218: Roots & Reinvention with Lexi Marek Beeler
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Release Date: 09/03/2025
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Liz Garcia is the kind of woman who makes you want to sit up straighter, open a new notes app, and finally do the thing you’ve been talking yourself out of. In this second guest interview of the Ages & Stages series, I sit down with Liz — owner of Storage Theory, founder of GW Spice Co., mom of two, serial entrepreneur, and host of The Liz Garcia Show — to talk about what it really looks like to pivot from corporate life into entrepreneurship… and keep going even when it’s scary. Liz shares the “before and after” moment that propelled her family into business...
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In the very first guest interview of the Ages & Stages series, Molly sits down in person with Carley Kintzle a senior at Iowa State University studying agricultural communications and public relations, a cattle exhibitor, the founder of Wild Orchid Co., and a photographer who picked up a camera… and ran with it. Carley’s story is a reminder that you don’t have to pick just one lane. From starting a jewelry business in high school (despite never having made leather earrings before) to landing a dream role with Corteva while still in college, Carley shares what it looks like to...
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As we step into a brand new year, this episode opens the Ages & Stages series with a personal reflection from me, Molly. In this solo episode, I looks back across my own life — from childhood curiosity and creativity, to achievement-driven adolescence, to motherhood, entrepreneurship, burnout, and a more grounded, intentional season of leadership. Rather than rushing toward what’s next, this episode invites listeners to slow down, reflect on what each age and stage has already taught them, and consider how those lessons shape who you are becoming. This conversation sets the tone for...
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This episode is a little different — and honestly, it might be one of the most important ones I’ve ever shared. Instead of one long-form interview, you’re getting four mini-interviews with women who are quietly (and powerfully) making their communities better — through nonprofit work, community organizing, and the kind of “someone has to do something… so I will” leadership that changes everything. These women were listener-nominated, and every story proves the same thing: You don’t need a massive following or a fancy title to make a difference. You just need the willingness to...
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Whitney Sanger isn’t just a nonprofit founder — she’s a mother of seven, a Dubuque native, a communications and storytelling pro, and the kind of woman who sees a gap and refuses to accept “that’s just how it is” as an answer. In this conversation, Whitney shares the very personal journey that shaped her relationship with food, and how that journey eventually turned into — a nonprofit built on the belief that nutrition isn’t only about what’s on the plate… it’s also about connection, dignity, community, and hope. We talk about the moment that sparked her curiosity (a...
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This week’s episode of The Found Podcast isn’t about a flashy brand or a viral business story. It’s about a woman you’ll probably never see on a billboard, but whose work is changing lives quietly, consistently, and deeply in rural Eastern Iowa. In this episode, Molly sits down with Sarah Palmer, an English Language Learning (ELL) teacher in the Western Dubuque Community School District. For the past 18 years, Sarah has been teaching language, yes—but also welcoming refugee and immigrant families, connecting them to food, furniture, transportation, and community support, and modeling...
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As we enter December and close out the final month of 2025, this episode brings our year-long exploration of restored, intentional female leadership full circle. We’ve spent the past twelve months talking about presence, friendship, boundaries, nervous system health, community spaces, and the internal work that helps women lead sustainably. This month, we’re turning our attention outward—to the communities we belong to. In this episode, Molly shares a deeply personal story of her own evolution as a community volunteer: from an enthusiastic, overcommitted “young mom with a mission” to...
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This week on The Found Podcast, we’re trading strategy for stories and KPIs for giggle fits. To celebrate Thanksgiving and our November theme of family for the ambitious woman, I invited two of the biggest influences in my life and leadership to join me on the mic: my sister, Jessica Ryan, and my mom, Kathy McAllister. This episode is…unhinged in the best way. We swap stories about handmade Halloween costumes, soda cans secretly stashed in dresser drawers, hiding Dad’s favorite candy, President’s Day “mystery trips,” and the legendary Mother’s Day “Guilty Pleasure” road trip....
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Today’s episode feels extra special — because I finally got to sit down in person with someone I’ve admired online for months: Mandy Webber of the Wildly Intentional Podcast. She drove from West Branch, Iowa, to my home office in Cascade, and what started as a podcast interview turned into a three-hour, soul-filling conversation about motherhood, homesteading, family culture, learning (and unlearning), running a business from your values, and choosing a life that’s deeply rooted in intention. We recorded a double-pod, so you’ll hear the Found-side of our interview today, and you can...
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This week on The Found Podcast, we’re continuing our November series on family — and we’re going right into the tender middle: motherhood. Because motherhood changes everything. Your time. Your nervous system. Your calendar. Your priorities. Your sense of self. And if you’re an ambitious woman on top of that? It changes the way you define success, too. In this solo episode, I talk honestly about what it looks like to be a mom who loves her kids deeply and a woman who has dreams, goals, clients, and callings. We’ll name the myths, talk about the invisible labor, and tell the truth...
info_outlineThis week on The Found Podcast, I’m joined by the incredible Lexi Marek Beeler—a marketer, community builder, and proud ag advocate who has turned her passion for storytelling and connection into a thriving business and a movement.
Lexi’s story is one of roots and reinvention. From growing up on a family farm in rural Iowa, to shaping digital marketing strategies for startups, government, and corporate organizations, to now leading her own consulting business and co-creating the Hey Sister! community—Lexi is the epitome of an ambitious, grounded woman making her own path in every season of life.
We talk about everything from the origins of her career (hint: pigs, perseverance, and a dad who refused social media) to her belief in the power of rural America, and her journey to align work and life in a season that finally feels “just right.”
✨ In this episode, you’ll hear about:
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How Lexi turned farm chores into her first marketing gig.
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Why moving back to the farm gave her the reset she didn’t know how much she needed.
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The role of community, sisterhood, and support in personal and professional growth.
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Finding alignment in seasons of change (and why imperfect perfection is worth striving for).
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Lexi’s advice for women who are ready to take the leap into their next big dream.
💡 “You don’t have to be biologically related to create a sisterhood. Community is what carries us.” – Lexi Marek Beeler
🔗 Listen now and get inspired by Lexi’s story of joy, grit, and growth.
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