MONEY TALKS with Jesse

Ryan Leslie is a Grammy-nominated recording artist turned tech entrepreneur who built 4 multi-million dollar companies from the ground up, including SuperPhone, a direct text marketing service. A Harvard graduate and seasoned angel investor, Ryan now offers mentorship through WealthPlan, a private community that provides financial education and tools to help members scale their wealth.TIMESTAMP:[00:01:07] The start of his career.[00:03:15] Early thoughts on money.[00:06:54] Growing up in a musical family.[00:09:08] Getting into Harvard at 15 years old.[00:12:43] The moment where music became a career.[00:16:39] The deal that kept his music career alive.[00:19:59] Landing an unpaid internship in NYC.[00:21:29] Working on songs with The Hitmen.[00:22:30] Producing a song for Beyonce.[00:23:25] Getting signed by Diddy & Tommy Mottola.[00:24:08] Achieving success in the music industry.[00:29:29] Joining an a cappella group at Harvard.[00:33:02] Journey with money & mentorship.[00:34:43] Launching the Cassie project.[00:36:54] The numbers behind the Cassie project.[00:38:56] Investing early in Apple.[00:41:41] Having high conviction.[00:43:23] Knowing when to hold or sell.[00:47:04] Being early to Bitcoin.[00:50:27] How to be early to things.[00:53:03] Great opportunities in A.I.[00:56:14] How to earn 4%/month on your money.[01:01:15] The Wheel Strategy.[01:03:26] Success stories from WealthPlan members.[01:06:08] Approach to growing different net worths.[01:10:23] Learning lessons from WealthPlan.[01:13:07] Having an abundance mindset.[01:17:55] Thoughts on debt.[01:20:11] Mindsets that lead to success.[01:22:56] Buying versus renting.[01:24:19] The purpose of WealthPlan.[01:27:53] Building custom apps.[01:32:26] The next evolution of Ryan Leslie.[01:36:19] Scaling mentorship at WealthPlan.[01:40:04] Getting Ryan Leslie as your mentor.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/ryanleslie/https://x.com/ryanlesliehttps://www.youtube.com/@ryanleslie

Michelle Battersby is the Co-Founder of Sunroom, an app built for women to safely monetize their unfiltered content through monthly subscriptions and tips. In August 2025, Sunroom was acquired by Fanfix, and Michelle stepped into a new role as President at Peanut, the leading motherhood app. Prior to Sunroom, Michelle was the first employee at Bumble Australia, the seventh employee globally, and the Director of APAC Marketing, where she grew Bumble to 3.2 million registrations across Australia.Disclaimer: This episode was filmed prior to Sunroom’s acquisition by Fanfix in August 2025.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:40] What is Sunroom.[00:01:00] Becoming the first employee at Bumble Australia.[00:04:00] Perks of being one of the first Bumble employees.[00:06:36] Leaving Bumble to start Sunroom.[00:08:48] Transitioning from employee to founder.[00:11:14] Raising $7 million for Sunroom.[00:14:04] Pitching Sunroom to investors.[00:16:36] Benefits of having worked in tech.[00:17:55] Handling money from investors. [00:19:33] Offering $100,000 for a domain.[00:20:41] Having relationships with investors.[00:22:22] Managing roles at Sunroom.[00:24:20] The numbers behind Sunroom.[00:25:36] Attention is a currency.[00:27:12] The paid content experience. [00:28:47] The biggest opportunities for creators now.[00:30:25] Personal approach to content creation. [00:33:00] Newsletters & Substack.[00:35:34] Making authentic content. [00:37:30] The power of the mom community.[00:38:21] Benefits of having a personal brand.[00:41:32] Productivity hacks.[00:43:30] Balancing parenting and working.[00:45:52] Personal & professional goals.[00:47:45] Global relationship with money.[00:51:40] Weird exercises that lead to success.[00:54:01] The Anti-Network.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/michellebattersby/https://www.tiktok.com/@michellebattersby_

