How Success Happens

Paul English is the co-founder of the online travel agency, Kayak, which was acquired by Priceline in 2012. Currently, English is the co-founder and CTO at Lola.com, a company that develops corporate travel management and expense software for web browsers. English is a serial entrepreneur who has founded many successful tech companies. If his numerous tech companies weren’t enough, Paul is also a gracious philanthropist, founding Summits Education, a network of 41 schools in Haiti.

Alex Lieberman is the Founder and CEO of Morning Brew. Morning Brew, which was recently acquired by Insider Inc. (formerly business insider) is an extremely successful email newsletter where readers can enjoy their business news in an innovative and creative way. The Brew started as a passion project, and when faced with the decision of following a set path in banking, or pursuing his passion in building out the Brew, Alex determined that there was nothing more important than that passion.

Toni Ko is the Founder of well-known makeup brand NYX cosmetics, which sold to L’Oreal in 2014. She has gone on to found many more ventures ranging from a sunglasses company to an investment firm focused on women-owned businesses. Her current occupation is as CEO and Founder of Bespoke Beauty Brands. However, behind Toni’s incredible success is the story of a first generation immigrant who moved to America at the age of just thirteen.

In Wondery’s newest series, Secret Sauce, hosts John Frye and Sam Donner explore the stories and successes behind some of the most inspiring businesses, creative innovators and intrepid entrepreneurs.

First up, we’re diving into the company that revolutionized how we vacation, travel, and even how we trust other people...we’re talking about Airbnb. In 2008, Air Bed and Breakfast launched at SXSW with high hopes of becoming an alternative to overbooked hotels...but they ended up with just two people booking a stay...and one of them was a co-founder of the company. How did Airbnb...

Nicholas Stone is the Founder & CEO of Bluestone Lane. Bluestone Lane is the fastest growing premium cafe brand in the United States, with 50+ locations across 9 markets (NY, LA, SF, DC, NJ, PA, MA & Toronto CDN). Headquartered in New York City, Bluestone Lane is influenced by Australian independent coffee-culture, and is committed to providing elevated cafe experiences focused on human connection.

Brooke Baldwin is the author of “Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power.” The longtime CNN news anchor describes the “huddle,” as a phenomenon where women get together in politics, Hollywood, activism, the arts, sports, and everyday friendships to provide each other with support, empowerment, inspiration, and strength to ultimately create change.

David Rogier is the CEO and Co-Founder of MasterClass—the online-learning platform where you can learn to shoot a basketball from Steph Curry, filmmaking from Martin Scorsese, and photography from Annie Leibovitz. MasterClass is slick and highly produced, carrying classes from the biggest names in their respective industries. On this week's episode Rogier details the progression of MasterClass with its foundation rooted in his love for learning.

Jeff Arnold’s storied career began with founding QDS, a cardiac arrhythmia monitoring company, one of the first organizations to use telemedicine. He then founded WebMD, the first healthcare company to harness the internet’s power to create a destination for consumers, healthcare institutions, and physicians. Today, Arnold runs Sharecare, a digital health company helping people manage their needs in one place. In this episode, Arnold details his journey and how he’s shaped the healthcare world.

For many companies both big and small, international expansion is an incredibly daunting task. The thought of carrying a large open balance from a custom half-way around the world and unsure if their international clients will even pay their invoices, causes much heartburn and lack of sleep for U.S. exporters.

That’s where the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) comes in! EXIM offers export credit insurance on those receivables, which provides peace of mind knowing they will be covered against non-payment. Not only does EXIM provide an insurance policy for companies, but also incredible kno...

For almost three decades, Frédéric Fekkai has shaped the international beauty landscape. Frédéric Fekkai evolved from a salon owner and stylist to a luxury lifestyle brand. With the brand taking off, Frédéric redesigned his flagship and opened the iconic 10,000 square foot salon on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Fekkai, which sold to Procter & Gamble was reclaimed by Frédéric in recent years, and he is now working to evolve the brand with a focus on clean ingredients and sustainable practices.

Eric Mosley is the Founder and CEO of Workhuman. Workhuman works globally to help create a more inclusive, positive employee experience at work. Their human applications software fills the void between administrative governance and human connections. Mosley founded the company with the emotionally intelligent vision that we need to start treating people like human beings at work by connecting people and meeting their basic human needs.

Mike Kennedy is the former CEO and Co-Founder of Zelle, the largest digital peer-to-peer network in the United States. Zelle enables individuals to electronically transfer money from their bank account to another registered user's bank account. However, as an accomplished executive it wasn’t easy for Mike to take a leap of faith and exit the corporate world. Tune in to this week's episode of HSH as Mike discusses his journey from Corporate America to Entrepreneur.

