Problem Solvers: Recent Episodes
Entrepreneur.com
Problem Solvers with Jason Feifer features business owners and CEO’s who went through a crippling business problem and came out the other side happy, wealthy, and growing. Feifer, Entrepreneur’s Editor in Chief, pulls these stories out so other business can avoid the same crippling problems. 767392
Executive Coach Neal Schore says that fear-driven habits are quietly stealing at least an hour from your day, every day. Drawing from decades of coaching founders, operators, and unicorn CEOs, Neal explains how anxiety about being fired, judged by boards, or seen as “not enough” leads to endless Slack chains, diluted meetings, and mental “swirls” that crush focus and time. Neal and Entrepreneur Editor in Chief Jason Feifer unpack why good things often start with worst-case scenarios (like getting fired), how to stop overcompensating out of fear, and why managing you—not everyone else—is the only way to reclaim your calendar. He shares practical tools from his new book, The 25th Hour, like the “clarifying question” that can turn a 7-hour crisis into a 7-minute conversation, the devil/angel metaphor for fear versus real performance issues, and a simple five-minute “swirl limit” to stop catastrophic thinking from hijacking your nights and weekends. If you’re a founder or senior leader stuck in loss-aversion, overcommitting to boards, or living in constant “what if I get fired?” mode, this conversation shows you how to get out of your own way, protect your time, and even see job loss or client churn as the start of better fits—not the end of your career.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tom Szaky built TerraCycle into a recycling giant, then decided recycling wasn't good enough. His new venture, Loop, aimed to replace disposable packaging with reusable containers for brands like Tide and Häagen-Dazs. Consumers loved it. Retailers loved it. So why did it nearly die in four out of five test markets? Szaky breaks down the hidden flaw that almost killed Loop, and the simple insight that finally made it scale.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Here's a number that should stop you: 11,000 pairs of jeans, sold in 36 hours, from one video posted by a customer with just 5,000 followers. That's the end result of years of work by Brieane Olson, CEO of Pacsun, who decided her brand needed to stop talking at its customers and start building with them. In this episode, Olson shares strategies from her new book, Co-Created, and what she thinks most companies get wrong about "community" in the first place.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Leadership expert Ryan Hawk tackles one of the biggest traps for ambitious entrepreneurs: dabbling in everything and committing to nothing. Ryan unpacks the idea of “beefing up your obituary” by becoming the kind of person people remember for deep work and sustained excellence—not half-finished projects.
If you’ve been spreading yourself thin across side hustles, content platforms, and random opportunities, this conversation will help you identify your “one main thing,” build an ecosystem around it, and know when you’re still just coasting versus when it’s time to dive. Check out Ryan's new book, The Price of Becoming.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Naveen Jain has built multiple billion-dollar companies all without being the smartest person in the room. His secret? He asks the questions the experts are too expert to ask. In this episode, Naveen joins Jason to make the case that your biggest weakness might actually be your biggest asset - if you're curious enough to use it. Naveen breaks down the framework behind his new book, Counterintuitive, and why approaching every problem like a two-year-old could just be the smartest trick of all.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jason and Emily McCarthy built GoRuck into the leading name in rucking. But when rising costs forced them to raise prices, that community became more than a marketing asset. It became the reason the moment didn't turn into a crisis. Jason and Emily explain why with a loyal community being upfront with bad news is always the smarter play.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You know what you do, but does anyone else? There's often a gap between what you offer and how you explain it. In this episode, Jason shares his framework for closing that gap, so your audience knows exactly what you're offering, and why you're the right choice.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A viral ad from Columbia Sportswear caught Jason's eye. After he wrote about it on LinkedIn, the company reached out. So Jason sat down with Tim Boyle, CEO and third-generation owner of Columbia Sportswear, to find out where the idea came from and what it reveals about how to reposition a legacy brand. The outdoor apparel industry had gotten serious and self-important. Columbia decided it was time to bring back fun.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Having one of the most recognizable and beloved celebrities in the world attached to your brand seems like it should be an easy win. But getting someone to buy once is one thing. Getting them to buy again is the real test. Cordell Broadus (Snoop Dogg's son) and his business partner Sam Rockwell explain what it actually takes to build an ice cream brand like Dr. Bombay, one that delivers value beyond a famous face. In this episode, they break down how to make a celebrity partnership work on a deeper level and how to work with celebrities in a way that's authentic, not just convenient.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The kids' juice aisle looks completely covered. So does the protein market. Most people would conclude there's no room for anything new. Ciara didn't. The Grammy-winning musician and mom of four was watching her daughter refuse every protein option put in front of her. So Ciara started looking for solutions and met Chris Koch, a CPG entrepreneur. Together, they founded Frosh, the first protein-enhanced juice for kids. She sits down with Jason to share a lesson in how the best opportunities are often hiding inside the markets everyone else has already written off.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sami Inkinen is a three-time founder and world-class triathlete. A triathlete! And yet he went to the doctor and discovered he was pre-diabetic. The news triggered a series of changes including a pivot away from his real estate startup Trulia toward his healthcare company Virta Health, where he's now on a mission to reverse metabolic disease in one billion people. And along the way, he developed something he calls sustainable high performance. It’s the idea that if you're building something that takes decades, you'd better figure out how to last that long.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
David Rusenko built Weebly from a dorm room start-up with friends to a business with 300 employees and over $200 million in revenue. But somewhere around employee 25, he hit a wall and realized the problem wasn't his team. It was him. A chance dinner with Richard Branson changed everything.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The President of Burger King, Tom Curtis, knew the brand had gotten stale and that customers had drifted away. So he did something almost no executive does. He gave out a phone number and told people to call him directly. Over 41,000 calls came in. What followed was a viral moment but more importantly, it became a real-time feedback engine. Tom sits down with Jason to talk about why he opened the phone lines, what Burger King has actually done with everything it heard, and how the brand spent four years quietly rebuilding before it ever asked customers to come back.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Unsure what to charge for your services? You're not alone. Ilana Golan struggled with that too, until she developed a framework she now teaches to others through her Leap Academy.
On this episode, Ilana helps you set your rates and get what you deserve.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
If you're a 90s kid like Jason, you probably grew up with Tetris. But not like Maya Rogers grew up with Tetris. Her dad brought the game from the Soviet Union to the rest of the world. Now Maya runs the brand herself, and the job is trickier than it sounds. How do you honor something people feel deeply nostalgic about while also making sure a seven-year-old in 2026 cares about it too? Maya joins Jason to break down the strategy, including one surprisingly powerful legal move that keeps anyone from just copying the game and calling it something else.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Most people think taking a month off work is impossible, but what if it’s actually a smart career move? Jillian Johnsrud, author of Retire Often, argues that planning a “mini-retirement” isn’t just good for your sanity. It forces you (and your company) to build better systems, and delegate more effectively. In this episode, Jason digs into her framework for making extended time off possible in any situation.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
John Levy, behavioral scientist and author of Team Intelligence, is here to blow up what you thought you knew about leading teams. He reveals why most leadership advice is outdated, how the entire industry is built on a con man’s research from the 1900s, and what actually drives people to follow great leaders. He also shares one scientifically proven tip to build a smarter team.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Entrepreneurs face two kinds of problems: One has clear answers, the other does not. But is it possible to take unclear paths... and make them clearer? Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang joins the show to talk about Accio, the company’s new AI tool that helps entrepreneurs create products, and the larger business lesson it represents.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Most businesses that resist change die. But Jake Shivery refused to give up analog photography and turned his Portland shop, Blue Moon Camera and Machine, into a thriving 26-person business. But to keep his mission alive, Jake had to embrace changes he never wanted, from digitizing film to building a social media presence. In this episode, he shares how to balance stubborn focus with strategic flexibility and what every entrepreneur can learn about surviving disruption.
This episode is brought to you by CLA. With you on every step of your financial journey. To learn more, visit CLAConnect.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Branding expert Laura Ries joins Jason to talk about her new book, The Strategic Enemy , and the power of positioning. Together, they break down how companies can define what they stand against, win customers, and become the go-to name in their category. This is a packed conversation about how to create campaigns that resonate and understand the strategy behind the marketing that shapes our world.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What do you do when your company is running out of money, your industry has collapsed, and even you think your idea is dumb? That’s the situation Siqi Chen, now founder and CEO of the finance platform Runway, faced in 2016 when he became CEO of Sandbox, a VR startup. Yet through a bold move, Chen managed to get the right people to believe, securing funding for a product that was a stupid good time.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Search is changing. Instead of typing a few words into Google, clients are now asking AI tools for hyper-specific recommendations. So how do you make sure they still find you? In this episode, Max DesMarais of Vital Designs shares how to position your business so large language models present you as the solution to your client's problem.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Marcus Lemonis built his reputation as the guy who could fix anything. It’s even in the name of his TV show The Fixer on FOX his new show following the success of The Profit on CNBC. But now, as he enters a new phase of leadership, he’s rethinking what it really means to lead. Lemonis has evolved. He’s leading from behind, pushing people harder than they’d push themselves, and even playing the villain if that’s what the business needs.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Michael Jacobson joined his uncle’s flower shop to help close it down. Instead, he uncovered industry-wide problems like outdated tech, inefficient supply chains, and reliance on costly middlemen. By solving them one by one, he grew the French Florist into a thriving franchise that’s redefining the floral business.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The myth of the genius jerk founder has shaped startup culture for decades, but it’s wrong. Dr. Richard Hagberg and Tien Tzuo, co-authors of Founders Keepers, have the data to prove it. In this episode, they unpack the real traits that define high-performing founders, why bad behavior gets glorified, and how emotional intelligence and adaptability, not arrogance, drive lasting success.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Julia Hartz is the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite, the platform built to help anyone host and sell tickets to an event. But after years in the business, Julia and her team realized something surprising. Their biggest growth opportunity wasn’t with the people creating events, it was with the people searching for them. On this episode, Julia shares how Eventbrite rethought its product, reimagined discovery, and why, in an AI-saturated world, real human connection might just be the ultimate value proposition.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ania Smith, CEO of TaskRabbit, has spent her career building marketplace businesses. She shares the operational challenges of matching people who need tasks done with people who can do them and how TaskRabbit solves for the millions of unpredictable human variables that come with it. Balancing supply and demand at scale means identifying the patterns and solving the problems.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Eynat Guez, co-founder and CEO of Papaya Global, shares how a single contract clause nearly bankrupted her first company and why confronting that worst-case scenario changed everything. Instead of panicking, she mapped out the fallout, turned it into leverage, and negotiated a way out. That mindset became a repeatable leadership strategy, helping her build a $3 billion global payroll platform while navigating both personal and professional risk.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How does an old video game get reborn as a modern entertainment behemoth? Just ask the producers behind Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, and more. Their names are Dmitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg, co-founders of Story Kitchen, a media company that specializes in adapting classic video games and other unconventional IP for TV and film. Upcoming projects include adaptations for Toys R' Us, Teddy Ruxpin, Toe Jam & Earl, and more. On this episode, they share what makes a character worth reviving — and how to do it right.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Remember the Sonic “Two Guys” commercials? That simple marketing campaign transformed the brand — but creating it wasn’t simple at all. In this episode, Cliff Hudson (former Sonic CEO) and Craig Miller (former Sonic CIO) share how the “Two Guys” campaign emerged through testing, refinement, and real-time feedback. This low-budget idea turned into a powerful brand asset. Hungry for more? Check out their book, Bricks and Clicks: How We Drove Sonic into the Digital Age.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Do you want to learn to predict what your competitors will do next and prepare for it? Arjan Singh, author of Competitive Success: Building Winning Strategies with Corporate War Games, joins the show to explain how companies of any size can use war game simulations to uncover blind spots, anticipate moves, and build stronger contingency plans. Singh has worked with 68 of the top 100 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list, and teaches marketing at SMU’s Cox School of Business. In this episode, he breaks down how to run a corporate war game and how it can help you build a more resilient, forward-looking strategy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In a space evolving as fast as AI, how do you build something that stays relevant? According to Misbah and Farah Uraizee, co-founders of Nectar Social, the answer starts with founder-market fit. Solve the problem that you are uniquely suited to solve. In this episode, they share how that clarity helped them land early clients, raise a full seed round without even using a pitch deck, and introduce a bold new solution to the marketplace.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are three types of skills, Jen Kem says: The ability to visualize, strategize, or mobilize. Everyone has these skills in different combinations — and when you can assemble a team with the right mix of combinations, you've built something unstoppable. On this episode, Kem (author of the new book "Unicorn Team") explains how it works, how to identify which combination of types you are, and how to hire the right people.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Money isn't the only definition of wealth. So is time. That's one of the central ideas in Sahil Bloom's new book "The 5 Types of Wealth" — and on this episode, he explains how to become wealthy in time. He offers strategic ways to reallocate your time, how to prioritize what matters, and how to stop feeling like you never have enough of it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Founders accidentally create a lot of confusion — because we talk too much! We pitch too many products, tell a too-complex story, and don't often get to the point fast enough. Today, business coach Steve Sims teaches you how to be brief and powerful.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant reflects on his first year as the boss, and talks about how to build an incredible brand. It comes down this formula, he says: math + magic. We spoke because Taco Bell is #1 on the 2025 Entrepreneur magazine Franchise 500, which is out now at entrepreneur.com/franchise500
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This will sound crazy: When you only focus on your core skillset, your growth slows. Instead, you need to add what Jonathan Goodman calls "leapfrog skills" — a list of five other skills (including writing and human psychology) that will accelerate your growth. Goodman is a hugely successful serial entrepreneur and author of the new book The Obvious Choice. In this episode, he explains how to find and learn your leapfrog skills.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why do great companies make bad products? The answer is confirmation bias, and a lack of true connection with your customer. Phyl Terry is a pioneer in the field of consumer experience, and shares an important methodology — which helped Facebook in its earliest days! Today, Phyl also helps people who are searching for jobs through the program Never Search Alone.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Should you curse at work? There isn't much cursing on Problem Solvers, but over on Jason's other podcast Help Wanted, it happens a little more often... and a listener complained! Today, Jason and his Help Wanted cohost discuss when it's appropriate for professionals to curse — and how how to calibrate the trade-off between raw personality and professionalism.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Morgan is engaged to Jack. Jack didn't include Morgan in a business deal, but she feels strongly that he should have. Now she's mad. What should they do? In this episode from Jason's other podcast, called Help Wanted, Jason and his cohost Nicole Lapin help this couple through a rocky moment — and talk about what happens when finances get personal.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
With a new presidential administration, entrepreneurs are expecting a lot of tax changes — but what are they? And how can they prepare? In this episode, hear from two professionals at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), a top-10 U.S. accounting and professional services firm. They share the biggest questions that entrepreneurs are asking, and their guidance for how to prepare for big changes now.
