How a Broke Bartender Turned $50 Into a Multi-Million Dollar Brand—The Skinny Confidential

Beauty founder, podcast queen, brand builder—Lauryn Bosstick turned a $50 blog into The Skinny Confidential empire. In this episode of The Burnouts , Lauryn joins Phoebe and Sophia in Austin, TX to talk about building a cult brand from scratch. From sleeping in her car during sorority rush to creating one of the world’s most downloaded podcasts, Lauryn shares how she built her brand brick by brick—with no investors, no shortcuts, and no selling out. She gets real about early burnout, building slowly with intention, and why executing (not overthinking) is the secret to everything. Plus: what makes someone a great podcast guest, how she evaluates brand deals, and the hilarious parenting trick she swears by (cookie water, anyone?) Also: foot spas, Think Week, and how not having an iPhone gave Phoebe character. 🕯️✨ USE CODE "BURNOUTS15" FOR 15% OFF THE PHLUR X THE BURNOUTS CANDLE ✨🕯️ CHAPTERS 00:00 – From sorority dropout to brand founder 02:30 – Why she launched The Skinny Confidential 05:00 – Blogging 7 days a week for 3 years (with $0) 10:10 – Turning down money (and why she’s proud of it) 12:30 – Lauryn’s funnel: how she vets guests + brand deals 16:10 – The advice she gives every 20-something brand builder 17:00 – The one hire every founder should make first 20:45 – Think Week, foot spas, and strategic solitude 27:00 – How she uses branding tricks to parent toddlers 30:00 – Personal vs public: what Lauryn won’t post online 35:00 – Resourcefulness over resumes in the age of AI 38:00 – The biggest mistake most creatives make 🔗 FOLLOW US Phoebe Gates Sophia Kianni Lauryn Bosstick 🔥 FOLLOW THE BURNOUTS Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.