From Corporate Comfort to Startup Hustle: Reza Hariri’s Journey | Ep 11

Reza: 00:00:00

I would have started networking long below. I mean, I feel like if I had networked correctly, instead of just thought about ability, I could still be coaching in the NFL.

I just didn't understand. It's a who, you know, business, in business, in life, and in sports, rather than what, you know.

Arjun: 00:00:25

Today is the first interview that I'm doing on the LFG energy podcast, and I'm really excited about this guest, Reza Hariro, who's a longtime friend of mine.

But he has a very, very impressive resume that touches and backgrounds in sport, in coaching, including at the NFL level, and also in entrepreneurship in today's startup world. A few things about Reza which I think are super noteworthy here. He has a 20 year media executive background.

He's the current chief revenue officer for a startup called Mymelo. He was the VP of sales at Univision and also the chief revenue officer for another company by the name of Gamma.

So needless to say, he has a background that has been pretty dynamic, not only in sports and athletics, but also in the current working world. Now, on this episode, we touched on three key areas. One was the synergy between sports and business.

We also touched on what young workers should be keeping in mind whenever they consider making the jump into full blown entrepreneurship, as well as discussing the sensationalism that surrounds entrepreneurship and all of the myths and glamour that aren't actually really like that. So let's get to the episode.

Arjun: 00:01:39

Entrepreneurship is sensationalized across, like, the whole world. Everybody sees it. They see how you can get rich, you can start a company, go public, and people think, oh, I'll just ditch my nine to five and go.

And it's gonna be a piece of cake, right? Even with a family. I heard this expression once that from an editor of a magazine, which ultimately ended up failing.

And the guy said, I hope my children never realize, or never have to grow up to realize that I was dancing around the rim of a volcano that whole time, because it was literally that dangerous. In touch and go, you made the jump from a career with salary, everything pretty stable. You could clock in, clock out.

You got that security to take in, and risking it on betting on yourself. Tell me about that.

Reza: 00:02:19

Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it was the smartest decision. It was kind of a rash decision.

And it's hard to give up the office, the expense account, you know, the title, and what you think you've worked up to, to all of a sudden staying at the circus circus when you go to a convention in Vegas and trying to figure out what is the best way to grow a company and watch your funds. And like you said, it is the rim of the volcano, because there's not a lot of revenue coming in and a whole ton of revenue going out.

So it is a really challenging thing, if you think about it. So I didn't think about it, and I kind of jumped both feet in.

And then all of a sudden, you're at the deep end of the pool, like, oh, my God, I don't even know how to swim. What am I doing? But it's the best self realization of what you. You're about, right? I mean, it's. It's your naked truth to yourself.

Like, you know, you always believe you can do something. You always believe you can bet on yourself, and. And not a lot of people take that bet. Everybody speaks that game.

And when I was in the deep end of the pool, I was like, all right, I guess I did bet on myself. So now it's time to figure out how to swim and figure out how to make it.

Arjun: 00:03:25

And you probably, like anyone, I mean, doubts are part of it, right?

And as time goes on and maybe there's not these huge successes that you might have been counting on or expecting at a certain point, they're not hitting at these milestones, and you gotta push these timelines out and explain it to your family or those that are counting on you, your parents, your friends. Like, oh, it hasn't happened yet. Like, talk to me about doubts, because they creep in, right? You're only human.

Reza: 00:03:49

It starts with the external doubt. There's not a ton of people who, though they may say they support you. Not a ton of people believe, you know, you're going to be the next Elon Musk.

Or you're going to be like, no one believes that. And not that you're portraying that, but no one believes someone's idea is going to make it because they're taking a chance, right?

You're going against the grain. And then, secondly, then it's your inner circle, right? I mean, as much as your family wants to believe, you got to pay bills.

You got, you know, you got a kid at home, you got a mortgage. And that's another doubt. Like, why would you take this risk?

Why wouldn't you continue with a steady paycheck, knowing where you're going to go, continue your rise?

And then with all that doubt, as much as you're blocking that out and fighting through it, there's a lot of dark days where you're doubting yourself, where things aren't going right. I mean, I remember early on every holiday or a three day weekend or Christmas was like the worst time, you know, in any job.

