Aspire with Emma Grede
Emma Grede, one of America's richest self-made women, hosts conversations with successful people like Gwyneth Paltrow, Mellody Hobson, and Jay Shetty. The podcast unpacks their habits, philosophies, and strategies covering career advice, well-being, psychology, and business success. Each episode offers personal stories, data-driven advice, and real-world strategies to help listeners turn their dreams into reality.
Episodes
Andrew Rosen Built Theory and Backed SKIMS – Here’s What He’d Tell Every Founder
Andrew Rosen has spent nearly five decades building, investing in, and shaping some of the most influential brands in American fashion. As the co-founder of Theory and an early investor in brands like TWP, rag and bone, Veronica Beard, Alice + Olivia, Good American and SKIMS, he’s also one of Emma's closest mentors. His advice comes from doing the work — and learning what happens when things
Inside Cymbiotika: How Durana Elmi Built a Wellness Empire
Durana Elmi knows how to build a business. Before Cymbiotika, she built and exited four companies. She then took a wellness brand with one employee, one product, and almost no infrastructure and helped scale it into a $150 million business alongside her husband Shahab.In this episode of Aspire, Emma sits down with Durana to unpack the decisions behind that growth. They also get candid about m
How to Build a Beauty Brand People Believe In (ft. Tower 28, Danessa Myricks Beauty, Crown Affair)
It's easier than ever to launch a beauty brand—and harder than ever to make it last. In this first-ever Aspire founders roundtable, Danessa Myricks (Danessa Myricks Beauty), Dianna Cohen (Crown Affair), and Amy Liu (Tower 28) get honest about what it actually takes to build and scale a brand people believe in. These aren’t early ideas—they’re Sephora-scale businesses: Tower 28, launched in 2019, n
Introducing: Money Moves with Jill Schlesinger
There’s a lot of dopey financial advice out there. Jill Schlesinger is here to call it out, answer your questions, break down the financial news that actually matters, and help you manage your money without losing your mind. No jargon. No judgment. Just clear, actionable financial guidance about saving, investing, buying a home, managing your career, and deciding how to spend your hard-earned doll
The Science of a Well-Lived Life: How to Create a Life That Feels as Good as It Looks
Arthur C. Brooks believes we are living through an age of emptiness—a time when more people feel distracted, disconnected, and unsure of what will actually make their lives meaningful. In his latest book, The Meaning of Your Life, the Harvard professor and New York Times bestselling author examines why so many of the things we chase in pursuit of happiness can leave us feeling unsatisfied once we
Jennifer Garner on What Only Time Can Teach You
Jennifer Garner is an award-winning actor, producer, longtime Save the Children ambassador, and co-founder of Once Upon a Farm, an organic children’s food brand. After rising to fame on Alias, she built a career spanning more than three decades before entering entrepreneurship at 45 and helping grow Once Upon a Farm into a $724 million publicly traded company.Jennifer joins Emma to talk about the
Everything I Know About Money—and Why We Won’t Talk About It
In this solo episode, Emma shares how she thinks about money, from the lessons she learned growing up in East London to the principles she uses today. She gets into her personal financial priorities, why your earning power can matter more than your savings, how to negotiate from a position of strength, and why no woman should ever outsource the understanding of her own finances.In this episode, yo
Can You Turn What You Love Into a Real Business? (Krissy Cela, founder of Oner Active)
Emma sits down with Krissy Cela, founder and creative director of Oner Active, for an honest conversation about building a bootstrapped business on track to generate close to $300 million this year. Before Oner, Krissy spent a decade building a fitness audience and business from a student laptop, long before either was considered a conventional career path. Today, she owns 50 percent of one of the
How to Create What People Actually Want with Erin and Sara Foster
Erin and Sara Foster have spent more than 15 years working across television, fashion, media and investing. Today, they are behind the hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This, the fashion brand Favorite Daughter, a production company, a venture fund and a growing slate of projects—but their success did not arrive according to a master plan.In this episode, they join Emma to unpack the failures, pivot
What a Divorce Lawyer Wishes Every Woman Knew About Money and Marriage
Every woman should understand the partnership she's entering before a crisis forces her to. This episode is that conversation.Laura Wasser has spent 32 years as one of the country's most sought-after divorce attorneys. She’s the person people call when a marriage is ending. But what makes this conversation so valuable is that almost everything she knows matters long before anyone gets divorced.Thi
Emma Chamberlain On Building Chamberlain Coffee, Burnout & Walking Away From YouTube
Emma Chamberlain started posting videos at 16, before anyone fully understood what the creator economy would become. Within a couple of years she’d become one of the most watched people on YouTube with over 12 million subscribers, ambassador deals with Louis Vuitton, Cartier and Lancôme, and a Spotify-exclusive podcast. She helped define a new kind of fame, built one of the most recognizable perso
The Culture War Against Women (Reshma Saujani)
Reshma Saujani a leading advocate for women’s economic power, the founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, and the force behind the new documentary No Country for Mothers. After helping change the culture around girls in technology, she has turned her attention to the policies and assumptions that continue to push women—especially mothers—out of the workforce.In this conversation, she joins Emma
Kristin Cavallari on the Business That Set Her Free
Kristin Cavallari became a household name before she'd even graduated high school, and spent the next two decades building a life, a business, and a family under constant public scrutiny.
But this conversation isn't just about the version of her life you've seen on screen.
In this episode, Kristin sits down with Emma for a candid conversation about money, financial independence, and what it actual
Ask Me Anything: Pivoting in Your 40s, Plastic Surgery, and Starting a Business With No Money
In today’s solo episode, Emma dives into real listener questions: the actual mechanics of building from nothing, starting a business with no capital, why having no money can be an advantage, plus more nuanced questions about navigating your career, handling tricky mentors, and knowing when to quit.
She also gets into more personal reflections about her marriage, what her life looked like in her tw
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 companies and US government agencies. She's been teaching people how to build online for 25 years, long before the current AI wave. People call Lyttle the Queen of AI for good reason.
The AI conversatio
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.
What started with a makeup kit and a dream eventually led to working with some of the biggest names in the world, launching Patrick Ta Beauty, and becoming one of the most influential makeup artists of hi
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 boardrooms, where she became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn and raised more than $450 million in venture capital. But it also came with heartbreak, burnout, a co-founder fallout, and years spent tr
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 the end goal.
After nearly two decades as one of YouTube's most recognized creators, Jackie took $250,000 of her own money and started a fragrance brand. Not a makeup line — a fragrance brand. Her ch
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 she's come to believe is true: the team you build is the most honest reflection of how well you know yourself.
This is the real version of what Emma's looking for when she's sitting across from a candi
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, creator commerce, and live shopping. But this conversation is about more than algorithms and internet trends.
In this episode, Gary sits down with Emma to talk about the real reason most people stay stuck
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 replicate, or get her to explain, until now.
In this conversation, Emma gets Bethenny to do the thing she never does: open her playbook. Bethenny shows the work behind it all—the deal structures, the
How to Build Something Meaningful From Your Worst Chapter (Sarah Jakes Roberts)
Sarah Jakes Roberts is not a traditional entrepreneur. She’s the daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes, one of the most prominent pastors in America. Sarah became a mother at 13—and in the years that followed, she carried the weight of that story in public, under a spotlight she never asked for.
This conversation is about what happens when the thing you’re most ashamed of becomes the thing you build from
What You Don't Know About Brand Beckham
Victoria Beckham is one of the most famous women in the world. But behind the headlines is a business story that took nearly two decades to build.
She entered fashion with every reason to be dismissed. A Spice Girl. A celebrity. A public figure trying to be taken seriously in an industry that rarely gives second chances. The skepticism was loud. The losses were public. And at one point, she lost c
Oprah Winfrey Interviews Emma Grede on Her Debut Book "Start with Yourself”
This one is a little different.
For Emma, sitting down with Oprah Winfrey wasn’t just another interview — it was a full circle moment. A conversation years in the making with someone who helped shape how she thinks about success, ambition, and what’s possible.
In this special episode, Emma shares her conversation from The Oprah Podcast — one of the most honest conversations she’s had about her deb
On Negativity, Ambition, and Building a Serious Business (Tory Burch)
Tory Burch started her company in 2004 with a single store on Elizabeth Street in New York City, a friends and family round of funding, and a belief that purpose and business belong in the same sentence.
