Big Shot

Isaac Larian is the founder and CEO of MGA Entertainment, the company behind Bratz, L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes, and dozens of other iconic toy brands. But long before he built one of the largest private toy companies in the world, Isaac was a Jewish kid growing up in Tehran, where he faced antisemitism, bullying, and poverty.  After arriving in America alone at 17 with just $753 in his pocket,...

Irwin Winkler has spent more than six decades in Hollywood, producing films that have earned 52 Academy Award nominations and helped define generations of moviegoers. His credits include Rocky, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Right Stuff , and The Irishman , but the path that led to those films was anything but predictable. In this episode of Big Shot , hosts Harley Finkelstein and David Segal sit do...

Barry Diller started in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency, but he had no interest in becoming an agent. He didn’t hustle the way others did. Instead, he spent his time in the file room, reading everything he could and learning how the business actually worked. By his own account, he likely would have been fired if not for one thing: his connection to Danny Thomas. In this episode of Big Sh...

Lew Wolff didn’t set out to become a successful developer or a professional sports team owner. He didn’t grow up around business, and by his own account, he stumbled into real estate almost by accident. But over the course of a decades-long career, he would go on to reshape downtown San Jose, partner with 20th Century Fox, and take ownership stakes in teams like the Oakland Athletics and Golden St...

Joseph Schaefer arrived in Canada from Poland in the 1930s and built his career in Montreal’s garment district at a time when the industry ran on instinct, relationships, and trust. He had an eye for fashion, a gift for reading people, and a way of doing business that set him apart early. In this episode of Big Shot , Joseph joins hosts Harley and David to reflect on how he found his way into the...

Jeffrey Katzenberg was one of the youngest studio heads in Hollywood when he was named president of Paramount Pictures at just 31. Over the decades that followed, he would help shape modern animation and co-found DreamWorks alongside Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. In this episode of Big Shot, Harley and David sit down with Jeffrey to explore the experiences that shaped his career and leadershi...

Lloyd Blankfein never chased a master plan. He focused on whatever was right in front of him, and those small decisions carried him from a Brooklyn housing project to leading Goldman Sachs through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In this episode of Big Shot , Harley and David sit down with Lloyd to explore how that path unfolded. He talks about growing up in public housing an...

Before OPI, nail color was just another product on the shelf. Suzi Weiss-Fischmann gave it personality and built a global brand in the process. Suzi believed nail color could be personal, playful, and expressive. She pushed the entire industry forward with smarter formulas, bold branding, and shade names that became pop culture, from “ I’m Not Really a Waitress” to “ Lincoln Park After Dark .” In...

Every dealmaker in Hollywood has a story. Michael Ovitz has all of them. From Ghostbusters to Goodfellas, he packaged the films, brokered the talent, and rewrote the rules of power. What started as a rebellion inside William Morris became a $2 billion empire called CAA, and a playbook Silicon Valley still follows. In this episode of Big Shot, Harley and David sit down with Michael Ovitz, the legen...

In this episode of Big Shot, Harley and David sit down with Stephen Ross—real estate titan, Miami Dolphins owner, and the visionary behind Hudson Yards, CityPlace, and more—for a rare look inside his extraordinary life. From growing up in a two-family house in Detroit to transforming New York’s Hudson Yards and Miami’s CityPlace, Stephen’s story is deeply shaped by the Jewish entrepreneurial legac...

What kind of man looks at 800 acres of mosquito-infested swampland and sees high-end apartments, a golf course, and a luxury shopping mall?  In 1967, Don Soffer made the biggest bet of his life: transforming undeveloped wetlands into what would become Aventura, one of Florida’s most iconic and extravagant communities. In this episode of Big Shot, Harley and David sit down with the 92-year-old visi...

Bobby Kotick built a $69 billion empire from scratch—and the story is even crazier than it sounds. In this episode of The Big Shot , we sit down with gaming’s ultimate entrepreneur. Bobby takes us from hustling snacks at baseball games to building one of the most iconic tech companies in the world: Activision Blizzard. Hear how he cold-called Nintendo, got investment from Steve Wynn on a private j...

In today’s episode of Big Shot, we sit down with Mike Milken—legendary financier, philanthropist, and chairman of the Milken Institute. Mike has been a driving force in medical research, public health, and education for over five decades. Fortune called him “The Man Who Changed Medicine,” and Forbes listed him among “Visionaries Reimagining Our Children’s Future.”  Mike’s financial innovations hel...

In this episode of Big Shot, we’re thrilled to welcome the legendary marketing visionary Lynda Resnick. As the co-owner of The Wonderful Company, Lynda has shaped iconic brands like POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios, and FIJI Water into household names. With her husband, Stewart, Lynda also turned The Franklin Mint into a cultural sensation and brought fresh ideas to the floral industry with Tel...

In this special episode of Big Shot , recorded live at the iconic Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., we’re joined by Uri Levine, the co-founder of Waze. Uri is a visionary entrepreneur whose journey includes building Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, which Google acquired for over $1 billion. Beyond Waze, Uri has co-founded several impactful startups like Moovi...

In today’s episode of Big Shot , we’re joined by Mindy Grossman, former CEO of Weight Watchers, who led the company’s transformation into a global wellness brand. Like many of our past guests, Mindy’s journey involves perseverance, bold decisions, and calculated risk-taking. Mindy’s remarkable career began with a surprising choice—dropping out of college. She then worked up to executive roles at P...

In today’s episode of Big Shot , we’re joined by retail legend Mickey Drexler, whose transformative leadership reshaped some of the biggest names in fashion. Over his 18-year tenure at The Gap, Mickey took the company from $400 million to $14 billion in revenue, revolutionizing casual wear and spotting a new retail opportunity that led to the creation of Old Navy. His influence extends far beyond...

In this special live episode of Big Shot , recorded at StartupFest, we are excited to welcome Heather Reisman, the trailblazing entrepreneur behind Indigo Books & Music. Heather's remarkable journey began as a single mother learning to code to support her children. Fueled by grit, a bit of luck, and a talent for connecting with extraordinary people, Heather built Indigo into Canada’s large...

Harley Finkelstein and David Segal are back with Season 3 of Big Shot ! Today, we chat with beauty industry icon Bobbi Brown. Known for her work as a makeup artist, Bobbi’s expertise has been showcased on the covers of leading magazines, including Cosmopolitan , Allure , Mademoiselle , and Teen . She’s the author of nine beauty books, with five achieving bestseller status. In 1991, Bobbi founded B...

In this episode of Big Shot, we sit down with the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of G-III Apparel Group, Morris Goldfarb. Morris took over running his father’s company at the age of 24. His journey is deeply rooted in the inspiring legacy of his father, Aron Goldfarb, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the U.S. and founded G-III in 1956. Morris has transformed the company fr...

When you think about a "convenience store manager," you probably don't imagine a future billionaire. But that's exactly the path Ron Shaich took from humble beginners selling Tollhouse cookies to a $7.5 billion restaurant empire. In this episode of Big Shot, Harley Finkelstein and David Segal welcome Shaich, the founder of Panera Bread, who shares his incredible journey from a no...

In this episode of Big Shot , we sit down with Wall Street titan Leon Cooperman. The son of working-class Polish immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, Leon founded Omega Advisors after a successful 25-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he rose to become Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Despite being one of the richest men on the planet, Leon lives modestly, even s...

In this episode of Big Shot, we sit down with another legendary real estate developer, Larry Silverstein. Best known for the 99-year lease he signed for the World Trade Center, just six weeks before 9/11, Larry’s story is one of persistence and strategic partnerships—and a whole lot of chutzpah. He shares with us today how he leveraged partnerships, refurbished properties on a shoestring budget an...

In this episode of Big Shot, we're honored to host business mogul Peter May. But his path to managing more than $7 billion is not what you might expect. What started as a career as an accountant at the prestigious KPMG quickly became something much different once Peter crossed paths with Nelson Peltz, igniting a dynamic partnership that spanned decades. Together, they founded Triarc Companies...

In this episode of Big Shot , we're thrilled to welcome the incredible David Rubenstein! As a co-founder of The Carlyle Group, one of the globe's top private equity firms, David's journey from a Baltimore kid with big dreams to a presidential advisor and business mogul is truly inspiring. Join us, as David reveals how he overcame rejection after President Carter lost his re-election an...