Eight Sleep Co-Founder Alexandra Zatarain on Having Difficult Conversations and Being Throw Into The Leadership Fire
04/09/25 • 52 min
Alexandra Zatarain is the co-founder and VP of Brand and Marketing of Eight Sleep, the world's first sleep fitness company. With accolades like being named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc’s 100 female founders lists, Alexandra is the marketing genius that helped put Eight Sleep on the map.
Starting Eight Sleep with minimal marketing experience, she managed to redefine their product category through a long process of trial and error. Alexandra shares her thoughts about the importance of feedback, effective communication, humility, and long-term planning while emphasizing the need to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and maintain a growth mindset.
Listen to her insights on navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly in the tech space.
Key takeaways:
- The journey of entrepreneurship is often messy and filled with failures.
- Understanding customer needs is crucial for product development.
- Feedback from early users can guide product improvements.
- Positioning is critical for startup success.
- Growth comes from learning through challenges and failures.
- Embracing feedback as a learning opportunity can lead to growth.
- Humility is a key trait for effective leadership.
- Scaling a business introduces new complexities and challenges.
- Long-term planning is necessary for sustainable growth.
- Feedback should be immediate and constructive, not just negative.
- Assuming good intentions helps in receiving feedback positively.
- Continuous learning is vital in entrepreneurship.
- Building a supportive community can alleviate the fear of failure.
The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com
Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor and host of The Failure Factor. For more info visit https://meganbruneau.com
Learn more about Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com Ig: https://www.instagram.com/eightsleep In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eight--
Follow Alexandra Ig: https://www.instagram.com/alexzatarainj In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrazatarain
Follow Megan Ig: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com
Themes: entrepreneurship, sleep technology, Eight Sleep, failure, innovation, marketing, crowdfunding, product development, difficult conversations, leadership, entrepreneurship, feedback, leadership, scaling, business growth, humility, team dynamics
Alexandra Zatarain is the co-founder and VP of Brand and Marketing of Eight Sleep, the world's first sleep fitness company. With accolades like being named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc’s 100 female founders lists, Alexandra is the marketing genius that helped put Eight Sleep on the map.
Starting Eight Sleep with minimal marketing experience, she managed to redefine their product category through a long process of trial and error. Alexandra shares her thoughts about the importance of feedback, effective communication, humility, and long-term planning while emphasizing the need to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and maintain a growth mindset.
Listen to her insights on navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly in the tech space.
Key takeaways:
- The journey of entrepreneurship is often messy and filled with failures.
- Understanding customer needs is crucial for product development.
- Feedback from early users can guide product improvements.
- Positioning is critical for startup success.
- Growth comes from learning through challenges and failures.
- Embracing feedback as a learning opportunity can lead to growth.
- Humility is a key trait for effective leadership.
- Scaling a business introduces new complexities and challenges.
- Long-term planning is necessary for sustainable growth.
- Feedback should be immediate and constructive, not just negative.
- Assuming good intentions helps in receiving feedback positively.
- Continuous learning is vital in entrepreneurship.
- Building a supportive community can alleviate the fear of failure.
The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com
Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor and host of The Failure Factor. For more info visit https://meganbruneau.com
Learn more about Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com Ig: https://www.instagram.com/eightsleep In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eight--
Follow Alexandra Ig: https://www.instagram.com/alexzatarainj In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrazatarain
Follow Megan Ig: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com
Themes: entrepreneurship, sleep technology, Eight Sleep, failure, innovation, marketing, crowdfunding, product development, difficult conversations, leadership, entrepreneurship, feedback, leadership, scaling, business growth, humility, team dynamics
Previous Episode
How I Rebuilt When EVERYTHING Changed at Once | Loss, Marriage, New City, New Life - Solo Episode
After more than a year of silence, Megan Bruneau returns with the Failure Factor to share a deeply personal episode about navigating one of the most challenging years of her life. In this raw and insightful conversation, Megan shares her journey through profound grief, major life transitions, and the lessons she discovered along the way.
