Social Currency with Sammi Cohen Podcast

People are lining up at 4 AM, crashing websites, and dropping thousands on a fuzzy vinyl creature with nine teeth and a cult following. Meet Labubu: part toy, part fashion statement, part emotional coping mechanism. Born from a Nordic mythology-inspired art project and catapulted to fame by Pop Mart, Labubu has become a collectors dream and a status symbolthanks to limited drops, blind box buying, and celebrity fans like BLACKPINKs Lisa.

Today, Sammi unpacks how scarcity, nostalgia, and the chaos of modern life created the perfect storm for Labubus riseand what that says about the future of fandom, consumption, and identity.

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Heres what Sammi covers today:

00:00 Labubus Bizarre Social Currency

01:08 Where Labubu Came From

02:55 Scarcity as a Business Plan

04:10 The Lisa of It All

05:27 What Labubu Tells Us About the State of the World (Really)

06:31 The Future of Fandom

07:22 How to Show Social Currency Some Love

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Meet Loren Castle, the powerhouse behind Sweet Lorensthe #1 natural cookie dough brand in the U.S. Today, Sammi chats with Lauren about how a shocking medical diagnosis pushed her to turn her kitchen experiments into a multimillion-dollar business.

They get into the wild ride of breaking into the food worldfrom the first big break with Whole Foods to juggling supply chain chaos and sticking to Lorens mission of allergen-free, feel-good ingredients.

Lauren also shares how she built Sweet Lorens without taking a dime of venture capital, the secret to good packaging, and whats next for the brand.

If youre an aspiring entrepreneur or just a cookie lover with big dreams, youll want to tune in.

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Follow Sweet Lorens here

Heres what Sammi covers today with Loren:

00:00 Loren Castles Social Currency

01:37 How a Health Crisis Sparked a Cookie Empire

03:22 The Taste Tests Process and the State of Clean Ingredients

05:58 The Whole Foods Deal That Changed Everything

10:56 Lessons in Scaling and Finding Processing Partners

17:54 How to Find White Space

22:47 Profits Without VCsHow She Did It

26:58 COVID, Cookies, and Supply Chain Curveballs

29:27 Branding That Sticks (and Sells)

32:00 Trendy Collabs and Whats Coming Next

37:15 Social Currency Corner: Tips for Food Entrepreneurs

43:25 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Sammi digs into the retail scandal that ties together private equity, power plays, broken promises, and a $2.65 billion luxury merger that's now unraveling in public. Also known as: the story of Saks.  

Sammi follows the money trail to the center of Saks’ downfall: the mastermind behind the merger that would lead to the financial and reputational mess the brand is in now. This isn't a story about just one department store. It's a case study in how private equity can gut a brand, how debt can disguise dysfunction, and how small businesses are often the ones that are left holding the bag.

Today Sammi Covers:

00:00 How Saks Got Here

00:33 Richard Baker: the Mastermind

01:30 The Saks and Neiman Marcus Merger

02:00 Richard Baker's Wild Real Estate Strategy

04:31 Saks' Financial Decline

08:01 Vendor Fallout

10:13 What’s Next For Saks

12:50 How to Show Social Currency Some Love

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Think it's too late to become a creator if you don't have a social media following? Think again. According to John Hu, cofounder of Stan—a platform that helps creators turn their platform into income—the creator economy is just getting started. 

Today, John shares how he’s building Stan with unicorn status in mind, what MrBeast’s business empire can teach us about the business of content, and why he is “guarded” when it comes to fundraising.

This is a deep dive into the business of influence—and what it takes to turn followers into a foundation for long-term growth.

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Follow Stan on Instagram here 

Follow John on YouTube here

Here’s what Sammi covers today with John:

00:00 John Hu’s Social Currency

00:35 Why Investment Banking Wasn’t It  

04:43 How Stan Came From a Personal Pain Point

05:50 John’s Takes on the Creator Economy and Building a Business

11:23 Stan’s First Major Win

14:53 Stan’s Seed Round and Why John Is “Guarded” About Fundraising

18:36 John’s Tips on Finding a Business Opportunity 

23:46 Stan's Unique Monetization Model

27:19 Behind Stan’s Customer Engagement and Content Strategy

27:38 Why Stan Personally Delivered One of Their Creators a Cake

29:23 John Answers Whether It’s Harder to Build a Personal Brand or a Company Brand

35:29 Secrets and Challenges to Building in Public 

45:27 Social Currency Corner and Mr Beast

53:16 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once dismissed as the next big retail casualty, Barnes & Noble had all the makings of a cautionary tale—shrinking sales, shuttered stores, and a revolving door of leadership. But in a surprising turn of the page, the bookstore giant is not only surviving—it’s thriving. Today, Sammi unpacks the epic comeback story of Barnes & Noble under the leadership of James Daunt.

You’ll hear how the company pivoted away from a centralized, cookie-cutter model to embrace local community tastes, redesigned stores to rekindle the magic of browsing, and rode the wave of BookTok to win back readers. From understanding the brand’s original rise and near-fall, to dissecting the bold strategies behind its revival, this episode explores what Barnes & Noble’s rebound says about the future of retail—and why the story is far from over.

Here’s what Sammi covers today:

00:00 – Why Barnes & Noble Is a Case Worth Studying01:08 – The Origin Story of Barnes & Noble’s Empire

02:56 – The Beginning of the End of Barnes & Noble

04:42 – The Amazon of it All06:15 – Leadership Turmoil and the 80% Fall in Stock Price

08:10 – The Unexpected Turnaround and B&N’s MVP

10:19 – James Daunt’s Playbook for Success

11:42 – The Comeback: Growth, Expansion and BookTok

14:54 – The Future of Retail: Lessons from Barnes & Noble

16:51 – How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices