Built a $34M Company on One Lesson From Her Dad at 7 | Ep. 401 with Kate Monroe
5/25/202628 min
Kate Monroe went from Marine Corps veteran to 8-figure CEO, actress, mother, and one of the most relentless entrepreneurs you'll ever hear from. But the lesson that shaped her life did not come from business school. It came from her dad when she was 7 years old.
In this episode of Founder's Story, Daniel Robbins sits down with Kate Monroe to talk about how she scaled her company from $750,000 to nearly $34 million in sales in just three years, why she believes success starts with a decision, and how one childhood lesson taught her to handle pressure, problems, and pain without letting them ruin everything else.
Kate shares the difference between being a "makeup bag person" and a "toolbox person," a simple mindset shift that helped her compartmentalize challenges, build a veteran-owned company, run for Congress, step into film, and launch Studio Mint.
This is a conversation about grit, discipline, ambition, and what it really takes to keep going when most people would quit.
In this episode, we cover:
- The lesson Kate learned from her dad at 7 years old
- How she scaled from $750K to nearly $34M in sales
- Why "decided" became one of the most important words in her life
- How she writes a full book in just 14 hours
- Why being the face of your brand can change everything
- The mindset behind outworking the competition
- Her move into acting, movies, vertical shorts, and Studio Mint
- Why she believes social media has made people more disconnected
- The difference between starting something and actually finishing it
Follow Kate Monroe: Instagram / Socials: @KateMonroeCEO Website: KateMonroeCEO.com
Subscribe to Founder's Story for more conversations with founders, creators, leaders, and entrepreneurs building extraordinary lives.
Episode Sponsors:
Take Cheers Restore after your last drink or before going to bed and wake up feeling at least 50% better — or your money back. For a limited time our listeners are getting 20% off their entire order at CheersHealth.com/FOUNDERS. #Cheers #ad
Go to Schedule35.co and use code FOUNDERS for 15% off your first order. That's Schedule35.co, code FOUNDERS, for 15% off.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDaniel Robbins· Host0:00
You're a Marine, you're an entrepreneur, a singer, film star. Who is the real Kate?
Kate Monroe· Guest0:04
I mean, I think I am all those things. Yeah, I've written seven books. I took my company from seven hundred and fifty thousand sales a year to this year, nearly thirty-four million.
Daniel Robbins· Host0:12
So you have "Body Man," you're obviously the main star in that. How do you balance the success of each of these things?
Kate Monroe· Guest0:19
There's a hundred apps open in my brain at all times trying to figure out how I can make more money, how I can duplicate myself. It's healthy for you to finish things. A lot of people will start writing a book but not finish. If you can make content at a fast rate that people actually wanna watch, you're a lot closer to getting through.
Daniel Robbins· Host0:35
What has been the secret sauce for you to be able to scale to that level?
Kate Monroe· Guest0:39
So I just try to keep myself focused on...
Daniel Robbins· Host0:41
So Kate, you are a lot of things, which by the way, I would imagine people ask you, like, "How do you sleep at night? Like, do you have any time to sleep?" Because I always get the same question. I'm like, "I'm a lot of things." And they're like, "Do you ever sleep?" But I think as we know, entrepreneurs, we're always moving. Like, there's always something going on. But you're a Marine, you're an entrepreneur, a singer, film star. You just had a movie come out. Basketball team owner, a mother. When you're alone at the end of the day, when the day is ending, who is the real Kate?
Kate Monroe· Guest1:15
Well, wouldn't it be nice if we can compartmentalize and pull everything apart? I mean, I think I am all those things, but when I'm at home at night and I'm winding down and I have a nine-year-old and I'm starting to put him to bed, it's that version of me that I think he values most.