Girlboss Radio

Avery is joined Arati Sharma, a powerhouse in venture capital funding. She’s the founding partner of Backbone Angels, a collective of all-women angel investors who focus on investing in Black, Indigenous, and women of color-led companies.  She also is a co-founder of Ghlee, a ghee-based skincare brand, which she started with her siblings. Previously, Arati rose through the ranks at Shopify, first as a community development manager and then as a director of marketing, working through the software company’s $1 billion dollar IPO in 2015. Arati and Avery talk about what it was like working at one of the hottest tech startups during its heyday, the power of talking about wealth as women of color and why imposter syndrome might actually be good for you. Follow Arati on Instagram (@aratisharma) and check out her ghee-based skincare brand, Ghee (ghlee.com) as well as Backbone Angels (backboneangels.com). Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations! Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

This episode is sponsored by Kate McLeod Kate McLeod has had a fascinating career journey with not one, not two but three career pivots. She started out in finance at Goldman Sachs, then went to culinary school and became a pastry chef. Then she started her own bakery in London. Then, one day her sister-in-law introduced her to cocoa butter as a swap for her moisturizer. A powerful ingredient, cocoa butter (the fat of the cocoa bean) is rock-solid at room temperature. So what did Kate do? She used her pastry-chef skills to temper the butter with oils and lowering the melting point. She tinkered in her kitchen until the body stone was born, a solid moisturizer that glides onto the skin like silk. "I made the first 10,000 myself and packaged the canisters," she says. On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Avery and Kate chatted about how Kate's rom-com-worthy love story (FYI: she's married to the founder and CEO of Hinge) informed her career journey, her hot takes on the beauty industry and why she hates the word success. Get 20% off your first order of the Kate McLeod Daily Stone with code GIRLBOSS20 at katemcleod.com. Follow Kate McLeod at @katemcleod on Instagram. Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations! Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

Yes, you read that right, $600,000. That's how much Vivian Tu was making as a strategy sales partner. Before that, Vivian cut her teeth on Wall Street as a trader with JP Morgan after graduating from the University of Chicago, the best economics school in the world. During the pandemic, Vivian decided to quit her full-time job to start YourRichBFF because she noticed all of the questionable financial advice swirling around the internet. What started as a side-hustle has grown into a thriving business. Through her podcast, Networth and Chill, her newsletter EnRiched and her viral Instagram (@your.richbff) and TikTok accounts (@yourrichbff), Vivian shares no-BS financial advice in a tangible, approachable way.  Avery chats with Vivian about how she found a way to stand out as a Wall Street intern, the process of climbing "Cringe Mountain" to find her way to success as a content creator, and whether she's been able to match her former salary as a full-time content creator (we won't spoil that one for you). Oh, and Vivian dishes out some truly great financial tips, of course. Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations! Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

This episode is brought to you by Focus Features. We're doing something different with this week's episode. Today, Avery has two separate chats with two women involved with our new fave film, Polite Society. First up is the film's director, Nida Manzoor, who talks about the power of women's rage, why we need to center girls as the stars of action films and how she handled years and years of rejection before finally get the green light to direct her dream project. The second half of the episode is a conversation with one of the film's leads, Ritu Arya. Ritu and Avery talk about Lena, the character Ritu portrays in the film, how it's ok not to have everything figured out and how an actor actually memorizes their lines (it's not what you think!). And, seriously, Polite Society is a must-see. This highly anticipated movie from Focus Features follows Ria Khan, a Pakistani-British high schooler slash martial artist-in-training who plans a wedding heist to save her older sister, Lena, from her impending marriage. It’s a merry mash-up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment, and bold and bloody action. It's out in theatres on April 28th. Get your tickets at focusfeatures.com/polite-society. Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations! Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

Today's episode features Avery's friend and notable Canadian entrepreneur, Michele Romanow. Michele is a founder many, many times over and a Dragon on CBC's Dragons' Den (that's Canada's answer to Shark Tank, by the way). It was while she was on Dragons' Den that Michele got her idea for her best-known business to date: Clearco, a lending firm for businesses that takes a share of revenue instead of equity to give founders easier access to capital. Clearco has given billions to business owners to date, and has raised the bar for representing traditionally marginalized business owners. Michele talks about her first-ever founder experience (she started a caviar farm on the East coast of Canada with a couple of friends straight out of school), why she truly never takes anything for granted and she gets candid about how being an entrepreneur—no matter how much capital or name recognition you have—never gets easier. Still, she wouldn't have it any other way. Follow Michele on Instagram at @micheleromanow. Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations! Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo's careers are intertwined and built around a deep friendship that goes back to their days as undergrads at the University of Chicago. They got set up on a friend date, hit it off and remained close ever since. "We always knew the minor characters in each other's work lives," says Erica. After graduating, both of them moved to New York. Erica worked in magazines at Lucky and Details, while Claire worked in the theater world. Then, their first business idea was born: Of a Kind, an ecomm site that stocked goods from over 600 independent designers and makers. Claire and Erica's brand was born in the heyday of New York's fashion startup boom alongside Rent the Runway and Warby Parker. In an exciting turn, Of a Kind was acquired by Bed, Bath and Beyond, only to be shuttered a few years later. Today, the pair are still working together on their newsletter and podcast brand, A Thing or Two. On this episode of the podcast, Claire and Erica explain how women's friendship can fuel great businesses, when it's ok to walk away from a great project and how success shouldn't be measured in VC dollars raised. Subscribe to A Thing or Two's newsletter or listen to their podcast at athingortwohq.com. Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations! Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

It's always a special Girlboss Radio episode when our host Avery gets to chat with a friend or idol of hers. In today's case, it's the latter. Avery got into watching HGTV during the grim days of the pandemic, and she fell in love with Leanne's white-on-white, lived-in aesthetic. She was so inspired, that she purchased and renovated a 200-year-old home. On today's episode, Leanne talks about her mid-career pivot into interior design after spending 15 years as a creative director and stylist. They discuss saying yes to everything until you get to say no, the upside of failure and get into some interior decor debates. Follow Leanne on Instagram at @leannefordinteriors, and buy a copy of her magazine, Feel Free at leanneford.com or on major newsstands. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Avery chats with Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy's resident trend expert. If that job sounds really cool, that's because it is. Dayna spends her days interpreting data and trend insights and talking about creativity to uplift and promote Etsy's 5.4 million makers. She makes frequent TV appearances and talks to the media about emerging design trends. Yup, she knew about cottagecore way before the rest of us did. Dayna did not apply for the job she has now—but she created it by zeroing in what she loved to do and asking Etsy's leadership to create a role that fit her talent and excitement. Avery and Dayna talked about the unusual way Dayna figured out her dream job, how to tell if a company will be a great place to work from the interview stage and play a special round of In or Out: Design Trends Edition. Follow Dayna on Instagram at @daynaisomjohnson. PS: You can buy your very own Etsy personalized drinking glass at etsy.com! Listen to A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

Our host, Avery, has been a fan of Tori Deal for almost a decade. So she pitched the reality TV star as a potential guest for Girlboss Radio, and was thrilled to learn that Tori was as much of ~a vibe~ on the podcast as she is on TV. Tori Deal is the ultimate modern definition of a multi-hyphenate. She's a reality TV star and winner of MTV's The Challenge, a host of two podcasts, a children's book author and an OnlyFans creator. On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Tori and Avery chat about pursuing multiple income streams in order to fund your passion projects, the importance of daily energy checks and even doing ayahuasca in the Amazonian jungle. It's one of our favorite episodes to date. Follow Tori on Instagram at @tori_deal and @suiheartclub, learn more about her children's book Search for Syrup at searchforsyrup.com and listen to her two podcasts Tori Dealing With and MTV's Official Challenge Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

On this episode of Girlboss Radio, our host Avery is joined by Jamie Pandit. Jamie is a Bangladeshi-Canadian content creator, model and trans activist with an impressive resume. She has over 8 million likes on TikTok, she’s a fashion expert on the Canadian talk show Cityline, and last year, she was part of the Sephora Squad, an annual beauty influencer program dedicated to celebrating diverse creators. Jamie came out as trans at 16 but hid her identity until she was 32. Now, she’s living her life unapologetically free on social media. Avery and Jamie chatted about living in stealth, creating the community Jamie never had growing up, and how her definition of success is ever-evolving. "I've always had this determination that things will work out," she says, recalling the time she spent living in a shelter at the age of 16. Her story of resilience and ambition is touching, inspiring and definitely emotional. Get the tissues. Enter to win our Workplace Affirmation Deck at girlboss.com/pages/girlboss-affirmation-deck-giveaway. Follow Jamie on TikTok (@justjamiepandit) and Instagram (@justjamiep). Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

In the lead up to International Women's Day and during Women's History Month, you'll probably hear a variation of the phrase 'women supporting women' over and over again. But this feel-good trope is more than just a generic cliché or convenient marketing buzz term. It's a real, tangible and invaluable way to thrive in your career. And our host, Avery Francis, is proof. On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Avery invites two of her close friends and confidants: Dr. Sarah Saska and Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh. Dr. Sarah is a former academic who started her own DE&I consultancy firm called Feminuity. Shavonne the director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Wealthsimple. Given their jobs, Sarah and Shav *could* be in competition with Avery, who helms her own DE&I workplace consultancy. Instead, the three have chosen to be friends—the kind of friends who can share in the frustrations, struggles and sticky moments they face in their industry. This episode gets into Shav and Sarah's career journeys, their approach to job hopping and why the secret to a successful career comes down to finding your own magic sauce. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

