Ep113: Leading with Love: Building a Family Business That Scaled with Julie Friedman

In this episode of Building Texas Business, Chris Hanslik sits down with Julie Friedman, founder of Young + Wild and Friedman and known to many as the Play Dough Lady, for a conversation about turning a personal challenge into a thriving product company. Julie shares how her search for a way to help her young daughter, who struggled with a speech disorder and anxiety, led her to homemade sensory play and, almost by accident, to building a nationally recognized brand.Julie walks through the early days of mixing Play Dough in her kitchen, packing hundreds of kits across every room of her house, and hauling pallets of bins and fifty pound bags of flour with three small kids in tow. She talks candidly about the moment she realized this was a real business, the viral growth that took off on Instagram, and the tenacity and passion that kept her from giving up even when it would have been easier to walk away.The conversation covers the practical lessons of scaling a company that grew faster than anyone expected, including learning to let go of control one finger at a time, hiring the right people, and building a supply chain with backup plans after being burned by a single source. Julie also opens up about the family that runs her Play Dough factory today, the culture of love and loyalty she has built with her team and customers, and the leadership style that favors trusting her gut and moving quickly over overanalyzing every decision.Along the way, Julie reflects on balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship, the importance of asking for help and leaning on a supportive spouse and business partner, and the surreal milestone of launching her line into eighteen hundred Target stores. She shares why authenticity has been at the heart of her brand from the beginning and how she recharges each summer by unplugging in Montana.For entrepreneurs, mompreneurs, and anyone who has ever turned a personal passion into something bigger than they imagined, this episode offers an honest and inspiring look at resilience, growth, and staying true to yourself while building a business from scratch.LINKSShow NotesPrevious EpisodesAbout BoyarMillerAbout Young + Wild and Friedman