Will Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of WHOOP, which has developed next generation wearable technology for optimizing human performance and health. Ahmed founded WHOOP with a background in collegiate athletics where he realized the detriment of over-training and the importance of recovery. Today, WHOOP members range from professional athletes and fortune 500 CEOs to fitness enthusiasts and executives to military personnel and healthcare workers.

Craig Newmark is a web pioneer, philanthropist, and leading advocate. Most commonly known for founding the online classified ads service craigslist, Newmark works to support and connect people and drive broad civic engagement. In 2016, he founded Craig Newmark Philanthropies to advance people and grassroots organizations that are “getting stuff done” in areas that include trustworthy journalism, voter protection, women in technology, and veterans & military families. 

 As co-founder and founding CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph laid much of the groundwork for a service that’s grown to 150 million subscribers, and fundamentally altered how the world experiences media. Marc’s career as an entrepreneur spans four decades. He’s founded or co-founded six other successful startups, mentored hundreds of early stage entrepreneurs, and as an investor has helped seed dozens of successful tech ventures (and just as many unsuccessful ones).

Several years ago, Tom Brady founded TB12 and John Burns was an early client of TB12. A long time wellness entrepreneur and fitness enthusiast, John ended up at TB12 initially to help rehab a hockey injury and he left as the CEO. Today, through this pandemic, John is leading TB12 into new realms and working on building a billion-dollar business on step at a time. Hear from John about his past successes, past failures, and the future of TB12. 

While Alex Rodriguez is best know for being an MLB All Star, most people don't know about his accomplishments off the field. It started with Alex starting A-Rod Corp in 2003 on the theory that investing his MLB earnings wisely would protect him from the kinds of financial struggles that afflict too many professional athletes. Today, A-Rod Corp is a massive business with multiple verticals investing in a variety of sectors. Alex discusses his drive to continue working and building every day. 

In Wondery’s newest series, Business Movers, host Lindsay Graham dives deep into the inner workings of some of the most successful companies of all time. From the origin stories of their famed leaders to the million dollar idea that catapulted them to success, how exactly did these companies grow from an idea and a dream to multi- billion dollar corporations? Hear the landmark decisions, the scandals, and the stunning
triumphs that made them who they are. First up: Walt Disney. Listen at http://wondery.fm/success_movers

Daina Trout, has Masters’ degrees in Nutrition and in Public Health from Tufts University, she was working in corporate America when she decided to pursue her passion for “real” food and brew the best-tasting, highest quality kombucha on the market. Under her fearless leadership, Health-Ade has grown from a small production beverage made in her apartment and sold at local farmers markets into the fastest growing brand in the category three years in a row.

Since Evan Goldberg was a kid he always knew he wanted to build software. As the founder of Oracle NetSuite, he understood that a business starts with an idea and succeeds because of the people. He grew Netsuite from a small office above a hair salon into a global organization that was acquired by Oracle several years ago. But like most entrepreneurs success didn't come so easy to Evan. In fact, he had to face many challenges before building his billion dollar business.

Nate Checketts is the founder of Rhone an athleisure wear company he started in 2014. Nate is a master brand builder and someone who is creating something much larger than a clothing brand. Simply put, Rhone is committed to the committed. Those guided by principle, driven to succeed and devoted to family. Those who refuse to settle. With the global pandemic wreaking havoc on many businesses Nate discusses how he has continued to lead Rhone ahead during these challenging times.

Kym Gold is an American fashion and home design executive. She was the co-founder of designer jeans brand True Religion which she eventually sold for close to a billion dollars. Aside from True Religion, Gold also founded Bella Dahl, Hippie Jeans, Babakul, and her latest venture Style Union Home.

Justin Forsett played in the NFL even having a Pro Bowl season in 2014-2015 while with the Baltimore Ravens. While playing in the NFL, Forsett unveiled ShowerPill, a body hygiene product athletes could use after working out. ShowerPill has turned into Hustle and Clean a company with multiple hygiene products in thousands of Target and Walmart stores around the world. Forsett is at the helm of a mission-driven, black-owned business committed to empowering the pursuit of greatness.

Finding and pursuing her absolute passion has always been the goal for Alli Webb. Whether that’s taking the leap into beauty school or opening her 100th store, happiness has always been the driving force behind one of Marie Claire’s “Most Fascinating Women”. In this podcast, Alli lets us into her incredible story of how she created her, now multi-million dollar, blow out business, DryBar.

Bethany Mota is one of the original YouTube pioneers and influencer with over 20 million followers across all her channels. She was at the top of her game and named “most influential person on the internet” by TIME. Then, she took a step back from YouTube about a year ago because social media in general was having a severe effect on her mental health. During her time away from the platform, she wanted to create a community of likeminded women all linked by something tangible; jewelry.

