Mastering the Art of Failing

Mastering the Art of Storytelling with Karen Eber

Season One, Episode Nine: Storytelling often feels like a lost art form. Karen Eber, author of The Perfect Story, shows why it’s still important today. Find us on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Audible. Our show notes can be found at failingpod.com.
 
This week, Alex Love and Elliot Volkman shift our focus from people who navigate their own failures and challenges over to an expert who helps others do the same. Soft skills are often easy to neglect because it's hard to evaluate our communication skills when most of us are judged on specific outcomes rather than the work that leads up to it. And that’s where we turn to Karen Eber, author of The Perfect Story, who guides people and teams in mastering the art of storytelling.
Eber is an author, TEDx speaker, keynote speaker, and leadership development whisperer, who was kind enough to discuss the power of storytelling in leadership and communication.
TL;DR
Build rapport and trust to understand and address real issues in leadership.
Use storytelling to engage the brain, build empathy, and foster trust.
Tailor your storytelling to your audience for maximum impact.
Even in passive roles, you can add value by translating and contextualizing information through storytelling.

Nicolas Thorne: From the Ashes of NFTs Emerged an Entrepreneurial Guide

Season One, Episode Eight: Before NFTs and blockchain technology, Nicolas Thorne tried to build a business around digital scarcity. The concept didn't quite land its mark.
 
Web 3, crypto… NFTs. You’ve heard of them. Some of these things have spun off new technology and concepts like blockchain, and others have completely dropped in value. Regardless, before the term NFT truly existed, there was a pioneer who followed a similar vision:
I started a business for, I'm not going to say the wrong or like bad reasons, but probably not the best reasons. I started it largely because I wanted to start a company. And I started around a concept that I thought was really intellectually stimulating.
I still think it's intellectually stimulating, which is. Kind of digital scarcity, which I suppose is what's at the heart of blockchains and NFTs and these things. And, and this kind of contrast of the digital world being abundant and pixels being infinitely reproducible. And yet that there was this feeling that if our lives were moving online, that scarcity was still this like amazing human construct and maybe there was a way to create it.
That was the words of Nicolas Thorne, who is no longer trying to sell what would one day be known as NFTs, and is now the General Partner at New York-based incubator Prehype.
This week on Mastering the Art of Failing, Nicolas shares his story about several instances of failure throughout his entrepreneurial journey, but has overcome it, and has since taken those learnings to help shape new founders and startups.

Cameron Currie: From Military Life to CrossFit Entrepreneur

Season One, Episode Seven: CrossFit Coach Cameron Currie discusses his departure from structured military life into a path he fully paves for himself.
Find us on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Audible.
In life, not all moments and memories are predicated by a single momentous point of failure. For many, navigating life is a matter of bumps, turns, and unique challenges that test us each step of the way. This takes us to the start of Coach Cameron Currie’s journey. A pathway that led him to join the military out of high school, travel the world, and find meaning in fitness. It was during his military career that Currie became used to living a strict lifestyle that was chosen for him, and as he transitioned out, he had to discover how to live life on his own terms again.
This week, on Mastering the Art of Failing, Coach Cameron Currie shares his journey from military life to CrossFit entrepreneur and his plans to open a new physical gym.

From Rocker to Entrepreneur: Phillip Jackson's Journey in the World of E-commerce

Season One, Episode Six: Former touring rock star turned owner of a highly regarded e-commerce media brand, Phillip Jackson, shares his unique journey.
Find us on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Audible. Our show notes are on failingpod.com
 
Phillip Jackson, the Founder of Future Commerce, has had an unconventional journey in the world of e-commerce. Prior to establishing one of the most respected publications providing insight and research into the world of e-commerce, Jackson aspired to be a rock star.
Yes, you read that right, and no, this is not a tale of a washed-up rocker trying to relive glory days. Jackson and the band were one step away from making it to the lineup at Warped Tour, palled around with the likes of Underoath, and had so many character-building moments that it’s hard to imagine who he was in a past life. That is, of course, besides the remnants, which we’d like to say likely explains his still spiked hair.
Jackson’s story is partly about being unsuccessful as a rock star, but it’s more so a pathway that led him to reshape his creative energy and build a brand that an entire industry looks up to. That pathway shifted as the responsibilities of building a family came into the picture, having to self-learn the concept of brand building and storytelling (thanks MySpace), and ultimately develop an e-commerce media company. He also doubles as an absolutely insane ultra runner who handles the Florida humidity and swamps as only a true rock star can.

