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When Nobody Believed in His Vision, the Co-Founder of Fatherly Shares How He Proved Them Wrong After hearing 'no' over and over again, Mike Rothman starting making strategic decisions to confirm his idea was a good one.

By Jason Feifer

entrepreneur daily
Fatherly

This is an episode of our podcast Problem Solvers. Each week, an entrepreneur reveals how they overcame an unexpected problem in their business -- and were happier and more successful as a result. The show is hosted by Entrepreneur's editor in chief, Jason Feifer. Listen below, or subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Everyone who's experienced setbacks, rejection and frustration will ask themselves the same inevitable question: "What if the naysayers are right?" Mike Rothman did that. As he built his company Fatherly -- a media site for dads, which is a market everyone told him was nonexistent -- he was told "no" over and over again. But instead of quitting, he made strategic decisions that enabled him to discover the truth: His idea really was a good one. And soon, the people saying no started to say yes.

Related: How the Founder of Baked by Melissa Recovered From Her First Holiday Sales Disaster

In this episode of Problem Solvers, learn how Rothman navigated the early days of Fatherly and the choices he made to help validate his idea.

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Jason Feifer

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor in Chief

Jason Feifer is the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine and host of the podcast Problem Solvers. Outside of Entrepreneur, he is the author of the book Build For Tomorrow, which helps readers find new opportunities in times of change, and co-hosts the podcast Help Wanted, where he helps solve listeners' work problems. He also writes a newsletter called One Thing Better, which each week gives you one better way to build a career or company you love.

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