Issue Highlights

THIS WEEKS MANTRAS
This week instead of Mantras, I wanted to do a little Exercise Instead!! This week is my positivity week, to be fair I have been letting myself feel sorry for myself for the first time in 6 years and it is time to get back to typical programming SO, I want to share the 7 Positivity Journal Prompts I am completing over the next 7 days and thought I would take you along the ride with me.

Monday - What are 3 Situations where I solved something that felt impossible at the time? What Patterns can I see in how i overcame them & How can those patterns serve me now?

Tuesday - If someone who deeply believes in me were speaking to me today, how would they describe my skills, impact & future. What part of their perspective do I secretly know is true?

Wednesday - If I measured Progress, not by Money or Contracts but By Traction, Relationships and Learnings, where did I move forward this week in ways I am not giving myself credit for?

Thursday - If I imagine myself in 5 Years from now, Thriving, Financial Stable & Fulfilled…What Advice would she give me about how to hold myself in this exact moment.

Friday - What is one resource, connection or skill I have learned because of Scarcity that I never would have learned in Abundance? How does that make me more valuable in the long run?

Saturday - What Joy did I create for someone else today?

Sunday - What am I curious about right now & How Can I follow that Thread?

🤍 EXCUSE ME SIR.™ PODCAST 🤍

How you manage your team & how you expect your managers to manage your teams, can make or break your company.

In this episode, I dive into the things I would be thinking about when it comes to creating environments of autonomy, trust and productivity within an organisation.

We’ll cover:
• What is “Scaling Smarter”?
• The Difference between Leading as a Founder VS Manager.
• The Parts of Managing Teams, No Founders & Operators are thinking about enough.
• How to get 10x Results with less meetings, less checkins and more time to reclaim.

💸BUILD YOUR 3 PAGE INVESTOR DECK ( EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT FUNDRAISING ) 💸

Move: Open a blank doc and make 3 slides:

1. Your Revenue Map (top products, customers, or channels).

2. Your Growth Engine (how new $ actually comes in).

3. Your Moat (what makes it hard to copy you).

Why: Whether you’re talking to a bank, a buyer, or even just yourself, having these 3 slides gets you thinking about what makes your business look fundable, not just functional & Is something you can pull from and reference too in early days of fundraising if needed.

💅🏼Wall Street just invited you 401(K) to the Private Equity Party

Ladies I have some Boardroom tea for you….Trump just signed off on a move that could funnel trillions of retirement dollars into the hands of private equity, private credit, and private real estate funds.

Big established firms like Blackstone, KKR, Apollo, Carlyle, Ares, Blue Owl & co. just spotted a brand new customer base ie. you, your coworkers, and the $12 trillion sitting in U.S. 401(k) plans

✨ The Gossip..In Plain English

For decades, private equity firms like Blackstone, KKR, and Apollo have been raising money from pensions, endowments, and ultra-wealthy investors. Super Cute, but Very limited. And I am sure I am not the first to tell you that lately? Fundraising’s been…. tough. LPs are pulling back, rates are high, and private asset managers are VERY hungry.

Enter: 401(k) plans. Tens of millions of Americans put a slice of their paycheck into these accounts every two weeks like clockwork. That’s the kind of reliable, sticky capital PE firms drool over…..a lifetime subscription customer base.

So here is how they win:

• Durable inflows: Instead of hustling every few years to raise a fund, they get auto-pilot cash from retirement plans.

• Diversified demand: Not just from pensions and sovereign funds, but from everyday workers broadening their investor mix.

• New product shelves: Expect them to design interval funds, evergreen vehicles, or target-date fund sleeves marketed as “steady income” (private credit) or “alternative growth” (PE/infra).

👉🏼 Up until now, your 401(k) was a pretty basic cocktail of stocks + bonds, But Now Employers can LEGALLY ( Key Word ) add a splash of “alternative assets” (private equity, private credit, private infra) into the mix without worrying as much about being sued. ( which is ultimately what stopped them before )

These changes will roll out low and slow to increase consumer knowledge and skirt any compliance faux pas so they will probably start with target-date funds (those default retirement plans tied to your age like 2050 or 2060).

And then Private credit will probably sneak in before private equity because It looks steadier & pays income.

Why This Matters?

Over the coming months you are going to see some new options being added to your 401(K) and so it is best you actually understand what those options are about. On paper, this feels exciting….Adding private credit or PE could mean:

• Lower Market correlation (Basically just means the outcomes & returns are less tied to stock market swings which is great for investors).

• Potentially higher returns could be on the horizon BUT the caveat is that this is only a reality if you land with top managers. The gap between good and mediocre firms wasn’t as prominent with 60/40 bond/stock funds but the gap will be stark when we get into more intricate investing styles.

• Additional Income streams ( from private credit that look steady on statements.)

But let me be the first to give you the heads up that the associated fees are giving more Dior, not Zara. ie. The hidden fees will be expensive!

• Index funds ( Typical 401(k)) = ~0.1% fees (cheap).

• Private credit/PE = 2–3% management, plus 20% performance cut.

• Illiquidity = you can’t just “cash out” if you need money tomorrow.

So whilst the returns might be “better”….you have to pay to play.

Again, results will vary a lot. The top-quartile PE fund might crush it, but a mediocre one with high fees can underperform even a simple index.

So yes, diversification. But with higher fees, more risk of getting stuck, and huge dependency on manager quality.

Employees are the Middle Seat No-One is Talking About…

Now Here’s where it gets interesting…What do employers have to do with this? ( ie. Probably also you HAHHA )

Employers are the gatekeepers. You as an Employer pick the menu of investments in your 401(k). Your job, by law, is to act as “fiduciaries” meaning you must choose options that are prudent, diversified, and low-cost. If you screw up? You get sued. (And trust me, plenty of big-name companies have been dragged into court over “excessive fees” in 401(k) plans already.)

That’s why employers have been hesitant to add private equity or credit. Historically it has been way too risky. Too many lawyers were circling. And naturally there was too much fear around being the test case.

But this new rule is like legal cover for employers. It reduces your risk of getting sued simply for offering a private-market option as long as it’s structured sensibly (usually tucked inside a diversified target-date fund).

So do you/employers benefit?

• Directly, not really…. You don’t earn fees on it. You are not investors in the funds themselves.

• But…Indirectly, yes. A richer benefits package helps attract and retain talent. If you can say “our 401(k) gives you access to alternatives like PE and private credit,” that sets you apart from competitors.

• Now….Strategically, it depends. Most employers will roll this out slowly and only after the BlackRocks and Vanguards of the world package it into neat, risk-managed funds also mitigating education gaps & perceived risk.

If you’re a female founder running a startup or scaling company with a team? This hits different.

• 401(k) plans are often one of the first “real” benefits you add once you start hiring beyond your scrappy founding team. Offering alternatives in your plan could help you look like a bigger, more sophisticated employer …even if you’re still small.

• It can also be Considered a Retention weapon: In industries like tech, finance, or consulting (where female founders are carving lanes), access to better retirement options can be a differentiator. Employees see it as “I’m building wealth while I work here” vs “just another paycheck.”

• This will definitely force a Responsibility check: You’re still the fiduciary. You need to know what’s inside those funds, how the fees stack, and whether it’s actually in your employees’ best interests. For women founders already fighting bias in boardrooms, you don’t want to be the first headline about “female-led startup screws up retirement plan.”

The Bottom Line

This shift is big & It cracks open a new source of capital for Wall Street, gives savers new (but fee-heavy) options, and puts employers in the tricky middle seat of deciding what’s on the retirement menu.

In retirement plans (like in business), the real flex is building assets that compound for decades. So Here are some questions I would recommend asking fund managers before deciding on your menu…

1. Ask About the Structure

   • Is PE/private credit tucked inside a diversified target-date fund (safer) or being offered à la carte (riskier)?

     • Rule of thumb is if it’s inside a TDF, the big providers (BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity) are managing the liquidity headaches for you.

2. Run the Fee Math

   • Public index fund = ~0.1% fees.

   • Private credit/PE interval fund = ~2–3% fees, plus carry.

     • Question to ask: What’s the net cost difference, and how much does that eat into my employees’ returns over time?

3. Check the Liquidity Terms

   • Can employees get money out easily if they change jobs or need a rollover?

   • Some private funds limit redemptions quarterly or even semi-annually.

   • Your employees don’t want to feel like their retirement money is stuck in vault, unaccessible in outerspace…HAHHAHA

4. Vet the Manager Quality

   • In public markets, “just buy the index” works. In private markets, manager selection = 80% of the outcome, So I want you to be Asking: Who’s actually managing the sleeve? Do they have a top-quartile track record, or are they new to the game?

5. Fiduciary Coverage

   • Even with the new legal shield, you’re still the fiduciary.

   • Make sure your plan provider documents why this fund was chosen, how it’s diversified, and how fees are justified. Think of it as your receipts because if anyone sues later, you’ll need them.

6. Communicate With Your Team

   • Don’t just toss “private credit” into the plan menu and call it a day INSTEAD, I recommend Hosting a lunch-and-learn, drop a simple glossary, or share resources. If your employees don’t understand what they’re investing in, it’s a liability and a missed chance to position you as a thoughtful employer.

🤍 Briefings They Don’t Want You To Hear that the SIR.™ Boardroom has been Gossiping About all Week 🤍
What Is Moving both the Market & Us

• Ssense Is Filing For Bankruptcy Protection ( Tariffs are testing even the most disruptors of industries ) HERE.

• Personally…I feel like Kaia & Vuori Did the Absolute LEAST with this collection but the Promotional Creative is SO cute & giving Circa 1990s/2000s & Her Moms Energy HERE.

• GRWM with a Twist (the “Villain Arc”): Get Ready With Me videos are a TikTok staple in beauty/fashion, but they’ve evolved. A new wave of GRWM content is infused with storytelling and emotional honesty, like “GRWM for my villain era” or “GRWM to cry in the work bathroom.” Creators get dressed or do their makeup while sharing personal struggles, dark humor, or “villain arc” empowerment tales. The blend of beauty routine with raw narrative is striking a chord, as it mixes self-deprecation, vulnerability, and humor ( very on-brand for Gen Z.) For companies, this trend suggests that glossy perfection is out; relatability and real-life context are in. HERE.

• Voice so Iconic its Sellable Nara Smiths Iconic Voice was Featured in Amiri’s New Campaign Featuring Lucky Blue and it was Truly Iconic HERE.

• Paige Lorenze has also doubled down on experiential marketing: To celebrate the upcoming Evergreen line, she hosted Dairy Boy’s third pop-up in NYC (Aug 15–17), The pop-up was styled like stepping into Paige’s world – a Connecticut farmhouse meets Soho boutique – complete with dollhouse farm stand decor and nostalgic New England touches. HERE.

• The Beauty Acquisition Boom You All Need To Read About HERE.

• Kira Mackenzie is the is genius Behind SET Actives Community Sale & You have one more day to get on it… Starting August 29 and running through September 1, members of SET’s loyalty program received up to 30% off sitewide. Depending on where you sit in their loyalty program, depends on the perks you access. HERE.