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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.
Episodes
49 episodes
49. Design, Business & the Skills That Set You Apart With Marcy Sagel
In this episode of Founders & Friends, Ronniesha sits down with interior designer and Designer Bank founder Marcy Sagel to talk about the growing importance of Revit in the interior design industry and the major training gap she sa...
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48. Why Designers Struggle To Pay Themselves: Credit Cards, Bank Accounts and Hiring
In this episode of Founders & Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Carleen Lamay of C2 Accounting to talk about one of the biggest financial challenges interior designers face: figuring out how to consistently pay yourself whil...
47. Website Copy for Interior Designers: What Makes Your Design Firm Different? with Kamala Nair
What happens when your portfolio is beautiful—but your words aren’t doing it justice?In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with copywriter and novelist Kamala Nair to talk about what makes in...
46. TABOO TOPICS: Design school, trade discounts, and tracking your hours!!
On this solo episode we dive into a few taboo topics. Basically just my thought on different topics in the design industry!!
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45. Why Art Should Never Be an Afterthought in Interior Design
Art has the power to completely transform a home, but too often it's treated as the final finishing touch instead of an essential part of the design process. In this episode of Founders & Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with New ...
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44. How to Find the Right Business Coach as an Interior Designer
Building a successful interior design business doesn't mean you have to do it alone. In this episode of Founders & Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Sonia Barney, founder of Kaivari, to talk about the power of finding the ri...
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43. A Deep Dive Into Accessories & Styling with Mary Zenker
The best interior designers know that a beautiful space doesn't end when the furniture is installed. In this episode of Founders & Friends, I sit down with interior stylist Mary Zenker, owner of Shaker Home Studio...
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42. Chloe Legras Shares Her Secrets to Hiring, Growth & Profitability
In this episode of Founders & Friends, I sit down with Chloe Legras, founder of Boxwood Avenue, to discuss the realities of building and scaling a successful interior design business. From her humble beginnings on a cattle ranch an...
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41. Marketing for Interior Designers: Website, Instagram, and What Matters Most
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Samantha Cuello, founder of Strata Marketing Studio, to discuss what effective marketing really looks like for interior designers and home furnishings brands....
40. Portfolio Strategy, Pricing, and Profit with Erin Hackett
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Erin Hackett, founder of Hackett House Studio, for an honest conversation about pricing, profitability, and scaling a luxury interior design business.Erin ...
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39. How Starting a Coffee Table Book Became So Much More with Candice Brooke
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with returning guest Candace of Mark Brook Photography to discuss the unexpected journey behind The Design Ledger — a curated coffee table book celebrating Ch...
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38. I Am Hiring And I Am Scared Sh*tless
Heyyyyyy a solo episode by yours truly! All about how I am hiring and how I am scared and how I calm myself down :) You can find me at:https://www.instagram.com/vettedbydesign/https://www.instagra...
37. The Biggest Mistakes Interior Designers Make in Business
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera is joined by Erin Hildmann and Keri Hinterreiter, co-founders of The Collective for Designers, to unpack the real, often unspoken side of building a design business.
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36. Behind the Drawings: The Missing Piece in Interior Design with Jessica Marchant
In this episode we chat with Jessica Marchant, founder of Blue Sky Creative, joins Ronniesha Rivera to share how she built a thriving B2B technical design business from the ground up—starting in the uncertainty of COVID-19.With a backgro...
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35. How Kaitlyn Wolfe Built A Multi-Dimensional Brand
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with multidisciplinary designer and founder Kaitlyn Wolfe to unpack the evolution of her growing design empire.What began in 2016 as Iconic Design and Build has...
34. How to Price, Package, and Protect Your Interior Design Business with Georgia Economakis
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with returning guest Georgia Economakis of Designs by Georgia for a candid, behind-the-scenes conversation on process, pricing, and packages in today’s interior...
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33. Everything You Need to Know About Finding Your Niche With Rebecca West
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Rebecca West, founder of Seriously Happy Coaching & Consulting, to unpack her 17-year journey from interior designer to business coach.Rebecca shares h...
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32. From Graduation to Founder: Abbey's Barbays Journey Through Entrepreneurship
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Abbey Barbay, founder of Abbey’s Creative Designs and a Vetted by Design pro specializing in 3D renderings for interior designers.
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31. Niche Is Rich: Scaling a Marketing Agency in the Home Industry
In this episode of Founders & Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Amelia Horton-Eynon, founder of Serene Marketing, a full-service marketing agency serving interior designers and the home industry. Amelia sha...
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30. From Corporate E-Commerce to Web Strategist for Interior Designers
In this episode of Founders & Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Cathleen Hall, founder of Cathleen Hall Creative, to unpack her 13-year journey from corporate e-commerce leader to full-time web strategist for interior design...
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29. Starting Young, Thinking Big: Lessons from Building a Photography Brand
In this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Candice of Mark Brooke Photography to unpack what it really looks like to build a creative business from the ground up — and evolve it with intention...
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28. From Fiver to Full Service Branding With Julia Stanton
On this episode of Founders and Friends, Ronniesha Rivera welcomes Julia Stanton, the creative force behind Design by JRS—a full-service branding studio known for its bold, colorful, magnetic design style. Julia shares how ...
27. OBM vs. VA vs. Consultant: What Interior Designers Really Need
In this episode, Ronniesha Rivera sits down with Kat Oldershaw, founder of Kat & Co., to unpack what actually makes operations work for interior designers—and why more tools don’t always mean better systems.Kat...
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26. How I Secured $33k in design fees going into 2026
What happens when you actually track your marketing—and tell the truth about what worked and what didn’t?In this episode of Founders and Friends, host Ronniesha Rivera pulls back the curtain on a four-month experiment she calls ...
25. Process, Pricing, and Packages: Designing a Business That Actually Protects You with Georgia Economakis
Returning guest Georgia Economus of Designs by Georgia joins Ronniesha Rivera for a candid continuation of their earlier conversation — this time diving deep into the realities of process, pricing, and packages in an interior design business...
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