yeah. bring your phone. switch your carrier. save hundreds a year with xfinity mobile. plus get $100 back when you bring in an eligible phone. call, click, or visit a store today. good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business," we'll show you how extreme weight loss gurus built a digital fitness empire. after building two successful empires, he hit rock bottom. how he bounced back with handbag. and how her pillowcase improves hair and skin while you sleep. will she convince shop i phi to feature her product in their pop-up stores? we have advice for your companies. that's all coming up next on "your business." ♪

hi, there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to your business, the show dedicated to helping your growing business. chris and heidi powell have been in the business of transforming lives for a long time. the health and fitness experts gain notoriety on their hit show "extreme weight loss." when the show ended, the couple finally had a chance to turn their attention to the rest of us. they built the transform app so now anyone can follow chris and heidi's workouts, nutritional advice, and coaching one on one.

the partnership between chris and heidi powell is not for the faint of heart. between their four kids, multiple businesses, and working out, this dynamic duo never seems to sleep. >> raise your knees to your chest, we're going 20 seconds. >> the personal trainers and diet and fitness experts became household names during abc's "extreme weight loss." >> you are a champ. 240 pounds. >> i love it. >> but the scope of that show limited them to only help as few people each year. >> one of the biggest struggles for us was on the show. we could work with 15 people in a season. that's it. but the problem, though, is that when every single episode starts off with i wrote a letter to chris and heidi and they

answered my call, then when they air that episode around the world, we were getting i mean tens of thousands of letters, which is really overwhelming because who are we to say no when basically everyone is sitting back and watching us transform 15 lives, there's 150 million lives that need to be transformed out there. >> reporter: since the show finished, u they've wrirch several books. but the development of their transform app is the thing that's taken the ethos of their tv show and extended it to the masses. >> no matter what your fitness goals are, we have the transformation for you. thank goodness for technology nowadays. we can create that whole experience of transformation virtually and we can guide people through. when you run into a problem, we can be there with you. >> heidi organized the project by defining smart goals. >> always make smart goals.

mo matter if it's a goal you're mazic physically to run a marathon or a goal to lose x number of pounds or a goal to start up this business and achieve this much gross revenue by this point in time, whatever it is, a smart goal is necessary, and smart is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. if you tlol those five things when you're making a goal and that goes for anything you're doing in your life as well, your chances of actually reading it are so much higher. adding a twist to it, we always say don't make a smart goal but make a smart goal and declare it to someone in your life so they can hold you accountable. >> as it turns out, heidi was the one who kept chris accountable as they developed the app, keeping crazy hour, spending more time behind the desk than ever before. the transform map would have never seen the light of day if it weren't for tough love from heidi. >> if it were up to chris, none

of the app would have been leased, none of the books would have been released. none of it would have been done. it would never have been good enough. he would say, i need to add this, i need to add this. he needs to say, that's 2.0, chris. >> it's hard. i know what i want to create for the masses. i know what i want to create for the world. but at the same time in business, sometimes you have to -- we talk about the minimal viable product. they literally have to tear it out of my hands. give them what you've got because it's amazing. i'm like whoa, whoa, whoa. they're like, we'll call it 2.1. i get it back to my developers and they crank out the next version. we're all starting to fall into the roles where we excel, which has been really amazing. you almost reach this point in business where you bootstrap it for so long. then all of a sudden it starts

to take form. >> but before there was the trance format, there was stacks. >> we have red stacks for protein, yellow for carbohydrates and green stacks for veggies. >> the business chris launched before he met heidi that never seemed to quite get off the ground that drained his bank account and deeply put him into debt. >> you'll see versions of stacks and a few other products that are on the market. there are ties between me and those. there are people i pitched it to early on, and within about a year and a half to two years it hit the market. >> but what a great learning lesson in so many ways. there are ways that his contracts were structured at the time that if those were still in existence, he never would be free do what we've been able to do. we never would have learned the lessons. truly you have to know when you've got to cut something off. >> it was a lesson that taught them a lot about business and

how to approach everything they did moving forward. >> well, i'm the dreamer, and she's the doer. it's so amazing because we've been able to position ourselves so i can focus on doing what i do well, which is continuing to dream. and as the doer, she rallies the team. we knew where we wanted to go early on, but it's taken ten years now to get to where we are now. when the show came to an end, it finally created that opportunity for us to build the machine that we needed to be able to take people through that journey of transformation. tony was a young successful entrepreneur, and he lived life large. too large really. his business story is a tale of caution and redemption. this business founder went from great heights to rock bottom. i talked with him about his

