I had to get up the day that the FTC announced they were going to block the deal and put on a happy face and talk about all the silver linings to the company and at the time I brought in a calf belief that but now by 99% believe that

It wasn't just magic that we've been able to pull through and create more value.

Some of the macro things around COVID have been a benefit to our business and helped I think

been really clear on these like omnichannel capabilities that we have being truly distinct and differentiated in a real competitive advantage moving forward.

Of course there were still some benefits to the merger we wouldn't have done it but we're much better off as an independent company and I think fortunate to be where we are.

That's Andy Katz Mayfield, co-founder and co-CEO of Harry's, the shaving and consumer products company.

Harry's faced a double whammy in early 2020. First, the federal government blocked a billion dollar plus acquisition of the company disrupting all kinds of plans and then soon after COVID-19 lockdowns hit.

I'm Bob Safian, former editor of FESC company founder of the flux group and host of Masters of Scale Rapid Response.

I wanted to talk with Andy because given that environment you might expect all sorts of lost momentum.

Instead, Harry's has been rejuvenated, recently raising a bunch of fresh capital at a valuation well above the blocked merger deal.

Through the pandemic and the explains, Harry's got demand from some unexpected products and introduced several new brands and now with a war chest at their disposal, Andy and co-founder and co-CEO Jeff Raider are looking to acquire new brands, having switched from seller to buyer.

It's a classic entrepreneurial feat, finding strength and new opportunities amid disappointment and disruption.

We'll start the show in a moment, afterward from a premier brand partner, Capital One Business.

The stat we know from Arizona is there used to be something like 20 journalists per capita and now there are three.

That's Becky Palak. For over 20 years, she'd been a newspaper reporter in Arizona. And over that time, she watched her newsroom shrink around her, which meant local issues weren't being covered.

What's going on in your city council? What's going on with your taxes? What's going on with your local streets and parks and libraries?

The problem wasn't just in Arizona and it wasn't getting better.

I kept waiting for someone to have a plan for how to solve all the problems in our industry and then I would get behind that leader and like follow their plan.

And then at some point I realized I needed to do it like it needed to be my plan.

So Becky made a surprising pivot from journalist to entrepreneur. We'll hear about that journey later in the show.

It's all part of Capital One Businesses look at entrepreneurs who are solving big problems at all levels of scale.

I'm Bob Safian and I'm here with Andy Katz Mayfield, the co-CEO of Harry's. Andy is joining us from his home in California as I asked my questions for my home in New York. Andy, thanks for joining us.

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