The Partner Ship Podcast

In our final episode of the season, we welcome Alexa Buckley and Sarah Pierson, former college roommates who co-founded direct-to-consumer footwear brand Margaux in 2015, just a year after they graduated from Harvard. Neither Alexa nor Sarah — who met their freshman year at a cab stand — had plans to get into retail, but they felt a calling to create the perfect, classic ballet flat, and the rest, as they say, has been history. Eventually, they expanded into new categories: Their cult-favorite heel has become especially popular, complete with a 1,000-person wait list. Tune in to learn how they've excelled the brick-and-mortar game, and what they advise brands looking to nail down their authentic visual identity.

Real-life married couple Jacqueline and Scot Tatelman launched STATE Bags — a certified B-Corp with a business model balancing profit and giving back — together in 2013. Originally created under the "one-for-one" model with just three backpack styles, the brand has since transitioned to more partnership-based give-back work. And in the seven years since its launch, STATE has donated more than 200,000 bags while also contributing 20% of gross profits to combat the most challenging issues of our time, from mass incarceration's impact on kids to the Flint water crisis. In this season's penultimate episode, Jacqueline and Scot share their most realistic practices for businesses committed to using their platform for good.

You may know Mandana Dayani from her past lives as a lawyer, talent agent or branding expert, but today, we're chatting with her about I am a voter., the nonpartisan movement she founded to create a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement. Mandana has been politically involved for as long as she can remember, but in 2017, while watching coverage of the Unite the Right rally from Charlottesville, something snapped: How could she affect civic change by increasing voter turnout? That fall, I am a voter. was born to rebrand voting by empowering young and first-time voters to make their voices heard. Listen up for Mandana's advice on how political and social entrepreneurs can best find their own authentic voice — and use it to make a difference.

JB Osborne and Emily Heyward co-founded branding company Red Antler together in Brooklyn way back when, in 2007. In the past 14 years, Red Antler has established itself as the go-to brand-building company for startups and scale-ups, having helped shape everything from visual identity to packaging design for some of today's most ubiquitous companies like Casper, Allbirds, Hinge, ThredUp and of course, our favorite, Levain Bakery. Red Antler is so predominant, in fact, that "Fast Company" famously called it "a cult brand whisperer." Emily literally wrote the book on the matter: It's called "Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love From Day One," and it came out last summer. Tune in to learn more what they look for in the next big direct-to-consumer business, and what's next for Red Antler in its next 14 years.

Today, we're speaking with Jenny Dembrow and Ebonie Simpson, co-executive directors of New York City's The Lower Eastside Girls Club. Girls Club was first founded in 1996 as a means to address the historic lack of services available to girls and young women on the Lower East Side, and today, the organization and physical community space connects girls and young women to healthy and successful futures. Before Jenny and Ebonie worked as executive directors together, Jenny was the very first Girls Club intern in 1996, and Ebonie was her intern 14 years later. We're especially excited to welcome them as Girl Club is now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

In 2009, Connie Matisse was working at a farmer's market in North Carolina when she met her now-husband Alex Matisse, who had just finished an apprenticeship and set out on his own to make pottery. They fell in love, and what manifested — aside from a decade-plus-long relationship — was East Fork Pottery, a direct-to-consumer phenomenon with a mission to bring traditional American craft to a new generation of consumers. In 2013, Connie and Alex expanded their business to bring on their potter friend John, who now serves as CFO. In this latest episode of The Partner Ship, East Fork Pottery's co-founding team join us to discuss how they've scaled their business with heart and transparency, all while "doing the work" personally.

When Shelcy and Christy Joseph got their start making fashion videos on YouTube, the multi-talented Haitian sisters weren't quite full-fledged influencers, yet alone entrepreneurs. But things changed when the pair moved to New York City in 2010 went on to launch their widely-followed Instagram platform, @NYCxClothes, to bring more authenticity, diversity and inclusivity to the world of influencing. Last July, Shelcy and Christy launched the natural next chapter of their business with NYCxStudio, a creative agency and physical content creation space born out of their desire to help companies find meaningful ways to partner with creators of color. Tune in to learn more about how Shelcy and Christy maintain work-family boundaries, what they believe to be the future of influencing and how they've gone about bringing their business to the next level.

Like most great business ideas, Honeyfund's big lightbulb moment was born out of something personal, when Sara and her now-ex-husband were planning their honeymoon. They kept running into the same issue: Why wasn't there a crowdfunding wedding registry that catered to couples wanting an experience over household items? So they made their own, which inspired what later became Honeyfund, the number-one honeymoon and wedding registry app. Since its launch in 2006, Honeyfund has funded one million couples, with more than $640 million in gifts from 6 million givers. On this brand-new episode, Sara joins us to share how she made it all happen — and what happens when a partnership breaks up.

Season 2 kicks off with a special conversation with Vanessa and Kim Pham, first-generation Vietnamese American sisters who launched their food brand, Omsom, which offers high-quality, taste-tested Asian meal starter kits, last spring. As the daughters of Vietnamese refugees, Vanessa and Kim grew up at their family's kitchen counter, where food was a love language and later, became a way to re-engage with their identities as women of color. Tune in to learn about how they've transitioned their past lives in startups and consulting into CPG gold, all while showing non-Asian Americans what it means for the category to be done right.

The new season of The Partner Ship is here! Join our hosts, longtime business partners in media relations agency JBC Jennifer Bett Meyer and Melissa Duren Conner, as they welcome a whole new crew of like-minded co-founders for more no-B.S. conversations about this buzzy, new consumer world.

The Arrivals' Jeff Johnson and David Hauser are the creative and business forces, respectively, behind one of fashion's buzziest outerwear labels. Before co-founding The Arrivals, Jeff was working in Amsterdam as an architect and looking for an opportunity to try his hand at clothing design. So in 2014, he linked up with partner Kal Vepuri — and Kal's partner, David — to start a new kind of outerwear brand. Tune in to this latest episode of The Partner Ship to learn how Jeff and David have scaled The Arrivals into an expansive range of new categories, all while doubling-down on their commitment to create experiential retail experiences for consumers across the country. 

One tasty bowl of classic breakfast nostalgia, coming right up! Magic Spoon co-founders Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz are college friends-turned-business partners who created their low-carb, sugar-free cereals as a modern, guilt-free take on the grocery-store staple. Gabi and Greg—who started and sold another company together before getting into the breakfast business—experimented with recipe development for over a year before launching Magic Spoon last April (with a little help from their PR partner, us at JBC!). Now several months past Magic Spoon's first birthday, Gabi and Greg join this episode of The Partner Ship to discuss their managerial styles, startup savvy and of course, go-to karaoke song.

In 2019, Lindsay Kaplan and Carolyn Childers co-founded Chief, the exclusive network of female executives, with the mission to drive women forward into positions of power — and keep them there. And in just one year since its launch, Chief has grown to 2,000 members and now boasts a 7,000-person waiting list, also closing one of 2019's largest Series A rounds raised by a woman-led company. On this brand-new episode of The Partner Ship, Lindsay and Carolyn let us in on their big vision and even bigger plans to support women on their way up to or already in the C-suite. 

M.M.LaFleur's co-founders Sarah LaFleur and Miyako Nakamura launched their women's clothing brand in 2011 — together with adviser Narie Foster — to help women harness the power of self-presentation, and to rethink the shopping process altogether. The business' lightbulb moment came while Sarah was working in finance in both New York City and Paris, during which she dreamed of a more practical and inspired wardrobe for herself and all professional women. But the brand wasn't in motion until Miyako came on board as creative director (via a recruiter!). We're thrilled to welcome Sarah and Miyako to this episode of The Partner Ship to share more about their path to reimagine the workwear category.

Real-life sisters Taran and Bunny Ghatrora launched Blume, the first direct-to-consumer brand focused on puberty, almost exactly two years ago. Their big lightbulb moment came in their 20s, when Bunny was diagnosed with PCOS at the same time that Taran was studying how women and girls often suffer from stigmas surrounding their periods. It was out of this shared experience that they created Blume, with the mission to instill girls and women with self-acceptance of and confidence in themselves and their bodies. Tune in to find out what it's really like to build a burgeoning self-care startup with your sibling.

KJ Miller and Amanda Johnson are Harvard Business School classmates-turned-business partners who created Mented Cosmetics with the belief that every woman should be able to find herself in the world of beauty, no matter her skin tone. Like many entrepreneurs, KJ and Amanda launched Mented right from their living room, bringing their original product line of vegan, non-toxic and cruelty-free nude lipsticks to market in January 2017. The co-founder pair has since raised more than $3 million in funding, making them the 15th and 16th African-American women ever to reach a seven-figure venture-capital deal. Tune into this episode of The Partner Ship to learn how KJ and Amanda have made it happen — and how their brand speaks to the real opportunity and demand for high-end, inclusive makeup.

Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz launched their namesake apothecary and lab in 2004 with the mission to create simple skincare solutions, formulated with sensitive skin in mind. Matthew and Andrew aren't just partners in business, but also in life: They met the old-fashioned way — at a bar — and the rest, as they say, is history. On the latest episode of The Partner Ship, join us as Matthew and Andrew share how they've scaled Malin+Goetz across categories and into more than 600 retail outlets — and how they've worked hard to separate their shared entrepreneurial lives from their personal ones.

Just two months ago, beauty writers and editors Cheryl Wischhover and Kathleen Hou joined forces to start Donate Beauty, a nationwide movement to bring essential and in-demand beauty products to healthcare workers on the COVID-19 frontlines. When the current health crisis first began sweeping across the U.S., Cheryl, Kathleen and two of their beauty-industry colleagues — writer Caroline Moss and Women's Health Beauty Director Kristina Rodulfo — began working together to act as the intermediaries between brands and hospitals. And to date, Donate Beauty has donated more than 140,000 beauty products to more than 30,000 healthcare workers at more than 400 hospitals. On this episode of The Partner Ship, hear how they've built an efficient and impactful organization with no prior nonprofit experience — all while maintaining demanding full-time jobs — and how they're planning to continue their efforts even as the curve flattens.

The Skimm co-founders Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, college friends-turned news producers-turned roommates, created The Skimm as a news source that spoke to smart, busy people and gave them their news in a way that fit into their routine. Like many entrepreneurs, Carly and Danielle launched The Skimm right from their couch in 2012 when they noticed more and more people coming to them with basic questions about the daily news. What started with an (enormously popular) daily email newsletter has since expanded to include an app, podcasts and more. Carly and Danielle have raised more than $30 million in funding, most recently in a round led by Google Ventures and Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Tune into this debut (!) episode of The Partner Ship to learn about how they've scaled their startup into a bona fide media company — and how they've done so together, every step of the way.

The Partner Ship Podcast invites business owners to talk about their journey of entrepreneurship. The podcast hosts and the guest speaker engage in a business-casual style conversation about serious and not-so-serious part of living that boss life.