The Charlie Kirk Show

Episode: Charlie’s Last Interview
Date: October 12, 2025
Host: Charlie Kirk
Theme: Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Brand Building, and the State of America’s Economy

Overview

This episode features Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, in a candid discussion about entrepreneurial leadership, the cultural differences impacting business, guiding principles for success, and outlooks on America’s future. The conversation is directed toward an audience of entrepreneurs and business owners, particularly in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. Kirk shares personal lessons, practical advice, and his philosophical grounding, blending his signature unfiltered style and faith-based worldview.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Charlie's Purpose and Activism

• Charlie opens with reflections on his life mission:

  "My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're gonna end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful." (00:09)

• Emphasizes the importance of faith, marriage, and activism:

  "College is a scam, everybody. You gotta stop sending your kids to college. You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a Turning Point USA chapter... I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade. Most important decision I ever made in my life." (00:18)

2. Founders, Entrepreneurial Mindset, and Lifestyle

• Charlie and Andrew, another entrepreneur, discuss their Chicago roots and family life (02:07–02:58).
• Entrepreneurship is described as both rewarding and demanding, requiring balance:

  "As an entrepreneur... there's practices that we have to sustain to keep it all together, such as honoring the Sabbath... just resting for one day because... working just for seven days straight, you'll burn yourself and your organization out if you do that." (03:02)

3. Building Businesses and Leading Teams

• Charlie notes the scale and diversity of his organization:

  "We have a thousand employees... a very successful for-profit entity. A very successful not-for-profit entity... over $140 million in revenue now." (04:05)

• The essential quality of a founder:

  "Founders are rarely good day to day managers... but the one thing the founder has is that spark and that relentless drive to go to the next location or to the next interval." (04:35)

• The founder’s role during growth:

  "You have an obligation to be the hardest working person in that entity and to set the tone and set the pace." (06:56)

4. The Uniqueness of American Entrepreneurship

• Charlie compares American entrepreneurial culture to Europe and Asia:

  "They don't understand the word entrepreneur at all... in their culture, you do a job, you do it for 30 years, you do it super well, and that is your duty... but there is a dynamism that's missing." (07:54)

• Explains how entrepreneurship creates new wealth and drives competition:

  "It delivers for the consumer and the customer and the citizen... that constant competition is always refining us toward a better version of success." (09:05)

5. Time Management and Founder Strengths

• On the key sacrifice of entrepreneurship:

  "You have to be so clear on how you spend your time, and your time really is your most valuable resource... I manage my day down to the five or six minute interval." (11:03)

• Self-awareness:

  "Know your nature. Know what you're really good at... I always ask my team, does this meeting require patience? If yes, I'm probably not a good person for that meeting." (11:37)

• Importance of health:

  "People that are properly prioritizing sleep and... diet are actually better founders and better entrepreneurs." (12:51)

• Cites Elon Musk's approach:

  "He's so clear on his time management that he actually handles it himself... time is the equally distributed resource that we have to always be guardians of." (13:49)

6. The True Rewards of Entrepreneurship

• Financial success is secondary to the journey:

  "It's not the money, honestly, it's the journey... solving complex problems and doing the things that people say they can't actually be solved... that's what an entrepreneur at its core is, a problem solver against the tide." (14:03)

• The importance of team and relationships:

  "It's about pouring into people. It's about making people's lives better... I'll go to war with these guys... the memories that are created and the connectivity. That's what life is really about at its core." (16:16, 17:02)

7. Building and Sustaining a Brand

• On enduring brands:

  "Don't overcomplicate it. Don't do Cracker Barrel... If you have a brand that everyone likes, don't change it." (18:10)

• The founder’s personal connection to the brand:

  "It has to have a missional statement as to why or what you are doing... building a brand that will last and be durable, it needs to be connected towards the founder's energy and vision." (18:26) "There is an inescapable bond between the entrepreneur and the brand that I think far too often the experts... want to try to separate. And I actually don't think that should happen as much." (19:52)

8. Handling Criticism and Feedback

• On feedback:

