A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

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Time for my favorite part of the week, ICYMI!!!

ICYMI ⋆˚✿˖°

HI GUYS!

Today was such a rollercoaster, and I hate that—but it’s the truth. My mental health was all over the place, but I think we’ve made it to the other side. This top section is going to stay short ‘n sweet because I’m prepping for a huge week. I’ve got a very big interview coming up (honestly, the biggest one to date) any guesses?!, and I’m hosting the De Soi x HSR Haute Smart Rich launch event tomorrow… which I NEED. Truthfully, it grounds me to be around so many incredible women and I’m laying off the alcohol in preparation for Aperol Spritz summer.

♡ This Week’s Mood Board ♡

♡ A Rising Tide Lifts ♡
All Boats

Katie was in LA this week and we had the BEST time together! Even with so many incredible episodes in post-production featuring all-star guests, we had so much fun filming this week’s episode—just the two of us yapping about creators deleting comments, prenups, richtok, mom life and more.

We’ve heard the angels love the format of our raw conversations, and listening back, it’s exactly what you would hear off the air so we’re so glad you love it.

A huge highlight was waking up to HSR back on the Spotify Top 50 business charts for the SECOND time this year and we’re only 18 episodes in. I had set this as a goal for the year, but never imagined it happening so quickly and more than once. I don’t think I can even explain how this makes me feel but I love you all so much. You are making all our dreams come true!

Speaking of dreams coming true, we found out that Becca Bloom listens to every episode after following Katie as one of her 200 followers and DM’ing her on her birthday. To say it was the best birthday gift Katie got this year, would be an understatement 💘🌸🌺✨🤍🩷

♡ Consumer Trends I Gossiped ♡
About Most This Week

♡ Lauren Elizabeth just teased her chic pill organizer that I will absolutely be buying and I am officially predicting that influencers and influencer brands are coming for your home. To avoid getting immediately canceled for launching without inclusive sizing or complexion variety, more than a few of our favorite creators are pivoting to home. Heard it here first.

♡ We are all overstimulated. So much so that Sephora is now implementing “Quiet Hours.” I was shocked by how many of you agreed that noise-canceling headphones are essential for walking around—but this feels like a whole new level, right?

♡ Brian Chesky revolutionized travel, can he re-design your entire life? Your favorite influencers and celebrities seem to think so. To me, it feels like he’s coming for Amazon’s lunch by being the “everything store for services” Plus, I loved this POV from Brian on how CEO’s can avoid being ‘miserable’.

♡ YouTube vs Spotify: Podcast creators were outraged when Spotify announced it would disclose listen counts (recently updated to only apply to episodes with 50K+ downloads). But a little birdie told us it’s because they’re coming for YouTube’s lunch—especially when you consider that YouTube’s ad business alone is already generating revenue close to Netflix’s total which could only grow with their latest announcement of AI-powered ad formats.

♡ It’s no longer about attention, it’s about trust.

♡ Why are we all so mad at Jordan Hudson, Bill Belichick’s girlfriend? Katie asked me about this when she was here this week and after thinking about it, is it because when a woman steps into power, especially one who’s young, hot, and not playing by the rules, we don’t know whether to mock her, fear her, or call her a gold digger? All I can say is, if it had been a 24-year-old publicist instead of his girlfriend who said ‘we’re not talking about this’, or if the roles were reversed, no one would care, and it wouldn’t be front-page news.

Consumer News

♡ the brands, people, places, things that have captured my attention ♡

♡ Women’s Health & Beauty ♡

• Arrae expands into hospitality, partnering with the Mercer Hotel to offer sleep and calm products in-room – from People Brands & Things

• Fenty Beauty enters Roblox with a shoppable virtual gloss experience, blending gaming and beauty discovery – from Glossy

• Lancôme revives its iconic 2000s Juicy Tubes with a nostalgic campaign starring Paris Hilton, celebrating glossed-up kisses and Y2K glam – from People Brands & Things

• CoverGirl becomes the first-ever official cosmetics sponsor of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, signaling a growing beauty x sports crossover – from Beauty Packaging

♡ Media, Entertainment & Creator ♡

• Boardroom reports the podcast industry hit $7.3B in revenue in 2024—double previous estimates—driven by booming ad investments across Spotify, Apple, and YouTube – from Instagram

• The Skinny Confidential’s Lauryn Bosstick opens up in WSJ about her wellness brand, marriage, and media empire with Michael Bosstick – from WSJ

♡ E-Commerce, Retail & Social ♡

• Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS opens its first UK store on London’s Regent Street – from Evening Standard

• Form launches The Form Experience in NYC: a hybrid fitness studio, shop, and smoothie bar – from Instagram

• Airbnb expands into lifestyle services with options to book private chefs, trainers, and more—blurring the line between home and hospitality – from Business Insider and WSJ

♡ Tech, Business & Investing ♡

• U.S. and China agree to a temporary 90-day tariff cut, signalling a potential easing of trade tensions – from CNBC

• Touchland, the viral Gen Z hand sanitizer brand, is being acquired in a deal worth up to $880M, reflecting continued interest in wellness M&A – from Seeking Alpha

• Business Insider unveils its list of the top 40 early-stage women VC investors shaping the future of tech and consumer – from Business Insider

• Hims & Hers announces a $1 billion raise in fresh funding to supercharge its healthcare platform, marking one of the largest raises in the consumer health space this year – from LinkedIn

• Daily Harvest is being acquired by Chobani, marking a major shakeup in the DTC wellness space. Backed by investors like Serena Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, the potential deal underscores the growing demand for clean, convenient nutrition – from PitchBook

The celebrity-founded brand isn’t dead, but it’s being redefined. We’re no longer living in the era of slapping a name on a bottle and hoping it sells. This is the age of strategic influencer capital, where creators are taking equity stakes instead of licensing deals, and startups are leveraging followings for financial fuel instead of superficial flash.

It’s not just that celebrity founders are shifting. It’s that investor creators are showing up. Quietly. Powerfully. And very intentionally.

The Rise of the Celebrity Investor

We’ve seen a wave of creators step in, not as co-founders or figureheads, but as real investors. Take Kris Jenner. She invested in Phia, a female-founded wellness brand, and casually appeared on their podcast to support it. No splashy launch. No founder title. Just leverage.

Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman, known for Monday Swimwear,

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