Twenty two years later, she has 400 stores in 70 countries. And she still hasn't had lunch.
In this conversation, Tory sits down with Emma to talk about what it really took to build one of the mos
How to Quiet the Voice That’s Holding You Back
Emma sits down with Tara Mohr, author of the bestselling ‘Playing Big’, for a conversation that started as an interview and turned into something much more personal. Tara has spent over a decade helping women understand why they hold themselves back — not from the outside, but from within.
Together Emma and Tara get into why your self-doubt gets loudest right when something actually matters, the
It’s Time to Start With Yourself
Emma’s debut book, Start With Yourself, is out today. This is the episode she’s been building toward since the very beginning of Aspire.
She’s doing something she’s never done on this podcast before. She’s taking on your questions about what’s at the heart of the book, including:
The core ideas behind her framework for work and life
Why this isn’t just a book for someone wanting to start
Bobbi Brown on Selling Your Name, Getting Fired, and Starting Over
What does it mean to build something so successful that it outgrows you, and then start again from nothing with your name legally off the table? Bobbi Brown built one of the most iconic beauty companies in the world. She was 37 when she sold it, stayed for 22 years, then eventually pushed out of the business that carried her name. She waited out a 25-year non-compete, and on the day the clock ran
Kimora Lee They Called Me a B*tch. I Built an Empire Anyway
Emma sits down with Kimora Lee – fashion icon, entrepreneur, and founder — to talk about building one of the most influential brands in fashion and the lessons she learned about power, ownership, and knowing her worth.
Kimora helped build Baby Phat into a cultural phenomenon, but behind the success were hard truths about being in rooms, contributing at the highest level, and still not getting wha
Her Next Money Move: Cardi B is Tired of Making Everyone Else Rich
Emma sits down with Cardi B, global superstar, entrepreneur, and now founder, to talk about what actually changed once she understood where her power sits.
Cardi didn’t come into this industry with a co-sign. She came in figuring it out in real time, investing her own money, navigating bad deals, and slowly realizing she’d been making everyone else rich before herself.
Now, as a two-time Grammy wi
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
The AI Lessons That Will Change How You Operate
Allie K. Miller has been working in AI for nearly 20 years, and she says most of us aren't even close to using these tools to their full potential. Today, she's going to teach us exactly how to change the way we work, think, and operate with AI.
Allie built teams at IBM and Amazon, advises companies like Google, OpenAI, and Salesforce, and TIME named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in A
Money Rules Everyone Should Know
In this episode, Emma sits down with financial educator and entrepreneur and everyone’s RichBFF, Vivian Tu to unpack why women are still the least likely to talk openly about money and what it ultimately costs them.
Vivian grew up translating bills for her immigrant parents and then went on to earn six figures on Wall Street before walking away from a $625K salary to build something on her own t
What Growing Up in Chaos Actually Teaches You (Rich Kleiman)
Emma has known Rich Kleiman for 20 years. In all that time, they've never talked about where he actually came from, until now. What came next was one of the most honest conversations we've had on the podcast.
The hardest story to change is the one you tell yourself. For Rich, it wasn't a lesson, it was survival.
He grew up navigating a volatile home on the Upper West Side. With a mother battling
How to Change Careers Without Starting From Scratch
Sometimes you can reach a point in your career when everything looks right on paper, but feels completely wrong. And wanting something different doesn’t make you ungrateful, it signals growth.
But the next step is where a lot of people make emotional decisions. They quit without having a plan, waiting to feel ready before they make a move, or talking themselves out of it entirely.
In this episod
Why Financial Education is the Best Investment You Can Make (Tori Dunlap)
The truth is, most of us weren’t taught how to manage our money, we were taught not to talk about it.
From salary transparency and investing to honest discussions about debt and risk, women are left out of the conversation. Today’s guest, Tori Dunlap, is trying to change that. She’s built HerFirst $100K into a multi-million dollar education platform by helping women reshape their relationship wit
Negotiation Starts Before You Enter the Room
Mori Taheripour is one of the leading negotiation experts in the country, but her most important lesson may be this: negotiation has nothing to do with conflict and everything to do with knowing your worth.
