Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Gabby Arancio, Founder and CEO of GamePlan Skincare, the first skincare brand built specifically for athletes. Before she was a founder, Gabby spent a decade as an athletic trainer — at LSU in the SEC, with the Miami Dolphins in the NFL, and as head trainer for Miami FC — which is where she noticed the problem nobody was solving: by her count, most of the athletes she worked with struggled with sport-induced breakouts, and there was nothing built to handle it.

In this episode, Gabby breaks down how she built GamePlan from the sidelines, the emotional story behind why she actually started the company, how she sourced and tested her formula directly with real athletes instead of guessing, and her advice for founders raising their first round.

This is the episode for anyone who's ever had an idea and needed one person to believe in them first.

Key Topics Covered:

— Growing up in New Jersey and choosing Miami for college

— Discovering athletic training as a major

— Becoming one of the first female students at UM awarded an NFL internship, with the Miami Dolphins

— Life on staff at LSU during the 2019 National Championship season

— Becoming head athletic trainer for Miami FC

— The insight that started GamePlan: sport-induced breakouts nobody was solving

— The friend who told her to go build it — and the loss that came days later

— Why his initials are on every GamePlan package

— Sourcing formula and manufacturing, and why she chose a Korean lab over domestic options

— Testing the product directly with athletes instead of guessing

— Sending her first international wire while still working full-time

— Early demand from sports agencies for athlete care packages

— Raising a friends-and-family pre-seed round, and why she's raising a seed round now

— Selling out at Urban Outfitters four times

— Becoming a top pick on Amazon in her category

— Her advice for founders on fundraising, hiring, and product versus aesthetics

— Why she says to ask the market before you build

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Gabby Arancio

10:11 – Growing Up in New Jersey & Choosing Miami on a Whim

10:18 – Discovering Athletic Training as a Major

14:20 – Becoming One of the First Female NFL Interns with the Miami Dolphins

15:58 – Life on Staff at LSU During the 2019 National Championship Run

18:00 – Becoming Head Athletic Trainer for Miami FC

21:50 – What GamePlan Skincare Actually Is

24:30 – The Friend Who Told Her to Go Build It & the Loss That Followed

31:55 – Sourcing & Manufacturing: Why She Chose a Korean Lab

33:18 – Sending Her First International Wire While Working Full-Time at Miami FC

35:45 – Testing Formula & Packaging Directly with Athletes

37:21 – Early Demand from Sports Agencies for Athlete Care Packages

38:53 – The Friends-and-Family Pre-Seed Round & Raising a Seed Round Today

40:30 – Selling Out at Urban Outfitters & Becoming an Amazon Top Pick

48:13 – Founder Advice: Fundraising, Hiring, Product vs. Aesthetic

42:02 – Lightning Round

52:00 – Where to Find Gabby Arancio & GamePlan Skincare

Tags:

Gabby Arancio, GamePlan Skincare, athlete skincare, sport-induced breakouts, women founders, female entrepreneur, skincare startup, CPG founder, athletic trainer, NFL, LSU football, Miami FC, seed round, bootstrapping a startup, Urban Outfitters, Amazon best seller, STACKED podcast, Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, women in business podcast, founder story

Disclaimer:
The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

This week I'm going solo to answer the question I get asked more than almost anything else: how do you actually buy your first Bitcoin? There are three ways to do it — a brokerage or exchange, a Bitcoin ETF, or a cold wallet — and I walk through exactly how each one works, plus the tradeoff nobody explains clearly enough: what you actually own versus what you think you own.

I break down why Bitcoin sitting on an exchange is technically an IOU (and what that meant for FTX customers in 2022), why an ETF gets you price exposure but not the asset itself, and why a cold wallet — an $80 to $150 device — is the only way to hold the real thing.

I also give you my own rule for how the strategy should change depending on how much you're buying: $500, $5,000, or $50,000+.

This is the no-fluff, beginner-friendly breakdown I wish someone had given me before I bought my first Bitcoin.

