Kathy Ireland: From Supermodel to Super Mogul

0:00Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door. expertly cleaned and folded. So you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you. Mmm. Or this tea time you. Or even this tea time you. So did you hear about Dave? Or even tea time, tea time, tea time you. Mmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. I'm so grateful to the people who have supported our brand throughout the years. And I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way. It started out with a mission of finding solutions for families, especially busy moms, because when our first child was born, quickly learned how underserved moms are.

0:51And I believe all moms work whether you get paid or not. And there's nothing harder or more important than raising kids. I mean, suddenly taking a shower was a luxury. A product that we're launching soon is Kathy Ireland Perfume. I discovered a shower in a bottle. Just bringing really products that our customers tell me, I need this. This helps me. This will make my day better. And I need the right price to value ratio. And I need the right shopping experience, whether I'm shopping digitally, online, brick and mortar, whatever that is. It's got to be a good solution.

1:30All right, guys, what's going on? I'm here with Kathy Ireland, former supermodel turned super business mogul. She's done so much for women entrepreneurs and licensing their products and families as well. I'll leave way, her first collaboration, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, Kathy, but it was, was it Kmart way back when you first started doing licensing? with our licensing it was socks which we ended up selling at Kmart in the beginning handful of sporting goods stores but yeah you're right on track I'm on track guys that's all as I don't claim to be perfect but as long as I'm on track I'm okay but she's done so many amazing things around the family and women advocacy all the way down to creating documentaries about anxiety and this specific documentary came out a few years ago it's called anxiety nation but But without further ado, welcome to the show, Kathy.

2:24Thank you, Sean. Great to be here. Great to have you. You've had an amazing career, you know, from, and I mentioned it, supermodel. I mean, I grew up in the area where when you were the supermodel, you know, Sports Illustrated, you know, Teen Magazine, all that kind of stuff, Vogue, and just seeing you in that platform and seeing how your career has just grown with massive, massive growth. just as far as building roots and doing something so amazing and meaningful for people. Can you walk us through your journey on how one thing led to another? Sure. I mean, probably as long as I can remember, I felt like a business person.

3:06I was four years old selling painted rocks for my wagon. Always had jobs. The first real serious job was a paper route. And when I was growing up, you had to be 11 and a half. When I was finally old enough, my dad shoves this newspaper ad under my nose and it read, newspaper carrier wanted, are you the boy for the job? So knowing the reaction that was going to get, I wrote to the paper and I said, I'm not the boy, I'm the girl. I can do this route just as well as any boy. And my first day, it's New Year's Day, and papers are really thick with those inserts. and I was a really funny 11 year old just thinking what have I gotten myself into couldn't even live the sacks but I'm I'm pedaling up this really steep hill and I noticed this man at the end of his driveway like you know waiting for his paper and as I approached him I could tell like he was really upset he was having a really bad day you know about something and I hand him the paper and he starts yelling at me and he says what are you doing here this is a boy's job you're never gonna to last and just caught me off guard.

4:18And I didn't let him see me cry, but I was grateful to that man because there were a lot of days I felt like quitting, but I was not going to give him the satisfaction. And I couldn't because what would that do to the next little girl that would want that's my responsibility. And my dad, in his wisdom, he said, Kathy, you always give 110%. If the customer expects the paper on the driveway, you put it on the front porch. And that was foundational for me to learn to under-promise and over-deliver. And it's those lessons as a child, they've impact every step of the way. Just having that kind of a work ethics, understand what are the expectations and then exceed them.

5:08And that's, I mean, that, that's a great way to approach life and business. So from the paper route, other jobs, and then modeling was not my plan. But I was offered that opportunity. The look of the moment was changing. And it wasn't, I wasn't model material growing up, anything like that. I had one eyebrow before I discovered tweezers. My nose was always peeling. I was a beach rat, but the look was changing. And the agency offered me to go to New York for the summer. And I thought, well, it'll be a chance to save money for college or to start a business. The entire time I worked in that industry, I was trying and failing businesses.

