The Failure Factor

Erica Huss and Zoe Sakoutis are largely responsible for the success of the cold-pressed juice industry. But on their bootstrapped five-year journey to a $26m sale, they encountered repeated challenges and feedback that their idea could "never work." In this episode, they share how they persevered, plus what they learned from their failed venture, and how it led to the new f&b trend they're capital...

In this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan sits down with Bluemercury co-founder and Marla Beck. The CEO of the rapidly-growing luxury beauty retailer shares how the initially Ecommerce company almost ran out of money, sparking the inaugural pivot "from clicks to bricks." Thanks to Beck's perseverance, in 2015 Bluemercury was acquired by Macy's for $210 million. You won't want to miss Beck's adv...

In this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan interviews Michael Cammarata: serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder and CEO of Schmidt's Naturals – one of the worlds fastest-growing wellness brands. Despite being told he'd "never amount to anything" after being diagnosed with dyslexia, Michael had made his first million by thirteen years old. Listen in to hear why Michael can't stand "Five Ye...

In this special episode, Megan sits down with her good friend: writer, American History teacher and feminist sociopolitical expert Sari Rosenberg to clarify myths around feminism and how it relates to sexual assault, dating, body image  and  eating disorders, and more. If you want to participate in the conversation but feel under-resourced, are curious or skeptical about the movement, or want to k...

In this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan talks resilience, sexism, and changing the world with Julie Smolyansky.  Julie became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm when she took over Lifeway Foods at the age of 27 in 2002 after the tragic death of her father.  Even through her grief, she managed to send the company's growth trajectory and revenues soaring, while considerably expandi...

Ah, dating - a topic close to Megan's heart. In this episode, she interviews  The League  founder and CEO Amanda Bradford on the building of the elite dating app. They discuss what it's like to date as an "alpha woman," the parallels between dating and entrepreneurship, why the skill of difficult conversations is integral to both dating and hiring, and how to cope with rejection. Listen in for Ama...

Simon  "Thor" Damborg is a former competitive CrossFit athlete, small business consultant, and the owner of Raincity Athletics and the Functional Fitness League in Vancouver, Canada. In this episode, which isn't your typical TFF conversation, Simon opens up about the challenges of building his businesses, dating in a culture of toxic masculinity, his "privileged guilt," the pain, isolation and sha...

Amy Briant and Lisa DeLarco Bonoff are the founders of Lumion, a skincare product line revolutionizing skin health technology. In this episode, Amy shares the story of her painful split from a co-founder in her former venture, and what she learned the hard way. Tune into hear her advice on protecting yourself legally, setting boundaries, mitigating conflict, and optimizing co-founder relationships...

At 25 years old, Jessie Andrews is the founder and CEO of four successful businesses. Formerly an adult-film star and international DJ/Producer, she's now also a globally sought-after photographer, in-demand brand builder, and successful model and designer. In this episode, brought to you by Discover LMS, Jessie shares her unconventional journey from dropping out of high school to becoming one of...

Mark Sisson is an serial entrepreneur and ex-endurance athlete turned ancestral health pioneer and New York Times bestselling author. What began as his blog (MarksDailyApple.com) has now become one of the top-rated health and fitness websites, and has led to Mark founding of several companies of "primal" nature: Primal Blueprint, Primal Kitchen, Primal Kitchen Resturaunts, and Primal Health Coach-...

Gabby Slome is the co-founder of Ollie; an all-natural, human grade dog food delivery service.  In this episode, brought to you by Discover LMS, she shares how she overcame "analysis paralysis" and what she believes is most important in starting a successful business. Warning: Gabby shares some stomach-turning truths about the dog-food industry, so you might not want to eat while listening to this...

It's one thing to leave a job you hate to follow your dreams; but what about leaving that "cushy" job that's not totally terrible?  In this interview, brought to you by Discover LMS, Sarah Merrill of "Big Kid problems" walks Megan through how she traversed this decision in her own life and how she's made a successful business out of social media. From appearing as a guest on the day- time Emmy win...

Known for taboo industry innovation, controversial subway ads, and a publicly challenging departure from her role as CEO of THINX Period Underwear, Miki Agrawal is a serial entrepreneur, author, and speaker. The four-time founder sat down with Megan for an exclusive first interview since what she describes as "trial by fire." Agrawal also shares how she believes anyone can be an entrepreneur, and ...

Cassandra Bodzak is the founder of the online mind-body-soul support community, Aprecity.com ,and best-selling author of "Eat With Intention." She's a global meditation and wellness teacher, host of Eat with Intention TV, and former host of ABC's The Taste. Hear Cassandra's story on how she successfully built an online community and personal brand alongside the grief of heartbreak and her brother'...

Bobby Kim (also known as Bobby Hundreds) is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Hundreds – a massively popular streetwear line worn by celebrities such as Kanye West and Justin Bieber. Hear Bobby's story about the conversation that gave him the courage to leave law; how he's built a trustworthy brand; and the unique way he copes with success and failure. 

Megan Driscoll is the founder and CEO of Evolve MKD, a public relations and social media agency in New York City. She's grown her business from one employee (herself) to 19 in two and a half years. But Megan's success came out of a "bad breakup" at her previous company. Listen in to hear her advice on building an agency, outsourcing PR, using fear as a motivator, negotiating the conflict of being...

Danielle LaPorte is an internationally renowned speaker, writer, entrepreneur, and blogger. The wise, hilarious, self-proclaimed "seeker" has mastered scaling the personal brand; but prior to Danielle's massive success, she was fired – from her own company. Listen to this rich interview filled with Danielle's personal story of challenge and "failure," as well as her advice for protecting oneself w...

Lauren Berlingeri and Katie Kaps are the founders of HigherDOSE, the infrared sauna experience that's taking over NYC. In this episode, they share with Megan how past career challenges have led to their present success. Berlingeri, previously a fitness model and star of the popular web show Woman v. Workout , opens up about her struggles in the world of modeling, while Kaps shares a painful near-d...

Christina Carbonell and Galyn Bernard are the founders of Primary.com, a direct-to-consumer children's clothing company known for its evergreen basics and affordable prices. Tune in to hear them discuss their "failure" – believing they could take care of the supply chain themselves. The result? Little product in-stock and a lot of unhappy customers and investors. Listen in for their advice for man...

Lauren Foundos spent a decade on Wall Street before starting Forte, a boutique fitness streaming platform. A first-time founder, Foundos stresses spending wisely, building authentic partnerships, detaching from an expectation of what the company will be, and several other nuggets of wisdom you won't want to miss. Tune into hear Megan and Lauren share laughs and advice on how to optimize your start...

Melissa Hartwig is a Certified Sports Nutritionist, co-author of the New York Times bestsellers The Whole30 and It Starts With Food, and the author of Food Freedom Forever and The Whole30 Cookbook. She's been featured by Dr. Oz, The Today Show, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Details, Shape, Outside, and SELF; she has presented more than 150 health and nutrition seminars worldwide; an...

A former gang member, Ryan Blair is now a self-made multimillionaire, New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and CEO of the global healthy lifestyle company, ViSalus. He appears regularly on CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN, and Fox, and has been featured in Inc Magazine, Fortune Magazine, BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. But along...

Shalini Vadhera is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, beauty expert and internationally recognized TV personality. From jewelry and fashion entrepreneur, to celebrity makeup artist, to Founder of a $21-million beauty brand, to founder and CEO of Passport 2 Beauty and Power Beauty Living, she helps women power up their business, beauty, and life. But Power Beauty Living was birthed from Sha...

Matt Mayberry realized his dream of becoming a professional football player, then watched it all crumble in a instant. He suffered a career-ending injury in his FIRST game in the NFL. Shattered both physically and emotionally, Matt entered a deep depression. If he wasn't a football player, who was he? But Matt persevered and ultimately found his purpose in his pain. Drawing on his previous experie...

Joe Cross is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, filmmaker, and wellness advocate. He's the founder of the socially conscious health and wellness company, Reboot With Joe, as well as the founder of the Reboot Media, which produces educational media. Joe is best known for the hit film in which he juiced his way from sickness to health, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. But Joe makes it clear he's had "mor...