Start-up life sounds glamorous. The thrill of chasing an idea that could land you some coin, securing serious dollars from venture capitalists, and that's before you get to the office ping-pong tables and free candy.

But behind the scenes, it's both thrilling and gut-wrenchingly scary. Entrepreneur Michael Fox took his first digital fashion start-up Shoes of Prey from humble beginnings in a lounge room to international acclaim. But when the company started tanking and it was burning through cash faster than it could scale, Michael and his business partner found themselves both dissolving their marriage and a global company at the same time.

Michael Fox tells Curveball how his initial failure with Shoes of Prey gave him the resilience he needed to shepherd his new plant-based meat company, Fable Foods, through some choppy waters amid a global pandemic. For this founder, COVID-19 wouldn't detract from this mission to create a vegetarian meat substitute. And with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal on board, anything's possible.

On Curveball, leaders take you inside a company at a pivotal moment and share their tips on how to thrive in difficult times. It's honest, raw, real, and full of wisdom from the boldest and brightest leaders. 

We’d love to hear how you’ve adapted on the fly. Use your phone to record a voice memo and email your curveball moment to [email protected]   

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram. Find out more about the show, and even suggest a guest by going to www.curveballshow.com   

Sound design on this episode courtesy of Kyle Hopkins, of Canberra Podcast and Voice.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which this show was made. 

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