Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners

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If you've ever wondered what it really takes to go from a kitchen table idea to a brand with a cult following, this episode is your blueprint.

Lauren Dudley-Stevens and Khaki Dudley-McGrath, co-founders of Dudley Stevens, are two of the most refreshingly honest women startup founders you'll ever hear from. They started with a simple observation, stylish fleece didn't exist, and turned it into a thriving, self-funded direct-to-consumer brand that women are obsessed with. No outside investors. No big marketing budget. Just real founder stories, scrappy decisions, and an unwavering commitment to their mission.

In this conversation, Host, Lindsay Pinchuk, sits down with Lauren Stephens and Khaki McGrath to unpack exactly how they did it, and what they'd do differently.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How they tested their product with just 600 pieces before going all in, and why that decision changed everything
• The organic social media and influencer strategy that built their audience from the ground up, without throwing money at ads
• How their company messaging and "North Star" has guided every decision they've made for nearly a decade, and how coming back to it has saved them more than once
• The real story of managing rapid growth, including the day they sold out of everything and had to hire high school girls to help pack boxes
• Why managing teams with fractional employees and consultants has been one of their smartest scaling decisions
• How their publicity strategy evolved from gifting influencers to building a full affiliate program that drives real revenue
• The honest truth about scaling challenges, what happens when you grow too fast and why bigger is not always better
• What founder visibility actually looks like when you're a product-based brand, and how telling your story is the single most powerful marketing tool you have
• Why getting press and building partnerships has been central to their growth from day one

This episode is for every woman founder who is building something real, something slow, and something she actually loves.

Whether you're just starting out or navigating the growing pains of a business that's taken off faster than expected, Lauren and Khaki's story will remind you that the best brands aren't built overnight, they're built with intention, consistency, and an unshakeable sense of who you are.

Connect with Dudley Stevens:

• Instagram: @dudleystephens
• Website: dudleystephens.com

Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there.

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Loved this episode? Share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher. And if you haven't already, subscribe and leave us a five star review, it's how other women startup founders find real stories like this one.

This episode originally ran on November 7, 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. Register Here to JOIN US!

You Know You Need to Show Up — So Why Aren't You? With Peloton's Jenn Sherman

If you've ever felt invisible online despite having something real to say, this episode is for you.

Peloton's original instructor Jenn Sherman is back on Dear FoundHer, and this time, we're not talking about her Peloton journey. We're talking about one of the biggest challenges facing women startup founders and entrepreneurs today: founder visibility. Specifically, why so many of us know we need to show up on social media for our personal brand and business, and why we still don't.

Jenn made headlines (in our community, at least) when she admitted she had never made a reel. What happened next? An outpouring of real founder stories from women just like her, accomplished, driven, and completely paralyzed when it comes to social media.

In this conversation, Host, Lindsay Pinchuk and Jenn get real about the imposter syndrome, the overwhelm, and the very practical steps that finally got Jenn moving.

Because here's the truth: growing an audience doesn't require perfection, it requires consistency.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why founder visibility matters more now than ever, and what's at stake when you go dark on social media
• How Jenn finally broke through her fear and what happened to her engagement when she did
• Lindsay's 5-step social media challenge designed specifically for founders who feel behind
• The connection between company messaging, showing up consistently, and building a community that converts
• Why your publicity strategy starts with your own platforms, before you ever pitch a journalist
• How to stop posting and ghosting, and start building real relationships online
• The simple content banking system that makes growing an audience actually manageable

This one is for every woman founder who has ever said "I know I should be doing more," and hasn't yet.

Whether you're navigating the scaling challenges of a growing business, trying to get press for the first time, or just figuring out how to manage your time and messaging across platforms, this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

Connect with Jenn Sherman on Instagram here.

Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there.

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram 

If this episode resonated with you, share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher, we want to hear from you.

This episode originally ran on March 16, 2023. You can listen to the follow up from this conversation here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before you dive in, grab your free spot at my SWEEP Workshop on April 9th, the marketing framework that makes everything you're about to hear actionable for your own business. REGISTER HERE

What do you do when every bank says no, the SBA tells you baking is "just a hobby," and you still believe in your idea with every fiber of your being? If you're Susie Sarich, you print out your business plan, hand it to anyone who will listen, and you build one of California's most beloved bakery brands anyway.

This is one of the most inspiring real founder stories we've ever shared on Dear FoundHer, and it is packed with lessons that every woman startup founder needs to hear.

