Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business
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  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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👋 We're Alex and Lee, serial entrepreneurs and multi-exit founders. Our journey has made us magnets for the challenges ambitious women face in career, family, and personal fulfillment. We're launching a platform for honest discussions about conscious entrepreneurship, career growth, and holistic success. We'll explore topics like mastering self-promotion authentically, transforming imposter syndrome into career catalysts, balancing work, family, and well-being, innovative strategies for entrepreneurial success, and much more.

  1. 2D AGO

    Why Most DTC Brands Get Retail Wrong (and How to Fix It) with Nate Rosen @ Express Checkout

    He's seen the balance sheets behind the brands your feed tells you are crushing it. And what he's found? The gap between the press release and the spreadsheet is bigger than you think. Nate Rosen is the co-founder of Express Checkout: the media company covering CPG, consumer brands, and retail with the kind of depth and honesty the industry doesn't always love. With a twice-weekly Substack newsletter, a weekly podcast, and an Instagram account he grew to 36k followers in under three months, Nate has built one of the most trusted independent voices in the consumer brand world. Before Express Checkout, he spent years inside CPG. He was watching founders navigate cash flow crises while posting glossy Erewhon launch announcements, watching brands land major retailers without the sell-through infrastructure to support it, and learning what actually separates the brands that compound from the ones that flame out quietly. On this episode of Unfinished Business, Alex and Lee sit down with Nate for one of the most grounded, practical conversations we've had yet. In this episode: - Why you cannot compare yourself to other brands and why doing so is holding you back (the RXBAR lesson is one you'll remember) - D2C vs. retail packaging: why your best-converting DTC packaging will probably fail on shelf - The "three-second rule" that separates retail-winning brands from the ones that get passed by - When a DTC brand is actually ready to go retail and the specific signals Nate looks for before recommending the jump - Why your influencer strategy needs to match your distribution strategy (and the expensive mistake brands keep making) - How Siete, Liquid Death, and OLLY built brand + distribution strategies that compound and what you can take from each - How he grew @expresscheckout to 36,000 Instagram followers in three months Nate is the kind of person who will give you the real answer even when it's not the one you were hoping for. And in a world where so much of the CPG conversation is performative, that's exactly what this industry needs more of. If you're a founder building a consumer brand, whether you're DTC-only, thinking about retail, or already in stores, this episode is for you.

    38 min

  2. MAR 10

    How to Build a DTC Brand That Actually Lasts with Brooke Yoakam

    Most marketing decisions aren't driven by strategy. They're driven by ego. That's the honest (and slightly uncomfortable) truth that Brooke Yoakam, founder of AvidAI and the brand analyst behind @thebrandblueprint_, dropped on this week's Unfinished Business. And she's not wrong. Brooke has been an entrepreneur since she was 13. She built GiftPocket, a customer acquisition platform with 300+ brand partnerships (including Chipotle, ASOS, and Nasty Gal). She then founded AvidAI, an AI-powered platform that helps Shopify brands unlock retention insights and streamline acquisition. She went through Techstars Boulder in 2022. And somewhere along the way, she started an Instagram account @thebrandblueprint_ just as a creative outlet. Now she has 100,000+ followers who tune in to watch her break down the why behind every brand move. In this episode, Brooke gives Alex and Lee a masterclass in how to think about brand building from the inside out, the ego-driven marketing decisions that quietly kill brands, the real meaning of ROI (and why most people get the timing wrong), and the framework she uses to help brands stop guessing and start measuring. We covered: → Making your product habitual: How to position your product as a need, not a want, and use data to time your retargeting perfectly (hint: if you're hitting someone at the 30-day mark and they still have half a bottle, you're just burning money) → The "why" behind great brand decisions: What the BEIS car wash pop-up actually revealed about crisis management and brand narrative control → Super Bowl ads & opportunity cost: Why a $10M Super Bowl commercial might be your worst $10M investment, and what you could do instead → ROI needs time: The Ole Henriksen/Sunni Lee story, Nello at Coachella, and why the brands that pull the plug too early never see the return → Collabs done right (and very wrong): Why "Target collabs is where brands go to die," and how to find the right brand partner without diluting your equity → Data-driven content: The 30-day/30-idea testing framework, A-B hook testing, and how to use ManyChat UTM links to actually track sales back to specific posts → Going viral ≠ making sales: The brand that got 40M views and zero sales, and what went wrong → What actually makes a brand premium: Hint: it's not the price tag. It's whether your customers pay full price every time. → TikTok Shop: Why it works for some brands and quietly damages others (and what Hulken should think about before jumping in) → Live shopping, packaging, guerrilla marketing: Brooke's live consultation on what she'd do for Hulken if she were on the team This is one of those episodes you're going to want to send to your whole team if you want to learn the best tactics and strategies for brand building in 2026.