This episode is brought to you by CLA. CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. With nearly 9,000 people, more than 130 locations, and a global vision, we promise to know you and help you. Visit CLAconnect.com to learn more.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When something's wrong, we often make a mistake: We try to treat the symptom of the problem without understanding what the REAL problem is. Today I offer a helpful problem-solving framework. You'll learn to diagnose your problems, identify the right "one-word problem," and then come up with a solution that actually works.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Musicians are the overlooked influencers. That's what Jesse Kirshbaum of Nue Agency says. He creates partnerships between the largest brands and musicians, and says that all entrepreneurs, of any size, should consider working with musicians too. They're cultural influencers full of authenticity, have loyal followings, and aren't getting the kind of brand deals that traditional "influencers" do. So how does it work? He explains on today's episode.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Codie Sanchez started by buying a little laundromat. Now she has a portfolio of small local businesses that drive tens of millions in annual revenue, and developed a playbook for anyone looking to buy small businesses and build serious wealth. Her new book is called Main Street Millionaire, and in this episode, she explains how and why small biz is such a great buying opportunity.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Notion is changing the way people communicate and collaborate. Cofounder and CEO Ivan Zhao has an unusual philosophy about how to do it — which anyone can follow.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Catherine Connelly cofounded one of the first social media platforms, and was early in the online dating space. And over time, she learned how to do a very hard thing: She killed features that she loved, and that customers loved, because they no longer served the company. How and when do you do that? She discusses. Read Catherine's new book, Designing Success: Lessons from 20 Years as a Female Tech Entrepreneur.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How do you see the opportunity that others don't? That's what we discuss with Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com, who has overseen a massive transformation of the company.
How do you see the opportunity that others don't? That's what we discuss with Kuo Zhang, president of Alibaba.com, who has overseen a massive transformation of the company.
Brian Lee cofounded LegalZoom, ShoeDazzle, Honest Company, and now Arena Club, and he believes a lot of conventional business wisdom is backward. Here, he shares the hidden path to founder success.
Removery had a problem: It wanted to rapidly expand and become the world's largest tattoo removal company, but it couldn't find enough tattoo removal specialists to hire. So it built a system to create its ideal employees. Here's a lesson for anyone looking to hire the right people. Removery COO Jo Kelton explains.
Are you prepared to sell your business? Even if a sale is many years away, you should start planning now — and avoid the common mistakes that devalue many other businesses. CLA managing principal of industry Brandon Knight explains why not all businesses are sellable, why you need to build a leadership team, and why it's so important to look at your impact beyond your business.
This episode is brought to you by CLA — CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. See how CLA can help you, your family, and your employees prepare for the seamless transition of your business. Visit CLAconnect.com
Does self-promotion make you uncomfortable? You need to start — because if you don't talk yourself up, nobody else will! On today's episode, I offer my four rules of self-promotion, four ways to talk yourself up if you're afraid to do it, and then how to handle the inevidable haters. These are all tips from my newsletter, One Thing Better.
David Walker is the Founder of iCell Consulting LLC, a consulting firm specializing in telecommunications analysis. After a successful career in telecommunications, David decided to start the business by pursuing his skill of analyzing telephone records. Working with multiple telecommunications companies, David has helped solve over 200 criminal cases, bringing him across the country over the last decade.
Listen to the Side Hustle to Small Business podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit: entm.ag/hiscox
Do you know what makes your brand special? Sometimes, you're wrong — and the "special sauce" you cling to can actually be holding your company back. That's the story of HiBall, an energy drink that was struggling to gain traction... until they rethought a critical part of the brand. Sales went through the roof, and the company was sold to Anheuser-Busch. Here, HiBall cofounder Dan Craytor explains what happened.
Want to become a keynote speaker, but you're not sure how to get on stage and get paid? Katrina Mitchell has advice. She's the founder of Franchise Speakers, an agency that books speakers for franchise events, and shares how speakers can find their niche, develop their product, and start making money.
Entrepreneurs make a mistake: They often think of decisions as binary, where one answer is definitely right and the other is definitely wrong. Astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter says there's a better way to approach decisions — and it's with "probabilistic thinking," a concept that's familiar to scientists but less so to businesspeople. Today, he explains. Saul also writes about this in his new book Third Millennium Thinking.
Entrepreneurs often take on too much, so when should you say "yes" to something new? I talk about that with best-selling author Dan Heath, a busy guy who took on a new project, a great podcast called What It's Like To Be... In this episode, we discuss how to evaluate new ideas, which are worth committing to, and how to know if they're truly valuable.
We often take on too much, desire too much, or feel stuck between different paths. How can we navigate it? Social psychology professor Tessa West, author of the new book Job Therapy, helps us make sense of our complex paths — and our often complex relationship with work.
In every partnership, there will be disagreements. But they don't have to ruin your relationships. Today, listen in on a coaching session about this: Jason talks with an entrepreneur who disagrees with his cofounders (and family members!). This is an episode from Jason's other podcast, Help Wanted.
Andrew Wilkinson went from barista to billionaire, and often wonders: When does it feel like he's accomplished enough? It's why he wrote his new book, "Never Enough." In this deep and personal conversation, we explore what it means to constantly want more, and how to find satisfaction in your accomplishments.
Why are we often unaware of problems? It's because we're not asking the right questions. Jeff Wetzler is a master of asking better questions, and teaches us how to extract the information we need from others. His new book is called "Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs In Leadership and Life".
How can you build a business, without it consuming your life? Kathleen Griffith, author of the book "Build Like A Woman", explains how to keep both things healthy — step by step.
Jaliyla Fraser is the Founder and CEO of Fraser’s Mathematics Solutions. What started as a STEAM summer camp for students, Fraser’s Mathematics Solutions now provides high-quality mathematics learning for administrators, teachers, and parents to help the students in their lives succeed. Fraser’s Mathematics Solutions also produces school supplies for students to help them reach their full potential.
Listen to the Side Hustle to Small Business podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit: entm.ag/hiscox
Want to be more productive, and use your time more wisely? Take advice from Laura Mae Martin, Google's in-house productivity expert, and author of the new book "Uptime". In this conversation, she lays out a plan for focusing your time and your energy. You'll never look at to-do lists the same again.
Thanks to our sponsor Hertz Business Rewards for helping small businesses save big. Join for free at Hertz.com/businessrewards
Want to get your ideas into the world? Writing coach Amber Rae (see: amberrae.com) has some counterintuitive advice: Don't think about your audience, and don't write what you "should" write. On this episode, she explains some of the most common mistakes that entrepreneurs make, and how anyone can find great stories and create meaningful, memorable work. Thanks to our sponsor Hertz Business Rewards for helping small businesses save big. Join for free at Hertz.com/businessrewards.
Many people start businesses with friends and loved ones — but if you're not careful, you can destroy both your company and your relationship. So how do you do it right? Take it from two women who know: Julie Griggs and Danielle Dietzek, cofounders of FourPlay Social. They share the very personal, often difficult side of their relationship, and how they've learned to thrive.
Our jobs are not to do things perfect. We can't! But we can make our mistakes very useful. Here's how — along with a personal story about a very recent, embarassing failure. (To see the newsletter I talk about in this episode, visit jasonfeifer.com/newsletter)
Where there's a void in leadership, negativity will fill it. That's Jon Gordon's message. He's the best-selling author of 28 books (most recently, "The One Truth"), and has a company that teaches what he calls "positive leadership." In this conversation, he explains how workplaces become negative, how to diagnose the problem, and how leaders can create positivity instead.
Are you ready to adapt quickly? Billionaire tech investor Thomas Tull says you should be—because these days, there’s no other choice.
Entrepreneur’s 45th annual Franchise 500® ranking shines a light on the unique challenges and changes that have shaped the franchise industry over the last year—and how franchisors have adapted and evolved to meet them. See the list here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500
Should a leader show vulnerability? That depends on how they do it, says leadership expert Jacob Morgan, author of the book "Leading with Vulnerability." He interviewed 100 CEOs and surveyed 14,000 employees, and found that, depending on how a leader shows their vulnerability, people are either more drawn or more distrustful of them. In this episode, Morgan explains how to use vulnerability smartly — as a way to build trust, not as a way to unburden yourself.
Most writers obsess over their words. Sahil Bloom did that too — but he also became curious about how words travel, and why they go viral, and the needs that other writers have. That’s because he came from the world of finance, not writing, and was able to apply a business lens to the sometimes-squishy world of content... and now runs a newsletter with 600,000 subscribers that brings in upwards of $70,000 a month, along with a network of businesses that serve other writers (and earn much more). In this episode, he explains how he did it. Learn more about him at sahilbloom.com.
One night, Holden Forrest drew a wild idea on the back of his daughter's math homework: What if he could lower a house into the ground, as a way to escape oncoming wildfires? He couldn't shake this idea, so he started researching whether it's possible — and now, years later, he has a company called HiberTec, multiple patents, groundbreaking technology, and is raising money to build his first prototype. On this episode, Holden explains how to turn a big idea into a real business. You can learn more and invest in HiberTec at https://republic.com/hibertec-homes
Sometimes, a company creates an amazing solution... but clients don't understand why they need it. What do you do then? Garry Cooper has the answer, because it's exactly what he had to do at his company Rheaply. Here's the problem, as Rheaply saw it: At large companies, employees often buy things the company already has. They also throw out things the company could still use. That's because there's no way for everyone in the company to know what they have, what they need, and how to get items across that divide. Garry and his team built Rheaply to solve that problem. It helps companies reuse products... if only they could get clients to recognize this as a problem, and realize the value of the solution. Here's how Rheaply did it. Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com/innovation
Cal Fussman is a master storyteller, and he's been thinking a lot about AI lately. Why? "This debate between authenticity and artificial intelligence is the battle of the next millennium," he says. When robots can communicate for us, how can we be more human? When we can automate much of our writing and production, how do we share our authentic selves and connect to others? These questinos have never been more important, and Cal — host of the podcast "Big Questions" and former Esquire writer who's interviewed major celebrities and CEOs — has some very surprising answers.
Not every company has a whiz-bang product, so how can you make it pop? Squarespace Chief Creative Officer David Lee has done that, winning tons of awards and making campaigns with the likes of Adam Driver, Zendaya, Dolly Parton, Keanu Reeves and John Malkovich (which earned him an Emmy). Here, he offers a unique way for entrepreneurs to think about their brands, and some big questions to ask when you start crafting your new stories.
How can a small gym compete against a world of big, well-funded chains? In this special episode celebrating Entrepreneur and Yelp's list of America's Favorite Mom & Pop Shops, we take an inside look at Ambitious Athletics in Washington DC — by zeroing in on one customer interaction, and what made it so special. This episode is in partnership with the podcast Behind the Review.
How can a small theater compete against a world of big, well-funded entertainment? In this special episode celebrating Entrepreneur and Yelp's list of America's Favorite Mom & Pop Shops, we take an inside look at Illusions Bar & Theater in Baltimore — by zeroing in on one customer interaction, and what made it so special. This episode is in partnership with the podcast Behind the Review.
