The Corporate Detox with Edilsa

Breaking into your first board role rarely happens the way people expect it to. In this episode, Renee Hartmann pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to get, and why most of the conventional advice misses the mark. We unpack the real path in, from why board roles almost never come from job listings, to how early advisory work often starts informally (and sometimes unpaid), to the role your network actually plays in opening doors. Renee also breaks down the differences between boards, and shares what founders get wrong when building boards. Renee is a top retail expert, consultant, and advisor working with startups and growth-stage companies. As an advisor, she serves as a non-executive director and board member across public, private, and nonprofit organizations spanning retail, technology, and consumer businesses. She previously founded and ran her own company and held early roles at Ogilvy and Putnam Investments. She holds an MBA from Duke University, a BBA from Emory University, and is a CFA Charterholder. For more on Renee’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/reneehartmann/

Building something from 0 to 1 inside a company rarely looks the way people think it will. In this episode, Jennifer Brown shares what it took to build influencer marketing from the ground up at SHEIN. She breaks down how to build from day one — from creating structure out of ambiguity, to proving and scaling ideas before you have resources, to turning early wins into repeatable systems and teams. We also get into her shift from agency to in-house, what it actually looks like to operate inside SHEIN’s fast-moving, culture-first model, how creator marketing is evolving, and the OG creator who first shaped how she saw influence.Jennifer Brown is the Head of U.S. Influencer Marketing and Talent Partnerships at SHEIN. There, she's worked with some of the most influential social media creators and celebrities in the world including Cardi B, Lele Pons, GloRilla, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, and Normani. Prior to SHEIN, she spent nearly a decade across influencer and talent agencies in Los Angeles including Mediakix, All Def Media, theAmplify, and Addition, leading social and influencer campaigns for brands such as Sony Pictures, Blue Apron, RetailMeNot, and Facebook’s Portal.For more on Jennifer’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-brown10/

Building companies the traditional way can look right on paper—and still feel completely wrong in practice. In this episode, Freddie Laker shares how a failed company, burnout, and frustration with corporate bureaucracy pushed him to rethink everything, ultimately leading him to build something entirely different: a collective. We get into what a true collective actually is (and what most people get wrong), why communities are having such a moment right now, and what it really takes to build one that people don’t just join—but stay in. From governance and shared ownership to attracting the right people and avoiding hidden hierarchy, Freddie breaks down the hard-earned lessons behind building Chameleon Collective and why he believes this model could redefine how we work. Freddie Laker is the Founder and Partner at Chameleon Collective and Co-Founder of Collective OS. A former CEO and CMO, he has built and scaled companies across consumer tech, aviation, and DTC, and is known for pioneering the fractional leadership model. Under his leadership, Chameleon Collective has grown to a global network of hundreds of experts, supporting companies across industries while operating on a shared, non-hierarchical model. To learn more about his upcoming book Collective Capitalism, visit: http://collectivecapitalism.org/

There’s a particular kind of discomfort that comes from stepping away from a life you were taught to build, especially when it looks successful on the outside but starts to feel misaligned on the inside. Maria and I get into this space of tension, where ambition, identity, and guilt all overlap: what it feels like to take time off, why it can feel so hard to stop even when you need to, and how much of ourselves gets tied to being in motion. We also reflect on my own experience of stepping back and what surfaced when productivity was no longer the default measure of worth.Maria is the founder of wellness consultancy Vida Fuera and previously spent years building and running a boutique indoor cycling studio in San Diego that became a deeply rooted community space. Her background spans marketing and advertising across New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, including account management at SocialCode, before transitioning into entrepreneurship. A certified mat Pilates instructor and indoor cycling instructor, her work sits at the intersection of wellness, community and intentional living.For more on Maria’s work, visit https://www.vidafuera.com/

What starts as a search for a tax break can quickly turn into something much bigger. In this episode, Nicole Bansal shares how a moment during maternity leave—sparked by an unexpected tax bill and a deep dive into real estate podcasts—led her to build a short-term rental business alongside her corporate career. She breaks down how she got started without prior experience, why she chose short-term rentals over long-term investing, and how she approached everything from financing and market selection to setting up and managing properties remotely. Nicole also gets candid about the realities behind the highlight reel—from navigating risk and unpredictable costs to balancing a full-time role while building a scalable income stream on the side.Nicole Bansal is a marketing leader, investor, and advisor who has helped scale high-growth startups from early traction to successful exits. She has led marketing at companies acquired by Blackstone and DoorDash, building growth engines that drove nine-figure revenue and industry-leading CAC:ROI performance. Across SaaS, ad tech, and telecom, she specializes in turning early-stage momentum into durable, high-leverage marketing systems. Today, she also invests in and operates a growing portfolio of short-term rental properties, combining her expertise in marketing, pricing, and customer experience to drive performance in real estate.For more on Nicole’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolebans/

Leaving Big Tech can trigger more than a career shift—it can spark a complete rethink of how and where to work. In this episode, Kate Minogue shares what it actually looks like to build a consulting and fractional career after corporate leadership. She discusses how executives land their first consulting gigs, how advisory and fractional roles differ from traditional jobs, and why layoffs can sometimes become the catalyst for designing a more flexible career. Kate also reflects on the emotional side of the transition—from the moment her “nervous system did not know what was going on” to redefining identity, ambition, and success outside the corporate ladder.Kate Minogue is a fractional CPO, advisor, and AI strategist who works with startups and scale-ups on product, data, and growth strategy. She previously spent over six years at Meta leading Marketing Science teams across EMEA, partnering with major app, gaming, and consumer tech companies on data-driven decision making. Earlier in her career, she held data science and analytics roles at Bank of Ireland and Paddy Power. Today she advises companies on product innovation, AI strategy, and data-driven growth while serving as an angel investor, board member, and advisor across the startup ecosystem.For more on her work, visit https://kate-minogue.com/

What qualifies me for this conversation? More than a decade inside corporate at brands like Amazon, a degree in marketing and the lived experience of leaving corporate to build something new. Im this podcast, I’ll explore the big questions about work, purpose, and ambition with people who have chosen different paths—and those still figuring it out.