566: From Celebrity Deals to Creator Empire - Maggie Sellers on Building 'Hot Smart Rich'

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0:39Just head to omnisend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started. All right, now let's jump back into the show. Hear the stories, learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Founder podcast with Nathan Chan.

1:02Well, the first question I want to ask you is take us back to the moment you first had the idea for Hot, Smart, Rich. Where were you? What was going on at the time with your life? What was the exact moment you knew this was something you want to build? So the exact moment I knew I wanted to build something like this was actually a very different moment from the naming, but I used to work with celebrities. So kind of going back a little bit, I had spent my whole life working in startups, one of which went public. I was so lucky, one of which we raised$100 million in four years, but we always found a way to work with celebrity investors because that's just such a great way to bring your product to the market in a much more affordable way than paying their rates.

1:51So I had since left both venture capital and startups. And I was working directly with brands to bring celebrities into the front of the brand and a name rule in some capacity. And I did this entire deal. It took like two years to actually find the right celebrity to become almost like a co-founder. You can think of it as sorts. And I structured that all through equity. So two years of my life, I had done this deal. And once the deal had gone through, there was huge announcement. It went incredibly well. Like the sales of the company increased by 1900%. And I remember I posted a TikTok about it.

2:30And it was up for about a week. And I got a call from the brand a week later being like, the celebrity has asked that you take down the post. And I was like, why would they want me to take down the post? Like I spent two years of my life like doing this deal and explaining to people how it went and trying to bring people through the process of it. And they said the celebrity doesn't like that you have essentially like taken credit for it, even though like I was a huge instrumental part in it and they want you to remove the video. And I just felt this sense of like power escape for me where I was like, whoa, like how am I ever supposed to build a business if I can't even talk about what I'm doing, the intricacies of it.

3:13And really like that's where I started taking content super seriously because I was like, I am going to become somebody that like has the power and has the money to be able to actually pay it back versus letting these people that I was working for kind of dictate where my career was going to go. So that's when I first started taking content seriously after just posting like for fun for six months. And then from that moment forward, I was like, what am I actually passionate about? And for me, my whole life, I have just felt this sense of being a woman that wants to celebrate her femininity. I always felt like I really couldn't disclose that or show that side of me when I was in these really high growth startups and going public and raising this money.

3:57I had to completely like take that away from me. And so I just decided in that moment, I was like, what are three things that every woman wants to be but can't say? Like it's all taboo for us to really admire and want to achieve being hot, being smart and being rich. And that's the moment where I was like, I'm going to call this company Hot, Smart, Rich and help other women get to the same place of honestly, just freedom from like just being able to do whatever you want. Yeah, incredible. So I'm curious, how did that start? Like, thank you for sharing. But how did that start? Like, what did that look like?

4:31Like, how did you bring it to life? So I had been creating content just based on my career. I had seen obviously TikTok. There's so many hauls and beauty things. And I was like, I love that stuff. But I also am like getting to be exhausted from the consumption. I'm just going to start talking about business, business breakdowns, how I managed an$18 million budget, how we raised money from celebrity investors, like what are the different types of activations and out of home marketing that actually works. And it started to just like, again, kind of become a fun pet project where I was like, this is really cool.

5:06but I didn't take it seriously. I almost was really shameful of even just being like, I'm an influencer to this day. I still find it hard to recognize being a creator versus being an entrepreneur. Um, even though that's a lot of what I do nowadays, right? It's creating content, it's building a community, but there was that shameful part of me that was like, I don't even want to say that that's what I'm doing. When someone would be like, what are you doing now after you work in all these high growth startups? And you're like, Like, well, I'm creating content. It just felt like so mismatched with my trajectory of where I thought I was going to go in my career.

5:41But it actually like the light bulb moment went off when a huge like corporate company, Fortune 500, reached out to me and was like, we love what you're doing. We'd love to do a deal with you. And I was like, OK, like this is a brand I would have dreamt to have worked at. That's so crazy. And now I'm getting to create content for them with something that I'm passionate about. And I remember I called my sister who formerly was the CFO of Missouri. It's like huge business. And I was like, I just got this deal to do this campaign. This is kind of crazy. Like I never really took this seriously. And so it was a, it was a bunch of little things that I think every entrepreneur that I'm around, it's, it's usually not this one like crazy moment.

6:24It's being able to identify patterns and trends of like seeing themes of things. So it was like the theme of the celebrity taking away my voice online. It was the theme of like a brand reaching out. It was the theme of like seeing that my content was being circulated amongst other ambitious driven women. And I was like, once I add that all together, there is something here, but there wasn't this like one thing that was like, this is it now. Like my video went viral and that's like me having overnight success. It, it wasn't that at all. And I think we over glamorize those stories of like the person who has a super viral video and creates a meme coin from that.

7:02But I think the people that have these longevity careers, especially in the world in which we're navigating to is like, it's actually a long time. Like, I don't know how many videos Mr. Beast posted, but I think he's been posting videos since he was 11, you know, and then it's like 10 years later, he finds that success. So for me, it was very similar. It wasn't this overnight thing. It was finding something I was passionate about, had a really good why behind it, and felt like even through the down days, I could get through it because I was working towards something bigger than just me. It was like for a community.

7:38It wasn't just to become famous, if that makes sense. Yeah, totally. And it's funny how businesses start that way because I think you're right. I really resonate with your story there because that's how I started Founder. I didn't know if it would be a business. I was just genuinely curious around entrepreneurship and business and how people were building these successful businesses on the internet with no skills or experience whatsoever. And I just started creating this magazine and then it just kind of grew from there. So it sounds like you went through a similar journey where you kind of just fell into this thing purely by looking to serve.

8:16Totally. I think that's what's it's even funny because up until last year, I felt like, again, I talked a little bit about the shame of being a creator. Like, I think because my whole life people have doubted me and said things like the sound of your voice or the way that you dress makes you a certain way. But then you're actually a lot smarter than I thought you were. So for me, what's been the most important part of my career is like success and achievement based on like what we value, like going public or raising X amount of money or being in the right deals. And so for me, it took a really long time to even feel like there was something here.

8:53And I think when I hosted my first in-person events last year with the community and I saw like hundreds of people wait for me to do something at a coffee shop, I'm like, oh, my God, this is a real community. This is a real business. Like people are willing to spend their Saturday coming and waiting in line at a coffee shop just to meet me and be a part of this community. Like this is amazing. And I think the thing that's been so interesting, having worked with celebrities my whole career, is like I've done deals with celebrities where they have millions of followers and they bring five people to an event.

9:27And seeing 100 girls at an event because they're so bought into the mission of HSR to me was like the big moment where I was like, this is a real business. This is a real community. And ever since that point, I was like, oh, I'm going to build a huge company out of this. And you said something really interesting. You said that there's been other creators that have raised a lot of money or you have millions of followers, but they don't have that engagement. Why do you think that happens? I think it happens for a bunch of different reasons. Like I think for me, I can only speak for the celebrities I've worked with and obviously my own experience.

10:12But the moment that I think people connected with me, because a lot of my life has been a little unrelatable in terms of my career trajectory. It's not very rare for you in your first startup to go public and report to the CEO. It's like very hard to find and pick the right startup to work at that raises$120 million. dollars that you're like the head of brand and you manage an$18 million budget. So I think sometimes where the content really took a turn is when I actually called off an engagement in my personal life. And I had this picture perfect life on the outside, like massive engagement ring, G-Wagon, crazy Beverly Hills mansion.

10:52And I called off my engagement and I was like, this is not what's going to make me happy and I need to like follow my gut. and I put everything in storage and like moved to Calabasas and got a horse and was like totally like eat, pray loving. And when I posted this video after four months of people asking like, where's your ring and why is your background different? That's the moment that I think there was that relatability because I was vulnerable, not only in my professional life, but also my personal life. And I think when I was growing up in the era of startups, like I remember feeling like really confused having to leave my personal life at the door when like we're humans, we're multidimensional people and things happen in our lives where it is going to affect your job.

11:37And I felt this like not being able to be my authentic self based on what was going on was was really difficult for me. And so I think that moment that I posted that video made me relatable and people were like, wow, I'm going through a divorce trying to build a business or my wife just left me or I struggle with X, Y, and Z and I just felt like I had to pretend. And I think that's been the saying, right, of like fake it till you make it. But businesses are built by people and people go through ups and downs. And I think the more that we pretend like it's all run through walls and all good and sacrifice everything, like I actually don't think that's the next era of business.

12:18I think it's being a relatable emotional leader, knowing that there's boundaries, but also just being very clear with like, okay, we are humans. We're going to go through those ups and downs. Are you hesitating to take the next step in your e-commerce journey? Founder Plus has you covered. With proven frameworks tailored to your business needs for fast results, a supportive community of over 30 ,000 like-minded entrepreneurs, and weekly live mentorship sessions, Founder Plus is your key to success. Try Founder Plus today for just$1 for seven days and start building your dream business with confidence.

12:50You can visit founder.com forward slash start dollar trial or click the link in the description to claim your trial. Yeah, and I love what you're saying around that vulnerability and connecting with others because that's how you build true relationships at scale. But it's so scary to just kind of put yourself out there, share your, you know, deepest, darkest secrets or, you know, really kind of putting yourself out there to the point where it's you're worried what people think, trolls, all that kind of stuff. How do you, what would you say to people to work through that? Because I agree, like that is so powerful to connect with people, but also so scary to share that kind of stuff online.

13:35Yeah. I think it's so true. They say like you are who you surround, you're the five people you surround yourself the most with. And I think the same is true with with online. I think it's interesting because I actually had physical people in my life that didn't understand hot, smart, rich that were like very kind of almost against it and felt like it was too much or we weren't ready for it yet. And I think even just removing those people from my life, like the nonbelievers, I think anybody that's listening to this, it's like, it's funny, I was just on a call an hour ago with somebody that was like, you had this vision two years ago when I met you and now it's so cool to see you bring this life like I didn't see it then and now I see it and I think no matter the business that you're building like that's the reality right is like you are the only person that sees that and so I think when you have those people whether it's online or in your real life that just don't understand you or like feel as though you're sharing too much or it's like whatever their opinion is of you those are the people you just have to block out and ignore and it's it's really hard to do that but I think that's where like your next trajectory of growth is like whether it works out or it doesn't you're going to learn something from it and that's how I take every single situation my whole life is like it really doesn't matter the outcome it matters the process because I truly believe everything works out the way that it should and it might not be a linear path but I think especially when bad things are happening to me, I always tell myself this is the making of my story.

15:04Like we don't glamorize the people in life who just had a silver spoon, have done nothing with it. Like, yes, we might idolize like, oh, that would be so nice to not have to worry about X, Y, and Z. But the people we really believe in and get behind, like look at Mel Robbins. She's built an entire empire off of the let them theory. And the first three pages of her book, it's like she's$800 ,000 in debt with no job and no way to get out. So when bad things are happening to me, I always tell myself, this is my story. This is what's going to make me successful one day. And so I actually, not that I welcome hardship or I don't like, it's not amazing in the moment to be like, I'm stressed about money or I'm stressed about where I'm going to live or I'm stressed about my reputation.

15:49But you always just have to remember like that is what is going to make you inspirational to somebody one day. And I think as people, we just inherently want to inspire other people. Yeah, I agree. And it's only though when you share those stories, right? And do you share them while they're happening or do you share them post them happening? Because it's so much easier to share them post when they're happening because there's so much shame and guilt and imposter syndrome. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, it's so it is really interesting. And I think it also it's going through a shift right now, right?

