Brooke Shields on the Counterintuitive Skill Every Founder Must Learn to Succeed

The actor and model says this was the hardest part of launching her own company.

BY ALI DONALDSON, STAFF REPORTER @ALICDONALDSON

Brooke Shields. Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Valeria Ferreira; courtesy Commence

After Brooke Shields launched Commence, her hair care brand designed for women over 40, in 2024, the longtime model and actor started juggling new roles and encountered plenty of firsts: dealing with factories, troubleshooting bottle filling stations, designing packaging, thinking through formulations, and revamping the company’s marketing strategy. But, the most difficult part of becoming a founder and CEO in her late fifties was learning how to fail. That was one experience the former straight-A student and Princeton graduate struggled to get comfortable with. 

“I was so embarrassed,” said Shields, who spoke with American Express chief colleague experience Monique Herena during a fireside chat for an American Express Leadership Academy event last week in New York. “That’s a really difficult body to live in, especially in business, and I had to learn that the things that I was interpreting as failure was basically the best learning experience.” 

Coming to that conclusion required putting aside her ego and analyzing the failure, Shields said. “You’d be surprised what you’re capable of, and sometimes you don’t realize it until after the fact,” she said. “Sometimes giving up—’we’re throwing in the towel’—is not a bad thing. Sometimes that needs to be the pivot.” 

Shields experienced that firsthand when Commence’s marketing approach fell flat with their customer base. As Shields told Inc., the startup started “chasing the wrong things,” spending money on influencers and social media ads that did not resonate with their over-40 female demographic. Seeing the results—or lack thereof—the three-person team changed course, reinvesting in the brand’s monthly newsletter, hosted more community conversations, and offered more access to Shields.

How Anthropic's Claude AI Became a Co-Founder

While the feelings of embarrassment over failure still crops up, Shields said embracing it has become easier with practice. “Resilience breeds more resilience,” she said. “Leading with resilience starts with believing that you’ve gotten yourself better for having gotten here and having that be a source of encouragement and joy.”

The daily digest for entrepreneurs and business leaders

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

© Inc.com