How Success Happens

Forrest Galante has eaten rat, hippo, and squid so old it should've filed a complaint. None of it gave him any trouble. Crocodile-infested water did. On this episode, the wildlife filmmaker takes Dan Bova through what it actually takes to get a film crew to the middle of nowhere, trailers, canoes, borrowed boats, and an itinerary that's fiction by hour two. Despite the chaos and the long days, Forrest explains why his core crew has stuck with him since he was 27.

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Kevin McCarthy is the CEO of Unreal Candy, which makes him the most popular house on the block every Halloween (and, according to his neighbors, the other 364 days too). Kevin joined Unreal fresh out of college, when the company had just three employees and had relaunched in a humble 38 stores. Today it’s the largest better-for-you chocolate brand in America, sold in 35,000 stores.Dan, meanwhile, eats roughly 20 pieces of candy in the name of journalism.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro 0:42 Meet Unreal Candy CEO Kevin McCarthy 1:39 What’s “unreal” about Unreal Candy 3:02 The origin story: confiscated Halloween candy 4:37 Scaling too fast: from 34,000 stores to 38 5:43 Joining at 22 with no food background 6:57 Why shoppers started reading the label 8:05 Why taste comes first 9:33 The unlimited chocolate perk 11:42 Inside a chocolate debate: the peanut butter drops 12:56 What landing Costco means for a brand 13:51 Advice for entrepreneurs cooking in their kitchens 14:54 Packaging that makes your mouth water 16:41 Why chocolate makes people so happy 17:39 Keeping millions of bars consistent 19:13 Pulling an all-nighter to fix a production line 20:54 How to stay level-headed as a leader 22:04 Is Halloween the candy Super Bowl? 23:21 Halloween at the candy CEO’s house 24:09 Spotting Unreal in the wild 24:54 Blind rankings: the most divisive candy 27:10 Wrap-up

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Guy Fieri crashes Bert Kreischer's interview and immediately starts asking the questions that would get any normal person fired. But that’s okay, anything for the fans! Turns out even a man like Bert who fills arenas still says the wrong thing, and occasionally embarrasses himself in front of his heroes. In fact, he'll tell you that sometimes the wildest, most awkward celebrity encounter makes for the best story you'll ever tell.

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Our Dan Bova spent last summer at Mattel’s design lab, and all he got was a gorgeous art book he wrote: Hot Wheels: The Creative Drive. (And maybe a few cars in his pockets.) Ted Wu, Mattel’s vehicles boss, joins Dan to explain why Hot Wheels all face right, which toy is worth a million bucks, and how he got his own Porsche made into a Hot Wheels. Buy Dan’s book. Buy two, actually. Ted’s orders

Chapters

0:00 Ted admits to an abuse of power

0:44 Dan’s Hot Wheels book and his trip to Mattel HQ

2:36 Ted’s 23 years at Mattel

4:20 The most passionate fans in toys

5:49 The custom Camaro at the heart of Dan’s book

7:12 Why do all Hot Wheels face right?

8:49 The Donut Drifter and designer Easter eggs

10:15 The designer who put his real phone number on a toy

11:47 Design vs. marketing

15:30 What makes a Lamborghini a Hot Wheels Lamborghini

17:45 Why track sets aren’t supposed to work perfectly

20:49 Selling to kids and adult collectors

23:03 Ted’s favorite Hot Wheels (spoiler: it’s his own car)

24:29 The employee-only car Dan would like mailed to him

26:37 Thomas the Tank Engine and the million-dollar Pink Beach Bomb

30:13 How to keep up with Hot Wheels

32:47 One last book plug and why you should always buy two

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Tom Hardin didn’t wake up planning to commit a crime. In this story, the ex–insider trader and future FBI informant walks through the day he was handed insider information, expected to make money fast, and trapped inside what investigators call the ‘fraud triangle.’ He reveals how pressure, opportunity, and rationalization all collided—and why it felt normal in the moment. This is the part of white-collar crime most people never see.

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Bruce Campbell’s advice for aspiring indie filmmakers is refreshingly simple. Writing is the cheap part, so quit complaining and get to it. Tired of watching the same five guys land the roles he wanted, the Evil Dead legend wrote one for himself. The result is Ernie & Emma, a sweet, funny film with zero chainsaws that might just make you cry five times.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:38 Ernie & Emma is the real Bruce Campbell

2:51 What it’s like when your wife is your boss

3:16 What going fully independent unlocks

5:36 Why Campbell wouldn’t star in this as a studio movie

7:42 How fans typecast him more than Hollywood does

8:41 Writing is the cheapest part of filmmaking

10:27 Self-funding and avoiding the low-budget look

11:21 How a camera deal with Sony came together

12:33 Skipping the gray-and-green Fincher look

14:04 Taking the film on tour with Alamo Drafthouse

16:01 Why he’s skipping traditional distribution

17:36 The fan who cried five times

19:31 Are movies worse today?

21:05 Weaning himself off studio habits

22:11 How to protect your original vision

23:55 Advice for aspiring filmmakers

26:21 Bruce rates other jobs

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How did Lucy Guo become the world's youngest self-made female billionaire? The tech founder breaks down her 5:45 AM routine, double Barry's workouts, and the investor pitch strategy that raised a massive Series A.

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Max Amini is a very funny guy. He's sold out Madison Square Garden and is one of the most-viewed comedians on social media. But when he started out in stand-up, no agent or manager wanted to sign him, so he built his own touring machine from scratch. In this episode, he tells Dan how he thinks about comedy, and how he built the team that takes him around the world and sells out theaters.

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:03 Max's childhood and his dad's funny bone

2:45 Choosing UCLA over auditioning in New York

4:19 His first time doing stand-up

6:05 Why comedy is never about the money

7:26 Finding his comedic voice

8:59 Authenticity vs. relatability

12:14 Chasing a record at the Dolby Theatre

13:46 Max's pre-show routine

16:54 The Michael Jordan flu game mindset

17:50 Building Abstraction Media from scratch

22:11 Why you should hire someone better than you

25:38 Risk, fear, and the no-Novocaine root canal

28:16 Where to follow Max

29:30 Blind ranking jobs

34:05 Wrap-up

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Got a pressing business problem you'd love to hash out with your peers? Looking to meet and network with other founders? Does spending the afternoon with Gary Vaynerchuk, Megan Thee Stallion, and Robert Irvine sound like a good time? Then sign up for Entrepreneur's latest event, Overcoming Impossible! Live in New York on October 23, this event will help you solve your impossible problem and make new connections along the way. Sign up at https://entm.ag/levelup2026 and use code SUCCESS at checkout to get 30% off.

(00:00) An emergency snack: introducing Overcoming Impossible

(00:55) Jason Feifer joins for a Marvel-style crossover

(01:45) Why this isn't a typical business event

02:55) How the day works: VIP workshop, lunch, and an afternoon of stars (04:55) The Gary Vee you don't see on stage

(06:55) Gary's marketing advice: don't niche down too hard

(08:55) Megan Thee Stallion on ownership and being understood, not just seen

(11:05) Event details: October 23 at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

(12:10) How to save 30% with code SUCCESS

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Today's guest needs no introduction, but we're going to give him one anyway. Maury Povich, the legendary host of Maury and now host of the podcast On Par with Maury Povich, sits down with Dan to talk about how he got that unmistakable voice (spoiler: it's not vocal lessons), what Jerry Springer really thought of his show, and why he never wanted to know who the father was until you did.

Chapters:

0:00 Jerry Springer's greatest compliment

0:27 Welcome to the one-name club

1:36 Are Poviches built to never stop?

2:29 Starting at 16 and a case of "big shot-itis"

4:06 Four cities, four St. Patrick's Days

5:48 Connie Chung and the leap to A Current Affair

6:41 Whiskey, cigarettes and that voice

9:20 The daytime talk wars, from Donahue to Ricki Lake

11:25 The first paternity test

12:40 Storytelling and curiosity

15:03 The man who was kidnapped three times

16:45 "My show is wrestling"

17:59 The talent who went on sales calls

20:18 MoPo Productions and an Oscar

23:04 Don't get pegged

24:24 Staying sharp at 87

26:02 Geraldo and Al Capone's vault

26:46 The How Success Happens speed test

30:13 Wrap

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Bill Gurley doesn’t just invest in unicorns—he helps create them. In this clip, legendary Silicon Valley VC Bill Gurley shares candid advice with college students on how to think about careers, risk, and opportunity long before you launch your own startup.

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Jeneva Rose is back on the show, and this time she brought horror. Her new collection, Sometimes I Scare Myself, trades the believability rules of thrillers for haunted houses, curses and the scariest question of all: who do you become when things go wrong? Jeneva talks about writing it just nine weeks postpartum, running her author career like a 9-to-5, and how social media helped authors break a publishing rule. Dan, meanwhile, promises her parenting gets easier (it doesn't) and discovers in real time that his research on her movie deal is a few years out of date.

