Emma Grede built a business and media empire (including brands like Good American and SKIMS) without a safety net. Today, she joins Nicole to pull back the curtain on the money mindset, negotiation tactics, and hard-won lessons that got her there.
Emma gets raw about paying herself £45K while paying a male hire £150K to do a worse job, the moment Good American sold $1 million worth of inventory on day one (and why her investors turned on her by noon), and creative strategies she’s used to close major deals. She and Nicole also dig into Emma's exact playbook for negotiating a raise, the traps women fall into with money, and why Emma never lends money — she just gives it.
Then they get into the taboos: prenups, the questions people should stop asking female founders, and whether financial planning and family planning should ever be kept separate.
Pick up Emma's amazing book Start With Yourself
Listen to Emma’s inspiring podcast Aspire
Check out Nicole’s financial literacy course The Money School
Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole’s company Private Wealth Collective
Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab’s Instagram and Nicole Lapin’s Instagram
Here's what Nicole covers with Emma:
00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?
03:39 Emma's Early Money Mistakes
06:00 The £45K vs. £150K Lesson
07:12 Learning the Language of Business
10:34 What Wealthy People Know About Investing
11:48 Good American's $1M Day One — and the Investor Critique
15:39 What Money Can't Buy (But People Think It Can)
18:13 Does Money Buy Happiness?
19:00 Emma's Secret to Always Asking for More
19:48 The Natalie Portman / Dior Negotiation Story
21:58 The Secret to Great Negotiations
22:30 Negotiating a Prenup at a Restaurant
24:33 Protecting What You Build During Marriage
26:45 Raise Negotiation Role Play
33:18 What NOT to Say When Asking for a Raise
35:01 Questions Female Founders Get That Men Never Do
38:20 The "Army of Help" and Financial Family Planning
40:34 Raising Wealthy Kids Without Ruining Them
43:59 Emma’s Early Hustle
46:00 Secure the Bag
53:15 What’s Next For Emma
01:01:39 Emma Grede's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank