“Such a good episode! Love seeing her open up and this new era” - HSR Angel

ICYMI

Hi! Hello! Happy Sunday HSR

I write this to you with lingering brain fog from the estradiol crash post egg retrieval and OHSS excited to watch the VS fashion show, but determined to share some insight after two days at the Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovators Conference. I still can’t believe I was honored as one of the 2026 Top 100 Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs. I’m sure every finance bro and VC that has questioned or made fun of me when I started this has absolutely nothing to say right now. Because this is a list that you are internally nominated for, you don’t apply for it, you can’t pay for it or use your PR team to help get you on. I hate to say that the recognition fuels me, because I’ve known what I’ve been doing since I started, but if there’s one place I can be fully honest, it’s here, and it does. I am still not done proving people wrong. And that’s something I need to continue to work on. I need to focus on proving people right. Like you if you’re reading this email. 

Which leads me into one of the first conversations I had at the conference with a multi-billionaire that made me question what is fuelling me right now. According to him, every single person on this planet has 6 things that fuels us, all in our own order. Those things are uncertainty, certainty, love, significance, growth and contribution. This one calls for a deeper explanation in a future solo episode but all I can say is right now, it’s probably contribution, significance and love and it’s really important to revisit that list on a yearly basis to make sure they stay in line with your priorities.

I shared with the same multi-billionaire that I couldn’t help but wonder why I was nominated amongst so many incredibly successful people changing the way we eat, work, travel, and consume but he gave me one really simple answer back and said it’s because I’m also changing something. Maybe not in the way we eat or the way in which we work, but in the way women live. The permission to live differently than other generations and since I’ve already passed the dozens of internal checks and it’s been signed off by David Solomon himself, I might as well stop questioning it and start taking advantage of the time with some of the smartest minds in the world. 

I have a lot more to share about the experience and have been doing so on TikTok but I did find it fascinating how much the word “podcasting” came up. There is a huge belief from some of the smartest minds that this industry is just at the beginning. As the consumer finds short form increasingly more draining and less value-add with ai, there is a real appetite to consume long form media and podcasts with substance.

So I found one of the best jobs you could arguably get right now if your direction is to become a Corporate Baddie. Podcast Media Partner at Anthropic. The hiring manager, Lexie Barnhorn is pretty cool. I’ve been following her on socials for the past few years and I can’t think of a cooler way to build your resume and your network than in two of the fastest growing industries - ai and podcasting.

See you back on the mic with some special guests in LA this week for the VS Fashion Show!! 

What if building an 8-figure empire, selling your company at 30, and having what looks like the perfect life still meant having to start all over again?

For Danielle Bernstein, that's exactly what happened. The founder of WeWoreWhat turned a fashion blog into one of the most recognizable personal brands on the internet. But behind the success came public criticism, copying accusations, heartbreak, and the decision to call off her engagement. Now, at 34, she's taking back control of her life and business on her own terms.

What I loved about this conversation is that Danielle isn't afraid to talk about the parts of her story that weren't perfect. She opens up about the controversies surrounding her brand, what actually happened behind the scenes, and the things she wishes she had handled differently. Because what happens when the business and life you've spent years building no longer look the way you imagined?

We talk about why she called off her engagement, why marriage is also a business decision, and the importance of prenups and protecting what you've worked so hard to build. We also get into buying back WeWoreWhat, the strategy behind her massive rebrand, and what it really takes to rebuild when the whole internet has an opinion about your life.

Because whether you're building a business, navigating heartbreak, or figuring out your next chapter, there's something incredibly powerful about realizing you can change your mind, walk away, and start over without losing everything that makes you who you are.

all the brands, people, places, things we’re gossiping about this week

Women’s Health & Beauty

Media, Entertainment & Creator

Consumer, E-Commerce & Retail

Tech, Business & Investing

I spend a lot of time thinking about how expensive it has become to build a consumer brand, especially as I've really gotten back into investing this year and have seen lots of P&Ls. Between paid media, influencer marketing, PR, events and the actual cost of making a product, it is insane how much money a company can actually spend before it even knows whether someone is going to buy what it's selling.

And influencer marketing is one of the most interesting expenses to me because the economics can be so wildly different depending on what you're selling.

Which brings me to a brand that clearly has mastered this model. Founded in 2014, Velvet Caviar has grown from a phone case company into a fashion tech accessories brand with more than 250,000 customer reviews and distribution across 18,000+ retail doors nationwide.

For its latest iPhone 18 launch, the brand hand-delivered its new collection to 50 creators across New York and Los Angeles. Instead of another PR mailer, a custom Sprinter van brought champagne, caviar and live unboxings directly to creators like Morgan Riddle, Victoria Paris and Halley Kate.

And they knew what they were doing because it resulted in more than 37 million organic views and 50+ posts, with no contracted creators or paid placements.

Now, I don't think the takeaway here is that brands should start sending champagne and caviar to influencers in Sprinter vans but here's what we're going to get into: