Check out the latest talks, interviews, and articles from Megan Bruneau. For hundreds more, check out her author pages on Huffington Post, Forbes, MindBodyGreen, Thrillist, Thought Catalog, Gaia, Entrepreneur, Verily and Quartz.
I used to take day-planning to the next level: every morning, I would make a list, planning my schedule down to the minute. It wasn’t so much that I needed task reminders; my exhaustive daily lists ensured every moment was planned—and I wouldn’t be caught in a space of unstructured time.
Read MoreI intentionally describe myself as a "writer," not a "therapist" on my Hinge profile. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of what I get to do for a living; however, the dudes who aren't immediately scared off because they think therapists can read minds will inevitably ask how I got into psychology – and I just prefer to save the "wounded healer" monologue for in-person.
Read MoreLast month, I had the pleasure of attending the Global Connections for Women Entrepreneurship Ball at the Harvard Club in Manhattan. The charity event recognized game-changing women leaders, with benefits going toward the GC4W Entrepreneurship Scholarship Fund. With access to the brilliant honorees, I was compelled to ask five of them the best advice they've ever received. Here's what they responded:
Read MoreIn this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan sits down with Blue Mercury co-founder and Marla Beck. The CEO of the rapidly-growing luxury beauty retailer shares how the initially Ecommerce company almost ran out of money, sparking the inaugural pivot "from clicks to bricks." Thanks to Beck's perseverance, in 2015 Blue Mercury was acquired by Macy's for $210 million. You won't want to miss Beck's advice on authoritative leadership, secrets to employee retention, why she doesn't endorse "productivity," and the growth-inspiring way she responds to failures and mistakes – both personally and in managing others.
Read MoreAfter a few minutes of speaking with Blue Mercury cofounder and CEO Marla Beck, it's clear why a box of the luxury retailer's most popular product – M-61 Power Glow Peel – is sold every eight seconds. During our interview for The Failure Factor, the mother-of-three reveals how the trailblazing e-commerce company almost failed initially, and Beck and her husband slept on his sister's couch for months to reduce burn while they pivoted to retail.
Read MoreIn 1999, I was thirteen years old and using the internet to talk to boys over the newly released MSN Messenger. Michael Cammarata, also thirteen, was using the internet to make his first million. Introduced to the world of StarCraft by a neighbor, Cammarata began building related websites and programming software – before convincing his older brother (on whom he had "information") to give him two thousand dollars so he could purchase a dedicated server and start a hosting business. Over the next few years, Cammarata moved from hosting to online advertising and had created $85 million in revenue by his mid-twenties. He ultimately settled in the natural space as the cofounder and CEO of Schmidt's Naturals, one of the world’s fastest growing wellness brands.
Read MoreDuring a recent emotional rough patch, I found myself craving dance. I've spent years optimizing my mental health and have learned dance is one of the most reliable ways of shifting my mood – particularly when its positive effects aren't negated shortly thereafter with a hangover (because historically for me they've gone hand-in-hand). So knowing 3am tequila shots and a regrettable makeout would probably cancel out the therapeutic benefits of a night of clubbing, I shot a text to a couple of friends asking if they had any recommendations for accessible (daytime, sober) dance workouts in the city. Both returned with the same answer: 305 Fitness.
Read MoreEarlier this year, a New York Times’ article summarized recent findings that acne can increase the risk for depression. Responses to the article ranged from “Well obviously!” to heartbreaking comments like “Acne destroyed my life [because of] relentless bullying, mockery, and humiliation.” Walter Faulstroh, founder and CEO of HUM Nutrition, knows the physical and emotional pain of acne well, struggling for years to find a sustainable solution for his breakouts.
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As someone who chooses not to medicate their ADHD, I’ve accepted I’ll always require multiple sets of apartment keys and will keep replacing my credit cards monthly until I finally muster the focus to sign up for Apple Pay. But my distractibility and disorganization are well worth the tradeoff for the creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and intuition that have been integral in my success. Yet another strength of the “entrepreneurial superpower” is an affinity for multitasking – I love dividing my energy between coaching, writing, speaking, podcasting, creating digital content, and managing team members (who are much better at the administrative and production tasks on which I have trouble focusing)
Read MoreYou should never mix business and pleasure, right? Dismissing the adage, millions of couples choose to start companies together. In 2000, it was estimated that 3 million of the 22 million US small business were couple-owned, and that number has likely risen. As a therapist and executive coach, I’m often privy to the challenges (and sometimes colossal disasters) that can emerge when romantic partners start businesses – or when business partners start romances. Help-seeking selection effect aside, most partnerships can agree there are inevitable strains placed on both the relationship and the business. Thus, I’m always curious to learn from the cofounder couples who are doing it right. Lara and Ben Mead, founders of Varley women’s activewear and lifestyle brand, are an example.
