Reshma Saujani a leading advocate for women’s economic power, the founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, and the force behind the new documentary No Country for Mothers. After helping change the culture around girls in technology, she has turned her attention to the policies and assumptions that continue to push women—especially mothers—out of the workforce.

In this conversation, she joins Emma to talk about the cultural and structural forces shaping women’s ambition, motherhood, money, and power. They get into the real cost of childcare, paid leave, and workplace inflexibility; why mothers are still penalized for showing up as their full selves at work; and how the internet has turned “trad wife vs. girl boss” into a culture war that keeps women fighting each other instead of fighting for meaningful change.

In this episode, Reshma and Emma discuss:

• Who benefits from pitting women against each other
• The motherhood penalty and why it differs from the gender pay gap
• What real workplace support for women and mothers should actually look like
• Why fighting for a better system and taking responsibility for your life can both be true at once
• What it takes to create more choice, freedom, and economic power for women
• How to build a world women don’t have to shrink their lives to fit the systems around them

Kristin Cavallari became a household name before she'd even graduated high school, and spent the next two decades building a life, a business, and a family under constant public scrutiny.

But this conversation isn't just about the version of her life you've seen on screen.

In this episode, Kristin sits down with Emma for a candid conversation about money, financial independence, and what it actually took to leave her marriage on her own terms. Together, they unpack the financial planning most people never talk about, the power of building something that's truly yours, and why Kristin believes money isn't about lifestyle—it's about freedom.

Kristin shares:

Why knowing her "number" changed the way she thinks about money and success

How the success of Uncommon James gave her the confidence to leave her marriage

Why she walked away from her divorce giving up money instead of taking it—and why she'd do it again

Why she recently replaced her entire C-suite—and the leadership lesson every founder eventually faces

How she's building Uncommon James on her own terms while raising three kids

How twenty years in the public eye taught her to stop living for other people's approval

How much freedom does financial independence really give you? And what would change if you knew you could always choose yourself?

Drop your thoughts in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.

In today’s solo episode, Emma dives into real listener questions: the actual mechanics of building from nothing, starting a business with no capital, why having no money can be an advantage, plus more nuanced questions about navigating your career, handling tricky mentors, and knowing when to quit.

She also gets into more personal reflections about her marriage, what her life looked like in her twenties, and what she does to look after herself. There’s a quick round at the end too, on everything from her favorite crisps to plastic surgery. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

The type of business Emma would build if she were starting today

How to think about fear when you’re making a decision

What it takes to start again in your 40s

The marketing rule that built Good American

How to find your first customers before anyone knows you

Her one rule for spending in year one 

The one thing she thinks every woman needs to stop doing

If your question didn’t make it this time, hold onto it, because she’ll be doing this again. Follow Aspire so you don’t miss the next one, and sign up for the weekly newsletter at emmagrede.com.

Alicia Lyttle is the CEO of AI InnoVision and one of the clearest voices teaching entrepreneurs and operators how to actually use AI to make money. Her clients run from solo founders to Fortune 500 companies and US government agencies. She's been teaching people how to build online for 25 years, long before the current AI wave. People call Lyttle the Queen of AI for good reason.

The AI conversation right now is mostly hype or fear, but this is the more grounded version: specific tools, real workflows, and what actually works when you try to put any of this into a real business.

In this conversation:

The one question Lyttle calls the golden ticket for figuring out what to hand to AI first when you're building your business

Why getting good at AI has meant hiring more people, not fewer

How to build an AI team when you can't yet afford to hire a human one

The three-step process for turning any prompt into a "super prompt" that actually pays off

How to use AI to create a $20,000 presentation

What you should never put into ChatGPT, and how to protect your business while still using it

Patrick Ta built one of the most successful beauty brands in the world after dropping out of high school, filing for bankruptcy at 21, and spending years building his career one client at a time.

What started with a makeup kit and a dream eventually led to working with some of the biggest names in the world, launching Patrick Ta Beauty, and becoming one of the most influential makeup artists of his generation.

But this conversation isn't just about success.

In this episode, Patrick sits down with Emma for a candid conversation about the recent controversy surrounding his Transition Blush launch, the criticism that followed, and what accountability looks like when your name is on the brand. Together, they unpack creator credit, intention versus impact, reputation, and the challenges that come with building in public.

Patrick shares:

• How bankruptcy shaped his ambition and work ethic

• Why makeup was the first thing that gave him confidence

• The journey from celebrity makeup artist to beauty founder

• What he's learned building Patrick Ta Beauty into a leading beauty brand

• How he thinks about accountability, influence, and creator credit

• The responsibility that comes with having your name on the product

• What this experience taught him about leadership and integrity

What's a belief about success you've been carrying that might be costing you more than it's giving you?

Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.

Julia Collins has spent much of her life chasing big goals,first to prove herself and then to save the planet. 

The path took her from restaurant kitchens in New York City to Silicon Valley boardrooms, where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn and raised more than $450 million in venture capital. But it also came with heartbreak, burnout, a co-founder fallout, and years spent trying to fit into a version of success that never quite felt like her own.

Today, Julia is building companies focused on the future of food and the future of the planet. But getting there required unlearning some of the biggest lessons she thought she knew about ambition, achievement, and self-worth.

In this conversation, Julia sits down with Emma to talk about what was really happening behind the headlines — the pressure to fit in, the cost of tying your identity to your success, and the belief she carried for years that the more she suffered, the more successful she would become.

Julia shares:

Why showing up as herself changed everything — and what it cost her to try fitting in first

What she learned raising hundreds of millions of dollars

How she navigated a co-founder fallout and life-changing exit

The financial habits that shaped her relationship with money

The lesson that took her the longest to unlearn about success and sacrifice

What's a belief about success you've been carrying that might be costing you more than it's giving you? Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.

We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: ⁠emmagrede.com/survey

Jackie Aina has been building in public for 17 years. She didn't just grow an audience, she helped define what it meant to be a Black woman with a voice in the beauty industry. But influence was never the end goal.

After nearly two decades as one of YouTube's most recognized creators, Jackie took $250,000 of her own money and started a fragrance brand. Not a makeup line — a fragrance brand. Her childhood dream. The first thing she ever did that nobody asked for.

In this conversation, Jackie sits down with Emma to talk about what it really takes to go from influencer to founder and why the two have almost nothing in common.

Jackie shares:

Why six million followers doesn't mean six million in revenue — and what creators get wrong about turning an audience into a business

How she self-funded Forvr Mood with $250K, sold out six months of inventory in four hours, and nearly had a breakdown closing the laptop

The vendor relationship that looked like a smart start and took over a year to untangle

What she had to unlearn about being "the strong one" — and why doing everything is actually a disservice to everyone around you

Why she deliberately didn't build a makeup brand, and what it meant to finally do something just for herself

What's something you've outgrown — even if other people still expect that version of you? Drop it in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.

We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: emmagrede.com/survey

Hiring is the single most consequential thing you do when you're building anything. Get it right and it compounds. Get it wrong and it costs you years. In today's episode, Emma is sharing the thing she's come to believe is true: the team you build is the most honest reflection of how well you know yourself.

This is the real version of what Emma's looking for when she's sitting across from a candidate—the exact framework for how she actually thinks about it, the mistakes she's made, and why she can see past a great resumé to the person underneath.

In this episode you'll learn:

The three people you need to speak to before you write a single job description

Why Emma hires for attitude over experience, and what she believes you cannot teach

What to listen for in how someone talks about their wins and losses

Why culture fit has quietly become code for comfort

How to think about paying for talent when the margins are thin

Whether you're hiring for the first time, building a team, or sitting on the other side of the table in an interview, this one is for you.

Start With Yourself is available now.

We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: ⁠emmagrede.com/survey

Gary Vaynerchuk has spent the last two decades understanding where culture and consumer behavior were headed long before the rest of the world caught up. He was early to YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, creator commerce, and live shopping. But this conversation is about more than algorithms and internet trends.

In this episode, Gary sits down with Emma to talk about the real reason most people stay stuck: fear. Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Fear of what other people will think if they try something new.

Together, they unpack the insecurity driving modern ambition, why so many successful people are still deeply unhappy, and why Gary believes we are entering a cultural shift where kindness, reputation, and emotional intelligence will matter more than ever.

Gary shares:

Why most people are living for opinions they don’t even respect

The hidden insecurity driving high achievement

Why reputation compounds faster than money

What social media actually revealed about human behavior

How parents unintentionally destroy confidence in their kids

Why proximity and visibility still matter in the AI era

The business opportunities Gary believes people are still underestimating

Why “nice guys finish first”

What would change in your life if you stopped making decisions based on other people’s expectations of you? Drop it in the comments — we’re reading. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don’t miss what’s next.

We'd love to hear what you think. Please take this survey to help us make the show better for you: ⁠emmagrede.com/survey

Bethenny Frankel turned a TikTok account into a $20-million-a-year business without a plan or a brand of her own. She had a vision and a set of deal terms that no one in the industry has been able to replicate, or get her to explain, until now. 

In this conversation, Emma gets Bethenny to do the thing she never does: open her playbook. Bethenny shows the work behind it all—the deal structures, the dollar amounts, the model she built that agencies keep trying to reverse-engineer and she keeps refusing to share. 

Bethenny shares:

The Skinny Girl carve-out that started everything and the difference between licensing and ownership that determines whether you walk away rich or walk away with nothing

How she built her business with zero exclusivity, equity in nearly every partnership, and why brands agree to terms no one else can get

Why she says trust and attention are the only two assets that matter and what that means for anyone trying to build an audience into a business

The true cost of building an entire business on yourself and what freedom looks like when you’re more successful in your fifties than you’ve ever been

If you’ve ever been put in a box or told your vision doesn’t fit the playbook, let us know in the comments. And subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you don't miss what's next.

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