Susie Sarich is the founder and CEO of Susie Cakes, a now-iconic bakery brand with 26 locations across California and Texas and a thriving nationwide shipping business. But before the empire, there was a woman with a dream, her grandmother's recipe cards, and a fierce belief that the West Coast was missing something: simple, from-scratch, Midwest-style baking made with love.

In this episode, Susie and Lindsay dig into the real story behind the brand, the scrappy early days, the grassroots publicity strategy that got the word out before social media even existed, and the hard lessons that come with managing rapid growth across dozens of locations.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How Susie identified a gap in the market and built her company messaging around a mission that has never wavered, connecting through celebration
• The rejection she faced from banks and the SBA, and how she funded her first location anyway through friends, family, and sheer persistence
• Her early publicity strategy, including passing out cupcakes in traffic on San Vicente Boulevard and catering events for free to get her product into the right hands
• How she grew an audience and built a loyal customer base long before Instagram existed, and what that teaches us about founder visibility today
• The real scaling challenges of going from one location to 26, including how she seeds every new location with experienced team members to protect the brand
• Her approach to managing teams across multiple states while staying true to the values and culture she built from day one
• Why getting press matters, and how celebrity word of mouth and old-school media became her most powerful growth tools
• How she finally embraced her own founder visibility and what her marketing team had to convince her to do
• The nationwide shipping business she resisted for years, and why COVID changed everything
• What it means to build a legacy brand rooted in the women who came before you
• 
  

This episode is for every woman startup founder who has been told no, who is figuring out how to scale without losing her soul, and who believes that the best marketing isn't about budget, it's about showing up and serving your community.

Susie's story proves that when your mission is real, your product is good, and your values are non-negotiable, the growth will come. It just takes grit, patience, and a really good cupcake.

Connect with Susie Cakes:

• Instagram: @susiecakes
• Website: susiecakes.com

Everything you just heard in this episode? It's SWEEP in action. Join me on April 9th for a free live SWEEP Workshop where I'll teach you the exact framework that makes marketing simple, consistent, and effective for women business owners just like you. Register for free, and I'll see you there.

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram 

Loved this episode? Share it in your stories and tag @lindsaypinchuk and @dearfoundher. And if you haven't already, subscribe and leave us a five star review, it's how other women startup founders find real stories like this one.

This episode originally ran on December 6, 2022.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, host and Founder of Dear FoundHer..., Lindsay Pinchuk, gets real with you about a bump in the road, one of the more relatable real founder stories she's lived through: losing a key team member right when you need them most.

Lindsay spent three months onboarding and investing in her new VA, only to receive an email saying she was done with no notice, no transition. As someone who is actively managing rapid growth and navigating the scaling challenges that come with running a small business solo, this hit hard. And she wants to talk about it, because she knows so many of you are in the same boat when it comes to managing teams and finding the right support.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

•      The full story: What happened with the VA and what it really means to leave a small business owner without notice

•      Why managing teams as a solopreneur is one of the hardest parts of scaling challenges no one warns you about

•      What’s changing on the podcast this month (and why it’s actually a good thing)

•      Lindsay's 5-tip framework for pivoting with purpose when your plan suddenly changes

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

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Get on the waitlist for Lindsay's mastermind, Marketing Made Simple for Small Business. Applications for the new cohort open soon.

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Niching down is often the move founders resist most, especially when they are already building an audience and seeing traction. In this Dear FoundHer conversation, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Dr. Amy Robbins, host of the Life, Death & the Space Between podcast, about how niching down became the turning point in her business. What started as a passion project evolved into a focused, revenue-generating offer once she stopped trying to serve everyone and began speaking directly to one specific group.

Dr. Amy Robbins spent years building an audience through her show and growing her visibility in the spiritual space. The credibility was there, but the next step was unclear. Through a series of intentional career pivots, she recognized that therapists were asking for structured training in spiritually informed therapy. Niching down allowed her to create a continuing education program that strengthened her professional credibility and made her offer practical and professionally valuable.

This conversation also explores the internal shifts behind the strategy. After experiencing exhaustion in private practice, she stepped back to create space for clearer decision-making and a path toward growth without burnout. If you are a founder with momentum but no defined direction, this episode offers a great example of how niching down can sharpen your message, simplify your marketing, and create sustainable growth built on focus rather than volume.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Dear FoundHer From the Forum and Dr. Amy Robbins’ Founder Story

