Conversations w/ Women Who Lead: A Business Podcast for Female Founders and Executives

Ann Marie McHenry
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Business

Conversations with Women Who Lead is a business podcast for female founders, executives, and women in leadership who are building something real and figuring it out as they go. Host Ann Marie McHenry, a licensed therapist and business coach who founded and sold a seven-figure practice, brings honest conversations about what it actually takes to scale a business, lead a team, and sustain yourself in the process. Just women who lead, talking about what that costs and what it's worth.

  1. Sep 26

    Honey & Bro Co on Building a Family and Community-Centered Children's Brand

    Mel Wiltsey and Alex Santos didn't meet as business partners. They met when Mel, working as a postpartum doula, came into Alex's home to help her family survive months of sleepless nights with a newborn. In this episode, the founders of Honey & Bro Co share how that relationship turned into a children's sleepwear brand built on bamboo and eucalyptus fabrics, inspired by their own kids, and tested nightly by their toughest critics: their toddlers. They talk candidly about starting a business with almost no background in fashion or manufacturing, the expensive inventory mistakes that came with learning as they went, and what it actually takes to build trust fast enough to become business partners after knowing each other for only a few months. We also get into what makes their partnership work, thick skin, open communication, and a shared vision that mattered more than experience, plus why they believe emotion and passion are strengths in leadership, not liabilities. This is a conversation about building something real, staying rooted in family even as the business grows, and choosing connection over scale. In this episode: From postpartum doula to business partner: how Melissa and Alex's relationship beganLearning to manufacture clothing with zero fashion background, mistakes includedWhy they'd rather be someone's favorite brand than the biggest oneUsing their own children as product testers, and the honest feedback that followsNavigating conflict and building trust as co-founders and friendsWhy they see emotion and passion as leadership strengths, not weaknessesFind them: Social Media: @thehoneyandbroco Website: https://thehoneyandbroco.com/

    Honey & Bro Co on Building a Family and Community-Centered Children's Brand

  2. Sep 19

    Alice Kao of Sender One Climbing on Empathy, Ego, and Asking for Help

    Alice Kao didn't set out to build a climbing empire. She set out to survive a breakup. In this episode, Alice, co-founder and CEO of Sender One Climbing, shares the story behind one of the fastest-growing climbing gym brands in the country, and the winding, honest path that got her there. From investment banking to international toy sales to a chance visit to a climbing gym in London during one of the hardest seasons of her life, Alice walks through the moments that shaped her, including a childhood spent largely on her own after immigrating from Taiwan at fourteen, three years of unpaid work while building the business, and an unexpected reconciliation with an ex-boyfriend who became one of her largest investors. We talk about what it actually looks like to co-own a business with your spouse, why she considers "relentlessly asking for help" her biggest advantage, and how she's learned to let herself cry in meetings without losing her ability to lead. Alice also opens up about what she's had to unlearn (winning at all costs), what she's still working on (slowing down enough to be present), and why she believes women are natural leaders, especially the ones raising kids at the same time. This is a conversation about ambition without the performance. About building something meaningful while still figuring yourself out. And about what happens when you decide to be brave instead of certain. In this episode: How a breakup in London led to a business now expanding into new markets every yearWhy Alice calls asking for help her superpower, and what most people get wrong about itRunning a company with your husband: the good, the hard, and the honestWhat changed when Alice stopped chasing passion and found a deeper purposeCrying at work, leading with empathy, and why she stopped apologizing for eitherConnect with Alice: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-kao-ca/ https://vimeo.com/1194015726/5a86e89d48?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

    Alice Kao of Sender One Climbing on Empathy, Ego, and Asking for Help

  3. Sep 10

    Bonnie Phillips on Overnight Success, Solo Entrepreneurship, and Knowing Your Worth

    Bonnie Phillips has built three businesses: a photography studio serving female founders and families, a fine art portrait brand for schools, and a new venture still in its early stages. In this episode, Bonnie sits down with Ann Marie to talk about what it actually looks like to grow a business while raising a family, including the parts that don't make it onto social media. Bonnie gets honest about the isolation of solo entrepreneurship, why it took her ten years to become an "overnight success," and how she's learned to say no to the wrong clients. She and Ann Marie dig into a question every ambitious person eventually asks: is success about ambition, or about contentment, and can you have both? This conversation covers finding your ideal client, building community outside the screen, and knowing your worth after years of chasing the wrong metrics. Find Bonnie at bonniephillipsphotography.com and on Instagram @bonniephillipsphotos.

