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

ICYMI ₊♡₊˚ 🍒・₊✧ ₊

• This Week’s Mantra: An entrepreneur brain, an athlete body and an artist’s soul.

• Back in College: I went to a Gen Z event hosted by my friend Julia Haber, founder of Home From College where we discussed the translation gap between Gen Z and the companies that are trying to recruit, hire, train and sell their products to them. I was amongst executives, investors and founders from companies like Beyond Meat, Beyond Yoga, Amazon Video, and a group of Gen Z students from USC and UCLA. We dived into what makes brands like Hailey Bieber's Rhode and Emma Chamberlain's Chamberlain Coffee resonate with young consumers (hint: the word authenticity kept coming up) while some debated the authenticity of Serena Williams' new beauty brand, Wyn, I found her initiative to merge fashion/beauty with sports truly pioneering. IMO, she brought those elements on the court throughout her playing career so why not own it in this next phase of her career.

• Why HSR Exists: More importantly, I was asked by these same ambitious, Gen Z women how to deal with the struggle of being taken seriously without sacrificing their softness, femininity, and desire to engage in things like beauty, fashion, etc. whether that’s posting on their personal social channels or growing a somewhat micro community. My path was probably different than it is today but I can distill it down to 1) getting points on the board by executing incredibly well 2) building trust and 3) being easy to get along with and making people feel good. It gave me a renewed sense of purpose and I’m so excited to have been invited to go speak at a few sororities over the next few weeks about how to build a hot, smart, rich life straight out of college. Hint: It’s about adopting the mindset first and foremost.

• CEO of soft paced living in a fast paced world: Slowing down to speed up has been a constant theme for me in 2024. It’s allowed me to be more present and mindful about my decisions and prioritize quality over quantity specifically with how I spend my mornings and nights, my information diet, who is allowed access to me, and my overall peace. But it doesn’t come without sacrifice. In order to do this, you’ll have to be okay with being alone, your circle shrinking and mindfulness to not immediate reach for your phone when you just need to sit and think.

• On Soulmates: I get a lot of women DM me about how much I’ve helped them feel less alone, get out of a bad relationship, enjoy being single or just relate to the struggle of dating when you know your worth and I have great news because this past week Alex Cooper married Matt Kaplan (aka Mr. Sexy Zoom Man) proving that you will never be “too much” for your soulmate. Back in January my therapist told me to make a mood board to manifest the type of partner I want and deserve (just like I do with everything else in my life) and although it’s early, I have been spending time with someone who feels like the real life version of the board so regardless of what happens, this is your gentle reminder to never settle and manifest and create the life of your dreams ♡

• My Favorites This Week: My saje stress kit to naturally calm down my anxiety, the Methodology reset meals, this LPA ruffle cardigan and Raybans from Revolve, the Mane Addicts curling iron, Salt Air deodorant, my new bulletin board and bow pins (that I DIYd from Amazon), the Speechify app where you can listen to any written article on audio, my Anthro dish on my dresser, and @kenzieelizabeth inspired by my new toile wallpaper in my closet!

This Week’s Mood Board

Consumer News

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

This week wasn't just about personal growth; the business landscape is pulsing with developments from TikTok's potential ban to Nestle's struggle with a revenue dip. And in the attention economy, the rise of platforms like Substack signals a shift towards more intimate, impactful communication.

Substacking, Ghostwriting and my POV: It's no longer enough to run a business and have a personal brand as a founder on social media. Now it seems like EVERY founder/CEO needs to have a Substack. I’m joking, but am I? We are seeing the RISE of 1:many writing tools like Substack and Beehiiv and as someone who’s been doing this for a year and absolutely loves it because it feels like a public diary, I totally get the hype. Not everyone wants to be behind the camera. It’s even more interesting and advantageous when you can take written assets and turn them into a LinkedIn strategy a la a ghostwriter (subtle hint: we talk to a lot of companies and there are quite a few who are prioritizing “faceless creators” as part of their paid media spend). So if you've been worried about getting started because you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, now is your chance… But like anything, have a WHY, be consistent and if it’s not for you, don’t force it. I also loved this article sent to me about how to Master Your Attention and the Danger of Clickbait.

My Fav Product Launches/Collabs/PR: I loved the Summer Fridays Sephora UK launch; custom taxi cabs and an overnight trip to Estelle Manor with a curated group of instructors. Kendall Jenner 818 and Emma Chamberlain Coffee joined forces to launch their candied pecan cold brew singles which was such a cool crossover!

Beauty As An Asset: Beauty and Wellbeing is one of Unilever’s best performing divisions with 7.2% growth in the first three months compared to 3.1% for the same period last year. Unilever's prestige beauty brands, led by Tatcha, Hourglass and Living Proof were leading the charge!

Businesses and Entrepreneurs Born off of TikTok: Obviously one of the biggest pieces of news this week is the potential ban of TikTok in the US. I personally would be shocked to see this happen but never say never.

This reminded me a lot of the chapter in Becoming Trader Joe where Joe says that "success in business rests on reading and working around the regulations that govern your business". He literally built his business around a government loophole that allowed him to become the #1 seller of wine in the US during a period of time where the category was subject to fair trade.

I thought it was SUPER interesting to see Emma Chamberlain make her debut onto the platform the day after the ban gets signed when everyone else is telling their audiences to migrate elsewhere…There are at least 270 days until it happens so it'll be interesting to see who stays put and who starts running scared.

Grocery: There was a lot of news in the grocery space this week. I hated that FOXTROT had to close its doors. There’s a lot to unpack here which is interesting as we get into book club Tuesday night on retailing that if anyone has any leads or insight as to why, I’m all ears.

Even Nestle sales are slowing by a 6% revenue decline in Q1; being the world’s largest food company, it’s probably good to pay attention. The company cited currency fluctuations AND decreased demand in North America for it’s frozen pizza and snack brands… Interesting that the article didn’t mention the aftermath of weight loss drugs like Ozempic but its the first thing that came to my mind.

I also shared my POV and reality check for brands who think being in Erewhon is a be all end all and one of my Rich Girl Hacks on how I turn $9.99 grocery store roses into a dupe for the $300 Eric Buterbaugh arrangements that are a tiny luxury upgrade to your space.

TYSM, I♡U!!!!

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Become a Founding Reader of ICYMI!

This week I’m sharing:

• Scaling Hacks: It’s no secret that there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done and my schedule is always packed with being the face of HSR, growing the business behind the scenes, HSR Ventures and it’s portfolio companies, and now being a Venture Partner and Advisor to Vanterra Ventures. This week I finally had a big brainstorming session with my team on how we can adjust my schedule to be more productive, work smarter and not harder and am excited to share more of it with you!! For my Founding Readers, I’m sharing the one switch I’ve already made that has been a huge unlock that includes time blocking (and a screenshot of the before and after).

• A guaranteed spot to our first HSR Book Club meeting this week!

• My POV on the new era of VC and how creators are raising $100M for their personal brands