THE IDEALISTS.

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Angela Saini, award-winning science journalist and author. Her latest book “The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule” was published in spring 2023, and is a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. As the founder and chair of the 'Challenging Pseudoscience' group at the Royal Institution, Angela researches and campaigns around issues of misinformation and disinformation....

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, New York Times Bestselling author and Harvard trained neuroanatomist. Jill’s TED talk on the brain has received over 29 million views, and in 2008 Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

What we learned: Jill shows us how to get acquainted with the four characters in our brain so we can observe how they show up in our daily lives....

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Julie Wainwright, founder and former CEO of The RealReal, an online marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment. The RealReal has raised over $350M and Julie is one of 33 women to ever take a company public. In this episode, Julie shares lessons learned from the public failure she endured before founding The RealReal.

 What we learned: Julie shares the billion dollar mindset shift she...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Gail Becker, founder of CAULIPOWER, the first cauliflower crust pizza to make it into big box retailers. In five short years, CAULIPOWER experienced hyper-growth reaching more than $100M in revenue.

What we learned: While bootstrapping her company as a total food novice, Gail spent the first year testing cauliflower crusts until she found the right formula. Using her kids as taste testers,...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Aisha Pandor, co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, Africa’s first online platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning services (think Uber for home cleaners). Aisha is one of Africa’s top female tech startup CEOs to have raised over $20M, as well as, a former scientist who completed her PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town. A story we love about Aisha is while ...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Yael Shemer, co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of TULU, an on-demand platform that operates in residential buildings and student housing, providing residents with access to household items they can rent by the hour. Tulu has raised over $30 million dollars and operates in 22 cities serving 50K people worldwide.

In 2023 she was selected as a Forbes 30 under 30, and today she is inspired...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Monali Pandya, President of Di’Amore Fine Jewelers, a family-owned fine jewelry retailer founded by her father in 1993. Over the last 7 years as president, Monali has increased the brand’s revenue by 400% and sales referral business by 25%.

What we learned: Monali  shares how she manages the intricacies involved in running a family-owned business.

Join the conversation about THE ...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Lisa Miller, market researcher and author of “The Business of Joy” and Barry McGowan, President & CEO of Fogo de Chão (yes, sometimes we have men on the show 😉). In this week’s episode, Barry and Lisa share how joy became Fogo's rally cry during the pandemic… as opposed to competitors who made business decisions from fear and scarcity. This episode is must listen for business ow...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Dr. Brook Bello, tech entrepreneur, clinical counselor, actress, and the co-founder of Eval. Founded with “Call of Duty” co-founder Chance Glasgow, Eval is the first of its kind machine learning-enabled tool designed to support trauma victims, law enforcement and victim advocates. Brook was recently named a Google Next Gen Policy Leader and has spoken alongside presidents like Jimmy Carte...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. speaks with Anu Adasolum, co-founder and CEO of Sabi Am, Africa’s leading provider of digital commerce infrastructure for the distribution of goods and services. Nigeria based Sabi has done over a billion dollars in sales and has raised over $30M making Anu one of the most successful entrepreneurs to come out of Nigeria. 

What we learned: Building her company in a cultural, geographic, and economic c...

In this episode: THE IDEALISTS. host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa, speaks with Dr. Vivienne Ming, theoretical neuroscientist, artificial intelligence expert, and one of BBC's 100 women. Frequently featured for her research and inventions in The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Quartz and the New York Times, Vivienne is the co-founder of Socos Labs-- her fifth company-- an independent institute exploring the fut...

This week, THE IDEALISTS. podcast host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa resists her conversation with world-renowned Biological Anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. As the Chief Science Advisor for Match.com and as one of the foremost researchers in the area of the neuroscience of love, sex, and relationships, Helen has conducted extensive research and written six books on the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, and gend...

In this episode of THE IDEALISTS.: Melissa speaks with Dr. Sian Proctor, who launched into Earth's orbit as pilot of the Crew Dragon with SpaceX. As a geoscientist, artist, poet, and astronaut, not only did she grace the cover of Times Magazine, but she also appeared in “The Colony” on The Discovery Channel, “Genius by Stephen Hawking” on PBS,  “Strange Evidence” on the Science Channel, and “Countdown” on Netflix. During the c...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Allie Egan, the founder of skincare brand Veracity. Rooted in scientific research, one of Veracity’s core beliefs is as your life changes, so does your health, and it’s driven by your hormones. And so Allie is pioneering hormone based wellness through their skin and health hormone test, their skincare products, and their line of supp...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Jessica Zweig is an international award-winning entrepreneur, expert in personal branding, and best-selling author. As the Chief Executive Officer of SimplyBe., Jessica facilitates sold-out workshops and masterminds around the world, and speaks on the power of authentic personal branding to corporations including Google, Blackstone, ...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks with Sarah Wells, a 400m Olympian hurdler who made her debut at the London Olympics in 2012 despite an injury that had her sidelined for nine months just a year before. Most recently you may have seen Sarah pushing her limits on the latest season of The Amazing Race Canada. As an Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medallist, ob...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Martha Beck, a PhD Harvard-trained sociologist, entrepreneur, and Oprah's life coach. Her most recent book, The Way of Integrity, was an instant New York Times Best Seller and in it, using the hero's journey within Dante's Inferno, Martha challenges us to envision a life of complete joy... unencumbered by self-limiting b...

Welcome back to break*through!

break*through is THE IDEALISTS. newest venture where we matchmake visionary women with world-class Executive Coaches.

Today, you get a peek into this process by listening in on Alisa’s session.

In 2015, in the middle of living her best life, 45-year-old, New York-based branding executive and former Armani & Calvin Klein model, Alisa woke up in the hospital after having shattered her fa...

In this week’s all-new episode of THE IDEALISTS., host and entrepreneur, Melissa Kiguwa speaks to Madeline Fraser, 3x serial entrepreneur who in 2021 Business Insider named one of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Under 30 to Watch. Today, Madeline is the founder and CEO of Gemist, a digital platform that allows consumers to customize and try on their jewelry before purchasing it. Gemist has been called the Warby Parker of the jewelry in...