Too Smart For This

Monique Rodriguez went from being a registered nurse to building Mielle Organics, an organic multicultural haircare brand that was acquired by Procter & Gamble in a 9-figure, non-controlling deal — making her the first Black woman to secure this type of investment. And she did it with no business background, no MBA, and years of bootstrapping.

If you're trying to figure out how to start something when you don't have a business degree, if you're bootstrapping and wondering when or if funding will come, or if you're afraid of what people will say when you make moves they don't understand, this conversation is for you. Monique shares about the grief that catalyzed her pivot to entrepreneurship, the unglamorous reality of building without resources, how she finally secured investment after constant rejection, and why the P&G acquisition wasn't selling out, it was selling up.

What You'll Learn:

How Monique went from registered nurse to founder with no business background
Why grief and loss became the catalyst for starting Mielle Organics
How to bootstrap a business and the unglamorous reality of it all
How she raised investment after getting rejected by dozens of investors
What the 9-figure P&G acquisition actually means for Black founders
How to deal with criticism from your community when you "sell up"
How she uses social listening to develop products her customers actually need
Why setting boundaries with social media is essential for mental health

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:35] - From registered nurse to 9-figure founder with no business background
[04:30] - Why she chose nursing over her real passion
[08:15] - How grief became the catalyst for starting her business
[12:45] - How do you know when to quit your job and go full-time?
[16:20] - How to bootstrap a product business
[19:30] - What bootstrapping actually looks like
[23:15] - How do you raise investment for your business?
[27:40] - What happens when investors keep saying no
[31:20] - How the 9-figure P&G acquisition happened (how to
[35:50] - How do you deal with criticism from your community?
[39:15] - What's the difference between selling out and selling up?
[43:30] - How to use social listening for product development
[47:20] - How do you protect your mental health as a founder?
[50:45] - Why she limits social media and avoids doom scrolling
[53:30] - What's next: longevity science and health equity

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:
@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en
@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:
Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:
@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at [email protected]

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

If you're tired of waiting for the right job, the right opportunity, or the right moment to finally feel powerful — this episode is your wake-up call.

The truth is, power isn't something you build from scratch. It's not waiting for you at the next job title, the next salary bump, or the next milestone. The power is already within you — you just need to stop giving it away to circumstances, external validation, and the need to be chosen.

In this episode, Alexis walks through 6 frameworks for standing in your power: taking inventory of resources you already have, using capability transfer to unlock new areas of your life, first principles thinking to find creative solutions, building alter egos to activate powerful energy, dressing like the woman you want to be, and metabolizing chaos instead of letting it derail you.

If you've been playing small, waiting for permission, or giving your power away without realizing it — this one's for you.

What You'll Learn:

Why power isn't something you build from scratch
How to take inventory of your actual resources instead of focusing on what you lack
The capability transfer technique: how to apply your natural strengths to new areas
What first principles thinking is and how it unlocks creative solutions
How to use alter egos and music to activate powerful energy on demand
Why metabolizing chaos – not avoiding it – is the key to staying grounded

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Why you're already powerful, you just don't realize it yet
[04:15] - How to stop waiting for external validation to feel worthy
[08:30] - The resource inventory: what you already have that you're not using
[12:45] - Capability transfer: how to apply your strengths to new areas of life
[16:20] - What is first principles thinking
[20:10] - How to build an alter ego and use music to activate power
[23:40] - Why powerful women dress however they want (enclothed cognition)
[26:50] - How to metabolize chaos instead of reacting to it
[30:15] - Your bounce back rate matters more than never getting triggered

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en
@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:
Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:
@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at [email protected]

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Ladies, grab your notebooks, this episode is an absolute masterclass. This week’s guest is Pauline Brown, the former Chairman of LVMH North America, a board member who's worked with companies like Estée Lauder, Carlyle Group, and Neiman Marcus, and now an author, professor, and entrepreneur building a life and career entirely on her own terms. She's also one of the most thoughtful people you'll hear talk about power, taste, and what it actually takes to build a life that's aligned with who you are.

If you're feeling stuck in a role that looks good on paper but doesn't feel right, if you're trying to figure out your non-negotiables, or if you're tired of optimizing for everyone else's definition of success, this episode is for you. Pauline shares the exact exercise that helped her identify what matters most, how to recognize when something is deeply misaligned and being brave enough to walk away, what aesthetic intelligence actually is and why it's your competitive advantage in the age of AI, and how to stop giving your power away to hierarchies, proving energy, and other people's expectations.

People pay thousands of dollars to learn from Pauline at Columbia and Harvard, and we're getting this wisdom for free. Let's dive in.

