In short, when it comes to discussing startups, Michele’s your woman. She knows better than anyone else what it takes to find success. She also knows that to be an innovator, you have to fail sometimes. In The Revisionaries, she serves as your guide into the typically closed-door world of business innovation, sitting down with other luminaries to discuss their unique paths to success.

Meet Michele’s Guests

Sharing the mic with Michele is a cadre of industry leaders. You may not know her guests by name (yet) but you’re certainly familiar with their products.

In one episode, she sits down with Dani Reiss, the billionaire CEO of the global luxury brand, Canada Goose. In the late ‘90s, Reiss reluctantly took over his grandfather’s niche outdoor apparel company. At the time, they were mostly selling to Arctic explorers and Everest climbers. In trying to expand the brand, Reiss immediately hit roadblocks, but he powered through – iterating and innovating as he went. Now, Canada Goose has annual revenues of $830 million.

“I knew that it would work,” he tells Michele. “We just had to keep trying different ways … to find angles to get it to work.”

In another episode, she chats with Carinne Chambers-Saini, co-founder of Diva Cup. Chambers-Saini and her mother, Fancine Chambers, would chat about how periods were such a hassle. So, working from their dining room table in Kitchener, Ontario, they designed a menstrual cup they believed solved the problem. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing from there – because of the stigma around menstruation, they faced multiple rejections and slammed doors.

Their persistence paid off, and now the Diva Cup is a drugstore staple, disrupting a billion-dollar industry. “We didn’t have really a life except for our business,” Chambers-Saini explains to Michele. “That’s what it took.”

Other guests on The Revisionaries include Canadian entrepreneurs like Endy co-founder Rajen Ruparell; co-founder of KOBO Inc., Michael Serbinis and Knix founder Joanna Griffiths. Michele and guests touch on topics like iteration, learning from failure and staying persistent in the face of rejection.

Listen and Learn

It’s an enticing title, but what exactly is a revisionary?

In Japanese culture, they have a concept called Kaisen, or “improvement.” With every repeated process – designing a cupholder, manufacturing a car, giving a shareholder’s presentation – people are encouraged to tweak, optimize and improve the outcome. In the software industry, there’s a similar concept you’re probably familiar with: beta testing. During beta testing, a programming team can work out the kinks and bugs in software by tracking its reception among users.

And in business culture, they have what’s known as iterating – repeating a process, analyzing the outcomes and tweaking it until it’s perfect. Iteration is a key concept behind Michele Romanow’s new podcast and it’s peppered throughout her discussions with various industry luminaries. We’ll let Michele take the final word on it, from her intro to The Revisionaries:

“On this show, successful leaders tell the truth about what it really takes to make it, in business and life. Think of them as revisionaries – people who iterate their way to success, over and over, no matter how tough it is.”

If you’re eager to learn more about business, looking for a way to shape your own billion-dollar idea or seeking motivation from an industry titan, check out Michele Romanow’s The Revisionaries, an Audible Original.