Chief Best Friends
45 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsThis is not a typical podcast on entrepreneurship. It's a podcast to figure out business success while cultivating meaningful friendships. How can we mix the personal and the professional? What does it mean to be champions to one another? Why do we need genuine allies? Hosted by Niki Torres, she brings women's stories of breaking glass and bamboo ceilings, of navigating life changes and careers, and of the emotional rollercoaster that is startup life. Chief Best Friends is about work wives and work besties everywhere.
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Episodes
S2E11: On community and caring for the Asian womxn - The Cosmos
February 16, 2021 04:49 - 1 hour - 68.2 MBWhat better way to end the season than with The Cosmos co-founders, Cassandra Lam and Karen Mok. They share a thing or twenty about shaping and growing a community rooted in intention, transparency and integrity.
S2E10: On the joys of motherhood, friendship and building a coliving platform - Relogo
January 05, 2021 02:00 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBCo-founders of Relogo, a search platform for coliving spaces, talk about motherhood and why it's a superpower when building a business.
S2E9: On defining success and falling with grace - Rachel Kelly Davis and Danella Yaptinchay
December 23, 2020 16:53 - 51 minutes - 45.7 MBRachel and Danella comes to our show today to share what it took for them to make things work even when things aren't working.
S2E8: On empowering our well-being through voice - Kintsugi
November 24, 2020 02:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBKintsugi is a different kind of mental health platform that uses voice biomarkers to measure and predict our well-being. Grace and Rima, co-founders of Kintsugi, share with us why there is beauty in our cracks and imperfections.
S2E7: On going from zero to property hero - Ohmyhome
November 10, 2020 02:00 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBRace Wong and Rhonda Wong are sisters and Ohmyhome's co-founders. They share how they turned their MVP that once offered a free service to what is now a full-service prop-tech business that's transacting thousands of homes that has a combined value of close to two billion Singapore dollars.
S2E6: On being friends first and growing a clean cosmetics brand - Liht Organics
October 27, 2020 02:05 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBLiht Organics joins us on the podcast to talk about Asia's appetite for clean beauty, being friends first and why we shouldn't believe the myth that friends and business don't mix. Liht Organics founder Nerissa Low and her two chief best friends, Michelle Lee and Stephanie Tan, show us why three's definitely not a crowd for this Singapore beauty brand.
S2E5: On building a business in the midst of a global pandemic - Pory
October 13, 2020 11:04 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBStarting a business is hard enough as it is, try starting and growing one in the middle of the pandemic. Sam and Luannie of Pory.io share their story of building a side-hustle after their day jobs moved them into part-time roles.
S2E4: On vulnerability and integrity during challenging times - talenTtrust
September 29, 2020 02:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBTess Mackean, CEO of talenTtrust and Sunita Kaur, APAC VP of Twitch and board member of talentTrust, drops into our show to talk about vulnerability and maintaining integrity during challenging times. They also talk about volunteering and what it means to help charities remain sustainable.
S2E3: On helping female founders gain access to capital - IFundWomen
September 15, 2020 10:22 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBThe co-founders of IFundWomen, focuses on women helping other women. They're on the podcast to talk about the lack of access to capital for female founders and how they've built just the thing to address that.
S2E3: On helping female founders gain access to capital - iFundWomen
September 15, 2020 10:22 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBWe have not 2 but 3 amazing women on this episode. Karen Cahn, Kate Anderson, and Sarah Sommers are the wonderful ladies behind iFundWomen, the only crowdfunding platform designed specifically for early-stage female entrepreneurs. With only 1 percent of businesses ever raising VC money, the rest of us 99 percenters find other ways to cope. Some go into debt, borrow from banks, or burn through savings, especially in the early days of our business. iFundWomen believes that crowdfund...
On helping female founders gain access to capital with iFundwomen
September 15, 2020 10:22 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBWHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why perfect is the enemy of done Why crowdfunding is good in the proof-of-concept stage What the top three reasons are female founders are sharing that they lack in their journey Why women who have capital improve the communities around them Why having a cofounder improves your chances of succeeding (yes!) Ways and tips to finding a cofounder Why mental health is more important than any business you’re building LINKS AND RESOURCES Book: The...
On what it takes to build global brands with Sarah and Emily Hamilton of Supernova
September 01, 2020 13:06 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBWHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE The challenges of working with investors and bringing external influence into the business How to understand when or why to take money from investors Why you need to outline what investors could offer you and make sure you put this in writing Remembering that investors are there to invest in you and not to feel inferior to that How you can use naivete as a superpower in order to launch a business Why retailers are a great distribution channel ...
