Professional Jealousy Podcast

Natasha Jakubowski
  • 5.0 (6)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Welcome to Professional Jealousy, a podcast hosted by Natasha Jakubowski, Chief Innovation Officer at Anomaly. This is a conversation series with founders, innovators and creatives that I'm impressed by and yes, a little bit envious of. I am hoping that you too will enjoy hearing about all my guest’s journeys and enviable achievements so that we can all learn and be inspired in our own career and endeavors.

  1. Ep.21 - From runner to CEO of Fox Entertainment with Rob Wade

    2D AGO

    Ep.21 - From runner to CEO of Fox Entertainment with Rob Wade

    In this episode I chat with Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment, one of the world’s most recognizable media brands and a prolific content producer including everything from the Simpsons to Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen, The Masked Singer, Bob's Burgers among other blockbuster titles. I’ve known Rob since University, and remember when he started in media as a runner at Virgin Radio in the UK. As I think about his career trajectory, I am blown away to see him now as the head of global corporation working with the most famous talent and IP in the world. This conversation included: - Overview of the media and entertainment landscape - The impact of technologies like the internet that led to streaming and a proliferation of content - AI and the "democratization" of content creation - Fox’s strategic response to a dynamic, fast-changing landscape - Career path, and success built on ‘hard work and luck’- Approach to working with big egos and personalities in entertainment - Insights and advice including getting into media, and transitioning into a first CEO role - Ikigai - a Japanese concept that reflects his view on finding happiness as achieving a balance between what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for.

    51 min
  2. Ep.20 - Cleaning Up the Beauty Industry with Annie Jackson, Founder of Credo Beauty

    FEB 10

    Ep.20 - Cleaning Up the Beauty Industry with Annie Jackson, Founder of Credo Beauty

    In this episode, I chat with Annie Jackson, the Co-Founder & CEO of Credo Beauty, a trailblazing retailer that helped pioneer the clean beauty category offering the largest clean beauty assortment in skincare and makeup. Credo is a trusted voice in an under-regulated beauty industry, known for its deep commitment to healthy beauty, challenging conventional ingredient standard, and helping consumers find options that don’t make them sacrifice health for substance. I was blown away by how smart and humble Annie was. As well as leading the clean beauty charge, she’s also responsible for giving distribution opportunities to many now established beauty brands. Her journey career journey and founding story was both inspiring and interesting. This conversation included: The origin of Credo Beauty and why the consumers deserved this idea The importance of ingredient transparency in beauty products Her journey from corporate beauty to entrepreneurship Dealing with unexpected death of her co-founder Growing the business and team, and the importance of company culture Learning how to be not just a founder, but a CEO Filtering questions for founders picking a CEO Social media and its impact on beauty standards The future of beauty retail and technology That working in beauty as a founder isn’t as glamorous as it may sound!

    50 min
  3. Ep.19 / Fueling skateboarding culture as a force for good

    JAN 27

    Ep.19 / Fueling skateboarding culture as a force for good

    In this episode I chat with Ben Bashein is CEO of The Skatepark Project, the nonprofit founded by legendary skater Tony Hawk, where he leads the mission to create safe, accessible, and inclusive public skateparks for youth in underserved communities across the U.S. and internationally. We talked about Ben’s journey from college to world of non-profits including Planned Parenthood and CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), Sean Penn's disaster relief organization. His journey is interesting as he has specialized in collaborating with talent and influencers to advance philanthropic goals, and is acutely aware of the role that culture can have in marketing and raising awareness and relevancy. This conversation included: - The importance of skateboarding for community and personal development- Leveraging culture to enhance nonprofit visibility and impact - The way to work with celebrity founders like Tony Hawk and Sean Penn- Using partnerships with brands to drive funding and awareness - Authenticity as key to successful nonprofit-brand collaborations - The role of storytelling vs. just marketing and fundraising- Investing in nonprofit infrastructure and the need for creative fund-raising strategies

    49 min
  4. Ep.18 - Founder insights into building a brand designed for the needs and tastes of Gen Z

    JAN 13

    Ep.18 - Founder insights into building a brand designed for the needs and tastes of Gen Z

    Anam Lakhani and Eve Halimi are co-founders of Alinea Invest, an AI-powered investing app revolutionizing how the next generation builds wealth by transforming investing into an accessible, community-driven experience. These two women met at Barnard College after interning at major financial institutions like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, where they both realized how confusing and intimidating the world of personal investing was. This led to a class project to build a new type of fintech that ultimately became their successful startup Alinea Invest. This business was designed to particularly connect with women and Gen Z in order to help them build long-term wealth. They’re dynamic and fearless, and have already been named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Consumer Technology and Fintech innovation. This conversation included: - Building their startup idea from class project to successful fintech platform - Understanding the target audience as key to building a successful product for Gen Z - Risk-taking has been a crucial part of their entrepreneurial journey - Marketing strategies focus on community and relatable content - How AI is could revolutionize personal finance and investing - Advice for fundraising and finding the right investors who believe in your vision - Maintaining mental health as entrepreneurs Anam and Eve were professionally jealous of Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb for being so well designed to serve its consumers, and Vlad Tenev, co-founder of Robinhood for the incredible product velocity the platform has achieved. #podcast #careeradvice #branding #genzmarketing #finance #fintech #fintechinnovation #fintechstartups #inspiredleadership #inspiringwomen #entrepreneurship #founderstories #founderpodcast #startupfounder #scalingstrategies #consumerinsight #consumertrends #femaleentrepreneur #brandstrategy #innovationleader #innovation #financialfreedom #financialliteracy

