Emily Dempsey Builds Community and Financial Confidence

“These are my core values. And then whether or not that eventually gets shared with partners down the road, it's kind of like your own North Star.” What happens when one woman decides to solve her own loneliness—and ends up building a 70,000-member community? In this episode of Startups in Stilettos, hosts Carlyn Bushman and Ingrid Zapata-Read sit down with Emily Dempsey, founder of The Brickell Babes, one of South Florida’s fastest-growing women’s communities. What began as a simple happy hour for women looking to make friends quickly evolved into a powerful networking ecosystem hosting more than 200 events and attracting tens of thousands of members. Emily shares how she turned an organic community into a thriving business after receiving up to 60 partnership requests a week—and the systems, strategy, and mindset shifts required to scale. The conversation dives into the realities of building a modern community brand: balancing personal branding with a growing platform, managing multiple digital spaces like Facebook and WhatsApp, and building a support team that keeps engagement high without burning out. What We Talked About: A Change of Scenery [3:17] Using Your Own Backyard [7:14] All About Branding [14:22] Difference in Communities [18:58] What Does Support Look Like [24:00] Connect with Emily:@emilydempsey on InstagramEmily Dempsey On LinkedIn The Brickell Babes Emily’s podcast, Stacked Assets Connect with Carlyn: ⁠⁠ @carlynbushmanconsulting⁠⁠ on Instagram ⁠⁠ Carlyn Bushman⁠⁠ on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠ Carlyn Bushman Consulting⁠ Connect with Ingrid: ⁠⁠ ⁠@itsingridsworld⁠ ⁠⁠on Instagram ⁠⁠ Ingrid Zapata-Read⁠⁠ on⁠ ⁠Linkedin⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Grow With Community⁠⁠⁠⁠ Members of our Entreprenista League get access to live Office Hours with top founders that have been on our show! Join the ⁠Entreprenista League ⁠today! We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey! Get Featured on Startups in Stilettos Want a chance to be featured on Startups in Stilettos? We’re currently accepting applications from our Entreprenista League members to be featured on the show! Think of the Entreprenista League as your team members in what can be a lonely startup founder’s journey. You’ll have access to a private community of like-minded female startup founders who are making an impact in business every day, special discounts on business products and solutions, exclusive content, private events, the opportunity to have your story featured on our ⁠website,⁠ social channels – and, of course, the Startups in Stilettos podcast – and so much MORE! Grow Your Startup with Startups in Stilettos Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Startups in Stilettos, powered by the Entreprenista Podcast Network. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠iHeart Radio⁠⁠ Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more startup founders, like you, and have a chance to win a one-on-one mentor and strategy session with Stephanie Cartin. Join us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Twitter,⁠ ⁠Instagram,⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn.⁠ And for even more exclusive content and information – and to get access to the 8 Secrets to Success in Your Business video course and worksheet – ⁠⁠visit our website⁠.