THE IDEALISTS.

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa talks to Ti Chang, award-winning industrial designer and co-founder of CRAVE which makes luxury sensual products for women. Ti has been the leading voice in bringing modern sex toys to the mainstream and her work has helped pioneer the category of sex jewelry. She shares why it's so important to design products that push pleasure products out of the dark shadows of stigma and into mainstream conversations. 

Correction: The podcast teaser mentions 30% of women, but it is actually less than 18% of women who can orgasm penetratively.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa talks to iconic fashion designer Norma Kamali about her survival instinct and perseverance. Norma is best known for popularizing shoulder pads in the 80s; designing the red one-piece bathing suit worn by Farrah Fawcett in Farrah's famous 1976 poster, as well as, the bathing suit worn by Whitney Houston on the back cover of her 1985 debut album; and designing the popular Sleeping Bag Coat.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Marianne Williamson, a #1 New York Times best selling author and spiritual thought leader. You may have seen her running for president during the United States 2019 presidential race or on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday as Oprah's spiritual friend and counselor. In today’s episode, she talks about her campaign, why she advocates for reparations, and the role of conscience in politics. 

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Nina Ansary. She is an author, a historian, a Board Member for The Center for Human Rights, and a United Nations Women Global Champion for Innovation working alongside Fashion Designer Rachel Roy and actress Zoe Saldana.

In this interview, she speaks to the transformative role women have played throughout history and why as writer Virginia Woolf wrote so many years ago, “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.”

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Irene Ikomu, a lawyer and consultant on civic spaces in Eastern Africa. Irene co-founded Parliament Watch Uganda, a civic tech parliament monitoring initiative and received the Young Female Lawyer of the Year Award by the Uganda Law Society in recognition of her contribution to Uganda’s democratic development. She talks to us about the recent election in Uganda, the internet shutdown, and the unlikely campaign of one of Uganda's top celebrities.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Stefanie Mach, former congresswoman who served as a Democratic Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. Stefanie and Melissa recorded this interview a week after the siege on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and in true Stefanie style, she reorients the focus back to the bigger picture of democracy and its potential.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Julee Wilson, Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan. Julee currently leads the brand's robust beauty coverage across all print, digital, and social platforms. Previously, Julee was Global Beauty Director at Essence and Senior Fashion Editor at Huffington Post. She shares her stories about trying to make it in the fashion industry— including charging a $5000 dress for an interview— and how transparency is necessary to move social media culture forward. 

Correction in audio: Helen Gurley Brown was Cosmo's Editor in Chief for 32 years, but she was not the founder.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Cindy Gallop, the founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, a social sextech platform launched at TED 2009 designed to promote good sexual behavior. Cindy’s background spans over 30 years in brand-building, marketing and advertising — she started up the US office of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 1998 and in 2003 was named Advertising Woman of the Year. Cindy is many things, but maybe what best describes her is her tagline: 'I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business.' In this episode, Cindy tells us why sex tech is the next frontier and why investors are terrified of it. 

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Reese Scott, former heavyweight, registered amateur fighter and licensed USA boxing coach, who trained over 1,000 women and girls on her mission to open New York's first women's boxing gym.

She founded Women’s World of Boxing Club in 2007 and opened the first women’s boxing gym in New York in 2018. Reese has received Citations from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and has been featured in Bloomberg News, MSNBC, the 2018 Global Reebok Campaign, Vice, Shape, ESPNW, Refinery29, and so much more.

In this episode coach Reese shares how boxing saved her life and how awareness of personal space saves women’s lives. 

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Tina Wells. Tina has been listed as one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People, Billboard’s 30 Under 30 Power Players, and Inc’s 30 under 30 world’s coolest young entrepreneurs. 

For over two decades she led Buzz Marketing Group, an agency she founded at age 16 with clients like Dell, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Kroger, Apple, P+G, Johnson & Johnson, and American Eagle. And what’s most exciting, Tina’s new book series, The Zee Files launches today, December 1st!  The Zee Files is a spin-off series of Tina’s best-selling tween fiction series Mackenzie Blue and is sold exclusively at Target and Target.com.

While we celebrate Tina’s launch, in this episode she gets real and raw on the many rejections that are part of the success journey, including the circumstances that made her walk away from $50 million.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal