Here’s what I’ve learned: subtle doesn’t work. If you don’t tell people what you need, they can’t say yes to it.

So I’m done being quiet about it. I’m officially taking on a handful of fractional clients for brand, marketing, and operational support. I’m also doing what I’ve started calling soft-recruiting, helping startups place great execs in their orgs before they knew they were looking. And the thing I built because nobody handed me a playbook for any of this opens for tickets this week, too.

The Love Letter

This issue is a love letter, so I’ll say the real thing first: I built Startup School because I needed it and it didn’t exist.

When I was raising for Mom Juice, scaling into 1,500 doors, and later sitting on the other side of the table as an investor, I kept running into the same gap. The advice that actually mattered, the stuff about equity structures, what a term sheet really costs you, when to take the check and when to walk, wasn’t in a panel or a pitch competition. It was in a side conversation after the main event, with someone who’d actually done it, who was willing to tell me the truth instead of the encouraging version.

I wanted to build the room where that side conversation is the whole event.

That’s what Startup School is. One day, November 5th, at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. Not a pitch competition. Not a networking mixer with a keynote bolted on. A full day built around a practitioner-led curriculum for founders who are past the idea stage and are trying to figure out money, operations, and scale.

Here’s what the day actually looks like. An opening keynote gets all 350 of us in the room together. Then two rounds of breakout tracks, seven to choose from across the day, so no two people in that room have the same experience:

• Cash Poor, Equity Rich — capital structure, equity agreements, and alt funding types, taught by people who’ve actually negotiated them, not theorized about them. This is the one I’m building around the exact questions I didn’t know to ask the first time.

• Talk Money to Me — sales strategy, partnerships, how to actually close.

• Build the Machine — operations, team-building, the infrastructure that lets you scale without breaking.

• Brand Obsession — building brands people obsess over, DTC, community-led growth.

• From Shelf to Scale — retail expansion, wholesale, distribution, the stuff I lived through with Mom Juice.

• Raise Ready — pitching, investor relations, term sheets, alternative capital.

The day closes on the main stage with Show Me the Exit, a panel on M&A prep, deal structure, and what founders miss on the way out, followed by a fireside chat and a reception.

There’s also a closed-door room called The Circle. Twenty to thirty founders, phones surrendered at the door, completely off the record. What happens in there stays in there. That room exists because the most useful advice I ever got wasn’t on a panel. It was in the side conversation after, when nobody was performing for an audience anymore.

I could have kept building this quietly, filling the room through favors and DMs. I already told you where subtle gets you.

Instead, tickets are open now.

WORTH YOUR TIME

M&A News: Béis just sold to Samsonite for $210M, $178.5M in cash for 85%, funded off Samsonite’s balance sheet and revolving credit. Béis stays standalone under CEO Adeela Hussain Johnson. Shay Mitchell rolled about half her equity, kept 15%, and stays on as creative lead. My read: this is the outcome founders should actually want, real cash plus continuity plus a founder who kept a meaningful stake and her seat. Not every exit needs to be a full walkaway.

Events You Should Know About: Startup School tickets are now on sale. One day, November 5th, at DU. Get the full run of show and grab tickets at startupschoolconference.com or go straight to the ticket site.

Watching: Ride or Die on Prime. I have been giggling the whole way through it!! It’s so funny

That’s it for this one!! Come to Startup School - I’d love to meet you!

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Cheers,

Kristin Taylor

I’ve been putting off writing this one for months.

Not because it’s hard to talk about. I actually really love talking about women’s health issues because it’s still way too taboo a subject for something that affects 51% of the population.

I wanted to get this right because this isn’t a business take, an investor observation, or a lesson I learned in a buyer’s room. This is about my body and women’s bodies.

So here it is.

I have endometriosis. I was diagnosed a few years ago. And for a long time after that diagnosis, I did what I think most people do: I took the information, filed it under “things that are true about me now,” and kept moving.

Then I stopped being able to keep moving the same way.

I have had crippling abdominal pain; crazy fatigue was real, and a general sense of dread over my next flare-up. I got this diagnosis, but there was no roadmap on how to actually deal with it or, idk, make it better?

So I have spent the last couple of years climbing this mountain myself.

Please note, I am not a medical professional. If something seems relevant to you or to a loved one, I recommend speaking with a medical professional. This is not advice or any type of diagnosis.

THE JIST

Here is the thing I most wish someone had told me at the start: endometriosis is not just a period problem…

That framing kept me from taking it seriously for longer than I’d like to admit. Period problems felt manageable. What I was actually dealing with was a systemic inflammatory condition that was affecting my energy, my digestion, my sleep, and my capacity to function the way I expected myself to function.

The connection to inflammation is the piece that changed everything for me.

Endometriosis tissue behaves like uterine lining but grows outside the uterus. The body responds to it with chronic inflammation. That inflammation doesn’t stay contained. It affects hormone regulation. It affects gut health. It contributes to immune dysregulation. The reason so many people with endo also have fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, and sensitivity to certain foods is not a coincidence but actual physiology.

I learned this from reading research papers and listening to Dr. Thais Aliabadi on stage or on podcasts, not from a single conversation with a doctor.

Of being dismissed, or undertreated, or just handed a prescription and sent back into the world without context. I even had a surgery and was told: “Eh, you probably have it, but we’ll just get you on birth control to manage it.” Wait, what?

That gap between diagnosis and knowledge is what this series is about.

Here is what I’ve learned in six months of treating my body like a research project:

Food is not a silver bullet. But it is a real lever.

What I eat affects how I feel in ways I can now track and predict. Specifically, gluten and certain dairy products create measurable inflammation responses in my body within 24 to 48 hours. I can feel it.

Cutting gluten was the hardest and most impactful thing I did. I did this back in 2019 because my aunt thought I could be allergic, and I had no idea it was connected. I wasn’t feeling a lot of abdominal pain at this stage in my life, so I didn’t even think to look there.

Stress is inflammation. This sounds like something you’d see on a wellness Instagram account, so I ignored it for a long time. I was wrong. The research on the relationship between cortisol, the HPA axis, and endometriosis progression is real.

A Low-Tox Lifestyle is Helpful. I removed a lot of toxins from our home, including extra fragrances, unnecessary plastics, Teflon in our cooking pans, and even changed out my toothpaste. I can tell the difference in my everyday experience.

Here’s where it gets specific.

The Stack — My Current Protocol for Endo and Inflammation

This is what I actually do. Not what I aspire to do. Not a perfect protocol. What I take, what I’ve cut, and why. I update this quarterly. This is the July 2026 version.

What I’ve cut:

• Gluten: completely, for six months. The difference in inflammation markers (pain, bloating, fatigue) was significant within three weeks.

• Conventional dairy: I’m still coming to terms with this one. I LOVE cheese, so I’ll be honest and say work in progress.

• Alcohol: I still drink wine because I love it, but I’m obsessed with the quality of the wine, where it comes from, what type of additives, etc.

• High-fructose corn syrup and processed seed oils: the easiest removal of the bunch

• Candles: I have a really specific standard for candles now. Only essential oils!

• Dish Soap, Laundry Soap, Hand Soap: All organic, non-scented (unless with essential oils)

What I eat more of:

• Omega-3-rich foods: salmon, sardines, walnuts, flaxseed

• Cruciferous vegetables daily: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts (these support estrogen metabolism, which matters with endo)

• Protein: I eat so much protein now!

• Fiber: 30+ grams a day, even if I have to get it through a supplement.

• Anti-inflammatory spices: turmeric and ginger in everything I reasonably can

Supplements I currently take (with the why):

• Inositol from Arrae

• Women’s Prenatal supplement

• Magnesium Glycinate (400mg before bed) for better sleep quality, muscle relaxation, and reduction in menstrual cramping. I noticed this one ed within two weeks.

• Probiotic (spore-based, daily) — Gut-immune connection. Not all probiotics are equal. I use a spore-based strain for survivability.

What I’ve tried and cut:

• Iron supplementation

• L-Theanine

• A trendy hormone-support blend I won’t name

The honest summary: This protocol did not cure anything. Endometriosis is a chronic condition. What it did was reduce my symptom burden significantly enough that I can function at the level I expect of myself most of the time.

If you are building your own stack, get your levels tested before you supplement. Work with a practitioner who takes this seriously. And if yours doesn’t, move along to the next one.

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WORTH YOUR TIME

The Maggie Sellers episode of Hot Smart Rich with Dr. Thais on endometriosis and PCOS. I referenced it in Issue 001, and I’m referencing it again because it is that good. I heard Dr. Thais speak at an event last year, and it changed my life and my thoughts around my diagnosis. If you have a uterus and have ever been told your symptoms were normal, this is the conversation you need.

Nancy’s Nook Endometriosis Education on Facebook is the most substantive patient-led research resource I’ve found. It is not a support group. It is a curated library of endo research managed by a retired nurse. If you want to understand the science behind it, start here.

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Thanks for being here and reading about women’s health. It’s just another way we move the needle!

A few years ago, I wanted to move the money we had received as investment into the care of a Black-owned bank. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get in. Not because the bank didn’t want our business, but because there was so much demand and so little supply of resources. They literally did not have the manpower to process my application. I was really upset by this, but I didn’t really get the why behind it.

Brilliant Black business owners + Black Banks = DUH! Right? Where black business owners are still fighting to be treated like they are bankable, let alone loanable. Still spoken to like they are a risk instead of evaluated like a business.

So I wanted to understand more about the industry, so naturally, I went down a YouTube rabbit hole. Because if it’s on YouTube, it’s true (this is a joke).

And it was sobering in the way only real history is. Because the capital gap is not new. It has been engineered, reinforced, and renamed for generations. The only thing that changes is the packaging. And unfortunately, Black-owned banks have not cracked the packaging and marketing just yet.

A bank is not only a place where money sits.
Banks have a few primary functions:

• Deposits

• Credit

• Cash management

• Lending and Underwriting relationships

• Making money off the spread

Photo Credit: Link

However, while serving on the Women in Business Board of a bank, I realized the difference is that community touch. It’s the idea of knowing your banker, talking through what’s going on, and having someone alongside you to navigate the different options.

A lot of people talk about Black banks like they’re a feel-good symbol. I get why. The phrase sounds symbolic. “Bank Black.” “Put your money where your people are.” It’s easy to turn that into a slogan. But when you study the history and the present-day realities, we have to back these words with action.

Black banks have often been asked to do two jobs at once:

1. operate like any other bank under the same rules, and

2. carry the weight of a community that has been systematically underbanked

That second job means serving customers who have been locked out of wealth-building tools. It means lending into gaps created by redlining, discrimination, and generational disinvestment. It means supporting businesses that may be strong, but that don’t have the “right” collateral profile because wealth was never passed down.

• Large banks still run on models that privilege long credit histories, inherited assets, and “clean” paperwork over context.

• Many Black entrepreneurs still deal with being treated like a question mark until proven otherwise, and sometimes even after.

• Relationship banking still matters more than most people want to admit, and relationship banking is not equally distributed.

Which brings me to these options:

CDFIs.

CDFI stands for Community Development Financial Institution. If you have never looked them up, here’s the simplest way I can explain it.

A lot of CDFIs exist because the mainstream system does not or cannot (based on rules, regulations, FDIC lending standards, etc.) do a great job funding the people it says it wants to support.

CDFIs lend in communities that have historically been denied fair access to credit. They finance small businesses. They finance affordable housing. They fund projects that keep neighborhoods alive. Some are loan funds. Some are credit unions. Some are banks.

They do the work of lending with context. They underwrite differently. They show up differently. They often provide technical assistance alongside capital, because they understand what actually makes a loan succeed.

For Black business owners, CDFIs can be the bridge between “I can build a business” and “the system will actually finance me.”

They’re not charity, but they are impact organizations.

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You can budget perfectly and still be trapped in bad financial rails regardless of what Dave Ramsey says. You can earn more and still be paying more for the same access. You can do everything “right” and still be offered worse terms because the underwriting lens was never neutral.

That’s why the Black bank conversation keeps returning. Not because Black people are nostalgic about banks. Because we understand that the proximity to capital is power.

And if you want a present-day lens on this:

• The #BankBlack movement helped make the point mainstream: where you bank shapes where money flows.

• Podcasts like Earn Your Leisure made wealth conversations feel normal and specific for a generation that didn’t grow up hearing them.

• Voices like Ian Dunlap (Market Mondays) talk about ownership, investing, and how institutions create winners and losers, without dressing it up.

I’m not telling you to take every influencer take as gospel. Please don’t.

I’m saying: the reason those voices resonate is that they’re naming the same truth from different angles.

If the system doesn’t serve you, you have to learn the system. Then you have to figure out your way to leverage that system.

Photo Credit

This is what I have been working on these past few months:

1) The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran

Why I’m still thinking about it: It connects policy to everyday banking reality. It makes it hard to keep pretending the gap is only personal responsibility.

My notes:

• Access to a bank account is not the same as access to fair credit.

• The health of a bank is tied to the wealth of its depositor base. When a community has been stripped of wealth, deposits are smaller, which limits lending, which gets blamed on the institution instead of the system.

• “Just start more Black banks” is not a full answer unless the broader financial ecosystem supports them as real institutions, not symbolic ones.

What to steal: Stop making this a morality story. It’s an infrastructure story.

2) FDIC resources on Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) + Black-owned bank history

Why it hit: It grounds the conversation in facts: what exists, how it’s categorized, why it matters.

My notes:

• Black-owned banks sit inside a larger MDI ecosystem. That ecosystem is a real part of America’s banking landscape, not a niche side quest.

• Relationship banking is an asset. If you’ve never had it, you don’t realize how much it changes outcomes.

What to steal: Know your categories. Bank, credit union, MDI, CDFI, loan fund, community bank are different names and different tools.

3) Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) + CDFI explainers

Why it hit: It made the role of CDFIs concrete. It also made clear how much of this work happens quietly.

My notes:

• CDFIs are designed to lend where mainstream underwriting often won’t, especially in underestimated communities.

• Many CDFIs pair capital with support because they’re underwriting for success (business, home mortgages, etc.), not just minimizing risk on paper.

• “Access to capital” includes timing. Fast access on fair terms changes what a business can survive.

What to steal: If you’re a business owner, learn the CDFIs in your region. Even if you don’t need them today, you might later.

Three things I’d point you to this week:

1. If you want the clearest explanation I’ve found of how banking and policy created modern inequality, start with The Color of Money.

2. Look up CDFIs in your state and read what they actually finance. It will expand your definition of what “capital” can look like.

3. If you need a starting point for “talking about money without shame,” Earn Your Leisure is a culturally relevant on-ramp.

That’s the rabbit hole. I’m still in it and exploring new avenues - next week I’m going to chat about investing as a woman (real estate, S&P 500, index funds, etc.) and all the other things I’ve been learning!

Cheers,

Kristin Taylor

I once redesigned, copywrote, and edited the entire Mom Juice website myself in an eight-hour work session. I got up to pee and grab water, but that was really it. I didn’t do much else but work, and I felt fabulous the whole time.

That’s one speed. The other speed is sitting with a decision I’m scared to get wrong and just not being able to move on it, no matter how long I stare at it. The task doesn’t get smaller. It just sits there.

I have two speeds, all the way on or not at all, and for a long time I thought that meant something was wrong with me. It doesn’t. It just means my brain runs differently, and I’ve learned to build around that instead of fighting it every single day.

So much has come out of a hyperfocus session for me. I’ve built businesses, designed brands, created products from nothing, and more in a single sitting. My hyperfocus sessions are genuinely that powerful.

It’s almost always a deadline that triggers it, and I’ve gotten to know myself well enough that I actually have a routine I get into now to help it along. I’ll order an Uber Eats sushi delivery, make a steaming hot cup of Earl Grey tea, and have a Cabernet Sauvignon or Tempranillo ready on the counter in my favorite glass. Hair goes up in a bun, cozy lounge set on, big headphones, bossa nova playing. I also like to have a little dance party before I sit down, just to get the wiggles out, and I turn the AC on so it stays cooler and keeps me awake. Then I sit down, and it happens.

However, it’s the paralysis days that are the worst days for me, and I want to be honest about what they actually feel like, because it’s not “taking a break.” I feel like I’m actively failing, and it’s getting worse second by second while I sit there. It’s usually a big task I need to think all the way through, or something I’m genuinely nervous about getting wrong, and I spend the day trying to figure out what will get me out of it.

Will going on a walk help?

Can I go sit at a cute café and change my environment?

If I listen to a podcast, will it inspire me?

I try it all, hunting for whatever will break the spell.

My internal narration on those days is always negative, and I have to actively work to get myself to think positively, reminding myself that I am magical. I know that I am inspiring even when it doesn’t feel true. I start calling on every therapeutic tool I’ve got in my back pocket. Usually it lasts just for the workday, but boy, is it a disheartening experience.

I feel like I’m constantly having to remind myself that it’s not because I’m lazy or unmotivated; it’s just that my brain has gone on holiday for a minute and will be back.

Honestly, most of what I know about ADHD I learned from TikTok first, then looked up, and then finally asked my doctor about. ADHD can get passed off as laziness, which is wild, because we do such an impressive volume of work; it just doesn’t look like what a neurotypical brain produces.

It’s also a real exercise in self-esteem and drawing boundaries. People who don’t understand it will say very hurtful things, and you end up having to educate them constantly. Society made this into a joke for a long time, but it’s a real difference in how our brains process information. Once you figure out how your own brain likes to process things, I truly believe you can be unstoppable. It’s just a lot of unlearning and relearning, while also advocating for yourself and teaching people how to treat you.

I used to believe I didn’t finish things because I didn’t care enough. That’s not true.

I don’t continue down paths that aren’t serving me just to make other people happy. I’ve finished plenty of hard things, but I don’t believe finishing something hard that doesn’t serve you or meaningfully impact the people around you, just so you can say “I did it,” makes you a better person. It doesn’t.

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HOW I GET THINGS DONE:

I am a calendar maniac; ask any assistant or team member who’s worked with me. I love to cancel a meeting that doesn’t have a clear objective. If it can be an email, it should be. And I will always send a calendar invite because I might forget it or forget to plan around it if it isn’t there.

My calendar is color-coded around a few things:

• What project or business is this for, since each one gets its own color?

• Professional or personal? My personal color is lilac.

• Is it a money-making activity? That’s green.

• I also now build in a travel-time buffer, there and back, any time there’s an in-person meeting in the mix.

I’m very passionate about only taking meetings on certain days or at certain times.

Image Source: Pinterest, BookishGirlieByLina

• On Mondays, I’ll take little to no meetings, so I can finish whatever I didn’t wrap up on Friday and send out anything I need someone to review before a meeting later in the week.

• Fridays are either money-making meetings, consultations, deal closings, that kind of thing, or fun meetings, work friends, networking, but nothing after 3 pm. That time is reserved for my family and friends.

• I also don’t do evening “work meetings” anymore. I don’t believe I’m at my best, and I’m always watching the clock, trying to get home. A dinner might be different, but I’m always going to try to turn it into a lunch or a coffee instead.

Two hacks I love:

• I also have two EAs, and they do different things. One is more people-focused, checking documents, making calls, that kind of thing. The other is my AI assistant, Elide, and I just text her things, and she schedules events and updates my project management software.

• I am absolutely obsessed with Superhuman. It’s the best ADHD-friendly email tool out there. I clear every email every night and love that it can pop back up when it’s actually time to address it. The auto-follow-up functionality keeps me on my toes in the best way.

One thing that didn’t work: AI calendar blocking is not for me. I didn’t enjoy how it blocked my calendar up to “optimize” it. I just had “busy” for everything and felt like I was constantly canceling the blocks it created.

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Read-on-the-Room

I’ve been thinking a lot about the windfall of opinions around Phoebe Gates, yes, Bill’s daughter, and the allegation that her startup Phia was “cookie stuffing,” essentially inserting its own referral code at checkout so it got credited for sales it didn’t actually drive. A handful of independent investigations found the same pattern; Phia says it’s since fixed it, and Impact.com suspended the company from its platform in the meantime.

It makes me wonder a lot about how this affects other women out there raising money for their startups, and honestly, why we’re so quick to talk about the downfall of a female founder in the first place. (I recognize the irony that I am talking about it here too..)

There are also rumors moving around the alcohol beverage space right now, where it’s pretty clear the haters have, in fact, been hating. They were just waiting for an opening to make their hatred public. I find it distasteful.

I wonder how we can become more uplifting and less “I told you so,” especially as business owners; we know firsthand how hard it is to grow a business, so why do we tear others down so quickly? If we fail, is that how we want others to treat us?

On the Calendar

We’re producing something massive right now, and I could not be more pumped; things have really started coming together.

Here’s the preview. We’re about to announce a very large event that is perfect for founders looking to scale their businesses toward an exit. Get on the waitlist here so you’re first to know.

Link Here

How I Am Spending My Precious Time

Listening to: Lauryn Bosstick on The Bossticks Podcast, especially on time management, and, of course, Emma Grede around how she plans her days.

Also listening to: The Throne of Glass series again. It’s one of my favorite series. I read it so quickly the first time, but listening to it this time around has been so fun.

If any part of this landed, forward it to the person who needs to hear that hyperfocus and paralysis are the same system, and you’re not broken. You just have a superpower waiting to be unlocked.

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Talk soon,

Kristin

It’s has been a interesting moment to think through how we learn “to be” from our families translates to us as adults in a work or friendly environment. Specifically, I have been thinking through how one gives and receives feedback.

I often find that I specifically want evidence-based and non-emotional feedback. I want it to be clear that I’ve wronged or hurt someone so I can justify and accept it. I don’t particularly enjoy emotionally charged feedback. While I completely understand it; it’s a bit more of a stretch for me to quantify it as meaningful. Which is…well pretty messed up. It’s one of the reasons I know I want to change how I hire.

As a boss, I think my job is to be a resource and still be a place you can come and be honest. I definitely grew up with no nonsense parents and bosses that were high achievers. I still have all of those traits but I am wondering about my mentorship style as I get older. I am trying to combine what I know to be true about myself + how I process feedback + knowing that people receive feedback a certain way. And it’s exhausting.

How can one be real and honest without being fake? How can one be the perfect boss while finding their feedback style? How can one be patient when their instinct is to be direct and “fix it” minded?

It’s something that I think about often and wonder if I’m doing good enough. I am not sure I am but I am sure trying my darnedest to be better.

What I have been loving this week:

Black Girl Sunscreen: I have been using this brand years and it’s still my go-to beach product. The protection is top tier and it goes GREAT under makeup.

Sports Medicines Magnesium Glycinate: This multivitamin has been so clutch for me while on vacation. I take one while getting ready before bed and have the most peaceful night of sleep.

This view hasn’t been too shabby either..

Thanks for the quick chat this Tuesday!

Kristin

In traditional Kristin fashion, I decided to sit at the bar at my favorite Tapas spot, Barcelona, while working on my laptop and having a glass of Rioja. I was about 30 minutes early for a girls’ dinner date, and a beautiful woman happened to be sitting at the bar next to me. We instantly started chatting away and keeping it casual but fun. We exchanged emails to do a little we-could-be-friends coffee, and then my girlfriend Stacey showed up.

By the end of the night, the three of us had covered PCOS, endometriosis, supplements, how to get doctors to actually listen, the best airline for international lie-flat seats on points, and how we’re building our businesses differently this time than the first time.

It was a full spectrum of girlhood, ending with the affirmation that we do not always have to “wait” until everything is perfect. We kept coming back to the idea that being perfectly healthy or perfectly educated holds us back from taking the next steps in our careers and lives.

Here’s what I keep coming back to: the information exists. We get nervous about sharing personal details with each other, and it’s holding us back. Not about money. Not about our health. Not about what we figured out the hard way.

That dinner reminded me why I’m building this. Be the rich auntie who shares the thing.

THIS WEEK’S RADAR

Big News / Mergers and Acquisitions
and why you should care

Jay-Z-backed MarcyPen is the leading bidder for LVMH’s stake in Fenty Beauty — $450M in net sales in 2024, valued between $1B–$2B. MarcyPen already has ties to Rihanna through Savage X Fenty and holds Merit Beauty in its portfolio.

Why you should care: Often in M&A, the dot moves around the board, and there’s always something in play that we’re not seeing in public. Rihanna stepping back from music, while remaining more popular in culture right now, means that Fenty is once again moving to the forefront. The smart investment capital is moving toward founder-led, culturally rooted brands with real revenue.

OVUM raised $4M in seed funding, focused on women’s health.

Why you should care: There are so many breakout stars in the mix right now in women’s health, so it’s encouraging to see the category is finally getting the capital it deserves.

Rhode drove 25% growth for e.l.f. in fiscal year 2026 — projected to exceed $360M in annual sales — and e.l.f. is still tempering its 2027 outlook.
What Hailey Bieber built is a brand, which we’re seeing more celebrity-built brands striving for, finally.

Product or Brand Worth Paying Attention To

Topicals. The founder publicly asked her community why a recent launch didn’t land.

The comments were a masterclass in what her audience actually wants from her and from Bread Beauty. Transparency as brand strategy. Community as R&D.

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Maybe You Should Invest

WaveBye — I had the worst endometriosis flare I’ve ever had. My prescription-strength medication did nothing. Two doses of WaveBye made me feel like I could finally breathe. It’s an amazing product being FDA fast-tracked, so I think it’s worth taking a bet on it.

O’Kra Water — Anna is an amazing founder who has pivoted to a new product, O’kra. She’s absolutely killing it on the shelf and actually has a drink rooted in culture and real health benefits. Very smart company, smart founder who needs smart money to scale.

And Repeat — Tools for mental clarity in a world built to distract you. Intentionally anti-biohack. Focused on doing less, but better. As someone building with an ADHD brain, this one hits a bit differently.

Events

November 5th. Denver, CO. Save the date. The event for founders and consumer investors in this market. More details coming!

HOW I AM SPENDING MY PRECIOUS TIME

• Listening to Baby I Love the Way by Big Mountain

• Also listening to ShapeShifting on a Saturday night (from the guilty pleasure, Off Campus)

• Reading Start With Yourself by Emma Grede.

The best information you’ll ever get probably isn’t on the internet. It’s sitting next to you at dinner. Go to dinner or HH, you get the vibes.

See you next week,

KT

I ended it with: “I’ll have more announcements about that coming soon.”

Then I went quiet for ten weeks.

Not because nothing was happening.

Because too much was happening.

My Apple Notes became a graveyard of ideas, half-baked plans, and career experiments.

I’m only 32. I know I’m not done building.

Before I made another announcement, I wanted to know what I was actually building; or was I going to change my name, go to school in Spain, or literally anything else; was building the next thing what I wanted?

So I spent the last few months writing my notes around careers I want to have, but ultimately realized I really did NOT want to pursue:

• Community Bakery Sourdough Bread Baker - I don’t actually want a bakery or anything of the sort, and it’s way more fun for me to bake the bread and give an extra loaf to a friend when I see them, rather than being beholden to a schedule. The chaos of baking a random loaf that you’re not sure how it’s going to come out - that is what I really love about it.

• Magazine Publisher - because in 2026, that is a great business to start. I think that’s enough said.

• Reality TV Producer - it was going to be a super, super specific show that also required a massive budget. Oh, and I have no experience in TV production, so I’m not sure where that was headed.

There were many more thoughts, and I am fortunate that my business coach and mentors told me to just keep exploring and crossing them off the list as I did further excavation. Thank God for that advice; if not, I’d be making sourdough while trying to create the next Teen Vogue but a TV edition.

At the end of the day, I am just a woman who loves talking about business, trends, finances, female founders, investing, and more. So I also spent my free time with female founders across the country, swapping war stories about building businesses, getting them funded, and whether to exit.

Here’s what I’ve figured out: the most useful conversations I’ve ever had didn’t happen in the meeting. They happened after it. When the pitch was over, someone leaned across the table and said, here’s what I actually think.

So that’s what this newsletter is going to be. The after-meeting conversation. Every other week, in your inbox.

Subscribe now

A rich auntie is not just someone with money. It’s someone you can rely on to help you level up in life.

My Rich Auntie’s name is JD. She’s the person I call when I’m trying to make sense of my life. She is the one who tells me the truth when everyone else is giving me the polished version. The one who has already made some of the mistakes I am about to make.

She also occasionally knows the name of a lawyer, banker, therapist, or doctor that I should probably call.

She is rarely impressed by my excuses.

She is usually right.

That’s what I’m trying to be here and in life. The next Rich Auntie in your inbox.

I spent years believing success would answer all of my questions. It didn’t. It just gave me different ones.

How much is enough? What actually matters? What do you do when the thing you worked for finally happens? What do you do when it didn’t happen the way you expected or hoped for? How do you build a life that feels good, not just one that looks good? How do you actually say “F it” and mean it?

Those are the questions I’m sitting with right now. And they don’t all have business answers.

Some weeks, this newsletter will be about capital, retail strategy, and building companies. Because I’ve been in those rooms, on both sides of the table, and I have things to say about what actually happens there.

Some weeks it’ll be about money management and creating wealth that lasts longer than a paycheck. Or fixing your money mistakes when it feels like your life is crumbling around you.

Some weeks it’ll be about navigating the world with ADHD and dyslexia. Because I’ve been building things my whole career with a brain that works differently.

Some weeks we'll talk about cap tables. Some weeks we'll talk about endometriosis, hosting dinner parties, fantasy novels, or why your emergency fund matters more than your handbag collection.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what a rich life actually means.

Not just financially.

A life with deep friendships. Good health. Work that matters. A calendar that reflects your priorities. Dinner parties that run too late. Trips that change your perspective. Enough margin to enjoy what you’ve built.

That’s the kind of wealth I’m interested in now.

I’m doing it all with my big, beautiful ADHD brain that sometimes sees 6s as 9s and 3s as 8s, a love of big, spicy wines, and a running list of things I wish someone had told me earlier.

That’s the version of me that’s showing up in this Substack.

Here’s the thing about the ten weeks of quiet that I didn’t put in the open section.

I said no to a lot during that time. Deliberately.

After the Exit post, I had conversations with three people who wanted to bring me on in various advisory, board, and consulting capacities. Each of them was legitimate. Each of them would have kept me busy. I turned down all three. Not because they weren’t good opportunities. Because for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t willing to confuse motion with progress.

I had just spent six years saying yes to the things in front of me, waking up years later and wondering what would have happened if I had just paused, taken a long beat, and made a decision from a place of abundance instead of fear.

So I spent those ten weeks doing something that felt uncomfortable: deciding what I actually wanted first and evaluating opportunities against that, rather than the other way around.

The framework I used is simple enough to fit in a paragraph. For each opportunity, I asked: Does this build toward something I’m trying to create, or does it just fill space? Does it require the best version of what I do, or a diluted version? Yes, I am qualified to do this, but will it add to or decrease my joy? Am I willing to put in the work to be excellent at it, or is it just ticking a box? Are the timing and conditions right for me?

That framework sounds obvious. It isn’t. When the opportunities are real, it’s very easy to convince yourself that adding one more thing is fine. It almost never is.

I’m sharing it here because I think most people I know are making decisions the other way around. I know I was. Evaluating opportunities first, and retrofitting them to a plan that doesn’t actually exist yet. If that’s you, it might be worth spending a week deciding what you’re actually building before you say yes to anything else.

HOW I AM SPENDING MY PRECIOUS TIME

Reading: I’m deep into Dragon Blind right now, and I have no apologies about it. I read fantasy, romantasy, epic fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and world-building books. It’s one part of my life that has nothing to do with building anything, and I love it. I think that’s the point. Your brain needs somewhere to go that isn’t about optimization or becoming a better person.

Listening: I also just listened to the Maggie Sellers episode of Hot Smart Rich, where she talks with Dr. Thais about endometriosis and PCOS. If you have a uterus and have ever been told your symptoms were “normal,” listen to this one. It’s the kind of conversation that makes you realize how much we’ve normalized not knowing what’s actually happening in our own bodies. Getting rich in more ways than one includes this.

Watching: Neighbors and Friends, what a fun way to look at human psychology and how we interact with each other when we think no one is paying attention, or when we think everyone is.

Want to hang out in person with me, other founders, and investors? Comment WAITLIST below to be added and get information about our event in early November here in Denver, CO.

Until then, go build something worth talking about after the meeting.

Rich Auntie Conversations publishes every Tuesday.

I started Mom Juice while sitting on the floor of my studio apartment.

I relocated from Charlotte, NC, to Denver, CO, in 2019 with a hope and a dream, and less than $2,000 to my name. On August 13, 2020, I registered the LLC with the Colorado Department of State because I wanted to be a part of the moments that connect us as humans.

I have never been a “curated-experience” type of gal. I like the real moments, the big and the small. Glasses of wine shared while bonding over books and at-home dance parties. So, I began the journey to do just that.

Mom Juice grew into a brand that launched in 1,500+ stores nationally, raised over $1.5 million dollars, and landed partnerships with retailers like Target, Total Wine, and Safeway. Forbes, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Blavity came along the way. We even launched into American Airlines last year.

This past December, I exited as CEO.

Leaving something you built from the ground up is complicated. My decision to step away was just that, very complicated. There were months of decisions and meetings. Transitioning from day-to-day operator to solely a member of the Board and significant shareholder was an out-of-body experience.

But maybe I’m proud of the failures that showed me who I am and what I am capable of.

Emptying my personal bank accounts to pay our team. Selling out of Sauvignon Blanc many months before we planned to, due to tariffs. Nervously hopping on calls with my dream investors and totally bombing the pitch. Trying to delegate the parts of the business I loved most. Raising capital, and raising it again.

