Behind Her Empire

In this week’s episode, we’re re-airing one of our top episodes from last year with Kat Hantas. Kat is the co-founder of 21 Seeds Tequila, one of the fastest-growing flavored tequilas.

Kat’s had an interesting journey - from thinking she wanted to be a doctor, then pivoting to the entertainment industry, and then being a stay-at-home mom for many years. She never would have thought that she’d launch a business in the liquor industry. It wasn’t until she started noticing that her evening wine wasn’t making her feel good and her doctor recommended that she move away from fermented spirits and into distilled spirits.

In the process of exploring tequila options, Kat came up with the idea to start 21 Seeds Tequila - a fresh natural tequila made with real fruit. She was making this in her kitchen for years, until one day the demand became so much that her friend inspired her to start selling the bottles. This sparked the idea and Kat co-founded the business with her sister and good friend to make it a reality.

The business was acquired by Diageo in just three years in March 2022 and the deal marked one of the largest female-founded liquor acquisitions to-date.

In this podcast episode, Kat opens up about her journey with imposter syndrome and shares tips on overcoming it in her career in the entertainment industry and entrepreneurial ventures. She discusses her transition from being a stay-at-home mom to launching 21 Seeds, highlighting the challenges of finding a distillery, creating product-market fit, and building a supportive network. Kat ends by sharing the playbook she used in marketing and the importance of knowing your customer, and so much more.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Kat about:

Impostor syndrome and its impact on women's aspirations. [03:44]

From medical school to the entertainment industry. [07:10]

Experience at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and starting her production company. [12:14]

Film "Taking 5," hiatus, and focusing on family. [16:55]

Kat's journey as a stay-at-home mom, health challenges, and 21 Seeds inspiration. [22:00]

From a hobby to launching 21 Seeds Tequila after nine years. [25:38]

Significance of co-founders in 21 Seeds' success. [30:00]

Challenges in the male-dominated tequila industry without expertise. [35:56]

Launch process and diligent preparations for 21 Seeds. [42:24]

Fundraising process and key lessons learned. [44:07]

Early momentum and unique marketing for 21 Seeds. [49:49]

Diageo's acquisition: a milestone in female-founded liquor business. [55:25]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:

If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances and to learn more about Beeya’s seed cycling bundle.

Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Yasmin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Kat:

Website: https://www.21seeds.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/21seeds/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathantas/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Mary Pardee is a functional medicine practitioner and naturopathic medical doctor who specializes in integrative gastroenterology, hormones, and gut-brain health. She is also the Founder of Modrn Med, a telemedicine and virtual wellness company.

We’ll talk to Dr. Pardee about what the heck gut health is and why it plays such a big role in your happiness, energy, confidence, and overall well-being. 74% of people live every day with embarrassing and uncomfortable issues such as bloating, constipation, reflux, or irregular stools. It doesn’t have to be this way!

We’ll dive deep into the impact that your gut health has on your hormones, mental health, and physical health and the importance of prioritizing self-care. Dr. Pardee shares how the majority of our immune system is tied to the gut, and the role stress and emotion have on our microbiome. We also discuss details on your menstrual cycle and steps you can take today to get your body back in balance and thrive both inside and out.

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Pardee about:

Things that are negatively impacting your gut health and what you can change. [02:09]

What Dr. Pardee means by “gut” and why it’s called the second brain. [4:24]

How Dr. Pardee ended up in naturopathic medicine: becoming the doctor that she didn’t have. [6:34]

The link between childhood trauma and stress-related conditions, and gut disorders. [12:45]

How gut health can affect your mental health, and vice-versa. [13:37]

Dealing with acute stress: the type of stress that humans have evolved to cope with. [14:24]

How holding tension in different areas can cause headaches and stomach issues. [17:11]

Constipation in women: what the frequency and size of a bowel movement should be. [18:32]

How gut health is tied to hormonal health and methods you can use to manage this. [20:18]

Why tracking your cycle can be helpful for women and couples. [24:33]

Dr. Pardee's perspective on under-eating: what it is, why it happens and how it affects your physical health. [26:38]

Understanding why you might not want to eat in the morning. [29:26]

Why Dr. Pardee tells women to try things and the importance of following your intuition. [32:24]

Dr. Pardee's three recommendations to improve gut health: movement, a morning routine, eating real foods. [33:00]

How the elimination diet works and why Dr. Pardee uses it for her patients. [36:43]

What some of the rituals and tools are that Dr. Pardee uses to improve her mental health. [40:08]

Why women in business need to feel their feelings. [44:02]

This episode is brought to you by beeya:

Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.

Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10

Follow Dr. Pardee:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.marypardee/

Modrn Med Website: https://www.modrnmed.com/

Follow Yasmin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

Stay updated & subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, we’re re-airing one of our top episodes from last year with Denise Woodard. Denise is the founder and CEO of Partake Foods, an allergy-friendly snack company.

Denise's journey began back in 2016, while juggling a day job and the new role of mom to a daughter with multiple food allergies. Frustrated by the lack of tasty options available for her little one, she took the advice of her babysitter and decided to "do something about it." From there, Partake Foods was born.

Denise started creating recipes in her home kitchen and began selling cookies out of her car to get the word out about her business. With no prior experience in the food industry, Denise had a lot to learn and made mistakes along the way. However, she was determined to make it work, and self-funded the business using all of her savings and even selling her engagement ring to make ends meet.

As the business grew, Denise knew she needed more funding to take it to the next level. So, she set out on a fundraising journey and dealt with many rejections that eventually led her to the right partner, Jay-Z's venture fund, Marcy Venture Partners. To date, she has raised up to $19M, making her the first Black woman to raise over $1 Million publicly for a CPG food startup.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Denise about:

What holds people back from their biggest goals and dreams. [03:22]

How Denise’s parents shaped her identity. [05:10]

Her parents’ definition of success and its influence on her. [07:18]

What Denise would have done differently in her corporate career. [08:30]

Denise's entrepreneurial nature. [10:59]

The benefits of working on side hustles while employed full time.[12:05]

What big brands can’t recreate no matter how much money they have. [13:01]

The 2016 incident that motivated Denise to solve a problem for her daughter. [18:45]

How Denise’s nanny motivated her to create a business. [20:41]

The early days of Partake Foods and overcoming challenges. [22:08]

Barriers to entry in the food allergy consumer market. [29:27]

How their product list has changed over time. [30:22]

Raising money beyond bootstrapping. [30:50]

Managing stress and burnout. [33:48]

Investors who initially said no but later wanted to participate. [37:48]

Fundraising advice for other entrepreneurs. [38:30]

Why it is a mistake to try to grow too quickly. [40:15]

What’s keeping Denise up at night at this stage of the business. [43:02]

How Denise involves her daughter in the business as chief taste tester. [45:45]

Advice for women balancing life at home with running a business. [47:44]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:

If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances and to learn more about Beeya’s seed cycling bundle.

Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10.

Follow Yasmin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Denise:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partakefoods/

Website: https://partakefoods.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keida Dervishi is the co-founder of Soulmate Customs, a personalized gift brand that turns cherished memories into custom embroidered and engraved gifts.

Keida launched Soulmate Customs in 2021 after creating a personalized embroidered sweatshirt for her mother’s birthday, inspiring a business focused on meaningful gifts. Before this, she explored various side hustles on Etsy and Depop, but none took off. Everything changed when she shifted her focus to custom embroidery and posted a TikTok video of her first order, which went viral with 3.7 million views and brought in over 1,400 orders in a month. In just 11 months, Soulmate Customs surpassed $1 million in sales. Today, the business is family-run and has reached over 1.3 billion people across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

In this week’s episode, we talk to Keida about her unexpected journey from aspiring singer and actress to entrepreneur. She opens up about the struggles of her first Etsy business which took off but then closed down—an experience that taught her that having a great product isn’t enough without strong marketing. But instead of giving up, Keida took those lessons and doubled down on learning, eventually launching Soulmate Customs. She gets real about the hustle—teaching herself embroidery through YouTube, staying scrappy with her resources, and leaning on her family to help grow the business. She also breaks down the power of social media, explaining how consistency in content creation—not perfection—was key to her viral success. We dive into the pressures of scaling, adapting to social media trends, and the mindset shifts needed to push through challenges, and so much more.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Keida about:

From singing and acting to entrepreneurship during COVID. [04:16]

Choosing passion over college. [09:56]

Starting her first Etsy shop. [11:52]

Overcoming Etsy shop closure due to copyright issues. [13:53]

Finding her next steps after the setback. [16:13]

Soulmate Customs began as a gift for her mom. [18:36]

The importance of scrappiness in business. [21:27]

Consistency matters more than perfection in content creation. [23:48]

Her mom's influence on doubling down on social media. [24:19]

First order and marketing success. [28:08]

Consistency and authenticity are the key in content creation. [34:24]

Emotional selling connects with customers. [35:17]

Purpose fuels passion and commitment. [46:20]

The biggest challenges for Soulmate Customs. [54:50]

Keida’s struggle with hiring. [55:50]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:

If you or anyone you know have been struggling with hormonal imbalances and bad periods, go to https://beeyawellness.com/free to download the free guide to tackling hormonal imbalances and to learn more about Beeya’s seed cycling bundle.

Plus, get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE10.

Follow Yasmin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri

Website: https://www.behindherempire.com

Follow Keida:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulmatecustomss

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keida02

Website: https://soulmatecustoms.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that optimists are physically healthier?! That’s what the research shows. It turns out, a change in mindset makes us more resilient to life’s stressors and can literally change all aspects of our life for the better—including our health.

In this episode you’ll learn:

The transformative power of optimism

How to upgrade your mental and behavioral habits

A new mindset around prioritizing rest

The varying ways people are impacted by trauma

How we can grow our inner resilience

And more...

Dr. Sue Varma, MD, PC, DFAPA, is a distinguished psychiatrist and cognitive behavioral therapist based in New York City. With over two decades of private practice experience, Dr. Varma has made significant contributions to the field of mental health. Notably, she served as the pioneering medical director and psychiatrist for the esteemed 9/11 mental health program at NYU. Alongside her clinical work, Dr. Varma holds the position of Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York University (NYU) Langone Health. Her accomplishments have been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), where she was honored as a Distinguished Fellow, the highest honor bestowed upon its members.

Dr. Varma has garnered national acclaim as a sought-after medical commentator, appearing on major news programs and networks. Her expertise has been instrumental in guiding the public through various mental health challenges, from trauma and resilience to stress management and relationship issues. Dr. Varma can frequently be seen discussing breaking news on the morning shows including the Today Show, CBS Mornings and GMA, as well as prime time specials and news documentaries. An accomplished author, Dr. Varma’s highly anticipated book, “Practical Optimism, The Art, Science and Practice of Exceptional Wellbeing” (Penguin Random House, 2/2024), offers valuable insights into promoting optimal mental health and wellness.

This episode is brought to you by beeya:

Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.

Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE

Follow Yasmin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Dr. Sue:

Pre-order her upcoming book: https://www.doctorsuevarma.com/book/

Website: https://www.doctorsuevarma.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorsuevarma/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.