"I was on the outside of the industry. So I started a podcast early in the podcast boom and that caught on a little. I made an album that went to No. 1 on the iTunes charts. I made my own special. I started my own storytelling show."
- Ari ShaffirComedian, actor, and podcaster Ari Shaffir has cultivated his career via self-promotion and creative entrepreneurship. He was born in New Jersey in 1978 and loved stand-up comedy as a child, but he was not part of the entertainment industry. An artist painting on the outskirts of a busy art fair is …