LaRussell is a rapper, entrepreneur, and founder of Good Compenny, a Bay Area based nonprofit that provides local creatives with resources, support, and opportunities to showcase their talents and ideas. Since 2018, LaRussell has dropped an astounding 40 albums as an independent artist, using a business model that allows fans to bid on everything from merchandise to concert tickets to royalties to features.TIMESTAMP:[00:01:53] Streams of income.[00:05:22] Biggest source of revenue.[00:06:23] Making money from touring.[00:09:03] Offer-based pricing.[00:11:19] TBA ticketing site.[00:12:13] Restaurant buyouts.[00:13:06] Removing suggested prices.[00:14:03] Making money from merchandise.[00:15:16] What holds new artists back.[00:17:51] Weirdest booking experience.[00:18:25] Being open to all opportunities.[00:19:37] Approach to sharing content.[00:21:46] Advice to new creators.[00:22:57] Content creation process.[00:25:01] Delegating work.[00:26:24] LaRussell team members.[00:27:53] Best hires.[00:29:23] Tasks handled by the team.[00:33:57] Process for making music.[00:35:39] Working with distribution platforms.[00:38:58] The cost of making hits.[00:40:21] Spending money on advertising.[00:41:21] Creating organic viral content. [00:44:04] LaRussell fandom.[00:45:18] Supply & demand of today’s music market.[00:48:51] Making money from streams.[00:49:45] Creating demand for your art.[00:51:43] Capitalizing off one moment. [00:53:53] What makes someone go viral.[00:55:22] Declining a deal from Jay-Z & Roc Nation. [00:59:45] Benefits of major labels. [01:01:09] Maintaining autonomy.[01:04:12] Having an abundance mindset.[01:05:45] Journey with money.[01:09:28] Hustling on a small scale.[01:11:03] Biggest career risks.[01:14:20] Performing on NPR’s Tiny Desk.[01:15:49] Financial trajectory.[01:20:53] The riff between artists & promoters.[01:22:55] Increasing the surface area of luck.[01:24:41] Future plans for Good Compenny.[01:27:18] The optics of LaRussell.[01:28:55] Fighting perfectionism.[01:34:08] Benefits of increasing your output.[01:35:46] More time does not equal better quality.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/larussell/https://www.tiktok.com/@larussellgchttps://x.com/LaRussellGChttps://www.youtube.com/@GoodCompenny⁩ 

Raven Harris is the Founder & CEO of Infinite Acquisitions, a private equity holding company & business acquisitions community. Raven is also the owner of German Auto Specialist and previously served in the United States Air Force.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:52] Joining the military.[00:02:37] The importance of education.[00:03:56] Making money throwing parties.[00:05:32] Investing in real estate.[00:06:18] Working backwards from your end goal.[00:08:00] How much you get paid in the military.[00:10:08] Buying an auto repair shop.[00:11:14] The richest people buy businesses.[00:11:51] Finding business brokers.[00:12:24] Benefits of a service based business.[00:13:09] Numbers behind the auto repair business.[00:14:23] Using an SBA loan.[00:16:10] Year one of buying a business.[00:17:41] Challenges of owning a business.[00:18:53] Strategies for streamlining the business[00:20:36] Finding the next business to buy.[00:23:10] Getting to $100 million.[00:24:48] Thoughts on debt.[00:26:33] Understanding the risks of buying a business.[00:28:06] Investing in education.[00:31:24] Attending a conference made him thousands.[00:33:06] Valuable business relationships.[00:35:05] What is Infinite Acquisitions.[00:37:24] Being creative in business acquisitions.[00:40:00] Anyone can buy a business.[00:41:08] The first steps to buying a business.[00:43:12] Tools for business.[00:45:55] Leaning into your weirdness.[00:47:05] Money goals.[00:49:55] Biggest mistake people make in business.[00:51:36] Behaving based on economic status.[00:54:57] The biggest lessons learned.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.youtube.com/@RAVENHARRIS1https://www.instagram.com/ravennharris/https://www.instagram.com/infiniteacquisitions/

Ben Sharf is a Co-Founder at Platter, which is a tech-enabled agency that designs and builds Shopify storefronts that convert better, are easier to manage, and cost less to maintain.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:25] What is Platter.[00:00:52] Ben’s entrepreneurial journey.[00:03:34] Raising money for Platter.[00:05:00] The power of storytelling.[00:06:12] The process of raising money.[00:07:41] The misconceptions of raising money.[00:10:16] The aftermath of raising money.[00:12:45] Knowing your risk profile.[00:13:40] Making content as a founder.[00:16:36] Running a podcast.[00:19:06] Founder-led marketing.[00:20:53] What excites you right now.[00:22:24] The business structure of Platter.[00:25:09] Using A.I. into the business.[00:29:04] Life hacks for personal growth.[00:32:45] Weird habits.[00:33:53] Storing crypto.[00:39:17] Angel investing.[00:42:27] Playing the long game.[00:45:00] Getting sponsored by Nike.[00:49:00] Having self-belief.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/bensharf

