When Everyone You Trust Says Your Best Idea is a Mistake

Nobody in Seattle would show the game. So Jen Barnes built a bar where every screen, every night, plays women's sports. In the fall of 2021, one of the best women's soccer teams in the country was one win from a championship, and not a single Seattle bar would put the match on. Jen had no market comparable and no proof it would work. Almost everyone told her it was a stupid idea. She opened Rough & Tumble anyway. She sits down with host Kim Bohr to talk about trusting your gut when the data has not caught up, why saying no became her growth strategy, and how she built a team that stays. ───────────────────────── ABOUT THIS EPISODE ───────────────────────── Jen Barnes is the founder and CEO of Rough & Tumble, the world's first bar built for gender equity in sports viewing, and co-founder of Salmon Bay FC. She opened in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood in 2022 after 25 years leading other people's companies. ► https://www.roughandtumblepub.com ───────────────────────── KEY TOPICS ───────────────────────── ► Making a high-stakes call before the data exists ► Why saying no to the industry playbook became a strategy ► Building a team that stays in an industry known for churn ► Leading without building every decision around consensus ► Gender equity as a business strategy, not a favor ► The real costs putting neighborhood restaurants at risk ───────────────────────── CHAPTERS ───────────────────────── 0:00 The game nobody would show 3:00 The calls, and the moment it felt wrong 4:41 Certain before there was proof 6:12 Saying no as a strategy 9:39 The only woman in the boardroom, for 25 years 13:58 Prioritizing women is prioritizing everyone 17:25 What she hires for 21:52 The honest math of staying open 24:43 The one thing to trust 26:50 What the courage to advance means ───────────────────────── RESOURCES ───────────────────────── ► Rough & Tumble: https://www.roughandtumblepub.com ► SparkEffect Trust Study: https://info.sparkeffect.com/trust-st... ► LinkedIn (Jen):   / jenbarnesseattle   ► Instagram (Rough & Tumble):   / roughandtumblepub   ► Instagram (Jen):   / jenslenz   ► Kim on Linkedin:   / kimbohr   ► SparkEffect Trust Study: https://info.sparkeffect.com/trust-st... ► Executive Coaching: https://sparkeffect.com/what-we-do/ex... ► Leadership Development: https://sparkeffect.com/what-we-do/le... ► Organizational Transformation: https://sparkeffect.com/what-we-do/or... ► CEO and Board Advisory: https://sparkeffect.com/what-we-do/ce... ───────────────────────── ABOUT COURAGE TO ADVANCE ───────────────────────── Honest conversations with leaders building the organizations they wish existed. Hosted by Kim Bohr, CEO of SparkEffect. 🔔 Subscribe so more leaders can find these conversations. 🎧 All platforms: https://sparkeffect.com/sparkeffect-p... ───────────────────────── ABOUT SPARKEFFECT ───────────────────────── SparkEffect helps leaders and organizations build trust that holds under pressure, through coaching, leadership development, and organizational work. 🌐 https://sparkeffect.com #WomensSports #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #CHRO #Trust #CourageToAdvance