Prologue Profiles

"If we're always chasing the pot at the end of the rainbow, we forget we're riding rainbows all day." - Bassam Tarazi

Prologue Profiles was created to inspire you. It's no accident that I've asked Bassam (@BassamTarazi) to be on this show.

In 2007 Bassam found himself unemployed and without any direction in life. Bassam switched his perspective and became effectively diligent in finding employment.

He realized he could teach others to be accountable to themselves and earlier this year he decided to become a full-time life coach and author.

You'll hear how Bassam took control of his life and found his purpose along the way, why we shouldn't feel guilty for the opportunities we have and how you don't know what's on the other side of the door until you walk through it.

“I don’t want to make you feel small. I want to make you feel like you can do whatever you want to do, because people like you are doing it.“ - Dan Feld

People have been asking me to do an episode on my story and how Prologue Profiles came to be, but I’ve been holding off. I still felt too close to my massive failure last year of quitting my market research job in New York City to become a teacher in Mississipi. 

Six months and 024 episodes in, I’m ready and excited to share my story with you.

Leading the interview is Stuart Blake, the guest of the very first Prologue Profiles.

You’ll hear me discuss what sparked me to quit my job and move to Mississippi, how I recovered from the biggest failure of my life, and how the best way to do something, is to do it.

"Don't be the guy that sits there and goes 'Oh I have this great idea, but if, or maybe...' It doesn't matter. Just go out and try. It might take you 20 tries, but it will work as long as you're ambitious and you have that element of perseverance." - David Goldberg

David has always wanted to sell.

Out of college David worked at CNET where he honed his ad sales skills but became eager to leave corporate America.

His chance to build a company would come in 2009, when David, his brother Ari and business partner Albert co-founded StyleCaster an online fashion platform which now attracts over 5.5 million visits each month.

In this episode David hints that StyleCaster was finalizing something big. It was announced last week that StyleCaster has acquired Daily Makeover, the #1 beauty technology in digital media.

You'll hear David discuss what he thinks has been the key to StyleCaster's success, being openly motivated by money and that the hardest sale to close is the one to yourself.

"I think I've always had the bug—Growing up wanting to do something on my own and create something." - Kriti Sehgal

After college, Kriti held a medical research job and was on the path to med school, but what she wanted to do was start a business.

In her spare time, she co-founded a frozen yogurt shop, which didn't work out and left Kriti with little to show for her efforts.

Kriti learned from her experience and is now a co-owner of Pure Fare (@PureFare), a brand of health-conscious fast casual restaurants she opened with her twin brother, Kunal, in the spring of 2011.

Pure Fare has won the award for best guilt-free lunch by Philadelphia Magazine and this summer already opened a second location.

Part of the Pure Fare brand is My Fare, a proprietary online tracking tool which allows you to keep track of what you eat throughout the day to help set and achieve personal nutrition goals.

You'll hear Kriti discuss the importance of feeling connected with your creation, how to keep your fears on the sidelines, and that sacrifice is not a dirty word.

"If you said, 'Where do you want to be in 10 years?' I could say things that I really like to do, but I still can't tell you how I want to get there, because I'm O.K. taking a diversion." - Lucas Kavner

After college, Lucas (@LucasKavner) knew he wanted to write and perform. He moved to NYC and took random jobs to support himself as he auditioned for gigs.

Lucas'  artistic pursuits are gaining momentum: he's landing parts in commercials, was recently casted in the Stephen King/John Cougar Melloncamp musical and has received a grant to write a play of his own, all the while now working full-time as a Culture Reporter at the Huffington Post.

You'll hear Lucas' hazy yet fond relationship with his path ahead, handling rejection, and the incomparable benefits from just not stopping.

"For the first time in my life, I'm giving credence to all those guys who showed up at my high school when the teachers were hungover, telling us to do what we love and the money will follow." - Brian Trunzo

Brian (@nytbro) is a lawyer who wanted out. Last summer, he started a fashion blog called Nicetrybro.com. The blog caught the attention of the fashion world and he soon found himself flying to Italy for trade shows.

Less than two years after launching his blog, Brian will be leaving his law job to open Carson Street Clothiers, a menswear retail shop in New York City he co-owns with his law school friend/business partner.

You'll hear Brian discuss his journey from law depression to fashion obsession, the benefits of fearing failure, and how there may be more to yourself than you know.

"I operate my life like a startup. I learn a little bit and I make a new decision based on it, and I test something else out and I keep iterating until it's perfect." - Rameet Chawla

Looking for a way out of his finance job, Rameet (@rameet) decided to use his tech expertise and work for himself.

...He never looked back.

Rameet's company, Fueled (@fueled), which specializes in making mobile apps, has grown in the past year and a half from 8 to 56 employees.

I spoke with Rameet at midnight and was naturally very tired, but Rameet was on. It turns out we were in the middle of his second shift of work, which ends at 3:30am—every single night.

In this extended interview, Rameet discusses his path to 56 employees, his very a-typical typical day, and how the answer to your future is within yourself.

"You don't know what your comedic voice is until you use it." - Molly Austin

Molly is a comedian. Last Fall Molly co-created EmotiStyle an online show about fashion with her comedic partner, Shamikah Martinez.

Less than a year later EmotiStyle's YouTube channel now has over 14,000 subscribers.

You'll hear Molly discuss how she decided to leave her job to focus on comedy, what it takes to find your voice, and how your fears can be all the drive you need.

You'll hear from a longtime yogi for whom yoga wasn't always her preferred method of healing, on what she thinks entrepreneurs often forget to do and how to keep going when you want to give up.

Daniel likes to do his own thing. As a journalist, this meant being one of the first to use social media to enhance his reporting back in 2008.

As he hopped from 4 jobs in 6 years, his unique skills and interests crossed paths with the needs of The New York Times who hired Daniel as a social media producer earlier this year.

You'll hear Daniel discuss his desire to break off from the pack, his tricky relationship with confidence and how a big idea is closer than you think.