Social Currency with Sammi Cohen

Before TikTok Shop, before influencers sold products through livestreams, QVC had already perfected the live shopping formula: charismatic hosts, product storytelling, and frictionless buying through a screen. Today, Sammi unpacks how the company that built the category became trapped protecting the wrong business. QVC saw digital change coming, but instead of building for where consumer attention was moving, it spent billions doubling down on legacy retail through acquisitions like Zulily and HSN just as cable television was collapsing. Now, with $6.6 billion in debt, restructuring talks underway, and TikTok becoming one of its last major growth bets, QVC has become a case study in what happens when a company masters a format but loses control of the platform that made it powerful. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 How QVC Became a Cash Flow Machine 03:15 The First Big Wrong Turn 03:33 Why Zulily Failed04:33 The HSN Bet 05:17 Doubling Down on a Shrinking Market 06:37 Rebrands, Layoffs, and Decline 08:06 Why QVC Turned to TikTok 09:18 The Debt Problem 10:19 The Capital Allocation Lesson 11:05 The Big Lesson From the Billion-Dollar Crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Evans didn’t just build a juicer… he built one of Silicon Valley’s most debated startups. As the founder of Juicero, Doug raised more than $100 million to bring cold-pressed juice into people’s homes, only to watch the company crumble after a viral Bloomberg article questioned whether the machine was even necessary. In this episode, Doug tells Sammi his side of the story.  He shares what Juicero was actually trying to solve, the power of a takedown piece, and the surprising role geography played in the company’s fate. He opens up about stepping down as CEO, the shock of watching the company shut down with capital still in the bank, and the fallout that followed. Doug sets the record straight and shares what never made it into the takedown pieces.  Then comes the reinvention. Doug shares how he retreated to the Mojave Desert, wrote a national bestselling book on sprouting, and launched a new direct-to-consumer company built around countertop food production.  Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Doug and The Sprouting Company Here’s what Sammi covers today with Doug: 00:00 Doug Evans’ Social Currency 02:55 The “Genetically Cursed” Mindset Shift 04:23 Building Organic Avenue Before Juice Was Cool 09:37 Why Juicero Had to Exist 14:52 The Bloomberg Squeeze Story 17:53 The Media Pile-On and Fallout 25:34 Lessons on Leadership and Investor Alignment 27:38 Going Reclusive After Juicero 33:51 Mojave Desert Reinvention 37:37 The Science Behind Sprouts 41:15 Writing The Sprout Book 46:23 Pitching Sprouts on Shark Tank 51:45 From Trauma to Confidence 56:39 Making Sprouting Mainstream 01:12:12 Social Currency Corner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can now get a discount on your Botox or Brow lift at… Erewhon? The latest partnership between Erewhon and med spa startup Ject isn’t just a publicity stunt. It’s a bigger signal: medical aesthetics has gone fully mainstream. In this episode, Sammi unpacks how Botox went from cosmetic approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just 14 years ago to a $17B industry with more than 10,000 med spas across the U.S. She breaks down the forces behind the boom like loosened regulations, cash-pay margins, social media normalization, and why private equity is racing to roll up the space. But when the product is commoditized, what’s the real moat? Sammi’s takeaway: the brand is not the competitive advantage, it’s something else hiding in plain sight.  Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 Grocery Store Botox  01:15 How Med Spas Took Off  02:04 Insane Growth By The Numbers  02:55 Regulatory Changes  03:36 Social Media’s Impact on the Landscape 04:28 Private Equity Moves In  05:43 The Rollup Playbook  06:48 HIV Outbreaks, Safety And Oversight Risks  08:24 The Real Differentiator  10:55 Who Wins Next Decade  11:11 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesse Draper has heard it all: “nepo baby,” “charity fund,” “too niche”—and she turned every jab into fuel. After getting laughed out of rooms while raising her first fund, Jesse built Halogen Ventures into one of the earliest venture capital funds explicitly focused on backing female founders, now with 85+ portfolio companies and multiple unicorns. In this episode, Jesse breaks down how she actually evaluates startups when they’re early (and sometimes barely making their first dollar), the metrics she thinks founders overhype, and the green flags that make her lean in, like radical transparency and founders who are obsessed enough to “check QuickBooks” mid-question. She also tells the wild story of why she’ll never invest off Zoom again, how social media has changed consumer investing, and what the DEI rollback is starting to look like inside venture. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Jesse’s epic interview with Elon MuskFollow Jesse’s work at Halogen Ventures Here’s what Sammi covers with Jesse 00:00 Jesse Draper’s Social Currency 00:50 Meet Jesse Draper 03:00 The Reality of Being Fourth Generation VC 06:13 The Valley Girl Show and the Elon Musk Interview 16:36 From Entertainment to Entrepreneurship 18:25 Getting Laughed Out of Pitches and Championing Female Founders 25:36 Crazy Pitch Stories 27:25 The Wild Con Artist Story 30:29 Never Invest Based on Zoom Meetings 34:03 The Viral “Investing In Women Is Not a F*cking Charity” Essay 37:16 Data That Investing in Women Works 38:09 What Founders Should Know About Conversations with VCs  41:43 Red Flags and Green Flags 46:44 How Social Media Has Changed VCs 53:00 Future of Equity in VC 59:12 Investing in Alabama 01:07:56 Social Currency Corner 01:09:57 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starbucks didn’t lose to a cooler coffee chain. It lost to itself. Today, Sammi unpacks how one of the most dominant brands in modern retail engineered its own slide and what new CEO Brian Niccol is doing to fix it. From nixing pickup-only stores and cutting a quarter of the menu to investing $150K per location and betting on traffic before margins, Starbucks is attempting something rare: looking backwards to move forward. Sammi breaks down the latest numbers showing U.S. traffic rising for the first time in nearly two years, the massive menu and bakery overhaul, the revamped Rewards program, and the viral Bearista cups that reveal a deeper cultural strategy. Then, she shares what entrepreneurs can take away from the Starbucks turnaround — and why this comeback proves that even iconic brands don’t need reinvention, they need ruthless clarity about who they are and the discipline to execute on it. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 The “Third Place” Promise — and the Self-Sabotage 01:30 From 17 Stores to a $78B Empire 02:33 When the App Took Over 03:28 Strikes, Boycotts & Inflation 04:42 The Cooler, Cheaper Competition 05:27 The Chipotle Fixer Enters 06:36 Traffic Is Finally Up 07:39 Cut the Menu, Then Rebuild It 08:58 Viral Merch and the Gen Z Play 09:54 The Founder Rule: Subtract First 11:12 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gregg Renfrew didn’t just build a beauty brand; she helped create an entire category. Long before “clean beauty” became a marketing buzzword, Gregg was lobbying Congress, reformulating products, and turning a mission-driven idea into Beautycounter, a billion-dollar company acquired by private equity. But the story didn’t end with the sale. Months after the $1B deal closed, Gregg was pushed out of the company she founded. What followed was a cascade of leadership changes, falling sales, and one of the most dramatic founder reversals in modern consumer business. In this episode, Gregg tells Sammi the full story—what founders misunderstand about selling, how investor dynamics really work behind the scenes, and what it feels like to watch your life’s work unravel from the outside. Then she shares the unexpected next chapter: the 48-hour scramble to buy the company out of foreclosure, the painful shutdown year that followed, and the decision to rebuild under a new name, Counter. Plus, Gregg opens up about walking away from private equity (for now), what she’s learned about resilience and second chances, and why starting over after a very public fall can become the most powerful chapter of all. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Counter 00:00 Gregg Renfrew’s Social Currency 00:57 The Beautycounter Origin Story 02:32 Early Entrepreneurial Lessons 04:19 Inside Martha Stewart Living 08:22 Getting Fired and Starting Again 11:04 Why Clean Beauty Mattered 14:58 Building the First Products 18:56 Lobbying for Industry Reform 21:02 The Problem With “Clean” 27:24 The Sales Model Explained 35:25 Community, Women, and Work 38:35 The $1B Deal 39:31 Why Founders Sell 41:04 Investor Power Dynamics 44:15 Private Equity Reality Check 46:04 Post-Sale Fallout 47:32 Getting Pushed Out 48:52 Watching the Decline 50:28 The Brief Return 53:09 Buying It Back 55:55 The Shutdown Year 58:18 Rebuilding as Counter 01:00:51 Advice for Starting Over 01:04:42 No More Private Equity 01:10:08 Industry Shakeups 01:12:12 Social Currency Corner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the most legendary makeup artist in the world, Pat McGrath, finally launched her own beauty brand, her hero product sold out in minutes.  Within three years, Pat McGrath Labs was valued at $1 billion. Today, it’s in bankruptcy court. Today, Sammi dives into the dramatic rise and unraveling of Pat McGrath Labs. Valued at roughly 25 times revenue, the brand was suddenly operating under hypergrowth expectations that clashed with its luxury positioning and deliberately controlled expansion. As sales slowed, distribution widened, and investor pressure intensified, what began as a cash flow squeeze spiraled into something much bigger. Sammi breaks down the aggressive private equity deal that set the tone, the strategic tension between artistry and scale, and the $17.5 million bridge loan that ballooned into a $43 million claim—ultimately triggering a last-minute Chapter 11 filing to stop a forced auction. It’s a case study in valuation psychology, capital structure, and what happens when the wrong money meets the right founder at exactly the wrong time. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  00:00 The Rise of Pat McGrath Labs  02:51 The Billion Dollar Valuation Problem  04:17 The Sales Strategy Challenges 08:00 The Predatory Loan  08:59 The Bankruptcy Filing  10:26 Lessons and Cautionary Tale 13:10 Pat McGrath’s Personal Liability 15:29 Takeaways From Pat McGrath Labs  16:22 How to Show Social Currency Some Love  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is no longer a future trend—it’s already reshaping how countless people work. And few people are closer to that shift than Aparna Chennapragada, Chief Product Officer for AI experiences at Microsoft. In this conversation, Aparna pulls back the curtain on how AI is actually being built into everyday work. She shares her bold two-year prediction for how work will change, tips for using AI to ace your next big meeting, and what Gen Z expects from the tools they use every day. They also get honest about the bets that didn’t work, how to prioritize when everything feels urgent, and the leadership lessons Aparna has learned scaling innovation inside one of the world’s largest companies. Plus: why prompting may be the most important new career skill—and what that means for managers, creators, and anyone trying to stay relevant in the AI era. 00:00 Aparna Chennapragada’s Social Currency  02:23 Bold Predictions for AI in the Next Two Years  03:48 How Microsoft's AI Strategy Has Evolved 06:39 AI Hacks For Your Next Meeting 11:39 Empathy in AI Design  13:50 How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Urgent  17:27 The Right Way to Think About Customer Feedback  19:39 Gen Z's Influence on Design  22:47 Workshopping Cohesiveness and Interoperability  25:46 Staying Focused in a Noisy AI World  29:28 Mastering the Skill of Prompting  34:11 AI in Education and Parenting  35:24 Leadership Principles in AI Development  38:33 How to Have Difficult Conversations With Your Team 40:24 Innovating at the Speed of Tryst  42:35 The Future of AI in Media  45:37 Hot Takes on AI 47:10 Social Currency Corner  50:09 Advice for New Product Managers  51:37 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aldi is quietly becoming the fastest-growing grocery train, without flashy stores, massive advertising budgets, or endless product choice. In this episode, Sammi breaks down how the company’s deliberately simple model (limited assortment, extreme cost discipline, productivity obsession, and private-label strategy) has allowed it to grow rapidly while competitors struggle with rising prices and complexity. Drawing on her own experience training to be an Aldi District Manager, Sammi explains the one rule that has cemented Aldi’s position leading the pack. At the center of Aldi’s strategy is a single internal question that guides nearly every choice. Understanding that principle helps explain not just Aldi’s growth, but why the model continues to hold together as it scales. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 Aldi’s Social Currency 02:15 Aldi’s origin story 03:12 The kidnapping 04:05 Trader Joe’s and the Aldi split 06:40 How Aldi scaled 08:34 Ruthless efficiency 10:15 Private label products 10:59 Sammi’s Aldi days 12:35 Aldi’s customer psychology strategy 14:28 The single internal rule that explains Aldi’s success 16:04 How to show Social Currency some love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it actually take to build a beauty brand that feels timeless? Today, Sammi sits down with Dianna Cohen, founder and CEO of Crown Affair, the cult haircare brand that made slowing down a competitive edge. Before Crown Affair, Diana was behind the scenes of some of the most talked-about consumer brands of the last decade (Away, Outdoor Voices), Then, she walked away to build something quieter, more intentional, and way harder to pull off. In this conversation, she breaks down how she chose her hero product, what she learned during the DTC boom (and bust), and why “take your time” isn’t soft advice, it’s a strategy. They get into the real stuff: fundraising without losing the soul of your brand, the moment celebrity endorsements actually matter (and when they don’t), the slick bun tutorial we’ve been waiting for, and the one social move that directly translated to product sales. Dianna also opens up about evolving as a CEO, letting go of control, and building a company culture that doesn’t burn people out. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Dianna on Instagram Follow Crown Affair on Instagram 00:00 Dianna Cohen’s Social Currency02:53 From Away and Outdoor Voices to Crown Affair 07:02 Launching Crown Affair and Picking a Hero Product 14:57 Product Development and Early Tradeoffs 28:53 Go-to-Market Strategy and Raising Capital 31:38 Celebrity Endorsements and Timeless Branding 34:31 The Slick Bun Tutorial We’ve Been Waiting For 37:11 Dianna’s Fundraising Philosophy 46:52 Personal Brand vs. Business Brand on Social 50:27 The Seedling Mentorship Program 55:46 Dianna’s Hot Takes on the Beauty Industry 56:22 Social Currency Corner and Listener Question Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chiara Ferragni wasn’t just an influencer, she was a case study in how to turn social media fame into a multi-million-dollar business. And then a pink Christmas cake almost destroyed everything. Today, Sammi breaks down the scandal that triggered regulatory fines, a criminal fraud investigation, mass sponsor exits, and a collapse of more than 90% of company revenue in a single year — all tied to a holiday charity campaign that raised major questions about transparency in influencer marketing. But this story is bigger than one creator. It’s about what happens when governments try to regulate the creator economy in real time and how public blame gets distributed when a brand is a person versus a corporation. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 Chiara Ferragni’s Social Currency 02:02 The Christmas Cake Controversy 03:01 Backlash and Fallout 04:23 The Legal Battle  06:11 The Lessons Most People Are Missing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sammi sits down with Stacy Martinet, Adobe’s VP of Marketing and Communications, for a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the most influential creative companies is thinking about AI, creativity, and trust. Stacy shares why AI’s biggest “unlock” isn’t replacing creators— it’s getting rid of the blank-page panic and helping people start faster, whether you’re a student, a solo creator, or a CEO building a global brand. They get into the real ethics questions: what data goes into generative AI models, why “commercially safe” matters for brands, and why Adobe is betting on transparency and choice, including letting users pick between different AI models. Stacy also breaks down content credentials (think: a “nutrition label” for digital content), what it means for the future of credibility online, and why visuals and motion are quickly becoming the universal language of the internet. Plus: Stacy’s playbook for earning attention in a chaotic media landscape, how Adobe launched Firefly in a community-led way, and her advice for creators and entrepreneurs trying to build a personal brand that actually stands out—without losing the plot. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today with Stacy: 00:00 Stacy Martinet’s Social Currency 02:00 How Brands Earn Attention (and Keep It) 04:46 How Adobe Balances Creator and Enterprise Customers 06:40 The Democratization of Creative Tools 14:00 Ethics of Generative AI 16:23 Content Credentials the “Nutrition Label” for Content 17:45 Why IRL is Back 19:56 Storytelling as a Business Strategy 22:30 Advice for Emerging Creators 24:35 Hot Takes: Brands Need to Talk More 28:10 Routines and Social Currency Corner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Sammi sits down with Nicolas Jammet, co-founder and Chief Concept Officer of Sweetgreen—the fast-casual brand that helped take “healthy food at scale” from a niche idea to a national movement with nearly 300 stores and a $5.5B IPO. Nicolas traces Sweetgreen’s origin story from Georgetown campus chaos (including a stolen laptop that nearly derailed opening week), to a three-founder partnership that has stayed intact for almost two decades, to taking the company public at the literal peak of the market in 2021. Then they zoom out to the bigger game: how Sweetgreen thinks about trend forecasting in food, why fast-casual is facing price-value pressure, and what it really takes to balance quality with consumer sensitivity in a $16-salad world. Nicolas explains how Sweetgreen is using feedback, loyalty, and automation to define the future of fast food—including the Infinite Kitchen, the new drive-thru format, and the viral max-protein bowl that set off a macro-counting frenzy online. They also get into brand strategy and culture: why Sweetgreen doesn’t have a Coke or Pepsi contract, how “food as storytelling” became a competitive moat, and how the Sweetlife Festival helped turn a salad shop into a cultural brand. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Keep up with Nicolas Keep up with SweetgreenHere’s what Sammi covers with Nicolas: 00:00 Nicolas Jammet’s Social Currency 01:11 Early days and Stolen Laptops 08:47 How Three Co-Founders Stayed Together for Nearly 2 Decades 12:51 Behind the Scenes of the $5.5B IPO 14:38 The Chief Concept Officer Job Description 16:34 Trend Forecasting & the Kale/Avocado Glow-Up 22:56 The Price-Value Question in Fast Casual 24:27 Getting Customer Feedback 29:32 Automation, Drive-Thrus and the Infinite Kitchen 33:47 Who the Sweetgreen Customer Actually Is 42:40 Sweetlife Festival & Brand Building Beyond Food 46:00 Social Currency Corner: Protein Maxing & Functional Food 49:00 Retaining Talent in a Burnout Industry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a moment when carrying a Coach bag felt cringe. Today, Coach is one of the hottest brands among Gen Z, with demand exploding and bags selling out. In this episode, Sammi unpacks how one of the most unlikely retail comebacks of the decade happened: a story of disciplined restraint, thoughtful pricing strategy, and creating sub-brands. Coach proved that the fastest way to lose relevance is to chase volume, and the fastest way to regain it is to rebuild meaning. Sammi breaks down the strategic steps behind the turnaround—from shutting stores and nixing discounts to restoring design authority, defining the timeless Gen-Z customer, and turning retail into culture. And at the end, she reveals the core takeaway that explains why Coach succeeded where so many heritage brands have failed. Plus, you won’t want to miss the end of the episode where Sammi drops an exciting announcement…. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Coach 00:58 Coach's Origin Story and Initial Success 01:58 When It Went Downhill  04:08 The Turnaround Begins 06:19 Rebuilding the Brand: Design and Distribution Overhaul 07:06 Targeting Gen Z 09:09 Experiential Retail and Modern Success 10:48 How Coach Pulled This Off 11:17 Big Announcement… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Sammi sits down with Rebecca Shostak, co-founder and CEO of Flodesk—the email platform bootstrapped to profitability just two weeks after launch. In this conversation, Sammi and Rebecca trace the journey from Rebecca designing merch for Rihanna and Linkin Park, to running a Photoshop template shop, to finally fixing the “giant WTF” of ugly, broken email tools with Flodesk. Then they get spicy: Rebecca explains why she thinks “marketing is dead” and the traditional funnel is over, why social media is just rented land, and why email—done right—is still the most resilient, highest-ROI channel you can own. She shares how moving to Vietnam to sit next to her 35-person engineering team led to a new AI-powered way to design emails (with multiple patents pending), how Flodesk is tackling feature creep while staying obsessively simple, and the metrics that actually matter for your list.  Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  This episode was brought to you by Flodesk. Check out their tools to help you grow your business Here’s what Sammi covers today with Rebecca: 00:00 Rebecca Shostak’s Social Currency 02:55 The Origin Story of Flodesk 05:51 Building a Business: Challenges and Successes 11:09 Embracing AI 25:25 The Impact of the Pandemic on Small Businesses 27:40 Pricing Model Changes 29:43 Feature Creep vs. Focus in Email Marketing 32:05 Checkout and Sales Funnel Solutions 35:09 Why Email Marketing is the GOAT 41:12 Hot Takes on the Future of Marketing 43:22 Best Practices Email Marketing 45:55 Rebecca’s Leadership Systems  48:12 Social Media Strategy and Brand Expression 51:22 Advice for New Founders  53:25 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is the second half of a two-part look at women’s media in 2026. Last week, Sammi sat down with Brittany and Gabriel Hugoboom, the couple behind Evie Magazine—the self-described “conservative Cosmo.” Today, Sammi is talking to Sami Sage, co-founder of Betches, a media company with a comparatively left-leaning audience that helped define millennial feminism, internet satire, and the way Gen Z gets its news. Sami shares how Betches went from an anonymous blog on a couch in 2011 to one of the only profitable, venture-free success stories in women’s media—and ultimately a $24 million acquisition. She shares how Betches has balanced content for both Gen Z and millennial audiences, and why a founding team of three is a superpower.  Then Sammi and Sami unpack the trad wife aesthetic, body politics, GLP-1s, and the question Brittany Hugoboom wanted her to answer: would she gain 50 pounds in solidarity with the body positivity movement? They also talk about what it actually means for women to “tap in” to civic life—beyond voting every four years—and why business, culture, and politics are now the same story. Follow Sammi Cohen on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Sami Sage on Instagram Read Democracy in RetrogradeCheck out Betches on Instagram Here’s what Sammi covers today with Sammy: 00:00 Sami Sage’s Social Currency 04:24 Early Virality for Betches the First Book Deal 14:33 Building a Profitable Women’s Media Company Without VC 18:40 Inside the Betches Acquisition and Earnout Structure 24:49 How the Founders’ Roles Changed Post-Exit 28:23 Keeping Gen Z and Millennials Engaged at the Same Time 32:14 Why Betches News Will Never Be a Traditional Newsroom 36:26 Legacy Media, Independent Media and Who Actually Breaks the News 42:15 Manufactured Culture Wars 45:27 The Rise of Trad Wives and Aesthetics as Ideology 51:13 What “Tapping In” to Civic Life Really Looks Like 54:31 Body Neutrality, GLP-1s and Brittany’s 50-Pound Question 01:02:52 Social Currency Corner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Sammi breaks down the unraveling of Saks Fifth Avenue — a luxury icon that survived wars, recessions, and cultural shifts, but couldn’t survive its own merger math. Through stalled vendor payments, junk-bond debt, leadership shake-ups, and a failed $2.7B Neiman Marcus merger, Saks entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and set off a ripple effect far beyond Fifth Avenue. This isn’t a “department stores are dying” story — it’s a case study in how private equity, financial engineering, and legacy retail models collide. And why the belief that Saks was “too iconic to fail” turned out to be so wrong. Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 The Saks & Neiman Marcus Merger and Its Fallout  03:31 Vendor Relationships and Financial Strain  06:45 Leadership Changes and Real Estate Moves  10:16 Lessons from Saks' Downfall  11:33 Breaking News: Saks Files for Bankruptcy  12:48 How to Show Social Currency Some Love  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode kicks off a two-part exploration of the modern women’s media landscape. Today, Sammi sits down with Brittany and Gabriel Hugoboom, the husband-and-wife team behind Evie Magazine — a publication often described as a “conservative Cosmo.” Next week, she’ll speak with Sami Sage, co-founder of Betches, a media company with comparatively left-leaning readership.  