Ana is a global brand executive, author of “⁠Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture⁠,” and “⁠The Business of Aspiration⁠” and has been recognized three times by Forbes for her CMO work. She earned her doctorate in sociology, and is a widely read writer of ⁠The Sociology of Business⁠, speaker and advisor. Ana is known for her strong strategic POV within fashion, lifestyle and luxury, and she specializes in building business-driven cultural programs for brands.

This conversation included:

• The Northstar that guides her is achieving freedom

• Chasing the ‘new’ led to a non-linear career path

• Her philosophy for modern brand building involves cultural programing with "cultural products" replacing traditional brand marketing

• Building brand worlds and narratives that create a lore and a myth

• "Hitmaking" by tapping into the zeitgeist

• In reality, the “most viable, feasible ideas win" not necessarily the "intellectually best" or "most creative"

• Common mistakes include brands repeating past successes or imitating competitors

• Key to her success is a combination of analytical and creative thinking ("left brain, right brain"), coupled with risk-taking, boldness, and decisiveness

The benefit of going with your gut:

Shannon Race is the Co-founder and CEO of Bio.me, a groundbreaking line of clean, fiber-rich gut health supplements designed to optimize and restore the microbiome, inspired by her own battle with IBS. She is also a Principle at Starshot Ventures, where she leads investment strategy and advises portfolio brands. Additionally she sits on the board of Koia, a leading plant-based protein drink. She’s a seasoned marketer having helped transform Vital Proteins from a product-based business into a global lifestyle powerhouse.

This conversation includes:

• The importance of fiber and gut health

• Learnings and growth from her time at Vital Proteins

• Moving from marketing to VC

• Advice for new founders

• Insights from Bio.me brand and product development

• What makes a good brand

• Advice and insights for entrepreneurs

Shannon is professionally jealous of Francois Demachy, renowned French perfumer and ‘nose’ of The House of Dior.

Check out https://bio.me/

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Building Community to Do Good for the Community:

Asmeret Behr-Lumax is a force for positive change, with a deep commitment to social justice and giving back. She’s the founder and CEO of One Love Community Fridge, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing food insecurity and increasing access to healthy foods. She is also a passionate advocate for girls empowerment as board chair of Dream Maker and its Phenomenal Girls Club, and she’s been recognized as a UN Women Champion of Change.

I’ve known Asmeret quite a long time, and always admired her style, coolness, ability to effortlessly balance work and being a mom - but I am also incredibly impressed by the her life story as an immigrant from East Africa to Sweden, and then the US, and the fact that over the years she has found her ‘why’ after a successful career in fashion and beauty.

This conversation included:

• Origin story of One Love Community Fridge

• Healthy food as a fundamental right

• The influence of the immigrant experience

• The importance of design and brand to evoke meaning

• The core tenet of human connection and community building

• Finding your ‘why’

Embarrassingly, Asmeret’s professional jealousy was me! I’m obviously flattered, and not sure I’m worthy - her reasons included my drive over the years to keep creating and trying new things… including this podcast :)

To find out more about One Love Community Fridge go to www.onelovecommunityfridge.org or onelovecommunityfridge on Instagram

Bringing a Unique Flavor of Entrepreneurialism:

Clara is an entrepreneur and founder of Unite Food, the world’s first globally inspired protein bar brand. With a mission to bring unique flavors from around the world to your pantry, Unite Food celebrates global tastes and wholesome nutrition.

Before starting Unite Food, she spent 17 years as the Managing Director of EZ-FLO International, developing expertise in marketing, operations, and leadership. She is also the founder of (included), a non-profit supporting founders in CPG, a mentor at SKU, a leading CPG accelerator, and an active member of NextUp and YPO.

This conversation included:

• How the immigrant experience inspired her founder story

• The white space and creation of Unite Foods

• The entrepreneurial mindset

• The importance of mission and impact

• Insights and advice for entrepreneurs

• Cultivating a growth mindset and manifestation

Clara was professionally jealous of female food founders like Lara Merriken of Lara Bars and Stacy Madison of Stacy's Pita Chips who have had successful exits, and others who are still scaling like Gail Becker of Caulipower and Anouck Gotlib of Belgian Boys.

Check out https://unitefood.com/

www.professionaljealousy.com

Creating a brand world of desire:

Jennifer Zuccarini is a fashion designer and entrepreneur, known for her work in the lingerie space. She co-founded Kiki de Montparnasse, the first luxury brand surrounding intimacy in 2005, and went on to found the premium lingerie, ready-to-wear and swim brand Fleur du Mal in 2012.

Jennifer’s ambition is to change the way women approach lingerie, understanding the power and emotion that it holds. Feminine, chic, and slightly subversive, the Fleur du Mal brand explores the notion of desire and artful provocation, while maintaining style and wearability. Zuccarini's designs have been featured in top fashion publications around the world, and her brand has been worn by everyone from Rihanna to Gigi Hadid.

This conversation includes:

• Finding a passion for fashion design from a young age

• Co-founding her first brand, Kiki de Montparnasse

• Creating an evocative brand world of desire

• What she learnt at her time at Victoria Secret

• Founding Fleur du Mal on her own terms

• Advice and insights for entrepreneurs

Jennifer is professionally jealous of Jacquemus for establishing itself so quickly and gaining industry support; similarly impressed by Skims for their massive scale and then Liquid Death for just being Liquid Death!

Check out https://fleurdumal.com/

Listen to full episode :

Pioneering the Quest for Longevity:

Dr. Roizen is certified in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology, and a self confessed science nerd. He served as Cleveland Clinic’s first Chief Wellness Officer, and founding Chair of its Wellness Institute. Dr. Roizen is devoted to helping people live younger, and he developed the RealAge Test as well as helping start 13 companies, and co-invented a drug approved by the FDA.

If that isn’t impressive enough, he has authored over 190 peer reviewed scientific publications, four New York Times #1 best sellers, 9 overall bestsellers including his initial #1 Bestseller in 5 countries, “RealAge: Are You As Young As You Can Be?”, “AgeProof—Living Longer without breaking a hip or running out of money” and his latest book, “What To Eat When: A Strategic Plan To Improve Your Health and Life through Food”. And he has a weekly podcast now in its 930+ week, a recipient of an Emmy, an Elle, and the Paul Rogers best medical communicator award from the National Library of Medicine.

He is currently working on an AI longevity app to help motivate proactive healthcare through technology enabled coaching and behavior change incentives.

This conversation included:

• Find purpose in life from a young age

• Navigating medicine to find his passion

• Biological vs chronological age with the Real Age concept

• Longevity and the potential for scientific breakthroughs making "90 the new 40’

• Top recommendations for overall well-being: ‘Posse, Purpose, and Play’

• Ways to create behavior change and finding an individuals motivator

• Views on medical advancements

• Career insights and advice

Dr Roizen is professionally jealous of one of his longtime collaborators, Dr Oz for his work ethic, prolific output and dedication to educating the world about health related topics.

Check out https://www.longevityplaybook.com/

Listen to full episode :

Adelle is the CEO & Co-Founder of Eterneva, a celebration of life brand that reimagines the experience around loss by making diamonds from ashes or hair. Eterneva was named Consumer Startup of the Year by the Stevie Awards and was featured on Shark Tank, receiving investment from Mark Cuban.

Adelle has been featured on both Inc and Forbes coveted ’30 Under 30′ lists. Prior to founding Eterneva, Adelle received her MBA in Entrepreneurship at the Acton School of Business, considered the ‘navy seal’ program for entrepreneurs. She spent four years as a Product Marketing leader in Tech, launching major products to market with partners like Amazon, Ebay, Square, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

This conversation included:

• The personal origin story behind Eterneva

• Changing the perception of death from grieving to celebration

• Creating a modern end of life brand

• Learning from consumers and evolving the product experience

• Advice and insights for entrepreneurs

Adelle is professionally jealous of Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb, for being a visionary whose customer focus and long term view of building a brand and exemplary experience continues to inspire her.

Check out https://www.eterneva.com/

Listen to full episode :

Giving the spa industry a make-over:

Adam is an entrepreneur who focuses exclusively on investing and incubating businesses in the beauty, consumer products, and retail categories.This has been a combination of investing in existing businesses such as Serena & Lily, Bulldog Skincare and Zevia and incubating new businesses, such as Soludos, Amanu, Hate Stains. He is currently co-founder and Chairman of Heyday, a new kind of facial shop that is disrupting the spa industry by taking the facial into everyday life.

This conversation included:

• Moving from Banking and M&A to founder and entrepreneur

• The ‘aha’ behind the Heyday white space and the ‘why’ that drove the brand

• How to approach the creation of a consumer service brand

• Navigating COVID as an in-person brand

• Advice for founders on funding, scaling and franchising

Adam is professionally jealous of the John Feo, the founder of Moon Pals weighted toys for kids that offer psychological benefits such as stress and anxiety relief in a more fun and relevant form than a blanket.

Check out https://www.heydayskincare.com/

Manifesting a Female Future in Web3: A Conversation with Maggie Love

Maggie Love, the founder of SheFi, is on a mission to empower women and non-binary individuals to master Web3. Through SheFi, a cohort-based educational program, she provides live instruction, hands-on tech demos, and peer support, fostering a global community of innovators. With thousands of members from over 90 countries, SheFi is accelerating careers in Web3 and AI, making these industries more inclusive and diverse.

This was a fun, wide-ranging conversation that included:

• SheFi: A ‘Divine Download’ Origin Story

• Making Web3 Accessible Through Storytelling

• The Power of Community in Web3 Growth

• Philosophies, Practices, and Future Ambitions

  
  

Professional Jealousy: Reinvention & Resilience

When asked about her professional jealousy, Maggie admires individuals who continuously reinvent themselves. She draws inspiration from Serena Williams, who transitioned from world-class athlete to investor and entrepreneur, and Martha Stewart, who rebuilt her brand after adversity - and jail time - to become more culturally relevant than ever.

Check https://www.shefi.org/

Find out more about this podcast at:

https://www.professionaljealousy.com/

Creating a better future one cookie and a time:

Denise Woodard’s journey exemplifies passion, perseverance, and purpose. From a mother seeking better food options for her child to a trailblazing entrepreneur breaking barriers in the CPG space, her story is one of transformation and impact. As Partake Foods continues to grow, so does its mission—to create an inclusive, delicious, and better future for all.

Denise left her corporate role and bootstrapped the brand until becoming the first black woman to raise over a million publicly for a CPG food startup. To date, she has raised over $25M from investors including HER, Rihanna, CircleUp Growth Partners, FF2032 and Marcy Venture Partners. Partake was named #151 on the Inc 5000 list in 2023. And on top of all that, she is also the founder of 501c3, Black Futures Fellowship, an annual program that matches active HBCU students with paid internships in the CPG food & beverage industry.

Denises’s grit, practical advice and dynamism shine through in this conversation that includes:

• The personal inspiration for Partake Foods

• From corporate life to founder of Partake Foods

• Bootstrapping and what it took in the first few years

• Evolving the Brand Proposition and visual identity to get tastier

• Building a community-driven brand

• Advice for fund raising and scaling a business

• Definitions of success and future ambitions

Denise is professionally jealous of brands that are doing interesting partnerships and collaborations such as Brightland and Mackenzie Childs for the holidays, and Ollipop x StayCoolNYC with a loungewear collection.

Check out https://partakefoods.com/

Listen to full episode :

Designing your own fearless path in life:

Rebecca Minkoff is a force - founder of her namesake brand, founder of The Female Founder Collective, author of Fearless and host of Superwomen podcast, and lastly was on Real Housewives of New York.

This episode was fun, we talked about:

• Encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit

• Early career hustle

• Building and scaling the Rebecca Minkoff fashion brand

• Challenges for women in business

• Starting the Female Founder Collective

• The ‘Fearless Mindset’ and rules for success

• Tools for staying well and inspired

• RHONY experience and plans for the future 

Rebecca is professionally jealous of Jenna Kutcher, a slash/slash writer/digital creator/mother/podcaster who has done incredible things, but also figure out how to optimize and balance her life in terms of motherhood and business.

Check out Rebecca Minkoff's book ‘Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success’ https://amzn.to/418MONQ

Please listen and share this episode or find it wherever you get your podcasts 🎧

https://www.professionaljealousy.com/episodes/interview-rebecca-minkoff

Professional Jealousy, an explainer:

A quick intro to me, Natasha Jakubowski, and what this new Professional Jealousy podcast is all about, and why on earth I decided to start it!

Please listen and share this episode or find more info and episodes on my website: 🎧

https://www.professionaljealousy.com/