exhaustion into a new career as a sleep
advocate and founder of Thrive Global, a
wellness startup.
The next day, Bozoma Saint John, CMO at
talent agency Endeavor (and former chief
brand officer at Uber), tackles the same
subject. “I fail constantly. I really do,” she
tells Amoruso. “There’s no success without
failure. I go looking for it.”
Saint John, like most of Amoruso’s
speakers, exudes authenticity—a certain
“I’m going to level with you” ethos that
intoxicates audiences.
That’s Amoruso’s thing too. She knows
she had the passion, creativity, and drive to
launch a global brand, but lacked the
requisite managerial experience. When
presented with criticism, she retreated,
sequestering herself in a corner office.
Today she’s embracing these mistakes;
they’re part of her origin story now. In
a banner era for corporate mistrust, and a
growing skepticism of notoriously private
executives like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerbergother “multilevel marketing” companies that
persuade people to sell things like leggings
and essential oils through their social
networks.
For Amoruso’s followers, being a #Girlboss
goes beyond knowing how to use an Insta-
gram story. These are women who own their
own companies and whose livelihoods are
steeped in risk. “Failure” isn’t something
they talk about in inspirational quotes—it’s a
reality they have to expertly navigate, over
and over, in order to pay their bills.
So at the Girlboss Rally, in between a
schedule packed with workshops (“7 Steps to
the Perfect Pitch”; “Swimming in a Sea of
Tech Bros”), guided meditation, and rice-
bowl lunches, there’s a battle cry they keep
coming back to.
To sum it up: S--t happens, so learn to use
it to your advantage.
On day one, Amoruso hosts a “fireside
chat” with Arianna Huffington, who speaks
about her departure from the Huffington
Post and how she parlayed a spell of
40 MONEY.COM MARCH^2019
Endeavor CMO Bozoma
Saint John and Amoruso
in conversation at
the Knockdown Center
in Queens, N.Y.
“I fail constantly,”
Saint John said.JP
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