    40 min

  3. MAR 3

    Why the Best DTC Brands Build Slow (with Steph Hon @ Cadence)

    She spent two years building one product. Went through 207 prototypes. Filed 4 patents. Heard 2,500 nos from investors. And now has 200 of them. That's Steph Hon, founder and CEO of Cadence: the modular, magnetic, TSA-compliant capsule system that's redefining how people carry their routines on the go. Made with recycled ocean plastics. Built with a philosophy that hasn't wavered since day one: don't rush. Don't compromise. Get it right. Before building one of the most innovative product brands in the DTC space, Steph was a ballet dancer, then a film director, then a sports marketer. None of which is a traditional path to founding a CPG company. But every chapter built something she'd eventually use: a heightened physical awareness of how people interact with their products, where friction lives, and how design can make everyday life genuinely easier. On this episode of Unfinished Business, Alex and Lee sit down with Steph for a conversation about what it actually takes to invent a new category. In this episode: - Why "we don't rush product" is the most controversial thing about Cadence and why they don't care - How Steph went from cold-messaging angel investors on LinkedIn to 200 investors (after 2,500 nos) - What it means to build a product that only truly "clicks" once it's in your hands and how you sell that DTC - How her background as a ballet dancer and filmmaker shaped how she designs product - The kombucha meeting that changed how she thought about fundraising entirely - How she's thinking about retail expansion, DTC growth, and Amazon strategy in 2025 - Building a loyal, long-term team when you can't afford to pay anyone yet Steph is the kind of founder who doesn't take shortcuts when no one's looking. If you're a founder building something genuinely new, or fighting the urge to ship before it's ready, this episode is for you.

    45 min

  4. FEB 24

    Season 2 of Unfinished Business: The Truth About Scaling a Profitable DTC Brand from $0 → $50M

    Season 2 of Unfinished Business is officially here and a lot has changed since we wrapped Season 1. When we first started this podcast, we were still at Clay. Hulken was growing, but it wasn’t our full focus. Over the last year, we left venture-backed SaaS, went all in on Hulken, hit $50M in revenue, launched nationwide in Target with an end cap, expanded across Asia, opened our first office in New York, and built a small but senior team around us. This season is about what happens after the early momentum. When growth is real. When retail calls. When international demand shows up. When profitability matters. When you start asking how to go from 50 to 100 without losing control. We’ll be building in public. We’re sharing how we’re thinking about intentional growth, breaking the Meta ceiling, retail strategy, international expansion, and what it actually takes to scale a profitable DTC brand today. If you’re a DTC founder, operator, or aspiring builder, Season 2 is about learning in real time. And if there’s a brand you think we should be studying this season, tell us. We’re just getting started.

    24 min

  5. 07/15/2025

    From Side Hustle to Swimwear Empire: The Andie Swim Story with Founder Melanie Travis

    Melanie Travis didn’t go to fashion school. She didn’t work at a legacy brand. She didn’t have a co-founder, a warehouse, or a team. What she did have was a miserable experience swimsuit shopping for a company retreat and a hunch that other women felt the same. In this episode of Unfinished Business, Melanie joins Alex and Lee to share how she turned a universal frustration into Andie Swim, a nationally recognized brand that’s sold millions of swimsuits and recently expanded into new categories through strategic acquisition. We talk about: – The origin story: from BarkBox employee to Kickstarter campaign to CEO – How she taught herself the fashion supply chain using an Airbnb “fashion tour” – Why she believes the classic DTC playbook no longer works – The truth about raising $30M and still struggling to reach profitability – Her approach to omnichannel growth, from Nordstrom to private label deals – What she looks for in brand acquisitions (and how she bought her first) – How she’s building a multi-brand portfolio while juggling two young kids Melanie keeps it brutally honest about fundraising, scaling, hiring, and growth. This episode is a masterclass for consumer founders and a reality check for anyone chasing the DTC dream.

    30 min

  6. 07/08/2025

    Relationships, Intimacy, and Keeping it Together: An Unfiltered Chat with Alex and Lee

    No guests. No prep. Just us. In this episode, we sat down together — two co-founders, two moms, two longtime partners in life and business — to talk about what’s really keeping our relationships strong. And what’s absolutely not. We covered: – Why Alex has never farted in front of her husband in 10 years (yes, really) – Why French kissing still matters (even after a decade) – How to maintain attraction without pretending it’s 2014 – What our moms taught us about effort and appearance – The one yearly trip that saves our sanity and our spark – Why mystery is underrated and boundaries still matter This is the stuff that doesn’t always make it into podcast interviews. But it’s real, it’s funny, and we think it’s worth saying out loud. If you’ve ever wondered how to balance love, motherhood, marriage, and not totally losing yourself… this one’s for you. Watch the full episode now and don’t forget to subscribe.

    15 min

  7. 07/01/2025

    How Liz Teich Turned Her Side Hustle Into a Full-Fledged NYC Styling Empire

    Liz Teich and her brand The New York Stylist is the real deal. A New York fashion stylist with nearly 20 years of experience, a loyal online following, and a sustainable wardrobe philosophy that actually makes sense. In this episode, Liz sits down with Alex and Lee to talk about how she built her business, her brand, and her confidence… without chasing trends or cutting corners. We cover: The personal story behind The New York Stylist What it’s really like to style celebrities (including Mike Tyson) Her best advice for anyone starting a creative business Why she prioritizes sustainability and “shopping your closet” What pieces actually belong in your wardrobe The connection between style, confidence, and showing up for yourself Plus: why Lee needs to clean her sneakers, how Liz fakes the perfect tuck, and the psychological power of getting dressed (even if it’s just for your mailman). If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by fashion, disconnected from your closet, or unsure how to show up with confidence—this episode will make you feel seen, smarter, and a little more stylish.

    31 min

  8. 06/24/2025

    How to Scale a Brand, Manage Anxiety & Stay Offline, with Tieghan Gerard @Half Baked Harvest

    Tieghan Gerard built one of the most beloved food brands on the internet. Today, Half Baked Harvest has over 6 million followers across platforms, four bestselling cookbooks, a candle line, a sold-out national tour with Williams-Sonoma, and a fiercely loyal community that shows up for everything she creates. But the story behind the brand? It’s chaotic, personal, and deeply real. In this episode of Unfinished Business, Tieghan sits down with Alex and Lee to talk about: Starting Half Baked Harvest with her mom at 19 Growing up as one of eight kids in a wildly creative (and noisy) household Managing anxiety while running a massive business Why she focuses on her website and email list (not just social media) How she stays creatively inspired without following trends What she’d do if she had to start all over in 2025 And why she still makes pancakes for lunch when she’s feeling off This isn’t a story about recipes. It’s about resilience, identity, and building a brand that lasts… without selling your soul to the algorithm. If you’re a creative, entrepreneur, or multi-hyphenate woman trying to build something real, this one’s for you.

    32 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

👋 We're Alex and Lee, serial entrepreneurs and multi-exit founders. Our journey has made us magnets for the challenges ambitious women face in career, family, and personal fulfillment. We're launching a platform for honest discussions about conscious entrepreneurship, career growth, and holistic success. We'll explore topics like mastering self-promotion authentically, transforming imposter syndrome into career catalysts, balancing work, family, and well-being, innovative strategies for entrepreneurial success, and much more.

Information

  • Creator
    Unfinished Business
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Unfinished Business
  • Show Website
    Unfinished Business

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