THE IDEALISTS.: Recent Episodes

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Hi friends.

We aired our first episode May 5, 2020 and in the last three years we have grown an amazing community of formidable women and men. We're so grateful to everyone who has tuned in over the last few years and we love having grown this podcast together.

In our last and final episode of THE IDEALISTS., we stay true to what we do best: telling the truth and striving boldly.

Today, you get to hear from no-nonsense money coach Christy Rutherford. Regularly featured in Forbes, Christy shares how to recover from burnout and how she has secured over $10 million in salary raises for her clients in just a few short years.

Ready to learn from Christy?

Let’s get into the episode.

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In this episode: Sedge Beswick, the CEO of SEEN Connects, an influencer marketing agency that generates a turnover of £20M and has offices in New York City and London, serving clients throughout Europe, including renowned brands such as eBay, Nike, and Panasonic.

She has conducted workshops for notable businesses such as Lloyds Bank, Google, and No.10 Downing St, appeared on Sky News and BBC Breakfast, and written for publications such as The FT and The Drum.

What we learned: Sedge gives us the 101 building blocks on how to build a personal brand.

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In this episode:  THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Kirin Sinha, award-winning CEO of Illumix which powers the most stunning Augmented Reality experiences for entertainment venues, theme parks like Disney Land, marketing campaigns, and digital experiences. Often featured in Forbes and Variety, Kirin has raised over $30M to build her AR company that services some of the world's most iconic experiences.

What we learned: One of our favorite kinds of conversations is visioning out ideas for an ideal life. Most of us don’t often get to do it because life is busy, but today Kirin indulges us and vulnerably envisions what an ideal family life looks like while balancing a high powered career. 

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In this episode (part two): THE IDEALISTS. releases part two of our conversation with Angela Saini, award-winning science journalist and author. Her latest book “The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule” was published in spring 2023, and is a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. As the founder and chair of the 'Challenging Pseudoscience' group at the Royal Institution, Angela researches and campaigns around issues of misinformation and disinformation. 

What we learned: Angela delves deeper into the construction of gender and why there is social tension and resistance to true equality.  

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Angela Saini, award-winning science journalist and author. Her latest book “The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule” was published in spring 2023, and is a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. As the founder and chair of the 'Challenging Pseudoscience' group at the Royal Institution, Angela researches and campaigns around issues of misinformation and disinformation. The BBC regularly refers to Angela’s work and she sits on a number of boards, including the Royal Society’s Science Policy Expert Advisory Committee.

What we learned: Angela challenges the idea of a monolithic patriarchy where men in general oppress women in general. Instead, she recounts a complex history of patriarchies— neither chronological nor linear— where men and women have tussled for power in a myriad of ways.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, New York Times Bestselling author and Harvard trained neuroanatomist. Jill’s TED talk on the brain has received over 29 million views, and in 2008 Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

What we learned: Jill shows us how to get acquainted with the four characters in our brain so we can observe how they show up in our daily lives. By observing, and then balancing the whole brain, we gain a radical new road map to deep inner peace.

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Julie Wainwright, founder and former CEO of The RealReal, an online marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment. The RealReal has raised over $350M and Julie is one of 33 women to ever take a company public. In this episode, Julie shares lessons learned from the public failure she endured before founding The RealReal.

What we learned: Julie shares the billion dollar mindset shift she experienced after realizing the growth potential of The RealReal. She also shares why she believes women don’t vision big enough to achieve audacious goals.

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Gail Becker, founder of CAULIPOWER, the first cauliflower crust pizza to make it into big box retailers. In five short years, CAULIPOWER experienced hyper-growth reaching more than $100M in revenue.

What we learned: While bootstrapping her company as a total food novice, Gail spent the first year testing cauliflower crusts until she found the right formula. Using her kids as taste testers, this 12 month testing period was well worth it— her first buyer was Whole Foods.

*the audio for this episode is not be the greatest, but the storytelling and wisdom is… happy listening.

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Aisha Pandor, co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, Africa’s first online platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning services (think Uber for home cleaners). Aisha is one of Africa’s top female tech startup CEOs to have raised over $20M, as well as, a former scientist who completed her PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town. A story we love about Aisha is while writing her PhD thesis, she also completed a Postgraduate Business Administration course University… coming first in class in that course and becoming the first student to graduate from the University with two separate qualifications from two different faculties, on the same day. As you can imagine, Aisha is a force to be reckoned with.

What we learned: While bootstrapping her company, Aisha and her husband sold off every asset they owned (home, furniture, car, etc.) and moved back into her parent's home. They ended up staying for three years. In this episode, Aisha details the sacrifices she made to build SweepSouth, while balancing her internal monologue that she has no right to feel challenged because her ancestors who fought apartheid sacrificed worse. Now, she is on a path of unlocking her inner self while helping her team lean into their own self-awareness.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Aisha Pandor, co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, Africa’s first online platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning services (think Uber for home cleaners). Aisha is one of Africa’s top female tech startup CEOs to have raised over $20M, as well as, a former scientist who completed her PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town. A story we love about Aisha is while writing her PhD thesis, she also completed a Postgraduate Business Administration course University… coming first in class in that course and becoming the first student to graduate from the University with two separate qualifications from two different faculties, on the same day. As you can imagine, Aisha is a force to be reckoned with.

What we learned: While bootstrapping her company, Aisha and her husband sold off every asset they owned (home, furniture, car, etc.) and moved back into her parent's home. They ended up staying for three years. In this episode, Aisha details the sacrifices she made to build SweepSouth, while balancing her internal monologue that she has no right to feel challenged because her ancestors who fought apartheid sacrificed worse. Now, she is on a path of unlocking her inner self while helping her team lean into their own self-awareness.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Yael Shemer, co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of TULU, an on-demand platform that operates in residential buildings and student housing, providing residents with access to household items they can rent by the hour. Tulu has raised over $30 million dollars and operates in 22 cities serving 50K people worldwide.

In 2023 she was selected as a Forbes 30 under 30, and today she is inspired more than ever to help advance technologies on mitigating climate change, circular economy, and promoting responsible consumerism.

What we learned: When first starting her company, Yael adopted different masks to be taken seriously in the tech world. In this episode, she shares the practices and mindsets she adopted to become authentically whole and to prioritize the relationships and self-care practices that mean the most to her.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Monali Pandya, President of Di’Amore Fine Jewelers, a family-owned fine jewelry retailer founded by her father in 1993. Over the last 7 years as president, Monali has increased the brand’s revenue by 400% and sales referral business by 25%.

What we learned: Monali  shares how she manages the intricacies involved in running a family-owned business.

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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Lisa Miller, market researcher and author of “The Business of Joy” and Barry McGowan, President & CEO of Fogo de Chão (yes, sometimes we have men on the show 😉). In this week’s episode, Barry and Lisa share how joy became Fogo's rally cry during the pandemic… as opposed to competitors who made business decisions from fear and scarcity. This episode is must listen for business owners long-term planning for a pending whispers recession.

What we learned: Joy has been coming up a lot on the show and is often discussed as a metaphysical or emotional experience— a nice to have that increases the maximization of life. In this week’s episode, Barry and Lisa share how to create business joy strategy during the worst and scary of times.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Dr. Brook Bello, tech entrepreneur, clinical counselor, actress, and the co-founder of Eval. Founded with “Call of Duty” co-founder Chance Glasgow, Eval is the first of its kind machine learning-enabled tool designed to support trauma victims, law enforcement and victim advocates. Brook was recently named a Google Next Gen Policy Leader and has spoken alongside presidents like Jimmy Carter, Prime Ministers and fellow change-makers like Ashton Kutcher at universities, conferences and federal agencies.

A survivor of human trafficking herself, Dr. Bello draws from personal experiences and her training as a clinical counselor to help trauma survivors discover their authentic identities through mentoring and education.

What we learned: Dr. Bello shares the internal tools required to alchemize trauma into visionary insight and purpose.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Anu Adasolum, co-founder and CEO of Sabi Am, Africa’s leading provider of digital commerce infrastructure for the distribution of goods and services. Nigeria based Sabi has done over a billion dollars in sales and has raised over $30M making Anu one of the most successful entrepreneurs to come out of Nigeria.

What we learned: Building her company in a cultural, geographic, and economic context often misunderstood by investors and international partners, Anu has learned how to stay clear headed and attuned to her own sense of direction. She provides a helpful way of understanding how to design for problems in business and in life instead of being overwhelmed by circumstance.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, speakS with Dr. Vivienne Ming, theoretical neuroscientist, artificial intelligence expert, and one of BBC's 100 women. Frequently featured for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Quartz and the New York Times, Vivienne is the co-founder of Socos Labs-- her fifth company-- an independent institute exploring the future of human potential. In this episode, Vivienne discusses her exciting work around working memory, brain hacking, and increasing human potential alongside the phenomenal life path that set her on this journey.

What we learned: Vivienne begins the conversation by explaining working memory-- the small amount of information that can be held in mind and used in the execution of cognitive tasks-- and how everyday people can improve their working memory. She also shares her research on how to increase human potential to improve the flourishing of our lives.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa resists her conversation with world-renowned Biological Anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. As the Chief Science Advisor for Match.com and as one of the foremost researchers in the area of the neuroscience of love, sex, and relationships, Helen has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, and gender differences in the brain. As a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, she studies extensively how personality style shapes who you are and who you love.

In this rich, revelatory episode, Helen and Melissa dive deep into Helen’s vast, peer-reviewed learnings around the science of romantic love, attachment, and the evolution of courtship.

Highlights:
- Helen leads off the episode by painting a picture of the history of gender roles and relationship paradigms as the human race shifted from a hunter-gatherer society to an agrarian one, and then evolved again with the industrial age to where we are now.

• Next, she discusses her broad sweeping research survey across a sample of millions. While the neurology of love is largely the same across culture, race, and sexual preference, courtship continues to evolve in new and compelling ways—from shifts in power dynamics of arranged marriages to those of video chat dates during the pandemic.

• Building on that, she discusses the different relational dynamics at play with the different brain systems and chemicals involved, when it comes to romance, sexual attraction, and deep attachment. She also touches on the different personality types who tend to do better together.

• Lastly, she shares her audacious wish for her work in personality science to break new ground in the business space. She believes understanding mother nature’s recipe for the brain can help in how we reach different people, build better teams, lead, innovate, and ultimately win.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this episode of THE IDEALISTS.: Melissa speaks with Dr. Sian Proctor, who launched into Earth's orbit as pilot of the Crew Dragon with SpaceX. As a geoscientist, artist, poet, and astronaut, not only did she grace the cover of Times Magazine, but she also appeared in “The Colony” on The Discovery Channel, “Genius by Stephen Hawking” on PBS, “Strange Evidence” on the Science Channel, and “Countdown” on Netflix. During the conversation, Sian takes us into space with her and it is quite a marvel.

What we learned: Sian begins the conversation by explaining the history of space travel and then describes her emotional and physical preparation to launch into orbit— including a phone conversation with former First Lady Michelle Obama. Sian then details the monumental beauty of Earthlight by reciting a poem she wrote while in the space craft.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Allie Egan, the founder of skincare brand Veracity. Rooted in scientific research, one of Veracity’s core beliefs is as your life changes, so does your health, and it’s driven by your hormones. And so Allie is pioneering hormone based wellness through their skin and health hormone test, their skincare products, and their line of supplements. Before founding Veracity, Allie began her career investing in consumer and beauty brands at L Catterton. She then went on to becoming CEO of the fashion brand Cynthia Rowley and led the product, ecommerce, and digital marketing teams at Estee Lauder’s top brands, including La Mer, Clinique, and Origins.

Highlights:

• Allie begins the conversation describing the health issues that led her to starting her beauty brand, Veracity.

• She then describes the career path that took her from investment banking to working with Glossier during its early days to becoming the CEO of fashion brand Cynthia Rowley.

• Allie goes on to share her experience with CEO loneliness and the framework she uses to build trust in her team.

• Lastly, Allie discusses her audacious vision for the world— for women to be empowered to make the best consumption decisions for themselves through knowledge and self-awareness.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Jessica Zweig is an international award-winning entrepreneur, expert in personal branding, and best-selling author. As the Chief Executive Officer of SimplyBe., Jessica facilitates sold-out workshops and masterminds around the world, and speaks on the power of authentic personal branding to corporations including Google, Blackstone, Morningstar, Salesforce, Motorola, Nike, Verizon, Mars, Pinterest, Bank of America, and more.

Highlights:

• Jessica starts the conversation by describing the financials woes she endured during the seven years she spent building her first company.

• She then describes how after her husband’s income suddenly and dramatically reduced a month after their wedding, she was forced to confront her belief that he’d financially save her.

• After realizing she would have to save herself, Jessica took steps to build her next company— a personal branding agency that today nets eight figures.

• Lastly, Jessica discusses her audacious vision for the world— to activate and remind people of their strength and power.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Sarah Wells, a 400m Olympian hurdler who made her debut at the London Olympics in 2012 despite an injury that had her sidelined for nine months just a year before. Most recently you may have seen Sarah pushing her limits on the latest season of The Amazing Race Canada. As an Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist, obstacles don’t scare Sarah Wells. Sarah’s reputation was forged through overcoming challenges and achieving the unimaginable.

Highlights:
- Sarah starts the conversation by describing how her siblings laid the foundation for her to cultivate her appetite of risk-taking.

• Sarah recounts her preparation for the 2012 London Olympic games.

• She then describes the bodily injuries she endured to get to the Olympics, and the 3 point framework she developed to keep going.

• Lastly, Sarah discusses her audacious vision for the world— to inspire a million people by the end of her speaking career.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Martha Beck, a PhD Harvard-trained sociologist, entrepreneur, and Oprah's life coach. Her most recent book, The Way of Integrity, was an instant New York Times Best Seller and in it, using the hero's journey within Dante's Inferno, Martha challenges us to envision a life of complete joy... unencumbered by self-limiting beliefs and cultural programming.

In this episode, Martha delves deep into how we all can achieve integrity, which she defines as absolute and total alignment of one's mind, body, and soul.

**Highlights:

-** Martha starts the conversation by recounting while working on her PhD at Harvard, she became pregnant with her son who she learned would be born with down syndrome. Despite being told by her advisors and professors that an abortion would protect her career, Martha absconded from their advice.

• She began to question what makes a life worth living and came to her own answer— that the search and capacity for joy through the liberation of the human mind is the reason for living.

• Martha then shares why she believes the full realization of one’s gifts leads to enlightenment.

• Lastly, Martha discusses her audacious vision for the world— to end suffering for all through the transformation of consciousness.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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Welcome back to break*through!

break*through is THE IDEALISTS. newest venture where we matchmake visionary women with world-class Executive Coaches.

Today, you get a peek into this process by listening in on Alisa’s session.

In 2015, in the middle of living her best life, 45-year-old, New York-based branding executive and former Armani & Calvin Klein model, Alisa woke up in the hospital after having shattered her face and jaw during an epileptic seizure in the grocery store on the upper west side of Manhattan. Unable to speak, fired from her job, and now permanently disfigured, Alisa found herself trapped in a narrative loop of grief and anxiety she could have never anticipated—one that’s still deeply impacting how she comports herself in interviews and meetings.

Alisa is working with a career coach who helps professional women navigate and remove barriers in their careers so that they can show up as themselves and move forward and upward.

This week, we dive deep into the issue of the “stuck” narrative—something we all grapple with at some point or another in our lives, but for our guest today and her coach—the traumatic narrative has been on repeat for so long—she’s called on the much-needed services of an Executive Coach to help her finally disrupt and transform it.

This break*through session is sponsored by Ideas Collide.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Madeline Fraser, 3x serial entrepreneur who in 2021 Business Insider named one of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Under 30 to Watch. Today, Madeline is the founder and CEO of Gemist, a digital platform that allows consumers to customize and try on their jewelry before purchasing it. Gemist has been called the Warby Parker of the jewelry industry and has raised $4M with De Beers Group Ventures as one of its main funders. De Beers Groups portfolio of brands include De Beers Jewellers and Forevermark. In this authentically heartfelt episode, Madeline shares her contemplations on becoming a mother while running a startup.

**Highlights:

-** Madeline starts the conversation by recounting her mother’s 17 year fight with cancer and how seeing her mother fundraise for cancer research encouraged her to be audacious.

• Madeline then shares the first time she stepped into audacity by taking a job in India at the age of 18 and later in life, her experiences in therapy and doing the inner work.

• Madeline candidly shares her internal conflict with becoming a mother and with modern day ideas about motherhood.

• Lastly, Madeline discusses her audacious vision for the world— that women can step into their power through entrepreneurship.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Jessica Buchanan, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six.

The book details how Jessica was kidnapped at gunpoint on October 25, 2011, while she was on a normal field assignment in Somalia as a humanitarian aid worker, and held for 93 days by a group of land pirates who demanded $45M ransom. On former President Barack Obama's orders, Jessica was freed by the same elite Navy SEAL Team that tracked down and killed Osama Bin Laden.

Jessica’s story is deeply touching, and her reflections on resilience are awe-inspiring.

Highlights:
- Jessica starts the conversation by describing why resilience is a choice. She delves into the alternatives of coping with adversity— either meeting oneself “in the proverbial desert” or cycling through self-destructive patterns.

• Jessica then shares what brought her to Somalia and her work with armed violence reduction.

• Jessica recounts the story of her kidnapping and the deep, powerful insights she gleaned during her time in captivity.

• Lastly, Jessica discusses her audacious vision for the world— that we all recognize the opportunities life provides so we can better connect with ourselves and each other.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Erica Keswin, a workplace strategist who has worked for the past twenty years with some of the most iconic brands in the world as a consultant, speaker, author, and professional dot-connector.Her second book, Rituals Roadmap: The Human Way to Transform Everyday Routines Into Workplace Magic made the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly and USA Today best seller lists and her work and insights can be seen in Harvard Business Review, NY Post, Forbes, Huffington Post, O Magazine, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Mogul, Conscious Company, Quartz, and Fast Company.

**Highlights:

-** Erica leads the conversation by describing how her parent’s divorce during her childhood led her to pursue a career of connecting people to each other.

• Erica then shares her thesis: that when we connect with one another and bring our human to work, we see an increase in wellness, health, and performance.

• Erica and Melissa discuss innovative ways progressive companies are supporting employees in “bringing their human to work.”

• Lastly, Erica discusses her audacious vision for the world— that as technologically advanced as our world will continue to become, that her work helps people remember the value of relationships.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Andrea Bowers who The New York Times calls one of America’s foremost political artists. For more than 30 years, Andrea has built an international reputation as a chronicler of contemporary history, documenting activism as it unfolds and collecting research on the front lines of protest. Her practice contends with issues such as immigration rights, workers’ rights, climate justice, and women’s rights, illustrating the shared pursuit of justice that connects them.

Highlights:

• Andrea leads the conversation by describing her childhood growing up in a depressed, small town in Ohio and how the environment cultivated a contrarian politic in her.
• Andrea and Melissa discuss how women across political lines can "speak" to each other— from capitalist feminists to radical feminist activists.
• Next, Andrea tracks her work archiving activists around the world and how she conceptualizes the source material of these activists.
• Andrea then describes how she reckons with radical patience vis a vis progress in her art— that sometimes those fighting for justice will not see the fruits of their labor in their lifetime.
• Lastly, Andrea discusses her own subjectivity and how that impacts whether she puts herself in the art she creates.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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Hi friends! Melissa Kiguwa popping in to tell you about something I’ve been cooking up. Over the last few months, I’ve been writing a beautifully stunning self-reflection journal just for our listeners. It’s the first physical product coming out of break*through, our sister venture focused on community, connection, and coaching.

If you’re a fan of THE IDEALISTS. or breakthrough, you know I speak to poets, artists, nine-figure entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, farmers, venture capitalists, even mystics about what it means to live in their peak vision. From those conversations, I’ve mined the depths of their insight and with thejournal** you can too.

the*journal is a self-coaching tool filled with over 300 thoughtful prompts and beautiful illustrations all designed to summon connection with the most powerful person in your life… you.

Jane one of our amazing listeners and a former guest says, “Receivedthe*journal recently and it is so wonderfully inspiring, motivating, encouraging and kind. It is written and drawn in a way that creates a deep relaxation coupled with a zest for challenge which is an unusual and welcome feeling that I want more of!”

Thanks Jane. And thank you to everyone who has ordered already. I promise next week I’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming interviewing beautifully audacious women, but in the meantime, head on over to theidealistsjournal.co and get yourself a copy of the*journal today. The prompts facilitate deep introspection and can be answered in 5 minutes or less. Trust me, it’s one of the best gift you can give yourself this year.

Alright, see you next week!

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify Order a copy of the*journal We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode, podcast host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with social innovation leader and co-author of the book Money and Love Abby Davisson. Most recently, Abby spent nine years as president of the Gap Foundation and co-founded the organization’s employee resource group for working parents, which has been featured as a best practice for how employers can support dual-career couples. In her book, Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life’s Biggest Decisions, co-authored with labor economist Dr. Myra Strober, the two offer a cutting-edge guide for navigating life’s most consequential and daunting decisions using research-based insights road-tested in a popular Stanford University course.

Highlights:

• Abby leads off the conversation with how decisions about money and love are inextricably bound and that when we compartmentalize the two, we miss out on a critical opportunity to leverage the entirety of the information, along with our own response to it, to make more meaningful, holistic life decisions.
• Next, she outlines a flexible, but sturdy, framework when grappling with some of life’s bigger decisions.
• Next, Abby relates how being married can feel like being the CEO of a very unglamorous non-profit especially when the function of caregiving is so undervalued by our society. Having love and money conversations are uncomfortable. No one is eager to talk with their new romantic partner about their massive student loan debt. It’s completely easy to put off these conversations, so she offers a helpful hack for how to get out of the day-to-day routine and make time to have meaningful engagement around the topics.
• Lastly, Abby shares her (and her co-author’s) audacious vision for the world... for people to finally realize that money and love are profoundly intertwined, but that it's not enough to solve these issues on an individual level, and that for society to really change, we need to address them on a communal and cultural level so that in the future we all have fewer negative trade-offs that ultimately hinder our lifelong happiness.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., podcast host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, speaks with the prolific visual artist, author, and breakout star of Miami Art Basel, Reyna Noriega. Born and raised, in Miami, Reyna paints an intentionally ebullient experience of Black and brown women. Her work has graced covers of The New Yorker, and Science Magazine, and has been featured at Brookfield Place overlooking Freedom Tower in New York City’s financial district. Through her major partnerships with Apple, Old Navy, Madewell, Apt2b, and Wayfair, thousands of collectors showcase her art in their homes around the world. Having seen the power of introspection, self-reflection, and healing, Reyna’s artistic vision teaches us about the myriad journeys women of color take as we struggle to rise and become our most empowered authentic selves.

Highlights:
- Reyna leads off the conversation by seeing a need not only for greater representation of women of color, but also a shift in the predominant narrative from one solely of trauma to one inclusive of joy, positivity, and uplifting stories.

• Next, she relates her passion for the accessibility afforded by digital art, but also the challenges of its legitimacy as a form. Additionally, in balancing her desire for commercial collaboration with her desire for respect as a fine artist, she is also continually grappling with her legitimacy as an artist while also being able to monetize her work to live. It's the life of a working artist.

• Building on this, she talks about the predatory nature of the art market—how one is only successful after death. Being a working, living artist, trying to make room for other artists to do the same, is very much part of her mission right now. With four shows at Miami Art Basel this year, and then curating her very first show featuring emerging Black and brown artists—she is finally realizing this mission in concrete terms.

• Lastly, Reyna shares her audacious vision for the world that even amidst the current climate of negativity on the internet, and the highly divisive nature of society, we might still hold space for more love, compassion, and grace for one another.

Resources:

1. Reyna Noriega Studios: https://www.reynanoriega.com/

2. In Bloom: A Poetic Documentary Of The Journey to Higher Self: https://a.co/d/eghN3l4

3. Reyna Noriega & Madewell: https://www.madewell.com/inspo-community-hometown-heroes-collective.html

4. Reyna Noriega & Goody at Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/browse/1085666_3316357_5638839

5. Reyna Noriega: behind the Project: https://youtu.be/ELcdko5be-o

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS. podcast, host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with the remarkable Dr. Jess Wade. The 33-year-old London-based physicist has become something of a phenomenon. Both an irresistible force and an immovable object, she was recently invited to Buckingham Palace to receive the prestigious British Empire Medal for her contributions to science. Ironically, she was being honored for her work honoring a whole host of other female scientists lost to history. Since 2017, the Imperial College Fellow has written nearly 1,800 Wikipedia pages for long-ignored women, minority scientists, and engineers. Just 19% of English Wikipedia biographies are of women. So, having one’s work on the "go-to" site for an estimated 2 billion people per month seeking information about individuals, ideas, and topics large and small, translates to more opportunities and access to grants. Ultimately, what gives Jess the most joy is seeing a scientist, whose profile she created, go on to earn a fellowship or an award. It’s truly her passion project as she professes, she's: "nevernot had someone to write about." There’s always someone whose work or story has gone uncredited.

Note: the podcast Melissa mentions on the show is “Underestimated” featuring the founder of IFundWomen, Karen Cahn.

Highlights:

• Jess leads off the conversation with a story about a head teacher in the UK who’d claimed only 16% of her A-level physics students were female, but that this was okay because girls didn’t like the “hard maths”—the suggestion being that girls are simply not as “able” in the subject. And then, what does it mean when society does such a terrible job—historically across generations—refusing to recognize women scientists in any sort of meaningful way?
• Next, she relates her passion for her own research as a scientist working on new nanoparticles that can impact climate change and how her side hustle of elevating women and other historically excluded groups has mushroomed into this movement of awareness with people reaching out with ideas, partnerships, conferences, and suggestions. At nearly 1800 pages, the profiles have evolved beyond a white UK scientific community to include the global south and more internationally diverse sources including, The Lancet, TED Fellows, and Next Einstein Africa.
• Building on this, the process of researching the profiles has revealed not only how many women are out there, but also how extremely closed and privileged the world of science is. In countering this, she relates several healing tales of women scientists from Dr. Gladys West whose work ultimately became the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS) to Dr. Sumita Mitra whose work with nanoparticles for 3M Oral Care completely revolutionized dentistry.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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**In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS. podcast, host, and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, speaks with Kara Goldin. Kara is the founder and CEO of Hint, a $220 million beverage producer of fruit-infused waters and lifestyle goods, offering a healthy alternative to sodas and artificially sweetened drinks.

Melissa sits down with the former AOL executive and current “accidental entrepreneur” to glean her insights on what it takes to start a category-changing business from scratch, as well as to learn how other dynamic female executives and would-be entrepreneurs can tap Kara’s pragmatic leadership wisdom.
In this enlightening conversation, Kara and Melissa explore how process, persistence, and the ability to have patience with one’s inner knowing, can help you ultimately make the right decisions.**

Highlights:

• Kara leads off the conversation with the need for training, process, and stability and what it means when an entrepreneur hasn’t experienced that grounding before building a company. “Process” may sound unsexy but there are so many ways it can prove empowering as you scale. As Kara reminds us, it’s not enough just to be a room full of visionaries.
• Next, she relates how a company’s culture is often set from the top and infuses the whole experience not only within the business’s internal culture but also as the organization attempts to build partnerships. People can tell when there’s an alignment of mission and culture.
• Building on that, she discusses how getting involved in the PFAS conversation became an unexpected turn into politics and raising awareness around water safety with Congresswoman Jackie Spiers and Vice President Kamala Harris.
• Lastly, she shares her parting wish, gained from her time at the FortuneWomen’s conference and the Young President’s Organization (https://www.ypo.org). She hopes for younger leaders and would-be entrepreneurs to have greater access to stories, like those in her book, and to c-suite networks—so they can be emboldened to solve their own problems in building their businesses.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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*This week we are elated to bring you a complimentary session from our new series breakthrough.

Marina is a prolific banking executive who has guided multiple international banks through crisis, retrenchment and growth. She’s held positions as CFO of Citi Bank in Russia, and Director of Private Banking at Credit Suisse in Vienna.

Marina currently spends her time in Paris where she is building a web3 startup to help migrants around the world.

As Marina builds her startup, she feels as though she is unable to achieve in the same way she always has. The skills she relied upon to achieve in the banking world, don't seem to help her as she builds her startup.**

Paula, Marina's coach, is a former banking executive who runs Rites of Passages for women, a modality that leverages knowledge indigenous and traditional communities have known for thousands of years... that rituals and ceremonies are necessary to acknowledge, support, and celebrate pivotal life transitions.

