From Bravo to Bestsellers: The Business of Giggly Squad

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I simply can’t be a woman in business and not take a moment to discuss the rise in popularity of my favorite podcast, Giggly Squad, with Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner. 

If you’re not familiar with their lore, they met on the Bravo reality tv show Summer House and now have one of the most popular podcasts in the country. 

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Paige and Hannah would FaceTime for hours, because what else were two best friends supposed to be doing when the world shut down? 

They took their talents over to IG Live every night at 10:00 pm for three months straight. The views kept growing by the thousands, and eventually they turned their pandemic entertainment into an actual podcast. 

Today, Giggly Squad is one of the top-rated podcasts on Apple and Spotify. As I’m writing this, their show currently sits at #5 in comedy following Amy Poehler, Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and Smartless. 

Once the matriarchy finally takes over and we remove access to men with podcast equipment, I feel confident Giggly Squad will easily hit #1. Watch out, Poehler. 

I’m a proud day one Giggler. I was a fan of their friendship on Summer House, and I’ve been listening to the pod since they were just two girls on a couch with a microphone. 

Now, they’re not just podcast hosts or reality tv stars. 

They’re New York Times best-selling authors of a newly released book How to Giggle, Hannah has a thriving stand-up comedy career with a special streaming on Netflix, they’ve been guests on Jimmy Fallon, Paige has a successful recurring Amazon Live segment giving fashion and life advice, they’ve hosted the red carpet for Vanity Fair, AND their tour sold out Radio City Music Hall…two nights in row. On top of all of that, they’re also cat moms. 

I think it’s safe to say, Hannah and Paige have become two successful women in their own right.

As a listener, I think there’s a few reasons why the lore of Giggly Squad grew from a side-hustle to a full-on comedic empire.

1. They know exactly who they are and they don’t apologize for it. Hannah and Paige are confident in themselves and embrace it in their own ways – a trait I assume you learn to hold steadfast when you’re on reality tv.

Also, I think success is easier to find when you give yourself permission to show up exactly as you are, faults and all, confidently and unapologetically.

2. They’ve turned not taking themselves seriously into an art form. Giggly Squad isn’t trying to win a Nobel Peace Prize for podcasting. The show is an hour of light-hearted giggly girl talk and it’s successful because that’s what has worked from the beginning. In five years the format has never changed. No guests, just two girls with never-ending comedic bits and hot takes on everything from pop culture to mental health moments. 

3. They embrace each other’s differences. If you’re a Giggler, you know that Paige and Hannah are best friends but they’re also complete opposites. Instead of resenting each other or competing for the spotlight, they balance out the other and hire assistants to handle admin.
   

4. They built a brand around friendship, not fame. When it all comes down to it, they were friends first. Fame showed up anyway.
   

Ultimately, Giggly Squad grew into what it is now because one day two women decided they wanted to laugh together forever. 

Hannah and Paige dared to build something out of the one thing they never had to fake, their friendship. 

And isn’t that the whole point?

Xo, The Salesgirls