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Today the wise & ethereal Julie Piatt — my wife and partner for the last 20+ years — returns for her umpteenth appearance on the podcast.
But this time we try something different.
As longtime listeners know well, Julie is a being of many talents. Although widely lauded for her series of bestselling plant-based cookbooks, the one who goes by SriMati is also an artist, musician, yogi, healer, mother of four and serial entrepreneur.
In addition, Julie hosts the For The Life of Me podcast. She reigns over Water Tiger, her online spiritual community. And she’s the ‘Mother Arc’ (her term for founder & CEO) of SriMu, her plant-based cheese brainchild start-up.
”We have the power to create our own reality. Thoughts are things. What you put your attention on is what you put energy into.
JULIE PIATT
Over the years, Julie been a recurring source of spiritual wisdom on the podcast, dropping many a pearl on everything from parenting and creativity to navigating conflict, managing relationships, dealing with financial hardship, and countless other subjects.
Today’s episode, however, is something new — an exploration of Julie as entrepreneur.
Channeling my inner Guy Raz, I give Julie the ‘How I Built This’treatment — tracing her background growing up in Alaska through her career in fashion. Building a garment line. The pain of shuttering it. The pivot into home construction and interior design. And how all of these experiences inform the business and culture of SriMu, her most successful start-up to date.
You can call me biased. I am. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is poised for world domination with what truly is the best, next evolution of cheese.
I want to transform people’s lives through their kitchens.
– JULIE PIATT
The visually inclined can watch our exchange on YouTube. And as always, the podcast streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Aside from the business bent, this conversation is centered on the power of meeting others — and yourself — in love.
As humans, we self-identify with the stories we tell ourselves. We cling to illusions of safety and security. But this moment is challenging the firmness of the ground upon which we stand. Julie reminds us of the impermanence of everything.
Embracing this vital truth will bring you greater peace. It will broaden your empathy for others. And help you identify the answers you seek.
Hint: they have been inside you all along.

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For 1000s of delicious, customized plant-based recipes & so much more, check out our Plantpower Meal Planner.

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- Connect with Julie: SriMati.com | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
- Plantpower Meal Planner: meals.richroll.com
- SriMu Artisanal ‘Not Cheese’: SriMu.com
- Julie’s Book: This Cheese Is Nuts
- Julie’s Podcast: For The Life of Me
- Julie’s Music: SriMati
- Julie’s Jai Yoga Foundational Series
- Rich and Julie’s Cookbooks: The Plantpower Way & The Plantpower Way: Italia
- New York Times: Vegans Go Glam
- MindBodyGreen: Julie Piatt On How She Stayed Sane Through A Bankruptcy Scare
- Nine: How to convert to a plant-based diet (without crawling back to meat)
- *Bloomberg: Should Dairies Go Vegan? I Know, It Sounds Nuts
- *Bloomberg: Oatly’s Path to Alt-Milk World Domination Starts in New Jersey
- The Tab: Explained: People are suddenly saying they’re boycotting Oatly, but why?
- The Guardian: Activists sour on Oatly vegan milk after stake sold to Trump-linked Blackstone
*Since the recording of this episode, Oatly has received considerable backlash given the integrity of their investor, Blackstone.
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Thanks to Jason Camiolo for production, audio engineering and show notes; Margo Lubin and Blake Curtis for video, editing and graphics; portraits by Leia Marasovich and Ali Rogers; Interstitial music by SriMati Music and theme music by Tyler Piatt. Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.
*Disclosure: Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.