Trina Spear is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of FIGS, a healthcare apparel and lifestyle brand that has a current value of $4 billion. What has grown into a spectacular success started with a simple idea and question – what if we put as much thought into healthcare apparel as we do with athletic apparel? What if we invented apparel for healthcare professionals by selling fitted, fashionable, cool, and comfortable medical scrubs? Trina and her partner Heather Hasson began working on this idea in 2012...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 20 min
David Rubenstein grew up in a modest, blue-collar home in Northwest Baltimore. He never considered himself a brilliant student or excellent athlete, but he did believe that hard work leads to success. This drive and work ethic paid off, and today, David is a billionaire businessman and a member of the Forbes 400 list. David’s journey has taken him from humble beginnings in Baltimore, MD, to Duke University, Chicago Law School, and a job as a white house staffer, to eventually co-founding one of ...
Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 22 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by former professional hockey player Jimmy Carson to discuss his early and long-term success in the NHL, his experiences as a first-generation American, his post-professional life as a father and husband, his success after he retired, his views on being part of the biggest trade in sports history, and much more. Topics Include: The influence of Jimmy’s parents and his ancestry. The American Dream and what it meant to Jimmy and his family. The role of mentors in shaping o...
Dec 07, 2021•2 hr 14 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by serial entrepreneur and media personality Kevin O’Leary . Known to many as Mr. Wonderful on SharkTank, Kevin talks about how his unique life experiences made him the successful entrepreneur and investor he is today. In this episode, Kevin and Randall talk about Kevin’s upbringing and what Kevin learned from his mother about financial independence and investing. Kevin shares stories about the moment he knew he needed to work for himself, the greatest lesson he learned ...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr 17 min
You probably know Chris Voss as the FBI Hostage Negotiator that wrote the best-selling book Never Split the Difference . What you probably don’t know about Chris is that he grew up an average kid in the Midwest. There was nothing extraordinary about him, he claims. He wasn’t popular, academically gifted, or notably athletic. But there is one thing that sets Chris apart from the rest, and he is well aware of what it is – a commitment to getting better every day. No matter where you are in life, C...
Nov 02, 2021•57 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by professional NHL hockey player and Olympic athlete Bobby Ryan . They discuss how, at age 10, Bobby and his family lived in hiding under an assumed name for years after his father tried to murder his mother and escaped bail, Bobby’s rise to becoming an NHL All-Star, his battle with alcoholism, his views on why you need to eliminate the takers in your life, and much more. Topics Include: Separating great athletes from elite athletes. Excelling at hockey from an early ag...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 36 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by Ben Sherwood to discuss what is missing from the conversations and books on excellence. They discuss pursuing your dreams when the odds are overwhelmingly against you, the murder of journalist David Kaplan while Ben was sitting next to him in a car during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, canceling the hit sitcom Roseanne in 2018 when he was in charge of ABC Television, moving from coast to coast several times to pursue professional opportunities balances against perso...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 44 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by award-winning journalist Lara Logan to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan, the importance of critical thinking, the pursuit of truth in the age of misinformation, the courage to speak your mind even when it’s unpopular, the fear of reporting from dangerous war zones in times of conflict in locations around the world, the experience of being a sexual assault and rape victim, today’s current events which she calls the “fight of our lifetime,” and much more. Topics Includ...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 48 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by Strauss Zelnick to discuss his role as an executive leader in the world of entertainment and media. They discuss what to prioritize when starting a new career, sacrificing security to pursue your dreams, the value of work ethic and grit in the marketplace, and much more. Topics Include: Why your salary shouldn’t be your top priority when starting a new career. The detriments of modern helicopter parenting. Cultivating the skill of deep listening. The significance of e...
Sep 07, 2021•58 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by Anthony Scaramucci to discuss rising through the ranks of global finance as a blue-collar kid from Long Island, balancing the pursuit of our dreams with our personal obligations, what he learned from his 11-day stint as the White House Communications Director for President Trump in July 2017, and much more. Topics Include: Growing up in a blue-collar family. Anthony’s early jobs and entrepreneurial aspirations. Failing the Bar Exam. Lessons learned from being hired an...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 31 min
What does it take to become one of the most iconic and successful venture capitalists of all time? How does a commitment to freedom and trust empower us to think big and drive progress? Meet Tim Draper . An early investor in Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, Space X, Twitter, Robinhood, Coinbase, and other industry-disrupting companies, Tim began his venture capital journey at age 27 and never looked back. In this episode, Tim breaks down for listeners why thinking for yourself will be the most valuable sk...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 25 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by Brad Keywell to discuss what it takes to achieve excellence at the highest level as an entrepreneur. In this episode, Brad shares with listeners how to out-work and out-hustle the competition, why he channels his entrepreneurial drive into disrupting industries, how he grew Groupon from 124 employees to 5,100 employees in a single calendar year, and much more. Topics Include: Brad’s five keys to success. Brad’s early business ventures, including a greeting card busine...
Aug 17, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by global superstar Sharon Stone to discuss what it took for her to achieve excellence in Hollywood as an outsider, how she managed to claw her way back from a crippling brain aneurysm, why being of service goes hand-in-hand with pursuing excellence, and much more. Topics Include: Growing up dirt poor. Sharon’s early jobs and experiences as a model. Challenges as a woman and an outsider in Hollywood. The need to constantly prove yourself as a woman. Setting clear goals a...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 32 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury to discuss going all-in on your dreams, dealing with setbacks, dedicating yourself to your craft, cultivating the "work ethic is everything" mindset on our path to excellence, and much more. Topics Include: Following through and finishing what you start. The relationship between integrity, punctuality, and excellence. The power of work ethic to carry us through losses. Harnessing inspiration from elite performers....
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 41 min
Randall Kaplan is joined by American billionaire businessman and philanthropist Sam Zell to discuss daring to be different, finding and capitalizing on opportunities, what it means to go for greatness, and much more. Topics Include: How Sam’s parents escaped from Poland prior to Nazi invasion. What freedom and an opportunity to thrive in the US meant to the Zell family. Sam’s early success in real estate during his college years. The power of clarity to transform your business. Getting turned do...
Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 12 min
We all have dreams of being successful and achieving excellence in our lives, but we inevitably experience resistance, challenges, and obstacles in the pursuit of our dreams. In Search of Excellence provides us with the inspiration we need to overcome these obstacles and accomplish our goals by taking us through the stories, routes, and strategies of people from hundreds of different backgrounds who have achieved excellence in both their professional and personal lives. In this introductory epis...
Jul 30, 2021•3 min
