WorkParty

She has built one of the most globally diverse investment portfolios in the early stage space — 26 companies across six countries focused on wellness, sustainability, education, and the future of work. Erika Aquino backs the founders other people overlook and she has a very clear point of view on what separates the ones who last from the ones who don't. From what actually happens in a first pitch to why most founders are preparing for the wrong things — this is the conversation every founder needs to hear before they ever ask for a check.
In this episode, we cover:

What investors are actually evaluating before you even finish your first sentence
• Why early stage investors bet on the founder more than the company — and what that really means for your pitch
• The question Erika asks every founder that most of them can't answer
• What founders focus on in pitches that investors genuinely don't care about
• How to build a real relationship with an investor before you ever ask for money
• The difference between founders who make it to Series A and the ones who don't
• What AI can and cannot replace in the investment process
• Why self-awareness is the most underrated quality in a founder

Tune in to hear what a global angel investor who has seen it all actually looks for — and what she wishes every founder knew before walking into the room.

To learn more about Erika Aquino:
https://www.instagram.com/iamerikaaquino

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

She built one of the first women's fitness communities on the internet in 2009 — before influencers were a thing, before wellness was a category, and before anyone told her it was possible. Karena Dawn co-founded Tone It Up, pioneered positivity in a fitness world built on punishment, sold a stake to private equity, and then spent years watching someone else run the thing she built from scratch. In December 2025 she did what most founders only dream about — she bought it back. This is the story of what it really takes to build a community, what PE doesn't tell you, and why the second chapter is always better.

In this episode, we cover:
• What taking outside investment actually costs you and how to know when it's the right move
• Why community businesses are fundamentally different and what happens when founders step away
• The real reason founders buy back their companies — and what the process actually looks like
• What to do when your vision gets lost in someone else's hands
• How to know when it's time to bet on yourself again
• Why longevity in business has nothing to do with following the rules
• What fitness, mental health, and entrepreneurship have in common — and why you need all three

Tune in to hear why the most powerful founder move isn't always the exit — sometimes it's the return.
To learn more about Karena Dawn:
https://www.instagram.com/karenadawn
https://my.toneitup.com/

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

She went from selling apple cider vinegar drinks at a farmers market while three months pregnant to closing a $1.95 billion deal with PepsiCo — and becoming the only female founder in beverage history to pull off an exit of that size. Allison Ellsworth built Poppi from a passion project into one of the most culturally relevant brands of the last decade. From going viral on TikTok against her board's wishes to making 40 employees millionaires, this is the unfiltered story of how she did it — and what she's already building next.
In this episode, we cover:

• How a homemade apple cider vinegar drink became a $2 billion brand
• The Shark Tank moment that almost didn't happen — and why she needed that deal
• Why she bet on TikTok when everyone told her not to
• The $37 million in mistakes and what she learned from them
• What actually moves the needle — creators vs celebrities
• Why she made every employee a stakeholder before the Pepsi deal closed
• What she's already building next

Tune in to hear how one of the most exciting founder stories of our generation actually happened — from the farmers market to a $2 billion exit.

To learn more about Allison Ellsworth:
https://www.instagram.com/allisonellsworth
www.drinkpoppi.com

Try Hollywood Fashion Secrets:
https://www.ulta.com/brand/hollywood-fashion-secrets 

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

She went from translating financial documents for her immigrant parents to building a 10 million person following and becoming one of the most trusted voices in personal finance. Vivian Tu — aka Your Rich BFF — is on a mission to give every woman the money education the system never handed her. And she is not holding back. From why women are actually better investors than men, to the real reason financial literacy has a ceiling, to how she built an empire while working a 9-to-5 at BuzzFeed — this episode is the money conversation you didn't know you needed.

In this episode, we cover:
💸 Why women have been brainwashed into thinking they're bad with money — and the data that proves otherwise
📊 The wealth gap that's costing women almost a million dollars over their careers
🏦 How Vivian went from JP Morgan to BuzzFeed to 10 million followers and Chief of Financial Empowerment at SoFi
🚀 How she built Your Rich BFF while working full-time — and the exact moment she knew it was time to quit
💡 Why financial literacy alone won't save you and what actually needs to change
🎯 The non-cash compensation and equity women should be asking for but aren't
🔥 Why wanting to be rich doesn't make you a gold digger — it makes you powerful
✨ Tune in to hear why the most dangerous thing isn't being bad with money — it's never being taught how to use it.

To learn more about Vivian Tu:
https://www.instagram.com/your.richbff/
www.yourrichbff.com

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

She went from red carpet interviews and cruise lines to luxury watches, Saks Fifth Avenue, and now leading employer brand activations at one of tech's most recognizable names. Adrien Fleming's career has never followed a straight line — and that's exactly the point. At Zillow, she's completely rethinking how companies attract talent by showing up in culture, building belief, and making recruiting experiential. If you've ever felt like your pivot was a setback, this episode will change the way you see your story.

In this episode, we cover:

🎯 Why the "linear career" is officially outdated — and what to chase instead
💼 The transferable skills Adrien carried from luxury retail and events into tech and HR
😤 The real emotional toll of being laid off and why "panic applying" is a trap
✨ What personal branding actually means inside corporate America (hint: it's your superpower, not your follower count)
🏢 What employer brand is — and why it needs just as much love as consumer branding
🎪 Why recruiting is becoming experiential and how Zillow is meeting talent where it actually lives
🚩 The biggest red flag when companies talk about culture but don't live it
📋 The one thing you can do THIS WEEK to reposition yourself for where you want to go

✨ Tune in to hear how one of employer branding's most creative minds is proving that your skills travel — even when the industry changes.

To learn more about Zillow:
https://www.zillow.com
https://www.instagram.com/zillowgrouplife

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

She built a skincare empire from a YouTube channel, survived a very public launch controversy, and walked away with a $355M exit. Naturium founder Susan Yara is giving us the unfiltered story of how she built one of beauty's most unexpected brands — and why the best advice she ever got was to never fall in love with what she was building. From predicting her own creator peak to landing in all 1,400 Target doors to selling to E.L.F. Beauty, this is the blueprint ambitious founders actually need.
In this episode, we cover:

🎥 Why Susan started planning her exit from the creator economy before anyone else saw it coming
📊 The analytics move that proved she could convert her audience into real customers
🔥 The launch controversy that could have killed Naturium — and why it didn't
🏪 How Naturium went into all 1,400 Target doors and why you should always ask for more
💰 When and why to take investment as a founder scaling into big box retail
🤝 What the E.L.F. acquisition process actually looked like from the inside — including the Spain trademark that almost killed the deal
🚀 Why Susan stayed with the brand after the sale and what she's building next

✨ Tune in to hear how one of beauty's most unlikely founders built, scaled, and sold a brand entirely on her own terms.

To follow Susan Yara:
https://www.instagram.com/susanyara

To learn more about Naturium:
https://www.naturium.com

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

We Put Ourselves on the Spot So You Don't Have To | Live Q&A from Austin, TX

We took the stage at Future Summit in Austin, Texas in front of hundreds of incredible women entrepreneurs and opened it all the way up. No filter, no script — just real questions from real founders and the honest answers you actually need to hear. From pitching investors to scaling past your revenue ceiling, this one is packed with tactical, no-BS advice.

In this episode, we cover:
- 💡 How to pitch investors when you don't have traction yet — and what to do instead
- 📈 Why your business model might have a revenue ceiling and how to break through it
- 🏗️ Whether to build your product or your audience first
- 💸 The biggest money mistake Marina made in year one (a $30K lesson)
- 🤝 How to find a co-founder who actually aligns with your values
- 👊 How to beat imposter syndrome — including what Martha Stewart had to say about it
- 🎟️ How to run profitable events no matter your budget

✨ Tune in to learn how to date with clarity and call in connection that actually feels good.

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

Dating today feels less like romance and more like running a full-blown operation. Strategy. Logistics. Emotional stamina. But according to Katie Lloyd, matchmaker at The Bevy, finding real partnership has nothing to do with your résumé and everything to do with the energy you bring into the room.

This week, Katie breaks down the modern dating landscape for high-achieving women and shares what actually moves the needle when you want connection that feels aligned, grounded, and long-lasting.

We get into:

• Why the idea that men are intimidated by successful women is a myth
• How your “CEO energy” might be blocking romantic chemistry
• The difference between dating from fear versus dating from wholeness
• What conscious dating looks like in practice
• How to check in with your nervous system on every date
• The attachment styles that shape our patterns and how to work with yours

If you’ve ever wondered why dating feels harder the more successful you become, this conversation will shift the way you think about partnership, presence, and possibility.

✨ Tune in to learn how to date with clarity and call in connection that actually feels good.

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

In this episode of WorkParty, Jaclyn and Marina sit down with Bria Johnson, Chief Style Strategist and founder of Iconic with Style, to talk about the embodiment gap, that in-between season when you have grown internally but the way you show up has not caught up yet.

This conversation is not about trends, rules, or buying more clothes. It is about presence, credibility, and how the subtle visual cues you send shape first impressions, confidence, and leadership in seconds.

They get into:
• Why first impressions happen before you ever speak, and how your image quietly signals authority
• The difference between having cute outfits and having a cohesive, credible presence
• Why fit is one of the most overlooked confidence tools, and how it changes the way you move, speak, and lead
• How to stop dressing like the version of you that could be your friend, and start dressing like the one people want to follow
• What it really means to read the room without erasing your identity
• How to show up with intention on Zoom, in meetings, and in moments of visibility

If you have ever felt capable on the inside but underestimated on the outside, struggled with imposter syndrome, or wondered why you are doing the work but not getting the recognition, this episode will resonate deeply. Tune in now.

Follow Bria: https://www.instagram.com/iconicwithstyle/

https://iconicwithstyle.com/

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton

Some brands sell products. LoveShackFancy built an entire world.

In this episode, Jaclyn and Marina sit down with LoveShackFancy founder and creative director Rebecca Hessel Cohen to unpack how a single bridesmaid dress turned into a global, cross-category brand that people now use as an adjective. From dresses and dollhouses to Stanley cups, Pottery Barn collections, and viral activations, Rebecca breaks down the vision, the discipline, and the playfulness behind building a universe that feels “so LoveShack.”

They get into:
• How LoveShackFancy started as a side project while Rebecca was an editor at Cosmo
• The vintage-inspired, romantic DNA that has never shifted, even when trends did
• How she thinks about collaborations, from Stanley to Sephora to Pottery Barn
• Why community, experiential retail, and “drop” culture keep the brand feeling electric
• What it really takes to grow from one dress to a lifestyle world without losing the magic

If you have ever dreamed of building a brand with a clear point of view or you are curious how partnerships can fuel growth without diluting your identity, this episode feels like a behind-the-scenes masterclass in staying true to your aesthetic and still scaling big.

Tune in for a conversation about creativity, collaboration, and creating a world people want to live in.

Join Us for 2027 World’s Largest Festival for Women in Business here: https://www.createcultivate.com/festival
Get 15% off your Create & Cultivate Festival Tickets with code WORKPARTY15

To follow along with Create & Cultivate:
https://www.instagram.com/createcultivate
www.createcultivate.com
To connect with Jaclyn Johnson: https://www.instagram.com/jaclynrjohnson
To connect with Marina Middleton: https://www.instagram.com/marinaamiddleton