How Success Happens

You might know Cards Against Humanity as profane, dark and politically tinged party game. You might also know it for its pranks, like the Super Bowl ad that featured only a potato with the word “advertisement” written on it. But you might not know the company funds a scholarship for women pursuing STEM careers and has raised millions for causes like internet privacy and government transparency. It might also surprise you that CAH for many years was run by 8 friends-turned-founders who kept their day jobs while running the card game as a sidehustle. Today we’ll talk to two of its founders, Ben Hantoot and Max Temkin, on their unique approach to running a company.

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 software he always wished he had. Through all these experiences, he'd learn that tapping into passion, be it for software and even writing, has made opportunities appear that he never imagined. In this week's podcast, he'll talk about what he's learned about passion, how writing shapes how he leads and why he hosts job interviews over chat.

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 cultures, ages and backgrounds. She’ll chat about how better understanding our brains can help us manage our reactions and our days -- and the shortcuts she puts into practice every day.

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 understand.

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.

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 and published author who is usually working on 5 books at once. He’ll help us understand the systems that make creativity possible. He’ll also share the personal strategies he puts in place to ensure no idea ever goes to waste.

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.

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 tinkering in his living room and how it took 25 prototypes to perfect the design over several years. He’ll also talk about the importance of making room for obsessions -- and they’ve taught him.

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 mantras.

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 solution could even be a boon to low-margin food businesses. He'll also explain how he's been able to innovate quickly -- and the important role that humility and listening to others played in making that innovation happen.

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 training decathletes endure -- and how that practice helps him even today as entrepreneur.

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 making the most of any real opportunity.

What Adventure Can Teach Entrepreneurs

Limor Fried of Adafruit Industries: You Can't Outsource Knowledge

Contently's Shane Snow: Look for Patterns of Success

Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery: Be Calm and Do the Work

Will Dean of Tough Mudder: Strategy Can Be What You Don't Do

Kathryn Minshew of The Muse: Decide Who You Are, or Have it Decided for You

Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine: Don't Get Precious with Your Passions

Judith Glaser: Conversation is the Most Underused Innovation Tool

Michael Martin of RapidSOS: Together We Go Further

Matt Thomas of Brawl for a Cause: Fight to Find Your Inner Hero