Crown Affair’s Dianna Cohen: Why She Fired Herself as CEO After Raising $15M—And What It Taught Her About Money, Power & Letting Go

In this episode of Hot Smart Rich, Maggie Sellers sits down with Dianna Cohen—the founder of Crown Affair, the premium beauty brand redefining clean luxury in haircare. Dianna’s journey started long before building her own brand—she launched her career working alongside Emily Weiss at Into The Gloss, then went on to shape the stories of modern DTC icons like Away. That background gave her a masterclass in brand building.

By 2024, she had scaled Crown Affair to $20M in sales and raised $15M in venture funding. Then she did something few founders would dare to do: she fired herself as CEO.

This episode isn’t about quitting—it’s about redefining. Dianna opens up about what it means to build a premium, emotionally resonant brand in the age of hustle culture, and how stepping into a more creative, intuitive role has become her most powerful chapter yet.

What You'll Hear In This Episode:

• From working with Emily Weiss to building her own brand—Dianna’s evolution from beauty insider to beauty founder
• The early days of Crown Affair and how her time at Away shaped her approach to brand strategy and storytelling
• Why Dianna stepped down as CEO—and how it unlocked a new creative chapter
• The clean luxury playbook: how she built Crown Affair into a category-defining brand
• Raising $15M and scaling to $20M in revenue—without compromising brand integrity
• Maggie’s take on the identity shifts every founder faces—and the freedom of letting go
• Dianna’s blueprint for building brands that feel personal, purposeful, and powerful

CONNECT WITH MAGGIE:

INSTAGRAM: ⁠⁠⁠@maggiesellers ⁠⁠⁠

TIKTOK: ⁠⁠⁠@maggiesellers_ ⁠⁠⁠

YOUTUBE: ⁠⁠⁠@hotsmartrich ⁠⁠⁠

LINKEDIN: ⁠⁠⁠Maggie Sellers ⁠⁠⁠

NEWSLETTER: HSR ICYMI ⁠⁠⁠⁠

CONNECT WITH DIANNA:

INSTAGRAM: ⁠⁠Dianna Cohen⁠⁠

TIKTOK: ⁠⁠Dianna Cohen⁠⁠

SUBSTACK: Take Your Time

SHOP CROWN AFFAIR:

WEBSITE

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SHOP HSR:

⁠⁠⁠HSR MERCH⁠⁠⁠

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⁠⁠⁠AMAZON⁠⁠⁠

This episode is produced by HSR Media, a division of Creative MES LLC, with support from Coldea Productions.