He started in a crappy office where we couldn't hire anyone. $100K in the bank, losing $100K a month. Bank canceled his warehouse line by FedEx letter. Didn't even call. He cut everyone's salary in half, got emotional in front of his team, and said: "Stick with me." A year later, debt free. Today he's named a Major League Baseball stadium for the @whitesox. Ep 41 of Forged in America — Victor Ciardelli, founder & CEO of @Rate, the 3rd largest mortgage lender in America. $500B in loans. Still private. We discuss: Why the "shell game" mortgage industry disgusted him — and how he built the antidote Hiring 500 people/month during COVID and the House of Blues moment he'll never forget "Work the problem" — the 3-word mantra that got him through every crisis AI in mortgages: 10% fully automated today, targeting 50% by year end Why chips on shoulders produce chips in pockets Raising 4 great kids while building a billion-dollar company (from a folding chair at soccer games) The Untethered Soul and why you need to read it 4 times Timestamps: 0:56 Intro — Rate's $500B story 2:23 Housing market: buy now or wait? 4:15 Wayne Huizenga and thinking massive from Day 1 7:56 The decisions that actually built Rate 10:20 Elon's "chewing glass" quote — and why Ravin now tries to talk kids OUT of startups 13:47 How Victor rewrote the rules of a dirty industry 17:53 COVID: 14,000 employees, one very bad holiday party 20:27 Near-bankruptcy: $100K left, warehouse line canceled by FedEx 22:30 How a kid with nothing ended up naming a White Sox stadium 28:56 Parenting like an entrepreneur: never miss a game, always be efficient 33:44 Divorce, prioritization, and what Victor would tell younger founders 36:56 AI and the future of mortgage: humans becoming optional 40:39 How to actually help underserved people (not just give them fish) 47:02 Lightning round 50:58 Book rec: The Untethered Soul — read it 4 times @goldstein2002 @ravingandhi @victorciardellirate @Rate @ForgedInAmerica

On 20 November 2015, Delta Force operator Kyle Morgan wasn’t supposed to be fighting a war. He was serving as a Special Operations Advisor to the US Embassy in Mali. But when heavily armed terrorists seized the Radisson Blu Hotel and started taking dozens of innocent lives, he didn’t wait for a green light. For hours, Morgan and a small, makeshift team of international assets cleared seven floors under heavy fire in close quarters. Because of his decisive actions, dozens of civilians made it home alive. For his extraordinary valor, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest award for heroism in combat. But Kyle’s toughest battle didn't happen in a hotel in Africa. It happened when he took the uniform off. After 11 years in the Army’s most elite Tier 1 unit, the echoes of combat followed him home. Morgan has spoken openly about the brutal reality of the transition: sustaining multiple traumatic brain injuries, battling severe PTSD, and surviving a near fatal substance overdose. Today, he uses that same relentless warrior spirit to fight a new mission. He helps others build a "Protector Mindset" and navigate the darkest corners of mental health and recovery. True strength isn't just about how you handle a rifle in a crisis. It’s about how you rebuild your life when the smoke finally clears.

That is a crazy about of perseverance and risk taking to get to this point. Who cares about all the haters....truly incredible story. Let's not forget started @OpenAI @neuralink @boringcompany and others along the way. Go @elonmusk....never stop.

> you’ll never start a rocket company > you’ll never build your own engines > you’ll never be able to use off-the-shelf parts > you’ll never survive three launch failures > you’ll never reach orbit > you’ll never win NASA’s trust > you’ll never launch cargo to the ISS > you’ll never compete with Boeing > you’ll never compete with Lockheed > you’ll never make rockets reusable > you’ll never land a rocket vertically > you’ll never land one on a drone ship > you’ll never reuse a booster > you’ll never fly the same booster 10 times > you’ll never fly the same booster 20 times > you’ll never fly the same booster 30 times > you’ll never recover and reuse the fairing > you’ll never lower launch costs > you’ll never launch every month > you’ll never launch every week > you’ll never launch multiple times a week > you’ll never carry astronauts > you’ll never replace Roscosmos > you’ll never fly civilians to orbit > you’ll never manufacture satellites at scale > you’ll never build the biggest constellation ever > you’ll never make satellite internet work > you’ll never make satellite internet fast > you’ll never make satellite internet affordable > you’ll never serve rural customers > you’ll never serve aircraft and ships > you’ll never build a methane rocket engine > you’ll never make full-flow staged combustion work > you’ll never build the most powerful rocket ever > you’ll never build a rocket bigger than Saturn V > you’ll never build it out of stainless steel > you’ll never launch Starship > you’ll never separate Super Heavy and Starship > you’ll never relight Raptor in space > you’ll never bring Super Heavy back > you’ll never catch a booster with Mechazilla tower arms > you’ll never launch 85% of mass to orbit worldwide > you’ll never change the economics of space > you’ll never force the entire industry to copy you > you’ll never win > you’ll never IPO   Congratulations to @elonmusk and the SpaceX team. You did what countless people said was impossible, and you did it time and time again.   Today is your day. You deserve this. May it be a glorious one.

Spencer Pratt is a beast!

I’m done exposing fraud send me to the octagon 💀 @MerabDvalishvil @danawhite

Well understood by anyone who's lived in a socialist country

AI startup CFO, CEO, CMO, and CTO

New research from the @NFAPResearch found that 59% of America's privately held billion-dollar startups have at least one immigrant founder, with a collective value of $5 trillion. We’re one of them—all 3 of our founders are immigrants. Our CEO, @goldstein2002 , is one of the founders @Forbes highlighted in their coverage of this research. He came to the U.S. in 1988 as an 8-year-old refugee from Uzbekistan when his family fled state-level anti-Semitism, and didn't speak English when he arrived. Al went on to co-found Avant in 2012 alongside CIO Paul Zhang and John Sun, both of whom also came to the U.S. as children from China. The study examined 775 unicorn companies and found that nearly 80% have an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership role. Immigrant-founded companies in this group have created an average of 833 jobs per company. We’re proud that Avant is a part of that $5 trillion figure. forbes.com/sites/stuartander…

I think this is well said by Ron Baron. I'm not sure Bitcoin is the answer or productive businesses but saving is false safety.

how regular SpaceX employees arrive to work after the IPO

🚨 JUST IN: Fintech just had its biggest year on record – $504 billion in revenue. New Global Fintech Report from BCG FT Partners: the sector is now growing ~4x faster than traditional incumbents. The headline numbers: → $504B revenue, 22% YoY → Trading & investments 38%, deposits 30% → Equity funding $58B in 2025 ( 53%) → 42 fintech IPOs last year Fintech is now 4% of all global financial-services revenue. What's driving it looks different this time. The report ties much of the growth to AI changing the economics: fintechs deeply integrating AI are seeing ~5x developer productivity. And because most fintechs aren't tied to legacy core-banking systems, they can adopt those tools far faster than incumbents bolting AI onto decades-old infrastructure. That's the story behind the number. The last cycle was growth at any cost. This one is being driven by speed and efficiency – leaner stacks, faster shipping, better margins. The open question is whether the pace holds as the sector scales and regulators look closer. Record revenue and record scrutiny tend to arrive together.

Debt per capita — USA vs Florida changes over the past eight years:

When the over eager intern tries to ask the CEO for a coffee chat on day 1 of internship season

Los ejemplos saludables comienzan en casa y desde chiquitos. Gran ejemplo de este padre incentivando buenos hábitos en la familia

Very true

I started talking to my co-founder like Claude