Two millennials in pursuit of passion, purpose, and community, connecting with like-minded people who are blazing their own trails.Kindred Spirits is a lifestyle podcast fueled by inspiring stories and unconventional life paths. Co-hosts Melissa & Maddy interview extraordinary entrepreneurs and thought leaders, exploring the twists and turns that brought them to where they are today.

Startups

Launch a Beauty Brand in 5 Minutes: Inside Blanka with CEO Kaylee Astle Lieffers | Episode 28

Kaylee Astle Lieffers is the Founder & CEO of Blanka (@blankabrand), a disruptive platform that helps entrepreneurs launch and scale beauty businesses. Kaylee’s commitment to innovation has earned her a number of awards including Top 30 Under 30 and Top Female Founders to Watch in Canada.

Self Development

Liberated Love: Mark Groves on Relationships, Self-Worth, and Personal Growth | Episode 35

Mark Groves (@createthelove) is a leading voice in the realms of personal growth, relationships, and authenticity. He's a speaker, writer, motivator, creator and collaborator exploring all things relational and empowering others to step into their power.

Marketing

Why Customer Stories are the Ultimate Marketing and Sales Enablement Tool with Joel Klettke | Episode 26

Joel Klettke (@joelklettke) is the Founder of Case Study Buddy, a boutique agency that helps clients like HubSpot and Loom capture, share, and drive ROI from customer stories. He's also a sought-after conversion copywriter, Dad of three, and proud Canadian.

Human Resources

Building a Strong Company Culture in a Remote Work Environment with Vanesa Cotlar | Episode 25

Vanesa Cotlar (@vanesacotlar) is an ambitious, people-first leader who spends her days as the VP of People & Culture at PolicyMe. She is passionate about building flexible workplaces and advocates for transparency and ongoing feedback from employees to increase attraction, retention and satisfaction.

Marketing

The Fundamentals of Marketing and Why You Need to be Running Facebook Ads with Stacy Reed | Episode 24

Stacy Reed (@stacyzeal.co) is a Marketing Consultant and Facebook Ads Expert. Stacy teaches online businesses how to make more money, gain their time back, and rapidly increase their visibility to impact the world with their brilliance. Stacy also hosts the Roadmap to $1 Million podcast.

Marketing

Going All In as a Consultant, Building a Personal Brand, and Connecting the Seattle Beauty Industry with 360 Marketer Bethany Ramsay | Episode 23

Bethany Ramsay (@lehoneychild / @honeyb.hq) is a marketing and PR consultant with over a decade of 360 marketing expertise working with beauty, health, and wellness brands. Bethany is the founder of HONEY B, Seattle Beauty Collective, and The Beauty Brief.

Beauty

From an Immigrant with Nothing to Building a Beauty-On-Demand Empire: a Conversation with Rishielle Giscombe | Episode 22

Rishielle Giscombe (@rishiellegiscombe) is the Founder and CEO of GlamNGo, a beauty on-demand platform that connects clients with stylist in the comfort of their home, and offers same-day beauty product delivery.

Fashion

Aesthetic Sun Protection: Creating a UPF Clothing Collection with Mia Zee | Episode 32

Mia Zee is an accomplished brand builder, specializing in launching high growth consumer brands. In 2023, Mia launched Claudent, a women’s apparel brand built for and around the sun, utilizing the most premium UPF-rated fabrics.

Meet The Hosts

Madeleine Matson Smith

Maddy is the Co-Host of Kindred Spirits Podcast and the Co-Founder of Kindred Talent, a boutique talent acquisition agency connecting talented professionals with forward-thinking companies.Hailing from Sacramento, California, she has lived in 7 metropolitan cities around the world. She's also a wife and dog mom, and her favorite pass-time is going for long walks (with a podcast on of course - current favorites being The Skinny Confidential, The Expanded Podcast, and Diary of a CEO).

Melissa Jaalaid

Melissa is the other half of the dynamic duo. Melissa first launched the podcast back in June of 2023, originally called Raw Talk. She has worked in recruitment for over a decade. As Co-Founder of Kindred Talent, she works with professionals to help them position themselves as industry thought leaders in preparation for a new role or career change.Melissa is from Vancouver, BC, and is also a cat mom, yoga teacher, knitting club member, and actively walks senior rescue dogs.

Contact Us

Let's Talk

Would you like to be a guest on the podcast? Interested in partnering with us? Please get in touch here or email us at kindredspiritsthecollective@gmail.com

All Episodes

Startups

Launch a Beauty Brand in 5 Minutes: Inside Blanka with CEO Kaylee Astle Lieffers | Episode 28

Kaylee Astle Lieffers is the Founder & CEO of Blanka (@blankabrand), a disruptive platform that helps entrepreneurs launch and scale beauty businesses. Kaylee’s commitment to innovation and empowering other entrepreneurs has earned her a number of awards including Top 30 Under 30 and Top Female Founders to Watch in Canada.

Fashion

Innovating Women's Health with Fashionable Period Underwear - Sandra Parker | Episode 27

Sandra Parker (@sandraparkermontreal) is the founder of Justine Haines, a brand that makes stylish period panties that cater to the vibrant spirit of today's fashionable young women. Sandra's background includes dedicating 25 years to various marketing and management roles in large corporations.

Marketing

Why Customer Stories are the Ultimate Marketing and Sales Enablement Tool with Joel Klettke | Episode 26

Joel Klettke (@joelklettke) is the Founder of Case Study Buddy, a boutique agency that helps clients like HubSpot and Loom capture, share, and drive ROI from customer stories. He's also a sought-after conversion copywriter, Dad of three, and proud Canadian.

Human Resources

Building a Strong Company Culture in a Remote Work Environment with Vanesa Cotlar | Episode 25

Vanesa Cotlar (@vanesacotlar) is an ambitious, people-first leader who spends her days as the VP of People & Culture at PolicyMe. She is passionate about building flexible workplaces and advocates for transparency and ongoing feedback from employees to increase attraction, retention and satisfaction.

Small Business

How to Grow as a Content Creator and Small Business Owner with Danielle Ryan | Episode 20

Danielle Ryan (@itsdanielleryan) is a content creator with 5+ years in the small business social media space. She uses her platform to teach Canadians how to start and grow their own small businesses.

PR

Building a Business around Freedom, Flexibility, and Travel with PR Expert Almira Bardai | Episode 19

Almira Bardai (@almirab) is one of Canada’s leading experts in brand building and communications. She has spent the last two decades creating powerful narratives for both domestic and global brands including Nike, Best Buy, Molson, and TELUS. Almira is also an ICF Certified Coach, and works with entrepreneurs, to grow and scale their companies.

Startups

Good times for dogs, good for the planet; bite-sized wisdom from Kara Wardinger, Founder of Pawty Animals | Episode 18

Kara Wardinger, Founder and CEO of Pawty Animals (@pawtyanimals.ca), a Canadian company making eco-friendly dog toys that bring joy. When she felt like there weren’t a lot of sustainable dog toys on the market,
she decided to become the change she wanted to see!

Solo Episode

Welcome to Kindred Spirits | Episode 17

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves! RawTalk has officially become Kindred Spirits. In this episode we welcome Maddy to the show and chat about the future of the podcast.