    Bonnie Phillips on Overnight Success, Solo Entrepreneurship, and Knowing Your Worth

  4. Aug 28

    Lisa McJunkin on Integrative Medicine, Trauma Recovery, and Executive Coaching for High Performers

    Lisa McJunkin, LMFT and co-owner of Daydream MD, joins Ann Marie to talk about running multiple businesses, over-functioning, and what actually regulates a nervous system on a normal Tuesday. Lisa has specialized in complex trauma for two decades and now blends executive coaching with integrative health work, including ketamine-assisted therapy, functional medicine, and trauma recovery. She and Ann Marie get into why business owners run their companies with more structure than their marriages, how high-achieving people mistake action for the whole job, and why over-functioning so often gets mistaken for a personality trait instead of a pattern. They also dig into what the nervous system actually is, why three conscious exhales a day can shift how intense a moment feels, and why Lisa believes you don't have to choose between taking care of your business and taking care of yourself. What we cover: Why we run our businesses with more structure than our relationshipsThe difference between compassion fatigue and burnout, and how to tell them apartOver-functioning: what it actually is and how to recognize it in yourselfA plain-language breakdown of the nervous system and how it drives behaviorProactive vs. reactive breathing, and why three exhales a day mattersWhy "get yourself together first, then handle the business" is the wrong orderLisa McJunkin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, executive coach, and co-owner of Daydream MD, an integrative health and wellness clinic in San Diego: daydreammd.com Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Guest: Lisa McJunkin, LMFT and Executive Coach: daydreammd.com

    Lisa McJunkin on Integrative Medicine, Trauma Recovery, and Executive Coaching for High Performers

  5. Aug 20

    Alexa Gusman on Under-Fueling, Body Image, and Redefining Performance

    Alexa Gusman (née Efraimson) spent eight years as a professional runner with Nike, signing at 17 and competing against women years older than her for her entire career. Today she's a registered dietitian with a master's in nutrition and nutrigenomics, working with athletes and everyday clients on performance nutrition, body image, and their relationship with food. In this episode, Alexa opens up about the body image and confidence struggles that shaped her career and never fully disappeared after she retired. She and Ann Marie talk about the myth that leaner means faster, what actually happens in the body when we under-fuel, and why rest is often the missing piece in performance, not the enemy of it. They also get into the outside comments about weight and bodies that stick with us for years, and how Alexa rebuilt her relationship with food, movement, and confidence on her own terms. In this episode: Why leaner doesn't mean faster or fitterWhat under-fueling really does to the body and brainGrind culture, rest, and redefining productivityThe lasting impact of comments about our bodiesRebuilding confidence from the inside outGuest: Alexa Gusman, Registered Dietitian, M.S. Nutrition and Nutrigenomics Instagram: @alexagefraimson | Website: fuelingforward.com

    Alexa Gusman on Under-Fueling, Body Image, and Redefining Performance

  6. Aug 6

    Dr. Brittany Chidley on Emotional Health, Access to Care, and Building EI Corkboard

    Dr. Brittany Chidley talks about running a generalist private practice instead of niching down, and why the "pick one specialty" advice she got in grad school never fit how she likes to work. She and Ann Marie get into what it's actually taken to build and lead a team of therapists, including the ongoing challenge of holding standards like punctuality with grace, and why her team has ended up being all women without ever setting out to make it that way. They also talk about the harder logistical side of running a therapy practice, like whether to keep taking insurance, and Brittany shares what she's building with EI Corkboard, a free resource hub connecting the community to emotional health resources and connecting providers to each other. What we cover: Why Brittany chose to stay a generalist instead of niching into one specialtyLeading a team of therapists and navigating accountability with empathyThe insurance dilemma facing therapists todayBuilding EI Corkboard, a resource hub for emotional healthWhy everyone has emotional health, just like physical healthListen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Guest: Dr. Brittany Chidley, licensed psychologist, LMFT, and owner of Trails Therapy: https://trailstherapy.com/ founder of EI Corkboard: andwefeel.com | eicorkboard.com

