How Success Happens

Nathan Kontny, the CEO of Highrise, is a tech leader whose career has followed a somewhat unconventional path. He was trained as a nuclear chemist and discovered a love for software programming when a broken ankle kept him from working in the lab during a summer internship. He’d would go on to found not one, or two but three companies, including a ‘Zynga for advertisers’ and Draft, the writing sof...

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melinda Richter of JLABs never imagined she’d run a health sciences incubator. But a near-death experience inspired her to tap into a new purpose -- helping entrepreneurs in the health sciences. The shift would require her to rebuild her life and tap into every experience she'd been exposed to, from her tech background to her humble upbringing growing up with 8 brothers and sisters in rural Canada...

Is there a shortcut to feeling good, handling difficult people and situations, and, in short, having a good day? Maybe. Caroline Webb, the founder of Sevenshift, studies how behavioral science can boost effectiveness and productivity. She has packed many of these strategies into her book, How To Have a Good Day, a sort of Manual for your Head packed with science-based shortcuts that work across cu...

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What lies at the heart of humanity's ability to create? That's just what composer Anthony Brandt and neuroscientist David Eagleman set out to understand with their new book The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World. Brandt joins us to chat about how innovation really happens -- and how it's been used to remake business and our lives. He'll discuss -- and what we should all unders...

As the founder of Uplevel Security, a first-of-its kind cybersecurity platform, Liz Maida knows risk. She’ll talk to us about why we should consider a sharing economy for cybersecurity and what’s standing in its way. She’ll also explain why the conversation needs to change about everything from security hacks to more everyday failures -- and risk management’s role in making that happen. Learn more...

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Jim Davies knows creativity. A cognitive scientist, he’s the director of the Science of Imagination Laboratory at Carleton University, in Ottawa Ontario. He’s been called the next Malcolm Gladwell and he’s used scientific findings to explain everything from how we portray aliens on TV to why religion makes us feel one with the universe. He’s also a professional artist, swing dancer, calligraphist...

Witold Rybczynski an architect, professor and writer whose books often study the everyday things we sometimes take for granted, from the humble screwdriver to the ubiquitous plastic patio chair. He’ll talk to us about what we learn when we take time to study the things we might otherwise overlook -- and how an outsider’s perspective can give anyone an advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Several years ago, kayaker and small apartment dweller Anton Willis became obsessed with origami. He had tapped the ancient art of paper folding to solve a unique problem -- designing a collapsible boat that could be stored in a closet. This obsession eventually became a business, and this architect became the founder of Oru Kayak. In this podcast he’ll talk about the long nights he spent tinkerin...

Ever work hard for something only to realize you don't want it anymore? Robin Arzon, a former corporate litigator, knew she needed a change and transformed herself into an ultra marathoner, cycler, best-selling author and one-woman fitness brand. She'll explain how she made the change -- and other crucial decisions -- by being her own mentor and with the help of some simple but powerful inner mant...

Matt Jozwiak is a chef by trade who knows the high quality ingredients left at the end of a restaurant dinner service often go to waste. It’s part of the reason he launched Rethink Food, a non-profit that transforms food that would otherwise be thrown away into delicious meals for hungry people. He'll tell us about why this simple solution required long chats with lawyers and the FDA and how his s...

Justin Schneider is an industrial designer who took the skills he honed designing athletic shoes for New Balance and Adidas to found Wolf & Shepherd, a line of performance dress shoes for men -- shoes that recently set an unofficial half marathon record at 1 hour 17 minutes. He’s also a decathlete who competed in track and field events while in college at Notre Dame. He’ll talk about the unique tr...

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Kyle Nel runs Lowe's Innovation Lab but he's not your typical tech guy. He's a behavioral scientist who uses his knowledge of how people work together (or don't) to get big changes to happen. His methods are non-traditional -- like giving comic books to execs. But they've helped build exosuits, holorooms and get a 3D printer into space. He'll explain the importance of behavior and and story to mak...

What Adventure Can Teach Entrepreneurs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Limor Fried of Adafruit Industries: You Can't Outsource Knowledge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contently's Shane Snow: Look for Patterns of Success Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery: Be Calm and Do the Work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Dean of Tough Mudder: Strategy Can Be What You Don't Do Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kathryn Minshew of The Muse: Decide Who You Are, or Have it Decided for You Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine: Don't Get Precious with Your Passions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices