Keep it Positive, Sweetie - The 20 Year Overnight Success

Episode Date: August 16, 2026

Success doesn’t always come when you expect it—but that doesn’t mean you’re behind.This week on Keep It Positive, Sweetie, Crystal sits down with marketing executive, entrepreneur, and IBest Wines founder Ingrid Best to talk about what it really means to bet on yourself after years of building someone else’s vision. From becoming a young mother to spending more than two decades helping shape iconic luxury brands before launching her own, Ingrid shares the lessons she learned about courage, preparation, faith, and trusting God’s timing. If you’ve ever questioned whether it’s too late to start, wondered if your current season is preparing you for something greater, or needed the reminder that your biggest leap begins with believing in yourself, this conversation is for you. Because sometimes the greatest investment you’ll ever make… is betting on yourself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook.

Every episode, we're trying to help our guests improve their careers by mainly focusing on how they can help us improve our careers. The show's famously super accessible so you can easily jump into any of our 600 and understand what's going on. We recommend some of our recent episodes with Ben Stiller, Danny McBride, Riz Ahmed, and Mary Steenberg. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nick Totoro. You probably know me from NYPD Blue, the longest yard, or Spike Lease Black Klansman. And on my new podcast, delivering happiness with Nick Tatourle, I deliver pizza to a new guest.

I've shared a slice with everyone, from Seth Rollins. What are you doing my belt? To Bill Burr. I don't think I've, ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am. And now we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Tuturo. It's called Happiness, Delivering Happiness.

And many, many more. Open your free High Heart Radio app. Search Delivering Happiness with Nick Totoro. And listen now. I'm Hoda Kotterby, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kottero. You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space.

You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Calling all my sweeties to the forefront. I'm your host Chris Renee Hazel, and this is the Keep It Positive Sweetie Show. Welcome to Keep It Positive Sweetie. the place where we heal, grow, and learn together. Success doesn't always happen on the timeline we imagine. Sometimes the greatest lessons come from building someone else's dream

before God calls you to build your own. And when your moment finally arrives, every season of preparation suddenly makes sense. Today's conversation is about purpose, patience, and having the courage to believe that it's never too late to bet on yourself. Today's guest is an award-winning marketing executive and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience building some of the world's most iconic luxury brands. Today, she is the founder and CEO of I Best Wines, bringing the same passion and vision to a brand of her own.

Kids family, please give a very warm welcome to my dear sister, Ingrid Best. Ingrid, how are you doing? I'm good. I'm so happy to be here. I'm happy. Listen, we have been talking about this for a few months now. You're like, I got to get on there. You live in Los Angeles. So getting over here was a thing and finding the time because I know you're so busy running your empire. So I'm so happy that the stars are in line

for you to be here with us today. Thank you. Thank you for welcoming me, your whole team. Shout out to the whole whole team. It's just good to be here, and I'm excited about the conversation we're going to have. Me too, because I know it's going to bless some people. You have the best energy.

Thank you. I was first introduced to you. It wasn't in person, but it was through your wine at first. I was doing a birthday party that a shop. was planning and she said oh I had the best wine no pun intended and it was your wine and oh my goodness like to this day I keep my basement stocked with your wine yes so anytime I have good together yes it's like we're pouring our best wine all the time and then I got to meet you and I walked up to you during all star NBA all star this year and I said hey I'm crystal your wine was

at my party I just wanted to introduce myself and then we got to really connect at the Femit for a cruise this summer or this was that, what was that, this year is going on. It was earlier in the year. It's crazy. Time is flying. Flown. What? That felt like summer, but it was not.

Yeah, that's crazy. So we got to really connect in and from that moment I said I've got to sit down with this lady. Like you are phenomenal and the way people, when you walk into a room, the way people just gravitate you gravitate to you and the way you show love.

It is so beautiful to witness. Like I've never, you are a true girl's girl. Thank you. I'm just trying to keep a positive. You do it. I was like, she is my people. I love it. Yes.

So I want to thank you for sponsoring our Chris Renee Haylet Foundation Summer Swarie is my first one. And it looked beautiful. Ma'am. We got the rosé here, y'all. Oh, Rose. Let me taste a little. Cheers. Cheers.

When I say the people were going crazy, it is so good. It is good. I'm really proud. I'm really proud of this, Roseanne. I'm proud of it too, honey. I'm very, very proud of it. It's delicious. Yeah, but proud of you as well for venturing into celebrating others.

Because that's not an easy thing to do, right? It takes a lot of investment and time. But it was beautiful to see from afar what you were doing. Thank you. You know, we got you anytime. No, I literally just had to hit you up. You were like, whatever you need, I got you. So thank you so much.

I want to ask you before we get into the conversation of everything, Ingrid Best, how are you doing today? Well, I woke up this morning and my spirit was heavy, mainly because I'm tired. Come on. You know, I think entrepreneurship is, it's exhausting. And especially when you have so much ambition, there's so much you want to do, you're a dreamer, you're a visionary. But the reality is we're human, right?

So there's only but so much you can do in a day. And so I woke up this morning. and I was feeling, I was feeling tired. And my wonderful, beautiful praying mama text me and said, God is with you, God is with both of you today. The conversation is going to be great. And she sent me the song, Encourage Yourself. Ooh.

And that's what I was listening to on my drive here. Yeah. And pulling up to these studios, it was like that exhaustion was lifted because the inspiration set in. So whenever you can transfer inspiration in the place of exhaustion, then you just keep going, right? And so right the second, I feel amazing. Yes. But this morning I did wake up and I was tired and I'm tired a lot of mornings, right?

Where I'm just like, ooh, I have a whole day in front of me in addition to all my dreams and aspirations that kind of seep in by the minute, which I'm sure you could relate to. Oh, you are on my street right now. Yes. Yeah. I can. So, but my spirit is strong and it's good. And even despite being tired, I'm ready. Yeah.

You know what I love about you, Ingrid, is that thank you for being transparent for one. But I follow you on Instagram and you are very vocal about what you're going through, whether it's a high moment, a low moment, a grateful moment. I'm feeling a little defeated. You allow people in to see the real, raw and authentic emotions of an entrepreneur, or of someone who is dreaming, someone who is striving, and someone who is actually doing it. So thank you, because a lot of times people will be like,

they'll gloss over how they really feel and be like, oh, I'm great, I'm just happy to be here, so excited. So thank you for being honest about that. Yeah, I think it's so important. You know, one of the things I hear about is like, wow, you're doing this with such grace. You know, and I'm like, I'm grateful to God that he has built me to be this graceful individual, right?

And I'm sure you could relate to it. Oh, yeah. But the reality is for many of us that have been built this way, if you're not honest, people just assume everything is all good all the time. Yeah. And the truth is it's not all good all the time. It's not all bad, but there are days. Yeah.

And so I try to use just my personal story to ensure that people understand that, like, it's not easy, but you've got to keep going. Yes. Because there is no, there shouldn't be another option, right? Right. But there are going to be days where you're feeling whatever it is that you're feeling, and that's okay too. And again, I think for women who are over polished, right, stylish, you know, all the things, I think people have it confused. And I also think people don't recognize the work that goes in behind the scenes.

Yeah, it's so much. So, yeah, I just try to keep it honest, keep it positive, keep it beautiful. and I'm grateful for a transparent spirit that my spirit is anchored in transparency. And it's so beautiful and refreshing to see. Thank you. Because we are watching a lot of people's highlight rails. And I think for me personally, when I watch you,

it makes me cheer even harder when I see you in the Hollywood Bowl or like, I guess Yves'S wines is in this airline. I'm like, oh my gosh. I went to our president's B.T's dinner and I Best Wines was across every single table. And I'm always quick to make sure I take a picture to show that you're everywhere. And it makes me want to cheer even harder for you because you do share those moments. And I think it's very relatable.

Yeah, it is. It is. And we put in that work. Baby. We're putting in that work. Okay. We're definitely putting in the work to make sure the brand is in the places that I want it to be in. People say to me all the time, the brand is everywhere.

I'm like, no, it's where I want it to be. Come on. Because there's a difference. It is. You know. And I'm, again, grateful for that as well, that we've had the opportunity to show up in the places that we want to be. There's a lot of work that goes into that.

Absolutely. Speaking of being in the places that you want it to be, I want to start with a game before we get into our conversation. And it's called the best pairing. And I want to ask you questions that are going to give you two options inspired by your career, your taste, and the world that you have built. You have to choose which one pairs best with you and why. Oh my God, I love this. Right. Do we need to launch this game like for real real life? I'm thinking, listen, okay, for real. I love this. Yes, it would be so good.

Especially for like dinners. Yeah. We got to talk about that. Yes. Shelley? Shelley, get to it. Right. So the first one is discovering something before everyone else or knowing how to make everyone else care about it. Which one pairs best with you? I think it's discovering something before anyone else. I was actually telling this story just yesterday. I'm going to give you a little story. Guapalé is a childhood friend.

And years ago, when her project was first launching, closer and all those amazing songs, her brother came to me and said, I'm trying to get these DJs at home to get behind. behind this record. And do you have any advice from me? And I said, yeah, tell them they either get on it now when no one knows about it and they can say they was on it

first or are they gonna get on it after everyone knows about it. Wow. And there's something too that I literally told that story just yesterday and we see where Guapalé's career has gone and that record, that one record closer is like, it is such an anthem for many of us. But I think there's something to discover something before anyone knows about it and getting behind it and championing it, right, in a way that's real, right?

Because you're not doing it because you've been influenced by anything. You're doing it because you discovered it. Exactly. So I think it would be discovery. I love that. Yeah. That's good. So the next one is being respected by the industry or being deeply trusted by the consumer.

Being deeply trusted by the consumer. Listen, I've been so fortunate. to have a great reputation. You know, I'm a hard worker. I do what I say. I have great products. I've been good to people along my journey. I love all that.

But there's nothing more beautiful than a customer who has spent their money for something that I'm promoting and saying is good wine and craftsmanship and all the things. And it's supporting a black founder, right? Black and Brown founder. There's something about that. For sure. And I'm grateful for that. And there's been a lot of those kind of stories where I've met, you know, consumers.

And they've become friends. Some of them have become friends. Yes. I love that. Me. Yeah. Including me. The next one is one, one career defining partnership or complete creative control.

That's a hard one for me. I know. Yeah. That's a hard one for me because I do think we live in such a time that there are defining moments that when you get the thing, it can unlock the ability to have as much creativity as you want. But creativity is such

at the center of everything that I think about and that I do because I'm a creative. You love art as well, yes. Is it a past feature on this game? I think you can for that one. I got an, I got to end. Thank you.

