Bobbi Brown on Selling Your Name, Getting Fired, and Starting Over

Aspire with Emma Grede

E13 Media

Entrepreneurship, Business, Society & Culture

4.6 • 874 Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What does it mean to build something so successful that it outgrows you, and then start again from nothing with your name legally off the table? Bobbi Brown built one of the most iconic beauty companies in the world. She was 37 when she sold it, stayed for 22 years, then eventually pushed out of the business that carried her name. She waited out a 25-year non-compete, and on the day the clock ran out, she launched Jones Road—at 63, with six products, no outside investors, and a completely different playbook. Bobbi shares: What it really costs to sell your name (and whether she’d do it again) Why getting fired from the brand she built was the best thing that ever happened to her The difference between building something massive and building something that’s yours The social media strategy behind Jones Road and why it works The leadership lesson she’s still learning at 68 and what confidence means after decades of trying to be someone she’s not Have you ever built something—a business, a career, an identity—and had to walk away from it? What did starting over teach you? Tell us in the comments. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So today I'm interviewing beauty mogul Bobby Brown, and she has such a story to tell. This is a woman that sold her brand to Estee Lauder, worked there for 22 years before she was unceremoniously
0:22.7	fired. She's then launched again in her 60s, another brand, which let me tell you, is about to have
0:28.3	a billion dollar exit, even if she says that's not what she's looking for. There is so much to learn
0:33.9	from this woman. You are going to love the honesty. You're going to love the wisdom that
0:38.7	she brings. But most of all, you are literally going to get a masterclass in how to launch a brand
0:45.4	with real meaning. You're going to love this episode, I promise you. The start with yourself tour
0:52.5	kicks off on April 15th in New York City.
0:55.0	Tickets are on sound now at emigree.com.
1:00.7	Bobby Brown, welcome to aspire.
1:03.1	Oh, I am so happy to be here.
1:04.5	I am so happy to have you.
1:06.6	I feel like this has just been a really long time coming.
1:09.5	Yes, we've been courting a long time.
1:11.2	Actually, you walked out of an elevator at some Forbes or Fortune thing where we both got
1:16.0	awards and I was trying so hard to get your attention.
1:18.5	You were just so busy.
1:19.7	I was just like, let's go.
1:21.0	Let's get in and get out.
1:22.8	Well, honestly, I'm so excited to speak to you because when I think about the arc of a career,
1:28.9	someone who has been successful, like you are just, I mean, first of all, you're the pinnacle.
1:34.7	And I really want to make sure that we can have a brilliant and honest conversation today
1:40.6	because I really feel like you have lived it in so many ways.
	...

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