In this episode of If I'm Honest, Julia Landauer sits down with Andy Gottlieb, founder of Sandwell, a growing New York City sandwich shop redefining what it means to eat “healthy-ish.” With a background spanning investment banking, culinary school, restaurant operations, and hospitality leadership, Andy has taken an unconventional path to entrepreneurship, and he's learned plenty along the way.

Andy opens up about the emotional roller coaster of being a founder, why he believes great hospitality matters just as much as a great product, and the importance of creating a workplace culture where honest feedback is encouraged, even when it comes from someone correcting the boss. He also shares how his ambitions shifted from becoming a Michelin-starred chef to building a scalable restaurant business, why starting later in life gave him an advantage, and how he's using AI and technology to compete in one of the toughest restaurant markets in the world.

Julia and Andy explore the power of trusting your instincts, learning from expensive mistakes, communicating clearly, and knowing when to let go of things that no longer serve your vision.

Whether you're starting a business, leading a team, or questioning what success looks like in your own life, this conversation is a reminder that growth rarely follows a straight line, and sometimes the most meaningful opportunities come from changing direction.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about ambition, resilience, leadership, and the messy, rewarding process of building something meaningful.

Follow @getsandwell on Instagram and learn where you can visit a Sandwell here: https://www.getsandwell.co

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Celine Ivari is a scientist and the founder of Wholyme, a self-care brand built around intention, prevention, and long-term well-being. Inspired by watching her mother navigate a chronic autoimmune condition, Celine developed the formula that would eventually become Wholyme’s Relief Balm, and began a journey that took her from human biology and genetics to entrepreneurship.

Celine joins Julia to get honest about what it actually takes to build a consumer brand from the ground up. She shares the persistence that helped her break into major retailers, the behind-the-scenes realities of manufacturing and compliance, why she refused to compromise on her formulations, and how listening closely to customers shaped Wholyme’s growth.

They also dig into the more personal side of entrepreneurship: separating your identity from the role you’ve always played, becoming comfortable as the face of your company, taking leaps before you feel ready, and dealing with the constant temptation to compare your progress to everyone else’s.

Celine also shares the perspective that helps her when the finish line feels impossibly far away: sometimes you have to stop looking at how far you still have to go and recognize just how far you’ve already come.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about persistence, self-care, fear, ambition, and building something you truly believe in.

You can find Wholyme at https://wholyme.com, on Instagram @wholyme_official, on TikTok @wholyme, and on LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/wholyme. Follow Celine on Instagram @celine_ivari and connect on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/celine-ivari-077278b2

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What does it actually take to build a brand that shapes culture? And how do you know when it’s time to leave something successful to build what’s next?

Kyle Bryan is the founder of Function Global, a strategic partnership agency connecting the corporate and creative worlds across fashion, luxury, entertainment, and culture. Before launching Function Global, Kyle spent a decade as Brand Director at LaQuan Smith, helping transform the label into a globally recognized luxury brand through strategic partnerships, celebrity relationships, runway productions, and collaborations.

In this episode of If I’m Honest, Kyle joins Julia Landauer for a candid conversation about breaking into the notoriously exclusive fashion industry, becoming an encyclopedia of your craft, and why genuine relationships can be one of the most powerful tools in building a career. Kyle shares the strategy behind creating a luxury ecosystem around LaQuan Smith, the importance of identifying the “white space” everyone else is missing, and what years of high-pressure wins, setbacks, and pivots taught them about resilience.

Kyle also opens up about stepping away after a decade to launch Function Global, building a company in stealth mode, and why their focus now is simple: do good business, create meaningful partnerships, and build work that can actually shift culture.

Buckle up for an honest conversation about ambition, intentionality, relationships, reinvention, and doing the work so that when your next chapter arrives, you’re ready for it.

You can find Function Global at https://function-global.com and on Instagram at @function.global. You can follow Kyle on Instagram at @kyleabryan.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.