So we’re starting a new series where I sit down with these founders and get all the inside tea on their journey. Every month, we'll dive into how they spotted the gap everyone else missed, how they're building their business & brand in public, what content strategies are actually working for them, and what they're learning as they go.

The thing is, most founder stories gloss over the tactical stuff. The content strategies that actually moved the needle. The specific moment they figured out their positioning. The revenue milestones that changed everything.

In each feature, we'll dive deep into:

For our first feature, we're spotlighting Alexa, co-founder of Sizzle, who went from food creator to tech founder by solving a problem she lived with for six years.

Alexa, the co-founder of Sizzle, a creator-driven cooking platform that makes any recipe on social media entirely shoppable. After 6 years as a food creator and experience in the CPG space, she spotted the broken distribution between brands and creators and decided to fix it.

Location: NYC 

Alexa’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adaffyxo
Try Sizzle: https://www.joinsizzle.app/
Download Sizzle from the App store
Follow Sizzle on socials: TikTok and Instagram 

What they're building: The missing link between recipe inspiration and grocery action - a platform where creators finally get paid for the thousands of grocery runs they influence every week.

Why it matters: In a world where food content dominates social media, Sizzle is creating the first true social-to-shopping funnel that benefits both creators and consumers.

The idea hit Alexa when her co-founder pitched her as a creator. But this wasn't just another app idea, this was solving a problem she'd lived with for six years.

"I was actually a food creator for six years. I worked in the CPG space for a long time, and I just noticed a huge gap when it came to creator opportunity, specifically in the food space."

The gap she discovered: Millions of people see recipe videos every week and want to make them, but there's no seamless way to buy the ingredients, let alone even try to remember to add them to your grocery list every week. Creators influence thousands to cook their recipes but earn nothing from the grocery purchases they drive.

Sizzle’s solution: Sizzle connects recipes to groceries, making social media entirely shoppable while letting creators monetize their influence in a completely new way.

For Alexa, showing up online wasn't a strategy, it was natural instinct.

"It came so naturally to me. I think as someone who has been creating content for a really long time, I truly love showing up on social media."

But as a founder, building in public became her competitive advantage:

Initially, she overthought everything: "Can I say this? What if an investor sees this? What if a competitor sees this?"

Her breakthrough:

"I just need to show up every single day for myself, but also to show my audience in my community the authentic aspect to building Sizzle and also being a founder."

"Content does not need to be perfect. Your most authentic self will shine through in your content and build communities, and foster social currency more when you don't think about it as much. When you just pick up your phone and you hit record."

“And yes, we are building companies, which is a very scary, daunting thing - but at the end of the day, one thing that connects us all, whether you're a Y Combinator at three exited times or whatever you are, or you're someone who's just starting out like me - one thing that we all have and have the ability to do is pick up our phones and record. So why would you not want to?”

Her experience in modeling and entertainment taught her how to handle highs and lows: "I've gone through a lot of highs and lows in both of those fields." And she brought this experience with her to Sizzle. 

The founder rollercoaster is real:

Her consistency strategy:

Play Long-Term Games with Long-Term People 

Inspired by Stan Store's CEO John Hu. 

"Building a business is a long-term thing. You won't see success overnight, even if a video goes viral."

Find people who want to join you for the long game.

When you're playing long-term games in life and business, you need to find long-term people who believe in the vision as much as you do.

Favorite creators: Jake Shane, Samah (Dada Eats), Wishbone Kitchen

Favorite podcast: Female Founder World for business, Armchair Expert for everything in between

Favorite newsletter: Girls Club newsletter (obviously) or The Hustle

Favorite business / mindset book: The Artist’s Way

Self Made is a content tool that creates your personalized content strategy, turns your expertise into scroll-stopping posts and track what actually works. So you can build your brand and your business.

As always, thanks for being here! And let me know! What founder do you want to see featured next?

The Girls Club Team

Say hi on Instagram or Linkedin.