Based in Byron’s Bay, Australia, Paula has an incredibly beautiful framework for powerful women. She takes Carl Jung’s original framework of the "heroine's journey"— that a woman's life-phases moves from maiden to mother to crone— and expands it so there is a phase between mother and crone-- that of the Empress.

This week, break*through dives deep into stepping into your Empress Season.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through.
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s last (re)wind episode, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, revisits her conversation with celebrity stylist, entertainment journalist, filmmaker, and author of Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion,Marcellas Reynolds. Marcellas is joined by Veronica Webb, supermodel, actress, writer, and the first African American to land a major global cosmetics deal. Veronica appeared on covers of Vogue, Essence, and Elle magazine as well as on the runway for Victoria's Secret and Chanel. In this episode, Marcellas and Veronica explore self-love as a means of survival, the rarity of excellence, and how to use fashion as armor.

Highlights:

• Marcellus leads off with the highly contrarian view that being a model has lost its exclusivity. It’s lost that which makes it special and glamorous if anyone with an Instagram account can call themselves a model. Alternatively, Veronica offers up her contrarian notion that women need to be conceited—conceited about their intellect, their beauty, and their style because the world has a way of beating down a woman's confidence and she needs that belief, that genuine conceit, as her armor.
• Next, they discuss how we’re conditioned so often as children to apologize, or to downplay our accomplishments, abilities, skills, and our very beauty. For both Marcellas and Veronica, it was about having strong women in their lives growing up, building up their inner narratives, encouraging them to dress up for the parts they ultimately want to play in life—and how fashion became a vital tool for that.
• Building on that, they discuss how to surround yourself with those who build you up, and who can help see your vision through. How can you also self-build? How can you show up in the world as you would want to be treated? How can you see yourself in Marcellas’ words, as a “unicorn in a field of cows?” Self-love had been a mode of survival for Marcellas, but now being able to write about these powerful black women, giving accolades to those who so deserved them has become more gratifying than anything for him.
• Lastly, they share their audacious visions for the world. For Marcellas to keep telling bestselling stories about people who are marginalized so that it’s easier for the next gay black boy to walk into a publisher and breakthrough. For Veronica, it's for people to realize that black women have always been here and have always been powerful—and ever and on the rise.

Join THE IDEALISTS.' conversation:
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s very special (re)wind episode, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, revisits her conversation with Ty Stiklorius, CEO of Friends at Work, a 21st-century management and social impact firm, which handles some of the world’s most respected and beloved artists, including John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, Charlie Puth, and the list goes on. Ty also served as Executive Producer on the Oscar-winning film La La Land and won an Emmy for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert on NBC. Billboard **named Ty one of the most powerful women in music, and after this conversation, you’ll understand why.

Ty's Business: https://friendsatwork.com/about/**

Episode Highlights:

• Ty leads off with a story about a manager who wanted to buy her company but opted not to because she values maximizing not just shareholder value, but workers and the planet. It was a moment that crystallized things for her—that because of her roots in Quakerism, because of her perspective, having an MBA from Wharton, and working in consulting—she could do something different.

• Next, she discusses the ethos behind her company Friends at Work, and how they function as the CEO for their clients, handling everything from digital strategy to tour planning, to brand strategy, to advertising, to social impact strategy.

• Building on that, she discusses what it means to trust your gut, and sense of knowing in the face of veteran managers who might play upon your fears or insecurities when making critical decisions.

• Lastly, as part of her inadvertent audacious vision for the world, Ty reads from a first draft of her Real-Life Manifesto, a collaborative document meant to embrace ideals of care, difference, and equity, so everyone comes away with their needs met—in a more hopeful win-win-win scenario.

Join THE IDEALISTS.' conversation:
At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/ On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_ On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us to grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify We're sponsored by the London School of Economics @lsegenerate

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In this week’s very special (re)wind episode, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, speaks with Wanja Muguongo, world-renowned Queer social justice activist, Yale World Fellow, and founder of UHAI, Africa's first indigenous fund created for and by LGBTI communities in East Africa. Under Wanja, the fund raised and distributed over $12 million to LGBTI and sex worker human rights movements in East Africa. In this rich, revelatory conversation, Wanja and Melissa dive deep into what it means to raise funding to tackle deep structural and systemic discrimination on your own terms.

Highlights:

• Wanja leads off the episode by discussing the field of participatory grant making in which funds are directed at the community level, by the community so that the impact is felt more authentically.
• Next, she discusses broad paradigm shifts in international human rights conversations and what it means to come to the table as Africans with the agency and knowledge of what will work there and what won’t. She also flips the script by fundraising from sources that have colonized Africa and left it in debt.
• Building on that, she discusses how participatory grant making puts the power back in the grantee’s hands. She cites the example of NGOs tending to fund the LGBTI community through the vectors of HIV, or the temporary rescue of LGBTI people in abusive situations (only for them to return to them) when it might make more sense to fund longer-term legal protection, legislation, and security strategies.
• Turning the conversation to women founders, Wanja relates the intentionality of her approach to fundraising and partnerships. While her focus is very friendship-driven, she understands the isolation women founders experience—especially if they are persons of color who also identify as LGBTI.
• Lastly, she talks about her decision to ultimately take a step back from UHAI at the ten-year mark, leaving the institution with a comprehensive body of work, a secretariat of people, and a set of self-sustaining systems to keep operating.

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Welcome to THE IDEALISTS. rewind, where we revisit some of our favorite past episodes. This week’s rewind is Fariel Salahuddin, the founder and CEO of UpTrade, a bartering service which enables rural communities in Pakistan to exchange livestock for solar-powered water pumps and solar home systems. More than 40% of the people in Pakistan live off the grid and without lights in their homes, or electricity to pump water. Women can spend up to four hours a day fetching water from distant wells. This episode was chosen by THE IDEALISTS. Head of Marketing, Alisa Jones, because Fariel shares her vision for an inclusive economy that values more than just fiat currency. The BBC calls her : "A business a solution for the desert" and Fariel is both a 2021 TED fellow and a 2019 finalist with Cartier's Women's Initiative.

In the episode:

- Fariel begins the conversation describing how UpTrade works and the ways she gets off-grid, rural communities to opt into bartering their goats for solar water pumps and solar home systems.

- She then shares what inspired her to start UpTrade and how her model is based on community and self agency versus traditional charity-focused interventions.

- Fariel then describes her vision for tech-enabled marketplaces that are not bound by fiat currency.

- Fariel ends the episode sharing her vision for rural, unbanked communities to be able to participate in the mainstream economy using the resources they have.

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Welcome to THE IDEALISTS. rewind, where we revisit some of our favorite past episodes. This week’s rewind is Elise Loehnen, the former chief content officer of goop, the lifestyle and e-commerce company established by Gwyneth Paltrow in 2008. You may have also seen and heard Elise co-host The goop Podcast and The goop Lab on Netflix. This episode was chosen by THE IDEALISTS. host Melissa Kiguwa because Elise brings so much ideology and depth to the topic of divine femininity.

In the episode:

- Elise begins the conversation by sharing one of the thesis in her upcoming book: how easy it is to claim women should rise in the world, but how difficult it is to tactically and tangibly support women. She breaks down how often historical tropes solidify ideas about women's cattiness towards each other and around the ways women compete for the attention and protection of men.

- She discusses the trauma of witch-hunting over centuries and the millions of women killed during the hunts. One of the mechanisms of witch-hunting was getting friends to turn on friends and daughters to turn on mothers, which Elise describes as having left women with a collective sense of scarcity and fear carried over from generation to generation.

- Melissa asks if intergenerational trauma includes the fear of being disconnected from one's deep sense of power, how can women trust each other if we do not even trust ourselves?

- Elise answers by explaining the role of the crone, the third archetypal stage of a woman's life. The crone is an initiator and healer, as well as, the representation of life and death. She explains without the crone, young women are now going at it alone and suffering loss and disconnect.

- Elise describes what has replaced the crone and what the ramifications are for our political, economic, and social structures. She then describes how the gender binary keeps men and women at odds with each other versus understanding the masculine and feminine in all of us.

- She then outlines how various spiritual modalities help as a guide in healing the disconnection and getting back to our humanity.

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Welcome back to breakthrough*!

In this week’s episode, we are elated to bring you yet another session from our new series under THE IDEALISTS. roster. For those of you who are new here, breakthrough* offers a raw, handcrafted kind of show in which you will experience transformations and insights from a whole world of visionary women all seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

This week, we dive deep into the issue of the “stuck” narrative—something we all grapple with at some point or another in our lives, but for our guest today and her coach—the traumatic narrative has been on repeat for so long—she’s called on the much-needed services of a master executive coach to help her finally disrupt and transform it.

In 2015, in the middle of living her best life, 45-year-old, New York-based branding executive and former Armani & Calvin Klein model, Alisa Jones woke up in the hospital after having shattered her face, jaw, and severely damaged her right eye during an epileptic seizure in the grocery store on the upper west side of Manhattan. Unable to speak, fired from her job, and now permanently disfigured, Alisa found herself trapped in a narrative loop of grief and anxiety she could have never anticipated—one that’s still deeply impacting how she comports herself in interviews and meetings.

You can listen to the full episode of breakthrough* on our website: theidealistspodcast.co

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Welcome back to breakthrough*!

In this week’s episode, we are elated to bring you yet another session from our new series under THE IDEALISTS. roster. For those of you who are new here, breakthrough* offers a raw, handcrafted kind of show in which you will experience transformations and insights from a whole world of visionary women all seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

This week, we dive deep into the issue of the “stuck” narrative—something we all grapple with at some point or another in our lives, but for our guest today and her coach—the traumatic narrative has been on repeat for so long—she’s called on the much-needed services of a master executive coach to help her finally disrupt and transform it.

In 2015, in the middle of living her best life, 45-year-old, New York-based branding executive and former Armani & Calvin Klein model, Alisa Jones woke up in the hospital after having shattered her face, jaw, and severely damaged her right eye during an epileptic seizure in the grocery store on the upper west side of Manhattan. Unable to speak, fired from her job, and now permanently disfigured, Alisa found herself trapped in a narrative loop of grief and anxiety she could have never anticipated—one that’s still deeply impacting how she comports herself in interviews and meetings.

You can listen to the full episode of breakthrough* on our website: theidealistspodcast.co

View Details

Welcome back to breakthrough*!

In this week’s episode, we are elated to bring you yet another session from our new series under THE IDEALISTS. roster. For those of you who are new here, breakthrough* offers a raw, handcrafted kind of show in which you will experience transformations and insights from a whole world of visionary women all seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

This week, we dive deep into the issue of the “stuck” narrative—something we all grapple with at some point or another in our lives, but for our guest today and her coach—the traumatic narrative has been on repeat for so long—she’s called on the much-needed services of a master executive coach to help her finally disrupt and transform it.

In 2015, in the middle of living her best life, 45-year-old, New York-based branding executive and former Armani & Calvin Klein model, Alisa Jones woke up in the hospital after having shattered her face, jaw, and severely damaged her right eye during an epileptic seizure in the grocery store on the upper west side of Manhattan. Unable to speak, fired from her job, and now permanently disfigured, Alisa found herself trapped in a narrative loop of grief and anxiety she could have never anticipated—one that’s still deeply impacting how she comports herself in interviews and meetings.

You can listen to the full episode of breakthrough* on our website: theidealistspodcast.co

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with world-renowned Biological Anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. As the Chief Science Advisor for Match.com and as one of the foremost researchers in the area of the neuroscience of love, sex, and relationships, Helen has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, and gender differences in the brain. As a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, she studies extensively how personality style shapes who you are and who you love.

In this rich, revelatory episode, Helen and Melissa dive deep into Helen’s vast, peer-reviewed learnings around the science of romantic love, attachment, and the evolution of courtship.

Highlights:

• Helen leads off the episode by painting a picture of the history of gender roles and relationship paradigms as the human race shifted from a hunter-gatherer society to an agrarian one, and then evolved again with the industrial age to where we are now.

• Next, she discusses her broad sweeping research survey across a sample of millions. While the neurology of love is largely the same across culture, race, and sexual preference, courtship continues to evolve in new and compelling ways—from shifts in power dynamics of arranged marriages to those of video chat dates during the pandemic.

• Building on that, she discusses the different relational dynamics at play with the different brain systems and chemicals involved, when it comes to romance, sexual attraction, and deep attachment. She also touches on the different personality types who tend to do better together.

• Lastly, she shares her audacious wish for her work in personality science to break new ground in the business space. She believes understanding mother nature’s recipe for the brain can help in how we reach different people, build better teams, lead, innovate, and ultimately win.

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with world-renowned Biological Anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. As the Chief Science Advisor for Match.com and as one of the foremost researchers in the area of the neuroscience of love, sex, and relationships, Helen has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, and gender differences in the brain. As a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, she studies extensively how personality style shapes who you are and who you love.

In this rich, revelatory episode, Helen and Melissa dive deep into Helen’s vast, peer-reviewed learnings around the science of romantic love, attachment, and the evolution of courtship.

Highlights:

• Helen leads off the episode by painting a picture of the history of gender roles and relationship paradigms as the human race shifted from a hunter-gatherer society to an agrarian one, and then evolved again with the industrial age to where we are now.

• Next, she discusses her broad sweeping research survey across a sample of millions. While the neurology of love is largely the same across culture, race, and sexual preference, courtship continues to evolve in new and compelling ways—from shifts in power dynamics of arranged marriages to those of video chat dates during the pandemic.

• Building on that, she discusses the different relational dynamics at play with the different brain systems and chemicals involved, when it comes to romance, sexual attraction, and deep attachment. She also touches on the different personality types who tend to do better together.

• Lastly, she shares her audacious wish for her work in personality science to break new ground in the business space. She believes understanding mother nature’s recipe for the brain can help in how we reach different people, build better teams, lead, innovate, and ultimately win.

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with world-renowned Biological Anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. As the Chief Science Advisor for Match.com and as one of the foremost researchers in the area of the neuroscience of love, sex, and relationships, Helen has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, and gender differences in the brain. As a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, she studies extensively how personality style shapes who you are and who you love.

In this rich, revelatory episode, Helen and Melissa dive deep into Helen’s vast, peer-reviewed learnings around the science of romantic love, attachment, and the evolution of courtship.

Highlights:

• Helen leads off the episode by painting a picture of the history of gender roles and relationship paradigms as the human race shifted from a hunter-gatherer society to an agrarian one, and then evolved again with the industrial age to where we are now.

• Next, she discusses her broad sweeping research survey across a sample of millions. While the neurology of love is largely the same across culture, race, and sexual preference, courtship continues to evolve in new and compelling ways—from shifts in power dynamics of arranged marriages to those of video chat dates during the pandemic.

• Building on that, she discusses the different relational dynamics at play with the different brain systems and chemicals involved, when it comes to romance, sexual attraction, and deep attachment. She also touches on the different personality types who tend to do better together.

• Lastly, she shares her audacious wish for her work in personality science to break new ground in the business space. She believes understanding mother nature’s recipe for the brain can help in how we reach different people, build better teams, lead, innovate, and ultimately win.

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In this unique crossover episode of breakthrough and THE IDEALISTS, we lean into raw and intimate when our host, Melissa Kiguwa, puts herself in the hot seat. On today’s episode, you will go behind the scenes to hear Melissa’s breakthrough…but, not in the way you think. As Executive Producer, it is Melissa’s responsibility to ensure our coaches and guests have all they need before they meet. Producing the show means curating a space of intense vulnerability, which has a lot of ethical considerations. In the case of this week’s episode, something broke down during the process. After the episode, Melissa sat down and debriefed with our guest, opening up a whole new level of insight, exploration, and accountability. This* conversation ultimately turned out to be the show.

For the purposes of maintaining confidentiality, names and some identifiable characteristics have been removed. To provide a bit of context, our guest is a new Managing Director of a venture capital fund and is seeking coaching as she establishes herself as a leader in her industry.

Episode Highlights:

• We begin our debrief by digging into the guest’s immediate emotional reaction to the session as she deals with her immense disappointment and overwhelming feeling of “this always happens to me.” That people don’t show up and deliver for her—even when they’ve agreed beforehand.

• Next, we move on to how there is no breakthrough without safety, and we talk through what specific measures can be taken to address power dynamics so that the guest feels comfortable being fully vulnerable.

• Building on this, we deep dive into the guest’s yearning to feel seen by her peers and to experience authentic accountability, connection, and grace when things go awry—as she’s often felt repeatedly let down by other women in her community and the VC community at large—given its competitive tenor.

• Lastly, we discuss the ancestral imperative she feels around her work—and how she needs a coach who gets that she is doing something that’s never been done by the women in her lineage and that it’s work that is urgent, necessary, and a priority. This is not just another VC job—this is her calling and her mission.

View Details

In this unique crossover episode of breakthrough and THE IDEALISTS, we lean into raw and intimate when our host, Melissa Kiguwa, puts herself in the hot seat. On today’s episode, you will go behind the scenes to hear Melissa’s breakthrough…but, not in the way you think. As Executive Producer, it is Melissa’s responsibility to ensure our coaches and guests have all they need before they meet. Producing the show means curating a space of intense vulnerability, which has a lot of ethical considerations. In the case of this week’s episode, something broke down during the process. After the episode, Melissa sat down and debriefed with our guest, opening up a whole new level of insight, exploration, and accountability. This* conversation ultimately turned out to be the show.

For the purposes of maintaining confidentiality, names and some identifiable characteristics have been removed. To provide a bit of context, our guest is a new Managing Director of a venture capital fund and is seeking coaching as she establishes herself as a leader in her industry.

Episode Highlights:

• We begin our debrief by digging into the guest’s immediate emotional reaction to the session as she deals with her immense disappointment and overwhelming feeling of “this always happens to me.” That people don’t show up and deliver for her—even when they’ve agreed beforehand.

• Next, we move on to how there is no breakthrough without safety, and we talk through what specific measures can be taken to address power dynamics so that the guest feels comfortable being fully vulnerable.

• Building on this, we deep dive into the guest’s yearning to feel seen by her peers and to experience authentic accountability, connection, and grace when things go awry—as she’s often felt repeatedly let down by other women in her community and the VC community at large—given its competitive tenor.

• Lastly, we discuss the ancestral imperative she feels around her work—and how she needs a coach who gets that she is doing something that’s never been done by the women in her lineage and that it’s work that is urgent, necessary, and a priority. This is not just another VC job—this is her calling and her mission.

View Details

In this unique crossover episode of breakthrough and THE IDEALISTS, we lean into raw and intimate when our host, Melissa Kiguwa, puts herself in the hot seat. On today’s episode, you will go behind the scenes to hear Melissa’s breakthrough…but, not in the way you think. As Executive Producer, it is Melissa’s responsibility to ensure our coaches and guests have all they need before they meet. Producing the show means curating a space of intense vulnerability, which has a lot of ethical considerations. In the case of this week’s episode, something broke down during the process. After the episode, Melissa sat down and debriefed with our guest, opening up a whole new level of insight, exploration, and accountability. This* conversation ultimately turned out to be the show.

For the purposes of maintaining confidentiality, names and some identifiable characteristics have been removed. To provide a bit of context, our guest is a new Managing Director of a venture capital fund and is seeking coaching as she establishes herself as a leader in her industry.

Episode Highlights:

• We begin our debrief by digging into the guest’s immediate emotional reaction to the session as she deals with her immense disappointment and overwhelming feeling of “this always happens to me.” That people don’t show up and deliver for her—even when they’ve agreed beforehand.

• Next, we move on to how there is no breakthrough without safety, and we talk through what specific measures can be taken to address power dynamics so that the guest feels comfortable being fully vulnerable.

• Building on this, we deep dive into the guest’s yearning to feel seen by her peers and to experience authentic accountability, connection, and grace when things go awry—as she’s often felt repeatedly let down by other women in her community and the VC community at large—given its competitive tenor.

• Lastly, we discuss the ancestral imperative she feels around her work—and how she needs a coach who gets that she is doing something that’s never been done by the women in her lineage and that it’s work that is urgent, necessary, and a priority. This is not just another VC job—this is her calling and her mission.

View Details

Welcome back to breakthrough! breakthrough is a raw, handcrafted kind of show in which you will experience transformations and insights from a whole world of visionary women all seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

In today’s breakthrough session, you’ll get to hear Ganna’s breakthrough. Ganna is the CEO and founder of a deep-tech AI startup called Sayso*. Their mission is to help English speakers around the world understand each other with ease, work productively, and grow human connection through reduced bias. Sayso is a real-time accent-modulating software, built by a team of phenomenally curious scientists and engineers pushing boundaries in audio science, AI, and online collaboration. They are in the middle of yet another financing round. On top of all this, Ganna is the mother of a very busy toddler, and she has also recently brought her 77-year-old father over from Ukraine due to the war and is helping him to adjust to life here in the US. Needless to say, their lives are exhausting.

Janis Machala is a veteran coach, corporate executive, and one of the top go-to resources for women founders looking to accelerate their growth. She brings strategic insight, collaborative leadership, and people-connectedness—not to mention a large network of trusted resources for executive connections, funding, partnerships, job candidates, and specialty services from her many years working with organizations such as Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

In this episode, Janis and Ganna work through some of Ganna’s hyper-achiever, perfect-daughter, perfect-mother, perfect-mate tendencies to create and hold more space for her own self-care and for her relationship with her partner—something that can often fall to last place in the chaos of their daily lives.

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Welcome back to breakthrough! breakthrough is a raw, handcrafted kind of show in which you will experience transformations and insights from a whole world of visionary women all seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

In today’s breakthrough session, you’ll get to hear Ganna’s breakthrough. Ganna is the CEO and founder of a deep-tech AI startup called Sayso*. Their mission is to help English speakers around the world understand each other with ease, work productively, and grow human connection through reduced bias. Sayso is a real-time accent-modulating software, built by a team of phenomenally curious scientists and engineers pushing boundaries in audio science, AI, and online collaboration. They are in the middle of yet another financing round. On top of all this, Ganna is the mother of a very busy toddler, and she has also recently brought her 77-year-old father over from Ukraine due to the war and is helping him to adjust to life here in the US. Needless to say, their lives are exhausting.

Janis Machala is a veteran coach, corporate executive, and one of the top go-to resources for women founders looking to accelerate their growth. She brings strategic insight, collaborative leadership, and people-connectedness—not to mention a large network of trusted resources for executive connections, funding, partnerships, job candidates, and specialty services from her many years working with organizations such as Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

In this episode, Janis and Ganna work through some of Ganna’s hyper-achiever, perfect-daughter, perfect-mother, perfect-mate tendencies to create and hold more space for her own self-care and for her relationship with her partner—something that can often fall to last place in the chaos of their daily lives.

View Details

Welcome back to breakthrough! breakthrough is a raw, handcrafted kind of show in which you will experience transformations and insights from a whole world of visionary women all seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

In today’s breakthrough session, you’ll get to hear Ganna’s breakthrough. Ganna is the CEO and founder of a deep-tech AI startup called Sayso*. Their mission is to help English speakers around the world understand each other with ease, work productively, and grow human connection through reduced bias. Sayso is a real-time accent-modulating software, built by a team of phenomenally curious scientists and engineers pushing boundaries in audio science, AI, and online collaboration. They are in the middle of yet another financing round. On top of all this, Ganna is the mother of a very busy toddler, and she has also recently brought her 77-year-old father over from Ukraine due to the war and is helping him to adjust to life here in the US. Needless to say, their lives are exhausting.

Janis Machala is a veteran coach, corporate executive, and one of the top go-to resources for women founders looking to accelerate their growth. She brings strategic insight, collaborative leadership, and people-connectedness—not to mention a large network of trusted resources for executive connections, funding, partnerships, job candidates, and specialty services from her many years working with organizations such as Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

In this episode, Janis and Ganna work through some of Ganna’s hyper-achiever, perfect-daughter, perfect-mother, perfect-mate tendencies to create and hold more space for her own self-care and for her relationship with her partner—something that can often fall to last place in the chaos of their daily lives.

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with world-renowned poet Nikki Giovanni—one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni’s notable collections of poetry are Black Judgment (1968)and Those Who Ride the Night Winds (1983), which were influenced by her participation in the Black Arts and Black Power movements of the 1960s. She has published numerous books of poetry—from her first volume, Black Feeling Black Talk (1968), to New York Times bestseller Bicycles: Love Poems (2009). She has written several works of nonfiction and children’s literature and made multiple recordings, including the Emmy-award nominated The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection (2004). Her most recent publications include Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose (2020); Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid (2013); and, as editor, The 100 Best African American Poems (2010). With more than two dozen volumes of poetry, essays, and anthologies, she has also published 11 illustrated children’s books, including Rosa, an award-winning biography of Rosa Parks.

Among her numerous awards, are the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the inaugural Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, the American Book Award, the Langston Hughes Award, the Virginia Governor’s Award for the Arts, and the Emily Couric Leadership Award. She is a seven-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the 1973 National Book Award. Her album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, also netted her a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album.

In this frank, yet revelatory episode, Nikki is unabashedly herself. When she says she wants to produce a history series where “librarians sit around and drink champagne... other people may say it should be coffee, but it's my show and they'll drink champagne… not bitchin’ and moanin’, just talking,” it’s clear she knows what she wants. Listening to her speak in an Afro tradition of loosely aligned parables feels not unlike listening to jazz—the music of surprise—with tangential, non-linear explorations that loop back to something greater.

**About the episode:

-** Nikki leads off the episode by explaining that poetry was probably something you learned in the womb from your mother—that it was and is something created by women and passed down in the oral folk culture and traditions of something as simple as cooking and recipes.

• Next, she admits that while she wants African Americans to be seen and recognized for playing major roles in literature, poetry, architecture, and athletics, she feels hope in witnessing the staunch progress of younger generations—as evidenced by the Serenas, the Venuses, and the Beyonces.

• Building on that, she recounts moments from a lifetime of illustrious friendships with the likes of Nina Simone, Muhammad Ali, Lena Horne, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Javon Jackson from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers—with whom she is currently recording an album of spirituals.

• Lastly, in summarizing a legacy of self-sovereignty, self-governance, and deep self-understanding, she hopes her poetry still stands 100 years from now—that people will still be reading her and grokking her across time and space and feel her personal imprint that “life is a good idea.”

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with world-renowned poet Nikki Giovanni—one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni’s notable collections of poetry are Black Judgment (1968)and Those Who Ride the Night Winds (1983), which were influenced by her participation in the Black Arts and Black Power movements of the 1960s. She has published numerous books of poetry—from her first volume, Black Feeling Black Talk (1968), to New York Times bestseller Bicycles: Love Poems (2009). She has written several works of nonfiction and children’s literature and made multiple recordings, including the Emmy-award nominated The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection (2004). Her most recent publications include Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose (2020); Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid (2013); and, as editor, The 100 Best African American Poems (2010). With more than two dozen volumes of poetry, essays, and anthologies, she has also published 11 illustrated children’s books, including Rosa, an award-winning biography of Rosa Parks.

Among her numerous awards, are the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the inaugural Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, the American Book Award, the Langston Hughes Award, the Virginia Governor’s Award for the Arts, and the Emily Couric Leadership Award. She is a seven-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the 1973 National Book Award. Her album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, also netted her a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album.

In this frank, yet revelatory episode, Nikki is unabashedly herself. When she says she wants to produce a history series where “librarians sit around and drink champagne... other people may say it should be coffee, but it's my show and they'll drink champagne… not bitchin’ and moanin’, just talking,” it’s clear she knows what she wants. Listening to her speak in an Afro tradition of loosely aligned parables feels not unlike listening to jazz—the music of surprise—with tangential, non-linear explorations that loop back to something greater.

**About the episode:

-** Nikki leads off the episode by explaining that poetry was probably something you learned in the womb from your mother—that it was and is something created by women and passed down in the oral folk culture and traditions of something as simple as cooking and recipes.

• Next, she admits that while she wants African Americans to be seen and recognized for playing major roles in literature, poetry, architecture, and athletics, she feels hope in witnessing the staunch progress of younger generations—as evidenced by the Serenas, the Venuses, and the Beyonces.

• Building on that, she recounts moments from a lifetime of illustrious friendships with the likes of Nina Simone, Muhammad Ali, Lena Horne, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Javon Jackson from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers—with whom she is currently recording an album of spirituals.

• Lastly, in summarizing a legacy of self-sovereignty, self-governance, and deep self-understanding, she hopes her poetry still stands 100 years from now—that people will still be reading her and grokking her across time and space and feel her personal imprint that “life is a good idea.”

View Details

Welcome back to breakthrough*! In yet another exclusive complimentary episode, we're beyond excited to bring you another session from our new series under THE IDEALISTS. roster.

In today’s session, you’ll get to hear Marilyn’s breakthrough. Marilyn is a seasoned character actress and writer for stage and screen known for her rich, grounded portrayals of Latin women. A graduate of NYU’s prestigious acting program, Marilyn is transitioning from a number of successful supporting roles working alongside iconic performers Morgan Freeman, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey to a larger role on the Tyler Perry show All the Queen’s Men. It’s a huge shift in how she presents herself in meetings, on set, and even in her own self-talk—one that’s leaving her feeling anxious and intimidated as she now tries to navigate stepping into more complex leading roles.

Marilyn is working with one of our phenomenally energetic coaches Alicia Dara. Alicia is a nationally recognized speech and presentation coach who has helped thousands of people including CEOs, Global VPs, Executive Directors, and Presidential candidates find their Power Voice, and put it to work. Her clients include Microsoft, Amazon, Kimpton Hotels, Planned Parenthood, The National Women's Political Caucus, Facebook, Merrill Lynch, and Twitter. Her most popular course helps women strengthen their voices and clarify their personal messaging—exactly what Marilyn needs right now on her journey to becoming a leading actress.

In this episode:

• Alicia leads off by working with Marilyn on her “Personal Power Pitch”—a living document for that defines her superpower and provides a north star for how Marilyn wants to be perceived when walking into a room.

• Next, Alicia dives deeper into the four pillars of public speaking: pacing, volume, enunciation, and clarity, and together she and Marilyn rehearse and refine Marilyn’s personal power pitch and set a practice schedule.

• Alicia then relates a piece of critical wisdom about how Marilyn can redirect unwanted attention or flirtation when it comes to people’s reception of her appearance and how to kindly refocus the conversation back on the project without creating undue conflict.

• Lastly, Alicia advises Marilyn on how to discern and read the room and modulate how much of her story she shares. There are some projects where her heritage and journey will be valuable and other times where she’s going to feel the need to protect that story and redirect the conversation. She has full permission to set her boundaries as she sees fit.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/support

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Welcome back to breakthrough*! In yet another exclusive complimentary episode, we're beyond excited to bring you another session from our new series under THE IDEALISTS. roster.

In today’s session, you’ll get to hear Marilyn’s breakthrough. Marilyn is a seasoned character actress and writer for stage and screen known for her rich, grounded portrayals of Latin women. A graduate of NYU’s prestigious acting program, Marilyn is transitioning from a number of successful supporting roles working alongside iconic performers Morgan Freeman, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey to a larger role on the Tyler Perry show All the Queen’s Men. It’s a huge shift in how she presents herself in meetings, on set, and even in her own self-talk—one that’s leaving her feeling anxious and intimidated as she now tries to navigate stepping into more complex leading roles.

Marilyn is working with one of our phenomenally energetic coaches Alicia Dara. Alicia is a nationally recognized speech and presentation coach who has helped thousands of people including CEOs, Global VPs, Executive Directors, and Presidential candidates find their Power Voice, and put it to work. Her clients include Microsoft, Amazon, Kimpton Hotels, Planned Parenthood, The National Women's Political Caucus, Facebook, Merrill Lynch, and Twitter. Her most popular course helps women strengthen their voices and clarify their personal messaging—exactly what Marilyn needs right now on her journey to becoming a leading actress.

In this episode:

• Alicia leads off by working with Marilyn on her “Personal Power Pitch”—a living document for that defines her superpower and provides a north star for how Marilyn wants to be perceived when walking into a room.

• Next, Alicia dives deeper into the four pillars of public speaking: pacing, volume, enunciation, and clarity, and together she and Marilyn rehearse and refine Marilyn’s personal power pitch and set a practice schedule.

• Alicia then relates a piece of critical wisdom about how Marilyn can redirect unwanted attention or flirtation when it comes to people’s reception of her appearance and how to kindly refocus the conversation back on the project without creating undue conflict.

• Lastly, Alicia advises Marilyn on how to discern and read the room and modulate how much of her story she shares. There are some projects where her heritage and journey will be valuable and other times where she’s going to feel the need to protect that story and redirect the conversation. She has full permission to set her boundaries as she sees fit.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/support

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with globally-recognized Queer women’s wealth coach and high-net-worth money muse, Merel Kriegsman—known for empowering clients to grow their business bottom lines by over $25 million last year. A one-of-kind, neurodivergent mother of three, former opera singer, and regenerative farmer, Merel has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, ABC News, CBS News, and Good Housekeeping.

In this freeform and thought-provoking episode, Merel shares her thoughts on how the constraints engendered by the huge trend of “ethical marketing” can lead to a kind of “purity” culture that can prove so detrimental to a founder’s creativity. At its core, fear of “cancel culture” can hijack necessary bold decision-making and conversations women need access to in order to thrive. She also reflects on her journey to coaching through brand and web copywriting and what it means to be the first woman in your lineage to break through and make an authentic transition to sustained wealth.

In this episode:

• Merel leads off the episode by describing the controversy surrounding a recent article she’d written about ethical marketing being disguised as purity culture, and how important it is to not be hamstrung by all the so-called rules—or if you are going to play by them, do so, consciously—with intent.

• Next, Merel dives deeper into issues of “cancel culture” and asks what happens when women are “canceled” for pursuing money or ambition or power? How does that detract from overall social justice work so necessary for women’s equity?

• She then relates a piece of key wisdom: we tend to undervalue what comes to us most easily to us. Yet what comes to us most easily is usually our most valuable work and most often, we do not charge for that work. We don’t even consider creating packages around those specific skill sets. We so often feel discomfort at taking money for something that feels too easy or fun. It takes a recasting of the spell.

• Lastly, Merel shares her audacious wish to make more magic in the world and help women everywhere become the wealthiest in their lineage, to fund the kind of change they want to see—online, locally, or globally. For Merel, this has meant contributing to her own local indigenous community as it continues to cope with poverty, hunger, and addiction.

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/support

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This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa speaks with globally-recognized Queer women’s wealth coach and high-net-worth money muse, Merel Kriegsman—known for empowering clients to grow their business bottom lines by over $25 million last year. A one-of-kind, neurodivergent mother of three, former opera singer, and regenerative farmer, Merel has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Insider, ABC News, CBS News, and Good Housekeeping.

In this freeform and thought-provoking episode, Merel shares her thoughts on how the constraints engendered by the huge trend of “ethical marketing” can lead to a kind of “purity” culture that can prove so detrimental to a founder’s creativity. At its core, fear of “cancel culture” can hijack necessary bold decision-making and conversations women need access to in order to thrive. She also reflects on her journey to coaching through brand and web copywriting and what it means to be the first woman in your lineage to break through and make an authentic transition to sustained wealth.

In this episode:

• Merel leads off the episode by describing the controversy surrounding a recent article she’d written about ethical marketing being disguised as purity culture, and how important it is to not be hamstrung by all the so-called rules—or if you are going to play by them, do so, consciously—with intent.

• Next, Merel dives deeper into issues of “cancel culture” and asks what happens when women are “canceled” for pursuing money or ambition or power? How does that detract from overall social justice work so necessary for women’s equity?

• She then relates a piece of key wisdom: we tend to undervalue what comes to us most easily to us. Yet what comes to us most easily is usually our most valuable work and most often, we do not charge for that work. We don’t even consider creating packages around those specific skill sets. We so often feel discomfort at taking money for something that feels too easy or fun. It takes a recasting of the spell.

• Lastly, Merel shares her audacious wish to make more magic in the world and help women everywhere become the wealthiest in their lineage, to fund the kind of change they want to see—online, locally, or globally. For Merel, this has meant contributing to her own local indigenous community as it continues to cope with poverty, hunger, and addiction.

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/support

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In this debut episode of breakthrough*, host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa brings an entirely new show to life under THE IDEALISTS. roster.

If you’re a fan of THE IDEALISTS in general, you know our guests are always talking about doing the work. Do the work, do the work, you’ve got to do the work. But what is the work and why is it so important? Well, now you get to see it in action as you listen in on visionary women journeying through an intimately personal session with their coach. break*through is a more intimate kind of show. You will hear transformations and insights from a whole group of visionary women seeking to change, clarify, and embolden their personal narratives through the work of coaching.

On today’s episode, you’ll get to experience Luz’s breakthrough. Luz is a new CEO transitioning from being a successful traveling midwife to running a luxury yoga resort in Guatemala. It’s a big adjustment—one leaving her with a tremendous lack of joy as she steps into the role of boss. She now has 30+ employees to manage, as well as a resort that in large part fuels the business ecosystem in that part of the region.

Luz is being coached by one of our phenomenal partners and coaches, Scharrell Jackson, who comes with over 35 years of experience as COO to some of the top accounting firms in the nation. A highly sought-after keynote speaker, known as the go-to “Corporate Fixer” for the Fortune 500, Scharrell’s style is authentic, intimate, and above all powerful--exactly what Luz needs on her journey to becoming a CEO.

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/support

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In this episode of THE IDEALISTS. podcast, host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Anisha Singh, entrepreneur, former CEO of Mydala.com, and Founding Partner of She Capital, India’s leading early-stage venture fund devoted to nurturing and growing the next generation of female-focused businesses.

Anisha’s own journey as an entrepreneur has been full of breaking stereotypes, glass ceilings, and shifting traditional perceptions. Now as she dons a new role of investor, she is on a mission to cultivate female unicorns and role models that resonate with younger women aspirants.

A role model herself, Anisha was ranked amongst the Top 7 Global Women CEOs by Crunchbase in 2018. Prior to Mydala.com, she founded and ran a digital content company called Kinis Software Solutions. Anisha began her career working with the Clinton Administration on an initiative that’s still close to her heart—Springboard helped women entrepreneurs raise funds to start new businesses and lives. Inspired by these women, Anisha knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur back in India. Now recognized as one of The Top 100 Global Diversity Leaders in 2019 and ranked among the 50 Most Influential 2018 in Asia, Anisha is also the President of the jury of the Cartier Women’s Initiative for South Asia.

In this remarkable episode, Anisha shares what it means to bristle at being labeled a “female” founder, and how that notion shifted with the birth of her daughters when she realized there simply weren’t enough women’s voices in the mix, and that real representation needed to start with her—even if it was only one voice. She reflects on what it means to take a big leap, how to persist to get to the breakthrough, and how the startup journey is never quite what you think it’s going to be. She also discusses her journey from founder to investor and potentially back again. More than anything, Anisha’s audacious wish to create an international community of role models that women everywhere can access will leave you asking who your role models are and how can you be a better one?

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• Anisha starts off the episode by talking about how she has always believed in taking the leap—that jumping in the proverbial deep end and having to figure it all out has always served her best because, in the end, there’s never any sure path. She also reflects on how women are so often trained to overthinking things, which can leave you on the sidelines and missing the key moments of your life.

• She shares her journey of growing up in Delhi, being raised by a conservative father who was a struggling entrepreneur, then going to graduate school in the US, and on to work in the Clinton Administration to help women entrepreneurs raise funds to ultimately return to India to become an entrepreneur—as founder and CEO of Mydala.com.

• Anisha then recounts how her discomfort (or annoyance) being thought of as a “female” founder shifted with the advent of her daughters. She also recounts the hardships of raising funding only to lose it in the 11th hour, and also relates her humbling self-reinvention in bringing She Capital to life.

• At the end of the episode, Anisha shares her audacious wish for creating a world of brilliant founders and generations of role models who finally make real equality possible for women.

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theidealists/support

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In this episode of THE IDEALISTS. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Tai Beauchamp, co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brown Girl Jane, a disruptive, plant-based wellness and beauty collection named by Refinery 29 as Beauty Innovator of the Year and winner of Best in Beauty Awards by Instyle, Allure, and Popsugar. Formerly a top editor for Harper’s Bazaar, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Seventeen magazines, Tai uses her vast platform to empower, educate, and entertain women of all ages.

In this episode, Tai shares what it means to grow up with the gifts of strength and self-reliance as well as what it means to unlearn old habits to forge the kind of partnerships that make a company Brown Girl Jane possible. Most of all, her audacious goal to impact ten million women will leave you inspired and enlightened.

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In the episode:

• Tai starts off the episode by describing why self-reliance is so historically ingrained in women’s ideals and belief systems and why she believes it's so important women realize they don’t have to go it alone—not in business and not in their personal lives.

• She shares her journey of being raised by a single mother and grandmother, going to an all-girls high school, and then on to Spelman College to become the youngest magazine editor at Seventeen—all under the messaging of: “You’re going to achieve this all on your own. And keep going!”

• Tai then recounts the story of how she reconnected with her Spelman sisters to co-found their groundbreaking beauty innovator startup Brown Girl Jane and how that partnership led to some of the crucial unlearning that’s set her on her path now.

• At the end of the episode, Tai shares her audacious vision for impacting the lives of 10 million women and how much the ripple effect matters even with our smallest actions.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Rebecca Clyde, the co-founder and CEO of Botco.ai, a conversational marketing startup that enables businesses to engage customers with AI-enabled chatbots. She has raised over $4 million in venture capital for Botco.ai, but even before running her current startup, she has more than 20 years in digital marketing and the technology industry.

In this episode, Rebecca shares some of the really hard things she went through when raising capital for her business. Her advice on how to build resilience is a game-changer and will leave you galvanized and inspired.

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In the episode:

• Rebecca begins the episode by describing why the mental shortcuts most investors use to assess talent does not help with finding exceptional founders.

• She then shares her own journey of coming to the United States from Central America, and the real grit and resilience she developed from dealing with adversity.

• Rebecca shares her fundraising story and how she pitched over 300 investors to fill her seed round.

• At the end of the episode, Rebecca shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Kaisa Keranen, a personal trainer, fitness entrepreneur, and social media influencer with over 1 million followers on Instagram and Facebook. Kaisa has been featured in Vogue, Shape, SELF, Harpers Bazaar, Oxygen and ESPNW to name a few. She was featured on the Greatist as one of the most influential people in health and fitness and most notably was asked by Michelle Obama to be one of the go to trainers for her “Let’s Move” digital campaign. In this episode, Kaisa shares why health is a feeling not a look and how she is redefining fitness.

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In the episode:

• Kaisa begins the episode by describing why it is not sustainable to practice fitness with the sole intention to lose weight.

• She then shares her own journey of overcoming hardship and depression through movement.

• Kaisa outlines how she built her 1M following on Instagram and how she leverages her content to build her business.

