Fast Company September 2015

The first time I met Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would she have her face covered? How intense would her security be? Was there a specific protocol for addressing Saudi Arabian royalty? “Hi, I’m Reema,” she said, extending her hand. There was no pretense, no head scarf, no bodyguards in evidence. We were at a restaurant in Montreal—I would be interviewing her at a conference nearby the next day—and she looked and acted like any other patron. And then she began to talk: about her efforts to integrate women into the workforce in Saudi Arabia; about the challenges of family and culture and the religious police; about what employing “the ladies,” as she referred to them, might do to reset assumptions and patterns in her…

ANDY DUNN Then COFOUNDER AND CEO, BONOBOS Now EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, BONOBOS Andy Dunn—known to readers of our 2014 Most Creative People in Business issue as the “master of men’s pants”—announced in May that he was giving up his role as CEO of Bonobos, the digital-first fashion brand he cofounded. Instead, he’d be stepping into a new position as the company’s executive chairman. “My job now is to have a little bit of distance from the day to-day and be able to be our numberone ambassador,” says Dunn. (Former Coach executive Francine Della Badia has been tapped to replace him as CEO.) That’s not the only change at Bonobos, which sold its millionth pair of chinos earlier this year. In the past two years, the company has expanded to include the women’s brand Ayr and a line…

“I’m in training for a long bike ride and have been logging my rides with Strava. The app breaks down my rides into segments, then compares how I did versus others. It gives me all the data I want after each ride.” Tim League Cofounder and CEO, Alamo Drafthouse “The Likary Smart Two Wheel Self Balancing Electric Scooter is basically a Segway without handlebars. Everyone loves them at the office.” David Holz Cofounder and CTO, Leap Motion “Jins is the best of Warby Parker and LensCrafters but with Japanese aesthetics, quality, and efficiency, and is less expensive than both.” Korey Lee CIO, Sumall “I travel often and hate overpaying for flights. Hopper is an app that tells me what a good price is for my itinerary— and notifies me when a better price is available.” Sara Rowghani VP of marketing, Kickstarter READING…

When I moved into my new apartment a year ago, I tried to throw money at Pinterest. I felt too old for Ikea’s Förhöja accessories and blank, asylum-white walls, and embarrassed not to own my own window treatments or know exactly what a duvet was. I needed interior decorating help. I needed Pinterest. Its ever-growing inventory of pictures of bespoke fashion, Etsyesque knickknacks, works of art, and home decor now totals more than 50 billion “pins.” I easily found the styles I wanted for my new place, but when I tried to purchase them, my nightmare began. The reclaimedwood coffee table I coveted was no longer for sale at the retailer linked to in the pin; neither was the brand. A Google Images search was fruitless. This happened again and…

POLYVORE FOUNDED 2007 Users: 20 million How it works: Lets users create fashion magazine–style collages of products they want; then anyone can shop the collection. Claim to fame: A higher average order than Pinterest. FARFETCH FOUNDED 2008 Users: 450,000 How it works: Showcases goods from more than 300 boutiques around the world that are largely not otherwise online, making it easy to shop them. Claim to fame: Acquired a real-world department store in the U.K. to experiment with offline-online shopping. FANCY FOUNDED 2009 Users: 10 million How it works: Pinterest-style inspiration scroll, with more control to classify what you want and what you own. Claim to fame: Offers same-day delivery for products near you in more than 100 cities. WANELO FOUNDED 2011 Users: 11 million How it works: Pinterest-style inspiration board, but everything can be purchased. Claim to fame: Has real-time…

From summer blockbusters to famous corporate turnarounds, the best comeback tales always focus more on heroes’ bold, clever maneuvers than on the hours they lie awake at night obsessing over where they might have gone wrong (and how they can fix it). But according to Daring Way founder and CEO Brené Brown—the researcher and storyteller whose TED talk “The Power of Vulnerability” has been viewed 20 million times—a crucial opportunity exists in spending time with our failures. Her new book, Rising Strong, explains how it can even transform the way you lead. Here’s why she wrote it. The issue Brown—both as a professor at the University of Houston and as CEO of Daring Way, which trains counselors in her work—has spent 14 years studying the link between vulnerability and courage. In 2012,…