Maren Kate Donovan is an entrepreneur and writer. Her first venture-backed startup, Zirtual, grew to over 400 employees before she turned 30, but then, due to the perfect storm of missteps, was forced to shut down overnight. She now uses her unique experiences as Managing Partner at AVRA, a firm dedicated to creating a world where good help isn’t hard to find.
In the show, Maren and I discuss:
How a haunted cane launched Maren’s entrepreneurial career Why she decided to start her own virtual assistant company and how she overcame the mental hurdles in making that leap How she grew Zirtual to 400 employees and $1 million/month in revenue Why the company failed overnight and the lessons that this public and painful failure taught Maren What strategies Maren used in coping with the fallout from the company’s demise Why she decided to become a founder again by starting a new company called AVRA Talent Partners How Maren used the lessons learned from Zirtual’s failure in starting AVRAYou can sign up for Maren's newsletter, We Love Work, at the bottom of this link and receive all the news that's fit to email, from the world of work.
Resources mentioned:
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
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Get your FREE copy of my e-book. Text OZAN to 345345 or navigate to weeklycontrarian.com to download a free copy of my e-book, The Contrarian Handbook: 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, you’ll get the Weekly Contrarian — a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).
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As always, thanks for listening.
End of Season 1
Derek Sivers on What It Means to Fail
Cathy Heller on the Power of Radical Empathy
3 Key Insights from Think Like a Rocket Scientist
Baya Voce on the Cure for the Loneliness Epidemic
Dorie Clark on Failure and the Entrepreneurial Journey
Jessica Kriegel on How You Should Ditch Generational Stereotypes
Neil Pasricha: Ask Me Anything
Tara Schuster on Rising Up From Rock Bottom
Frans Johansson on Why Diversity Drives Innovation
Scott Harrison on Transforming Himself and Ending the Water Crisis
BJ Fogg on How Tiny Habits Can Spark Big Life Changes
Laura Vanderkam on Why You Have More Time Than You Think
What to Do When You Make a Mistake
Rene Denfeld on Healing Trauma and Telling Her Story
Why the "Fail Fast" Mantra is a Recipe for Failure
Whitney Johnson on Disrupting Yourself
Think Like a Rocket Scientist
Tim Urban on Overcoming Procrastination and Finding His Voice Through Experimentation
Lindsey Horan on Winning the Women’s World Cup
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