Behind Her Empire

Lauren Kleinman is the founder of Dreamday and co-founder of Quality Media and The Quality Edit. She coined the term "performance PR," built two agencies without raising a dollar, and today leads more than a hundred people.

Before any of this, Lauren spent almost a decade as an employee. First employee at StartEngine. Sixteenth at Scopely, which sold for billions. Then first employee at Ritual. She knew she wanted to build something of her own, she just didn't know what yet. When she finally left, she named her company Dreamday, because she'd pictured the day she actually wanted. A hike, a swim, a couple of client calls, and time with her kids. Seven years later, she'll tell you it has never happened. What happened instead was having two young kids during COVID, no maternity leave, and burning herself out so badly she had panic attacks for the first time in her life.

In this episode, Lauren gives you the actual playbook, from how to know when you're ready to leave your job, to how to line up your first client before you even quit. She breaks down how to get press when you can't afford PR, and what makes an editor open your email out of the four hundred sitting in her inbox that day. And she's just as honest about the rest of it, from what burnout really looked like for her, to what she'd tell you to watch out for, to how she finally stopped believing she had to carry all of it alone. If you want to build something of your own one day, and you also want to still like your life while you build it, this one is for you.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Lauren about:
* Why overworking became tied to worthiness and success. [02:20]
* Learning to shift from constant doing toward simply being. [03:16]
* Unlearning the hustle mentality after years of proving her worth through work. [04:38]
* Why perfect balance is unrealistic—and one ball will always drop. [09:20]
* Why profitability and sustainable margins matter from day one. [14:11]
* Knowing when the entrepreneurial itch is strong enough to make the leap. [16:08]
* Spotting gaps in PR and coining the idea of performance PR. [18:00]
* How whitelisting gives brands the credibility of creators and publishers. [19:35]
* Turning real brand pain points into The Quality Edit and Quality Media. [20:00]
* Using a network and early clients to validate the leap into entrepreneurship. [21:00]
* Recognizing when business momentum starts looking dangerously like burnout. [23:20]
* The burnout breaking point and learning to build boundaries around work. [24:59]
* Why public speaking is a muscle for founders. [30:16]
* How smaller brands can build PR relationships and use AI to pitch smarter. [35:02]
* What makes a pitch cut through: cultural relevance, strong numbers, and making the editor's job easier. [36:58]
* Why affiliate links matter—and when publications actually use them. [42:58]
* Learning to delegate, release perfectionism, and decide which fires can burn. [47:18]
* The reminder that even successful leaders are still figuring it out. [50:28]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Lauren:
* Website: https://www.dreamday.la/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamday.la/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.kleinman/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amber Venz Box is the co-founder and president of LTK, the multi-billion-dollar business that turned influence into a global economy. She built the creator economy before anyone had a name for it, and today LTK drives $6 billion in annual retail sales and reaches more than 44 million monthly users.

But here's what you might not know. When Amber started in 2010, the word "blogger" wasn't even in the dictionary yet, and the people who did use it meant it as an insult. Vogue didn't have a website, most retailers didn't either, and Amber knew of just two other bloggers in her entire city. So when she built a way for creators to get paid on what they recommended, there was almost no one to sell it to. A small handful of retailers were online at all, and she needed one of them to say yes. There was no plan B.

