Make Yourself at Home Nines

As we wrap our first season, we want to say thank you for listening, and thank you to everyone who’s welcomed us into their homes. 

We set out to take you into the homes of people you admire, to show you a side you don’t usually get to see. Our season 1 guests have inspired us to think about how home gives us the space to focus on what matters most, and why home and work are inextricably intertwined. They've explored holistic success, and what a life well-lived looks like to them.

And along the way, we hope we've inspired you to live well — whatever that means to you.

At Nines, we’re on a mission to help people live with ease and spend their time at home on whatever matters most to them. To get more inspiration for living well, insights on how to make life at home easier, and tips for managing your homes and everything that comes with them, join our newsletter at ninesliving.com/newsletter. 

Catch up on past episodes to hear from all of our season 1 guests, including the ones featured in this special episode: Dr. Wendy Borlabi (Chicago Bulls), Sasha Cohen (Figure Skater & Olympic Medalist), Nicole Ryan (SiriusXM Hits 1), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Ally Love (Peloton, Today Show), Al Doan (Missouri Star Quilt Co), Eliza Blank (The Sill), Steve Schlafman (Where the Road Bends), Lindsay Shookus (Saturday Night Live & WWFH) and Betsy Fore (Tiny Organics & Natives Rising).

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Make Yourself at Home is hosted by Kristin Twiford and presented by Nines, the household management app designed to help you manage your home and everything that comes with it, so you can live with ease. Learn more at ninesliving.com.

Betsy Fore has always been a builder. Growing up, she used to tinker in the garage building motorcycles with her dad. After college, she invented toys for Mattel and Hasbro, and helped Michael Acton Smith build Mind Candy.

Then, she says, each of her babies inspired a company. When her dog, Whiskey, was overweight, she created WonderWoof, a fitness tracker for dogs that landed her in Forbes 30 Under 30. Then, when she was pregnant with her first child, she co-founded Tiny Organics to give her son and the rest of his generation a love of vegetables and a healthier lease on life from their earliest days. With Tiny, became the first Native American woman to raise a Series A — and now, she’s paving the way for others with Natives Rising, a  career accelerator for indigenous founders and indigenous in tech. She co-founded the nonprofit just as she had her second son. 

In this conversation, Betsy shares how home is both the inspiration for everything she’s built and the reason she became a builder in the first place — and how, after setting out to chase her dreams, she built a life she never could have imagined. Make Yourself at Home with Betsy Fore. 

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Guests on Make Yourself at Home include Bess Freedman (Brown Harris Stevens), Frédéric Fekkai (FEKKAI), Danielle Canty (Bossbabe), Adrian Grenier (Earth Speed Media, DuContra Ventures), Nyakio Grieco (Thirteen Lune), Noora Raj Brown (goop), Dr. Wendy Borlabi (Chicago Bulls), Ruth Zukerman (SoulCycle, Flywheel Sports), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Al Doan (Missouri Quilt Co), Sasha Cohen (Olympic Medalist), Ally Love (Peloton), Nicole Ryan (SiriusXM), Christopher Gavigan (Prima, The Honest Company), and more.

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Make Yourself at Home is hosted by Kristin Twiford and presented by Nines, the household management app designed to help you manage your home and everything that comes with it, so you can live with ease. Learn more at ninesliving.com.

Eliza Blank’s home in upstate New York is filled with a lot of plants. And while that might not be surprising for the Founder & CEO of The Sill — the direct-to-consumer houseplant retail and delivery brand built on the simple idea that plants make people happy — Eliza’s roots with with plants are even deeper than you might think.

Her childhood home in Massachusetts was filled with greenery. Her mom, a nurse, spent her time off in the garden because it helped her feel connected to her home in the Philippines. In the same vein, when Eliza moved to New York City, she turned to plants to bring a feeling of home to her gloomy Chinatown apartment.

That moment of homesickness planted the seed for what would one day become The Sill, kicking off Eliza’s entrepreneurship journey and leading her to build a startup that’s turning a new generation of people into “plant parents.”

For this episode of Make Yourself at Home, we're in Eliza's home in upstate New York, talking about how Eliza's family influenced her vision for The Sill, what she’s learned about life from working with plants, and why, just as she moved her family from Manhattan to the Catskills, she feels home is both a place where you feel at ease and an expression of who you are. Make Yourself at Home with Eliza Blank. 

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Guests on Make Yourself at Home include Bess Freedman (Brown Harris Stevens), Frédéric Fekkai (FEKKAI), Danielle Canty (Bossbabe), Adrian Grenier (Earth Speed Media, DuContra Ventures), Nyakio Grieco (Thirteen Lune), Noora Raj Brown (goop), Dr. Wendy Borlabi (Chicago Bulls), Ruth Zukerman (SoulCycle, Flywheel Sports), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Al Doan (Missouri Quilt Co), Sasha Cohen (Olympic Medalist), Ally Love (Peloton), Nicole Ryan (SiriusXM), Christopher Gavigan (Prima, The Honest Company), and more.

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Make Yourself at Home is hosted by Kristin Twiford and presented by Nines, the household management app designed to help you manage your home and everything that comes with it, so you can live with ease. Learn more at ninesliving.com.

Michael Perry is a serial entrepreneur. His company Kit was acquired by Shopify, and he spent years making life easier for small business owners. Then, a difficult journey to becoming a parent changed everything — from the way he leads people and the mission he works towards, to the way he approaches each moment with his kids. 

Today, he's building Maple, an app that helps parents take the stress out planning and organizing their homes. It's a mission that's personal, and this time, he's aiming to lead his team from a place of empathy.  

For this conversation, we're in Michael's home in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife and two young sons, talking about why, at this point in his life, he's only greedy for more memories with his kids. Make Yourself at Home with Michael Perry.

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Guests on Make Yourself at Home include Bess Freedman (Brown Harris Stevens), Frédéric Fekkai (FEKKAI), Danielle Canty (Bossbabe), Adrian Grenier (Earth Speed Media, DuContra Ventures), Nyakio Grieco (Thirteen Lune), Noora Raj Brown (goop), Dr. Wendy Borlabi (Chicago Bulls), Ruth Zukerman (SoulCycle, Flywheel Sports), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Al Doan (Missouri Quilt Co), Sasha Cohen (Olympic Medalist), Ally Love (Peloton), Nicole Ryan (SiriusXM), Christopher Gavigan (Prima, The Honest Company), and more.

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Make Yourself at Home is hosted by Kristin Twiford and presented by Nines, the household management app designed to help you manage your home and everything that comes with it, so you can live with ease. Learn more at ninesliving.com.

For years, Steve Schlafman envisioned success as an investor — and then, at the height of his VC career, just after he'd made partner at a multi-billion dollar firm, he walked away. The move opened up a world of other "possible selves," and now, Steve sees himself as a husband, a father, a cook and a lifelong learner, rather than just a worker.

Today, as a professional coach and as the creator of the podcast and newsletter Where the Road Bends, Steve draws on his own experience to help high performers navigate transitions and find their next calling. 

It sounds like a professional shift, but Steve says this transition has affected every aspect of his life — and that it all started at home. 

For this conversation, we’re in Steve Schlafman’s home in upstate New York, where Steve and his family are moving full time after 15 years in New York City, talking about holistic ambition, the moments that led Steve to his own "next calling," and how his home has played a central role in reshaping his life. Make Yourself at Home with Steve Schlafman. 

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Guests on Make Yourself at Home include Bess Freedman (Brown Harris Stevens), Frédéric Fekkai (FEKKAI), Danielle Canty (Bossbabe), Adrian Grenier (Earth Speed Media, DuContra Ventures), Nyakio Grieco (Thirteen Lune), Noora Raj Brown (goop), Dr. Wendy Borlabi (Chicago Bulls), Ruth Zukerman (SoulCycle, Flywheel Sports), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Al Doan (Missouri Quilt Co), Sasha Cohen (Olympic Medalist), Ally Love (Peloton), Nicole Ryan (SiriusXM), Christopher Gavigan (Prima, The Honest Company), and more.

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Make Yourself at Home is hosted by Kristin Twiford and presented by Nines, the household management app designed to help you manage your home and everything that comes with it, so you can live with ease. Learn more at ninesliving.com.

Lindsay Shookus spent 20 years — her entire adult life so far — booking hosts and helping guests feel at home at Saturday Night Live. She landed the job right out of college, and it shaped not only her professional path, but her life outside of work, as well. Now, after leaving SNL 9 months ago, she's adjusting to a completely different lifestyle (with the perk of making plans on Saturday nights) and writing her own new chapter.

For this conversation, we're in Lindsay's home in New York City, talking about being present and welcoming her daughter home from school, reclaiming her Saturday nights and reframing her sense of identity. She shares how she honed her ability to make people feel comfortable and confident, what success looks like to her now vs. 20 years ago, and why she's channeling her passion for helping others into something new: Women Work F#cking Hard, a community she co-founded with her best friend Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick. Make Yourself at Home with Lindsay Shookus.

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Guests on Make Yourself at Home include Bess Freedman (Brown Harris Stevens), Frédéric Fekkai (FEKKAI), Danielle Canty (Bossbabe), Adrian Grenier (Earth Speed Media, DuContra Ventures), Nyakio Grieco (Thirteen Lune), Noora Raj Brown (goop), Dr. Wendy Borlabi (Chicago Bulls), Ruth Zukerman (SoulCycle, Flywheel Sports), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Al Doan (Missouri Quilt Co), Sasha Cohen (Olympic Medalist), Ally Love (Peloton), Nicole Ryan (SiriusXM), Christopher Gavigan (Prima, The Honest Company), and more.

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Make Yourself at Home is hosted by Kristin Twiford and presented by Nines, the household management app designed to help you manage your home and everything that comes with it, so you can live with ease. Learn more at ninesliving.com.