Buying A Business, Learning To Lead A Team, & Making Dream Partnerships with Marina Middleton, CEO of Create & Cultivate

Mar 19, 2025

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If you’ve ever thought “I could never do that”, I’m here to tell you — YES, you can. In this episode, I sit down with Marina Middleton, CEO and Partner of Create & Cultivate. She talks about how bold moves and shooting your shot can lead to massive opportunities. She shares her incredible journey from scooping ice cream in college to landing six-figure brand deals, raising capital, and eventually acquiring Create & Cultivate. We talk about how to approach partnerships, pitch yourself, and land big deals. Marina also shares the lessons behind raising money, leading a team, and scaling a business. Plus, she’s giving a BTS look at Create & Cultivate’s upcoming festival.

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HIGHLIGHTS

00:00 Why do you have to shoot your shot if you want to grow?

05:30 Meet Marina Middleton, CEO of Create & Cultivate.

09:30 The reality of growing up in an immigrant family and how it shaped Marina’s work ethic.

15:15 What Marina learned from getting laid off and pivoting to entrepreneurship.

19:30 How to start working with Reebok, YWCA, and major brands without any connections.

27:30 Lessons from buying a company, leading a team, and navigating imposter syndrome.

32:45 The bold DM that led Marina to buy Create & Cultivate (this is WILD).

40:15 What every woman should know about scaling, raising money, and building to exit.

44:00 The biggest struggles female entrepreneurs face at different stages of business.

46:15 What can attendees expect from the Create & Cultivate Festival in 2025?

RESOURCES

Join me at the Create & Cultivate Festival! July 19-20, 2025 in LA. Use code LORI20OFF for 20% off HERE

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