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Crystal Etienne is a black female businesswoman and founder of Ruby Love: a femtech company that supports women living their best lives, even while on their period. She was relentless in pursuit of creating period-proof underwear and apparel that should never stop women from doing, being and going. She bootstrapped Ruby Love (formerly known as PantyProp) with an initial investment of $25,000 and launched on December 5, 2015. She set her mind on helping women and making her dream come true, and that incredible ride isn’t over yet—just like the women who use her products, she will never stop doing, being, and going.
Today, Crystal joins us to talk about how she bootstrapped her business from an idea she got while watching TV. She talks about the initial steps she had to research and learn to make her product a reality. She explains why paid advertising was vital to her online business, and why she wishes she started paid to advertise sooner. She stresses the importance of having a proper work/life balance and how work can be put off until the next day.
“You can't have a million-dollar business with a minimum wage mindset.”
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Guests
Crystal Etienne
Founder of Ruby Love
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin
Co-founder of Socialfly and Entreprenista.
Stephanie Cartin is the co-founder and CEO of Entreprenista, an all-in-one platform – which includes a private community & business membership called The Entreprenista League that's made up of over 2,000 women founders at all stages of business, a weekly newsletter received by 60,000 readers, two podcasts, in-person educational & networking events, and an award program – that women founders at all stages can turn to for everything they need to grow.
Stephanie is also the co-founder of Socialfly (acquired by Truform Media Group in 2024), Markid, and Pearl Influential Capital. She has won countless awards, including the SmartCEO Brava award, which recognizes the top women CEOs in New York, and a Stevie Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year. She has also appeared in Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Refinery29, and more.
Courtney Spritzer
Co-founder of Entreprenista.
Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.
In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.
In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.
As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.
She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.
Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.
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