In this episode, she opens up about how the sudden loss of her mother transformed her understanding of grief, both as a therapist and as a daughter, and how emotional avoidance only compounds our suffering.
Episode highlights:
- Why compassion likely isn't what you think
- How understanding the evolutionary purpose of emotions changes everything
- Tools for processing emotional discomfort
- Megan's experience of death anxiety
- The connection Megan felt with her mom before she died
- A parable to returns to during times of struggle
Whether you're navigating grief, major life changes, or simply feeling stuck, this one’s for you. Megan's story provides compassionate guidance, actionable wisdom, and the reassurance that you're not alone.
The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com
Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor and host of The Failure Factor. For more info visit https://meganbruneau.com
Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com
Follow Megan
Ig: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
Themes: grief, compassion, emotional avoidance, emotional health, lessons, authenticity, therapy, ACT, resilience, personal growth, family dynamics, community
Next Episode
Charity: Water Founder & CEO Scott Harrison on the Misery of “Having It All,” Leveraging His Network, and Transforming The Nonprofit Marketing Game
Scott Harrison is the founder and CEO of charity: water, a nonprofit that has funded over 171,000 projects to bring clean, safe, drinkable water to more than 20 million people across 29 countries.
Unfulfilled from a decade of living the fast-paced extravagance of a nightclub promoter, he decided to seek a more purposeful life. He parted toward West Africa to serve as a volunteer in a hospital, where he witnessed first hand the devastating impacts of dirty water on the health and lives of people in developing countries. Join us as we unravel Scott’s journey –how this experience began a profound transformation so he turned his life around and built an organization dedicated to providing drinking water to millions around the world.
We discuss the challenges faced in this transition, the global water crisis, the role of women in water collection, and the importance of education and sanitation. Scott also reflects on his childhood experiences and the pivotal moments that led him to seek true happiness beyond material success.
Scott is the author of the New York Times bestselling book "Thirst" and has been recognized in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 list, the Forbes Magazine Impact 30 list, and in Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business issue.
Listen to the story that will challenge you to think differently about giving and inspire you to create meaningful change in the world.
Key Takeaways and Topics:
- Scott Harrison’s transitioning from nightclub promoter to philanthropist.
- Charity Water's vision was to provide clean water to every person in the world.
- 703 million people currently drink contaminated water.
- 80% of those without water live in rural areas.
- Women and girls bear the burden of water collection.
- Lack of water and sanitation leads to girls dropping out of school.
- Scott's childhood shaped his caregiving role and independence.
- A moment of clarity led Scott to seek fulfillment beyond wealth.
- True happiness is found in purpose, not material possessions.
- The pivotal moment that led to a desire to serve others.
- Scott’s experiences in Liberia highlighted the dire need for clean water.
- Sharing stories helped build awareness and engagement.
- Art exhibitions became a means to raise funds for humanitarian efforts.
- Scott’s vision to reimagine charity with creativity and transparency.
- Promoting the right cause is crucial for impact.
- Visual storytelling can evoke stronger emotional responses.
- A clear solution to a problem can drive donations.
- Creating a business model that ensures transparency builds trust.
- Emotional experiences can motivate people to take action.
- The 100% model attracted donors who wanted to see direct impact.
- Financial crises can lead to innovative solutions and growth.
- Learning from failures is essential for organizational improvement.
- Effective risk management is key in charity work.
- Building strong relationships with donors can lead to long-term support.
- Failures can lead to significant growth and learning.
- Radical transparency is essential for restoring trust.
- The subscription model significantly increased revenue.
- Personal fulfillment often outweighs financial gain.
- Integrity is the most important value in leadership.
- Perseverance is key during challenging times.
The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com
Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor and host of The Failure Factor. For more info visit https://meganbruneau.com
Learn more about Charity: Water: https://www.charitywater.org Sponsor a water project: https://www.charitywater.org/donate Buy the book: https://www.charitywater.org/thirst Ig: https://www.instagram.com/charitywater In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/charity-water
Follow Scott Ig: https://www.instagram.com/scottharrison In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottharrison1
Follow Megan Ig: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau/ In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc
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