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"Pick a niche." "Stay in your lane." For women entrepreneurs, this limiting advice seems inescapable—unless you're KJ Miller, who's built an impressive career by doing precisely the opposite.

KJ joins us for a fascinating conversation about her refusal to be confined to a single identity. As co-founder of multimillion-dollar beauty brand Mented Cosmetics, lecturer, angel investor, content creator with hundreds of thousands of followers, and mother to a four-year-old daughter, KJ embodies what it means to embrace multiple passions simultaneously.

What happens when the dream career, the big funding round, and the perfect Instagram life still don’t feel right?

KJ Miller—Harvard MBA grad, Yale lecturer, co-founder of Mented Cosmetics, and certified member of both the Beyhive and Swiftie nation—joins us for a conversation that’s equal parts honest, inspiring, and overdue.

After building Mented into a multimillion-dollar brand and leading it through a successful exit, KJ hit a wall. Burnout, postpartum anxiety, and the crushing pressure to “do it all” forced her to pause—and ask what she really wanted next.

In this episode, KJ shares:

What it’s really like to raise millions in venture funding as a Black woman

How she navigated burnout while running a high-growth brand

Why leaving the company she built was the most radical act of self-preservation

Her transition into a slower, more sustainable life as a Yale lecturer, content creator, and mom

And yes—we talk about Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and the soundtracks that got her through it all

This isn’t a girlboss story. It’s a story about ambition, honesty, motherhood, and the courage it takes to choose yourself—even after “making it.”

ABOUT KJKJ lives in New Jersey with her husband of 10 years and their two daughters, ages 3 and 1.


Resources & Links:

Follow KJ on TikTok and Instagram

Mented Cosmetics

Postpartum Support International

"I am addicted to doing the most," she laughs, explaining how she thrives with a full plate rather than a narrow focus. This perspective has served her well, from Harvard to Yale to her current teaching position at Ohio State, from building a beauty brand that's now available in CVS stores to creating viral content about everything from Taylor Swift to reality TV.

The conversation takes a vulnerable turn when KJ shares her difficult pregnancy and traumatic birth experience, including an emergency C-section where she wasn't given enough anesthesia. Her candid discussion about postpartum depression, medication, and her experiences with GLP-1s offers a refreshing counterpoint to the sanitized narratives often presented about motherhood and body image.

Perhaps most striking is KJ's reflection on raising a Black daugh

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

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Do you want the truth about c-sections? Because this week, you’re getting it.


Jen and Beth — the brilliant, brutally honest minds behind The C-Section Experience podcast — join us for a conversation that’s part group therapy, part birth trauma confessional, and part roast of the word “birth plan.” Between them, they’ve had more abdominal surgeries than a Grey’s Anatomy cast member and are here to share about some really personal things like: stillbirth, VBACs, unmedicated guilt spirals, body betrayal, hospital shakes, and the deep weirdness of bonding with a newborn when you’ve got a toddler at home who still calls the shots.

They’re smart. They’re funny. And they’re not here for the sugarcoating.

Whether you had a magical unmedicated birth or felt like your uterus got mugged in an OR, this episode is for you.

Content note: This episode includes a deeply personal story of stillbirth.
At 28 weeks pregnant, Beth knew something was wrong — but no one listened. What followed changed everything about how she approached birth, medicine, and motherhood. She shares her story with vulnerability and strength, offering insight into how trauma shapes our decisions and how healing isn’t linear.


Together we unpack:

What it’s like to schedule a C-section after stillbirth

The guilt spiral of “failed” birth plans and emergency deliveries

Why three is the hardest age (scientific consensus among moms)

Medical gaslighting and why your gut always knows

Birth prep advice that actually helps

Scar tissue, diastasis recti, and whether a strong core helps or hurts

The postpartum recovery no one preps you for (including scar itch and the shakes)

How to stop apologizing for your birth story

They also get real about what it’s like to fall in love with your kid — sometimes not right away — and why being a “good mom” has nothing to do with how your baby entered the world.

Resources Mentioned:

The C-Section Experience Podcast

Every Mother: Diastasis Recti Program

Postpartum Support International

VBAC info via ACOG

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

Send us a text

Amanda Anderson @commonthreads is a stay-at-home mom of four, a former boutique owner, and a full-time reseller who’s grown a thriving Whatnot business—pulling in up to $3,000 in a single show and $26k in just one month on Whatnot and $15k on TikTok Shop. In this episode, she talks candidly about the mental load of motherhood, religious deconstruction, parenting on one income, and how she clawed her way out of financial fear by finding something for herself.

Whether you’re a mom trying to make ends meet, someone burned out from corporate life, or just curious about how reselling really works, this conversation is equal parts validating and motivating.

We cover:

• What it’s really like to raise 4 kids on a single income
• The shame spiral of not “contributing financially”
• Reselling as financial empowerment—and why Amanda says it saved her
• Growing up Mormon and figuring out your own beliefs
• The myth of “having it all” and why everything feels like a no-win scenario
• Making money on Whatnot, TikTok, and how she hit $26K in one month

Follow Amanda:
TikTok: @amanda.comandthreads
Instagram: @commonthreadsLLC
Whatnot: commonthreadsLLC

Resources:

Postpartum Support International

Mothers for Mothers

National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (U.S.): 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/