Mandy Kellogg Rye on Why Pressure Is a Privilege

What if the thing you started for fun—zero thought of failure, zero plan—turned into your life's work?

Mandy Kellogg Rye is the founder of Waiting on Martha, a brand she started while drinking wine and watching a movie. She loved Martha Stewart, blogs were just becoming a thing, and she thought: I can do that. Three months later, Martha Stewart invited her to New York. Pottery Barn reached out. Things snowballed fast—because for Mandy, nothing stays small.

Mandy talks about going to work with her dad at the wastewater treatment plant when she was five, why her parents never told her no or that a mistake was a bad thing, and the moment crossing a bridge to college when her dad told her: this is your chance—don't come back. She explains why she worked her corporate sales job for four more years while building the blog, why authenticity is the key to selling anything, and why she won't let the women on her team say sorry.

She shares the brutal honesty of the last two years—almost quitting, calling her landlord ready to break a 10-year lease, not paying herself so her team gets paid. But she took a week, didn't make a rash decision, and stayed. Now she's reenergized. Because as she puts it: pressure is a privilege.

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What is The Market Makers?

Every creative professional knows the power of a before and after. It’s a classic transformation arc - whether it’s a renovation, glow up, or an old-fashioned make over. But reinvention doesn’t just apply to products or spaces. It also holds true for our lives and our careers. The sketch on the napkin that becomes a collection. The risk that changes everything. The work that turns a brand into a lasting presence.

The Market Makers is a weekly podcast from ANDMORE, home to markets that have been the stage for so many of these transformations. Hosted by CEO, Jon Pertchik, each episode pulls back the curtain on the lives of creative professionals across design, furniture, home, lifestyle and beyond.

From industry icons like Thom Filicia to leaders at heritage brands like Bassett Furniture, guests share the moments that shaped them, not just the before and after, but the process in between.

Whether it’s finding your aesthetic, carving out a niche, scaling a business, or turning a side hustle into a lasting brand, The Market Makers goes beyond the showrooms and into the creative lives of the people shaping how we live, work, and gather.

Follow The Market Makers wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes every week.