There were also the life-changing moments: seeing your bottle of wine come alive for the first time, hugging your first team member when you were finally able to give them a raise, getting into Forbes and calling my mom to tell her, meeting incredible humans who eventually became mentors and friends, enjoying the bottle of wine that I createdon a first-class American Airlines flight. The moments of peace in a vineyard in Napa.

The exit process made me realize how entangled my whole life had become with the company. I knew, but I didn’t really know. Missing doctor’s appointments at the last minute because some wine needed to be delivered. The long hours I would never want back and somehow, wouldn’t trade.

So, this is a love letter to Mom Juice, my baby, to whom I gave blood, sweat, tears, and more. It’s time for you to fly with the team. To greater heights, a new direction, more funding, and more stores.

I am rooting for you the loudest.

As for what’s next: the answer that feels most like me is to support founders, specifically women founders and people of color, doing the hard, beautiful work of building.

I’ll have more announcements about that coming soon.

Cheers, KT♥

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This meme has haunted my days since I first heard a Gen Z student tell me this in a lecture, and I just thought they were asking if I was 67. I was confused, but I then (through Google) figured out that it was the point. And if it’s not, don’t correct me, I’m attempting to be deep here.

Weighing the options: 6 7?

For me, it has been what I would rather have? Two of our core products sold out or to not being out of stock on the shelf. It’s hard because the answer is both.

Granted, the reality is that we’re sold out of our Sauvignon Blanc and our Rosé, and somehow, even with everyone saying wine isn’t selling, we are, but we have to produce more inventory, get those bottles back on the shelf, and do it again, and again. I think the success of both SKUs is attributed to great retail partners, but mostly amazing Distributors who show up and get us on the shelves. I’ll be sure to do some BTS when we’re bottling to show you a bit of that process.

💵 Investment Round Alert

SO…back to the selling out of things left and right. We’re raising a bridge round and looking to close it pronto because we have a LOT of new stores, new states, and sales on the horizon. Even with everything going on in the world, we’re still up in Revenue and our Margin. If you’re interested in investing, respond to this email and let’s chat!

🍷 Members Only: Wine Club

You asked. We definitely sipped. And now it’s here.

I’m so excited to officially introduce Members Only by Mom Juice:
A seasonal wine club for women who love good wine, great company, and never having to panic-buy a bottle on the way to dinner.

This is also the PERFECT client gift. Respond here if you’re interested in that!

This club is all about connection, celebration, and convenience—because we deserve that. Every shipment features 6–12 bottles of our signature low-sugar wines (plus a few that aren’t available anywhere else).

You’ll get:

✅ Wines you actually want to drink
✅ Free shipping on most tiers
✅ Exclusive drops + a surprise gift in your second shipment
✅ Flexibility to skip, pause, or change bottle count
✅ No store runs. No judgment.

🍾 First shipment drops this November (just in time for Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving/don’t-make-me-go-to-Target-again season).

Spots are limited, and we’re starting with a small batch. I’d love for you to be one of the first members.

🚨 Entrepreneur Event Alert

This week, I’ll be landing in Miami to hang out with Pharrell’s fund, Black Ambition, and will be at their Demo Day. This Saturday, I’ll be speaking at the Black Ambition Fundable Founders Forum — and it’s gonna be a whole vibe.

I’m joining a powerhouse lineup of trailblazing founders + industry heavyweights for a half-day of hands-on masterclasses built to help you scale — for real.

If you’re a founder, investor, or builder looking to close out 2025 strong and step into 2026 with momentum — this is the room you want to be in.

🗓️ Saturday, November 15th
📍 The Sacred Space Miami
🎟️ Use code PARTNER25 for 25% off General Admission

Link here: https://luma.com/5ztz65rp

#FundableFoundersForum #BlackAmbition #FounderLife #StartupCommunity #MoreThanTheHype

As always, you’re a force, and I appreciate that you take the time to read my newsletter. Let me know what you want to see more of!

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I am back in your inbox and on the mic with another episode of More Than the Hype — and this one is for every founder who’s ever chased a viral moment, hit a wall, or asked, “What now?”

I’m also in a stage of gratitude and reflection with the recent uptick in success we’ve seen at the winery. Between launching in more stores (see below), raising on WeFunder, getting accepted into Cohorts hosted by Fiverr & 1863 and Briogeo founder, Nancy Twine’s Makers Mindset Workshop cohort, hiring like crazy, and finally no longer burning the bottom my sourdough loafs - it’s been a lot to try to catch my breath.

This week’s guest is the powerhouse creative behind one of the internet’s most aesthetic brands — and she’s pulling back the curtain on what happens after the hype.

BookTok, Burnout & Building Businesses That Last with Janet Gwen

🎙️ Episode from Monday, April 14:

In this episode, I sit down with one of my best friends, business confidant and product-based business Maven, Janet Hoang, founder and creative director of Janet Gwen Designs. Janet’s company has been at the forefront of tech and home decor innovation.

Janet gets real about:

• Starting her empire from her high school bedroom (+ having me help lol)

• Surviving copycats and content chaos

• Rebranding through multiple business phases

• Choosing purpose over pressure — and peace over constant productivity

Now leading performance marketing for 20+ brands, she shares how she stepped away from her business at its peak — and what she learned in the process.

🔗 Listen on Spotify

Listen on Spotify

💌 Lately I’m Loving…

🧠 Mindset: “You don’t have to be overwhelmed to be successful.”
🧴 Glow Game: Focusing on the outside in with MB1 from Arrae and a new Vitamin C Supplement
📱 Biz Inspo: I’m OBSESSED with how DAME is handling the tariffs on their e-commerce site. It’s funny, it’s crystal clear, and it makes you a little less mad about the price increase.

🎧 Soundtrack: Tate McRae and Doechii are on repeat lately. Vibe check = complete.
📍 Location Love: Creators of Color Studio in LA — obsessed.

(Find more of what I’m loving on my Instagram )

NEW, NEWS 🚨

We’ve launched in more stores in North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Illinois!! Check out our store locator to see more #growth
🔗 Store Locator

We got a little press!! Capitalize covered the launch of More Than the Hype. Read more on Capitalize:
🔗 KT Winery CEO Launches a Podcast

✨ Opportunities to Connect IRL + Online

• 🧃She’s Got the Juice – Our biggest event of the year in Charlotte, NC on May 2nd + 3rd: shesgotthejuice.co

• 💼 ConnectHER Conference – Macie and I are speaking, THIS WEEKEND in Chicago: See schedule

• 💰 Become an Investor: wefunder.com/mom.juice

💬 Enjoying the Show?

Share it. Review it. Tag us. Your support means everything.
And hit reply — we’d love to hear your thoughts!

It’s here! Our very first drop of More Than the Hype — a founder-to-founder transmission with the juice behind the headlines.

Whether you’re building a brand, raising capital, or just doing your best to stay inspired, this space is for you.