Daniel Allan is an artist/producer/DJ from Louisville, Kentucky. He’s garnered millions of streams, played at festivals like Lollapalooza and EDC, and collaborated with Louis The Child, Mike Posner, The Chainsmokers, and more.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:41] Becoming a full-time artist.[00:02:16] Pivotal early career moments.[00:08:04] Landing a record deal.[00:11:42] The benefits of record labels.[00:13:41] Manufacturing a hit.[00:16:24] The making of “I Just Need.”[00:19:57] Lessons learned from “I Just Need.”[00:20:40] Sharing music on social media.[00:26:01] Lessons learned from posting online.[00:28:32] Getting paid for a hit song.[00:30:45] The masters & publishing of a song.[00:32:21] Getting a song in a Buick commercial.[00:34:00] Social media campaign strategies.[00:38:55] The best social platform to promote music.[00:42:48] Becoming a Web3 artist.[00:45:01] Getting into crypto.[00:48:42] The aftermath of NFT sales.[00:51:10] Launching “Noise Pollution.” [00:54:19] Doing a session with Jack Harlow.[00:58:14] Collaborative process as a DJ.[01:03:58] Working with The Chainsmokers & Louis The Child.[01:07:52] Tools you can’t live without.[01:10:07] Weird habits.[01:11:44] Money goals.[01:13:04] What you see as success.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/danielallanmusic/https://www.tiktok.com/@danielallanmusichttps://x.com/imdanielallan

Ryan Hashemi is the Founder & CEO at Snowball, an agency that helps scale top brands on Youtube. Prior to launching Snowball, Ryan built Jubilee Media to 14 million subscribers & 5 billion views with his YouTube expertise.TIMESTAMP:[00:01:12] How to make the best piece of content.[00:01:57] Building Jubilee Media.[00:03:25] First successful concept at Jubilee.[00:06:51] Why MrBeast tried poaching the Jubilee team.[00:09:15] Using a first principles approach.[00:10:28] Approach to making videos at Jubilee.[00:12:39] How to decide what’s a good idea.[00:15:38] Worst ideas at Jubilee.[00:17:48] The numbers behind Jubilee.[00:20:54] Downsides of advertising money.[00:22:16] Focusing on YouTube.[00:24:48] Being early on YouTube.[00:26:31] Breaking through algorithms.[00:28:31] Having a unique POV.[00:30:18] Brainstorming for MONEY TALKS.[00:34:22] Leaving Jubilee to start Snowball. [00:38:44] Making money at Jubilee.[00:40:25] Misconceptions about raising money.[00:41:40] Goals for Snowball.[00:45:15] Being a kingmaker in today’s media landscape.[00:47:39] Pitching a dream client for Snowball.[00:53:01] What to include when pitching a brand.[00:54:16] How much Snowball charges clients.[00:56:23] Critiquing packaging for MONEY TALKS.[01:03:05] Strategies for titles & thumbnails.[01:05:01] Hot takes on money & social media.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://x.com/ryanhashemi_

Scott Lazer is a filmmaker & creative director. He’s collaborated with top artists like J. Cole on music videos and documentary projects. His work has been featured at major film festivals like SXSW and on platforms like HBO. He’s also worked in commercial filmmaking for brands like Google and Spotify.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:41] Becoming a creative director & filmmaker.[00:04:29] Making money as a creative.[00:06:45] Learning how to work with clients.[00:09:37] Working as a creative in NYC & LA.[00:15:47] Introduction to working with J. Cole.[00:18:37] Don’t box yourself in with titles.[00:20:33] Evolution of working with J. Cole.[00:22:04] Favorite projects with J. Cole & Dreamville.[00:24:34] How does an HBO film deal work.[00:26:35] More projects with J. Cole & Dreamville.[00:29:40] Inevitable Audio Series. [00:34:05] Things learned from doing the podcast.[00:37:28] What separates J. Cole from everyone else.[00:39:36] Putting the podcast behind a paywall.[00:43:48] Creating hype through exclusive content.[00:45:22] Using the podcast platform EVEN. [00:47:18] J. Cole’s upcoming album The Fall Off.[00:49:22] Having a long creative process.[00:50:22] Money in the film industry.[00:54:13] Funding short films. [00:55:57] Funding your own creative projects.[00:59:20] Getting rich making movies.[01:01:54] The next iteration of short films.[01:03:44] Flipping an NFT to finance a short film.[01:07:12] Becoming known for original filmmaking.[01:08:09] Getting financed by The New Yorker.[01:10:39] Getting the rights back from The New Yorker.[01:14:18] Most profitable projects.[01:15:25] Surprising figures in commercial filmmaking.[01:17:09] Highest budget projects.[01:18:04] Big productions & wasted resources.[01:19:47] Projects that never came out.[01:21:27] The secret to storytelling.[01:22:41] Thoughts on A.I.[01:29:56] The next evolution.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/scott_lazer

Kevin Chen is the Co-Founder & CEO of iRESTORE.iRESTORE fights hair loss and reverses skin aging with FDA-cleared light therapy devices for home-use.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:30] What is iRESTORE.[00:01:37] Coming up with the concept of iRESTORE.[00:04:48] First steps to creating a new product.[00:08:53] Proving that a product works.[00:12:03] Benefits of light therapy.[00:14:32] Current size of iRESTORE.[00:15:26] Growth strategies at iRESTORE.[00:17:35] The beginning of iRESTORE. [00:18:12] Selling expensive products.[00:20:19] Hiring strategies at iRESTORE.[00:23:13] First executive hires at iRESTORE. [00:26:13] Learning how to spot A players.[00:28:15] The “10x Engineer” concept.[00:30:06] Leverage unlocks in business.[00:32:30] Balancing work and personal life. [00:35:03] Assigning an hourly rate to your time. [00:37:54] Benefits of executive coaches.[00:41:27] Getting iRESTORE into Costco.[00:43:58] Make or break moment building iRESTORE[00:47:18] Maintaining conviction as an entrepreneur[00:49:08] The future of iRESTORE.[00:52:40] Understanding terminal growth in business.[00:55:25] How founders make money. [00:58:17] Advice for starting a business.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://x.com/kfc_kevinchen

Jeremiah Davis (ThatOneBlondKid) is a creative director & videographer with 10+ years of experience in the music industry. He’s worked with some of the world’s biggest artists including The Chainsmokers and Justin Bieber. Jeremiah is the founder & chief creative officer of Us Versus Them, a boutique agency that produces creative campaigns for major brands including Disney, Snapchat, Adidas, and more.TIMESTAMP:[00:00:49] Getting started as a creative freelancer.[00:02:26] The Chainsmokers “Closer” music video.[00:03:23] Networking via Instagram DMs.[00:04:52] Today’s best social platforms.[00:07:55] Breakdown of income.[00:09:02] Working with big brands.[00:10:07] Trust leads to jobs.[00:11:45] UVT Agency.[00:12:48] What $400,000 project looks like.[00:15:05] Favorite projects.[00:16:44] Working closely with talent.[00:18:49] Biggest artist brand deal.[00:19:52] Touring with The Chainsmokers.[00:21:38] Advice for getting recognized.[00:22:54] Getting paid on tour.[00:25:00] Payment plans for touring with artists.[00:28:59] Standing out in a saturated market.[00:30:49] Following trends versus making what you want[00:33:22] Advice from mentors in the industry.[00:37:48] Pivotal decisions that led to now.[00:40:01] Building an agency.[00:42:57] Agency payroll structure.[00:43:45] Productivity hacks.[00:48:56] Monetary goals.[00:54:20] A.I. in the creative space.[00:56:05] What excites you most right now.MONEY TALKS with JesseSUBSCRIBE!https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS:https://hoo.be/moneytalksFollow MONEY TALKS:https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJessehttps://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJFollow Jesse:https://www.instagram.com/frontpagehttps://x.com/frontpage__Follow Guest:https://www.instagram.com/thatoneblondkidhttps://www.tiktok.com/@thatoneblondkidhttps://youtube.com/@THATONEBLONDKID