Social Currency with Sammi Cohen

Jennifer Wong started as a Sales Associate at Aritzia… 39-years later, she’s running the company as CEO.

Today, Jennifer joins Sammi to share how she almost left Aritzia for a career in banking, why founder Brian Hill convinced her to stay, and what it was like succeeding him after nearly four decades working alongside him. She explains the philosophy behind Aritzia's "everyday luxury," why the company has continued investing in physical retail while others have pulled back, and the thinking behind some of its most distinctive experiences (think mirrorless fitting rooms and complimentary personal styling appointments).

Jennifer also breaks down how Aritzia navigated tariffs and supply chain disruptions, why timeless design is central to the brand's sustainability strategy, and what she thinks so many direct-to-consumer brands got wrong. Plus, she shares the leadership principles that have helped Aritzia retain employees for decades and why she still visits boutiques every few months.

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Here's What Sammi Covers with Jennifer:

00:00 Jennifer Wong's Social Currency

02:14 How Jennifer Went From Sales Associate to CEO

04:03 The Banking Job She Almost Took

06:08 The Conversation That Changed Her Career

07:22 Saying Yes to Every Opportunity08:41 Aritzia's "40-Year Overnight Success"

10:28 Succeeding Founder Brian Hill as CEO

14:12 Why Aritzia Is Still Betting on Physical Retail

15:35 The Strategy Behind Mirrorless Fitting Rooms

18:17 Inside Aritzia's Styling Experience

20:47 Defining "Everyday Luxury"

21:09 How Aritzia Built a Multi-Generational Brand

23:33 Designing Clothes That Feel Timeless

25:27 Why Aritzia Creates Its Own Brands

27:14 Jennifer's Take on Sustainable Fashion

29:25 How Aritzia Prepared for the Tariffs

31:00 The Supply Chain Pivot That Happened in One Month

33:28 Why Aritzia Keeps Menswear Separate

35:01 The Secret to 39 Years of Employee Retention

37:04 What Jennifer Looks for When Hiring

39:25 The Future of Fred Segal

42:44 Jennifer's Leadership System

43:40 Why She Visits Every Boutique

44:44 What Aritzia Thinks Other Retailers Get Wrong

45:41 Why Brand Has Always Come First

47:48 Never Losing Sight of the Customer

49:08 What's Missing From Most In-Store Shopping Experiences
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What started as Laney Crowell's passion for magazines, beauty, and storytelling became Saie Beauty, one of the fastest-growing clean beauty brands in the world and a standout success story at Sephora.

In this episode, Laney joins Sammi to share how she went from working in editorial and at Estée Lauder to raising her first million dollars with no fundraising experience, launching Saie just months before the pandemic, and turning an early rejection from Sephora into a nationwide launch. She explains why she wanted Saie to be a top 10 Sephora brand from day one and the tactical fundraising lessons she wishes every founder knew.

Plus, she opens up about the realities of leading a fast-growing company, the trade-offs of building her dream business while raising two children, and what still keeps her up at night as CEO.

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Here's What Sammi Covers with Laney:

00:00 Laney Crowell's Social Currency

02:00 Feeling Like She Was Meant to Be a Founder

06:34 Why Resilience Is a Founder's Greatest Skill

08:00 Storytelling as a Competitive Advantage

12:51 Fundraising Without Any Experience

14:21 The Power of "Expanders"

16:21 Raising Her First $1 Million

17:23 Why Every "No" Gets You Closer to a "Yes"

18:30 Perfecting the Pitch One Meeting at a Time

19:47 Building Saie to Be a Top Sephora Brand

21:03 Why Investors Bet on Founders, Not Ideas

23:52 Sephora's First Rejection

26:22 The Call That Changed Everything

28:18 Launching Through COVID

29:24 Building a Beauty Brand During a Downturn

31:21 The Three Most Important Early Hires

34:37 How Laney Hires Great People

36:13 Why Sustainability Has to Be Built Into the Business

41:16 What Actually Brings Customers to Saie

42:07 Staying Focused in a Crowded Industry

43:39 What Keeps Laney Up at Night

45:46 Why Community Is Beauty's Most Misused Buzzword

47:33 Creating Value Beyond the Product

48:28 Why Founder-Led Content Matters More Than Ever

49:45 The Trade-Offs of Building a Dream Company

51:05 Laney's Biggest Pinch-Me Moment

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From the FIRE movement, to the rent versus buy debate and financial fibs, today Sammi is tackling the biggest money questions of the moment with Haley Sacks.

Haley Sacks (Mrs. Dow Jones) has become one of the most influential voices in financial education, building a media empire around the idea that the secrets to wealth should be available to everyone. Haley joins Sammi to discuss the psychology behind our earliest money beliefs, why she publicly pushed back on "girl math," and the money moves future rich people are making now.

They also dive into creator entrepreneurship, including how Haley turned comedy into a seven-figure business, why newsletters are her most valuable asset, and the revenue strategy behind building a sustainable creator business. 

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Check out Haley’s book Future Rich Person

Here’s What Sammi Covers with Haley:

00:00 Haley Sacks’ Social Currency

02:06 When Do You Become a "Future Rich Person"?

04:05 Growing Up Around Wealth Without Financial Literacy

06:02 Why Your Relationship With Money Is Formed by Age Seven

08:17 The Money Advice Women Actually Need

09:34 Building a Career Before the Creator Economy Existed

12:44 The Comedy Rule Behind Haley’s Content

16:00 Audience vs. Community

18:20 Why IRL Is More Important Than Ever

19:28 Why Haley Thinks "Girl Math" Is Harmful

22:27 Money Is a Relationship, Not Just a Number

24:31 Haley’s Take on the Trad Wife Movement

29:47 Friends Should Share Salaries

35:03 How Haley Built a Seven-Figure Creator Business

36:00 Why Newsletters Beat Social Media

37:49 Creator vs. Creator-Entrepreneur

40:47 Financial Advice vs. Financial Education

43:13 Does Personal Responsibility Ignore Systemic Problems?

47:34 The Hardest Chapter of Future Rich Person

50:12 Why Every Creator Should Start a Podcast

54:03 Is the FIRE Movement a Cult?

55:27 Renting Forever: Smart or Financial Failure?

57:05 Should You Ever Lie to Your Partner About Money?

58:18 The Worst Money Advice on TikTok

59:34 Haley’s Most Defensible Splurge

01:00:42 Therapy or a Financial Advisor First?

01:02:05 Haley’s Productivity System

01:03:52 Navigating Rising Prices Without Giving Up

01:07:12 How to Say "No" to an Expensive Bachelorette Party
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What does building a billion-dollar company actually feel like? According to Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, it's far less glamorous than most founder stories make it seem.

Jamie joins Sammi to unpack the journey from almost running out of money to building Ring into one of the biggest consumer tech acquisitions in history. He explains why entrepreneurship can be deeply traumatic, how close Ring came to bankruptcy before appearing on Shark Tank, and why the rejection that made headlines wasn't nearly as important as what happened afterward.

They also discuss why Jamie spent nearly all of Ring's remaining cash buying Ring.com, the lawsuit that nearly destroyed Amazon's acquisition, why he eventually walked away from running Ring despite loving the company, and what brought him back years later.

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Check out Jamie’s book Ding Dong

00:00 Jamie Siminoff’s Social Currency

02:03 Partner Message: Mercury for Business Banking

03:22 Why Entrepreneurship Is More Traumatic Than People Admit

05:20 Why Jamie Came Back to Ring

07:30 Life After Selling Ring to Amazon

08:50 Knowing When It's Time to Walk Away

09:30 Why Retirement Didn't Last

11:10 The Story Jamie Almost Didn't Tell

13:15 Why You Shouldn't Start a Company for Money

14:30 The Mission Behind Ring

16:00 Can You Actually Measure Safer Neighborhoods?

18:00 Partner Message: Rula

19:14 Partner Message: Mercury for Personal Banking

20:28 The Customer Stories That Make It All Worth It

22:00 How Ring Became a Household Name

24:15 How Close Ring Came to Bankruptcy

26:05 The Shark Tank Effect

27:13 Why Rejection Wasn't Ring's Biggest Break

29:07 The Survivorship Bias of Entrepreneurship

30:19 Why AI Will Reward Builders

31:46 The $1 Million Bet on Ring.com

35:30 Why "DoorBot" Had to Die

36:44 Rebuilding Ring From Scratch

37:07 Partner Message: Bilt

38:08 The Lawsuit That Almost Killed the Amazon Deal

40:40 From the Highest High to the Lowest Low

42:30 The Settlement That Saved Ring

43:24 Building a Hypergrowth Company While Running Out of Money

44:27 Calling Amazon Back

46:53 Being a Solo Founder

50:39 Superbowl Ad

01:00:00 Social Currency Corner

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

Mercury: mercury.com 

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Peter Semple is CEO of Depop,  the fashion resale marketplace that became one of Gen Z's most influential shopping platforms and completely changed how a new generation thinks about secondhand fashion. 

Peter joins Sammi to break down how Depop built a community-first brand, why the company made the surprising decision to eliminate seller fees, and what it takes to scale beyond Gen Z without losing cultural relevance. They also discuss why Peter wants Depop to become the "Nike of resale," the future of AI-powered shopping, and what the recently announced $1.2 billion acquisition by eBay means for the next chapter of the business.

Plus: why Depop keeps showing up cultural moments (from rap lyrics to SNL), and what happens when superfans become employees.

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Here’s What Sammi Covers with Peter:

00:00 Peter Semple’s Social Currency

02:14 Partner Message: Mercury for Personal03:36 From Copywriter to CEO05:49 What Google Creative Lab Taught Him About Brands08:04 Leaving Google for a Startup10:13 How Sneakers Led Him to Depop11:58 Why Depop Hires Its Own Users

14:34 Partner Message: Rula

15:49 Partner Message: Mercury for Business17:08 The Mindset Shift From CMO to CEO20:07 How Depop Scales Without Losing Gen Z24:25 Building the “Nike of Resale”26:01 Why Depop Eliminated Seller Fees29:13 The Power of Circular Fashion

30:06 Partner Message: Bilt

31:07 Partner Message: Shopify32:22 Why Brands Should Earn, Not Chase, Cultural Relevance35:10 From SNL to Rap Lyrics: Becoming Part of Culture38:06 What the $1.2 Billion eBay Acquisition Means42:13 Can Sustainability Beat Fast Fashion?45:20 Why Shopping Should Feel Like a Treasure Hunt46:56 How AI Is Changing Fashion Resale50:03 Will AI Change How We Discover Products?52:38 Depop’s Competitive Advantage55:00 The Secret Behind the Name “Depop”

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

Mercury: mercury.com 

Rula: rula.com/socialcurrency

Bilt:  joinbilt.com/socialcurrency 

Shopify: shopify.com/socialcurrency
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