SelfMade Stories

Jessy Fofana is the founder of LaRue PR, a boutique PR agency that represents all the brands and entrepreneurs everyone aspires to be like. This episode is a little different - while Jessy doesn’t have a direct background in e-commerce she did build a cosmetics brand in the 90s which she successfully sold before going into PR full time and eventually starting her own agency.

Brian and Jessy discuss the importance of PR for your business and how you can think about PR on a zero dollar budget. Jessy has a ton of great tips and tricks on how to get your brand exposure if you’re just starting out and some resources that are helpful for a company at any stage.

To get inspired further check out some of Jessy’s favorite female founders and their brands on Instagram:

Alli Webb of Drybar (@alliwebb & @thedrybar)

Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream (@jenibrittonbauer & @jenisicecreams)

Jaclyn Johnson of Create and Cultivate (@jaclynrjohnson & @createcultivate)

Jen Gotch of Ban.do (@jengotch & @shopbando)

Justina Blakeney of The Jungalow & Justina Blakeney Home (@justinablakeney, @thejungalow, & @justinablakeneyhome)

And check out prcouture.com and createcultivate.com for great articles and blog posts touching on everything from PR to social and marketing.

Courtney Boyd Myers (aka CBM) is the co-founder of AKUA, a business on a mission to bring sustainable sea greens to the consumer market through kelp jerky. After learning about the immense environmental benefits of ocean farming kelp, CBM made it her mission to create a commercial want. She saw a clear market need for tasty, healthy, plant based jerky, thus AKUA was born. Brian and CBM discuss the benefits of sustainable ocean farming, how to communicate your brand story, and the importance of marketing. There’s a lot to learn in this episode so keep your ears open. To learn more about the benefits of kelp on both your body and the environment check out AKUA @lifeakua on Instagram or at akua.co. You can keep up with CBM and her kitesurfing adventures @CBM on Instagram and on Twitter.

To get further inspired check out @away and their founder Jen Rubio @jennifer or @thisisaday for all your travel and sustainable fashion needs. If you’re into girls being given the opportunity to shape the future of tech check out kodewithklossy.com to learn more about how Karlie Kloss is paving the way for more female engineers. Till next week!

Courtney Boyd Myers (aka CBM) is the co-founder of AKUA, a business on a mission to bring sustainable sea greens to the consumer market through kelp jerky. After learning about the immense environmental benefits of ocean farming kelp, CBM made it her mission to create a commercial want. She saw a clear market need for tasty, healthy, plant based jerky, thus AKUA was born. Brian and CBM discuss the benefits of sustainable ocean farming, how to communicate your brand story, and the importance of marketing. There’s a lot to learn in this episode so keep your ears open. To learn more about the benefits of kelp on both your body and the environment check out AKUA @lifeakua on Instagram or at akua.co. You can keep up with CBM and her kitesurfing adventures @CBM on Instagram and on Twitter.

To get further inspired check out @away and their founder Jen Rubio @jennifer or @thisisaday for all your travel and sustainable fashion needs. If you’re into girls being given the opportunity to shape the future of tech check out kodewithklossy.com to learn more about how Karlie Kloss is paving the way for more female engineers. Till next week!

Arielle Crawford is the founder of ARIELLE, a conscious collective focused on sustainable textiles, domestic manufacturing, and fair-trade practices. After leaving high-end fashion because she didn’t agree with production practices, she founded ARIELLE. Brian and Arielle discuss what it means to live plastic-free and how you can think about sustainability when it comes to what your business and what you wear.

This week’s episode is particularly inspiring. To learn more about living plastic free follow Arielle @shop_arielle and check out Kate Nelson @plasticfreemermaid. For sustainable clothes checkout shop-arielle.com and knickey.com. And to get even further inspired on the entrepreneurial journey check out @mikiagrawal and @love.radha.

Arielle Crawford is the founder of ARIELLE, a conscious collective focused on sustainable textiles, domestic manufacturing, and fair-trade practices. After leaving high-end fashion because she didn’t agree with production practices, she founded ARIELLE. Brian and Arielle discuss what it means to live plastic-free and how you can think about sustainability when it comes to what your business and what you wear.

This week’s episode is particularly inspiring. To learn more about living plastic free follow Arielle @shop_arielle and check out Kate Nelson @plasticfreemermaid. For sustainable clothes checkout shop-arielle.com and knickey.com. And to get even further inspired on the entrepreneurial journey check out @mikiagrawal and @love.radha.

Meha Agrawal is the co-founder of Silk + Sonder, the first ever monthly planner subscription that is tailor-made to empower thinkers and inspire creativity. Meha got her start as an analyst at Goldman Sachs before transitioning to the startup world, where she quickly found her passion for entrepreneurship and founded Silk + Sonder. In this episode, Meha and Brian dig into her business and talk through pain points and struggles every entrepreneur faces when first starting out, while Brian shares some of his own insights as a fellow entrepreneur.

Meha Agrawal is the co-founder of Silk + Sonder, the first ever monthly planner subscription that is tailor-made to empower thinkers and inspire creativity. Meha got her start as an analyst at Goldman Sachs before transitioning to the startup world, where she quickly found her passion for entrepreneurship and founded Silk + Sonder. In this episode, Meha and Brian dig into her business and talk through pain points and struggles every entrepreneur faces when first starting out, while Brian shares some of his own insights as a fellow entrepreneur.

Marissa Vosper is the co-founder of Negative Underwear, an innovative intimates company for women by women. Marissa and her co-founder, Lauren Schwab, founded the company to answer a need for chic, well-designed, functional underwear. Impressively, Negative Underwear has thrived off their own self-funding, breaking even after only two and a half months. On part two of Negative’s journey, Brian and Marissa discuss how Negative has been able to maintain steady growth with crystal clear focus around branding and messaging - with next to no marketing spend.

Marissa Vosper is the co-founder of Negative Underwear, an innovative intimates company for women by women. Marissa and her co-founder, Lauren Schwab, founded the company to answer a need for chic, well-designed, functional underwear. Impressively, Negative Underwear has thrived off their own self-funding, breaking even after only two and a half months. On part two of Negative’s journey, Brian and Marissa discuss how Negative has been able to maintain steady growth with crystal clear focus around branding and messaging - with next to no marketing spend.

Marissa Vosper is the co-founder of Negative Underwear, an innovative intimates company for women by women. Marissa and her co-founder, Lauren Schwab, were obsessed with all things ready to wear but felt there was a clear lacking in chic functionality when it came to their underwear. After balancing night classes at fashion school with their full-time jobs, they co-founded Negative Underwear. In the first part of Negative’s story Brian and Marissa dive into what motivated Marissa to start her business.