16:25Like the platform of TikTok, I think has made like, it's even interesting for my own content, I'm very much share in the moment on TikTok, what's going on. Whereas like on other platforms, it's a lot more curated, it's a lot more of like the vision and the aspiration that you want to be sharing to people. But I think in general, it's even interesting looking at the companies that I'm an investor in, like whenever they share failures or things when it's in the moment, that's when their sales actually see like a skyrocket because people I do believe in the best of people and I think people do want to help people and that's like a form of marketing like you even see these videos on TikTok where it's like my dad it's like little kids filming or not little kids but like 15 to 20 year old women filming their dads being like my dad's worked for three years to write this book like no one's bought a copy please support him and that video has like 10 million views.

17:17And so I think it's actually like the platforms are shifting so much that I think it's about understanding the brand that you're building and who you're building it for. So like one of my very close friends, she runs a luxury shopping company, like her being so relatable and so like raw probably doesn't make the most sense for her. But I think if you're building a business that's for like the everyday consumer or is like a part of like the everyday life, that I actually feel like leans itself more to actually talking about the hardships in the moment. So I think with everything in business, I always just think the first question I ask myself is like, who is this for and when and why are they going to consume this?

17:57And then if I can answer those questions to be beneficial in that moment to share, I will. And then there's some things where just because you share your life doesn't mean you have to share all of your life. And I think that you, I tell this to founders that are trying to build a personal brand, but are not comfortable sharing their personal life, it's like, that's okay. Just find if you were going out for dinner with somebody and it was the first meeting, you wouldn't talk about your business the whole time. What are those five to six topics that you would try to touch on with somebody new? That is likely what you'll be comfortable with talking about on social for the first time.

18:34Yeah. I think when it comes to building a personal brand, this is such a trending thing now like more than ever everyone wants to build their personal brand because they can see the power in it and founders are becoming creators and creators are becoming founders um i'm curious with the brands that you invest in are you are you investing in companies and the founders that have personal brands only or talk me through that thesis No. So actually, I would say a lot of the brands that I've invested into are actually not brands that have a personal brand. Like the one that I can think of that's maybe an exception is obviously I invested into Katy Perry's non-alc brand.

19:22So like she obviously has a brand as a person, but the CEO day-to-day operator doesn't, I would say, is starting to build her personal brand. but like when I invested wasn't an active. So I, I actually, because I've invested so much on behalf of celebrities, like I am a little bit weary of celebrity brands, actually. Like I think that creator brands is something that's really fascinating because we are built to like create content. Whereas celebrities, traditionally musicians, movie stars, whatever, they're actually focused on producing movies and putting up music and touring. So I think creator brands is something really interesting that I am looking for the right stuff.

20:02But most of the brands that I've invested into are not actually personal brand founders. I think that's something that I try to help them with is figuring out like, what is your thing going to be as an expert? And I think those types of founders are subject matter experts. Like I just got off the phone with somebody today who's, we invested into a pet pharma compounding medication company. his clients are vets. So like he doesn't necessarily need a veterinarian like to know about his personal brand. He just needs to be a subject matter expert that they can go to. So it's interesting. I do agree with you.

20:42Like I think the brands I surround myself with are very much that blended like founder to creator. But I still think that there is an opportunity for people that don't want to build a personal brand. You can still build an amazing business and not have to have a personal brand. So I agree with you. I think it's the most trendy thing. And I think people see the power in it. But I always say this. It's like the people that have staying power are people that have a why. If you just want to build a personal brand to have a personal brand, it's going to get really boring after a year and you're going to burn out because it's so hard.

21:14If you have a mission and you have a why and you feel empowered and fueled and like you years later, Nathan, like still love learning about different types of businesses, that's going to keep you going when you're exhausted and you're like, I don't want to do this. Like things are going badly. Like that underlying why is so important to find first before you just build this personal brand, because if you don't have that, it's going to go away. Yeah, I agree that that comes from any business. And one of our instructors on our platform, founder plus Rory Vaden, he teaches personal branding and his whole thing is what is your unique ability in the service of others and how can you really use that unique ability and broadcast that out to the world in the service of others and I think I think Mel Robbins is maybe one of his clients maybe I'm not sure don't quote me on that but he works with like you know Lewis Howes all these big personal brands and that's that's the focus, right?

22:17Like what is your unique ability? Because it's not just about showing your life or standing out. It's, it's, it's about being authentically you and then carving out, like, how do you own like, like a word, right? Like Simon Sinek, he owns why, right? Like, like how, how can you be uniquely you? Well, and I think that's, what's so interesting about having like in any business, it's like, you have to have a competitive advantage, right? And And I think for me, I'll be super honest, there was a part of me that was like, we should be doing – so we do this thing in our news that are every week called Consumer News.

22:55And it's basically everything that I'm paying attention to. And I was like, okay, if I want to be a real media company, I need to be on breaking news when this stuff is happening. Like Instagram post goes out or like story goes out. And then I thought back to myself and I was like, that's just not me though. Like that is not the type of business that I want to be building. my business is like more thoughtful case studies and bringing people along on the journey of like understanding my investing landscape. I also think it's like, for me, this mission of it's not just business 101. It's also like this idea of identity and understanding how you can build an authentic life as a female to become that like hot, smart, rich woman.

23:34So I think, yeah, it's just figuring out like, what is your competitive advantage? What are you passionate about? What are you going to be excited to do a year from now. And I think people just often want to do what they think is success or what's working, but what works for somebody else doesn't mean it's actually going to necessarily work for you. So what does it mean to be hot, smart, rich?

24:00I honestly think it's a, um, it's a feeling like I think it's just the reclaiming of your power as a woman and I think for me it's always funny my biggest pet peeve is when people try to break up the hot the smart and the rich and they're like well this is like the products that you should use for hot this is the stuff that you should use for rich these are like and I'm kind of like it's actually all in one like That's, I think, what I struggled with growing up was like choosing my personal side or my work side. And I actually think the craziest part about business and women business is that we control 85 % of consumer spend in the U.S.

24:45We're making these decisions. And yet when we walk into the office and you're building products, you're supposed to take away all of the things that make you an amazing consumer as a woman. Like don't talk about beauty. Don't talk about pregnancy, don't talk about all these things. And it's like, that's actually what the consumer is telling us they want. Like the consumer knows best. That's like the number one rule of business. Listen to your consumer. Yet when you walk in the office, it's like you can't show that side of you. And so for me, Hot Smart Rich is not about like the beauty standards that we have.

25:16And it's not about like your SAT scores or it's not about how much money is in your bank account. It's truly like it's almost just like an embodiment of being everything that you want you to be as a female and just owning that and being unapologetic. And I think women, we're so unfairly scrutinized about things. And so for me, Hot, Smart, Rich is really a mantra. And it's less about like what does each pillar mean? Like I remember a podcaster asked me, they're like, what does it mean to be hot? And what does it mean to be smart? And I was like, they're all in one. They're interchangeable. It's actually like the three of them together.

25:51That's the power of embodying HSR. So I try not to separate it as like, you'll never have seen me put out something that's like, here's your 10-step guide to be hot. And it's like a workbook that costs$10. Like that's not the business that I'm building. The business that I'm building is the community to know that like you can be your authentic self and you can have it all. And I really try to just say to people, it's all of those three in one. It's not them by themselves, if that makes sense. Yeah, it does. Totally. And I think it's really clever how you've started to kind of wrap that identity through your merch.

26:30And how's all that going, that side of the business? That's just such a good question. I was literally just on another call this morning talking about this because I think for me, so just to break down how the business is structured a little bit. So there's obviously me. And I actually brought in my sister who I was saying was the CFO of Missouri. She's like my 50-50 business owner. So I remember I got my first brand deal that was like$10 ,000. And I was like, whoa, this is like a real business. And so I called my sister. And she's just like a very operational, like amazing – like she knows legal.