Build Your Own Boat

Robin Salls didn't wait for the media to notice women in midlife. When she looked around and couldn't find a single magazine that reflected her experience — embracing her silver hair, redefining beauty, and stepping into a new chapter with confidence — she built one herself. In six weeks. During a pandemic. With no publishing experience.

In this episode of Build Your Own Boat, Robin shares how she launched Tangled Silver Magazine in January 2021 from her home in Johnston, Colorado, after announcing it publicly on social media before she had a single piece of infrastructure in place. What started as a love letter to women embracing their natural silver hair quickly grew into something far larger: a community, a movement, and an annual gathering called the Silverhood Experience — bringing women together from across North America and beyond to celebrate midlife on their own terms.

Robin Salls is a serial entrepreneur, publisher, and community builder based in Johnston, Colorado. She launched Tangled Silver Magazine in January 2021 after identifying a striking gap in media: there was virtually no publication celebrating women who were embracing their natural silver hair and stepping boldly into midlife. What began as a quarterly digital magazine grew into a full ecosystem — including print editions, digital subscriptions, a vibrant social media community, and the annual Silverhood Experience, a multi-day immersive gathering for women at the intersection of midlife, beauty, business, and personal reinvention.

Robin has been a natural silver herself since 2018, and her personal journey from decades of hair coloring to fully embracing her gray is woven into the DNA of everything she has built. She is a passionate advocate for women defining beauty and aging on their own terms — and a vocal critic of the "anti-aging" messaging that dominates the beauty industry. Through Tangled Silver, she has created a space where women over 45 are not just visible, but celebrated.

Tangled Silver Magazine is a digital and print publication founded in 2021 by Robin Salls, focused on women in midlife and beyond who are embracing their natural silver hair and redefining what it means to age beautifully. The magazine features personal stories, hair care guidance, beauty advice tailored to midlife women, and coverage of entrepreneurship and life reinvention. It has grown from a passion project into a community with readers across the United States, Canada, the UK, Italy, and beyond.

Robin leveraged years of entrepreneurial experience across multiple industries — including radio sales, insurance, and wine event production — and combined that with a deep knowledge of what resonates with readers as a lifelong magazine enthusiast. She started by publicly committing to a launch date on social media, then worked backward to make it happen. She secured ISSN numbers, registered with the Library of Congress, identified her first cover subject, and built the first issue in six weeks. Her approach: start before you're ready, then figure it out as you go.

The Silverhood Experience is an annual multi-day event hosted by Tangled Silver Magazine that brings women together to celebrate midlife in all its dimensions — beauty, health, entrepreneurship, and personal growth. Past events have been held in Estes Park, Colorado. The 2025 event takes place September 17–19 at the Magnolia Hotel in Denver, Colorado — one of the few women-owned hotels in the state. The event features speakers, workshops, and a "play day" designed to build sisterhood and send attendees home with actionable insights.

Tangled Silver generates revenue through a combination of digital and print subscriptions, advertising partnerships with mission-aligned brands, and ticket sales from the annual Silverhood Experience event. Robin has consciously chosen to walk away from advertisers whose messaging conflicts with her values — specifically those promoting anti-aging narratives — prioritizing her audience's trust and the magazine's mission over short-term revenue.

Robin's core advice: find someone already doing something similar and ask to connect over coffee. Hearing real stories from real entrepreneurs helps dissolve the fear that keeps so many women stuck. She also recommends building a support system that includes people who are not emotionally invested in the outcome — those who can give honest, experience-based guidance. And above all: don't wait for permission. Give it to yourself.

Yes — and Robin speaks to it directly. She has encountered advertisers who overlook midlife women consumers despite their significant spending power, and she observes that the assumption of irrelevance is baked into many industries. Her response: own your wisdom, lead with your skills, and recognize that every year of experience is an asset, not a liability. The way to change the narrative is to show up fully, confidently, and refuse to hide.

Build Your Own Boat is a podcast series hosted by Janine Vanderburg — award-winning three-time entrepreneur and anti-ageism advocate — featuring women who have launched new entrepreneurial ventures in midlife and beyond. The series is part of a larger storytelling project that includes a Substack publication and a forthcoming book, all built around one goal: changing the narrative about who entrepreneurs are and making women in midlife and beyond visible as builders of wealth, freedom, and possibility.