Kate Assaraf on the WholeCEO Podcast – Why Every Captain Needs Crew | Sustainability, Leadership & Mompreneur Insight

Kate Assaraf: “Truth Bomb! You Need Crew As The Captain”

Featured on the WholeCEO Podcast with Lisa G – September 22, 2025

If you’re a founder, dreamer, or leader navigating growth and setbacks, this episode of the WholeCEO Podcast is a must-listen. In it, Kate Assaraf — entrepreneur, sustainability advocate, and founder of Dip Sustainable Hair Care — drops some serious truth bombs about leadership, purpose-driven business, and why every captain needs a strong crew. Here’s a deep dive into her insights, plus the key takeaways you can bring into your own business and life.

Why this episode matters

Kate opens the conversation by talking about a turning point in her career: her first company closed. Rather than letting that defeat define her, she rebuilt with clarity, resilience, and purpose. She shares how she protects her energy as a mompreneur, why she structured Dip beyond Amazon and big-box retail, and how tough decisions shaped her brand’s culture and values. 

Her message resonates especially for business leaders who want more than just growth—they want sustainable growth rooted in integrity, collaboration, and community.

1. Build with purpose: it’s not optional

Kate strongly emphasizes that building a business without purpose is short-term thinking. With Dip, she set out to combine sustainable beauty, high performance, and small-store community support. 

She calls out the industry’s conventional playbook (investment, Amazon obsession, influencer marketing) and says: what if you zig when others zag? In fact, she built a 7-figure brand without leaning on Amazon, big-box retail, or paid influencers. 

Key takeaway: Define your “why” early. Let it inform how you hire, distribute, market, and grow. Purpose isn’t a secondary layer—it’s the engine.

2. Every captain needs a crew

In the episode, Kate uses the analogy of the captain and the crew to highlight: you may be the visionary, but you’re only as strong as the team you build. Why? Because challenges—pivoting, re-inventing, protecting culture—require collective strength.

She also touches on protecting her energy as a mompreneur: when you wear many hats (parent, founder, advocate), the people around you matter more than ever. Keeping a crew that shares your values, mission, and grit becomes non-negotiable.

Key takeaway: Audit your team, your advisors, your partners. Are they aligned with your mission, your pace, your values? If not, you’re sailing solo—and that’s risky.

3. Turn failure into fuel

Kate is candid about her first business closing and how that “failure” became a launchpad for Dip. The lesson: setbacks aren’t roadblocks—they’re courses. You learn what doesn’t work, you refine your clarity, you rebuild smarter. 

In her words: “Today’s problem will soon be yesterday’s lesson.”

Key takeaway: Embrace failure as part of your narrative. It’s not a badge of shame—it’s a badge of experience. Use it to reposition, rebuild, and re-energize.

4. Integrity is a business advantage

Far too often business owners believe “you must compromise to compete.” Kate flips that: she argues that integrity creates resilience. For Dip, that meant saying no to “Amazon at any cost,” no to green-washing, and yes to transparency, performance, and purpose. 

She also comments on how sustainability is shifting from nice-to-have to essential—but only if it’s genuine.

Key takeaway: If you stay true to your values, you’ll build a brand that survives trends, not just rides them. Your authenticity becomes a competitive edge.

5. Small business, big impact

Kate frequently emphasizes the importance of independent retailers, of buying better and buying less, and of community over convenience. For her, business isn’t just transactions—it’s impact. 

She says that by supporting small shops, you’re supporting your community—schools, libraries, families—whereas the giant platforms siphon value away.

Key takeaway: Build business decisions with ecosystem impact in mind. Who benefits beyond your bottom line? That mindset rewires growth into legacy.

6. How to apply this: 5 action steps

Here are practical ways you can bring Kate’s insights into your own leadership or business journey:

1. Define your non-negotiables: What values will you never compromise? Write them down. Use them in every hire, partner, and product decision.

2. Map your crew: Who supports you now? Who lifts you up? Who drains you? Be intentional about aligning your crew—and let go of mis-fits.

3. Create “failure file”: Log lessons from things that didn’t go as planned. Revisit monthly. Use those lessons forward.

4. Audit your business practices: Are you making decisions for speed or for integrity? For convenience or community? Adjust where needed.

5. Invest locally, think globally: Whether you’re a small-shop founder or enterprise leader, remember the power of community. Use your business to uplift.

7. The hook for founders, dreamers & leaders

If you’re navigating growth, burnout, pivoting, or legacy-building—this episode of the WholeCEO Podcast offers solace and strategy. Because Kate doesn’t just tell you to “go big,” she tells you to go right—with clarity, purpose, and crew in hand.

Whether you’re building a scalable brand, leading a team, or balancing family and mission (as a mompreneur herself), Kate’s story reminds us: tough decisions are part of the journey, but they become worthwhile when your purpose and people deepen your resilience.

🎧 Ready to listen?

Tune into the podcast episode: Kate Assaraf: Truth Bomb! You Need Crew As The Captain (Sep 22, 2025). Apple Podcasts