869 Jenney Korasick: Co-Founder of Leche

0:00Kara Goldin:I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. This message is a paid partnership with AT &T Business.

0:46Kara Goldin:Hey, everyone, Kara here. Let's get real about those early days of building a business. Not the highlight reel, the actual day-to-day, the friction, trying to manage everything across time zones, across teams, across locations, and realizing how much depends on staying connected. I remember those days at Hint, a retailer call, an order, a decision, all of it. And you realize quickly, connection isn't a nice-to-have, it's the lifeblood of your business. As a founder, you don't want to think about your connectivity. You just need it to work every time. That's why AT &T Business matters. AT &T Business is the reliable provider for small business owners.

1:33Kara Goldin:And when you have that kind of reliability behind you, you can focus on what actually moves your business forward. Powered by AT &T Business, built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to The Cura Golden Show. Have you ever wondered why something considered the gold standard for infant nutrition is still so hard for everyday families to access? Our next guest saw that gap firsthand as a mom with an oversupply of breast milk. Jenny Korosik wanted to donate but quickly discovered the system was broken, confusing, outdated, and not built for modern families.

2:21Kara Goldin:So she decided to build what didn't exist. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Jenny, who is the co-founder of Leche, the first shelf-stable, commercially available breast milk platform making real donor breast milk accessible to everyday families. And before Leche, Jenny spent more than 20 years helping brands grow through digital media, influencer marketing, and go-to strategy, then decided to go off and become an entrepreneur. Very, very exciting. So can't wait to hear more about Jenny's journey and also the brand Leche and her journey in scaling this incredible, much-needed company. So Jenny, welcome to The Cara Golden Show.

3:12Kara Goldin:Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. This episode of The Cara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime. Let's be honest. Most of us opened a bank account years ago and never really questioned whether it was still the best option. But if you're paying fees or missing out on rewards, it might be time to rethink it. That's why I like Chime. They're changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional banks that pile on hidden fees or gatekeep the best rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check.

4:03Kara Goldin:You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate that's nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to Chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is Chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for MyPay and ChimeCard provided by Chime's bank partners. Optional products and services may have fees or charges. Stated annual percentage yield and cash back for Chime Prime only.

4:39No minimum balance required. Checking account ranking based on a J.D. Power survey published October 20, 2025. For more information on APY rates, MyPay, SpotMe, and travel perks, go to chime.com slash disclosure.

4:47Kara Goldin:Absolutely. So for listeners who are just discovering Leche, how do you describe the company and what makes it different from anything else on the market? Well, there are a lot of things that make this different from, you know, everything else that's on the market. First of all, it is one single ingredient. It is 100 % pure breast milk. And how we get there is through our massive donor network, our amazing community of donors. And we're calling them donors. But just know these are moms that we're compensating for this hard work. Making breast milk is, you know, even if these moms are making a lot of it, it's still work.

5:24It's still work to clean the parts. It's still work to go through the schedule. It's still work to get it to us. So these are all moms that are compensated. Our donors are, you know, the heart of this business. We don't have a product if we don't have donors that are excited to do this. And so there are a lot of other companies in this space that are, you know, doing things from the medical side, right? Getting donors to donate to produce products in hospital or things like that. They look at these moms as just another number, just another, you know, commodity. And because we've lived both sides of this problem as donors and as busy parents, we know that is not the way to scale this business.

5:59We need to focus on the donors and take care of them and get them excited about all these things that they're either contributing to or that they have access to through Leche. And so that's a really important part that makes us different is we're looking at this as donors first and then the byproduct of that is this amazing product that gives more parents access to breast milk.

6:23Kara Goldin:That's awesome. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Hostinger. Let's face it, starting something new is exciting until you actually have to build the website. Suddenly, you're deciding on a domain, a website, email, and a dozen other things. Hours go by, and instead of launching your idea, you're still trying to figure out where to begin. That's what I like about Hostinger. It takes away that friction. Just describe the website you want and Hostinger's AI builds the first version for you in minutes. No coding, no hiring a developer, and no duct taping five different tools together.

