“If you follow your own path and your own passion it will shine through and you will be successful.”
What does it really take to turn a personal brand into a thriving business? This week on The Entreprenista Podcast, Stephanie sits down with fitness entrepreneur Katie Austin to unpack the decade-long journey behind building the KA App—a bootstrapped digital fitness and nutrition platform with hundreds of workout classes, healthy recipes, habit tracking, and an engaged community.
Katie opens up about growing up with fitness icon Denise Austin, forging her own path in an industry where comparisons are inevitable, and why slow, steady growth has been one of her greatest competitive advantages. From balancing a career in sports broadcasting while building her business from scratch to leading a remote team, navigating social media as the face of her brand, and preparing for motherhood, Katie shares the honest realities of entrepreneurship behind the highlight reel.
What We Talked About:
How Her Background in Sports Influenced Her Business Path [2:30]
Managing Mental Health While Building a Personal Brand [8:12]
The Power of Snapchat for Niche Marketing [14:59]
Turning Social Media Followers into Customers [25:25]
Embracing Your Own Path as an Entrepreneur [33:02]
Connect with Katie:
@katieaustin on Instagram
Katie Austin on LinkedIn
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Guests
Katie Austin
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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Highlights
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