A scientist and winner of the Miss New York pageant launches a ground-breaking digital publication that harnesses the style and glamour of today’s business-minded woman. Sounds like the premise for a good movie, doesn’t it? The star of that story in real life is Iman Oubou, who noticed gender disparities in business as well as a media bias in the way the modern woman is represented. She launched SWAAY to position these founders as the new icons, providing content and community for them to empower each other. She joins Socialfly co-founder Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studio for a conversation about building her business and career, and describes her journey to success. Plus, a surprise and a brainstorm!

In this episode:

• How Iman has worked as a champion of female entrepreneurs and her journey hosting the popular podcast Entrepreneurs En Vogue.
• How Iman learned a lot as a pageant person, including public speaking, and communication—and how she still uses those skills everyday.
• The importance of taking care of yourself so you don’t burn out too early.
• The additional challenges of fundraising as a woman.
• And—her quest to add Morocco as a contestant in the Miss Universe pageant.

A Luminary is a person who inspires or influences others; a guiding light, an inspiration, a role model and a leader. This word and definition have inspired a collaboration hub for women to develop, network and connect, and used its founder and CEO...

A Luminary is a person who inspires or influences others; a guiding light, an inspiration, a role model and a leader.

This word and definition have inspired a collaboration hub for women to develop, network and connect, and used its founder and CEO Cate Luzio’s inspiration for its name. Cate joins Socialfly Co-founder Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about her journey to success and building Luminary from the ground up, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

• How the name Luminary came to Cate’s attention, and the origins of the business
• How traveling to China for a tech company resulted in a high-level banking career
• Why Cate’s global experience catapulted her to opportunities without having a relevant formal education
• Why one of the biggest turning points in her career was being assigned a buddy to build credibility and use as a sounding board
• How Cate’s ability to build business and work with multiple stakeholders and partners has enabled her to move fast in assembling a formidable team and creating a vibrant community within less than a year’s time
• Why most of Cate’s initial team was willing to work for months without pay

One of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is their willingness to put themselves out there and make it happen. Eden Grinshpan is not only the co-founder and executive chef at DEZ, an innovative restaurant concept, but also a celebrity chef and host of Top Chef Canada. She joins Socialfly co-founder Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studio for a conversation about building her business and career, and describes her journey to success. Plus, a surprise and a brainstorm!

In this episode:

• How Eden’s obsession with cooking shows in high school turned her from a picky eater into a culinary school all-star
• What Eden learned about herself while traveling throughout India and Tibet
• How working at an orphanage in India turned into Eden running their café
• How some footage Eden shot while running the cafe in India led to meeting with Jon Rosen and getting her foot in the door to start Eden Eats on the Cooking Channel
• How Eden transitioned from the constant hustle of running a TV show to going into the restaurant business
• Eden’s experiences opening her first restaurant
• How the desire to get back in the kitchen and to be part of the contemporary Middle Eastern movement led to pop up kitchens at restaurants in Brooklyn and South Beach
• How walking past by CHLOE led to connecting with Esquared Hospitality and led to the opening of DEZ (her Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant in lower Manhattan, with Samantha Wasser)
• Eden’s partnership with Samantha and how their complementary skills have helped DEZ avoid so many of the pitfalls that many new NYC restaurants struggle with
• The importance of being a reliable neighborhood restaurant, as well as being a healthy and comfortable extension of your customers’ kitchen
• Eden’s cookbook, and how that has shaped her workflow while finding time to dedicate to DEZ and shooting Top Chef Canada
• Why Eden focuses on aesthetics and how food is presented, especially as a fast casual restaurant where presentation is usually not a priority
• How Eden started #showmeyobelly after putting pizza on her pregnant belly, and the speed with which the hashtag blew up on social media
• What’s in store for DEZ and the future of the Fireside Chat Series, where influential female entrepreneurs come in to speak with all proceeds going to a charity of the speaker’s choice
• Eden’s plans to involve her family more in her book, and why she’s hoping to convince her husband to spend more time in front of the camera
• Plus, a 60 Second Brainstorm on how to keep on schedule, prioritize what’s important and worth your time and effort, and the importance of saying no

One of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is their willingness to put themselves out there and make it happen. Eden Grinshpan is not only the co-founder and executive chef at DEZ, an innovative restaurant concept, but also a celebrity...

For most startup founders, they are guided by the advice to never give up. For Sarah LaFleur, the CEO of M.M. LaFleur -- a Luxury-Quality Clothing company via a Seamless & Direct-To-Consumer Stylist Experience that takes the work out of...

For most startup founders, they are guided by the advice to never give up. For Sarah LaFleur, the  CEO of M.M. LaFleur -- a Luxury-Quality Clothing company via a Seamless & Direct-To-Consumer Stylist Experience that takes the work out of dressing for work -- her own mantra amounts to this: when it scares you just keep going. She joins Socialfly co-founder Courtney Spritzer for a conversation about building her business and career, and her journey to success. Plus, a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

• How Sarah transitioned from a finance career to following another calling—filling a need for high quality business clothing for women —with better quality and a better  experience
• The challenging path of raising money
• Launching a company at trunk shows
• How her business model evolved after a wake up call
• How M.M. LaFleur lives by ten Values every day
• How Sarah and her team successfully and positively navigated the departure of a co-founding executive
• And—the launch of a campaign inspired by a fourth grade teacher that features women of political influence, and asks the question:  What are You made Of?

Social media can be a powerful tool for developing products. Just ask Wander Beauty co-founders Divya Gugnani and Lindsay Ellingson -- the first travel-inspired, cruelty-free luxury color cosmetics experience! Divya and Lindsay join Socialfly...

Social media can be a powerful tool for developing products. Just ask Wander Beauty co-founders Divya Gugnani and Lindsay Ellingson -- the first travel-inspired, cruelty-free luxury color cosmetics experience! Divya and Lindsay join Socialfly Co-founder Courtney Spritzer for a conversation about building their company and their journey to success, along with a surprise and a brainstorm.

In this episode:

• Taking beauty with you
• The importance of a compass
• How their first cosmetics shade was inspired by a sunset
• Why product development can take so long
• Thinking big, and understanding what women want
• How a co-founder’s modeling experience gave the executive team a tactile intuition
• Why building the right team has been so crucial to success and being choosy and slow to hire has paid off
• The importance of resilience to survive beyond difficult challenges
• How Divya and Lindsay pushed past a tough moment in the company
• Creating a culture of meritocracy, and why they adopted an open floor plan
• Meeting and partnering with people via social media
• And ----the concept of teach, learn, and inspire

On average we spend more than a month every year just thinking about what we are going to eat. Imagine if you could have that month back —what could you accomplish? That very thought has driven Nicole Centeno to build an incredible...