Radical Honesty and Stuffed Dates: Sydney Karmes-Wainer on Building French Squirrel Her Way

In Season 4, Episode 8 of Turning Pro, Ben Sharf sits down with Sydney Karmes-Wainer, founder of French Squirrel, a better-for-you snack brand known for its cult-favorite stuffed dates and hormone-conscious mission. Sydney’s path wasn’t shaped by investor decks or five-year plans. It was shaped by personal experience, purpose, and a refusal to fake it on the internet.

What started as recipe content on Instagram slowly turned into a booming e-commerce business. Along the way, she faced pricing pressure from retailers, self-doubt over her packaging and margins, and the ever-lingering question: Is this actually working? Her answer? I decided that it is. From there, everything changed.

This episode dives deep into the psychology behind early-stage founder self-belief, building in public, staying authentic in a performative world, and why Sydney wants her brand to do more than sell snacks. It’s about helping women feel good in their bodies, period.

Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.

10 Key Takeaways from Sydney Karmes-Wainer’s Episode

1. Your Brand Can Be Your Mission: Sydney’s goal isn’t just to sell snacks. It’s to help women build a healthier, more confident relationship with food.
   
   
2. Authenticity Over Strategy: She doesn’t follow content calendars. She posts what’s real. That transparency is why her audience trusts her.
   
   
3. Pricing with Conviction Matters: Despite warnings not to price her products above $10, Sydney stuck to her margins and it worked. Sometimes disruption is the best strategy.
   
   
4. Clarity Comes from Action: She stopped asking whether the business was working and simply decided it was. That mindset shift led to growth, hiring, and expansion.
   
   
5. Your Audience Isn’t Who You Think: The Happier Grocery staff recognized her from her Reels. Proof that anyone can be watching, even when you think your niche is small.
   
   
6. Redefine Founder Fitness: Sydney shared how diet culture, gut health, and hormone education shaped not only her personal health journey but her product roadmap too.
   
   
7. Loneliness Is Real, Even With Support: Despite having a growing team, Sydney admits she often still feels alone. Founder life can be deeply isolating, even when things look like they’re working.
   
   
8. Build for the Bubble and Beyond: She reminded us that just because your social circle knows something doesn’t mean the rest of the world does. Basic health info still needs to be shared again and again.
   
   
9. You Don’t Need a Perfect Pitch. Just the Nerve to Show Up: Meeting Andrew Huberman? She almost bailed. But Sydney shot her shot, told her story, and got a moment she’ll never forget.
   
   
10. Turning Pro Is a Mindset: Her biggest shift came when she chose to believe her business was already working. The moment she did that, her growth followed.
    
    

Sydney Karmes-Wainer’s story is a reminder that building a great brand isn’t about following best practices. It’s about trusting your intuition, caring deeply about your mission, and showing up even when it’s messy. 

Whether you’re pricing your first product or just trying to post on Instagram without overthinking it, Sydney’s approach proves that doing it your way can be the best way.

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