Let’s get into it.👇

In This Newsletter, You’ll Find…

• 🎙️ Our first 3 podcast episodes (they’re LIVE!)

• 💡 A founder perspective on the CEO glow-up

• 🛍️ Products, moments, and wins we’re loving

• ✨ Real-world ways to connect, invest, and grow

🎙️ Podcast Spotlight - This Week on the Podcast: Our First 3 Episodes Are LIVE!

“We pumped in parking lots, pitched with babies, and still raised over a million. If that doesn’t scream founder energy, I don’t know what does.”

In this episode of More Than The Hype, I sit down with my co-founder and partner in all things, Macie Mincey. We get real about building a wine company as Black women, new moms, and unapologetic founders navigating venture capital, Target deals, and TikTok moments.

🍷 Inside:

• Pitching to Target Corporate weeks after she gave birth

• Bad credit + good ideas = underrated founder combo

• Why moms aren’t a niche — they’re a $330B market

• How YOU can invest in Mom Juice

  🔗 Listen on Spotify
  💸 Want to invest? wefunder.com/mom.juice
  Minimum: $100. Perks included. Ownership matters.

Listen on Spotify

Founder Thought of the Week: The CEO Glow-Up Starts Now

I’ve been thinking a lot about the CEO glow-up — that post-fundraising energy when founders finally get to prioritize wellness, clarity, and strategy.

But what if we didn’t wait until after the raise?
What if we started now — even in the chaos?

Here’s what I’m trying:

• Daily movement (at least 20 min) — especially lifting

• High protein + fiber meals

• Multivitamins (finally!)

• Daily Stoic reflections + mindfulness

✨ My 2025 mood: Becoming the best version of myself while still grinding for growth. That includes rest, rituals, workouts, mindset, and peace — even mid-pitch deck.

Also — MAJOR shoutout to our team:
We have some MAJOR things coming, and they have been working so hard!

April 08, 2025 | Read Online

The First One

The Founder Newsletter from Kristin Taylor

Friends,
It’s here! Our very first drop of More Than the Hype — a founder-to-founder transmission with the juice behind the headlines.

Whether you’re building a brand, raising capital, or just doing your best to stay inspired, this space is for you.

Let’s get into it.👇

In This Newsletter, You’ll Find…

• 🎙️ Our first 3 podcast episodes (they’re LIVE!)

• 💡 A founder perspective on the CEO glow-up

• 🛍️ Products, moments, and wins we’re loving

• ✨ Real-world ways to connect, invest, and grow

🎙️ Podcast Spotlight - This Week on the Podcast: Our First 3 Episodes Are LIVE!

“We pumped in parking lots, pitched with babies, and still raised over a million. If that doesn’t scream founder energy, I don’t know what does.”

In this episode of More Than The Hype, I sit down with my co-founder and partner in all things, Macie Mincey. We get real about building a wine company as Black women, new moms, and unapologetic founders navigating venture capital, Target deals, and TikTok moments.

🍷 Inside:

• Pitching to Target Corporate weeks after she gave birth

• Bad credit + good ideas = underrated founder combo

• Why moms aren’t a niche — they’re a $330B market

• How YOU can invest in Mom Juice

  🔗 Listen on Spotify
  💸 Want to invest? wefunder.com/mom.juice
  Minimum: $100. Perks included. Ownership matters.

Listen on Spotify

Founder Thought of the Week: The CEO Glow-Up Starts Now

I’ve been thinking a lot about the CEO glow-up — that post-fundraising energy when founders finally get to prioritize wellness, clarity, and strategy.

But what if we didn’t wait until after the raise?
What if we started now — even in the chaos?

Here’s what I’m trying:

• Daily movement (at least 20 min) — especially lifting

• High protein + fiber meals

• Multivitamins (finally!)

• Daily Stoic reflections + mindfulness

✨ My 2025 mood: Becoming the best version of myself while still grinding for growth. That includes rest, rituals, workouts, mindset, and peace — even mid-pitch deck.

Also — MAJOR shoutout to our team:
We have some MAJOR things coming, and they have been working so hard!

💌 Lately I’m Loving…

🧴 Product: Arrae’s TONE supplement – perfect for busy bodies + brains
🥯 Moment: I finally nailed sourdough bagels that don’t taste like chewy Play-Doh. Turns out, altitude matters.
🗞 Win: We just announced our new board members — including Monique Rodriguez, founder of Mielle Organics!
🔗 READ IT HERE

✨ Opportunities to Connect IRL + Online

• 🧃She’s Got the Juice – A Mother’s Day experience series: shesgotthejuice.co (p.s. if you invest $200+ you get a free ticket)

• 💼 ConnectHER Conference – Chicago 2025: See schedule

• 💰 Become an Investor: wefunder.com/mom.juice

🔗 Stay Plugged In

Follow, support, subscribe, and share if this hit your inbox at the right time.

Enjoying More Than the Hype Newsletter? 😊 Share it with a friend or reply to this email with your thoughts—we love hearing from you!

“How did you start Mom Juice?”

What started as a last-minute guest cancellation turned into one of the most raw and transparent episodes we’ve ever dropped. Kristin shares the full journey  from blogging during college and planning galas at 20 in Charlotte,NC to building KT Winery and getting Mom Juice into Target, Total Wine, and Safeway.

Whether you’re an early-stage founder, brand builder, or someone sitting on a big idea you haven’t acted on yet; you’re going to want to tune in 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

- How Kristin went from dreaming of writing romance novels (guess her pen name) to launching a wine company

- The exact steps she took to start KT Winery and develop the Mom Juice brand

- What it really costs to build a product-based business without outside funding

- How she landed a pitch with Target and got Mom Juice on shelves

- Why starting small but thinking big is the key to sustainable growth

- What founders should know before white labeling or launching a CPG brand

- The emotional toll of building and the gut-check moments that keep you going

🔥 Mic-Drop Moment:

"It’s never not felt right;  even when I was crying on the closet floor."

Who This Episode Is For:

- Founders in the early stages of building

- CPG entrepreneurs navigating retail and distribution

- When everything is just so hard and so demanding

- VCs looking to understand underdog founder journeys

- Brand builders balancing creative vision with cash flow realities

Links + Resources:

- Follow Kristin on IG → @kristin.taylor

- Follow the podcast → @morethanthehypepodcast

- Learn more about Mom Juice → momjuicewine.com

🎧 Like what you hear?

Make sure to:

✅ Rate + review the show

✅ Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

✅ Share this episode with a founder friend who needs to hear it

More juice, less fluff. This is More Than the Hype. 🍷

• How Jaclyn turned frustration with the wedding registry process into a business idea
  

• The difference between greenwashing and real sustainability — and how to spot it
  

• How SISTAIN verifies every product for safety, transparency, and ethics
  

• Why cookware, cutting boards, and candles should be your first swaps
  

• What it takes to scale a marketplace without a tech background
  

• The science behind microplastics and why “fragrance” is a red flag
  

Jaclyn Tracy is the founder and CEO of SISTAIN, a modern marketplace for nontoxic, sustainable home goods. With a background in marketing and a passion for conscious living, she created SISTAIN to make safer, ethically made products easier to access—without sacrificing style or performance. Jaclyn’s work is rooted in deep research, community care, and a belief that better choices at home can lead to a better world.

Follow her work: Instagram: @jactracy Website: thesistain.com Email: Jaclyn.Tracy@thesistain.com

Loved this episode? Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to More Than the Hype wherever you listen. Share it with a founder friend, wellness-minded parent, or anyone ready to clean up their home without the overwhelm.

Join our newsletter for the latest episodes, founder insights, and the best in modern CPG and clean living.

What You’ll Learn:Guest Bio:Subscribe + ShareStay in the Loop

You'll hear how Anna:

• Launched a hard kombucha brand with just nine months of prep

• Created cocktail-inspired wellness drinks that resonate with modern consumers
  

• Navigated regulation chaos and consumer confusion with clear branding
  

• Shut down her first brand by choice to scale what worked
  

• Got into Sprouts, Erewhon and Walmart through cold pitching and smart retail strategy
  

Whether you're in CPG, an aspiring entrepreneur, or just obsessed with cool founders shaking up their industry, this one’s for you.

• Turning a furlough into a functional beverage business
  

• What it really takes to create an alcohol brand
  

• The power of packaging and experiential branding
  

• Why education matters more than marketing
  

• How to know when it’s time to shut down a brand
  

• Getting onto shelves at Sprouts, Walmart, and beyond
  

• Balancing wellness and alcohol in product strategy
  

Anna Zesbaugh Founder of Hooch Booch & Co-Founder of Corpse Reviver Website: drinkhoochbooch.com Instagram: @anna.zezzers | @drinkhoochbooch | @drinkcorpsereviver

Kristin Taylor Founder of Mom Juice | Host of More Than The Hype Instagram: @kristin.taylor Podcast IG: @morethanthehypepodcast

Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a fellow founder or beverage nerd. Don’t forget to grab your Corpse Reviver at Sprouts or drinkcorpsereviver.com!

🔥 Topics Covered:👤 Guest:💬 Connect with Host:🔗 Stay in the Loop:

Emily opens up about her journey from nonprofit work to launching her own PR agency while raising two kids under two — and why she walked away from traditional career paths to create something that actually fits her life. From influencer marketing truths to why your founder story matters more than ever, this episode is a masterclass in modern-day brand storytelling.

If you’re a CPG brand, mom entrepreneur, or business owner wondering when (and how) to invest in PR — this is your go-to guide.

🔥 What You'll Learn:

• What makes a brand truly press-worthy in today’s crowded market
  

• Why authentic founder stories drive more media than product launches
  

• The hidden costs of daycare and how it sparked Emily’s leap into entrepreneurship
  

• Real talk on influencer pricing, earned vs. paid media, and sample shipping strategy
  

• How Emily structures PR packages for startups without big agency budgets
  

🧠 Memorable Moments: “PR should be proactive, not reactive. It’s about telling your story daily.” “I quit my dream job at 12 weeks pregnant — because I knew what mattered more.” “If you seem too perfect, you’re not relatable. The ugly stuff is your power.”

👤 Guest Info:

•  Emily Scorgie

•  Founder, Babble PR

•  Website: babblepr.com

•  Instagram: @letsbabble

✨ Stay Connected:

• Follow host Kristin Taylor on Instagram

• Learn more about More Than the Hype

• Sip smart with Mom Juice

In this episode, More Than the Hype host Kristin Taylor sits down on the other side of the mic for a special bonus interview with Greta Okomo of Collaborative Change. From quitting corporate to funding a dream with her 401(k), Kristin gets radically honest about ownership, identity, and the cost of building while underestimated.

Who It’s For:

→ Early-stage founders & brand builders

→ CPG operators & DTC dreamers

→ Women raising capital or scaling solo

→ VCs ready to invest in untapped markets

→ Anyone who’s had to fight for their own seat at the table

What We Cover:

🧃 The business of wine: how KT Winery scaled from kitchen table to national retail

💰 Fundraising while underestimated — and knowing when to walk away

🧠 Why therapy is a founder tool, not a luxury

⚡ The myth of going “full time” and what real scaling looks like

💥 How to protect your vision from people who don’t respect it

🔥 Mic Drop Moment:

“They held our wine hostage to ‘teach us a lesson’... I moved every dollar out the next week.”

Links + Resources: → KT Winery — shop wines + sign up for the non-alc drop → Follow Kristin on IG: @kristin.taylor | @ktwinery | @momjuicewine  → Learn more about She’s Got the Juice — September 5-6 in Denver, CO

🎧 Listen Now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anywhere you tune in

From moving cross-country while her wife was pregnant with twins to breaking into a male-dominated industry, Paige shares her no-BS perspective on what it really takes to scale, hire, and build a company culture that lasts. Plus, she dives deep into what makes a business “sexy”, and how she chooses the female-led startups she invests in.

This episode is packed with value for entrepreneurs, especially women navigating leadership in high-growth industries. If you’ve ever wondered what grit, growth, and building with purpose really look like—this one’s for you.

🔥 What You'll Learn:

• How Paige grew a $10M+ tech company without writing a line of code

• The power of financial fluency for women entrepreneurs

• Why culture is more than ping pong tables and happy hours

• Paige’s investment strategy and why she bets on women

• How to stay sane while building and leading at scale

• “EBITDA is sexy. And profitable businesses should be celebrated.”

• “If you tell me I can’t do it, I’m probably going to do it.”

• “You don’t build culture with a budget — you build it by being real.”
  

Paige Goss

• Founder & CEO,

• Point Solutions Group

• Connect on LinkedIn: Paige Goss

Stay Connected:

• Follow host Kristin Taylor on Instagram

• Learn more about More Than the Hype

• Sip smart with Mom Juice

Suppose you're a founder, CPG enthusiast, or beauty brand builder. In that case, this episode is packed with real talk on IP protection, scrappy product development, waitlist strategies, and how to turn loyal customers into brand advocates.

What You’ll Learn

• How Aasiyah turned a customer pain point into a viral product

• The power of pre-orders, pitch events, and word-of-mouth growth

• Why patenting isn’t the same as protecting your product — and how to do both

1. • How she built community trust with deep customer care

   • What the future of wigs looks like — and how The Renatural is leading it
     

2. Guest Bio:

Aasiyah Abdulsalam is the founder of The Renatural, a beauty-tech brand revolutionizing the wig industry. She’s a self-taught product developer, IP strategist, and visionary who’s redefining what beauty innovation looks like through technology, empathy, and customer-first design.

Follow her work:

• Instagram: @therenatural

• LinkedIn: Aasiyah Abdulsalam

• Website: therenatural.com

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