Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Evan Hovich: Why I Dropped Out of College After One Semester | DSH #1745

Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Evan Hovich
Date: January 9, 2026

Overview

In this episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly sits down with Evan Hovich—a 22-year-old entrepreneur earning six figures monthly from his innovative remote cleaning business and by teaching others to do the same. The conversation delves into Evan's entrepreneurial journey, his early exit from college, his struggles with gambling addiction, perspectives on politics and faith, and candid thoughts on modern work ethic, masculinity, and what it takes to succeed. With raw authenticity and bold insights, Evan challenges conventional paths and shares hard-won lessons for young entrepreneurs and anyone questioning the status quo.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Business Beginnings: College Dropout to Cleaning Tycoon

• Dropping Out of College:

  • Evan attended one semester before questioning the credibility of his entrepreneurship professor, realizing:

    "I spoke to one of my entrepreneurship professors and I said, what business do you run? And he said, I never ran a business before. So I knew that…this is not something that I want to pursue." (01:56–02:08)

  • Host Sean Kelly relates, recalling his own experience with professors lacking real-world business acumen. (02:08–02:10)

• Remote Cleaning Explained:

  • Not about scrubbing floors himself, but brokering services:

    "You're just a broker…You generate the leads, you find contractors that are going to do the work and you just put the two pieces together." (02:41–03:07)

  • Example: Student lands a commercial FedEx warehouse contract for $40K/month. (02:41–03:07)
  • The business operates on a flexible "drop servicing" model, minimizing liability via independent contractors who are responsible for their own insurance and supplies. (03:13–03:46)
  • Evan started at 19, sold the business by 20, and now teaches others at the Remote Cleaning Institute (RCI), with over a thousand members. His students collectively make "millions of dollars a month." (04:27–04:45)

2. Scaling & Niches

• Residential vs. Commercial:

  • Original focus on residential, but instructs students to pursue both. Commercial jobs offer higher margins and less demanding clients:

    "With these commercial jobs—warehouses, the convention center…if the cleaner misses something on the floor, nobody's gonna notice. Right. It's someone's secretary, usually swiping a card." (05:17–05:27)

• Competition and Mindset:

  • The cleaning industry is vast:

    "There's plenty enough to go around for everyone." (06:23)

  • Success requires building value and conviction in your services, not just undercutting competitors.

3. Political Awakening and Values

• Engagement with Politics:

  • Evan’s business background pushed him toward political engagement:

    "If you say nothing or do nothing, you can't really be upset about what happens… If you're not really contributing." (01:39–01:44)

  • Became interested around age 17, inspired by experiences growing up with a single mom and early independence. (06:48–07:16)
  • Strongly conservative—drawn in less by policy and more by the community he found among conservatives.

    "If you don't like this country, you don't have to be here. Right. Leave. We don't want you here. This is… the best country in the world." (07:19–07:49)

• Travel & Perspective:

  • Travel to poorer countries instilled gratitude:

    "These families are poor… They love each other, they live together, they have great values… It's the things that we take for granted in America." (08:00–08:40)

4. Gambling Addiction: The Dark Side of Success

• Descent into Gambling:
  • Started at 14; escalated with newfound income:

    "I got into gambling when I was 14 years old… My, I guess you could say stepdad… started doing fanduel and he would get me in on it." (09:42–10:10)

  • Craved high-risk parlays; even big wins fed back into the cycle:

    "I had such a mentality of like, I didn't even start straight betting until I was probably down probably 200k… I wanted to hit the jackpot. And the craziest part … even when you win, you're going to lose all that money again." (11:33–11:39, 12:17)

  • Lost $650K in six months—almost all his business profits.

