Never Overnight

This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success, and the story in between. 

In today’s conversation, I talk with Josh Varughese! He is a Sports Executive at BSB Sports, which is a full-service sports management and marketing agency.  

We talk about his journey and career in sports management, from working with the New York Yankees and the New York Knicks, The Rookie Mindset he believes in, and so much more! 

Josh has experienced struggle and success, and this is his story!

What We Discuss:

Intro

1:22 - His upbringing

3:02 - The impact of his grandfather and Allen Iverson

4:00 - Playing sports in school 

5:01 - Combining sports with business

5:37 - The conversation with his parents 

8:04 - The full circle moment with his parents

9:57 - The pressure of being a trailblazer in the community 

10:36 - Keeping your mind curious

12:11 - The New York Yankees

14:37 - Confidence from rejection

16:14 - Moments of doubt

16:40 - The Superman cape

18:04 - The New York Knicks

20:25 - His favorite memories

22:29 - His current role at BSB

24:26 - Coming full circle 

25:06 - The question of success

27:05 - The Rookie Mindset 

28:10 - Advice

Outro

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to, rate, and share the channel by searching Never Overnight wherever you stream your podcasts from!

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This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success, and the story in between. 

In today’s conversation, I talk with Maju Varghese. Maju is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and has previously served as a key senior White House staff member for both the Obama and Biden administrations.

We talk about his upbringing, his journey during his tenure at the White House, and many important lessons he’s learned along the way. 

Maju has experienced struggle and success, and this is his story!

What We Discuss:

Intro

1:34 - The story of his parents 

3:01 - Childhood and upbringing

4:50 - The struggles during the early part of his career 

5:34 - How becoming a lawyer prepared him for the White House 

8:37 - The reality and perception of a presidential campaign

9:56 - Overcoming defeat 

11:31 - Being a trailblazer in the community 

14:08 - The pressures of the White House 

15:00 - How to sustain yourself in your career 

17:21 - The 2020 pandemic 

21:09 - The proudest moment from his tenure at the White House 

22:56 - What he learned about himself that he didn't know before

26:19 - Deciding to leave the White House 

27:49 -  Looking at things from the outside in 

28:17 - Success 

28:56 - Talking to his younger self 

30:06 - His advice to others 

32:38 - Outro

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to, rate, and share the channel by searching Never Overnight wherever you stream your podcasts from!

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This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success and the story in between. 

Today's conversation is with film director and executive producer Jens Jacob and it took place in November 2019. Since this podcast is about storytelling and motivation, I believe the lessons you learn here are timeless, regardless of when the conversation took place

So Jens like myself made the move from Florida to California. His career path is filled with hustle and he made a dream of his come true when his own movie called The Heart Of Man ended up playing in his hometown theater. Since my conversation with Jens, he founded a software company called Saturation in October 2022, which is a financial management platform for production teams. Jens has experienced struggle, success and this is his story. 

What We Discuss:

Intro

1:43 - Jens upbringing

3:20- When his side hustle became his full time job

4:40 - What drove him toward his career even more

5:32 - Career in Florida before Los Angeles 

7:02 - Reasons to move to Los Angeles 

8:27 - Having doubt

11:54 - Pressure creating fear

12:34 - The good and bad of Los Angeles

16:05 - Goals vs Dreams

17:13 - His own movie playing at his hometown theatre

17:50 - Reaction to his own movie playing

18:27 - Inspiration for Heart Of Man

19:40 - Goals outside of film making

20:59 - The creation cloud

22:35 - What he wants his legacy to be

23:30- Advice to others 

Outro 

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to, rate, and share the channel by searching Never Overnight on wherever you stream your podcasts from!

Episode Resources:

This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success, and the story in between.

In today’s episode, I talk with  Zoe Malhotra. She is an Indian-American documentary director. In both her commercial and narrative work she focuses on projects of cultural exploration primarily through the lens of women of color and families. She has directed impact-driven commercials for Walmart, eBay, Doordash, Six Flags, and more. Her short documentary, God Bless the Cook, about a mother-daughter pair of chefs, has screened at almost 20 film festivals worldwide. Zoe always aims to create high-impact, emerging content on intersectional identity and cultural celebration, connecting brands, concepts, and stories to multicultural audiences.

I first took note of Zoe’s directing work via the Kids of Immigrants Fall 2022 campaign. As a child of immigrants myself, I connected deeply with the theme of that campaign titled: “We are our parent's wildest dreams.” What struck me more was how the campaign was creatively promoted and directed, which included Zoe and her father’s story. It inspired me so much, it led to having today’s conversation with her.

We talk about her childhood, her love of filmmaking, her perceptions of the industry and so much more in the podcast. Zoe has experienced struggle and success, and this is her story!

What We Discuss:

Intro

1:33 - How her dad played part in who she became

6:46 - How her upbringing brought her to who she is today

8:45 - Avatar

9:18 - Carrying the torch for her dad

10:38 - When she realized she could succeed in the film industry

12:00 - God Bless The Cook

14:05 - The Film Festival market

14:47 - Setting yourself apart

16:06 - Having moments of self-doubt

18:28 - Representation of South Asians in film

20:08 - Dream collaboration

21:13 - What would Zoe tell her younger self now

22:39 - If the Director game is still a man's game

23:59 - Focusing on women of color and families

25:25 - Kids Of Immigrants

28:48 - Advice for others

30:01 - Outro

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to the channel by searching Never Overnight on wherever you stream your podcasts from!

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This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success, and the story in between.

Today's conversation is with my friend Dhara Patel and it took place in December 2019.  Since this podcast is about storytelling and motivation, I believe the lessons you learn here are timeless, regardless of when the conversation took place.

Dhara started her career as a teacher in Chicago, IL. However her hustle, networking, and work ethic brought her to Los Angeles and, since August 2018 she became the Director of the Andrew Nikou Foundation.

We take a deep dive into her upbringing, her educational experience, her move to Los Angeles and the power of the word “yet”, and so much more! Dhara has experienced struggle and success, and this is her story!

What We Discuss:

Intro

1:03 - Chicago upbringing

3:12 - The influence to be an Educator

4:35 - The decision to move to Los Angeles

6:08 - Calculated risks vs leaps of faith

10:06 - Luck versus work

11:57 - The view of Los Angeles

15:36 - Learning the system and then leveraging

16:05 - An educational purpose

17:15 - The worst days

18:28 - Would you change anything you've been through

19:12 - Mental strength

20:47 - If she considers herself successful

22:02 - The power of the word "yet"

22:41 - The advice for people trying to make it in a new city

Outro

Episode Resources:

This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success, and the story in between.

In today’s episode, I talk with Srihari Sritharan also known as Dr. Srimix. He is a Ph.D. Neuroengineer by day and a DJ/music producer by night. Born in Southern California and raised for many years in Wyoming, his parents immigrated to the United States from Sri Lanka, fleeing the Sri Lankan Civil War.

He’s one of the first DJs and music producers to blend Western and South Asian music, with his expertise particularly Hip-Hop/Pop, South Indian, Hindi, and Bhangra music. His recent works have brought together over 100 dancers, producers, artists, and videographers from around the world. Beyond creating mixes for over 50 dance teams worldwide, he’s been featured on BBC Radio several times and his collaborations have garnered immense popularity across the internet and have been directly featured by many notable musicians and actors in the Indian film industry.

We talk about all of this and more in the podcast. Sri has experienced struggle and success, and this is his story!

What We Discuss:

1:24 - Being a Ph.D. Neuroengineer and a DJ

2:26 - Journey from the beginning: childhood and upbringing

4:06 - How being a part of many places helped him now

5:28 - How the Sri Lankan War affected him

6:55 - How his childhood influenced who he is now

8:37 - DJing for the Indian dance circuit

9:49 - How his parents reacted to his career choices

10:55 - Family approval for him and his sister

11:32 - How to handle clout chasing

13:18 - TikTok

16:30 - Artist burnout

17:15 - Struggling with mental health and imposter syndrome

20:44 - If he considers himself successful

22:12 - What he wants his legacy to be

23:12 - Advice for people trying to make it as a DJ

24:28 - Outro

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to the channel by searching Never Overnight on wherever you stream your podcasts from!

Episode Resources:

This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success, and the story in between.

Today's conversation is with my friend Daniel George and it took place in February 2018. Daniel was in Los Angeles for the NBA all-star weekend and stopped by the studio. Since this podcast is about storytelling and motivation, I believe the lessons you learn here are timeless, regardless of when the conversation took place.

As for Daniel's story, he grew up with a business mindset, he first started selling socks, turned that into a partnership with Nike, and turned that partnership into his own marketing company called Limitless Creative.  The company became so successful, that in 2018 he was named in Forbes 30 under 30. Limitless Creative has continued to grow and has now turned into a multi-million dollar global marketing agency with offices around the world!  In December 2021, he co-founded HEIR, which is a next-generation holding company that builds culturally-inspired consumer brands rooted in sports, tech, and entertainment.  And, most recently, he has gotten into the restaurant business with the critically acclaimed Chicago Italian restaurant, Gino and Marty’s.

Daniel has experienced struggle and success, and this is his story!

What We Discuss:

1:30 - Event Marketing

3:10 - Upbringing

4:47 - Nursing School & Nike

10:29 - Declining Nike

11:25 - Starting his own marketing company

11:58 - Worries about his own

13:08 - Getting through his struggles

14:25 - Calculated risks

16:17 - Forbes 30 under 30

18:16 - What to do after Forbes

19:26 - A year of balance

20:14 - Building his own culture

21:03 - Five years from now

21:40 - The role of faith

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to the channel by searching Never Overnight on wherever you stream your podcasts from!

Episode Resources:

This show is a conversation that focuses on the struggle, the success and the story in between.

In today’s episode, I talk with Maryanne J George. Maryanne is a part of Maverick City Music, which is a Grammy award winning American contemporary worship music collective.

She has also toured with Kirk Franklin and released her own solo album titled “Not Just Stories.” Before she transitioned her career into music full time, she was a mental health therapist. In this episode we talk about her upbringing, her career in mental health, where she is now, and so much more! Maryanne has experienced struggle, success and this is her story!

What We Discuss:

1:46 - Growing up in church and music

3:52 - Talking to your past self & the immigrant mindset

5:46 - Getting into the career of mental health

6:30 - Mental health in the brown community

10:11 - The transition between mental health to a music career

11:16 - Feeling not good enough

14:05 - Mental health in music

16:45 - The success, touring, and winning a Grammy

20:02 - Keeping yourself motivated AFTER the success

23:00 - The cost of being a role model

26:15 - Being a mother and the lessons she's learned

27:58 - The meaning of success for her

28:27 - Advice to future "Maryannes"

If you enjoy today's conversation, feel free to subscribe to the channel by searching Never Overnight on wherever you stream your podcasts from!

Episode Resources:

Hi everyone! My name is Binoj Jacob and welcome to my show Never Overnight! To describe the show in one sentence, this podcast focuses on how success is never overnight! I bring on guests from different industries and we talk about their struggles, their successes, and the story in between. I can't wait for you to hear these conversations. Thanks so much for listening!

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