Stepping into Hollywood Jewish Advocacy - with Allison Josephs
Release Date: 09/19/2024
She Left a Fortune 500 Career to Build a Dental Empire With Her Husband | Deena Stein
Inspired to Lead
From chemical engineer to Fortune 500 director of engineering to co-founder and CEO of the Stein Center — Deena Stein's career defies the playbook. In this episode of Inspire to Lead, host Talia Meshiach sits down with her close friend Deena to unpack a story of ambition, risk, and reinvention. Deena opens up about starting her career at Procter & Gamble at 22, leading a team of union workers twice her age who tried to break her, and how she learned that real leadership comes from earning trust, not authority. She shares how she and her husband Avi built parallel careers — hers...
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The Secrets to Building a Global Manufacturing Empire | Avigail Nadav
Inspired to Lead
What's the real difference between a $1,000 couch and an $8,000 couch that look identical? In this episode of Inspired to Lead, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Avigail Nadav, founder of OC & Co Living, a global custom furniture and manufacturing company serving designers, architects, and hotels worldwide. Avigail pulls back the curtain on the complex, often secretive world of manufacturing in China — from touring factories that don't match their showrooms, to spotting fake materials, negotiating with vendors, and building a team across three continents. She shares the real story of...
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From the ER to Entrepreneur: How Bracha Banayan Is Helping People Live Longer
Inspired to Lead
Summary In this episode, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Bracha Banayan, family nurse practitioner and founder & CEO of IV Drips and Hello Dose, for a deep and inspiring conversation. They explore the science behind GLP-1 medications, why weight loss has never just been about willpower, and how hormonal health is transforming medicine and longevity. Bracha also opens up about her entrepreneurial journey — bootstrapping two companies from scratch — and shares candid reflections on dating, heartbreak, egg freezing, and learning to surrender to life's process. Timestamps 1:40 –...
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Sue Gilad — The Business of Broadway
Inspired to Lead
What does it take to build something that moves people — literally and figuratively? In this episode, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Sue Gilad — Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and co-producer of Moulin Rouge!, The Outsiders, Who's Tommy, and Buena Vista Social Club — for a conversation about creative risk, resilience, leadership, and what the theater industry can teach us about life. Sue's path wasn't a straight line. She started as an actress, realized her real joy was in building — the team, the story, the room — and pivoted to producing before most people even knew that...
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Why Are We So Afraid of Female Voices? | Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt
Inspired to Lead
What does it take to be a woman with a loud voice in a world that keeps telling you to be quiet? In this episode, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt — journalist, rebbetzin, and co-founder of the Altneu Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side — for a conversation about ambition, authenticity, and what it really means to lead. Avital's path has been anything but conventional. A Russian-born writer who published her first viral essay at 20, landed bylines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vogue, and Foreign Policy, and spent years as a features editor and news...
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The Art of Monetizing Your Talent | Elizabeth Sutton
Inspired to Lead
What does it take to go from Upper East Side housewife to seven-figure entrepreneur? In this episode, host Talia Meshiach sits down with award-winning artist and designer Elizabeth Sutton for a raw, inspiring, and deeply honest conversation about building a creative empire — from scratch, on her own terms. Elizabeth opens up about losing everything, navigating divorce while pregnant with no money, the tragic loss of close friends, and how desperation — not confidence — became the catalyst for one of the most fearless entrepreneurial journeys you'll ever hear. She shares her hard-won...
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Trust the Process: Elisheva Chase on Risking It All and Building Her Own Legacy
Inspired to Lead
What does it take to walk away from a 3-generation family business with just $7,000, rebuild it under your own name, raise six kids, design jewelry for the red carpet, and become an elected voice in a global Zionist party — all at the same time? In this episode, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Elisheva Chase, president and owner of Reiss Diamonds in Chicago. Elisheva is a third-generation jeweler who transformed a wholesale diamond house into a full-service custom jewelry studio — designing pieces by hand, sourcing ethically, and building a fiercely loyal clientele from scratch....
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From Family Legacy to Fashion Empire: Malka Katzav on Building Big Drop NYC
Inspired to Lead
In this episode of Inspire to Lead, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Malka Katzav, owner of Big Drop NYC — a 35-year-old fashion retail brand — in sunny Miami. Malka shares her incredible journey of taking over her family's business at just 22 years old with no fashion or business degree, surviving the collapse of brick-and-mortar retail, navigating COVID, and rebuilding into a thriving brand known for making women feel celebrated and confident. Timestamps: 2:19 – Meet Malka: Background & Family Story 2:52 – The Origin of Big Drop & How It Got Its Name 4:28 – Growing...
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The Real Story Behind SoulCycle: Ruth Zukerman & the $90 Million Lesson
Inspired to Lead
In this episode of Inspired to Lead, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Ruth Zukerman — co-founder of SoulCycle and founder of Flywheel Sports — for a raw and powerful conversation about building two iconic fitness brands, being pushed out of the company she created, and finding the strength to start over at 52. Ruth shares how she went from aspiring dancer to accidental fitness pioneer, how a painful divorce led her to discover spin, and the devastating partnership betrayal that cost her everything she built — while her former partners walked away with $90 million each. She also opens...
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Breaking the Mold: How Rivkah Fox Built a Matchmaking Business
Inspired to Lead
In this inspiring conversation, international matchmaker Rivkah Fox joins Talia Mashiach to discuss revolutionizing the traditional matchmaking model in the Jewish community. Rivkah shares her journey from volunteer matchmaker to professional entrepreneur, setting up nearly 50 couples since 2019 while building a sustainable business model. The discussion explores the challenges of monetizing a mitzvah, the importance of setting boundaries, and why the community needs both volunteer and professional matchmakers. Rivkah opens up about her creative approaches to dating—from anonymous bio posts...
info_outlineAbout Allison Josephs:
Allison Josephs is a Jewish American storyteller who created "Jew in the City," a nonprofit with a mission to change negatives perceptions about the Orthodox Jewish community through storytelling. "I was frustrated with the media's depictions of my community.