I must admit, I personally enjoyed listening to a few episodes of Meghan Markle’s first podcast, Archetypes, on Spotify. But, as the launch date of Confessions of a Female Founder by Lemonada Media approached, I began to worry it would contain the same anecdotes we’ve all heard many times before. Most notably, Meghan’s story of her penning a letter to Procter & Gamble protesting a sexist advert.

The first episode, titled ‘The Evolution of the Entrepreneur with Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd’, does exactly what it says on the tin – explores the grueling journey of the Bumble founder as she navigates life after working at Tinder, and focuses on the development and successful rise of her own dating app and the messages behind it.

Most podcasts I listen to have a free-flowing structure, where the listener feels like they are eavesdropping on intimate chats between a host and a guest. However, Meghan takes control of the narrative early on in the episode. She bluntly directs the podcast by informing her friend of how she wants the conversation to be “relaxed and easy” – which is normally a chat you would have with a guest behind-the-scenes instead of on-air for broadcast.

Meghan explains: “I just want the conversations to be relaxed and easy and also thinking about how I am in it right now. Talking to people who have also been so in it”.

It is also clear how Meghan Markle wants to draw wider interest in her brand ‘As Ever’ to her listeners and podcast guests. She often steers conversations towards her own experiences, regardless of the original topic. While this may stem from a desire to connect or relate, it can also overshadow others’ contributions.

She wants guests to understand how busy she is as a working mother, and explains how launching a business can be “so overwhelming, even with the best of teams,” adding how she has been “absolutely consumed with packaging”.

In reality, many working women might not be able to afford any extra help and therefore have minimal time to think about their own business initiatives should they wish to pursue their dream passions.

We’ve seen snapshots of Meghan's brand developments on social media for months. Meghan, since the beginning of 2025, has shown us glimpses of her at her home in Montecito, California, going through packaging contents, developing recipes, and working hard in her own way, to piece together ideas.

Meghan and Whitney both mention that businesses might have to change direction at times - which is a valid but obvious point. At this moment in the podcast, I believe Meghan would possibly be thinking about her brand change from America Riviera Orchard to As Ever, and the release of her brief video on social media that attempted to explain to fans the reason behind the new brand name.

Whitney Wolfe Herd is known to be one of the most influential women in the tech world, known for changing the world of online dating, and is truly a solid first guest to have on Meghan Markle’s new podcast. She stepped down as chief executive of Bumble in 2023 but returned to the role this year.

However, I was more interested in learning about her skills and expertise than listening to how she first met Meghan and Prince Harry dressed as a “disco cowboy”, and Meghan seemed keen to talk about their friendship a little too much.

I did find it fascinating how the dating app founder talked about the importance of “bottling your essence” which essentially means finding your unique selling point and learning how to add that to your own business.

But I wanted Whitney to share more learning curves about her journey rather than lunches with Meghan and bottles of rosé. “Imagine if they’d given us a bottle of rose for this conversation,” says Wolfe Herd, adding in a filler towards the end of the podcast.

For the podcast to be a success, Meghan needs to strike the right balance between gossip and business tactics. It may have been difficult for her to do this as the guest is a good friend of the Duchess, and so naturally the conversation might drift.

I personally prefer listening to hard-hitting facts in podcasts, where I can learn and grow from successful individuals. For those that prefer some lighter listening, with girly and lifestyle anecdotes weaved in, this might be one for you.