S2E2: On what it takes to build global brands - Supernova
September 01, 2020 13:06 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBSupernova, the brand behind some of the best super brands—think Coco & Eve and Sand & Sky—joined me on the podcast to talk about investors and what it takes to build the new generation of beauty brands.
On why it’s normal to have friendship strife, with Ann Friedman & Aminatou Sow
August 18, 2020 02:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBWHAT YOU’LL LEARN Understanding what kind of activities (or non activities) that help friendships thrive. How friends can start intimate collaborations as fun side-projects. Why learning ways we are different, not just similarities, is a great way to collaborate and work together with friends. How we grow and get better by having that professional insight on each other's magic. Why you shouldn’t start a business with someone you can’t get along with because starting a business ...
S2E1: On why it’s normal to have friendship strife - Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow
August 18, 2020 02:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBAnn Friedman and Aminatou Sow are headlining this new season of Chief Best Friends, sharing with us what it takes to build, maintain, and navigate a changing friendship. This amazing duo is behind popular podcast Call Your Girlfriend and is out with a new book, Big Friendship.
What's new for Chief Best Friends this Season 2?
August 11, 2020 07:03 - 1 minute - 1.01 MBChief Best Friends is back with a new season! You will hear from ladies who gave us Shine Theory, who are fighting workplace discrimination, who are building a fundraising platform specifically for women by women, and so much more.
S1E9: On diversity and shifting the balance of power - SoGal Ventures
September 22, 2019 09:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBWhat do you see when I say venture capitalist? Most likely a guy, probably in his 30s or older. What if, I told you, that when Pocket and Elizabeth started SoGal Ventures, they were the complete opposite of that stereotype. In fact, it was so against the grain that the people closest to them thought they wouldn’t make it. What others saw as a crutch, they took as their unique selling point. SoGal Ventures dubs itself as the first female-led millennial VC firm. They took what they knew best a...
E09: On diversity and shifting the balance of power - SoGal Ventures
September 22, 2019 09:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: What it means to start a long distance, long term relationship with a business partner Finding out what you both want in life, in the business, and with each other will help set the foundation for long-term success How owning our difference and uniqueness as a unique advantage and expertise Why women are still lacking access to capital and why it hasn’t changed over the decades How investing in women and diverse backgrounds is the best business ...
On diversity and shifting the balance of power - SoGal Ventures
September 22, 2019 09:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: What it means to start a long distance, long term relationship with a business partner Finding out what you both want in life, in the business, and with each other will help set the foundation for long-term success How owning our difference and uniqueness as a unique advantage and expertise Why women are still lacking access to capital and why it hasn’t changed over the decades How investing in women and diverse backgrounds is the best business ...
On embracing heritage through fashion - East Meets Dress
September 08, 2019 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How road blocks and challenges during travel is a great indicator of whether you and your bestie can go into business together How our very own need is a signal to a problem that others also need solving What it means to be patient when starting a business and how your chief best friends allows you to keep going How to balance spending time together and maintaining friendship outside of work How being friends create trust that is crucial in star...
S1E8: On embracing heritage through fashion - East Meets Dress
September 08, 2019 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBJenn and Vivian run a bespoke fashion store called East Meets Dress. They create and develop cheongsam dresses in the hopes of bringing back traditional garb but made for the modern woman. What makes their story amazing is that they didn’t come from a fashion background. They grew up in a typical Asian household and had originally wanted to become doctors and go into finance. However, they came across the idea of East Meets Dress through their own need when planning Jenn’s wedding. Through sh...
E08: On embracing heritage through fashion - East Meets Dress
September 08, 2019 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How road blocks and challenges during travel is a great indicator of whether you and your bestie can go into business together How our very own need is a signal to a problem that others also need solving What it means to be patient when starting a business and how your chief best friends allows you to keep going How to balance spending time together and maintaining friendship outside of work How being friends create trust that is crucial in star...
S1E7: On breaking the bamboo ceiling - Rock The Boat
August 12, 2019 09:07 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBIf you are looking for other Asian-hosted and Asian-produced podcasts, then you’d want to subscribe to Rock the Boat. We have today Lucia and Lynne, the power ladies behind this amazing show. You’ll get to hear why gathering communities is important in the causes we believe in. And also the double whammy Asian women have to deal with in the corporate world: think glass ceiling and bamboo ceiling, the latter being something Lucia will explain more in this episode. You’ll also walk away with ta...
On breaking the bamboo ceiling - Rock The Boat
August 12, 2019 09:07 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How to find your purpose and start things based on our own needs What it means to gather communities and the effects it has on the causes we believe in What the bamboo ceiling is and why rocking the boat is the answer to breaking through it The double whammy Asian women get in the corporate world How to be intentional when it comes to checking in with your chief best friend Why knowing a person holistically helps you better understand and bette...
