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Founders & Friends
Founders & Friends is where interior designers and creative entrepreneurs come for real conversations about building a business—and a life—that feels good.
Hosted by a designer-turned-founder, each episode dives into honest, behind-the-scenes stories from industry leaders, creative thinkers, and bold business owners who are shaping the design world on their own terms. We talk about the big wins, the hard lessons, the financial truths, and the messy middle of entrepreneurship.
Whether you're just starting out or scaling something big, this podcast is your reminder that you're not doing it alone—and that success can look a lot of different ways.
Come for the insights, stay for the community. This is Founders & Friends—where business gets personal, and conversations get real.
Founders & Friends
05. Trust Your Gut: Designing a Business That Fits with Ashleigh Cochran of Oar Haus Interiors
When the traditional path in interior design didn’t feel like the right fit, Ashleigh Cochran trusted her instincts and chose something different. In this episode, she shares how that bold decision led to the creation of Oar Haus Interiors — a CAD and rendering studio built specifically to support other designers behind the scenes.
Ashleigh opens up about her early love for the technical side of design, why she walked away from the full-service model, and how she turned a niche skillset into a thriving, values-aligned business. We talk about the power of learning through experience, setting boundaries that protect your creativity, and building a business that doesn’t just look successful — but feels good too.
Whether you're at a career crossroads or simply craving more alignment in your work, this episode is your reminder that there’s no one right way to be a designer, and sometimes the most fulfilling path is the one you carve out for yourself.
You can find Ashleigh at https://www.oarhausinteriors.com/
Be sure to get an additional 15% off on services through Oar Haus Interiors
This Episode was brought to you by Vetted by Design
If you are looking to outsource anything in your design business check out Vetted by Design to find some amazing highly vetted pros you can trust to help you grow your business.
www.vetted-bydesign.com
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