woman with a voice in the beauty industry. But influence was never the end goal.</p> <p>After nearly two decades as one of YouTube's most recognized creators, Jackie took $250,000 of her own money and started a fragrance brand. Not a makeup line — a fragrance brand. Her childhood dream. The first thing she ever did that nobody asked for.</p> <p>In this conversation, Jackie sits down with Emma to talk about what it really takes to go from influencer to founder and why the two have almost nothing in common.</p> <p>Jackie shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Why six million followers doesn't mean six million in revenue — and what creators get wrong about turning an audience into a business</p> </li> <li> <p>How she self-funded Forvr Mood with $250K, sold out six months of inventory in four hours, and nearly had a breakdown closing the laptop</p> </li> <li> <p>The vendor relationship that looked like a smart start and took over a year to untangle</p> </li> <li> <p>What she had to unlearn about being "the strong one" — and why doing everything is actually a disservice to everyone around you</p> </li> <li> <p>Why she deliberately didn't build a makeup brand, and what it meant to finally do something just for herself</p> </li> </ul> <p>What's something you've outgrown — even if other people still expect that version of you? Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p> <p>We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: <a href="http://emmagrede.com/survey">emmagrede.com/survey</a></p>

Build a Team That Wins: Emma Grede on Hiring the Right Employees

<p>Hiring is the single most consequential thing you do when you're building anything. Get it right and it compounds. Get it wrong and it costs you years. In today's episode, Emma is sharing the thing she's come to believe is true: the team you build is the most honest reflection of how well you know yourself.</p> <p><br></p> <p>This is the real version of what Emma's looking for when she's sitting across from a candidate—the exact framework for how she actually thinks about it, the mistakes she's made, and why she can see past a great resumé to the person underneath.</p> <p><br></p> <p>In this episode you'll learn:</p> <ul> <li> <p>The three people you need to speak to before you write a single job description</p> </li> <li> <p>Why Emma hires for attitude over experience, and what she believes you cannot teach</p> </li> <li> <p>What to listen for in how someone talks about their wins and losses</p> </li> <li> <p>Why culture fit has quietly become code for comfort</p> </li> <li> <p>How to think about paying for talent when the margins are thin</p> </li> </ul> <p>Whether you're hiring for the first time, building a team, or sitting on the other side of the table in an interview, this one is for you.</p> <p><br></p> <p><a href="https://www.emmagrede.com/"><u>Start With Yourself</u></a> is available now.</p> <p><br></p> <p>We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: <a href="http://emmagrede.com/survey">⁠emmagrede.com/survey</a></p> <p><br></p>

Gary Vaynerchuk: Why Truth, Humility, and Kindness Will Become Your Next Superpower

<p>Gary Vaynerchuk has spent the last two decades understanding where culture and consumer behavior were headed long before the rest of the world caught up. He was early to YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, creator commerce, and live shopping. But this conversation is about more than algorithms and internet trends.</p> <p>In this episode, Gary sits down with Emma to talk about the real reason most people stay stuck: fear. Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Fear of what other people will think if they try something new.</p> <p>Together, they unpack the insecurity driving modern ambition, why so many successful people are still deeply unhappy, and why Gary believes we are entering a cultural shift where kindness, reputation, and emotional intelligence will matter more than ever.</p> <p>Gary shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Why most people are living for opinions they don’t even respect</p> </li> <li> <p>The hidden insecurity driving high achievement</p> </li> <li> <p>Why reputation compounds faster than money</p> </li> <li> <p>What social media actually revealed about human behavior</p> </li> <li> <p>How parents unintentionally destroy confidence in their kids</p> </li> <li> <p>Why proximity and visibility still matter in the AI era</p> </li> <li> <p>The business opportunities Gary believes people are still underestimating</p> </li> <li> <p>Why “nice guys finish first”</p> </li> </ul> <p>What would change in your life if you stopped making decisions based on other people’s expectations of you? Drop it in the comments — we’re reading. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don’t miss what’s next.</p> <p><br></p> <p>We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: <a href="http://emmagrede.com/survey">⁠emmagrede.com/survey</a></p>