  "All feedback is an opportunity to get better... anytime someone has negative feedback, I personally see it through to make sure that it's addressed." (23:36) "You have a good antenna as founders—a legitimate piece of feedback and an illegitimate piece of feedback... When that legitimate piece of feedback comes through, you need to personally usher that through the process." (24:31)

• Importance of first-hand experience:

  "Nothing gets close to the actual tangible living through sitting in the booth at the restaurant." (25:40)

• Growth through criticism:

  "It is very tempting... to either take it personally or to dismiss it... it takes time for me to be like, 'Great, opportunity to be better.'" (26:35) "Not all feedback is. You have to use prudence and wisdom to know like, okay, this is just a person that literally complains for a living." (27:00)

9. Leading Gen Z Employees

• Clear values are essential:

  "You have a clear set of articulated values for your company... In the onboarding process of onboarding a Gen Z, you get buy in as to what those values are... there's no wiggle room or excuse." (27:35)

• Managers must model the values:

  "Your managers and your leaders must also live by those rules... Privileges and principles are two different things." (29:41)

10. Economic Outlook for 2026

• Charlie is optimistic on the US economy:

  "I am very long term bullish on the American economy for many reasons... there is a massive pent up economic boom that's waiting to happen around artificial intelligence." (31:49)

• Encourages embracing AI and innovation:

  "You should take embrace AI wholeheartedly in every way you possibly can because if not, it's the same people that didn't embrace the steam engine." (33:57)

• Emphasizes psychological impact on the economy:

  "So much of this is psychological that if people believe things will be better, they will be better... the more that we can say that it's good, the more that it will be good." (34:22)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're gonna end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful." — Charlie Kirk (00:09)
• "Founders are rarely good day to day managers. Sometimes they are, but the one thing the founder has is that spark and that relentless drive." — Charlie Kirk (04:35)
• "Managing is not one of [my skills]... But I'm really good at trying to find a vision put forward, exactly how we're gonna get there, and then being, kind of, that life force." — Charlie Kirk (04:35)
• "You have an obligation to be the hardest working person in that entity and to set the tone and set the pace." — Charlie Kirk (06:56)
• "Know your nature. Know what you're really good at." — Charlie Kirk (11:36)
• "It's not the money, honestly, it's the journey... It's the process of solving problems." — Charlie Kirk (14:03)
• "As an entrepreneur, it's like, you don't want to be a lonely entrepreneur... it's about relationships." — Charlie Kirk (17:02)
• "It is so enormously important for Gen Z because they have a tendency to try to make that there is no like work life separation." — Charlie Kirk (28:38)
• "The more I spend in the economy... the more I realize that so much of this is psychological that if people believe things will be better, they will be better." — Charlie Kirk (34:22)
• "This too shall pass... It humbles you when you need it and builds you up when you need it, gives you hope when you need it." — Charlie Kirk (36:31)
• "Romans 8, 28... God works all things for good for those who love Him." — Charlie Kirk (36:30)

Important Timestamps

• 00:03–00:30: Charlie shares his life mission, faith, and activism.
• 04:05–05:47: The entrepreneurial journey—vision, scale, and founder DNA.
• 07:53–09:18: Comparing American entrepreneurial culture with Asia and Europe.
• 11:03–12:51: Time management and knowing your strengths as a founder.
• 14:03–17:02: The journey over financial reward; importance of teams and connection.
• 18:10–19:52: Lasting brands—founder vision and resisting unnecessary change.
• 23:36–27:18: Feedback, handling criticism, and turning detractors into improvement.
• 27:35–29:55: Managing and onboarding Gen Z with clear, actionable values.
• 31:34–35:47: Economic outlook, optimism for AI, and the psychological factor in markets.
• 35:53–37:15: Favorite quotes and guiding philosophies for entrepreneurs.

Tone

Charlie maintains an unapologetic, faith-driven, and motivational tone throughout, blending practical business advice with cultural and spiritual guidance. He often uses humor and candid personal anecdotes, encouraging ambitious action and principled leadership.

This episode is valuable listening for entrepreneurs looking for inspiration, practical pointers on leadership, brand-building, responding to criticism, and those seeking a grounded, optimistic perspective on America's economic future.