The Forbes Interview

For most, failure hurts and can hobble. But, for Adam Rippon, figure-skating champion and comedian and writer, Esther Povitsky, the pain of rejection and failure served as fuel for their insatiable desire to succeed. You’ll hear from them today as they speak with Alexandra Wilson of Forbes. You’ll also hear from the guy who brought Facebook to its knees, whistleblower, Chris Wylie, formerly of Cambridge Analytica. He speaks with Thomas Brewster of Forbes. Both these conversations took place at the 2018 Forbes Under-30 Summit. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Long derided as a copy-cat of the tech industry, China is now a tech trailblazer. Steve Case, AOL founder and Kai-Fu Lee, chair and CEO of Sinovation Ventures warn that if the United States doesn’t start innovating more vigorously — it will fall behind China. You’ll hear from them, as well as Ryan Williams, CEO and cofounder of Cadre and Max Lubovsky, CEO and cofounder of Formlabs. This conversation, moderated by Steve Bertoni, was recorded at the Forbes Under-30 Summit late last year. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Howie Liu, cofounder and CEO of Airtable, the slick and elastic database-spreadsheet hybrid, speaks with Steve about the impact his first successful business had on his entrepreneurial outlook, his aspirations for Airtable and the Silicon Valley ethos that massive sleep loss is a sign of success. In fact, Liu eschewed the high-stress approach to building and now running Airtable. Can less stress mean more success? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Payal Kadakia had a great job and an exceptional job offer when she was formulating the idea of ClassPass, the company she founded and of which she is executive chair. But, it was keen words of advice from her mentor, that galvanized her to say no to the security of employment and instead move full-speed ahead on her business concept. Hear that sage guidance, what Kadakia’s first steps were to bring ClassPass to life and a few of Kadakia’s hard-earned lessons about what best sets up entrepreneurs to thrive. Plus, a look at future plans for the company. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Taavet Hinrikus, CEO and cofounder of TransferWise, had a big problem to solve. In his case, it was a financial one, and TransferWise, the company he cofounded and leads, fixed the issue for himself and now just seven years later -- millions of others. On this episode, hear Hinrikus share the origin story of TransferWise, how his company is achieving what banks are slow to embrace and discover a bit of fascinating history about Estonia, the little-known country from where Hinrikus hails - (and the origin country of Skype). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jamie Kern Lima sold her company, IT Cosmetics, to L'Oreal in late 2016 for $1.2 billion, and became the first woman CEO in L'Oreal's history. Kern Lima started out with no previous business experience. No matter — she embraced her scrappy and disciplined nature and operated on little money, resolved to solve her own skincare problems and those of others. She went on to upend the cosmetic industry by making unprecedented marketing choices and never letting “no” lead her to doubt her commitment to bringing IT Cosmetics to life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The son of a Holocaust survivor, Daniel Lubetzky has been guided by a mission of doing good. He first set out to bring Israelis and Arabs together around a mutually beneficial economic initiative making sun-dried tomato spreads. Next, he went about bringing to market a convenient and nutritious option for snacking. On this episode, the founder and CEO of the multi-billion dollar KIND Snacks talks about how he overcame early failure, what he considers healthy, how his snacks are made and how he's scaling KIND with a new partnership with Mars, Inc. to help the brand grow globally. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s simple for the consumer: You download the Postmates app, you order what you want and hope the goods get delivered fast. But, pull back the curtain on the business of running the company, and the myriad of micro-organization and efficiencies prominently stand out. Hear Bastian Lehmann, co-founder and CEO of Postmates, share the inner-workings of running his company, its evolution and how they pivoted big and early, in order to scale. Plus, find out what the most-ordered item was in 2018! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jen Rubio, cofounder, president and chief brand officer of the billion-dollar Away, shares how she and her cofounder, Stephanie Korey, were struck with the idea of making luggage fit the modern lifestyle, how they deliberately built up the company and applicable lessons learned while they were both at Warby Parker - a trailblazing direct-to-consumer company. Plus, get insight on a few maverick marketing experiments that both succeeded and failed in the most illuminating of ways. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Though his parents didn’t trust money, Tom Steyer went on to become a billionaire hedge fund manager and founder of Farallon Capital. He’s also a well-known environmental activist, who is now running for president. Hear his take on the positive impact of clean energy, specifically when it comes to job creation, American ingenuity and the Trump administration. This interview was recorded in early February, 2017, shortly after Trump was inaugurated. Re-posting for its relevancy now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bradley Tusk is founder and CEO of Tusk Holdings, which includes Tusk Ventures, Tusk Strategies, Kronos Archives, Ivory Gaming and Tusk Philanthropies. He's also a writer, whose recent book, The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups From Death By Politics captures Tusk's involvement in many contentious battles including in 2011, when as political advisor to a little-known startup called Uber, he took on the taxi industry. Tune into this fast-moving interview full of fascinating anecdotes that give insight into government, business and the future of tech. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No one believed three college students could take a desire for fast, healthy food and turn it into a successful business and community. Jonathan Neman, cofounder and CEO of Sweetgreen, talks about living the sweetlife, while staying true to the company’s core value: win, win, win. Create solutions where the company wins the customer wins and the community wins. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water, or do you want to come with me and save the world?” That’s the question Steve Jobs posed to John Sculley. We’ll hear how his time at Apple changed his path in life, as well as more insights into marketing, the consumer experience, and how perception trumps reality. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As a child, John Sculley wasn’t interested in toys, he was interested in parts. That love of discovering how things work has been the thread through his life and career, including his tenure as Vice President and President of Pepsi-Cola, and CEO of Apple. He’s a master of marketing, and he shares insights on how perception leads reality, the importance of the consumer experience, his friendship with Steve Jobs, and his current role working with the health care industry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shopify founder Tobi Lütke just wanted to have some fun on the slopes, and sell cool snowboards at the same time. When spring came to his adopted home of Ottawa, Canada, snowboard sales plummeted, and he was forced to look for a new revenue stream. That reality, and a love of technology led the snowboarder-programmer to the creation of Shopify. It was a fast ride down the slopes to becoming THE ecommerce platform made for everyone who sells, whether it is from a store, social media, or a garage. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Casper Founders Philip Krim and Neil Parikh talk about flipping the mattress business, one customer at a time. From selling mattresses on-line from a college dorm room in 2013 to becoming a high-tech innovator, that is revolutionizing the business of sleep, in under 5 years. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As a boy, Gary Hirshberg, cofounder of Stonyfield Farm, watched his family-run shoe company go bankrupt due to changes in the market. He went off to college eschewing any career in business. But, his entrepreneurial roots called upon him. It all started with one cow and a delicious yogurt recipe. Hear Hirshberg speak of how he faced big, relentless debt, his steadfastly loyal mother-in-law and his investment in making playing fields across the U.S. organic. Plus, find out why the liberally-minded Hirshberg thanks Ronald Reagan for his success. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Considered one of the great, financial minds of all time, Paul Tudor Jones II, founder of Tudor Investment Corporation, speaks with Randall Lane, editor and chief content officer at Forbes, at the 2017 Forbes 30 Under-30 Summit. Hear about the huge change he feels is necessary to save the financial system that’s made him rich. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At 18, Alex Banayan set out on a seven-year odyssey to discover how dozens of the biggest names in business and entertainment, including Maya Angelou, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, launched their careers. Now, that journey has culminated in his soon-to-be released book, 'The Third Door.' Banayan says they all have one thing in common. They entered through the “third door.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hear Adam Neumann, cofounder and CEO of WeWork, paint a clear picture of the company’s corporate culture, share three tips for entrepreneurs that he wishes he was told and how to prepare for an (even more) automated world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.