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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:

My Breast Cancer Story, Part 1: Stage 0 (DCIS), a Double Mastectomy, and Cancer-Free Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

You never think it's going to be you until it is. On September 1st, 2026, award-winning entrepreneur Lindsay Pinchuk got the call that started her own stage 0 breast cancer story. The DCIS diagnosis came five days before her daughter's bat mitzvah, and within a day she had a surgery date before she even had a surgery plan.

In this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay opens with the ending. She is cancer-free and needs no further treatment. Then she takes you back through the three options her surgeons put on the table, the decision-making that led her to one surgery over two, and the four words she whispered the moment she woke up. She is clear that her choice was right for her and that it's a decision each woman makes with her own doctors. Her double mastectomy recovery update is honest, and she does not sugarcoat it.

Motherhood and entrepreneurship collided the week of her surgery, when she flew to Philadelphia for a speaking engagement before she told her girls. If you have ever wondered how to tell your kids you have cancer, Lindsay shares exactly what she said, word for word, and how she answered the question every parent dreads. It is the most personal part of her stage 0 breast cancer story.

Women entrepreneurs will also get a simple three-part framework for how to share hard news, whether it's a diagnosis, a client you have to let go, or a change your team needs to hear. Press play, then send this episode to one woman in your life. It might be the nudge she needs to book the appointment she keeps putting off.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Lindsay Opens Her Stage 0 Breast Cancer Story

03:50 The Breast MRI and the Phone Call

08:25 A Surgery Date Before a Surgery Plan

10:39 Three Surgical Options and One Silver Lining

12:22 Why She Chose a Double Mastectomy

14:16 How to Tell Your Kids You Have Cancer

18:11 Waking Up to Plan A and Pathology

20:25 An Honest Recovery Update Three Weeks Out

22:41 Fact, Plan, Outcome for Sharing Hard News

24:15 One Ask Before Next Week's Episode

Connect with Lindsay:

Follow Lindsay on Instagram

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Read more of Lindsay's story on her Substack, The FoundHer Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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

How This Founder’s Visibility Held Up After She Paused Ads Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Join host, Lindsay Pinchuk, LIVE for our 21-day Partnership Sprint starting October 12th. You'll build the exact partnership strategy she used to grow and sell her first company. No hacks, no algorithms, just the relationships that actually move a business forward.

Founder visibility does not always come from doing more. For artist Erin Rothstein, it came from doing less herself and letting her team carry more of the work.

On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Erin Rothstein, founder of her namesake art company and an artist whose work now sells several thousand pieces a year. Erin built her business without a publicist or a strategy deck. She trusted instinct, kept a small, dedicated team, and changed direction whenever something stopped working. Her path offers real founder stories for anyone growing a business without a traditional roadmap.

Erin explains why leaving the gallery system became a turning point rather than a loss, and what changed once she stopped answering to someone else's curation. She also walks through how prints entered her business, why she was initially hesitant, and what helped her finally move forward.

The conversation covers social media strategy in a way that goes beyond posting advice. Erin describes her decision to pause ad spend entirely this year, and what that choice revealed about her customer base. She also talks about scaling responsibly with a team of about seven people who each have ownership over their own corner of the business. It’s a structure that allows Erin to step back from running every detail while still protecting the creativity and integrity behind her work.

Press play to hear how Erin turned an art career into a business built on trust and knowing when to step back.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Erin Rothstein's Backstory in Art

06:36 Leaving the Gallery System Behind

10:39 Selling Her First Paintings and Early Sales

13:49 Investing in Her Art Business Before COVID

17:04 Adding Prints and Scaling Production

21:42 Growth Numbers and Redefining Happiness

28:53 Social Media, Ads, and Founder Visibility

36:16 Building a Self-Directed Team

40:02 Three Tips for Women Starting a Business

Connect with Erin Rothstein:

Follow Erin on Instagram

Visit Erin’s website

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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

Simple Marketing Strategies That Built a Jewelry Brand Without Paid Influencers Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Join host, Lindsay Pinchuk, LIVE for our 21-day Partnership Sprint starting October 12th. You'll build the exact partnership strategy she used to grow and sell her first company. No hacks, no algorithms, just the relationships that actually move a business forward.

Amy Goin and Laura Laing spent twelve years building Thatch Jewelry before growing to roughly 300 specialty stores and launching with Nordstrom, and they never paid a single influencer to get there. Their simple marketing strategies prove that real founder stories rarely follow a straight line, and that visibility can come from something as ordinary as sending the right gift to the right person.

On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Amy and Laura, co-founders of the jewelry brand Thatch, about growing a company that looks effortless from the outside.They explain how they used to slide into the DMs of women whose style they admired and offer them jewelry with no strings attached, a tactic they still credits for early brand awareness.

They talk through the pressure of scaling a business during COVID, when a primarily wholesale business suddenly saw online demand explode and had to rethink production to keep up. They open up about watching cheap dupes of their hand-carved gemstones flood the market, and how they’re deciding which battles are worth fighting. For female founders whose businesses are growing more slowly than they hoped, Amy and Laura offer a clear reminder that patience and consistency still work.

Listen to hear how two artists turned a struggling small operation into a brand carried in hundreds of stores, and why they still believe the best marketing costs nothing but a little generosity.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Meet Thatch Jewelry's co-founders

03:46 How a jeweler and consultant became co-founders

08:31 Building their first signature collection

12:00 COVID turns into their growth moment

16:39 What Thatch jewelry actually stands for

20:21 Facing knockoffs and cheap dupes

24:50 Breaking down wholesale versus Nordstrom

27:27 Simple marketing strategies without paid influencers

33:11 Building a small, loyal team

36:20 Advice for founders stuck in the middle

Connect with Amy Goin and Laura Laing:

Visit the Thatch website

Follow Thatch on Instagram

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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

She Bootstrapped Her First Bag at a Dry Cleaner Before Getting Press Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Getting press rarely starts with a pitch. For Irene Chen, co-founder of Parker Thatch, it started years earlier with relationships she built long before she had a bag to sell.

On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Irene Chen about turning a stationery line called Iomoi into Parker Thatch, a founder story rooted in scrappy beginnings. Irene shares how she cut her first pattern with the woman who hemmed her pants and bought canvas at Joann's with a 50% off coupon.

Bootstrapping forced Irene and her husband to figure out bag production from the ground up, despite Irene’s background in fashion and finance. She also explains how her friendship with Kate and Andy Spade helped shape two major turning points for the company, with Kate encouraging the move into leather and Kate and Andy pushing them to rethink the Iomoi name.

Getting press came easier once those relationships were already in place. Earned media and word of mouth remain one of her biggest drivers of growth today, proof that building relationships in business and networking for women pay off years later. Publicity followed the story, not the other way around. Listen to hear how one friendship changed the direction of an entire company.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Meet Irene Chen, Co-Founder of Parker Thatch

02:30 The Original Idea: E-Stationery Before the Web

05:15 From Paper Goods to Home Products

07:00 Cutting the First Bag Pattern at a Dry Cleaner

09:30 Sourcing Fabric and Leather on a Shoestring Budget

11:00 Getting Press Through Editor Relationships, Not Pitches

12:26 How Kate Spade Sparked the Leather Pivot

13:03 Renaming the Brand From Iomoi to Parker Thatch

17:00 Keeping Customization Alive at Scale

26:19 The Friendship With Kate Spade Beyond Business

39:50 Three Pieces of Advice for New Founders

Connect with Irene Chen:

Follow Parker Thatch on Instagram

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Join the Dear FoundHer... Forum

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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

Getting Eyes on Your Small Business without a Publicist Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

RSVP and join us on Thursday, September 10 for: Your Next Chapter on LinkedIn: Turn Your Experience, Expertise and Network Into Opportunity

Host, Lindsay Pinchuk shares her personal journey with public relations, gaining visibility and the challenges small business owners face. She emphasizes that entrepreneurs can achieve visibility without a publicist by mastering the art of pitching and leveraging local and niche media. She provides a four-part framework for effective pitching, strategies for post-press engagement, and real-life examples of success.

In this episode you'll find:

The importance of owning your visibility foundation
Four-part framework for effective pitching
Strategies for post-press engagement and leverage
Real-life success stories of entrepreneurs landing press independently
The difference between earned and owned media
How to identify and target the right media outlets and contacts

For more follow us on Instagram @dearfoundher.

Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week.

Join our networking community, The Dear FoundHer... Forum

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

Bootstrapping a Business on a Car Loan and $2,000 From Mom Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Join the only networking community for women business owners 40+ now through September 3rd with the code SUMMER and save $200

Rachel Berliner built Amy's Kitchen for nearly 40 years without taking on a single outside investor. No outside investors, just a loan against her car, $2,000 from her mother, and a $10,000 bank loan. That is bootstrapping in its truest form, and it turned into a company whose products are sold in 57,000 stores today.

On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Rachel Berliner, co-founder of Amy's Kitchen, about what real founder stories look like once the funding rounds are stripped away. Rachel explains the decision-making behind her very first product and why she chose the best ingredients over the cheapest ones, even when it meant slower profit for the company.

Rachel also walks through scaling responsibly, from the moment Publix came on board to the years spent building new plants and working with farmers to expand organic production enough to keep up with Amy's growth. She shares how the company approached sustainable business growth without ever taking on outside investors, and why her advice speaks directly to women business owners building at any stage of their journey.

Press play to hear how a bootstrapping mindset turned a kitchen experiment into a private company still owned by her family, and the advice Rachel has for any founder who refuses to give up.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Community update and today's guest introduction

03:58 Pregnant, bedridden, and craving real food

12:30 First trade show and instant customer demand

13:07 Losing their production partner and taking production in-house

14:18 Bootstrapping the pot pie machine themselves

17:55 The Publix meeting that changed everything

22:20 Building new plants and scaling with farmers

28:03 Letting go and building a leadership team

34:10 57,000 stores and Walmart entry

37:11 Advice for women founders just starting out

Connect with Rachel Berliner:

Follow Amy's Kitchen on Instagram

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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

From $8K to 100 Stores: Scaling a Business as a Female Founder Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Join the only networking community for women business owners 40+ now through September 3rd with the code SUMMER and save $200

Michele Henry turned an $8,000 investment into a $25 million clothing business, then walked away and started over with skincare. Her second company shows what scaling a business really looks like when you build it franchise by franchise, growing from a single facial bar in Edina to nearly 80 locations nationwide. On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Michele Henry, founder and CEO of FACE FOUNDRIÉ, about the decisions that got her there.

Michele explains how a five minute decision led her to sign a lease for her first facial bar just five minutes after selling her shares in her previous company. She breaks down the real estate approach that drove her expansion, and why she believes your first ten franchisees will define your brand.

Michele and Lindsay get into managing rapid growth during COVID, why patience matters more than most founders expect, and the years it took Michele to find the right CFO, bookkeepers, and financial team. She speaks candidly about her goal of reaching 100 locations by the end of the year, and joining what she says is a small percentage of female founders who have reached that milestone.

Press play to hear how Michele Henry built two businesses from the ground up and what she wishes she knew about scaling a business the first time around.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Meet Michele Henry, FACE FOUNDRIÉ Founder

00:40 From Fashion Boutique to a $25 Million Business

02:55 The Five Minute Leap to Face Foundrié

05:23 Inside the Face Foundrié Facial Bar Concept

07:44 Building Brand Awareness for a New Concept

09:54 Real Estate Strategy Behind Rapid Expansion

11:06 Deciding to Franchise the Business Model

13:14 Pivoting Face Foundrié Through COVID Shutdowns

19:32 Scaling a Business Toward 100 Stores

23:10 Hurdles Behind the Business Growth Stories

25:16 Three Actionable Steps for New Founders

26:22 Why Your Numbers Matter More Than Ideas

Connect with Michele Henry:

Follow Michele on Instagram

Get actionable tips to move your business forward sent straight to your inbox every week. Subscribe to The FoundHer Files: http://foundherfiles.substack.com

Follow @dearfoundher 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.

Bootstrapping ESW Beauty: Bad Hires, Late Shipments, and Financial Turning Points Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

RSVP and Join us for the Dear FoundHer... Virtual Open House and Networking event on August 20th!

Bootstrapping a beauty brand to eight figures before bringing on outside investors sounds impossible until you hear the two financial tools that made it work.

Elina Wang, co-founder and CEO of ESW Beauty, joins Lindsay Pinchuk on Dear FoundHer to break down exactly how she built a skincare brand now sold in more than 19,000 retail locations across North America, including Target, Walgreens, Whole Foods, and CVS. Factoring and PO financing kept her cash moving while retailers paid on their own terms, and those two tools became the real financial turning points behind the brand.

Elina shares the bad hires that slowed her down, the late shipments from overseas suppliers that forced her to rethink timelines, and the moment she overbought inventory out of fear and what that did to her cash flow.

Elina shares her decision-making behind scaling a business while bootstrapping the business, including why she waited years before spending on D2C marketing and what made Whole Foods her first true anchor retailer. Managing rapid growth meant learning these lessons in real time, not reading about them first.

Press play to hear Elina's three actionable tips for any founder trying to grow without a safety net.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Elina Wang's K-Beauty Family Business Roots

03:47 Launching ESW Beauty From Scratch

05:13 Landing Kohl's and Her First Retail Win

06:58 Building Community Before Chasing Sales

09:53 Finding the White Space in Skincare

14:19 Target, Whole Foods, and Anchor Retailers

16:14 Bootstrapping With Factoring and PO Financing

19:36 Bad Hires, Late Shipments, and Cash Flow

20:39 Turning Personal Brand Into Business Growth

29:34 Three Tips for Founders Starting Out

Connect with Elina Wang:

Follow Elina on Instagram

Follow ESW Beauty on Instagram

Subscribe to The FoundHer Files

Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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

The Exit, Part 2: Walking Away From My Business, and What I Built After Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Join us on August 20th for the Dear FoundHer... Forum Virtual Open House and Networking Event, it's free. RSVP HERE.

Lindsay Pinchuk shares the real story of negotiating her way out of her own company, the moment it finally broke her, and how the exit led her to found Dear FoundHer...

Part 2 of The Exit picks up where Part 1 left off: a female founder fighting to hold onto the values and the partnership that built her company, inside a corporate acquisition that stopped honoring its promises and contracted obligations.

Lindsay shares the breaking point that made her decide to leave, the values conflict with new leadership during a pivotal cultural moment, and the exact negotiation that got her out of her contract on her own terms. She opens up about blacking out on her last day, flying to Colorado the next morning, and how the idea for Dear FoundHer... was born on that trip. The episode closes with the hard lessons from a business exit that didn't go as planned, and why Lindsay chose to tell this story publicly for the first time, as the entry point into her new Premium series, The Aftermath. This episode is for any woman entrepreneur navigating a business partnership gone wrong, negotiating an exit, or rebuilding an identity after leaving a company she built.

Check out The Aftermath, Part 1: What Nobody Tells You Happens After the Deal Closes

Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week.

Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram.

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

The Exit, Part 1: What Really Happens When a Female Founder Sells Her Business Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Join us on August 20th for the Dear FoundHer... Forum Virtual Open House and Networking Event, it's free. RSVP HERE.

Lindsay Pinchuk pulls back the curtain on her business acquisition, the promises made and broken, and what really happens in the first year after a female founder sells her company.

In this Behind the Curtain episode, Dear FoundHer... founder Lindsay Pinchuk shares the story she's never told publicly: what actually happened when she sold Bump Club and Beyond, the parenting community she scaled from a side hustle to three million monthly users.

Lindsay walks through the acquisition process from the first LinkedIn message to the signed deal, why she said no to one buyer and yes to another, and the early warning signs that appeared within weeks of closing. She breaks down how her company's most valuable partnership, a seven-figure relationship with Target, was taken out of her team's hands, and what that meant for her earn-out. This is a real, unfiltered look at business acquisition from the founder's side of the table, told for any woman entrepreneur who is scaling a company, considering an exit, or has ever watched a deal not go the way it was promised.

Check out The Aftermath, Part 1: What Nobody Tells You Happens After the Deal Closes

Subscribe to The Foundher Files, our Substack, for more tips straight to your inbox every week.

Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram.

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

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