February 24, 2022

Live Brilliantly with CEO and Founder Kristen Carbone

48 minutes

HIGHLIGHTS

It's important to find ways to meditate
From art history to entrepreneurship
Success doesn't always follow a linear path
Brilliantly began with trying to feel better after a mastectomy
We all need safe spaces
Know when to zoom out and dive in your projects
You need a community to grow and improve
Pitching to Kevin O'Leary outside Shark Tank
Entrepreneurs need to be okay with change
Get both cheerleaders and critics
The shows and books that Kristen recommend
Don't spread yourself too thin and get consistent feedback loops

QUOTES

Kristen: “Brilliantly started because I was just trying to solve a problem for myself, and I think that's common for entrepreneurs. I wasn't like, oh I have an idea for an app that everybody can use. I was like, I'm uncomfortable and how can I feel better?”

Kristen: "I learned how to zoom out and see the whole thing and what needed to happen to keep all the things incrementally moving forward, and when was it time to dive down. I've been able to use that. Almost every project I've worked on since has been a banger, if we're gonna be off brand here."

Kristen: "I had this core of people who are amazing, and it's like a ripple effect to the pond. I just continued to expand the people that I have access to, the amazing people that those people have access to, and I've learned more in the last four and a half years."

Kristen: "You can't foresee all kinds of things that are gonna happen or gonna change what you have to do. And I can use every ounce of my brain power and energy to make a plan that I think is a beautiful great strategic plan with advisors and investors and everybody is psyched about. And then something could happen and it all changes. And knowing that I have to always have the tools in my toolkit to be emotionally well through all of these changes and to throw out plans that sometimes took a long time to craft, is hard."

Rob: "I'm not a big fan of big goal setting. And by nature of it, I think we kind of set ourselves a few big lofty goals and as soon as we fall off, it's just like we lose it. Might as well put a marker in the sand. You put a marker in the sand. You plant that flag. And that might take you one month, six months, it might take you a year, and you might go backwards. But you know what, you can always pick up that flag and move it up a little bit and move it back to make it easier, move it out if it seems too easy."

Kristen: "Find your people. Get accountability partners that will push you, and also that will support you and hug you when things are hard. Cheerleaders and critics – have both. And that can be through professional organizations or something people do on their own, but it's critical."

Connect with Kristen and Brilliantly through the links below