How to Turn Failure Into a Founder Win with Mary McCorvey

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0:35Founders Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, reveal the stories behind their successes, and the lessons they've learned. Join Mark and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a bit of fun. Now, let's dive in. Good morning, America. How are you this morning? or this afternoon or this evening, whenever you're listening to this. We have in the studio today, Mary. I'll say her name. I don't always do this at the beginning. Mary McCorvey. She was a guest host that we recorded earlier today with Neil Cooper of Royer Cooper. I've known Mary because of the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Group at the Union League of Philadelphia.

1:20She's a very interesting person with very interesting background. And for our topic of the day, we were talking before the show about founders of companies, because that's what the show is about. And what's different today than maybe even a decade ago? Things are changing rapidly in the world. So Mary, I'd love to hear your insights on that. Well, thank you, Mark. And thank you so much for having me on the program. I really appreciate it. And welcome. I'm thrilled to have you. So I have the privilege of having founded a company, several companies. Okay, seven companies. Right, right. I was going to say, come on, there's a little more.

2:03Over a period of time that spanned more than 10 years. But looking back 10 years ago and today, I've had the opportunity to really experience the founder's journey. And what I've learned is that you need – the motivation is the same. It's a compulsion. It's not something that you have a choice. Right. You have to do it. Right. That doesn't change. What's changed is the way that we approach the opportunity that we're creating. and so the the e-myth for example the book the e-myth there's a lot that's still relevant there's a lot that's that's changed in the environment so you name can you think of one thing that you would use as an example that's changed sure so today i can't imagine working without artificial intelligence.

3:04Right, right. That's just the nature of the job. And if you don't use it, you will be immediately behind the eight ball. And we're going to talk about your book in a little bit, which you used artificial intelligence, I'd say, in a unique way already. And we'll talk about that when we get there. But yeah, so that's one example. Anything else you can think of? Well, I think that the nature of how to capitalize a company has also changed because of the speed at which we're all traveling now. So you have to go into your endeavor, go into your journey knowing that you really need what I call a five-point seat belt.

3:54Are you familiar with a five-point seat belt, Mark? No, I have a sense of what that is, but it'd be good for you to explain it. Well, I have a passion for motorsports. Right. So when you get into a race car, you have the way we normally put on a seat belt is a three-point seat belt. Right. If you get in a race car, you better have a five-point seat belt all around. Right. And that's the way it is in the environment right now in the founder's journey. You have to have that level of protection around yourself because the G-forces are such that they're just going to take you away if you don't. That's very illustrative and descriptive and I get it, so that's great.

4:39So we're going to move on because we have a lot to cover in our 28 minutes that we have for this show. So let me introduce Mary officially. And so it's going to be a lot, but I'm going to tell you a bit about Mary. She develops and produces high-impact media projects that connect with audiences across platforms, digital, television, live, and emerging formats. As a founder and creative entrepreneur, she specializes in leading content initiatives from concept to execution. Her background spans unscripted storytelling, branded experiences, civic engagement campaigns, and audience-driven formats that educate, inspire, and entertain.

5:24By the way, she has a comedy background, too. You're going to tell us a few jokes, maybe? Probably not. Okay, probably not. Okay, I won't put you on the spot. With deep experience in founding and startup leadership, talent development, and strategic storytelling, she brings together the right teams, platforms, and partnerships to create scalable media experiences with commercial and cultural relevance. Her work sits at the intersection of creative strategy, execution, and social impact, leveraging deep narrative sensibility with operational rigor. from civic storytelling initiatives to podcasts and scalable digital formats.

6:05She's focused on producing work that not only reaches wide audiences, but resonates. So she would like to connect with those who explore collaboration and media development, talent partnerships across platform storytelling. So we're collaborating today. So this is who knows what will come out of this. That's quite a mouthful there, Mark. Thank you. Well, there's a lot. so and let me tell you that she's the author of a book called experience over expectations which in and of itself tells you a lot because there's that's part of her story and she'll explain that title and also we're going to talk a little bit about how she used ai in the book in fact her partner is ai spelled a little differently than you're used to seeing it and she also as she mentioned was the founder of seven companies and she's a veteran from a young age of the U.S.

6:55Armed Services. So Mary's done a lot in her few years on earth. So where do you would like to start? Let's tell your story about how you grew up, went into the Army, and then became an entrepreneur. I think it's kind of how it goes. Well, I grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and had a wonderful life there. And I left there when I was 16 years old. I joined the Army when I was 18 years old, and I started my first business when I was 18 years old. Right. There you go. So it all happened at once. So the Army offered me a great opportunity. So being with you here today is just like coming back to home because the job that I had in the Army was with the Armed Services Radio and Television Network.

7:49Right, right. So during the daytime, I was a disc jockey and television producer. And then at nighttime, I had my entrepreneurial endeavor of playing disc jockey in clubs. Right, right. I remember that. That's great. That's great. So from a very early age, I've been an entrepreneur. So you were making, and I assume saving money since the Army was paying your way, your room and board and all that. You were saving money at a young age, I would imagine, too. Oh, sure. Absolutely. The military experience, I highly recommend it for any young person who wants to not only travel the world and have the experience of being all you can be, so to speak.

8:37Right. I think I've heard that before. But also the things that you learn that you bring into your entire life going forward. And how long did you serve in the armed services? For six years. Six years. And then there was another seven where I was a civilian executive with the Army. And I think the armed services resulted in a marriage maybe. Am I right about that? I'm sorry, repeat? Armed services resulted in you getting married at some point around there? Yes, I was. I was married around the same time that I joined the Army. Right. Okay, so you got out of the Army. You had a civilian job after that, right?

9:17And then what was your next entrepreneurial foray after that? After that, I became a business consultant, a business organizational development business consultant. And that's when I came to Philadelphia. I came to my last service with the government was when I went to Desert Storm in Kuwait in 1991. Right. And then I came back from that, had really quite an experience transitioning out of that, and ultimately met Ed Rendell. How many people know Ed Rendell? A whole bunch. For those not in Philadelphia, former mayor, former, I guess, chair of the Democratic Party nationally at one point. Yes, and governor of the state of Pennsylvania.

10:07And, of course, two-term governor of Pennsylvania who did a lot of cool things for Pennsylvania. So how did you meet Ed Rendell if you weren't living in, you met him when you came to Philadelphia? I met him in 1992 when he first was elected as mayor of Philadelphia. And he said, would love to have you come and work on my transition team. Is that what brought you to Philadelphia or you're already here? That's what brought you there. That's what brought me here. And I kept coming back. I lived in New Jersey at the time and I kept coming back to Philadelphia and just fell in love with the city. And so, sure, I said I'd be glad to do that.

10:43And then Philadelphia being what it is, it's just such a warm welcome. And so I started a business in organizational development consulting. So what brought you to New Jersey? Did you go back to Florida after the Army or no? No, I traveled the world and I kept going. Okay. But why New Jersey? I settled in New Jersey. the same reason, Mark, that people, you know, they travel or they make decisions like decisions for love or money. Right, right. Sometimes both, but love or money. Got it. So that one was for love. Right, got it. And I married a naval aviator. There you go. And so we settled at his base in New Jersey.

11:29Ah, got it. He was the commander of that base. Got it. So, and then you're working on the Rendell transition team, right? Yes. You know a lot of people. You must know Tom Knox, who's been on the show. I do know Tom Knox. I'm sure you know him very well. And his lovely wife, Linda Knox. Right, right, right. Yes. And do you happen to know Susan Jacobson? Do you know Susan Jacobson? I do, yes. She's been on the show as well, yeah. Sure. So there you go. So big, small town, Philadelphia. So you did that. So how long did you do that for? About 10 years. Oh, really? Yes. You worked in the administration for 10 years.

12:07Oh, no, no, no. Not in the administration. In my business for organizational development. Oh, you're still doing that. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Yes. And what was your next move after that? That's when I started my, what I call the three-year gigs. Right, right. And I hearken back to the time when I was in the military because you're generally stationed for three years at a time. Ah, so it wasn't an accident that it worked out that way. Well, yes, and you come to expect that you're going to have a life change in three years. Right. Interesting. And so one of the things that I found out about being a founder is that there is a lifespan that you're really, really effective.

12:55Some founders can go on and become the CEO of the company and grow it and take it to IPO and exit and all of that. But there are very few, I believe. It's interesting because I'm going to ask you later in the show about your three-year vision, which I expect will look a lot different than where you are today based on your commitment issues, as you call them. Ah. However, I will be using some of the same skills and the motivations that drive me. I'm sure because that doesn't change. Yes. So we'll get to that. But okay, so tell us about the three-year gigs we have about a minute and a half before the commercial.

13:37So maybe we can cover those. Well, when I left business, I went into the creative world. And so I became a novelist. I became a playwright. I became a person who worked in professional theater. And that over the next, say, eight years. Was that an outgrowth of you from being a broadcaster in the Army, do you think? or unrelated? Absolutely. It was, yeah. Absolutely. And I was just exploring different areas, and I had some significant success in all of them. Right. But after a period of time, I found that I had done what I came to do, and I was ready for next. Right. So author, playwright, and director, you're doing all these things, and that was for a three-year period, I assume?

14:25For about an eight-year period. Okay. Yes. And then I went into commercial business. Ah. And what was the first commercial business you went into? It was a software development company that I co-founded with two really, really great partners. Nice. And we went in with the idea that we were, again, going back to my roots, that we were going to create a software platform to do customized video delivery with collecting consumer data. Interesting. Well, that is a perfect time to stop for a commercial break. And we will be right back with Mary McCorvey on Founders Forum. The Sattel Institute is the leading CEO member organization dedicated to corporate social responsibility.

15:17Under the vision and leadership of its founder, entrepreneur and philanthropist Ed Sattel, the Institute brings together CEOs in Philadelphia and other cities to support the nonprofit organizations that do heroic work in our communities. The Sattel Institute believes that community is every leader's business. SI's members-only meetings and private CEO conferences give members the opportunity to hear from world-class thought leaders on crucial topics like AI, education, corporate philanthropy, and more. In addition, CEO members get the opportunity to share ideas and experience with their peers, like-minded CEOs who believe in the importance of giving back to the community, and who understand the benefits companies get from embracing corporate social responsibility.

16:00The Sattel Institute charges no dues or fees. In order to join, member companies simply make a long-term commitment to the nonprofit of their choice. To find out more about membership and why so many leading companies are now part of the Sattel Institute, visit the organization's website at sattelinstitute.org. Sattel, S-A-T-E-L-L, institute.org. As Ed Sattel says, think we, not just me. We're back on Founders Forum with my very interesting guest today, Mary McCorvey, who's a very interesting life so far. And so you started a software development company with partners, and you had great partners.

16:44And can I assume you had a successful exit from that company? You may not assume. Okay. You may not. I did find that out on the break. That was a leading question. And so what did you do? So ultimately, we had to wind the company down. There were several reasons for that. The primary reason is that we had done the requisite market research. We knew that video was going to be surging, and it did and it has. We knew that the demand for customer data and information on the way people think, the way they shop, their buying decisions, we knew that data related to that was going to be in demand. What we did not understand at that time is that we were early to market.

17:40Right. For the patented platform that we built, which was Jim Dandy, I'll tell you, it was great. It was a great platform. But we were just early to market because our customers, which were essentially Fortune 500 companies that were interested in doing in the marketing sector, they just were not ready to their their infrastructure they were not ready to accept this particular product and service at this particular time they weren't they were they didn't know yet what they were going to do with that data i guess yes that was into they knew what they wanted to do with it but they didn't have a system in place to actually accept the data and manage it and get value from it got it so you shut the company down i did and i learned I learned a lot about failure.

18:37Right. Yes. What was the lesson? The lesson was that had I not started that company, I would have learned differently about failure. Right. Number one, this is going to sound odd perhaps, but I welcome failure. Because in developing software, unless you find the failures, before you go to market, you're going to be in a hot bucket of mess. you know don't you think in anything unless you fail you you can't grow you can't learn absolutely absolutely that that's and from from a software standpoint it was a very practical lesson but it applies across a lot of different areas of your life so you know it's hard to say that I welcome failure but it's really the perception of of the situation and how you look at it.

19:33So you knew when you shut it down that this was a lesson. You weren't looking at it like, oh my God, we failed. You were looking at it like, this is good because I learned a lot from this. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I would like to, you know, give a shout out to my two co-founders who were just, they were, they were just super. And all of the pieces were in place for a very successful endeavor. And it's just simply that early to market thing. But in terms of being a founder, I do want to share my opinion and my experience, as I've mentored a lot of entrepreneurs, that people who found companies make the biggest mistakes, sometimes not recoverable, by choosing the wrong co-founder.

20:27Right. That, I think, is one of the biggest reasons why companies fail. I've had that experience. I've had that experience too. Not in this particular case, but in another case, yeah. And actually, we talked about that in reverse on Neil's show that we just did. He happened to choose the right co-founder originally, and it worked out well. But had he not, maybe a whole different result. So then you went from that to your next entrepreneurial endeavor, I imagine? Yes. So my next entrepreneurial endeavor was a, and this is what I've done over in these three-year gigs. Then my next one was creating an experience.

21:12So, for example, I created with a co-founder who was a good co-founder, and you may know her, Diane Simmingson. I know her by name. Diane and I created Lincoln 200, the bicentennial festival. Oh, right. And it was Lincoln's 200th birthday. And we said, you know what? We've heard enough about the tragedy. We've heard enough about the assassination and the horrible times. We need to have a party for Abraham Lincoln because his impact on people's lives and the country is so much greater than that simplification. And so we created the Bicentennial Festival. And so we had to raise money in the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.

22:02Right. Wow. And so... I raised some money during those years too. I know what that was like. It was not easy. Yeah. It was not easy. And how did that all work out? It worked out beautifully. Yeah, nice. It was a great success. Yes. That's great. That's great. And what came after that? What came after that was, again, looking at the founder's journey, what mine is, is I get compelled by an idea. I get, yes, Lincoln has to have a birthday. Right, right, right. And then I say, okay, I'm going to do it. And then I capitalize it. And then I build the team. And then I execute. And that usually takes a period of 24 to 36 months.

22:50So the next thing that I did was my compulsion was around military veterans who were coming back from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. and there was a media blitz about how they were all broken, homeless, unemployable, you know, really, really difficult in the workplace and all of that. And I knew that to be wrong. And so I built a company around changing that narrative on a national level. And having those veterans become employed, the ultimate goal, I guess, right? That is absolutely the case, yes. So I created with my background in media, I created a production company called the Triumph Games.

23:40And I produced for CBS Sports two years of competitions. Sure, I remember that. Yes. Wow, interesting. And that was a great success. Nice. So, and then after that, I'm not, number one, we're running out of time. I mean, I don't want to not dwell on your successes, but I know you learn more from the hard stuff. So we're talking about some of your successes. So what came after the Triumph Games? My moonshot. Which was? My moonshot was working with young people to get them to compete and create a lunar rover that was going to race on the moon. Right. I found out that someone was going to the moon.

24:25A company was going to the moon. And I said, well, if somebody's going to the moon, our kids have got to be on that lander. And so I became compelled by that. I had a business model to work on it. And I went out and I found a rocket company. I found a lander company. I found a rover company. I found kids from all over the world that wanted to participate in this. And it was a remarkable, successful launch. And then COVID hit. Yeah. So did the rover ever get to the moon? The rover did not get to the moon. But the rover was created, though. There was a rover that was designed that would operate on the moon.

25:11Got it. Wow. Yeah. We only have a few minutes left, so I want to get to your book. I want to make sure we cover your book a little bit. So the book is called Experience Over Expectation, and I'm in the middle of reading it. and one of the interesting things about it is you have a partner on the book whose name is AI, spelled if I got it correct, E-H-E-Y-E. Correct. And so tell us about that, how and why you did that and what the book is about. Sure. Well, experience over expectation and the subtitle is let go of the plan and live on your terms. And what it is, is a reflection of different aspects of my life, and I do tend to focus on lessons that I learned.

25:58And I was writing that type of a memoir, and I kept finding myself going back to AI for research purposes and so forth. And I said, I wonder if I put my story into AI and ask it to analyze it, what would I get? I didn't have to use the information. It completely changed the course of the book. And so AI then became my co-writer, my editor, so to speak. And so there's a chapter where I talk about something that happened in my life, and then AI analyzes that against thousands and thousands of other cases of people who were in the same situation, made similar decisions, and had similar outcomes. It's very interesting because it's written in your voice, but you're very transparent about how you used AI, and AI is your partner in the book.

26:52It's really interesting how it's written. I have the feel for that. I know the pattern, and I'm looking forward to getting to the end of it and talking to you about it again. But we're almost out of time, so I want to ask you. You've done a lot, and we've covered a lot of your story, not all of it because it would be impossible in this amount of time. But what would you like your legacy to be? Because you've done so many great things and impacted so many people. What do you think about your legacy that you'd love to leave behind sometime in the future? Well, that's a great question, Mark. Thank you.

27:21And I think it does, for me, it means impacting people in a positive way. Whether I am mentoring a young entrepreneur or a military veteran or whether I'm creating something that, you know, millions of people experience through mass media. the goal and the purpose is to have a positive impact. And I know that I have been able to do that and I'm grateful for it. And that impact on as many people as you possibly can would be your legacy. And especially people that I have no idea that I've impacted. Right, that's the best part is when that happens. So with that, thanks so much for being here, Mary.

28:09It's a great show, really interesting. Thank you, Mark. I could talk to you all day. and thank you all for listening and we'll see you next week on Founders Forum.