Boulos Haddad is the son of an Egyptian-Palestinian Mother, and a Jordanian father who immigrated to southern California. He is one of the three co-inventors of Dragon Skin, a California startup aimed at providing stingray proof footwear to surfers. He attended UCSD after high school, where he began studying Physiology and Neuroscience intending to become a Neurosurgeon. After some soul searching he realized his personal goals, to help as many people as possible, would require a shift in disciplines, prompting him to create his own major: “Individual Studies in Entrepreneurship and Biotechnology”. He also earned 2 minors, one in political science, and one in humanities.

In this episode, we begin discussing the origin of Boulos’ exotic but not so unique name, the merits of college, its limitations and benefits in preparing students for business, and the business ethics that guided Boulos in the development of Dragon Skin.

We then explore the perks of working at Google, where Boulos served for 4 years after applying a total of 7 times! He received his invitation to interview on his birthday, an event that would change the course of his life.

Towards the end of our visit, Boulos shares how AI technology will advance the health industry, and government for the better, and some of the concerns technological dependence brings with it.

Boulos serves as an example to those interested in following the traditional engineering route, as well as those more inclined to blaze their own trail in tech.

Perseverance through adversity, and the fact that he takes nothing for granted make Boulos the man he is today. He is incredibly grateful to God and the people he has worked with, making the most of every opportunity as he seeks to add value to the lives of others.

To order a pair of DragonSkin™ stingray resistant footwear visit:

https://mydragonskin.com/

#Failure 

#Perseverance

#Business

#Biotechnology

Through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, Joe Burton built his career as a professional basketball player. Traveling to such countries as France, The Netherlands, and Japan, Joe loves people and culture. Though he was raised without a father, he credits his success to the family support he received as a child. “Bebop”, as his grandfather was locally known, was both a basketball and football coach in the San Jacinto Valley. In this interview Joe touches on some of the struggles he faced growing up, and ways he has learned to balance family and work as an athlete. His advice to young athletes is to stay dedicated. Joe is a proud member of the Soboba reservation and represents his tribe through both philanthropy and his clothing company, Hunwut Clothing.

A few indigenous concepts mentioned in this episode are:

Malama Kou Piko: “Protect your umbilical cord/center/place of birth” (Hawaiian)

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono: “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness” (Hawaiian)

Hunwut: “Bear” (Luiseño)

To order clothing from Joe’s company visit:

https://www.hunwutclothing.com/

Other athletes mentioned in this video are:

-Roosevelt Adams

-Josh Tarver

-Roberto Nelson

To learn where Joe’s nickname came from look up:

AND1 Streetball

Matthew Kusto is the son of Palestinian immigrants of mixed Levantine heritage. He is also a member of  the Syriac Orthodox Church. A graduate of UCR with a bachelors in finance, he dreams of one day retiring early and traveling the world. In this episode Matt and Daniel discuss everything from day trading to monasticism. His advice to his younger self is: quit playing video games and study the writings of the early church fathers. For those interested in a career in finance, he recommends getting good at statistics and analytics as well as becoming familiar with Microsoft Excel.

A few subjects of interest mentioned in this episode may be found below:

Books:

-Practical Spirituality According to the Desert Fathers, by Athanasius Iskander

-How to Day Trade for a Living: A Beginner’s Guide to Trading Tools and Tactics, Money Management, Discipline and Trading Psychology, by Andrew Aziz

https://www.instagram.com/orthodoxethos/

Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Aphrem_II

Matt’s Dad’s smoke shop: Cig Zone, 100-258 S Sanderson Ave, Hemet, CA 92545

The son of a long line of Spanish plasterers, Lance grew up in Corona. His family, The Jesus Movement, and an early passion for break dancing, and rap, shaped him into the man he is today. Lance is a successful businessman who employs over 100 people, earning contracts across Southern California with his company Southwest Plastering Inc. He is also an avid pool player, who enjoys going to Vegas competitions and has sponsored several players who went on to become professionals. His advice to anyone just starting out in life is: do what you know, and have tenacity.

For those interested in Lance’s breakdancing days check out this video of him breaking and popping:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYNm6iyp31U&feature=youtu.be

Aryan Nainynejad, is an Atheist, Nihilist. He graduated from UCSD with a bachelors in Psychology and both a bachelors and masters in Mechanical Engineering. Though his accomplishments are great, it has not always been easy. Comedy, Philosophy, and Psychology are three tools he has used to progress through the journey of life. If you ever feel depressed at times, Aryan and Daniel would like to encourage you to get help, and if you just need to know you’re not alone, they hope to encourage you. Join them in this episode as they share some of the challenges they have faced and how they have learned to deal with them.

This episode takes an informal tone as Michael and Daniel (2 brothers) reminisce on their experiences growing up as mixed-race third culture kids in the country of Turkey. With plenty of laughs, they reflect on culture, belief systems, and coping skills that have carried them through life. Despite being labeled an “outsider” as a child, and attending 4 different high schools in 4 different states, Michael is now a successful engineer in California. Through perseverance and a mindset that focuses on celebrating the small wins, Michael has brought relative stability to his life. We hope this discussion might help as you seek to make the most of the cards life has dealt you.

Chinese Satellite - Phoebe Bridgers

Meet Randy Lewis, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur! In this episode Randy offers advice to future engineers regarding both traditional and non-traditional career paths, as well as strategies for prototyping, and setting realistic goals.

To order a pair of DragonSkin™ stingray resistant footwear visit:

https://mydragonskin.com/

Watch Randy playing super smash bros with his feet at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8xoLa9CUVE

For those interested in product innovation and development, Randy has shared some of his favorite resources below:

Informative

1. The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries

2. The Mom Test, by Rob Fitzpatrick

3. Paul Graham Startup Essays

4. Y Combinator Startup Advice Videos

5. 80-20 Sales and Marketing, by Perry Marshall

6. Zero to One, by Peter Thiel

7. The Cold Start Problem, by Andrew Chen

8. The 100 Dollar Startup, by Chris Guillebeau

Inspirational

1. Founders at Work

2. How I Built This (podcast)

In this episode Irina Koroleva shares about the origin and development of the Russian language and people. With a Ph. D. in Psycholinguistics, she sheds light on the seafaring origins of Russia’s founders, the role foreign influences such as the Byzantine church played in the advancement of her nation, as well as how Russia’s script, ethnic population and borders shifted over the years. Towards the end of this episode she reflects on growing up in the Soviet Union, and shares her thoughts on how to parse through diverse sources in search of truth.