biggest challenges and how he had the strength and wisdom to navigate through them. he's the chief executive of h m hammitt, a thriving bag company in california. but eight weeks ago his story was anything but a success. tony was homeless, in a financial crisis, and trying to save the business that meant everything to him. >> i ran out of all of my money, i lost the house. i couldn't make the payments. >> hammitt was his third major investment. tony was determine thad this time he was going to do things right. this ohio native made his first fortune in the 1990s when he and a few friends founded a roofing company. >> things moved so fast and the money came in so quickly, i thought i could do no wrong. >> what motivated you in those days? >> money. >> he overindulged in all things

fast and furious. >> a boat, ferrari. everything was red. a truck to pull it. >> so the company for you was sort of like an atm machine. and while he was a fantastic salesman his company bus not focused providing the best product or service. but instead of facing hard times, tony walked. >> why did you walk away? >> i wasn't happy. i lost my motivation and i was done. >> were you depressed? >> oh, yeah. i was. i was. >> he did a lot of soul searching. he went to a tony robbins event, a burning man event, things important to him, and tony decided he was ready to start fresh. >> went into the financial business right before the boom, early 2000, some development of rae, and things started to take off again, and that was a nice ruchbl everything started flowing. i got married. that was a good period of my

life. >> but at his business and personal life started flowing, he stopped again. >> my marriage ended and my son and started to strug. >> how did it feel? you had a great life for a moment. >> yeah. >> and then it all falls apart. >> i have a shirt that says "seeker." working on yourself and improving yourself, it has to be a continuous process. >> so just like the last time when things started to falter, he did some colexploration. >> i thought i could put all of that into building the hammitt brand. when i came into this business, i had enough money, i thought, to build it. >> but he didn't. >> money was going really fast

and sales are not. i ran out of all of my money in a couple of years. >> the situation was bad. he lost his home and spent nearly two years sleeping on friends' couches. >> does it feel shameless? >> well, yeah. there was a lot of shamefulness wasted earlier in life, but also don't look backward. i still had some great things every day that i could focus on. that's what keeps he going. as a lead over a company even in the worst of times, you have to make sure everybody knows you're still going forward. >> was it easy to talk about it? >> not in the beginning. all of a sudden the light bulb went off and i thought, you know what? i don't give a [ bleep ]. people would say, how's it going. i would say i'm homeless. >> he was able to get hammitt

back on track by cutting major expenses in two key areas. one on the sales front. he stopped using pricey showrooms opting instead for one inroom salesperson besiesd himself and in the design dmtd, he had a few instead of high priced freelance artists. he's become a brand. >> if you know hammitt, you wear it, you think the energy of the bag is what attracts you do it. >> he values his employees and believes in the power of mentorship. >> three or four interns are now in leading positions in my company. they're smart and they're inspired. >> and so this time around you've dub so much thinking and exploring about your motivates. >> yeah. >> do you think it's here to

stay? >> knowtony's changes have not been at work. >> when somebody walks up to me and says, the new hammitt, i love it. it's the new shiny boat. >> what do you do with the money you take home? >> it goes back in. i love this business. it's an amazing opportunity to build something that will last way beyond my lifetime. >> no matter what kind of business you're in, i can promise you one thing. you're going deal with tough times, and a lot of times it might be something that's completely out of your control. he oversees the company's partnership of real estate and home related brands and one f the co-found is ofwi wired.com.

first of all, thanks for stopping by. >> thanks for having me. >> you started hot wire and 9/11 happened and people stopped traveling. you started still beau and people stopped buying homes. both companyies -- whatever industry, it might be crashing. >> you're right. >> it changed both of those companies forever. so what we did in both cases, hot wire in 2001, zillo in 2008 was, first of all, make sure the company was right sized. we went from 300 employees to about 150 to 200 employees. >> at hot wire or -- >> at both.