The Wharton professor has spent the last 22 years teaching people how to ask for what they want, not by using scripts or tactics, but by rebuilding the self-belief that life slowly chips away
How to Scale While Keeping Your Brand Intact (Kelly Wearstler)
Kelly Wearstler is one of the most influential designers in the world, but her real genius may be how she turned taste into a scalable multi-million dollar business.
Over the years, she’s built a company that stretches far beyond interiors, expanding into product, licensing, creative direction, and media all while staying closely involved in the work itself. In this conversation, we get into the
How to Nail Your Next Interview
Interviewing isn’t a personality test. It’s a skill, and it’s one you can learn.
In this Career Girl’s Guide episode, Emma breaks down what actually makes someone stand out in the room. Drawing from years of interviewing — on both sides of the table — she shares the mindset shifts and practical tools that separate average candidates from unforgettable ones.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How
Glucose Goddess Turned Sugar Hacks Into an 8-Figure Business (Jessie Inchauspé)
Today on Aspire, Emma sits down with Jessie Inchauspé, known to millions as The Glucose Goddess.
What started as a personal health experiment turned into three bestselling books, a global community, and an eight-figure business — built from the ground up, without outside investors.
But this conversation isn’t about going viral. It’s about control.
Emma and Jessie talk about the very intentional de
How to Turn Rejection into Your Biggest Advantage (Laney Crowell)
Today on Aspire, Emma sits down with Laney Crowell, founder and CEO of Saie – a brand that consistently has seven products ranked in the top ten at Sephora.
Emma and Laney talk about what it really took to build Saie from scratch: the mindset shifts, the operational discipline, the hiring decisions, and the resilience required to scale without a traditional founder background.
In this episode, La
Why Execution Matters More Than The Right Idea with Issa Rae
Issa Rae is entering a new chapter — not from the bottom, but from experience.
After disrupting modern television with shows like HBO’s Insecure, building business across multiple industries, and creating some of the most culturally resonant work of the last decade, Issa sits down with Emma for a reflective conversation about power, execution, and what it really means to build something that lasts
From a Single Instagram Handle to a Media Empire (Angelica Nwandu)
Angelica Nwandu shouldn’t be here...not according to the statistics. After surviving the unimaginable loss of her mother at age six and growing up in foster care, she rebuilt her world from scratch. Today, she stands as the powerhouse founder behind The Shade Room, one of the most influential media platforms in culture.
In this rare intimate conversation, Angelica opens up to Emma about:
-
What Most Leaders Get Wrong (Simon Sinek)
In this powerful conversation, Emma sits down with Simon Sinek to redefine what leadership actually looks like in today’s world.
Known for shaping how millions think about purpose and influence, Simon goes deeper than theory, challenging the outdated idea that leadership is about authority, titles, or control. Instead, he breaks down why real leadership is rooted in responsibility: the responsibil
Buiding Our Tolerance for Frustration (Dr. Becky)
Why do ambitious moms feel like they’re failing even when everything looks successful from the outside?
In this enlightening episode of Aspire, Emma sits down with parenting expert and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Dr. Becky Kennedy for a conversation about motherhood, ambition, guilt, and what kids actually need from us.
Dr. Becky breaks down why working moms feel stretched so thin, how c
25 Million People Can't be Wrong: This Advice Will Change Your Life (James Clear)
What if the smallest decisions you make today determine who you become in 2026?
In this powerful New Year conversation, James Clear — author of Atomic Habits, the global phenomenon with over 25 million copies sold — sits down with Emma to break down the real psychology of habits, identity, and long-term success. Whether you're trying to reset your routines, build discipline, or reinvent your life
Mel Robbins: The One Thing That Actually Matters
In this deeply honest conversation, Mel Robbins sits down with Emma for one of the most raw, generous, and energizing interviews she’s ever given. Fresh off the global success of The Let Them Theory and hosting one of the world’s biggest podcasts, Mel opens up about what’s really behind her “overnight” rise: 16 years of unseen work, fierce mission-driven clarity, and a relentless commitment to hel
How Dr. Barbara Sturm Built a Billion Dollar Beauty Brand with Zero Training
How does a doctor with zero beauty training build one of the most influential skincare brands in the world? In this episode of Aspire, Emma Grede sits down with Dr. Barbara Sturm — the founder behind a global, anti-inflammatory skincare empire — to reveal the true story you’ve never heard.
Dr. Sturm opens up about the bullets she dodged, the bets she made, and the risks that almost broke her. Fr
How to Build a Powerful Network
How does building a strong network help propel you in your career and business life? This mini-episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, answers that very question.
After listening, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of what a network actually is, why it matters, and most importantly how you can create it for yourself, from where you are with what you have. We’ll also touch on the importance of
The Five Types of Wealth Everyone Needs with Sahil Bloom
Emma sits down with bestselling author and entrepreneur Sahil Bloom to unpack the five types of wealth that actually determine whether your life feels meaningful or painfully empty.
Sahil opens up about the real turning point in his life: chasing external success, hitting every traditional milestone, and still feeling like something was deeply wrong. As he tells Emma, he was “winning the game”,
The Five Lessons That Shook Me This Year
In this solo episode, Emma Grede looks back on the conversations that shaped her most in the first year of Aspire. From billion-dollar founders to cultural icons to the people closest to her, Emma revisits the moments that shifted her thinking, changed her routine, and genuinely shook her this year.
These five lessons span money, mindset, ambition, career, and emotional resilience. Together, they
Why Doing It All Still Doesn’t Feel Like Enough with Dr. Judith Joseph
You’re doing it all, the work, the family, the goals, but somehow, it still doesn’t feel like enough.
Psychiatrist Dr. Judith Joseph joins Emma to unpack high-functioning depression — the hidden burnout behind success. They break down why overachievers feel empty even when they’re thriving, how “pathological productivity” keeps us stuck, and the simple science of finding real joy again.
Watch to
What to Spend On (and What Not To) When You’re Building a Brand
Have you recently become a new founder and find yourself asking the question: Where should I spend my money when I’m just starting out? What matters most in the beginning, and what can wait? This mini-episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, brought to you by Shopify, will help you answer those questions. On today’s pod, Emma will help you decide which areas of your new business need attention and which
How to Win in the Golden Age of Entrepreneurship
What separates the entrepreneurs who start… from the ones who win?
Harley Finkelstein (President of Shopify and the man who has worked with millions of founders) sits down with Emma Grede to reveal the hard-earned truths behind building a business that lasts. From the real reason most people never act on their ideas, to why the “golden age of entrepreneurship” is happening right now, Harley breaks
The Obsession That Made Her Unstoppable with Charlotte Tilbury
What does it take to turn obsession into a billion-dollar beauty empire?
In this episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, global makeup icon Charlotte Tilbury sits down with Emma to share how she went from a young girl with a dream to building one of the most powerful and influential beauty brands in the world.
Charlotte opens up about the mindset behind her success — how belief, obsession, and relentle
Is Your Idea Worth Pursuing? Here’s How to Tell
Do you have a spark of an idea that feels like it has potential? This mini-episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, brought to you by Shopify, will help you realize if your spark has the potential to turn into a flame. On today’s pod, Emma offers solid steps to begin realizing your idea’s possibility. From identifying what problem your idea is solving to differentiating yourself from a crowded market, E
“Don’t Let Anyone Control You With Money” with Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon may be known as America’s sweetheart — but behind the scenes, she’s built a billion-dollar empire that changed Hollywood for women everywhere.
In this episode of Aspire, Emma Grede sits down with Reese to talk about the moment she stopped waiting for permission, the lessons she learned about money and ownership, and what it really takes to pivot in your career when everything loo
Find Your Why. Start Your Business.
Have you ever wanted to start a business but told yourself, not now, it’s not the right time? This mini-episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, brought to you by Shopify, might help you realize, there’s no perfect time to start a business. On today’s pod, Emma shares why she decided to become an entrepreneur and offers key insights from her journey over the years. From tips on how to discover your “why
The Change Agent: From Street Corner to the Corner Office (Steve Stout)
If you’ve ever felt like where you come from holds you back — or that success only happens for people with access — this conversation will change how you see yourself.
Music mogul, entrepreneur and branding genius Steve Stoute joins Emma to reveal how he turned being underestimated into his advantage, using his roots, instincts, and connection to culture to build an empire that reshaped music, mar
You Can Start That Business. Here’s How.
Thinking about starting a business but don’t know where to begin? In this solo episode, Emma breaks down the 10-step blueprint every first-time founder needs to turn an idea into a real company. From testing your idea to understanding the completion and market landscape to building a brand, pricing for profit, and leading a team — Emma shares the lessons she’s learned building multiple brands into
Creating Success Word by Word with Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross has built an extraordinary life as an award-winning actor, producer, entrepreneur, and visionary founder of Pattern Beauty. But behind all of that success is a woman who believes deeply in the power of words.
In this episode of Aspire, Emma Grede sits down with one of her favorite women — and businesswomen — on the planet to talk about how Tracee’s intentional approach to languag
Start with Yourself: Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life
If you’ve ever felt stuck, like no matter how hard you work, something’s holding you back, it’s probably not your talent or your hustle. It’s your mindset.
In this solo episode, Emma Grede reveals how mastering your mind is the ultimate unlock for success, confidence, and peace of mind. She shares the exact mindset tools she’s used to build businesses, overcome fear, and turn self-doubt into fuel
The Power of Personal Branding with Paris Hilton
If you’ve ever wondered how to turn your personal brand into a thriving business, Paris Hilton has the answers.
In this episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, Paris reveals the strategies that helped her turn her image into an empire — long before “influencer” was even a word.
You’ll hear how she:
-Built one of the most recognizable personal brands in the world
-Turned consistency and authenticity int
Love, Family and Business: How To Work With a Partner with Jens Grede
Aspire with Emma Grede is a finalist for Best New Podcast with Signal’s Listener Choice Awards! Vote here.
In this episode of Aspire, Emma Grede sits down with her husband, Jens Grede— media and retail investor, CEO of Skims, Chairman of Frame and founder of the Saturday Group. Jens’ business acumen has been instrumental to Skims’ exponential growth, which has a current valuation of $4 billion.
Unlock Your Brain’s Full Potential
Aspire with Emma Grede is a finalist for Best New Podcast with Signal’s Listener Choice Awards! Vote here.
What if your brain holds the key to unlocking success, resilience, and joy?
In this episode, Emma sits down with neuroscientist, executive coach, and MIT lecturer Dr. Tara Swart to explore how to harness the full power of your brain. Dr. Swart shares practical tools and cutting-edge science
Plan Your Life Like a Business
On her birthday, Emma Grede reveals the simple system she uses to turn goals into reality. She shares the five questions that shape her yearly plan, the science behind habits that stick, and why tiny, consistent actions create massive change. Whether you want to grow your career, improve your health, or live with more intention, this is your blueprint for making it happen.
From Video Store to Netflix Co-CEO, Ted Sarandos
From a video rental store to a corner office at Netflix. Emma sits down with Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos as he reveals how he built one of the most influential companies in the world — and the leadership lessons he’s learned along the way.
You’ll hear Ted’s insights on:
Taking bold risks and trusting your gut
Making the toughest decisions as a leader
Why values and vision matter mo
What We Can Learn from Failure with Ami Colé Founder, Diarrha N’Diaye
What does it really take to build a brand from scratch — and what happens when you have to close the doors?
In this candid conversation, Emma sits down with Diarrha N’Diaye, founder of the beloved beauty brand Ami Colé, to talk about the highs of launching a cult-favorite company and the heartbreak of shutting it down. Diarrha shares the behind-the-scenes realities of raising capital, entering maj
How People-Pleasing, Perfectionism, And Burnout Are Actually Trauma Responses With Dr. Thema
What’s really holding you back from the life you want? In this powerful conversation, Emma Grede sits down with Dr. Thema Bryant — psychologist, author, and pastor — to unpack the hidden stories, unresolved trauma, and self-sabotaging patterns that keep us from thriving.
Together, they dive into:
Why so many of us are standing on our own wings — and how to stop.
The surprising ways fear of
Lessons from Hollywood’s Most Powerful Woman—And How They Can Help You (with Donna Langley)
If you’ve ever walked into a room and felt the weight of being the only one like you, questioned whether you could take bold risks without losing yourself, or wondered how to build a career on your own terms, this is your episode. We dive into the mindset shifts that helped Donna Langley rise from a small town childhood on the isolated Isle of Wight in England with no Hollywood connections to beco
Why Your Biggest Gambles Must Always Be On Yourself (with Kandi Burruss)
If you’ve ever felt the sting of being underestimated, been told your best ideas were too big, or wondered how to turn the next chapter of your life into a big win, this is your episode. We dive into the emotional highs and lows of being someone who refused to stay behind the scenes, the balance of motherhood and ambition and the gamble of betting on yourself when the stakes feel impossibly high.
Aspire with Jessica Alba: Why It’s Time to Break Up with Perfection
If you've ever felt underestimated, struggled with mom-guilt, or wondered if it's possible to truly balance ambition and personal peace, this is your episode. We dive into the emotional costs of overachievement, building a business as a mother of three, the moments of doubt when everyone underestimated her, and the heartbreaks that shaped her perspective on success and leadership. This isn't just
The Aspire Playbook: How Lucy Guo, a Rebel Girl in a Man’s World, Became the World’s Youngest Self-Made Female Billionaire
Emma sits down with Lucy Guo to uncover the incredible journey of how the daughter of immigrants from Fremont, California, became the world's youngest self-made female billionaire.
Unapologetic and refreshingly candid, Lucy offers practical insights into monetizing your passions, securing the equity you deserve, and maintaining authenticity while chasing your dreams. From being a 14-year-old comp
Aspire with Bozoma Saint John: Why Playing Small Is Sabotaging Your Success (and How to Stop)
In this electrifying sit-down, marketing powerhouse Bozoma Saint John tells Emma Grede how trusting her gut—and refusing to shrink—propelled her from a junior assistant’s cubicle to the C-suite, and now to founding the hair-care disruptor, Eve by Boz. She unpacks why “excellence is a baseline” was the mantra drilled into her by her Ghanaian parents, shares the exact language she used to claim cred
The Aspire Playbook: How Allison Ellsworth Turned a Kitchen Experiment into a Billion-Dollar Brand
Ever wondered what it really takes to turn your small idea into a billion-dollar success? Today, Emma sits down with Allison Ellsworth, the founder behind Poppi, the revolutionary beverage brand that became the second fastest-growing drink company in history. Allison shares the real, raw journey—from brewing her first drink in her kitchen, to putting her life savings on the line, and ultimately la
The Aspire Playbook: Mark Cuban’s Day-1 Blueprint for Startup Success and How AI is Changing Entrepreneurship Forever
Why do most startups fail, and how can you avoid it? In this episode of the Aspire podcast, Mark Cuban breaks down exactly what new founders get wrong, how to take an idea from nothing to something, and the critical Day 1 steps every entrepreneur must get right. He also explains why mastering AI isn’t optional anymore and how it’s completely changing how businesses are built. Whether you’re just s
Aspire with Charlamagne Tha God: From Broke at 30 to Millionaire Mogul— The Steps You Can Steal
In this raw and deeply honest conversation, Charlamagne tha God joins Emma Grede to reflect on his remarkable journey—from a troubled youth in South Carolina to becoming one of the most influential voices in media. Charlamagne opens up about his early run-ins with the law, the wake-up calls that changed his path, and the mindset that helped him build an empire across radio, books, podcasts, and TV
Aspire Insights: How to Speak So People Will Listen (with Communication Expert Jefferson Fisher)
Emma Grede sits down with trial-lawyer-turned–viral communication coach Jefferson Fisher—author of the New York Times bestseller The Next Conversation—to unpack the single skill that drives every success: how you speak. Together they explore why social-media overload is eroding real dialogue, then trade real-world fixes that work from the boardroom to the dinner table. Jefferson explains how a smi
Aspire with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson: The Power of Knowing Your "Why"
Emma sits down for an intimate, inspiring conversation with former First Lady Michelle Obama and her big brother, Craig Robinson. In this special episode, Michelle and Craig open up about family, leadership, and the values that shaped them, from their early years sharing on Chicago’s South Side to the White House. Michelle reflects candidly on balancing motherhood, public life, and personal ambiti
Aspire with Meghan: Why Ambition Is Her Jam (and How She Bottles It)
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, isn’t just launching a brand—she’s rewriting what it means to build one under relentless public scrutiny. In her first wide-ranging interview about her new company As Ever, Meghan joins Emma for a candid conversation about the pressure, the pivots, and the power of betting on yourself when the world is watching.They get into it all: why a humble jar of jam became her fir
