Today we’d like to introduce you to Zeynep & Tara Khaleesi.
Hi Zeynep & Tara, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My career has never followed one predictable path.
I began my professional life in Seattle working in investments before eventually moving into the pharmaceutical industry in NJ, where I built a career in marketing and became an executive. I loved the business side of what I did, but eventually I wanted to build something of my own.
In 2009, that became Zeyzani. Inspired by my Turkish heritage, the textiles, colors, and craftsmanship I grew up around, I created a footwear and accessories brand that grew far beyond what I originally imagined. Zeyzani developed an international clientele, a retail presence, wholesale relationships, and pieces worn by icons including Dolly Parton, Whoopi Goldberg, Addison Rae, and personalities from television and reality shows.
I was also incredibly honored to receive a Congressional Proclamation from the U.S. House of Representatives recognizing my work in business, fashion, innovation, and entrepreneurship in New Jersey in 2023.
Over time, my priorities changed. I moved away from traditional retail and continued Zeyzani on a more custom, made-to-order basis. Then my family relocated from New Jersey to Tampa, and that move opened the door to an entirely different kind of business.
My daughter, Tara Khaleesi, came up with the idea of having a podcast based on the conversations we were already having at home about growing up, parenting, friendships, boundaries, relationships, social media, trust, mistakes, and everything else in between. In 2025, that became Between Us: Mother-Daughter Unfiltered, a podcast
That podcast has now grown into Between Us Unfiltered, a Tampa-based Media Company that we’re developing across podcasting, publishing, and additional storytelling projects. We’re also writing our first book together.
In many ways, I’m building again from the ground up. It’s a completely different industry, but the part I love is exactly the same: taking an idea, believing there is something there, and figuring out how to turn it into something real with my daughter beside me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that success can create its own challenges.
As Zeyzani grew, opportunities came with it. At one point, I had the chance to take the brand onto a television shopping network, an opportunity that could have accelerated the business significantly. But pursuing that kind of expansion would also have meant much more travel and more time away from my daughter. So I turned it down.
That was a real turning point for me because entrepreneurs are conditioned to keep growing, keep saying yes, and keep reaching for the next opportunity. I had to decide what I was actually building all of it for. I still wanted to be ambitious, but I no longer wanted ambition to require sacrificing the parts of my life that mattered most to me.
Relocating from New Jersey to Tampa created another kind of challenge. I had spent years building relationships, recognition, and a professional network in the Northeast. Moving meant entering a new city and building those connections again.
Between Us Unfiltered presents an entirely different challenge because the work itself is so personal. My daughter and I are discussing real subjects in real time. We disagree. We make mistakes. We change our minds. And occasionally I have the humbling experience of discovering that the thirteen-year-old had a point. That is real parenting in real time. It is honest, also unfiltered. And we are honored to share our real moments with the world. And that’s also why people connect with it. We’re not trying to present some immaculate version of motherhood or adolescence. We’re talking about what the relationship actually looks like while we’re living it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Between Us Unfiltered LLC?
My definition of success has changed throughout my life. Earlier in my career, it was easier to measure. Titles, revenue, growth, accounts, press, expansion. I’m still ambitious. I still love building businesses, and I absolutely want the things I create to succeed.
What has changed is what I’m willing to sacrifice to get there.
Today, success means building something significant without missing the life happening around me while I do it.
With Zeyzani, success was taking something rooted in my heritage and turning it into a brand that connected with women around the world.
With Between Us Unfiltered, it’s different because I’m building it with my daughter, Tara Khaleesi. We’re creating something together while simultaneously living through the years we’re talking and now writing and filming about.
If our conversations make a parent reconsider how they’re communicating with their child, make a teenager feel understood, or simply get a mother and daughter talking about something they had been avoiding, that’s meaningful to me.
But I also see real business potential in what we’re building. I don’t think purpose and ambition have to compete with each other.
At this stage of my life, success is having both.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Episodes of Between Us: Mother-Daughter Unfiltered are free to listen to on major podcast platforms and at BetweenUsUnfiltered.com (www.betweenusunfiltered.com)
Zeyzani pieces are custom and made to order, with pricing based on the individual design and available through zeyzani.com (www.zeyzani.com)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.betweenusunfiltered.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeynepunfiltered
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BetweenUsUnfilteredLLC
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/betweenusunfiltered
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweenus_unfiltered
- soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/between-us-md-unfiltered/
- Other: https://www.zeyzani.com/press-room
