Shtark Tank

One year ago, Alec Kremins got fired. Same week he found out his wife was pregnant with their first child. He had a choice: go find another stable job, or bet on himself.
He went all in.
Alec built his career at Ramp (now valued near $40B) before making Aliyah and eventually going out on his own. In this episode we get into why he tells most people not to start a company, even though it was the right call for him.
We cover:
The day he got let go, and the decision that followed
Why he thinks life is about meaning, not comfort, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe story about the "contract" nobody signed promising an easy life
The Histadlus/Bitachon dance and why it gets a lot harder when you're working for yourself
Whether your work should be part of your identity, or just what funds it
A surprising parallel between starting a company and childbirth (his words, not ours)
Why he actively discourages most people from starting their own thing
Building a personal brand without losing your Shabbos, your learning, or your sanity to the algorithm
Where AI actually fits in content creation, and where it doesn't touch the core at all

Alec Kremins is the founder of RallyUp. You can find him on LinkedIn.

Har HaBayit. Torah Im Derech Eretz. Searching for Meaning.
It's the summer mailbag episode! Yaakov opens up the inbox and brings on Rav Ari Koretzky (director of Meor Maryland, host of the Iyun podcast) to work through listener feedback together.
In this episode:
Why Shtark Tank does pre-chag episodes, and whether they're on brand or just a scheduling excuse
Is there such a thing as a distinct "baalabatish hashkafa" for guys balancing Torah and a career
A listener's story of how the podcast changed how he networks and built real friendships through cold outreach to guests
Rav Ari's day job in kiruv, and why baalei teshuva may find an unexpected home in Shtark Tank's world
Pushback on the Har HaBayis episode, including the halachic and hashkafic case against ascending, and whether the debate got a fair hearing
How to handle controversial topics without becoming a clickbait machine, and the cost of staying in your lane
Why the Rav Rafi Dembovsky episode on Torah Im Derech Eretz struck such a nerve
The "grass is greener" pull toward nonprofit work, and why it's not the meaning shortcut people think it is
What 130+ episodes have taught Yaakov about mindset, and what's actually holding Shtark Tank back from growing bigger

What happens after the fire of yeshiva goes out?
This week I'm sharing an episode from Torat JLIC, a podcast I love, one that takes the complexity of modern life seriously instead of talking around it.
The guest for this episode is Rav Uri Lorkis, who just wrapped a few years as JLIC rabbi in Michigan and now works as a startup coach. We dig into the real transition every yeshiva guy faces: how do you carry that intensity into the next stage of life, when the schedule, the chavrusas, and the structure are gone?
Beyond the practical adjustments is a deeper crisis: Is it possible to live up to our values? Or will the daily grind dictate our agenda?
Rav Uri brings some sharp, honest insight.
Make sure to check out the Torat JLIC feed for more great content!

How do you mourn a Beis Hamikdash you never knew, in a generation that's watched Klal Yisrael return to Eretz Yisrael and rebuild a country? Rav Moshe Taragin returns to Shtark Tank to help us hold two truths at once: we are living through open miracles, and we are still so far from the finish line.
Rav Taragin unpacks why every question in Jewish life now splits into "before October 7th" and "after," why Tisha B'Av doesn't require manufactured grief but honest yearning, and how looking at Chazal's account of the Churban Bayis Sheni (zealotry, internal division, over-reliance on foreign powers) maps uncomfortably well onto Israeli society today.
He also addresses the tension around visiting Har Habayit as a means to an end versus an end in itself, and offers a clear-eyed, non-preachy take on Aliyah, achdut, and what it means to stay grounded when the news cycle wants you anxious and reactive.
In this episode:
Why October 7th changed the answer to nearly every question in Jewish life
The difference between authentic mourning (aveilus balev) and performing grief on cue
The machlokes over changing Nusach HaTefillah to reflect our current reality
What the internal strife of the Second Beis Hamikdash teaches us about achdut today
The danger of turning Har Habayit visits into a photo op or political statement
Why Aliyah advocacy can tip into preachiness, and how to hold the ideal without judging the complexity of other people's lives
Practical advice for gaining perspective when you're drowning in headlines
Rav Taragin's new sefer, Reclaiming Redemption, HaGeula Volume 2: Faith, Identity, Peoplehood, and the Storms of War, is out now.
Check out
https://www.mtaraginbooks.com/
You can also join Rav Taragin's Whatsapp Chizzuk Chat:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/HAER24G31VpJZW5zEXROYH for daily chizuk

To recieve a free copy of Light in the Darkness, about Shemirat HaEinayim in today's world, email dan.jacobson.psyd@gmail.comSummer turns up the heat on shmiras einayim, and this episode isn't going to fix that. It's an honest conversation about the struggle, with returning guest Dr. Dan Jacobson offering real perspective instead of a quick fix.
We get into:
Why the trigger itself was never the real issue, and what actually determines what happens next
How mindfulness (yes, the same tools behind DBT and ACT) offers a different way to hold a hard moment, without pretending it isn't hard
Why chasing a clean scorecard of "success" or "failure" in this area does more harm than good
A sharp Taz on hespedim that reframes the whole question: who you are is what you value, not your track record
Whether tznius really is "the battle of our generation," and what it means to sit with that honestly
Practical thoughts on family vacations and beach trips, without easy answers
Dan mentions Palouse Mindfulness, a free 8-part course by a student of Jon Kabat-Zinn, for anyone who wants to go deeper on their own.
If this conversation was honest in a way you needed, leave a 5-star review. It helps more people find it.