Of course, fame does not guarantee success. Despite the fact that the past decade has brought Steinfeld, a chubby Jewish kid from Brooklyn, more wealth, success and fame than he might have ever imagined, he still regularly hears “no” from people.
“We live in a world where there’s a lot of crap out there,” he says. “People have to move through it in order to get to the right thing. I’m a big believer in keeping that uniform on because you never know when they’re going to put you in the game. I’ve always kept that uniform on; I’m always working at my craft. I’m always working to reinvent myself. I proved that with Body by Jake to FIT TV to Major League Lacrosse.
“Now we’re launching another fitness service called Exercise!TV, which is a video-on-demand service I’m doing with Comcast, which is extremely exciting. It’s all about futures.”
It’s about working toward the future and the willingness to fail. Steinfeld’s first attempt at creating a Body by Jake brand was an idea to put fitness centers in hotels and country clubs around the country.
“I was able to raise 200 grand,” he says. “We hired a PR firm and all kinds of stuff. We went around, went to the Hiltons … Everybody loved the idea. But the recession was just hitting. Everybody was more interested in heads and beds. Everybody said, ‘It’s a great idea. We think it’s fun, but we can’t do it right now.’”
It was a troubling moment for Steinfeld and one of the first make-or-break moments of his business career.
“I ran out of money,” he says. “I could have said, ‘That’s it.’ But fortunately for me, (I have) a great wife who’s a big believer in me.”
Steinfeld and his wife had just purchased a home, and they agreed to take out a second mortgage to finance another attempt at the business.
“We had to take another hard look at what Body by Jake was,” he says. “Obviously, we had a good idea, but it wasn’t going to work.”