In the season finale of Girlboss Radio, Avery sits down with her friend Ireland Baldwin. Yes, *the* Ireland. She’s a business owner, an expecting mother, a screenwriter, an animal lover… and she just so happens to be Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin’s daughter. And Hailey Bieber’s cousin.  The 27-year-old former model and DJ left behind her life in Hollywood and moved to the Oregon coast, where she founded Good Times, a wine bar, café and boutique, with her partner, musician André Allen Anjos a.k.a. RAC. The couple is also expecting their first baby together. Ireland and Avery met through Instagram in 2020 and have been friends ever since. The two chatted about parenthood, Hollywood’s toxicity and what we’re getting wrong (and right) about the nepotism baby conversation. You won’t want to miss it—it’s a spicy one. Girlboss Radio will be on hiatus for the next few weeks, but in the meantime, if you have any feedback, a guest you think we should bring on or anything else to say, you can leave a review on this episode or even email us at podcast@girlboss.com—we will read it! Get 15% off at Vivaia and nab your next fave pair of earth-friendly shoes with the code GIRLBOSS15 at vivaia.com/girlboss. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Discover the hottest jobs in marketing, finance, social media and more on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

If you're like most people we know, you're probably a little obsessed with Love is Blind, Netflix's hit reality dating show that puts hopeful singles into pods where they cannot see one another. Maybe you've spent a late night or two deep-scrolling LIB Reddit, trawling for conspiracy theories, or maybe you have a dedicated work Slack channel where you and your colleagues can bond over the the hijinks that are enabled by whatever is in those opaque metal wine glasses. You do not have to be a Love is Blind fan to tune into this conversation with the breakout star of the second season, Deepti. Deepti was working as a data analyst in Chicago, she'd been single for a year following the end of a long-term relationship. A friend nudged her to apply to the show's Chicago casting call. Deepti was cast immediately, and got engaged to a man who can be described as a walking red flag. She then became a fan favorite by saying the three iconic words, "I choose myself" while rejecting her fiancee at the altar. Now, Deepti has a book out with the same name, she's launching a podcast and she left her data analyst career behind. Avery chats with Deepti about following her intuition, giving men no airtime, and what success looks like to her now. Get 15% off at Vivaia and nab your next fave pair of earth-friendly shoes with the code GIRLBOSS15 at vivaia.com/girlboss. Follow Deepti at @lifewithdeeps on Instagram, and buy I Choose Myself at Barnes & Noble here: https://fave.co/3eda09p. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Discover the hottest jobs in marketing, finance, social media and more on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping! Did you enjoy this episode of Girlboss Radio? Comment and let us know what you think on our Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn. And don’t forget to share your love for the Girlboss Radio podcast by leaving a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Georgina Gooley is the co-founder of Billie, a razor and shaving brand that flipped the conversation by being the first to show women's hair in their advertisements. Three days after launching, the razors had shipped to all 50 states and Gooley was featured on the front page of the BBC. That kind of success can easily go to a founder's head, but Gooley keeps an even keel, and maintains that fulfillment is more important than success. Avery speaks to Georgina about getting her start in NYC's advertising world, what keeps her up at night and work insecurities. Plus, our Ask a Girlboss segment has some invaluable advice about making your mark in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Follow Georgina at @georgiegooley and @billie on Instagram and at mybillie.com. Get 15% off at Vivaia and nab your next fave pair of earth-friendly shoes with the code GIRLBOSS15 at vivaia.com/girlboss Start your personalized Curology journey today at curology.com/girlbossradio. Subscription required, subject to consultation. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Discover the hottest jobs in marketing, finance, social media and more on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping! Did you enjoy this episode of Girlboss Radio? Comment and let us know what you think on our Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn. And don’t forget to share your love for the Girlboss Radio podcast by leaving a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

At 16 years old, Nadya Okamoto started a non-profit called PERIOD (period.org), which grew into one of the largest youth-run non-profits with a mission to address period poverty and inequitable access to menstrual products. Today, she's the founder and CEO of August, a Gen-Z minded period and menstrual brand and social enterprise. Nadya, who also goes by the alter-ego Period Fairy to her four million TikTok followers, is an unapologetic period activist. Her daily videos push against "taboo" topics and visuals—people menstruating. In this episode, Nadya and Avery cover a wide range of topics: the history of labor, the patriarchy, the tradeoffs of social media notoriety and the power of pleasure and sleep. Follow Nadya on Instagram and TikTok at @nadyaokamoto, and learn more about her work at nadyaokamoto.com and itsaugust.co. Start your personalized Curology journey today at curology.com/girlbossradio. Subscription required, subject to consultation. Get 15% off all Waterdrop products with the code GIRLBOSS15. Head to go.waterdrop.com/GirlbossRadio to quench your thirst (and grab a cute water bottle in the process). Offer valid until Jan. 31, 2023. Sign up for Girlboss Daily, our must-read morning newsletter, at girlboss.com/newsletter. You'll get A+ career advice, dream job postings, free coffee every Friday and a few emojis (because we’re fun like that), delivered right to your inbox. Discover the hottest jobs in marketing, finance, social media and more on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com. Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping! Did you enjoy this episode of Girlboss Radio? Comment and let us know what you think on our Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn. And don’t forget to share your love for the Girlboss Radio podcast by leaving a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.