5:58And it wasn't until at 93. And at this point I am an aging pregnant model at our kitchen table. And that's where we started the brand with a pair of socks. Wow. I love that story. And it's funny because I also was a paper, paper carrier. Yeah. Well, in Concord. Okay. No. So I would, I would, so I say if San Francisco Bay, because it was the East Bay, right? But I was Concord, Walnut Creek. And I remember, I think I was, what's that? So beautiful there. It's very beautiful there. I do miss it. You know, I went back, I think a year and a half ago. It was gorgeous, gorgeous. And I was in Hollywood for some interviews this past June.

6:45And just to be back in California and just there's so much there. I mean, it's pretty suffocating here. It's always very humid in Southwest Florida. but I don't have a great paper boy story other than the fact that I just remember that it was my first taste of this is actual work you had to go and and collect remember you had to collect and you had the the little rings around the yes yeah yeah and I remember my dad would always take me in the morning he would do it with me and we'd be bumping the millie vanille remember millie That is so funny. That's so sweet. Yeah. Isn't that a great lesson, though, in navigating all different personalities?

7:36Because I'm sure you bumped into what I bumped into. Like some people were so lovely. They were so kind. And other people were really cranky. Other people, I didn't know at the time what it was. I suspect now, you know, they were suffering from some kind of addiction or something because they were really, they like start screaming at me when I give them the bill for$3 and 75 cents for a month for the paper. And, you know, it's just, you, you, you really learn a lot of lessons and being responsible for, for that bill at the end of the month. Um, good lessons there too. It was so funny. Cause that was my first exposure to people really don't want to even pay for what they committed to pay for.

8:18Right. It was just like, I'm just a young boy going door to door. I'm like, Hey, like, here's your bill collect. And it was just at times they just didn't want to pay. But, you know, now as an adult and knowing all the pressures of being a husband, being a father and being a professional, I can see how people would be a little bit, you know, put off at times, but to take it out on a, on a young girl or a young boy, just doing their job is that was a nasty realization, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Most of my customers were super kind, but sadly, sometimes it's the harsh ones that we remember.

8:57But they teach us a good lesson though, right? Yeah, they do. Early on, early on, you learned a lesson that probably helped you earlier in your career as a model. And then now as an entrepreneur and a businesswoman, because you're always doing businesses, you learned right away that not everybody is going to welcome you with open arms and have a certain perception about you that kind of fits your narrative. And we have to work through those things, right? And it sets you up for pushing through the tough moments. And you mentioned right there before I interjected, you were at early in your modeling career around 1993, you were, you were failing at businesses, but then you decided you were pregnant and you were like, okay, the socks walk us through that.

9:43so uh the modeling had gone on longer than i had anticipated and just you know trying and failing the different businesses but i just felt like if i didn't shut the door on that chapter of my life i might not live my dream of i was really interested in business and wanted to it felt more secure to me running a living off um serving people and bringing products and services that would really have an impact on their life rather than depending on a paycheck based on how someone else perceived that I look, look at the moments changing all the time, have limited control over that. So I got offered to model a pair of socks and it wasn't the most glamorous job.

10:30There was no beautiful location or anything. And they were thinking maybe they just crop at the knees and do a feet shot. That's where the career was. And I had to contemplate it because it was a job when not a lot of job offers were coming my way. I really like the people. John and Marilyn Moretz, they're in North Carolina to this day. I mean, they're family to me. They are just amazing people. When you meet amazing people, they're treasures. No, you just want to hang on. And

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11:43From afternoon coffee runs to stocking office supplies and even team dinners, you can earn miles on all your business expenses. Plus, you can earn 125 ,000 bonus miles for a limited time through October 29th. The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card. If you travel, you know. Minimum spending requirements and terms apply. Offer ends October 29th, 2025. And so I said I wasn't so interested in modeling the socks, but talked about, you know, what do you think about starting a business together? I put a little team together. You know, what can we do as far as design, innovation, you know, just bringing great value to this really basic pair of socks.

12:23My husband and I, we tried out the socks on a backpacking trip. My husband worked in ER, so he's on his feet. He's like, these are great socks. I love them. I did, too. We began by conducting a surprise factory inspection. Growing up, my dad worked in labor relations. And so I experienced, he worked with Cesar Chavez and he helped implement getting outhouses placed in the fields. And I saw a lot of oppression and abuses. And you find out a lot when you show up unexpectedly. So I went to the factories. They were beautiful. People were well treated. I got to talk to, you know, everybody there. And it was wonderful.

13:02I really was excited about this concept. So it was just like hitting the street, presenting the socks to retailers. And people said things like, what a stupid idea it was that you couldn't start a brand with a pair of socks. they had a lot of comments like that but nobody had a reason why and um and one of the greatest gifts of that modeling career was all the rejection and i didn't appreciate it at the time it's not fun at the time but what a gift because when the doors were being slammed in my face it didn't bother me i mean my response was oh well no means we're talking so maybe i'll come back tomorrow and, you know, maybe your circumstances will have changed.

13:51Maybe you will never be the decision maker or, you know, maybe you'll be in a better mood. And I encourage people with that. When, you know, do your homework, when, you know, if we're talking, you know, products and retail, find out if it's a good fit. Like, who do you want to serve? What's your brand all about? And what are the person's needs? Because you're serving those people. And how does this retailer provide good service and how do they align with your values or do they not like do your homework on that and if you believe in what you're doing you believe in all of it fight for it go back maybe don't go back the next day it might have been a little stocky of me but um go back six months later and um and fight through and you know it was there were in the early days there There were things like sleeping in airports, things like that, which was not a big deal.

14:48I think whatever material thing you give up to live your dream and go for those goals, it's not a sacrifice. It's a bold investment. And that bold investment led to us selling our hundred millionth pair of socks and growing our brand in many different sectors. That's amazing. You said something that I found really intriguing. it was the things that people say that's a dumb idea excuse me you can't build a brand off of selling socks I remember when I left corporate America in a very I was in the medical industry as well and it was you're gonna leave this amazing career to start a podcast I'm like well I've been going for about you know two to three years at this point they're like yeah dude you're doing it's a small show.

15:40You're doing it on an, I was doing my show on an iPhone and I was just recording audio. And eventually what happened is I believed in it. I believed in the mission. I knew what my platform was for. It wasn't for me. It was for people. And I wanted people to understand that there's a wide range of people that are struggling every day. Doesn't matter if they're celebrities, doesn't matter if it's just a regular Joe. We all have the same struggles because we're all people, we're human living in this experience. And if I could just give them stories of determination and of hope, then maybe one day it could be something.

16:17And then I look at where we're at now and I don't feel we're done by any stretch of the imagination. But I look back, I'm like, wow, if I would have listened to them, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now. no it's i mean it's that was very courageous of you it's hard especially when you're leaving something that you know feels solid and people are telling you one thing but you know and your gut and your soul what you're supposed to do and so good for you congratulations to you well thank you like you right it's a gift you have you know you you have a gift with people You have a gift in entrepreneurship and licensing products and selling a lot of it.

17:02And for me, it was always, I had a gift in conversation and more times than not, I was able to relate to whomever was on the other side of the conversation. And it didn't matter if they were someone of the utmost importance or if it was someone who was homeless and I was having a conversation with outside of 7-Eleven, I'll talk to anybody. Sometimes I think my wife's embarrassed to go to the grocery store with me. That's why she sends me by myself because I typically either find somebody I know or I end up making friends with somebody in the line because I just feel like my gift is having conversation.

