Fifteenish

Before I get into Jamie's story, I share something persona... a season in my life I don't talk about much. A relationship that slowly took everything from me, and the moment someone laughed in my face when I said I wanted to get into real estate. I left. Got my license. Became rookie of the year. And I think about that laugh every time I come across a founder who had their own version of it.

Jamie Kern Lima is the co-founder of IT Cosmetics, the brand she started in her living room, built into the number one prestige cosmetics brand in America, and sold to L'Oréal for $1.2 billion. She became the first female CEO in L'Oréal's 108-year history. But this episode isn't about the billion dollars. It's about a rental car in a parking lot outside Philadelphia, a woman with under a thousand dollars to her name, and a decision she made before she ever walked through that door. A male investor told her nobody would buy makeup from someone who looked like her. QVC said no for two years. Sephora said no for six. And when she finally got her shot, ten minutes on live television, she wiped her makeup off on camera and showed the world exactly who she was. Everything sold out before the segment ended. This one is about what it means to stop covering up the thing you think disqualifies you and let it be the very thing that builds everything.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Jamie Kern Lima — Believe IT: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable (Harper Collins, 2021)
• Jamie Kern Lima — Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life (2024)
• Columbia Business School — The IT Factor (August 2025)
• Boca Raton Observer — Making It Big (August 2021)
• Foundr — Jamie Kern Lima Used 10 Minutes to Create a Billion-Dollar Business
• CNBC — IT Cosmetics Jamie Kern Lima: I Lived Completely Burnt Out for Almost a Decade (March 2021)
• Femfounded — IT Cosmetics: Rejected Everywhere, Sold for $1.2B
• Wikipedia — Jamie Kern Lima entry

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

What do you do when the person who loves you most tells you that your dream is a path to failure? Today's episode is about exactly that moment — and what gets built on the other side of it. Cassey Ho is the founder of POPFLEX and Blogilates — two eight-figure activewear brands with over twenty million followers and a presence in every Target in America. Her parents immigrated from Vietnam, rebuilt their lives from nothing, and had one ask of their daughter: be a doctor or a lawyer. At sixteen, Cassey told her dad she wanted to be a fashion designer. He told her she would fail, make no money, and have no friends. She built anyway. In this episode I talk about what it actually cost her along the way — the body image struggles she's been honest about publicly, the years of online hate that nearly broke her, the moment she almost quit everything, and why she was genuinely afraid to put her own face on her own packaging at Target. I also talk about what it means to be the first — the first Asian fitness instructor on Target shelves — and why that matters beyond the business. This one goes deep. I think you need to hear it.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Fortune — Popflex Founder Had 3 Choices Before Building Her Fashion Empire (September 2024)
• South China Morning Post — Meet Blogilates YouTuber and Taylor Swift Favourite Cassey Ho (2024)
• We Are Resonate — Asian American Fitness YouTuber Cassey Ho Discusses Her Parents' Immigrant Story (October 2019)
• Wikipedia — Cassey Ho entry
• Grokipedia — Cassey Ho entry
• Morning Honey — Fitness Instructor Cassey Ho Encourages Others To Use Your Story (2021)
• YouTube — How I Built 8-Figure Businesses by Defying My Parents | Cassey Ho | Secrets to Success (September 2024)
• Cassey Ho's personal blog — blogilates.com

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

There's a pressure that's always there — a little voice that says move faster, do more, scale quicker. I feel it too. And I think a lot of us do. So this episode is for anyone who's in a season of trying to find their rhythm and wondering if the pace they're moving at is enough.

Dorothy Henke is the founder of Dot's Homestyle Pretzels — those buttery, garlicky, impossible-to-stop-eating seasoned pretzels you've definitely had at least once. She grew up on a dairy farm in North Dakota, built a thirty-year career in finance, and was heading into retirement when a bowl of Chex mix at a wedding changed everything. She started making pretzels in a borrowed kitchen in a town of a thousand people, grew the business entirely at her own pace without a single outside investor, and sold to Hershey in 2021 for $1.2 billion. She was in her late sixties. She hand-bagged every bag by hand for two and a half years because she didn't know where it was going. She didn't want to go in the hole. And she just kept showing up. This one hit differently for me. I think it will for you too.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Mpls.St.Paul Magazine — The Origins of Dot's Homestyle Pretzels (March 2020)
• InForum — A Seasoned Entrepreneur, Dot Henke Named The Forum's 2021 Area Person of the Year
• InForum — Why There's No Stop in North Dakota's Pretzel Queen Dot Henke
• KX News — Someone You Should Know: Dorothy 'Dot' Henke, Creator of Dot's Pretzels (June 2021)
• Grand Forks Herald — Dot of Dot's Pretzels Shares Snack-Tastic Success Story
• Bismarck Tribune — Dot of Dot's Homestyle Pretzels Shares Success Story
• Rural Gold Podcast — Dot's Pretzels: Dot Henke the Accidental Entrepreneur (October 2021)
• 1 Million Cups Fargo — Dorothy and Randy Henke Entrepreneurial Journey (October 2019)

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

Jen Rubio was born in the Philippines and moved to New Jersey at seven years old. She arrived in a classroom where she didn't look like anyone around her, got placed in ESL classes, and spent years hiding her accent, her food, her whole self — just trying to belong. In this episode of Fifteenish, I'm not talking about the suitcase or the billion dollar valuation. I'm talking about that classroom. And what it costs a person to flatten themselves to fit a room that wasn't built for them — and what gets built when they finally stop. Jen went on to co-found Away, grow it to a $1.4 billion valuation, and step in as CEO for the first time ever — eight months pregnant — when the company needed someone who actually believed in what it was supposed to be. This one is about visibility, belonging, and what becomes possible when someone finally goes first.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Wikipedia — Jen Rubio entry
• CNN Money — The Founders of Away Changed the Luggage Industry After a Travel Mishap (October 2017)
• Asian Journal News — Meet the Filipina Who Turned a Suitcase Filled With Dreams Into a Billion-Dollar Reality (October 2025)
• Grokipedia — Jen Rubio entry
• Forbes — Jen Rubio interviews and features
• Blank Brand — Women to Watch Vol 1: Jen Rubio's Community-First Brand Strategy (September 2025)
• Medium / The Founder Stories — Meet Jen Rubio, Who Created the Perfect Suitcase at Away



All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

Jen Atkin grew up in a conservative Mormon community in Utah, adopted at birth, with one tiny salon in her town and a dream that had nowhere to go. At nineteen she moved to Los Angeles with $300, spent a year calling salons with no callbacks, and took a receptionist job on Beverly Boulevard just to get in the door. In this episode of Fifteenish, I talk about how she worked her way from answering phones to styling Madonna's world tour, built one of the most recognizable careers in beauty alongside the Kardashians, and then did something nobody expected — she started over. In 2016 she launched OUAI, a haircare brand built around the simple idea that women deserved products made by someone who actually understood their lives. It sold to Procter and Gamble in 2022 for nine figures. And it all started because a rock star asked what she wanted and she already knew.

I found today's founder the way I hope more founders find each other... completely by accident. Alice Bugeja, the founder of mileoff, was out on a run when she spotted a woman wearing her gear, ran up to introduce herself, and discovered she was talking to a founder. That founder was Emily Tout, co-founder and CEO of Mighty Slice. Alice even posted a reel about it. And I went down a rabbit hole immediately.

Emily's story is one of the most honest ones I've told on this show. She wanted to be a lawyer since she was eight years old. She went to the London School of Economics, pursued space law, got the career — and then realized it felt completely wrong. What followed was an identity crisis, a brother who was obsessed with entrepreneurship podcasts, a powerlifting habit that rewired how she thought, and a very simple question she couldn't stop asking: why do protein products taste so terrible? Mighty Slice started in her kitchen in 2021. In January 2023 the team was still hand-making every single cheesecake themselves. By the end of that year revenue had grown 1,900%. They're now in Asda, Sainsbury's and Ocado. She's still in it. Still building. And what she said about risk is something I haven't been able to stop thinking about.

Sources and Disclaimer

• Recipe for Greatness Podcast — From Powerlifting to Protein-Rich Desserts: Emily Tout's Journey with Mighty Slice (November 2024)
• The Grocer — Mighty Slice Nets Almost £1M in Fresh Investment as Giles Brook Backs High-Protein Cheesecake Brand (January 2025)
• Emily Tout — LinkedIn (@emily-tout)
• Alice Bugeja — Instagram @aliceroserunner (reel featuring the encounter)
• mightyslice.co.uk

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

Allison Ellsworth is the co-founder of Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand acquired by PepsiCo in May 2025 for $1.95 billion. In this episode of Fifteenish, I talk about how she spent ten years on the road in the oil and gas industry, developed serious health problems nobody could diagnose, fixed it herself with apple cider vinegar, and then spent three months in her kitchen trying to make it taste good enough to share. From mason jars to her neighbors, to a Whole Foods buyer showing up at her farmers market booth three weeks in, to pitching on Shark Tank nine months pregnant, to going viral on TikTok during a global pandemic with zero makeup and one honest video — Allison's story is about what happens when you stop waiting for someone else to solve your problem and just go figure it out yourself.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Texas Monthly — How Poppi Founder Allison Ellsworth Went From Shark Tank to Shark (September 2025)
• CNBC Make It — Poppi Went From Kitchen Experiment to $2 Billion Deal With PepsiCo (October 2025)
• Entrepreneur — She Went From Being Ignored at a Farmer's Market to Selling to PepsiCo for $1.95 Billion (2025)
• Tribeza — How Austin-Based Founders Journeyed From the Farmers Market to a $1.95 Billion-Dollar Brand (June 2025)
• DFW Child — Poppi's Allison Ellsworth on Trusting Her Gut
• Austin Woman — Allison Ellsworth: Poppi Power
• Wikipedia — Poppi entry

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

Allison Ellsworth IG

Poppi website

Poppi IG

There's a voice most of us have. The one that says not yet, not you, not this. And today's founder built an entire brand around proving it wrong. Alice Bugeja is the solo-female founder of mileoff — a women's running brand she built completely from scratch, self-funded, while working full time at Dyson, in a city where she barely knew anyone. She spent two years building in secret before anyone knew her name and launched on International Women's Day March 2025 to a completely sold out first drop. In this episode we talk about the history behind the name mileoff, Kathrine Switzer and what actually happened at the 1967 Boston Marathon, and why the most powerful thing Alice did wasn't design a product, it was letting people in. This one's for anyone who's been dreaming about something for a year without actually doing the hard part yet.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Hypebae — Why Mileoff Makes Running Gear for the Girlies (July 2025)
• Emirates Woman — How Alice Bugeja is Redefining the Activewear Space with Mileoff (September 2025)
• Alice Bugeja — LinkedIn and TikTok (@aliceroserunner)
• Sky Sports News — Kathrine Switzer: First Woman to Officially Run Boston Marathon (December 2021)
• Wikipedia — Kathrine Switzer entry
• Running USA — Women's marathon participation data

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

mileoff website

mileoff instagram

Alice Bugeja instagram

Three weeks into marathon training (not a runner, by the way) I hurt my foot. And the frustration of being forced to slow down right when I'd finally found my momentum sent me straight to Ellen Latham's story. Ellen was a single mom in her forties when she got fired from her dream job without warning. No plan. No backup. Just a Pilates certification and a spare room in her house. What she built from there eventually became Orangetheory Fitness. A billion dollar global company with over 1,300 studios in 23 countries. In this episode we talk about her dad's "momentum shifts up" philosophy, what it actually looks like to rebuild from nothing, and why the forced stop might be the thing that creates the opening. This one's for anyone sitting in a pause they didn't choose.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Strong Fitness Magazine — Orangetheory's Ellen Latham Found Wild Success After Being Fired at 40
• PNC Insights — Momentum Shift: How Ellen Latham Transformed a Career Setback into Orangetheory Fitness
• Austin Woman Magazine — How Ellen Latham Made Orangetheory Fitness a Global Trend
• Lifestyle Media Group — How Ellen Latham Created Orangetheory Fitness
• FranchiseWire — Turning Setbacks into Successes: The Ellen Latham Story
• Orangetheory Fitness — Momentum Shift documentary (2019)

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

orangetheory fitness website

orangetheory fitness instagram

ellen latham instagram

Tiffany Masterson wasn't a beauty insider. She wasn't a chemist. She wasn't even looking to build a company. She was a stay at home mom in Houston who got a one-star review on a product she was selling, and instead of quitting, she decided to go make something better herself. In this episode, we talk about the moment that started everything, the midnight research sessions that turned her into an expert, the cold email that landed her in Sephora, and what it actually looks like to let criticism redirect you instead of stop you. Also: she started at forty. With no industry experience. And sold for $845 million six years later. This one's for anyone who's ever felt too late, too unqualified, or too stung by a no to keep going.

Sources & Disclaimer

• Fashionista — How Drunk Elephant Founder Tiffany Masterson Went From Stay-at-Home Mom to Beauty Mogul (March 2018)
• Glam — Drunk Elephant Founder Tiffany Masterson's Journey to Becoming a Beauty Mogul (March 2023)
• NUVO Magazine — Tiffany Masterson on Drunk Elephant, Gen Alpha's Essential Beauty Brand (April 2024)
• How I Built This with Guy Raz — Drunk Elephant episode (January 2024)
• Wikipedia — Drunk Elephant entry

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions are my own. If anything is found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue a correction.

drunk elephant website

drunk elephant instagram