Second Life

Renee Dua, MD, is a nephrologist and internist. She helmed her own private practice in Los Angeles and served as chief of medicine at Valley Presbyterian and Simi Valley Hospitals. But after years in the healthcare industry, and one particularly frustrating visit to the ER on the patient’s side of things, Dua had a lightbulb moment. In creating a new kind of healthcare system based around house calls and telehealth, she could cut down on patient wait times and create accessibility for those for whom getting to a doctor’s office or hospital is less than convenient. Now, as the CMO (chief medical officer) of Heal, Dua is doing just that. On this episode of Second Life, hear how she made the switch from working in the traditional healthcare system to creating her own system.

28 Sep 202047min

Annie Lawless is the founder and CEO behind the high-performance, highly pigmented, and clean makeup line, Lawless Beauty. The line has seen explosive growth since its 2017 launch, including being picked up by retail giant Sephora, in addition to its direct-to-consumer business. But before Lawless was creating high-impact natural makeup, she was obsessing over clean ingredients in another industry altogether: food and beverage. Lawless was a co-founder of one of the largest cold-pressed juice companies in the US, Suja, which, at the time of her exit, was valued at $300 million after investments from Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs. On this week’s episode, Lawless discusses what it’s like for a company to grow larger than she could have ever predicted and how to know when it’s time to walk away from something to find a more fulfilling path. Plus, she shares a killer breakdown of the factors to weigh when you’re seeking investment.

21 Sep 202043min

Reddit’s chief operating officer, Jen Wong, is a digital media expert through and through. In her current role, she calls on a plethora of previous work experience at AOL, Popsugar, and Time Inc. and is helping lead the 600-person company on the road to serious growth. But before she was overseeing business strategy at the fifth most visited website in the US, and before her foray into media entirely, she actually started out in finance. In this episode of Second Life, hear how she used business school as a career reset and put herself on an entirely new path—one that’s taken her to the top of her field.

14 Sep 202048min

Ayesha Curry is an accomplished culinary entrepreneur. Her foray into food began with a blog and a Youtube channel, which have grown into a community of over 9 million followers and subscribers. Since building her platform, she’s become a cooking-show host, a restaurateur with three International Smoke locations, an active philanthropist feeding thousands of families suffering from food insecurity in the Bay Area, and a best-selling cookbook author. Her newest book, The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families With No Time and a Lot to Do, is out September 22. Curry has woven food into every aspect of her constantly evolving career without a culinary degree or any formal training in the industry. Instead, she began as an actress when she was just a teenager. Hear how she pivoted from working in Hollywood to creating a culinary empire on this week’s episode of Second Life.

7 Sep 202047min

Lesley Thornton is the founder and CEO behind the botanically based collection of high-performance skincare and multipurpose self-care products, Klur. One look at the assortment and it’s clear that Lesley has intentionally crafted every element of the line—from science-driven formulations to customer education to a sustainable business model. But her path to a crystal-clear brand vision wasn’t a linear one. Hear how Lesley went from working as a freelance makeup artist to an on-air beauty expert for the TLC network to opening her own esthetics private practice before embarking on a line of her own on this week’s episode of Second Life.

31 Aug 202043min

Sarah Sherman Samuel is a multidisciplinary designer working with interiors, textiles, products, and decorative arts, which she curates together to create truly remarkable spaces. She’s designed everything from rugs and wallpaper to hardware and tiles to the gorgeous homes of celebrities and tastemakers like Mandy Moore and Garance Dóre. One look at her stunning Instagram feed and the unique, blended aesthetics will give you more design inspiration than you’ll know what to do with. But before Sherman Samuel found herself on the interiors path, she bounced between many different creative projects—from graphic design to wedding and event design to photography and art direction. Hear how she’s used each one of those experiences to create interiors we can’t help but fawn over on this episode of Second Life.

24 Aug 202042min

Tia Mowry-Hardrict first graced our screens back in the early ’90s as one half of the iconic twin duo in the hit sitcom Sister Sister. Since then, she’s gone on to star in countless other projects—everything from Twitches to The Game to her beloved Youtube Channel, Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix—and over the years, she’s also added producer and best-selling author to her resumé. But after years of success in the entertainment industry, she’s used her hard-earned skills (among them, a healthy dose of persistence and fortitude) to found a company that’s inspiring women of all backgrounds to take charge of their wellness with her line of supplements called Anser. Hear how Tia has achieved longevity as an actress and forged her way into a new industry altogether on this episode of Second Life.

17 Aug 202039min

Suzy Batiz is a truly self-made female entrepreneur, and a successful one at that. Between her two businesses, the before-you-go toilet spray Poo~Pourri, and her line of natural cleaning concentrates, Supernatural, her empire is valued at over $500 million. But getting there was a long road filled with over 27 career changes, an abusive marriage, and two bankruptcies. Hear how Suzy persevered and overcame it all, on this episode of Second Life.

10 Aug 202049min