To Gen Z, Bridgit Mendler is a Disney Channel star—known for her hit childhood roles on Good Luck Charlie and Lemonade Mouth. But in Silicon Valley, she’s known as the cofounder and CEO of Northwood, a space startup that recently closed a $100 million Series B funding round.
Looking back now, at 33, she says aspiring for TV stardom and startup success have more in common than meets the eye: namely a willingness to take risks and endure rejection.
“I actually think my background is very traditional when it comes to space CEOs because they tend to just have a very high tolerance for risk,” Mendler said at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference this week in Aspen. “And that’s been a part of my life story as well.”
Growing up, she admitted she always wanted to “be everything”—making her current role as a space CEO feel less surprising than it might seem. Her tolerance for the job was forged early by starting out as a child actor at age 11. She slowly landed a few voice actor and guest roles, but faced rejection “hundreds of times,” including from Disney. Among the setbacks was reportedly an unsuccessful 2007 audition for the lead role in Disney’s Sonny With a Chance—a part that ultimately went to Demi Lovato.