E07: On breaking the bamboo ceiling - Rock The Boat
August 12, 2019 09:07 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How to find your purpose and start things based on our own needs What it means to gather communities and the effects it has on the causes we believe in What the bamboo ceiling is and why rocking the boat is the answer to breaking through it The double whammy Asian women get in the corporate world How to be intentional when it comes to checking in with your chief best friend Why knowing a person holistically helps you better understand and bette...
S1E6: On finding your person wherever they may be - Heart of Home
July 28, 2019 09:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBHeart of Home Workshop is run by Clare Barker and Yasmina Cowan. Heart of Home is all about at-home indoor photography. It’s a very specific niche, if you asked me, but I love the way they see the home as an extension of ourselves. The thing that makes them such an interesting pair, is that they run a business in separate corners of the globe. Their friendship blossomed online, while apart. Even their business was started this way. First time they saw each other was 20 minutes before their fi...
E06: On finding your person wherever they may be - Heart of Home
July 28, 2019 09:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How it’s possible to find a friend even if they’re living in opposites side of the world. That one reason you could start a business is to help elevate an entire industry and making it better for everyone involved. Chief best friends have a level of trust that never lets each other down. How to build a lifelong community of people who can help you thrive in life and business. Finding ways to properly scale your business through learning and iter...
On finding your person wherever they may be - Heart of Home
July 28, 2019 09:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How it’s possible to find a friend even if they’re living in opposites side of the world. That one reason you could start a business is to help elevate an entire industry and making it better for everyone involved. Chief best friends have a level of trust that never lets each other down. How to build a lifelong community of people who can help you thrive in life and business. Finding ways to properly scale your business through learning and iter...
E05: On working with each other's quirks - Sam & Soph
July 14, 2019 09:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How working dynamics and flow is a great indicator of a good chief best friendship. How to bring together two distinct work styles and making it completely your own. How to remain open to trying something new and using each other’s differences as a way of exploring your own style. How to find ways to learning from each other and also knowing when to pull back. Giving each other mutual respect during the good times and especially during the bad t...
On working with each other's quirks - Sam & Soph
July 14, 2019 09:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How working dynamics and flow is a great indicator of a good chief best friendship. How to bring together two distinct work styles and making it completely your own. How to remain open to trying something new and using each other’s differences as a way of exploring your own style. How to find ways to learning from each other and also knowing when to pull back. Giving each other mutual respect during the good times and especially during the bad t...
S1E5: On working with each other's quirks - Sam & Soph
July 14, 2019 09:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBWe have Sam Lo and Sophie Ong in our show today. I’m lucky enough to be friends with both of them and I couldn’t help but bring them onto Chief Best Friends because I think they embody the future of work. Kind of like a collective, where each individual is a company of their own but would sometimes work together for certain projects. For most of our episodes we’ve had women co-founders who run their own business together. For Sam and Soph, it’s a little bit different because they’re two artis...
S1E4: On changing gears - Red Shoe Stories
June 23, 2019 06:17 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBIt was a great pleasure to speak to Naomi and Frances, sisters and co-founders of Red Shoe Stories, a publishing company that’s helping bring diversity in picture books for children. Their fascinating story have origins in both their personal and professional lives. Coming from a corporate world, working long hours and never seeing their families, they realised that they have to change something to bring back balance to their lives. Naomi and Frances shared with us what Red Shoe Stories are a...
On changing gears - Red Shoe Stories
June 23, 2019 06:17 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How much time parents spend looking for their children’s shoes — the inspiration for Red Shoe Stories! Becoming mothers is not a limiting career move but is more of an opportunity to design life the way that works for us. How crowdfunding is a great strategy for some businesses in finding an early audience, testing the market and prototyping. When choosing between crowdfunding platforms, it helps to go with what the target market is more familiar...
E04: On changing gears - Red Shoe Stories
June 23, 2019 06:17 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How much time parents spend looking for their children’s shoes — the inspiration for Red Shoe Stories! Becoming mothers is not a limiting career move but is more of an opportunity to design life the way that works for us. How crowdfunding is a great strategy for some businesses in finding an early audience, testing the market and prototyping. When choosing between crowdfunding platforms, it helps to go with what the target market is more familiar...
E03: On not having failure as an option - WeBarre
June 09, 2019 06:00 - 24 minutes - 19.1 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How the same passion became their foundation in choosing each other How being friends is not a requirement to start a business together (sometimes friendship comes afterwards) Knowing each other’s strengths was crucial in making sure they are complementary to each other Treating your team the way you want to be treated How attitude is everything and focusing on the positives help in growing a business Understanding each other is crucial in comm...
On not having failure as an option - WeBarre
June 09, 2019 06:00 - 24 minutes - 19.1 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How the same passion became their foundation in choosing each other How being friends is not a requirement to start a business together (sometimes friendship comes afterwards) Knowing each other’s strengths was crucial in making sure they are complementary to each other Treating your team the way you want to be treated How attitude is everything and focusing on the positives help in growing a business Understanding each other is crucial in comm...
S1E3: On not having failure as an option - WeBarre
June 09, 2019 06:00 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBSuper privileged to chat with two successful, smart and beautiful women Anabel Chew and Linda Tang, co-founders of WeBarre. Their studio brings together ballet technique, yoga, pilates and strength training in an invigorating workout to transform your entire body. It is the workout that celebrities swear by including Madonna, the Victoria Secret’s Angels and even Ryan Gosling. We learned first-hand how sharing the same passion and working together to achieve higher goals can change your life ...
On trusting each other - Sarah and Schooling
May 26, 2019 09:00 - 41 minutes - 629 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Reaching out to find a friend Being more focused about the work you want to do Getting a lawyer to come in to write an exit strategy Surrounding yourself with a tribe that supports you Handling mistakes and how to not take them personally Preparing for life stages and how it could affect the business Showing up together as partners, especially with decisions Improvising as a big part of growing and running a business Learning to be braver in...
S1E2: On trusting each other - Sarah and Schooling
May 26, 2019 09:00 - 41 minutes - 38 MBExcited to bring this podcast closer to home with this episode. We speak with Sarah Tang and Alison Schooling of Sarah and Schooling. This was definitely one of our most fun interviews, with the energy and buzz of their friendship almost oozing out of the computer. As co-founders and ardent supporters of Singapore’s literary scene, they are actively involved in designing books and publications across multiple genres. It’s so refreshing to see such young talent in the world of printed matter. ...
E02: On trusting each other - Sarah and Schooling
May 26, 2019 09:00 - 41 minutes - 629 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Reaching out to find a friend Being more focused about the work you want to do Getting a lawyer to come in to write an exit strategy Surrounding yourself with a tribe that supports you Handling mistakes and how to not take them personally Preparing for life stages and how it could affect the business Showing up together as partners, especially with decisions Improvising as a big part of growing and running a business Learning to be braver in...
S1E1: On how to do more with less - ADAY
May 12, 2019 12:55 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBIt’s such an honour to kick off Chief Best Friends with ADAY’s co-founders Meg He and Nina Faulhaber. As a fan of their brand, it’s even more inspirational when we found out that ADAY was built on the idea of having fewer pieces you can do more in. We love how they’re being more intentional in a world of fast-fashion. We’re so delighted to have Meg and Nina talk to us about how they got together from their meet cute moment in Goldman Sachs and how that experienced gave them a glimpse of each ...
E01: On how to do more with less - ADAY
May 12, 2019 12:55 - 42 minutes - 639 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How trust and integrity was the foundation in choosing a chief best friend Knowing when to take the opportunity to start a business Getting clear on each other’s commitment level How all founders need to sit down and set up a vesting schedule to remain accountable Learning how to lean into each other’s strengths Seeing business partnership like a marriage; through thick and thin How emotions play a role at work where it empowers rather than hi...
On how to do more with less - ADAY
May 12, 2019 12:55 - 42 minutes - 639 MBIN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: How trust and integrity was the foundation in choosing a chief best friend Knowing when to take the opportunity to start a business Getting clear on each other’s commitment level How all founders need to sit down and set up a vesting schedule to remain accountable Learning how to lean into each other’s strengths Seeing business partnership like a marriage; through thick and thin How emotions play a role at work where it empowers rather than hi...
Chief Best Friends
May 08, 2019 17:52 - 37 seconds - 576 KBAbout Chief Best Friends Reading books about how we can lean in, understand our confidence code, and how nice girls don’t get the corner office, there are mixed signals about what it means for us and our friendships. We can outgrow our childhood friends, make new ones that match our evolving identities, and even that gal pal you made at the office could end up hurting you (or vise versa) when it’s time to vie for that promotion. With all the nuances of being friends and making fr...
Trailer: Chief Best Friends
May 08, 2019 17:52 - 36 seconds - 576 KBChief Best Friends is a podcast about mixing friendship + business and all the messy in-betweens. We're on a mission to help women cultivate more meaningful friendships at work. We believe that if we want to go far, we have to do it together.