HawkeTalk

Our guest today has experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows in his fight against addiction: Running across the Sahara desert, going to federal prison, and learning the lesson — life isn’t a dress rehearsal; you only get one shot.  We speak with Charlie Engle, Global ultra-endurance athlete and the founder of the 5.8 Global Adventure Series, about his journey through obsession and the...

It takes 3 things to succeed in life. Passion for what you do, the work ethic to pull it off… And understanding that no one succeeds alone. These are what today’s guest, Chris Klug , learned after he managed to bounce back from being the recipient of a life-saving organ donation to become a three-time snowboarding Olympian and Founder of the Chris Klug Foundation . In this episode, we discuss: Why...

Starting a brand can be a scary endeavor. Sometimes, however, it’s the hurdles that come after the launch that test your limits. Leaving behind their careers at ColourPop, our two guests tell us their success story and the struggles of being an entrepreneur. Jordynn Wynn and Sharon Pak , Co-Founders at INHHair , share their story of working together, going from competitors to collaborators, and th...

It’s no secret that if you want to succeed in life, you have to be willing to work for it. Work ethic is often seen as a product of a good upbringing or even something innate… But sometimes, nothing will light a fire under your ass like loss — the realization that you alone are responsible for taking care of the people you love. That realization hit Alex Lieberman , Co-Founder of Morning Brew , at...

Jamal Hill , Paralympic Swimmer and President of Swim Up Hill , was born to be a swimmer. By the age of 8, he was already winning more medals and trophies than anyone else in his age group.  However, at 10 years old, his life was turned upside down. He was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a hereditary disease that damages the nerves in the arms and legs. For a while, swimming was off the table....

When a company forecasts a bright and optimistic future for themselves, we call it their vision.  So why, when a person does the exact same, do we call it a fantasy?  The truth is, every success story began as a success fantasy — and we should all be writing ours down.  That’s how Noah Kagan , Founder of AppSumo , did it — and his long string of entrepreneurial and career successes are testament t...

Your life consists of a series of interconnected systems. And you get to design each one of them to propel you toward your ideal life. Rob Dyrdek , founder and CEO of Dyrdek Machine, a full-service venture studio, explores this idea in his upcoming book, The Machine Mindset.  In this episode, Rob and Erik chat about...  How his sister's boyfriend helped launch Rob's legendary skateboarding career...

As a kid, he had dyslexia and a speech impediment. He couldn’t speak and he couldn’t read. That made for a difficult childhood. But as a result, he spent a lot of time studying others and developing a sixth sense for human nature — a skill which, in adulthood, made him into one of the top real estate agents in the world. Who am I talking about? I’m talking about Aaron Kirman , President Internatio...

Choosing film or business as a career can be challenging — marrying the two? A different kind of challenge altogether. To be successful at both requires equal enthusiasm, time management, and an eye for the right kind of opportunities.  Fueled by inspirational parents and a drive to invest in early state companies, our guest Patrick Schwarzenegger , Strategic Investor & Advisor, joins the show...

There’s an open secret among tech startups:  Many of the most well-known AI-powered, automated innovations actually started off powered by old-fashioned, outsourced human labor. And for anyone who led such a startup in the last decade, the odds are good they’ll know today’s guest. That’s because, in this episode, I’m speaking with Jaspar Weir , Co-Founder of TaskUs , the go-to outsourcer for many...

Every successful person was once the little guy.  They become successes, not by worrying about being the little guy…  They get there by going big anyway. If you still don’t believe me, just look at today’s guest, Dan Fleyshman , Founder at Elevator. Studio . Dan is the youngest ever founder of a publicly traded company and once sold a million dollars worth of shirts… when he was still in high scho...

Some people think that when you sell an uber-successful company and walk away with a huge payout, your whole life changes. Suddenly, you enter a world of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. But today’s guest, Jake Kassan , Co-Founder and CEO of MVMT Watches , knows from experience that that isn’t the case.  In the end, more money doesn’t make you any happier, it just gives you time to figure out w...

How do you land your dream job?  Embracing change and finding work you excel at — because you love it so much it isn’t really work .  Or, you know… by just wanting to leave Orange County. Both of these factored into the massive success today’s guest, Joe Drake, CEO of Lionsgate , has seen over his long career in the movie business — one spanning from Ski School to The Hunger Games. In this episode...

Sometimes you go searching for a career.  Other times, the career seems to find you. Which is exactly what happened for Marty Callner. Marty is a world renowned television director who has directed some of the biggest names on the planet (Jerry Seinfeld, Cher, and Garth Brooks to name a few) and learned a ton along the way.  Oh, and he also started at HBO when there were 7 employees, and directed...

Being a negotiator for the FBI requires a very special set of skills and experience.  And if you had the skills to deal with a hostage or crisis negotiation…  How well do you think you’d do negotiating your next business deal? Today’s guest is an expert in negotiation — Chris Voss , FBI Hostage Negotiator and Author of Never Split The Difference , and he’s figured out how to do just that. In this...

Looking back at your life, you might laugh at where you thought you’d end up and where you are now.  Plans can feel so definite but change in an instant when you least expect it.  As David Byrne of the Talking Heads once sang, “Well, how did I get here?”  From early sports to a winding sales journey to bobsledding Olympian, Lauren Gibbs, Olympic Medalist & Director of External Sales at Evoluti...

From hacker to urban vigilante to foreign exchange student, to Wall Street lawyer to top-10 podcast host…   No, it’s not the plot of some campy spy movie…  It’s a crazy resume you can only build with some serious networking chops.  That’s not James Bond’s resume, it’s from today’s guest, Jordan Harbinger, Creator of The Jordan Harbinger Show and — sorry Dos Equis’ guy — possibly the most interesti...

Who handed Kim Kardashian her first million-dollar check? The same guy who helped Kareem Abdul Jabar wipe out $25 million in debt.  Also the man who created the Golden Boy brand with Oscar de la Hoya.  Sports agent powerhouse Leonard Armato . Along the way, he also transformed the way athletes (and Kardashians) are represented. And he wasn't even an entrepreneur, just a kid who liked to play sport...

What's the #1 clothing item most requested at homeless shelters? If you guessed shirts, pants, or even undies, you'd be wrong. It's socks.  What most of us slide on our feet every morning and never think about again, 600,000 people see as a luxury item. Learning about the transformative power of socks gave Dave Heath the idea for his world-famous company Bombas . The enterprise began with Dave try...

Hey, Mom and Dad, I'm leaving behind my full-ride academic scholarship three semesters before graduation to move to a city you told me was a drug-infested cesspool. Wish me luck! Who wants to have that conversation with their parents? Tough call. The toughest Griffin Johnson ever had to make.  A social media superstar & partner at Animal Capital , Griffin lived something that resembled Animal...

He attended 14 schools in 10 years and has nothing to show for it but a kindergarten diploma.  Well... a kindergarten diploma and a half-a-billion dollar company with three brands and 5000 employees across all its franchises. His dad's impressed. At least, he's impressed now.  But when Brian Scudamore , founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, announced he was leaving college to drive a junk truck, his father,...

When you're 20 and broke, it's cute. You're a renaissance artist and the girls understand. When you're 30 and broke, though, it's not cute anymore. Sure you love to rhyme, to find your rhythm, and to breakdance at Bar Mitzvahs. But does any of that pay the mortgage? Like your mom always said, "But sweetie, can you make a living as a poet?"  In this episode, poet and songwriter IN-Q tells his story...

To be successful, you need drive.  And often, the best motivation comes from hard times.  Just ask today’s guest, the legendary Ben Baller , President at BBDTC and IF AND CO . From humble beginnings, he found the drive to succeed multiple times: whether it was finding success as a DJ or building a jewelry empire. He joined me on the latest episode to talk about what it takes to go from broke to Be...

The path to success is never a straight line. There are twists, turns, blind rises, steep climbs and falls that decorate the journey. Matt Barnes, NBA Champion and Athlete-turned-Entrepreneur, is with us today, discussing his winding path to the success that he is today, and what’s yet to come. What we talked about: Matt’s sporting journey and how his choice of attitude set the course for his long...

In 1970s New York, the way to a boy's heart ran through a stack of baseball cards.  The Shamus family knew that. But Mr. and Mrs. Shamus didn't just buy their sons a pack of cards. They opened a full-fledged comic and card shop. ...And they unleashed a legend. In this episode, Gareb Shamus talks about how he went from baseball card shark on his elementary playground to founding ACE Comic Con and W...