Maybe both of them, yeah. I mean, it's both. It would be both because I do. think part of the story of iBest wines is like this is my creative journey this is my art yes this is how i'm showing up in the world right and one of the things we hear all the time is like the wine the way you show up the images and this and that's so beautiful and and i wouldn't trade that for the world like being able to live out my creative dreams yeah but man when you get the hollywood bowl and you get American Airlines, you know what I mean?

And the events that you've done and Femford, like all these moments, we would not have a momentum without those things. For sure. So it's both, Shelly. Okay. We like that. Okay. The next one is knowing when to protect the original vision or knowing when the vision needs to evolve.

Knowing when the vision needs to evolve. Yeah. I think one of the toughest things for founders, right, is that it's your baby. Yeah. You know, these three expressions are my babies, right? But I do think that there comes a time where evolution happens. And even for us, we're going, the brand will be three years old. And there are things that are already shifting.

People that are kind of moving out and I'm thinking about who's moving in. And you have to be open to that. For sure. That original dream may have called for a certain set of things. But the 1.0 ain't the 2.0. Yeah. And I think knowing that and accepting that is so critical for all of us. That's a word.

Yeah. That's good. Last one. In this season, what pairs best with Ingrid Best? Proving, building, expanding, or enjoying. Oof. Shelly and Crystal. I know.

We're making you think today, honey. I'm going to drink today. I know. I only had a sip of wine. Say that again. Yes. In this season, which. pairs best with Ingrid best proving building expanding or enjoying the reason why I'm going to say

enjoying is because part of why I'm doing this at the level in which I'm doing it is because I love it that's good yep and if I didn't love this if I didn't wake up every day and say I'm really still happy 20 years in to be in the wine and spears industry I'm happy that I'm still a disruptor I really am just getting started, although I'm 20 years in, right? When it comes to my thing, I'm really just getting started. But I have the ambition I have. I find the stamina that I need. I keep going because I love it.

Yeah. And I enjoy it. That's so important. And so I won't be able to build and scale and the three other answers. Oh, yeah. Right? Yeah. If you don't love the thing.

That's good. You got to love the thing. and when you don't love it anymore, that's probably the answer to why you're maybe not building or not scaling and not, you know, so I have to enjoy this. Yeah, I got a building and I got to scale it too. Hello, you're doing that.

You are doing that. We're going to get to that. Thank you for playing. Yeah, I love that game. And I feel like that would be a really good game, like for dinner parties to get the conversation going. All right, Shirley, Shelly, Ashana, schedule the meeting. All right, so you talk.

about 20 years into building this brand like working in the spirits and wine industry I want to ask you long before there was our best wines you were building other recognizable brands all across the world what and who is the woman behind all that before there was ever a brand attached to it yeah that is a beautiful question she's a teenage mom who had ambition to go to a black college I wanted to go to Howard. I decided I was going to have my son, and I didn't, who knew that I had to figure it out. And that all the things that I wanted, I could still have,

despite life-taking this detour to motherhood very early and very young and very premature, right? When you're a teenage mom, it's a lot. Yeah. But the woman who is behind I Best Wines is this really ambitious, curious, young woman who is proving to herself, proving to other young women, proving to my son. Yeah. You know, that you can do everything that you want to do, even if life delivers you some, some deep. detours.

Yeah. Or you make, or you make some decisions that feel like detours, right? Right. And who's really behind this brand is that young hungry street promoter who was promoting all the great records back in the day who knew how to build things with posters and tapes and stickers. Well, let's talk about that. So promoting like, what was the beginning?

Take us back to the very beginning. Yeah. So I was a street promoter in my early 20s. Me and my best friend, Crystal Isaacs, we started a company called Keeper Roll Promotions in the Bay Area. I know that's right. And back then, there were a lot of labels. Yeah. And a lot of the iconic artists of today, the Missies, you know, the little Kims, the bigs.

Ashana know about this. You know, like, I had the privilege of working on those projects. And what that meant was you're taking the records to the radio stations, you're developing relationships with the program directors and the DJs, you're managing all the tour runs when these artists come into your market. The Bay Area happened to be a big radio market at the time. And there were record stores, you set up the promos, all the things, right? And I learned how to be a masterful promoter and marketer from that period of my life.

fast forward to when I launched iBest wines i never forget shaka text me he said you rolling this thing out like a record and i was like you know what wow you're right right and so that is what's that's the woman and the young woman that's really powering the way we've been able to build this thing i love that so you talk about certain decisions can seem like a delay or a detouring in our lives. Can you take us through those moments and how you kept pushing through? A lot of times we have this vision for ourselves and then something happens. Are you getting pregnant? And it's like, I'm going to keep my child, but I still got to keep pushing. This is my inspiration now. What was your mental like during that time to keep pushing? Yeah, I think,

listen, coming from the Bay Area, we know how to get it. You know, I always say I grew up in San Francisco, I got my muscle from Oakland. And if you know anything about the Bay, you know, we know how to figure it out. Yeah, for sure. Early on, it was like, figure out what it is. And, you know, it went from music to then someone saying, you would be great in the wine and spears industry and me really seizing the moment and seizing the opportunity. It also was a lot of me thinking about the things that I might have felt like I missed.

