Social Currency with Sammi Cohen

Most people think restaurant reservations are about demand. They’re not. Today, Sammi breaks down the quiet power struggle happening behind your hardest-to-get dinner reservations — and why credit card companies, not restaurants, increasingly call the shots. From OpenTable’s early dominance to Resy’s cultural takeover and American Express acquisition, Sammi explains how reservations became a tool for loyalty, data, and consumer control. Once you see how the reservation system really works, you’ll never look at “fully booked” the same way again. Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 The Hidden Controllers of Restaurant Reservations 01:33 The Rise of OpenTable 03:14 Resy's Disruption 05:14 The Credit Card Wars: Amex vs. Visa 06:55 DoorDash Enters the Arena 08:22 The Bigger Picture: Control and Influence 09:03 Next Episode Teaser Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building a business in public is hard. Building one when people already think they know you? Even harder. Today, Sammi sits down with actor and founder Rebecca Rittenhouse to talk about reinvention—on her own terms. Rebecca shares how she went from studying business at UPenn to taking a sharp left turn into acting, landing her breakout role on The Mindy Project, and ultimately channeling those skills into launching her clean, brow-focused beauty brand, Privet Beauty. Instead of launching with a sprawling product line or celebrity hype, she built Privet around a single hero product—bootstrapped, independently owned, and deeply hands-on at every step, from formulation with Korean chemists to brand storytelling. Rebecca opens up about the identity shift from actor to founder, how skills from acting translated into entrepreneurship, and why she chose independence over outside funding.  Sammi and Rebecca also get into launching a brand with focus instead of scale, balancing two demanding careers at once, building a personal brand without losing yourself in it, and the scrappy, low-cost marketing moves that actually move the needle.  Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Follow Rebecca on Instagram Check out Privet Beauty online and on Shopbop Here’s what Sammi covers with Rebecca: 00:00 Rebecca Rittenhouse’s Social Currency 03:25 Business at UPenn  05:51Choosing Acting Over Business  09:32 Early Acting Experiences and Challenges  11:54 Breakthrough Role on The Mindy Project  14:43 Launching Privet Beauty 16:59 The Importance of Eyebrows in Beauty  24:29 Marketing and Personal Branding  29:31 Substack and Personal Branding  30:49 Dealing with Self-Doubt and Inner Criticism  32:51 Building a Team   35:58 The Challenges of Bootstrapping a Business  43:15 Managing Time and Staying Organized  46:35 Making Decisions and Handling Emotions  52:32 Marketing Strategies for a New Business  55:45 How to Show Social Currency Some Love  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025 was a transformative year. In this episode, Sammi shares the biggest lessons she’s internalized since launching her podcast this spring. She leaves no stone unturned and recounts her biggest milestones, mindset shifts, and the challenges she faced while building her business. From beginning her year at Amazon to creating her podcast studio and launching 'Social Currency,' Sammi details her leaps of faith and the importance of having a strong personal brand… and gets a little emotional in the process. If you’re thinking of making your side-hustle your main-hustle in 2026, this episode is a must-listen. Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers today: 00:00 2025 Year in Review 01:55 Deciding to Launch Social Currency 04:21 The LA Fires and Building the Podcast Studio 05:34 Launching the Podcast and Leaving Amazon 06:04 Growing the Business and Revenue Streams 09:33 Mindset Shifts for Success 11:53 Visualization and Outsourcing 14:46 Overcoming Comparison and Planning for the Future 17:02 What Sammi’s Thankful For 18:50 How to Support Social Currency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Minkoff’s origin story is not a glossy founder fairy tale—it’s a closet-bedroom apartment, a $3.25/hour internship, $60K in debt, and a single Rebecca Minkoff designed tee that ended up on Jay Leno. Today, Rebecca breaks down how that moment got her foot in the door—and how the next viral moment, the Morning After Bag, almost didn’t happen (FedEx late, no movie placement)… until it sparked the kind of sellout momentum every founder dreams about. Then she gets brutally honest about what it takes to stay alive in fashion when the landscape is louder, more crowded, and algorithm-shaped: the “white lies” founders sometimes tell to level up, why you don’t need VC, and the real pain of taking money.  Rebecca also unpacks the OnlyFans Fashion Week deal that covered a six-figure show—until the platform flipped back to adult content—how COVID wiped out 70% of the business overnight, and why she’s now widening the funnel with new channels like QVC. Plus, if you’re building a product brand and wondering how to get customers without pouring cash into Meta ads, her answer is refreshingly tactical: throw the “Tupperware party.” Follow Sammi on Instagram  Listen to Rebecca’s podcast Superwomen and start with Sammi’s episode! Follow Rebecca on Instagram Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Here’s what Sammi covers with Rebecca: 00:00 Rebecca Minkoff’s Social Currency 02:14 Rebecca's Early Career Goals 05:49 Learning Business in the Trenches 08:04 The "I Love NY" Shirt Story 12:18 The Morning After Bag 15:07 Trend Spotting and Product Development 21:43 Besting the Dupes 23:24 VC, PE and Monetizing Creatively (Including OnlyFans) 30:15 COVID, Chaos, and Reinvention  34:10 The QVC Rocket Ship 35:50 Inside the Female Founder Collective 36:33 Fundraising Advice Women Should Ignore 39:21 Marketing Tips 41:13 Fashion Lightning Round 42:36 Social Currency Corner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women in corporate America aren’t burned out because of how much they’re working—they’re burned out by how much the system isn’t working for them. Today, Sammi breaks down the latest Women in the Workplace report from Lean In and McKinsey, and the findings are more alarming than the headlines suggest. For the first time in over a decade, women are less interested in climbing the corporate ladder—not because they don’t want success, but because the ladder itself is broken. Sammi unpacks the data behind the growing “ambition gap,” the consequence of rolling back DEI efforts, and why women are still being penalized for flexibility and remote work—while men aren’t.  Sammi connects the dots between structural corporate failures and the rise of an entirely new career model—one that could define the next decade of work in America. If companies don’t adapt, Sammi says, they may be staring down a long-term talent crisis. Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  00:00 The Breaking Point 01:10 Inside the Women in the Workplace report 02:15 The Truth About the “Ambition Gap” 3:13 The Broken Rung Problem 5:58 Corporate America’s Retreat from DEI 7:03 The Rise of Portfolio Careers 8:45 The Future of Work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices