Girlboss Radio With Sophia Amoruso

Hollywood glamour can seem unattainable, but Cassandra Grey puts that glitz within reach with Violet Grey. The luxury beauty company curates the top makeup products in one space. Every product on their website and in their gorgeous Melrose store is rigorously vetted by their prestigious Violet Code, a group of magazine editors, makeup artists and designers who rank their favorite brands. Sophia and Cassandra discuss Cassandra's hippie days in Asheville, North Carolina, the challenges of merging content and commerce, and the brilliant marketing strategies of Beanie Babies.

Money can be one of the hardest things to discuss with friends. That's exactly why Sophia talks to her good friend Alexi Wasser on this week's special episode of Girlboss Radio. The two of them tackle some of our biggest questions when it comes to finances. They go deep about finances when it comes to feminism and relationships, and they even open up about their own money struggles with each other.  This episode of Girlboss Radio is in partnership with Prudential. Prudential solves investment, insurance and retirement challenges, helping individuals, organizations and communities reach their goals. Sophia is teaming up with Prudential and their 4.01K Race for Retirement, which is on September 17th at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles.

Tyler Haney has always been #DoingThings. The founder and CEO of Outdoor Voices was always an athlete, but the neon, black, and mesh apparel on the market, along with its competitive mentality, stopped resonating with her. Tyler realized what inspired her to stay active was completely different; she enjoyed a balanced, fun, and freeing approach to exercise. So she created Outdoor Voices, an active lifestyle brand that believes in freeing fitness from performance, and embracing activity with ease, humor, and delight. On this week’s episode Tyler tells Sophia about building a makeshift office from a bunkbed, traveling with her dad to a textile and mill convention in Utah, and the importance of building communities through activity.

City living ain't cheap. Rent is high, happy hours add up, and many of us have tons of student loans. How can we even begin to save when we're already in so much debt? On this week's special episode of Girlboss Radio in partnership with Prudential, we brought in an expert who has lived twenty-something city struggles. Farnoosh Torabi is the host of the CNBC show Follow the Leader, her award-winning So Money podcast, and the Finance columnist for O Magazine. Sophia and Farnoosh talk about getting out of $30,000 of debt, the beauty of 401Ks and how anyone can save. 

Sometimes our careers take us places we never thought they could. That's certainly true for Roya Rastegar, who began her career on Wall Street and realized shortly after, she needed a radical change. She applied and was accepted into UC Santa Cruz's PhD program where she studied the history of consciousness under civil rights activist and famed academic Angela Davis. From there she used her studies to curate independent films and now works as the Director of Programming at the Los Angeles Film Festival. On this week's podcast, Sophia and Roya talk about the anxieties and joys of being an outsider, how to make small and large changes in your life, and why representation on and off screen is essential.

So many of us adopt our financial habits from our parents. Did they teach us how to save? Or are we saving because they didn't at all? And where are they now when it comes to retirement? Many baby boomers refuse to retire - either it's not an option or they can't see themselves leaving the workforce. We wanted to hear from someone who's on the other end of things -- who's lived a full life filled with financial ups and downs. Someone who can dispense wise words about saving and maybe how she'd do things differently. So on this special episode of Girlboss Radio, Sophia invites the original momboss to the podcast: her mother Dena.  This episode of Girlboss Radio is in partnership with Prudential. Prudential solves investment, insurance and retirement challenges, helping individuals, organizations and communities reach their goals. Sophia is teaming up with Prudential and their 4.01K Race for Retirement, which is on September 17th at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. You can register for the race at run401k.com. 

A very dope queen joins us on this week's podcast: Jessica Williams. At 22 years old, Jessica became the youngest correspondent and first on The Daily Show, and her hilarious and insightful segments on gender and race made her a necessary voice on the show. Since leaving the The Daily Show earlier this summer, Jessica has been busy co-hosting her podcast 2 Dope Queens with Phoebe Robinson and creating her own sitcom for Comedy Central. On the episode, Sophia and Jessica discuss auditioning for Jon Stewart, the pressure of being the first in any field, and bathroom tips.

Suzy Batiz is the queen of the crapper. Fed up with the lack of natural bathroom odor solutions, Suzy combined her knowledge of essential oils and entrepreneurial passion and formulated Poo~Pourri as the first natural, truly effective solution to a universal problem: poop happens, and it stinks! Since 2007, 17 million bottles of Poo-Pourri have sold and annual sales now top $30 million. On this week's episode, Suzy discusses how her childhood fostered a maker mentality, how she survived two bankruptcies, and the viral video that put Poo~Pourri on the map.

Sara Christensen has experienced all sides of the business world. In 2000, she predicted the rise of the juice craze when she co-founded Liquiteria, the first micro pressed juicery in New York City. After starting a successful brand herself, Sara wanted to help others grow their businesses, so she became an angel investor and venture capitalist. Most recently Sara served as the Managing Director of The Raptor Group, where she invested in companies like Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat, Spotify and more. On this week's episode, Sophia and Sara discuss walking away from Liquiteria, why investing in female-founded companies is important, and Sara's tips for pitching venture capitalists.

At just 19-years old, Julie created Fuck Cancer with the goal of creating an organization to honor her mother’s legacy who lost her battle with ovarian cancer. Starting as a 350-person party in Montreal, Fuck Cancer events quickly tripled in size, eventually spiraling into numerous events across North America as outlet for young people to connect and unite in the fight against cancer. Now Fuck Cancer has evolved into a movement dedicated to the prevention, early detection and communication of cancer. On the episode, Sophia and Julie discuss merging with the other Canada-based Fuck Cancer organization, competing with causes for funding, and carrying on her mother’s ongoing legacy.