Brittany and Gabriel Hugoboom created Evie with the goal of building a women’s media brand centered in femininity, beauty, and lifestyle without the progressive filter. In this conversation, Sammi digs into how they positioned Evie from day one, what business opportunity they spotted, and whether fashion and politics can ever be separated in 2026. They also unpack the viral Raw Milkmaid dress that set off backlash from both sides, and what that moment taught them about brand power, consumer perception, and the business of controversy.. The Hugobooms also talk about their second company, 28—a cycle-based wellness app backed by Peter Thiel—and how media becomes top-of-funnel for product ecosystems and cultural influence. From modern feminism to the soft-life debate to the death of the girlboss, this episode offers an unfiltered look at the ideas shaping women’s media today—and why Evie thinks the next female-led empire might not look like the last one.  Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Check out Evie on Instagram Read the New York Times piece Here’s what Brittany and Gabriel cover with Sammi: 00:00 Brittany and Gabriel Hugoboom’s Social Currency 04:08 Being the “Conservative Cosmo” 13:36 The Viral Raw Milkmaid Dress 24:42 Hot Takes on Femininity in 2026  33:57 Dealing with Backlash   36:04 28 38:12 Women's Health 42:05 Product Expansion and Marketing 48:47 Future Vision for Evie and 28 58:28 Industry Predictions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While tech investors chased ad-based creator platforms, OnlyFans did the opposite—and made billions. Today, Sammi unpacks the counterintuitive decisions that turned OnlyFans into a cultural lightning rod and a creator-economy juggernaut. From dodging the App Store tax and outsourcing discovery to TikTok, to the economics of fan intimacy and the infamous adult-content ban, Sammi explains why OnlyFans works and what makes it nearly impossible to replicate. Plus: can the platform really expand beyond adult content, or is that a recipe for failure? Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  00:00 The Business Model of OnlyFans  01:01 The Founding and Growth of OnlyFans  01:53 Avoiding the App Store  02:48 Creator-Led Growth Strategy  05:10 Monetization Beyond Subscriptions  06:26 The 2021 Adult Content Ban  07:39 Leadership and Risk Management  08:11 Expanding Beyond Adult Content  10:13 The Future of OnlyFans  10:52 How to Show Social Currency Some Love  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jenn Hyman built Rent the Runway on a contrarian insight back in 2009: women were already “renting” their clothes—borrowing from friends, cycling through fast fashion, and returning special-occasion outfits with the tags still on. Today, Jenn shares how she turned that overlooked behavior into one of the most influential fashion-tech companies of the last decade, why social media made outfit repetition feel impossible, and what fast fashion still gets wrong about how women actually shop. Jenn also goes where most founders won’t; she tells Sammi about becoming one of the few women to ever take a consumer startup public—and the first to IPO with an all-female C-suite—only to watch the market flip weeks later and the stock fall more than 98% from its peak. She breaks down what the stock price does (and doesn’t) say about the business, the realities of life as a public-company CEO, the recent recapitalization that strengthened Rent the Runway’s balance sheet and pushed it toward free cash flow breakeven, and how competition from players like Nuuly is reshaping the rental landscape. Plus, they unpack the wild downfall of CaaStle, a would-be Rent the Runway copycat—and Jenn’s response is JUICY. Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Jenn’s work Learn more about Rent the Runway Here’s what Sammi covers with Jenn: 00:00 Jenn Hyman’s Social Currency 04:07 Early Days of RTR 09:16 The Role of Social Media 11:18 Building a Resilient Team 16:19 The IPO Experience 21:22 Navigating Public Market Challenges 31:32 The Irony of Entrepreneurial Ego 32:25 Navigating Rent the Runway's Rollercoaster 34:49 The Future of Rental Economics 35:06 Rent the Runway's Marketing Mastery 39:00 Pricing Strategies and Customer Insights 40:38 Competitors and Market Shifts 47:31 The CaaStle Fraud Scandal 54:41 Social Currency Corner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices