From a Basement to a Billion Dollar Brand: The Greatest Founder Story You Never Heard

Monique Rodriguez built Mielle Organics from her basement into a billion-dollar brand and did it without a blueprint. In this episode of Aspire, Monique shares the real story behind building one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in the world–from bootstrapping with her husband’s paycheck to risking their home, navigating criticism, and ultimately selling to Procter & Gamble while remaining CEO. But this isn't just a business story. It started with loss, a leap of faith, and a decision to bet on herself before she felt ready. This is a conversation about what it really takes to build something meaningful… and what happens when you finally reach the other side. In this episode, Monique shares: Why you don’t need to feel ready before making a life-changing decision How personal adversity can reshape your ambition and clarity What founders get wrong about scaling too early How to know when it’s time to bring in experienced operators Why building with the end in mind changes how you run your company The real risks founders take behind the scenes How to navigate criticism as your company grows What it actually means to lead after a major acquisition How to protect your vision while growing at scale Why success doesn’t always eliminate the feeling of having something to prove Monique Rodriguez’s story is proof that you don’t have to be ready to start, you just have to be willing. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Ask Me Anything: Pivoting in Your 40s, Plastic Surgery, and Starting a Business With No Money

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30 Kesä 45min

How to Monetize AI and Build the Life and Career You Want

Alicia Lyttle is the CEO of AI InnoVision and one of the clearest voices teaching entrepreneurs and operators how to actually use AI to make money. Her clients run from solo founders to Fortune 500 co...

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Patrick Ta on Accountability, Identity and Building a Beauty Empire

Patrick Ta built one of the most successful beauty brands in the world after dropping out of high school, filing for bankruptcy at 21, and spending years building his career one client at a time. Wha...

16 Kesä 59min

Building a Billion-Dollar Unicorn with Julia Collins

Julia Collins has spent much of her life chasing big goals,first to prove herself and then to save the planet. The path took her from restaurant kitchens in New York City to Silicon Valley boardroom...

9 Kesä 1h 15min

Success Requires Letting Go of People’s Expectations of You (Jackie Aina)

Jackie Aina has been building in public for 17 years. She didn't just grow an audience, she helped define what it meant to be a Black woman with a voice in the beauty industry. But influence was never...

2 Kesä 1h 6min

Build a Team That Wins: Emma Grede on Hiring the Right Employees

Hiring is the single most consequential thing you do when you're building anything. Get it right and it compounds. Get it wrong and it costs you years. In today's episode, Emma is sharing the thing sh...

28 Touko 30min

Gary Vaynerchuk: Why Truth, Humility, and Kindness Will Become Your Next Superpower

Gary Vaynerchuk has spent the last two decades understanding where culture and consumer behavior were headed long before the rest of the world caught up. He was early to YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, crea...

26 Touko 1h 6min

Bethenny Frankel: The Business Model Nobody Else Will Share

Bethenny Frankel turned a TikTok account into a $20-million-a-year business without a plan or a brand of her own. She had a vision and a set of deal terms that no one in the industry has been able to ...

19 Touko 1h 3min