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March 6th, 2026

The Bubbles Effect: Classic Bubbly Convo with Jessica Lerner Halprin

  1. The Bubbles Effect: Classic Bubbly Convo with Jessica Lerner Halprin Nicole Bernard 1:09:41

What happens when a recovering attorney becomes a tech founder…and builds a business around celebration? 🥂

In this Friday Bubbly Convo, I’m joined by Jessica Lerner Halperin, founder of Swankey, a party-planning app designed to bring more ease, joy, and calm back to life’s celebrations.

Jessica shares her journey from a lifelong legal career into entrepreneurship after navigating deep Grief, the loss of her mother, the pandemic, and a major life pivot she never saw coming. What started as a frustration with how chaotic party planning had become turned into a bigger mission: helping people celebrate the small things, the big things, and everything in between. ❤️

We talk about resilience, building a business later in life, stepping outside your comfort zone, why founders today have to show up online, and how social media and marketing have changed so much in just the last few years. We also get into the emotional side of celebration, why perfection is overrated, and how people remember how you made them feel far more than the napkin color.

Jessica is thoughtful, funny, wildly smart, and yes… she also gave us some unexpectedly helpful “party therapist” legal Wisdom along the way.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Jessica’s pivot from corporate attorney to tech founder

  • How grief and the pandemic reshaped her path

  • The story behind Swankey and why she built it

  • What founders need to know about marketing today

  • Why people want to connect with the face behind the brand

  • How to celebrate meaningfully without the pressure of perfection

  • A few smart things to keep in mind when working with vendors

This one is for the entrepreneurs, the hosts, the pivots-in-progress, and anyone who could use a reminder to celebrate life while we’re living it.

Connect with Jessica + Swankey here: www.swankey.com

Nicole Bernard Podcast Host & Marketing Strategist

I started my first entrepreneurial journey in 2007 with my husband. We decided to start an organic farm & micro-brewery in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

During the seven years that we ran Acadian Farms & Brewery, I was in charge of all things marketing- everything from events, to social media to website design.

Learning + doing everything on my own, I created an SEO-friendly website that reached #1 on Google and utilized the power of social media and influencer outreach to get featured in prominent publications like The Oregonian, Portland Monthly and The Seattle Times, as well as popular craft beer blogs.

AND MY MISSION!
After closing our doors due to creating too much traffic (marketing works 😉), I wanted to take what I learned from the experience and help other small businesses. So I spent the next few years working at digital marketing agencies and expanded my marketing chops by learning the systems, tools and strategies implemented by agencies to achieve massive growth.

And that's what I'm sharing with you- knowledge from both sides! I truly wish that I had a step-by-step strategy to follow when we were growing our business, but there wasn't one.

When I'm not working, you can find me camping with my two kids, husband and rescue dog, running or drinking a glass of wine!