Have you ever called a company, given your information to an automated phone system, and then had to repeat that same information to a human customer service agent? Why do that twice? It's so annoying! On this episode, we get the answer (and an important lesson on tech adoption!) from Eric Skeens and Brandon Bird of 3 Tree Tech.
People say they want eco-friendly products, but they rarely actually buy them. Why? Because their marketing is all wrong. Utah State University marketing professor Ed Stafford explains.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com/innovation
At The Lactation Network, anyone can opt out of any meeting. Why? Because CEO Sarah Kellogg Neff has a philosophy about meetings and company culture — and you need to hear it.
Advertising legend David Droga, founder of Droga5 and now head of Accenture Song, explains why there should be more creatives in the C-suite — and why creatives should start seeing themselves as business leaders.
Multiple studies prove it: Sustainable products make people happier, and inspire them to spend more money. We go through the research with Thomas McKinlay of Ariyh.com.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com/innovation
What you say is important, but how you say it matters even more. Tone coach Marshall Davis Jones, author of the new book "Tonal Influence", explains how to master the meaning behind your words.
LinkedIn has made some big changes to its algorithm. So what kind of posts does the system now reward? LinkedIn editor in chief Dan Roth and director of product Alice Xiong walk us through it.
How do you find meaningful work? Start by recognizing what is meaningful. Bruce Feiler, author of "The Search", breaks down the lies we tell ourselves about work, the many different jobs we have, and the literal ABCs of meaning.
Expert copywriter Laura Belgray explains what you're doing wrong in your emails (and especially your newsletters), and how a few simple changes can boost open rates and engagement. Laura's copywriting company is at TalkingShrimp.com, and her new book is "Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F'ing Worst". — Book time with Jason at intro.co/jasonfeifer
How do you navigate tricky power dynamics at work? Leadership consultant (and author of the new book "Quick Confidence") Selena Rezvani has the answer. And it all starts by working with the person... and not their power.
In this special 300th episode, Jason reveals some of the biggest lessons he's learned in communications — including a fascinating shift in podcasting, how to build a newsletter people really want to read, and more. If you want to reach an audience of any kind, even just an audience of one, you'll want to hear this.
This episode turns into a Sliding Doors special. Jason talks to a former colleague from 20 years ago, whose career didn't turn out the way he hoped for, and then offers advice on how to play catch up. This episode is from Jason's other podcast, Help Wanted, which you can find here: https://link.chtbl.com/LsYdERXQ
You don't want to be locked down. You'd rather have multiple sources of income. But how? Eloise Skinner, author of the new book "But Are You Alive?", explains.
Our sponsors:
- Sunday - Get 20% off when you visit getsunday.com/PROBLEMSOLVERS at checkout.
- Factor - Head to factormeals.com/problemsolvers50 and use code problemsolvers50 to get 50% off your first box.
This is how founders should always talk! Chris Mears has been in startups for 20 years, and talks honestly about the challenges of getting his new one, Wild Clean, off the ground. Contribute to his Kickstarter at launch.wildclean.com
Pat Flynn and Matt Garland of Smart Passive Income share what entrepreneurs need to do today to improve their business. This is a special bonus "roundtable" episode of Problem Solvers, and the beginning of a fun experiment where Entrepreneur Podcast Network hosts join together to discuss the subjects most important to you.
Donald Miller made 537 mistakes in growing his business, and he did six things right. In this episode, the author of the new book "How to Grow Your Small Business" explains all six.
Leadership expert Logan Stout asks his clients that all the time. In this episode, he explains how leaders lose their way, and takes us into a powerful coaching session where he helped a leader reconnect with the things that matter most.
Lenny Rachitsky built a thriving newsletter about product development. Here's how he did it, step by step, and how he's now making more money from the newsletter than he did as a product lead at Airbnb.
To avoid burnout, we can't just think about task management. We need to also think about energy management... and how productivity doesn't just mean "getting lots of stuff done." In this conversation with psychotherapist Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of the new book "The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control", she offers strategies for building yourself up for the long haul.
Have you been told you're a perfectionist — and not in a good way? Psychotherapist Katherine Morgan Schafler says we have it all wrong, and explains how you can use perfectionism as a strength. She's the author of the new book "The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control".
In 1923, a famous scientist predicted how work would change in 2023. Now, 100 years later, we can confirm: He was shockingly right… and yet totally wrong. What happened? The answers can tell you a lot about what’s coming in the next 100 years, and how technology will (and maybe won’t) change work forever. This episode originally aired on the podcast "Build For Tomorrow".
Are you setting the right boundaries at work? In this episode, we pick apart a very real relationship between an employee and employer, and see where boundaries end... and where assumptions begin. For more like it, listen to the new podcast "Help Wanted".
This episode is sponsored by Target Accelerators. Learn more here: https://entm.ag/targetaccelerators
Special announcement! Our annual Franchise 500 list is out, providing you with the best opportunities to buy a business. Which is right for you? Entrepreneur magazine Jason Feifer explains what goes into the list, and how it can benefit you. Learn more at entrepreneur.com/franchise500
Jordan Harbinger (of the Jordan Harbinger Show) hosts a top podcast that makes big bucks. But how did he build it, and how can you build your own profitable show? On this episode, he explains.
This episode is sponsored by Target Accelerators. Learn more here: https://entm.ag/targetaccelerators
When Barbie sales were falling, the company asked Richard Dickson to help save the famous toy. He became its president and COO — and here, he explains the four-point playbook he drew up to turn Barbie sales around. (And it worked!)
Bureaucracy doesn't have to grind you down, says Marina Nitze, who has fixed government bureaucracies and now has lessons for us all. She's the co-author of the new book, "Hack Your Bureaucracy."
Christina Fagan Pardy started Shit That I Knit as a side hustle. It's now a thriving knitwear business. She made a decision early to source sustainable materials and pay living wages to South American workers, and that has come with many costs, many challenges... and many rewards.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
Christina Fagan Pardy started Shit That I Knit as a side hustle. It's now a thriving knitwear business. She made a decision early to source sustainable materials and pay living wages to South American workers, and that has come with many costs, many challenges... and many rewards.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
How do you build a great cofounder relationship? Pat Flynn and Matt Gartland have figured it out — and have built Smart Passive Income into a gigantic success. Here, they explain how.
Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran explains the importance of giving (and getting) direct feedback, why being silly is a good business strategy, and what it takes to thrive despite the largest setbacks.
How can a mission-oriented company help tackle gigantic global problems? By narrowing your focus. That's the message from Ryan Jeffrey, senior managing director at a VC firm and accelerator called gener8tor, which supports startups that focus on climate change. We discuss how to identify a small problem worth solving inside of a gigantic issue. Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
Are you bad at delegation? Just follow these three steps: Do it, document it, delegate it. That's the framework that Trainual founder (and operations expert) Chris Ronzio uses to teach people how to delegate. In this episode, he explains how to put it to use.
Climate change is described as a “generational battle,” in which young people care and older people don’t. But this is a perfect example of how we think about generations all wrong — and that has big consequences. If we can drop our assumptions about generational divides, we might just have a shot at solving some of the world’s most urgent problems.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
Yes, it's possible to detach yourself from email! And it might even help you get more work done. Kim Kaupe, founder of Bright Ideas Only, explains the grand email experiment she's undergone, and how it transformed her business.
Change didn't come easy to Chip Gaines, who went through an "identity crisis" as he transformed from an anonymous home builder to one of the most beloved people on TV (with Fixer Upper, and now the Magnolia brand he cofounded with his wife Joanna). Here he talks about that evolution, and what he's learned about finding opportunity in the unexpected.
What does it mean to run a sustainable business? It's about building something that can last. In this episode we look at two unexpected "sustainable" approaches — what your brain needs after a hard day of work, and how to build a team that'll survive the ups and downs.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
What does it really take to make a brand eco-friendly? For Shine Pet Food, it meant sweating every CO2 molecule—and making hard, expensive decisions.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
As business and local media shrinks, how can you find the information that helps you grow your business? Chris Roush, author of the book "The Future of Business Journalism", offers new ways to stay on top of everything.
Lomi is a composter that rarely uses the word "compost". Why? Because its creators developed deep insight into how the right language can help them reach more customers, helping them reach beyond just the "eco-minded" crowd.
Sponsor: Paper & Packaging Board. Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
Confused about Web3? This is the episode for you! I always wonder why a company uses web3 technology, when it seems to be doing the same thing as a web2 company. So I asked someone. Today, I have a very candid conversation with Rusty Matveev, chief strategy officer at Calaxy, a web3 company.
The world is full of conflict, but Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer says most people approach it all wrong. They either see conflict as something to avoid, or they argue with emotion and a winner-take-all mentality. “If we're going to engage together, I should have a purpose for engaging with you,” he says. In this conversation, inspired by his new book "The Power of Conflict", Taffer explains how to use conflict purposefully and constructively.
How do you find great talent? How do you convince them to join you? Sometimes the answer is: You don't find great talent at all — you CREATE great talent. Economist Tyler Cowen, coauthor of a new book called "Talent", explains how to do it in this episode.
The four-day workweek was once just an experiment. Now it’s regular life for many people. So what’s that like? In this episode, we look at the good, the bad, the reason our workweek evolved the way it did, and what it’ll take to get everyone else another day off. (This is an episode of Jason Feifer's other podcast, Build For Tomorrow.)
What's the secret to making something great? It's a combination of predictability and surprise — and a healthy Rule of Rules. To find out what all this means, listen to this, our special 250th episode of Problem Solvers!
In 2006, a debate raged inside of Nintendo: Do they bundle their new Wii console with the game Wii Sports, or sell the game separately? Reggie Fils- Aimé was president of North America at the time, and he argued yes — because even though it meant giving up revenue upfront, it would lead to more Wii sales later. Here, he explains the battle and how he won it.
John de Lancie, best known as Q from Star Trek, gives fantastic advice on how to find inspiration. It's not something to seek; it's a habit to build. (John was recorded at ciLive! in Des Moines.)
Sometimes an idea won't work until it's bigger. So how can you start thinking bigger yourself? A conversation with Summit cofounder Elliott Bisnow, coauthor of "Make No Small Plans".
Bronislav Gorbachev's company, Amadei, has had to make massive changes in order to keep its team safe, and serve its clients inside of Russia and Ukraine. Here, he discusses what it's been like keeping a company afloat during a crisis, and how he's even using it to set Amadei up for growth.
Are you prepared for new opportunities? Here, I offer a new way to approach your goals, and a plan for you to achieve "calendar zero."
If you lead a team or organisation, your daily demands may suck all your time — leaving no space for strategic thinking. How can you fix that? I talk to Richard Medcalf, founder of Xquadrant and an executive coach, about four mindshifts you can make now.
In this episode, a candid conversation with a 16-year-old entrepreneur and an important lesson for us all: To identify what makes us special, we need to dig deeper — not just into who we are and what we do, but into who we’re trying to appeal to.
Mac wanted to draw attention to his company's event, so he posted on LinkedIn... and made a joke about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The internet erupted in anger. In this episode, a rare kind of conversation: Mac apologizes, explains where such a stupid post came from, and we explore the human side of public shaming.
What are you saying, even when you're not saying it? In this conversation, I talk to Vanessa Van Edwards, author of the new book "Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication," about how to take control of the signals we send.
We hear a lot about self care, but what does it really look like and how can entrepreneurs put it into practice? Here, an inspiring conversation about taking care of yourself with Rosie Acosta, author of the new book "You Are Radically Loved".
How The Tonight Show host built his career and an entertainment empire — by first identifying his most important mission. This is a reading of the January/February 2022 cover story in Entrepreneur magazine, plus a special behind-the-scenes story about the interview.
If you want to put AI to use in your business, you have to stop focusing on the whiz-bang cool stuff — and start focusing on the really boring, really useful stuff. Sam Ransbotham, a professor of information Systems at the Boston College (and host of the podcast Me, Myself, and AI) explains.
Best-selling author Nicole Lapin, author of the new book Miss Independent, shares tips for investing and negotiating your way to wealth.
Looking to grow your business? Take inspiration from an industry that's all about growth and replication — franchising! Every year, Entrepreneur magazine publishes its definitive Franchise 500 list, and digs into the trends and insights that drive the industry. On this episode, host Jason Feifer talks with Entrepreneur's SVP of franchising, Liane Caruso, about the big takeaways from the list — including how brands successfully adapt to consumers' new needs, and why cats love a hotel and spa.
As supply chain issues harm so many businesses, we look at how one startup proactively avoided problems: It is Bartesian, and it made hard decisions more than a year ago that are paying off now.
If you're ever looking to hire a publicist, here's what you need to know. Jason rants about the best and worst things he's seen publicists do.
How do you build a sustainable business? Figure out what you’re great at, and then how to build a great team around you. Jon Bier did it; he now runs multiple companies, including Jack Taylor PR, and advises many others. But it did not come easy. Here, he shares the hardest lessons he learned. (Also, check out Jon’s podcast, One Day with Jon Bier.)
Think you're not accomplished enough to write down your ideas, and maybe even publish them for others to read and learn from? You're wrong. Ray Dalio, one of the world's most successful investors and entrepreneurs (and author of the best-selling book "Principles: Life and Work") explains why.
When you're too efficient, you will lose sight of the best ideas and ways to grow. Technology historian Edward Tenner calls this "the efficiency paradox." We talk about how to escape it, and build enough inefficiency into your business.
How do you build a community? How do you expand beyond them? How do you create a product that becomes even better when more people use it? Andrew Chen has answers. He's general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and author of the new book "The Cold Start Problem".
It feels like everyone's just one hack away from disaster, but cybersecurity expert Adam Levin (host of the podcast What the Hack) says things are going to get better. Here, he explains how we're going to solve this problem — or at least adapt to it.
Let’s be realistic: You cannot do everything, and that’s OK. Instead, do the best of what’s possible. In this episode, I tell you my mantra — "I will do the best work with the resources available" — and why it's so important to keep repeating.
Joy Mangano invented the Miracle Mop, spent decades pitching on QVC and HSN, and is now host of the USA Network show America's Big Deal. She knows how to pitch and win new customers — but she says the secret isn't in the pitch. It's in everything that comes before it.
Swapping out even a simple word in your vocabulary can shift your mindset and re-center your true priorities. This episode is all about how we can be more careful and strategic with our language.
Natalie Ebel is the co-creator of Backdrop, an innovative paint company that was just acquired. But even as her company has grown and her job has gotten busier, she refuses to outsource her brand's social media. Why? Because it's a critical connection to her consumer, she says — and a key to building the brand's great community.
When Aman Bhutani took over as CEO of GoDaddy, he realized that the company had a great culture of experimentation — but was lacking a proper system for experimentation. That could be the difference between an interesting company and a thriving one! Here's how he fixed it, and why every entrepreneur should be thinking more systematically about their experiments.
CNBC's Jim Cramer says that small businesses are the reason our economy is snapping back. We talk about why that is, and what challenges he foresees (and solutions he proposes) for small business owners in the near future.
Are you grappling with a big change, or perhaps a big setback? Here's a helpful way to put it into perspective: "Everything is just the next thing." I explain the philosophy, and show it in action.
"It's not that I was 50% smarter than everybody else," says Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, who has built one of the world's largest tech infrastructure companies. "I was just willing to take more risks." On this episode, I speak with Dell about his philosophy on business and his new book, Play Nice But Win.
What makes a great podcast? The same thing that makes a great business: Start with your audience and build from there. In this conversation, I speak with Jen Sargent, CEO of Wondery, a podcast company that has created many big hits (Dirty John, Dr. Death) and was acquired this year by Amazon. We talk about growing during difficult times, building stories that connect with audiences, and taking risks inside the data-driven world of Amazon.
Business is focused on efficiency. But some of the greatest creations came out of experimentation, or by working on something that had no obvious value. So how can entrepreneurs better embrace uselessness themselves, and improve their creative process? I talk with Peter M. Krask, who calls himself The Creativity Guide, about what entrepreneurs can learn from artists — and how we'll grow more when we learn to let go.
We all see problems, but how do we build a business designed to solve them? In this episode, we follow Tim Barat's journey. Tim was a high-school dropout working as an electricity lineman and is now the cofounder and CEO of Gridware, a company that's helping to improve electric grid safety and help reduce wildfires.
This episode is sponsored by AT&T Business. To learn more about how AT&T Business can help keep your business going, visit att.com/solvers.
Want to get ahead? Expand beyond the things being asked of you, and focus on the things nobody asks you to do. I explain my "Work Your Next Job" philosophy, share some of my own stories, and then play stories from listeners Richelle DeVoe, Jules Hogan, and Erica Sinner.
How do you define success? The answer may determine how much failure you can stomach — and whether you can stay focused long enough to achieve one of the biggest accomplishments in your industry. On this episode, I talk with Andrea Bartz, author of the NYT-best-selling thriller novel "We Were Never Here", about her long journey writing books that few people bought — and the mindset that helped her stay focused on her ultimate goal. (Hint: It wasn't to write a best-seller!)
When there are many options in front of us, how can we pick the best one? Warren Hatch has the answer. He's the CEO of Good Judgment, a forecasting company that fosters a team of "superforecasters" — people who are exceptionally good at looking at situations and predicting what'll happen next. What are they doing? And how can we do it too?
Tennis star turned entrepreneur Maria Sharapova’s approach to business and sports is the same: Losing leads to winning. In this conversation, she talks about how she's transitioned from being a master in tennis to a student of business, the power of putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, and how she learned to find strength in setbacks.
Freelancers often think of their portfolio as a place to show off their work. But it's really a client conversion tool — and to get it right, you have to think a lot about how to pitch yourself, and how to understand your customer. Preston Lee, host of the podcast Freelance to Founder, explains.
Every year, Kyle Hanslovan asks himself the same question: "Am I still the right CEO for this company?" He's the CEO and cofounder of Huntress Labs, and he answers this question in front of his entire team. Why? Because at some point, the right CEO might become the wrong CEO — and Kyle doesn't want to stand in the way of his company's success. Hear how he evaluates himself.
An internet connection is the lifeblood of any business, so how can you maximize your uptime? In this special episode brought to you by AT&T Business, we hear from entrepreneurs who have struggled with lost connectivity and about how you can solve the problem.
This episode is sponsored by AT&T Business. To learn more about how AT&T Business can help keep your business going, visit att.com/solvers.
When things are going wrong, how do you know what change to make? Wharton professor Katy Milkman, author of the book "How to Change", explains a few simple ways to identify the best path forward.
Sridhar Ramaswamy is building a search engine called Neeva, because he sees a white space left open by Google (where he used to work). Is he crazy, or does he understand innovation on a deep level? Here, he explains how to see opportunity in even the most crowded spaces.
This episode is sponsored by AT&T Business. To learn more about how AT&T Business can help keep your business going, visit att.com/solvers.
When things go wrong, we often look backwards to fix them. But when Dribble got hit hard by Covid, Michael Sacca and his team started thinking ahead. He explains how to look past the initial panic and start using crisis as an opportunity for improvement.
This episode is sponsored by AT&T Business. To learn more about how AT&T Business can help keep your business going, visit att.com/solvers.
Are you uncomfortable talking to strangers? It's time to get comfortable! Talking to strangers has many personal and professional benefits — and it's something you can learn to do better. Joe Keohane, author of the book "The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting In A Suspicious World", explains how.
This episode is sponsored by AT&T Business. To learn more about how AT&T Business can help keep your business going, visit att.com/solvers.
You can learn a lot from a simple margarita… because when you take one home from a restaurant in America, you’re participating in a change that was hundreds of years in the making. In this episode, we dig deep into how cocktails-to-go became suddenly legal (and why they were once illegal in the first place). It’s a surprisingly complex story that reveals our weird history with alcohol, and how the smallest shifts can lead to unexpectedly massive changes, and how entrepreneurs can take advantage. This episode is from my other podcast, Build For Tomorrow.
Here's a dose of optiism for any entrepreneur feeling worn down! This episode can help put your problems in perspective — by showing you how today, in every way, you are living like ancient royalty. We also look at some amazing predictions from 1921 about 2021, and see how we’re living in the world they only fantasized about. This episode is a re-airing of an episode from my other podcast, Build For Tomorrow.
Beware the allure of simple stories — because they won't help you solve complex problems. To illustrate them, join me as I visit five psychics (I have audio!!!), interview addiction researchers about our technology use, and ultimately learn why we need to embrace a complex world.
One Hundred Percent with Marcus Lemonis is a little bit of a masterclass, a cocktail party and a Sunday drive all wrapped up into 30 minutes with an audience invited to listen in.
Marcus values family, community, character and ethics and helps small business owners who need his guidance and investment. His process is very personal and provides valuable insight through his ability to identify both problems and solutions. For years he has transformed the trajectory of businesses and the lives of its founders. Listeners will get to enjoy fun and unfiltered conversations centered around mentoring entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs that Marcus invites onto the show are creating products or services that will impact the world for the better.
In each episode, listeners will meet the most exciting generation of business owners, including Charles Barkley, Kathy Ireland, Al Roker and Nicole Miller, and all the innovative ventures coming to and disrupting the market. Marcus talks to CEOs, entrepreneurs, inventors and all kinds of new leaders in the only way he knows how, it gets personal. They also talk about something successful people rarely reveal, what they need to take their success to the next level. Marcus and the guest explore that question in an effort to solve that puzzle..
Listen Here: http://wondery.fm/100PercentSolver
People.ai CMO Justin Shriber, host of the "Legends of Sales and Marketing" podcast, walks us through the top three marketing mistakes he sees entrepreneurs make — and explains how to fix them.
Amy Morin, author of the book "13 Things That Strong Kids Do", explains how to create the entrepreneurial spark — and how, in the entrepreneurial quest, adults and kids all grapple with the same big issues.
Set Your Children Up for Success with Entrepreneur Kids: All About Money.
Lauren Passell loves podcasts... but how do you make a living out of loving something? This is the story of how she left her job, learned a lot, launched a company, and kept evolving it until she'd built an entirely new career.
This episode is sponsored by DoorDash for Work. Get DoorDash for Work and make work delicious. Go to: work.doordash.com/ProblemSolvers
To celebrate 200 episodes of Problem Solvers, host Jason Feifer steps back to discuss some big lessons he's learned about change — from how he makes this show to a major change in his life, and how sometimes the changes we're forced to make are the ones we're happiest to have.
The hardest question in entrepreneurship might be this: "When?" Square cofounder (and author of the book Innovation Stack) Jim McKelvey has thought deeply about this question, and has a helpful way of thinking about timing... both in business, and in life.
Everyone hates networking, but everyone knows that they need to build their network. What to do? Jon Levy, author of the new book "You're Invited", explains how to build meaningful connections in a totally different way.
Adam Singolda was preparing for the biggest deal of his career — merging with his largest competitor. Then it didn't happen. How do you adjust when big changes fall apart? Adam has an amazingly healthy attitude towards this, which he learned over 13 years of failure. He shares his perspective.
Want to try something new and make money doing it? James Altucher has reinvented himself many times over, and offers tangible ways that you can too. He says it starts by ignoring the old "10,000-hour rule" — because you DON'T have to master something in order to make a living at it.
"Let go of who you were to become who you are." Stacy London has given that advice to many people — but for a while, she struggled to follow it herself. Stacy had a long and successful TV career (remember her show "What Not To Wear"?), but after getting older and reaching menopause, she struggled with whether to hold onto her old identity or to try on a new one. Now she's the CEO of a company called State of Menopause, and has a lot of wisdom about what it means to transition into new phases of life.
What do you do? Entrepreneurs often flunk that answer—because they're not thinking about its ultimate purpose. Marketing consultant Myron Golden breaks down the four elements of a great description, and helps you connect quicker with future clients.
How do you poke fun at something in a way that excites everyone and upsets no one? It's a skill that actor Ryan Reynolds has mastered—as his marketing company, Maximum Effort, churns out one viral hit after another. In this conversation with Entrepreneur editor in chief Jason Feifer, he shares how he does it.
The pandemic taught us an important lesson: The things we once thought were impossible might actually be our greatest opportunities.
Chip Gaines (of Fixer Upper) loves people who say yes. “People who say yes to life, yes to hard work, and yes to risk, but who aren’t yes-people,” he writes in his new memoir, called No Pain, No Gaines. In this conversation, we talk about the power of building a network, imposter syndrome, getting through hard times, and so, so much more!
Equity crowdfunding can be a great alternative to traditional investors — but you better know what you're doing! It isn't as easy as it sounds. Caribu cofounder and CEO Max Tuchman, who successfully raised more than $1M through equity crowdfunding, walks us through what you need to know... and how the government's new rules will make everything a little easier.
Entrepreneurs know that it's important to build a community—but how do you really do it? In this episode, Smart Passive Income community experience director Jay Clouse explains how he developed a premium community from a small slice of the site's overall user base. Jay is also the host of the podcast Creative Elements.
How do you do good for other people, while also making sure you're getting what you need too? Josh Aryeh created a nonprofit organization called Smiles Through Cars, which brings joy to sick children, and refused to take money for it. As a result, he struggled to make ends meet for himself. In this conversation, he shares how he stopped thinking of nonprofit work as a pure gift... and started thinking of it as an organization that needed to be sustained.
Most people say "I can't do that." Entrepreneurs say, "Let's figure out what I CAN do." How do you develop that kind of mindset? I talk with educator Charlene Walters, author of the new book "Launch Your Inner Entrepreneur: 10 Mindset Shifts for Women to Take Action, Unleash Creativity and Achieve Financial Success".
