121: Aishetu Dozie | Founder & CEO, Bossy Cosmetics

04/24/24 • 59 min

Aisha is the founder of Bossy Cosmetics, a hyper-growth independent beauty company that inspires, empowers, and champions ambitious working women. Under her leadership, the company has grown from a purely digitally native footprint to retailing in over 600 retail doors across the country, including JCPenney and Nordstrom, as well as on Amazon.com. The brand was selected (numerous times) as one of the coveted “Oprah’s Favorite Things”, and has won honorable mentions and awards from Fast Company in Innovation by Design and various product awards from Self and Ebony Magazines. In the 5 years since its founding, Aisha has redefined the way beauty companies “see” professional women and has been featured in NPR’s How I Built Resilience,, Forbes, W Magazine, InStyle, Refinery29, amongst others.

Prior to founding Bossy Cosmetics, Aisha led a different life - as a 20-year global finance executive having worked over the course of her career at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Standard Chartered Bank, World Bank, and Rand Merchant Bank. Aishe has worked on over $130 billion in M&A, private equity financings, IPOs, and public capital market transactions.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and was a Fellow in the Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University.
Perhaps even more impressive than all of this, Aisha is a wife and the mother of three sons!

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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Show Notes:

1. Welcome to She Leads
2. Aisha's Childhood and Values
3. Emphasis and Importance of Education
4. Grappling with her Dual Identity as a Nigerian Growing Up in America
5. The Value and Optimizing for Money and Finding Financial Security Growing Up
6. Navigating Career Paths – Tackling Job Security Vs. Passion
7. Optimizing for Wealth as a Woman
8. Rising Up in Investment Banking and Finance Career Path Ladder
9. Choosing to go to Harvard Business School
10. Aisha's Mental Health During the Pinnacle of Her Banking Career
11. Quitting her Banking Job (and the Health Scare that Led to this)
12. Work + Family
13. Moving to Palo Alto and the Distinguished Careers Institute Fellowship at Stanford
14. Founding Bossy Cosmetics + Early Days
15. Venture Capital Responses + Rejections of Bossy Cosmetics
16. Aisha Defining Success - Then and Now
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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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Show Notes:

Previous Episode

120: Wendy Weston | Founder, Perfect Picnic

My guest today is Wendy Weston.
Wendy Weston started Perfect Picnic with a dream, a small blanket and endless drive and passion. She decided to hang up her figure skates, moving on from her career as a successful competitive skating coach. She has worked her way from the bottom literally - from the basements of Chinatown to her Perfect Picnic storefront across from Central Park. Wendy now delivers her vision of delicious food, and a luxury experience to New York City, The Hamptons and Cape Cod.

Over the past 13 years Weston has transformed her vision into a successful business selling millions of dollars worth of picnics.

She additionally has paved the way for others in the fast growing "Picnic Industry". The idea "if you can make it here you can make it anywhere" has kept her going as she balanced being a single mother determined to show her daughter what a strong woman could accomplish on her own. She has turned a quiet corner of the Upper West side to a destination for New Yorkers and travelers from around the world. She was recently awarded the Women in Business award from Chase Bank.

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.

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Show Notes:

1. Welcome to She Leads
2. Wendy's Childhood + Figure Skating
3. The Impact and Challenges of Leaving Figure Skating on Her Identity
4. The Importance of Freedom and Independence
5. Lessons Learned Along the Way with Finding Independence
6. Evaluating Opportunities and Navigating Life
7. Dealing with Disappointment and Expectations
8. Inspiration for Perfect Picnic
9. Rewards and Challenges of Founding a Company
10. Work-Life Balance and Putting Yourself First
11. Separating Success from Self-Worth
12. Learning Curve of Founding Perfect Picnic
13. Passion for Women's Sexual Health
14. Contrary Opinion of Birth and Death
15. The Practice of Acceptanance
Wendy's Passion? Women's Sexual Health and the Difference of Discourse
Wendy's life-time craft she is honing? Acceptance
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Next Episode

122: Angie Bastian | Founder, Angie's BOOMCHIKAPOP

This episode was first recorded and released in September, 2020.
Angie Bastian, the visionary co-founder of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, ignited a global popcorn revolution from the confines of her Minnesota garage in 2001. She crafted a beloved brand of gluten-free, non-GMO popcorn that has taken the world by storm. In 2017, Conagra Brands recognized the exceptional appeal of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP and acquired the company, propelling it to new heights of success.

Angie's outstanding achievements have garnered her well-deserved recognition. She has been honored as a Pioneer in Food and proudly inducted into the esteemed MN Women's Business Hall of Fame. Beyond her role at Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Angie actively contributes to various ventures, serving on the boards of Prospera Foods and Opportunity International Nicaragua. A former Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, she made the bold decision to retire from her nursing career in 2011, fully dedicating herself to the world of entrepreneurship.

With an enduring partnership spanning 28 years, Angie and her husband have built a legacy that extends beyond business success. Together, they have raised two remarkable children and remain an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere. Angie Bastian's extraordinary journey exemplifies the power of determination, innovation, and unwavering commitment to creating something truly extraordinary.

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.