How Success Happens

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.

Al Roker is an institution. As the weatherman on NBC’s TODAY Show and co-anchor of the 3rd Hour of TODAY, Al has enjoyed the undivided attention of the nation – over 30 million viewers per week – every weekday morning as America prepares for school and work. What many people don't know is that Al has also built one of the most successful production companies in the world with Al Roker Entertainment.

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 Katia 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.

CJ McCollum is a bonafide NBA star. He inked a four-year, $106.6 million contract extension with The Portland Trailblazers in 2016. This summer from inside the NBA's Bubble in Orlando he led his team to the playoffs. But basketball wasn't the only thing CJ was busy with this summer. Earlier this year, he launched his own wine brand, McCollum Heritage 91. CJ shares how he is handling both basketball and business in these difficult days.

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. 

John Paul DeJoria is an American entrepreneur, a billionaire and philanthropist best known as a co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company. He sold Patron two years ago to spirits company Bacardi for a reported 5.1 billion dollars. Not bad for a guy who was homeless two different times in his life and not bad for guy who started out with a series of jobs including janitor and door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. A true How Success Happens story. 

Today, we know Jillian Michaels as a super successful personal trainer, entrepreneur, author, and of course TV star for her appearances on NBC's The Biggest Loser. What many people don't know though is that this super successful woman had to overcome many of her own challenges in life to then be able to help others. A fascinating look into the back story of one of the wellness industries brightest entrepreneurs.