Meet Daniela Angelucci and Michelle Osei-Bonsu, Who Are Making Affirmations Raw and Real

Psst, in case you haven’t heard, we just launched Girlboss Goods, our marketplace for curated products by female-founded brands. Here, we profile some of the women taking part. Next up, Daniela Angelucci and Michelle Osei-Bonsu of Listen B*tch.

Daniela Angelucci and Michelle Osei-Bonsu have always been entrepreneurial minded. “We both have a natural tendency to scan the market and hunt for ideas. For years, we’ve wanted to start a project together, but we were waiting on an idea that we were genuinely passionate about,” says Angelucci, who works as an art director and visual creative. That passion project turned out be a deck of affirmation cards with an unapologetic, empowering and no-BS approach to self-improvement called Listen B*itch. “Affirmation cards struck a chord for us because it was an idea rooted in self-care and uplifting people - two things that we care deeply about,” adds Osei-Bonsu, whose career has included account and brand management at major beauty and tech companies.   

“We kickstarted this journey after we struggled to find affirmation cards that sounded like us,” explains Osei-Bonsu. “Affirmations work best when they’re spoken with conviction and we had trouble doing so when the tone of the words we were seeing didn’t reflect how we actually spoke. If you’re like us and you need a little sauce to hype yourself up and bring yourself back to your feet, then Listen B*tch affirmation cards might do the trick.”

The first steps the duo took included writing their own affirmations—and the pair didn’t shy away from a little tough love. The cards, which use raw, real and sometimes deadpan language are meant to cut through and take root in your mind—an extra push, but no fluff. It’s about taking the kinds of things you’d say to shake your best friend out of a negative thought-spiral, and turning them inward.

“They’re honest, they’re real, and sometimes they’re a bit crass – but they work.”

Once they had the affirmations nailed, Angelucci and Osei-Bonsu paired them with stunning visuals to instil a sense of calm and clarity. They worked Canadian artist Chi Chi Ogbu to create custom illustrations.

  The duo name one another as the greatest strength of their shared brand. Angelucci is the seasoned creative pro, while Osei-Bonsu brings the business experience. Still, bootstrapping their brand meant doing everything—everything—themselves. “People may underestimate how much learning is required outside of your area of expertise. When you’re first starting out, you’re taking on a million roles—you’re the accountant, social media manager, customer service representative, content creator, shipping manager, copywriter, tax specialist, art director, web designer and supply-chain manager,” explains Angelucci, adding that even when you can outsource some of those jobs, you need to learn enough to have informed conversations with your collaborators.

For the pair, the affirmation cards are just the tip of the iceberg and they’d like to expand into other self-care and wellness categories. "Ultimately, our brand aspires to give people (especially women) the tools they need to protect and nurture their wellbeing,” says Osei-Bonsu, before jokingly that they’ve been burned out for the past 10 years. “We tend to work at a relentless pace and it’s easy to work to the point of burnout. We’ve learned through trial and error to recognize when we need breaks and we’ve given ourselves permission to not feel guilty about it.”