Read MoreI often (half) joke that dating is great training for entrepreneurship. Lack of predictability and control is common to both, and the discomfort of anxiety, rejection, disappointment, frustration, anger, powerlessness, and so on are inevitable. If we want to grow our businesses, we have to learn how to navigate the entrepreneurial emotional roller coaster – and dating in 2018 is excellent practice in said proverbial emotional roller coaster (especially in New York City).
Read MoreAs a therapist and executive coach, part of my job is helping my clients get to know themselves really well – and learn what contributes to their optimal mental health and success. While one person might thrive in a fast-paced, high-energy environment, another might feel overstimulated and suffocated. Nikisha Riley, social media influencer, model, and skincare line entrepreneur was the latter. Raised in Brooklyn, the Folie Apothecary founder knew she needed an environment more conducive to mental health when she began having panic attacks, heart palpitations, and couldn’t leave the house unless a friend was with her. Unable to cope in the city, Riley moved to Austin, Texas, where she was later diagnosed with anxiety, mild depression, and ADHD.
Read MoreIn this episode of Blair Badenhop’s Brand Yourself podcast, Megan shares her how perfectionism affected her life, how she recovered from eating disorders, and how she created an authentic unique brand.
Read MoreAh, dating – a topic close to Megan’s heart. In this episode, she interviews The League founder and CEO Amanda Bradford on the building of the elite dating app. They discuss what it’s like to date as an “alpha woman,” the parallels between dating and entrepreneurship, why the skill of difficult conversations is integral to both dating and hiring, and how to cope with rejection.
Read MoreMegan was named Hatch Tribe’s Hero of the month. Check out the interview to learn her approach for starting her own coaching and therapy business, what keeps her up at night, and more!
Read MoreWhen you hear Melainie Rogers’ story, it’s not surprising she had the courage to call out Weight Watchers on their recent – and highly controversial – marketing strategy: Oprah’s favorite diet-empire announced it was offering free memberships to teens for the summer. This move that was met with understandable outrage from the eating disorder recovery community, as nearly 100 percent of eating disorders begins with a diet; teenage years are accompanied by natural pubescent weight-gain; and heck, confidence as a teen is difficult enough without feeling pressured to shrink.
Read MoreSolome Tibebu’s journey to becoming a leader in healthcare innovation, award-winning social entrepreneur, and advocate for mental health and diversity began with a blog: while still in high school, Tibebu experienced severe panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Through various therapists, medications, and psychoeducation, she finally learned how to best manage her symptoms. She was, however, dismayed by the lack of online resources or community for youth going through something similar – which ultimately left her feeling isolated and misunderstood. So she decided to do something to change that, starting Anxiety In Teens and equipping young adults worldwide with tools and community to advance emotional wellness.
Read MoreOver the past few years, much of my work has been dedicated to hearing entrepreneurs’ stories of struggle and perseverance. Whether I’m interviewing them for The Failure Factor or coaching them to optimize their mental health, I’m constantly in the midst of an informal qualitative research project exploring entrepreneurial resilience.
My curiosity in entrepreneurs' mental health was, unsurprisingly, influenced by my personal history. A decade-plus-long battle with perfectionism-fueled eating disorders, depression and anxiety led me to pursue a masters in psychology and a career as a therapist. Uncomfortable with relying on others or acknowledging to them my limitations, I took matters into my own hands and decided to "figure myself out" (fifteen years later, I'm still in the process...). But I realized many of the characteristics that caused my suffering came from the same roots as the characteristics that caused my entrepreneurial strengths (more on this later) and became fascinated with entrepreneurs' psychological well-being. LEARN MORE
Read MoreSimon “Thor” Damborg is a former competitive CrossFit athlete, small business consultant, and the owner of Raincity Athletics and the Functional Fitness League in Vancouver, Canada. In this episode, which isn’t your typical TFF conversation, Simon opens up about the challenges of building his businesses, dating in a culture of toxic masculinity, his “privileged guilt,” the pain, isolation and shame of creating a “macho” personal brand, and how to make room for failure as an entrepreneur. LISTEN NOW
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