    "Last podcast I was on, I said I lost around 400k gambling. But…that's actually inaccurate. I probably lost closer to… $650,000." (13:45–14:09)

  • The realization wasn't enough—"realization and taking action are two different things." (14:41)
  • Advice:

    "If you have a gambling addiction, stop. Because right now, like, you know, I'm not married or anything, so really it's only affecting me. But especially when you have a family… It changes your whole life." (12:57–13:14)

5. Accountability, Belief, and Life Philosophy

• Extreme Accountability:

  • Citing Andrew Tate, both agree true growth only comes from self-blame and responsibility:

    "Always take accountability, even if it's not your fault." (15:06–15:08) "If something happens in your business… if you don't blame yourself, who are you going to blame?...Blame yourself, always." (14:45)

• On Atheism and Morality:

  • Evan doesn’t dislike atheists personally, but distrusts "godless people":

    "I truly believe godless people are the scariest people. And here's why. If you have no belief in God, where is your moral compass coming from?" (15:24–16:09)

  • Concerned that "if your morals are coming from society…you're going to start dressing up as a fucking dog walking around the sidewalk…" (16:09)

6. College, Laziness, and Work Ethic

• College as a “Scam”:

  • Not inherently bad—necessary for doctors/lawyers—but "especially if you’re going to be a business owner…you need to get to work." (16:38–17:09)

• Dealing with Lazy People:

  • Avoids hiring them, prefers hard-working offshore talent:

    "I will absolutely never work with a lazy person…if someone's lazy…they don't actually care about what they're doing." (17:13–17:46)

  • Conversation about the relationship between intellect and laziness (17:48–18:07)

7. Balance, Fun, and Chasing Ambition

• Work-Life Balance:

  • Advocates for balance—not total sacrifice:

    "You need to also be living life…while you're doing these things, experiencing, etc. Because you never want to be that guy that spent, you know, 40 years of his life literally slaving away at his own job to become a billionaire…His kids hate him, his wife hates him, his family hates him. Nobody likes him." (19:43–20:18)

• Addicted to the Chase:

  • Host Sean Kelly on ambition:

    "The chase, man, I'm not stopping till I'm the number one show in the world." (20:42–20:49)

  • Evan emphasizes responsibility:

    "As a man, it is your responsibility to be able to provide and take care of your family." (21:12–22:13)

8. Masculinity and Gender Dynamics

• Toxic Masculinity Rejected:
  • Evan calls it a myth:

    "I don't believe there's such thing as toxic masculinity. Being a man is an awesome thing, and being a woman is an awesome thing, and I think that we all should embrace that." (22:24–22:53)

  • Argues that men and women simply have different strengths.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Winning Big at Gambling (and Still Losing):

  "Even when you win, you're going to lose all that money again because addicts don't know how to stop and they can't take a win."
  (Evan Hovich, 00:12–00:20, and 11:39–12:09)

• On Self-Accountability:

  "Blame yourself, always. I think that's a massive point, is always take accountability, even if it's not your fault."
  (Evan Hovich, 14:45–15:08)

• On Work Ethic:

  "I like people that are going to work hard and not expect things that they don't deserve."
  (Evan Hovich, 17:46)

• On ‘Godless’ Morality:

  "If you have no belief in God, where is your moral compass coming from?"
  (Evan Hovich, 15:24–16:09)

• On Life Balance:

  "You never want to be that guy that spent…40 years…to become a billionaire…His kids hate him, his wife hates him…You never want to be that person."
  (Evan Hovich, 19:43–20:18)

• On Ambition:

  "The chase, man, I'm not stopping till I'm the number one show in the world."
  (Sean Kelly, 20:42–20:49)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dropping out of college and early business skepticism: 01:50–02:10
• Remote cleaning business model explained: 02:41–03:46
• First big commercial client example: 02:41–03:07
• Scaling and selling his first company: 04:27–04:45
• Politics and value formation: 06:48–07:49
• Travel and perspective on America: 08:00–08:46
• Gambling addiction journey and advice: 09:42, 11:31–14:09
• Self-accountability and growth: 14:41–15:08
• Morality, God, and society: 15:24–16:16
• View on college and work ethic: 16:38–17:46
• Work/life balance and ambition: 19:43–20:49
• Masculinity and gender roles: 22:24–23:13

Conclusion

This episode digs well past surface-level advice as Evan Hovich opens up about dropping out, building and selling a business as a teen, his brutal struggle with gambling, and his unfiltered takes on culture, work, and values. Through direct conversation with Sean Kelly, listeners receive both practical business insight and deeply personal life lessons—rooted in accountability, gratitude, and relentless ambition.

Find Evan at: remotecleaninginstitute.com or Instagram @evanhovich.