• At the end of the episode, Kaisa shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Michaela Boehm, a gifted speaker and counselor whose unique body of work centers around the intersection of intimacy and embodiment. Michaela travels and teaches internationally as an expert in intimacy, relationship and sexuality, and in her private practice, she coaches high-performing individuals and couples, including Oscar-winning actors, producers, writers, multiple Grammy-winning musicians, CEO’s, and multi-billion dollar fund managers. You can also see her on Netflix’s Unwell, as well as, Sex, Love, and Goop, and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk. In this episode, Michaela tackles how high achievers can love and connect more intentionally.

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In the episode:

• Michaela begins the episode by describing why high-achievers feel they must sacrifice the relational in order to become successful.

• She then explains how she teaches using the body to reconnect with others and self.

• Michaela outlines how people self-sabotage and how to create a new baseline for wellness regardless of one’s patterns.

• At the end of the episode, Michaela shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Jenny Atout Ahlzen, one of the Managing Founders of Amam Ventures, an impact investment fund based in Jordan that provides risk capital to Small and Medium Sized enterprises that are committed to diversity and inclusion. In this episode, Jenny shares how her and her business partners are moving the needle on women’s economic participation in the Arab world.

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In the episode:

• Jenny begins the episode by describing why funding “Zebra” businesses makes the most sense in Jordan.

• She then describes the entrepreneurial ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in Jordan.

• Jenny shares the ways her and her business partners have designed their impact fund specifically for Jordanian women.

• At the end of the episode, Jenny shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Joy Harjo, who served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022. She is the author of nine books of poetry, several plays and children's books, and two memoirs. Her many honors include the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, two NEA fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In this episode, Joy shares how she moves between the physical and mystical in order to make sense of the world around her.

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In the episode:

• Joy begins the episode by describing how her work as a writer is to see humanity’s beauty and atrocity.

• She then describes how she sees the world in both the physical and metaphysical sense.

• Joy shares the tensions she’s experienced trying to bring her indigenous wisdom traditions to academia.

• At the end of the episode, Joy shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Sonya Erickson who is a lawyer, partner, and member of the board of directors at Cooley Law Firm. The recognition for Sonya’s work is vast. She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America Venture Capital Law category since 2004 and is listed as a leading attorney in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business since 2013. In this episode Sonya shares why she believes more women at the table means better resources for women as a whole.

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In the episode:

• Sonya begins the episode by describing how her Midwestern values informed a fear of talking about money.

• She then describes how she began investing (including in Yahoo) and mapping her own financial destiny outside of her cultural values.

• Sonya shares where she sees women dropping out of their careers before reaping financial upsides and how she is trying to mitigate this.

• At the end of the episode, Sonya shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews serial entrepreneur Chrissy Sayare. Chrissy is the co-founder of To Be Continued and Resale Revolution, luxury Resale stores across Arizona, California, and Texas. Chrissy bootstrapped her six stores to almost 8 figures in annual revenue and is only getting started. In this episode, Chrissy is full of stories filled with entrepreneurial gems. From not paying herself for 7 years while growing her company to taking out a loan against her bridal dowry to start her first company. . . . . . In the episode: - Chrissy begins the episode by describing why she believes luxury handbags today are like mink coats in the 90’s. - She then describes the value of luxury reselling and how the show “Sex and the City” helped grow her passion for luxury. - Chrissy describes the businesses she founded before To Be Continued and the challenges she faced getting those off the ground. - At the end of the episode, Chrissy shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Minette Navarrete the President and Vice-Chairman of Kickstart Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Globe Telecom, the largest mobile network in the Philippines. Not only does Minette manage Kickstart Ventures $180 Million fund, she is also a member of Globe’s Innovation Advisory Board and the Board of Directors of AdSpark, Globe’s wholly owned digital advertising subsidiary. Minette has held a number of CEO/COO positions in various industries, ranging from scrappy Philippines startups to iconic global companies like Levi Strauss in Philippines.

In this episode, Minette shares what excites her about the innovation coming out of the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

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In the episode:

• Minette begins the episode by describing why she believes “fake it til’ you make it” hurts entrepreneurial ecosystems.
• She then describes her non-linear career path to Venture Capital, as well as, managing Kickstart Venture’s $180M fund.
• Minette then shares what excites her about the innovation coming out of the Philippines.
• At the end of the episode, Minette shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Jillian Haslam, an internationally bestselling author, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker, who grew up in the slums of Calcutta where she faced a bruising childhood of extreme poverty, discrimination, abuse, and disease. Jillian’s gift of seeing beauty amongst the grit led her to rise to success as President of Charity at India’s Bank of America and launched her career as an internationally renowned motivational speaker. She has been honored with a growing list of awards, including the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial International Award, The True Legend Award from The Telegraph, and the Asian Woman of the Year Award by The Independent.

In this episode, Jillian uses her story to show how to derive meaning from hardships and how to find grace in adversity. She shares how she integrated her darkest moments in order to find her light.

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In the episode:

• Jillian begins the episode by describing her childhood and the adversity those living in third world poverty experience.

• She then describes how she was able to become the Executive Assistant to the CEO of Bank of America and later the President of Charity at Bank of America.

• Jillian then shares her take on the canon of female leaders like Mother Theresa, Florence Nightingale, etc.

• At the end of the episode, Jillian shares her audacious vision for the world.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Sian Proctor, who was launched into Earth orbit, on September 15, 2021, as the pilot of the Crew Dragon with SpaceX. A geoscientist, artist, poet, and astronaut, not only was she was on the cover of Times Magazine but she was also in “The Colony” on The Discovery Channel, “Genius by Stephen Hawking” on PBS,  “Strange Evidence” on the Science Channel, and “Countdown” on Netflix.

During the show, Sian takes us into space with her. It is quite a marvel.

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In the episode:

• Dr. Proctor begins the episode by explaining the history of space travel.

• She then describes her emotional and physical preparation to launch to orbit (which included a phone conversation with Michelle Obama).

• Dr. Proctor shares details about her experience in space and recites a poem she wrote while in the space craft.

• At the end of the episode, Dr. Proctor shares why she believes innovations made for space will better humanity as a whole.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Shellye Archambeau who has over 30 years of experience in technology ranging from her role as the former President of Blockbuster.com, as well as, the former CEO of MetricStream, a Silicon Valley-based software company. She currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta.

During the show, Shellye shares the sacrifices she made to get ahead, as well as, how she tackles goal-setting when confronted with complicated, high risk crises.

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In the episode:

• Shellye begins the episode sharing why she left her high-ranking position at IBM to become CEO of a MetricStream, a struggling startup. 

• She goes on to describe her personal decision-making matrix and how it helps her during moments of crisis.

• Shellye then shares the personal and financial decisions she made in order to become MetricStream's CEO.

• Shellye shares the process of being invited to apply for Verizon's board.

• At the end of the episode, Shellye shares why she believes women should be unapologetically ambitious. 

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa talks to Dr. Anna Pechenkina about Russia’s recent military invasion of Ukraine. Dr. Pechenkina received her PhD in Political Science at Penn State University and works as an assistant professor at the Political Science Department at Utah State University. Her research seeks to understand how peace emerges out of war and why it succeeds or fails.

During the show, Dr. Pechenkina provides insights into what is currently happening in Ukraine and the context for Ukraine’s relationship with Russia prior to the invasion.

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In the episode:

• Dr. Pechenkina begins the episode by describing the relationship between Ukraine and Russia after Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity in 2014.

• She then explains alternative political strategies Vladimir Putin could have employed instead of military invasion.

• Dr. Pechenkina goes on to describes the various “alternate realities” that may happen if the invasion lasts longer than expected.

• At the end of the episode, Dr. Pechenkina explains how people around the world can support the people of Ukraine during this time.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Alicia Dara, a nationally recognized speech and presentation coach who has helped thousands of people including CEO’s, Global VPs, Executive Directors and Presidential candidates find their Power Voice and put it to work. Her corporate clients include Microsoft, Amazon, and Planned Parenthood. Her private clients include the National Women's Political Caucus, the Female Founders Alliance, and members of Facebook, Merrill Lynch, and Twitter.

During the show, Alicia explains the importance of a power voice and why her clients sometimes need to overhaul their entire way of communicating to reach the next level of their career.

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In the episode:

• Alicia begins the episode by describing the 4 pillars of public speaking and why these pillars are necessary for finding one’s power.

• She then explains the common mistakes women make when communicating due to social conditioning.

• Alicia shares different techniques women can do practice to better their voice and communication styles.

• At the end of the episode, Alicia describes her audacious vision for the future.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Alisa Jacobs, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded and served as CEO of Queens Gaming Collective, a venture backed startup for women gamers, streamers, & competitors. Alisa also founded LOOP, a women-run marketing agency that executes across sports, music, fashion, spirits, gaming and tech for the likes of Sean "Diddy" Combs, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Kardashians, The Recording Academy, the NBA and NYFW.

During the episode, Alisa breaks down the new world order of NFTs, the Metaverse, and Web3. You might want to grab a pen and paper for this episode!

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In the episode:

• Alisa begins the episode by describing her thesis for her marketing firm, Loop Agency: that diversity and representation is lucrative for companies. She shares how she continues to prove her thesis by executing on projects for Lebron James, Sean “Diddy” Combs, DJ Khaled, and more.

• She then explains how Web3 is the next frontier of the internet.

• Alisa breaks down the opportunities in the Metaverse, in Crypto and in NFTs, while also sharing why it’s important for women to understand what these terms.

• At the end of the episode, Alisa shares why she stepped down from her venture backed startup and how she plans to support Web3 entrepreneurs moving forward.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Torri Yates-Orr, an Emmy-nominated historian who co-hosts the podcast, “Skeleton Keys Pod” dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of mythology and history in pop culture.

If you’re a fan of “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene or “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, this episode is for you. We’re breaking down archetypes of power... but the feminine edition.

During the show, Torri takes us into the fascinating world of feminine archetypes using examples in pop culture. If you are interested in the books mentioned during the episode, you can get a copy here:

“Cleopatra, A Life” by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff: https://amzn.to/3qAwkND

“Women who Run with Wolves” by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes: https://amzn.to/3Fz6764

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In the episode:

• Torri begins the episode describing cultures that venerated the feminine through goddess worship. She also explains why modern day women may find language around feminine power uncomfortable.

• She then breaks down the infamous wild woman archetype and how wildness shows up in her own personal life.

• Torri explains the triple goddess archetype (maiden, mother, and crone), as well as, Jungian feminine archetypes (mother, maiden, lover, queen, huntress/ wild woman, wise woman, and mystic).

• Torri then breaks down the light and shadow aspects of these archetypes and what to watch out for when trying to find balance.

• She then offers advice on how to play with these different archetypes. She also shares the different archetypes she’s noticed in The Idealists guests.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews award-winning American television writer and producer, Melinda Hsu Taylor. Melinda is currently Executive Producer and show-runner of Nancy Drew and Tom Swift on the CW Network. She is well known for her work on the ABC series Lostwhere she was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for best drama series for her work on the fifth season of Lost, as well as a Primetime Emmy for the series' sixth and final season. She’s also worked as a writer on The Vampire Diaries, Vanished, Women's Murder Club, Falling Skies, Touch, and The Gifted.

Melinda recommends reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and we highly recommend it. Get your copy here to get inspired, and start the new year off right: https://amzn.to/3qzaCtp

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In the episode:

• Melinda begins the episode by describing how the "mean genius" trope is overrated and why she believes it is possible to be kind and to do excellent work.

• Melinda then describes her childhood living as a Chinese immigrant in Maine and how sci-fi literature helped her feel cool about being “different.”

• She then shares how she runs a writer’s room and the ways her philosophy allows her writing team to hone in on the ideas they want to put out into the world.

• Melinda describes her early years as a film screenwriter and how she suffered in obscurity before becoming a television writer.

• Melinda then provides advice to upcoming writers on how to achieve longevity in the industry.

• She tells us how her audacious vision for her legacy is to change the culture of Hollywood from the inside.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Alexis Petra. Alexis received her MD from University of Pittsburgh, is board-certified in Emergency Medicine, and is licensed in more than 25 states in the united states. For the past 20 years, she's been personally and professionally involved in the transgender community. In 2020, Alexis founded Trans Clinique a practice that provides hormone replacement therapy, letters of referral and trans life coaching via telemedicine. It currently serves over 500 transgender and non-binary individuals.

Transitioning from an emergency room doctor to a startup founder is brave, and in this episode she shares her highs and lows dealing with investors and the reasons she's opted to self-fund... at least for now.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dawn Dickson, a serial entrepreneur and inventor with over 20 years of experience in technology entrepreneurship, marketing and business development. She has founded five successful companies and since 2017, Dawn has raised over $1M from venture capital and angel investors and she has raised over $4.5M via equity crowdfunding.

In this episode, she shares why she believes equity crowdfunding is a better alternative to venture capital.

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In the episode:

• Dawn begins the episode describing the difference between institutional investors and equity crowdfunding.

• She describes her experience raising $1M through venture capital and why she decided VC money does not work for her.

• She then shares how she built her current business (valued at $32m) and how she has leveraged her network and community to grow the business.

• Dawn ends the episode with practical advice for listeners who may be interested in launching their own equity crowdfund campaign.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Fariel Salahuddin, the founder and CEO of UpTrade, a bartering service that enables rural communities in Pakistan to exchange livestock for solar-powered water pumps and solar home systems. Over 40% of Pakistan lives off the grid and without lights in their homes and electricity to pump water, women can spend up to four hours a day fetching water from distant wells.

The BBC calls UpTrade a solution for the desert and after listening to this conversation, you'll understand why. Fariel is both a 2021 TED fellow and a 2019 finalist with Cartier's Women's Initiative.

In this episode, this World Bank consultant turned self-described goat herder shares her vision for an inclusive economy that values more than just fiat currency.

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In the episode:

• Fariel begins the conversation describing how UpTrade works and the ways she gets off-grid, rural communities to opt into bartering their goats for solar water pumps and solar home systems.

• She then shares what inspired her to start UpTrade and how her model is based on community and self agency versus traditional charity focused interventions.

• Fariel then describes her vision for tech-enabled marketplaces that are not bound by fiat currency.

• Fariel ends the episode sharing her vision for rural, unbanked communities to be able to participate in the mainstream economy using the resources they have.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Olayemi Keri, one of the foremost Women in Technology in Nigeria. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Heckerbella, a Technology Business Transformation company, and while her list of accolades and titles runs long, she is especially committed to Rising Tide Africa which she cofounded in 2018. Rising Tide Africa is a women’s movement of women angel investors harnessing their power, network, passion and capital to positively impact and actively create a New Africa. Yemi also sits on the board and is the Director of the Lagos Angel Network. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for Nigeria's Climate Innovation Centre and is a member of the Science and Technology Policy Commission of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.

