My Ex Said I'd Never Amount to Anything, So I Built a Million-Dollar Brand Just to Prove Her Wrong - And Hired Her

Three years ago, my girlfriend "Sarah" (28F) broke up with me (29M) in the most devastating

way possible. We'd been together for four years. I was working an entry-level marketing

job, struggling financially, but I had big dreams about starting my own business.

Sarah told me I was "wasting my time with fantasies," that I was "never going to be successful,"

and that she couldn't "wait around for someone with no ambition." She left me for

a guy who worked in finance and had a "real career." I was destroyed. But that breakup

lit a fire in me. I had an idea for a sustainable lifestyle brand - eco-friendly products,

modern aesthetic, targeting conscious consumers. I'd been talking about it for years.