ICYMI: TikTok's Not Going Anywhere, The Pod Is Here, & My Personal Holding Company Secrets Revealed

Time for my favorite part of the week, ICYMI!!!

ICYMI ₊♡₊˚ 🎿・₊✧ ₊

Hi! I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon after working both days this weekend since we took the last week to decompress my nervous system and take advantage of my favorite sport; skiing. We’re at Yellowstone Club in Montana for the next few weeks which is probably the only reason I’m surviving in the uncertainty of the last week; figuring out how to return to “normal” while still holding space and action to help those affected by the horrific LA wildfires, navigating the TikTok situation and launching the new HSR podcast.

♡ Overheard at Yellowstone Club: “I can’t ski today, I just need to scroll all day in case it’s my last time.”

♡ My US TikTok Prediction: Call me crazy but yesterday I was posting all over social that I didn’t think TikTok will go away, indefinitely. And less than 12 hours after it went dark, it’s been restored in the US. There are too many scenarios and people’s livelihood depending on it for it to stay. Trump was voted in on the promise to MAGA and there is no way that within his term he will let it happen without a serious fight and today he signaled he would sign an EO tomorrow morning. The easiest way for TikTok to stay would be to divest TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance (go deeper here) which we’ll see if it happens. The current theory floating around online is that Meta bought TikTok (which according to their SEC filings does not appear to be true). I will say that Meta was READY to take advantage of the TikTok ban. From increasing the grid size, to making space on profile bios to include likes/views, and introducing edits, Adam and his team have been busy.

♡ IG Strategy: I am in awe of the support you guys had for the HSR Podcast this week. If you haven’t already, please subscribe, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts. I’ve made it easy and am linking Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. I posted some of my favorite DM’s to the @hotsmartrich IG which is now open to the public and will be the main place for the brand and business deep dives, investing insights, pop-cultural explorations, podcast clips and building the HSR community. @maggiesellers will remain my personal lifestyle hub where I share more about my VC WAG life (popularizing this and more to come;)) day-to-day life, travel, family, and fun behind-the-scenes moments. 💖 But dw, you’ll meet Lucky #3 on every single platform January 29. x

♡ This Week’s Quote: "Don’t just get through things, go through things”. - an HSR original

♡ This Week’s Lesson: You’ll never regret the things you did, only the things you didn’t do.

♡ HSR Venture News: Sydecar, which Maggie put a six-figure SPV into during the seed round just announced a $11M Series A - Read more here.

♡ Thank You for Filling All 50 Spots for the HSR x Defy Ventures Business Coaching Day! We are thrilled to announce that all 50 spots for our exclusive coaching day on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at the CA State Prison, Los Angeles County are officially filled! A huge thank-you to everyone who signed up and completed their paperwork—your commitment to making a difference is incredible. Last week, we shared how nearly 30% of the firefighters battling California’s wildfires are incarcerated individuals. While the immediate crisis may be easing, the need for support remains. If you’re attending our Defy Ventures coaching day—or even if you’re not we’re accepting monetary contributions where every dollar counts to offset the costs of the day

This Week’s Mood Board

Hot Smart Rich, The Podcast

Episode 1: Becoming Hot Smart Rich

This Week’s Episode

This week’s episode is with Katie talking all about our sibling rivalry to startup success and how to build a successful business with family!

Ever wondered what it's like to work with your sister or how HSR runs as a business operation? In the second episode of Hot Smart Rich, you'll intimately meet Maggie's sister and co-founder, Katie Sellers, who joins for an unfiltered conversation. Together, they unpack the evolution of their sibling bond into their business partnership, from their early creative clashes to building a bold, bi-coastal media and investment platform. With candid stories about taking career risks, redefining traditional roles, and balancing creativity with execution, this episode dives deep into what it takes to grow a business, foster resilience, and work with family. As a bonus, they break down the business of Sabrina Carpenter, Celebrity Perfume Lines and more cultural moments shaping the last year of pop-culture.

Bigger Things That Caught My Attention This Week

♡ With everything going on this past week I decided to do a more curated approach to consumer news. PS which do you like more? ♡

♡ Founder Mode: Late last year, Airbnb Brian Cheksy popularized “Founder Mode” a style of hands-on leadership style where founders stay deeply involved, bypass hierarchies, and prioritize innovation and the company’s mission over traditional management structures. Looks like Whitney Wolfe Herd is back in “Founder Mode” and back in to operate Bumble as its new leader has resigned for personal reasons just a year into the job (and their shares dropped 54% since killing the signature feature and letting men message first). Time to put Founder Mode to the test.

♡ Hot Smart Rich girls read paper books: While others like Party City and The Container Store shut down, Barnes & Noble is thriving with plans to open 60 stores this year. Print books still dominate, with October sales hitting $846 million. PS The “romantasy” genre is booming, and one startup I passed on last year is making waves—maybe I said no just right because I still ended up on their PR mailing list and so far, their newest release, Hardly Strangers is HSR approved.

♡ The Good Old Days and Shifting Baselines: It’s not just the devastating start to 2025 with the LA wildfires, TikTok ban, and a more divided nation than ever with the pending Trump inauguration, nearly 60% of Americans think life was better 50 years ago, but the data tells a different story. People today are wealthier, more educated, and have greater opportunities, especially for minorities. So why the nostalgia? It’s what climate scientists call “shifting baselines.” When life improves—like eradicating polio with a vaccine—we quickly forget how things used to be and reset our expectations. When there’s a setback, like the 2008 recession, we don’t compare it to how much worse things were decades ago. Instead, we get frustrated about losing ground compared to a few years ago, even though the long-term trajectory is likely still upward.

• Why 2025 is the year to build your personal holding company and how mine changed my life

TYSM, I♡U!!!!

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