Pod Insights Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum Laney Crowell: The Knicks Opportunity Everyone Missed… How I Got My Beauty Brand Into The NBA! Saie CEO About this episode Saie founder Laney Crowell reveals the marketing strategy that changed everything after spotting an overlooked opportunity at a New York Knicks NBA game.
Laney shares how she went from working at Estée Lauder to building one of Sephora's fastest-growing clean beauty brands. From launching Saie in her bedroom to becoming an early sponsor of the New York Knicks before their NBA Championship season, she explains how finding overlooked opportunities helped fuel the brand's growth.
From clean beauty and skincare to marketing, rejection and female ambition, this is a conversation about taking risk and spotting gaps in the market!
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro(01:57) Meet Saie Founder Laney Crowell(02:55) How Women Spend Money(05:10) The 100K Waitlist(06:43) Risking A New Product(07:33) Laney's Dream Collab(08:13) Building A Cool Beauty Brand(10:54) Finding Your Beauty Style(11:44) The Knicks x Saie Sponsorship(14:50) Turning Moments Into Franchises(16:30) What Beauty Means(18:52) Moving, Change And Resilience(20:18) Being Selfish While Building(21:58) AG1 Ad(22:58) Building Saie Early On(24:27) Brand Before Personal Brand(26:09) Founder Boundaries Online(27:22) The Reality Behind Beauty(28:01) Why Laney Started Saie(29:05) Becoming A Founder(29:52) Dyslexia And Taking Risks(30:49) The Estée Lauder Lesson(31:58) Beauty Brands And Venture Capital(33:26) The Risk Of Raising Money(34:34) How To Raise Investment(36:14) Laney's Hardest Rejection(37:11) Clean Beauty At Sephora(39:04) Finding Expanders(41:47) Turning Jealousy Into Ambition(42:18) Social Media And Creativity(43:06) Female Founder Aggression(44:15) Hiring For Grit(44:48) Spotting Grit In Interviews(45:06) Scaling Your Startup Team(46:04) Firing With Kindness(46:57) Bilt Ad(47:57) Rella Ad(48:57) Motherhood And Business(50:18) Her Entrepreneur Husband(51:45) Who You Marry Matters(52:30) How To Own A Room(53:57) Rapid Fire(57:18) Laney's HSR Love Note(58:05) Her Favourite Season Of Life(58:31) Where To Find Saie
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Hot Smart Rich: Your Business & Culture Gossip
For ambitious women wanting to own the room, gain power, and build wealth.
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Transcript 12,574 words · 5 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Maggie Sellers Reum? If you're starting a business, there are certain things that are so fun to think about. Y'all know I love a mood board, so everything that relates to the creative, the name, the brand, the website, the vision board. But then there are the things that make you pause and ask, "Am I even doing this correctly? Or do I even want to be doing this?" Like forming your business, getting the right documents, keeping your personal information private. This is where our sponsor, Northwest Registered Agent, is so helpful. They're a one-stop shop for founders who want to launch and legitimize their business without turning it into a giant admin spiral. They help you form an LLC or a corporation, act as your registered agent, and give you tools like a business address, operating agreement, website, phone number, professional email, and free guides.
0:43 Maggie Sellers Reum? They also have real corporate guides who know your local laws. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/hsrfree and start using free resources to build something amazing. Get more with Northwest Registered Agent at northwestregisteredagent.com/hsrfree.
1:04 Speaker 01 This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies. 18+.
1:30 Speaker 02 This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground, or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
1:58 Maggie Sellers Reum? What made you want to partner with a male NBA team? The Knicks?
2:02 Speaker 03 I want to put lip gloss on for this.
2:03 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah. Bring out the Birkin. I think it's just crazy that 40% of NBA fans are actually women and no one thought to target them. Laney Crowell, you've built a multi-hundred-million-dollar brand, say?
2:15 Speaker 03 People always think I left Estee Lauder to start a brand and that is absolutely the farthest thing that didn't even occur to me that I could start a brand. It was all about feeling really good in your skin and your best self.
2:27 Maggie Sellers Reum? What was that moment that made you want to put yourself through this battlefield that is being a founder?
2:32 Speaker 03 I remember being rejected so many times that I was so tired I couldn't walk home at the end of the day. But there was a bodega that had a sparkling water that I really liked and that would be the thing that would get me home.
2:43 Maggie Sellers Reum? You are such an iconic, like, Estee Lauder Vogue girl. Like, you're like, I have a sparkling water. I'd be having like a cocktail Aperol spread.
2:51 Speaker 03 If you want to get big fast, my number one tip for people is have a really clear vision and just go for it and don't stop. Like, I knew that I wanted, say, to make a difference. Like, Nora Smith pulled it out to do her makeup in her car and all of a sudden they sold out in minutes. We had a waiting list of over 100,000 people.
3:10 Maggie Sellers Reum? You've done such a phenomenal job building the cool it girl brand, but what is it that people actually don't see about Laney?
3:18 Maggie Sellers Reum? Hi, angels. Did you know that subscribing to our channel is free? And it's the simplest way that you can support our show and help us grow. If you do this, we can bring you even more of the content and the guests that you love. All you have to do is just hit the subscribe button below. So please, if you wouldn't mind, subscribe to the channel and thank you.
3:45 Maggie Sellers Reum? In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart, and rich. So let's get into it.
3:56 Maggie Sellers Reum? Laney Crowell, are you ready to get hot smart rich?
3:58 Speaker 03 I'm so ready.
3:59 Maggie Sellers Reum? For someone that just clicked into this, maybe they know you, maybe they don't.
4:01 Speaker 03 Yes.
4:02 Maggie Sellers Reum? Can you just describe what mission you're on and a little bit about who you are?
4:07 Speaker 03 Yeah, I'm Laney. I'm the founder and CEO of Say. We make clean, high-performance makeup that is good for you and for the planet. And I'm here for on so many missions. My number one reason I started Say was to make makeup that is not only good for your skin, but even makes your skin better. I have very sensitive, very acne-prone skin. And when I realized that my makeup was breaking me out, it was a total aha moment. I was just like, I cannot believe I just spent money to ruin my skin. And when I learned that the beauty industry makes 129 billion units of plastic every single year,
4:50 Speaker 03 it just became my mission to change the industry.
4:53 Maggie Sellers Reum? We often say that consumers vote with their dollars.
4:56 Speaker 03 Yep.
4:57 Maggie Sellers Reum? What have you learnt, being in this space for so many years, about how women actually spend money?
5:03 Speaker 03 I want to put lip gloss on for this.
5:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
5:05 Speaker 03 Let's talk about it.
5:05 Maggie Sellers Reum? Bring out the Birkin.
5:06 Speaker 03 Because I am a really big consumer. I love to shop. Everyone knows this about me. I love to shop. Like, I don't have any very many vices, to your point. Like, I drink sparkling water instead of cocktails, but I love to shop. And I think that women are really influenced by friends.
5:30 Speaker 03 That is one thing that I can never get over. When I talk to people and I ask them how they discovered Say, like, you're going to think that they're going to say TikTok. We have so many followers on TikTok. We've gone viral so many times. You think that's what people are going to say? No, it's always, "My friend or my mom told me about Say."
5:47 Maggie Sellers Reum? With brands that prioritize clean or things that are better for you, oftentimes, though, we find women are like, "But the cheaper price is over here."
5:55 Speaker 03 Yeah.
5:56 Maggie Sellers Reum? Hmm. From being a brand that stands for a lot, but is maybe more expensive, do you find that, given the option, people are still going to vote with their dollars towards price? Or are people starting to lean towards things that are like, "Better for you, good for the environment"? Do we vote with our dollars in that way?
6:15 Speaker 03 Well, it's interesting because we, I've thought a lot about this because we invest so much in sustainability. It's always more expensive to go to sustainability, right? We are part of 1% for the planet. 1% of every single dollar that we make goes back towards the environment. So as a brand that spends a lot of money on sustainability, I do wonder, like, how does that affect our consumer? And I think we have a lot of consumers that really like that and they think it's great. Do I think they buy Say because of that? Absolutely not. I think they buy Say, or I know that they buy Say because of our formulas. Because if you're buying makeup, you want incredible makeup.
6:55 Maggie Sellers Reum? So I first heard about Say when you launched the vanity cases.
7:00 Speaker 03 Oh, okay.
7:01 Maggie Sellers Reum? I guess I was maybe 30 at the time. So I wasn't maybe going into my friends bathrooms the way that I was during college and seeing what they were using.
7:08 Speaker 03 Yeah.
7:09 Maggie Sellers Reum? But I still remember this vanity case. It was so chic. And I had this like dumpy Amazon one. And I really wanted to buy it. It was obviously sold out.
7:18 Speaker 03 Yeah.
7:18 Maggie Sellers Reum? Because this is, you know, the road phone case of cosmetics for Say, I think.
7:23 Speaker 03 They wait, they sold out in a matter of like seconds, minutes, anytime we had them. Now they're in stock.
7:30 Maggie Sellers Reum? Was this your road phone case moment?
7:32 Speaker 03 Yes, 100%. And we did not see it coming because we had a lilac vanity case that had been in stock and hadn't caught on. And then we launched it in brown and it was this beautiful luxe brown that we had spent a lot of time, you know, picking out. And it was gorgeous. It was part of a mailer for our slipped in concealer. And I think it was Nora Smith pulled it out in her car to do her makeup in her car. And I think that was the moment when all of a sudden, everybody just started posting it. And it wasn't for sale. We had not bought any to be for sale. We then were like, okay, let's
8:16 Speaker 03 get 10,000. And they sold out in minutes. We had a waiting list of over 100,000 people.
8:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? So the brown cosmetic vanity case?
8:27 Speaker 03 Yes. And then we would launch, we launched these little minis that are so cute and different colors. And the same thing happened with those.
8:32 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, so let's talk about this for a second because that's a risk, right?
8:34 Speaker 03 Yeah.
8:35 Maggie Sellers Reum? You're a makeup brand and you don't do sourcing, manufacturing for something that's a luxury tote, basically.
8:41 Speaker 03 Yes.
8:43 Maggie Sellers Reum? How did you rationalize that decision? How did you take that risk?
8:47 Speaker 03 Well, we were buying small quantities. Like we, until recently, we did not have it like in stock and available for people. Like that was something that I wanted to do for my community because I just felt like it was kind of messed up that we were continuing to have this sortage. And I was just sick of the fact that we had so many people messaging us about it. And I was like, we are a brand built for our community. They're asking for this product, like, let's give it to them. I think that the risk was honestly in the pricing. It was all like, everything say, like, we always put it at the sharpest price point that we can. And then when tariffs hit, like, that was, we didn't have enough room there. And that, that was what, if I could change one thing, that would change that.
9:29 Maggie Sellers Reum? If you could collab with one brand right now, who would it be and why?
9:33 Speaker 03 Um, I really love Cal Meyer. I feel like-
9:37 Maggie Sellers Reum? I feel so uncool. I don't know who that is.
9:38 Speaker 03 I feel like, oh, the Cal Meyer's like the cool girl brand in New York right now.
9:45 Maggie Sellers Reum? Kim, I'm gonna look that up.
9:46 Speaker 03 Um, we've, we've done Daniella's show the last few times. And every time we do her show and I'm backstage, I'm like, I need every single thing in this collection.
9:55 Maggie Sellers Reum? Let's talk about cool for a second because I think you've done such a phenomenal job building like the cool it girl brand.
10:01 Speaker 03 Thank you.
10:01 Maggie Sellers Reum? But obviously with the product efficacy and the standards and morals and principles that your brand stands for as the infrastructure layer.
10:09 Speaker 03 Yeah.
10:09 Maggie Sellers Reum? How do you educate women to come across as cool as you have with really trying to share with them why your product is superior to put on their skin?
10:19 Speaker 03 I mean, I think for us, it's always this balance between education and fun and cool and style and fashion. We talk about it, I've shared this before, we have a Monday morning meeting that is, there's no agenda. It's just about what are we seeing? What would resonate with us? What do we want to do more of? Where should we be showing up? Whatever. And then I had a huge aha moment when one of my friends told me they didn't know how to do their makeup. And I was like, well, what do you mean? You don't know how to do your makeup? And they were like, no, I don't know anything. I don't know how to put on tinted moisturizer. I don't know where blush goes. I don't know what a lip liner is.
11:00 Speaker 03 Like the, the basic things that when you're in the beauty industry or you work or you're an exclusive brand at Sephora, you take for granted because there's all these artistry brands around and you're like, oh, but like- You know, every that you don't know how to put on tinted moisturizer. And that was what actually created what we call the class by say, which is our beauty 101, where we just help people learn the basics of like, let's talk about our new lip liner shades. Like, how do you even put on lip liner? What is a lip combo? Like, those these really kind of basic things that,
11:36 Speaker 03 you know, we will, we'll show these kind of pro tips that completely change your makeup routine. When I've talked to people who have taken the class, they're like, it used to be a moment of anxiety for me every morning putting on makeup because I had no idea what I was doing. And then it turned into a moment of self-care. And so for us, like, we've continued and have like a big launch actually coming around the class where it's going to be digital, it's going to be in person, and we can just provide that education for people.
12:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? So funny, I admit this all the time. I'm one of those people, like, my twenties was just so focused on working and like moving myself from Canada and starting over. And I literally, my makeup artist canceled it, but I get my makeup done a lot. I got it done today. And I asked to do a lesson on Saturday because I said, you know, if I'm like away, I need to be able to do my makeup and feel really confident about it. And I used to even do my eyeliner, like, starting from up and going down. And she would message me and be like, babes, like, you gotta go here because it's just looking really clumpy and going down. And I laughed because I don't think people would expect that from me. But I just saw this TikTok that was like, being hot is a hobby. Like, being able to understand your facial feature and like, what's going to accentuate you? And I guess for people that feel lost and confused on TikTok,
12:51 Maggie Sellers Reum? watching a specific video being done, like, how can they understand what's best for them? Is it just going to a Sephora and talking to a, say, representative to know like, how they should actually do their own makeup?
13:03 Speaker 03 I mean, I would say you should join one of our Zooms. Where you could ask questions and we have pro makeup artists that are literally there to teach you every single week how to do your makeup. Just a shout out to that whole program that we have because it's quite extensive and something that we put so much resource behind. I think that I have learned a lot from social, just watching the videos that are right for me, not the ones that are not right for me. I learned how to do makeup at the counter at Macy's and that doesn't really exist anymore, which is tough.
13:38 Maggie Sellers Reum? Can we please talk about what was in you that made you want to partner with a male NBA basketball team? The Knicks.
13:45 Speaker 03 Sure.
13:46 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay. Where did that inspiration come from first of all?
13:49 Speaker 03 Let me just tell you the whole story because it's a really good story. Because I did not sit around with my team saying, you know what we should do. No, that or we didn't get pitched. It was completely the opposite. It was totally organic. I went into the city with my husband and my two kids to go see a game. It was the first game I had ever been to. And I was in Madison Square Garden and we were working on City Set, which is our 16 hour setting spray. It's completely game changing. It's the first clean setting spray with no synthetic polymers. That sets your makeup for 16 hours. It's insane and we didn't have a name for it. And I was sitting there and I was looking around this stadium that is electric.
14:29 Speaker 03 And I was watching all the ads and it was really interesting because all of the screens flashing and the sponsors were all speaking to men. But there are so many women at Madison Square Garden and they all look incredible. Like they come to show up, they're moms, they're on a date, they're girls out for a fun night. Like it is such a social spot and there was not a single ad speaking to them. So that was like a little something that was in my mind and then the Knicks City Dancers came out. And I was like, City, City Set. And I pinged my team and I said, can you see if City Set is available for a trademark?
15:13 Speaker 03 That's all it was. It was just a name that I thought was cute. I loved the sound of it. I loved the alliteration. I love the fact that like when you're in a city, you are go, go, go. You need a setting spray and you need a daily one. That's not going to be making you break out or irritating your skin.
15:29 Speaker 03 I'd happened to meet a girl that works at MSG at a New Year's Eve party like two weeks prior. So I texted her and I was like, hey, any chance I can gift the Knicks City Dancers?
15:45 Speaker 03 Then that turned into the huge partnership that you see today of us being like, wait a minute, we can be the only brand speaking to all of these women. The breakdown, I think, is 4555 of men to women at MSG for a game. There's Out of Home on 7th Avenue. We created this incredible experience for our community from a giveaway. There was an influencer who asked me for tickets. I don't know if you saw that. We gifted her and we did this whole thing. Our merch is vintage. We have an entire Knicks vintage collection of jackets that we sourced from the 80s and 90s. We had a box for all of the editors one day. Experiential is just where it's at right now.
16:30 Speaker 03 Like, people want experiences. It's why sports is exploding. You know, it was a little bit ahead of the curve, but it just, timing worked out perfectly because obviously the Knicks are on fire. The crowds in the street are crazy in New York right now. And our billboard is right there.
16:47 Maggie Sellers Reum? I think it's just crazy in general that 40% of NBA fans are actually women and no one thought to target them.
16:54 Speaker 03 Not one ad. The closest was a moving company.
16:59 Maggie Sellers Reum? Why do you think that sometimes the most obvious answers are the things that we skip over?
17:04 Speaker 03 We're all set in our ways. I think that I attribute that, as we were talking about earlier, like, my brain just works a little bit differently than people. Like, that was so obvious to me. I couldn't believe it. And now I work with all these incredible women at MSG who are like, so excited to work together because we're the only sponsor that is interesting to them.
17:24 Maggie Sellers Reum? Well, and I think if you think about it too, right, like, the WAG industry in general, I also think has infiltrated the NBA the way it has for NFL. Of course, I'm gonna get a lot of hate for that, I'm sure, but like tennis, F1, NFL, this is crazy. But I even think down to the WAG culture, like, now is your brain, when you're starting to think about in real life, expanding the same brand, like, how do you think about taking a series that works and then expanding it into a franchise?
17:52 Speaker 03 I mean, I've thought about it a lot because obviously like there are, I'm obsessed with women's sports. I think women's sports is like just so crucial for young girls especially. And I don't know if you know this stat, but it's 98% of women in C-suite positions played sports. Like, it is the only place where girls are taught to lead, be aggressive, you know, have that go-get-'em mentality where they don't have to be perfect and they can just be leaders. So I would love to do something with women's sports. I feel like it's just where it's at right now.
18:29 Maggie Sellers Reum? When you were a little girl, what did beauty mean to you? And has that definition evolved to where you are today?
18:35 Speaker 03 Well, I remember getting in trouble for buying Allure magazine when I was nine. Amber Valetta was on the cover. It was like her, the cover was her full face. It was the sickest cover ever. But I just remember thinking that she was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen and I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know the secrets. I wanted to know who she was. Like, I just, I wanted in. I think it meant confidence. I think it was all about feeling really good in your skin and comfortable and your best self. And I think that's still what it means to me.
19:07 Maggie Sellers Reum? There was definitely a period for me in my twenties when I was trying to fit in. And I feel like I had just come from the era of like Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore, obviously all the Charlies.
19:19 Speaker 03 Yeah, I was gonna say.
19:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? They were all so distinct in their beauty. And then I think there was a period of time where we got a little bit into this Instagram face and everyone kind of started to look the same. And that was my definition of beauty in my twenties, trying to like fit into that. And only recently in my thirties have I really fallen back in love with the idea of like my face shape and what makes me unique. And I've spent so much time on Claude even like, what's the best hair length for me for an oblong face? And how do I accentuate my cheekbones? Has your definition of beauty for yourself and what you see in the mirror evolved at all as we've gone through different trends for beauty? Or has it always remained consistent?
19:59 Speaker 03 I mean, I did just see a picture of myself with very thin eyebrows and
20:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? I cannot picture that.
20:05 Speaker 03 You cannot picture that now, but I honestly, my beauty routine has always been very consistent. I think there was a period when I was a senior in high school, freshman in college, where I was wearing more glam. And I remember a boy saying to me once, he thought I was so pretty, but I was wearing too much makeup. And I was like, okay, noted, got it. Like, let's go back to the tried and true. I did live in Paris in middle school and that really informed my definition of beauty, of like your skin first, easy and effortless, just that really cool girl, like not trying too hard.
20:46 Speaker 03 I think that's like the biggest thing for me is if you look like you're trying too hard.
20:51 Maggie Sellers Reum? So you moved around a lot when you were a child, which I sort of just mentioned.
20:54 Speaker 03 Yes.
20:55 Maggie Sellers Reum? Can you describe how often you moved? And then what you think that did in terms of approaching new situations? Because you were always a fish out of water.
21:03 Speaker 03 Everyone always says, what did your dad do? No, my mom was in the foreign service and she had this incredible job that took us all around the world. When I was five, she got in, which was a really big deal. Like very few women got accepted into the foreign service. And our first post was Guangzhou, China. So my mom learned Chinese in six months and we moved as a family to Guangzhou, China. It was us and five families who worked at Nike and that was it for Americans in the entire city. And I mean, I was really young, but I was also the only kid in my grade. It was just me and the teacher.
21:45 Speaker 03 And I would, I remember like we would go and visit the other classrooms. Makes me want to cry a little bit thinking about like poor little Laney, like no friends. We moved back to DC, new girl again. And it was a little bit easier when we were abroad because generally there were a lot of new kids. Like when we, after DC, we were there for four years, we moved to Paris. And I went to the bilingual school and the classroom was full of new kids there. And then after Paris, we moved to Northern California, where my dad's family is from.
22:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? I have a lot of women on the show who aren't quite at the level that you're at. You've built a multi hundred million dollar brand. And one of the questions they always ask me is like, I feel a little guilty right now that I'm putting a lot of my time into my business and building my business. And I may be ignoring, or I'm in a season of my life where my childhood friends or my college friends aren't my number one priority. And I'm so interested for you now, someone who's built multi hundred million dollar brand. How do you think about female friendships? Are there seasons in your life where like, it's okay to be a little bit more selfish?
22:48 Speaker 03 I mean, I think there's like those seasons for everything, right? Like I remember when I first started building Say, I didn't talk to a friend, I think for years. And I remember it was Say and my kids. And that was it. There was nothing else in my life. And I remember kind of having this moment of like, oh, wow. Like this is it right now. And then I remember like Say getting bigger and more established. And, you know, we went from five people to 10 people to 20 to 40. And now we're at 80 plus people. And yeah, I have time to go out to dinner with my friends and I have time to text people. You know, those little moments of time to, to reach out to friends.
23:33 Speaker 03 That doesn't happen when you're like at the very, for me, it didn't happen at the very beginning when I was building Say. But I, I will say that I have built an incredible community of founder friends. And They just understand things a little bit differently of like you disappeared for three months because you had a launch or you had something big going on and then you're back and it's fine. And everyone's like, oh yeah, totally. I get that.
23:58 Maggie Sellers Reum? We really don't talk enough about how much is actually asked of women's bodies. And for me, when everything feels like it's ever changing, I really value having one part of my routine that stays the same, which is where our sponsor AG1 fits into my life. Because it's truly the one thing that makes me feel like I've got myself together. AG1 is a daily health drink. It's got multivitamins, prebiotics, probiotics, superfoods, and antioxidants, all in one scoop. Their next-gen formula is clinically shown to fill common nutrient gaps even in healthy eaters. It also supports immune defense, energy production, and gut health. Their CEO, Kat Cole, who is amazing, knowing that
24:40 Maggie Sellers Reum? she is leading AG1, it makes me trust it even more. AG1 has over 50,000 verified five-star reviews and comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. For a limited time, visit AG1.com/HSR to get a free Morning Person hat with your first AG1 subscription.
24:56 Speaker 01 This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.
25:25 Speaker 02 This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground, or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you, so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
25:52 Maggie Sellers Reum? Heard about this concept when I was first starting to build this and everyone pretty much thought I was crazy going around being like I'm hot smart rich when I was none of those things. And someone said you really need a challenge network, someone that's really going to challenge you and like catch you when you fall because that's inevitably going to happen. Finding those people was hard and then it eventually slowly started happening. When you were first starting to build Say, who did you then have around you when shit hit the fan that you could like call and just say, I don't know what I'm doing in this situation. I need help.
26:21 Speaker 03 My investor, Rachel Harris at Unilever Ventures. We went through COVID together. We, she was my first investor and I launched Say, November 2019 and COVID hit March 2020. And I'd just taken a million dollars and which at the time felt like a lot. I know people now are really are launching with more like $5 million to launch their brands. For me, I felt like I had taken so much money and I had a huge responsibility on my back and COVID hit and obviously none of us had been through a pandemic before, including Rachel. And we talked every single week and just navigated it from
27:06 Speaker 03 products being stuck on ships in the harbor and nobody there to unload them to the fact that I didn't see any of my employees. I mean, I built Say from my bedroom for two years. Those first two years.
27:21 Maggie Sellers Reum? 2019 happened. So we've already kind of gone through the girl boss era. Like Emily Weiss is like in the headlines. I actually worked at a direct to consumer darling. So I kind of got my start in the US because I managed like an $18 million budget for a marketing, I was in the head of marketing seat for a direct to consumer darling. And like my goal was to be Emily Weiss. I thought she was the coolest, sexiest person ever. You guys have obviously a lot of parallels. She raised a million dollars to launch. You raised a million dollars to launch. She started a blog. You started a blog. But like you really prioritize building Say, the brand versus building your personal brand. Was that intentional? Or was that something that you always wanted to do, but it just like you didn't have the bandwidth?
28:00 Speaker 03 Shout out to Emily for being, I think, an expander to so many women, showing them that they can do it. When I think a lot of us, myself included, like I did not think of myself as a founder. People always think I left Estee Lauder thinking that I was going to start a brand and that is absolutely the farthest thing that I, didn't even occur to me that I could start a brand.
28:21 Speaker 03 Did think about the fact that I did not want my name as part of the brand, because if you ever sell your company, you then sell your name. And I'm not a makeup artist. I am just somebody who loves makeup and, you know, I'm the ultimate consumer. So for me, I was building this brand for consumers and for the community. I did not have any time to do anything. I mean, now I'm able to go on podcasts and able to do this stuff, which I love and is fun. But no, that's, that's a more recent thing that I've had any bandwidth to even like post on Instagram.
28:53 Maggie Sellers Reum? And I think the pressures differed a lot, right? Like, I think now being a founder-led brand is so important and people want to know who is behind Say, or behind any brand. Do you have certain boundaries of things that you're like, I won't talk about this, but I will absolutely talk about this, maybe not on the Say channel, but on Laney's personal channel?
29:12 Speaker 03 I really see my channels as an extension of the brand. Like, I see my channels as people getting to see a different view into the brand, to see that behind the scenes, to see, um, it was funny, the other day, I was so sick and I had the craziest week of just back to back to back to back. And I was, I, I felt like I was gonna fall over. I was so tired and exhausted and just not feeling good. And so I was like laying in bed with an IV in my arm. Chloe on my team who helps me, she came in and we were like laughing. We're like, that's what we should have filmed. This is, this is what is happening. Like, this is, you know, really that like story behind how it all gets built, I think is so interesting and I love telling it.
29:56 Speaker 03 And I just see my channels as a way to continue to be a channel of audience awareness, to storytelling it different and in more interesting ways sometimes.
30:07 Maggie Sellers Reum? I'm so interested when you're building like a luxury brand, right? Like those moments of the IV in your arm or like wanting to pull your hair out because you're exhausted. How often do you really experience moments like that? Because from the outside, it doesn't obviously look like that.
30:24 Speaker 03 The reason why you probably don't see more of that online is honestly because we move so fast as a company. We call it Say Speed because when people get to Say, they're like, what's happening? And it's because we're just moving so fast. Like, speed has been such a differentiator for us and such an important part of our success. That like, there's no way I could document everything that's happened in one week.
30:49 Maggie Sellers Reum? You said earlier that you didn't really think of yourself as a founder. So you leave Estee Lauder.
30:54 Speaker 03 Yes.
30:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? What was that moment then that made you want to put yourself through this battlefield? That is being a founder?
31:01 Speaker 03 I was just so inspired by the community that I had built through the blog, that I had started to have this conversation around beauty being better and what that meant. And it was a really small niche community, but like, they were so mighty and they were so invested. And they were like, you are the person to launch us. And here's exactly what it should look like. And that's where the name of the brand comes from. For, if you didn't know that, it's where Say comes from. It's from you say it, we create it. When I was starting Say, I just kept going back to the conversations that I would have with the community of like, well, they said this and they said that. And I'm like, oh, Say.
31:42 Speaker 03 This is for, this is for all of those people saying that they want clean makeup that really performs, that is truly good for their skin, that is at a nice price point.
31:53 Maggie Sellers Reum? So I really want to break this down because I think there's going to be a lot of people listening to this that have the idea, maybe.
31:58 Speaker 03 Yep.
31:59 Maggie Sellers Reum? Did you feel though, that that founder instinct inside of you was there, but you just didn't think there was the opportunity? Or did you have to grow into knowing that you are the founder archetype?
32:12 Speaker 03 I think I've always had entrepreneurial spirit. And my parents were not entrepreneurs. There was nobody around me my entire life that was like, oh, that's what this is. Or, oh, people start businesses, like, simple things like that. That was not what my community of surrounding looked like. I have never felt more like myself than I do now. And I think that's because of the opportunity to be a founder.
32:35 Maggie Sellers Reum? You also did a very interesting thing to launch your brand, which was go into mascara, which is crazy.
32:42 Speaker 03 I know.
32:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? Let's break this down from a personality standpoint, though. Like, did you take risks? Did you always go against the grain as a child? Or like, did you see a white space in mascara? And you were like, this is the product, or this is what my community is asking for?
32:57 Speaker 03 The committee asked for it. It was the first product they wanted. They wanted a super clean, nourishing mascara that didn't fall under their eyes. I had no idea that that was a product that you wouldn't normally launch with until I think my friend Celia Edvogue asked me that in the launch interview. She was like, so nobody does this? And I was like, what? Nobody does this? But I think you said that you're dyslexic. I don't know if you share that.
33:19 Maggie Sellers Reum? I do.
33:21 Speaker 03 I also am dyslexic and I think that that is part of one of our superpowers is that we don't see risk. We don't really see some of those like risk opportunities that other people might be really obvious to them. I don't really see them. I say things all the time and my team will be like, oh, that's a big goal. And I'm like, is it? I think we can do that. No problem.
33:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? What's something from your past life of Estee Lauder or the blog or building all the companies that you had for other people? That you didn't realize as a secret weapon when you were starting to build Say, but like really helped you at those beginning stages?
33:56 Speaker 03 When I worked at Estee Lauder, I was like a I don't want to say fish out of water. It was more like a what's that saying? Like a round peg in a square hole. Yeah.
34:07 Maggie Sellers Reum? Me and Max Fiance.
34:08 Speaker 03 Yeah.
34:10 Speaker 03 So I realized when I left that that training was so major and just put me so far ahead of anybody else in the industry because I've been trained by the best of the best. And there was these really like hair pulling out moments where I would have to do 25 decks to show that we should launch an Instagram when nobody even cared about Instagram. And I would find it so frustrating because I like to move really quickly. I'm a really quick decision maker. And I had to prove my point and I had to prove it over and over again. And I had to refine and that was exactly the skill I needed for fundraising.
34:50 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, let's talk about fundraising. I was actually going to go into something that we're going to get into after, but one thing I found fascinating, listening to you on other shows with, is that you said there was not an option to not raise money for Say because you always wanted a big brand.
35:03 Speaker 03 Yes.
35:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? Do you still believe that you can't build a big brand without venture capital today? In beauty.
35:10 Speaker 03 I mean, look, I was really clear on the vision for say, when I launched, and I think that's like my number one tip for people is like, just have a really clear vision for what it is that you're building. Have that North Star for yourself, for your brand, and just go for it and don't stop. And I knew that I wanted, say, to make a difference. I wanted, say, to completely move the needle in terms of how people were formulating products, how they were treating the environment, the list goes on. And so to be that size, I knew I needed money for inventory. I knew I needed money for marketing. I knew I needed a team. You know, I think if you want to get big and get big fast, which like, you know, product market fit and timing is so important. I think having some funding is nice.
35:55 Speaker 03 I think if you could get that from alone, even better.
36:00 Maggie Sellers Reum? Well, especially in today's market with dupe culture. It's like you have to move quickly because people will be coming up your, your behind. Obviously, I'm a fan of venture capital. I invest a lot into companies, so I love it, but I do think there's the other side of venture capital where there can be cons. Learning what you've learned over the roadmap of raising money.
36:20 Speaker 03 Yeah.
36:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? What would you highlight to people about some of the cons of raising venture capital?
36:25 Speaker 03 I think you really want to understand equity and what that means and what you're giving away. And for me, that was something that took me a really long time to understand. And I had already given away equity at that point when I fully grasped what I had given away, not just in terms of venture, but also in terms of employees and stock options. And I'm a really generous person. I'm always like, yeah, let's go, whatever. I just want to go. And I wish I had taken a step back there and like really truly understood what I was doing in that moment. Venture capital is great because generally it's pretty hands off. So I think that that is wonderful. And I think that it gives brands an opportunity to grow really quickly. I think it gives opportunity to the people who are able to raise it.
37:09 Speaker 03 I think a con of venture capital is that so little is given to women. So 4% of venture capital money is given to women. I think it's even less if you take out AI. I think Mira, if you take Mira out, I think it goes down to 2.9%. You know, I think that's a con that there's bias to it.
37:28 Maggie Sellers Reum? What is the best way to raise money or ask for money?
37:32 Speaker 03 To be really prepared about what your worth is, how you're going to create profitability, how you're going to get to scale quickly and what the moat is around your business. I think if you can say that really easily and quickly to people, I think they're going to just see the opportunity and want to invest and not miss the boat. I think if you have any wishy-washiness to your pitch, I think that if you're not clear on how you're going to get to profitability and how quickly you're going to get there, I think that's a big problem. I think that you want to do your diligence. Like, I'll talk to people who are starting businesses because I love to mentor, I love to help people who have a dream of starting a business. And they'll be missing huge chunks of their business plan.
38:14 Speaker 03 They won't have a marketing plan, they won't have any information as to what makes their formulas proprietary, things that, to your point about duping, I'm like, but anybody could do this tomorrow and it would be the same.
38:27 Maggie Sellers Reum? Have you ever turned down an investor that wanted to invest and you just got bad vibes and that was enough for you to not put them on your cap table?
38:35 Speaker 03 No, and I wish that I had. I definitely have investors that, you know, I was just trying, I was a first time founder. I'd never raised money before. I was raising money post those big checks, like D to C was dead when I was raising. And so people were not investing those big dollars like they had been before. For me, I was just kind of not desperate, but like I was trying to get the deal done.
39:08 Maggie Sellers Reum? Take me back to the hardest rejection that you faced raising venture capital because you're going to get rejected, right? Like, people aren't going to understand your vision.
39:16 Speaker 03 I had so many rejections. I don't know what the hardest one was. I remember being rejected so many times that I felt like I was so tired I couldn't walk home at the end of the day. Like, I would get off the subway and I would... Honestly, like I would get off and I can even like picture the street that I had to walk down because I would look down it and I'd be like, I don't even know how I'm gonna get home because I'm so exhausted from having gotten 10 no's or whatever it was in that day.
39:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? What did you do to get home?
39:44 Speaker 03 There was a bodega that had a sparkling water that I really liked and so that would, I would go in and I'd buy the sparkling water and that would be like the, the thing that would get me home.
39:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? You are such an iconic like Estee Lauder Vogue girl. Like you're like, I have a sparkling water bitch. I'd be having like a cocktail Avril spreads. Okay. I think people don't fully realize how important your brand and clean beauty is. In Europe, more than 1,300 ingredients are prohibited. In the US, they have only banned 11.
40:15 Speaker 03 Yep.
40:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? Does that frustrate you or motivate you?
40:18 Speaker 03 You know, I have to admit, I don't think so much about banned ingredients. We have a very extensive list. Let's say we have over 2,000 ingredients that we don't use.
40:27 Maggie Sellers Reum? More than the Europe.
40:29 Speaker 03 Yeah, we, we work with this incredible toxicologist and she, you know, there's a, a lot of ingredients we don't use just because they could irritate your skin. And as somebody who has extremely sensitive skin, extremely acne prone skin, we formulate our products so that the person with the most sensitive skin can use them. We get emails from people saying, I have eczema, I can't wear any makeup and then I discovered, say, and now I can wear makeup again. And so my goal is that our products are formulated for that most sensitive skin type and then anyone can use it and enjoy it. And we formulate it to have incredible finishes and be dewy and gorgeous and create butterflies and all those things. But, you know, we are product developer called it the Olympics of product development,
41:11 Speaker 03 let's say, because it takes so long to develop our products. I was tickled the other day because someone went into Sephora with the Yuka app. Are you familiar with the Yuka app?
41:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
41:21 Speaker 03 And they went.
41:21 Maggie Sellers Reum? Wait, for people that aren't familiar with the Yuka app, can you explain what that is?
41:24 Speaker 03 Okay, so it's an app that I think it was started for food and then it branched into beauty and it gives ratings as to, you know, the ingredients that are in products and if they're gonna irritate your, potentially irritate your skin. And the Yuka app was not created, did not exist to my knowledge when I started Say. So I did not formulate for this purpose, but Say has the highest Yuka rating out of any brand of Sephora. And that's just because we are so committed above and beyond with our ingredients.
41:58 Maggie Sellers Reum? You are definitely not a trend follower. Like you are an innovator, thought leader.
42:03 Speaker 03 Yeah.
42:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? Who have been the expanders in your life? And how important is that to curate, whether it's socially or in person? Like who is expanding your life and not contracting it?
42:15 Speaker 03 Oh, my gosh. I think that's the number one most important thing. I think that I have moments all the time. I had one recently where I was like, I'm not thinking big enough. And that's because I don't have people around me that are showing me how big I can think. And I, someone was asking the other day, they're like, how'd you get started? And I was like, oh, I moved to New York. I didn't know anybody. I got my first job at Lucky. And then I was like, oh, my gosh, remember, I remembered. I had read Lucky every single month for years before I moved to New York. I had no idea. I didn't know a single person in editorial. I had no idea I was gonna get that job. I remember that first month or two that I was there, they're like, we want to photograph you to be a lucky girl. And
42:59 Speaker 03 I was in the pages of Lucky magazine. And it was that aha moment of like, oh, my God, anything is possible. And I think the biggest problem for me and for other people is that you don't know what you don't know. And that's why I give that shout out to Emily Weiss of like, thank you for being that expander to all of us, you know, taking those moments of realizing that maybe you don't have an expander around you in that moment, or you don't have someone to look at. I recently was talking to one of my investors who led this unbelievable, life-changing conference for
43:41 Speaker 03 CEOs, there was only 20 of us. They, the majority of them were companies that are much bigger than mine. And I was like, she was like, what's your goal of this conference? And I was like, my goal is to be around expanders. That's all I want to get from these three days is I just want to be around people that have achieved what I want to achieve and more.
44:02 Maggie Sellers Reum? This is so important to talk about because I think this is the mindset of the consumer to be an expander. Because what essentially you're saying, if I'm breaking it down, is like sharing your life, sharing your success, and the people on the receiving end need to be in the mindset of receiving that expansion, right? But a lot of people look at other people's success, other people's joy, other people's opportunities as like, well, I don't have that. And it almost becomes something that, not that it becomes competition, but it's almost like jealousy. Jealousy. So if someone's sitting in that mindset where they look at people that they could see as an expander and they see jealousy, are there things that they can do to change that mindset?
44:45 Speaker 03 Well, Gabrielle Bernstein says it best. She says that is driftwood. And so anytime you look at something and you're like, why do they have that and I don't have that? That's actually your moment to say, oh, that means it's coming for me. So if I ever feel that like little ping of like, oh, like I wish I had that, I'm like, oh, no, that's just a sign that it's coming. And it completely, it's like a complete 180 to shift your energy.
45:12 Maggie Sellers Reum? How do you curate your feed socially to be consuming content, staying on top of pop culture trends, knowing who the new influencers are, but also allowing you to create more than you're consuming?
45:23 Speaker 03 I recently bought a second phone that I put my social on and I leave that in my office during the week so that I'm not scrolling outside of the office. I think it's a really tough balance when you're a socially first brand because I get so much inspiration from social and I love it too. Like I've always loved social. So I love seeing what people are doing. I love seeing the trends. I love seeing all of it. But when I find myself scrolling too much, like I have to shut it down because I realize that there it's taking away from me being creative in other ways and having those big ideas. Like I have my big ideas usually when I'm on a walk or not when I'm scrolling.
45:59 Maggie Sellers Reum? Would you classify yourself with the word aggressive?
46:03 Speaker 03 Yeah, I would. I think that like when I think about myself in work and it's a, I think a big part of why I feel so comfortable at work is because I get to be my true self there in being, I know what I want, I make fast decisions and you don't really get to do that socially as much. And people, I'd have it be normal.
46:25 Maggie Sellers Reum? I had Harley Finkelstein on the episode, President of Shopify, and he said, being a founder is a personal development journey just disguised as entrepreneurship.
46:33 Speaker 03 Hundred percent.
46:34 Maggie Sellers Reum? And it's interesting because I would also describe myself as very aggressive.
46:38 Speaker 03 Yeah.
46:39 Maggie Sellers Reum? I played sports really competitively. Even the family foundation my husband and I just set up when we got married is like, we're really going to be investing in sports because we believe that that fundamentally leads to entrepreneurship.
46:50 Speaker 03 Yeah.
46:50 Maggie Sellers Reum? All the things you just said, but I think especially in this era that we live in with like, I hate to categorize by generation because I think there are outliers for both millennial and for Gen Z, but I'm interested for someone that grew up in the hustle culture, New York City, like wanting to push each other to be the best that we can be. How do you instill that culture in an 80 person team with, say, while you bring people from a different generation along with you that maybe didn't grow up with that?
47:17 Speaker 03 I mean, I hire very specifically for grit and for resilience and for personality. And there is someone that just joined our team, her name's Kendall, and she emailed the team, she said, I come back from my semester abroad at nine, my flight line lands at 9 a.m. I can be in the office at 10:30. She was an intern. And I was like, this is it. That's, that's like the energy you want.
47:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? Do you think you could identify that in an interview?
47:44 Speaker 03 No, I don't. And we, I'd say we do often a lot of dating before we marry. We'll have someone join part-time, we'll have them join as a consultant before they join full-time, specifically for that reason.
47:57 Maggie Sellers Reum? Now that I have someone in the chair who's built a multi-hundred million dollar brand, do you believe this saying is true that the team that takes you from like zero to five, five to fifteen, fifteen to twenty-five is not the same team that will take you to the next iteration of your business?
48:11 Speaker 03 Yeah, people love to talk about that. And I think that it is pretty narrow-minded. I have lots of people that say Erin, Michael, Sarah, like lots of people, Lauren, who have been at Cali. I have so many people that say who have been there from year one and they have made the conscious decision to grow with the brand and be indispensable. And I think that, you know, that is totally feasible and if not a benefit to the brand because they are part of the soul of the brand. They say is just as much their brand as is mine. I think that there have also been people that didn't grow with the brand and that's okay, too. Maybe they just prefer wanting to be at a smaller company, which
48:56 Speaker 03 I, I, I get that.
48:58 Maggie Sellers Reum? When you have to let go of an employee, do you do it like fire fast? Or what's your mentality for being able to like make these really tough decisions?
49:07 Speaker 03 I have gotten much better at that. And I think when you know, you know, and it's better for everybody. I got the advice once that like if you're unhappy, it probably means they are also. So don't we want everyone to feel good and be happy? And I think you can do anything with kindness. You know, there was somebody who wasn't the right fit anymore for the team and it would have been really easy for me not to have that conversation. And I was like, no, I want to have that conversation. Like, yeah, sure, I could not have it, but is that the right thing to do? Am I going to sleep okay tonight knowing that I didn't have that? And for me, that's always my north star is like. Am I happy with the person that that implies that I am?
49:51 Maggie Sellers Reum? Every now and then, I hear something and my reaction is pure shock. Wait, people aren't already doing this? If you make a rent or a mortgage payment every single month, and there's a way for you to get rewards back for that payment, why would you not be doing that? Our sponsor, Bilt, lets you earn points on rent and mortgage payments to use towards flights, hotels, Lyft rides, and amazon.com purchases. And Bilt also has 45,000 restaurants, fitness studios, pharmacies, and other partners in their network. Maybe I'm oversimplifying this, but I think a lot of being good with money is about simply not ignoring the obvious. You're already making this payment every single month. The only difference is whether something comes back to you in return. As soon as Bilt was explained to me like that,
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52:19 Speaker 02 This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground, or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
52:46 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love having successful moms on the show because this is something I hopefully want to be in the foreseeable future. What would you say to the person listening that's nervous that kids could get in the way of building a brand as big as you have, would say?
53:01 Speaker 03 I think it makes you better. I think that when you are a mom, I think you, again, like the clearer you can get, the better you're going to be at anything. And when you become a mom, you become so clear on what you want. Because if you don't really want it, you're not going to do it. First of all, when you're a mom, your capacity for everything just grows. Your capacity to love grows. Your capacity to empathize grows. Like all of you grows in my mind. You become really good at multitasking on every level. And that, to me, those are all incredible qualities in a leader.
53:35 Maggie Sellers Reum? Did you know that before you started having children and started your business? Or is that something you had to prove to yourself?
53:41 Speaker 03 I don't remember being like super concerned about it. Like I knew that I could do anything. But also I had my mom as an example. You know, she had me and my sister, we traveled the world. Like, I think more about that. I'm like, how did they travel the way they traveled? Like, we were on boats, we were on trains. We were like in the most exotic places in the world. And my parents, my mom didn't blink an eye while having the incredible career she had.
54:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? What is your dynamic like with your husband as someone who's obviously built like such a huge brand?
54:11 Speaker 03 My husband is also an entrepreneur. And for me, that was, has been such a blessing because He had been through everything before. And so not only was he like amazing to all like I asked him something the other day. I was like, hey, has this happened to you before? And like, I want to say like 99% of the time he had experienced it before. So he was like, has been an amazing sounding board in that way. I think he has built a company that also has similar values. So that's been really helpful of like, okay, we both are value driven companies. I think also like, as we were talking about like highs and lows, like I remember a moment that I was just like
54:52 Speaker 03 taken to the ground on, like I was just devastated, heartbroken. And he was like, well, your heart, you feel this way because it's biblical. And you will get through this moment, but like right now, like just feel it. And like, that could not have been, there could not have been a better answer in that moment of like, yeah, it feels like a big deal because it is. And he had experienced it before and knew what a big deal it was. So I don't really remember what we're talking about, but he has been just in a lot of ways my partner. When people say like, oh, you don't have a co-founder, like my husband, I think in a lot of ways has been.
55:34 Maggie Sellers Reum? Do you believe that the most important decision that you will make is who you marry?
55:38 Speaker 03 Yes, I do. A hundred percent. And like, I never wanted to agree with that statement because to me it felt like it was placing just too much power on someone other than me. And as an independent person, I didn't like that concept. But I think that I've just seen so many of my friends and their relationships and the different ways that it can go. And I feel like just, I can, I also feel like I've, I've had moments where I've been like, where would I be if I had been with that ex versus where I am now? And I'm like, oh, my God.
56:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? That's my nightmare. It is my nightmare. How do you own a room? How do you walk into a room and own it? Like, what are the exact things that you're doing?
56:25 Speaker 03 So I have a mantra and it's to be the energy that you want to see in the room. And I developed that mantra because I don't know if you heard about this.
56:37 Speaker 03 Book that was written by, um, I think it was a woman who had had a really bad accident. And she was in the hospital and she couldn't speak and people would enter the room and she could see a light around them. And that light was represented their energy. And it was so impactful for her when somebody would come in a room with really good energy. Versus if someone would come in the room with bad energy and as somebody who was injured and recovering like that energy would completely change. The way that she felt and she wasn't even able to communicate it until after she got better.
57:17 Speaker 03 But I was like, when I read that and I was like, oh, wow, that's how important our energy is. It actually is surrounding all of us. We just can't see it. And I think everybody reacts to that energy, even subconsciously.
57:33 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah, I always say like I, the only reason I'm sitting here is because I attracted what I wanted to get. Like, I'm not the smartest person ever, but because I was happy and energetic, people were like, I want to help this person. You know, you can't help yourself.
57:46 Speaker 03 Yeah.
57:47 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, Leeny, we have to end with some rapid fire because we've been talking for over an hour.
57:50 Speaker 03 Oh, my God.
57:51 Maggie Sellers Reum? What is the last thing you put on your credit card?
57:53 Speaker 03 I put a bottle of water, which is so unlike me. I never leave the house without a reusable water bottle. But I left the house at 4:00 AM this morning to come see you and I forgot my water bottle. So I got a water bottle and I got a banana and it was $23.
58:08 Maggie Sellers Reum? No, it's disgusting how expensive the airport is. I cannot. I was gonna ask, what's the last most expensive thing, but would it be that? I'm kidding. What is the last most expensive thing?
58:17 Speaker 03 I had been looking for a specific watch. I'm not wearing it right now, so I can't see, show it to you, but I've been looking for it for over a year. And it's a vintage Piaget watch that I found, actually a friend of mine found it in London. And, um, I had wired that money within 10 minutes.
58:36 Maggie Sellers Reum? I'm obsessed with that answer.
58:38 Speaker 03 I'll show you a picture.
58:38 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah. Do you collect watches?
58:41 Speaker 03 I love watches. Yeah.
58:42 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, this wasn't on the, this wasn't on the sheet.
58:44 Speaker 03 But let's get into it.
58:46 Maggie Sellers Reum? But let's get into it. You can only pick one for the rest of your life, watches or Birkins?
58:50 Speaker 03 Watches.
58:51 Maggie Sellers Reum? Oh, okay. Okay. That's how serious we're talking.
58:54 Speaker 03 Yes.
58:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? What is your credit card and why?
58:56 Speaker 03 I have an American Express and.
59:02 Speaker 03 I don't know why.
59:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? Good travel. No, I just think because credit cards have become a status symbol and a question I get all the time, hence like doing this for the community.
59:11 Speaker 03 I actually have, I actually have a really good answer to this.
59:14 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, go.
59:14 Speaker 03 I don't even know where my wallet is. Everything is on my phone and I have credit cards on there. Yeah.
59:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? This one's hard. Favorite beauty brand that isn't yours?
59:24 Speaker 03 Oh, my gosh. I have, I mean, I'm a beauty lover. This is a really tough one for me right now. I'm going to say, um, Sophie Povet. I, her skincare is made for acne prone, sensitive girlies like me, and I use her entire routine. I love it.
59:38 Maggie Sellers Reum? You can only leave the house in one makeup product. What is it?
59:41 Speaker 03 Glowy super gel all over. I put it on the other day. I didn't, I had time to do glowy super gel and brush my brows and I looked sick.
59:50 Maggie Sellers Reum? Love it. Okay. You can only pick one. A good blowout or a facial?
59:54 Speaker 03 Blowout.
59:55 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love how fast your answers are.
59:58 Speaker 03 Oh, yeah. I'm super decisive.
1:00:00 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay.
1:00:00 Speaker 03 Someone said that to me today. They're like, they're like, wow, you make decisions really quickly. And I was like, I have made 10 decisions and already learned from my mistakes from them.
1:00:09 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
1:00:09 Speaker 03 Before you've made one.
1:00:10 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah.
1:00:13 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay. Gua sha or lymphatic drainage massage?
1:00:16 Speaker 03 Lymphatic drainage. Love. Yeah. I kind of stopped doing gua sha and I, I regret it, but I, I have abandoned my gua sha routine. I used to be really diligent. I used to do it on, during meetings. I stopped doing it, but I love, love, love a lymphatic massage.
1:00:32 Maggie Sellers Reum? How often?
1:00:32 Speaker 03 I wish I could get one tonight.
1:00:34 Maggie Sellers Reum? I have a good girl.
1:00:35 Speaker 03 Yeah. Can I see her?
1:00:36 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah, I can text her for you. She's actually amazing. Um, people don't want to see my face that are gua sha, I gotta say. Like, I have a really round face that is, it's not a, it's not a vibe. Okay. I have a really toxic brain, which I feel like you don't. Do you have a really positive brain?
1:00:53 Speaker 03 No, I'm, I'm a glass half empty person.
1:00:55 Maggie Sellers Reum? Yeah. Okay. So same. And I will tell myself things like, people hate me. People don't want to see me succeed. So every single day I do these HSR love notes.
1:01:03 Speaker 03 Okay.
1:01:04 Maggie Sellers Reum? It's almost like an affirmation, but I just wanted to brand it myself.
1:01:07 Speaker 03 I love it.
1:01:07 Maggie Sellers Reum? Um, if you could only say one HSR love note for the rest of your life, to yourself to get through anything, what would it be?
1:01:15 Speaker 03 I mean, the first thing that came into my mind was you can do anything.
1:01:19 Speaker 03 Yeah. I say it to my kids all the time, too. You guys can do anything. You just have to work really hard.
1:01:26 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that. Did your parents tell you that?
1:01:28 Speaker 03 They didn't tell me that, but they 100% instilled that in me. I feel like my dad, I was thinking about this the other day. I feel like my dad raised me and my sister like boys, not on purpose, but I think he just treated us like boys in the sense of like, it didn't really occur to us that things weren't available or on the table or on the menu for us.
1:01:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? And if you could title this season of your life, what would it be called?
1:01:58 Speaker 03 Oh, I think it's my favorite. Yeah, I'm having the time of my life. I'm so happy. Yeah.
1:02:06 Speaker 03 My kids are the best. My business is the best. My friends are amazing. I live in this incredible place. I love everyone I work with. Life is good.
1:02:15 Maggie Sellers Reum? I love that. We need more people to share that. Laney Crowell?
1:02:18 Speaker 03 Yes.
1:02:20 Maggie Sellers Reum? Where can people find you and how can Age is Our help you right now?
1:02:24 Speaker 03 So, well, I mean, I would love for everyone to try Say. My favorite thing about Say is that when people use it, they text me or DM me and they go, my entire makeup bag is now Say. Like, once you discover our formulas, you just can't stop. And I want everyone to have products that make their skin feel their best and even get better.
1:02:44 Maggie Sellers Reum? Where can people find you?
1:02:45 Speaker 03 Oh, my gosh, Sephora. We're exclusive at Sephora nationwide. In Canada, your sister can get us there, too. Sephora.com and SayHello.com. Yeah.
1:02:54 Maggie Sellers Reum? You know, I know you're such a founder. It didn't even cross your mind to be like, at Laney Crowell on Instagram. People are like, at Maggie Sellers Dream on Instagram. You're like, go to Sephora and buy my product.
1:03:04 Speaker 03 Well, you'll tag me at Laney in this content.
1:03:06 Maggie Sellers Reum? Of course. Thank you so much for coming on Hot Smart Rich. We absolutely love you and I can't wait for everyone to hear your story.
1:03:12 Speaker 03 I feel like we were like just getting in our groove. Like, is it really over?
1:03:16 Maggie Sellers Reum? Okay, part two.
1:03:17 Speaker 03 I was, I was, you know, I just landed. It took me a second, but like, now we're in it.
1:03:22 Maggie Sellers Reum? You smashed it. You'll be back for part two.
1:03:23 Speaker 03 Okay, great. In, done.
1:03:35 Maggie Sellers Reum? If you're starting a business, there are certain things that are so fun to think about. Y'all know I love a mood board, so everything that relates to the creative, the name, the brand, the website, the vision board. But then there are the things that make you pause and ask, "Am I even doing this correctly, or do I even want to be doing this?" Like forming your business, getting the right documents, keeping your personal information private. This is where our sponsor, Northwest Registered Agent, is so helpful. They're a one-stop shop for founders who want to launch and legitimize their business without turning it into a giant admin spiral. They help you form an LLC or a corporation, act as your registered agent, and give you tools like a business address, operating agreement, website, phone number, professional email, and free guides.
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1:05:09 Speaker 04 Whenever fall comes back around, it always feels like a fresh start. This year, I've been layering in some styles from the new Lululemon Fall Drop because the weather is shifting and I find I have to be ready for the entire day and not just one part of it. Lululemon's Fall line has some really versatile transitional pieces, so I can just wake up, throw on a matching set, add a jacket or a fleece, and head out, knowing that I'll feel comfortable enough to go wherever the day takes me. Check out the new fall arrivals in store and online now at lululemon.com.
Previous Women's Health Expert: Doctors Told Women This Was Normal (They Were Wrong!) with Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi Next Morgan Riddle: Never Let A Man Pay For Your Lifestyle! The $1M Exit Strategy That Bought Back My Freedom Page updated October 30, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated