Womansplain

Season 5 is here, and we're kicking off our health & wellness season with a bang!

Samantha Mashaal went from McKinsey to Arianna Huffington's Chief of Staff to an existential career crisis to sliding into a fitness founder's Instagram DMs. Two and a half years later, she's the COO of Soto Method, the Tribeca-born workout brand expanding to Dallas this fall.

In this episode, Sam gets real about what it actually feels like to not know what's next, why she treats her career like dating, the art of giving feedback on all-women teams, and how she learned to separate a founder's personal voice from a scalable brand. Whether you're navigating a career pivot, building something from scratch, or just need a reminder that your excitement can outweigh your fear — this one's for you.

🎁 A gift from us + Soto Method: We've partnered with Soto to give the Womansplain community a free 1-month full-access subscription to their on-demand platform. Use code WOMANSPLAIN at checkout at sotomethod.com — unlimited classes, no expiration. Consider it your sign to start.

Find Soto Method:🔗 sotomethod.com📲 @sotomethod

Find Womansplain:📲 @womansplainpod✉️ [email protected]

Natalie Borowski is the founder and chef behind Sailor & Siren, a Brooklyn-based seafood brand bringing fresh Maine lobster to NYC. She is also the founder of OGC, a community for women in the venture ecosystem, and serves on the board of Naturally New York and the junior board of the Bronx Letters Foundation.Unable to find a lobster roll in NYC that met her standards after a decade of searching, Natalie launched Sailor & Siren in the summer of 2025. Her passion for food and community fuel the brand's soul, virality, and loyal following.Previously, Natalie worked as an investor at Coefficient Capital, deploying $3-50M+ checks across Series A to pre-IPO consumer companies. She launched Coefficient’s Consumer Trends series in partnership with The New Consumer, ran the firm’s data-driven sourcing strategy, and invested in brands such as Oatly, Magic Spoon, Lemme, and others. Natalie was recognized as a Business Insider Venture Capital Rising Star in 2023. Prior to her career in venture capital, Natalie worked at La Mer, the luxury skincare brand owned by Estee Lauder, and at McKinsey & Company. She received her Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in finance and management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

From Finance to Food, Lily Rivkin Friend founded Rooted, a fast-casual NYC-based restaurant, ‘rooted’ in the values of simplicity and transparency. With every item on the menu crafted with 7 ingredients or less, Rooted instills confidence and trust in their consumers through ingredient transparency. Lily has gained over 40k+ followers on social by through filming BTS style content, giving consumers an inside look to the making of Rooted and what it's really like owning and operating a restaurant. Prior to Rooted, she worked at Citigroup in the sales and trading division and as in New Verticals/Products at Via, a transit tech company that IPO'd in 2025.

Bridgette Taylor is the Founder and CEO of Harridan Vodka. A whiskey and mezcal enthusiast, Bridgette sought to buck vodka's reputation as "neutral and flavorless", and instead create a spirit that captured the sweet and smoky tasting notes so celebrated in other categories. Since launching in 2020, Harridan has garnered accolades including "Best Vodka" honors from Rolling Stone, Robb Report, and Esquire, while also broadening the industry’s perception of both vodka and women-owned spirits.Before founding Harridan, Bridgette spent nearly a decade in the fashion, retail, and luxury goods industries, holding roles at Valentino and Stuart Weitzman. She began her career in equity research at Barclays and Goldman Sachs. Bridgette holds an MBA from Harvard Business School (graduated with distinction) and a BA from Dartmouth College (magna cum laude).

Judy Thelen is the co-founder and CEO of Beli, a restaurant discovery app built around the joy of remembering where you’ve eaten and sharing it with others. What started as a personal habit of ranking restaurants with friends during business school at Harvard has grown into a beloved platform used by millions, especially among Gen Z diners. Drawing on her background in investment analysis at McKinsey & Company, Judy has built Beli around a simple idea: food is better when it’s social, and the best recommendations come from people you trust.

Nirupa is the founder and chef behind Bazaar Supper Club, a monthly dinner series she runs out of her Brooklyn apartment. What began as a tiny communal dinner party in her studio apartment has turned into a sold-out supper club creating third spaces in New York. She has hosted 28 dinners to date, all built around a simple truth - food tastes better when it brings people together.

Gabriela Lawrence is the Cofounder and Chief Brand Officer at Doce Mezcal. Before launching the brand she ran a boutique public relations & talent consultancy in New York City working with companies across CPG, fashion, beauty, fitness & hospitality. As a self-identifying strategic and creative connector of the dots, Gabriela's range of PR experience has allowed her to create strategies for lifestyle brands providing them with a 360- approach of media relations, brand positioning, events, partnerships, sales, influencer relations and more. Gabriela leads with connection, creativity, and curiosity bringing forth innovative and on-the-pulse methods needed to grow a dynamic brand in the spirits space.

Halli comes with over 10 years of experience working at some of NYC's fastest-growing startups. She started her career at Casper, where she worked on the Customer Experience Operations team, overseeing their 50-person call center. From there, she moved to Chief and supported the growth of their member base from 1,000 to 20,000 members. In her free time, you can find Halli strolling around her Brooklyn neighborhood, eating and drinking at new and classic spots. Shelby is a growth-driven sales and marketing leader with over 12 years of experience building and energizing world-class brands. She began her career on the brand side with globally loved names like FIJI Water, Red Bull, and Hulu before pivoting to MarTech, advising leading companies on digital growth and innovation strategies. When she’s off the Quincy clock, you’ll likely find her exploring and curating her ever-evolving list of San Diego restaurant favorites. Halli & Shelby's passion for gathering over a great cocktail led them to create Quincy. At Quincy, we believe great cocktails aren’t made by spirits alone—they also require a great mixer and garnish. Where alcohol brands built loyalty, mixers were ignored—until now. Quincy is creating brand love for the other half of the glass by redefining mixers and garnishes for today’s modern consumers, at home and out.

Dabah was founded by mother and daughter team Marion Sultan and Noémi Moritz, two creatives whose lives have always been shaped by food, family, and storytelling.Born and raised in Paris, Marion moved to New York more than 30 years ago, where she quickly faced two challenges: finding work and finding good food. Far from home, she turned to the kitchen as her anchor, recreating the dishes her mother and grandmother made. These recipes carried the warmth, comfort, and connection of family meals. Throughout her career as an independent creative, Marion moved fluidly between roles as a graphic designer, design build project manager, recipe developer, event organizer, and founder of two successful businesses. Cooking and gathering people around a table has always been her truest form of creative expression.Her daughter Noémi grew up in New York watching the generations of women before her cook, surrounded by the scents, stories, and laughter of their kitchen. Food became her first love language and a key part of her creative identity. After seven years working in digital and influencer marketing for beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands, Noémi launched her own creative agency called NONO Social, specializing in storytelling and digital strategy. Now based in Encinitas, California, she splits her time between coastal living and her creative projects and brings her experience to Dabah through content, community, and influencer relations.Dabah was born from Marion and Noémi’s shared desire to preserve the recipes, memories, and traditions that shape who we are, while making it easier for others to do the same. To them, dabah is more than a recipe platform. It is a way to keep the feeling of home alive, to document the meals that matter, and to help families and communities stay connected through food.

Ana Lander is the co-founder and CEO of Pikora, a food innovation company reimagining bone broth through Latin American flavors and traditions. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Ana grew up surrounded by food and hospitality, often watching her mother cook and bring people together through meals.Before launching Pikora, Ana spent nearly a decade working in media and hospitality, where she honed her skills in storytelling, brand building, and connecting with audiences through culture. After moving to Los Angeles, she set out to create a brand that bridges her two worlds, Latin roots and American lifestyle, making bone broth a modern, flavorful staple for today’s fast-paced life.Through Pikora, Ana blends heritage, health, and design, capturing the slow traditions of home in an instant, nourishing form.