Join us as Debbie Kiederer, founder of Chalk Dust Consulting, shares her journey from leading digital innovation inside Estée Lauder to building one of the earliest remote-first digital agencies long before remote work was mainstream. With decades of experience in luxury beauty, e-commerce, localization, leadership, and organizational transformation, Debbie brings a rare perspective that blends corporate discipline with entrepreneurial adaptability.In this episode, Debbie reveals how she helped launch Clinique’s first website in the 1990s, navigated the dot-com boom, scaled global digital operations, and built a fully remote company culture focused on autonomy, trust, and human-first leadership. She also breaks down why luxury brands are struggling today, how indie brands win, the quiet recession no one wants to name, and why she believes AI mirrors the early days of the internet.Debbie also reflects on her presidency at EO New York and how she led the creation of EO House, the first dedicated EO clubhouse in the world, by aligning leaders, inspiring commitment, and executing a vision others had attempted for years.🔑 KEY HIGHLIGHTSEARLY DIGITAL INNOVATIONHow Debbie helped launch Clinique’s first website and managed global digital rollouts when enterprise e-commerce barely existed.NAVIGATING THE DOT-COM ERALessons from the early internet boom and why today’s AI wave feels exactly the same.BUILDING CHALK DUSTHow she created a remote-first consulting firm in 2001, hiring for autonomy, flexibility, and whole-person culture.REMOTE WORK BEFORE IT WAS COOLWhy “life-work integration” shaped her culture and how she built a high-productivity, high-trust distributed team decades before COVID.CORPORATE TO ENTREPRENEURSHIPHow corporate communication, influence, and stakeholder alignment gave her an edge as a founder.LEADING EO NEW YORKThe story behind launching EO House in New York, rallying leaders, raising funding, and proving what vision-driven execution can achieve.STATE OF LUXURY AND INDIE BRANDSWhy luxury beauty is struggling, how consumer expectations shifted, and why indie brands can win in today’s landscape.OPTIMISM ABOUT THE FUTUREDebbie’s perspective on AI, robotics, and why new industries will emerge just as others evolve or disappear.🌐 RESOURCES & LINKSLearn More About Chalk Dust Consulting: chalkdustinc.com Connect with Debbie Kiederer on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/debbiekiederer Podcast Website: foundersecretspod.com🔗 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: /foundersecretspod LinkedIn: /founder-secrets-podcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCASTApple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/4h59tyer Spotify: tinyurl.com/4wjb26v8🔔 DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!Enjoyed this episode? LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more inspiring founder stories from around the world.