You look forward to that when you're in a startup because you're either trying to talk to a money person or a client or something, it's another week, another month, another day that's going to go by that you can't have contact because they're on vacation or they're doing something or, you know, they're on spring break. And all that is, is another day of not taking a paycheck, not, you know, moving your business forward. So all that kind of adds up.

And the doubt does seep in. You know, there's.

There's moments, but like you and I talk about in football, like, you got to think like a defensive back, like, you got to have a very short term memory, and you got to just get through your darkest days and get back up again. You got burned for a touchdown, but you don't remember. Here we go, let's line up again. And another day, another play.

Arjun: 00:05:25

That's right.

And the essence of LFG energy, which is saying, I got this, no matter how stacked the odds are against you, no matter how tight against the wall your back is, you got to burn the votes and take the island, as Tony Robbins says, like, you don't have a choice.

That mindset, I would imagine when you, especially as one of the founding members of a startup, joining a startup is something else because you're executing on somebody else's vision. But when you are part of that vision, you have to see this thing through, and you bet on yourself and all the chips are on the table.

Like, talk to me about that mindset and that mantra that you had to employ, because I know that's how you operate. It wasn't like, it's not that there's a plan b. You're operating like, we're going to make this work no matter what. Right?

It's, let's fucking go right now.

Reza: 00:06:10

I don't know what's right or wrong, because sometimes you're like, if I had a plan b, that I wouldn't be in some of these dark places, and you have revenue coming in, and you and I are the all in. And when I'm all in, then I bet on myself. And there is no plan b. There is no. There is no.

Well, if this doesn't work, I got my parachute here and I got this. I mean, that mindset doesn't work for me because then I'm playing it safe.

I'm either turning up and going all in and going into the fire and feeling like I'm going to get out on the other side or I'm going to kind of dip my toe. But you're not fully in. And the other play is the legacy play, right?

Like for you and I, it's important for me to set the legacy to obviously make my father proud coming from the heritage we do, but also to make my daughter proud because there is a sense of purpose to show her that if you do bet on yourself, and if you do believe in yourself, and if you continue to fight through whatever it is you do, you know, it doesn't have to be a startup.

I hope she doesn't want to do that, but it's that mindset that I want her to get, and I want her to know that she saw it firsthand, that her dad actually did it, that he, you know, I don't know if she knows the ups and downs of it right now at eight years old, but, you know, one day be able to sit down and talk, you'll.

Arjun: 00:07:18

Be able to share that with her.

There is something to be said for children of entrepreneurs and watching their parents go through these things, and to your point, they're only exposed to so much because you have to shield them from it, because you don't want them to worry. You're losing sleep, but you want them to sleep.

You're not smiling on Saturdays out at the park because you're worried about stuff or you're thinking about really things, but you want them to have fun. But eventually, at some point, you do share those lessons because that type of resilience and everything is how they're going to learn.

Sometimes a startup doesn't work out and then you got to pivot, and that is a hard thing, too. Do you go back to safety of maybe the old job or the old way, or do you take these learning lessons and propel it forward into something else?

Reza: 00:07:59

The original startup that I left the corporate world for, that we launched, we were able to raise $4 million and launch it, and was an idea way ahead of its time.

Unfortunately, it ran into Covid, and even though it's still alive and I still have a stake in the company and bring it up as often as I can, it's not my day job. I was able to pivot and jump into another startup, this one backed by some really, really.

Not that the first one wasn't backed by incredible people, but with some more known names. A friend of mine who's the global head of Apple music, with Apple behind them and a 24 behind them, and obviously his name. So he was able to raise a.

A lot of money, but whether it was 4 million or 250 million, it's still the same thing. It's still the ability to execute. It's the ability to believe, it's the ability to strategize, to have a clear vision and then execute.

And like we constantly talk about, and I try to remind everyone, is there's no billion dollar idea. There's only billion dollar execution. And that's how you move a product, move an idea, move a business forward to where you believe.

I mean, because you can believe in yourself all day, and all you have is these ideas, and you never execute. Then, much like anything else, it's gonna go by the wayside.

Arjun: 00:09:14

Yeah, that has to happen. Look, you're the son of iranian immigrants, and people say there's immigrant mentality. It's a real thing.

I think sometimes only children of immigrants can really understand that in each other, which is a huge amount of respect that for you, that belief in oneself obviously played a big part. What advice would you give?

Because we live here in the Bay Area, where there's a lot of people who are given the opportunity to either start something of their own or join something new and abandon everything that's safe and secure and go all in, take a leap of faith into something that might be.