So like I talked about the black college experience, right? So without knowing, I manifested the same network you would have if you would have graduated from a black college, right? And so I think a lot of it was like this manifestation that I didn't even realize that's what I was doing until later in life. But always keeping like those dreams that maybe I didn't necessarily get to have in the detour. keeping those dreams close. So in every opportunity to go back and kind of get them, I did. And that's just you manifesting the kind of life you want, the kind of people you want in your life,

the situations, the opportunities. And so I think a spirit that was very clear around, I can manifest all the things that maybe I thought the detour took from me or didn't allow me to have, Didn't take from me, but didn't allow me to have. Absolutely. Yeah. There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple.

Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful, conversations with fascinating people. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out.

You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts. You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. but he hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure.

Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook. Every episode we're trying to help our guests improve their careers by mainly focusing on how they can help us improve our careers. The show is famously super accessible so you can easily jump into any of our 650 episodes. and understand what's going on. We recommend some of our recent episodes with Ben Stillard.

The definition of what is a movie has kind of changed anywhere, too, right? What do you think it is now? It's images and words being spoken, captured by some sort of technology. Danny McBride. He loves Nova. Oh, that's fantastic. And you make it on, you make your own. That's great.

I call him Terro Reed. It's a good name. They're all named after cast members of American Pie. Yeah. I call, I don't. I never looked up if she was in this, but I call him Leachy Sobiesky. I don't think she was an American pie, but I still like that. Haven't looked it up.

She was prominent around the same time. Then Mary Steenberg. Why are you guys talking to me? I'm worried. Why are you talking so down to me that you think I don't understand your little play game? I just really. I get it. I'm trying to set you up for success here.

Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On Solita, we share the messy stories of traveling alone as a woman. Your duolingo is not going to come back to you when a man is inside of you. Oh, no. I'm Julie Pinero, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility. Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meaning things. And they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here.

I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies you're sold about it. So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I heard you say that you're a 20-year overnight success. I've said that I'm a 10-year overnight success. It was 10 years from the time I moved to Atlanta to the time my career took off. So I identify with that as well. I want to ask you, what part of those 20-year do you think most people underestimate?

Yeah, you know, I haven't talked about this a lot. I maybe said it once or twice, but I was a career manager. So these organizations that I worked for, big, big organizations, three of the largest suppliers in the world. But I was never promoted past a senior manager. And I think a lot of people discount when you're at certain levels, different titles, it really boils down to like, what are you extracting from the experience? And so I made a commitment to myself like, y'all don't want to promote me. Y'all don't want to make me more than a senior manager. I'm going to do it for myself.

And so I was very methodical around learning and extracting everything that I needed to know in those experiences. When you work for an organization like LVMH, you should be trying to learn everything there is about luxury products and luxury marketing. And that's what I did. And so it never stopped me because. Right. They, listen, there's a systematic situation when it comes to black and brown people not being promoted the way they should across a lot of industries, right? Absolutely.

But you either take it as an opportunity or you don't, and I took it as an opportunity. And so fast forward to now being the founder of I Best Wines, it's because I took all those experiences and I extracted as much out of them as possible. And I try to give that advice to a lot of the young women that I'm, mentoring. I'm like, what are you there for? And it can't just be the title because we know that there's a systematic issue around titling us appropriately. Paying us appropriately. But if you can focus on what you're going to pull out of the experience, then you win. That's so good. You spent years helping other brands discover how they wanted the world to experience them. During that time,

what did you discover about Ingrid, knowing your value and that seeing the value, within you but other people weren't seeing or they saw it and they just didn't want to promote you. Yeah, I think I discovered that I was a masterful marketer, that I really knew how to tell stories that even though I had been working for these organizations, I was, I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Yeah. So I gave my all to the roles that I was in, the brands that I was helping build. You know, you would have never known I was a manager.

I'm like, what do we need to do to make this the hottest? thing, right, you know. And so I think what I discovered about myself is that I really know how to build things, you know. I know how, so do it. Go out and build things because you know how. And then I also think I was really good at making sure that I built good teams. Yeah. So, yeah, I think my legacy at the time, even though I was a manager, a senior manager,

I did have the ability to build teams at time. and I was good at that. I was good at putting the different pieces to the puzzle together and so even now in the season that I'm in with I-Best wines, I'm really looking forward to the 2.0 what are the pieces that I'm going to assemble around me and around the brand

as we drive this thing to be acquired one day? Yes, I love that. So I want to ask you, what was that defining moment when you were working for LVMAG or whoever you were with last where you said this is it? I'm going to do this on my own. What was that defining moment for you? The defining moment was realizing that I had been

working for people, never had any points on any of the business, no equity. There were opportunities for people to also do that and they didn't. And just saying, I'm going to do this for myself. Like, I want to do this for myself and I understand it at the highest level

and I believe in myself enough to do it. I have courage. I have faith. I have all the things. But I think it was really like you can keep working for folks or you can really do what it is that you know how to do. And you got to believe in yourself enough to do. And I think a lot of it was like this final moment of like,

I believe in myself. You know what I'm saying? I believe in myself. And it's time to go. And nobody getting them away. You know, and I did it. You know, and I've done it. You know, and I've done it at the highest level and I'm competing.

You know, I tell this story, but when I walk into a store, when I walk into Costco in Southern California, and my brand is sitting next to wine brands that I sold for years for big companies. How does that feel? Crazy. I can't imagine. Yeah. You know, when I go to events and my wine is sitting next to Don Perry on, I'm like, wow.

Because the reality is this is built by me, invested in by me. I now have some great investors that are behind the brand as well. But this is a startup. Yes. And 90% of what you see is coming from me, from my phone, you know. Yes. And so it's a surreal feeling, but I think it's the validation like, see, that's why you needed to believe in yourself. You know?

Exactly. Yes. And I know you know how that feels. Oh, for sure. You know, where it's like, no, just a little bit of belief goes a long way. It really does. It really does. So I want you to take us to the beginning of that, I finally believe myself, I'm doing it.

What was the day in and day out of building I-Best? A lot of people see you on the shelves now, but they don't know what it took to get there. What was that like? And were there ever moments where you felt like, what have I gotten myself into? Every day this morning, what have I gotten myself into? Every single day, I feel like that. I'm not going to front. Wow.

Yeah, you know, it's a lot. It is. It's a lot. And I'm always on. and you know all the things there's a lot of financial pressure right at this stage in any business so it's a lot but I think I think for me the early days were really like okay I've always had this brand in my head and my heart now it's where and originally I thought it was going to be California because I'm from the Bay Area so I was like oh I'll launch a wine from Napa but I took a trip to

South Africa with one of my besties. Shout out to Angelie. She's the very first person to get me on the continent. She was hired for a job in Johannesburg. She said, do you want to come? I was like, I've never been to Africa, which is a very like common black person in America comment, right? Like, we haven't been.

We haven't been. Yeah. And we went and I remember sitting at a restaurant and we're looking at the wine and it's all this wine from South Africa. And listen, I have been in wine and spirits. I wasn't new to this. Right. Yes.

but I didn't know that there was wine coming from South Africa. So if I didn't know, imagine how many people don't know. Exactly. And the wine was incredible. And I became obsessed. Fast forward, I was working on Global Citizens, which was going to be in Johannesburg. I went to that one. Oh, you did?

Yes, with Tyler. Oh, my God, so good. So I was working on Doucet at the time. We activated it. It was amazing. But before that trip, I stopped at the wine region. because I couldn't stop thinking about the wine region. And I was like, this is it.

This is where I'm launching the brand from. I just fell in love with like the story and the discovery, right? I'm going to help people discover this region for those who don't know. And so the early days were like doing a lot of research, talking to a lot of winemakers in South Africa, talking to different winery houses, traveling there. Like the research part was extensive. Yeah.

And I wanted to do it again at the highest. level, right? I am my own LVMH. So I wanted to do it. You don't? I wanted to do it at the highest level. Absolutely. And so I spent a lot of time on that part of it, the research part.

It was important to me to also work with a winemaker because, listen, I am not a winemaker. I'm a wine negotiant. That means I'm in the business of wine. Yes. And I always like to clarify that because I have a lot of respect for winemakers on what they do, right? But I'm in the business of wine. I love wine. And so I

wanted to work with a winemaker that would allow me to blend the wines with them. I love it. Because these are my signature blends. Wow. And so I finally found someone who totally kind of met my energy, was excited about letting me fully brief on like the blending process and then went on that part of the journey. So a lot of it was like making sure that I was like really doing the research and researched ready.

Yes. And then, you know, the brand. the this, all of those pieces. And we did a lot of focus groups. Because I think a lot of people forget, like founders, you can't just be talking to yourself. Like, this is what I want to do. What do the people think?

Yes. Right? So there was a lot of focus groups that we did, made sure that we were taking our time, getting consumer kind of insight. And it was a lot of just, I think, spending time understanding this phase of Ingrid's career and ambition

because I think there's a lot of that that you have to do too. You can't just launch something. No. You know, you just can't. And then, yeah, we landed on the wines, you know, bottles, this, that, you name it. There was, there's a lot of process

that goes into this. All of the legalities, this is alcohol. So there's a huge compliance piece. Right, yeah. Right. And I did all of that. Wow. Yeah. And I tapped five black and brown women to help me build the brand.

So that's an important thing I want to point out. Remember, I said part of why I did this was because I never owned anything. So all of those women have equity in the brand. It was so important to me that I was able to kind of rewrite that part of my story. Right. And we built this thing and we launched it. And it's so good. Thank you.

I love it. Yeah. Thank you. I'm very proud. I'm proud of you. Thank you. Because I know as an entrepreneur, I know how hard it is. to build something.

I know the sleepless nights, you know, and I know that when you really truly believe in something, same thing with my hair carillon. Like I was, went to the lab, I was in there with the chemist, because I wanted to make sure that what I'm selling, I use it, you know, and that it works, you know, and trying it on shine his hair,

doing Wes's hair. I had to do my hair. I'll do it, listen. No, like, I had to make sure that it worked, and that's one of those things. When you truly care about the product that you're building, You're going to take those trips to South Africa to make sure it's right and find the right partner.

But a lot of people don't, they don't understand what it takes to actually build the brand. You didn't just slap a label on a bottle. No, not at all. And the other thing that I did was shout out to all my family in South Africa. I actually have family there now. These, you know, these folks wrapped their arms around me. And it was important for me as a black American to, like, talk to them about the fact that, you know, I really wanted to get behind the South African. wine region, but I didn't want to come off as like, I discovered this region. No, there's a lot of

great brands coming out of South Africa and I hope to just be a bullhorn to the region and to those brands and my brand, of course. But I spent a lot of time, I mean, use the word getting permission, but it was more like, I want to be blessed. I want your blessing for this idea and what I'm doing, and I received it at the highest level from amazing people. And that was also, important to me as well was making sure that, you know, I had an authentic touch point to the country because the product is really my love letter to South Africa. Wow. Yeah. I love that. Now, what roadblocks did you hit as you continue to grow that you were like, oh, my gosh. Like, because you feel like you get momentum and I feel like in every entrepreneur journey,

there's roadblocks. Share with us some of those moments where you were just like, okay, here we go again. Like I thought we were getting somewhere and then this is happening. Yeah, I'll tell you transparently as someone who hadn't been an entrepreneur since her early 20s. You know, I was in corporate America. I had all the corporate accounts and the great benefits and the I missed all of that. You know, I was really naive to what entrepreneurs endure. Yeah. And I think it hit me so hard that because I do have,

I have this optimistic spirit, I don't walk around heavy. I walk around very much so like everything is in flow for me. When the reality of what entrepreneurs go through, especially black and brown women from a funding perspective, from a just general basic support, it was hard for me because I don't, that's the part I don't think I was prepared for. I was so optimistic about what I was doing, my ability to do it. And I was very removed from the entrepreneur journey because I was coming from corporate structure when the reality started to hit me, okay, you invested a million dollars to do this,

you had it, but where's the money going to keep coming from? And so luckily I had people that were like, you got to raise. Like you, like, no, this is how actually this goes. And had some great people who really just kind of started to inform me about that process. But I will admit that I didn't know. That was, I didn't know about that part. And I think it was a bit of a roadblock in that I probably should have started sooner. I should have been more informed about that. I think it was a bit of a roadblock. I think it was a bit of a roadblock. I was a bit of that piece. I think I was so laser focused on the product that I wasn't maybe necessarily

focused on, okay, what do you actually need from a runway standpoint to do this? And so there have been periods where it's been really challenging for me. Shout out to the first five black women who invested in the business. They were a blessing. And it was without

question when I did start pitching the raise. They were like, of course, you know what you're doing. The products are great, you know. But it hasn't been easy. You know, that raised journey has been challenging, but I also look at it as a blessing, right, because I feel like it's God

saying, I don't want everybody in this. So it might be hard. There's going to be some long-suffering here, but if you can do it with not a lot, imagine what you're going to do when everything

is lined up. Yes. And so what you all see is is a testament of just hard work. It's not a bunch of cash infusion. I don't have a lead investor. There's none of that yet. Right. But imagine what I'm going to do.

Listen, because what you're doing now, I can imagine. Exactly, yes. Some people don't realize how lonely entrepreneurship can be when you are the one leading it. You have your women that have helped invest, but a lot of times it's just you in the trenches. How do you mentally keep yourself up when it gets a little low for you? Yeah, it's very lonely. It's a very lonely journey, but I think the solitude is necessary.

For sure. And I think that that's what we don't talk about. Like, yes, it's lonely, but there is a lot of power in solitude. There's a lot of power with sitting with yourself, stripping down that ego, stripping down all the things, being able to hear really clearly focusing. Yeah. I had someone great in the art world say to me, my one advice to you is just focus.

All the great focus. And so I think that loneliness, if you can look at it in a different way, I'm here alone so I can focus. There's no distractions. But it is lonely. And I think more now than ever, I'm like, oh, I wish I had a partner. Yeah, because you're so beautiful. I was going to ask you, like, being an entrepreneur,

do you find it harder with dating to find, like, the right fit for the partner? I've not been great. I've not been great in the dating department. Yeah. Me neither. I'm not good. I have not picked great. Shana knows this.

Yeah. You know, back to the transparency. I'm just keep it real, y'all. I have not. I think if there was one area that I could improve, it would be that. Me too. It would be, you know, picking and being more intentional, making the time. Like, if I made the time that I'm, the time that I put it.

in my career. And the things that I've done, if I actually had put the time and intention into, I think, dating and relationships, girl, you'd be sitting here with me and my husband.

We'd be talking about the wine we launched, right? But I have not been that great in that area. I admit that. And I think more now than ever because I am operating at such greatness, I'm able to unapologetically to, my

see you ain't been good at it girl so you got to get better at that yes and you know that you can but you got to do the work right so it's not it's not easy it's not and I will be honest too since you're being transparent that I find myself when if I'm in a relationship and we start especially when I'm filming my TV shows yeah this I can manage but when I'm filming that rigorous schedule and it's just a lot I tend to just have tunnel vision which I feel like a lot of success with have when they're fixated on something. It's like we focus on the which helps us get to the end goal, right? For me, nothing else matters in that moment. It's like I got to get these lines. I got to make sure I'm in character. I'm ready every single day. I don't have time for anything else.

So anything outside of that just kind of falls by the wayside and it's not fair. So like those things I've had to recognize. It's like, dang, like the time that I put into everything else, I have to be able to kind of share some of that time with a partner. Yeah, no, for sure. I'm a Virgo, so we are obsessive. Like if I'm obsessing about something, you're not going to break through. Yeah, yeah. But I haven't had that same obsessive energy.

I think there's something good to girls like you and I, right? Because you can't be obsessive in the wrong thing. Hello. Right? And find yourself in a situation. With no job. But, right. Both of y'all.

But, you know, I think, listen, I think, you know, yes, I am so focused on the thing that I talk to friends and talk to people who are like I'm focused on the husband and this is the stuff I'm doing for that and I think it's beautiful right and they find it and they figure it out

and I just haven't done it I gotta do it so maybe we I don't know text each other once a week what are you doing around dating I don't know we got figured out though because I will tell you there is something really beautiful about love and partnership and business and having support. Yes. You know, you to them, them to you.

There's something, I believe in that. I think it still exists. I think it's there. And you just got to be intentional about it. Yeah. This year has flown by. I had a conversation with God last December. That was my first art boss.

I actually got to see you on a panel for McDonald's. That was my first time actually hearing you speak. And I saw all these cute. couples looking at art. And I was like, man, I want to do that. Me too. And I literally said, all right, Lord, I said, next art basil, I'm going to have a fiance and be married.

Well, it's, it was a June. Oh, we're approaching another. We're approaching another Arbosel. I said, well, I might miss this one. And let's God pulls an end suddenly for me. But it was one of those moments where I realized that is something that I do long for, you know, and we can have all the accolades. we can hit every benchmark and check off every goal that we want,

but there has to come a time where we try to balance out those scales. For sure. Yeah, and partnership and love and intimacy, they're healthy. Yeah. And you need them, right? Human beings need other people. And it's funny that you mention art. Like, I think that's when I feel it most.

I'm a big art enthusiast, patron supporter. I love it. It's at the center of everything I do. Yeah. And I just wish I could hold hands and walk through, you know, a museum or art gallery. You know, those are the moments when I think I feel it the most. Yes.

So, yeah, we just got to, we got to be intentional about it. Yes, we will. Our Bosley back, we'll reconvene in Miami. Yeah. Over some wine. Over some Rose. Roseanne in Miami will be delicious. We need that.

It's a date. It's a date. Well, see, we got a date. We might be in a double date. We got our girl date for our baza. Now we got to find our man. Exactly. So we can double date.

in our Bible, okay? There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellairdirect.com. I'm Hoda Kotbby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby.

If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations, with fascinating people. Like one of my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors

and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts. You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one.

He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On Solita, we share the messy stories of traveling alone as a woman. Your duolingo is not going to come back to you when a man is inside of you. Oh, no. I'm Julie Pinero, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space

where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita, trading the pity for possibility. Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people, and they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here. I can wait four hours for the next bus, or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is, and not the lies you're sold about it. So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast Hollywood Handbook. Every episode we're trying to help our guests improve their careers by mainly focusing on how they can help us improve our careers. The show's famously super accessible so you can easily jump into any of our 650 episodes and understand what's going on. We recommend some of our recent episodes with Ben Stillard. The definition of what is a movie has kind of changed anywhere, too, right? What do you think it is now?

It's images and words being spoken, captured by some sort of technology. Danny McBride. He loves over. Oh, that's fantastic. And you make it on, you make your own. That's great. I call him Terro Reed. It's a good name.

They're all named after cast members of American Pie. Yeah. I call, I don't, I never looked up if she was a. in this, but I call him Leachie Sobieski. I don't think she was an American pie, but I still like that. I haven't looked it up. She was prominent around the same time. Then Mary Steenberg.

Why are you guys talking to me? I'm worried. Did you understand the movie? Why are you talking so down to me that you think I don't understand your little play game? I just really. I get it. I'm trying to set you up for success here.

Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In closing, There are so many young women, and we talk about women being underserved in this space, just all across the job markets. We've seen so many women lose their jobs, but there are a lot of people who have lost their jobs that are now building out their own dreams because they, like you, have worked so hard for years to build other people's dreams.

What would you say to that young woman who is stepping into a pivot of her life to build her own dream? Oh, you have everything that you need. Everything that you need, you have it. You just have to believe it. have to be courageous. You have to find the courage wherever it may exist in your life. Find it. You have to be consistent. You have to focus. You have to sacrifice. You have to give up a lot of things. No ego. You cannot have an ego. And we all have it. But you got to keep that thing

at bay. You do. You do. And you got to be willing to work really hard. I think that's the the biggest part of this, right? We are willing to work. We are. That's what separates us, though. Because there's a lot of lazy people out here. It's a lot of lazy people. And listen, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

So it isn't for everyone. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. But for those of us that are wired for it, do it. You know? And I feel for what's happening right now, right? We see the job market. We see what's going on? And I say to myself all the time, even though I'm like, what the hell that I get myself into with this?

Imagine had I not started. Right. It was just simply starting. Right? And here I am on the eve of our third birthday. Wow. What? Yeah, well, we'll be three in October.

But when I'm saying on the heels of it, right? What's the day? October 10th. Oh, my birthday is the 18. You a Libra, I know. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, I imagine if you just don't ever start.

Yeah, that's good. You know, this is the result of starting. He just said, the Lord said start. That thunder said, literally, just start. So yeah, I think it's work hard, stay focused, be, you know, be as resilient as you possibly can be. Find your people. Yes. Let go of people that you think you're supposed to take with you.