Key Topics Covered:

— The 3 ways to buy Bitcoin: exchange, ETF, cold wallet

— How buying on an exchange actually works, step by step

— Why Bitcoin on an exchange is technically an IOU

— The bag-in-a-warehouse analogy for custody risk

— What happened to customer funds when FTX collapsed in 2022

— What a Bitcoin ETF actually is, and what it isn't

— Why an ETF is "paper Bitcoin," not the real asset

— What a cold wallet is and how much it costs

— Setting up a cold wallet and generating a seed phrase

— Why the seed phrase is the actual key to your Bitcoin

— What happens if you lose your cold wallet

— Emily's dollar-amount rule: $500 vs. $5,000 vs. $50,000+

— Multisig authentication as a middle-ground option

— Why "sats" are the name behind the show

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + How to Buy Your First Bitcoin
01:36 – The 3 Main Ways to Buy Bitcoin: Exchange, ETF, or Cold Wallet
01:56 – Option 1: Buying Bitcoin on an Exchange (Step-by-Step)
02:24 – The Hidden Catch: Why Your Bitcoin May Be an IOU
02:40 – Understanding Custody Risk with the Warehouse Analogy
03:10 – What Happened with FTX and Why It Matters
03:20 – Option 2: What a Bitcoin ETF Actually Is
03:47 – Why ETFs Are Often Called "Paper Bitcoin"
04:06 – Option 3: Cold Wallets and Self-Custody Explained
04:33 – How to Set Up a Cold Wallet and Protect Your Seed Phrase
05:17 – What Happens If You Lose Your Cold Wallet?
05:35 – Emily's Bitcoin Strategy for Different Investment Amounts ($500, $5,000, and $50,000+)
06:53 – Final Thoughts + Where to Find More from STACKED

Tags:

how to buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin for beginners, buying Bitcoin on an exchange, Bitcoin ETF explained, cold wallet, self-custody, seed phrase, Ledger, Trezor, FTX collapse, not your keys not your coins, Bitcoin wallet, stacking sats, STACKED podcast, Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, Bitcoin basics, Bitcoin investing for women, personal finance podcast

Disclaimer:

The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Courtney Spritzer, Co-Founder of Entreprenista, a private membership community of more than 3,500 women entrepreneurs across the U.S., Canada, and beyond. Courtney didn't set out to build a community business — she studied economics at NYU, graduated in 2009 into one of the worst financial crises in a century, and spent two years underwriting insurance policies in rural Massachusetts.

A job at American Express in 2011 changed everything — she was in the room as major brands first figured out Facebook and Twitter, and realized social media could be a career. She and her business partner, Stephanie, built a social media agency, SocialFly, from nothing — nights and weekends, then a leap of faith, then their first $8,000 month. In 2018, almost as an experiment to learn a new platform for their agency clients, they started the Entreprenista Podcast. By 2020, it had grown into its own private community — one Courtney and Stephanie eventually spun off entirely, selling SocialFly to focus on what it became.

In this episode, Courtney breaks down the one rule that built her entire referral engine, how she balances monetizing a community with keeping it authentic, why the face of a brand doesn't have to be its founder, and why she's convinced every founder — herself included — needs to build AI-first from here on out.

This is the episode for anyone building something out of a group chat, a podcast, or a side project, and wondering if it could ever be the real business.

Promo Code: $500 off Entreprenista initiation dues with code BRICKELLBABES500 — reducing the fee from $1,497 to $997 when paid in full. Applicable to member's first year of Entreprenista dues. https://refer.entreprenista.com/bb

Key Topics Covered:

— Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs — clothing stores in the Bronx — and trying to do the opposite

— Studying economics at NYU and graduating into the 2009 financial crisis

— Hitting an $8,000 revenue goal in month one

— How SocialFly grew into a full-service digital, paid media, and influencer marketing agency

