The Failure Factor: Stories of Career Perseverance

Melissa Hartwig is a Certified Sports Nutritionist, co-author of the New York Times bestsellers The Whole30 and It Starts With Food, and the author of Food Freedom Forever and The Whole30 Cookbook. She's been featured by Dr. Oz, The Today Show, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Details, Shape, Outside, and SELF; she has presented more than 150 health and nutrition seminars worldwide; and she also provides support to more than 2 million people a month through the Whole30 website. But before Melissa's massive success, she struggled with heroin addiction. Listen in to hear the details of her journey, including how in the early stages of her business she made the mistake of undermining her competition as a strategy (that seriously backfired). Listen in to hear Melissa's advice for coping with shame, apologizing, and building a "fiercely loyal community."

Matt Mayberry realized his dream of becoming a professional football player, then watched it all crumble in a instant. He suffered a career-ending injury in his FIRST game in the NFL. Shattered both physically and emotionally, Matt entered a deep depression. If he wasn't a football player, who was he? But Matt persevered and ultimately found his purpose in his pain. Drawing on his previous experiences of failure in the sport, and as a teenage drug addict, Matt recreated his identity as a keynote speaker and performance strategist. As the CEO of Matt Mayberry Enterprises, he now helps individuals and organizations all over the world maximize their potential. Listen in to hear how Matt survived the darkest time of his life, and the formula he uses for capitalizing on failure.

Whitney Wolfe is a serial entrepreneur who, by the time she was 25, had already founded 3 companies. The first, a non-profit inspired by the BP oil spill; the second, Tinder, the app that normalized swiping left or right on potential dates; and most recently, Bumble, a female-first connection platform for anyone looking for love, friendship, and soon so much more. But it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows for Whitney. In fact, Bumble was born after a painful--and very public--split from Tinder. Listen in for Whitney's view on failure that's kept her persevering through the challenging times, and what she does to gain perspective when it feels like her world is crashing down.

In this episode of The Failure Factor, Megan sits down with Bluemercury 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 Bluemercury 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.

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. She has been named to Fortune Business ‘40 under 40,’ Fortune’s 55 Most Influential Women on Twitter and Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business 1000. Listen in as she and Megan talk about the challenges she has faced, the strength she has acquired, and the world she hopes to build for her two daughters as well as women everywhere.