Creative Got me
Creative Got me
Podcast Description
Creative Got Me is a podcast for marketers, brand builders, and designers navigating the new content game, where AI, speed, and performance matter more than polish.
Hosted by Priyaa Kalayanaraman (Co-Founder of Lica), each episode features tactical insights from operators at the edge of content, growth, and creative ops. Learn how top teams are testing faster, scaling smarter, and building AI-native workflows that actually perform.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes such as AI in marketing, social commerce, and content strategies, with episodes that tackle real-world topics like how brands can effectively hire agencies, the significance of media mix modeling, and the impact of short-form video on traditional marketing methods.
Creative Got Me is a podcast for founders, marketers, and creatives who want to build content that moves the needle without losing their soul. Hosted by Monique Ritter, it explores how to stay authentic in a world obsessed with algorithms, speed, and scale. Each episode unpacks the hidden costs of creative pressure, the role of AI in storytelling, and how to bring joy, humanity, and sustainability back into modern marketing.
How do you take a stand as a brand without losing your customers or your credibility?
In this episode of Creative Got Me, Michael Stars co-founder and CEO Suzanne Lerner joins Monique for a raw and unfiltered conversation on what it really means to build a values-driven brand that lasts.
Suzanne has done what few founders ever do: she’s run a successful fashion brand for 40 years, never taken a dollar of VC, kept 75% of production in LA, and built her company around real social impact—from reproductive rights to racial justice.
But this episode goes deeper than business.
Suzanne opens up about:
• The 3AM moment she decided to support abortion rights (even if it meant losing customers)
• How she and her late husband built Michael Stars from nothing
• Her decision to stay independent and say no to outside funding
• How grief reshaped her leadership• Why real brand activism isn’t a marketing campaign
• What she’s learned from 40 years of doing the right thing, even when it’s hardYou’ll walk away with lessons on integrity, longevity, and building a company you’re proud of without ever selling out.
If you’re a founder, marketer, or someone who gives a damn about doing business differently and building with purpose, this one’s for you.
⏱ Timestamps
0:00 – Suzanne’s 3AM decision to take a stand on abortion rights
3:00 – Co-founding Michael Stars with her late husband
5:00 – Why they refused to take venture capital
8:00 – How she keeps her husband’s legacy alive in the brand
11:00 – Building community through kindness and connection
14:00 – Her advice to new founders (and what most get wrong)
17:00 – Why 75% of Michael Stars products are still made in LA
20:00 – The financial reality of doing business ethically
22:00 – How resale (via ThredUp) fits into their sustainability mission
24:00 – What most brands get wrong about influencers
26:00 – Why customers can feel authenticity
30:00 – How Michael Stars balances trends with timelessness
35:00 – Choosing which social issues to speak on (and which to avoid)
38:00 – The truth about the VC funding gap for women
40:00 – How anyone can start funding women entrepreneurs
44:00 – Suzanne’s wild career path, from typist to global fashion CEO
48:00 – Her advice for finding purpose (and staying grounded in it)
Disclaimer
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