Positively Gotham Gal

This week on the podcast we have Loren Brill, Founder & CEO of Sweet Loren's, a cookie dough company founded on the promise of irresistible taste and natural, better-for-you ingredients. Beating cancer at a young age, Loren made it her mission to eliminate processed foods from her diet and live life to the fullest. Loren and I sat down to talk about the challenges of building a brand, breaking into the commercial food space, and some of the incredible lessons she’s learned along the way. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Clare de Boer, Jess Shadbolt, and Annie Shi are the three entrepreneurs behind King, an amazing restaurant here in the West Village of NYC, on King Street. The trio sat down with me this week to talk about how they met, what inspired and paved the way for their amazing and ambitious restaurant venture, and how they plan to support the next generation of women restaurateurs. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Stacy Flynn is the co-founder and CEO of Evrnu - a textile company that recycles discarded cotton garments to create premium, renewable fibers that are tackling the rampant pollution and labor exploitation issues in the current fast-fashion market. She is actively reinventing the textile and apparel business model to preserve the future of apparel. Stacy and I talked about everything from polyester to LED light bulbs and the lessons learned in between. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

You may know Christina Tosi from the judges panel of MasterChef and MasterChef junior, but she’s also a savvy businesswoman whose relentless passion for baking took her all the way from assembling triple layer cheesecakes in high school, to opening her very own bakery with David Chang called Momofuku Milk Bar. This week, Christina and I dissected what it took to launch Milk Bar, and how she went about building her business into the empire it is today. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

We’re kicking off our return from Gotham Gal Spring Break with a TWO PART episode featuring Christina Tosi. You may know Christina from the judges panel of MasterChef and MasterChef junior, but she’s also a savvy businesswoman whose relentless passion for baking took her all the way from assembling triple layer cheesecakes in high school, to opening her very own bakery with David Chang called Momofuku Milk Bar. In this episode, Christina and I sat down and picked apart her steps toward being at the top of her game -- definitely an inspiring listen for anyone pursuing their career, with a few good tips for business owners, too. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Courtney Nichols Gould is the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of SmartyPants Vitamins, the leading maker of premium comprehensive supplements, committed to bringing more health to more people every day. Courtney got her start working as an apprentice to the board of directors at GM, and went on to work as the COO for numerous tech and web startup companies before embarking on her own entrepreneurial venture. Courtney and I talked about a ton of great topics, listen carefully if you’re interested in a crash course in CPG companies and raising capital the smart way. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC -- this episode was recorded on location in Venice, CA.

Ariel Kaye is the Founder and CEO of Parachute Home, a retail business with the mission of supplying consumers with the best sheets, bedding, and home essentials on the market, as well as inspiring a community around sleep, wellness and creating a comfortable home. Ariel and I discussed how her background in branding and advertising really informed her ability to thoughtfully and methodically build her business from one sheet to entire home goods and lifestyle brand. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC -- this episode was recorded on location in Venice, CA.

Dana Astrow has been influencing the landscape of creativity in the brand marketing and advertising/film production community since her early beginnings in the industry. Since launching ARC, Dana has successfully and nearly single-handedly filled a definitive niche as a creative recruiter who connects the makers behind some of the most effective top-level content being produced today. Dana and I sat down for some real talk about how she’s had to make not one, or two, but three big leaps in her career -- definitely some relatable content for anyone who’s balanced motherhood and career, started a business, left a partnership, the list goes on. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC -- this episode was recorded on location in Venice, CA.

Jessica Koslow is the owner and chef of SQIRL, one of L.A.’s most popular cafes that has led to a cookbook, a jam company, a popup venture in New York City, and soon enough, a much-anticipated second location on L.A.’s West Side. Jessica and I sat down and talked a lot about a question that comes up for many entrepreneurs: ‘how do you make that big leap out of security, and into starting your business?’ Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC -- this episode was recorded on location in Venice, CA.

