Entrepreneur Ashley Freeborn is magnetic in every sense of the word. The Los Angeles-based founder and CEO of popular fashion brand Smash + Tess has a powerful, energizing presence you feel as soon as you’re in her orbit.

She grew up in Tsawwassen, the daughter of hardworking, type A parents. Her stylish, pioneering mother is the CEO and president of a financial institution, and her father was the fire chief of Delta. Goal-setting was ingrained in her at a young age, and Ashley set about to become an educator, receiving her Masters in Education before moving into corporate training and culture for a number of years. In 2014, she did the summer program at Conde Nast in London and, from there, Smash + Tess came to be.

In this conversation, we explore growing up with a mother that truly loved what she did and continually works to advance opportunities for women, what it was like launching a brand with both her best friend and mother, where the name Smash + Tess comes from and its recent collaboration with Hilary Duff, her journey with Crohn’s Disease and the importance of self-advocacy & asking questions when it comes to your health, her lens on raising two inquisitive daughters in this world, and more.