Taryn Jones Laeben on Scaling Brands, Investing in Founders, and Building IRL Ventures

“So many of us, me included, suffer from imposter syndrome. And it's so misleading because we know so much more than we think we do—and more importantly, we know how to navigate what we don't know.”

In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Taryn Jones Laeben, president and founder of IRL Ventures, a bespoke, early- stage advisory and investment firm building operational excellence into startups. With a rich career spanning roles at companies like Kate Spade, Casper, and SoulCycle, Taryn has a proven track record of scaling businesses and driving growth. Her entrepreneurial journey began later in life after she was inspired by her parents’ real estate ventures and her own extensive experience in the consumer and wellness sectors.

 At IRL ventures, Taryn leverages her expertise to support and invest in mission driven startups. She is passionate about empowering founders and unlocking rapid growth for innovative companies. Tune in to hear what Taryn has to say about overcoming imposter syndrome, her advice on starting conversations with major retailers, and her experience launching brands with her company IRL Ventures.

Her path to entrepreneurship wasn't immediate. Despite growing up with entrepreneurial parents, Taryn spent much of her career inside established companies before realizing she wanted to build something of her own. Today, through IRL Ventures, she works alongside founders and investors to help mission-driven startups navigate growth, operations, and fundraising.

In this Entreprenista Podcast, Taryn shares lessons from her career, discusses why vulnerability can be a leadership advantage, explains what investors are looking for in today's market, and offers practical advice for founders building consumer brands.

You can listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Here Are a Few Moments From the Podcast

Taryn explains why entrepreneurship came much later than expected, despite growing up around entrepreneurs:

"My parents were entrepreneurs, and I was adamant that I did not want to be an entrepreneur. All I wanted as a young adult coming out of school and supporting myself was a steady paycheck.

I actually came to entrepreneurship much later in life, after having worked for a lot of entrepreneurs and founders.

As someone who considers themselves to be rather self-aware, it was surprising to me how naturally I took to starting my own business and my current firm. I didn't realize that I had been missing it, but I had."

One of the defining moments of her career came when she accepted a role she felt completely unprepared for:

"My first day as the director of international at Kate Spade, my boss called me into his office and said, 'The most important thing you can do is build a joint venture with our Japanese franchise partner.'

I wrote it down and went back to my office. I closed the door and had to Google 'joint venture.' I had no idea what it was.

That's how woefully underqualified I was.

We ended up building one of the most important and complex deal structures that later became a linchpin of Kate Spade's value."

She shares the leadership lesson that continues to influence how she works with founders today:

"I'm a big believer, and I try to model this behavior all the time with the founders we work with and with my teams.

It's really being vulnerable and okay knowing what you don't know.

We all have this instinct that if people know we don't know how to do something, they're going to think we're not good enough.

But there's actually so much power in being assertive and saying, 'Hold on. Stop. I don't understand. Can you explain that to me?'"

Discussing investor relationships, Taryn explains how founders should approach major retail partnerships:

"The best way to become appealing to a potential retail partner is to understand what pain points they're trying to solve for.

Are they trying to bring a younger audience into their store? Are they trying to drive higher frequency visits? Are they trying to expand their assortments?

Understanding what their pain points are will help you understand how you solve a problem for them.

Your job is to say, 'My option is the best for you because it helps you solve this problem.'"

Her advice for founders navigating today's fundraising environment is remarkably practical:

"We are encouraging founders to focus on line of sight to profitability as the number one priority.

Not needing to raise capital is power in this climate.

Insofar as you can structure your business in the leanest way possible in order to drive profitability, even at the cost of robust top-line growth, that is really a key element of a successful business profile right now.

It's really about finding sustainable efficiencies that can help you profile your business towards profitability."

When asked for her biggest business secret, Taryn returned to the same theme that appears throughout the conversation:

"I do think it is something that women have a unique ability to deploy as a power, and that is vulnerability.

If you can get comfortable with being vulnerable around what you know, what you don't know, what you think about a business, how things are going, and how you feel about your counterparts on the other side of the table, you can bring people so close in.

Society has taught us to believe that's a weakness.

Actually, showcasing vulnerability in a way that you're comfortable with is a power."

You May Also Like

• Lori Harder, Gloci: How She Turned Setbacks Into a Multi-Million Dollar Brand
• Alexis Grant, They Got Acquired: Secrets and Strategies for Selling a Business Every Founder Should Know
• Lori Harder, Gloci: How She Turned Setbacks Into a Multi-Million Dollar Brand
  

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Connect with Taryn:

• Instagram: Taryn Jones Laeben (@tarynlaeben)
• LinkedIn: Taryn Jones Laeben - New York, New York, United States
• Website: Irl Ventures: Home

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Updated on: June 26, 2026

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