How Chelsea Riggs Went From Broke to Beauty Boss

Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff

Rebecca Minkoff

Society & Culture

4.8 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Chelsea Riggs found her dream job on Craigslist. Yes, really. In this episode of SUPERWOMEN, I sit down with Chelsea to talk about how she became the first employee at Amika, why she stayed for 15 years, and how she turned a scrappy startup into a powerful, culture-shifting beauty brand. We go deep on what it takes to grow alongside your company, how to navigate rejection, and why sticking to your vision is often the smartest move you can make. Chelsea is proof that you don’t need a perfect résumé to lead. You just need to start, stay curious, and keep showing up. Episode Guide: (00:00) Meet Chelsea Riggs, CEO of Amika (01:31) Early signs of her beauty obsession (03:35) Leaving fashion and moving to NYC (06:32) The pressure of “sticking it out” at your job (07:05) The harsh reality of the fashion industry (10:47) Finding Amika on Craigslist (13:24) Industry reaction to Amika’s entry into retail (16:56) Pivoting to SalonCentric (19:59) Handling rejection and uncertainty (22:11) Why she stayed with one company for 15 years (25:44) Navigating the Amika acquisition while pregnant (27:16) What it was like to be promoted to CEO post-maternity (29:25) Why she was chosen to lead (31:51) Advice for founders on the importance of connections (34:34) Reflections on learning from every role and building resilience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	My name is Sherlock Holmes.
0:01.8	It's an unusual name.
0:22.1	Introducing Young Sherlock, a new Guy Ritchie series. What game are we playing today? Discover the origins. It's cleaving. Those days are surely behind me. Of crime's most iconic mind. There has been a break-in. Astoned. You should be a detective. Starring Hero finds Tiffin, Donald Finn and Colin Firth.
0:25.5	If you start wearing a hat like that, I will no longer be friends with you.
0:29.7	Young Sherlock, new original series. Watch now only on Prime Video.
0:34.2	I can't believe it's almost the end of summer, and it's time to start thinking about back to school. I have four kids and they really cover the full age range
0:38.3	from toddler to teen. So, as you can imagine, shopping for them can be a little bit of a challenge.
0:43.9	And that's why I'm so grateful for Macy's because I can find everything I need for all four of them in
0:49.0	one place. And most importantly, things they all like and actually want to wear in their school photos.
0:55.0	And best of all, the back to school sale is on.
0:58.6	Macy's has a ton of great deals like 40% off kids, Levi's, 25% off all JanSport backpacks,
1:04.8	50% off kids character clothing featuring Hello Kitty, Mini, Mickey that I'm obsessed with,
1:10.7	and even 30 to 50 off
1:12.2	baby and toddler clothing for your kids that are not quite school age. If you have back to school
1:17.3	shopping to do, then give yourself and your kids a break and make Macy's your first stop. It honestly
1:23.0	makes me miss being a kid and being in school because back to school shopping is the best part.
1:28.4	The sale is now on through August 13. Shop now at Macy's.com or in store.
1:32.5	I remember calling my mom every single day, like in tears, crying. I really hated it. I hated my job.
1:40.8	I thought people were mean, frankly, like fashion stuff. It's a really cutthroat
1:45.8	business. Today's guest is Chelsea Riggs, the CEO of Amica. Amica is a hair care and hair
1:52.4	tool brand. It has a viral dry shampoo. What we talk about, though, is she found this company
1:58.5	on Craigslist. Fifteen years later, she's the CEO. She's had a wild
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Rebecca Minkoff, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Rebecca Minkoff and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.