Micro moves, big deal energy 💅

I’m about to open this newsletter by talking about baseball. Yes… baseball.

You kinda had to be living under a rock not to know the World Series was this week. And if that’s you, I honestly aspire to that level of unplugged.

Someone asked me the other day how I keep up with pop culture, and the truth is… I don’t fully. I always know what’s happening in branding trends, founder energy, and the corners of the internet where taste is shaped. But celebrity drama? Not always. I’ve never seen an episode of Love Island or Love Is Blind (two different shows, right? Kidding!). Sports? …sometimes yes.

I’m a girly girl. My nails are always done, I wear a signature scent daily, and my Google Calendar is organized by color. And no, I don’t just love baseball for the jewelry (although, it’s gooood).

Give me a high-stakes competition and I’m in. I love baseball and motorsports (before everyone started watching Drive to Survive, thank you very much). I’ve cried during every Olympic Games, and this week I teared up at almost every big play in the World Series.

There’s something about watching high performance — at its most ambitious, most focused, most heart on the line — that just gets to me.

And honestly, that energy is what led me to entrepreneurship in the first place.

My early work was built around the high-performance world. I spent years working with artists, execs, and creatives running toward the highest version of themselves. That work taught me so much about ambition, about refinement, and about how often success comes down to the smallest, most deliberate moves.

It’s what inspired me to start my first business (a fashion incubator for emerging talent) and what eventually became the foundation of Oui, We Studio — a place for founders and creatives to grow into the most aligned, potent version of themselves while becoming known for their passion, talent, and expertise.

So as we step into this new version of the newsletter, I’m encouraging you to think about the small, deliberate moves that could make a big difference in your life.

A few things on my list: I just chopped off all my hair (and I’m loving it… don’t let anyone tell you bobs or bangs aren’t for you if you want to try it). We’re painting half the rooms in our house after finally buying it after renting it for four years. I started a new content series. I’m restructuring the newsletter. Tweaking the pod.

These are micro moves.

The tiny, consistent decisions that shift your identity and recalibrate how you’re seen. They’re the real power source behind every “overnight success” you’ve ever admired.

As I started to make these moves myself, I decided to make a list.

20 Micro Moves to Become a Big Deal Before 2026

It’s the series I’m running on Instagram right now, starting with the Proof Optional Mindset: where you move like you’re undeniable, even before the validation shows up.

Each post in the series includes:
→ a mindset shift
→ a micro move you can make today
→ a reminder that becoming a big deal isn’t about being everywhere — it’s about being unmistakably you

So far we’ve covered:

If you’ve missed it, follow along at @ouiwegirl to catch the rest. It’s been one of the most creatively energizing things I’ve done this year, and I’m already seeing what it’s opening up for others too. (And tbh, that’s the best part.)

💌 A Quick Note About the Newsletter (and the Pod…)

As I’ve been moving through all these shifts, I realized this newsletter needed a rebrand, too.

Going forward, what you’ve been getting each week now lives under a new name:

🌀 The Unschool: Cult Brand Blueprint for the Internet’s Smart Girls

Yep, The Unschool is also the name of my podcast and my Intuitive Business Academy (currently in the vault, but not for long 👀). It just made sense to bring it all under one umbrella. Same cadence. Same spirit. More aligned.

What to expect:
✨ No-gatekeeping ideas for modern founders
📈 Creator-to-CEO strategy that actually scales
🌀 Cult brand moves that build obsession
🗺️ Identity-led IYKYK content plans

And of course, that high-low blend of energy and strategy that Oui, We Studio is built on.

The rebrand starts rolling out now, here and on the pod.

Let’s get into this week’s Unschool drop 👇

The Quiet Creator-Led Drop That Sold Out
feat. Algae Cooking Club x Nara Smith

This month, Algae Cooking Club released its first creator collab product: a roasted garlic algae-based cooking oil. It sold out within hours.

Why? The product launched with — love her or hate her — Nara Smith as the face of the campaign. You know her for the serene, soft-focus, high-feminine cooking videos.

ACC, on the other hand, was already stocked at Erewhon and specialty grocers, designed for the ingredient-aware consumer.

I have a friend who’s an investor in the brand, so I heard about the drop early. And here’s why it works: It was the right collaboration. The bottle design is editorial, yes. The messaging is minimal — ACC is always good at that. But the decision to bring in Nara? That’s what created something that stopped the scroll and resulted in sales.

Steal this:
When you’re developing a creator collaboration, start with alignment that runs incredibly deep. Choose someone whose presence naturally evokes the feeling or values of the product. Then, let the storytelling emerge from that shared point of view.

This launch worked because Nara’s content already lives in the same emotional space as the brand. Her aesthetic wasn’t layered on after the fact, it shaped the way the product was revealed. That kind of collaboration doesn’t need to rely on heavy marketing. It builds trust by feeling inevitable.