7:02Kara Goldin:Your domain, website, business email, and email marketing are all in one place. And here's what really stands out. Hostinger doesn't stop helping you after your site goes live. Its AI can help with SEO, website copy, email marketing, and even suggest what to do next because getting started is only the beginning. If you've been waiting for the right time to launch your idea, this is it. Go to hostinger.com slash Kara and use code Kara for 10 % off. Again, that's hostinger.com slash Kara and use code Kara for 10 % off. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Physician's Choice.

7:49Kara Goldin:I used to think feeling bloated or just a little off was normal. You know, digestion not quite right, feeling heavier than you should. But what I've realized is when your gut health is off, you don't actually know how much better you could feel. Better health really does start in the gut. And that's why I want to tell you about Physician's choice, 60 billion probiotic. It's simple, just one capsule a day. And what I love is that it's not just one strain. It's 10 different probiotic strains with 60 billion CFUs designed to support gut immune and digestive health. It helps you feel less bloated, less gassy, and more regular.

8:34Kara Goldin:It's also acid resistant, so it actually survives your stomach acid and gets where it needs to go. Plus, it includes prebiotic to help feed that good bacteria so it can thrive. There's a reason it's a number one best-selling probiotic on Amazon with over 140 ,000 reviews. It's developed with doctors, made in the USA, and backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee. Go to Amazon or physicianschoice.com and use code PCPodcast10 for 10 % off your entire order. PCPodcast10 for 10 % off. Best results after a month of use. So invest in your gut. Subscribe and save up to 40 % off your order. Also find Physicians Choice at all your favorite retailers.

9:29Kara Goldin:This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime. Let's be honest. Most of us opened a bank account years ago and never really questioned whether it was still the best option. But if you're paying fees or missing out on rewards, it might be time to rethink it. That's why I like Chime. They're changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional banks that pile on hidden fees or gatekeep the best rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding, fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees. and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check.

10:18Kara Goldin:You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate that's nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to Chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is Chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for MyPay and Chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. Optional products and services may have fees or charges. Stated annual percentage yield and cash back for Chime Prime only.

10:54No minimum

11:01Kara Goldin:So you spent more than 20 years helping build brands. So you're not an inexperienced executive at all. But you decided that now was the time when you really wanted to hang your shingle with your co-founder to actually do something that made a difference. Thank you for doing that and love what you're doing. So what made you decide at that moment that it was time to go and do this? I mean, why not go and tell other companies to go and do this? You know, that was what I spent a lot of, you know, the first 20 years of my career doing is telling other people what to do. And all of that experience really led to the foundation for what we've built with Leche from our organic content strategy to the brand strategy, design, community engagement, all of these things are key things that I took away from that experience.

11:59In addition to learning everything about content syndication and traffic and all these things that you need to do to have a successful business. But it really clicked for me. I was pregnant with my, after I had my daughter, I made a lot of breast milk. And I remember I was sitting on the beach and I was talking to my friend and I said, gosh, I just like made so much. Like, why couldn't we take something that is frozen or liquid and turn it into a powder, just like we do with like, you know, cow's milk to whey protein or, you know, why can't we do that? And she looked at me and she said, I think that's the golden ticket.

12:30I think that's what everybody's been waiting for. Why can't we get a breast milk formula? And so as my co-founder Trish and I were going through my second pregnancy, her first together, we had the same problem again. And we just were like, okay, this keeps coming out. With her food science background, she's like, I think we can do this through freeze drying. So we were the first customers. We did it ourselves. And we just in how cool and how amazing it was, we were like, more people need to know about this. More moms need to know that this is an option. Right. And so it really is something that is foundationally, you know, breast milk sharing has been a part of the world, you know, generationally has kept us alive as humans since the start of time.

13:11What's really broken down is the village, how parents are getting support, how parents are getting access to things, right? We live in a digital age. Social media brings us together in like, you know, a really specific way, but it spreads us apart in a lot of ways, too. We live so far away from our, you know, our core people who care about us. And we live so far away from, you know, the village that would help step in if something doesn't go according to plan. And so this is where this approach comes back is like, this is not a new concept. It's just now made real for modern families. And honestly, it was just like such an exciting thing.

13:49Like, you know, I was I spent the first 10 years of my career, you know, learning everything about how to market 401ks and IRAs and financial media and then, you know, getting into the lifestyle business here in L.A., like culinary, lifestyle, travel, beauty, all that stuff. But I was like, this is my mission. I'm a mom. I understand the problem. I'm living on both sides of this. Everything that is all of my experience has funneled into this amazing opportunity for us to create something so amazing for parents. So that's kind of how it started. And it's really rewarding building something for yourself.

14:25You know, I think that I know the roadmap I can hand off to people. I know the recommendations. And, you know, there's some reward in that, too. but this is so rewarding. Being an entrepreneur, it's not for the faint of heart. It has a lot of bumps along the way and certainly you experienced those early on but it is so rewarding because you know that every minute you put into it, every ounce you put into it, every late night, every early morning, every trip is all coming back to something you created. And when you see, when you're walking through the airport and you see someone using your product or like for you, like drinking your water, whatever, you're like, God, that is such a cool moment.

15:02It's so cool, you know, like to think that you can have you can leave this print on parenthood. You can leave this print on society. Like what a cool moment to be able to share.

15:13Kara Goldin:This episode of The Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime. Let's be honest. Most of us opened a bank account years ago and never really questioned whether it was still the best option. But if you're paying fees or missing out on rewards, it might be time to rethink it. That's why I like Chime. They're changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional banks that pile on hidden fees or gatekeep the best rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check.

16:01Kara Goldin:You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate that's nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200, fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for MyPay and ChimeCard provided by Chime's bank partners. Optional products and services may have fees or charges. Stated annual percentage yield and cash back for Chime Prime only.

16:37No minimum balance required. Checking account ranking based on the J.D. Power survey published October 20, 2025. For more information on APY rates, MyPay, SpotMe, and Travelperks, go to chime.com slash disclosure.

16:45Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. So you talked about community. And so how have people been finding out about leche and sort of other options if they can't actually produce enough milk or maybe don't want to use their milk? Because maybe, for example, they're taking some kind of supplement or medication that they don't actually want to pass along to their child. How are people finding that community? Yeah, there's a really high intent search value to that, right? To those questions of how maybe it's a same-sex couple, you know, a dad or a single dad that's brought a baby into the world through surrogacy. And, you know, you just kind of plugging into Google right now.

17:36Like, how do I buy breast milk? Like immediately, you know, you go through all of these steps to create a family or to become a mother, to become a parent. and a lot of times you kind of, the feeding part comes second. You're like, oh gosh, now I need to feed this baby. But so many parents come to us in that really specific moment of like, I kind of need help making this decision. So you see a lot of traffic coming from, you know, very general search results, but most of it is word of mom or word of parent. Like there is some momentum behind, you know, all of these, you know, peer-to-peer recommendations that we see.

18:10A lot of parents just don't know this option exists. And so when they're looking at ways, what supplement can give me or give my baby the benefits of HMOs, that formula does not have? Well, it's this, breast milk. You know, whether you get it through informal sharing or whether you get it through leche, it's breast milk. So it really is this community approach of, you know, how we're reaching people organically, how we're engaging when parents are, you know, a lot of moms are way more open now on social media about the struggles they're having with breastfeeding or why they're choosing not to breastfeed.

18:43You know, whether they have DMER or whether they have, you know, severe postpartum and they have to go on a medication that's, you know, not safe for breastfeeding. There's so many reasons why this comes in as a solution when they're looking specifically for those problems. And again, a lot of parents are way more vocal about their experiences. is, you know, the vulnerability side of that allows us to share, you know, a layer of support that they really wouldn't have in other, you know, even a year ago or even two years ago.

19:17Kara Goldin:So how did you decide on the name Leche? This episode of The Kara Golden Show is brought to you by Chime. Let's be honest. Most of us opened a bank account years ago and never really questioned whether it was still the best option. But if you're paying fees or missing out on rewards, it might be time to rethink it. That's why I like Chime. They're changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional banks that pile on hidden fees or gatekeep the best rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding, fee-free banking with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. What I really like is that you get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category of your choice, like gas or groceries, while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check.

20:09Kara Goldin:You can also grow your money faster with a savings rate that's nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to Chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is Chime.com slash Kara Golden. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes.

20:51perks. Go to chime.com slash disclosure. There's a little bit of a funny story here, but there's kind of like a universal approach to it, too. So I'm sure you're familiar with like Le Leche League, right? Leche is kind of this universal word that people know is milk, right? Even if we're in France, like, I mean, we're still people still kind of understand it. Even if you're in, you know, South America, people are understanding it. If you're in the U.S., people are understanding it. But a friend of ours, actually, so Trish and I shared a mutual friend and she was having an issue with, you know, a pumping routine or a supply set, you know, we were kind of in the in the nitty gritty of building this business at the time.

21:25And she has sent us an email and she she just titled it Leche Mamas. I need your help. And we were like, there's something here. And so we just kind of jumped into it. I'm like, I think this works because, you know, what we're seeing is it does actually resonate through a lot of different cultures. It resonates a lot with people who are familiar with, you know, the very fundamentals of breastfeeding, right? With Leche League and everything else that's kind of been the gold standard to date. But it's a universal word, you know? It doesn't, it's powdered breast milk, but it's Leche. So I think it was kind of a funny story of how we got there, but it just really stuck.

22:05And we're like, this is it. So.

22:08Kara Goldin:I love it. Can you share the story with when you were actually the consumer before you became the co-founder. But what was it like trying to donate your own milk and sort of like what was the challenges of it? And, you know, why do you think it's so hard? I mean, why is the infrastructure around this topic so outdated when the universal message seems to be that, you know, breast milk is the best. And there's a lot of pressure, I think, on moms to do that. And because of that. So there are a lot of key stats here that are important. There is not a milk bank in every state. So we are left with a lot of informal or peer-to-peer sharing options that just make it plain easier for parents.

23:02Now, easier doesn't mean safer. Easier, you know, easier is great if you want to drive down the street and pick up, you know, a bag of breast milk from a friend or someone you might trust. But the safety and transparency behind those sort of, you know, types of options are really, really low for the parents on the receiving end of it. And so when we looked at this and when I sort of lived this problem on both sides, you know, we had I had a lot of milk. our freezer was full. We couldn't fit any additional food in our freezer. And so I was just donating as much as I could. I knew I had more than enough to feed my babies at the time and I wanted to do something good.

23:42But the channels out there to do that, it was like, I had to post on Craigslist. You have to, you know, you're texting with strangers, you know, odd hours about a pickup in front of your house or meeting them somewhere that, you know, you might not always be able to bring someone to ensure that it's safe. All of it was just from the donor side and from the parent side, really, really unsafe. And so we looked at the things that could matter. Shipping, right? That's easy. It's just logistics. How do we figure that out? Access. Great. Let's turn it into a form that we can actually get this breast milk around everywhere.

24:16Powder, right? It doesn't have like once we saw the logistics coming in, the logistics going out can be way easier for more families. The safety, the trust, the transparency, testing it. Does this have an excess amount of caffeine or is the donor, you know, taking a medication that they're not supposed to take as, you know, producing breast milk? Those are all questions that you might not feel comfortable asking if you're getting, you know, informal milk from an informal source. But we do. This is for the parents who want to know this is safe. This is screened. These donors are blood tested. The milk is nutritionally standardized.