What does it really take to build a successful brand—and a fulfilling life?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Rebecca Bartlett, founder and Creative Director of Bartlett Brands, the agency behind some of the most recognizable beauty and wellness startups.

But this conversation goes far beyond branding.

Rebecca opens up about leaving corporate life to build her own agency, learning to confidently sell herself after years of being taught to stay humble, and why women often have to unlearn everything they've been conditioned to believe about ambition and success.

We also have an honest conversation about motherhood, burnout, postpartum realities, the impossible standards placed on women, and what it really means to "have it all."

If you've ever questioned your worth, struggled with confidence, or wondered whether success has to come at the expense of your personal life, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship

• Building brands from day zero

• Why women struggle to own their expertise

• Negotiating your worth and overcoming imposter syndrome

• Motherhood, ambition, and redefining success

• Why gut instinct matters in business

• What separates startups that survive from those that don't

• The reality behind building iconic brands

About Rebecca Bartlett

Rebecca Bartlett is the Founder and Creative Director of Bartlett Brands, a brand strategy and creative agency that has helped launch and grow some of the most influential beauty, wellness, and consumer brands. With decades of experience spanning corporate leadership and startup innovation, she partners with visionary founders to build brands that challenge convention and create lasting impact.

If this conversation resonated with you, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share it with someone building their own path.

🎙️ Be Anomalous is a podcast celebrating founders, creators, and cultural disruptors who chose the unconventional path—and built something extraordinary because of it.

Because being different isn't the obstacle.

It's the way forward.

#BeAnomalous #RebeccaBartlett #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness #FounderStory #BrandStrategy #Leadership #Motherhood #WomenEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #CreativeDirector

What does it take to build a company that lasts decades—not just until the next funding round?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Susanne Mitschke, co-founder and CEO of Citruslabs, the leading provider of decentralized clinical studies for consumer brands.

With a background in biostatistics, epidemiology, and public health, Susanne has spent her career at the intersection of science, entrepreneurship, and healthcare. From founding her first startup in the digital health space to building a profitable company without venture capital, she shares a refreshingly practical perspective on what it really means to build something sustainable.

We discuss:

• Why she chose not to raise venture capital for Citruslabs

• The lessons she learned from her first startup

• What founders get wrong about fundraising

• Building a profitable business from day one

• Leadership, hiring, and company culture

• Why women's health has historically been underrepresented in research

• The future of clinical studies and consumer health brands

• Founder health, burnout, sleep, and sustainable performance

• Failure, resilience, and making unconventional decisions

One of my favorite takeaways from this conversation:

"The most unsexy thing is often the thing that moves the needle the most."

In a world obsessed with headlines, valuations, and hustle culture, Susanne offers a different path—one built on ownership, discipline, and long-term thinking.

Connect with Susanne:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannemitschke/

About Be Anomalous

Be Anomalous is a podcast for founders, creators, innovators, and cultural disruptors who are building outside the lines. Through candid conversations, we explore unconventional journeys, hard-earned lessons, and the mindset required to create a life on your own terms.

Subscribe for new episodes every week.

Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.

#BeAnomalous #Entrepreneurship #FounderStories #WomensHealth #ClinicalResearch #Bootstrapping #Startups #Leadership #BusinessPodcast #HealthcareInnovation

In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Hiba Irshad, founder of Twenty5%, a media, talent, and cultural strategy company dedicated to amplifying South Asian voices.

Growing up as an Indian Muslim in the Midwest, Hiba learned early on how to embrace the parts of herself that made her different. But her path to entrepreneurship wasn't straightforward. She started in healthcare and cancer research before leaping entertainment, driven by a passion for storytelling, culture, and representation.

We discuss:

• Growing up between cultures and identities• Building confidence and self-belief

• Leaving a stable healthcare career for entertainment

• The power of cold outreach and networking

• Why representation needs more nuance

• Building Twenty5% from the ground up• Entrepreneurship, resilience, and self-doubt

• Creating opportunities for South Asian creatives.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that your career doesn't have to follow a traditional path and that the things that make you different can become your greatest strengths.

What happens when you've achieved everything you thought you wanted—and it still doesn't feel right?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Aravinda Seshadri, founder and CEO of Venturous Counsel, a startup law firm focused on helping diverse and underrepresented founders navigate the legal side of building companies. Aravinda's journey is anything but conventional. She went from being a self-described argumentative kid who loved courtroom dramas to becoming a partner at a successful law firm. But despite the title and the success, something was missing. That realization led her to leave the traditional path and build Venturous Counsel—a firm designed to close the access gap for founders who often don't have the networks, resources, or support systems that many others take for granted.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why success on paper doesn't always equal fulfillment

• Growing up as a minority and how it shaped her worldview

• Building a company while becoming a mother

• The truth about imposter syndrome

• Why diverse founders often face hidden barriers

• Startup legal mistakes founders make early on

• How to know when it's time to take the entrepreneurial leap

• Creating a workplace built on trust, flexibility, and purpose

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Helen Diaz, co-founder of Chareau, the world's first aloe spirit, shares the unfiltered story of building a brand from the trunk of a car to 42+ states, raising a son while raising capital, and why she leads her LinkedIn bio with "Mama first."Helen spent 20+ years in hospitality before becoming the very first employee at Chareau. She didn't have a business plan. She didn't know the industry jargon. She just believed in the product — and knocked on every bar door in San Francisco until people believed too.

