Celine Ivari is a scientist and the founder of Wholyme, a self-care brand built around intention, prevention, and long-term well-being. Inspired by watching her mother navigate a chronic autoimmune condition, Celine developed the formula that would eventually become Wholyme’s Relief Balm, and began a journey that took her from human biology and genetics to entrepreneurship.

Celine joins Julia to get honest about what it actually takes to build a consumer brand from the ground up. She shares the persistence that helped her break into major retailers, the behind-the-scenes realities of manufacturing and compliance, why she refused to compromise on her formulations, and how listening closely to customers shaped Wholyme’s growth.

They also dig into the more personal side of entrepreneurship: separating your identity from the role you’ve always played, becoming comfortable as the face of your company, taking leaps before you feel ready, and dealing with the constant temptation to compare your progress to everyone else’s.

Celine also shares the perspective that helps her when the finish line feels impossibly far away: sometimes you have to stop looking at how far you still have to go and recognize just how far you’ve already come.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about persistence, self-care, fear, ambition, and building something you truly believe in.

You can find Wholyme at https://wholyme.com, on Instagram @wholyme_official, on TikTok @wholyme, and on LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/wholyme. Follow Celine on Instagram @celine_ivari and connect on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/celine-ivari-077278b2

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What does it actually take to build a brand that shapes culture? And how do you know when it’s time to leave something successful to build what’s next?

Kyle Bryan is the founder of Function Global, a strategic partnership agency connecting the corporate and creative worlds across fashion, luxury, entertainment, and culture. Before launching Function Global, Kyle spent a decade as Brand Director at LaQuan Smith, helping transform the label into a globally recognized luxury brand through strategic partnerships, celebrity relationships, runway productions, and collaborations.

In this episode of If I’m Honest, Kyle joins Julia Landauer for a candid conversation about breaking into the notoriously exclusive fashion industry, becoming an encyclopedia of your craft, and why genuine relationships can be one of the most powerful tools in building a career. Kyle shares the strategy behind creating a luxury ecosystem around LaQuan Smith, the importance of identifying the “white space” everyone else is missing, and what years of high-pressure wins, setbacks, and pivots taught them about resilience.

Kyle also opens up about stepping away after a decade to launch Function Global, building a company in stealth mode, and why their focus now is simple: do good business, create meaningful partnerships, and build work that can actually shift culture.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about ambition, intentionality, relationships, reinvention, and doing the work so that when your next chapter arrives, you’re ready for it.

You can find Function Global at https://function-global.com and on Instagram at @function.global. You can follow Kyle on Instagram at @kyleabryan.

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What does it take to build a new American luxury automotive brand in an industry defined by more than a century of heritage?

Kristie D’Ambrosio-Correll is the co-founder and CEO of Dacora, an American luxury automotive house combining coach-built craftsmanship, deeply personalized design, and AI-native technology. Before Dacora, Kristie served as CTO of Mirror, helping scale the company through its $500 million acquisition by Lululemon. Now, she’s applying those lessons to an entirely different kind of challenge: building a car company from the ground up.

In this episode of If I’m Honest, Julia and Kristie talk about the childhood experiences that sparked her love of building, learning to trust her own creative instincts, and why putting your vision into the world can feel more like risking rejection than risking failure.

Kristie also shares what Mirror taught her about growth and profitability, why Dacora is taking a more patient approach to building a company, what it means to “hustle softer,” and how she thinks about creating a luxury brand without 100 years of heritage behind it. They dig into designing cars for a wider range of people (not just the 95th-percentile male) the role of AI in creating a more human driving experience, and what it’s really like to build a company alongside your spouse.

Most importantly, Kristie offers a different way to think about success: celebrate the milestones along the way, accept that the story will be messier than it looks from the outside, and don’t stop writing it just because things get hard.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about creativity, conviction, partnership, resilience, and building the thing you’d regret never trying.

Learn more about Dacora at https://www.dacora.com and @dacoramotors on Instagram.

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What happens when you spot a gap in an industry and decide to build the thing you wish existed?

Marissa Hill is the executive producer of Shade Studios and host of ShadeTV, the #1 female-led channel covering sneaker style and entertainment on YouTube and Snapchat. What started as a passion for sneakers grew into a media platform, production company, brand partnerships, and opportunities across film, fashion, and entertainment.

In this episode of If I’m Honest, Marissa gets candid about starting her YouTube channel during COVID, breaking into the male-dominated sneaker space, and learning how to turn great content into a sustainable business. She shares why she invested in high-quality production early, how listening to her community shaped the channel, and how creating evergreen, searchable content helped her build an audience beyond viral moments.

We also dig into the business behind being a creator: pitching brands before you have a massive following, building long-term partnerships, finding the right people to contact, handling rejection, and staying top of mind when the timing isn’t right. Marissa also shares how her experiences as an NCAA athlete, model, actress, and film critic helped her develop the resilience to keep going when the answer is no.

Plus, we talk about what she’s building next with the Dynasty Sports Film Festival and why sports stories have the power to inspire people far beyond the field.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about finding your niche, betting on yourself, building relationships, and creating opportunities instead of waiting for them to find you.

Follow Marissa at https://shadestudios.com, https://www.youtube.com/@ShadeTV247, snapchat.com/add/shadetv247, x.com/ShadeTV, instagram.com/shadetv247, instagram.com/marissaehill, tiktok.com/@shadetv247.

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What if the opportunity that changes your life is one email away?

Carly Valancy is a founder, artist, writer, and self-described connection obsessive who has built her career around a simple idea: life really is about who you know...but you have far more agency over who you know than you might think.

After moving to New York City to pursue musical theater, Carly challenged herself to reach out to one person every day for 100 days. That experiment helped her find an agent, book a national tour, connect with people she admired, and ultimately build the foundation for the work she does today.

In this episode of If I’m Honest, Carly and Julia talk about overcoming the fear of reaching out, why we often reject ourselves before anyone else gets the chance, and how curiosity can create opportunities you never could have planned for.

Carly also gets candid about the business behind her ideas; from burning out on an early version of Reach Out Party to rebuilding it with better systems, hiring for the skills she doesn’t have, developing Tether, and creating Anti Networking events designed around depth instead of collecting contacts.

They also dig into patience, entrepreneurship, authenticity, motherhood, and why Carly believes her theater education became one of her greatest advantages as a founder.

If you’ve ever thought, “Who am I to reach out to them?” this conversation might make you send the message anyway.

You can find Carly on social media at @carlyvalancy, visit her site https://carlyvalancy.com, and read her Substack https://carlyvalancy.substack.com.

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What do a corporate communications executive, a DJ, an Emmy-winning TV producer, a comedian, and a startup founder all have in common?

After five incredible conversations, Julia Landauer steps behind the mic for a solo episode to unpack the themes that kept surfacing across every guest's journey. Despite their wildly different careers, each guest revealed remarkably similar lessons about ambition, resilience, relationships, and creating a meaningful life.

In this episode, Julia shares the five biggest takeaways she's learned so far this season, including:
* Why building a career is never linear and why reinvention is part of the process.
* Why the people who succeed don't wait for permission to get started.
* How authentic relationships become the greatest career accelerators.
* Why personal growth often comes before professional success.
* How embracing discomfort leads to confidence, resilience, and long-term fulfillment.

Julia also gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce the podcast while balancing a full-time career, reflects on the moments that have challenged and inspired her, and shares why she feels more energized (and more humbled) than ever.

If you're navigating a career transition, building something new, or simply looking for encouragement to take the next step, this episode is a reminder that you're never too old, it's never too late, and action creates clarity.

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AI is changing the way we work, but who is shaping its future?

This week, Julia sits down with Valerie Chapman, co-founder and CEO of Ruth AI, a platform using AI to help close the gender wage gap through personal branding, salary negotiation, and career advancement.

After being laid off twice before turning 25, Valerie decided to stop waiting for opportunity and start building it herself. She shares how her unconventional path, from fashion modeling to social media strategy to startup founder, prepared her to launch a company tackling one of the biggest challenges facing women in the workplace today.

Julia and Valerie discuss why women are adopting AI more slowly than men, what that could mean for the future of work, and why learning to use AI (even if you're skeptical) is becoming an essential career skill. They also dive into building a startup in stealth mode, creating community through women-focused AI hackathons, developing a personal brand that lasts, and the resilience required to keep showing up after rejection.

Whether you're curious about AI, building your own business, or looking for practical ways to stay ahead in your career, this conversation offers an honest look at what it takes to create meaningful change while building something from the ground up.

In this episode, you'll hear:


• Why Valerie believes women can't afford to sit out the AI revolution
• How two layoffs became the catalyst for founding Ruth AI
• The surprising career lessons she learned as a fashion model
• What "vibe coding" is and why it's opening doors for more founders
• Why personal branding is becoming more important in the age of AI
• How community-building has been central to growing Ruth AI
• The mindset shifts that help founders navigate constant uncertainty and rejection

You can find Valerie at https://valeriechapman.com, follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok @valeriechapman, and check out Ruth AI at https://ruthapp.ai.

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Former stand-up comedian, writer, podcaster, and creator of the wildly popular @NYTVows, Selena Coppock has built a career by creating opportunities instead of waiting for them.

In this honest conversation, Selena shares how a career in comedy evolved into writing, podcasting, consulting for television, and building an online community — all while keeping a full-time job that gave her the freedom to create without burning out.

Julia and Selena dive into the realities of creative careers, the importance of genuine relationships, and why success often comes from unexpected places. Selena also reflects on stepping away from stand-up, the lessons that came from projects that didn't go as planned, and how humor continues to shape the way she approaches life.

If you've ever questioned whether you're on the "right" path, this episode is a reminder that meaningful careers are rarely linear. And that making your own opportunities can be the most rewarding move of all.

In this episode, you'll hear about:
* Why keeping a day job actually fueled Selena's creativity
* Building a career through relationships instead of gatekeepers
* The story behind the viral @NYTVows account
* How setbacks led to some of her biggest opportunities
* Why she chose to step away from stand-up comedy
* The creative process behind writing, podcasting, and comedy
* Finding success on your own terms instead of someone else's

Whether you're building a business, pursuing a creative passion, or simply figuring out what's next, this conversation is full of practical wisdom, humor, and perspective.

Find Selena at https://www.selena-coppock.com, @selenacoppock and @nytvows on Instagram, and listen to her special Seen Better Days: https://www.iheart.com/artist/selena-coppock-40239964/albums/seen-better-days-213578456.

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