How Success Happens

Jake Schwartz started a company called General Assembly that just sold to the big human resource company Adecco Group for a reported 413 million dollars. After graduating from Yale and thinking he learned all he needed to to succeed in business, Schwartz got smacked in the face with reality. He realized education and the way people were learning was changing. GA started with relevant classes that people were willing to pay for because they were making investments in themselves.

Lesley Eccles is the co-founder and former head of marketing of FanDuel, the billion-dollar fantasy sports company. She started it with her husband Nigel in a tiny office in Scotland, and it went on to help change the law about sports betting across America. But despite the company’s success, Lesley and Nigel didn’t get to enjoy the spoils. Their relationship with their investors fell apart, and they left the business in 2017 having made almost no money on the deal and retaining no interest in the business.

Randi Zuckerberg was one of the first employees at Facebook. She contributed on many fronts in those early days of Facebook, and was responsible for creating the Facebook Live tool that today is used by billions of people. But something nagged at her. She would often look around while on meetings and realize she was the only woman there. And she felt called to fix that—not just in Silicon Valley, but everywhere.

How do you deal with the feeling of not being able to make a difference in a changing industry? David Kanbar is a serial entrepreneur who started a mortgage business which he later sold because  he realized he could never make a difference in a business that had become commoditized. He changed industries and eventually founded the brand Skinnygirl Margarita with Bethenny Frankel. Now Kanbar is at it again having just launched King Street Vodka with actress Kate Hudson.

Amber Venz Box is the founder of rewardStyle a business driving over one billion dollars in retail sales by uniting brands, influencers, and consumers. Despite never having any previous connections, contacts or easy ways into the Fashion industry she ended up becoming one of its most successful entrepreneurs. Amber simply forced her way in through will power and maximizing any and all opportunities.

Ruth Zukerman will be the first to tell you that she has faced many struggles with some of her business partners over the years. But Ruth has persevered using lessons from these partnerships and relationships to learn more about herself and in turn grow as a business woman. While she has provided transformative experiences for her students over the years she herself has been transformed by the lessons learned through the ups and downs of partnerships at SoulCycle and Flywheel.

How hard should you push yourself to achieve success? David Burke is one of the biggest names in the culinary world but in getting there he had to put in years worth of 90 hour work weeks and make incredible personal sacrifices. David has changed over the years learning to take better care of himself but we wanted to know if he could have achieved the same success he has if he had always been this way from the beginning.

How do you sell something that people don’t understand? In 2009, when Jenny co-founded the company Rent the Runway, the business transformed the retail industry by making designer clothing rentals a convenient and accessible luxury experience for millions of women. Not many folks envisioned a world in which people would love to rent their clothing. But Jenny did and now she is back at it with her new company Jetblack.

Perpetual pop-up shop Story challenged the retail model when it launched in 2011. But now, since being acquired by Macy's, Story is scaling nationwide--and its founder has even bigger plans for the retail giant.

A chat with Reid Genauer, singer, songwriter and Chief Marketing Officer of Smule, one of the most popular music apps on the planet.

In 2016, Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk partnered up to launch Square Roots, a Brooklyn-based urban farm. Farmers grow food in shipping containers by way of controlled microclimates and specialized lighting, aiming to connect communities with fresh, local produce. Before Square Roots, Peggs earned his PhD in AI and led two tech companies to acquisitions by Adobe and Walmart. In this episode, Peggs discusses the future of food and reveals his advice for entrepreneurs looking to sell their startups.

At age 19, Falon Fatemi became known as Google's youngest-ever hire. She's also the daughter of two immigrant entrepreneurs, and after leaving Google, she founded her own AI company. Backed by Mark Cuban, Node aims to use deep learning to analyze relationships between people and companies, then pinpoint sales, marketing and recruiting opportunities for those companies. In this episode, Fatemi talks landing a job in big tech, AI and data policies and how to give an A+ pitch.

Learn the mindset that helped Kara Goldin turn a simple idea into an empire boasting more than $100 million in sales.

Dusty Stutsman, co-founder of Night Out, on recognizing those great ideas that are staring you right in the face.

In his 20 years as a monk, Doug Lynam saw financial suffering firsthand -- in his teaching community and in monastery guests, not to mention the monastery itself. Lynam decided to take a leap and pivot to a career as a financial advisor, then helped pull his community out of bankruptcy. Now, Lynam aims to help people learn mindful money management and provide clear, step-by-step guidance on how to grow a “little bit” wealthy. In this episode, he shares actionable strategies for doing just that. Thanks to our sponsor: Clearbanc: Find out how you can receive capital at clearbanc.com/hsh

Google, eBay, Tesla, Yahoo, AT&T: These companies were all founded, completely or in part, by immigrants -- who also account for close to 30 percent of all new entrepreneurs in the U.S., the highest share in 20 years. Victor Santos, who emigrated from Brazil at age 12, is one of them. Santos launched Airfox, a mobile financial services company for individuals in emerging markets, and he's also a DACA recipient. While fundraising, Santos had to grapple with how many investors view immigrants.

The founder of the 2 million+ member community Fit Men Cook talks about his unexpected pivot in lifestyle and business.

Shireen Yates is the CEO of Nima, the maker of a device that tests for gluten and peanuts.

Josh Tetrick shares how his company has found success around its goal of reducing eggs from the food system.

Known for their viral videos dedicated to getting them out of their comfort zones, Ned Fulmer, Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld and Eugene Lee Yang share what they learned from their first year in business.

As the partners and founders of Content23 Media, Eric Conte and Dan Weinreich have developed an impressive resume. In this episode of HSH, we discuss the art of collaboration, how to stay relevant in an evolving market, and we share a few laughs.

Cannabis business regulations vary not just from one state to the next but from one town to the next. Amanda Ostrowitz built CannaRegs so not just entrepreneurs but the regulators themselves can keep track of it all.

Michael Kirban discusses how he built the company to become the dominant player in a relatively new beverage space.

Jake Schwartz started a company called General Assembly that just sold to the big human resource company Adecco Group for a reported 413 million dollars. After graduating from Yale and thinking he learned all he needed to to succeed in business, Schwartz got smacked in the face with reality. He realized education and the way people were learning was changing. GA started with relevant classes that people were willing to pay for because they were making investments in themselves.