Prologue Profiles
265 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 8 years ago - ★★★★★ - 243 ratingsInspiring interviews with passionate people pursuing their career dreams. http://prologueprofiles.com
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Episodes
Prologue On The Street : Andy : DUMBO Lot
May 09, 2014 00:00 - 4 minutes - 6.66 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Andy, the co-founder of Korilla BBQ, at the DUMBO lot. (More info: https://twitter.com/KorillaBBQ)
058 : Shamikah Martinez : Writer, Producer & Performer
May 05, 2014 00:00 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MB"Stop waiting for someone else to give you opportunities." - Shamikah Martinez After college Shamikah (@smart_inez) worked as a video producer but through improv got the performance bug and hasn't looked back. After creating viral videos with her YouTube comedy group Candy Slice Shamikah teamed up with friend of the show Molly Austin to create the comedy duo, Emotistyle. Shamikah's continued to expand her creative palette and has written her own one act play which she's debuting this month...
Prologue On The Street : Everyone : 33rd St PATH Train
May 02, 2014 00:00 - 5 minutes - 7.08 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Everyone, a band/Kean University bio majors, on the 33rd St PATH train. (More info: http://everyoneofficial.bandcamp.com)
057 : The Nepotist : Alternative Soul Band
April 28, 2014 00:00 - 42 minutes - 58.8 MB"This is only happening once. You've got this amount of time [on earth] and what do you want to look back and see when you're older?" - Hayden Frank, The Nepotist (bass/vocals) Originally from Ithaca NY, Chris Frank, a guitar player, spent 10 years trying to get his band IY off the ground which broke up after college. In 2012 Chris joined forces with his younger brother and bass player Hayden Frank to form The Nepotist...but something was missing. They wanted to to be a real band. With t...
Prologue On The Street : Hye-Jeung : WTC PATH Train
April 25, 2014 00:00 - 2 minutes - 3.88 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Hye-Jeung, a student at The New School, on the WTC PATH train.
056 : Dave Kyrejko : Engineer & Distiller
April 21, 2014 00:00 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MBDave (@drinkicd) just wants to make things. And he's figured out a way to do just that. Dave is the co-founder of The City Foundry, an R&D shop based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The City Foundry's primary focus is Industry City Distillery which has found a way to engineer their own beet sugar based vodka, Industry Standard, which is now available in over 120 locations across the country (including Astor Wines). You'll hear Dave discuss how he engineered his life to match his engineering amb...
Prologue On The Street : Dillon Treacy : La Colombe Coffee at W. 4th St.
April 18, 2014 00:00 - 3 minutes - 4.54 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Dillon Treacy, an NYU Steinhardt student, at La Colombe Coffee at West 4th Street.
055 : Tirtzah Bassel : Visual Artist
April 14, 2014 00:00 - 34 minutes - 47.2 MB"The trick always seems to be to switch from being inside your fear and finding something to do - even if it's a small step." - Tirtzah Bassel Born and raised in Israel, going into college Tirtzah was planning on becoming a social worker. During a heightened period of terrorism in Israel, Tirtzah took on a new perspective of how she wanted to spend her time on Earth. Tirtzah now works as a visual artist based in Brooklyn who has developed her own form painting using duck tape and has her ...
Prologue On The Street : Nikoi : Journal Square PATH Train
April 11, 2014 00:00 - 4 minutes - 5.52 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Nikoi, an NYU Gallatin student, on the Journal Square PATH Train.
054 : Monroe Martin : Comedian
April 07, 2014 00:00 - 27 minutes - 37.8 MB"I just made the hard work a blur." - Monroe Martin Monroe (@MonroeMartinIII) grew up in foster care. He wanted to work in comedy. Monroe now works full-time as a comedian, performing at colleges across the country and writing for Charlamagne and Friends on MTV2. You'll hear Monroe discuss his path of continuous comedic improvement, the power of authenticity, and that the way to achieve your goals is to work past them:
Prologue On The Street : Nick : J Train
April 04, 2014 00:00 - 2 minutes - 2.83 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Nick, who works for his family's real estate business, on the J train.
053 : Tony Bacigalupo : Coworking Space Entrepreneur
March 31, 2014 00:00 - 22 minutes - 30.8 MB"There is no greater force that I know of than a person who is on a mission." - Tony Bacigalupo After college Tony got a job and he worked at an office. He did not like this. Soon after Tony was working from home. He did not like this either. Tony is now the co-founder New Work City - the first dedicated coworking space in New York, which opened its doors in 2008 and in 2010 raised over $17,000 on Kickstarter to help fund their current space at 412 Broadway. You'll hear Tony discuss hi...
Prologue On The Street : Jen : F Train
March 28, 2014 00:00 - 6 minutes - 9.17 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Jen, an MFA candidate, on the F train.
052 : Lyndsey Butler : Fashion Designer
March 24, 2014 00:00 - 19 minutes - 26.4 MB"Since I didn't have a design background I wanted to focus on one thing that I could get really good at." - Lyndsey Butler After college, Lyndsey reached a fork in the road: law school or fashion. Lyndsey is now the head of the fashion line, VEDA, which she launched in 2008 with her mentor Yael Aflalo, and specializes in making the perfect leather jacket. In 2013 VEDA launched its flagship store on Mercer Street in Soho. You'll hear Lyndsey discuss how she got whisked away into the fashio...
Prologue On The Street : Andrew : J Train
March 21, 2014 00:00 - 2 minutes - 3.58 MBDan takes his mic to the streets and interviews Andrew, a college freshman, on the J train.
051 : Adam Braun : For Purpose Entreprenuer
March 17, 2014 00:00 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MB"It's not logical to turn down the big private equity salary and start building a non-profit out of your apartment in the East Village. But it's the thing that I knew I had to go do." - Adam Braun Originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, Adam (@adambraun) was on the path to working in finance. That all changed when as a junior in college Adam went on a trip to India which instilled in him a desire to help others and make a quality education available on a global scale. In 2008, two years o...
050 : Steven Fulop : Mayor
October 28, 2013 00:00 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MB"When I think about what's made me successful it's a willingness to say 'Let's try that and see where that goes'." - Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop After college, Mayor Fulop worked in finance at Goldman Sachs which he then left after 9/11 to join the Marine Corps in Iraq. In 2004 Mayor Fulop said yes to an opportunity to run for Congress, which he lost. However this sparked in him a passion for public service as he went on to serve for 8 years as a councilman and on May 14 2013 he was ele...
049 : Kawehi : Musician
October 14, 2013 00:00 - 21 minutes - 30.2 MB"Having to pay the bills but not willing to give up the need to be creative will push you harder than you can ever imagine." - Kawehi After her first year of college in 2002, Kawehi moved to California as a signed artist in a newly formed superband. Two months in she quit and moved back home. Unable to get any attention with her music going the traditional route and still tied to her contract, Kawehi took a 5 year break from music. Kawehi then switched it up and with the support of her hus...
048 : Nathaniel Ru : Food & Lifestyle Entrepreneur
September 30, 2013 00:00 - 16 minutes - 23 MB"I love the momentum. It's almost like a drug for me." - Nathaniel Ru While at college Nathaniel met his future co-founders, Jonathan Nemen and Nicolas Jammet, and the 3 of them wanted to create a destination for healthy eating. In 2007, during their senior year they did just that with their launch of sweetgreen - a healthy fast food eatery in Washington DC. Six years later sweetgreen now has 20 locations with their most recent expansion in the NoMad hotel in New York City. Along the way ...
047 : Tasha Ong : Personal Styling Entrepreneur
September 16, 2013 00:08 - 17 minutes - 24.2 MB"I'm never going to do something that doesn't matter. I have to be able to reach people and make them feel great about themselves." - Tasha Ong In lieu of college, Tasha worked for her family's barbecue restaurant in Florida where she discovered her knack for customer service. Tasha took this newfound skill to her next gig at a spa where eventually the clientele started seeking out her styling advice. Tasha realized the value in her style opinion and in 2007 she left the spa to create her ...
046 : Josh Senior : Video Storytelling Entrepreneur
September 02, 2013 00:00 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MB"I'm 27 years old and doing what I want to do every day - [it] shouldn't be like that - I should be working for the man. And that thought in the back of my head is my biggest fear and it's also what motivates me to keep being better and do what I do." - Josh Senior After college Josh struggled to find work in his major of international relations, it was then that he decided to point his career towards his passion for video post production. Over the next 4 years Josh went from unemployed dr...
045 : James Dumapit : Chef
August 19, 2013 00:00 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MB"Nothing mattered to me anymore but what I wanted." - James Dumapit After several false starts with college and struggling to follow his passion of screenwriting, James was living with his parents in New Jersey and was unsure about his direction in life. James switched up his situation when he turned his attention to his hobby - cooking - and created a whole new path for himself. In 2009 James moved to Austin to attend the Texas Culinary Academy and soon began working at Uchi, a James Be...
044 : Kathryn Minshew : Tech Entrepreneur
August 05, 2013 00:00 - 18 minutes - 25.4 MB"Being afraid is part of the job. If you're not afraid of anything then you're probably not pushing yourself all that hard." - Kathryn Minshew After college Kathryn worked at McKinsey but she quickly knew management consulting wasn't for her and started looking for something new. Kathryn was frustrated with the available job search tools and realized she wanted to create a career resource of her own. In September 2010 Kathryn launched her first attempt called PYP with 3 partners including ...
043 : Justin Bridges : Fashion & Lifestyle Photographer
July 22, 2013 00:00 - 21 minutes - 29 MB"If you don't take the chance you can never reap the benefits." - Justin Bridges Originally from Atlanta Georgia, after college Justin found himself working in finance at Goldman Sachs in New York. He soon realized he wanted to follow his passion of photography. And so he did. In the fall of 2010, Justin left Goldman, started up his photo blog called Tucked, and landed jobs in the fashion world. As of this year Justin now works full-time as a photographer shooting for clients such as Gi...
042 : Cal Newport : Writer & Professor
July 01, 2013 00:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MB"Telling someone to 'Follow their passion' can actually get in the way of their goal to end up passionate about what they do ." - Cal Newport Cal is a student of success. While in college, Cal wrote his first book, How To Win At College. It was published by Random House. For his 4th and latest book, So Good They Can't Ignore You, Cal sets his sights on the working world and claims that the idea of "following your passion" is bad advice. Meanwhile Cal works full-time as an assistant profe...
041 : Tracy Weiler : Actress & Producer
June 17, 2013 00:00 - 18 minutes - 25.2 MB"Deep down, if you want something to happen, you can make it happen." - Tracy Weiler For the past 7 years Tracy has been growing her career as an actress in New York City, landing national commercial gigs and movie roles. She's now living in LA as she's co-producing her own TV pilot called 'Hot Fail' along with Episode 002 guest Tim Drucker. (Tracy actually played a cheerleader in Tim's off-broadway musical 'Fat Camp'.) The two successfully funded the pilot on Kickstarter which allowed th...
040 : Dan Teicher : Music Composer, Producer & Performer
June 03, 2013 00:00 - 21 minutes - 30 MB"Put yourself in the position to succeed. If you want to climb to the next level, put yourself in the position to do that." - Dan Teicher Since he first picked up a guitar in the 5th grade Dan's life has been about music. Dan now lives as a musician full out - as a composer writing scores for documentaries and commercials and as a performer in his band The Ludlow Thieves, putting on sold out shows at the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury lounge. You'll hear Dan discuss his path to matching his ...
039 : Scotty Landes : Comedy Writer & Producer
May 20, 2013 00:00 - 22 minutes - 31 MB"If you can have this really weird life where you get paid to make people laugh it's like I don't need people to inspire me to do that. I just will do it on my own and be very grateful for it and then die within 60 years and I'm A-Ok with all of it." - Scotty Landes While in college Scotty knew he wanted to become a comedy writer. After scraping by for years in NYC he got his first gig with only $400 left to his name. He's made the most of that opportunity and is now the co-executive prod...
038 : Tom Donigan : Gourmet Snack Entrepreneur
May 06, 2013 00:00 - 21 minutes - 30.2 MB"It's the creative process to bring something that never existed before to the store — and then making it successful in that store — that's been so exciting for me." - Tom Donigan Tom was tired of his law job and wanted to start a food business somehow. In 2010 he called together his friends and now business partners, Matt Levey and Scott Fiesinger, for a meeting where they ended up co-creating Field Trip, an all-natural beef jerky made in upstate New York. Field Trip is already available...
037 : Pamela Kalmus : App Creator
April 22, 2013 00:00 - 23 minutes - 32.2 MBI always said I didn't want to be a lawyer because I didn't want to work as hard as my Dad [Laughs] but now I realize it's not just because he's a lawyer - he works for himself - and so I'm going to be working just as hard but when you find something you love it makes it worthwhile. - Pamela Kalmus Since she was little Pamela has wanted to do her own thing. Doing what exactly, she didn't know. That's all changed as Pamela is the founder of Mani Diaries, a manicure management iPhone app whi...
036 : Ezekiel Akinyemi (aka DJ Zeke) : DJ
April 08, 2013 00:00 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MBI love the faces that music gives people. You know they're smilin' and their eyebrows go up a little bit and they're cheesin' and they're just like, Yeah! That's my jam! - Ezekiel Akinyemi aka DJ Zeke Zeke (DJZeke.com) made a name for himself while DJ'ing as a student at St John's University. After college he became a DJ full-time, and has since toured with artists such as Rich Ross' Maybach Music Group and Nas. Zeke was recently selected by Red Bull to host their Thr3estyle University Tou...
035 : Travis Tate : Screenwriter [Coaching Session]
March 25, 2013 00:00 - 39 minutes - 54.8 MBAn hour from now I'll have a horrid thought about how horrible I am and how [awful] my writing is and then I'l just get back to square one. So I think it's just fighting myself, how hard will I fight myself to get things done? - The hez of Travis Tate Travis is currently at Stage 2 on the Escalation of Actualization scale. He knows he wants to be a successful filmmaker but hasn't gotten his dreams off the ground. The only thing in Travis' way is hez, which is hesitation as a result of bein...
034 : Brendan Weafer : Professional Fighter & Coach
March 11, 2013 00:00 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBIf you're willing to sacrifice, nothing's impossible. - Brendan Weafer As a kid Brendan was a blackbelt in martial arts. Brendan's now a professional fighter who's trained with Jackson MMA, one of the top team's in the world and in 2012 was casted to compete on FX's The Ultimate Fighter show, all while developing his own personal training business You'll hear Brendan discuss how he honed his craft as a professional fighter, including some graphic play-by-plays, the importance of being pre...
033 : Ishita Gupta : Publisher & Coach
February 25, 2013 01:00 - 29 minutes - 40.5 MB"You Google, you freak out, you panic, you hesitate, you don't do it, you get tired of not doing it, you sleep, you YouTube...and then you do it [Laughs]. And so there comes a point in time where you get so sick of yourself that you do it!" - Ishita Gupta After college, Ishita got accepted into med school but becoming a doctor didn't feel right. She decided to embark on a journey of self-experimentation which lead her to working side by side with marketing expert Seth Godin. Ishita has si...
032 : Colin Wright : Extreme Lifestyle Experimenter
February 11, 2013 01:00 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MB"The only time I'm unhappy is when I don't have something interesting or valuable to work on." - Colin Wright After college, Colin was running a successful branding studio, but he wanted out of the 120 hour work week he'd created for himself. In 2009 Colin decided to travel the world full-time by having the readers of his blog, Exile Lifestyle, vote for which country he should live in every 4 months. Along the way Colin decided to make the leap from blogger to author and now supports hims...
031 : Cameron Robertson : Inventor
January 28, 2013 01:00 - 20 minutes - 28.3 MB"Perseverance and will make all the other problems go away." - Cameron Robertson While in college, Cameron was going down the finance route but he realized he wanted to start his own business. He met his business partner Paul Gerhardt and after two failed attempts of creating a marketable product they created Lockitron, which fits over your deadbolt to turn your smartphone into your house keys. The first production of Lockitron is slated to ship in late May 2013. On this Skype interview, ...
030 : Jullien Gordon : High Performance Consultant
December 17, 2012 01:18 - 25 minutes - 34.8 MB"Do you want to tell your kid 'Do what you love because I gave up my dream so that you could have yours?' or 'Follow your dream in the same way that I followed mine.'?" - Jullien Gordon Note: This is the last episode of 2012. I'm grateful for your attention and interest in what my guests and I have created together and I'm excited about what's to come in 2013! Now onto the episode!... While in college two traumatic life experiences led Jullien to decide his purpose was to help others find ...
029 : Fabiola Arias : Fashion Designer
December 03, 2012 01:03 - 22 minutes - 31.5 MB"I love that I'm creating my dream and it feels good to be working this hard for something that I want, that I'm creating." - Fabiola Arias In the ninth grade Fabiola decided she would become a fashion designer. She launched her line while still a student at Parsons and at 25 years old she now sells her eveningwear collection of cocktail dresses and gowns at Neiman Marcus Couture Salons across the country. Fabiola played a key role in Episode 025 as she helped inspire me to create Prologu...
028 : Jeff Laub : Hospitality Entrepreneur
November 19, 2012 01:00 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MB"Make it. That's it. It's not gonna happen the first time you do it and you cannot become discouraged that it didn't work because all it is is just, 'Do it again.'" - Jeff Laub After college Jeff wanted out from his law job. Jeff took action and in 2009 co-founded the Blind Barber, a bar/barbershop in the East Village of New York City. Earlier this year the Blind Barber opened its second location in Culver City LA. You'll hear Jeff discuss how he took the Blind Barber from an idea on his ...
027 : Shane Snow : Journalism Entrepreneur
November 12, 2012 01:00 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MB"Being realistic is a silly thing. You should swing for the fences and go for the bigger or better thing." - Shane Snow Shane Snow has a really cool name. He also has a really cool story. After college, Shane moved to New York to become a tech journalist. Without any credible experience to build on, Shane's goal was to be published in Wired within a year. By using his technique of non-traditional ladder climbing he made it happen in 8 months, and now is regularly published in Wired magazin...
026 : Bassam Tarazi : Life Coach & Author
October 29, 2012 01:47 - 19 minutes - 27.4 MB"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 ...
025 : Dan Feld : Podcaster
October 22, 2012 00:49 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MB“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 ...
024 : David Goldberg : Salesman
October 15, 2012 01:07 - 20 minutes - 27.6 MB"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 ...
023 : Kriti Sehgal : Restauranteur
October 08, 2012 00:01 - 15 minutes - 21.1 MB"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 ...
022 : Lucas Kavner : Writer & Performer
October 01, 2012 00:00 - 17 minutes - 24 MB"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 ...
021 : Brian Trunzo : Menswear Retailer
September 24, 2012 00:00 - 13 minutes - 18.9 MB"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 hi...
020 : Rameet Chawla : Tech Founder
September 17, 2012 00:06 - 34 minutes - 47 MB"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 midnigh...
019 : Molly Austin : Comedian
September 10, 2012 00:44 - 15 minutes - 21.3 MB"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.
018 : Gillian Gorman : Yoga Entrepreneur
August 27, 2012 00:00 - 15 minutes - 20.8 MBAfter 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...
017 : Daniel Victor : Social Media Producer
August 20, 2012 00:03 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MBDaniel 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.