Brian Scudamore: 1-800-GOT-JUNK

05/14/19 • 27 min

When Brian Scudamore was 19 years old he was in a McDonalds parking lot trying to figure out how to pay for college. He saw a dirty pick-up truck advertising a junk removal service. Realizing that he could pay for college by hauling junk, Brian invested $700 in his own junk-removal-service. With that initial investment, he built an unlikely empire: 1-800-Got-Junk. Today 1-800-Got-Junk serves 200 locations across three countries. His story is full of ups and downs. Including dropping out of college, his decision to fire his entire staff early on in his career, to living with depression and ADD.

He's a regular contributor to Forbes and has a new book out, called WTF?! (Willing to Fail): How Failure Can Be Your Key to Success.

In addition to 1-800-Got-Junk, Brian is the founder and CEO of O2E Brands, the parent company behind 4 different home service companies.

He's a regular contributor to Forbes and has a new book out, called WTF?! (Willing to Fail): How Failure Can Be Your Key to Success.

In addition to 1-800-Got-Junk, Brian is the founder and CEO of O2E Brands, the parent company behind 4 different home service companies.

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When Kwame Onwuachi was 26 he had already experienced more career highs and lows than chefs twice his age. He worked in the top restaurants, competed on the TV series, “Top Chef,” and opened his own restaurant—The Shaw Bijou when he was 25. The restaurant was one of the most anticipated openings in the country and it closed after 11 weeks. The press roasted the young chef. How did Kwame recover after such a public failure? In his new book, Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame talked about how he rebounded from that failure, and delved into his childhood.

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