Five Seats

A salary is just a salary until you give it direction. That idea is the foundation of City Girl Savings, which Raya Reaves started in 2015 after realizing she didn't have to give up travel, dinners out, or nice things to reach her financial goals. On this episode of Five Seats, Dr. Kelsy Vick sits down with Raya, a finance graduate who spent time at a major financial institution and now coaches women one on one. Raya explains why your self worth is not your net worth, how to audit your spending before you change anything, and why she skips the pie chart budget in favor of one built around what you actually value. She also covers the work benefits most of us leave on the table, why autonomy is the biggest reason women should understand their money, and how to start investing without watching it every day. We close, as always, with the five people Raya would seat at her own dinner party: Emma Grede, who inspires her with her work ethic and how she lifts up other women; Eckhart Tolle, whose book The Power of Now changed how she sees the world; Sandra Bullock, the friend she hasn't met yet; Tori Dunlap, for growing her business into investing in other women's businesses; and a tie for her first call before a big purchase, depending on whether she wants to be talked out of it or cheered on. Five Seats is a dinner party style interview series from By Maven Media, where ambitious women share how they earned their seat in the room and who they'd want at their own table. New episodes every Tuesday. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Raya Reaves: https://www.instagram.com/citygirlsavings/ Website: https://citygirlsavings.com/ Welcome to the dinner party! Five Seats Instagram Dr. Kelsy Vick Instagram Youtube Tiktok Smart Girl Newspaper

Sawyer Lewis has spent 22 years in hospitality, and today she co-owns LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, one of the first barbecue restaurants in the country to earn a Michelin star. On this episode of Five Seats, Dr. Kelsy Vick sits down with Sawyer to talk about how a food truck that ran for almost eight years became an Austin destination with a line out the door before it even opens. Sawyer shares how they built a barbecue spot for people who wouldn't call themselves barbecue people, what it takes to keep a Michelin standard with no reservations and sometimes thousands of guests a day, and why they still break the HR rule about calling your team family. She also tells the LeRoy and Lewis origin story, from a UT friend group and a brisket that kept showing up at parties to a lease they walked away from before COVID, and gets honest about leading a team of 70 while raising a 4 year old. We close, as always, with the people Sawyer would seat at her own dinner party, including chef José Andrés, who she says never actually sits down at dinner; Amy Poehler, the friend she hasn't met yet; Anthony Bourdain, her favorite culinary and travel guru; and Chris Brundrett of William Chris Vineyards, a friend she grew up with who is championing Texas wine. Five Seats is a dinner party style interview series from By Maven Media, where ambitious women share how they earned their seat in the room and who they'd want at their own table. New episodes every Tuesday. Welcome to the dinner party! Five Seats Instagram Dr. Kelsy Vick Instagram Youtube Tiktok Smart Girl Newspaper

Porter Geer kept seeing "angel investor" in the LinkedIn bios of people she admired, so she decided to learn what it meant. Almost three years later, she and her two cofounders run Girl Math Capital, a community bringing more women into alternative investing, from angel investing to real estate. On this episode of Five Seats, Dr. Kelsy Vick sits down with Porter to talk about investing beyond the stock market. Porter explains what alternative investing actually is, and the foundations to have in place before you start: no high interest debt, an emergency fund, and retirement and public market investments already working for you. She walks through what it means to be an accredited investor and the options for people who aren't there yet. She also shares her approach to angel investing, which starts with small checks and a target of around 30 investments. Then there's the diligence framework she uses to decide whether a company deserves her money: team, market, product, financials, and traction. You'll also hear why just because you love a product doesn't mean it's a good business, and why she thinks the secret to investing is that it's far more fun than anyone lets on. Girl Math Capital started as a group chat with a goal: each friend would put $3,000 to work in one year. Now it's welcoming its fourth cohort. Porter closes by filling the five seats at her own dinner party, with a table that includes Dolly Parton, Sara Blakely, and Alexis Ohanian. Five Seats is a dinner party style interview series from By Maven Media, where ambitious women share how they earned their seat in the room and who they'd want at their own table. New episodes every Tuesday. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Connect with Porter and Girl Math Capital: Girl Math Capital: https://girlmath.capital/ Girl Math Capital Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlmathcapital/ Girl Math Capital Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlmathcapital Welcome to the dinner party! Five Seats Instagram Dr. Kelsy Vick Instagram Youtube Tiktok Smart Girl Newspaper

Rebecca Metters doesn't vibe code. She calls what she does directed intelligence: using AI to build real products while understanding every line it changes. It's how she built Gythr, an all in one platform for event organizers, without a technical background. On this episode of Five Seats, Dr. Kelsy Vick sits down with Rebecca, founder of Gythr, COO of Black is Tech, and part of the team at Gauntlet AI, to talk about using AI to build human connection. Rebecca shares why she built Gythr so she could finally experience the rooms she was creating, and how she turned conference data into a Spotify Wrapped for attendees. She also walks through the AI helpers that keep her honest in her personal life, like a workout tracker that won't show her morning reports until she logs a workout, and a bot named Martha who tells her to stop spending money. You'll also learn her step by step method for building an AI voice profile, so your drafts actually sound like you and not like a corporate email. We also get into why she refuses to believe anything is ever "enough," why curiosity matters more than knowledge, and why you can't shape where AI goes from the sidelines. Then Rebecca fills the five seats at her own dinner party, from the family who taught her to always stay and help clean up to the female founders who showed her how to show up as herself. Five Seats is a dinner party style interview series from By Maven Media, where ambitious women share how they earned their seat in the room and who they'd want at their own table. New episodes every Tuesday. Connect with Rebecca: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccametters/ Gythr: https://www.gythr.com/ Resources: Grok Bot: https://x.ai/news/introducing-grok-bot WhisprFlow: https://wisprflow.ai/ Granola: https://www.granola.ai/ Welcome to the dinner party! Five Seats Instagram Dr. Kelsy Vick Instagram Youtube Tiktok Smart Girl Newspaper

Flag football makes its Olympic debut at LA 2028, and Deliah Autry-Jones is working toward that stage as a member of Team USA Women's Flag Football. On this episode of Five Seats, Dr. Kelsy Vick sits down with Deliah to talk about how she got her seat at the table, the mental resilience it takes to compete at the elite level, and where women's flag football goes from here. Through CAMP13, she's also investing in the next generation of athletes. We close, as always, with the five people Deliah would seat at her own dinner party: Simone Biles, for putting her mental health first and standing by that choice; Paige Bueckers, for playing with joy and still delivering in the big moments; Serena Williams, for choosing family on her own terms; Alex Morgan, for carrying women's soccer with grace; and her middle school self, who had no idea she'd grow into an athlete with an education and a voice. Five Seats is a dinner party style interview series from By Maven Media, where ambitious women share how they earned their seat in the room and who they'd want at their own table. New episodes every Tuesday. Connect with Deliah: Camp 13: https://www.camp13.org/ Delilah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenameisdeliah/ Welcome to the dinner party! Five Seats Instagram Dr. Kelsy Vick Instagram Youtube Tiktok Smart Girl Newspaper