Olivia Landau, Co-Founder and CEO of The Clear Cut—the largest digitally native natural diamond jewelry company in the United States—shares how a side hustle selling engagement rings through Instagram DMs transformed into a company that's hitting $100M in revenue.
Despite being dismissed by venture capitalists and warned by her family not to become an entrepreneur, Olivia Landau chose to bet on herself. Alongside her then-boyfriend (now husband and co-founder), Kyle, she took a leap of faith, walking away from the safe path and rejecting startup “best practices” that didn’t feel aligned.
Instead of following the noise, she doubled down on what felt right: human connection, deep education, craftsmanship, and building slow and intentionally. Her voice is a powerful reminder of what can happen when you block out the noise, trust your gut, and build your way—even when everyone says you’re doing it wrong.
Key Takeaways and Topics:
How The Clear Cut started as an educational blog and Instagram side hustle
Olivia’s generational roots in the diamond industry and how that shaped her approach
The myths around lab-grown vs. natural diamonds—and why she refuses to sell lab-created stones
Fundraising rejection: Why no VCs would invest and how they raised $700K from angels and customers instead
The Clear Cut’s breakthrough moment during the pandemic and how their custom-built tech scaled the business
Why “unscalable” things are worth doing first
The emotional toll and impostor syndrome that come with fundraising and startup leadership
How Olivia navigates being a new mom, co-founder, and CEO
Debunking ethical misconceptions about natural diamonds—and why the real story matters
Why having a personal brand and showing your face on social media can be a competitive advantage
Her advice to aspiring founders: Don’t wait for perfection, just take the first step
Disclaimer:
Olivia shares her view that natural diamonds can be more ethical than lab-grown alternatives. This is a nuanced topic; what is “ethical” depends on your values. Natural diamonds may support economies like Botswana’s, while lab-grown stones produced with renewable energy may appeal to those prioritizing environmental impact.
Some stats shared from memory have been clarified:
Diamonds make up 25–30% of Botswana’s GDP, not 80% as mentioned (that figure refers to exports).
Diamond revenues fund free primary education, subsidized secondary education, and universal healthcare in Botswana.
While “stipends” aren’t standard, the government provides scholarships and financial support to students and select groups.
We’ve included these clarifications to support informed decision-making.
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Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com
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Her Ig: https://www.instagram.com/olivialandau
The Clear Cut: https://www.instagram.com/theclearcut
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Themes: entrepreneurship, diamond industry, The Clear Cut, venture capital, scaling a startup, personalized luxury, ethical sourcing, tech, jewelry, women founder, e-commerce, working with a partner, motherhood, impostor syndrome, custom jewelry, resilience, lab-grown diamonds, natural diamonds, storytelling, brand building