    42 min
  5. Ep.17 - The founder Disrupting How Millennials & Gen Z Socialize Without Alcohol

    12/30/2025

    Ep.17 - The founder Disrupting How Millennials & Gen Z Socialize Without Alcohol

    Jake Bullock is the Co-Founder & CEO of Cann, the THC-infused social beverage company revolutionizing the way people socialize by providing a range of microdosed beverages that serve as alcohol alternatives made with simple, all-natural ingredients. Before taking his entrepreneurial leap, Jake was an associate at Bain Capital’s North American Private Equity fund evaluating potential investment opportunities with a specific focus in the consumer space. Our conversation included: Disrupting the social beverage monoculture a new alternative to alcohol The changing ways people are socializing The challenges of innovating in a regulated market Using learnings from his private equity background building the Cann brand from the ground up Prioritizing product quality and a strong d The importance of building a brand for retail vs. ecommerce Focus on innovation over replication as it’s better to fail with something innovative rather than "boring" Insights into modern fundraising as a startup founder

    51 min
  6. Ep.16 - Leveraging the power of community to fuel female entrepreneurship with Dee Poku, Founder The WIE Suite

    12/16/2025

    Ep.16 - Leveraging the power of community to fuel female entrepreneurship with Dee Poku, Founder The WIE Suite

    Dee Poku is the Founder and CEO of The WIE Suite - a private membership community for women leaders, innovators, creators. Its mission is to redefine the way women leaders achieve success for themselves and for their companies by providing the community and tools for them to thrive at the highest levels. I love that her career has evolved from brand marketing to senior roles at Paramount Pictures and Focus Features, but then Dee pivoted to entrepreneurship when she realized there weren’t enough safe spaces and resources for women to accelerate their careers and learn from each other in a way that was constructive rather than competitive. Dee was named one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 50 Women Changing the World, a Crain’s Notable Black Leader, a CUP Catalyst Changemaker and she won a Gold Anthem Award from the Webbys. She is a force! This conversation included: Navigating the ‘invisible rules’ of corporate culture as a woman Shifting from traditional mentorship to active sponsorship Cultivating confidence, self-worth, and visibility Owning your own narrative and building confidence Differing UK v. US cultural attitudes for ambition and success The power of ruthless positivity Definitions of success Dee was professionally jealous of Emma Grede, a British businesswoman, entrepreneur and fashion designer who co-founded Skims and Good American. Dee admires many things about Grede, including her ability to partner with people and brands, and her ability to think strategically about who she can bring to the table to get the results she needs faster. Check out https://www.thewiesuite.com/

    53 min
  7. Ep.15 / Craig Dubitsky has the energy it takes to be a serial entrepreneur

    12/02/2025

    Ep.15 / Craig Dubitsky has the energy it takes to be a serial entrepreneur

    In this episode with serial entrepreneur Craig Dubitsky, co-founder of EOS, Hello Oral Care and Happy Coffee we talk about so many topics including what makes a good brand; the importance of design, but also for products to be good above and beyond how they look; the importance of creating relevance; story doing vs story being; and many more insights into creating iconic, unique brands.Craig has endless optimism, energy, and is incredibly generous of spirit. He believes in the power of design and brand storytelling, and isn’t afraid to question norms and think differently. I am so grateful to have known him for years, and partnered with him at EOS to create the disruptive spherical lip balm. He's a legend! Check out https://www.happyproducts.com

    54 min
  8. Ep14 /Startup Lessons from Dagne Dover's founder story

    11/19/2025

    Ep14 /Startup Lessons from Dagne Dover's founder story

    Designing a better approach to life: Melissa Shin Mash, co-founder of Dagne Dover came up with the idea for Dagne Dover while leading the turn-around at Coach's first UK/EU location in 2009, where she saw the opportunity for a culturally-relevant, digitally-native bag brand that paired performance materials with smart design. Today, Melissa is always thinking about ways to live smarter and better – through the products and services we use – to the workplace policies that push our society forward. Melissa and her co-founders are passionate about setting a new standard of leadership, company culture, and workplace norms in hopes of creating a better society. She is a graduate of New York University (BA) and The Wharton School of Business (MBA), where she net her co-founders.  This conversation included: Identifying the market gap for Dagne Dover as a brand that offers fashion and function Business school as a ‘breeding ground’ for ideas and where she found her co-founders Prioritizing meaningful innovation over simply producing more ‘stuff’ Retail physical store as community hub and testing ground Setting a new standard for leadership, company culture, and workplace norms. The reality of being an entrepreneur vs. the trend toward glorification of founders Melissa was professionally jealous of Melissa Waller, founder of Beyond Yoga for being a lovely, amazing person, who also just sold her business to Levis after boot-strapping for 18 years.

    44 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
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6 Ratings

About

Welcome to Professional Jealousy, a podcast hosted by Natasha Jakubowski, Chief Innovation Officer at Anomaly. This is a conversation series with founders, innovators and creatives that I'm impressed by and yes, a little bit envious of. I am hoping that you too will enjoy hearing about all my guest’s journeys and enviable achievements so that we can all learn and be inspired in our own career and endeavors.

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