Blue Mercury Co-founder and CEO Marla Beck On Failing Her Way To Success | Failure Factor Podcast
In 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.
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Failure Gave Blue Mercury Cofounder And CEO Marla Beck An Edge. Here's What We Should Learn From Her | Forbes
After 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.
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He Was Told He'd 'Never Amount To Anything' Due To Dyslexia. By Thirteen He'd Made His First Million | Forbes.com
In 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.
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#20: Megan Bruneau - Living an imperfect life | Project Pod Podcast
Today on the pod, New York based therapist and coach Megan Bruneau shares her thoughts and experiences on perfectionism and its role in anxiety and depression and also how open a therapist should be about their own mental health difficulties. We also talk about the online world and Instagram and how Megan seeks to share a different message that life is messy and that's ok...running counter to the many people and companies who are using this space to sell idealized and impossible things (find your perfect relationship - lose the weight for good!). Megan wants us to become critical consumers of online content. We discuss compassion based therapies such as Compassionate Mind Therapy and how these can help us in our relationship with ourselves and our emotions. Finally I also sneak in a few questions about how Megan developed her business. We covered a lot of ground today and I hope you enjoy the interview.
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Made to Mend: Megan Bruneau, M.A., RCC #009 | Made to Mend Podcast
I think we all wish heartbreak looked like it does in the movies. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
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Schmidt's Naturals Co-founder Michael Cammarata on Entrepreneurial Resilience, Leaving Your Mark Before You Die, and Making His First Million at Thirteen Years Old | Failure Factor Podcast
In this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan interviews Michael Cammarata: serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder and CEO of Schmidt's Naturals – one of the worlds fastest-growing wellness brands. Despite being told he'd "never amount to anything" after being diagnosed with dyslexia, Michael had made his first million by thirteen years old. Listen in to hear why Michael can't stand "Five Year Plans," the mistake he believes entrepreneurs make that holds them back from opportunities, and the question he urges founders to ask themselves from day one.
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“Whenever I Feel Depression Nipping At My Heels, It’s Usually Correlated With Feeling Disconnected” With Bianca L. Rodriguez And Megan Bruneau | Medium
I have a sterilized version of this story, where I say I’ve just always been fascinated with psychology and helping. I remember a clear conversation with my dad at about seven or eight years old, where I decided I would be a psychologist (after he killed my dreams of being a singer songwriter, artist, and journalist, respectively *sigh*). This version is not untrue, but like most therapists the full story is that my curiosity about the human condition grew out of personal experience with pain.
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6 Changes I Made To Hack My Insomnia For Good | Forbes
I didn't realize I had insomnia until I was in college, when a friend told me he'd "woke[n] up in the middle of the night" – and that was his whole story. I remember feeling confused – didn't everyone take hours to fall asleep, then wake up in the middle of the night six, seven, thirteen times like I did?
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From Disordered Eating To Sexism, 305 Fitness Founder Sadie Kurzban Dances Through Challenge | Forbes
During 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.
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Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky On Leading While Grieving, Navigating a PR Crisis, And Managing Mansplainers | Failure Factor Podcast
In this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan talks resilience, sexism, and changing the world with Julie Smolyansky. Julie became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm when she took over Lifeway Foods at the age of 27 in 2002 after the tragic death of her father. Even through her grief, she managed to send the company’s growth trajectory and revenues soaring, while considerably expanding distribution.
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The American Equality Failure With Sari Rosenberg | Failure Factor Podcast
In this special episode, Megan sits down with her good friend and sociopolitical expert Sari Rosenberg to clarify myths around feminism and how it relates to sexual assault, dating, body image and eating disorders, and more. If you want to participate in the conversation but feel under-resourced, are curious or skeptical about the movement, or want to know how not to be a “white feminist,” this is a great place for listeners of all genders to start.
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Emotional Intelligence with Megan Bruneau | Podcast: EO 360°
Megan sheds light on how to strengthen our relationships and support our loved ones that are undergoing mental health concerns. She shares best practice tips on establishing a healthy work environment. Tune in now!
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Megan Bruneau on Worthiness and the Ethics of Mental Health Care | Podcast: What's the F***king Point
Y’all are not gonna want to miss episode with badass therapist, coach, author, and host of Failure Factor podcast, Megan Bruneau. We talk relationships, body image, parenting (and NON-parenting), privilege, and a lot more. Get your notebook and pen ready for this one!
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A Battle With Acne Inspired This Founder’s Business — And His Resiliency Mindset | Forbes
Earlier 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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I’m Finally Getting Sh*t Done, Thanks To This Weekly Practice (No, It’s Not Meditation) | Forbes
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)
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Running a Business With A Significant Other? Varley Activewear Cofounder Shares Her Success Secrets | Forbes
You 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.
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This Woman Turned a Humiliating Networking Experience Into a Business | Forbes
To call Lana Pozhidaeva “dynamic” is an understatement. The Russian-born entrepreneur and activist arrived in the United States as a model, before founding a nonprofit foundation that provides scholarships to minority students. Her latest venture, WE Talks, is a monthly event series for women entrepreneurs and professionals – an idea Pozhidaeva came up with after attending “a very intimidating, big-time networking event.” Pozhidaeva mustered the courage to ask a question into the microphone, yet was cut abruptly cut off by the host in what she describes as a “horrible” experience. Pozhidaeva turned her anger into action, recruiting the help of a friend in experiential marketing with the goal of creating events that feel truly empowering for women.
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How To Optimize Your Profile And Handle Rejection: Dating Advice From ‘The League’ Founder And CEO | Forbes
I 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).
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