In this episode, Amber takes us back to the early days, when she was living at her dad's house, working out of her childhood bedroom, in debt on a website nobody understood. She talks about the cold call that landed her first retail partner when almost no one was selling online yet, and how she convinced bloggers one call at a time that the thing they did for fun could actually pay them. She's honest about the months she couldn't pay herself, when she secretly lived in the office and cleared out every morning before the team arrived. She gets candid about building a business with her husband, becoming a mother of four, and the advice about delegating that finally unlocked everything for her. She opens up about the funding round that collapsed the day it was supposed to close, why staying privately controlled became one of LTK's biggest advantages, and why real business success looks nothing like the headlines, and so much more.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Amber about:
* How the entrepreneurial instinct to make things started in childhood. [02:18]
* Turning a teenage jewelry obsession into a legitimate business. [04:06]
* Why working every side of an industry can make you a better entrepreneur. [06:45]
* Finding her path through fashion, retail, styling, and PR. [09:21]
* What Amber looks for in people who are truly all-in. [14:36]
* How a casual suggestion to start a blog changed everything. [16:26]
* Getting in early on blogging, YouTube, and the emerging digital landscape. [18:57]
* Realizing her blog could become a business and finding a way to monetize it. [20:19]
* How Amber landed LTK’s first major retail partners. [21:21]
* Building a new category before the creator economy even existed. [23:09]
* How her husband helped turn an idea into a real business. [25:31]
* Personal sacrifices and relationship challenges of building a company together. [29:25]
* Creating boundaries between work and marriage. [32:22]
* Why becoming a mother became one of the biggest blessings in her career. [34:00]
* The delegation lesson that gave her wings as an entrepreneur. [35:07]
* Learning to let go of perfection and embrace “good enough.” [37:04]
* How LTK grew from two retailers into a creator economy powerhouse. [40:40]
* The challenges of fundraising after years of building independently. [45:55]
* The funding deal that nearly fell apart at the finish line. [49:10]
* How staying privately controlled became a long-term advantage. [50:19]
* Why business success matters more than the headline. [51:35]
* Building a business with integrity, long-term thinking, and a strong reputation. [53:28]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Amber:
* Website: https://www.shopltk.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shop.ltk/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambervenzbox/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mayssa Chehata is the founder of BEHAVE Candy, a low-sugar, clean-label candy brand that just landed in nearly 2,000 Target stores nationwide and sold out within the first week.

But here's what you might not know. Two years ago, Mayssa was calling her lawyer to ask what bankruptcy would look like. She had left a dream career at the NFL, Uber, Daily Harvest, and SoulCycle to build a candy her diabetic father could finally eat. But after manufacturing failures, two reformulations, and a product she privately didn't believe in, she made the hardest call of her life: she paused the entire company for over a year. She moved to Mexico City because she couldn't afford her apartment in New York, personally guaranteed a bank loan, and hit what she calls her rock bottom. Then, with sixty days of cash left, she and her co-founder made one final plan. They called it burn the ships. Mayssa handed off everything and made TikTok videos all day, every day. Two weeks in, one video went viral and doubled the business overnight.

In this week's episode, Mayssa shares why Uber was her real business school, the gut feeling she ignored for two years about her own product, and what it takes to shut down and rebuild a company from scratch. She opens up about how a manifestation book gave her the courage to leave corporate and the inner child work that finally unblocked her. She shares the daily practices that pulled her out of burnout, from meditation and journaling to nervous system regulation, why her coach told her the business wouldn't work until she fixed everything underneath it, and how she went from brute-forcing twelve-hour days to learning that a regulated, healthy founder builds a better business. Whether your business is thriving or barely surviving, this episode will change how you think about success, failure, and everything in between.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Mayssa about:
* Why working at Uber felt like an entrepreneurial crash course. [02:49]
* Building an ownership mindset by creating opportunities from scratch. [06:59]
* The first signs she was meant to become an entrepreneur. [10:41]
* Chasing wealth vs. discovering a mission worth building. [14:29]
* Why she waited two years before launching the company. [20:16]
* Navigating manufacturing challenges and finding the right production partner. [23:17]
* How her father's diabetes inspired the idea for Behave. [25:23]
* How manifestation gave her the confidence to leave corporate. [27:32]
* Raising her first funding round and taking the leap into entrepreneurship. [33:11]
* Launching Behave during the uncertainty of the pandemic. [37:21]
* The product mistakes that nearly destroyed the business. [40:09]
* Why she decided to pause production and completely reformulate. [46:41]
* Surviving financial uncertainty, debt, and the threat of bankruptcy. [48:38]
* Why getting funding still wasn't enough to save the business. [55:36]
* Why a celebrity partnership wasn't the breakthrough they expected. [56:57]
* Rebuilding herself through inner child work, spirituality, and manifestation. [58:11]
* Betting everything on TikTok and finding a viral growth strategy. [01:01:40]
* How one viral video transformed the business and led to Target. [01:05:08]
* Growing beyond DTC by building a retail-first business. [01:06:40]
* Redefining productivity, healing burnout, and leading from a healthier place. [01:09:45]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Mayssa:
* Website: https://www.eatbehave.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatbehave/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Lo is the founder of Lo & Sons, the cult-favorite travel bag brand that basically invented the stylish carry-on for working women.

Helen started the company at 65 years old, after she had already retired. She was born into a privileged family in China that lost it all when her father died. She grew up in poverty, went to boarding school at seven, and promised herself she would never be poor again. She earned a PhD while raising babies, spent decades moving city to city for her husband's career, reinventing herself every single time. And when she finally said "I'm done," she couldn't find a travel bag that actually worked for women. So she recruited her two sons and flew to a factory in China with zero fashion or manufacturing experience. Nine prototypes later, she had the bag that built the business. Today, Lo & Sons is in its sixteenth year, still family run, built without a dollar of outside funding.

In this episode, Helen breaks down exactly how she went from idea to real business, how she validated the concept before spending a dime, how one phone call to a friend of a friend unlocked their first factory, and how they caught the early Facebook wave and one blog feature that changed the trajectory of the brand. She also gets really honest about what it costs to build a business with your own children, why she stepped down as CEO of her own company, the trade show flop that taught them everything, and the mistakes that slowed them down, like hiring too fast and pivoting too slow. Helen is proof that you don't need investors, industry experience, or perfect timing, just a real problem, the willingness to learn, and the courage to start. If you've been telling yourself it's too late or that this chapter of your life is already written, this is the conversation you need to hear.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Helen about:
* Why getting out of your comfort zone starts with an inner calling. [02:37]
* Growing up in poverty after losing everything and developing determination. [04:56]
* Generosity as her guiding principles in life and business. [05:55]
* Why an abundance mindset creates unexpected opportunities. [07:59]
* Putting her career on hold while supporting her husband's path and raising a family. [09:21]
* How a frustrating travel problem inspired the idea for a better bag. [12:41]
* How a lifelong curiosity fueled her entrepreneurial mindset. [17:48]
* Validating the business idea by talking to the right target customer. [20:01]
* Building the company alongside her sons. [21:00]
* Finding the first factory and learning product development from scratch. [24:48]
* The design feedback that transformed the original bag into the OG. [26:37]
* Refining every detail through customer feedback and multiple prototypes. [30:37]
* Why trade shows failed and social media became the brand's breakthrough. [33:04]
* Navigating today's changing marketing landscape. [37:06]
* The challenges of building a business alongside family. [39:27]
* Why stepping down as CEO was the right decision. [41:30]
* Why pivoting quickly and hiring intentionally are essential for long-term growth. [44:37]
* Why she wanted to be a mom again instead of her sons' boss. [46:15]
* Why persistence matters, but knowing when to pivot matters more. [48:43]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

This episode is also brought to you by Lo & Sons:
* Get 20% off one purchase at Lo & Sons with promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE20.

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Helen:
* Website: https://www.loandsons.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loandsons/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by my co-founder of Beeya Wellness, Kaya Purohit, and we're sitting down with two women who completely changed how I thought about my own fertility journey: Ronit Menashe and Vida Delrahim, the founders of WeNatal. These two are best friends who go all the way back to their Nike days, and years later, they each had a miscarriage one week apart. When the doctors said "it's just your age, there's nothing you can do," they refused to accept it. They dug into the research and found something that stunned them: half of all miscarriages are linked to sperm quality. And no one had asked their husbands a single question.

In this episode, we break down everything they wish every woman knew. We get into trimester zero and why it might be the most important trimester of all, the simple things you and your partner can start doing today to support your hormones and fertility, and why the "clock is ticking" narrative is not your full story. Ronit got pregnant at 41 and gave birth three days after her 42nd birthday. And that's the whole message of this episode: you have more control over your fertility than you think.

If you've ever been told you're too old, too late, or too far behind, this episode is your proof that you're not.

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Ronit and Vida:
* Website: https://wenatal.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/we_natal/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitmenashe/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vidadelrahim/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.