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Dan hits the road and takes listeners on a trip to NYC's premier recording space, Embassy Studios, to sit down with the CEO and owner,
Frank Babar, an absolute legend in the music recording business. Frank shares the big swings and microscopic details that have powered his success. From trusting your instincts and adapting when the path takes a sharp turn, to treating people well and protecting the value of every asset. He and Dan dig into how to spot opportunity before everyone else does and why artists (and entrepreneurs) need to build real income-producing work instead of just chasing marketing hype. It’s a fast-moving master class in hustle, strategy, and turning creative passion into lasting value.

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As AI reshapes industries and accelerates innovation, how can companies grow responsibly at scale? In this episode of How Success Happens, Amazon’s Kara Hurst shares lessons from the front lines of building for a future where technological advancement and sustainability go hand in hand. She breaks down the strategies, investments, and innovations helping Amazon scale solutions while continuing to grow - and offers practical advice for entrepreneurs to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage.

To learn more about Amazon's sustainability progress, visit http://sustainability.aboutamazon.com

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Cole Brauer spent 130 days completely alone at sea to become the first American woman to sail solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the globe, setting a new speed record in the process. It was not always smooth sailing. Cole joins Dan to talk about the wave that sent her flying across the deck, the two weeks of "solitary confinement”, why her mom told her to suck it up, and what it's like being the only woman in a fleet of 16. Her new memoir, First Light, is out September 15th.

130 DAYS. ALONE.

Timestamps

0:00 – The wave that broke her ribs

1:02 – Meet Cole Brauer

2:33 – Why she chose sailing over medical school

4:03 – Inside the race: 130 days, 16 competitors, solo

6:37 – The brutal first two weeks alone at sea

8:23 – Living under 24/7 surveillance

11:03 – Cracked ribs and hiding it from the competition

20:20 – Being underestimated in a male-dominated sport

26:26 – The Billy Jean King story & her message to women

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Jeff Byers went from pro-footballer to the co-founder & CEO of Momentous, one of the fastest-rising names in performance supplements. Jeff sat down with Dan to talk about building a brand rooted in elite sports and military trust, the multi-year courtship it took to land Arnold Schwarzenegger as a partner, and the company’s newest launch, Fiber+, a three-in-one fiber formula built to close a surprisingly common gut-health gap. Expect hard-won lessons on leadership, patience, and building a business built to help people thrive.

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An independent motel never really closes. From booking systems and guest Wi-Fi, to front-desk transactions and security, it all has to run every hour the doors are open, and for owner John Hildebrand, that means creating a great guest experience means getting countless details right behind the scenes. In this episode, John shares what it takes to run an always-on business and the lessons he’s learned from being involved in every part of the operation.

This episode of How Success Happens is presented by AT&T Business. To learn how they can help support your business as it grows, visit https://att.com/smallbusiness.

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Dan sits down with Veronica del Rosario — co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Smalls, the fresh cat food company disrupting an industry that's long treated cats as an afterthought. Veronica dives into launching the brand with her best friend, Matt Michaelson, scaling a fully remote, four-day-workweek culture, why "high self-awareness, low ego" is the top hiring trait at Smalls, and how the brand's fierce "cat-first, cat-only" philosophy sets it apart from competitors. Plus, listen in for a truly shocking reveal about Dan's past! (Okay, it's not that shocking, but it is fun.)

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In this episode of How Success Happens, Dan Bova chats with Christine Ha, the MasterChef-winning chef and owner of The Blind Goat and Stuffed Belly in Houston. Christine shares how she built a scalable, tech-enabled restaurant network, the systems that let her run multiple concepts, and how accessibility as a blind chef shapes every business decision she makes.

This episode of How Success Happens is presented by AT&T Business. To learn how they can help support your business as it grows, visit https://att.com/smallbusiness.

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Real estate rock star Aaron Kirman has sold just north of $24 billion over his career, including The One in Bel Air. With a $295 million price tag, it is America's largest and most extravagant mega-mansion. Host Dan Bova sits down with the Founder and CEO of Christie's International Real Estate Southern California for a wildly candid conversation about building an empire in the world's most cutthroat luxury market. Aaron opens up about starting in the business at 17 with no Rolodex and no money, the "chronic unhappiness" that keeps driving him, and the deeply personal insecurities — learning disabilities, a speech impediment, hiding who he was — he had to shed before real success ever arrived. He also gets refreshingly blunt about firing high-maintenance clients, mentoring the next generation of agents, and exactly how much "reality" is really in those real estate reality shows.

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