How Success Happens

Adam Bold is an entrepreneur known for disrupting the financial world with “The Mutual Fund Store.” The company served the mass-affluent (people with $50-$500,000 to invest), a largely underserved market by investment firms. The company was a huge success and was purchased by Financial Engines Inc. A few years later, Bold saw an opportunity for necessary change in the culture of the entertainment industry. He purchased A3 Artists Agency (formally, Abrams) and is now Chairman.

Two young Silicon Valley entrepreneurs set out to rid the world of smoking with an incredible new product. The device stands to disrupt the tobacco industry and make them rich, until it falls into the wrong hands and lives are ruined. From Laura Beil, the reporter behind Dr Death and Bad Batch, comes The Vaping Fix, the inside story of the rise of Juul and the making of a crisis. Listen to THE VAPING FIX at: http://wondery.fm/VF_HowSuccessHappens

Justin McLeod is the Founder of Hinge, the dating app which was acquired by Match Group in 2018. Hinge differentiates itself as an app focused on in depth ways of forming relationships, with the mantra “designed to be deleted.” McLeod founded Hinge based on his powerful romantic journey which borders a real-life fairytale! Tune into this week's episode for a story on innovation, authenticity, and romance.

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 -- Airbnb. What was their magic - their secret sauce - that made them such an unlikely success story? Listen at http://wondery.fm/SS_SuccessHappens

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 international expansion is an incredibly daunting task. That’s where the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) comes in! EXIM insures companies who are dealing with international clients that they will be taken care of. In this episode, we sit down with the local Vermont startup, Darn Tough, as they detail their incredible experience with EXIM helping them expand into international markets. Visit us at exim.gov/entrepreneur to speak with an export business specialist.

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 clearxchange, which was bought and rebranded as 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. Hear from Mike as he discusses his journey from Corporate America to Entrepreneur.