Prologue Profiles

"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 t

"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.

After college, Gillian worked as a yoga instructor and massage therapist in New York City. In 2010, she left the city and with her business partner created Radiance Yoga, their own studio located in the Berkshires which opened its doors April of last year.    Gillian is one half of the first Prologue Profiles couple, as she's the girlfriend of Episode 009 guest Karden Rabin and they actually both share the same business partner! 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.

  Ben's made a major career change. After college, Ben had worked in the corporate offices of Abercrombie & Fitch in Columbus Ohio, where he worked on product development and sales analysis.  Last year, his strong desire to help others led Ben to leave his job and become a classroom teacher. He joined Teach For America and moved to a small rural town in Arkansas where he teaches 7-9th grade English.  You'll hear from an educator with a strong conviction in his path ahead and who's willing to make significant sacrifices to achieve his dreams.  

Three years out of dental school, Dr. Mohammad Haque opened up AesthetiCare Dental his own practice in Queens.You'll hear Mo discuss his desire to help others, his emphasis on building and maintaing trust, and how there's no better time to achieve your goal than right now.

Yara Travieso's a multi-media artist. Follow me here: she's a Julliard-trained dancer and choreographer who combines video and music to create avant-garde pieces which she directs and produces herself. Through her uncanny ability to fundraise, her pieces have already been presented in Lincoln Center and the new Frank Gehry building in her hometown of Miami. We hear from an artist who admits she's completely consumed by her work, her grand plans for her latest project, and how burning out is part of the process. She's 26 years old.

Andrew Tejerina has pulled off what many dream of. In 2011, Andrew left his desk job at Foot Locker and joined his college friend to start a digital marketing company called Trip20...with Foot Locker as one of their clients. You'll hear Andrew describe what it's like to strike out on your own and how he's backed up his saying of "whatever you're handed in life, don't squander it."

Faiyaz Amlani loves what he does - playing golf. Faiyaz is a professional golfer who already has a mini-sponsorship with Nike. You'll hear from a young professional athlete who's striving to be the best in his industry, and how presence of mind is a key to success.

Christina Nicodema, 25, is an animator who's worked for Nickelodeon, Fox and PBS. She wants to also make her own work and has decided to direct her first ever stop motion animation short. In Christina's episode we hear from an artist about to embark on a major project that she's never done before and talk candidly about the importance of maintaining optimism in the face of fear.

Asif Khan's carved a satisfying role for himself in the corporate world as a brand strategist. He entered the marketing world at the bottom, with zero contacts and it took him 4 jobs in 6 years to get to this point. Hear Asif's strong opinions how he navigates the corporate world and how the way to find more satisfaction in your job may be to leave it.

Karden Rabin, 27, is a man with a strong sense of confidence. He also has a passion for helping people feel their best. Karden's combining these qualities by taking on the risk to co-found the tech startup, Wellcast, which has the potential to revolutionize the health & wellness online education industry. Hear Karden's hyper-articulate take on fear, failure and where his confidence comes from, all that and more on this episode of 'Prologue Profiles'!

Abdi Farah the Season 1 winner of Bravo TV's 'Work of Art'.  In this in-depth interview Abdi lets us into his world. We hear about the moment he knew he had would it took to become a professional, what his typical day is like and what his frustrations are as an artist. My favorite part is when Abdi talks openly about when his faith is tested (which he says happens 'all the time').

Stuck in a job that you find interesting, but your heart isn't in it? Then you can relate to Jonna Davis'  story. Jonna left the corporate world to pursue a career with more meaning. She's now a project director for charity: water, traveling frequently to Africa and Asia.Hear her story, including what she thinks are some of the biggest misconceptions in the non-profit world in this week's episode of 'Prologue Profiles'!

Wondering if you can pursue your creative passion while having a full-time job? Meet Katie Skelly. Katie has recently had her mini-comic published into a graphic novel while holding a desk job.How'd she get started? What's her work/comic balance? Where does her confidence come from? All that and more on this week's 'Prologue Profiles'!

A self-described entrepreneur at heart, Doug has always wanted to build things. In 2010 he co-founded the tech startup Hyperpublic with the hopes of building a scalable business model. He's now an employee of Groupon, as Groupon acquired Hyperpublic in early 2012. He's 28 years old.