When Ethan Brown started Beyond Meat in 2009 he did it with a simple question in mind. Why do you need an animal to create meat and why can't you build meat directly from plants? Well It turns out you can and Ethan Brown and his company Beyond Meat figured out a way to do it. Today, his company is valued at over $11B. He is a purpose driven Entrepreneur and one who has achieved enormous success but he will not stop until he changes the world for the better.

Eileen is the Founder of EILEEN FISHER, Inc, the design company known for creating simple, timeless garments, where she also serves as the Chairwoman. Eileen ventured into clothing design in 1984. Her story and how she broke into the world of fashion is inspiring for any entrepreneur just starting out. It all started with her original concept—pieces that work together to help women get dressed easily.

Jim McKelvey is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and of course the co-founder of Square, a financial payments company. He started the business with Jack Dorsey, who went on and founded Twitter and then Jack came back and helped Jim launch Square. Jim has been widely successful even ranked by Forbes as the 378th richest person in America. But for him it's not about the money, but more about the people he meets. He aims to be a conduit to ideas, innovation, and to even entrepreneurship.

The close friendship between Scott Manson and Scooter Braun goes all the way back to their late teens. In 2012, Scott left his job as a lawyer at a major corporate law firm in Los Angeles and finally joined Scooter's company SB Projects, where today he is the COO. While Manson’s achievements include finding Internet sensation Psy and leading the company’s expansion beyond the realm of music he has been incredibly instrumental in almost all aspects of the entire business.

One of America's best-known scientists, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has spent much of his career sharing his knowledge with others. He has an incredible talent for explaining complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner.Tyson fell in love with New York City's Hayden Planetarium the first time he visited it as a child. Amazingly enough later in life he ended up becoming its Director. Neil has served as host of NOVA ScienceNow and the StarTalk Radio podcast.

Steve Herz is President of The Montag Group, a sports and entertainment talent and marketing consultancy. He is also a career advisor to CEOs, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and young professionals. Prior to joining TMG, Steve was the President and Founding Partner of IF Management, an industry leader whose broadcasting division became one of the largest in the space, representing over 200 television and radio personalities.

Matt Higgins grew up in poverty while having to take care of his ailing mother. He dropped out of high school, obtained an equivalency diploma and enrolled at Queens College. He started out as a reporter and attended law school at night, while he worked for Mayor Giuliani. Today, he is recognized as one of the savviest business leaders in the venture space as the CEO and co-founder of RSE Ventures, a company he started with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. 

Rich Kleiman formed a special bond with NBA superstar Kevin Durant. Together, they formed Thirty Five Ventures, an umbrella company for their business interests across sports, tech, culture and philanthropy. Rich and Kevin have been immensely successful with a diverse investment portfolio, including companies such as Postmates, Acorns, Overtime, Coinbase, and so much more Rich shares his incredible insight on being an entrepreneur.

Designer Rebecca Minkoff and Kate Beauchamp, the founder of Birchbox, the leading beauty and grooming subscription box with over 2.5 million customers, are working together to support the emerging Female Founder Collective. Minkoff founded the FFC with the mission to enable and empower female owned and led businesses to positively impact communities, both socially and economically. Together, Minkoff and Beauchamp are hoping to change the world in a positive way for female entrepreneurs.

Arthur M. Blank believes that for good companies, purpose and profit can-and should-go hand in hand. Arthur found incredible success by doing just that with his company Home Depot. The rest is history. Blank stepped down as co-chairman of Home Depot in 2001 and the next year he bought the NFL's Atlanta Falcons for $545 million. Today, the team is worth an estimated $2.8 billion and recently played in the Super Bowl. Arthur shares his wisdom on building "good companies."

Baron Davis started preparing for life after the NBA when he was just in high school. Once in the NBA, he quickly became one of the key original investors in Vitaminwater and helped launch Thrive Market. Davis is an entrepreneur, investor and two-time NBA All-Star and record-holder. As powerful point guard, Davis won national acclaim for executing in crucial, high-pressure moments, when his team needed him the most. Today, he is stacking up his game winning shots off the court.

Monique Brandon is working together with legendary venture capitalist Steven Dietz to tackle California's affordable housing crisis. Her company United Dwelling facilitates the conversion of underutilized garages or backyards into attractive housing at an affordable price while also providing homeowners with extra income. She believes that the key to making this possible is to optimize operations and economies of scale to tackle one of the biggest issues facing California.

Dennis Crowley is the co-founder of Foursquare, the technology company that powers location experiences for more than 1 billion people around the world. Previously, he founded Dodgeball, one of the first location-based mobile social services (acquired by Google in 2005) and help to build early location-based games PacManhattan (2004) and ConQwest (2004). Dennis is also the founder and Chairman of the Kingston Stockade Football Club, a semi-professional soccer team.