Founder's Story: From the Bronx to the Boardroom, Figuring It Out Part 3
Founder's Story: From the Bronx to the Boardroom, Figuring It Out Part 3 Overview In Part 3 of her Founder's Story, Julie Riga takes us into her early career years and the two jobs that shaped everything. From coordinating training video productions to working as a personal assistant for legendary rap artist KRS-One, Julie learned one of the most important lessons of her entrepreneurial life: figure it out. She also pulls back the curtain on the deeper fabric of her story, immigrant parents, a mother carried through a Siberian forest fleeing Nazi Germany, and a family legacy rooted in resilience, trauma, and survival. This is the episode that puts everything in perspective.
Founder's Story: From the Bronx to the Boardroom, Figuring It Out Part 3
Host: Julie Riga | Episode Type: Solo Episode Part 3
What You Will Learn:
Julie bridges her college years into her early career, tracing the jobs, lessons, and life moments that quietly built the foundation of who she is today. From learning to negotiate contracts and coordinate productions to sitting at KRS-One's kitchen table and being told to figure it out, every experience added a layer to her leadership story.
Key Topics:
The Early Career Jobs That Taught Her Everything:
- Working as a production coordinator at Rack Productions coordinating video shoots, billing, and contracts
- Why early career jobs are some of the most powerful learning experiences of your life
- How each role built skills she would carry forward for decades
The KRS-One Chapter:
- Working as a personal assistant to legendary hip hop artist KRS-One from 1997 to 1998
- The broken fax machine moment and the four words that defined the job: "Figure it out, Julie"
- How resourcefulness, phone calls, and showing up became her most important tools
- Why this role was her first real introduction to entrepreneurship
The Family Legacy Behind the Leader:
- Growing up with immigrant parents: a father from Italy and a mother born in Siberia
- Julie's mother was carried through a forest as a baby while her family fled Nazi Germany
- How the fabric of trauma and learning shaped the woman Julie became
- Putting personal hardship in perspective against the weight of generational resilience
Memorable Quotes:
"Figure it out, Julie. You are gonna figure it out."
"I learned some really important skills. There is so much to be said about that job."
"The fabric that made who I am today was one that was deep trenched in learning, in trauma, and learning and trauma."
"My mother and father's life was harder. They went through war. I just went through people yelling at me and talking bad about me. You put it in perspective."
"Somehow we get back up again and we stay on course."
"Life is not a straightforward thing. It never will be and it never has been."
Key Takeaways:
- Resourcefulness is one of the most powerful skills any leader can develop
- Early career jobs teach you more than any classroom ever could
- Being told to "figure it out" is not a burden. It is an invitation to grow
- Your family story is part of your leadership story whether you realize it or not
- Perspective is everything. Put your hard seasons next to someone else's and recalibrate
- No matter what life brings, the mission is always the same: stay on course
About Julie Riga:
Julie Riga is a leadership coach, TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and host of the Stay On Course Podcast. She helps leaders and business owners discover their true purpose, build authentic confidence, and break through to their next level of success.
Services: One on One Coaching | Leadership Programs | Training Programs | Brand Building
Explore all of Julie's resources here: https://stacklist.app/julieriga
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