Today we’d like to introduce you to Sofia Wardell.
Hi Sofia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We started The Travel Brats back in 2020. I had just graduated from college, and my original co-founder had recently returned from the Peace Corps. We were both in big transition phases, trying to rediscover our creativity and build something that combined our passions and gifts. One day, we sat down together and asked each other, “What do we really love to do?”
I had grown up traveling. My father is Mexican and Italian, so we traveled internationally frequently with him, and my mother and her family loved family trips anywhere from Yosemite National Park to Paris, France. I also played competitive tennis growing up, so traveling to play ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournaments in places like Barbados, Monterrey, and Guatemala encouraged my love for travel. It also gave me a fascination with other cultures as I made friends from so many countries, like Hungary, Slovakia, & France.
In college, the demands of college tennis, my studies, and the original business I was working on kept me from traveling. I hadn’t taken advantage of study abroad programs or summer travel opportunities—even though my family always encouraged it. I realized how much I truly missed traveling.
My co-founder said, “Well, we love to talk,” and I laughed and added, “And we love to travel.” That was the spark that became The Travel Brats Podcast—a space to talk about our adventures, share travel tips, and encourage others (especially young women) to explore the world safely, confidently, and with curiosity and enthusiasm.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think it’s safe to say that any startup journey is rarely smooth. Still, I’ve been very fortunate with the people I’ve worked with, and overall, the process has gone fairly well—though definitely not without its ups and downs.
By mid-2022, The Travel Brats had gone into a bit of a limbo. From June through December, we had plenty of ideas and plans, but no new content went out. It wasn’t ideal timing, especially since I was traveling a lot and creating tons of material, but neither of us had the time to sit down, record, and publish episodes together.
My original partner and I officially and amicably decided to end our partnership in the fall of 2022. She did some soul-searching and realized that, while she loved to travel and wanted to continue exploring, she didn’t enjoy the time commitment that comes with writing, podcasting, and the constant creation and promotion that a podcast demands. She also wanted to focus more on building her own solo brand, which I completely understood. She was honest and kind enough to tell me that she felt she was holding me back in regard to the direction I wanted to take the brand and the amount of work I was putting into growing it. She also made the transition from us to me very smooth, from transferring business accounts and information to handing over the brand. We even recorded a farewell episode for the podcast, which had been running consistently for two years at that point. Afterward, I went back to the drawing board to decide whether I wanted to continue the venture solo or find a new partner.
For me, I wanted The Travel Brats to remain a friendship-based, conversational brand—a show that felt like two best friends chatting over coffee about their adventures, helping listeners plan their own trips through our stories and experiences.
It was actually my husband who suggested reaching out to our friend, Natalie Brower, to see if she’d be interested in joining me as co-host and new partner. Natalie immediately came to mind because she not only has a professional background in acting and theater, but she also comes from a well-traveled, adventurous family—some of whom live in Belgium and Canada—and she grew up in the islands of the Philippines.
She had already appeared on The Travel Brats twice before, and both episodes ended up being some of our most popular ones, ranking among the top 10 episodes with the highest listenership. So around October or November, I called her up to share the idea of becoming my new co-host.
From there, we began rebuilding The Travel Brats together. Despite the inevitable ups and downs, we’ve worked very well as a team and genuinely love sharing our passion for travel—not just with each other, but with our entire Travel Brat Tribe.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My time in college at the Universities of Auburn and Florida Gulf Coast largely impacted my career path. I founded Best Dressed through the FGCU School of Entrepreneurship’s Runway Excelerator program. Best Dressed started as a fashion subscription package company, which evolved into an online boutique and is now an affiliate brand. After, I co-founded The Travel Brats, a travel podcast and blog created to inspire and connect curious, thoughtful travelers through interviews, destination guides, and creative storytelling.
I graduated magna cum laude from Florida Gulf Coast University in December 2019 with a degree in Entrepreneurship and a minor in Marketing, earning Honors distinction.
Since then, I’ve stayed connected with FGCU, serving on both the Daveler & Kauanui School of Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and the FGCU Alumni Board of Directors, where I focused on community outreach and alumni engagement.
Professionally, I’ve stayed in the startup industry and worn many hats—from working as the Market Research Analyst at Storm Smart Industries and the Fund Administrator for the Tamiami Angel Funds, to serving as the Product Manager for Signature Athletics Sportswear and the Growth and Development Specialist of Listella, a real estate tech startup. I am also an audiobook narrator and producer with the Audiobook Network, where I’ve narrated and produced over 50 books, and I host Inkwell Academy, a free educational resource for authors. Each experience has deepened my understanding of innovation, leadership, and collaboration, and continues to do so.
What I’m most proud of is my ability to blend creativity and strategy across everything I do—from launching brands and building communities to producing meaningful content. What truly sets me apart is my passion for connecting people—whether through storytelling, travel, or entrepreneurship—and helping others find the confidence to pursue their own adventures and ideas.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are so many ways to connect and collaborate! Through The Travel Brats, we are always looking to partner with travel brands, tourism boards, creators, and small businesses. We also love new guests to interview!
Whether it’s podcast interviews, destination features, or creative campaigns, we love collaborating on projects that inspire people to explore and connect more deeply with the world around them. We also love to plan trips for our Travel Brat Tribe!
The best way to get involved is to reach out directly through The Travel Brats email, website, or social media—I’m always open to creative partnerships, collaborations, or even a quick chat over coffee about ideas. Support the podcast by tuning in, sharing episodes, or following along on our journeys. Every listen, message, and connection truly helps keep this community growing! Shoot us an email at thetravelbrats@gmail.com or through our “Contact Us” page on our website to get in touch!
I also work with the Inkwell Academy to support writers through education, podcast features, and audiobook production. I also take on select audiobook production projects, as well as consulting projects for entrepreneurs and startups, helping them grow their brands, refine their strategy, and tell their stories effectively. For author and startup inquiries, my email is sofiawardell@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thetravelbrats.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sofiasofiasofiasofia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetravelbrats/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-c-wardell-5a9b14155/
- Twitter: https://x.com/TheTravelBrats
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3W-fWr4UNplg5mw3Ncj5w
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thetravelbrats
