From the San Francisco 49ers to $4M Seed Round: Kevin Jurovich on Surviving "The Desert"

Kevin Jurovich's NFL career ended with a dropped pass in the fourth quarter. Seven years later, he and his cofounder closed a $4 million seed round for Hubble, his expert marketplace for founders.

This isn't a highlight reel. Kevin talks about the brutal middle years—failed launches, 14 months of uncertainty, and why most people quit right before things work. Sri and Kevin dig into how writing on LinkedIn during his lowest point accidentally became his breakthrough, why conviction comes from user feedback (not delusion), and the journey through the desert that every entrepreneur faces.

You'll learn:

• What a true 'aha' moment feels like (Kevin's Limitless moment)
• How to stay in the game when nothing's working
• Why iterative processes beat perfect plans
• Where real conviction actually comes from
• Kevin's 2025 goals (written before Hubble launched—he crushed them)

If you're in your own desert right now, this one's for you.

📌 Want to crush 2026? Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck.

📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅

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Follow Sri for elite leadership tips:
➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar

Connect on Instagram: @andrewsridhar + @sri_actually

Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧

Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Harvard Business School professor and behavioral scientist Mike Norton breaks down why rituals—small, often “irrational” actions—carry outsized emotional weight. From his own black binder “totem” for teaching, to sports routines and workplace team practices, Mike explains how rituals can reduce anxiety, create belonging, and add meaning to relationships and family life.

Mike and Sri also explore the line between habits (get it done) and rituals (it matters how it’s done).

Some of the examples Mike cites will shock you. Others will melt your heart.

Michael Norton is author of the book The Ritual Effect (highly recommended).

Visit michaelnorton.com to take the fun and insightful quiz on your own rituals.

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Key takeaways

• Anything can become a “totem.” Objects (a binder, a pen, a mug) can anchor confidence and readiness.
• Rituals are a belonging engine: doing something in sync (even a made-up stomp/clap) bonds groups fast.
• Top-down rituals can backfire—but even shared “eye-roll unity” can create camaraderie (sometimes against the boss 😅).
• Rituals help manage performance anxiety, but they’re not magic; sometimes anxiety is simply too high for rituals alone.
• In relationships, rituals are often tiny and adorable, and they correlate with satisfaction—especially when both partners experience them as meaningful.
• Family rituals don’t need to be elaborate: simple, values-based practices beat “perfect dinner every night.”
• Habits vs. rituals: same action, different meaning—what matters is whether it’s “check the box” or emotionally loaded/presence-driven.
• Watch the danger zone: rituals can become the thing you do in order to do the thing, and then start interfering with life (OCD as the extreme case).

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📌 Want to crush 2026? Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck.

📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅

_____

Follow Sri for elite leadership tips:
➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar

Connect on Instagram: @andrewsridhar + @sri_actually

Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧

Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.

Phil Neil scaled a business to $70M in ~8 months—then watched a warehouse fire erase uninsured inventory.

Phil is a serial entrepreneur and former pro football player.

He currently coaches founders on "the middle layer" between intellect and tactics.

Sri and Phil tackle founder-mindset essentials:

• Overcoming fear
• Balancing family and a startup
• Finding a great cofounder
• Recovering from loss
• How to be strategic

Key takeaways

• Speed can hide fragility. Scaling fast doesn’t mean the foundation is stable.
• Risk isn’t just financial. There’s “risk of purpose” and “risk of identity,” too.
• Shadow patterns show up under pressure (burnout, reactivity, ego defense, avoidance).
• Frameworks reduce drama. Naming thinking styles (DISC / color archetypes) creates shared language.
• The “Courage Compass” idea: create a gap before action so intuition can speak.
• Rock bottom can be a reset—especially when your nervous system stops cooperating.
• Sales = human connection + precision. Listening and situational questions beat scripts.
• Influence vs persuasion: some deals are closed in a day; others are earned until they ask you.

Keywords

entrepreneurship, startup scaling, business pivot, decision making, courage, fear of failure, imposter syndrome, shadow work, cognitive preferences, DISC personality, leadership under pressure, emotional mastery, risk tolerance, identity, purpose, cofounder, partnerships, negotiation, sales psychology, listening skills, situational questions, persuasion vs influence, founder burnout, resilience

📌 Want to crush 2026? Book a free clarity call with Sri to get your priorities in order and start getting unstuck.

📩 Get free elite performance tools weekly through the Warrior Poet newsletter 👉 join ✅

_____

Follow Sri for elite leadership tips:
➡️ LinkedIn.com/in/andrewsridhar

Connect on Instagram: @andrewsridhar + @sri_actually

Intro and/or outro music in most episodes is by Paul Sridhar. 🎧

Disclaimer: Any audio clips are included with every intent and steps taken to abide by Fair Use and serve the purpose(s) of illustration, education, augmentation, or promotion of source content.