These DC tech attorneys are looking to inspire with new podcast ‘Hustle Over Entitlement’

You’ve got to hustle to make it these days, no doubt about it. D.C. tech attorneys Gabriella Ziccarelli and Camille Stewart have spent years working with innovators. With their recently-launched, weekly podcast Hustle Over Entitlement, they’re looking to offer up some of those stories to inspire.

“I come from a family of entrepreneurs and folks who know what it means to work really hard,” Ziccarelli told Techical.ly DC. “We have a generation of folks coming up who do act entitled, but if anything I think the current generation are more Renaissance people. A lot of the best coders I know taught themselves… We’re hoping by storytelling, to help people not to be afraid to go after that job they want, and not be afraid of failing or succeeding.”

The first season of the show – all 12 episodes – has been recorded and are published every Tuesday.

All of the episodes are recorded remotely, and the tapings for season two will start this spring. Listen to last week’s interview with Megan Vizzini of RapportBoost.AI. Next week’s episode will feature U.S. Army vet Michael Breen, president and CEO of the Truman National Security Project.

“Michael’s awesome, and he’s truly been through a lot,” said Stewart. “So, the series is about more than tech.”

Ziccarelli, 29, and Stewart, 31, became friends as speakers for the Internet Law & Policy Foundry. They share common interests, and decided to do the podcast after a lull in speaking engagements. Stewart’s parents are Jamaican and Ziccarelli’s grandparents arrived to New York on a boat from Sicily, Italy, in 1965. Incidentally, “Hustle Over Entitlement” isn’t just the show’s title, it’s Ziccarelli’s mantra.

“All of the folks that we interviewed encountered a very tough hardship early on,” Ziccarelli said. “They had to look inward and ask themselves who they really were. The wins, losses, risks and unexpected turns and how one reacts are what produces leaders and trailblazers. That may not happen easily, but the choice to step outside despite fear, uncertainty and discouragement are why these people are an inspiration.”

Stewart wants to embolden nontraditional entrepreneurs and risk takers.

“I have created my own lane, because my interests never quite fit into a box, into something neat,” she said. “It can be disparaging to not have the network and resources that others have access to, and thankfully people have inspired me to keep going.”