Share

cover art for 🇺🇸 How I Built a Community of 1.2 Million from Scratch — and What I’d Do Again (Carte Blanche 1)

Visionary Minds

🇺🇸 How I Built a Community of 1.2 Million from Scratch — and What I’d Do Again (Carte Blanche 1)

•

Carte Blanche #1 – Sophie Blowfield

What does it really take to build a brand community that actually cares?

In this first episode of our special Carte Blanche series, we hand the mic to Sophie Blowfield — the brand and social strategist behind some of beauty and fashion’s most iconic digital moments (Charlotte Tilbury, Alo Yoga, ...).

Sophie shares the exact mindset, strategy, and creative instincts that helped her grow a community from 0 to 1 million followers — and opens up about what she’d absolutely repeat (and avoid) if she had to do it all over again.

A must-listen for anyone building brand love in a noisy world.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 🇫🇷 RUBY MAZUEL - RĂ©inventer le mĂ©tier de make-up artist

    35:07|
    Dans cet épisode de Visionary Minds, Wilfried reçoit Ruby Mazuel, make-up artist parisienne en pleine ascension, dont l’approche sensible et exigeante est en train de redéfinir le métier.Ancienne patineuse artistique, Ruby parle du maquillage comme d’un geste, d’un mouvement juste, ce qu’elle appelle le glide. Une manière de travailler la peau sans jamais l’imposer, en écoutant les visages, les énergies, les silences.Ensemble, ils évoquent la frénésie des plateaux, la pression invisible du métier, la relation de confiance entre l’artiste et la personne maquillée, mais aussi la place de l’humain dans une industrie souvent obsédée par le résultat.Ruby partage également sa vision à travers Ruby’s Kitchen, un laboratoire créatif où l’art, la peinture et la culture, jusqu’aux inspirations du Louvre, deviennent matière à maquillage.Une conversation profonde sur la beauté de demain, l’auteurité artistique, et cette idée forte : un beau visage, c’est un visage en paix avec lui-même.Un épisode pour comprendre comment on réinvente un métier, en douceur, en conscience, et avec une vraie vision.
  • 🇫🇷 [TEASER] RUBY MAZUEL - RĂ©inventer le mĂ©tier de make-up artist

    01:26|
    Dans cet épisode de Visionary Minds, Wilfried reçoit Ruby Mazuel, make-up artist parisienne en pleine ascension, dont l’approche sensible et exigeante est en train de redéfinir le métier.Ancienne patineuse artistique, Ruby parle du maquillage comme d’un geste, d’un mouvement juste, ce qu’elle appelle le glide. Une manière de travailler la peau sans jamais l’imposer, en écoutant les visages, les énergies, les silences.Ensemble, ils évoquent la frénésie des plateaux, la pression invisible du métier, la relation de confiance entre l’artiste et la personne maquillée, mais aussi la place de l’humain dans une industrie souvent obsédée par le résultat.Ruby partage également sa vision à travers Ruby’s Kitchen, un laboratoire créatif où l’art, la peinture et la culture, jusqu’aux inspirations du Louvre, deviennent matière à maquillage.Une conversation profonde sur la beauté de demain, l’auteurité artistique, et cette idée forte : un beau visage, c’est un visage en paix avec lui-même.Un épisode pour comprendre comment on réinvente un métier, en douceur, en conscience, et avec une vraie vision.
  • 🇺🇸 Brand Washing: When Vision Replaces Identity (Carte Blanche with Susanna Nicoletti)

    32:44|
    In this Carte Blanche episode of Visionary Minds, Susanna Nicoletti delivers an unfiltered perspective on one of the most sensitive issues in luxury fashion today: brand washing.She explains why giving unchecked power to creative directors can weaken brand identity, erode customer loyalty, and ultimately impact business performance. From iconic houses to real customer reactions, Susanna challenges the industry’s obsession with disruption and reminds us why brands are not blank canvases — but systems built to last.A sharp, thought-provoking listen for anyone leading, advising, or building fashion and luxury brands today.
  • 🇺🇸 [TEASER] Brand Washing: When Vision Replaces Identity (Carte Blanche with Susanna Nicoletti)

    01:13|
    In this Carte Blanche episode of Visionary Minds, Susanna Nicoletti delivers an unfiltered perspective on one of the most sensitive issues in luxury fashion today: brand washing.She explains why giving unchecked power to creative directors can weaken brand identity, erode customer loyalty, and ultimately impact business performance. From iconic houses to real customer reactions, Susanna challenges the industry’s obsession with disruption and reminds us why brands are not blank canvases — but systems built to last.A sharp, thought-provoking listen for anyone leading, advising, or building fashion and luxury brands today.
  • 🇺🇸 TRUE BEAUTY VENTURES - Investing in the Soul of Beauty

    01:15:42|
    In this episode of Visionary Minds, Wilfried sits down with Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez, co-founders of True Beauty Ventures, to unpack what it really takes to build beauty brands that last.Together, they explore why virality is often a trap, why less capital can sometimes create stronger foundations, and how patience, discipline, and empathy have become strategic advantages in today’s beauty landscape. From the volatility of celebrity brands to the signals that define long-term winners, they share rare, investor-level insights grounded in real experience.As the beauty industry enters 2026 after an eventful year of consolidation and cultural shifts, this conversation offers a clear-eyed perspective on smart capital, pragmatic growth, and the future of brand-building beyond hype.A must-listen for founders, investors, and leaders shaping the next decade of beauty.
  • 🇺🇸 [TEASER] TRUE BEAUTY VENTURES - Investing in the Soul of Beauty

    01:24|
    TEASERIn this episode of Visionary Minds, Wilfried sits down with Rich Gersten and Cristina Nuñez, co-founders of True Beauty Ventures, to unpack what it really takes to build beauty brands that last.Together, they explore why virality is often a trap, why less capital can sometimes create stronger foundations, and how patience, discipline, and empathy have become strategic advantages in today’s beauty landscape. From the volatility of celebrity brands to the signals that define long-term winners, they share rare, investor-level insights grounded in real experience.As the beauty industry enters 2026 after an eventful year of consolidation and cultural shifts, this conversation offers a clear-eyed perspective on smart capital, pragmatic growth, and the future of brand-building beyond hype.A must-listen for founders, investors, and leaders shaping the next decade of beauty.
  • Merci pour cette annĂ©e incroyable… et voici les premiers noms de 2026

    04:27|
    Merci pour cette année incroyable.Je vous livre dans cet épisode le futur lineup de 2026.Hâte de vous retrouver à la rentrée.Belles vacances.Wilfried
  • 🇺🇸 ANA ANDJELIC (Esprit) - How to Build Brand Gravity in a World Obsessed with Virality?

    36:58|
    In this episode of Visionary Minds, we sit down with Ana Andjelic — Global Chief Brand Officer at Esprit, former CBO of Banana Republic, sociologist by training, and one of the Forbes Most Entrepreneurial CMOs 50.Ana shares a powerful perspective on why brands must move beyond campaigns and start operating as cultural systems. Drawing from her experience across agencies and global brands, she explains how cultural capital creates pricing power, why virality is a short-term illusion, and how brands build gravity by designing worlds people want to belong to.From taste versus trends, to culture as a measurable business asset, to the evolving role of the CMO as a producer and showrunner, this conversation offers a sharp, honest, and deeply strategic look at what it takes to build brands that endure.This episode is essential listening for anyone working in brand, marketing, strategy, leadership, or culture — and for those who believe that relevance is built over time, not optimized overnight.