Kate McLeod Thinks "Success" is a Bad Word

Explicit content warning

05/09/23 • 30 min

This episode is sponsored by Kate McLeod

Kate McLeod has had a fascinating career journey with not one, not two but three career pivots. She started out in finance at Goldman Sachs, then went to culinary school and became a pastry chef. Then she started her own bakery in London.

Then, one day her sister-in-law introduced her to cocoa butter as a swap for her moisturizer. A powerful ingredient, cocoa butter (the fat of the cocoa bean) is rock-solid at room temperature. So what did Kate do? She used her pastry-chef skills to temper the butter with oils and lowering the melting point. She tinkered in her kitchen until the body stone was born, a solid moisturizer that glides onto the skin like silk. "I made the first 10,000 myself and packaged the canisters," she says.

On this episode of Girlboss Radio, Avery and Kate chatted about how Kate's rom-com-worthy love story (FYI: she's married to the founder and CEO of Hinge) informed her career journey, her hot takes on the beauty industry and why she hates the word success.

Get 20% off your first order of the Kate McLeod Daily Stone with code GIRLBOSS20 at katemcleod.com. Follow Kate McLeod at @katemcleod on Instagram.

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This episode is sponsored by Kate McLeod

Get 20% off your first order of the Kate McLeod Daily Stone with code GIRLBOSS20 at katemcleod.com. Follow Kate McLeod at @katemcleod on Instagram.

Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations!

Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com.

Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu Had Climbed Cringe Mountain to Find Success

Yes, you read that right, $600,000. That's how much Vivian Tu was making as a strategy sales partner. Before that, Vivian cut her teeth on Wall Street as a trader with JP Morgan after graduating from the University of Chicago, the best economics school in the world.

During the pandemic, Vivian decided to quit her full-time job to start YourRichBFF because she noticed all of the questionable financial advice swirling around the internet. What started as a side-hustle has grown into a thriving business. Through her podcast, Networth and Chill, her newsletter EnRiched and her viral Instagram (@your.richbff) and TikTok accounts (@yourrichbff), Vivian shares no-BS financial advice in a tangible, approachable way.

Avery chats with Vivian about how she found a way to stand out as a Wall Street intern, the process of climbing "Cringe Mountain" to find her way to success as a content creator, and whether she's been able to match her former salary as a full-time content creator (we won't spoil that one for you). Oh, and Vivian dishes out some truly great financial tips, of course.

Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations!

Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com.

Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

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Next Episode

Angel Investor Arati Sharma Loves a Bit of Imposter Syndrome

Avery is joined Arati Sharma, a powerhouse in venture capital funding. She’s the founding partner of Backbone Angels, a collective of all-women angel investors who focus on investing in Black, Indigenous, and women of color-led companies.

She also is a co-founder of Ghlee, a ghee-based skincare brand, which she started with her siblings. Previously, Arati rose through the ranks at Shopify, first as a community development manager and then as a director of marketing, working through the software company’s $1 billion dollar IPO in 2015.

Arati and Avery talk about what it was like working at one of the hottest tech startups during its heyday, the power of talking about wealth as women of color and why imposter syndrome might actually be good for you.

Follow Arati on Instagram (@aratisharma) and check out her ghee-based skincare brand, Ghee (ghlee.com) as well as Backbone Angels (backboneangels.com).

Get your very own Workplace Affirmation Deck from Girlboss at girlboss.com/affirmations!

Looking for your next dream employee? Post your open role on our Girlboss Job Board at jobs.girlboss.com.

Girlboss Goods, our women-owned and operated marketplace, makes it easier for you to vote with your dollar while also championing small businesses. Head to girlboss.com/goods. Happy shopping!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices