By Paula Pant
When Rand Fishkin was 25 years old, he carried $500,000 in credit card debt.
Less than a decade later, Rand was the Founder and CEO of a company that grossed $35 million in annual revenue.
In this podcast episode, Rand shares the story of hitting his financial rock-bottom and making the ultimate comeback.
The saga […]
By Paula Pant
There’s a famous quote that’s attributed to Henry Ford. The quote says, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
There’s no proof that Henry Ford actually said this. But whether or not that quote is historically accurate, the point remains. If Elon Musk had asked people what they […]
By Paula Pant
Natalie Sisson was tired of the corporate world. She wanted freedom, adventure and fulfillment.
In 2008, she quit her job and co-founded a tech company — but soon she discovered that running a company felt a lot like having a day job.
Two years later, she quit her own company in order to truly strike […]
By Paula Pant
Scott Harrison spent 10 years as a New York City nightclub promoter, partying until sunrise every morning and ingesting almost every substance imaginable.
But when he was 28, he realized his life lacked meaning.
“My tombstone might say, ‘here’s the guy who got thousands of people drunk,’” Harrison said.
Feeling lost, he decided to volunteer […]
By Paula Pant
Thirteen years ago, Joshua Dorkin’s friends teased him about starting a website that seemed to have no future.
“I would get calls from my buddies who would literally call me on my cell phone [and say] ‘Hey Josh, we just walked past a penny on the ground. We were thinking about picking it […]
By Paula Pant
Like many people, Nick Loper used to work a full-time job that didn’t excite him.
Unlike most people, Loper decided to escape his uninspiring work life.
First, he launched a shoe-comparison website that began collecting side income. Over time, this side project grew increasingly profitable, until — finally — he thought he could run […]
By Paula Pant
Hey. It’s time we talked.
I’ve made many tough decisions in my business.
I’ve said “no” to thousands of pitches, turned away countless advertising requests, and made difficult choices about content and tone.
And sometimes I don’t know whether or not I’ve made the right choice.
[…]
By Paula Pant
Jenny Blake used to have an enviable job.
As a Career Development manager at Google, she enjoyed the perks of a Silicon Valley life, plus the satisfaction of helping people everyday. She co-founded Google’s Career Guru Program, and helped countless Google employees find their right career “fit.”
But, ironically, Blake sensed that her own career […]
By Paula Pant
When Laura Roeder was 22, she quit her job to become a full-time freelancer.
She earned $30,000 in her first year as a freelancer; $60,000 in her second year.
Ten years later — (Laura is now 32) — her company earns $4 million in annual revenue.
(Can I repeat that? Did I bury the lede? […]
By Paula Pant
John Lee Dumas transitioned from small-town kid to a multimillionaire entrepreneur.
In today’s podcast, we talk about that journey.
Here’s his backstory:
John grew up in a small town in southern Maine.
His father and both grandfathers served in the military, so he decided to follow in their footsteps. He attended Providence College in Rhode […]