01:24 From Private Practice to Spirituality and Building a Podcast Platform

02:38 Turning a Podcast Into a Business Without Taking More Therapy Clients

06:53 Taking a Sabbatical to Create Clarity and Build the Right Offer

09:47 Pivoting From B2C to B2B With Spiritually Informed Therapy Training

11:19 Using Continuing Education Credits to Drive Course Demand

14:02 Building a Therapist Community and a B2B2C Referral Model

22:10 Leveraging Podcast Guests for Partnerships and Business Growth

27:21 Mindset, Comparison, and Staying Focused on Your Own Growth Path

Connect with Dr. Amy Robbins:

Follow Dr. Amy on Instagram

Listen to Life, Death & The Space Between with Dr. Amy Robbins

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For simple actionable tips to grow your business, subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

Attention from the media can change the trajectory of a brand, but it is rarely the full story. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Elyce Arons to talk about what getting press really did for her business and how it influenced long term growth. If you are focused on founder visibility and questioning how getting press translates into revenue, this conversation offers valuable insight.

Elyce shares one of the most grounded real founder stories about building Kate Spade and later launching Frances Valentine. She shares stories of meeting Katie in college, how the business really started in Katie and Andy’s loft, and how getting press created credibility and momentum for the handbag company, especially in a pre-social media era.  Elyce explains that disciplined execution turned that visibility into demand. Publicity can spark interest, but managing rapid growth is what determines whether a company can sustain it.

They also discuss scaling responsibly when cash flow is tight and every decision carries so much weight. Elyce reflects on motherhood and entrepreneurship and how her priorities evolved as her business grew. This episode is for founders who want stronger visibility, are navigating expansion, or are thinking carefully about how to build something that lasts well beyond early recognition.

Episode Breakdown:

00:01 Elyce Arons On Building Kate Spade And Starting Over With Frances Valentine

02:03 From Kansas To New York: The Friendship That Started It All

10:27 The Small Branding Choice That Made Kate Spade Instantly Recognizable

12:44 Getting Press Before Social Media: Editorial Coverage As A Growth Engine

16:57 Managing Rapid Growth And The Decision To Sell Kate Spade

20:22 Motherhood And Entrepreneurship After Exit: Identity And Chapter Two

25:05 Leading Frances Valentine Through Loss And Protecting Katie’s Legacy

41:29 3 Lessons For Women Founders On Experience, Funding, And Trusting Your Gut

Connect with Elyce Arons:

Follow Elyce on Instagram

Follow Frances Valentine on Instagram

FoundHer Faves:

Varley Wide Leg Pants

Petite Plume Pajama Set

Midi Health Daily Fiber+

Creatine

Menopause Survival Kit

The Menopsychologist

Upskill Developmental

Join our online networking community: Dear FoundHer Forum 

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most Female Founders who are starting a business for the first time only think about legal support when something goes wrong. Leslee Cohen, founder of AllRise Legal Counsel, shares how the right legal guidance can make starting a business safer and less stressful. Drawing on decades of experience advising female founders through fundraising, growth, and exit, Leslee explains why so many first time business owners delay legal decisions and the risk that can create in their businesses.

Many legal legal decisions shape a startup from the very beginning, including business structure, equity, co-founders, and long-term protection. Leslee shares how a small shift in how founders talk about their business can open doors and why legal strategy works best when it supports momentum instead of slowing it down.

Leslee also reflects on what changed when she became a startup founder herself and rebuilt her firm around flexibility, trust, and accountability without sacrificing quality. If you’re starting a business for the first time and you want legal guidance that feels practical, human, and aligned with real life, this episode offers clarity and a smarter way to think about legal support.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Female Founders Building Businesses For The First Time in the Dear FoundHer Forum

01:30 From Diplomacy to Corporate Law and Startup Legal Work  

05:45 How One Sentence Changed Her Startup Legal Business  

08:50 Building a Flexible Legal Firm for Female Founders  

12:08 Networking Strategies That Drive Business Referrals  

16:30 Legal Decisions Every New Business Owner Must Make Early  

23:26 Redefining Growth and Success as a Legal Founder  

29:44 Practical Advice for Women Starting A Business For The First Time

Connect with Leslee Cohen:

Follow AllRise Legal on Instagram

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Female founders, scaling challenges can test your confidence, especially when you are starting a business for the first time without investors or a clear roadmap. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Tamara Coleman of Bark Bistro to talk about what it takes to keep growing a business when the pressure builds and the answers are not obvious. If you are working through scaling challenges of your own, this conversation will show you a practical path forward.

This is one of those real founder stories that focuses on decisions, not hype. Tamara built a $20 million brand through bootstrapping, starting in her kitchen with a $15,000 credit card. She heard “no” from retailers, struggled to get approved on Amazon, and had to rethink her distribution strategy. Instead of quitting, she adjusted and kept moving.

For female founders who are starting a business for the first time, this episode offers clarity on what growing a business truly requires. Tamara explains how bootstrapping forced her to understand margins, protect cash flow, and expand at a pace she could sustain. She shares how she managed scaling challenges without losing control of quality or operations.

If you are facing scaling challenges and wondering whether you are doing it right, this episode will help you refocus on what really matters. The lessons here are useful, especially for female founders who are growing a business with intention. You will walk away with clearer thinking around margins, momentum, and the discipline required to build something that lasts.

Episode Breakdown:

00:01 From $15K Credit Card to $20M Bootstrapping Bark Bistro

04:30 Retail Rejection and the Strategic Pivot to Amazon

10:53 Scaling Operations From Home Kitchen to 25,000 Square Feet

14:18 COVID E-Commerce Boom and Rapid Revenue Growth

24:22 $20M in Sales, Exit Strategy, and Advice for Female Founders

Connect with Tamara Coleman:

Follow Bark Bistro on Instagram

Visit the Bark Bistro website

Follow Tamara Coleman on Instagram

Connect with Lindsay:

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

FoundHer Faves:

Tubby Todd Best Face Gel Cleanser

Connect with Jillian Straus

The Press by Nor

Huephoric by Judy Lee

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If you care about where retail is headed and how a brick-and-mortar business is getting press that converts, this episode of Dear FoundHer is worth your time. Host Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Ariana Carps, a woman business owner and second-generation retailer behind Rear Ends, a nearly 50-year-old brick-and-mortar boutique that continues to thrive without chasing scale or trends. Ariana shares what actually drives in-store sales and customer loyalty, and why building a strong community around her retail business has been just as important as the products she sells.

You’ll hear why daily social media routines can outperform flashy campaigns, how quiet followers often become high-intent buyers, and why removing friction does not have to mean removing people. Ariana breaks down how personal service, honest feedback, and relationship-based selling create a retail experience that feels human and keeps customers coming back.

This conversation reframes retail success as something sustainable, repeatable, and deeply human. If you are a woman business owner looking to get publicity, or build a community-driven retail business, this episode delivers practical ideas you can actually use.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Getting Publicity: How Daily Instagram Videos Drive Retail Sales  

02:31 The Story Behind a 48-Year Family Retail Business  

05:16 Smarter Retail Buying Decisions That Reduce Stress  

06:44 Why Human Connection Still Wins in Retail  

12:14 Building Consistent Social Media That Converts  

16:48 Selling Without E-Commerce Through Personal Shopping  

19:27 Choosing Sustainable Growth Over Retail Expansion 

Connect with Ariana Carps:

Follow Rear Ends on Instagram

Follow Rear Ends on Facebook

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files 

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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Getting press can feel like a lucky break until you hear how Annabel Love and her co-founder built a repeatable strategy behind it. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Annabel shares how a dorm room hair-straightener hack became Nori, an eight-figure, profitable brand now sold nationwide at Target. This is a must-listen for women founders who want a clearer playbook for building visibility, earning trust, and turning attention into revenue.

Annabel walks Lindsay through the early, scrappy days of the company, including customer discovery in the real world, focus groups, and building a product with zero hardware background. You’ll hear what it took to go from idea to manufacturing, then into a go-to-market plan that included Meta ads, influencer partnerships, and getting press that actually moved product. Annabel breaks down how they approached press opportunities like Oprah’s Favorite Things and The Today Show, plus how they repurposed those wins across paid ads, their website, and customer acquisition.

This conversation also covers growing an audience before launch, choosing the right agency partners, and why a lean team can be an advantage when managing rapid growth. Annabel shares how Nori expanded from DTC into retailers like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Target, and what changed operationally once mass retail entered the picture. If you are one of the many female entrepreneurs trying to scale without burning cash or building a bloated org chart, you will walk away with concrete lessons you can apply right away.

Episode Breakdown:

00:01 Nori Founder Story: From Dorm Room Idea to Eight-Figure Brand

03:24 Launching a Hardware Startup Without Engineering Experience

07:05 Customer Research and Product Validation Strategy

09:32 Direct-to-Consumer Go-To-Market Plan

11:54 Meta Ads, Influencer Marketing, and Getting Press

13:52 Retail Expansion: Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Target

16:10 Fundraising and Profitability in a Consumer Brand

22:18 Scaling to $20 Million With a Lean Team

28:46 The Today Show Impact on Sales Growth

31:14 Advice for Women Starting a Business

Connect with Annabel Love:

Follow Annabel Love on Instagram

Follow Nori on Instagram

Subscribe to The Foundher Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com

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