Started from the Bottom

Latest Episodes:

Busayo Olupona: How she Pivoted from Attorney to Fashion Designer Jun 13, 2023

Ready-to-wear designer Busayo Olupona talks about what it was like to leave her six-figure salaried job as a corporate attorney to pursue her dream of starting a fashion brand. From going broke to seeing her Made In Nigeria labeled clothing in Neiman Marcus, Busayo learned a lot along the way.

If you're into entrepreneurship and/or fashion, here are some books Busayo recommends:

The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Geller
The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Singer
Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey by James Hollis
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
Native Son by Richard Wright

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Keith Corbin: His Culinary Journey After Prison Jun 06, 2023

Keith Corbin never thought cooking could be his way out of the hood. After a stint in prison, Keith needed a change from a life of hustling, and a series of chance encounters led him into the culinary world. Now a celebrated restaurateur, Keith has made a name for himself through his restaurant Alta Adams and his interpretation of soul food - West African style meets California ingredients.

You can find Keith's book California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival wherever books are sold.

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Freddie Wong: From YouTube to His Own Production Company May 30, 2023

Freddie Wong is a YouTube OG. As YouTube transformed from a backwater website to a behemoth media platform, Freddie's career as an indie filmmaker grew with it, logging nearly 2 billion views and over 9 million subscribers on his channel "freddiew." In this episode, Freddie Wong talks about building an online video channel into a real production company, his love for action comedy, and how artists in the digital age can be creative when it comes to making a living.

To watch Freddie's videos, check out Freddie's YouTube channel! For one of our personal favorites try this one.

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Jing Gao: Bringing Chinese Flavor to Supermarket Shelves May 23, 2023

FLY BY JING founder Jing Gao never intended to make hot sauce for a living. But after living in China her pallet was awakened to Asian flavors that drove her to become a foodie. Jing decided to make the scary leap from her traditional tech job to a full-time career in food. In this episode, Jing talks about her diaspora experience growing up in the West, the many pitfalls she faced as a food entrepreneur, and how overnight, viral success changes a business.

To get your own Fly By Jing hot sauce, check out flybyjing.com

And if you cook with chili crisp, send us a picture! You can email us at info@pushkin.fm

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Jessica O. Matthews: What Does it Take to be an Inventor? May 16, 2023

At 19, Jessica O. Matthews invented the SOCCKET, a soccer ball that stores kinetic energy, and then converts that power into light. Jessica’s invention took her from the Harvard classroom to audiences with U.S. Presidents, and it jump-started her journey into the power and infrastructure industry. In this episode, the founder and CEO of Uncharted Power talks about what kind of thinking it takes to invent something, and how witnessing the energy crisis of her native Nigeria inspired her to invent a power-storing soccer ball.

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Zainab Salbi: From Under Saddam’s Thumb to Building a Successful Nonprofit May 09, 2023

Zainab Salbi grew up in Iraq, where her family lived in terror of Saddam Hussein. Then she came to America -- and launched a nonprofit that has helped thousands of women around the world. In this episode, Zainab talks about her unique childhood, how she escaped an abusive marriage, and why she started an organization to help women survivors of war.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Tremaine Emory: How to Become a Creative Director in Fashion May 02, 2023

When Tremaine Emory became the Creative Director at Supreme, he joined an elite but tiny group of Black people calling the shots in the fashion industry. Having recently survived an aortic aneurysm Tremaine opens up in this conversation about what success means in the context of life and death, and how a hood kid from Queens, NY became an icon of style.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Suze Orman: From Waitress to Financial Guru Apr 25, 2023

Suze Orman has spent the past few decades sharing her financial wisdom with the public. But before Suze became an investment maven, bestselling author, and host of her own show on CNBC, she was a 30-year-old waitress living paycheck to paycheck. In this episode, Suze Orman explains how she went from happily waiting tables at a local cafe, to losing all her money in the stock market, to becoming a personal finance guru.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Nely Galán: Self-Made Media Mogul Apr 18, 2023

When producer and author Nely Galán became Telemundo's President of Entertainment, she became the first Latina to head an American television network. A child of the post-Revolution Cuban diaspora, Nely's path to the top of her field involved grit, resourcefulness, and a dash of humility. In this episode, Nely takes us through her life's marker moments, from a Cuban kid growing up in New Jersey to becoming a force in American media.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Larry Miller: From Prison to the Nike Boardroom Apr 11, 2023

Convicted of murder at age 16, Nike executive Larry Miller kept his crime and incarceration a secret for over 40 years. But after building the Jordan brand at Nike into a billion dollar business, Larry has chosen to open up about his story.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Francis Ngannou: From the Cameroon Sand Mines to Heavyweight Champ Apr 04, 2023

Fighting champion Francis Ngannou defied all the odds to chase his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Surviving a 14-month migration from Africa to Europe, Francis bet it all, to eventually become the Heavyweight Champion of the UFC. In this episode, Francis tells the epic story of his journey from the sand mines of Cameroon to the heights of mixed martial arts.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Cynt Marshall: From the Bay Area Projects to CEO of the Dallas Mavericks Mar 28, 2023

Cynt Marshall made NBA history when she became CEO of the Dallas Mavericks -- she was the first Black woman to lead an NBA team. In this episode, Cynt takes us on her life's journey: surviving domestic violence, a 40-year career at AT&T, and getting a call from Mark Cuban to take over the Mavs.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Mei Xu: How To Build a $75 Million Candle Business with No Production Experience Mar 21, 2023

Entrepreneur Mei Xu started out life in China training to be a foreign diplomat. But the effects of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident derailed her plans and she found herself in America dreaming of starting a business. In this episode, we learn how this Chinese immigrant turned her fascination with Bloomingdale's into a multi-million dollar candle business — Chesapeake Bay Candle.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our newsletter at Pushkin.fm.

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Charlamagne Tha God: How He Turned Anxiety and Failure into Success Mar 14, 2023

Over a 25 year career, Charlamagne Tha God clawed his way to the top of the radio industry. In this episode, the long-time host of The Breakfast Club tells us what it took for him — a young man suffering from anxiety, constantly in and out of jail — to become an icon of modern media.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our newsletter at Pushkin.fm.

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Justin Richmond and Malcolm Gladwell: LIVE at Medgar Evers College Mar 14, 2023

Host Justin Richmond and author Malcolm Gladwell discuss race, identity, and how to succeed in a professional world where not many people look like you.

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

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Introducing Started from the Bottom Oct 21, 2022

Every week on Started from the Bottom, host Justin Richmond interviews successful people who grew up on the outside – people of color, people who weren’t part of the old boys’ network, people who came from a world where almost nobody went to college. How did they do it? How did they beat the odds while also beating away the feeling of being an imposter? Find out, beginning March 14.

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