Roa Launches Entrepreneurship Podcast on iHeartRadio

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, July 6, 2020

The John Roa Show

Entrepreneur, technologist, philanthropist, business investor and writer John Roa has announced the debut of "The John Roa Show," a new weekly podcast series that explores life and success through conversations with creative leaders, company founders and celebrities on iHeartRadio. New episodes will be available each Monday and are distributed by The iHeartPodcast Network.

Broadcasting directly from his New York City apartment, each Monday Roa will participate in discussions with leaders from all walks of life. Upcoming guests include jazz trumpeter, songwrite, and producer Keyon Harrold and Melissa Ben-Ishay of Baked by Melissa, among others. He will also be accompanied by a recurring group of personal friends such as New York-based writer and comedian Janelle Draper.

A self-made serial founder and self-professed "imposter," Roa has personally created, lost, and sold nearly 30 start-ups to date. At the age of 31, Salesforce acquired his tech company, AKTA. This accomplishment not only made him a millionaire many times over but should have been a dream come true, had the entrepreneurial journey not almost secretly killed him. After a five-year professional hiatus, Roa is now back and ready to tell all, seeking to debunk the myths of success and humanize the people responsible for some of the world's biggest brands, projects, and cultural moments.

"At one time, I was the quintessential, aspirational 27-year-old CEO of a fast-growing tech company, but in my private life, I was silently crashing from the stress and pressure. I've since come to find that my experience is not unique to entrepreneurs," said Roa. "My hope is to create a candid dialogue around the emotional and psychological toll the quest for ‘success' takes. I cannot thank iHeartRadio enough for giving me such an extraordinary platform with which to facilitate what I hope will become an inspiring and honest discourse."

Roa's new show comes on the heels of the limited podcast series, "Leading From Home," which he launched at the height of the pandemic in April. Throughout the series, he speaks with entrepreneurs, leaders and celebrities like Rams Head Coach, Sean McVay; HGTV's Alison Victoria; The Smashing Pumpkins,' Jimmy Chamberlin; SXSW co-founder, Louis Black; and others about the impact of COVID-19 on their industries.

Roa is also the author of the forthcoming memoir "A Practical Way to Get Rich... and Die Trying" (Viking, September 8th), which Kirkus has already dubbed "essential reading" "for young entrepreneurs seeking to win the glittering-but personally destructive-startup game."