She Leads with Carly

Carly Malatskey

She Leads features authentic conversations with women leaders across industries—founders, executives, athletes, and change-makers. Hosted by Carly Malatskey, each episode dives into leadership, career growth, and the real challenges behind building influence and impact. Designed for listeners seeking inspiration, practical advice, and powerful stories from women shaping the future of business and beyond.

  1. You'll Never Be Ready: Building SONNI Without the CPG Playbook | Megan & Eliana (SONNI)

    10h ago

    You'll Never Be Ready: Building SONNI Without the CPG Playbook | Megan & Eliana (SONNI)

    In today's conversation, Carly sits down with SONNI co-founders Eliana Field-Marsham and Megan Black, who share the journey they took to start the SPF brand. Eliana and Megan share how bad sunburns and a family member's melanoma scare plus a frantic business-school text between each other led them to starting SONNI. They also unpack the realities of founder life, why 24/7 grind isn't effective, and how they navigate leading a company together with clear, clean division. We also discuss: The health scares that led to SONNI being createdWhy "You can't be everything to everybody" in CPGWhy daily SPF was a product experience problem, not an awareness issueFundraising, bootstrapping, and when founders should pay themselvesThe case against the 24/7 founder grindReferences: Beauty of Joseon: https://beautyofjoseon.comCheryl Strayed: https://www.cherylstrayed.comEstée Lauder Companies: https://www.elcompanies.comFactfulness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factfulness_(book)Hans Rosling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_RoslingHeyday: https://www.heydayskincare.comKellogg School of Management: https://www.kellogg.northwestern.eduKIND Snacks: https://www.kindsnacks.comLittle Spoon: https://www.littlespoon.comMcKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.comStanford University: https://www.stanford.eduThrive Market: https://thrivemarket.com"Tiny Beautiful Things": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Beautiful_ThingsTimestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Growing up as family friends in Toronto 06:10 Eliana's path: sociology, McKinsey, and a love of operating 08:10 Megan's consumer obsession, from USC to Estée Lauder 11:35 The sunburns and a sister's melanoma behind SONNI 13:20 Finding a formulator who starts with metal, not powder 16:45 Eliana's business-school panic and reaching back out to Megan 21:00 "Best text to ever receive": hiring her co-founder 25:05 Right brain, left brain: splitting the company cleanly 32:55 What no one warns you about building a CPG brand 35:15 Mineral vs chemical: what does the FDA actually back? 39:15 How the name, brand, coloring, packaging was born 41:05 Learning to bask in the wins, not just the lows 45:15 Fundraising vs bootstrapping, and just paying yourself 50:25 What 24/7-grind startup culture gets wrong

    59 min
  2. If You're Single, Relax. | Dr. Yuthika Girme (Relationship Scientist)

    May 27

    If You're Single, Relax. | Dr. Yuthika Girme (Relationship Scientist)

    Dr. Yuthika Girme took one undergrad course on interpersonal relations, which completely altered the trajectory of her career and led her down the path of researching relationship science. In this episode, Dr. Yuthika unpacks the science behind close relationships and singlehood. She also covers the impact of online dating, how social scripts impact relationships, and how to build a balanced relationship with yourself before—and during—a romantic one. References: - Dr. Yuthika Girme: https://www.sfu.ca/psychology/about/people/current-faculty/ygirme.html - SECURE Research Lab: https://secureresearchlab.com - SECURE Research Lab on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/securelab.sfu/ - Simon Fraser University: https://www.sfu.ca - University of Auckland: https://www.auckland.ac.nz Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:15 From clinical psych to relationship science 03:48 What relationship science actually explores 05:50 Predictors of lasting relationships 08:50 How communication changes depending on relationship type 10:15 Does dating change as you get older? 11:55 The biggest misconception in dating 13:18 How social media distorts our perception of relationships 14:48 What singlehood science examines 16:33 Validating singlehood without devaluing partnership 20:09 The toll of singlehood 22:42 How different generations approach marriage 23:59 Does the biological clock impact dating? 25:48 How online dating impacts connection  33:46 The science behind partner selection 36:32 Balance between self and relationships 42:55 Dating scripts and gendered norms

    52 min
  3. Lessons in Career Pivots, Curiosity & Competitive Edge | Scarlett Leung (Co-Founder, Pretty Tasty)

    12/23/2025

    Lessons in Career Pivots, Curiosity & Competitive Edge | Scarlett Leung (Co-Founder, Pretty Tasty)

