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.

But Mendler said repeatedly hearing no prepared her for the long odds that come with entrepreneurship.

“I think a lot of space CEOs—they’re confronting enormous odds working against them to have success,” she said. “And so I think you just have to have a certain risk tolerance in the face of pretty significant odds.”

Despite fame and fortune, Mendler studied law at Harvard and got a master’s at MIT

Mendler grew up in the Washington, D.C., area before moving to the West Coast with her family as a child. During her Disney years, she enrolled at the University of Southern California to study anthropology, but while balancing acting and only taking a limited course load, she ultimately left school in 2016. 

Two years later, she took an unlikely leap: applying to MIT despite having no undergraduate degree or tech background—and already being a breakout star as both an actress and Billboard-topping singer-songwriter.

“I showed up before a tenured MIT professor with no coding experience and no undergrad degree, asking for admission into their master’s program,” Mendler recalled. 

She didn’t stop there. She later went on to take courses for an MIT PhD and then graduated with a JD from Harvard Law School in 2024. 

That willingness to embrace uncertainty, she said, mirrors what it takes to build a company in one of the world’s riskiest industries. Mendler cofounded Northwood in 2023, betting on a sector that is suddenly drawing renewed attention—and capital.

“For a long time, the space economy has existed, but it’s been pretty niche,” Mendler said. “The economics are switching. You can see that that is leading to adoption and market share from major parts of the economy like telecom.”

The shift comes as space transforms from a niche frontier into one of the buzziest corners of tech and business, attracting major backing from billionaires including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson.

Mendler’s advice: Pursue what interests you—even if you don’t feel invited

While Mendler admitted building a space startup has, in some ways, been easier than navigating Hollywood, she said people shouldn’t let conventional expectations stop them from exploring new interests.

“If you’re feeling low in your life and wanting to turn it around, I think it’s just connecting to the truth—what is it that is true about what you’re curious about, about what you’re interested in, and really building off of the foundation of trying to pursue the truth and pursue your curiosity,” Mendler said.

“I think just taking a leap, taking a gamble,” she added. “I didn’t jump into these spaces because I had an invitation.”

Too often, Mendler said, people overestimate the risks of trying something new.

“There is so much less downside to trying and exploring your curiosity than maybe people realize,” Mendler said on the Fortune panel. “You can start over again, you can try again. Who cares if you mess up and look dumb? [Don’t] feel too serious about the stakes.”