What advice would you give to, say, your younger self or some of these 20 something year olds that are here, that are presented with such an opportunity? Do you do it? Do you not do it? How do you gauge it, whether or not it's a good opportunity, how careful should you be?

Reza: 00:10:13

I mean, to me, I'd want to surround myself. People that know what good looks like.

So when someone's making a leap of faith, like, I know my CEO knows what good looks like because he's taken what itunes was into, what Apple music is today. So he's seen that aspect. I know our president took Yeezy's company to a billion dollars. He knows what good looks like. So, a.

I surround myself with people that know what good looks like, and then you add your work ethic. But I also think you've got to be honest with yourself. I think people look much like an athlete. You look at the end result.

I love it when the lights are on. I love playing in front of people. I think I can be great when the lights aren't on. How much work are you putting at getting ready for that moment?

And you and I know, in a startup, lights aren't on very often, right? Like there's very few moments where the light is on and you're shining. It's a lot of dark. It's a lot of dark days.

And I think you're either built for it or you're not.

And I think everybody looks at the billion dollars and all these people that have made all this money and all this paper money and oh my God, he's worth this much. The reality is, just like a restaurant, there's thousands and thousands and thousands of fail for the one that you see. The kakaria does well.

And I think it's understanding that, too. When you go into it, you're taking a leap of faith. You're betting on yourself. Are you built for this? Are you going to be able to get through?

Are you going to be able to pivot? Is you're going to have so many failures.

And again, the chances of success, no matter how much you bet on yourself and the people around you, it's still not in your favor.

Arjun: 00:11:42

That's, I mean, definitely something to take to our. Because the point you made beautifully was you want to be around people that are good or they've done something good, right? They know what good is.

Was exactly what you said. The odds are already stacked against you.

You can not necessarily turn them in your favor, but you can help keep the ball and play a lot longer if that's the route you choose to go, as opposed to more of the blind faith where you just throw something at the wall and hope it sticks with a bunch of other people that are also doing the same thing. Now to tie back to some sports analogies, because there's a lot of synergy.

And you coached at the collegiate level in the NFL, you've been around loads of athletes. You've been around athletes that have made the jump into entrepreneurship. You know, some of them, you've worked with some.

There's a lot of synergy between sports and business, between athletics and entrepreneurship, and nobody talks about this. Everybody talks about all the shiny stuff of athletes.

They make their money and they go off and do great things, but there's very few Shaqs and LeBrons in the world that have done good things with their money.

The majority of athletes, no matter how long of a career they may or may not have had, if they made some money, however little or lot it was, have burned through it pretty irresponsibly. You've seen a lot of that. What advice do you give?

Just say a young athlete that you know, spoils your back coaching in college, you know, this kid is likely going to make this jump. He's that good.

But you having a business background, you want to talk to him about something else, whereas everyone else is talking about what he's going to do in the league in this. You want to give him the other side because maybe he doesn't have good figures around him telling this, or maybe he doesn't have a dad in his life.

What advice do you give that athlete to make sure that they're set up for some success when so many others are going to fail?

Reza: 00:13:16

Surround yourself with people you trust, right? Because there's a hard thing at that level. Incredible.

Because there's going to be people that are going to get in their ears that they think are smart or no finance or whatever, but get some people that aren't yes guys and are just part of your crew that are going to have the difficult conversation with you. But the other thing, much like you look at the people that are billionaires and what their brand looks like. So Jay Z is a billionaire.

You know, LeBron became a billionaire. These guys are looking at business differently, right? Like it used to be.

And a lot of these athletes are doing in the nil and all that is they're taking endorsements checks, right? Arjun, I'm going to give you 500 grand. Do this Mercedes Benz commercial. I'm going to give you 200 grand. Do Taco Bell.

You're never going to be a billionaire with that. You're taking checks and you're blowing through checks and you're paying your agent and you're doing, you know, paying your taxes.

If you look at the guys in entertainment that are making money, that made real money outside of their field, whether it's investing in a tequila, these guys are taking equity in businesses and they're surrounding themselves, again with people that know how. How to do those businesses well and are taking a stake in it. I mean, one of the best examples I see is like a Rick Ross, who's part of our company.

