Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I’m your host, Ruffin, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Alex Taylor, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Perelel, the first OB-GYN-founded vitamin brand for women offering tailored nutrition for each stage of the hormonal journey. Since its inception, Perelel has made an impressive mark, selling over 48 million capsules in the last year and raising $12 million from investors like Willow Growth. Alex, named a Forbes 30 under 30, has a career built with companies like Vogue, L’Oreal, and Google, and is passionate about creating brands that make a meaningful difference.

In this episode, Alex dives into her journey from working with major brands to co-founding Perelel and why they focused on prenatal vitamins. She discusses the complexities of the vitamin industry, including regulation, the importance of transparency, and how Perelel sets itself apart with doctor-led formulations. Alex also shares insights into Perelel's early marketing strategy, their growth despite minimal resources, and key lessons learned in fundraising.

I hope you enjoy!

More on Alex Taylor:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-taylor-18b19b12/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_alextaylor/?hl=en

Website: https://perelelhealth.com/

More on Host Ruffin Mitchener:

https://beacons.ai/ruffin

About Brydge Club:

Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I'm your host, Ruffin, and today I’m thrilled to sit down with Sharon Gillenwater, author of Scaling with Soul and a resilient entrepreneur. Sharon’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary—she raised $3 million in venture capital for her first business before pivoting to bootstrap her second business, Boardroom Insiders, to a $25 million exit. Now a viral voice on TikTok, she demystifies entrepreneurship for a wide audience.

In this episode, we dive into Sharon’s story of navigating venture capital, including her decision to raise funding and the challenges that followed. She shares insights on the venture capital versus bootstrapping paths and offers advice for founders considering both. We also discuss her experience in consulting, building strategic relationships, and selling to large institutions. Finally, Sharon shares key lessons from her M&A journey and tips on managing personal finances while scaling a business.

More on Sharon Gillenwater:

Buy her book: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Soul-Million-Company-Without/dp/1964377013

Website: https://www.sharonkgillenwater.com/

More on Host Ruffin Mitchener:

https://beacons.ai/ruffin

About Brydge Club:

Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.

Welcome to the Brydge Club podcast! I’m your host, Ruffin, and today I’m joined by Erin Levine, Co-Founder and CEO of Hello Divorce, a platform that revolutionizes the divorce process. Hello Divorce combines self-service software and expert services to make divorce less stressful and more affordable. Erin’s 15 years of legal experience have led her to create a service that costs a tenth of the typical divorce and resolves cases in a third of the time.

In this episode, Erin shares her journey to Hello Divorce, insights into the common challenges of divorce, and how the platform supports users through different phases. We also discuss topics like prenuptial agreements, expanding into new states, her experiences raising $6.5 million in venture capital, and her advice on navigating funding and entrepreneurship.

I hope you enjoy it!

More on Erin Levine:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinlevine/

https://hellodivorce.com/

More on Host Ruffin Mitchener:

https://beacons.ai/ruffin

About Brydge Club:

Brydge Club, hosted by Ruffin Mitchener, aims to bridge the $1.7 trillion financing gap for female founders. Every Wednesday, the show features in-depth interviews with industry leaders and innovators, educating and empowering women in venture capital and entrepreneurship. Through insightful discussions, Brydge Club seeks to inspire listeners to break barriers and achieve success in the business world.