In this episode, Yemi gives us an amazing breakdown of Nigeria's investment ecosystem and what the climate is like for women entrepreneurs.

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In the episode:

• Yemi shares how her and her co-founder founded Rising Tide Africa to introduce investment as an asset class to Nigerian women.

• She then describes the gaps she saw in the general angel investment space which led to a lack of funding for women entrepreneurs.

• Yemi describes how she and her co-founder have grown Rising Tide Africa with an emphasis on intentional and structured mentorship.

• She then describes the difference between the older generation and younger generation of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

• Yemi ends the episode sharing her goals to shift the funding landscape so that women entrepreneurs in Africa can thrive.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Jenn Harper, founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty, a Canadian, Indigenous-owned beauty brand that gained popularity after being on the hit show, Dragons Den. And excitingly, on November 6th, Cheekbone Beauty products will be available in Sephora. So make sure to support and pick up a Warrior Woman Lipstick on Sephora's website because as anyone listening to this podcast knows— our money and patronage matter.

In this episode, Jenn shares her deeply personal reasons for building a business that helps indigenous youth see themselves and their beauty.

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In the episode:

• Jenn begins by describing the different worlds she inhabits and how they collide in her mission to make indigenous youth feel seen.

• She then goes on to describe what fuels her and the emotional work she has had to do. She explores her childhood and how her consistent desire to be seen as worthy continues to propel her today. She also vulnerably shares how her sobriety allows her to thrive.

• Jenn shares her familial history starting with her grandmother's experience in Residential Boarding Schools where many indigenous children in North America were sent between the early 19th century through the mid-20th centuries.

• Jenn ends the episode sharing her goals to expand her brand and her hopes for indigenous youth.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Charlotte Luzuka and Lee Zuks, two of the four co-founders of Dazzle Angels, South Africa's first female-focused angel fund. They chose their name because a group of Zebras is called a Dazzle and after you hear how they describe the potential of African entrepreneurs, you'll understand why they root for Zebras instead of Silicon Valley Unicorns. In this episode, Charlie and Lee share how, from the ground up, they are building South Africa's women's angel investment ecosystem.

*Note: The article mentioned in the podcast refers to wives in Botswana being given the right to own property alongside their husbands (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-botswana-women-landrights-trfn/botswana-opts-to-make-land-owners-of-wives-with-new-law-idUSKBN2682XF)

Also, African solo women founders have raised 0.3% of funds raised on the continent. All-female founding teams 0.4%. This excludes mixed teams with female co-founders (https://thebigdeal.substack.com/p/of-men-and-men)

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In the episode:

• Lee begins the episode by describing the South African investment ecosystem and why her and her three co-founders founded Dazzle Angels.

• Charlie and Lee then provide their investment thesis and why Dazzle Angels seeks to invest in zebras instead of unicorns.

• Charlie shares what a Minimum Viable Investment Framework is and how they are using it to grow their portfolio.

• Charlie and Lee break down the founders' learning curve and the infrastructural gaps they notice entrepreneurs face as they try to scale.

• Charlie and Lee end the episode explaining why owning assets is a major tool for women to achieve self-sufficiency. They also describe their vision for a Pan-African women angel investor ecosystem.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Silvia Mah, the founder and Chairwoman of Stella Labs, an accelerator for women-owned businesses. Silvia is also the founding member of Stella Angels, a female angel investment group, and a founding partner of Ad Astra Ventures, a fund that invests in female founders who are redefining the future of business. In this episode, she breaks down how she is cultivating the next generation of women angel investors.

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In the episode:

• Silvia begins the episode by explaining her investment thesis and the types of businesses she invests in.

• She then shares the details of a company in her portfolio that exited earlier this year.

• She also describes the investment boot camp she hosts for new and current angel investors and venture capitalists to neutralize bias during the founder screening process.

• Silvia goes on to share how she coaches and prepares underrepresented entrepreneurs to neutralize biases in front of investors and during pitch competitions.

• She then details she validates traction when an underrepresented founder does not have strong revenue.

• Silvia ends the episode explaining why she wakes up every day to nurture and grow the women's investment space.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews the second man on the show, John E.B. Myers, an authority on child abuse and domestic violence. He has written fifteen books and more than 100 articles and chapters on child maltreatment, domestic violence, evidence, criminal law, and family law. Professor Myers’ writing has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and nearly 200 other courts. He has given more than 400 presentations on maltreatment across America and abroad.

In this episode, John breaks down the history of the United States court system's skepticism of women and the ways in which this legacy continues.

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In the episode:

• John begins the show by describing what legal literature from 1880 to 1975 says about the rape of adult women. He breaks down the four themes the court believed as to why women were not credible victims.

• These themes were: the fear of fabricated allegations, the fear of crazy women, a preoccupation with consent where no really means yes, and that if a woman testifies in court about being sexually assaulted she should not be believed without corroborating evidence because a woman's testimony by itself is unreliable.

• He then describes how the theories of female instability by prominent psychologists influenced legal practitioners even if later these theories were debunked.

• He then shares how at one point Sigmund Freud believed the mental illness he saw in his female patients could be explained through their experience of sexual assault and rape, especially by fathers. John then explains how Freud controversially abandoned this theory and replaced it with the Oedipus complex.

• John ends the episode explaining where he thinks the court system still needs to expunge these archaic ideas about women.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Faten Ghosn, a Political Scientist and Professor at the University of Arizona's School of Government and Public Policy. Dr. Ghosn received her Bachelors and Masters from the American University of Beirut, and her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Her research and teaching focuses on the interaction of adversaries and how adversaries handle their disagreements. Her articles have appeared in the British Journal of Political Science, Conflict Management and Peace Science, International Negotiation, International Studies Quarterly, Middle East Journal, and more.

In this episode, Dr. Ghosn breaks down the last 20 years of America's presence in Afghanistan and the circumstances that allowed the Taliban to take over so quickly.

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In the episode:

• Faten begins the episode by providing a brief recap of the circumstances around 9/11 and why the United States initially invaded Afghanistan. She then describes the United States' strategic shift in 2015 from trying to destroy Al Qaeda's terrorist network to focusing on supporting Afghani security forces.

• She breaks down the financial costs of the war, as well as, the lives lost. She also describes the needs of veterans and how the cost spent on veteran care does not adequately cater to their needs.

• Faten describes the difficulty of post 9/11 wars which have involved the United States fighting para-military groups and not states. She describes the short-term military decisions the United States made during this time.

• She then describes the difference between what the Taliban were able to offer rural Afghanis versus what the Afghani democratically elected government has been able to offer. She also describes the difference between the Taliban today and the Taliban 20 years ago.

• Faten ends the episode by linking the issues in Afghanistan to larger global issues like climate change and why it is important for all people to hold politicians accountable regardless of the political party.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Elise Loehnen Fissmer, writer and editor best known for being the former chief content officer of goop, the lifestyle and e-commerce company established by Gwyneth Paltrow in 2008. You may have also seen and heard Elise co-host The goop Podcast and The goop Lab on Netflix. Now she's writing a book on how women rise in the world and the deep wounds all women carry. In this episode, we dig deep.

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In the episode:

• Elise begins the conversation by sharing one of the thesis in her upcoming book: how easy it is to claim women should rise in the world, but how difficult it is to tactically and tangibly support women. She breaks down how often history is confused with nature solidifying tropes around women's cattiness towards each other or around the ways women compete for the attention and protection of men.

• She discusses the trauma of witch-hunting over centuries and the millions of women killed during the hunts. One of the mechanisms of witch-hunting was getting friends to turn on friends and daughters to turn on mothers, which Elise describes as having left women with a collective sense of scarcity and fear carried over from generation to generation.

• Melissa asks if intergenerational trauma includes the fear of being disconnected from one's deep sense of power, how can women trust each other if we do not even trust ourselves?

• Elise answers by explaining the role of the crone, the third archetypal stage of a woman's life. The crone is an initiator and healer, as well as, the representation of life and death, which our society has a fierce resistance to. She explains without the crone, young women are now going at it alone and suffering loss and disconnect.

• Elise describes what has replaced the crone and what the ramifications are for our political, economic, and social structures. She then describes how the binary of gender keeps men and women at odds with each other versus understanding masculine and feminine in all of us.

• She then outlines how various spiritual modalities help as a guide in healing the disconnection and getting back to our humanity. She then goes on to describe how policy can be a tool for wellness when social measures are improved for the most vulnerable of society.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Marilyn Rodriguez, the go-to policy and politics advisor in Arizona. One of the foremost government relations professionals in the state, Marilyn founded and runs the lobbying firm Creosote Partners which represents progressive organizations in front of local, legislative, statewide, and federal lawmakers. In this episode, she describes the hard collective work involved in turning Arizona blue and the ways her firm is fighting to keep the state blue.

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In the episode:

• Marilyn begins the conversation describing her radical beliefs about compensation where junior employees are on a track to being paid the same as the partners within a few years.

• She then goes on to explain how she quit her corporate lobbying job to start her progressive lobbying firm in 2017. She describes how the conservative politics of legislators does not necessarily reflect the actual values of everyday Arizonans. She also describes the ways legislators create difficult processes so everyday people are intimidated from engaging in the political process.

• Marilyn breaks down how incentives and political inequality converge to create chasms between progressive legislators and the conservative majority. She also describes how she primes her clients to deal with respectability politics and being taken seriously.

• Marilyn ends the episode describing the legislative victories her firm has won and her hope for the future.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Brigette Romanek, one of Los Angeles’ most sought after Interior Designers and one of Architectural Digest’s 2019 “AD 100,” which lists their picks for the one hundred top designers in the world. In this episode, Brigette shares the importance of filling your life with what is marvelous and beautiful.

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In this episode:

• The episode begins with Melissa describing the new changes to the podcast and why we rebranded.

• Brigette then shares that to be an interior designer is to be in the service industry and that clients’ needs surpass the designers’ need for individual expression. Melissa shares a story about the legend of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s mischief and his lack of practicality when designing a home.

• Brigette tells her designing origin story stemming from living in London while her husband was shooting a film. After returning back to Los Angeles, she and her family moved to Hancock Park because the homes and neighborhood reminded them of London. She designed the home in six weeks and friends began asking her to design theirs.

• She shares her life philosophy regarding interior design and how it is a love letter her clients are writing to themselves and their families. She also shares the one time a world-traveler client asked her to design their home in a way that would both invigorate and challenge them.

• Melissa asks Brigette how she reframes beauty for her clients and Brigette describes how she supports and nurtures her clients to take risks. She sees her work as expanding how her clients imagine they can live and inhabit a space.

• Brigette ends the episode by sharing a bit about her childhood growing up on the south side of Chicago and her advice for women entrepreneurs navigating a high-powered and marriage.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Scilla Owusu, the face of Africa Forbes last 30 under 30 cohort. Scilla is a Ghanaian-British director and producer. Working in both narrative film and music videos, she is best known for directing music videos for some of Africa's most prominent musicians like Burna Boy and Mr. Eazi. In this episode she shares her stories working alongside heavyweight musicians and how she became an unaccidental-accidental creative.

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In the episode:

• The episode begins with Scilla explaining why university is not necessarily the only path for building a creative career. She describes how she left university for a gap year to shoot a project with her brother (photographer and artist, Danny Wonders). During her gap she honed her craft despite being fired from her job at Sainsburys. They ended up receiving two nominations for their series, and Scilla understood the creative life was the path for her.

• She then describes how she transitioned from working with her brother to producing and directing music videos by DM'ing artists all over Europe and Africa. The first big artist she produced a music video for was Nigerian artist Mr. Eazi.

• Scilla shares why she is selective with the projects she takes on and her vision for the future of AfroBeats music videos including AfroBeats Grime, AfroBeats House, AfroBeats R&B, and more. She then shares stories working with artists while navigating budgets, labels, and egos.

• Scilla ends the episode describing how being featured on Africa's Forbes 30 under 30 has transformed her life and why she hopes young people will take more creative risks.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa partners with Sadie Nash Leadership Project, a not for profit that strengthens, empowers, and equips young women and gender-expansive youth of color as agents for change in their lives and in the world.

Melissa co-hosts this episode with a Sadie Nash student, Sammi Lin, and together they interview Karen Washington. The New York Times calls Karen Urban Farming’s de facto Godmother and in 2014 she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award. In this episode, Karen delves into food sovereignty and acknowledging the history around our food systems.

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In the episode:

• Sammi Lin describes why she wanted to interview Karen Washington on her work with community gardens and urban farming in New York City.

• Karen introduces herself and shares that she has been a farmer for over 30 years. She then explains how the farm subsidies provided in the early 1930s helped farmers get through hard times, but now many farmers are subsidized to grow particular crops, like corn. The surplus has led to a substantial increase in high fructose corn syrup based products that are then sold en masse in poor neighborhoods.

• Sammi asks Karen how she works with communities who have developed food traditions around unhealthy food. Karen provides an analysis on displacement and the erasure of indigenous food and agricultural systems. She then describes how community gardens are a tool to educate young people about their food traditions.

• Karen also provides an overview of how enslaved Africans originally brought knowledge from Africa to cultivate crops in the swampy south of the United States.

• Melissa asks Karen about solutions and Karen offers ways for local communities to come together and support their local economies. She also describes a Black Farmer Fund she and community members are building. Karen ends the episode with a reimagining exercise on what a healthier world would look like.

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa partners with Sadie Nash Leadership Project, a not for profit that strengthens, empowers, and equips young women and gender-expansive youth of color as agents for change in their lives and in the world.

Melissa co-hosts this episode with a Sadie Nash student, Tasnuva Shehrin, and together they interview Imani Ellis, Director of Communications at NBC and the CEO & Founder of CultureCon and The Creative Collective NYC. CultureCon is a first of its kind ideas conference that caters to all aspects of creative life. Past speakers include Tracee Ellis Ross, Will Smith, Regina King, Lena Waithe, Spike Lee, John Legend, Nick Cannon, and more.

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In the episode:

• Imani introduces herself and describes why she started The Creative Collective, a community and creative agency dedicated to facilitating brave spaces for creatives of color. In particular she describes the intentionality involved in scaling the collective from her living room, to events with 300 people, to a conference that now boasts an attendee list of more than 4000.

• The conversation delves deeper when Melissa and Tasnuva question why Imani values "bringing her full self to work." Imani shares the ways in which this "fullness" is a means of countering imposter syndrome and the sense that assimilation is the only path for upwardly mobility. She also shares her philosophy around the luxury of being able to "show up" and how it drives innovation.

• Imani then briefly shares her career trajectory starting as a Coordinator at Bravo and working her way up to Director of Communications. Imani advises Tasnuva on her own career progression and how to cultivate and leverage relationships without feeling transactional.

• The conversation ends with Imani sharing her audacious vision for the world which involves creators embracing a communal narrative over an unhealthy lone ranger narrative. She also shares where we can get free tickets to Culture Con's next digital event!

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In the twenty-seventh episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa talks to the amazing Dr. Vivienne Ming. Frequently featured for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Quartz and the New York Times, Vivienne is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author. She co-founded Socos Labs, her fifth company, an independent institute exploring the future of human potential. In this episode we discuss her exciting work around working memory and human potential alongside the phenomenal life path that set her on this journey.

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In the twenty-sixth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa talks to Anna Jones and Debbie Wosskow, the founders of Allbright which connects smart-minded women through digital and physical spaces all over the world.

Anna Jones is the former CEO of Hearst Magazine and Debbie Wosskow (OBE) is a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits. Debbie is also a Member of the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board. In this episode they discuss the power of working as cofounders and how female founders can tap into their dark.

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In the twenty-fifth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa talks to Ti Chang, award-winning industrial designer and co-founder of CRAVE which makes luxury sensual products for women. Ti has been the leading voice in bringing modern sex toys to the mainstream and her work has helped pioneer the category of sex jewelry. She shares why it's so important to design products that push pleasure products out of the dark shadows of stigma and into mainstream conversations. 

Correction: The podcast teaser mentions 30% of women, but it is actually less than 18% of women who can orgasm penetratively.

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In the twenty-fourth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa talks to iconic fashion designer Norma Kamali about her survival instinct and perseverance. Norma is best known for popularizing shoulder pads in the 80s; designing the red one-piece bathing suit worn by Farrah Fawcett in Farrah's famous 1976 poster, as well as, the bathing suit worn by Whitney Houston on the back cover of her 1985 debut album; and designing the popular Sleeping Bag Coat.

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In the twenty-third episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Marianne Williamson, a #1 New York Times best selling author and spiritual thought leader. You may have seen her running for president during the United States 2019 presidential race or on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday as Oprah's spiritual friend and counselor. In today’s episode, she talks about her campaign, why she advocates for reparations, and the role of conscience in politics. 

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In the twenty-second episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Nina Ansary. She is an author, a historian, a Board Member for The Center for Human Rights, and a United Nations Women Global Champion for Innovation working alongside Fashion Designer Rachel Roy and actress Zoe Saldana.

In this interview, she speaks to the transformative role women have played throughout history and why as writer Virginia Woolf wrote so many years ago, “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.”

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In the twenty first episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Irene Ikomu, a lawyer and consultant on civic spaces in Eastern Africa. Irene co-founded Parliament Watch Uganda, a civic tech parliament monitoring initiative and received the Young Female Lawyer of the Year Award by the Uganda Law Society in recognition of her contribution to Uganda’s democratic development. She talks to us about the recent election in Uganda, the internet shutdown, and the unlikely campaign of one of Uganda's top celebrities.

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In the twentieth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Stefanie Mach, former congresswoman who served as a Democratic Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. Stefanie and Melissa recorded this interview a week after the siege on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and in true Stefanie style, she reorients the focus back to the bigger picture of democracy and its potential. 

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In the nineteenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Julee Wilson, Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan. Julee currently leads the brand's robust beauty coverage across all print, digital, and social platforms. Previously, Julee was Global Beauty Director at Essence and Senior Fashion Editor at Huffington Post. She shares her stories about trying to make it in the fashion industry— including charging a $5000 dress for an interview— and how transparency is necessary to move social media culture forward. 

Correction in audio: Helen Gurley Brown was Cosmo's Editor in Chief for 32 years, but she was not the founder.

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In the eighteenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Cindy Gallop, the founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, a social sextech platform launched at TED 2009 designed to promote good sexual behavior. Cindy’s background spans over 30 years in brand-building, marketing and advertising — she started up the US office of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty in 1998 and in 2003 was named Advertising Woman of the Year. Cindy is many things, but maybe what best describes her is her tagline: 'I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business.' In this episode, Cindy tells us why sex tech is the next frontier and why investors are terrified of it. 

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In the seventeenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Reese Scott, former heavyweight, registered amateur fighter and licensed USA boxing coach, who trained over 1,000 women and girls on her mission to open New York's first women's boxing gym.

She founded Women’s World of Boxing Club in 2007 and opened the first women’s boxing gym in New York in 2018. Reese has received Citations from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and has been featured in Bloomberg News, MSNBC, the 2018 Global Reebok Campaign, Vice, Shape, ESPNW, Refinery29, and so much more.

In this episode coach Reese shares how boxing saved her life and how awareness of personal space saves women’s lives. 

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In the sixteenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Tina Wells. Tina has been listed as one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People, Billboard’s 30 Under 30 Power Players, and Inc’s 30 under 30 world’s coolest young entrepreneurs. 

For over two decades she led Buzz Marketing Group, an agency she founded at age 16 with clients like Dell, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Kroger, Apple, P+G, Johnson & Johnson, and American Eagle. And what’s most exciting, Tina’s new book series, The Zee Files launches today, December 1st!  The Zee Files is a spin-off series of Tina’s best-selling tween fiction series Mackenzie Blue and is sold exclusively at Target and Target.com.

While we celebrate Tina’s launch, in this episode she gets real and raw on the many rejections that are part of the success journey, including the circumstances that made her walk away from $50 million.

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In the fifteenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Jane Murray, a former lawyer who spent decades running a venture capital fund overseeing investments in start-up/early stage companies in a broad cross sector of industries. With first-hand experience of the world of cut-throat competition, individualism and isolationism, now Jane is reimagining the role of the entrepreneur and recently authored The Path of the Entrepreneur, Understanding Your Shadow with the London School of Economics accelerator LSE Generate. She talks to us about understanding one’s shadow and understanding power. 

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In the fourteenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Ankita Bansal star of the hit Netflix reality series, “Indian Matchmaking.” Ankita runs a successful denim brand called THERE! with her sister Gayatri. THERE!, an antithesis of fast fashion,​ has been featured in Vogue, Forbes and other media outlets. Ankita talks to us about taking risks, dating as an entrepreneur, and being on Indian Matchmaking. 

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In the thirteenth episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), entrepreneur and host Melissa Kiguwa interviews the founders of Bold, an award-winning, Ugandan-based, retail outlet that houses over 30 emerging designers from countries across the African continent. The founders, Nunu, Janet, and Angel create opportunities for designers to retail their collections. Recently featured on Beyonce’s Black Parade, in this episode they dish on African excellence. 

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In the twelfth episode, host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Katie Kalvoda, hedge fund dynamo turned political activist. Early in her career, Katie founded Newport Wealth Management, investing in hedge funds, and after retiring founded Asian Americans Rising, a political action committee specializing in innovative philanthropy and community advocacy. In this episode, she tells us the difference between a scarcity and abundance mindset and what it means to think beyond limitations.

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In the eleventh episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host Melissa Kiguwa flips the script by having a man on the show. Marcellas Reynolds is a celebrity stylist, entertainment journalist, and the author of Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion. He is joined by Veronica Webb, supermodel, actress, writer, and the first African-American to land a major cosmetics contract. Veronica appeared on covers of Vogue, Essence and Elle magazine and on the runway for Victoria's Secret and Chanel. In this episode, Marcellas and Veronica explore self-love as a means of survival, the rarity of excellence, and how to use fashion as armor. 

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In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Glenda Wina who at 22 moved from Los Angeles to Northern Rhodesia, now called Zambia. She married one of Zambia's founding fathers and received a front row seat to the building of the nation. Glenda later returned to Los Angeles and became the first African-American news anchorwoman with a network owned and-operated television station in Los Angeles. She tells us about witnessing the birth of a nation, recognizing greatness, and saying yes to adventure when it comes calling.

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In this week’s episode Melissa interviews Christina Mace-Turner, founder of Mab & Stoke, the wellness company that created the world’s first herbal super tab. Before Mab & Stoke, Christina co-founded True Botanicals, a heritage personal care brand. Before True Botanicals, she founded, developed and managed Apple’s global Business Affairs team from the launch of the iPhone 3G through the second generation iPad. Christina’s perspective is timely and so necessary. 

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This week Melissa Kiguwa interviews Scharrell Jackson, Principal and Chief Operating Officer of BPM, one of the largest public accounting and advisory firms in the United States. The conversation is so good, in the middle of the interview Scharrell coaches Melissa through something Melissa’s currently struggling with. The conversation gets nitty and gritty in all the best ways. You don’t want to miss this episode.  

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In this week’s episode, Melissa interviews Gigi Pritzker, award winning producer and CEO and co-founder of MWM (Madison Wells Media). Under Gigi’s leadership, MWM produced Academy Award-nominated feature film “Hell or High Water” and the National Geographic’s Emmy Award-nominated anthology series “ Genius,” among others. She talks to us about supporting young creatives and owning our creation stories.

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This week’s episode of is all about alchemy. Bet you never thought you’d hear that on a business podcast. Our guest, Pauleanna Reid, is a celebrity ghostwriter, a senior contributor at ForbesWomen, and a millennial mentor. Her personal life assignment? To help people see beyond the limitations of their circumstances. 

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This week’s episode is all about the power of the word no. The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace) host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Wanja Muguongo, the founding Executive Director of UHAI, an African philanthropic grant-making organization that has distributed more than $10 million to LGBTI and sex worker human rights movements in East Africa. This interview will inspire you, it will definitely challenge you, and it will make you laugh.

Correction: the podcast says $6 million, but we've been informed the number is $10 million.

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This week’s episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace) is all about play. But would you expect anything less from a guest who Bravo TV describes as "Chez Panisse meets Studio 54?” This week host, Melissa Kiguwa talks to Courtney Nichols, the Founder of Disco Dining Club - a thematic food and drink event that revels in all the excess of disco. You can find profiles of Courtney's eccentric feasts in LA Times, Vogue, Food and Wine, Oxygen, Playboy, and a slew of other esteemed outlets.

Described by Bravo TV as "Chez Panisse meets Studio 54," Courtney Nichols' life goal is to bring sloppy dinner parties to the masses. At the core of her mission is Disco Dining Club - a thematic food and drink event that revels in all the excess, debauchery, and hedonism of disco.

It is the belief of Disco Dining Club that there were moments of decadence throughout history that led to the ultimate decadence: Disco. Whether a historical era, an artistic movement, or an iconic piece of culture, Disco Dining Club recreates these colorful moments through the lens of a theatrical dinner party. At Disco Dining Club, only one thing is required of guests: to consume everything.

You can find profiles of Courtney's eccentric feasts in LA Times, Vogue, Food and Wine, Oxygen, and a slew of other esteemed outlets.

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Welcome to the third episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), where host, Melissa Kiguwa, gets deep... and a little wild with this week’s guest. Ty Stiklorius manages some of the world’s most respected & beloved artists, including John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, Charlie Puth and the list goes on. She also served as Executive Producer on the Oscar-winning film La La Land & won an Emmy for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert on NBC. Billboard named Ty one of the most powerful women in music and after this interview, you’ll know why.

Ty Stiklorius is the founder and CEO of Friends At Work, a 21st century management and social impact company. Founded in 2015, FAW partners with artists and changemakers to realise their creative, business and social impact goals. FAW’s robust musical roster includes some of the world’s most respected and beloved artists, including John Legend, Lindsey Stirling, Raphael Saadiq, RuthAnne, VOILÁ, Frawley, Katell Keineg, Rita Wilson, Esperanza Spalding and Speelburg. The Impact team works with preeminent leaders in various fields to amplify their work and expand their reach, including such impacters as as former President Barack Obama's Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal.

Ty’s work with John Legend began in 2006 with JL Ventures, where she created and developed artist-focused strategies for content innovation and social impact. Ty is a principal alongside John Legend in the Get Lifted Film Co. production company. She served as Executive Producer on the Oscar-winning film La La Land, WGN’s hit series Underground, NBC’s A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy and the hit Netflix hip-hop competition show Rhythm & Flowstarring Cardi B, T.I and Chance the Rapper. She won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert on NBC.

Billboard has named Ty as one of the most powerful women in music and Fast Company included her on their Most Creative People list in 2017. Ty earned an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from The University of Pennsylvania. She serves on various non-profit and private company boards, including Penn Law's Advisory Board for the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, LIFT-Los Angeles, and Americans for the Arts.

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Welcome to the second episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace) where host, Melissa Kiguwa interviews entrepreneur Emma Toshack. She is a law school dropout, former chef, and Harvard MBA… in that order. Now she’s the Founder of Nomadica, a craft canned wine company found in different Whole Foods & music festivals across the United States. Inc. Magazine calls her the millennial breaking all the rules of the wine industry… well, let’s find out for ourselves!

Emma's Bio:
Emma's story starts in Sydney - where she dropped out of law school to start a restaurant and fell in love with food. After a fire shut it down she went on to ride horses for a year before finally finishing law school, but her love of food & wine was there to stay. After college she joined The Boston Consulting Group, where she worked for 3.5 years, making too many excel spreadsheets & wearing too many suits. She moved to Boston to get her MBA at Harvard Business School; there she co-founded Startup Lockdown and Hello Alfred before moving to Los Angeles to join Snapchat in 2015. She left 18 months later to launch Nomadica with Kristin, and the sommelier curated wine experience she'd been dreaming of for years was born. Emma lives in Los Angeles with her girlfriend; she loves art, her dog Apollo, and supporting the Los Angeles LGBTQ community.

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For our debut episode, host Melissa Kiguwa interviews Arlan Hamilton, venture capitalist who built her $10 million fund from the ground up, while homeless. Arlan is both fascinating and inspiring - you don’t want to miss this episode!

Arlan's Bio:
Arlan Hamilton built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised more than $10 million and invested in more than 130 startup companies led by underestimated founders. In 2018 Arlan co-founded Backstage Studio which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London. Arlan was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine in October 2018 as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her new book "It's About Damn Time" came out on Penguin Random House's business imprint Currency on May 5, 2020.

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