Lizzie Francis and Kara Weber are the Founding duo behind Brilliant Ventures. Their serial entrepreneurial credentials, amplified by a network of go-to-market experts with skin in the game, and a second proprietary network of the most accomplished, amazing and connected women in LA, make for the perfect set of assets to this investment firm. Lizzie and Kara really attribute their success to their fantastic partnership. They told me all about how they met, and what prompted them to quit their jobs and ‘stop apologizing for being women.’ Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC -- this episode was recorded on location in Venice, CA.

Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of Hot Bread Kitchen, a social enterprise that creates professional opportunities for low-income and immigrant women. Their line of multi-ethnic breads is inspired by the bakers who make them. Before Hot Bread Kitchen launched, Jessamyn carved her path toward entrepreneurship by utilizing every resource possible, from her roommate’s computer to government grants -- definitely a crash course in making what you’ve got work for you. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Rachel Shechtman is the founder of STORY, a retail concept in New York City that has the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery, and sells things like a store. Rachel’s journey to create STORY was informed by a successful 10-year career as a consultant, and a chance encounter that unearthed ‘the startup she never started,’ prompting her to finally make the leap into starting the business she’d been dreaming about since college. You’d think that after much waiting and consideration, Rachel’s transition into opening STORY would be a breeze, but nothing in entrepreneurship ever is. Rachel’s ability to have a sense of humor when things went wrong, paired with her hunger for learning, opened up new doors for her to make her business idea a reality. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

This week's episode features Amanda Eilian, Co-Founder & President of Videolicious -- a video creation service for enterprise businesses and companies. Amanda and I talked about her early days as a teenage radio host, her transition into investment banking, and what led her to starting Videolicious in the first place. Most interesting, perhaps, is that Amanda and her co-founder ignored a lot of early advice they received about what direction they should take their company in -- and it paid off. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

This week I chatted with Rachel Berks -- owner of Otherwild, and designer behind the insanely popular 'The Future Is Female' t-shirt. Rachel had a lot to say about the unexpected reach of her design work, the steps she took to get enough freedom in her business to create, and how she's dealt with having her work copied by other artists. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Jordan Salcito is the sommelier and entrepreneur behind two successful beverage ventures -- Bellus Wines and RAMONA. To kick off 2018, Jordan and I sat down to talk about her path towards entrepreneurship, and how she really followed herself as potential customer #1 to drive the ideas behind each of her businesses. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Victoria Freeman has had a successful career as a New York City restaurateur for decades -- a feat in and of itself. This week we sat down to talk about her career path, and the challenges and triumphs she's had along the way. Positively Gotham Gal will be on hiatus for the rest of this holiday season -- enjoy the remainder of your 2017, and we'll be back on Monday, January 8th with a brand new episode. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Olivia Young is the Founder of Box + Flow, a fitness location and lifestyle brand based on the principles of personal balance and enjoying life. For the podcast this week, Olivia and I sat down and got straight to business -- from what it took for her to take the plunge into her first entrepreneurial venture, to how she brings a unique perspective to the exploding wellness industry, and everything in between. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

After over a decade of being a full-time mom, Abbey Warsh decided to take a calculated leap into entrepreneurship -- she partnered with Chef Paul Del Favero and Susan Del Favero to open the Harbor Market & Kitchen in Sag Harbor, Long Island. Abbey shares with me how trusting her gut led her to the right opportunities and collaborators, and how this mindset continues to influence her business today, as well as her plans for the future. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

This week I sat down with Fereshteh Forough, Founder & CEO of Code to Inspire -- a nonprofit committed to teaching female students in Afghanistan how to code. Fereshteh talks about her journey from Afghan refugee, to international advocate for women's education and equality. You can learn more about Code to Inspire & support their mission here: http://codetoinspire.org/ Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

This week features the Co-Founders and farmers of Amber Waves Farm, Amanda Merrow and Katie Baldwin. Located in Amagansett, NY, their mission is to bring sustainability, education, and a highly curated food experience to the farm to table market. Amanda & Katie's story takes us from their first connection during a farming apprenticeship, to opening their own, one-of-a-kind, grocery store. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC -- this episode was recorded on location in East Hampton, NY.