— Starting the Entreprenista Podcast in 2018 to learn a new platform for clients

— Balancing authenticity with monetizing a community

— Why 40% of new members join through referrals

— How AI agents saved a friend's business roughly $250,000 in three weeks

— Why Courtney would build an AI-first business if she started over today

— Lightning round

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Courtney Spritzer

03:45 – Growing Up in a Family of Entrepreneurs in the Bronx

05:26 – Meeting Business Partner Stephanie

06:01 – Building the Agency Nights & Weekends

06:50 – The Leap of Faith: Quitting Corporate for Good

07:01 – Hitting the $8,000 Revenue Goal in Month One

10:41 – Trading Social Media Services for Free Office Space

18:18 – Starting the Entreprenista Podcast in 2018

18:52 – Spinning Entreprenista Into Its Own Company During the Pandemic

21:05 – Selling SocialFly to Focus Fully on Entreprenista

29:03 – The Entreprenista to Entourage Ambassador Program

30:37 – Building a Personal Brand Without Oversharing

40:20 – Why Courtney Would Build Her Next Business AI-First

44:30 – Lightning Round

46:00 – Where to Find Courtney Spritzer & Entreprenista

Tags: Courtney Spritzer, Entreprenista, SocialFly, women entrepreneurs, women in business, community building, monetizing community, personal branding, AI for business, LinkedIn growth, Threads growth, referral marketing, membership community, STACKED podcast, Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, female founder podcast

Disclaimer: The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. It does not create any client, patient, or fiduciary relationship. Contents are for general informational purposes only — consult your own advisors regarding your specific situation.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Colleen Wachob, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of mindbodygreen, the independent media and wellness brand she launched with her husband Jason out of a Brooklyn apartment in 2009. It now reaches 15 million women a month, and their supplement line launched in 2020 is the fastest-growing part of the business.

In this conversation we got into everything. What a pulmonary embolism at 32 taught her about listening to her body. What 16 years of watching wellness trends actually teaches you about what works for women and why she rejects bro biohacking and Kardashian wellness. Why the algorithm is making the wellness conversation worse, not better. The creatine shift and what it says about how women are finally moving toward strength. The psychology of quitting a salary to build something you believe in. And what training for HYROX at 45 taught her about cardio, community, and what it feels like when your body is finally getting what it was asking for.

Colleen is one of the clearest and most honest thinkers in this space and this conversation will stay with me.

Key Topics Covered:

— Growing up in SoCal, Stanford, and spending her 20s as a corporate operator at Gap, Walmart, and Amazon

— The pulmonary embolism at 32 and the moment she decided to build differently

— Quitting Amazon and the psychological weight of taking a massive salary cut to go all in on mindbodygreen

— Running the business with her husband Jason: what makes it work, what required couples therapy

— The pivot into supplements: why they waited until 2020 and what the Thorne partnership taught them

— Over 20 SKUs, in-house PhDs, and the fastest-growing segment of the business

— Creatine and why women driving its growth is the most exciting shift in women's health in 16 years

— Plant protein vs. whey: what the science actually says about muscle protein synthesis

— The algorithm problem: why virality makes wellness advice worse, not better

— Training for HYROX at 45: adding 6 points to her VO2 max and why cardio needed a rebrand

— Lightning round: wellness or well-being, Whoop or Oura, sauna or cold plunge, bro hacker or Kardashian wellness

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Colleen Wachob

02:45 – Growing Up in SoCal, Stanford, International Relations & Spanish

05:00 – Gap, Walmart & Amazon: The Corporate Decade

07:30 – The Pulmonary Embolism at 32 That Changed Everything

09:30 – Listening to Your Body Before the Whispers Become a Shout

11:45 – Quitting Amazon: The Psychology of Leaving a Salary Behind

13:30 – Building mindbodygreen in the Early Blog Era

22:24 – What the Algorithm Is Doing to the Wellness Conversation

28:01 – Over 20 SKUs, In-House PhDs & What's Driving Sales

27:46 – Creatine and Why Women Are Driving the Next Wave of Growth

32:39 – Plant Protein vs. Whey: What the Science Says

35:56 – Training for HYROX at 45 & Adding 6 Points to VO2 Max

39:06 – Connection as a Health Strategy: Why Great Friendships Improve Recovery

42:02 – Lightning Round: Wellness vs. Well-Being, Whoop vs. Oura, Sauna vs. Cold Plunge

