The Failure Factor

Monique Rodriguez, Founder & CEO of Mielle Organics, shares how a hobby in her kitchen became a global haircare brand and the highest exit of any Black woman in history. After the devastating loss of her son, Monique turned to social media and haircare as an outlet for grief. What began as sharing homemade recipes online evolved into a business built on real connection that took over the natural hair space. Within months of launching, she left her nursing career. Within five years, she faced a $2M financial hole that nearly cost her everything. In this conversation, Monique opens up about betting on herself before she felt ready, building without mentors, mismanaging early capital, walking away from a 40% investment deal, and ultimately securing the right partner. Her story is a grounded look at what it really takes to scale through pain, risk, faith, and battle-tested business lessons.   Key Takeaways and Topics Turning personal grief into creative purpose Building community before building product Leaving nursing to go all in on a kitchen hobby $300K in year one with no business background Skipping the playbook and trusting her gut Bootstrapping for six years before raising capital The $2M accounting mistake that almost ended everything Walking away from a 40% equity deal Finding the right investor (and why it's like dating) The P&G acquisition and the backlash that followed Why she reframes "selling out" as building Black wealth   Links The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com   Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com    Follow Monique Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exquisitemo  Follow Mielle https://www.instagram.com/mielleorganics  https://mielleorganics.com/  Follow Megan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com  

Brianna Bitton was calling out of work because of her period, and lying about why. Doctors told her to "deal with it." So she and her brother Bobby maxed out every credit card they had to create the first PMS gummy vitamin. Two years and 20+ manufacturer rejections later, they launched FLO. Now O Positiv does nine figures in annual revenue; sits in Target, Walmart, and CVS; and is approaching a rumored billion-dollar valuation.  In this episode, they discuss the COVID-era product that tanked, fighting Meta to say the word "vagina," the most telling question they ask when hiring, and why slow and steady (while bootstrapping) won the race.  Key Takeaways and Topics Turning debilitating PMS into a viable business idea Two years of failed R&D and what it taught them about perseverance Bootstrapping with credit cards and managing financial risk Why an immunity product failed and the lesson that reshaped the company Building a women's health category through education Getting banned from Meta ads and changing the policy Product efficacy vs. trend-driven growth Choosing profitability and control over constant fundraising The top question they ask when hiring  Why retention matters more than hype   Links The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com   Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com    Follow O Positiv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opositiv Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@opositiv  https://opositiv.com Follow Megan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com    

Mari Llewellyn, co-founder of Bloom Nutrition, joins The Failure Factor to share the unpolished story behind building a wellness brand that grew from $5 fitness PDFs into a multi-category company selling nationwide at Target, Walmart, and beyond. Mari didn't set out to be an entrepreneur. After hitting a personal rock bottom in college, she rebuilt her confidence through fitness, consistency, and keeping small promises to herself. That personal transformation sparked an online community—one built on vulnerability, free value, and trust—long before Bloom ever existed. In this conversation, Mari reflects on the scrappy early days of selling digital products through Instagram DMs, launching supplements without outside capital, learning publicly, and navigating the pressure of being both founder and face of the brand. She also opens up about missteps, including products she chose to walk away from, scaling beyond her personal identity, and what it's been like to run a fast-growing company while going through IVF and redefining her priorities. This episode is a grounded look at building something meaningful without waiting to feel "ready."   Key Takeaways and Topics Rebuilding confidence after personal rock bottom Turning free content into sustainable business models Why she started with digital products, not physical ones Learning entrepreneurship without formal training The risks of being both founder and brand Starting before things feel "perfect" When to listen to feedback—and when to pivot Owning product mistakes publicly Scaling beyond a personal brand Navigating IVF while leading a company Letting seasons of life reshape leadership Why trust compounds faster than hype The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com   Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com    Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com   Follow Mari Llewellyn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marillewellyn  Bloom Nutrition: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomsupps  Hosted by Megan Bruneau: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc

Branch Basics Co-Founder Allison Evans shares the story behind one of today's fastest-growing human-safe cleaning brands—serving 240,000+ households and generating $50M annually. What began as Allison's search for answers to debilitating chronic pain in college became the blueprint for a mission-driven company rooted in integrity and transparency. But at the height of early success—$2M in revenue, nine employees, and a passionate customer base—Allison and her co-founders made an unthinkable call: shutting the company down after discovering they couldn't verify a key ingredient in their hero product. In this conversation, Allison walks through the shame, backlash, and financial fallout of that decision—while pregnant—along with the 18-month rebuild that followed. From becoming accidental chemists to restoring customer trust to scaling into 600+ Target stores, her story is a case study in resilience and values-driven leadership. It's the founder dilemma no one talks about: when doing the right thing means risking everything.   Key Takeaways and Topics The chronic health crisis that sparked Allison's mission toward toxin-free living The early growth of Branch Basics—and the ingredient controversy that halted it Navigating public criticism, refunds, layoffs, and an IRS audit simultaneously Rebuilding from scratch: 100+ reformulation attempts and finding the right partners How transparency, community, and mission made a comeback possible The mindset shift required to lead through shame, uncertainty, and pregnancy The role of content and education in driving long-term customer loyalty Lessons on partnership, boundaries, and sustainable founder capacity   The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com  Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com   Branch Basics: https://branchbasics.com Branch Basics Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/branchbasics Megan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau  Megan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc  Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com 

Jack Savage, Founder & CEO of Everyday Dose, built a 400,000-subscriber functional coffee brand from his dad's garage—but not before spending years as "the dumb kid" who needed extra time on tests, wore a suit on planes hoping to meet someone important, and cycled through ADHD medications that left him with facial tics and shame. In this conversation, Jack opens up about the scarcity mindset he inherited from watching his father's business collapse, the $500K investment deal that fell through at the last second (leaving him in tears), and why discovering he had the CYP1A2 gene—which makes 50% of us caffeine-sensitive—changed everything about how he formulated Everyday Dose. He also gets real about the unglamorous parts of scaling: living in his dad's garage at 33, battling a massive counterfeit crisis that cost the company customers and reputation, getting rejected by VCs who made him question his worth, and learning that friendships (even in business) have to be earned, not assumed. Through it all, Jack kept returning to one framework: Dharma. Are you good at it? Are you passionate about it? Are you making an impact? Does it make you money? This conversation is about finding that alignment—and what happens when you finally do. Key Takeaways & Topics Jack's early experiences with ADHD, shame, and overcompensating through ambition Why taste and clinical dosing became Everyday Dose's differentiator Building supply chain and formulation knowledge from scratch Moving into his dad's garage and bootstrapping the first version of the brand VC rejection, self-worth, and learning to scale without outside validation The emotional toll and operational cost of battling large-scale counterfeit products How Jack defines dharma and why alignment is a founder's most reliable compass Retention as a strategy: treating existing customers better than new ones Why "you can do anything, but you can't do everything" His weekly retro practice with 35 team members: what's going well, what's not, what needs to change The hidden gene that affects 50% of us and why Jack built a coffee specifically for slow caffeine metabolizers The Failure Factor Podcast was brought to you by Off The Field Coaching. Explore working with one of our coaches at http://offthefieldcoaching.com  Hosted by Megan Bruneau: therapist, executive coach, speaker, Forbes contributor, and host of The Failure Factor. For more info, visit https://meganbruneau.com   Everyday Dose on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everydaydose  Everyday Dose: https://www.everydaydose.com Megan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganjbruneau  Megan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-j-bruneau-m-a-rcc  Subscribe to the podcast newsletter at https://thefailurefactorpodcast.com