Bethenny Frankel: The Business Model Nobody Else Will Share

<p>Bethenny Frankel turned a TikTok account into a $20-million-a-year business without a plan or a brand of her own. She had a vision and a set of deal terms that no one in the industry has been able to replicate, or get her to explain, until now. </p> <p>In this conversation, Emma gets Bethenny to do the thing she never does: open her playbook. Bethenny shows the work behind it all—the deal structures, the dollar amounts, the model she built that agencies keep trying to reverse-engineer and she keeps refusing to share. </p> <p>Bethenny shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>The Skinny Girl carve-out that started everything and the difference between licensing and ownership that determines whether you walk away rich or walk away with nothing</p> </li> <li> <p>How she built her business with zero exclusivity, equity in nearly every partnership, and why brands agree to terms no one else can get</p> </li> <li> <p>Why she says trust and attention are the only two assets that matter and what that means for anyone trying to build an audience into a business</p> </li> <li> <p>The true cost of building an entire business on yourself and what freedom looks like when you’re more successful in your fifties than you’ve ever been</p> </li> </ul> <p>If you’ve ever been put in a box or told your vision doesn’t fit the playbook, let us know in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p> <p><br></p> <p>We want to hear from you! Take our audience survey and help us shape what comes next for Aspire: <a href="https://form.typeform.com/to/eNPvwUY4">https://form.typeform.com/to/eNPvwUY4</a></p>

How to Build Something Meaningful From Your Worst Chapter (Sarah Jakes Roberts)

<p>Sarah Jakes Roberts is not a traditional entrepreneur. She’s the daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes, one of the most prominent pastors in America. Sarah became a mother at 13—and in the years that followed, she carried the weight of that story in public, under a spotlight she never asked for. </p> <p>This conversation is about what happens when the thing you’re most ashamed of becomes the thing you build from. Today, Sarah co-leads a megachurch while raising a blended family of six. But she didn’t set out to lead a global movement, launch conferences that fill stadiums, host a top-ranked podcast, operate more than a dozen revenue streams, or become a bestselling author. She started a blog because she had something to say and an instinct that other women might see parts of themselves in her story. It turned out to be millions of women. </p> <p>In today’s conversation, Sarah sits down with Emma to talk about calling, responsibility, and a feeling she describes as being “willing to do what I’ve been trusted with.” </p> <p>Sarah shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>The relationship between anger and people-pleasing—and why suppressing one feeds the other</p> </li> <li> <p>What Old Thoughts look like when you've been carrying them since you were 13</p> </li> <li> <p>How she went from a blog with a million views to a global conference and a publishing operation without a traditional business strategy</p> </li> <li> <p>What young motherhood taught her about shame and building something real from the chapter most people would want to erase</p> </li> <li> <p>Where ministry ends and business begins—and how she navigates making millions from a unique calling without losing what built it</p> </li> </ul> <p>What’s something in your life that you need to move past?  Drop it in the comments — we're reading. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.<br></p>

What You Don't Know About Brand Beckham

<p>Victoria Beckham is one of the most famous women in the world. But behind the headlines is a business story that took nearly two decades to build.</p> <p>She entered fashion with every reason to be dismissed. A Spice Girl. A celebrity. A public figure trying to be taken seriously in an industry that rarely gives second chances. The skepticism was loud. The losses were public. And at one point, she lost control of the company that carried her own name – but she building anyway. </p> <p>Over nearly two decades, Victoria rebuilt her business piece by piece. Through financial pressure, shifting perceptions, and the quiet work of proving she belonged. Today, her fashion business is profitable, her beauty brand is scaling, and the narrative has finally caught up to the work.</p> <p>In this conversation, Victoria sits down with Emma to talk about what it really took to get here — the financial pressure, the imposter syndrome she carried for years, and the moment she decided to put Victoria back into Victoria Beckham. She opens up about building alongside David, what their partnership actually looks like behind closed doors, and why she refuses to feel guilty about following her dreams.</p> <p>And for the first time, she reveals that Harper — who has sat in on product development meetings since she was tiny — is starting her own brand. </p> <p>Victoria shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>What it felt like to lose control of her own company and rebuild from inside it</p> </li> <li> <p>Why staying close to the creative saved the business when nothing else could</p> </li> <li> <p>How she and David have built alongside each other without disappearing into one another</p> </li> <li> <p>The Diane von Furstenberg advice that changed how she thinks about guilt</p> </li> <li> <p>What Harper's brand pitch revealed about legacy, motherhood, and what it means to raise a family of builders</p> </li> </ul> <p>What have you stayed committed to longer than anyone expected? Drop it in the comments.</p> <p>What would you build if you stopped listening to the noise? Drop it in the comments — we're reading. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p>

Oprah Winfrey Interviews Emma Grede on Her Debut Book "Start with Yourself”

<p>This one is a little different.</p> <p>For Emma, sitting down with Oprah Winfrey wasn’t just another interview — it was a full circle moment. A conversation years in the making with someone who helped shape how she thinks about success, ambition, and what’s possible.</p> <p>In this special episode, Emma shares her conversation from <em>The Oprah Podcast</em> — one of the most honest conversations she’s had about her debut book <em>Start With Yourself</em> and the journey behind it.</p> <p>Together, they go beyond the highlight reel and get into:</p> <ul> <li>The mindset shift that changed Emma’s life</li> <li>Radical self-accountability and what it really looks like in practice</li> <li>The tension between ambition, motherhood, and guilt</li> <li>Why building from purpose — not ego — changes everything</li> <li>How to separate truth from emotion in business and decision-making</li> <li>And the question that can redefine how you move through your life and career</li> </ul> <p>Emma also opens up about the mistakes that shaped her, overcoming comparison, and why she believes success starts from within — not from external validation.</p> <p>It’s a conversation that feels as grounding as it is powerful.</p> <p>And if you know Emma, you know — this moment meant everything.</p>

On Negativity, Ambition, and Building a Serious Business (Tory Burch)

<p>Tory Burch started her company in 2004 with a single store on Elizabeth Street in New York City, a friends and family round of funding, and a belief that purpose and business belong in the same sentence.</p> <p>Twenty two years later, she has 400 stores in 70 countries. And she still hasn't had lunch.</p> <p>In this conversation, Tory sits down with Emma to talk about what it really took to build one of the most recognizable names in American fashion — navigating criticism, surviving a lawsuit that threatened everything she'd built, and rediscovering the creative spirit that reinvigorated the brand.</p> <p>Tory shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Why ambition is still a complicated word for women  and why she refuses to shy away from it</p> </li> <li> <p>How she maintained ownership and control of her company through a very public divorce and lawsuit</p> </li> <li> <p>What she learned about scaling a brand without losing its identity</p> </li> <li> <p>How stepping back from the CEO role unlocked her most creative chapter yet</p> </li> </ul> <p>What would you build if you stopped letting other people define your ambition? Drop it in the comments — we're reading. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p> <p><br></p>

How to Quiet the Voice That’s Holding You Back

<p>Emma sits down with Tara Mohr, author of the bestselling ‘Playing Big’, for a conversation that started as an interview and turned into something much more personal. Tara has spent over a decade helping women understand why they hold themselves back — not from the outside, but from within. </p> <p>Together Emma and Tara get into why your self-doubt gets loudest right when something actually matters, the difference between your inner critic and realistic thinking, why chasing confidence is the wrong goal, and the two types of fear — one keeping you stuck, one telling you you're exactly where you need to be.</p> <p>Then Tara introduces Emma to her  inner mentor and walks her through the exercise live, on camera. </p> <p>In this episode you’ll learn: </p> <ul> <li> <p>What "playing small" really looks like, even when life looks big on the outside</p> </li> <li> <p>How to identify your inner critic and what to do about it</p> </li> <li> <p>How to tell the two types of fear apart </p> </li> <li> <p>The guilt trap and how to know when guilt is actually yours</p> </li> <li> <p>How to stop outsourcing your decisions and become the authority in your own life</p> </li> <li> <p>The inner mentor exercise</p> </li> </ul> <p>What's the voice in your head telling you right now  and is it actually true? Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you never miss what's next.</p>

It’s Time to Start With Yourself

<p>Emma’s debut book, <em>Start With Yourself</em>, is out today. This is the episode she’s been building toward since the very beginning of Aspire. </p> <p>She’s doing something she’s never done on this podcast before. She’s taking on your questions about what’s at the heart of the book, including: </p> <ul> <li> <p>The core ideas behind her framework for work and life</p> </li> <li> <p>Why this isn’t just a book for someone wanting to start a business </p> </li> <li> <p>What she’d say to the woman who’s been putting herself last for too long</p> </li> <li> <p>The uncomfortable truths she had to face about her own thinking before she could put them on paper for anyone else</p> </li> </ul> <p>Then she reads from the book for the first time anywhere, about a moment that completely changed her mindset and became the reason she had to write it. If you’ve felt stuck or scared to go after the next thing, <em>Start With Yourself</em> is for you. It’s available <a href="https://www.emmagrede.com/"><u>here.</u></a></p>

Bobbi Brown on Selling Your Name, Getting Fired, and Starting Over

<p>What does it mean to build something so successful that it outgrows you, and then start again from nothing with your name legally off the table? Bobbi Brown built one of the most iconic beauty companies in the world. She was 37 when she sold it, stayed for 22 years, then eventually pushed out of the business that carried her name. She waited out a 25-year non-compete, and on the day the clock ran out, she launched Jones Road—at 63, with six products, no outside investors, and a completely different playbook. </p> <p>Bobbi shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>What it really costs to sell your name (and whether she’d do it again)</p> </li> <li> <p>Why getting fired from the brand she built was the best thing that ever happened to her</p> </li> <li> <p>The difference between building something massive and building something that’s yours</p> </li> <li> <p>The social media strategy behind Jones Road and why it works</p> </li> <li> <p>The leadership lesson she’s still learning at 68 and what confidence means after decades of trying to be someone she’s not</p> </li> </ul> <p>Have you ever built something—a business, a career, an identity—and had to walk away from it? What did starting over teach you? Tell us in the comments.</p>

Kimora Lee They Called Me a B*tch. I Built an Empire Anyway

<p>Emma sits down with Kimora Lee –  fashion icon, entrepreneur, and founder — to talk about building one of the most influential brands in fashion and the lessons she learned about power, ownership, and knowing her worth.</p> <p>Kimora helped build Baby Phat into a cultural phenomenon, but behind the success were hard truths about being in rooms, contributing at the highest level, and still not getting what she was owed.  Over time, she learned how to navigate deals, advocate for herself, and stop accepting less than she deserved.</p> <p>Now she has Baby Phat back and this time, it's hers.</p> <p>Kimora shares: </p> <ul> <li> <p>Why being in the room didn't always mean having power</p> </li> <li> <p>The hard lessons she learned about money, deals and ownership </p> </li> <li> <p>What she wishes she'd known before she signed anything</p> </li> <li> <p>How she learned to stop settling and start advocating for herself</p> </li> <li> <p>Why getting Baby Phat back means more now than it did the first time.</p> </li> </ul> <p>Where do you need to stop settling and start taking your place? Drop it in the comments — we're reading. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.</p> <p><br></p>

Her Next Money Move: Cardi B is Tired of Making Everyone Else Rich

<p>Emma sits down with Cardi B, global superstar, entrepreneur, and now founder, to talk about what actually changed once she understood where her power sits.</p> <p>Cardi didn’t come into this industry with a co-sign. She came in figuring it out in real time, investing her own money, navigating bad deals, and slowly realizing she’d been making everyone else rich before herself.</p> <p>Now, as a two-time Grammy winner and a mother of four, she’s launching Grow-Good, her own haircare brand, and stepping into a new level of ownership.</p> <p>Cardi shares:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Why getting burned early became her best business education</p> </li> <li> <p>What she looks for in partners now, and what she won’t tolerate</p> </li> <li> <p>How she shifted from quick money to ownership and equity</p> </li> <li> <p>Why this moment feels urgent, and what she’s building toward</p> </li> <li> <p>How she’s balancing motherhood, relationships, and ambition</p> </li> </ul> <p>Where do you need to stop settling and start taking control? Drop it in the comments, we’re reading. And subscribe to <em>Aspire with Emma Grede</em> so you don’t miss what’s next.</p>