Founder Cyndi Ramirez breaks down how she turned Chillhouse from a small New York “third space” into a fast-growing nail brand now carried at Target and Walmart. She shares the early PR and partnership strategy, why franchising didn’t fit, and how press-on nail art became the breakout product during lockdown. Cyndi opens up about a costly Paris expansion, what it taught her about focus, and how she’s mapping a three-year plan to become a legacy nail brand. If you care about brand, margins, and distribution strategy, this is your masterclass.

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Instagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/

More on ChillHouse

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chillhouse/

More on Natalie Holloway:

Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“

Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Nat & Lana compare battle scars from growing to eight and nine figure revenue, then surviving the fallout. They break down fundraising runways, hiring too fast, firing too slow, founder FOMO, short term debt, and why focus wins. You will hear practical frameworks for repeat business, unit economics, delegation timing, IP protection, and geographic expansion. If you are building now, this is the unfiltered playbook of what not to do.

More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Allison Evans and Kelly Love share the origin story of Branch Basics, the non-toxic cleaning brand built on education first. From a personal health crisis and a mentor’s hard-won wisdom, to shutting down a seven-figure business to reformulate transparently, they explain what “clean” should really mean. You will learn how everyday products can add to your body burden, what ingredients to avoid, and practical first steps to detox your home. This is a candid playbook on wellness, product integrity, and scaling a mission-driven brand.

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Instagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/

More on Branch Basics

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branchbasics

Website: https://branchbasics.com

More on Natalie Holloway:

Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/

“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/

“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/

Substack,

“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.com

Book a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHolloway

More on Lana Elie-Meyers:

Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

Natalie and Lana swap their most woo-woo wellness practices and what actually helped. We cover the exact “detox bath” they use when they feel a cold coming on, a vision-board story that led to a real Walmart buyer call, and why co-sleeping won out after years of bedtime battles. We also get into supplements, sound baths, raw-milk debates, and managing anxiety with boundaries and mantras. If you want practical takeaways from crystals to ClassPass, this one is packed.

More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

00:00 Cold open, why we love “woo” in LA
00:43 The detox bath we use when we feel sick
01:51 Tapping, not getting sick, and potato bracelets
04:08 Vision boards that led to real results
05:13 Walmart buyer call after daily journaling
07:26 Where we’re woo in life vs business
08:25 Breastfeeding stance and early newborn choices
09:59 Homeopathy and the kid-vitamin routine
11:07 Sound baths, gongs, and crystals for kids
12:27 Mornings without the phone, sanity restored
15:43 Flight-or-fight, anxiety, and boundaries
17:05 Supplement philosophy, fragrance-free home
19:43 Beef organs, creatine, and feeling toned
21:12 Raw milk hot take and why
22:34 Moderation with kids and real life
23:01 Why we chose co-sleeping and how it works
26:02 Tarot, psychics, and a near-acquisition call
28:51 Starter kit: bath, journaling, sound baths
29:57 Water, filters, and glass debate
31:09 Cotton over synthetics, especially for kids and workouts
34:15 Mantras for time and calm, final hot takes

Founder Loren Castle shares how a health scare pushed her to reinvent the classic chocolate chip cookie with clean ingredients, then turn that recipe into Sweet Loren’s, a national brand. She breaks down the gritty early years, from farmers markets and a toaster oven in Whole Foods demos to scaling factories, packaging, and distribution. We dig into the allergen free pivot, whytaste still wins, pricing and margins, and the leadership moves that unlocked profitable growth. If you are building in CPG, this is a masterclass on product market fit, retail, and team.More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Loren Castle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorenbcastleLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loren-brill-castle/Website: https://sweetlorens.com/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

00:00 Intro, why this story matters
00:40 The diagnosis, mindset shift to health and food
03:18 Learning nutrition, cooking, fixing the cookie
05:07 Iterating hundreds of batches, real feedback
07:50 Quitting the job, contests and early validation
09:26 Farmers market tests, writing the business plan
10:19 Bakery vs CPG, choosing scale and freedom
11:34 Whole Foods buyer meeting, picking cookie dough
14:01 The seven month sprint to launch
15:17 Toaster oven demos, winning customers in store
19:09 Trade shows and factory upgrades to scale
20:37 Publix and Kroger wins, going nationwide
21:23 Customer messages point to allergens
22:24 Allergen free launch, instant top seller
23:43 Packaging, taste first, callouts second
25:03 Selling into different retailers, moms as gatekeepers
27:43 Less sugar line, listening to data and demand
31:27 Pricing, margins, and competing on quality
32:57 From solo grind to profitable, lean team
35:27 Remote systems, hiring only rock stars
36:28 Covid bump, brand awareness and new packaging
38:24 Hiring a president, unlocking founder leverage
40:17 Staying in vision and growth, avoiding burnout
45:00 Final playbook, how to build a lasting food brand

Before you build, pressure-test your idea the smart way. In this episode, we cover validating the problem, sizing the market, unit economics, stress-testing your time and finances, running a minimum-effort MVP, and checking competitors. You will hear practical tactics like using Reddit to find real pain, building a waitlist and pre-selling with Stripe, and plotting a quick competitor map. We wrap with two hot takes, be naive enough to start, and plan enough to execute.

More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

00:00 Intro, why this matters for new founders


00:32 Tip 1, Validate the problem, not the idea


01:16 Signals that the problem is real, emotion and willingness to pay


02:48 Tip 2, Size the market, top-down vs bottoms-up


04:26 Unit economics sense check and payback logic


05:26 Tip 3, Stress-test your time and finances


07:18 Support systems, partners, housing, and tradeoffs 


08:22 Tip 4, Run a minimum-effort test, landing page and list 
09:23 Pre-selling with Stripe, early prototypes, and social proof 
11:18 Start socials early and build with your audience 


12:15 Tip 5, Pressure-check the competition and find your moat 
14:44 Hot takes, be naive enough to start vs plan enough to execute 


15:36 Closing thoughts and next steps

Everyone says passion matters, but is it required to launch a successful business? In this episode we debate passion versus action, share a simple system to spot ideas in your everyday life, and walk through a no-nonsense validation checklist. You will learn how to mine “boring” categories, read Amazon reviews for insights, stress-test market size, and draw the line between stealing and genuine differentiation. We wrap with real idea starters you can take and run with today.

More Hot Takes Big StakesInstagram: www.instagram.com/hottakesbigstakes/TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/More on Natalie Holloway:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/“Bala” Instagram: www.instagram.com/bala/“Balacize” Instagram: www.instagram.com/balacize/Substack,“Working Out in Heels”: natalieholloway.substack.comBook a 1-on-1 Call: intro.co/NatalieHollowayMore on Lana Elie-Meyers:Personal Instagram: www.instagram.com/lanaelie/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a/

00:00 Intro and the passion myth
00:36 The debate begins: passion vs. action
01:37 “If you are waiting for passion, you will never start”
03:28 Want to work for yourself, but no idea yet
04:51 Mine daily frustrations for ideas
05:53 The CVS walk and Amazon review audit
07:44 Where to look for under-innovated categories
10:59 Why working at a startup accelerates you
12:01 Copying, inspiration, and brand differentiation
15:16 How to validate: sit with it, talk to honest friends
16:27 Market size math and right-sized ambitions
20:18 Action over waiting, getting out of your own way
22:34 Rapid-fire idea starters
31:36 Wrap and call to action