The pandemic offered us a gift: It forced us to blow past the boundaries we'd set up for ourselves. Now let's keep doing it. How? I share my own thoughts, then talk with Mario Armstrong, host of the Never Settle Show and the Wake Up and Level Up podcast.
I just went through a big, scary change that I avoided for years: I just rebranded my (other) podcast Pessimists Archive, and it's now called Build For Tomorrow. In this episode, I talk with Adam Bornstein of Pen Name, the consultancy that helped me, to share our lessons from the experience... and how anyone can reposition themselves for growth. It all begins with asking yourself an important question: "What happens if I'm successful?"
We once knew how to do important things... until technology made us weaker, lazier, and dumber. That's a story we've told ourselves for centuries. But is it true? This is an episode from Jason Feifer's other podcast, Build For Tomorrow.
When you're maxed out, and your business relies entirely upon you, what can you do? In this episode, business coach Estie Rand explains how she overcame this problem for herself—and how you can rethink the value you offer your clients, relax your schedule, and make more money in the process.
People in 1921 made big, bold predictions for what would happen in 2021... and many of them were surprisingly accurate. We explore what they said, what it all means, and how it can inspire us to build even greater things tomorrow.
In Wondery’s newest series, Business Movers, host Lindsay Graham dives deep into the inner workings of some of the most successful companies of all time. From the origin stories of their famed leaders to the million dollar idea that catapulted them to success, how exactly did these companies grow from an idea and a dream to multi- billion dollar corporations? Hear the landmark decisions, the scandals, and the stunning triumphs that made them who they are. First up: Walt Disney. Listen at http://wondery.fm/solvers_movers
How can you provide a great digital product or service, while still providing the human contact that consumers want? The mortgage company Own Up originally got that balance wrong... and fixing it transformed their business.
These stressed-out parents discovered new ways to expand their businesses. Business consultant Terry Rice explains how.
This was a hard year, but also a good year. Why? Because we were forced to make change. Here are the lessons we should take into 2021.
It may not be what you think! In this episode, Jason Feifer explains why "quality isn't enough."
How do you create passionate customers? Little Spoon's Lisa Barnett has an answer: Treat your brand like it's a mission—identifying an enemy, releasing a manifesto, and offering many ways to onboard your audience. In this episode, she explains how to do it all.
Baked goods company Foodstirs had big plans for 2020, but had to reinvent everything when the pandemic came. This is a story about the importance of knowing your mission, and how it can keep you focused even when times get tough.
Ever feel like you're up against the impossible? Hint Water's Kara Goldin did. In this conversation about her new book "Undaunted," she describes how she got through her doubts (hint: focus on customers!), how she's expanded her company's mission and wrestled with the challenges of lobbying in Washington, and how anyone can empower themselves to be a leader.
How do you pull off the biggest business deal of your life... while a pandemic changes all the rules? That's what John Berkowitz of OJO Labs pulled off, raising $68.1 million in the process. And here's the craziest part: The pandemic may have been the thing that made it all possible.
Earlier this year, I was thinking out loud... and it led to an unexpected partnership with Yelp! I explain the backstory—and a valuable lesson about thinking aloud!—and then share with you the result: It's a new podcast called "Behind the Review", in which each episode explores the entrepreneur and customer behind a single Yelp review. Subscribe to "Behind the Review" here: https://link.chtbl.com/behindthereview
What does it take to grow a brand? Robert Rosenberg, who served as CEO of Dunkin’ Donuts from 1963 until 1998, was the man who transformed the company into what it's known as today. In this conversation, he breaks down his lessons (and mistakes) from that time, and his guide for any CEO today.
Gary Vaynerchuk just entered the consulting industry. Why? In this conversation, Gary tells Entrepreneur editor in chief Jason Feifer about how the new business solves a problem inside his company VaynerMedia, how he developed the products, and what big brands do wrong as they try reaching younger consumers.
The only time we have is now. We forget that too often. So here's a reminder that NOW is a time of great opportunity.
As entrepreneurs have been forced to cut back during Covid, they've discovered new opportunities to grow. In this episode, five entrepreneurs tell us their stories of how. They are Daniella Pierson of The Newsette, Marisa Sergi of L’uva Bella, Katy Fallon of Jackson Meat, dating coach Andi Forness, and Leigh Ann Cannady of Forsyth Academy of Performing Arts.
Merging is hard. Merging during a pandemic is VERY hard. This is the story of how Aron Ain did it — overseeing the merger of Kronos and Ultimate Software (now called UKG). It's a tale of leadership under stress, with lots of lessons about how to build trust, merge company cultures, and find a focus for your business even under the hardest of times.
Your relationships can transform your business -- so how do you build them right? In this episode, painter Meg O'Hara explains how Covid completely destroyed her business... and pushed her to rethink her relationships with her clients. Now she's reinvented herself, and her business is stronger than ever.
As companies across industries talk about broadening their workforces, they’re running into a cold reality: If you just say you want to hire different people, you’ll reach candidates who don’t feel welcomed by the opportunity. This is the story of how the global IT firm Infosys rethought its hiring process, and began attracting a new kind of tech employee.
Fireflies.ai automatically takes and organizes notes during meetings, and has become super popular in the past few months. But its 26-year-old founders never used the term "remote work" when they were building it, because they never thought that's how it would be used. Here's how their unusual partnership, and their bet on a once-futuristic technology, led to the right idea at the right time... without them even knowing.
We've gone from panic, to adaptation, to new normal, to... something else? Here are three ways to think about what comes next, and how to make sure you're as relevant as ever.
Your "what" and your "why" are two different things. And if you confuse the two, you're not prepared for change. In this episode, Jason explains how to tell the difference between the two -- and then discusses it with The Organic Life CEO Tara Mackey, who has gone through a journey of defining her "why."
Ska Brewing had a problem: Empty cans kept falling on the floor before they were filled with beer. So as cofounder Matt Vincent tried fixing the problem, he came up with a business that goes way beyond beer. Here's how solving your own problem first can lead to massive opportunity.
Madison Semarjian's fashion app Mada was totally unique and making waves... until a massively funded competitor came along. Here's how Madison, fresh out of college, pivoted to protect her space.
We're all currently going through what author Bruce Feiler calls a "lifequake." He should know: He spent years studying how people manage life transitions, and came away with a deep knowledge of how they unfold and how to make the most of them. He talks about how to make the most of your transition, and the research from his ne book "Life Is In The Transitions".
Sometimes an idea isn't bad... it's just that the timing is bad. So what do you do? In this episode, host Jason Feifer tells two stories from his own life about finding the right time for once-wrong ideas, and how you can make the most of yours.
Covid changed many people’s relationship with technology… so what comes next? We explore why technophobia always happens in cycles, why you shouldn't be so concerned about social media, and how we can be more open-minded in the future. This is a special rebroadcast of the podcast Pessimists Archive, also hosted by Jason Feifer. Subscribe to Pessimists Archive here: https://link.chtbl.com/pessarc
O2 is a fitness recovery drink sold at gyms. So when gyms closed during lockdown, founder Dave Colina wanted to find a way to drive sales while helping out his suffering partners. The result: Everybody won. Here's a lesson in how good values leads to good business.
Retail is not as simple as getting products into stores, as Tiffany Krumins learned the hard way. Here are her tough lessons, which she learned after scoring big on the first-ever episode of Shark Tank.
The most important question an entrepreneur can ask today: "If I were starting my business today, what business would I build?" We discuss this (and how to reinvent yourself too!) with Matt Higgins, a recurring shark on Shark Tank and CEO of the investment firm RSE Ventures.
How do you innovate, and how do you do it in a time of crisis? A conversation with Matt Ridley, author of the book "How Innovation Works".
Entrepreneurs can get through anything. Why? Because they've already been prepared for the worst. Hear host Jason Feifer's thoughts, and then a conversation with "The Soul of an Entrepreneur" author David Sax.
Many entrepreneurs have pivoted online, offering new digital services in order to keep their business afloat. Now they’re wondering: Is this really sustainable? Small-business expert Amanda Brinkman offers a surprising answer: Not only is it sustainable — it might be better for your business! In this episode, we listen in on a coaching session she gives Leigh Ann Cannady, owner of a performing arts center in Georgia.
Stories of entrepreneurs who are making fast, important changes during this crisis. Featuring: Eric Morton of American Bench Craft, Lisa Janvrin of YouthfulNest, Brian Chen of ROOM, Todd Bellomy of Farthest Star Sake, and Kirsten Lambert of Beantown Bedding
Our ambitions drive us, but they can also consume us. How do we make the most of them, without losing ourselves? We explore with Katie Sturino, founder of Megababe.
Leaders are made in a time of crisis—not just because they can step up to fix things, but because they're willing to look at their own flaws and become a better leader. That's the story of Eric Edelson of Fireclay Tile, who had to fix his company... and himself. This is a bonus episode of Problem Solvers, brought to you by Asana.
The Rock and business partner Dany Garcia have a rule: "We aren't attached to process. We're only attached to outcome."
Eric Yaverbaum, chairman of Ericho Communications, has been sick in bed with COVID-19 for 11 days. But he's been able to lead his company with optimism, transparency, and blunt reality.
How can entrepreneurs adapt to coronavirus, and set themselves up for a stronger future? In this episode, hear directly from five of them—as they share their thoughts about how to pivot, produce new products, and plan for the future. Featuring: Meghan Asha, Cynthia Williams-Bey, Joseph Sommer, Monica Kang, and Natasha Miller
How do you say the most in the fewest amount of words? Expert pitchman Anthony Sullivan, known for being the face of OxiClean as well as his new CBD brand MontKush, explains how.
How can something so basic—so obvious!—be a competitive advantage? Here's why: Because too many people forget to build trust. I explain, and then discuss it with a guy who won my trust. It's Jay Sofer of Lockbusters, a locksmith whose approach to customer service is worth learning from.
Talkspace is a platform where therapists and patients can talk, and its first launch was a total failure. But then its founders noticed something strange: Users were sending lots of very, very personal emails to its customer service team. Why? The answer totally transformed the business.
Mark Lawrence co-founded SpotHero in Chicago, and investors told him he needed to expand across America fast. He wanted to take a different approach... even though he wasn't entirely sure it was the right one. Here's how Mark formulated a plan, stuck to it, and proved himself right.
When the home security company SimpliSafe launched, it marketed itself entirely towards renters. After all, they were an underserved marketplace—no other home security system was made for people who rent apartments. But SimpliSafe wasn't growing as fast as its founders expected, so it dug into its customer data and discovered something surprising: Half its customers were home-owners, the people it explicitly wasn't trying to reach. Now it had a big decision to make: Does SimpliSafe keep going with renters, or change everything (including its product!) to court this new marketplace of customers?
To start the year 2020 right, take some lessons from the business world of Mark Wahlberg—who diligently, thoughtfully built himself into the most disciplined man in Hollywood.
Do you sometimes feel like a loser? So does legendary fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg—and she admits it here! In this episode, Diane shares a healthy perspective on life... and how the most important thing is owning what you do.
Change can be scary, and entrepreneurs are at the forefront of that conflict. We invent things. We create change. But of course, that change can be scary… for other people, or for ourselves. What then? On this episode, we dive deep into what transformative change looks like—by examining the surprising, weird, often alarming history of the elevator. (Episode comes to us via the podcast Pessimists Archive, which is another show hosted by Problem Solvers host Jason Feifer.)
Neal Goyal ran a ponzi scheme, defrauded investors out of roughly $9 million, and spent years in prison for his crime. Today he’s out, and we have a frank conversation about what leads someone to make the kind of decisions he made, and the amount of soul searching and self-repair required to come back from it.
This is a story about change—and whether it’s something to resist, or an opportunity to take. And it all started when the founder of Edible Arrangements discovered that the word “edibles” had become associated with marijuana. It scared him. He tried to fight it. And then… something else happened.
Why are we not more comfortable selling ourselves? In this episode, host Jason Feifer reveals a common mistake he sees people make when pitching their work. Then, he turns to Jason Harris—CEO of the ad agency Mekanism, and author of the book "The Soulful Art of Persuasion"—for a plan on how to do better.
How do you build an exciting career? Does networking matter? Does it matter what you study? In this episode, the interviewing tables are turned: College student Danielle Kraidin asks me her most pressing career questions.
Most people work with family or friends, but is that wise? And what do you do when things go wrong? Celebrated fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff has plenty of insight on this, because she works with plenty of friends—and her CEO is her brother! In this episode, she explains how she balances it all.
When you change your company name, can you change the way you relate to customers? That's what Neighborly (formerly Dwyer Group) is currently finding out. In this, the second in our two-part series about name changes, we learn how the country's largest home-services franchise company is redefining how it relates to customers... all because it changed its name.
Does a corporate name really matter? Yes, says Guru Gowrappan. And he should know. On this episode, we learn why Yahoo and AOL was merged into a company called Oath, why Guru changed the name to Verizon Media, and how renaming the company changed the entire company’s culture—leading to more sales, more collaboration, and a lot less drama.
Entrepreneurs should be life-long learners. They should constantly develop new skills, even if they don’t know the ROI on those skills. And that’s why James Altucher—the former hedge fund manager who’s built and sold many companies—dedicated himself to mastering stand-up comedy. In this conversation, he explains why he kept pushing himself to try something difficult and often embarrassing, and how stand-up has helped him in the most unexpected ways.
What do you do for a second act, when your first act literally changed an industry? That was the question facing makeup powerhouse Bobbi Brown, whose simple line of lipsticks blossomed into the billion-dollar company Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. She left it in 2016 with no plans for what to do next; all she knew was that she was done with corporate life. But she’s since found an answer—expanding into new territories with multiple new brands. But the second act isn’t really so different from the first act, she says: At its heart, everything an entrepreneur does is just about doing.
Change will come to every business, but there’s an irony to it: The best time to embrace change is when you see it coming from far away -- when you still have time to plan, and when you aren’t hurting. On this episode, I make my case for making change, and then talk actor Justin Klosky, who switched careers and became a professional organizer.
Influencers can be a valuable marketing tool: Get your product into their hands, and they might send waves of new fans your way. But how do you actually do that? We talk to Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of a wearable fitness device called Whoop, whose product was almost immediately embraced by the world’s top athletes.
Can you give your customers too much choice? Vanessa Van Edwards learned that the answer is yes. She used to sell lots of different courses online, but eventually decided to throw them all away. The result was crazy: Profits spiked! If you’re looking to sell online courses—or really, to sell anything online—this is the episode to listen to.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Blip Billboards: Sign up for a free account and get a $25 credit, visit blipbillboards.com/problemsolvers
iDashboards: To learn more visit idashboards.com/problem
Policy Genius: To learn more visit policygenius.com
In this episode, leadership expert Scott Miller lays out a radical argument: Some people are just excellent individual performers -- and there's no shame in staying that way. But if you ARE going to become a leader, then it's time to think differently about everything.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Netsuite: Download your free guide "7 Key Strategies to Grow Your Profits" netsuite.com/problemsolvers
Blip Billboards: Sign up for a free account and get a $25 credit at blipbillboards.com/problemsolvers
SwagUp CEO Artem Mashkov had a problem: His employees were miserable and making mistakes. But instead of blaming them, he looked internally—and discovered a hiring system that was recruiting the entirely wrong kind of employee. Then he made some big changes in how SwagUp hires... leading to sometimes strange interviews, where he challenges candidates to think creatively and tries to scare them out of the job.
When a company is in trouble and needs someone to make change, they call Matt Hewitt. He's now the president of Rosetta Stone, and is in the process of rethinking the company's entire product offering. How does a guy like this operate? In this episode, Matt shares the three-step approach he takes to turning a company around.
Right now, as you listen to this show, someone out there might be thinking about hiring or partnering with you—but they can't, because you haven't put enough of yourself out there. On this episode, we discuss fear and self-promotion with Kassi Underwood, an author and coach who focuses on overcoming fear.
OMG we've made 100 episodes of Problem Solvers! If you're interested in podcasting, this is the episode for you: Host Jason Feifer is going to explain how he conceived of the show, how he makes it each week on a shoestring budget, and how any entrepreneur can jump into the podcasting game.
Barefoot Wine is one of the largest wine brands in the world. But it was nearly destroyed in the very beginning, when it was forced to stop all sales for a month. Its founders panicked... and then used that suspension to create the greatest sales opportunity a young brand like theirs could ever hope for. This is the story of how Barefoot Wine grew by repeatedly turning errors into advantages.
We’ve all done it: We see someone score amazing attention, or win some award, or snag the perfect client, and we wonder, How’d they pull that off? It can seem random. What do they have that we don’t? How did luck happen to break their way? I used to wonder this all the time. But now, after meeting so many entrepreneurs who have triumphed in so many ways, I see a pattern in their success. Here it is: They make it as easy as possible to be rewarded.
Cameo is an app that connects celebrities with fans for a very specific purpose: Fans can pay for the celebrity to film a personalized video for them—wishing them a happy birthday, for example. Growth was steady, but then potential disaster struck: A group of white supremacists tricked one of Cameo's most famous celebrities into filming a video with coded hate speech. Cameo knew it needed to fix this problem quickly, before other celebrities started to distrust the platform. Here's how Cameo sprung into action.
Harry Overly got an unexpected call one day from Sun-Maid, the raisin company with the famous red box featuring a grapescarrying girl. It needed a new CEO—was he interested? “What is the appetite for risk?” he asked in response. Because Overly, a food industry veteran, knew the job wouldn’t be easy. Sun-Maid was in trouble: Raisin sales were down, and its brand voice had gone silent. What to do? In this episode, Harry explains the plan he’s enacting to turn around one of America’s most recognizable brands.
Nobody can see the pathway ahead of them. We’re all blind. But the people who succeed are the ones willing to walk in the dark anyway. On this episode, host Jason Feifer shares his six-step plan for success (step one: start moving!), and then talks with Gregg Clunis, host of the podcast Tiny Steps, Big Leaps, about how to find the motivation and will to take those steps.
Namogoo is an Israeli company that solves a problem most companies don't know exist. That became quite a sales challenge: Its founders needed to get clients' attention, and then convince them to pay attention to a problem they'd been completely overlooking. Here's how they did it.
It’s the case of the mysteriously popular growler! The e-commerce company Huckberry sold tons of growlers during the holiday season—but the people who bought the growlers disappeared afterwards. They never came back to buy more products, which was very unusual for Huckberry. What was going on? The answer forced the company to rethink its entire marketing approach. (Here’s a hint: The buyers weren’t who Huckberry expected.)
What do you do when conditions change, and your business starts to fail? You could try to save the business. Or, you could “kill your business with a better business”—essentially take what you’ve learned from the failing business, and create a new one that thrives. That was the strategy employed by Adam Schwartz, who killed his t-shirt business called BustedTees with another one called TeePublic. (And “kill your business with a better business” is a direct quote from him.) On this episode, he walks us through the transition.
Be honest: What do you do when the world around you changes? Most people probably say they change along with the world... but few actually do. Most people resist. And resistance leads nowhere. That’s the big lesson of the rise of chain stores, a transformational event in American business that pitted entrepreneur against entrepreneur, and ultimately led to some big lessons in what it takes to be competitive. This episode comes to us from Pessimists Archive, another podcast hosted by Problem Solvers host Jason Feifer.
How do you get what you want—from customers, partners, investors, and more? You don’t just come out and ask for it! Instead, you focus on what THEY want, and how you can deliver it. In this episode, Mazda CMO Dino Bernacchi and host Jason Feifer (editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine) and discuss how this works, and why entrepreneurs and brands must always stay relentlessly focused on value.
It’s a classic managerial mistake: You know an employee isn't working out, and yet you give them more time. You hope—foolishly, of course!—for some magical turnaround. And in the meantime, your company suffers from that employee's bad work. This is what happened to James Heller of the startup Wrapify, but at a bigger scale. He was growing his new advertising company, and hired a sales team he thought would lead to fast growth. Instead, the team stumbled and James moved too slowly to fix the problem. On this episode, we learn what happened when James gave his employees more time... and how he finally learned to take control.
It’s a classic managerial mistake: You know an employee isn't working out, and yet you give them more time. You hope—foolishly, of course!—for some magical turnaround. And in the meantime, your company suffers from that employee's bad work. This is what happened to James Heller of the startup Wrapify, but at a bigger scale. He was growing his new advertising company, and hired a sales team he thought would lead to fast growth. Instead, the team stumbled and James moved too slowly to fix the problem. On this episode, we learn what happened when James gave his employees more time... and how he finally learned to take control.
When things are going wrong, how do you know whether or not to keep going? That's the question that faced Kabir Shahani of Amperity, a company that, in its early days, missed a huge deadline and seemed unable to develop the technology it needed to thrive. Important, difficult questions had to be answered. Investors wanted to make sure their money wasn't being squandered. And in the end, Kabir learned an important lesson—both about when to keep going, and how to measure success.
What’s the secret to having a great work partnership… with someone you’re also personally close to? That’s what we aimed to learn in this special conversation, in which we put two Entrepreneur readers on the phone with our March issue cover stars, the Property Brothers. We asked Drew and Jonathan Scott (better known as HGTV’s Property Brothers) to counsel the husband-and-wife duo of Dean Praetorius and Kiki Von Glinow, founders of Toast Media Group. Kiki and Dean are actively learning to refine their working relationship, and the Scotts had a lot of wisdom to offer. Check it out, and then read more about the brothers in our March, 2019 issue!
Employers often discourage their team members from having side hustles. That's an insane policy, guaranteed to drive your most ambitious and creative people out of your company. Here's a better idea: Think of flexibility as a retention strategy. On this episode of Problem Solvers, we make the business case for embracing your side-hustling employees, and then talk to Jack Taylor PR founder Jon Bier—an employer who has completely changed his view on this subject.
Numbers can be deceptive: Just because you have more customers, locations, or dollars coming in, that doesn’t necessarily mean your brand is growing strong and stable. That’s what Jill Salzman discovered with her company The Founding Moms, a collective of meet-ups and resources for mom entrepreneurs. At first, she wanted to be in every city as fast as possible. So she expanded rapidly -- and although her membership numbers were going up, her brand was falling apart. This is the story of how she stepped back and fixed it.
It’s become a truism of startup life: To grow a company, first go out and get investors. But is that true? Does every company need investment? Not really. That’s what Eric and Sasha of the men’s retailer Buck Mason discovered, after they went out to raise cash and were rejected by every investor they met. It forced them to step back and rethink who they are as a company, and how they can thrive. Their conclusion: They needed to grow smarter, not faster. And now they’re doing just that.
How do you find your first customers? It’s a question first-time founders are often flummoxed by. But Keith Krach has developed a tried-and-true strategy—starting during his days at Ariba (which sold for billions), and extending into his current time as chairman of Docusign. In this special live edition of Problem Solvers, taped at Entrepreneur Live in Los Angeles, Keith explains how to turn a company’s first customers into valuable ambassadors. (This episode originally aired 2/26/18. At the end, we catch up with Keith for an update in 2019.)
How do you turn a great idea into a great business? It’s an infinitely complex question. You have to build an infrastructure around that idea -- one that amplifies it and makes it compelling enough for someone to pay for. On this episode, we learn how Brian Kelly did just that. He turned a grueling side hustle into The Points Guy, which is now arguably the most well-recognized and influential site in the credit card world. It time, grit, and a lot of failure -- but that’s the real a recipe for success. (This episode is a replay, and originally aired 8/28/17. An update from 2019 is included at the end.)
What’s it like when your company goes viral? Take it from Kristen Tomlin, the founder and CEO of a viral cookie dough company called DŌ: “It’s terrifying.” And exhausting. And it exacerbated every weakness in her business, including staffing, supply and production. We learn how she fixed it, and harnessed the kind of huge opportunity that may have sunk others.
There are a lot of Uber-like startups out there—companies that connect customers with some set of service providers, such as cleaners, lawn care pros, or, in the case of Storyhunter, companies looking for video freelancers. But these companies all face the same danger: They're at risk of disintermediation, or being cut out of the deal. (After all, if you're a consumer and find a great cleaner through a startup, why keep using the startup? Why not work with the cleaner directly?) This is the problem Storyhunter faced, and solved. Its solution: Understand its users, and then become incredibly valuable to them in every way possible. (Original air date: 7/31/17)
IAC CEO Joey Levin told Problem Solvers host Jason Feifer that everyone -- everyone, at every level! -- feels like they're making things up as they go. On this episode, Jason dives deeper into that idea. At times when you feel intimidated, or worry you're not up to the task, or feel at a loss for the right answer, let this be your guide: It’s knowing that in actuality, nobody inherently belongs. Nobody is ready from the start. Nobody has the answer already prepared. And nobody sees you as an impostor any more than they see themselves that way.
Lauren Berger was like many solopreneurs: She'd built a one-person business called Intern Queen, and it made her a good amount of money. But it wasn't scaleable. She could only do so much. In this episode, we learn how Lauren ultimately transformed her one-woman shop into a company that can scale... and in the process, discovered a new line of work that now makes up 90% of her revenue.
When Maynard Webb became COO of eBay, he had a huge problem on his hands: The company had just acquired PayPal, and he had to not just fix what had become a dysfunctional culture at eBay, but now had to also integrate another company and create a shared mission for everyone. His first attempt to fix this totally failed. That's when Maynard learned the true secret of creating a great company culture: To fix the culture, you first have to fix yourself as a leader.
In 2015, Carrie Sheffield founded a live-streaming news service called BOLD. Two years later, a pair of gigantic public media companies announced that they, too, would be launching a live-streaming news service called BOLD. In this episode, we follow what happened next... and turn to an IP lawyer to help us make sense of it all.
