Hooman Tavakolian has built a career spanning Wall Street, wrestling, sports diplomacy, and international humanitarian work. He explains why the discipline that helped him rise from poverty also led him to reconsider the idea of being “self-made,” recognizing the coaches, strangers, colleagues, and small acts of kindness that shaped his path.

Hooman Tavakolian has built a career spanning Wall Street, wrestling, sports diplomacy, and international humanitarian work. He explains why the discipline that helped him rise from poverty also led him to reconsider the idea of being &ldquo;self-made,&rdquo; recognizing the coaches, strangers, colleagues, and small acts of kindness that shaped his path.

Grit Daily Startup Show podcast explores the world of entrepreneurship, founders, and CEOs to talk scaleups and startups, from conception and funding to exits. Interviews run across all industries, with entrepreneurs sharing their best decisions, mistakes to avoid, and wildest entrepreneurial stories. With single-guest entrepreneur and multi-guest formats.

Grit Daily Startup Show podcast explores the world of entrepreneurship, founders, and CEOs to talk scaleups and startups, from conception and funding to exits. Interviews run across all industries, with entrepreneurs sharing their best decisions, mistakes to avoid, and wildest entrepreneurial stories. With single-guest entrepreneur and multi-guest formats.

Startup Show, brought to you by the premiere startup news hub, Grit Daily

Grit Daily Startup Show

Hooman Tavakolian on Why No One Is Really Self-Made

Mike Karadimas carried the idea for The Kalogeris Blood Empire for decades before finally turning it into a novel with help from his son. He joins Phillip Lanos to talk about drawing from Detroit, Greek family life, organized crime lore, and memories passed down through generations to build a fictional mob story centered on loyalty, ambition, and family. Karadimas also shares why writing the book became a way to preserve parts of his own history while creating something entirely new.

Mike Karadimas carried the idea for The Kalogeris Blood Empire for decades before finally turning it into a novel with help from his son. He joins Phillip Lanos to talk about drawing from Detroit, Greek family life, organized crime lore, and memories passed down through generations to build a fictional mob story centered on loyalty, ambition, and family. Karadimas also shares why writing the book became a way to preserve parts of his own history while creating something entirely new.

Mike Karadimas on Turning Family History Into a Crime Thriller

Edward McGeorge was thrown out of his father’s home at 13, became an elite athlete, sparred with Muhammad Ali, and went on to build one of America’s largest RV dealerships. He joins Phillip Lanos to share the remarkable decisions, setbacks, negotiations, and relationships behind the success, including the $1.6 million bet that changed his future. Now the author of ALL IN, McGeorge explains why getting knocked down was never the problem and why refusing to stay down became the defining principle of his life.

Edward McGeorge was thrown out of his father&rsquo;s home at 13, became an elite athlete, sparred with Muhammad Ali, and went on to build one of America&rsquo;s largest RV dealerships. He joins Phillip Lanos to share the remarkable decisions, setbacks, negotiations, and relationships behind the success, including the $1.6 million bet that changed his future. Now the author of ALL IN, McGeorge explains why getting knocked down was never the problem and why refusing to stay down became the defining principle of his life.

Edward McGeorge Went All In and Built an RV Empire Against the Odds

Startups can go global faster than ever, but their financial operations often struggle to keep pace. Anna Tobin, Business Development Lead at Performa, joins Phillip Lanos to explore how fragmented bank accounts, digital wallets, stablecoins, cross-border payments, reconciliation, and reporting create costly friction as companies scale. Drawing on 15 years across fintech, startups, payments, and digital assets, Anna explains how Performa is bringing fiat and Web3 financial workflows into a unified infrastructure designed for globally distributed businesses.

Startups can go global faster than ever, but their financial operations often struggle to keep pace. Anna Tobin, Business Development Lead at Performa, joins Phillip Lanos to explore how fragmented bank accounts, digital wallets, stablecoins, cross-border payments, reconciliation, and reporting create costly friction as companies scale. Drawing on 15 years across fintech, startups, payments, and digital assets, Anna explains how Performa is bringing fiat and Web3 financial workflows into a unified infrastructure designed for globally distributed businesses.

Hooman Tavakolian on Why No One Is Really Self-Made

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