One of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is their willingness to put themselves out there and make it happen. Eden Grinshpan is not only the co-founder and executive chef at DEZ, an innovative restaurant concept, but also a celebrity chef and host of Top Chef Canada. She joins Socialfly co-founder Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studio for a conversation about building her business and career, and describes her journey to success. Plus, a surprise and a brainstorm!In this episode:
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin is the co-founder and CEO of Entreprenista, an all-in-one platform – which includes a private community & business membership called The Entreprenista League that's made up of over 2,000 women founders at all stages of business, a weekly newsletter received by 60,000 readers, two podcasts, in-person educational & networking events, and an award program – that women founders at all stages can turn to for everything they need to grow.
Stephanie is also the co-founder of Socialfly (acquired by Truform Media Group in 2024), Markid, and Pearl Influential Capital. She has won countless awards, including the SmartCEO Brava award, which recognizes the top women CEOs in New York, and a Stevie Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year. She has also appeared in Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Refinery29, and more.
Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.
In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.
In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.
As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.
She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.
Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.
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Highlights
- How Eden’s obsession with cooking shows in high school turned her from a picky eater into a culinary school all-star
- What Eden learned about herself while traveling throughout India and Tibet
- How working at an orphanage in India turned into Eden running their café
- How some footage Eden shot while running the cafe in India led to meeting with Jon Rosen and getting her foot in the door to start Eden Eats on the Cooking Channel
- How Eden transitioned from the constant hustle of running a TV show to going into the restaurant business
- Eden’s experiences opening her first restaurant
- How the desire to get back in the kitchen and to be part of the contemporary Middle Eastern movement led to pop up kitchens at restaurants in Brooklyn and South Beach
- How walking past by CHLOE led to connecting with Esquared Hospitality and led to the opening of DEZ her Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant in lower Manhattan, with Samantha Wasser
- Eden’s partnership with Samantha and how their complementary skills have helped DEZ avoid so many of the pitfalls that many new NYC restaurants struggle with
- The importance of being a reliable neighborhood restaurant, as well as being a healthy and comfortable extension of your customers’ kitchen
- Eden’s cookbook, and how that has shaped her workflow while finding time to dedicate to DEZ and shooting Top Chef Canada
- Why Eden focuses on aesthetics and how food is presented, especially as a fast casual restaurant where presentation is usually not a priority
- How Eden started #showmeyobelly after putting pizza on her pregnant belly, and the speed with which the hashtag blew up on social media
- What’s in store for DEZ and the future of the Fireside Chat Series, where influential female entrepreneurs come in to speak with all proceeds going to a charity of the speaker’s choice
- Eden’s plans to involve her family more in her book, and why she’s hoping to convince her husband to spend more time in front of the camera
- Plus, a 60 Second Brainstorm on how to keep on schedule, prioritize what’s important and worth your time and effort, and the importance of saying no


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