When the home security company SimpliSafe launched, it marketed itself entirely towards renters. After all, they were an underserved marketplace—no other home security system was made for people who rent apartments. But SimpliSafe wasn't growing as fast as its founders expected, so it dug into its customer data and discovered something surprising: Half its customers were home-owners, the people it explicitly wasn't trying to reach. Now it had a big decision to make: Does SimpliSafe keep going with renters, or change everything (including its product!) to court this new marketplace of customers?
In 2014, Home Depot was hacked—and 56 million credit cards were compromised. It was one of the largest data breaches to befall a major corporation. Then-CEO Frank Blake wanted to preserve Home Depot's relationship with its customers, so he came up with a plan: Unlike other companies in this situation, who hid the breaches from their customers for months or even years, he was going to be radically transparent about the problem. This is the story of what happened next.
What happens when you release a new product, and none of your customers seem to care? That's what happened to David Politis. He started BetterCloud in 2011, and its simple product was a big hit. But David thought he could go bigger, creating a product that would help companies was a wide variety of their cloud computing needs. So he poured a lot of money and time into building this new product, launched it with great expectations, and... nobody was buying. Panic ensued. His staff began pointing fingers. And David wouldn't come to really understand the problem until he left the office and started talking to customers. That's what changed everything.
Andy Monfried's company Lotame was thriving, but he saw trouble on the horizon: His industry was changing. Lotame was a major player in the complicated world of digital advertising, and although there was plenty of growth still to be had and plenty of money still to be made, Andy knew that his company's long-term future was going to be rocky. So he made a difficult, gut-wrenching decision. Rather than wait for the decline to come, he was going to shut down a major portion of his company now—sacrificing $30 million in revenue!—and rebuild it as a different company whose future looked brighter. This is the story of how he took such a big risk, and why it paid off.
Every entrepreneur struggles to manage their time, and Gen. Stanley McChrystal (Ret.) knows that challenge especially well. He previously commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and now oversees a 90-person consultancy called the McChrystal Group. How does a guy this busy keep on schedule? In this episode, we learn how McChrystal uses a calendar with the level of rigor only a former military general would think of.
When Joshua Tetrick founded his plant-based food company JUST, his goal was to disrupt the entire food industry—and to do that, he decided, he'd hire industry outsiders. He didn't want people with lots of food-industry experience, who'd just carry all the marketplace's old assumptions with them! But then his company began having massive problems, and losing massive amounts of money. And Joshua came to a realization: He was totally wrong about who to hire.
In this special episode, host Jason Feifer gets personal. Whenever he tells people that he wrote a novel (Mr. Nice Guy) with his wife, their reaction is always the same: "You're still married!?" To celebrate the release of the book, Jason and his wife Jennifer Miller talk about how they built a healthy working relationship while also strengthening their marriage, and what it takes for everyone else to do the same.
When Ari and Gavi started Indiewalls, a company that wanted to manage sales of art on cafe walls, they hadn't fully thought through just how difficult it would be. But that turned out to be for the better: Because they were willing to dive into this crazy industry, they were able to meet people who wanted art, understand the marketplace, and then transform into an entirely different company. This is the story of how they began with an idea that didn't work, and pivoted into one that does.
Millions of people know Nicole Arbour as a comedian, actor, model, YouTube celebrity, and Instagram influencer—but until recently, she was afraid to reveal another side to her: Years ago, a car accident had left her with chronic, debilitating pain. She worried that if people knew, they wouldn’t want to work with her. Or, she feared, she’d become defined by her disability. But now she’s talking. This is the story of how Nicole learned to cope with the pain, surround herself with positivity, launch a new career, and be funnier and more popular than ever.
When Jean Thompson stepped in to save Seattle Chocolate Company, she slammed the gas on a rapid expansion -- selling into stores nationwide, and locking in enormous private-label businesses. It seemed like the solution... until her company was rocked by financial instability, and she discovered that not all sales are good sales. In this episode, we understand what was wrong with Thompson's expansion strategy, and how she came to finally understand what the right kind of sale looks like.
When you think of Malcolm Gladwell, you surely think of something: an author, a journalist, a podcaster, a speaker. But Gladwell doesn't. "Self-conceptions are dangerously limiting," he says. If he defines himself as any one thing, he believes, he'll shut out opportunities he didn't even know existed. In this conversation with Gladwell, he explains how he approaches problem solving -- by being a hard-to-define outsider.
Sometimes, the simplest ideas turn out to be the hardest. That was the case at Dunkin' Donuts, where the company wanted to eliminate its Styrofoam cups and replace them with something more environmentally friendly. They thought it would be easy -- but the change took 10 years, countless prototyes, meetings with competitors, and a deep study of how people hold cups. This is the inside story of that quest, and how Dunkin' finally got it right.
If you've watched a commercial or movie recently, you've likely seen Score a Score's work: It connects the biggest studios with musicians to compose original music. But for many years, its founder refused to think of his company as a music company. He wanted it to be known a tech company -- and this led him to build a very tech-focused product for his clients, with lots of whiz-bang. He spent many, many years, and at least $120,000, trying to make work. But it ultimately didn’t. And it forced him to face a very real, very humbling realization: "I shouldn't be necessarily just chasing a vision without having confirmation that that's exactly my clients." On this episode, we learn how the founder of Score A Score finally learned what it means to listen to his customer.
Here at Entrepreneur magazine, we hear a lot of stories about how entrepreneurs founded their companies. Many tend to follow a similar format. Someone has an idea. They take a bold risk to make it a reality, often sacrificing a fair amount of time, money, and relationships in the process. They become incredibly resourceful. They outsmart their competition. And at some point... they lie. It's so common to hear about an entrepreneur's lie -- to win over a first client, say, or to bring in resources when they're needed the most -- that we forget to pause and ask: Where's the line? On this episode, we consider the question with the cofounder of Stonyfield Yogurt, who saved his company in its early days with a particularly clever and daring bend of the truth.
Metta World Peace, former NBA star turned entrepreneur, sits down with David Meltzer to share his thoughts on empowering the next generation to come together and rebuild, as well as how to deal with the negative perceptions of others.
When Matt Bodnar became CEO of Fresh Technologies, he took over a failing company and saved it from disaster. That felt great. Then he hit a wall: He couldn’t seem to get this company to grow, or to fix its internal culture. He began suffering from self-doubt. He’d always wanted to be a CEO, and he initially seemed good at it, but now here he was… failing! After a lot of soul-searching, Matt came to an important realization: He needed to identify what he was good at, and then use those strengths. And that meant no longer being a CEO. In this episode, we explore how Matt came to that conclusion -- and why it supercharged his career.
Just Between Friends is a nationwide franchise that runs consignment events. About a decade ago, it experienced a crazy jolt: It sold more franchise units than it ever had... and that fast growth nearly bankrupted the company. Why? Because here’s the difficult truth about growing a business: Not all growth is equal. Sometimes, growth in one part of your business can harm another part of your business. So to fix the problem, Just Between Friends had to hit pause and consider some very important questions: What’s the right way to grow? And what does it really take to get there?
Mike McDerment saw the future, and it wasn’t bright. His accounting and invoicing company, Freshbooks, was doing well with customers -- but behind the scenes, its software code was a mess and it wasn’t able to innovate as quickly as it needed to. But fixing this problem was tricky. If he ordered his team to hit pause and fix the code, years could go by and Freshbooks would lose ground to its competitors. And if his team did manage to create a better Freshbooks in the process, customers might be annoyed by the sudden change. So his solution was radical: He launched a competitor to his own company.
Raquel Tavares, founder and CEO of a ghee company called Fourth & Heart, had just finished raising a round of funding -- and then her team looked at the company's numbers and realized they were almost out of money. How did this happen? The answer is simple: The company wasn't properly tracking its inventory and cost of raw materials, and now it was in a terrible bind. What does an entrepreneur do in a situation like this? Raquel is here with an incredible answer: Not only can you survive a problem like this, but you can even thrive because of it. But you’ve got to be nimble, humble, willing to make a lot of changes, and able to stomach a lot of hard conversations.
As a company grows, its needs change -- and that means a leader must change as well. This is commonly accepted wisdom about leadership, but it's easier said than done. MailChimp's founder discovered that when his once-scrappy company reached about 300 employees, and, in an achingly awkward staff meeting, he discovered that he hadn't transformed into the leader those 300 people needed. What followed was a lot of soul-searching, and some very important company changes.
It's perhaps the most terrifying situation an entrepreneur can face: Suddenly, the bank account is nearly empty. You can't pay your staff. You can barely keep the lights on. What now? This is what Saima Khan faced with her high-end cooking company Hampstead Kitchen. She charges a small fortune to cook intimate dinners for industry titans, celebrities, and even world leaders—but then a change in the tax law nearly wiped her out, and forced her to reconsider exactly what kind of business she was running.
Entrepreneurs must embrace change, or risk becoming outdated. In this episode, we offer a cautionary tale from history: What happened when entrepreneurs of the late 1800s tried to resist a newfangled invention called the bicycle? This episode is a special rebroadcast of a podcast called Pessimists Archive, also hosted by Entrepreneur magazine editor in chief Jason Feifer. For more like it, search Pessimists Archive on any podcast platform or visit www.pessimists.co.
Everyone who’s experienced setbacks, rejection, and frustration will ask themselves the same inevitable question: “What if the naysayers are right?” Mike Rothman did that. As he built his company Fatherly -- a media site for dads, which is a market everyone told him was nonexistent -- he was told “no” over and over again. But instead of quitting, he made strategic decisions that enabled him to discover the truth: His idea really was a good one. And soon, the people saying no started to say yes.
Califia Farms makes a popular line of plant-based milks, yogurts, and coffees—but they became too popular, too quick. In 2017, demand began significantly outstripping supply, and so the company had to do something it hated to do, but that was critical for its long-term health: It had to start telling retailers "no," while it fixed its entire production system.
Orchard Mile, an online shopping site, had a promising platform and a talented team. But they had two very different ideas about what the company should prioritize. How CEO Jennie Baik made tough decisions to bring them together.
It's a question almost every entrepreneur will at some point face: How do you keep a company stable while you're pulled into a personal crisis? For Chris Carter, founder of Approyo, that question came shortly after his startup launched -- when his daughter developed epilepsy. After working himself to exhaustion, Chris stepped back and retooled how his company operated and how he was treating himself. The result was a stronger company, a healthier founder, and a better balance for everyone.
If you want to learn how to succeed without traditional advertising, ask someone in the "adult" industry. Why? Because most advertising channels—including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more—are closed to them. That's what Polly Rodriguez learned when she founded Unbound, a company that makes and sells adult products. Most platforms won't take her money, so she had to get creative... and build her own community.
How do you give new life to an old company? Bring new vision to a place that lost its own? And how do you bring your team -- and your new audience! -- along for the change? Those are the challenges Neil Vogel faced when taking over the old internet giant About.com and transforming it into a thriving company called Dotdash.
Selling perfume online seems impossible. After all, people need to be able to smell it, right? And when former Ralph Lauren executive Eric Korman launched his online perfume company PHLUR, he ran smack dab into that problem. Industry peers thought he was crazy. He hung in and devised a solution: an ingenious a mix of smart e-commerce strategy, science, photography, psychology, music, and storytelling. And with that, he made the impossible possible.
People may like to shop for cars online, but they still want to test drive them in real life before buying. So when the online car sales company Shift launched, it created a system its founders were sure would win customers over: They hired “car enthusiasts” -- guys just really passionate about cars -- to drive a car to a customer so they could test drive it together. The car enthusiasts were a hit; people loved them, and praised them online. But Shift wasn’t celebrating: As it turns out, the car enthusiast program was so expensive to run that the company wasn’t actually making money. And that meant Shift needed to do something that felt crazy: blow up the feature everyone loved.
A company's name is one of (if not the) biggest early decisions a company founder will make -- and they often get it wrong. Google was first called BackRub, Best Buy was Sound of Music, eBay was AuctionWeb, and Policygenius was KnowItOwl. In this episode, Policygenius's founder walks us through the rigorous process she went through to scrap a confusing name and create one that led to success.
Sean Dowdell loved tattoos, but he hated tattoo parlors. They were dirty, uninviting, downmarket, unprofessional and often sexist. So when he set aside his music career to start his own tattoo parlor, he needed to find a way to make a traditionally lowbrow product appeal to a high-end, but still edgy, audience. A decade later, he’s now opening glitzy tattoo shops all over the world. Here’s how he pulled it off.
What happens when your customers are willing to use your product, but they're not willing to pay for it? Answer: Your business model may be wrong. That's what Ilir Sela learned after launching Slice, a company that helps local pizzerias sell online. He found plenty of early customers, but they weren't paying their invoices. As he dug deeper, he realized the problem wasn't them -- it was him. And he began the long process of figuring out what (and how) people were willing to pay.