The $1M Deal and an Unexpected Mentor

Season One, Episode Five: Entrepreneur and product visionary Ari Block shares his story about a million-dollar deal.
You start a new job, walk in the door, and without much more than some onboarding, you’re tasked with securing a $1 million deal. That is precisely what Ari Block faced. No pressure, right?
This week on Mastering the Art of Failing, entrepreneur and product visionary Ari Block shares the story of his first job and how he almost jeopardized a million-dollar project on his first day. Fortunately, after a wayward path forward, Ari was part of an $80 million exit, an unexpected but crucial mentor, and where his leadership skills of today stem from.
Block discusses the importance of building relationships, overcoming biases, and learning from mistakes. He emphasizes the significance of understanding the human element in business and its impact on success.

Established: Community-Driven Companies and Turbulent Growth

With success found in TechCo's community-driven approach, Jen Consalvo expanded from events into a tech and startup media brand. Driven forward by funding from Zappos Founder Tony Hsieh, Jen and her co-founder discovered that new opportunities would also bring difficult challenges. What was once their vision alone was no longer entirely theirs.
Shortly thereafter they ran into turbulence as they had to choose between seeking more funding or achieving a profitable status. But then, one day, an email landed in their inbox that gave them an alternative route forward.
This is the story of how Jen Consalvo built and sold TechCo so that Established could be born.

The Road to Leadership Was Built on Failed Management: The Story Behind This Series

Season One, Episode Zero: Alex and Elliot look back on the founding of their non-profit and the subsequent fizzling into nothingness.
 
It’s nearly the holidays, which means it’s the perfect time to release the story behind the podcast. This week, Alex and Elliot revisit how they initially met, the time they conducted a coup that resulted in the launch of a non-profit, and why iffy managerial tactics resulted in a leadership mindset that they still follow today.
 
Oh, and there was also that time they had to duke it out with the mayor of DC who was trying to take their name.
 
This is the story of the birth and disappearance of Digital District.

A Journey of Pivots: From Corporate to CFO Guy With Mayur Vyas

Season One, Episode Two: We chat with Mayur Vyas, a CFO who has built a bold and entertaining personal brand that goes against corporate norms.
Think back to when you first started your career. Did you think it would be filled with suits and ties (or other standard business attire), excessive meetings and spreadsheets, and chatting around the coffee machine? Or, did you feel that these environments, somewhat devoid of energy and creativity, should mirror life outside of the office?
This week, we chatted with Mayur Vyas, the CFO for Finconoso, who is better known as The CFO Guy. He, too, was met with this all-too-common scenario but decided to go against the grain. After spending at a Big Four accounting firm, Mayur initially envisioned creating an exemplary professional services firm.
However, through various pivots, Mayur has embraced his unique persona, The CFO Guy, and found success in his own authentic way.
While his spirit and persona may not mesh with everyone in the financial world, he continues to carve out his own niche and change what executive-level finance looks like today.
 
To read the show notes and explore future episodes of Mastering the Art of Failing, visit failingpod.com.

Crashed and Burned Into Customer-Market Fit

Season One, Episode One: To kick off our pilot, we chat with Glen Hellman, who discusses finding customer-market fit… and losing $100K.
In another life, he was known as Mr. Cranky, a prolific entrepreneurial voice in the Washington DC area who ran on the platform of authenticity, honesty, and organizational growth. As an investor, he saw successful exists and flops; as a business leader, he grew companies and optimized them.
Today, Glen Hellman has left that brand behind and has shifted his energy toward guiding founders, executives, and other business leaders on their own journey toward success through the University of Maryland and other ventures.
This week we chat with Glen about finding customer-market fit. Think product-market fit, but if it was branded a bit more appropriately. But, before we get inside Glen’s mind, we first learn about the experiences that led him to understand why customer-market fit is so crucial for building a profitable or high-growth business, and why it also took a $100,000 loss to get there.
 
To listen to the full conversation and explore future episodes of Mastering the Art of Failing, visit failingpod.com.

Welcome to Mastering the Art of Failing

Join your hosts, Alex Love and Elliot Volkman, as we dismantle the stigma surrounding failure and empower you to transform challenges into opportunities on your own journey forward.