I Want Her Shoes Podcast

Melissa's career has never followed a straight line. She's moved through journalism, radio and television, Hollywood, entrepreneurship, luxury fashion and jewelry, writing, and interviewing extraordinary women. Today, her work with Future Intelligence explores an entirely different kind of development: what happens when we give our inner lives the same attention and training we've spent years giving our careers.

Anna and Melissa unpack something many high-achieving women rarely talk about: you can be incredibly high-functioning and still be overwhelmed. They explore the difference between resilience and simply becoming very good at overriding yourself, why emotional regulation matters, and what happens when you finally achieve the thing you were convinced would make you feel complete.

The conversation also moves into identity and reinvention. Melissa shares how a life spent moving between cultures, industries, and versions of herself shaped her adaptability and raises a bigger question: How do we know when we're genuinely evolving versus changing ourselves to survive the environment we're in?

They talk about intuition versus fear, science and spirituality, purpose and self-transcendence, relationships, technology, and what becomes uniquely valuable about being human as AI grows increasingly capable. They also explore whether greater emotional awareness changes who we're attracted to, what we're willing to tolerate, and how we show up in love.

And, of course, they eventually make their way into the closet. Melissa and Anna talk about the pressure women feel to look successful, fashion as both armor and self-expression, how personal style changes as identity evolves, and the shoes that carry the stories of who we've been.

Maybe it's learning how to be fully present inside the life you've already created to feel it, inhabit it, and know yourself well enough to recognize what is true before the rest of the world tells you what you should want.

Because intelligence isn't only about knowing more.

Sometimes, the intelligence we need most is knowing ourselves.

Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet, it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

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EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Anna and Maya go well beyond Selling Sunset. They talk about what years of walking through other people’s homes have taught Maya about money, relationships, identity, and human behavior and why selling a home can be much more emotional than people expect.

Maya shares what sellers stop noticing about their own homes, what wealthy buyers actually care about, where homeowners can waste money, what can genuinely add value, and what women should understand about real estate as they build financial independence. They also get into the psychology of negotiation and why staying calm can be one of the most powerful tools in a high-stakes deal.

And then there’s reinvention. Anna and Maya talk about what it means to start again when people already think they know who you are, the difference between fame and credibility, and turning visibility into leverage for a real business rather than making fame the career itself.

Of course, this is still I Want Her Shoes. The conversation eventually turns to luxury, personal style, how Miami has influenced Maya’s wardrobe, the relationship between the way we dress ourselves and dress our homes, and the shoes in Maya’s closet that tell a story of their own.

At its heart, this conversation isn’t really about houses. It’s about what we choose to build, what we’re willing to leave behind, and how our definition of home changes as we do.

Because sometimes starting over means changing the address. Sometimes it means changing the plan. And sometimes the most beautiful thing you can build is a life that finally feels like yours.

Listen to the full episode of I Want Her Shoes Podcast with Maya Vander. 

Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet, it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

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EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this deeply personal episode of I Want Her Shoes, Sammy returns to the closet for an honest conversation with Anna about the grief we experience and the losses we don't always give ourselves permission to grieve.

Anna opens up about losing her grandmother, losing her beloved pets Bonnie and Ozzie only months apart, and grieving the end of her marriage while navigating divorce.

Together, Anna and Sammy explore the particularly complicated experience of grieving something that you can simultaneously know was right to lose. You can mourn a marriage without wanting the marriage back. You can miss pieces of a former life while still choosing the life ahead of you. And sometimes what you're grieving isn't only a person or relationship it's the future you once imagined.

They also talk about the strange everyday reality of loss: how life keeps moving even when you're grieving. Kids still need breakfast. Meetings still happen. Emails still arrive. You can laugh, work, go to dinner, experience something wonderful—and still be carrying sadness alongside it.

The conversation moves through losing animals and why pet grief can be so profound, motherhood and the pressure to keep functioning, the discomfort people sometimes have around another person's pain, and what actually helps when someone we love is grieving.

And ultimately, they arrive at a bigger question: Does grief ever really disappear or does life simply become bigger around it?

Maybe it's learning how to carry what mattered without allowing the loss to become the only thing we carry. There can be grief and gratitude. Grief and relief. Grief and joy.

And even grief and the beginning of a beautiful new chapter. Moving forward doesn't necessarily mean leaving everything behind. Sometimes it means deciding what deserves to come with us. 

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Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view! https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates: 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Somewhere between the podcast conversations, dinners, brunches, WhatsApp messages, new friendships, introductions, and women showing up for one another, something unexpected happened. The audience started becoming a community.

In this special solo episode, Anna steps out from behind the interview questions to share what she’s been quietly building: I Want Her Shoes Club, a new digital and IRL home for ambitious, accomplished, curious women who want meaningful connection alongside all the beautiful things that make life fun.

Anna takes listeners inside the early version of the platform and shares the thinking behind it from member connections and curated events to trusted experts, recommendations, fashion, style, and eventually a much smarter relationship with our own closets. But the vision isn't to create another social network designed to keep women scrolling.

It's almost the opposite. Anna has spent years working in AI and building technology communities, and now she's applying that experience to something intentionally human: using technology to help the right women find one another and then get off their phones and into the same room.

Miami is only the beginning. The bigger vision includes city communities, intimate dinners and experiences, trusted recommendations, experts, fashion and wardrobe tools, and a network that can travel with its members wherever life takes them.

And because the Club is still being built, Anna isn't simply inviting women to join it.

She's inviting them to help shape what it becomes.

• How I Want Her Shoes evolved from a podcast into a real community
• Why the shoes were never really about fashion they've always been about the journey
• What Anna learned from bringing women together for intimate dinners and brunches
• Why connection not networking is the product
• The vision behind I Want Her Shoes Club
• Why AI should facilitate human connection rather than replace it
• What's coming around events, experts, style, recommendations, and our closets
• Why Anna wants the earliest members to help build the community alongside her

Anna doesn't want to build another place where women perform how successful, polished, or fabulous their lives are.

She wants to build a place where women can actually know each other.

Where you can talk about the promotion and the divorce. The company you're building and the terrible date you went on. The investment you're considering and the shoes you're considering.

A place to share what we've learned, celebrate one another's wins, open doors for each other and occasionally tell another woman, “Girl, absolutely do not buy those.” 

Because the shoes were never really about fashion. They've always been about the journey. And this is what's coming next. 

Adding a chic twist to each episode, the 'I Want Her Shoes Podcast' is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for. 

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet, it’s definitely worth the view! https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

• IWHS Club Beta: https://iwanthershoes.com/community?utm_source=podcast 
• IWHS Pod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwanthershoespodcast/
• Anna’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/iwanthershoes/ 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

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Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Anna and Alexis unpack why financial independence has to be part of the conversation about women’s empowerment, how self-limiting beliefs can quietly become career ceilings, and why confidence is often something we develop after taking the leap—not before it. They also talk about learning to ask for more, advocating for yourself in rooms where decisions are being made, and the difference between mentorship and having someone who will actually say your name when you’re not in the room.

The conversation also explores Alexis’s experience building Business of Her, the importance of women creating opportunities for other women, and why collaboration can be far more powerful than competition. And, of course, they get personal about ambition, evolving identity, personal style, and what it feels like to dress—and live—as the woman you’re still becoming.

Because power isn’t something we suddenly earn when we reach a certain title, salary, or age. It’s something we can start building now.

👠 Key Moments

• Why Alexis believes women need to redefine their relationship with power
• The lessons about money, negotiation, and self-advocacy women should learn much earlier
• How to build confidence before you actually feel ready
• Why financial agency is an essential part of women’s empowerment
• Recognizing self-limiting beliefs before they become career ceilings
• The difference between mentorship, sponsorship, and having someone advocate for you
• Why collaboration between women can create more opportunity than competition
• How style and identity evolve as we step into bigger versions of ourselves

What if women didn’t wait until their 30s, 40s, or 50s to learn how to negotiate, advocate for themselves, build wealth, and take up space?

🎧 Listen to the full episode of I Want Her Shoes Podcast for a conversation about money, confidence, ambition, community, and learning to stop waiting for permission.

Because sometimes the most important step toward becoming powerful is realizing you were allowed to begin before you felt ready.

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

• IWHS Pod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwanthershoespodcast/
• IWHS Pod Website: https://iwanthershoes.com/ 
•  Alexis’s LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-meruelo-499446113/ 
•  Alexis’s Book: https://alexismeruelo.com/book

Ladies, I’d love for you to join us inside I Want Her Shoes Club, our private, application-only community for stylish, ambitious women. Local dinners, vetted stylists, member offers and real conversations.Apply here 👠

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

Follow us on IG

Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Laura has spent her career looking at entrepreneurship from almost every angle. Before launching Ascendo, she founded Endeavor Miami, the first U.S. affiliate of the global entrepreneurship organization, where the portfolio grew to 23 companies generating more than $250 million in revenue. Earlier in her career, Laura held leadership positions at Visa and developed deep experience across fintech, payments, M&A, and private equity. Today, she brings all of those perspectives together as an investor.

In this conversation, Anna and Laura explore what makes an exceptional founder, why overlooked markets can create extraordinary investment opportunities, where venture capital may be looking in the wrong places, and how AI is changing the investment landscape.

They also talk about Laura’s own evolution from corporate executive to ecosystem builder to venture capitalist and what years of working across countries, industries, and boardrooms have taught her about leadership, reinvention, and success.

Because sometimes the greatest opportunities aren't where everyone is already looking. They're where very few people have thought to look yet.

👠 Key Moments

• What connects the many chapters of Laura’s career as an executive, founder, operator, investor, and board member
• What Laura saw in Miami’s entrepreneurial ecosystem before the city became a major startup and technology hub
• The qualities she looks for when deciding whether a founder is truly exceptional
• What investors can learn about a founder that will never appear in a pitch deck
• Why Laura sees inclusive innovation as an investment advantage, not simply a social objective
• How overlooked founders, consumers, and markets can create asymmetric investment opportunities
• Why investment capital still hasn't caught up with the enormous economic influence of women
• How Laura evaluates AI companies in a market where almost every startup has an AI story
• Where she believes AI opportunities may still be underestimated
• What venture capital may be overfunding—and overlooking
• Why Laura’s experience as an operator changes the way she works with founders
• What working at Visa taught her about building companies that can truly scale
• Lessons about leadership from working across the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, global corporations, startups, and venture capital
• How to recognize when it's time to leave a successful chapter and reinvent yourself

This episode is ultimately about seeing possibility before it becomes obvious.

Great founders don't all look the same. Great ideas don't come from one demographic, one geography, or one network. And some of the most compelling investment opportunities may exist precisely because everyone else is looking somewhere else.

Laura’s own career is also a reminder that reinvention doesn't mean leaving your experience behind. Every chapter can become part of the toolkit you bring into the next one.

🎧 Listen now for a conversation about venture capital, AI, entrepreneurship, Miami, women and wealth, leadership, reinvention—and what it really takes to recognize an opportunity before the rest of the world does.

Adding a chic twist to each episode, the 'I Want Her Shoes Podcast' is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for. 

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

• IWHS Pod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwanthershoespodcast/
• IWHS Pod Website: https://iwanthershoes.com/ 
• Laura’s LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-i-mayd%C3%B3n-22018a/ 
• Ascendo VC: https://ascendo.vc/ 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

Follow us on IG

Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Over nearly two decades, Joanna has helped build and scale some of the most recognizable brands across technology, health, wellness, travel, and consumer products. She’s served as CMO of Spring Health, Skyscanner, ClassPass, and Reforge, worked across nine startups, led teams of more than 280 people, and helped scale global businesses reaching more than 110 million people each month.

But after years of helping other founders build extraordinary companies, Joanna is entering a new chapter: building something of her own.

In this conversation, Anna and Joanna explore what separates great marketing from a brand that becomes part of culture, what decades of operating have taught Joanna about leadership, how AI is reshaping marketing, and why curiosity may be one of the most important qualities we can carry into the next chapter of our lives.

They also dive into Joanna’s newest venture, NEON PALM, and what it feels like to move from advising founders to becoming one herself.

Because the most interesting careers rarely follow a straight line. And as Joanna says, beautiful things are never built alone.

👠 Key Moments

• What nine startups taught Joanna about building, scaling, and starting over
• Why Joanna considers herself an operator first—and a marketer second
• The difference between great marketing and building a brand that becomes part of culture
• How to keep brands human while operating at massive scale
• Why creating cultural conversations matters more than simply creating content
• What companies are still getting wrong about growth marketing
• How AI will transform marketing—and where human creativity will become even more valuable
• Why more AI-generated content doesn’t necessarily mean more meaningful content
• The story behind Joanna’s new venture, NEON PALM
• What becoming a founder has taught her after years of advising other founders

This episode is a conversation about building, reinvention, and staying curious—even after you’ve already achieved extraordinary things.

Because success doesn’t mean arriving at one final destination. Sometimes the most exciting thing you can do is decide to build again.

🎧 Listen now for a conversation about brands, AI, leadership, style, entrepreneurship, and why the best things we create are rarely created alone.

Adding a chic twist to each episode, the 'I Want Her Shoes Podcast' is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for. 

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

• IWHS Pod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwanthershoespodcast/
• IWHS Pod Website: https://iwanthershoes.com/ 
• Joanna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannalord 
• Joanna’s LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannalord/ 
• Neon Palm: https://neonpalm.co/ 

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

Follow us on IG

Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the summer’s biggest stories was the announcement and subsequent cancellation of John Galliano: Horizons, the major Spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition that would have celebrated Galliano’s extraordinary and complicated career.

Naturally, Anna and Ella have opinions. Was canceling the exhibition the right decision? Can we separate the art from the artist? And what would a Galliano-inspired Met Gala have looked like if it had actually happened?

But Galliano is far from the only designer on trial. Ella arrives with a confession of her own: she finally caved and bought her first pair of Matthieu Blazy Chanel shoes. So, is Blazy making Chanel exciting again and could we be witnessing the beginning of a new era for the house?

And while we’re asking important questions... why is everything suddenly “chic”?

Chic restaurants. Chic sneakers. Chic vacations. Chic interiors. Chic water bottles.

Has social media officially ruined the word?

After years of quiet luxury and understated minimalism, fashion also seems to be having fun again. Anna and Ella debate the bedazzling of everything, the return of maximalism and statement dressing, archival fashion, luxury prices, what they’re actually buying for fall and whether we’re finally witnessing the return of something fashion has been missing: Personality.

👠 Key Moments

This episode is ultimately about something bigger than trends. After years of understated dressing, neutral palettes, and the idea that looking expensive meant barely looking styled at all, fashion seems ready to have fun again.

Maybe we don’t need another uniform. Maybe we need more personality, more experimentation, more fabulous shoes and fewer rules about what qualifies as chic.

🎧 Listen now for Anna and Ella’s summer fashion debrief and find out what officially made the Fashion Crimes list.

Adding a chic twist to each episode, the 'I Want Her Shoes Podcast' is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for. 

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

Follow us on IG

Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Together, Cynthia and Simon have built more than a remarkable venue.They've created a space where ideas are exchanged, relationships are formed, artists are celebrated, and community comes to life.

In this conversation, Anna explores what it takes to build meaningful experiences, lead as partners in business and life, and create environments that people remember long after they've left. Because great hospitality isn't just about service. It's about creating a sense of belonging.

👠 Key Moments:

This episode is a celebration of creativity, partnership, and the people who understand that the most meaningful experiences aren't manufactured—they're thoughtfully designed.

🎧 Listen now and discover why the greatest luxury isn't a beautiful space—it's how that space makes you feel.

Adding a chic twist to each episode, the 'I Want Her Shoes Podcast' is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for. 

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

Follow us on IG

Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

But Melodie's entrepreneurial story began long before Max Retail. She skipped college, built a career in real estate as a teenager, lost everything during the housing crash, sold designer clothing out of a Sprinter van, opened her own boutique, and ultimately created the business she wished had existed when she was a retailer herself.

In this conversation, Anna and Melodie discuss resilience, reinvention, entrepreneurship, fashion, and why the best businesses are often born from the problems that keep us awake at night. Because success isn't about never failing. It's about having the courage to keep building

👠 Key Moments

This episode is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn't about having all the answers. It's about staying curious, embracing change, and betting on yourself—even when the outcome is uncertain. Because sometimes the greatest opportunities are waiting on the other side of the biggest setbacks.

🎧 Listen now and discover why the most successful founders aren't the ones who never fail—they're the ones who keep moving forward.

Adding a chic twist to each episode, the 'I Want Her Shoes Podcast' is recorded in Anna’s stunning personal closet, strategically located near the vibrant Miami Design District. This unique setting not only provides a visually captivating backdrop but also embodies the spirit of fashion and innovation that the area is known for. 

📺 Watch the episodes on YouTube to get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind Miami closet—it’s definitely worth the view!  https://www.youtube.com/@IWantHerShoesPodcast

Follow us for more updates:

EPISODE CREDITS:

Writer and Host: Anna Anisin

Produced, edited, and mixed by the Formulatedby Team

Follow us on IG

Watch on Youtube

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.