
From Alice + Olivia to AI: Reinventing Entrepreneurship and Building Community with Rebecca Matchett
From Raw and Real Entrepreneurship® by Susan Sly
March 31, 2026 · 57 min · Season 15 · Episode 378
About this episode
Rebecca Matchett discusses her entrepreneurial journey and the importance of resilience in building community through her venture Synchrony.
This episode features a conversation with Rebecca Matchett, co-founder and COO of Synchrony , about the grit, courage, and resilience required to build a business—even in the face of deep personal and professional reinvention. Rebecca shares her entrepreneurial journey, starting with a volume-focused lemonade stand and later co-founding the iconic fashion brand Alice + Olivia , where she learned the importance of differentiation by using unique materials for pants. The discussion covers Rebecca's powerful story as a lawyer, mom, and cancer survivor, including her decision to have a prophylactic mastectomy after learning she was BRCA positive, her cancer recurrence, and going through a full hysterectomy (flash menopause). She explains that her resilience stems from her ability to compartmentalize and focus only on actionable challenges. Rebecca details how a dinner conversation led to her latest venture, Synchrony , a self-funded social ecosystem designed to connect verified neurodivergent young adults, combating loneliness and building community. She explains the user journey, where members are matched based on shared interests and communication preferences. A key feature is…
People in this episode
Host: Susan Sly
Guest: Rebecca Matchett
Topics covered
- entrepreneurship
- resilience
- community building
- AI technology
- personal reinvention
Keywords
- entrepreneurship
- resilience
- AI assistant
- community
- neurodivergent
- personal journey
- cancer survivor
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Synchrony, Alice + Olivia
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