>> how you do keep the morale up? >> you have to make sure there's not a second cut. a lot of companies make a mistake. they only cut a little bit and then they have to force cuts again. you lose credibility. we return to first principles, first mission. we said to those who remain, look, we're going to lock arms and unite. both companies became moreefficient and effective and redoubles their effort post adversity. in the case of zillow in 2008, it helps us to focus more on revenue than just on product. so we were a startup a couple of years in and we're focused shipping product and growing audience and then 2008 happen and we had to figure out how to become profitable. >> in some ways many times these are blessings in disguise, it

masks a lot of problems. >> it's not till the tide goes out, you don't know who's swimming naked. it's true. it masks all sorts of inefficiencies. >> how do you deal with the personal fear, right? everything is going great and then suddenly the bottom falls out. how to you work with that? >> as a ceo, it's one thing i deal with all the time. it's the different between the public persona and private persona. employees stir. obviously we all have doubt. i'm careful what i say where. bei fwg being aware of different

powe serer personas. congratulations. you took one and then both companies through hard times and high ones. zillow is doing great. thank you. >> good to see you. >> good to see you. for our elevator pitch, we've done something special. we've worked with schon phi. they work with more than 6,000. they've opened up a permanent space to grow a business. our elevator pitcher if she wins is going to get two prizes. the first is she's going to get her product placed in a shopify tour. she's going to get an skps in growing businesses. let's meet our pitcher. >> today's elevateder pitcher is

camela hurley. it's so good to see you. >> thank you. i've been committed to spotify and platform and this is 1u67 an honor. >> the name of your company is? >> madison & white. we believe beauty starts in bed. >> you're going to do the full pitch. i think this is still amazing you already met one of the judges. >> i did. i am so sorry. i saw her sitting outside and i'm running up and i say, okay, i know you started the company lively and you're my version of a celebrity. can i take a selfie with you? >> and you did. >> i did. >> you're ready to pitch in front of her. >> i do. >> michelle core dairy, the second is harley finkelstein. i'm guessing this is one of another of your heroes.

>> this is a life dream i'm getting ready to walk into. i'm going to enjoy the journey and know that i'm getting my bu -- beauty sleep tonight. my name is camela hurley. our beauty product enhances hair and skin as you sleep so when you wake up in the morning, you can just get ready and conquer the day with style. the primary difference with our pillowcases which i'll hand to you is it's the fabric. our -- it's different than anything else on the market. the fabric is made of maddox and it helps to stop bed head, reduce pesky face wrinkles. you get two billow cases for $79 and as a single mom and small business owner, i'll let you know i can't hand anything complicated. it's theory why since day one i

had my company shop with shopify because it makes my job easier. it's allowed me to start my business on the kitchen table coast. shapp shopify, i'm asking you, please, join the slumber party and help build up shopify. >> i wouldn't be here without shopify. truly. an amazing platform. >> a question. who do you compete with? >> silk and satin pillowcases. one of the remaining differ rating factors, this is easy to take care of with all the same benefits. it doesn't feel like a cheap halloween costume like most satin pillowcase doss do. it's meant to change your beauty game, not your home decor. >> what's the price product? >> it's $79 for two pillowcases.

absolutely. >> okay. go deliberate. >> where you got me, when you said, it takes out tangles. >> yes. >> maybe me for beauty but my daughter for, the number of hours i spend trying to -- >> trust me. my children sleep on them. i sleep on them because it makes my morning flawless. to wake up and have comb-out hair and be ready to go. i find when i look good i dream big and am ready to conquer all the goals i have in day. >> how old is the company? >> just launched november 17th but the idea started on the kitchen table in 2015. >> funded how? >> i've actually diligently pulled the money together myself and have an angel investor helping. >> good for you. bring you back in. we get to find, turn around the poster and will you be on shopify? yes! >> i'm so excited! >> one thing, this is a busy person's dream.

right? most busy people, men or women, don't have time to take care of themselves. the fact you can sleep and have beauty done to you and great stuff happen to your hair and skin is amazing. kind of the perfect thing for any an pra pra nuentrepreneur. you should emphasize that more as an efficiency product as well. >> i will. >> and lean into the idea of self-care. join the conversation. a hot topic. that's what this product really is. unlock that and create content, sky's the limit. >> by the way, i think you would be an amazing mentor. right? >> i know. >> we need a slumber party! >> i would love that. absolutely. >> all right. congratulations. >> thank you. i'm so excited. thank you. thanks to all of you who have gone ahead and listened to the beginning of our therz season of the podcast been there built that. we love your feedback. this week we launch a new one with jen rubio, co-founder of the luggage brand away. to give you a sense who jen is,

she is such an early adopter of new things that her twitter handle is @jennifer. something i should have gotten because my real name is jennifer. she talked how she's grown the company with an uh-huh moment with a piece of broken luggage and turned luggage into something people want to talk about at cocktail parties. check it out. called bin there, built that. find it wherever you get your podcasts. if you listen to it, leave feedback. e were love hearing what you think. when we come back, we've got advice on how government contracts can help with scaling your business, and as we continue to celebrate women's small business month, we address how women of color in the tech industry can navigate obstacles to success. >> announcer: sponsored by the powerful backing 6 american express. helping you turn your ideas into reality with money and know-how,

so you can get business done. up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. we have this e-mail from one of our viewers who writes, being a ceo of a tech company and being a woman especially a woman of color, how am i supposed to navigate paths many haven't done before? >> so that is a great question. and you're right. there are not that many of us who have navigated these paths but there are some of us. and i definitely would look for mentors to help you along the way. i certainly have had great mentors, and the other thing that i would just say to you is that, what's really important is that you are authentic, because

as you are trying to navigate, trying to get customers and investors and people to trust you, you have to present as yourself. you cannot try to be anyone other than yourself. and so you need to know your numbers. you need to know your business inside and out but present that in a way that is authentic to you, and the right people, the right customers, the right investors will find you, i promise you. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help you grow your business. introducing the panel, their add vines. the co-founder of empire global ventures a firm helping identify open and close deals. and the chairman and ceo of juice press. a health food provider. tell me something you've learned our audience can benefit from. >> the biggest thing would be that you need to have a balance

between having conviction in what you're doing and humble enough and care enough about ultimately winning to be able to step back and look and see what does the consumer really want from you and how the trend is changing. >> interesting. have conviction in what you're doing but care enough about winning. you put those as opposites. >> yes rnlgtsz a l. >> a lot of people would put those on the side. >> we all have ego and pride and sometimes deal our heels in too often and forget what tradition it. >> and do you have someone in your friend group, family, friends, slaps you in the face, reminds you. hey. step back a second. you're doing this wrong? >> i think reality of having 85 stores and 750 people working at juice press and forcing myself to look at ultimately the metrics. do thevalidate? when they don't, don't delude

myself that metrics don't mean anything. having that viewpoint and teaching yourself to step back and be humble enough to recognize that what ultimately my mission is, the school of hard knocks taught me to be that way. >> got it. thanks. alexandra, you basically swoop into businesses, find them revenue, generating opportunities, partnerships, what have you, and make it happen. >> we do. >> you have seen lots of companies go from here to there with your help. and what's one thing you've learned? >> often overlooked, we think businesses should explore doing business with government. government can be a terrific customer, a great partner for companies looking to scale. >> but a hard one to work with and a hard one to get in with from the get-go. how do you deal with that? >> part of our specialty. you have to in a gran laular wa figurous the needs and who wants to scale? over an overlap. no one has r & d any more.

all you know what walks in your door. government finds good businesses to work with but don't know what they don't know. i suggest businesses raise their hand and say look as me. pick me. >> congratulations on both your companies. impressive to hear how you've grown. thanks for stopping by. >> thanks for having us. this week's "your biz selfie" from iris shelton. other than of a business in washington, d.c. and someone with stylish glasses. love those, iris. she has a consulting firm helping businesses develop marketing for customer service and productivity. pick up your smartphone like iris did. take a selfie of you and your company and send it to "your business" @msnbc.com or tweet it to msnbc your biz. use the #yourbizselfie, and let us know your name, name of your

company and where you are. we love hearing from you. thanks for joining us. send us an e-mail to "your business" @msnbc.com. also if you have a chance, please, go to our web cited. msnbc.com/yourbusiness. we put up everything from the show plus a lot more and don't forget to connect with us on all digital and media platforms. one last thing. remember to check out the podcast called been there, built that. just launched our third season's download for free or from tunein or wherever you get your podcasts. we look forward to next time and please remember, we make your business our business. i'm j.j. ramberg.

you're in the business of helping people. we're in the business of helping you. business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. good morning. this is "up." i'm david gura. we begin with russian election interference 2.0. sheer what the president has said in the past. >> they said they think it's russia. i have president putin. he just said it's not russia. >> yesterday we learned that is not true. >> this is a very calculated campaign, and it's the same playbook used in 2016. >> the president has said about saudi arabia and "washington post" columnist jamal khashoggi. >> as of t