17:36And so I felt like, well, if God gave me this gift, like the ultimate act of disrespect is not to utilize it. Right. Yeah. No, that's I that's beautiful. And I do believe he gifts us in different ways. And I think what we're supposed to do to be good stewards is discover those gifts and develop them. And when we're living in them, I think that's when we feel the most fulfilled. And we have strength to, you know, my, it doesn't feel like work. You go through the hard stuff and you believe in what you're doing and it gives you the strength to carry on and move through. I think the key word, what you're doing and what any successful person does, they really dive into the service aspect of it.

18:20I think so. It's, um, I think when our eyes are on ourselves and we're just thinking like, what do I want out? I mean, of course there's, there's nonprofit business and there's traditional business and our company is very involved in nonprofit, but we're also, we're a for-profit company. We also recognize that in success, we have sustainability with our nonprofits. So we're motivated by that. But I'm so grateful to the people who have supported our brand throughout the years. And I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way. And our customer's been so loyal to us. I seek to be honest when we mess up, get something wrong.

19:04I want to learn about it, immediately address it, figure out how we're going to course correct. And what are we going to do? What will we put in place? What mechanism will be implemented to make sure we don't make that mistake twice? And when we're transparent and we communicate that with people, but we're a team. And I lean on our customer. It started out with a mission of finding solutions for families, especially busy moms, because when our first child was born, we quickly learned how underserved moms are. And I believe all moms work whether you get paid or not. And there's nothing harder or more important than raising kids.

19:47It's hard. I mean, suddenly taking a shower was a luxury. A product that we're launching soon is Kathy Ireland Perfume. I discovered a shower in a bottle, although, you know, great. You can perfume when you're showering, but just bringing really products that our customers tell me I need this. This helps me. This will make my day better. And I need the right price to value ratio. And I need the right shopping experience, whether it's whether I'm shopping digitally, online, brick and mortar, whatever that is. It's got to be a good solution. Well, I agree. And it's so great that you have that product coming out because I don't think any man can truly understand.

20:31And I'm speaking as a man. And I've had three children. And it was always, I haven't even had time to take a shower today. And I think it's, I mean, I know it's a real thing. It's something that we can't comprehend, right? But that is real for mothers. It's real. And then shopping. Okay, so getting, you know, got little ones and car seats and they don't want to get in the car seat. And, you know, they can tense up their body. And then, you know, somebody needs a diaper change. Somebody throws a temper tantrum. So you make it to the store. And when you get there, if you don't have a good shopping experience, you're mad.

21:08So we want to honor her. And that's why we really do a lot of research. I believe that's why we have such a wonderful, trusted relationship with our customer, because we listen. It's like, okay, what do you want? What do you need? And they tell me. They're honest. I mean, I'm not a celebrity. Any smidgen of celebrity I had as a model, our customer doesn't care about that, nor should they. It's this is this is my life right now. And these are the needs I have. And so it's a privilege to serve our customer in every area from fashion apparel to products for their home, to fintech, to business solutions, to insurance.

21:53One of the companies we work with, American Family Insurance, I love this company because when you talk about insurance, it's a really trusted relationship. And I've got an option for education. And so one of the privileges I have in working with this company is serving as an ambassador for educating people about following their dreams, pursue their dreams. Let's figure out what obstacles are in the way, perceived or real, and let's remove them and figure out a strategy. The most successful entrepreneurs I know, they take the dream in one hand, the strategy in the other, and they use them both to drive that dream into reality.

22:42If it's all dream, no strategy, your head's in the clouds. And if it's all strategy, but no vision and dreaming, you can kind of lose that joy. And so I get to work with them on encouraging people to dream fearlessly and then protect your dreams, finding ways to do that. So a great, great company. And another area in which we're working, talked about education, a literacy program with Dollar General. And I love this retailer, learning about them, that serving the communities, giving back to the communities in which they serve in powerful ways, bringing affordable luxury, wonderful products at that rate, price point.

23:30And people said, well, you can't do that because you've got all these luxury products. It's not going to make sense to people. I said, why not? Of course. Why offer people who have money and they want to spend it this way? Wonderful. We'll have products at that price to value ratio. But why would we not serve at every economic situation? And no matter what somebody has in their account, if they want to be really frugal and get a great value, a great deal, great affordable luxury, I want to honor that. I've been privileged to know Warren Buffett, who is an amazing man. And something that Sean, you, me, and Mr.

24:16Buffett have in common is paper routes. And I've competed with him many times in the newspaper tossing competition. But back in his day, they didn't even use rubber bands. They had to fold it and make it not so hard. Yeah, yeah. But he's a fierce competitor. and competition is good. It's not a negative thing. It's good when it's fair. And, you know, typically, uh, prior to a newspaper tossing competition, Deb, who works closely with Mr. Buffett, she'd call me up and she'd just give me a heads up. She's like, he's practicing and it's midnight. So I love the fact that, you know, even though he's got a few years on me and more experience, he just competes and he doesn't rest on yesterday's success.

25:07Like, okay, I did really good at a newspaper tossing competition last year. I'm going to, I'm going to, you know, wipe her out this year. He, he practices. And so I love that. A lot of lessons there. Well, I think it's pretty cool that, you know, all three of us share something. If you would have told me that I would share something in common with Warren Buffett and Kathy Ireland, I'd be like, what, that we, that we have beating hearts and we're on the same earth. that's pretty dang cool um you know and the other thing is too who won you know what uh mr buffett is so kind he has said that i beat him one year but you know what i gotta beat me he's really every year really close i beat bill gates i'll tell you that much but um okay you know i'll i'll take that i did beat i did beat mr buffett in a golf putting competition.

25:57I beat him fair and square. There was no question to that one, but boy, he hit that target on the front door. He's good. That's really cool. I want to go back to the Dollar General luxury brand. What is it that you're putting in those stores? Are you allowed to talk about that? Sure. We just launched with home products. So bedding products in particular, and we are expanding into all different areas with the focus on the home, but other areas as well. So it's going really well. We've got an event coming up in November. We're working with schools and encouraging literacy. So I've served on boards of education for well over 30 years.

26:49One of the founders of a startup school, pre-K through grade 12, college prep Christian school. Had no idea how much work that was going into that. Served on the advisory board at the James Madison program at Princeton and mentoring programs around the world. So I've got a passion for that, a passion for kids. And I love how this retailer impacts the communities. They recognize what are the needs and they identify schools that are in particular, they're having needs, they're having some challenges. So how can we really impact them in a powerful way? And that's really exciting. I think it's really cool.

27:39I think it's really awesome because to your point, why not have something at the price point that can be nice so people can feel good? I mean, when you say home products, just imagine, you know, there's people out there that may not have had a nice piece of bedding in the past and they get to go to Dollar General and get one of your products and then go home and feel comfortable and feel really good about it and see their kids' faces light up because then they're seeing joy. And that is what you are spreading through your products. And we are so grateful. We're extremely cautious about who we go into business with and who we work with in the manufacturing area.

28:20So, of course, I talked about those factory inspections with the socks and the compliance, how people are treated. That's at the forefront of our mind. Something I love about this younger generation, they're very demanding. And I love that. They force us to do better. Not only do they want great products at a great value, but they want to know what's in it and how did it come to market? How are people being treated every step of the way? So we're working with really great people who are successful and they're able to bring really beautiful, luxurious, I mean, to the touch, wonderful products that you feel good about, you love.

29:01They lift your home at a great value. And that's exciting. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at GoodToKnowFacts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit GoodToKnowFacts.org. So, you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text. But which you do you listen to? Is it, we could buy a house in Tulum?

29:48Get optioning those options. We could lose everything. Or, let's do a little research. Get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you. Learn more at finra.org slash trade smart. That's amazing. You talk about the younger generation of what's in the product. I'm starting to see a shift. I think everybody has about removing certain ingredients from our foods here in the United States of America. And, you know, my knee jerk reaction one time was, you know, when Fruit Loops, they, they announced 2027. I'm like, looked at my watch. I'm like, it's going to take that long.