America's Youngest Woman CEO (Lifeway Foods' Julie Smolyansky)

Kefir...from $116 to Billion-Dollar Brand...CEO Lifeway Foods, Julie Smolyansky.Julie Smolyansky is the CEO of Lifeway Foods, shares her incredible and inspiring story!Imagine arriving in America as an infant with nothing but one suitcase, $116 in cash, and parents who didn’t speak a word of English.By age 27, she was the youngest female CEO of a publicly traded company in American history.But what most people don’t know is what happened behind the scenes:✅ She watched her father smuggle live kefir cultures from the USSR.✅ She took over the business overnight—while critics said she’d fail.✅ She turned a niche Eastern European product into a household name across the U.S.✅ And yes—she even sent a case of kefir to President Reagan for his summit with Gorbachev.This isn’t just a story about entrepreneurship. It’s about resilience, conviction, and proving the doubters wrong.Today, her brand fuels a multi-billion-dollar category—and inspires immigrants, women, and entrepreneurs everywhere.----Step past the Red Velvet Rope. Subscribe to Zeitgeist and catch Episode 3 now.The Zeitgeist podcast is brought to you by Cameo, Personalized videos from your favorite stars. Book yours here: https://www.cameo.com/