Tags:Colleen Wachob, mindbodygreen, women's health, creatine for women, wellness trends, supplement industry, female founder, how to build a wellness brand, pulmonary embolism, HYROX training, VO2 max, strength training for women, protein for women, co-founder relationship, building with your spouse, wellness algorithm, STACKED podcast, Brickell Babes, CEO of your own body, wellness supplements

Disclaimer:The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

This week I am going solo. This is the episode I have been meaning to do for a while — my full career arc and the honest version of how I actually got here.

I started at Tulane, transferred to Fordham, studied economics, and spent my college years doing every fashion internship I could find in New York City. I landed my dream job as assistant buyer at Bergdorf Goodman's 5F floor where I worked investment banking hours making $40,000 a year and loved every minute of it. I went on to buy off-price fine jewelry at Saks Fifth Avenue before a light bulb moment made me realize I did not want my boss's job, let alone my boss's boss's job.

I pivoted into commercial real estate brokerage, spent years cold calling hundreds of numbers a week, and learned more about sales and the art of the deal than I ever expected. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I started the Brickell Babes in 2022 just to find a good manicure and make some friends. Three years later it had 70,000 women and I was barely treating it like a business.

Nine months ago I decided to go all in. This episode is everything I learned along the way and the through line I finally found connecting all of it.

Key Topics Covered:

— Tulane to Fordham: why she transferred and what New York City gave her from day one

— Landing her dream job: assistant buyer at Bergdorf Goodman 5F — contemporary floor, runway shows, $40K salary

— Off-price pivot: Saks Fifth Avenue, fine jewelry, private label development

— Detox to Retox: the health and fitness Instagram that started monetizing before the pivot

— Switching to self-storage sales and learning cold calling at scale

— What commercial real estate taught her that fashion never could: sales, thick skin, the art of the deal

— The Brickell Babes origin story: started for a manicure, grew to 70,000 women organically

— Exploring Bitcoin mining: conferences, evaluating over 50 sites, going down the rabbit hole

— The decision nine months ago to go all in on the Brickell Babes

— Membership, partnerships, and building a real revenue model

— Launching STACKED as the media layer of everything

— The through line across every version of her career: helping people become the best version of themselves

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Solo Episode Intro

01:07 – Tulane to Fordham: Why She Transferred & What NYC Gave Her

05:56 – Three Fashion Internships (PR, Black Denim & Elizabeth Sulcer)

10:40 – Landing Her Dream Job: Assistant Buyer at Bergdorf Goodman 5F

12:40 – What She Learned at Bergdorf: P&L, Business Etiquette & Earning Your Stripes

13:12 – Off-Price Pivot: Saks Fifth Avenue, Fine Jewelry & Private Label

14:57 – Barney's Chapter: Buying Intern Before Bergdorf

17:04 – Detox to Retox: The Health & Fitness Instagram Era

18:25 – Pivoting to Commercial Real Estate: NYC & South Florida Retail Leasing

24:46 – What Commercial Real Estate Taught Her

25:55 – What Fashion Taught Her

30:08 – Going Down the Bitcoin Rabbit Hole

31:06 – Evaluating 50+ Sites & Conferences

33:15 – The Decision to Go All In on Brickell Babes

36:47 – The Through Line Across Every Version of Her Career

Tags:

Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, STACKED podcast, from fashion to Bitcoin, career pivot, female entrepreneur, Bergdorf Goodman buyer, Saks Fifth Avenue, commercial real estate, Bitcoin mining, how to build a community, women in business, solo episode, career arc, fashion buyer, entrepreneurship, Brickell Miami, how I got here, women in crypto, Miami entrepreneur

Disclaimer:The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Tatiana Moroz, singer-songwriter, early Bitcoiner, and founder of Crypto Media Hub.

Tatiana is a Berklee College of Music alumna who bought her first Bitcoin at $11 in 2012 through a connection from the Ron Paul campaign. Two years later, she created TatianaCoin on the Bitcoin blockchain—the world's first artist cryptocurrency—and used it to fund her third album, Keep the Faith, paying her entire band in Bitcoin throughout production.

In this conversation, we dive into why the creator economy is still broken for musicians, how blockchain gives artists a way to truly own their audience, what fan-funded music looks like in practice, how AI is compressing years of work into days for independent builders, and what it means to build a career without asking permission from labels or platforms.

Tatiana also shares her decade-long advocacy for Ross Ulbricht, what his pardon meant for the Bitcoin and libertarian communities, and why she believes Bitcoin is more than an investment—it's a revolution.

This is a beginner-friendly conversation about music, money, creative ownership, and the future of independent creators.

Key Topics Covered:

— Origin story: Berklee, libertarian politics, and how the Ron Paul campaign led directly to Bitcoin

— Buying Bitcoin at $11 through a BitPay sponsorship and falling down the Bitcoin rabbit hole

— The DIY creator trap: building audiences on platforms that can censor or cut you off

— TatianaCoin: creating the world's first artist cryptocurrency on Bitcoin in 2014

— Blockchain explained simply: digital scarcity, finite ownership, and why it matters

— Funding Keep the Faith: the first album funded and paid for entirely with Bitcoin

— Why touring is often a social media flex rather than a sustainable income model for artists

— Tokenization in music vs. gaming: why network effects remain the biggest challenge

— AI as a force multiplier for indie entrepreneurs: 36 hours instead of 2 years and $500K

— Building a censorship-free, blockchain-powered platform for artist independence

— Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road, and more than a decade of advocacy leading to his pardon

— Bitcoin for beginners: wallets, self-custody, trusted communities, and getting started safely

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Tatiana Moroz

00:01:00 – Origin: Berklee, Music as a Message & Reading Dystopian Novels

00:02:21 – Libertarian Politics & Singing for the Ron Paul Campaign

00:04:37 – The DIY Creator Trap: Building Audiences on Platforms You Don't Own

00:07:01 – Blockchain Explained: Scarcity, Finite Copies & Why It Matters for Creators

00:07:38 – Creating TatianaCoin in 2014: The World's First Artist Cryptocurrency

00:12:51 – AI as a Builder's Tool: 36 Hours vs. 2 Years and $500K

00:17:40 – Building a Censorship-Free Platform for Artist Independence

00:35:53 – Bitcoin for Beginners: Wallets, Self-Custody & Trusted Communities

00:42:46 – Teaching Kids About Bitcoin & Ghost Trading as a Starting Point

00:44:24 – Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road & Over 10 Years of Advocacy Before the Pardon

00:48:43 – Lightning Round

Tags:Tatiana Moroz, TatianaCoin, Bitcoin for artists, creator economy, fan-funded music, artist cryptocurrency, music and Bitcoin, creator independence, self-custody, blockchain for musicians, indie artist, music business, financial sovereignty, Bitcoin beginner, Crypto Media Hub, STACKED podcast, Brickell Babes, Ross Ulbricht pardon, Bitcoin at $11, direct-to-fan monetizationDisclaimer:

The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Karine Nissim, serial entrepreneur, who studied filmmaking in Los Angeles, and built her first real company there alongside her late husband. That company was Dog Vacay, the Airbnb for pets, which raised $50 million and went on to merge with Rover.

During the pandemic, she launched Shmask on her own, a shirt with a built-in mask for kids, and sold over $100,000 in a single day on the Today Show. Then Aaron passed away unexpectedly, and everything changed.

In this conversation we got into everything: the unsexy logistics behind consumer brands, what she learned about herself as an operator, why your network is always the real shortcut, the grief that led her to build DayNew, and why she believes done is always better than perfect. Karine is one of the most generous and clear-eyed people I know, and this conversation will stay with me.

