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.

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

Today, I sat down with Bob Burnett. Bob spent over 35 years at the intersection of technology and infrastructure — on the engineering team behind the world’s first laptop, and as CTO of Gateway Computers, one of the most iconic Fortune 200 companies of the era. In 2017 a single phone call brought him into crypto mining and one year of deep research led out of retirement and all-in on Bitcoin. Today,  Bob is the founder and CEO of Barefoot Mining and board member at Ocean – a Bitcoin mining pool backed by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, among other ventures. Barefoot Mining is one of the most innovative off-grid Bitcoin mining operations in the world.

This episode is your introductory course on Bitcoin mining: why do people mine Bitcoin in the first place, how does it work, and why energy costs matter more than money in today’s world. 

Key Topics Covered

• From Wisconsin to the world’s first laptop

• How the personal computer, the internet, Bitcoin, and AI are not four separate things

• Metcalfe’s Law, network effects, and what happens when networks start multiplying each other

• The Bitcoin adoption S-curve

• Why Ethereum lost its soul when it abandoned proof of work

• Why Bitcoin consumes only 0.6% of the world’s electricity and why most of it is wasted energy

• Cow manure, hydroelectric, solar, and stranded gas

• On-grid vs. off-grid mining

• The future of block space — why nation states and big banks will eventually mine

• Ocean and why template creation is the only mining that is true to Bitcoin’s principles

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome to STACKED

00:30 — Introducing Bob Burnett and Barefoot Mining

01:30 — The Stacked play on words: stacking sats

02:00 — Why Emily made an exception for a virtual inter in view

03:20 — Growing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin and the Apollo missions

05:00 — The birth of the personal computer

06:55 — The world’s first laptop and being there when something big was happening

09:00 — Metcalfe’s Law: the power of a network is the square of its users

10:50 — The four steps: personal computer, internet, Bitcoin, AI

11:30 — AI, agentic workflows, and the decentralization of intelligence

13:50 — Metcalfe’s Law of Metcalfe’s Law

22:00 — How the rate of change is becoming astronomical

24:00 — The technology adoption S-curve

38:00 — Where Bitcoin sits on the adoption curve today

44:30 — What was Bob’s first signal on Bitcoin?

48:00 — The 2017 phone call that changed everything

54:50 — The switch from Ethereum to Bitcoin

58:00 — What Bitcoin actually has that Ethereum never did

01:06:10 — The biggest misconception about Bitcoin mining

01:11:10 — Is Bitcoin mining bad for the environment? No.

01:13:30 — Cow manure to Bitcoin: the Indiana dairy farm

01:16:40 — Bitcoin mining explained in 60 seconds

01:29:50 — The orchard produces oranges. Bob produces blocks.

01:33:10 — Final settlement in 10 minutes and what that means for global commerce

01:40:40 — The future: nation states, big banks, and the fade of public miners

01:41:20 — On-grid vs. off-grid

01:49:50 — Lightning round

01:57:00 — Wrap up and where to find Bob

Tags

Bob Burnett, Barefoot Mining, Ocean mining pool, Bitcoin mining, Bitcoin infrastructure, proof of work, block space, Bitcoin energy, off-grid mining, on-grid mining, Bitcoin adoption curve, Ethereum vs Bitcoin, Gateway CTO, Bitcoin decentralization, Metcalfe’s Law, digital asset investing, STACKED podcast, Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, Bitcoin sovereignty, Bitcoin mining explained

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 Emily sits down with Sophia Mullins, founder and CEO of Wall Street Wellness. Sophia spent nearly a decade on Wall Street across investment banking at Barclays, private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds when  a Hashimoto's diagnosis in the middle of her career stopped her in her tracks. Two traditional doctors called her a medical mystery. A functional health doctor gave her answers in 90 minutes, a lifestyle medicine protocol that sent her antibodies into full remission, and a passion for wellness that she has now turned into a consultancy working with high-achievers, as well as investment banks, law firms, top corporations and leading universities.

This episode is your complete high-performance-without-burning-out playbook, the real one, not the aesthetic version.

Key Topics Covered :

• From investment banking to autoimmune diagnosis — what Hashimoto's actually feels like inside a high-intensity career

• Why two traditional doctors said 'medical mystery' and what a functional health doctor found in 90 minutes

• How lifestyle medicine sent every antibody into remission

• The non-negotiable framework, identifying the 1 to 3 habits that actually move the needle for you

• Wellness on the road, travel strategy for client dinners, conferences, and back-to-back meetings

• Caffeine timing, anti-inflammatory eating, and the truth about why wellness is not one-size-fits-all

• Wearable tech and when the Oura Ring is actually making you more anxious

• GLP-1s — a non-judgmental, practical take on what to watch for

• Transcendental Meditation, Insight Timer, Wim Hof, and To Be Magnetic — what actually works

• Lightning round: protein vs. coffee first, matcha anxiety, walk and talk vs. Zoom, phone in the other room

Timestamps :

00:00 — Welcome to STACKED

00:30 — Introducing Sophia Mullins and Wall Street Wellness

01:33 — Starting a wellness community while still in finance

03:00 — The Hashimoto's diagnosis: symptoms, two years of wrong answers, the functional doctor

07:36 — Lifestyle medicine and sending antibodies into remission

09:10 — Autoimmune disease, stress, and the genetic predisposition trigger

11:00 — The sprint mentality that is not sustainable

12:00 — Life as a marathon

15:00 — Transcendental Meditation

16:00 — Insight Timer, Law of Attraction and Abundance, Blondish

17:00 — Wim Hof breathwork

18:30 — To Be Magnetic — neuroscience-backed manifesting app

19:00 — On a crazy week: the non-negotiables framework

22:30 — Why too long a wellness routine creates paralysis

24:00 — Wellness is a mindset, not a tool

25:00 — Travel strategy: flexibility, eating framework, pre-planning menus

28:00 — The alcohol question — navigating work drinking culture

32:00 — Wellness-based client entertainment: padel, workouts, spa

34:00 — Anti-inflammatory eating and caffeine timing

38:00 — Sophia's food sensitivities: gluten, dairy, soy

42:00 — GLP-1s — the non-judgmental practical breakdown

44:00 — Wearable tech: Oura Ring vs. Apple Watch, EMFs, when not to get one

49:00 — Lightning round

50:30 — Where to find Sophia

Tags :

Sophia Mullins, Wall Street Wellness, high performance burnout, Hashimoto's wellness, autoimmune disease career, corporate wellness, functional medicine, wellness for women, investment banking burnout, biohacking women, Oura Ring, GLP-1, anti-inflammatory diet, Transcendental Meditation, STACKED podcast, Emily Dempsey, Brickell Babes, women in finance, nervous system regulation, female 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 or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

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

In this week’s live filming at our STACKED IRL event Emily goes from banking to beauty empire with Divya Gugnani, serial founder, investor, and mentor behind five companies, three exits, and one of the most honest founder stories you will hear this year. She started at Goldman Sachs from Cornell without being on their recruit list, moved into private equity and venture, backing Shopify and Pinterest before most people knew what either of them were and eventually became the accidental entrepreneur who built Wander Beauty with a supermodel she met at a party, grew it to 40+ awards and global distribution, and sold it. Her latest venture is 5 SENS, a fragrance brand built entirely around mood.

This is the founder playbook in real life! The good decisions, the ones she'd take back, and the frameworks she actually uses.

Key Topics Covered

• From Cornell to Goldman without being on their recruit list

• Why she took the lowest-paying offer of the five she had

• The lesson from Goldman she built every company around

• Why the best founders never planned to be founders

• The 100-woman survey that built Wander Beauty

• The gold under-eye patches — born in Korea, rejected by Sephora, tens of millions in sales

• Staying close to the customer no matter how big you get

• The mindset shift that happened by company three

• Early investor in Shopify and Pinterest — why it's always the people

• AI as co-founder copilot for 5 SENS brand voice

• How to pick a co-founder and what makes the partnership last

• The New York to Tokyo hiring test

• The bad hire, the apology, and how fast culture changed

• The double standard that calls confident women aggressive

• Imposter syndrome and putting the customer before the personal brand

• Lightning round: D2C, hero SKUs, creator seeding, raise prices or shrink the pack

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome + introducing Divya Gugnani

01:33 — Childhood: Springfield to New York, shy Indian girl, parents between Delhi and New York

02:18 — Cornell, government & economics, nearly became a lawyer

03:02 — Landing Goldman: 4 offers, 24 Saturday interviews, lowest-paying, and why she took it

04:32 — There's no 'I' in Goldman — the lesson behind every company name

05:00 — Investcorp → FirstMark → accidental entrepreneur

06:14 — The best businesses come from personal problems

07:36 — Wander Beauty: the 100-woman survey aged 18 to 72

10:12 — The gold under-eye patches — coffee for your face

13:36 — Sephora said no. She said yes. Tens of millions followed.

15:51 — Building vs. backing: the operator-to-investor mindset shift

17:06 — Company three unlock: hire the best, get out of their way

18:08 — Early Shopify and Pinterest investor

19:17 — Training AI on 5 SENS brand voice

20:21 — Co-founder framework: complementary skills, clear lanes, trust

21:00 — Meeting Lindsay Ellingson at a party, 10 years together

22:51 — Two ears, one mouth — the leadership rule from her mom

24:06 — Hire slowly, fire quickly

28:07 — The assumptions people still make about women founders

31:13 — Imposter syndrome, community over personal brand, lightning round

NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY AT 7AM EST. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Tags

Divya Gugnani, Wander Beauty, 5 SENS, Concept2Co, serial founder, beauty entrepreneur, Goldman Sachs, Cornell, women founders, startup advice, co-founder advice, D2C beauty, first 100 customers, pricing strategy, STACKED podcast, Brickell Babes, female founders, imposter syndrome, women in business, how to build a brand

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 or medical professional concerning your situation and specific questions you may have.

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

What do you actually do if the government comes for your crypto? What happens to your Bitcoin if your custodian goes bankrupt? And why does everyone keep saying "not your keys, not your coins?"

This week we're going inside the crypto courtroom. 

Greer Griffith is a partner at McDermott Will & Schulte and leader of their fintech and blockchain practice. Her team has handled more significant crypto litigations than any other law firm in the world and is one of the only groups ranked by Chambers for crypto asset disputes. She got into Bitcoin as a personal investor in 2017 before it was ever part of her job.

Today she's giving us the full legal playbook. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just everything you need to know to protect yourself in this space.

This is the legal first aid kit every woman in crypto needs.

WHAT WE COVER:

• From Big Law to crypto: how Greer went from white-collar defense to building one of the most recognized fintech and blockchain practices in the world

• Bitcoin, blockchain and stablecoins explained: the plain-English breakdown of the three terms you need to understand before anything else

• Custody 101: the two ways to hold your crypto, the real risks on both sides, and what actually happens in a crypto bankruptcy

• The 2025 regulatory wave: the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, and why clarity is good news for everyone in the space

• Subpoenas and government inquiries: what to do, what not to do, and why the first few days matter more than anything

• Crypto scams: the fake "your account is frozen" texts, why they're everywhere, and the one rule that protects everything

• Greer's predictions for 2026 and 2027: enforcement trends, IPOs, consolidation, and where the space is heading

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 — Welcome to STACKED

02:00 — Introducing Greer Griffith

05:30 — From white-collar defense to crypto law

10:00 — Bitcoin 101: what it is and why it has value

15:00 — Blockchain explained: the public ledger no one can alter

19:00 — Stablecoins: the digital dollar for everyday transactions

23:00 — The 2025 regulatory moment: Genius Act and Clarity Act

29:00 — Custody 101: custodian vs. self-hosted wallet

35:00 — What really happens in a crypto bankruptcy

40:00 — Subpoenas: what to do when the government comes knocking

44:00 — Bitcoin vs. digital asset treasuries vs. ETFs

48:00 — Crypto scams and the one rule that protects everything

52:00 — Greer's predictions for 2026 and 2027

55:00 — One thing to do in the next 24 hours

NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY AT 7AM EST. Subscribe so you never miss one. 🎙️

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is for educational purposes only. Nothing here is legal or financial advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified professional before making any investment or legal decisions.

TAGS: Greer Griffith, McDermott Will & Schulte, crypto law, Bitcoin, blockchain, stablecoins, crypto custody, self custody, digital wallet, seed phrase, crypto regulation, Genius Act, Clarity Act, crypto bankruptcy, crypto scams, STACKED podcast, Stacked, women in crypto, women and Bitcoin, fintech law, Bitcoin education, crypto for beginners, crypto for women, financial education, Brickell Babes, Miami women, Bitcoin 101, blockchain explained, crypto attorney