This conversation is about what it really takes to build something from nothing: the investor who went bankrupt, the pandemic that wiped out 90% of their business, the fundraising rounds, the pivots, and the moments she considered walking away. But it's also about something deeper — what success actually means when you're building a company and raising a child at the same time.

What does it look like to build a career — and a life — entirely on your own terms?

In this episode, Sai sits down with Radha Mistry, a foresight strategist, designer, and educator whose path has been anything but conventional. From growing up across India, England, and Taiwan, to walking away from architecture, moving to London for art school, and eventually finding her calling in futures research — Radha's story is about what happens when you refuse to let the world define you.

They dig into:

• How Radha went from architecture school to leading foresight work at a global firm
• What "futures thinking" actually is (hint: it's provocation, not prediction)
• Why she struggled to call herself a designer — and how she found the language to own it
• Growing up between cultures and never quite fitting in
• Redefining marriage, motherhood, and ambition on her own terms
• What it means to raise kids who feel free to contain multitudes
• Why mentoring women of color in design is deeply personal to her

Book mentioned: Trick Mirror by Jia TolentinoQuote: "We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims." — Buckminster Fuller

What happens when the career you thought you’d have forever suddenly disappears?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Sai Menon sits down with Stephanie Fisher — engineer, mom of four, and content creator — to talk about the unexpected layoff that completely shifted the direction of her life.

What started as posting videos after her kids went to sleep slowly became something bigger: confidence, creativity, community, and a new identity she never imagined for herself. But this conversation goes far deeper than content creation. Steph opens up about:

• The fear of being perceived online

• Motherhood and ambition

• Internet pressure and trolls

• Transparency around money

• Building confidence later in life

• Reinventing yourself when life forces you to pivot

• Learning to stop living by other people’s expectations.

This episode is for anyone questioning whether it’s too late to start over — or wondering if the version of themselves they want to become is actually possible. If you’ve ever felt different, stuck, or ready for something more… this conversation will stay with you.

Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Sai Menon sits down with entrepreneur and Bev founder Alix Peabody for an honest conversation about what it really takes to build something from nothing.From growing up between countries and cultures, to pitching 200+ investors, building in a male-dominated industry, and eventually exiting Bev, Alix opens up about the emotional and mental realities of entrepreneurship that rarely get talked about publicly.This isn’t just a conversation about startups.It’s about ambition, resilience, intuition, loneliness, reinvention — and learning who you are outside the company you built.In this episode, we talk about:* Building Bev from scratch* Navigating fundraising as a female founder* Why rejection became fuel* Founder burnout and life after exit* The emotional weight of leadership* Hiring, intuition, and building the right team* Entrepreneurship vs identity* Mental health, sleep, and rebuilding after success* Why there’s never a “perfect time” to startAlix also shares the mindset shifts that helped her survive the chaos of startup life — and the advice she’d give anyone bold enough to build something unconventional.“If you’re a founder, creative, or someone trying to carve your own path… this episode is for you.”Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.Subscribe to the Be Anomalous https://www.beanomalous.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/beanomalouspodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-anomalous/New conversations with founders, creators, and unconventional thinkers.New episodes every Monday and Thursday —Follow Sai:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsaimenon/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamsaimenon/

What does it take to walk away from companies like Google, Tesla, and SpaceX to build your own vision?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Sai Menon sits down with Rama Afullo, founder and CEO of Satlyt, to talk about identity, ambition, startup culture, and building the future of orbital computing.

Born in Kenya and raised across multiple countries, Rama shares how growing up between cultures shaped his thinking about resilience, confidence, and innovation. From being one of Tesla’s earliest employees in Africa to working at Google and later joining Starlink at SpaceX, his journey has been anything but conventional.

But this conversation goes deeper than résumés and startups.

We talk about:

• Walking away from prestige to build your own path
• The hidden realities of venture capital
• What working inside Google and SpaceX actually taught him
• Why confidence and identity matter in entrepreneurship
• The future of AI and orbital infrastructure
• Building with conviction before the world understands your vision

This is a conversation for founders, creatives, engineers, and anyone trying to build a life outside the lines.

What does it really mean to build a life around impact?

In this episode, Sai sits down with Julie Castro Abrams, venture capitalist, founder, foster parent, and one of the most quietly radical voices in women's leadership. Julie opens up about marrying an undocumented immigrant at 22, fostering children, running a venture firm that exclusively backs women founders, and why she's never worked for a man in her life. They go deep on white privilege, co-founder mistakes, what fundraising really looks like for women, and why letting your light shine permits others to do the same-