What It Really Takes to Rebuild After Everything Falls Apart

What It Really Takes to Rebuild After Everything Falls Apart

From Leading You by Julie Hyde | Leadership Coach for High Performing Leaders

March 2, 2026 · 28 min · Season 8 · Episode 265

About this episode

Julie Hyde interviews Alex Fevola about resilience, rebuilding after trauma, and entrepreneurship in the beauty industry.

Resilience is often described as strength. But real resilience is far less polished. In this episode of  Leading You , Julie Hyde sits down with Australian entrepreneur, author, and founder of Runway Room, Alex Fevola, for a powerful and deeply grounded conversation about rebuilding when life changes overnight. At 22, Alex became a young mum. Weeks later, she lost her partner. On the same day, she experienced a medical emergency that resulted in major surgery and waking with a colostomy. It is an extraordinary chapter of loss, trauma, and shock, but this conversation is not about drama. It is about what happens next. Alex speaks honestly about grief, journalling, hope, and the truth behind the question, “How did you cope?” There was no magic trick. There was support, feeling what needed to be felt, and choosing, when she could, to move forward. From there, the episode moves into entrepreneurship. How working with women in hair and makeup became a source of independence and purpose. How spotting a gap in the market led to the creation of Runway Room. And what it really takes to build a beauty brand in a competitive industry without cutting corners on ethics…

People in this episode

Hosts: Julie Hyde, Julie

Guest: Alex Fevola

Topics covered

  • resilience
  • grief
  • entrepreneurship
  • beauty industry
  • authenticity

Keywords

  • loss
  • trauma
  • support
  • journalling
  • independence
  • Runway Room

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Runway Room

Books & works: Leading You, Silver Linings

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