What You'll Learn:

The 100 cards exercise that helped Pauline figure out her non-negotiables 30 years ago
What aesthetic intelligence actually is and why it's your superpower in the age of AI
The 4 steps to developing taste
Why work-life balance is a myth
How to redefine wealth when you're no longer optimizing for money
Why being yourself is the only thing you do better than anyone else

EPISODE CHAPTERS
[06:30] - What it was like being an ambitious woman at Wharton in the 90s
[12:15] - How to find your career non-negotiables using the 100 cards exercise
[18:45] - Why she left consulting for products, creativity, and New York
[24:30] - Watching entrepreneurs get rich from her expertise while she stayed on salary
[31:20] - The decision to leave Carlyle Group
[38:15] - What happened when she stopped defending "what do you do?"
[44:50] - Aesthetic intelligence: the other AI
[52:30] - How to develop taste in 4 steps
[58:40] - Why partnership as an ambitious woman requires the right plant
[65:20] - Why work-life balance is a myth and what actually works
[71:45] - Ambitious material girl rapid fire

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE
Instagram:
@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en
@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:
Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:
@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at [email protected]

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS
You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success. Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less. Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

This episode is about power, and we're not apologizing for it. Ambitious women are taught to serve everyone else, be the good girl, and never admit they want to be powerful. But your power is already within you, and this episode is about how to stop accidentally giving it away and step into your full power as a woman.

Power isn't the money, the titles, or the degrees. It's not even the relationship or the job. Those things can amplify your power if you let them, but they can also mute it if you're not careful. Your power lives in your energy, and wherever your energy goes, that's where your power flows. So if you're constantly exhausted, resentful, or feeling like you're performing for everyone else, you're leaking power somewhere.

In this episode, Alexis walks through the 5 ways ambitious women give their power away, and the one question to ask yourself this week: where has my energy gone that I didn't consciously send it? That's where your power is — and it's time to go get it back.

What You'll Learn:

What power actually is
The 5 ways ambitious women accidentally give their power away
Why you're giving your power to your circumstances and how to stop
Locus of control: internal vs external validation
Why smart girls have nothing to prove
The one question to ask yourself this week to reclaim your power

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[01:30] - Welcome: Why we're talking about power this month
[03:15] - What power actually is and what it's not
[06:30] - Power leak #1: Following rules you've never questioned
[09:45] - Power leak #2: Proving energy and auditioning for approval
[13:00] - Power leak #3: Giving your power away to mirrors
[16:15] - Power leak #4: Your circumstances don't define your ceiling
[19:30] - Power leak #5: Keeping yourself small to avoid responsibility
[22:45] - Everything you want is on the other side of Cringe Mountain
[25:00] - The one question to ask yourself this week

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en
@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/
TikTok:
@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber
Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937
Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at [email protected]

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

If you want to build a powerful network without draining your social battery or working the room like a used car salesman, this episode is for you.

Phoebe Dodds is a global connector, ecosystem builder, co-founder of Social Capital, and the woman Harvard Business Review, Vogue, and Forbes turn to when they want to talk about the future of relationships and business. She's built connections across companies like Apple and Airbnb — not by hustling harder, but by understanding how human connection actually works.

This conversation is full of concrete tools you can use immediately. From what to actually say when you're meeting someone for coffee and why you should network at your level instead of only reaching for the C-suite to how one message a week can completely change your trajectory. Phoebe breaks down her approach to moving across continents and boardrooms while building a network that genuinely opens doors without feeling like a second job.

What You'll Learn:

How Phoebe got hired from one cold message on LinkedIn
The 100 new connections challenge and why it works
Why you should network at your level, not just C-suite
How to use jealousy as a tool for your vision board
Network stacking: bringing people together strategically
Low-lift conversation starters that actually work
How to keep networking organic without tracking systems

Find Phoebe here:
Substack: Social Currency | @phoebedodds1
LinkedIn: Phoebe Dodds

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[01:39] - Welcome: Phoebe Dodds on networking without the sleaze
[06:15] - How every cool thing Phoebe's done came through her network
[12:30] - The cold LinkedIn message that led to a year-long contract
[18:45] - Why networking is your safety net in an uncertain economy
[24:20] - The 100 new connections challenge
[36:40] - Jealousy as a vision board tool
[42:15] - Moving across continents and building networks everywhere
[48:30] - Network stacking and making it easy on yourself
[54:20] - Low-lift conversation starters that work
[56:00] - Rapid fire Q&A

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:
@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en
@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:
Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:
@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber
Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at [email protected]

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com