Patrick Llewellyn discovered that his design company, 99designs, was only fulfilling some of his customers' needs. He wanted to fill more, so he created a spinoff brand called Swiftly. But in doing so, he created a major problem for himself: He was stretching his resources too thin, and confusing customers about which brand they should use. In the end, he discovered the Curse of the Problem Solvers: Sometimes, you have to let some problems go unsolved.
When Daniel McCarthy cofounded the music licensing company Musicbed, he had a big idea: "I don’t want customers to just think about Musicbed when they think about music licensing. I want them to think about Musicbed when they’re trying to get inspired." Accomplishing that would require a lot of experimentation, spending money with no sure ROI, and launching (and closing) a magazine. In this episode, we map how Musicbed became more than just the sum of its product.
The apparel startup Richer Poorer thought it had found the perfect deal: A fast-growing e-commerce brand wanted to buy it, offering an influx of cash and resources while leaving the founders in control. But after the deal went through, a nightmare scenario folded: The new parent company started to collapse. In this episode, we learn how Richer Poorer's founders put the wheels in motion to get out—and saved their company just in time.
Every entrepreneur’s journey starts with a big problem. That first hurdle—and hopefully, that first solution. Small and sometimes simple as it may be, this first moment contains so much ingenuity and inspiration, and captures just how resourceful entrepreneurs must be to continue along their path. Today, we’re telling three mini-stories of first-time challenges: how the creator of the Butterie butter dish cracked its market research problem, how GrowSumo found the right customers (and avoided the wrong ones), and how American Rhino created an apparel brand within weeks.
Glenn Kelman thought of himself as a software guy. Then he became CEO of a real estate company called Redfin, but insisted on seeing it as a software company. Confusion reigned. Cultures clashed. For Glenn, it would come to highlight an often-unspoken business challenge: Entrepreneurship means exploring unknown paths, sometimes leading entrepreneurs to a very different place from where they started. The result can challenge not just their business philosophies but their very sense of identity.
How do you find your first customers? It’s a question first-time founders are often flummoxed by. But Keith Krach has developed a tried-and-true strategy—starting during his days at Ariba (which sold for billions), and extending into his current time as chairman of Docusign. In this special live edition of Problem Solvers, taped at Entrepreneur Live in Los Angeles, Keith explains how to turn a company’s first customers into valuable ambassadors.
Jen O'Neal and Jeff Manheimer launched a social network called Tripping.com, which quickly became a frustrating puzzle: It was very popular, but impossible to monetize. What does an entrepreneur do when they've hit upon something people love, but that they won't pay for? In this episode, we learn what the duo did next—abandoning part of their vision, but building a booming business in the process.
From the outside, Cogent Entertainment Marketing looked like a success: It got early into the influencer marketing game, quickly signing big clients and making good money. And because profits were high, founder Mark Zablow was afraid to make any changes—even as major leadership problems in his company began wreaking havoc. In this episode, we explore how Mark finally fixed his culture (while still making a profit).
What happens when you’re trying to sell to consumers, but your best customers are actually other businesses? Furniture-maker Poppin’s answer: It radically transformed itself to meet this new customer. That meant changing its brand voice, marketing, products, and supply chain. In this episode, we explore how and why it made the switch—and became the go-to furniture maker for Facebook, Snapchat, Google, Warby Parker, and others.
Beck Besecker believes in transparency. So much so, that he calls Marxent, “aggressively transparent.” That means everyone can talk to everyone else. Everyone has a voice. Everyone has access to management. Most important, everyone is trusted. There’s an assumption that the employees of Marxent are professional, responsible, mature adults, and thus they’re completely capable of taking bad news and rolling with it. But what happens when the news is really bad? Can employees still be trusted to handle it? Besecker found out.
Chrissy Monaco was basically raised at Monaco Ford, her dad’s car dealership. Then in January of 2017, she took over as co-owner and new boss—now in charge of men she’d known all her life, some of whom weren’t immediately comfortable with it. She knew her task: New leaders have limited time to set a company’s culture and get people on board with their vision, before doing so becomes far harder. In this episode, Chrissy takes us through her first, critical year—and the tough decisions it required.
Entrepreneurs love to say yes—to new ideas, to new opportunities, and to new markets. But yes can be dangerous: The wrong yes will compound itself, stretching a company thin and clouding its sense of purpose. Hamilton Powell learned this the hard way: As he built his watch company Crown & Caliber, he said yes so often that he was soon working 100-hour weeks and burning out his employees. Then he hired a COO who trained as a drill sergeant—and everything changed. Here’s how Hamilton learned to say no.
Tami Halton Pardee started out working in Hollywood—an industry known for crushing hours and sociopathic behavior. Then she left to work in real estate in Los Angeles—another industry known for crushing hours and sociopathic behavior. But instead of going with the flow, she decided she’d work differently, structuring her company to allow her employees a better work-life balance, and being kind to her clients. As she tells us, competitors looked at her like she was crazy, but her business exploded.
Every entrepreneur wants a loyal fanbase, a group of repeat customers who will evangelize their favorite brand. But superfans come with challenges: They love a company exactly the way it is, and they do not want it to change. That was a problem for Tough Mudder, whose obstacle course races were attracting primarily young, fit men. To grow as a business, it would need to attract different kinds of people too -- but without alienating those core fans. On this episode, we explore how Tough Mudder did it.
In its first four years, Tyson Lawrence’s logistics company reached $5 million in sales. “Everything I touched turned to gold,” he says. But then the golden touch disappeared, and his growth stalled. Why? When he looked into it, he discovered a disaster in the making: His biggest client, a national retailer that helped his company grow so fast, had become its biggest problem. And to help his company start growing again, he’d need to make some gut-wrenching decisions.
Sam Sisakhti had a great idea for a company, and early on it seemed like others agreed. He got funded on his very first pitch. But when that funding fell apart, and Sam embarked on a punishing year and a half of brutal rejections, he learned invaluable lessons about himself, his business, and the nature of entrepreneurship, and he turned his failure into a big success.
For many entrepreneurs, the stretch between Halloween and New Year’s is when teams get stressed, systems get strained, and even the smallest inefficiencies amplify into crises. But if a company builds itself well enough to survive into January, it’ll be in great fighting shape for the rest of the year. That’s what happened to popular New York-based cupcake company Baked By Melissa, whose disastrous 2009 holiday led it to rethink fulfillment year-round—and win the holidays every year since.
Here’s a thought that’s going to make you crazy: Somewhere in your business, in a place you’ve completely overlooked, there’s a major opportunity you’re passing up. On this episode, we explore how it happened to Quizlet CEO Matthew Glotzbach. His company makes a hugely popular study platform for students, and yet for a while, Glotzbach was ignoring an opportunity to triple his advertising revenue. Listen to his story, and learn how to find the opportunities hiding right under your nose.
A successful Kickstarter campaign is exciting, but it can also be a curse. New entrepreneurs routinely miscalculate how much money they need to fulfill orders, and get drowned in unexpected costs. How can someone survive that? We follow the story of Ryan Lupberger, founder of an eco-friendly laundry detergent called Cleancult, who could have gone broke after his Kickstarter success -- but then made some major changes to his business (and his life!) in order to survive, and now thrive.
Here’s the most exciting question to ask today: “Why is this thing sold this way?” The answer will reveal all sorts of business opportunities, and startups who asked this question have gone on to disrupt everything from razors to the mattress industry. But the path to success isn’t simple; a startup must literally reinvent an industry. How? In this episode, we follow the path of Burrow, a company reimagining how furniture is sold -- but to succeed, it first had to create a new way of making furniture.
You want customers to love your product, of course. But what happens when they don’t? The simple answer: You have to make a change -- and it won’t be easy. Today we follow the story of Grayl, a company that created a groundbreaking bottle that filters water. When it first hit the market, sales sagged and customers were confused. So Grayl spent three years better understanding its ideal customer and refashioning its product. Now sales are spiking, and Grayl knows a lot about how to take customer feedback.
How do you scale when your business depends on it? Chieh Huang of Boxed knows this well; his company is like an online wholesale club (with no membership fees), and in four years, he took it from a garage to $150 million in funding and its own custom-built warehouse. In doing so, he survived one of the hardest kinds of uphill battles in business. Some business ideas only work at a large scale, but those businsses must start small like everyone else -- and then endure a long, gaping middle point when they’re running their business at a size that inherently doesn’t work. Huang shares how he got over the hump.
Every company wants to increase user engagement. But for a company like Meet Group, it was a life-or-death need. It runs four free dating apps (Meet Me, Skout, Tagged, and hi5), and relies largely on advertising -- which means when user engagement was down, ad dollars were down too. To fix this, cofounder Catherine Cook Connelly radically rethought how users engage in the apps. Now revenue is up, users are using the apps for longer, and matches are being made with... live video!?
HelloFresh made one counterintuitive change in its business, and it sparked an immediate boost in sales. The result should be a lesson to all entrepreneurs: In business, simple things matter. Simple changes matter too. In this episode, the head of HelloFresh’s U.S. business reveals how he runs experiments in his business, how he honed in on the right change -- and why he’ll keep making little changes that can lead to big results.
It can be hard convincing others to work with you, especially if your company is new. And yet, you need them: They’re your future suppliers, contractors, partners, and sponsors, which means you must find some way to prove that you’re worth working with. That’s what Andy Sitt faced when trying to build an Asian stock photo company called Inmagine -- and solving it led him on an insane journey. Now Inmagine is a powerhouse, with 72 million images and 40 offices around the world.
Hanson Grant had built a hit product called Think Board, and what seemed like a world-class customer support team. But when his product started getting terrible reviews on Amazon, he scrambled to figure out what was wrong -- and discovered the problem was hiding in plain sight. Sometimes, the thing you think is solving a problem is actually creating one. In this episode, Grant explains how a disaster for the company forced him to rethink everything.
How do you raise prices? It’s not easy, as the cofounders of Motto can attest. For more than a decade, they’ve been raising prices -- while evolving from a little design shop to a full-scale, high-end branding agency. Along the way, they were forced to reconsider exactly what work they do, how they structure their relationships with clients, and even what kind of company they run. Because pricing isn’t just about a number. It’s about your value, what you’re really worth, and who you want to work with.
Many entrepreneurs struggle with how to hire the right people. But they don’t always think about when to hire those people. That can lead to disaster, as Zapier cofounder and CEO Wade Foster knows well. He used to follow a philosophy he calls “don’t hire ‘til it hurts,” until his company grew so fast that he was severely understaffed. That forced him to develop a new staffing system, one that ensures his staff grows at the same pace his company does.
How can a company survive a crisis so big, its very future is in doubt? Draft Kings knows the answer. It was a startup on the rise, making millions by allowing fans of fantasy sports to bet online -- but in 2015, a huge lawsuit and skeptical legislators created havoc. In this episode, CEO Jason Robins speaks frankly about how he navigated the years-long storm, stayed focused, and survived, and is now thriving once again.
What happens when customers don’t share your vision? It can be an emotional blow. Here you poured your heart into a product, only to find that customers want something different. Shira Berk faced this problem with her gluten-free cookie company, Goodie Girl Cookies. Taste tests were positive but sales were stagnant, and Burke realized it was because her personal branding touches were confusing consumers. So she made big, hard changes -- and sales grew to more than $3 million. We learn how she did it.
How do you turn a great idea into a great business? It’s an infinitely complex question. You have to build an infrastructure around that idea -- one that amplifies it and makes it compelling enough for someone to pay for. On this episode, we learn how Brian Kelly did just that. He turned a grueling side hustle into The Points Guy, which is now arguably the most well-recognized and influential site in the credit card world. It time, grit, and a lot of failure -- but that’s the real a recipe for success.
How can you scale yourself? It’s something every successful entrepreneur needs to figure out. At some point, your company will become so big that you can’t be in the weeds the way you once were. If you try, you’ll create a bottleneck and harm your company. So, what’s the solution? This week we learn how Adam Tischauer, founder of a company that hosts sleepaway camps for adults called Camp No Counselors, did it -- by created a system for hiring, training, and monitoring that enabled his company to grow.
What’s it like when your company goes viral? Take it from Kristen Tomlan, the founder and CEO of a viral cookie dough company called Do ("Dough") "It's terrifying." And exhausting. And it exacerbated every weakness in her business, including staffing, supply and production. We learn how she fixed it, and harnessed the kind of huge opportunity that may have sunk others.
You did your homework. You lined up the right investors. You hired the right talent, created a product that everyone in your industry thought was just going to totally wow people and then you launch... and realize you severely miscalculated. It happens to a lot of businesses, and it happened to Scott Ruddman of GLORY Sports International. In this episode, we explore how he tore down his old plans and built new ones -- fast.
Jaron Gilinsky created Storyhunter, a platform that connects media companies and brands to freelance video producers and journalists in 180 countries. But to succeed, he had to overcome two major problems: First, his original business model was failing him. And then, once he created a great way to connect those media companies and video producers, he had to become so invaluable that they wouldn't abandon him. Have a problem-solving story to tell us? Do it at http://bit.ly/2v8g4Y6