He doesn't take those endorsement checks. He took an equity piece in Bel Air. Bel Air went up to $3 billion. Rick Ross made 250 million.

On the opposite end of the scope, there's lots of people that are just taking checks. And now that these lists are coming out, they're like, well, I'm more famous than this guy. Why is he making more money?

Because these guys are making better decisions, right? And doesn't mean every company is going to hit. But out of the ten companies he takes equity piece in. All it needs is one or two of them to hit.

It's going to pay off tenfold than that $250,000 endorsement check. You know, that he's doing so much like the athletes.

I think they have to do the same thing is start looking at business, not buy a restaurant or a club, because that's what you're interested in.

But look at things that make money and surround yourself with people that have seen what good looks like and how to make money and investing in businesses, whether it's real estate or anything else that can grow for them. Right.

Or even aligning themselves with someone like you and understanding the mortgage business and taking a little piece in your company as you grow with them. So I think all those things are important.

Again, they need to see what good looks like be around, because there's going to be shady real estate people. There's going to be shady, hey, buy this piece and, you know, they end up losing. But it's to really set up.

Set yourself up as a brand and set yourself up as a business where you can be multiple llcs and you become a holding company. You have money, and you're investing in things that can make revenue for you.

Arjun: 00:15:56

The stories you've seen, the young man you've met and been around, is there a particular story that ever stood out to you, either at the collegiate or NFL level that you can recall?

That was a beautiful story of someone who had no choice but to make it, because the alternative in their life was just not worth going back to or pivoting to. Like, they had to make this work. It was LFG all the way or nothing at all. Is there a story there that you could share with us on?

Reza: 00:16:24

Yeah, I mean. I mean, I think there's lots of them. Not necessarily.

I think to me, you look at any of these undrafted free agents, obviously a guy, you know, an Austin Eckler coming from a tiny school, you know, like all those guys, to me, there is no other chance, right? They show up to this camp. I mean, James Harrison is the perfect example.

f the year, ended up having a: 1516

I mean, how many times, you know, the guys played, and I think he played in Europe and he played, you know, a bunch of different teams got cut from the Steelers five different times. You know, I think that's prevalent in a lot of athletes, or even guys you see that, you know, tear their knee.

Tear their knee a second time and tear their knee a third time and still come back and have that incredible year.

I mean, there was a story about the kid at Ohio State who, from a freshman year on till his senior year, got hurt four different times in training camp, both knees and achilles something else, and finally got to play, came back for a fifth year. They put him in, in the last couple games, ended up catching a touchdown on the team like crazy.

And now he's working with the Ohio state team as kind of a consultant.

But it was his belief, like, I'm going to play at this college, and he was a five star recruit that all these things happened to, and he never, you know, and I'm sure he had his woes me days, but he just got up the next day and it's time to go. I mean, I think you only have much like a win or a loss, like 24 hours, and then you're on. You're on to the next one.

Arjun: 00:18:00

Nice.

And look, you were big on mentorship, too, when you're talking about these athletes, but a lot of younger athletes and people that you talk to and you still love the coach. You even told me you're that maniac dad now at your daughter's games.

Like the parents sit in the stands, you go under the hoop because you're unfit to sit next to these people because you're just viewed as unstable. And you might say something. You yourself, you've been through so many different chapters in your life.

Pitfalls, highs, lows, success, startup, non startup, whatever it is. If you could go back and talk to 21 year old Reza, he can drink 21 year old, even though he was drinking long before that.

If you go back and talk to 21 year old Reza and give him a bit of advice, you could take the DeLorean back and meet him on the street corner and just say, hey, I might look familiar, but don't worry about that. I need to tell you something. What would it be?

Reza: 00:18:45

I would have built my network back then. I would have started networking long below.

I mean, I feel like if I had networked correctly instead of just thought about ability, I could still be coaching in the NFL. I just didn't understand. It's a who, you know, business and business in life and in sports, rather than what, you know.

Obviously, if you have both, then great. But you'll never get a lot of opportunity unless you know somebody. And when you get that opportunity, that's when your moment is shy. Right.

Like, you're. You're prepared for your opportunity, but you're not going to get a lot of those opportunities without a network.

And if I look back on it, and once I learned, once I got into media that, wow, a network really works. And I've seen how it's helped shape my opportunity. I mean, here's my opportunity, gambling.

Just because I worked with somebody when he was 17 at kneel, and, you know, he saw what I did back then, and we were friends, and 30 years later, we are working together, you know, you know, probably the most disruptive music startup there is out there. So that network is an incredible thing. And I see you doing it and I see where it leads, and I don't think there's any substitute for that.

Arjun: 00:19:59

No, there definitely isn't. So that's what you would tell 21.

Reza: 00:20:01

Year old resident, just say, build that network now and be authentic right in your network. Because sometimes people build a network with just what can people do for me instead of what can I do for others as well?

And that's part of the network is people are gonna call on you and rely on you, and you got to be able to show that you can show up and then you can make things happen, because now that just strengthens your network. As people talk about you and make introductions for you, they're like, this dude can get things done.

Arjun: 00:20:27

Yeah, that.

Reza: 00:20:27

Because you've gotten it done.

Arjun: 00:20:28

And that's what makes somebody, I think an effective networker is what they bring to the table.

Reza: 00:20:32

Exactly.

Arjun: 00:20:32

You come at it, not what will you do for me?

Reza: 00:20:35

Socializing and having a drink with someone, obviously being relatable and being humble and all those things. But it's also, can you get anything done? Like, what's the use of being part of someone's network if you can't get anything done for them?

Arjun: 00:20:47

That's good advice to give your younger self. Yeah, I think he would thank you for.

But you're doing a good job of it now, you may in making up for last time, if there was any, because I met you in that context as a networker, right at the gym. And that's how it happened. And our friendship, you know, has been built from there. And it's been. It's been amazing ever since.

The last question I want to always ask every guest, let's fucking go. Means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

Reza: 00:21:14

I mean, you know what it means to me. It gets me fired up. I mean, I say it every. You've coined it. And I always loved it. You said it.

But now it's become a thing since Brady and all these other people. But every time something exciting is about to happen or every time we're about to. Okay, we got the idea. Now let's fucking go, right? Like, let's.

It's time to get it done, right? The idea is done. Let's go now let's. We got to execute, and let's go win. You know? And with winning comes execution. With winning comes your strategy.

With winning comes, and. And all that is part of let's fucking go, right? Like, it's not just let's fucking go.

And I run through a wall, and I have no plan what I'm doing, right? It's let's fucking go. And I know exactly what I'm about to get done. So it's exciting, and it's a.

It's an incredible phrase, and I love hearing it on the sidelines.

I love hearing when anybody does it, and sometimes you don't even know what it means when somebody scores a touchdown, they're like, let's fucking go. But it gets you excited, so I love it.

Arjun: 00:22:07

It's more of an energy. It's an energy, right?

Reza: 00:22:09

Yeah, it's a hundred percent. It's an energy, and it gets everyone around you excited, you know, I mean, I'll never forget going back to my crazy parenting things.

My daughter had a nice little run on the sidelines in soccer, and, you know, one player bumped her. She got through. A second one actually threw an elbow to her head, and she got through, and the third one got in her way, and she ran her over.

They called her penalty on her. And I was, you know, went crazy. I'm like, let's go. I didn't say the f word.

And I was screaming at her, and she's looking at me like, whoa, what are you doing, dad? But it was just. It was exciting. And the other parents were yelling at me, like, what's wrong with you?

Arjun: 00:22:43

Everything.

Reza: 00:22:44

Yeah, everything. But, I mean, to me, that. That's what let's go is. Like, let's fucking go. Like, you know, you just. These obstacles weren't going to stop you. You just.

You're just so focused and motivated and excited to go, and I. The energy is. Gets everyone around you excited.

Arjun: 00:22:59

We appreciate you being on this. How can we, our audience, support you and what you have going on right now?

Reza: 00:23:04

Well, I mean, obviously, thank you. I'm humbled to actually get to be on your platform, know what a great work you've done, and this is. This is awesome and fun to do with you.

I mean, for me, not necessarily me, but you know, from our company standpoint, gamma with Snoop Dogg being one of our artists, wherever in the process of launching a jewelry line with them.

Once the deal gets detailed and there should be a piece coming out on 420 which isn't necessarily jewelry, there'll be more jewelry pieces coming out. But you know, once you see that and we launched a website, go support it and celebrate on 420 with us.

Nothing like having something to smoke with Snoop Dogg, right?

Arjun: 00:23:44

Nothing like it.

Reza: 00:23:45

The jewelry piece.