VOYAGE MIAMI | Exploring Life & Business with Emily Dempsey of The Brickell Babes
Miami, FL – June 5, 2025 – Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Dempsey.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My path hasn’t been linear, but it’s been deeply intentional. I’m originally from Chicago’s North Shore and studied economics at Fordham University in New York, where I developed a strong foundation in market dynamics and strategic thinking. I began my career in luxury fashion, working as a Buyer for some of the most iconic retail institutions in the world — Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks Fifth Avenue. That experience gave me front-row access to how brands are built, how consumer behavior shifts, and how margin, merchandising, and storytelling come together to drive profitability.
Becoming a fashion buyer was a dream I had since I was 13 — but even then, I knew it was only a starting point. I’ve always had a founder’s mindset. I was drawn to the intersection of commerce, culture, and community — and to the challenge of building something with long-term strategic value and scalable impact.
After nearly a decade in New York, I made a bold move to Miami and pivoted into commercial real estate. New city, new industry — but I’ve always thrived in reinvention. While building my brokerage business, I started casually organizing small gatherings with women I met around town. I was looking for a new manicurist… and a few friends. Turns out, so was everyone else.
What began as a personal need quickly evolved into The Brickell Babes — now Miami’s largest women’s networking and lifestyle platform, with over 50,000 women across our digital and in-person ecosystem. But this is more than a social group — The Brickell Babes is a platform for multidimensional women to connect, grow, and lead.
Our platform is built around four core pillars: community, wellness, education, and philanthropy. We host monthly Sweat Series events with top studios and wellness brands (always in matching outfits), signature Happy Hours at Miami’s most exclusive venues, and hands-on volunteer opportunities through our partnership with Lotus House, the largest women’s shelter in the country.
This past spring, we launched BONDE Female Empowerment Series — with a curated IRL experience designed to bring together thought leaders, founders, and visionaries across Miami to explore topics like leadership, finance, fashion, emotional intelligence, and personal growth. It’s been one of our most successful initiatives to date, and we’re expanding the series as part of our long-term programming roadmap.
Now, we’re building the digital infrastructure to scale: a tech-enabled membership platform that will centralize our events, unlock exclusive perks, and power future city launches. Our vision is clear — to build the most trusted, elevated, and value-driven women’s network in the country. And this is just the beginning.
As we scale, we’re also expanding how we educate and empower our community — not just socially, but financially. In parallel with our lifestyle platform, I’ve been building one of the only female-founded Bitcoin mining funds in the country, and we’re actively exploring ways to bring financial literacy, sovereignty, and Bitcoin education into The Brickell Babes ecosystem. Because when women understand how value is created, stored, and multiplied — we don’t just participate in the future. We help shape it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The truth is, most of my growth has come from learning how to manage pressure, uncertainty, and performance at the same time. When you’re building something from the ground up — especially in new industries — you realize very quickly that mindset and internal structure matter just as much as your external strategy.
I’ve had to confront perfectionism — the kind that drives excellence, but can also slow down execution. Early on, I had to learn that “fail fast, fail cheap” is more valuable than months in pursuit of “perfect” — especially in high-growth environments.
I also carried a deep streak of hyper-independence — which served me well as a solo founder, but eventually became a bottleneck. Learning to delegate, build systems, and attract the right collaborators has been game-changing. No scalable vision is built alone. The shift from operator to leader is subtle, but critical, and that evolution has been at the core of everything I’ve done in the past five years.
Like many women in high-performance spaces, I’ve also experienced imposter syndrome — especially stepping into traditionally male-dominated sectors like commercial real estate and Bitcoin. But rather than letting that hold me back, I’ve used it as fuel. I’ve become deeply grounded in my ability to think long-term, build trust fast, and operate with both vision and velocity.
So no, it hasn’t been smooth. But it’s been an incredible training ground, not just for business, but for becoming the kind of founder who can hold scale, complexity, and alignment all at once.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Brickell Babes is redefining what it means to network in Miami. What began as a simple Facebook group in March, 2022 quickly evolved into a powerhouse women’s network of over 50,000 high-achieving members across all our channels – digital and in-person. We’re more than just a social group, we’re a lifestyle and media brand shaping the future of connection, community, and female empowerment in Miami. Our community is made up of ambitious, multifaceted women — executives, founders, creatives, investors, philanthropists — all drawn together by a shared desire for depth, growth, and belonging.
We’re deeply passionate about mentorship and professional development, especially for high-achieving women relocating from cities like New York and Los Angeles who are seeking community, inspiration, and integration into Miami’s fast-growing cultural and business scene. As part of our commitment to giving back, we’ve established a long-term partnership with Lotus House, the nation’s largest women’s shelter, where our community regularly volunteers and supports their mission to uplift women and children in need.
Through premium monthly events, such as our city-wide happy hours at Miami’s trendiest venues, our signature SWEAT SERIES fitness activations, and high-touch panels and workshops, we create real-life spaces for women to connect intentionally — personally, professionally, and philanthropically. We’ve also recently launched an elevated speaker and retreat series, bringing together Miami’s most influential women for curated programming that blends leadership, wellness, fashion, finance, and more.
Looking ahead, we’re preparing to launch a tech-enabled membership platform in Fall 2025 — our next chapter in scaling the Brickell Babes ecosystem. This private, curated platform will connect members to events, resources, and each other in a more streamlined, high-value way — a digital home for the next generation of female community builders, collaborators, and leaders.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
There were seasons where I was moving fast, saying yes to every opportunity, and doing everything “right” on paper — but it wasn’t aligned. And misaligned momentum is expensive — emotionally, energetically, and financially.
What I’ve come to realize is that long-term success is built from a foundation of clarity: knowing who you are, what you value, and where you’re headed — and then reverse engineering from there. When you’re aligned, decisions become easier, your community grows more organically, and the right partners start to find you.
Now, whether I’m building community, structuring investments, or creating new revenue models, I ask: Does this decision honor the vision? Does it move the mission forward, or just keep me busy?
That shift — from hustling to aligning — has changed everything.
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