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Dear FoundHer…Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners — Business
Dear FoundHer…Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners

Dear FoundHer… is a How I Built This–style podcast sharing real stories from female entrepreneurs, female founders, and women in business, especially women 40+, who are building companies on their own terms.

Hosted by award-winning entrepreneur Lindsay Pinchuk, each episode features honest, thoughtful conversations with women CEOs and founders navigating leadership, decision making, career pivots, and business growth. These are the stories behind the success, the lessons, the marketing strategies that actually work, and the leadership moments that shape women building and leading businesses.

From Bobbi Brown to Rebecca Minkoff, Peloton’s Jenn Sherman & Dr. Becky Kennedy to Gail Simmons, Dear FoundHer… brings you conversations with some of the most influential female founders and leaders of our time.

Dear FoundHer… explores what it looks like to grow a business with clarity and confidence, from starting a company for the first time or after leaving corporate, to scaling responsibly, managing teams, building visibility, getting press, and creating sustainable growth. Topics include leadership development, confidence at work, business strategy, marketing strategies and tactics, company messaging, community building, and showing up confidently.

There’s no fluff. No gatekeeping. Just real insight, shared perspective, and practical wisdom, because building businesses is better when women learn from each other.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Lindsay Pinchuk

Latest Episodes:

What this Podcast Has Taught Me About the Power of Community, and Why Your Community is Essential Too Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Get actionable strategies for your business delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files. No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works...because we're better together. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

In this episode, host Lindsay Pinchuk emphasizes the critical role of community in business, sharing personal experiences and insights on how a strong community can provide support, resilience, and connection. She discusses the importance of authenticity and standing up for one's values, especially in the face of adversity. Lindsay also offers practical steps for building a community that fosters trust and collaboration, ultimately highlighting that community is an essential asset for any entrepreneur.

Female Founded Businesses We Love mentioned in this episode:

ThirdLove Organic Cotton Cloud T-Shirt Bra

Do Be Fit LLC

Chicago Northshore Moms

perfectwhitetee Ziggy Sweatshirt

Resources + Links:

SWEEP: How One Framework Helped Me Launch a Top 1% Podcast
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter on Substack: The FoundHer Files
Want support, strategy, and a powerful network? Join the Dear FoundHer… Forum
Have a question about growing without a budget or landing partnerships? DM Lindsay @dearfoundher on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode:

Please rate, review, and share Dear FoundHer... with another woman business owner who needs to hear this. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a no-fluff, all-strategy conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How One Woman Startup Founder Left Corporate and Disrupted a Billion Dollar Bra Industry with ThirdLove | Heidi Zak Aug 12, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works… because we’re better together.

Heidi Zak took a bra that didn’t fit and turned that frustration into ThirdLove, a DTC brand that challenged an industry dominated by one player and proved that listening to women could transform everything about how a product is made, marketed, and sold.

For her 300th episode, Lindsay Pinchuk chose a woman startup founder whose story embodies exactly what Dear FoundHer is built on. Heidi walks through the decisions that defined ThirdLove's early years, from leaving corporate and bootstrapping on savings, to spending months finding a manufacturer willing to work with an unknown brand, to pushing through on half-cup sizing after being told it was a stupid idea. When the company was running out of money and struggling to acquire customers, the team went back to their research and found the real problem was not price. Women didn't trust bra brands. That insight became Try Before You Buy, a program so radical in 2015 that it required complete belief in the product. Eighty percent of women kept the bra. Heidi also talks through the scaling challenges that came after, including an on-demand manufacturing experiment across 60-plus sizes that cost them real time and money before they walked it back, and what learning from failure actually looks like when inventory and cash are both on the line.

This episode is for founders who are early in the build and trying to do too much alone. Heidi closes with three things she wishes she had done sooner: test the smallest version of your idea first, make sure you can see yourself doing this for fifteen years, and use your network before you think you need it. She waited too long on all three, and she is direct about what that cost her.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introducing Heidi Zak

06:19 Heidi Zak’s Founding Story of ThirdLove

14:01 Launching the First Product Line and Market Strategy

19:35 Creating Half-Cup Sizes and Disrupting the Bra Industry

24:08 Building Trust and Driving Customer Acquisition

32:01 How Customer Feedback Shaped ThirdLove’s Growth

36:17 Lessons Learned from Failed Experiments

38:56 ThirdLove’s Current Status and Future Plans

Connect with Heidi Zak:

Follow ThirdLove on Instagram

Follow Heidi Zak on Instagram

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works… because we’re better together.

Join our online networking community, the Dear FoundHer... Forum

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Don’t forget to follow Lindsay on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lessons from the Mic: My Top Takeaways from 300 Episodes of Dear FoundHer… with Lindsay Pinchuk Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

Get actionable strategies for your business delivered weekly to your inbox. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files. No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works...because we're better together. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk reflects on the journey of her podcast, Dear FoundHer..., as it approaches its 300th episode. She shares the evolution of the podcast into a supportive community for women entrepreneurs over 40, highlighting key lessons learned from her interviews with inspiring female founders. Lindsay emphasizes the importance of trusting one's intuition, staying true to one's mission, and the power of community in building successful businesses. She also offers personal reflections on her growth and the impact of the community on her life.

Female Founded Businesses We Love mentioned in this episode:

Odele Beauty: You can check out Founder, Lindsay Holden on the podcast, and make sure you show them some love.

Shop Chunky: Check them out and show her some love.

Adulting 101 Masterclass: Show her some love here.

Rebecca Minkoff Frankie Mini Woven Tote: You can check out our conversation on the podcast here. Don’t forget to show her some love.

The Write Stop: Show her some love here.

Resources + Links:

SWEEP: How One Framework Helped Me Launch a Top 1% Podcast
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter on Substack: The FoundHer Files
Want support, strategy, and a powerful network? Join the Dear FoundHer… Forum
Have a question about growing without a budget or landing partnerships? DM Lindsay @dearfoundher on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode:

Please rate, review, and share Dear FoundHer... with another woman business owner who needs to hear this. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a no-fluff, all-strategy conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Debt to Multi-Millions: How Erica Groussman Rebuilt TRUBAR Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files for weekly no-fluff business tips for women 40+ building on their own terms.

Erica Groussman went from zero sales and deep debt to getting TRUBAR into Whole Foods, Target, and thousands of stores across North America, all by staying committed to a vision she wasn’t willing to give up on.

In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Erica about how a simple desire for a clean, delicious protein bar led to one of the fastest-growing plant-based snack brands on the shelf. Erica shares what those early days really looked like, driving around with samples in the backseat, asking salons and yoga studios to take a chance on her product, and putting marketing expenses on her personal credit card. She also opens up about the moment everything nearly fell apart after bringing in a partner who mismanaged the business, and what it took to take back control and keep going.

Where do you draw the line between persistence and letting go? How do you rebuild when trust is broken and the money has run out? Erica talks through those moments with honesty, alongside the decisions that helped her move forward, building supplier relationships, testing in-store demos, and staying close to the product every step of the way. Her story is a grounded look at what it really takes to grow something from nothing and keep it alive through the hard parts.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

04:15 How TRUBAR Got Started

08:44 Recovering from Financial Failure

11:08 Breaking Into Whole Foods

14:51 TRUBAR’s Retail Expansion

19:05 From Three People to a National Team

20:40 Scrappy Marketing and Product Trial

24:18 Getting Acquired by a Public Company

27:31 The Long-Term Vision for TRUBAR

33:43 Advice for Aspiring Founders

Connect with Erica Groussman:

http://www.instagram.com/ericatrubar

http://www.instagram.com/trubar.brands

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works… because we’re better together.

Join our online networking community, the Dear FoundHer... Forum:

https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher

Don't forget to follow Lindsay on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaypinchuk

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building the Perfect Swimsuit Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

Lindsay Pinchuk is re-launching her newsletter, The FoundHer Files on Substack! No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works… because we’re better together. Make sure you subscribe for simple business and marketing tips designed for actual growth. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Two former Lululemon insiders took a conversation in a Vancouver hot tub and turned it into a multi-million dollar DTC swimwear brand built on real product expertise, trust in their partnership, and a clear vision of what women actually need in a swimsuit.

In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Laura Low Ah Kee and Shannon Savage, the co-founders of Left On Friday, about how they pulled from over a decade of product experience at Lululemon to rethink what swimwear could be. Why were there still no suits that worked for movement and looked good too? What would happen if they applied everything they knew about fit, fabric, and function to a category that had barely evolved? That spark of an idea eventually became a focused product line, a growing team, and a brand that’s now seen on Olympic athletes and Gwyneth Paltrow alike.

Laura and Shannon share what it looked like to build their DTC business from the ground up using their own money, the value of starting small and negotiating smart, and how they’ve stayed committed to growth that’s intentional and sustainable. You’ll hear how they used their own networks, leaned on past experience, and figured out what to outsource along the way. They didn’t just chase hype. They built something they wanted to last.

If you’ve ever wondered how to turn deep experience into a brand with staying power, or how to balance vision with execution, this is the kind of conversation that makes you stop and think. What would you build if you fully trusted what you already know?

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Meet the Founders of Left On Friday

03:22 The Hot Tub Conversation That Sparked a Brand

07:48 From Lululemon to DTC: Using Experience to Fill a Market Gap

15:15 Bootstrapping with $150K and Building for Longevity

22:24 Profitability, Growth, and Staying Power in DTC

33:35 Advice for Female Founders Ready to Start

Connect with Laura Low Ah Kee & Shannon Savage:

https://www.instagram.com/lowaks/

https://www.instagram.com/shansavage/

https://www.instagram.com/leftonfriday/

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works… because we’re better together.

Join our online networking community, the Dear FoundHer... Forum:

https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher

Don't forget to follow Lindsay on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaypinchuk

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RERUN: Body Positive Influencer, Author and Co-Founder of Megababe, Katie Sturino Talks Going From Her Parents’ Garage to Walmart and Target Stores Nationwide Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

Lindsay Pinchuk is re-launching her newsletter, The FoundHer Files on Substack! No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works...because we're better together. Make sure you subscribe for simple business and marketing tips designed for actual growth. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

We're rerunning this episode as Katie Sturino's debut novel, "Sunny Side Up". hits bookshelves adn the best-sellers list nationwide. Host, Lindsay Pinchuk shares that this is one of her favorite episodes of the podcast, and as she's currently on vacation, she chose to share this in celebration of Katie's big news.

In this episode, Katie opens up about the transition from working in public relations to becoming an entrepreneur, taking Megababe from her parents’ garage to major retailers like Walmart. She talks about the importance of authenticity, community, and staying true to her mission of body positivity and empowering people of all shapes and sizes. Katie also shares insights into her strategic marketing efforts and how her viral series, #SupersizeTheLook, has strengthened her influence in the body acceptance movement.

As Katie shares practical advice for founders, she also stresses the value of hiring the right team and testing your ideas before going all in. What does it really take to push through when things don’t happen overnight? Katie’s story reminds us that persistence and finding the right audience are key.

Connect with Katie Sturino:

https://www.tiktok.com/@katiesturino?lang=en

http://www.instagram.com/katiesturino

http://www.instagram.com/megababe

https://lindsaypinchuk.myflodesk.com/foundherfridays

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER, The FoundHer Files on Substack and check out today's edition on repurposing your content.

Make sure you follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FoundHer Files: How I Built a 7-Figure Business Without a Marketing Budget, with Lindsay Pinchuk, Host of Dear FoundHer... Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

Do you want more simple marketing strategies? Lindsay Pinchuk is re-launching her newsletter, FoundHer Files, this week on Substack! No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works...because we're better together. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk pulls back the curtain on how she built her first company, Bump Club and Beyond, from a $500 personal investment into a 7-figure, nationally recognized brand — without a marketing budget, a big team, or going viral.

Lindsay shares the scrappy, strategic, and community-first approach that led to 3 million monthly impressions, six-figure brand partnerships, and eventually, a successful acquisition. If you're a woman over 40 starting or scaling a business and wondering if it's too late or too costly — this is your permission slip to build it your way.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow smarter, you'll walk away with real, actionable takeaways that don't require ad spend or hype — just intention, connection, and consistency.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why showing up as yourself is your best marketing strategy
How to build a community first — and let the revenue follow
Why value beats vitality (and how to deliver it consistently)
The power of trade partnerships and organic growth
How integrity builds trust — and trust builds long-term success
Why you don’t need a big audience or big budget to grow
The importance of email, feedback, and scrappy momentum
What most people get wrong when they focus only on revenue

Resources + Links:

Grab Lindsay’s free download: The FoundHer’s Blueprint for Building a Business Without Burning Out
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter on Substack: The FoundHer Files
Want support, strategy, and a powerful network? Join the Dear FoundHer… Forum
Have a question about growing without a budget or landing partnerships? DM Lindsay @dearfoundher on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode:

Please rate, review, and share Dear FoundHer... with another woman business owner who needs to hear this. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a no-fluff, all-strategy conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Farmer’s Markets to 12,000+ Retail Locations in a Decade, With Ashley Thompson, Founder of MUSH Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

If you're a woman business owner over 40, join the Dear FoundHer... Forum to find support, advice, resources and mentorship—JUST FOR YOU. It’s all inside, without the gatekeeping and without the overwhelm.

Ashley Thompson transformed cold oatmeal into a powerhouse brand sold in over 12,000 retail locations, scaling MUSH from a farmers market stall to a national favorite with the help of a pivotal Shark Tank deal. Joining Lindsay Pinchuk in this episode, the MUSH founder shares how she left a fast-track finance career at Goldman Sachs at 24 to build a mission-driven business from the ground up, without a business plan, outside funding, or prior food experience.

Ashley recounts the early hustle of handmaking oats in her kitchen, demoing at local shops, and delivering products herself, all while using direct customer feedback to refine the brand. She explains how MUSH landed on Whole Foods shelves, survived a Shark Tank-fueled surge that nearly shut down the business, and ultimately scaled through smart automation and a disciplined, capital-efficient approach.

This episode shows what shaped Ashley’s choices as MUSH grew, from holding off on new products for years to building a team that could support large-scale growth across Target, Costco, and Kroger. She explains what helped her stay focused, how she made decisions with limited resources, and what she’s still learning about leading a brand at scale. If you’re building something from the ground up, there’s a lot here to sit with… and you won’t want to miss it!

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 From Farmers Markets to 12,000 Retail Locations

04:20 Quitting Goldman Sachs to Build MUSH from Scratch

14:45 Getting into Whole Foods and Landing a 10-Store Trial

19:25 Shark Tank Deal with Mark Cuban and Sudden Growth

24:35 Surviving the Post-Shark Tank Chaos

29:25 Why MUSH Focused on Retail Over DTC

34:05 Launching Protein Bars and Expanding the Product Line

39:00 Marketing Strategy Behind a National Health Brand

Connect with Ashley Thompson:

https://www.instagram.com/mush

We’re re-launching our newsletter this summer! Sign up here to have it sent straight to your inbox.

Join our online networking community: Dear FoundHer Forum: https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FoundHer Files: 20 Strategies to Crush Your Business Goals Before the End of the Year, with Host, Lindsay Pinchuk Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

Do you want more simple marketing strategies? Lindsay Pinchuk is re-launching her newsletter, FoundHer Files, this week on Substack! No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what works...because we're better together. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

The year 2025 is officially HALF OVER. BUT, there is still a lot of runway left in front of us. In this episode, Lindsay Pinchuk shares 20 practical strategies for entrepreneurs to effectively achieve their business goals by the end of 2025. The conversation emphasizes the importance of reflection, planning, and taking actionable steps to ensure a successful finish to the year. Key strategies include checking in on goals, automating tasks, enhancing marketing efforts, and prioritizing personal well-being.

Everyone listening can do every single one of these strategies---none of them are complicated. Take a listen and then try to implement one or two per week for the rest of the summer.

Join the Dear FoundHer Forum to build and grow your business alongside other women entrepreneurs 40+, just like you: https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum

Don't forget to follow Lindsay and Dear FoundHer... on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Press Coverage Without a Publicist or a Plan and How Jennifer Meyer Built a Jewelry Brand That Has Lasted Twenty Years Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

If you’re a woman business owner over 40, join the Dear FoundHer... Forum to find support, advice, resources and mentorship—JUST FOR YOU. It’s all inside, without the gatekeeping and without the overwhelm.

Press coverage can change the trajectory of a brand, but it almost never arrives the way founders plan for it. In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk sits down with Jennifer Meyer, the designer and CEO of Jennifer Meyer Jewelry, to talk about the accidental press moment that launched her business and what she had already done before anyone was watching. If you are a founder trying to understand what getting press actually does for a brand versus what sustains it, this conversation is going to reframe how you think about visibility entirely.

Jennifer shares one of the most grounded real founder stories about what press coverage looks like when you have no publicist, no budget, and no plan. She walked into jewelers' workshops downtown with a bad sketch of a leaf. She asked everyone she knew for a Barneys connection until a random friend came through. She showed up to that lunch with her jewelry in zip-lock bags, handed over an invoice on the spot, and weeks later Barneys placed an order. When the leaf necklace appeared on Jennifer Aniston at the peak of her cultural moment, it was, in Jennifer's words, leaf mania. But she is clear that the press coverage alone did not build a twenty-year business. Her publicity strategy was simpler and harder than any PR firm: make things women actually want to wear, talk directly to your community, and never mistake one earned media moment for a sustainable brand.

This episode is for women founders who are trying to figure out how to get their brand in front of the right people, for founders who have had a moment of press coverage and are not sure how to build on it, and for anyone who wants an honest look at what founder visibility actually requires over the long haul. Jennifer's story makes one thing clear: the unglamorous work you do before the press arrives is exactly what determines whether you can hold the room once it does.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Jennifer Meyer’s Journey from PR to Jewelry Design

10:33 The Breakthrough: Jennifer Aniston and the Barneys Order

14:29 Building a Brand Through Transparency and Hustle

21:20 How Social Media Changed the Game

27:49 Inspiration from Women and Celebrating 20 Years

35:19 Real Advice for Aspiring Female Founders

Connect with Jennifer Meyer:

http://www.instagram.com/jenmeyerjewelry

https://jennifermeyer.com/

We're relauching our newsletter this summer! Sign up here to have it sent straight to your inbox.

Join our online networking community: Dear FoundHer Forum: https://www.dearfoundher.com/dear-foundher-forum

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dearfoundher

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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