    In today’s episode, Carly sits down with Scarlett Leung, Chief Brand Officer and Co-founder of Pretty Tasty, a collagen tea company. Scarlett shares her unconventional path from accountant, to turnaround CEO, to CPG founder, and how growing up around intense family entrepreneurship shaped her views on work. This conversation covers Scarlett’s experiences navigating parental expectations, making big career pivots without a rigid 5-year plan, and the stripped-back, unglamorous reality that is founding a consumer brand. References: AllSaints: https://www.allsaints.com/Carolina Herrera: https://www.carolinaherrera.com/Deepak Chopra: https://www.deepakchopra.com/Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en.htmlEstée Lauder: https://www.esteelauder.com/FreshDirect: https://www.freshdirect.com/Gucci Group / Kering: https://www.kering.com/Honest Tea: https://www.honesttea.com/L’Oréal: https://www.loreal.com/en/Lancôme: https://www.lancome-usa.com/LVMH: https://www.lvmh.com/MIT: https://www.mit.edu/Philip Morris International: https://www.pmi.com/Pretty Tasty: https://www.prettytasty.com/PwC: https://www.pwc.com/Sugarbreak: https://www.sugarbreak.com/Target: https://www.target.com/Uniqlo: https://www.uniqlo.com/University of Waterloo: https://uwaterloo.ca/Virgin Group: https://www.virgin.com/Waterloo Sparkling Water: https://www.drinkwaterloo.com/Timestamps: (01:17) Growing up with an entrepreneurial family (06:59) The decision to study accounting (09:47) Should you choose a risky career path? (13:39) Unpacking Scarlett’s unique career journey (18:12) Lessons learned from a travel-heavy role (22:51) Why you need to advocate for yourself (23:39) Why Scarlett went to MIT business school (26:11) Scarlett’s superpower in business (31:10) Pretty Tasty’s culture manifesto (32:55) The journey to founding Pretty Tasty (36:16) Developing the collagen product (38:44) The one thing most CPG founders miss (40:05) Advice for someone starting a company (42:15) Scarlett’s scariest founder moment (44:41) How to navigate a quarter-life crisis

    51 min
  4. People are not rooting for you. Act like it. | Swati Vauthrin (Co-Founder, Recess App)

    12/09/2025

    People are not rooting for you. Act like it. | Swati Vauthrin (Co-Founder, Recess App)

    Carly sits down with Swati Vauthrin, co-founder of Recess, a new parenting app built by two former Instagram leaders. Swati shares how growing up in New Jersey with early access to computers led her to computer science, how she navigated being one of the few women in engineering, and what she learned building and leading teams at Disney, ESPN, BuzzFeed, and Instagram. She opens up about career pivots, motherhood in intense tech environments, and the decision to leave big tech to build Recess. References: Amazon: https://www.amazon.comBuzzFeed: https://www.buzzfeed.comESPN: https://www.espn.comGeorge Washington University: https://www.gwu.eduInstagram: https://www.instagram.comRecess: https://therecess.app/Swati Vauthrin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swativauthrin/The Cobalt Group: https://cobaltgroup.comThe Walt Disney Company: https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.comTimestamps: (01:40) Swati’s childhood introduction to computers (04:25) Developing a natural sense of curiosity (06:19) Being a woman in a STEM field (09:25) Working for the Cobalt Group (12:57) The shift from building product to leadership (15:32) Advice for job switching in your late twenties (17:45) How to build a strong company culture (20:57) The reality of being a working mother (24:02) Swati’s journey to starting Recess (30:03) Surviving the “un-sexy” startup moments (32:55) Being the only female founder in the room (35:25) How Recess was pitched (37:56) What every young woman needs to hear

    43 min
  5. Courage, Conviction, and Building Cloudflare into a $60BN Company | Michelle Zatlyn (Co-Founder & President, Cloudflare)

    09/19/2025

    Courage, Conviction, and Building Cloudflare into a $60BN Company | Michelle Zatlyn (Co-Founder & President, Cloudflare)

    Michelle Zatlyn is the Co-founder and President of Cloudflare, a global internet infrastructure that keeps the world safe and secure online operating 20% of the global web with over 4,000 employees. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, Michelle began her career studying chemistry, aiming to become a doctor. But a pivotal turning point during a hospital internship set her on a new path - one that eventually led to Silicon Valley. In this episode, Michelle shares the formative experiences that shaped her, the unexpected pivots in her career, and dives into the tough decisions she’s had to make. She also unpacks the gritty realities of early-stage startup life, the challenges of scaling, and what it really takes to lead a high-growth tech company. For a deeper dive into the episode, check out Carly's Substack: https://carlymalatskey.substack.com/ Referenced: Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.comHarvard Business School (HBS): https://www.hbs.edu/Lee Holloway (Cloudflare co-founder): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-holloway-159152/Matthew Prince (Cloudflare co-founder & CEO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprince/Project Honey Pot: https://www.projecthoneypot.org/Toshiba: https://www.toshiba.com/tai/WIRED Article about Lee Holloway: https://www.wired.com/story/lee-holloway-devastating-decline-brilliant-young-coder/Timestamps: (1:46) Growing up in Saskatchewan (6:04) The decision not to pursue medicine (9:51) Falling into business and technology (13:39) The first taste of entrepreneurship (16:27) Finding community and clarity at HBS (17:28) The “essay line” that guided her (19:28) Turning down LinkedIn to start Cloudflare (25:05) How to improve your decision-making (29:15) Choosing a meaningful mission (32:18) Being the non-technical founder (34:33) Early team challenges (38:24) The grind from 1 to 100M (41:32) Getting product-market fit (44:23) The slow burn of success (47:49) Being a founder impacts personal life (51:52) Raising up the next-gen tech leaders (54:12) The power of small teams and shared purpose

    58 min
  6. Build Your Own Boundaries, Because No One Else Will | Jessica Rosen (Co-Founder, Raw Generation)

    09/18/2025

    Build Your Own Boundaries, Because No One Else Will | Jessica Rosen (Co-Founder, Raw Generation)

    Jess Rosen is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Raw Generation, a leading wellness brand known for its juice cleanses and plant-based products. Jess launched the company with her father in 2012, after watching both her grandmothers battle cancer. With a background in architecture and a certification in holistic health, Jess has grown Raw Generation into a multimillion-dollar brand while also launching spinoffs such as Little Sippers (children’s nutrition) and Functional Mother (for postpartum women). In this episode, she discusses how her personal health journey, entrepreneurship, and motherhood all intersect. Where to find She Leads: Apple PodcastsSpotifyWebsiteYouTubeInstagramX (Twitter)SubstackWhere to find Carly: LinkedInInstagramWhere to find Raw Generation Juices: WebsiteInstagramReferences: Gary Vaynerchuk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk/Hippocrates Health Institute: https://hippocrateswellness.org/Institute for Integrative Nutrition: https://www.integrativenutrition.com/Jess Rosen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-rosen-raw-generation/Lisa Testa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-testa-m-s-16514036/Raw Generation: https://www.rawgeneration.com/Timestamps: (01:13) Childhood creativity and early ambition (04:10) Growing up in an entrepreneurial family (05:00) Quitting architecture after just 9 months (09:37) How cancer shifted Jess’s view on food (19:17) Raw Generation was a family affair (21:30) Burning out and battling Lyme disease (24:55) Advice for stuck 20-somethings (27:32) Why Jess ditched social media (28:25) Balancing business and Instagram (30:19) Raw Generation’s slow early days (31:22) The Skinny Cleanse breakthrough (35:58) Pivoting fast during COVID (42:43) How Little Sippers was born (47:45) Motherhood’s impact on her work (56:01) Learning to listen to her body

    59 min
  7. Be Your Best Damn Self Today: A Championship Mindset for High-Stakes Leadership | Margueritte Aozasa (UCLA Head Coach)

    08/18/2025

    Be Your Best Damn Self Today: A Championship Mindset for High-Stakes Leadership | Margueritte Aozasa (UCLA Head Coach)

    Margueritte Aozasa is the head coach of the UCLA Women’s Soccer Team and a  star in collegiate coaching. In just three seasons, she’s led the team to a historic national championship in her rookie year and two conference titles. A former assistant coach at Stanford during their championship runs, and a standout player and captain at Santa Clara University, Margueritte brings a rare mix of tactical brilliance and emotional intelligence to her leadership. In this episode, she reflects on her journey, from being a competitive 10-year-old to coaching on the biggest stage in college soccer. For a deeper dive into the episode, check out Carly's Substack: https://carlymalatskey.substack.com/ Where to find She Leads: Apple PodcastsWebsiteSpotifyYouTubeInstagramX (Twitter)SubstackReferenced: Albertin Montoya: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albertin_MontoyaAndi Sullivan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andi_SullivanMargueritte Aozasa: https://uclabruins.com/staff-directory/margueritte-aozasa/6961Maricarmen Reyes: https://uclabruins.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/maricarmen-reyes/8929Paul Ratcliffe: https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/season/2022/staff/paul-ratcliffeSanta Clara University: https://www.scu.edu/Stanford University: https://www.stanford.edu/UCLA: https://www.ucla.edu/University of North Carolina (UNC): https://www.unc.edu/Timestamps: (1:44) Growing up with lots of personality (6:16) The source of a competitive streak (9:33) Being a student of the game (10:57) The impact of a great coach (13:59) Playing for Santa Clara University (14:48) The path from athlete to coach (17:15) A career without a 5-year plan (19:48) Growing out of competitive perfectionism (24:49) Joining Stanford: Holding people to high standards (31:25) Why coaches should read the room (41:30) Starting the UCLA chapter (47:41) Building culture with a new team (57:40) Winning a national championship (1:14:22) What does success mean to Marg?

    1h 21m
5
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

She Leads features authentic conversations with women leaders across industries—founders, executives, athletes, and change-makers. Hosted by Carly Malatskey, each episode dives into leadership, career growth, and the real challenges behind building influence and impact. Designed for listeners seeking inspiration, practical advice, and powerful stories from women shaping the future of business and beyond.