    Dr. Brittany Chidley on Emotional Health, Access to Care, and Building EI Corkboard

  7. Jul 30

    Katherine Flechaus on Safeguard Strategies, People-Pleasing, and Imposter Syndrome

    Katherine Flechaus reframes people-pleasing, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome, not as flaws, but as safeguard strategies we built to cope with something we didn't understand at the time. She and Ann Marie talk about where these patterns actually come from, why they stuck around even after they stopped being useful, and how to recognize the strength underneath them. They also get into what it looks like to bring these patterns into corporate spaces and leadership roles, why women are so often taught to shrink their instincts for connection, and Katherine's approach to building a resiliency plan instead of expecting a pattern to disappear for good. What we cover: Why people-pleasing, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome are safeguard strategies, not flawsWhere these patterns actually start, and why they worked at the timeThe difference between fixing someone and taking away their ability to learnWhy women's relational strengths often get undervalued in corporate spacesBuilding a resiliency plan instead of expecting old patterns to disappearKatherine Flechaus is an LCSW and founder of Aligned Core Life Coaching, where she helps ambitious women recognize the protective patterns shaping their careers and relationships. Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Guest: Katherine Flechaus, LCSW and Core Belief Strategist: alignedcorelifecoaching.com

    Katherine Flechaus on Safeguard Strategies, People-Pleasing, and Imposter Syndrome

  8. Jul 23

    Dr. Bluma Sapir - Relationship Expert - on Pair Therapy, Estrangement, and Cut-Off Culture

    Dr. Bluma Sapir on Pairs, Acknowledgement, and Why No One Grows Up in the Same Household Dr. Bluma Sapir has spent her career studying what happens in the space between two people. As a psychologist who's worked with couples, parent-adult child relationships, siblings, and even workplace pairs, she's built a framework she calls "pair work," the idea that so much of our suffering and our healing happens not within one person, but in the dynamic between two. In this conversation, Bluma traces her own path into this work back to her childhood, where she became the emotional bridge in her family long before she had language for it. She and Ann Marie talk about why one partner in a relationship often carries the emotional labor while the other struggles to express themselves, and the skill it takes to learn both. Bluma introduces her concept of "acknowledgement, not apology," a way of validating someone's pain without taking on blame for intent, and unpacks why she believes respect between parents and adult children has to be earned rather than assumed. They also get into the cultural moment around family estrangement and "no contact," what Bluma sees in her own practice about who's actually seeking help, and her nightly practice of forgiveness that lets people rebuild the capacity for connection after being hurt. What we cover: Why Bluma calls relationships "pairs" instead of just couplesThe difference between apologizing and truly acknowledging someone's painWhy parent-adult child conflict often isn't about what actually happenedHer honest take on estrangement, respect, and what actually helps repair a relationshipA simple nightly practice for building the capacity to trust again Dr. Bluma Sapir is also a contractor at Rose & Stone LLC, serving as the team's in-house relationship expert, specializing in family, sibling, and couples dynamics. Connect with Dr. Bluma Sapir on Instagram and Facebook, and at thepairinstitute.com (coming soon).

    Dr. Bluma Sapir - Relationship Expert - on Pair Therapy, Estrangement, and Cut-Off Culture
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Conversations with Women Who Lead is a business podcast for female founders, executives, and women in leadership who are building something real and figuring it out as they go. Host Ann Marie McHenry, a licensed therapist and business coach who founded and sold a seven-figure practice, brings honest conversations about what it actually takes to scale a business, lead a team, and sustain yourself in the process. Just women who lead, talking about what that costs and what it's worth.

Information

  • Creator
    Ann Marie McHenry
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ann Marie McHenry