Monique Rodriguez built Mielle Organics from her basement into a billion-dollar brand and did it without a blueprint.

In this episode of Aspire, Monique shares the real story behind building one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in the world–from bootstrapping with her husband’s paycheck to risking their home, navigating criticism, and ultimately selling to Procter & Gamble while remaining CEO. 

But this isn't just a business story. It started with loss, a leap of faith, and a decision to bet on herself before she felt ready.

This is a conversation about what it really takes to build something meaningful… and what happens when you finally reach the other side.

In this episode, Monique shares:

Why you don’t need to feel ready before making a life-changing decision

How personal adversity can reshape your ambition and clarity

What founders get wrong about scaling too early

How to know when it’s time to bring in experienced operators

Why building with the end in mind changes how you run your company

The real risks founders take behind the scenes

How to navigate criticism as your company grows

What it actually means to lead after a major acquisition

How to protect your vision while growing at scale

Why success doesn’t always eliminate the feeling of having something to prove 

Monique Rodriguez’s story is proof that you don’t have to be ready to start, you just have to be willing.

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Allie K. Miller has been working in AI for nearly 20 years, and she says most of us aren't even close to using these tools to their full potential. Today, she's going to teach us exactly how to change the way we work, think, and operate with AI.

Allie built teams at IBM and Amazon, advises companies like Google, OpenAI, and Salesforce, and TIME named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in AI. Nearly two million people follow her because she's one of the clearest voices translating AI for people who aren't engineers, which is why she's the right person to have this conversation with.

In this episode, Emma and Allie get into the practical, actionable side of AI that most people never hear about—from the systems Allie has built to run her life and business, to the mistakes that keep most people stuck at the surface level.

You'll learn:

Why treating AI like a search engine is the biggest mistake people make and how to start treating it like an employee who works for you around the clock

The prompting shift from "senior analyst" to "CEO" that changes the quality of everything you get back

How to build a context document about your life, business, and beyond that makes every AI interaction more useful

The automated briefing system Allie uses to manage her calendar, goals, and priorities every morning

The study that shows how using AI the right way can make you more creative

What's driving the 25% gender gap in AI adoption and what women can do about it right now

If you've been holding back from using AI because this all feels overwhelming, or no one's ever taught you how to use it well, start here.

What's the first thing you're going to try with AI after this conversation? Drop it in the comments and come back and tell us how it went. For more conversations like this on business, leadership, and leveling up how you work, subscribe to Aspire with Emma Grede so you never miss what's next.

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In this episode, Emma sits down with financial educator and entrepreneur and everyone’s RichBFF, Vivian Tu to unpack why women are still the least likely to talk openly about money  and what it ultimately costs them. 

Vivian grew up translating bills for her immigrant parents and then went on to earn six figures on Wall Street before walking away from a $625K salary to build something on her own terms. She knows exactly what financial confidence looks like from the inside  and what keeps most women from getting there.

Vivian shares: 

How to negotiate a raise and actually win it

Why stability has to come before wealth (and how to build it)

The quiet ways lifestyle inflation erodes your progress

How to think strategically about benefits, taxes, and retirement

The mindset shift that separates earners from builders

Why women talking openly about money changes everything

This isn't a conversation about becoming rich. It's about becoming someone who knows what they're worth and stops leaving it on the table.

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Emma has known Rich Kleiman for 20 years. In all that time, they've never talked about where he actually came from, until now. What came next was one of the most honest conversations we've had on the podcast. 

The hardest story to change is the one you tell yourself. For Rich, it wasn't a lesson,  it was survival.

He grew up navigating a volatile home on the Upper West Side. With a mother battling addiction and no one to watch him, Rich was left to figure life out on his own.  Today he manages Kevin Durant's business empire, has built Boardroom from scratch, and is one of the most respected operators at the intersection of sports, music, and culture. 

In this conversation, he and Emma get into how chaos became his competitive advantage, what it really takes to build a partnership that lasts, and why legacy means more to him now than money ever did.

Rich shares: 

How growing up around instability shaped his instincts in business.

How his ability to navigate chaos made him a better leader.

Why notoriety and success aren't the same thing 

Why the stories you tell yourself matter – and how truth outways comfort. 

Why making peace with your past changes how you move through the world. 

What's the story you keep telling yourself? Drop it in the comments — we'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of Aspire with Emma Grede.

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Sometimes you can reach a point in your career when everything looks right on paper, but feels completely wrong.  And wanting something different doesn’t make you ungrateful, it signals growth. 

But the next step is where a lot of people make emotional decisions. They quit without having a plan, waiting to feel ready before they make a move, or talking themselves out of it entirely.

In this episode, Emma talks about what a real career pivot actually looks like. Not the fantasy version where you walk away from everything and magically figure it out, but the strategic version where you build on what you’ve already done.

She gets into how to tell the difference between burnout and a real signal that it’s time to change, why the best pivots are usually closer than you think, and how to move forward without starting from zero.

You'll learn:

The Pivot Audit:  a framework for making big career moves strategically

How to de-risk a career change before you take the leap

Why being "too late" is a myth and what the data actually says

What's one part of your career you've quietly outgrown? Drop it in the comments — we'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of Aspire with Emma Grede.

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The truth is, most of us weren’t taught how to manage our money, we were taught not to talk about it. 

From salary transparency and investing to honest discussions about debt and risk, women are left out of the conversation. Today’s guest, Tori Dunlap, is trying to change that. She’s built HerFirst $100K into a multi-million dollar education platform by helping women reshape their relationship with money and start building wealth. 

In this conversation Emma and Tori get into the real reasons why so many women avoid looking at their bank accounts, how money narratives impact our decisions before we are even old enough to understand them and why waiting until you're ready to invest is ultimately costing you your future. 

Tori also speaks candidly about why she believes women in relationships should keep separate accounts, how the trad wife trend can be misleading and why getting rich isn’t something women should ever feel guilty about. 

You’ll learn: 

• Why “I’m bad at math” is keeping women broke

• What most of us get wrong about investing and how to do it right

• What today’s economic uncertainty actually means for your money

• Why financial education is the highest-return investment you can make

What's your biggest money block right now? Drop it in the comments,  we'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of Aspire with Emma Grede.

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Mori Taheripour is one of the leading negotiation experts in the country,  but her most important lesson may be this: negotiation has nothing to do with conflict and everything to do with knowing your worth. 

The Wharton professor has spent the last 22 years teaching people how to ask for what they want, not by using scripts or tactics, but by rebuilding the self-belief that life slowly chips away at. 

In this episode, Emma and Mori get into the fear, guilt, people-pleasing and inner work that sits at the heart of every negotiation you’ll ever have. 

They explore: 

Why negotiation is a life skill,  not a boardroom tactic

How fear of rejection stops us from asking for more

Why people pleasers struggle to advocate for themselves

How to stop taking no personally

Why your biggest negotiation is always with yourself

Why leverage is often perception 

How to ask for more without guilt or apology 

This is the episode for every woman who has ever talked herself out of asking. You already have what it takes and Mori explains exactly why.

What's your biggest negotiation challenge right now? Drop it in the comments,  we'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of Aspire with Emma Grede.

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Kelly Wearstler is one of the most influential designers in the world,  but her real genius may be how she turned taste into a scalable multi-million dollar business.

Over the years, she’s built a company that stretches far beyond interiors, expanding into product, licensing, creative direction, and media  all while staying closely involved in the work itself. In this conversation, we get into the structure, decision-making, and resilience behind that growth.

In this episode, Emma explores:

How Kelly built a 60-person studio

Why she believes in “sequence” over speed

The commercial strategy behind creative work

How she’s using AI within her company 

Investing in hierarchy and leadership

Knowing when to walk away 

Why longevity matters more than hype

This is a conversation about building something that evolves and making sure it’s designed to endure.

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Interviewing isn’t a personality test. It’s a skill, and it’s one you can learn.

In this Career Girl’s Guide episode, Emma breaks down what actually makes someone stand out in the room. Drawing from years of interviewing — on both sides of the table — she shares the mindset shifts and practical tools that separate average candidates from unforgettable ones.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

 How to research like a strategist 

How to uncover a role’s hidden pain

The three-part storytelling formula that works

• How to speak about failure with authority

• Salary rules that change your earning trajectory

• The questions that signal leadership

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being understood — and positioned.

Career girlies don’t audition. We position.

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Today on Aspire, Emma sits down with Jessie Inchauspé, known to millions as The Glucose Goddess.

What started as a personal health experiment turned into three bestselling books, a global community, and an eight-figure business — built from the ground up, without outside investors.

But this conversation isn’t about going viral. It’s about control.

Emma and Jessie talk about the very intentional decision to bootstrap, what it actually takes to protect your freedom as a founder, and why Jessie would rather move slower than compromise on quality. They get into building around real intellectual property instead of trends — and why trusting your own proof can be more powerful than chasing scale.

In this episode, Jessie shares:

Why she chose not to raise capital

How staying independent shaped every major decision

The trade-offs that come with slower, intentional growth

Why she refuses to sacrifice quality for margin

How motherhood made her more focused, not softer

How a simple personal breakthrough can evolve into a global platform

Yes, they talk about her famous glucose hacks.

But more importantly, they talk about conviction and what happens when you decide something that worked for you might actually help millions of others.

This episode is for founders who care about freedom, longevity, and building on their own terms.

If it resonates, like, comment, and subscribe for more honest conversations with leaders shaping the future of business.

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