How Brian Grazer Started With Modest Means and Made It Big In Hollywood It's possible to start from the bottom and find success, even in old-fashioned and jaded industries.

By Jordan Harbinger

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

A lot of people make their way to Hollywood so they can see their names in a blockbuster movie, and then they burn out long before they even earn an entry on iMDb. But some people leverage very modest means and catapult themselves into the jaded old town's pantheon without damaging themselves or others along the way. It sounds like the plot to any number of screenplays a studio mogul might find stacked in a sprawling pile on their desk, except the story is true — and it happened to today's guest.

On this episode we sit down with Brian Grazer, the Academy Award-winning producer who co-founded Imagine Entertainment with his partner Ron Howard, together creating films and television shows that have been nominated for 45 Academy Awards and 196 Emmys. He is the author of Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection and co-author (with Charles Fishman) of number one New York Times bestseller, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. Aside from his success on screens big and small, Brain is an incredibly curious person. For the past 30 years, he's made it his mission to meet a new person every week or so, and sit down with them for a very specific curiosity conversation. It sounds a lot like this podcast, in fact.

Watch a preview above, or check out the full episode on The Jordan Harbinger Show YouTube channel here.

Related: How to Build a Crew That Will Help You Navigate Uncharted Waters

Jordan Harbinger

Creator, The Jordan Harbinger Show

Jordan Harbinger is a Wall Street lawyer turned interview talk-show host, and a communications and social dynamics expert. He has hosted a Top 50 iTunes podcast for over 12 years and receives over five million downloads per month, making The Jordan Harbinger Show one of the most popular podcasts in the world. On The Jordan Harbinger Show, Jordan deconstructs the playbooks of the most successful people on earth and shares their strategies, perspectives, and practical insights with the rest of us.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Starting a Business

The Hardest Parts of Being a Solopreneur (and How I've Learned to Handle Them)

Solopreneurship is on the rise, offering us freedom and independence — but lasting success depends on tackling its unique challenges with strategy.

Business News

Anthropic Is Now One of the Most Valuable Startups of All Time: 'Exponential Growth'

In a new funding round earlier this week, AI startup Anthropic raised $13 billion at a $183 billion valuation.

Science & Technology

How AI Is Turning High School Students Into the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

As AI reshapes education, students are turning school problems into products and building the future economy.

Leadership

My Business Hit $1 Million — Then a $46,000 Mistake Exposed the Biggest Bottleneck to Explosive Growth

How a costly mistake forced me to confront the real barrier to scaling and the changes that unlocked explosive growth beyond $1 million.