Behind Her Empire

Mayssa Chehata is the founder of BEHAVE Candy, a low-sugar, clean-label candy brand that just landed in nearly 2,000 Target stores nationwide and sold out within the first week.

But here's what you might not know. Two years ago, Mayssa was calling her lawyer to ask what bankruptcy would look like. She had left a dream career at the NFL, Uber, Daily Harvest, and SoulCycle to build a candy her diabetic father could finally eat. But after manufacturing failures, two reformulations, and a product she privately didn't believe in, she made the hardest call of her life: she paused the entire company for over a year. She moved to Mexico City because she couldn't afford her apartment in New York, personally guaranteed a bank loan, and hit what she calls her rock bottom. Then, with sixty days of cash left, she and her co-founder made one final plan. They called it burn the ships. Mayssa handed off everything and made TikTok videos all day, every day. Two weeks in, one video went viral and doubled the business overnight.

In this week's episode, Mayssa shares why Uber was her real business school, the gut feeling she ignored for two years about her own product, and what it takes to shut down and rebuild a company from scratch. She opens up about how a manifestation book gave her the courage to leave corporate and the inner child work that finally unblocked her. She shares the daily practices that pulled her out of burnout, from meditation and journaling to nervous system regulation, why her coach told her the business wouldn't work until she fixed everything underneath it, and how she went from brute-forcing twelve-hour days to learning that a regulated, healthy founder builds a better business. Whether your business is thriving or barely surviving, this episode will change how you think about success, failure, and everything in between.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Mayssa about:
* Why working at Uber felt like an entrepreneurial crash course. [02:49]
* Building an ownership mindset by creating opportunities from scratch. [06:59]
* The first signs she was meant to become an entrepreneur. [10:41]
* Chasing wealth vs. discovering a mission worth building. [14:29]
* Why she waited two years before launching the company. [20:16]
* Navigating manufacturing challenges and finding the right production partner. [23:17]
* How her father's diabetes inspired the idea for Behave. [25:23]
* How manifestation gave her the confidence to leave corporate. [27:32]
* Raising her first funding round and taking the leap into entrepreneurship. [33:11]
* Launching Behave during the uncertainty of the pandemic. [37:21]
* The product mistakes that nearly destroyed the business. [40:09]
* Why she decided to pause production and completely reformulate. [46:41]
* Surviving financial uncertainty, debt, and the threat of bankruptcy. [48:38]
* Why getting funding still wasn't enough to save the business. [55:36]
* Why a celebrity partnership wasn't the breakthrough they expected. [56:57]
* Rebuilding herself through inner child work, spirituality, and manifestation. [58:11]
* Betting everything on TikTok and finding a viral growth strategy. [01:01:40]
* How one viral video transformed the business and led to Target. [01:05:08]
* Growing beyond DTC by building a retail-first business. [01:06:40]
* Redefining productivity, healing burnout, and leading from a healthier place. [01:09:45]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Mayssa:
* Website: https://www.eatbehave.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatbehave/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Lo is the founder of Lo & Sons, the cult-favorite travel bag brand that basically invented the stylish carry-on for working women.

Helen started the company at 65 years old, after she had already retired. She was born into a privileged family in China that lost it all when her father died. She grew up in poverty, went to boarding school at seven, and promised herself she would never be poor again. She earned a PhD while raising babies, spent decades moving city to city for her husband's career, reinventing herself every single time. And when she finally said "I'm done," she couldn't find a travel bag that actually worked for women. So she recruited her two sons and flew to a factory in China with zero fashion or manufacturing experience. Nine prototypes later, she had the bag that built the business. Today, Lo & Sons is in its sixteenth year, still family run, built without a dollar of outside funding.

In this episode, Helen breaks down exactly how she went from idea to real business, how she validated the concept before spending a dime, how one phone call to a friend of a friend unlocked their first factory, and how they caught the early Facebook wave and one blog feature that changed the trajectory of the brand. She also gets really honest about what it costs to build a business with your own children, why she stepped down as CEO of her own company, the trade show flop that taught them everything, and the mistakes that slowed them down, like hiring too fast and pivoting too slow. Helen is proof that you don't need investors, industry experience, or perfect timing, just a real problem, the willingness to learn, and the courage to start. If you've been telling yourself it's too late or that this chapter of your life is already written, this is the conversation you need to hear.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Helen about:
* Why getting out of your comfort zone starts with an inner calling. [02:37]
* Growing up in poverty after losing everything and developing determination. [04:56]
* Generosity as her guiding principles in life and business. [05:55]
* Why an abundance mindset creates unexpected opportunities. [07:59]
* Putting her career on hold while supporting her husband's path and raising a family. [09:21]
* How a frustrating travel problem inspired the idea for a better bag. [12:41]
* How a lifelong curiosity fueled her entrepreneurial mindset. [17:48]
* Validating the business idea by talking to the right target customer. [20:01]
* Building the company alongside her sons. [21:00]
* Finding the first factory and learning product development from scratch. [24:48]
* The design feedback that transformed the original bag into the OG. [26:37]
* Refining every detail through customer feedback and multiple prototypes. [30:37]
* Why trade shows failed and social media became the brand's breakthrough. [33:04]
* Navigating today's changing marketing landscape. [37:06]
* The challenges of building a business alongside family. [39:27]
* Why stepping down as CEO was the right decision. [41:30]
* Why pivoting quickly and hiring intentionally are essential for long-term growth. [44:37]
* Why she wanted to be a mom again instead of her sons' boss. [46:15]
* Why persistence matters, but knowing when to pivot matters more. [48:43]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

This episode is also brought to you by Lo & Sons:
* Get 20% off one purchase at Lo & Sons with promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE20.

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Helen:
* Website: https://www.loandsons.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loandsons/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by my co-founder of Beeya Wellness, Kaya Purohit, and we're sitting down with two women who completely changed how I thought about my own fertility journey: Ronit Menashe and Vida Delrahim, the founders of WeNatal. These two are best friends who go all the way back to their Nike days, and years later, they each had a miscarriage one week apart. When the doctors said "it's just your age, there's nothing you can do," they refused to accept it. They dug into the research and found something that stunned them: half of all miscarriages are linked to sperm quality. And no one had asked their husbands a single question.

In this episode, we break down everything they wish every woman knew. We get into trimester zero and why it might be the most important trimester of all, the simple things you and your partner can start doing today to support your hormones and fertility, and why the "clock is ticking" narrative is not your full story. Ronit got pregnant at 41 and gave birth three days after her 42nd birthday. And that's the whole message of this episode: you have more control over your fertility than you think.

If you've ever been told you're too old, too late, or too far behind, this episode is your proof that you're not.

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Ronit and Vida:
* Website: https://wenatal.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/we_natal/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitmenashe/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vidadelrahim/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jenny Lei is the founder of Freja, the cult-favorite vegan handbag brand that you've probably seen on Hailey Bieber, Sarah Jessica Parker, and all over your feed.

But here's what you might not know. Jenny started Freja with no fashion background, no design experience, and no investors. She funded it herself with money she made from a dropshipping business she built after Googling "how to make money fast online" because she had to pay for her life living in NYC. She launched a work bag brand out of her New Jersey apartment in February 2020, weeks before the entire world stopped going to the office. She signed up two thousand people to an email list, sent her launch email, and didn't get a single sale. And she was doing all of it on a visa, with a clock ticking on whether she'd even get to stay in the country. Today, Freja is a multi-million dollar brand and one of the most talked-about names in the space.

In this episode, Jenny gets really honest about the slow years nobody talks about, why she believes growing too fast can actually be a curse, and the moment she broke down crying in an airport because she'd been holding the entire business together by herself, with no systems underneath her. We talk about the difference between selling products and creating a brand, how intuition is built through failure, and learning to separate who you are from the company you create. She also opens up about burnout, the systems and team she built behind Freja, and what it was like to step into the spotlight after years of hiding. If you're in one of those quiet, slow seasons right now — doing everything right, waiting for it to pay off — this is the conversation you need to hear.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Jenny about:
* Why growth should be measured by learning, not just revenue. [02:37]
* The downside of growing too fast without understanding why it worked. [03:58]
* Growing up with curiosity and the freedom to explore new interests. [04:05]
* Navigating identity after moving between China and the United States. [06:00]
* How a vegan Instagram account became an early entrepreneurial venture. [06:58]
* Separating personal identity from the business you build. [09:08]
* Why the business should work for you—not the other way around. [10:00]
* From Cornell graduate to Googling how to make money online. [13:55]
* Learning the fundamentals of online selling through dropshipping. [15:22]
* The difference between selling products and building a brand. [17:05]
* Creating Freja after failing to find the perfect work bag. [19:25]
* Using naive optimism to design a product without a fashion background. [20:25]
* Launching just before the pandemic and facing an immediate setback. [24:25]
* Why volume, consistency, and paid ads fueled early growth. [26:02]
* The gradual rise of Freja and the success of the Chrystie collection. [27:58]
* Reaching a turning point and finally viewing the company as a real business. [29:07]
* Burnout, team growth, and learning how to build systems at scale. [31:17]
* The marketing channels that mattered most from startup to scale. [35:23]
* Stepping into the founder spotlight and sharing the story behind the brand. [37:48]
* How journaling became the most impactful business tool. [42:33]
* Using ChatGPT and the Socratic method for better decision-making. [44:12]
* Moving to London, evolving as a designer, and reimagining the future of Freja. [45:51]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Jenny:
* Website: https://frejanyc.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frejanyc/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennyyleiii/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mariam Naficy is the founder and chairman of Minted — the online marketplace where independent artists around the world sell everything from cards to wall art to home decor. She's also the founder and CEO of Arcade, an AI platform reimagining how physical products get designed and made.

But before any of that, Mariam was the child of immigrants who fled Iran after the revolution and rebuilt their lives from scratch. Watching her family lose everything left her, by age ten, with one conviction: she would have to take care of herself. That drive carried her through Goldman Sachs and Stanford — where she became one of the only MBAs in her class to skip the corporate path and bet on herself, back when entrepreneurship wasn't really a thing.

In 1998, she co-founded Eve.com, one of the first online beauty retailers — back when investors told her women would never buy makeup online. It sold for over $100 million, just two weeks before the dot-com crash. Years later, she launched Minted. And it nearly broke her. Zero sales for months. Critics who dismissed the idea. A newborn at home. And the fear that her first big win had just been luck. The turnaround came when she stopped guessing, and started asking artists and customers what they actually wanted — and built one of the earliest creator-economy success stories.

In this episode, Mariam shares how fleeing Iran shaped her relationship with risk and money, what her mother meant when she said "beat all the boys," and why she bet on herself with no family history in business. We get into building Eve in the earliest days of e-commerce, selling a company before 30, and the darkest stretch of Minted — when she was ready to give her investors their money back. She tells us how she got through those dark times, the mindset that kept her going, and the advice she'd give other founders. She also opens up about motherhood, self-doubt, the pivot that saved the company, and what she's building now with Arcade.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Mariam about:
* How fleeing Iran shaped her relationship with risk and financial independence. [03:24]
* Why financial security became a driving force. [04:20]
* Choosing entrepreneurship over the traditional corporate ladder. [05:20]
* Being one of the only Stanford MBA graduates to start a company in 1998. [06:21]
* Writing and publishing a book to stand out and fund her education. [10:58]
* Convincing a future co-founder to leave New York and build a company together. [14:19]
* Launching one of the first online beauty retailers before e-commerce was mainstream. [15:49]
* Raising $26 million as first-time founders. [17:59]
* Selling the company just before the dot-com crash changed everything. [21:54]
* Navigating the emotional comedown after early success. [23:42]
* The lessons she learned between her first startup and launching Minted. [26:44]
* Facing the darkest moments of entrepreneurship when Minted struggled to gain traction. [30:19]
* Navigating motherhood while scaling a fast-growing company. [40:14]
* Stepping away from the CEO role to prioritize family during a pivotal season. [44:37]
* Building Arcade and using AI to reimagine product creation and manufacturing. [45:33]
* The biggest mistakes founders make when starting a business. [48:21]
* What she looks for when hiring future leaders and long-term team members. [49:19]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:
* If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances
* Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Mariam:
* Website: https://www.minted.com/
* Website: https://www.arcade.ai/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mnaficy/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minted/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcade.ai/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.