Hi friends.  We aired our first episode May 5, 2020 and in the last three years we have grown an amazing community of formidable women and men. We're so grateful to everyone who has tuned in over the last few years and we love having grown this podcast together.  In our last and final episode of THE IDEALISTS., we stay true to what we do best: telling the truth and striving boldly.  Today, you get to hear from no-nonsense money coach Christy Rutherford. Regularly featured in Forbes,...

In this episode: Sedge Beswick, the CEO of SEEN Connects, an influencer marketing agency that generates a turnover of £20M and has offices in New York City and London, serving clients throughout Europe, including renowned brands such as eBay, Nike, and Panasonic. She has conducted workshops for notable businesses such as Lloyds Bank, Google, and No.10 Downing St, appeared on Sky News and BBC Breakfast, and written for publications such as The FT and The Drum. What we learned: Sedge gives us...

In this episode:  THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Kirin Sinha, award-winning CEO of Illumix which powers the most stunning Augmented Reality experiences for entertainment venues, theme parks like Disney Land, marketing campaigns, and digital experiences. Often featured in Forbes and Variety, Kirin has raised over $30M to build her AR company that services some of the world's most iconic experiences. What we learned: One of our favorite kinds of conversations is visioning out ideas for an ideal...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. releases our conversation with Angela Saini, award-winning science journalist and author. Her latest book “The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule” was published in spring 2023, and is a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. As the founder and chair of the 'Challenging Pseudoscience' group at the Royal Institution, Angela researches and campaigns around issues of misinformation and disinformation.  What we learned: Angela delves deep into the...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Angela Saini, award-winning science journalist and author. Her latest book “The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule” was published in spring 2023, and is a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. As the founder and chair of the 'Challenging Pseudoscience' group at the Royal Institution, Angela researches and campaigns around issues of misinformation and disinformation. The BBC regularly refers to Angela’s work and she sits on a number of...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, New York Times Bestselling author and Harvard trained neuroanatomist. Jill’s TED talk on the brain has received over 29 million views, and in 2008 Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. What we learned: Jill shows us how to get acquainted with the four characters in our brain so we can observe how they show up in our daily lives. By observing, and then balancing the whole brain, we gain a...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Julie Wainwright, founder and former CEO of The RealReal, an online marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment. The RealReal has raised over $350M and Julie is one of 33 women to ever take a company public. In this episode, Julie shares lessons learned from the public failure she endured before founding The RealReal.  What we learned: Julie shares the billion dollar mindset shift she experienced after realizing the growth potential of The...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Gail Becker, founder of CAULIPOWER, the first cauliflower crust pizza to make it into big box retailers. In five short years, CAULIPOWER experienced hyper-growth reaching more than $100M in revenue. What we learned: While bootstrapping her company as a total food novice, Gail spent the first year testing cauliflower crusts until she found the right formula. Using her kids as taste testers, this 12 month testing period was well worth it— her first...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Aisha Pandor, co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, Africa’s first online platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning services (think Uber for home cleaners). Aisha is one of Africa’s top female tech startup CEOs to have raised over $20M, as well as, a former scientist who completed her PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town. A story we love about Aisha is while writing her PhD thesis, she also completed a Postgraduate...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Yael Shemer, co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of TULU, an on-demand platform that operates in residential buildings and student housing, providing residents with access to household items they can rent by the hour. Tulu has raised over $30 million dollars and operates in 22 cities serving 50K people worldwide. In 2023 she was selected as a Forbes 30 under 30, and today she is inspired more than ever to help advance technologies on mitigating...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Monali Pandya, President of Di’Amore Fine Jewelers, a family-owned fine jewelry retailer founded by her father in 1993. Over the last 7 years as president, Monali has increased the brand’s revenue by 400% and sales referral business by 25%. What we learned: Monali  shares how she manages the intricacies involved in running a family-owned business. Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. At our website:...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Lisa Miller, market researcher and author of “The Business of Joy” and Barry McGowan, President & CEO of Fogo de Chão (yes, sometimes we have men on the show 😉). In this week’s episode, Barry and Lisa share how joy became Fogo's rally cry during the pandemic… as opposed to competitors who made business decisions from fear and scarcity. This episode is must listen for business owners long-term planning for a pending *whispers* recession. What we...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Dr. Brook Bello, tech entrepreneur, clinical counselor, actress, and the co-founder of Eval. Founded with “Call of Duty” co-founder Chance Glasgow, Eval is the first of its kind machine learning-enabled tool designed to support trauma victims, law enforcement and victim advocates. Brook was recently named a Google Next Gen Policy Leader and has spoken alongside presidents like Jimmy Carter, Prime Ministers and fellow change-makers like Ashton...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Anu Adasolum, co-founder and CEO of Sabi Am, Africa’s leading provider of digital commerce infrastructure for the distribution of goods and services. Nigeria based Sabi has done over a billion dollars in sales and has raised over $30M making Anu one of the most successful entrepreneurs to come out of Nigeria.    What we learned: Building her company in a cultural, geographic, and economic context often misunderstood by investors and international...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, speakS with Dr. Vivienne Ming, theoretical neuroscientist, artificial intelligence expert, and one of BBC's 100 women. Frequently featured for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Quartz and the New York Times, Vivienne is the co-founder of Socos Labs-- her fifth company-- an independent institute exploring the future of human potential. In this episode, Vivienne discusses her...