From her early days bagging groceries, Alyssa Mastromonaco realized she had a gift for logistics. That gift led her all the way to the White House where she served as President Obama’s Deputy Chief of Staff. If you wanted to talk to President Obama, you had to go through Alyssa first. She left politics in 2014, and now works as the Chief Operating Officer of Vice Media. On this week’s episode, Sophia and Alyssa discuss Alyssa’s early days interning for Bernie Sanders, what good leadership means, and Alyssa’s hilarious misadventures in Buckingham Palace and on Marine One.

At 19 years old, Claire Wineland is by far our youngest guest on Girlboss Radio, but she may be the wisest. Claire has been living with Cystic Fibrosis her entire life and is the founder of Claire's Place Foundation, which provides grants to families affected by CF, offering both emotional and financial support. Claire’s unique inspirational model for people living with this disease has led her to be a TEDx Speaker and receive multiple awards including FoxTeen Choice Awards 2015, Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, and winner of Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Small Nonprofit of the Year." On the episode, Sophia and Claire discuss Claire's positive outlook on life, starting an organization from a hospital bed, and Claire's whimsical funeral plans.

Payal Kadakia is an artist in the C-suite and on the dance floor. As the Co-Founder and CEO of ClassPass, the membership program for fitness classes across gyms and studios, Payal has raised $84 million in venture capital and expanded the app services to 34 cities in four countries. She's also a professional dancer and the founder of the classical Indian and folk dance group, Sa, which has performed in such renowned spaces as Lincoln Center, Alvin Ailey, and more. On this week's episode Sophia and Payal discuss how creativity and business and inform one another, how to fail fast, and getting stuck in the 'I love my work' game.

GloZell Green is a Youtube sensation who has well over 8 million subscribers across platforms and has reached up to 48 million views for a single video. She’s interviewed the likes of President Obama and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton all while wearing her signature green lipstick. Her new book Is You Okay? traces her journey from pursuing theater in Florida to her first Youtube upload in 2008, and much more. On the podcast, Sophia and GloZell discuss GloZell's early days blogging about The Tonight Show, being recognized at a CostCo, and why she's bringing reading back.

As Beyonce tells us, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade...or cupcakes. That's exactly what Melissa Ben-Ishay did when she was fired from her advertising job in 2008. She went home, baked 250 cupcakes, and began Baked by Melissa. Melissa's bite sized cupcake empire boasts 14 locations in the New York area and ships nationally. On the episode, Sophia and Melissa discuss the pros and cons of a family business, how Melissa grew her business out of her tiny Murray Hill apartment, and what 'Baked' by Melissa really means.

Kathryn Minshew co-founded the wildly popular career development platform, The Muse. The website, which now garners six million users a month, is completely built from the user's perspective with behind-the-scenes looks at job opportunities, original career advice from experts, and access to career coaches to get personalized and private career help. Kathryn was named Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2011 and 2012. And she and her co-founders were on Inc. Magazine’s 2012 list of 15 Women to Watch in Tech. On this week's episode, Kathryn and Sophia talk about saving money to start your own business, the grueling days of pitching to investors, and what an ideal job candidate looks like.

Emily Weiss is your go-to lady for all things beauty related. In 2010 she started Into the Gloss, a website dedicated to beauty that explores the routines of inspiring women. Emily and her editors sit on the bathroom floors of everyone from Jenna Lyons to the #Girlboss herself, Sophia Amoruso, to talk products, career, and what beauty means to women today. In 2014, Emily expanded her beauty business with Glossier, a modern beauty products brand made by editors who 'get' what works and are inspired by what girls want in real life. On the episode, Sophia and Emily discuss when it's time to strike it on your own, how to present yourself to investors, and what beauty means today.

Whitney Wolfe always makes the first move in her life. The Founder and CEO of Bumble created a dating app that turns social norms on its head where the woman must initiate the conversation. If she doesn't send a message in the next 24 hours, the connection disappears forever. Whitney's also a co-Founder of Tinder and served as their Vice President of Marketing. She left the job after filing a heavily reported sexual harassment lawsuit against the company, which she’s since settled. On the episode Sophia and Whitney discuss making female friends in the 21st century, the detrimental effects of bullying, and what's next for Bumble.

Rachel Shechtman comes from a long line of retailers in her family. But when she joined the family business, she did it her way with Story. Story is a retail space that has the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery, and sells things like a store. It's an incredibly inventive space that merges the worlds of commerce, content, and community. Rachel has been named Crain's NY 40 Under 40 List for 2015, Fortune's 40 Under 40 List for 2013, and on Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business. On the episode, Sophia and Rachel discuss Rachel's serendipitous first job at the Barefoot Contessa, creating a 2.0 community space with Story, and how to make yourself an adjective. 

Beth Comstock is literally reinventing the lightbulb. As the Vice Chair of General Electric, Beth runs everything from business innovation to lighting, sales, marketing and more at the 130 year old company. Previously Beth worked as GE’s Chief Marketing Officer and held positions at NBCUniversal as the President of Integrated Media. There she led the company’s digital efforts, namely co-founding Hulu.com. Beth’s been named one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes and listed in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women.