When Toyin Kolawole started Iya Foods, she had a vision of providing nourishing, African foods that use ingredients sourced from Nigeria and the US. Her passion for healthy eating connects to her Nigerian roots. Having grown up in Nigeria, Toyin immediately noticed the difference between African foods and American foods that contain preservatives and artificial […]

“Have you ever gone on Craigslist looking for an espresso machine and ended up buying a coffee shop?” That’s what Melissa Villanueva, owner of Brewpoint Coffee, joked about when asked to explain how she opened her first coffee shop. In episode 11 of Zora Talks, Melissa recounted the story of her journey to starting a […]

In episode ten of Zora Talks, we interviewed Carla Christine, founder of Yoga Green Book. This online space promotes wellness through yoga and meditation by offering classes, challenges, and connecting members to instructors of color all over the country. Carla’s journey began when she was diagnosed with anxiety. A friend was concerned for her and […]

For episode nine, we interviewed Regine Rousseau, founder of Shall We Wine. Regine’s mission is to connect consumers to wines they’ll love by helping them identify which brands and ingredients they like best. Regine discovered her love of wine during a semester abroad in Paris, France and in the years since, she has introduced customers […]

In episode eight, we talked to Adrienne Hughes-Jackson and Brittany Hughes, founders of Nzuri Body Essentials. What started with a body cream (that has now become their popular Body Souffle) has turned into a luxury brand of organic, handmade skincare products. Adrienne left a 30-year career in intellectual property to pursue something that fulfilled her. […]

Cleaning Your Home Doesn’t Have to Include Harsh Chemicals “We’re a triple bottom line company, so not only do we think about profit, but we think about people and planet in all the decisions that we make,” says Kate Jakubas of Meliora Cleaning. In this episode we spoke with Kate Jakubas, founder of Meliora Cleaning […]

In this episode, Jimmy Prude, founder of Jimmy’s Vegan, shows us that being vegan can be pretty cool. We discuss what it means to be vegan and inclusivity in the way we consume foods.

In this episode, Alexis Rosenbaum, founder of Rosebud CBD gets candid about cannabis. We discuss the normalization of cannabis products and the importance of having conversations about its use.

In this episode, we dive head first into the power of the cannabis plant. Kimberly Dillon shares her on perspective on this booming industry.

After we went on Shark Tank, and we did really, really well, they (the CEO of LinkedIn and his partner) kind of reached back out to us and said: “Hey, Kim, can we invest a million dollars?” In this episode, we speak with the founder of the million-dollar-backed Chicago and black-owned CurlMix®. We talk with […]