This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa resists her conversation with world-renowned Biological Anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. As the Chief Science Advisor for Match.com and as one of the foremost researchers in the area of the neuroscience of love, sex, and relationships, Helen has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, and gender differences in the brain. As a Senior Research Fellow at...

In this episode of THE IDEALISTS.: Melissa speaks with Dr. Sian Proctor, who launched into Earth's orbit as pilot of the Crew Dragon with SpaceX. As a geoscientist, artist, poet, and astronaut, not only did she grace the cover of Times Magazine, but she also appeared in “The Colony” on The Discovery Channel, “Genius by Stephen Hawking” on PBS,  “Strange Evidence” on the Science Channel, and “Countdown” on Netflix. During the conversation, Sian takes us into space with her and it is quite a...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Allie Egan, the founder of skincare brand Veracity. Rooted in scientific research, one of Veracity’s core beliefs is as your life changes, so does your health, and it’s driven by your hormones. And so Allie is pioneering hormone based wellness through their skin and health hormone test, their skincare products, and their line of supplements. Before founding Veracity, Allie began her career...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Jessica Zweig is an international award-winning entrepreneur, expert in personal branding, and best-selling author. As the Chief Executive Officer of SimplyBe., Jessica facilitates sold-out workshops and masterminds around the world, and speaks on the power of authentic personal branding to corporations including Google, Blackstone, Morningstar, Salesforce, Motorola, Nike, Verizon, Mars,...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Sarah Wells, a 400m Olympian hurdler who made her debut at the London Olympics in 2012 despite an injury that had her sidelined for nine months just a year before. Most recently you may have seen Sarah pushing her limits on the latest season of The Amazing Race Canada. As an Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist, obstacles don’t scare Sarah Wells. Sarah’s reputation was forged...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Martha Beck, a PhD Harvard-trained sociologist, entrepreneur, and Oprah's life coach. Her most recent book, The Way of Integrity, was an instant New York Times Best Seller and in it, using the hero's journey within Dante's Inferno, Martha challenges us to envision a life of complete joy... unencumbered by self-limiting beliefs and cultural programming. In this episode, Martha delves deep into how...

Welcome back to break*through! break*through is THE IDEALISTS. newest venture where we matchmake visionary women with world-class Executive Coaches. Today, you get a peek into this process by listening in on Alisa’s session. In 2015, in the middle of living her best life, 45-year-old, New York-based branding executive and former Armani & Calvin Klein model, Alisa woke up in the hospital after having shattered her face and jaw during an epileptic seizure in the grocery store on the...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Madeline Fraser, 3x serial entrepreneur who in 2021 Business Insider named one of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Under 30 to Watch. Today, Madeline is the founder and CEO of Gemist, a digital platform that allows consumers to customize and try on their jewelry before purchasing it. Gemist has been called the Warby Parker of the jewelry industry and has raised $4M with De Beers Group Ventures as one...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Jessica Buchanan, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six. The book details how Jessica was kidnapped at gunpoint on October 25, 2011, while she was on a normal field assignment in Somalia as a humanitarian aid worker, and held for 93 days by a group of land pirates who demanded $45M ransom. On former...