Inside Media Startup Founder Jasmine Garnsworthy’s Split-Level Apartment in Brooklyn

Welcome to The Makers. Each week, we’re celebrating innovators, artisans, and crafters of all types, taking you on a private tour of their creative spaces. For this instalment, we tour creator of women-led business media startup, Female Founder World, Jasmine Garnsworthy's Brooklyn apartment.

A quick survey of Jasmine Garnsworthy's accolades is likely to leave you wondering how one person has managed to achieve so much in their relatively short career. The highly driven entrepreneur's list of achievements range from being a consultant with UN Women to founding clean beauty brand The Buff – two ventures which would be more than enough to impress people over the course of an entire career.

Now, the entrepreneur is paving the way for women to build consumer businesses with her media startup Female Founder World. This women-run business hosts events, creates content, and builds a community to connect underrepresented entrepreneurial women with the resources they need to start and scale their business. "We’re shaping a community-powered universe where women build their consumer businesses," she shares with Bed Threads Journal.

Jasmine epitomises what it means to be an efficient multi-tasker. Her heavy workload sees her produce up to three podcast episodes a week, write weekly newsletters, create content on social media, moderate closed communities on Geneva.com (an all-in-one communication app for groups, clubs, and communities), host IRL and URL events, and build partnership programs – just to name a few tasks. "We are truly reimagining business media for and by women, and it’s a big job – and a lot of content," she shares.

She kickstarted her career as a PR intern before turning to publishing where she worked as an editor and content creator for publications such as Mamamia and POPSUGAR, Allure, Refinery29, and StyleCaster.

The Australian-born entrepreneur relocated to New York City for work opportunities – a move she considers to be the highlight of her career. She currently lives with her husband in a newly-built apartment in Brooklyn. "It feels really different to anything else on the market in our budget," she says.

The split-level home boasts an industrial vibe that's balanced out with an eclectic range of vintage-style pieces. "I originally wanted something older with more charm and so dismissed it quickly, but after seeing some of the older apartments decided modern and new was the way to go." The space is anchored by an industrial-style staircase and has been charmingly decorated with pieces that have primarily been thrifted including a beautiful mid-century credenza.

Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the apartment with natural light – a feature that's considered a luxury in New York City. Woven furniture has been peppered throughout the home and can be seen in the accent chair and floor lamp in the office and the cane side table in the living area.

Her cosy primary bedroom is clad in sunny Turmeric and Limoncello, bringing warmth and a welcoming vibe to the modern space.

We spoke to Jasmine about her impressive career journey and her upcoming project.

Shop Jasmine Garnsworthy's Edit.

Hi Jasmine! This series is called The Makers. What is it that you make?

I’m the creator of women-led business media startup, Female Founder World – an inclusive, community-powered universe reimagining business media for and by women. 

We’re best known for our fun, intimate global events (IRL and URL) and a weekly newsletter that drops digestible and entertaining business news and resources, and keeps tens of thousands of brand builders in the loop. We also produce a business podcast featuring the world’s most interesting female founders that’s hitting #24 on the charts in Australia.

We also connect brand-to-brand partnerships 🤝  for our consumer brand community through our collaboration platform, kizmet.

How does the act of “making” relate to your personality and who you are?

I’ve always worked as a content creator, first as an Editor at Mamamia and POPSUGAR Australia, and later in New York City as a writer for titles like Allure, Refinery29, and StyleCaster. Being a media entrepreneur is in my DNA and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Tell us about your career journey to date. Did you always know you wanted to pursue this line of work?

I’ve always wanted to work in media or entrepreneurship. I thought I’d be a publicist perhaps, or a magazine editor. I took a job working in digital after quickly realising I wasn’t cut out for PR, and I didn’t land a job in print. Back then, online was truly the bottom tier of publishing but this turned out to be my luckiest break. I cut my teeth hitting hourly deadlines every day and networking at night – it was the best boot camp in community building and content creation.

Talk us through your creative process. Where do you start?

I’m a very online person, which I think is important if you want to spot trends and news early, and is integral to being successful in the media industry.

I usually start work late in the morning with a scroll (Instagram, TikTok, newsletters, Business Insider, Hacker News, and the New York Times) and holding interviews either for the podcast, to gather context and background for social media and newsletter content, or with partners and folks in the space I’m curious to learn about. I’ll use the afternoon to flesh out what I’ve learned into content, and usually create content or write until late in the evenings with Netflix on in the background. Before bed, I usually touch base with my remote team member who is just coming online.

What’s been the most challenging lesson learnt so far in your career?

Charge what you’re worth, if you don’t ask for it no one will give it to you. I’ve also learned to become much more financially conservative in my businesses. A lot of the messaging around prioritising growth at all costs that we hear in the entrepreneurship space just doesn’t work for bootstrapped businesses.

What’s been the best thing that’s happened to you since you started your career?

Moving to New York.

Do you have a single piece of advice you’d give to your younger self or someone looking to pursue a similar line of work?

Ignore the growth hacks and shortcuts, invest in relationships and honing your skills, trust your instincts enough to follow your curiosity, and always show up when you say you will.

Now, the home stuff. How long have you lived in your home?

Five years.

How did you initially know this was the space for you?

When we first decided to leave Manhattan and find a home in Brooklyn, this was the first space we toured! I originally wanted something older with more charm and so dismissed it quickly, but after seeing some of the older apartments decided modern and new was the way to go. I loved the staircase and the split-level living. It feels really different to anything else on the market in our budget.

Did you do any renovations or make any big changes after moving in?

No, it was a new build and we’re the first owners. Although, I’d love to refresh the kitchen in the future.

What was the thought process behind the way you’ve styled the interior?

It’s taken a long time to fully furnish the space. We started with the bigger items like the couch and credenza and then slowly added new pieces as we found them often by thrifting – and had the budget to spend.

For more from Jasmine follow her at @jasminegarnsworthy and @femalefounderworld

Photography by Meghan Marin. Styling by Laura Woolf.