F5 Collective Presents Women in Business

About F5 Collective Presents Women in Business

F5 Collective Presents Women in Business features stories of and insights from female founders, their allies, and other underserved/overlooked founder communities to inspire and encourage up-and-coming likeminded entrepreneurs. The content we create is meant to empower by sharing information gained through hands-on (and hard won) personal experience, to support by seeing "You are not alone," and to serve as a trusted "go-to" resource for all those overlooked business risk-takers just starting out, in the midst of, and seeking rejuvenation on their entrepreneurial journey.

Publisher

Linda Morris

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Mar 2026

Latest episode

30 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Sept 2026

   She Chased an Investor Through the Rain to Build Her Mezcal Brand | Alexa Herrera, Entre Nōs

   Alexa Herrera was a 19-year-old Parsons student with a two-point-something GPA and a thought she couldn't shake: she wanted to build an alcohol brand. What she didn't have was money, connections, or a bottle. What she did have was nerve — enough to chase a stranger in a suit across a flooded SoHo street in the rain and ask, "Have you ever thought about mezcal?" That stranger became her angel investor. Today, Entre Nōs Mezcal is artisanal, 100% agave, made in the mountains of Oaxaca in partnership with Maestro Héctor Gómez's family — and it's on the shelves at Total Wine. In this episode, Alexa shares: ✨ Chasing an investor through the rain — and landing him ✨ How "let's keep it between us" became the brand name ✨ Building a luxury mezcal brand at 19 with no connections ✨ Being two young women in a room full of 65-year-old men ✨ Partnering with a family that's made mezcal for 100+ years ✨ Six months of rejection before getting into Total Wine ✨ Why she's turning down the easy acquisition payday ✨ Building a business entirely on relationships ✨ The five-year "overnight success" ✨ Slowing down on purpose — the ducks that stopped her ✨ How she handles the days she wants to quit Whether you're building your first brand or protecting the one you've got, Alexa's story is a reminder that the people who win aren't always the most prepared — sometimes they're just the ones willing to be the freak who taps the investor on the shoulder. About Alexa Herrera: Alexa Herrera is the co-founder of Entre Nōs Mezcal, an artisanal, 100% agave mezcal brand crafted in the mountains of Oaxaca. Born in Mexico and raised in San Diego, she studied at Parsons School of Design before pursuing a master's in entrepreneurship and innovation at USC. She built Entre Nōs around culture, storytelling, and community — and is now developing a second venture. 🥃 Learn more at https://www.entrenosmezcal.com/ (https://www.entrenosmezcal.com/) The growth engine for women who mean business. http://www.f5collective.com (http://www.f5collective.com) 0:00 Cold Open: "Have You Ever Thought About Mezcal?" 0:24 Meet Alexa Herrera & Entre Nōs 1:41 From Mexico to San Diego 3:03 Parsons, Gossip Girl & a 2.0 GPA 5:09 Business School Inside a Fashion School 10:53 The Idea: Mezcal in New York 13:07 Mezcal vs. Tequila 17:09 "At Ten, I Told My Mom I'd Have an Alcohol Brand" 19:03 "Let's Keep the Name Between Us" 21:39 Chasing the Investor Through the Rain 25:17 The Angel Investor Says Yes 26:45 First Trip to Oaxaca 28:19 Meeting the Mezcalero: "My Dream Is Your Dream Too" 32:37 Partnering With a 100-Year Family Business 35:42 Two Girls in a 65-Year-Old Man's Industry 38:39 Permits, Bottles & Learning Who to Trust 40:32 Coming Home & Getting Into USC 46:49 The Second Brand: Perfect Day 50:16 Six Months of Rejection, Then Total Wine 52:24 The Days She Wants to Quit (and the Ducks) 55:55 Who Actually Drinks Mezcal? Marketing & Audience 1:00:31 Turning Down the Acquisition 1:04:31 Three Things She Wishes She Knew 1:05:43 Founder Deep Dive: $500K, Funding & the "Overnight" Myth 1:12:08 Rapid Five

2. 

   23 Sept 2026

   She Quit Lucasfilm at 22 to Go Out on Her Own | Melanie Paykos, Incubrand Studios

   Melanie Paykos quit her job at Lucasfilm at 22 to start her own design firm. Her reasoning at the time: "Sure. Why not? What could possibly happen?" She and her partner then won the Return of the Jedi marketing poster, competing against all the big studios. Melanie shares: ✨ Quitting Lucasfilm at 22 — and winning the poster anyway ✨ Why Star Wars had no style guide, and what it took to build one ✨ The real difference between a business and a brand ✨ Inking characters for licensees: lunch boxes, bedsheets, size relationship charts ✨ Selling Melanie Paykos Design — and why staying on felt humbling ✨ Building Creative Branding Group and Incubrand Studios with Brooks Branch ✨ The Maltese Falcon, the Casablanca piano, and 13 years of TCM auctions ✨ Why a creative director is really an air traffic controller ✨ Withholding a deadline on purpose to get the juices flowing first ✨ You will not get good work from someone who feels scared or stupid ✨ Manager vs. leader: the difference is the overview ✨ Teaching at Otis — terrifying, and where she found her first employees ✨ Bringing a brand into Roblox, where daily audiences beat the Super Bowl ✨ Where AI actually helps a creative, and where it flatly does not ✨ Her startup advice: build your processes before you open the door If you have ever left something stable without a plan, or wondered what separates a brand from a business, Melanie's run from Star Wars style guides to Sleep Club is a masterclass in starting before you are ready. About Melanie Paykos: Melanie Paykos is Founder and Creative Director: Brand at Incubrand Studios and a partner in Creative Branding Group. An award-winning creative director, she has developed brands and campaigns for some of the largest franchises in entertainment and consumer products, from Lucasfilm and Paramount to Turner Classic Movies. She founded and later sold Melanie Paykos Design, has taught and mentored designers since early in her career, and today builds and partners on proprietary brands including Sleep Club. Learn more at https://www.incubrandstudios.com/ (https://www.incubrandstudios.com/) The growth engine for women who mean business. http://www.f5collective.com (http://www.f5collective.com) 0:00 Cold Open: What Could Possibly Happen? 0:28 Welcome to F5 Collective Presents Women in Business 1:06 Erie, Pennsylvania and Knowing at Six 2:46 Selling Portraits in High School 4:07 Bauhaus, Swiss Design, and the Penn Publications Job 5:28 The Empire Strikes Back and the Lucasfilm Archives 7:13 Star Wars Had No Style Guide 7:53 She Drew, I Inked: Building the Character Library 9:55 What Intellectual Property Actually Means 11:35 Why You Feel It When a Brand Deviates 12:45 Leaving Lucasfilm at 22 to Chase the Jedi Poster 14:01 I Never Had Any Fear About Being on My Own 15:06 What Makes Branding and Licensing So Addictive 15:50 Business vs. Brand: The Real Difference 18:48 Meeting Brooks Branch and The Addams Family 19:44 Creative Branding Group vs. Melanie Paykos Design 21:02 Selling the Company and Building Incubrand 24:52 13 Years of Turner Classic Movies Auctions 26:05 Bonhams, The Maltese Falcon, and the Opening Bid 29:51 The Creative Director as Air Traffic Controller 33:18 Mentoring: Teaching at Otis Was Terrifying 36:19 Nobody Does Good Work When They're Scared 39:45 What's Next: Bringing a Brand into Roblox 41:27 Where AI Helps and Where You Lose Your Voice 46:14 Sleep Club, Jeff Bridges, and Cozy Earth

3. 

   18 Sept 2026

   From Doctor to $1B Founder: How Iman Abuzeid Flipped Healthcare Hiring | F5 Collective

   Iman Abuzeid raised $100 million for a company now valued at over a billion dollars — and she is refreshingly blunt about how. She did not pitch everyone. She named the bias out loud, then treated it as a filter instead of a wall: she would only take meetings with investors who had already written checks to women or minority founders. A medical doctor who finished med school in a family of surgeons and then walked away from practicing, Iman co-founded Incredible Health after noticing both sides of healthcare hiring were complaining at the same time. Hospitals could not staff. Qualified nurses applied to ten places and never heard back. So she flipped the model: employers apply to the workers. In this episode, Iman shares: ✨ Why she only pitched investors who had already backed women and minorities ✨ Flipping the hiring model so employers apply to the workers, not the other way around ✨ Finishing medical school and realizing she did not want to practice ✨ Why a small team plus software is the epitome of what you can do with a career ✨ Staying in California for the first two years before expanding nationally ✨ Building AI voice agents Lyn and Gale, and a future where every worker has an agent ✨ Hiring for values, because you cannot teach values after someone joins ✨ Why resilience needs systems: founder friend groups, an executive coach, no-work Saturdays ✨ Saying no to every industry outside healthcare ✨ What she wishes she knew younger: the world is malleable If you are raising, hiring, or trying to build something durable without burning out, this one is full of specifics you can actually use. About Iman Abuzeid: Iman Abuzeid, M.D., is the co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health, an AI-native healthcare career marketplace connecting 1.5 million U.S. healthcare professionals with more than 1,500 healthcare employers. Born in Saudi Arabia to a Sudanese family and partly raised in the UK, she immigrated to the U.S. at 24. She holds an M.D. and an MBA from The Wharton School, and was named to the TIME100 Next list in 2024. Learn more at https://www.incrediblehealth.com/ (https://www.incrediblehealth.com/) The growth engine for women who mean business. http://www.f5collective.com (http://www.f5collective.com) 0:00 Cold Open: "That's Taken Years" 0:44 Welcome to F5 Collective Presents Women in Business 1:38 From Sudan to San Francisco 2:08 Why Entrepreneurship Is the Epitome of a Career 2:44 Both Sides Were Complaining: The Origin Story 3:29 Healthcare's Labor Shortage, by the Numbers 3:55 "Post a Job and Hope It All Works Out" 4:15 Flipping the Model: Employers Apply to Workers 5:19 Customer Discovery in the Bay Area 6:14 Two Years in California Before Going National 7:22 Meet Lyn: The AI Voice Interview Agent 8:12 Meet Gale: An AI Career Partner 8:47 A World Where Every Worker Has an Agent 9:48 Free Tools and How to Get on the Platform 10:45 1.5 Million Workers, 1,500 Employers 11:16 Why the Answer to Other Industries Is No 11:52 Challenge One: Delivering ROI, Not Just Vision 12:56 Challenge Two: Fundraising and Bias in the System 13:36 "I Was Selective About Who I Pitched" 14:04 What's Next for Incredible Health 14:43 Taking Care of the People Who Take Care of Us 15:24 Business Minute: Hire for Values 16:37 Staying Even-Keeled Through the Roller Coaster 17:37 How Iman Decompresses 18:51 Rapid Five 19:39 "The World Is Malleable" 20:38 Wrap-Up

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings