Sarah and Erin Foster on failure, privilege, and building success without a roadmap
Sarah and Erin Foster built their careers the hard way: by failing publicly, laughing about what didn’t work, and saying yes to opportunities that didn’t look glamorous at first. In a wide-ranging conversation on Aspire, the sisters reflected on how rejection, privilege, honesty, and partnership shaped everything from Favorite Daughter to Nobody Wants This — and why they believe it’s never too late to create the life you want.
“None of it was planned”
From the outside, the Fosters’ recent run looks like a perfect storm: a hit Netflix series, a fast-growing fashion brand now valued around $150 million, a venture fund, a podcast, and a production company. But according to Sarah and Erin, almost none of it was mapped out in advance.
A lot of our career choices have been really directed by failure. I was aimless for a lot of my life. Favorite Daughter gives me real purpose. — Erin Foster
They describe a career built on adjacent pivots. When acting dried up, Erin leaned into writing; when one TV project stalled, another opened a door. When a small T‑shirt collab with an unknown brand took off, it became the seed for Favorite Daughter.
None of this has been planned… We’ve never intentionally mapped out all these categories… We’ve been intentional in other ways with our integrity and authenticity. — Sarah Foster
The years before anything worked
Both sisters emphasize the long stretch when “the phone wasn’t ringing.” Erin modeled for catalogues and did small gigs; Sarah tried to break into acting and writing, faced rejection, and even got fired from a staff writing job on the last day of production.
That period, they say, is crucial to the story they tell now.
You have to suffer a little bit. You have to be lost and confused and scared… You need all of that. — Sarah Foster
Their early cult show Barely Famous became a turning point not because it was a ratings hit — it wasn’t — but because it let them lean into the very thing they feared people thought of them: two “vapid” LA girls chasing fame.
We took the thing that we were so scared people were thinking of us and then we just decided to be in on the joke. And that’s when everything shifted for us. — Erin Foster
Privilege, pressure, and proving themselves
As daughters of music producer David Foster, Sarah and Erin are often labeled “nepo babies.” They acknowledge the advantages — access to rooms, CEOs, and advice most people don’t get at 16 — but also the pressure of having every success attributed to their father.
Everything that we create and earn on our own today continues to be credited to being a ‘nepo baby’… It’s something that if you fight it, it just kind of gets worse. So you have to let it go. — Erin Foster
They insist no family money has gone into their ventures and point to years of unpaid or low-paid work, canceled shows, and small deals that slowly built into something bigger.
Money mindset: scarcity vs abundance
One of the most candid parts of the conversation revolves around money. Sarah describes herself as having a “scarcity mindset” shaped by watching child support checks arrive late and feeling responsible as the oldest sibling. Erin, by contrast, talks about an “abundance mindset” and being unafraid to speak openly about earnings.
When you don’t talk about money… the money avoids you. The minute you start speaking about it, the minute you’re forthright with what you want, the minute you say the number, it attracts it to you. — Emma Grede to the Foster sisters
They also touch on how women are often socialized to apologize for wanting to be paid, while men are more comfortable stating their worth.
What women don’t know about money that men do is that you deserve to have it… There’s a lot of apologizing around wanting to get paid for something and there shouldn’t be. — Sarah Foster
Erin frames this as almost spiritual discipline: she now thanks the universe for specific outcomes she hasn’t achieved yet, and then asks for them out loud.
Closed mouths don’t get fed. So I just… ask for things that I don’t even think are possible. — Erin Foster
“Your success is not my failure”
The conversation turns to listeners who might feel resentful hearing about a “cute clothing company” founded by women with privilege and connections. Sarah responds with a line that lands as both personal philosophy and advice:
Your success is not my failure. — Sarah Foster
She ties it to her own seven-year IVF journey, during which friends got pregnant around her while she went through 20 rounds of treatment. Instead of framing herself as a victim, she chose not to let that pain define her story.
We all get stuck really leaning on the story that victimizes ourselves and decide that’s who I am… I don’t sit here today and define myself by my worst experience. — Sarah Foster
For women listening who feel behind or left out, she suggests a different posture: follow your envy, then get curious.
Follow your jealousy… Endear yourself to that person. Find that person and say, ‘I want to learn from you.’ You can’t replace showing up and wanting to connect with other people.” — Sarah Foster
Authenticity as strategy (even when it costs)
Both sisters say they’ve lost podcast listeners and Favorite Daughter customers by being outspoken on certain issues, but they see that as part of the brand’s DNA.
If you stand for nothing, it’s just not for me. — Erin Foster
They acknowledge the pressure to be more “produced” on social media, especially TikTok, but resist doing content that feels inauthentic just to chase reach.
If I start doing this thing that I think people want from us, then I don’t know that it would resonate… It’s not authentic to me. — Sarah Foster
Building Favorite Daughter and Nobody Wants This
The fashion brand started as one of 15 T‑shirt sayings in a tiny collab — the one Sarah initially thought was “cheesy” and “too cute.” That design became Favorite Daughter, which they later structured as a 50–50 joint venture with Centric Brands despite advisors warning them against it.
We do what we know how to do and they do what they know how to do… It’s a true JV partnership. — Erin Foster
Nobody Wants This, meanwhile, was a project everyone passed on before Netflix picked it up. Sarah wrote it while going through IVF; the show’s success then amplified interest in the brand without heavy-handed product placement.
There’s a misconception around how much Favorite Daughter is in Nobody Wants This. There is very little… I always want what’s best for the show. — Sarah Foster
Work–life on their own terms
Now that they have leverage, both sisters talk about designing work lives that fit around family. Sarah’s writers’ room runs 10–3; she leaves for bath time and dinners with her husband. Erin admits she missed her daughter’s second birthday for work, but says those sacrifices are what allow her to set boundaries now.
Success like real success is having a really strong home life and a really strong professional life and them working well together.” — Sarah Foster
What’s next?
They’re expanding Favorite Daughter into new categories (handbags, shoes) and aiming for around 10 stores in the next 18 months, while continuing to develop new shows and option books. They’re open to an eventual acquisition but don’t want to lose control of the brand.
Favorite Daughter gives me real purpose. It feels great to get out of bed with the excitement of: What can we do today to gain one more customer? — Erin Foster
For anyone scrolling through their lives and feeling behind, their message is blunt but encouraging:
No one’s actually watching you the way you think they are… Just go do your thing. Go be you. Go try. — Sarah Foster
This recap is based on Sarah and Erin Foster’s appearance on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast. For the full episode, click on the YouTube link at the top or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
