Episode Overview

Episode Title: Erin and Sara Foster on Turning “Failure” Into an Empire
Podcast: This Is Working with Daniel Roth
Date: November 6, 2025
Guests: Erin Foster & Sara Foster, co-founders of Favorite Daughter
Theme:
In this candid, refreshingly honest conversation, Daniel Roth sits down with sisters Erin and Sara Foster to unpack how professional pivots—some borne out of what felt like failure—helped them build a multifaceted brand empire. The sisters pull back the curtain on their non-linear career paths, lessons learned from missteps, navigating partnerships, and building a business that’s both authentic and scalable.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nonlinear Pathways and Embracing Failure

• Early Struggles & “Failures”
  The Fosters reflect on how their careers didn’t start as planned. Their entertainment aspirations didn’t initially take off, pushing them to explore new opportunities.
  • "One part of our career wasn’t taking off, so then we tried to focus and pivot on a different career... it took several years for them to gain traction." —Erin Foster [00:47]
• Joining Bumble as creative directors (before it was fashionable) felt, at first, like moving away from their dreams.
  • "At the time it was a little bit in no man's land... it felt a little bit like an admission of failure to us." —Erin Foster [02:20]
  • "It sent us down a path that really shaped our lives and our careers, which was saying yes to something that seemed out of our wheelhouse and intimidating and scary." —Erin Foster [02:46]
• Their "failure" ultimately opened doors they didn’t know existed, instilling a love for business and connection.

2. Imposter Syndrome and the “Chip on the Shoulder”

• Enduring Imposter Syndrome
  • "I think maybe for me, I might have the imposter syndrome forever..." —Sarah Foster [04:09]
  • They see their insecurities as motivation to stay present, engaged, and humble.
  • "I don't ever want to get too comfortable in the success..." —Sarah Foster [04:33]

3. Choosing and Navigating Partnerships

• Intuition and Instincts in Partnerships
  • "It's like a date. You use your instincts." —Erin Foster [04:52]
  • The “love bombing” analogy—being wary of over-the-top promises when evaluating partners.
  • "It’s kind of like getting love bombed, honestly. It's like someone's telling you way too many good things." —Erin Foster [05:00]
• Case Study—The Mirror
  • Introduced by Phil Schwartz, a partnership that “felt right” and leveraged their skill in consumer education from Bumble.
  • "Phil was so amazing in the process...such a champion of us." —Erin Foster [06:00]
• Scaling Their Impact & Creating Their Fund
  • After making lots of small “skin in the game”-less investments, their desire to meaningfully participate led to forming their own fund, with Phil as a partner.
  • "We had tons of deal flow and no more money to write checks... we're either going to stop investing or we're going to have real skin in the game." —Sarah Foster [06:27]

4. Building ‘Favorite Daughter’ and Learning On the Job

• Divergent Mindsets
  • Sarah’s fear-based, scarcity perspective contrasted with Erin’s abundance mindset.
    • "I am always fear based. And Erin comes from a place of abundance. She just has an abundance mindset. And I catastrophize everything." —Sarah Foster [07:24]
• Finding Their Niche
  • Initially, Sarah doubted their capacity to enter fashion, but realized their relatable, unpretentious approach was exactly what their customer wanted.
    • "I just don't think there's a customer for that. And then it turns out that's exactly our customer..." —Sarah Foster [07:38]
• Iterative Learning
  • “Learning on the job” through mistakes, especially about production—unafraid to admit what they didn't know and corrected course by demanding more transparency.
    • "We made a lot of mistakes that first two years, honestly, because we didn’t understand how the business worked." —Erin Foster [08:56]
    • "Treat us like partners. Don't appease us. Tell us the truth. Teach us." —Erin Foster [10:17]

5. Authentic Leadership and Brand Voice

• Embracing Transparency
  • They don’t pretend to do everything nor take sole credit, openly sharing the importance of partners and joint ventures.
    • "There are some people that like to perpetuate a false narrative of like, I do everything... That is not us." —Sarah Foster [09:54]
• Feedback Culture
  • "A CEO...who is not willing to hear feedback that's honest is really going to be out of touch with their brand..." —Erin Foster [10:45]
  • Inviting collaborators to push back.
• Advice on Personal Branding
  • Authenticity over obligation: not everyone has to become an influencer or personal brand.
    • "If it's not authentic to you, it's not gonna go well. Anytime you're forcing yourself to do something because you think you should be doing it. Like, I shouldn't be on TikTok." —Erin Foster [11:25]
    • "We are living in this crazy hustle culture right now, where everyone thinks they have to be everything to everybody... It's not good. It's not healthy." —Sarah Foster [12:00]

6. Reflections on Growth, Balance, and Sustainability

• Avoiding Hustle Overwhelm
  • Recognizing the pressure to keep growing, Sarah focuses on “watering what you’ve already built.”
    • "There can always be more. For the first time in my life at 44 years old, I'm kind of like, okay, it's enough... let's really water what we have built and be happy with that." —Sarah Foster [12:24]
• Work–Life Balance
  • Erin underscores balance and setting boundaries, even if it means responding to work later to prioritize family.
    • "If I'm in bed with my husband and we're watching Love is Blind...I will respond and say, guys, I'm watching Love is Blind in bed with my husband, and I'll write you tomorrow morning." —Erin Foster [12:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Career Pivots
  • "A lot of times when you're envisioning your future or you're dreaming, you're limiting yourself, you don't even know how good it could be." —Erin Foster [02:54]
• On Partnership Red Flags
  • "It's like someone's telling you way too many good things. You know they're not realistic. And it just puts your antennas up." —Erin Foster [05:00]
• On Honest Leadership
  • "A CEO of a company who is not willing to hear feedback that's honest is really going to be out of touch with their brand and with the people working for them." —Erin Foster [10:45]
• On Authenticity Over Hustle
  • "My soul is not on TikTok. It just. She's just not there." —Erin Foster [11:51]
• On Defining Enough
  • "For the first time in my life at 44 years old, I'm kind of like, okay, it's enough...let's really water what we have built and be happy with that." —Sarah Foster [12:24]
• Work-Life Boundaries
  • "I'm watching Love is Blind in bed with my husband, and I'll write you tomorrow morning." —Erin Foster [12:53]

Key Timestamps

• Nonlinear Journey / Early Doubts: [00:47 – 02:44]
• Imposter Syndrome & Mindset: [04:09 – 04:46]
• Partnerships & Fund Creation: [04:52 – 06:50]
• Building Favorite Daughter: [07:16 – 08:56]
• Learning from Mistakes: [08:56 – 10:17]
• Transparency & Feedback Culture: [09:54 – 10:59]
• Authenticity in Branding/Voice: [11:25 – 12:09]
• Hustle Culture & Work-Life Balance: [12:23 – End]

Conclusion

Through vulnerability, accountability, and a refusal to follow conventional scripts, Erin and Sara Foster demonstrate how so-called failures can open up surprising and powerful avenues for success. Their empire is rooted in honesty, instinctive partnership, learning from mistakes—and a firm belief that your best path may be the one you never imagined.