@baseballforbaddies

I have to give full credit to my husband for turning me on to this account. Watching her rise during this year’s World Series has been so fun. What she’s building is definitely not just content — it’s community. Game-day recaps, player gossip, fit breakdowns, and smart baseball commentary all live side-by-side, but the real magic is how she’s making the sport feel welcoming for women who maybe didn’t grow up around it but want in.

You can already imagine what this could become — meetups at games, group chats, fantasy leagues, even merch. She’s created space for a whole new type of fan, and it’s working because it’s built with intention.

@annagaiia

I have to point this one out because you can literally see the moment Anna cracked her visual branding. One scroll and it’s obvious — she found a style that reflects her message, and her audience showed up for it. We're talking a jump from 82 likes to tens of thousands per post.

Her content on hormone and fertility repair is deeply educational, but what makes it special is the softness and poetry in her delivery. It’s not just science, it’s story. It feels like nature, like nourishment — and that consistency is doing the heavy lifting for her brand. This is the power of aesthetic alignment and expertise working together.

The New Résumé-as-Brand Era
We’re officially in the resume economy, where a founder’s past experience is the brand’s best marketing strategy. The examples are everywhere: Lore (from ex-Rhode + Merit talent) and Celisse (from the minds behind Avaline + Versed).

What ties them together? These founders are not exactly starting from scratch. They’re building trust by showcasing where they’ve been. The unspoken message: you liked what I made before? You’ll love what I’m doing now.

Takeaway: If you're launching something new, don't be shy about bringing your career receipts to the front. Your previous wins are the soft launch.

The Red-Light Face Mask Era
This isn’t exactly new, but Therabody, HigherDose, and Dr. Dennis Gross are all stepping into a new approach: thinking about beauty as less “treat yourself” and more “tech meets mysticism.”

Think chrome, LED, minimal copy, and a strong visual nod to future-forward wellness.

This is a smart repositioning because red light isn’t just self-care anymore. It’s being marketed as high-performance biohacking. A visual and narrative cue any product category could borrow.

Takeaway: If your product has a ritual or result attached to it, try framing it through the lens of performance and transformation. Show the science and the spell.

Outlander Magazine’s IRL Launch
The cult IG brand just dropped a real magazine — and it’s priced at 19.96, a nod to the founder’s birth year. It’s giving 2010s Tumblr grown up, wrapped in nostalgia and community care. I literally love the Outlander IG and watching the founder roll out this magazine has been really fun!

More than anything, it’s proof that print is not dead — it just needed better curators. And maybe, just maybe, we’re craving a more analog reality?

Takeaway: If your digital community is engaged, physical products (especially ones with archival value) are a logical next step. Don’t wait for permission to make it tangible.

This week’s curation is a blend of cult beauty, rising DTC players, stealth community builds, plus an award and a grant.

If you’re exploring new work, award season energy, or just staying open, these are worth a look:

1. OSEA — Integrated Marketing Manager (Hybrid / LA)
Clean beauty cult-favorite OSEA is hiring a strategic, storytelling-savvy marketer to lead 360° campaigns across brand, product, and retail. If you’re excited by the intersection of clean beauty, sustainability, and brand magic — this is a dream role.
🔗 Apply here

2. Ritual — Creative Strategist (Remote)
Ritual is hiring a data-informed, creatively driven strategist to lead the development of high-performing, insight-led creative across paid media. If you’re fluent in both concepting and performance metrics — and want to work on a team reshaping women’s wellness — this role sits right at the intersection of growth and storytelling.
🔗 Apply here

3. Entreprenista 100 Awards — Nominations Now Open
Nominations are open for the 2025 Entreprenista 100, spotlighting powerhouse female founders across industries. Whether you're pre-seed or pulling eight figures, this is your moment to shine and network with women like Candace Nelson, Kim Perell, and Tiffany Dufu.
🗓 Deadline: Nov 6
🔗 Nominate yourself here

4. Pop Up Grocer Fund — For Product-Based Founders
Pop Up Grocer is doing it right. A portion of every sale goes into a fund that supports underrepresented founders with grants and services. If your product deserves a spot on the shelf and a push behind the scenes, this one’s for you.
🔗 Apply here

5. Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship — Applications Open Now
From what I har this program has your back. Each fellow receives a $5,000 business education grant, access to zero-interest loans through Kiva, plus a full year of mentorship and founder networking. Perfect if you’re scaling and need both guidance and community.
Grant: $5,000
🗓 Deadline: Nov 11, 2025
🔗 Apply here

Hot tip:
Want to post your own “ISO a Smart Girl” or share something that could be helpful here? Reply here so we can get you in the next issue.

 To help you with your Micro Moves I'm opening up a few private strategy intensives before the year ends. Because if I'm going through this work, maybe you are too, and I'd be happy to help you!

These are 90-minute sessions to help you with:

Only 3 spots are left, first-come, first-served. 
Sessions are $699 and can be scheduled for November or December.

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