Eric Malka took a $12,000 investment and turned it into a global brand. Then came the financial crisis, burnout, and one of the biggest lessons of his life.
In this episode, I sit down with Eric Malka – serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of The Art of Shaving – to unpack the unfiltered reality of building a premium brand, scaling with purpose, and navigating chaos when things don't go to plan.
We talk through:
🧳 His early start as a broke 17-year-old immigrant in New York
🩳 Selling board shorts in Puerto Rico – and learning the hard way
🚀 How he bootstrapped The Art of Shaving from a single store to $10M turnover
💥 What went wrong during the Procter & Gamble acquisition and 2008 crash
🧠 His “crawl-walk-run-fly” framework for sustainable growth
🛠️ Crisis management, founder stress, and how to actually avoid burnout
💡 Why coaches aren’t just for failing businesses – and what makes a great one
Whether you're just getting started or preparing for scale, Eric’s honest reflections on risk, resilience, and reinvention will resonate.
