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Most women entrepreneurs build a business to solve a problem they found in the market. Sadie Lincoln built one to solve a problem she had been hiding for a decade.

Sadie is the co-founder of Barre3, a mindful fitness company with more than 200 studios and an online platform reaching clients in over 100 countries. On Dear FoundHer with host Lindsay Pinchuk, she finally says out loud what took years to admit. A secret eating disorder, a body she was trying to conquer, and a pregnancy that cracked something open she had not been able to reach before.

What she discovered in her living room in 2008 became the foundation of everything Barre3 stands for. And every major business decision since then, including walking away from a deal that would have made her a household name in fitness, has traced back to that same truth.

Female founders who are scaling a business while trying to stay honest about what it costs will recognize themselves here. Sadie built a community for business the old-fashioned way, face painters at a fountain, free classes above a health food store, relationships that no algorithm can manufacture. She course-corrected when outside pressure pulled her away from her values and called it growing without burnout before that phrase even existed. And the personal brand decision she made, choosing to stay small enough to stay true, is one most founders never have the nerve to make.

Know yourself first. Do the research. Surround yourself only with people who are excellent at what they do and who respect why you are excellent too.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Meet Sadie Lincoln, Co-Founder and CEO of barre3

04:00 How Barre3 Was Built Around Mindful Fitness and Why That Was a Radical Idea in 2008

06:19 The Invisible Truth Behind the Business and What Sadie Finally Said Out Loud

09:27 Why the Hardest Moments in Business Are Often the Seed of What Comes Next

13:56 From Living Room Workouts to a Fitness Company Built to Franchise

17:01 The Grassroots Marketing Strategy That Still Outperforms Social Media

21:47 Why Community Is the Actual Product at Barre3 and How That Drives Sustainable Growth

25:25 What Kept Barre3 Standing While Other Boutique Fitness Brands Fell Apart

28:00 The Deal Sadie Walked Away From and the Financial Hit She Took to Stay True

31:53 The Kitchen Moment That Changed Everything

37:27 What’s Next for barre3

40:21 Three Pieces of Advice for Women Starting a Business

Connect with Sadie Lincoln:

Follow Sadie on Instagram

Connect with Sadie on LinkedIn

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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Odessa Jenkins built a professional women's tackle football league before anyone believed the market existed.

On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Odessa Jenkins, known as OJ, founder and CEO of the Women's National Football Conference. Her story carries a lesson female founders everywhere need to hear. You don't wait for permission to build something new. You describe your vision so clearly the right people see it before a single game is played. That's how OJ won over ten teams and two major sports brands while the league was still an idea on paper.

This is the kind of conversation women in business rarely get to hear. OJ worked a full-time job while selling the league. She convinced her wife to leave a corporate career and build alongside her. Bootstrapping kept the lights on for five years and profit didn't arrive until year three. None of those details show up on a TV broadcast, yet every one of them shaped what the WNFC has become. Sixteen teams, 900 athletes, and a championship game airing live on ESPN2.

Female founders will recognize themselves in OJ's honesty about startup funding, partnership marketing with brands like Adidas, and the unglamorous work behind a bold mission. Her message cuts through the noise. Ready isn't real. Ask for what you need. Stop choosing the hardest path when an easier one exists.

If you're drawn to real founder stories with heart and grit, this episode will stay with you long after you press pause.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Female Founders Who Build Before the Blueprint Exists

03:05 How Odessa Jenkins Started the WNFC

08:26 Getting Adidas and Riddell to Back a League That Didn't Exist Yet

11:13 Bootstrapping, Profit, and the Real Timeline

14:43 How the Public Responded in Year One

22:41 Fan Growth, Streaming Numbers, and National TV

24:53 Flag Football, the Athlete Pipeline, and What's Coming

27:55 Why the Timing Is Right for Women's Sports Right Now

31:17 Championship Weekend at Ford Center

34:28 Three Things Every Woman Starting a Business Needs to Hear

Connect with Odessa Jenkins:

Follow OJ on Instagram

Follow Women's National Football Conference on Instagram

Submit your most pressing business questions for our Q+A Substack on Thursday: https://form.jotform.com/260218655668062

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writing a book is one of the most overlooked thought leadership moves a female founder can make, and most people go into it completely unprepared.

On this episode of Dear FoundHer, Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Ruthie Ackerman, author of The Mother Code and founder of Ignite Writers Collective, about what it actually takes to write and publish a book. Ruthie spent years as a journalist and deputy editor at Forbes Women before losing her job, starting a business, and landing a Random House book deal. Now she helps women in business find their voice on the page, and she's honest about how hard the process is.

The publishing world has a glamour problem. Most people picture the finished book, not the 90-page proposal, the years of revision, or the media outreach that a publisher will not do for you. Ruthie lays out what female founders need to know before they commit, including how to choose the right publishing path, what a real publicity strategy looks like, and why treating your book like a business launch is the only approach that works.

For anyone building a personal brand and wondering whether a book belongs in that plan, Ruthie also speaks directly to the PR for small business reality. Getting press, landing speaking opportunities, and reaching the right audiences all require the same intentionality you bring to every other part of your business. A book done right is a long-term thought leadership asset, not a project you finish and walk away from.

If your story has been sitting in the back of your mind waiting for the right moment, this episode is worth your time.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Thought Leadership Starts With Your Story

03:51 Ruthie Ackerman's Path From Forbes to Random House

05:59 Getting Laid Off and Launching Ignite Writers Collective

08:21 How Ignite Writers Collective Grew During the Pandemic

10:35 Starting a Book Three Months After Having a Baby

12:08 Five Questions to Ask Before You Write a Book

13:57 Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing vs. Hybrid

15:50 What a 90-Page Book Proposal Actually Looks Like

18:35 Why Authors Have to Be Their Own Marketers

20:07 Three Tips for Making Time to Write

22:08 What Not to Do When Writing a Book

24:10 How to Find a Literary Agent

26:41 All the Hats You Have to Wear as an Author

28:55 How Ignite Studios Supports Authors End-to-End

32:11 Ruthie's Three Actionable Steps for Aspiring Authors

Connect with Ruthie Ackerman:

Follow Ruthie on Instagram

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Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.