In this episode, host Ryan Newman talks with Bobby Morgan, founder and CEO of Prosperitas Enterprises. Its flagship system, Live Prosperous, trains and inspires individuals, teams, and organizations to build the resilience and emotional strength to thrive through life’s inevitable storms. He is also the founder and CEO of Talaria Media, a premium film, television, and digital media company operating out of Los Angeles and Nashville.

Morgan shares his journey from growing up on his family’s dairy farm to building companies focused on resilience, leadership, and storytelling.

The conversation explores his early fascination with electronics and how he worked alongside his father and grandfather to integrate technology into the dairy farming process. Morgan also reflects on battling cancer while a student at Penn State, an experience that shaped his perspective on perseverance and purpose.

Morgan discusses how his career led him to work with Navy SEALs and launch a startup whose first client was the White House, along with the lessons he learned operating in high-pressure environments. He also shares insights into founding and growing Talaria Media, his perspective on the current film industry landscape, and his work with the Invent Penn State Brand Academy to bring the Live Prosperous resilience training program to Penn State student-athletes.

Later in the episode, current Penn State student Aryan Vir joins the conversation. Aryan is studying cybersecurity analytics and operations in the College of IST. He is the founder of Crypton, a startup focused on building identity infrastructure for a password-less internet using device-based cryptographic authentication. This past spring, Aryan participated in the Bardusch Family IdeaMakers Challenge during Penn State Startup Week. Aryan and Bobby discuss what startups should spend less time doing, how AI will impact the film and TV industry, and advice for students looking to grow their startup and know when to pivot.

Episode Chapters

0:00 - 9:06 Growing up on a dairy farm, interest sparks in electronics and music

9:06 - 13:30 Battling cancer while at Penn State

13:30 - 17:48 Modernizing communications systems for Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces

17:48 - 21:42 Launching Morgan Franklin, a national security and business consulting startup

21:42 - 25:12 Inspiration behind leaving Morgan Franklin and pivoting businesses

25:12 - 32:04 A peek at some of Talaria Media's upcoming film and TV projects

32:04 - 34:57 Live Prosperous' work with The Penn State Brand Academy and Invent Penn State

34:57 - 36:13 Rapid Fire Round

36:13 - 51:38 Student Questions

36:13 - 38:08 Deciding which opportunities are worth pursuing

38:08 - 40:32 What startups should stop focusing their energy on

40:32 - 44:12 Encountering and overcoming challenges and failures

44:12 - 46:30 What would Bobby do if he had to start over from scratch

46:30 - 49:36 How AI will impact the film/media industry

49:36 - 50:45 How much curiosity is too much

The Dare to Disrupt podcast is made possible by the generous support of the Penn State Smeal College of Business.