In this episode of Origins of Influence, host Dina Fierro sits down with Karen Robinovitz—cultural bellwether, serial entrepreneur, and one of the original architects of the influencer economy. As co-founder of Digital Brand Architects (DBA), Karen helped professionalize influencer representation long before it became an industry standard, spotting the value of digital creators before the rest of the world caught on.

Today, Karen is the founder of Sloomoo Institute, a multisensory experience centered on play, joy, and emotional wellness. In this conversation, Karen reflects on the throughline between her ventures—how reinvention has defined her career, why she’s stepped back from social media, and what it looks like to build something tactile, analog, and healing in a hyper-digital age.

We discuss:

• Karen’s evolution from journalist and trend forecaster to co-founding DBA
• The early days of influencer marketing and building infrastructure for creators
• Navigating visibility, advocacy, and polarization as a founder
• Why she stepped back from social media—and what influence means to her now
• The grief that ultimately sparked the creation of Sloomoo Institute
• How Sloomoo blends analog joy with IP building, animation, and new technologies

Recommended by Karen:

• Kennedy Yanko (artist)
• Rachel Youn (artist)
• Marisa Thalberg (CMO, Catalyst Brands)

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

Before Instagram, before brand deals, before influencer was a job title—Yuli Ziv was building the business of digital influence. In this episode, Dina sits down with her longtime friend and fellow fashion blogosphere OG to trace the arc of Yuli’s remarkable career: from founding Style Coalition and shaping the earliest creator-brand partnerships, to exiting post-acquisition and walking away from hustle culture entirely.

Today, Yuli is the founder of Heallist, a growth platform for holistic healers—and she believes we’re entering a new era of influence, one powered by energy, not algorithms. This conversation is a masterclass in reinvention, intuition, and creating on your own terms.

In this episode, we explore:

• Yuli’s early days in the blogosphere and the launch of My It Things
• Building Style Coalition and pioneering data-driven brand campaigns
• Disrupting the fashion industry with community-driven influence
• Burnout, boundaries, and why she chose a two-year career break
• The spiritual practices that led to her founding Heallist
• Her perspective on the “new influencers” and what the creator economy got right—and wrong
• How she’s building a business rooted in balance, not burnout

Explore Heallist here

Follow Heallist on Instagram

Recommended by Yuli:

• @MelRobbins
• @SimoneOliver

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

Photographer, creative director, and cultural documentarian Lougé Delcy—also known as Dapper Lou—joins host Dina Fierro to trace his evolution from early street style pioneer to founder of Dapper Studios and Gallery Lougé.

In this rich, expansive conversation, Lougé shares how his Haitian-American upbringing shaped his perspective, why he stepped away from influencer notoriety, and what he’s learned through deep, immersive work in communities across Africa, Brazil, and beyond.

Together, Dina and Lougé explore:

• His start as a menswear blogger and self-taught photographer on Lookbook.nu and Instagram
• Why he pivoted from personal brand to cultural storyteller
• Launching Dapper Studios and building creative community
• His documentary work in Kenya and Brazil—and why immersion is key to his process
• Navigating visibility, identity, and creative ownership today
• His thoughts on social media, AI, and sustaining creative longevity

This is a story about personal evolution, cultural responsibility, and making art that lasts.

See Lougé Delcy's remarkable Nat Geo doc here

Recommended by Lougé:

• @ChantelWalkes
• @JoeKenneth_

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

In this episode of Origins of Influence, host Dina Fierro sits down with Jess Kirby—former fashion influencer, writer, and founder of the best-selling Substack newsletter A Common Thread. Jess was among the early creators who helped define the blog-to-Instagram era, building a platform rooted in personal style, relatability, and lifestyle storytelling. But over time, she began to question the values and trade-offs inherent in the influencer economy—and made the rare decision to walk away.

In this conversation, Dina and Jess explore what it means to realign your online presence with your offline values, the mental toll of always-on performance, and the boundaries we’re still learning to rebuild in a hyper-digital world. Jess also shares her experience launching Green Bunny, a local cold-pressed juice business in Vermont, and reflects on what it looks like to build something slower, smaller, and more rooted in real life.

We discuss:

• Jess’s transition from corporate consultant to full-time fashion blogger
• The rapid evolution of the blogosphere and early Instagram
• Burnout, boundary erosion, and life after monetization
• Why she defines A Common Thread as an “anti-consumption” newsletter
• The appeal of analog community and building a local business from scratch
• Small steps for redefining your relationship to shopping, attention, and the internet

Recommended by Jess:

• Totally Recommend
• Hmm That's Interesting
• Kate Baer

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

This week on Origins of Influence, Dina sits down with Meghan Donovan—creator of Wit & Whimsy and founder, En Route to Rêverie. Meghan launched her blog in 2006, becoming one of the earliest voices in what would become the burgeoning influencer economy. Nearly two decades later, she’s built a sustainable, multi-revenue stream business rooted in trust, taste, and thoughtful storytelling. From long-form blog posts and Substack newsletters to high-touch travel planning, Meghan has evolved her business while staying true to herself—and her work resonates all the more because of it.

In this conversation, she shares why consistency has mattered more than virality, how prioritizing SEO fundamentally shifted her revenue, and how she draws firm lines around what she shares online (and where). Meghan also breaks down how a flood of DMs during a birthday trip to Paris led to the launch of her boutique travel business, En Route to Rêverie.

We discuss:

• Building long-term influence through consistency, not virality
• Why she still invests in blogging and newsletters in 2025
• How SEO changed the game for affiliate revenue
• The power of overdelivering on brand partnerships
• The boundaries that keep her creative and grounded

Find Meghan on Substack at The Noteworthy Edit and Passport to Réverie

Follow Meghan on Instagram: @meghandono

Recommended by Meghan: @SarahCrawford, @BlairEadie, @KrystalBick,

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

Felicia Walker—digital beauty OG, skincare educator, and founder of Phoebe Skin—joins Origins of Influence to reflect on two decades in the content game. Felicia, found online at ThisThatBeauty, launched her blog in the early 2000s and became a trusted voice in beauty, long before the creator economy had a name.

In this episode, we talk about the early days of the blogosphere, the highs and lows of life as a longtime content creator, and how Felicia's passion for skincare literacy powers everything from her book and brand to her soon-to-launch podcast. We also unpack the realities of inequity in the creator space—and the power of building community, advocating for yourself, and staying grounded in what really matters.

We discuss:

• The scrappy, unfiltered roots of beauty blogging in the early 2000s
• Longevity as a creator: how Felicia has evolved across platforms
• Skin literacy, skincare education, and the story behind Phoebe Skin
• The creator-to-brand-founder journey—and why she pivoted away from DTC
• Equity in the influencer economy: what’s changed, and what hasn’t
• Burnout, boundaries, and advice for the next generation of creators

Follow Felicia on Instagram: @thisthatbeauty

Follow Felicia on TikTok: @thisthatbeauty

Discover Your Glow Guide, Felicia’s interactive skincare workbook, here!

Felicia’s recommended follows: @LaurenNapier, @tomiandrizzy (founder: @blackbeautyclub)

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

Katie Rodgers—formerly known as Paper Fashion—joins Dina for a rich conversation about creative evolution, digital beginnings, and the ongoing dance between art, audience, and authenticity. From posting fashion illustrations on WordPress to collaborating with brands like Coach and Christian Louboutin, Katie was an early pioneer of the art on Instagram movement.

Now based in Santa Fe, she shares how stepping away from social media—and New York City—helped her reconnect with herself and her work. Together, they explore the changing nature of brand partnerships, the artist-gallery dynamic in a post-Instagram world, and why Katie believes fear is often a compass for growth.

In this episode, Katie and Dina discuss:

• Katie’s digital origin story and the rise of Paper Fashion
• Early brand collaborations and navigating partnerships without a playbook
• Why she walked away from New York—and social media
• The tension between commercial work and personal expression
• How artists can use AI as a creative tool (without losing their soul)
• Advice for emerging artists and for marketers working with creatives

Whether you're a founder, marketer, or artist rethinking your next chapter, this conversation will leave you inspired to embrace change—and trust your gut.

Discover Katie's work here

Follow Katie on Instagram: @katierodgers

Recommended by Katie in this episode: Ignasi, Jenny Walton

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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

Before Instagram influencers and TikTok trends, there was Tumblr — and few creators used it more brilliantly than John Jannuzzi. In this episode of Origins of Influence, Dina Fierro is joined by writer and creative director John Jannuzzi to explore the wild, weird, and wonderful internet of the late aughts and early 2010s.

John reflects on his digital beginnings with Textbook, a Tumblr blog that reimagined fictional characters in Fashion Week looks, and To My Wife, the viral romance Tumblr that earned him internet fame, a scathing Jezebel feature, and (almost) a TV deal. He and Dina also revisit the heyday of Fashion Twitter, the genius of the Lucky Style Collective, and the chaotic truth behind the infamous Condé Elevator saga.

Today, John continues to straddle the creative and strategic worlds with his Substack, Browser History, and a varied career that spans creative direction, editorial, graphic design and yes, cookies. This episode is a nostalgic deep dive for anyone who ever reblogged a runway image or live tweeted from the front row.

📸 Instagram: @johnjannuzzi

Recommended by John: Christine McConnell, Collectable Cities

About Origins of Influence

Hosted by longtime fashion and beauty marketer Dina Fierro, Origins of Influence is a limited series exploring the past, present and future of the creator economy through intimate conversations with pioneering influencers, creators and founders. Find show notes and exclusive content on Substack. Subscribe on YouTube and follow Origins of Influence on Instagram and TikTok for clips, full-length episodes, BTS and more.

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