Key Topics Covered🔹 From Israel to New Jersey, South Florida, and LA: growing up in an entrepreneurial immigrant family

— How Dog Vacay was born from a personal problem and scaled to raise $50 million

— Building with a spouse: balancing egos, defining roles, and why most co-founder relationships fail

— Why "done is better than perfect" and how to overcome analysis paralysis

— Shmask: turning a midnight idea into a Today Show feature and $100K+ in sales in a single day

— The unexpected loss of her husband and the year of survival that followed

— How writing through grief became the foundation for DayNew

— The two things every person needs during difficult times: connection and consistency

— Understanding your strengths as an operator: launching vs. managing day-to-day operations

— Why in-person networking remains one of the highest-leverage growth strategies

— How negative self-talk prevents the alignment and growth you're seeking

— Finding your North Star and allowing your purpose to evolve over time

— Lightning Round: Peer Support vs. Expert-Led, CAC vs. LTV, Miami vs. LA

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Karine Nissim

01:54 – From Israel to LA: Karine's Origin Story

03:00 – Growing Up in an Entrepreneurial Immigrant Family

03:54 – The Personal Problem That Sparked Dog Vacay

04:28 – Raising $50M to Build the Airbnb for Pets

06:11 – Building a Company with Your Spouse: Roles, Ego & Trust

12:02 – Escaping Analysis Paralysis & Making Better Decisions

13:50 – Why Done Is Better Than Perfect

20:51 – Shmask: From a Midnight Idea to $100K+ in One Day

26:05 – Losing Aaron & Navigating a Year of Survival

29:38 – How Writing Through Grief Built an Audience

32:31 – What Is DayNew? AI, Community & Practical Support for Healing

34:44 – The Two Things Every Human Needs During Hard Times

35:51 – Why Acceptance Is the Most Important Step in Healing

44:25 – Knowing Yourself as an Operator: Launching vs Running

48:34 – Negative Self-Talk & the Language of Becoming

50:26 – Finding Your North Star & Letting It Evolve

58:46 – Lightning Round

01:01:41 – Where to Find Karine Nissim

Tags:

Karine Nissim, DayNew app, grief and entrepreneurship, serial entrepreneur, Dog Vacay, Shmask, consumer brands, female founder, how to build a startup, women in business, turning pain into purpose, entrepreneur mindset, healing tech, grief support, personal brand, community building, STACKED podcast, Brickell Babes, done is better than perfect, startup founder story

Disclaimer:The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Scott D. Clary, host of Success Story Podcast, one of the Top 10 business shows on earth with over 30 million downloads and 321,000 newsletter subscribers. Scott grew up in Ottawa in a family of government workers, nearly went to law school, then spent a decade moving through enterprise sales, startup CRO roles, and two acquisitions. 

When his last company was about to be sold, he had 12 months to figure out what came next. He chose to start a podcast with no audience, no product, and no plan, just a belief that attention compounds.

Moving forward in this conversation we got into everything: content strategy, distribution, the locus of control mindset he says every successful person he has ever interviewed shares, why he says riches are always in the niches, and the framework behind giving equity that I wish I had heard earlier.

This is the content business playbook in real life: the good calls, the frameworks, and the one thing Scott says you should never give away cheaply.

Key Topics Covered:

— Ottawa to Miami: growing up in a government household and choosing tech over law school

— Why he started the podcast before he had a product or a plan

— Teaching a younger version of yourself as the content strategy that works

— Video as the highest-trust content medium short of a face-to-face meeting

— Locus of control: internal vs external and why every successful entrepreneur has it

— Everything is you pushed out: how your internal belief system creates external results

— Why entrepreneurship is not logical and what kind of person survives it anyway

— Niche first, go broad later: how Gary Vee, Grant Cardone and Hormozi all started

— Distribution: 30 to 40 pieces of content per day across 7 platforms

— Collaboration strategy: always match medium to medium for maximum conversion

— Equity as a marriage: when to give it, when to refuse, and how to evaluate the deal

— Staying in the game long enough: why 10 to 15 years compounded beats one big swing

Timestamps:

00:00 – Welcome + Introducing Scott D. Clary

00:53 – Ottawa Origin Story: Growing Up in a Government Family, Pre-Law Plans & Choosing Tech

03:04 – From Bell Canada to Startup CRO Roles and a Successful Acquisition

05:21 – Why Scott Started a Podcast With No Product, Audience, or Plan

06:52 – Advice to His Younger Self: Finding Your Content Avatar

07:44 – Why Video Is the Highest-Trust Content Medium

08:10 – Parasocial Relationships and the Creators Who Master Them

33:08 – Locus of Control: Internal vs. External Mindsets Explained

36:48 – "Everything Is You Pushed Out": Belief, Action & Compounding Results

39:17 – Staying in the Game Long Enough: The Million-Dollar Creator Math

42:00 – Why Entrepreneurship Requires a Certain Level of Delusion

49:26 – Distribution Strategy: Publishing 30–40 Pieces of Content Per Day

54:13 – Collaboration: Why Medium-to-Medium Partnerships Drive Growth

55:58 – Equity & When to Say No: The Podcast Equity Offer Story

57:28 – Lightning Round: Niches, Anchors, Big Deals, Newsletters vs. Social

1:02:26 – Where to Find Scott D. Clary

Tags:

Scott D. Clary, Success Story Podcast, content strategy, podcast growth, locus of control, creator economy, entrepreneur mindset, how to build a podcast, personal brand, media business, organic growth, niche down, how to grow on social media, entrepreneurship, STACKED podcast, Brickell Babes, female founders, women in business, creator operator, podcast monetization

Disclaimer.

The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED, the show about becoming your own best asset.

This week I am pulling back the curtain on Part 2 of how I use AI in my business — and this one gets specific. I walk you through the exact Claude systems, automations, and workflows my team uses across partnerships, content production, podcast operations, and customer service. We are talking brand voice documents as sources of truth, N8N automations connected to Claude agents, Otter AI meeting notes that turn into Gmail drafts before I wake up, and a content pipeline that saves this team 40+ hours per week.

Before I built this stack, executing the volume we are doing today would have required 25 people. We do it with a lean team. I also tell you the three things I will never hand off to AI — and why that line matters more the deeper you go.

If you run a business, a brand, a community, or a content operation of any size, this episode is the blueprint.

Key Topics Covered:

— Why I moved from ChatGPT to Claude and what changed

— How to set up Claude as a desktop app and connect your integrations

— Creating a brand voice document — the single most important thing you can do before using AI

— The "sources of truth" system: media kit, partnership stack, SOPs, and how to train your Claude

— Partnership workflow: how Otter AI + Claude + N8N turns a sales meeting into a draft email

— How Claude audits pricing and flags proposal errors before they go out

— The podcast production pipeline: from raw transcript to copy template to Canva — fully automated

— Customer service automation: N8N + Claude agent + Slack approval loop

— What I will never let AI touch: external emails, negotiation decisions, emotionally sensitive comms, brand taste

— The 25-people stat: what a lean AI-powered team can actually do

— Why future jobs are shifting from execution to system architecture

— What is coming next: moving Claude agents off desktop and into the cloud for the whole team

00:00  Welcome + solo episode intro

00:42  Why I left ChatGPT after almost2 years and moved to Claude

03:08  Setting up Claude desktop:integrations, connectors, and your folder of sources of truth

05:58  Brand voice documents: the mostimportant thing you build before touching AI

08:22  Use case 1: Partnerships — OtterAI + Claude + N8N meeting-to-email automation

11:35  Pricing strategy + proposalaudit: how Claude flags errors before they go out

16:31  Use case 2: Content production —the full podcast-to-Canva pipeline

19:54  How the copy template systemworks and the 40-hours-per-week save

24:10  Use case 3: Operations — Zapiervs N8N and why we switched

26:03  Customer service automation: N8N+ Claude + Slack approval loop

28:08  What I will NEVER let AI touch

30:00  Unexpected wins: sleepingbetter, thinking more clearly, better data

31:47  The 25-people stat and the realROI of this stack

33:44  Why future jobs are aboutarchitecting, not executing

34:27  What's coming next: team-wideClaude agents in the cloud

35:03  Outro

Tags:

Emily Dempsey, STACKED podcast, AI for business, Claude AI, how to use Claude, AI automation, N8N workflow, Otter AI, AI tools for entrepreneurs, small team operations, AI content production, brand voice AI, podcast production automation, Brickell Babes, women entrepreneurs, AI systems, business automation 2026, Claude vs ChatGPT, AI workflow for founders

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer. The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

Welcome back to STACKED — the show about becoming your own best asset.

Today I sat down with Elisa Marshall, co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Maman, the French-inspired café and lifestyle brand she built with her husband Benjamin Sormonte from a 1,600 sq ft SoHo grab-and-go in 2014 into 54 locations across the US and Canada, a Martha Stewart collaboration, and one of the most imitated brand aesthetics in hospitality.

Elisa came up through luxury fashion buying, retail leasing, wedding planning, catering, and baking — five jobs, none of them enough. Maman was the room she built to do all of it under one roof.

In this episode she breaks down how she built a hero product before social media existed, what makes a celebrity partnership actually work, the commissary model behind scaling 54 locations economically, and the line she will never cross on in-person hospitality.

Key Topics Covered

• Multi-passion origin story: fashion, events, weddings, baking, and the job that did not exist

• The first Maman in SoHo: 18 seats, grab-and-go that became sit-and-stay

• The cookie that put Maman on the map and the man who drove an hour to buy one

• Pre-Instagram virality: how a Grub Street article triggered a 24-hour bake shift

• From 50 cookies a day to 100 dozen at peak demand

• Why Elisa builds every location like it is the only one

• The four signature brand prints and the personal stories behind each

• The vintage china obsession and why customers steal it

• The Martha Stewart partnership: how it came together and how it just got renewed

• What makes a celebrity collab work — and what kills most of them

• The commissary model: one central kitchen, 8 to 10 satellite locations

• Events as 20% of revenue and why dinner service did not pencil

• Site selection: second-generation spaces with charm built in

• Why Maman will never put a self-order screen in any location

• What Elisa would do with $50K in 30 days starting over today

• Building a legacy brand for the next generation

Timestamps:

 00:00 Welcome to STACKED 

00:30 Introducing Elisa Marshall and Maman 

02:00 Growing up between Toronto and Montreal 

02:30 The five jobs era: fashion, events, weddings, catering, baking 

04:00 Two entrepreneurial parents and the lesson that stuck 07:00 The first Maman: 1,600 sq ft in SoHo, 2014 

10:00 Why reservations did not work in New York 

12:00 The first signal: the man who drove an hour for cookies 

13:30 The Grub Street article they did not know about 

15:00 Fifty cookies a day to 100 dozen at peak 

26:00 Maman today: 54 locations across the US and Canada 

29:00 Events as a 20% revenue stream 34:00 Aesthetics as the moat: the feeling, not just the food 

37:00 The four signature prints and the stories behind them 

40:00 Why customers steal the china and what Elisa is building because of it 

46:30 Manifesting Martha Stewart since age nine 48:00 How the Martha Stewart partnership came together 

51:00 What makes a celebrity collaboration actually work 

1:00:30 The hardest part of scaling hospitality 

1:05:00 Why Maman will never install a self-order screen 

1:07:30 Starting over with $50K in 30 days 

1:10:00 Building a legacy business for her kids 

Tags:

Elisa Marshall, Maman NYC, French café, lifestyle brand, hospitality scaling, brand building, Martha Stewart collab, café business, restaurant unit economics, commissary model, hero product, women founders, female entrepreneur podcast, café aesthetics, brand strategy, STACKED podcast, Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, scaling a small business, second generation real estate

Disclaimer :

The content shared on this page should not be construed as legal, financial, investment, or medical advice. Your viewing and/or use of this information does not create any kind of client, patient, or fiduciary relationship with us. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own advisors concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.