You have to let them go. Yeah. You know, but just have that belief in your. yourself. Take a bet. Bet on yourself. That is so good. Ingrid, thank you so much. Thank you. I'm glad we finally got to do this and this will not be the last time. No. We got game ladies. We need our game. Yes, we have a game to create. A dinner series to create for y'all. Dates to coordinate and art art. Listen, we got a lot of things to do, honey. Yeah, but thank you. No, thank you. Thank you so much. And listen, I'm one of those people that believes in anchoring themselves

and positivity and things that are beautiful. And that's what you represent. I love that. we need it. Thank you so much. So thank you. No, and I saw that the first time I got to really spend time with you on that vote in February, I said, oh yeah, she's my kind of people. Yeah, yeah. So thank you. Thank you. Yes, and don't change because the world needs people like you, for sure. I'm too old. This is me. This is me. This is me. Yeah, this is me. I love it. I love it. So I do want to ask you, was there ever a moment, I know you were a young mother, was there ever a moment that you felt mom guilt while trying to build your brand? I think I was so young

I was doing what 20 year olds and 30 year olds do you run in the street you're grinding you're trying to figure it out you know all the things so thank God for my mother because my mother really sat in the place and the position

of mom to my son they're besties to this day and I think that that's some of the tradeoff with being a young parent right is that you're still young you're still young you're still experiencing life, but you are responsible for this life. And so I didn't start to feel, I think, mom guilt until like late 30s, 40s when I realized some of those pivotal moments for my son,

I wasn't there. And again, thank God for my mom. She was. So I can identify with mom guilt, but I think uniquely in my way, because I was just, I think that's the thing with being young, right you're not as aware you're not as present you're not self-aware i wasn't self-aware enough to recognize that i probably should have had mom guilt at that time yeah um but i think for any mom right when you're thinking about you know motherhood and the commitment to that man i i watch these moms today all the different things that they're doing with their kids and the schedules and activities and and I'm so impressed.

I'm like, your kid is like a celebrity. Like how many things did your kid do in a weekend? You know what I'm saying? But I'm so impressed by that, right? But then they also have the ambition to be mothers. You know, and it makes me think about Emma. You sat with her early in the year. I'm a big fan of hers.

And I think there was a lot of controversy around her comments and her reality and and what she chose to share. But we are, women can do all the things in the way that we choose to do that. You can be a mom and however many hours in the day you are on as a mom, that's your story. Yeah. Right. You can be a badass career woman, right?

Or founder or an aspiring a founder, corporate, whatever. I don't think there's this rule. I think the rule is be a good human. and be good to your children and in whatever capacity that is, do it. Yeah. You know? And yeah, I again, thank God for the grandmothers

because my mother really stood in the gap for me in a real way. And I thank her for that as often as I can't. And my son has grown now and I have a grandchild. I know I look a little younger than I am. Yes. But yeah, you know, so now it's writing the story, I think, with my grandchild. And I think that's the beauty of life, right?

But I think, you know, for any mom who's struggling with what the decision is, first and foremost, yes, prioritize being a great human for your child. But go for it. Yeah. I love that. Go for it. I do want to ask before we get out of here, where can the people find out of here? where can the people find I-Best Lines? I want to know so we can let them know to go get it right now.

Yes, so I-Bestwines.com. You can buy the white blend, the red blend, our new rosé, which is beautiful. You can follow me at Ms. underscore I-Best. You can follow the brand at I-Best Wines. And you can find us in Costco in Southern California, total wine in eight different states. Where else?

Hollywood Bowl. I'm so excited about that. valuable American Airlines. We just got distribution on the heels of FIFA at American Airlines Lounge at LAX. And the list keeps growing. Obviously here in Georgia, Georgia was one of the first states to support us. Big distributor brought us on. The mayor welcomed us with a proclamation.

So all that information is on iBestwines.com. Awesome. Thank you so much, Ingrid. Thank you. Yes. That was good. What I hope you take away from today's conversation is this. Don't underestimate the season you're in.

The position that may not feel like it's elevating you today could be the very place that's repairing you for everything God has planned for tomorrow. A huge thank you to Ingrid Best for reminding us that every lesson and every season of preparation has purpose. And before we go, if you're part of our sweetie social club, or you've been looking for the perfect time to join us. This is it. We are on our August book of the month, The Revelation of Deion Daphne by Mar Brock Akehl.

So tap in. What are you waiting for? Because we're waiting on you. As always, thank you for spending time with me. Be sure to like and subscribe. Until next time, keep healing, keep growing, keep learning, and keep it positive, sweetie. I'll see you guys next time.

Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast. podcast Hollywood Handbook. Every episode we're trying to help our guests improve their careers by mainly focusing on how they can help us improve our careers. The show's famously super accessible so you can easily jump into any of our 650 episodes and understand what's going on.

We recommend some of our recent episodes with Ben Stiller, Danny McBride, Riz Ahmed, and Mary Steenberg. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nick Titoro. You probably know me from NYPD Blue, the longest yard, or Spike Lee's Black Plansman. And on my new podcast, Delivering Happiness with Nick Titoro, I deliver pizza to a new guest. I've shared a slice with everyone from Seth Rollins.

What are you doing my belt? To Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of their mind as I am. And now, we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Titoro. It's called Happiness, Delivering Happiness. And many, many more. Open your free High Heart Radio app. Search Delivering Happiness with Nick Titoro. And listen now. I'm Hoda Kottenby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotbby.

You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America, plays out in one small town. Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land.

We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or a world. wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.