Hot Girl Finance

The diamond industry told us diamonds are rare. They're not, and the moment you buy one it can lose 40% of its value.A mined diamond and a lab-grown one are chemically identical. A certified gemologist cannot tell them apart without a machine, and the machine still gets it wrong. One of them costs three to four times more, and loses around 40% of its value the moment you buy it.Jessica Warch grew up inside the Antwerp diamond trade, where her parents still work. She left to build Kimaï, took Diane von Fürstenberg as an investor and opened stores in London and Paris. She is blunt about what you are actually paying for. In this episode:◼️ The diamond industry explained... who controls the supply, who sets the price, and why diamonds were never actually rare◼️ Lab-grown vs mined diamonds: chemically identical, and even specialist machines can't always tell them apart◼️ Is a diamond a good investment? Why a mined diamond can lose around 40% of its value the moment you resell it◼️ Why the average Kimaï engagement ring is about £5,000, and what the same ring would cost with a mined diamond◼️ The cold email to Meghan Markle's circle that led to 100 articles in one day, with almost no stock to sell◼️ Raising $2 million "way too early", and the branding agency mistake she'd never make again◼️ How Diane von Furstenberg became an investor, sitting on her floor showing Jess her own jewellery◼️ Why some magazines won't feature lab-grown diamonds, and the word Kimaï isn't allowed to use on its own◼️ How she runs the business with Claude Code, from sales reports to checking supplier invoices line by lineDiamonds are forever… But overpaying for them doesn't have to be.Chapters:00:00 The truth about diamonds01:39 From Antwerp's diamond trade to lab-grown diamonds03:30 What the diamond industry doesn't want you to know04:50 Is a diamond a good investment? (You lose 40%)05:42 Lab-grown vs mined diamonds: is there any difference?08:54 From 2% of the market to engagement ring favourite09:17 Are lab-grown diamonds actually sustainable?10:54 Bridal: 50–60% of sales and a £5K average ring15:19 Starting a jewellery brand on the side of a full-time job16:57 The cold email that got Kimaï on Meghan Markle18:40 100 articles in a day: the Meghan effect21:55 From online-only to opening retail stores24:10 Raising $2 million "way too early"26:01 Founder mistakes: branding agencies and hiring28:24 How Diane von Furstenberg became an investor30:28 Why Kimaï went on Dragons' Den33:01 Why magazines won't write about lab-grown diamonds35:44 The word "diamond" they're not allowed to use36:42 Marketing without influencers42:01 How to make a co-founder relationship work44:25 Running a business with Claude Code and AI47:35 Best business advice: never take no for an answer50:12 How much should founders pay themselves?52:10 Save or SplurgeWould you choose a lab-grown diamond for your engagement ring? Tell us below 👇Subscribe to @hgfpod for new episodes every week.💜 Stream on Spotify: https://tr.ee/hgfspotify💜 Stream on Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/hgfapple💜 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgf/

How do you pay for an Oscar-winning documentary on your own credit card? Why does the person carrying the legal and financial risk of a film get the least credit for it? And why does a $6 million film need an $18 million campaign to win Best Picture? Odessa Rae is the Oscar-winning producer of Navalny, and she funded the first four months of it on her own credit card. She walks Poppy through how the money works, from who funds a film to who owns it at the end, and what winning an Oscar actually costs.In this episode:◼️ The $90,000 of credit card debt that funded the first four months of Navalny◼️ How film financing actually works, from the investor's premium to the points on the back end◼️ Why the IP of a film sits in its own company, and why an investor never owns a piece of it◼️ Three days of Navalny's last interview sit in a vault, and the filmmakers have no right to them◼️ Why the Best Picture Oscar goes to the producer, and why the industry still treats producers as staff◼️ What an Oscar campaign really is, and why you fly to a city to screen for two voters◼️ Why the money for an Oscar campaign has to be raised as donation rather than investment◼️ What a film costs to make now, and why AI is pulling that number down every year◼️ Why she was followed for six months after Navalny died◼️ How she actually finds investors, and why she keeps the ones she likes💜 Stream on Spotify: https://tr.ee/hgfspotify💜 Stream on Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/hgfapple💜 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgf/💸 Powered by Aave App. Start saving smarter: https://aave.com/app

How does a swimsuit get from a drawing to a shop floor? Why did she have to pay for her own stock before Selfridges would sell it? And why did the brand only start making money once she took production in house?Alexandra Miro started her swimwear label with five swimsuits and her own money, and now sells it around the world with a team of five.She tells Poppy how the money really works in fashion, from the factories in Portugal to the payment terms and the cost of a photo shoot. It is her first ever podcast, and it is for anyone building a product business who wants to know where the money goes before they spend it.In this episode:◼️ Start with five products, not fifty, and why a big launch collection works against you◼️ Stocking a department store means funding the stock yourself, and taking it back if it does not sell◼️ A consignment order can mean eight months from starting production to any payment◼️ The business turned profitable when she stopped outsourcing production◼️ Four years running everything alone, customer service, logistics, social and design◼️ Nobody gets discovered at a trade show anymore, and what replaced it◼️ A collection shot on an iPhone in 24 hours that no buyer questioned◼️ One local model instead of a flown-in one, and 20 grand saved on a single shoot◼️ 100 pieces of a print, never repeated, and what that does to demandSubscribe to @hgfpod⁩ for new episodes every week.💜 Stream on Spotify: https://tr.ee/hgfspotify💜 Stream on Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/hgfapple💜 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgf/💸 Powered by Aave App. Start saving smarter: https://aave.com/app

In this Hot Girl Finance breakdown, we go through every number you see when you look up a stock, what each one is telling you, and which ones actually change whether it is worth buying.In this episode:◼️ Market cap measures the size of a company, and people read it as a price signal, which is how they end up overpaying.◼️ The PE ratio is a promise about future growth, and the higher it climbs the less room the company has to be wrong.◼️ A low PE is rarely a bargain, because the market is usually pricing in a doubt you have not spotted yet.◼️ A small dividend can be a good sign, once you know what the company is doing with the money instead.◼️ The 52 week range tells you whether you are buying near the top, which is the check most people skip.No prior finance knowledge needed. By the end you can open any investing app and know exactly what you are looking at.Subscribe to @hgfpod⁩ for new episodes every week.💜 Stream on Spotify: https://tr.ee/hgfspotify💜 Stream on Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/hgfapple💜 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgf/💸 Powered by Aave App. Start saving smarter: https://aave.com/app

What does a talent agent actually do for their 10%? Why are creators and brands now sitting in the top ten earners at one of the biggest agencies in the world, next to the actors and the athletes? And why does the man who runs UTA in Europe tell his clients that a brand coming to them directly is a brand planning to undercut them?Darnell Strom is Head of UTA Europe, the agent behind Malala Yousafzai, Michaela Coel, Jon Batiste and Karlie Kloss. He walks Poppy through how the money actually moves in the talent business, from the $30 million guarantees of the 90s and early 2000s to the equity deals being written for talent now, and what that teaches anyone negotiating their own worth without an agent in the room.In this episode:◼️ Why UTA signed YouTubers 20 years ago while rival agencies laughed, and who is scrambling now◼️ Why TV and film went from 85% of UTA's business to under half in 15 years◼️ How the definition of talent expanded to anyone with a platform and a following◼️ Why creators and brands now sit in the top ten earners next to the actors and the athletes◼️ What a brand is really doing when it comes to you directly instead of your agent◼️ Why giving up 10% beats getting paid 50% less on a deal you negotiated yourself◼️ Why the data on your own audience is the leverage you cannot get on your own◼️ Why a creator's recommendation converts like a friend's, and what that is worth to a brand◼️ Whether to stay the expert in one thing or expand, and how to expand without losing the audience◼️ The film made with AI tools for $750,000 that reached cinemas because the audience asked💜 Stream on Spotify: https://tr.ee/hgfspotify💜 Stream on Apple Podcasts: https://tr.ee/hgfapple💜 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgf/💸 Powered by Aave App. Start saving smarter: https://aave.com/app