Girlboss Radio With Sophia Amoruso

Gwyneth Paltrow, founder and CEO of goop, joins Sophia for a candid conversation about the path that led her from acting to entrepreneurship and also addresses the controversy facing the brand that she built.  Plus, a quick preview of what’s coming up on girlboss.com with Editorial Director Jerico Mandybur.

Sophia Amoruso’s Girlboss Radio is back with a vengeance. In the first new episode, you’ll get a quick preview of what’s on girlboss.com with editorial director Jerico Mandybur—plus, a conversation with one of the most prolific writers of our time, Roxane Gay. Covering everything from Gay’s latest work, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, fatphobia, to writing and the meaning of “success,” get ready for a warm and stimulating conservation—the first of many.

Amel Monsur is the Executive Creative Director at VICE, the world's leading youth media brand and content creation studio. At VICE, Amel has led project and content development across i-D & Noisey, VICE's fashion cultural and music channels, as well a variety of branded campaigns that live off-channel. Amel's background is at the intersection of fashion, music and news, and she previously served as the Creative Director for Prince -- yes Prince! On the podcast, Amel discusses her early days working for Target, what it's like to be a creative working for a superior creative like Prince, and why creating content with a purpose is important these days.

This week, we have not one, but two guests on Girlboss Radio - Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, the Co-founders of theSkimm! TheSkimm started a daily newsletter, giving its readers all the news and info to start the day. It's since grown into an 'audience company' that has a circulation of over 4 million active readers including fans such as Oprah and Hoda Kotb. Carly and Danielle met studying abroad together in college and several years later they both found themselves working at NBC News. They became fast friends, roommates, and eventually co-founders. On the podcast, the Sophia, Carly, and Danielle discuss how the co-founders met, how Danielle and Carly engage with their Skimmbassadors, and how they've learned to manage their growing team over the years.

You many not know Tracey, but you definitely know her work. She’s colored the famous locks of Jennifer Lopez, Lily Aldridge, Khloe Kardashian, and our very own Sophia Amoruso. She got her start working for none other than Bette Midler who put her through beauty school! Afterwards Tracey quickly rose through the ranks at the best salons in LA - Art Luna, Sally Hershberger, Byron & Tracey among others. In 2012, she and stylist Neil Weisberg teamed up to combine the best of styling and coloring in the business with Méche. On the podcast, Tracey reminisces about styling Bette's hair while combing through cookbooks, how she knew she could be a great colorist, and how beauty regimens like coloring might fix short-term problems but maybe not the longterm ones in your life.

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.

Alli Webb's career has had numerous incarnations. She’s worked in public relations and she’s been a professional hairstylist. But it wasn’t until 2008, when Alli really found her passion. She started a side business called Straight-at-Home, which provided in-home blowouts on a referral basis in LA. When her business and popularity quickly outgrew her one-woman show, she expanded and opened a brick and mortar called Drybar. Drybar is based on the simple concept of focusing on one thing and being the best at it: blowouts. They now have 67 locations across the country. And her new book, Good Hair for All, tells you how you can achieve a great blowout at home. On the podcast Sophia and Alli talk about Alli's early days working at salons, leaving and returning to the workforce to found Drybar, and the inherent trust of working with family.

Anne Fulenwider is a tour de force in the publishing world. After graduating from Harvard University, she moved to New York and learned the ins and outs of journalism under the tutelage of George Plimpton at The Paris Review. And she continued to work alongside the greats including Graydon Carter at Vanity Fair and Joanna Coles at Marie Claire. In 2011, Anne left Marie Claire to become the Editor-in-Chief of Brides where she completely rebranded the magazine to expand its reader base, but she couldn’t stay away from Marie Claire for long. She returned to the magazine as their Editor-in-Chief where she continues to push the brand to speak to today’s modern woman with its in depth reporting, fashion guides, and entertaining and informative features. On the episode Anne tells us how she puts together a magazine every month, how simply raising your hand can get you the job your want, and why networking is useful even if the word itself can feel disingenuous. 

Before Brit Morin could light that creative spark in all of us, she had to find that creativity within herself. After working for Google for four years, she left her stellar job working under Marissa Mayer to start her own company. But first, she decided to give herself a 6-month break. And those six months were, as Brit describes it, some of the most transformative months of her life. She enrolled in classes at a creative space for makers, and she abandoned the laptop screen for laser cutters, 3D printers, and clay. That experience ultimately inspired her to found Brit + Co, a new media and commerce company that enables creativity through inspirational content, online classes and do-it-yourself kits. The company now has partnerships with brands such as Target, and Brit is a regular DIY and lifestyle contributor to the Today show. On the podcast, Brit discusses her six month sabbatical after Google, how leadership roles can become political, and why everyone is a creative.

When Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter was asked to serve as the first female Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department, it was her dream come true. She left her tenured position at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and commuted weekly from Princeton to Washington D.C. to work under then Secretary of State and current presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But between the grueling hours, a rigid work schedule, and raising two teenage sons back in New Jersey, Anne-Marie was struggling. As much as this was a dream job, she knew her family needed her at home. She ultimately left the State Department after two years to return to a full workload at Princeton.  Anne-Marie wrote about the difficulty of women achieving work-life balance in her widely read 2012 Atlantic article “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All”, which became one of the magazine’s most read articles in its history. She continued this conversation with her book Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, and Family

Journalist Jessica Bennett and her friends were all creatives striving for professional success in New York City. But some subtle (and not so subtle) bouts of sexism in the workplace were getting in the way of their hustle. So they sought refuge by creating a feminist fight club - a group of New York women in creative fields who meet once a month to share advice, vent, and support each other through their careers. Jessica’s penned her difficult workplace experiences, hilarious tips, and other useful advice for women in the workplace in her new book Feminist Fight Club. Jessica is an award-winning journalist and critic who writes on gender issues, sexuality and culture. She is a feature writer and columnist at The New York Times and her work has also appeared in Newsweek, where she began her career as a staff writer. On the podcast, Jessica discusses her early days as a crime beat reporter, who a bropropriator is, and why women should support other women.

Yesi Ortiz has been called 'The Voice of LA' and man, does she know how to use that voice. Her dream was to work at Los Angeles' Power 106 radio station, and after enrolling in broadcasting school, she worked at all costs to make her dream come true -- that meant commuting from Long Beach to Las Vegas, taking a radio job in Mexico, and fighting big egos along the way. In 2006, through sheer talent and drive, Yesi realized her goal, and she's now Power 106's midday host. But what makes Yesi even more of a Girlboss is what she's accomplished outside of work. Off the air, Yesi is a single mother to her six children. She adopted them from their biological mother, Yesi’s sister, when she was just 25 years old. On the podcast, Yesi discusses developing a work ethic at her uncle's supermarket, how she suddenly became a single mother to her six children, and how work can be a haven.

Musician Yuna was already an accomplished singer and songwriter in her home country of Malaysia when she moved to Los Angeles six years ago. She always had her sights set on making it in the music world in the United States, which meant having to restart her career from scratch. Yuna worked hard, stayed true to her values, and lived by her mantra 'undersell and overperform.' Now, she's selling out venues around the world and collaborating with greats like Pharrell and Usher. On the podcast, Sophia and Yuna talk about forgoing career expectations, the subjectivity of sexiness, and her newest album Chapters.

When Grace Bonney moved to Williamsburg in 2003, she noticed a DIY design culture in Brooklyn that wasn't being covered in design magazines. So she covered it herself with Design*Sponge, a blog which originally highlighted the creative design aesthetic we now know as Brooklyn chic. Since its founding in 2004, Design*Sponge has transformed into an expansive lifestyle website, which The New York Times called the “Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials.” On the podcast Sophia and Grace discuss finding your crowd, managing employees remotely, and Grace's new book In the Company of Women.

Model and Transgender activist Geena Rocero understands the power of speaking your truth and taking control of your narrative. At 17 years old, Geena immigrated from the Philippines to the U.S. to pursue a modeling career. Over the next 12 years, she modeled for brands like Target, Rimmel, Cover Girl, Marriott Hotels and Macy’s, but she didn’t feel like the people around her knew her full story. So when Geena turned 30, she courageously ‘came out’ at her TED talk as trans to bring more visibility to the transgender community. Since then, Geena co-founded GenderProud, an advocacy and media production company that produces media to elevate justice and equality for the transgender community. On the podcast, Geena discusses her first job as a transgender beauty queen, seeing the 'F' on her driver's license for the first time, and the challenges facing the transgender workforce today.

If life is all about the journey, then Melissa Biggs Bradley is doing things right. The founder and CEO of the boutique travel agency and website Indagare has traveled to over 100 countries, six continents, and can rattle off hotel recommendations at the drop of a hat. Prior to Indagare, Melissa worked at Town & Country magazine for 12 years and launched Town & Country Travel which was nominated for a National Magazine Award for General Excellence by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). On the podcast, Melissa recounts her long childhood plane rides to Australia, gives us some trips for traveling on the cheap, and tells us about her incredible #girlbossmoment.

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.