Finding Founders

After trying every avenue of corporate life, Michela stood at a crossroads. She could either stay at her steady job and work her way up the corporate ladder, or finally dive full-force into the social media world. Now, we know that Michela Allocca, also known by the handle of Break Your Budget, made the right decision. With over 700,000 followers on Tiktok and 125k instagram followers, a book deal, and a podcast, Michela’s affinity for budgeting has brought her far away from the cubicle and into the eyes of millions of viewers. Yet, to get to this point, Michela first had to learn how to treat her hobbies as serious commitments, and understand how to value her needs before her work environment’s demands. And even further back, her story began with a digital piggy bank and a few cold pitchers of lemonade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 A few inches down and he would have been dead in the front seat of his mom’s Mitsubishi. Yet as Raul weaved in and out of traffic towards his future, untouched and laughing, it seemed like it was just another day in 1990s Los Angeles. Flash forward to the present and Raul Baltazar is still in LA, now an established painter and performance artist working to understand the experiences of Mestizo and Mesoamerican Indigenous communities. With exhibitions held in LA, Mexico, Taiwan, Vienna, and Australia, Baltazar’s exploration of post colonialism and trauma responses has earned him international acclaim over the past decade. But before he ever went to art school or joined a drag show at the navy, Raul first found his love for art in his hometown. Whether he was going to school or merely walking with his friends, El Sereno’s Chicano murals stood out from every wall, telling a story of past resistance… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You just heard from Heather Smith as she describes the moment where her exhibit built a bridge between past and present. In a heartbreaking instant, she realized that her invention, Storyfile, could really work. But what is Storyfile? This company specializes in conversational video and preserving individual memories, posing fascinating hypotheticals for the future of education. Like…what if we could talk to a younger version of ourselves? What if high schoolers could talk face to face with a former president or revolutionary leader? This time travel might not be so far away due to Heather Smith’s 2017 launch with the USC Shoah Foundation and Institute of Creative Technologies. But Heather’s journey wasn’t always grounded in the past. Before she built a bridge between history and modern day AI, Heather worked at her family’s jewelry store, making connections the old fashioned way… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s not every day Barbara Corcoran slides into your dms, but for Caleb Simpson this was suddenly the new normal. Now, if this name is sounding familiar at all, it’s because you’ve probably met Caleb before….on your For You page. Known for his casual house tours and the signature question “how much do you pay for rent,” Caleb has amassed over 7.1 million followers on TikTok and 2 million YouTube subscribers in the past few years. Traveling from house to house in New York to LA, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, he isn’t afraid to test out a stranger’s bed or play with your pets, or listen to a soundcloud music sample. But while these videos seemed to go viral in an instant, Caleb’s journey to filmmaking was anything but easy. From finding odd jobs on craigslist to sleeping behind a curtain in someone’s living room, Caleb had to build his skillset from the ground up while learning how to survive in NYC. And before tik tok was even invented, before Caleb first picked up a camera, his journey started in the unlikeliest of places: being homeschooled, amongst his eight other siblings.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You just heard from Jimmy Edgerton about a crucial time in his entrepreneurship career, a moment when it seemed like his new startup was going down in roasted chickpea flames. Luckily, these hard times didn’t last forever, since today I’m presenting a special episode, a podcast swap with seasoned entrepreneurs and business consultants Jimmy Edgerton and Julie Meyer from AugMentors. Before they taught us to navigate the nuances of networking, Jimmy and Julie learned these lessons firsthand through running their own successful businesses. Julie found her start in writing her book Eat Well Shanghai and now works as the co-ceo of nutrition company Eat Well Global. Meanwhile, Jimmy worked in real estate until a fateful beer garden meeting launched his business career running Watusee Foods. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s hop in a time machine to the start of Julie’s story and see how these lives intersected  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some say circumstance is everything. Yeva Hyusyan would disagree with that statement. Born and raised in Soviet era Armenia, Yeva prioritized education and her interest in STEM. After paving her own way in the technology field working for big names like USAID and Microsoft, she decided it was time to start her own educational coding business with an associate. In 2014, SoloLearn was born and works to bridge the skills gap for students and professionals interested in or pursuing jobs that require coding fluency. Against all odds, Yeva Hyusyan has become a successful technology entrepreneur, creating the most popular, digestible technology education application across Apple and Google platforms that impacts not only the life and education of users, but also their financial futures.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kobe Earthquake 1995. At 5:46 in the morning, the city was struck by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, leaving 6,000 casualties and 45,000 others homeless. Nobu Okada was only just out of college when he witnessed this scene of devastation and decided to turn his life towards a path of action and purpose. But what career would he turn to next? Now, we know Nobu as the founder of Astroscale, a company working towards a goal of long term spaceflight safety by targeting space debris in Earth’s orbit. His company has received multiple awards, earning the title of TIME100’s Most Influential Companies, Forbes JAPAN’s “Start-up of the Year” in 2019, and the Grand Prix (pree) for UNESCO’s 2020 Innovation Forum. Despite this incredible growth over the past decade, Nobu’s path did not always lay outside the stratosphere, as his career began in government finance, IT consulting, and business startups. Before we reach for the stars with today’s guest, let's trace his story back to where it began, the innocent days of science magazines and the promise of space camp… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick Sanchez found himself at the center of a hot crime story…and not in the way he’d like. After rising to the top of Miami’s news networks, he had suddenly lost his job, audience, and reputation overnight. This might have been the end of any other reporter’s career, but Rick was not about to give up— not after how much work it took to get here. Twenty years later, we know Rick Sanchez as the first Latino newscaster to be on a nationally broadcasted show and the founder of Agua Media, a podcast group dedicated to telling the many untold stories of Latinos in America. To get to this point, Rick had to make mistakes, as he learned to separate his public and private life and restructured his relationship to fame. Before we jump ahead, let’s go back to the beginning of Rick’s story, growing up in Cuba during the rise of Fidel Castro… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stuck inside during the pandemic, Monica Mannion casually posted a tik tok. The posting isn’t very unique, hundreds of thousands of others posted videos, but Monica’s had something special. After making one tres leches cake and recording some VO, Monica unexpectedly found herself with thirty million views, thousands of followers, and a dedicated fanbase waiting for her next video. This might seem like an overnight success, but Monica honed her cooking skills over many years and many countries. From Argentina and South Africa to England and China, she has traveled all over the globe, starting culinary clubs and forming communities wherever she went. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though. Monica’s passion started long before she boarded her first flight, in a home dominated by the heavy scent of roasted chilis and warm broth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the span of a few weeks, Marina’s thriving study abroad program seemed to collapse alongside the Russian ruble. With the travel market disappearing overnight amidst the country’s political conflict, it seems like this might be the end of Linguatrip. But don’t tune out just yet. While this setback may have stopped another influencer, Marina Mogilko (Moh-gill-koh) is now a prominent entrepreneur and content creator with more than 9 million subscribers across her 3 YouTube channels. As founder of one of the first Russian-owned startups in Silicon Valley, Marina’s videos provide a unique perspective on business, investment opportunities, and her immigrant journey. But before she found success at home and abroad, Marina was just a kid who loved linguistics. Growing up in the isolation of post Soviet Russia, she knew that learning English was her key to a better future… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices