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Carol Markowitz
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Carol Markowitz
Hi and welcome back to the Carol Markowitz show on iheartradio. My guest today is Ari Ackerman. Ari is a successful serial entrepreneur. One of my favorite apps, Bunk One. Among them, a philanthropist, owner of the Miami Marlins and a powerful social media influencer, which is how I first got to see his work and learn about him. So nice to have you on Ari.
Ari Ackerman
Thank you, Carol. Pleasure to be here.
Carol Markowitz
So I have to start with Bunk One because Bunk One really revolutionized the way parents communicate with their kids at sleepaway camp. And for those who don't know, it's really an essential app. I used it all summer long while my kids were away. What's the story behind it? Was it your idea or were you an investor? How did it come to be?
Ari Ackerman
No, it was my idea. Started it from scratch. One of those great entrepreneurial stories. I was in graduate business school at Northwestern and I literally wrote a business plan for a private equity class I was taking. And I'll make the story short, but we had a presentation to these Chicago based venture capitalists back a long time ago and the idea was they were going to fund the company, right? They were going to make sure they told me how brilliant I was and everything was going to be great. They told me it was the worst idea they'd ever heard in their entire life. True story. And I'd be doing, I remember this line, I'd be doing a disservice to myself and my school if I started Bunk One. So I got really drunk that day and I went to the Cubs game and sat in the bleachers in Wrigley Field. If you've ever done that, it's a great experience. And realized that this was something I wanted to do. And literally a week later we had graduated from Northwestern, from Kellogg, and I was in my car driving around the country visiting camps and just pitching the idea like, which was essentially making My first introductions into the world, making my first friends and they became my first clients. And literally a year and a half later I was live on cnn.
Carol Markowitz
Amazing.
Ari Ackerman
Explaining my idea to the, you know, because it already had blown up. Because parents, as you know very well, when their kids are away at camp, they live for those pictures. And Bunk One introduced into the world. We introduced this idea of staying connected in a one way window to your child when they're away at camp for the first time and then sending those bunk notes, the emails that are printed out for the kids. And it became a great company that I ran for about 18 years.
Carol Markowitz
It's brilliant and it's so obvious. But you didn't have kids when you started this, did you?
Ari Ackerman
Definitely not, right? I was a young guy. I was 25 years old.
Carol Markowitz
So how did you, like, where do you come up with that? Like, I understand if you're a parent, you're like, oh, I wish there was something for me to communicate with my kids at sleepaway camp. But if you're not even a parent, where did this come from?
Ari Ackerman
I was raised by Jewish mom, right? This is the most obvious idea of all time for Jewish kid like that. As you know, we would do anything for our children. Now that I do have children and I kind of knew that and I loved summer camp. So I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. And then when I was in graduate school, I'm like, wait, there's no technology yet in summer camps. I can be that guy that brings technology into the camp business. Because they didn't want to do it on their own. They couldn't afford to do it on their own incidentally, as well, a mom and pop type of industry. So here I was, this guy driving around the country as I as I described, pitching this idea of bringing technology into camps. And it was, you know, almost immediately well received. Once they realized who I was, they made that personal connection. And that first summer when we had about 50 camps using the online photo gallery, Mrs. Cohen told Mr. Shapiro that they could see pictures of beautiful David and, you know, Rachel and all the people. And then the. We blew up almost the second year. Like so smart camps right away.
Carol Markowitz
Yeah, it's really brilliant. So why the Marlins? How did that happen?
Ari Ackerman
So, yeah, so I. So I ran Bunk One for about 17 years and I ended up selling the company in 2017. And very soon after I got a call actually from a guy I went to business school with in Chicago at Northwestern, said, ari, I had this. I have this business I think you'd be interested In. I got a lot of press on the sale. There was money there. And he said, this is something I think you're gonna wanna do. He knew I love baseball. I was a Yankee fan as well. I know, Carol. You were?
Carol Markowitz
Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
Well, I call myself kind of a former Yankee fan, you know, but.
Carol Markowitz
Okay, okay.
Ari Ackerman
And the guy who was putting our group together was a gentleman named Derek Jeter.
Carol Markowitz
I've heard of him. Yeah, that's a very.
Ari Ackerman
You know, it's something. It's interesting as well. Our manager, by the way, at the time was Don Mattingly, so there were a lot of Yankee connections to the Marlins as well. But for me, I didn't know this was even a possibility in my life. I didn't know this was something that was going to take place. Like you asked about the Yankees before. I couldn't afford the Yankees, I'll tell you that.
Carol Markowitz
All right. Maybe, you know, maybe we'll own both eventually. Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
No, you can't do that, actually.
Carol Markowitz
Oh, you can't. Oh, interesting.
Ari Ackerman
I only have one team at a time, but even as a minority player. But. But, yeah. So it was just an incredible opportunity. Obviously, it was a financial. Major financial investment. So it wasn't like, hi, I'm in, you know.
Carol Markowitz
Right.
Ari Ackerman
It was a deal that I looked at that I also believed in the numbers, that I thought it had a promise as a business in and of itself. But then the attraction of baseball and even the city of Miami, which I love so much, made it even more attractive to be part of this group, to buy the Marlins.
Carol Markowitz
So I first learned of who you are because of your Instagram videos, and you're very outspoken on a lot of things, but especially on Israel or Jewish issues in America. And, you know, there are a lot of people who came to that after October 7th. But as I was researching you for this interview, your activism didn't start on October 7th. You were pretty into it. Well before that. Is that fair to say?
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, I've always been a very loud and proud Jew. I did even. I was speaking before October 7th in front of the Chancellor of CUNY, who let a graduation speaker go anti. To give me Very anti Semitic. And we were out there yelling, and not in a, you know, very, very.
Carol Markowitz
Yes.
Ari Ackerman
Controlled way, that this was outrageous and unacceptable and this is Jewish hatred and stuff like that. What changed, though, for me October 7th, as you just described as my Instagram, though, I wasn't. I didn't know what a real. Was. R E L right. On Instagram before about 16 months ago, somebody said to Me, you're doing all these speeches, you're reaching 3, 400 people. You should be doing reels on Instagram. I'm like, what's a real. And I mean, you know, I used to post these pictures that you scroll through.
Carol Markowitz
Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
And then I started doing these reels. And, you know, you reach 500 people in the first second, you know, a thousand, two thousand, ten thousand people in the first few minutes. And so it was a way to. To reach a wider audience with a message I wanted to communicate that I think is a very, very important message, especially in this day and age. And my. My reels became more and more popular, and, you know, the last month I had 5 million views.
Carol Markowitz
Wow.
Ari Ackerman
On my Instagram. And, you know, so I'm very proud that the message is getting out there. And I'm doing at least my part, because I'll say this, you know, on your very friendly podcast, but we're in the fight for the survival of our. Of our people right now. I don't even say that lightly. I say that often, and I really, truly believe it. And it gets worse every day, all over. Not even just in this country, but really all around the world.
Carol Markowitz
So what made you get into this kind of activism? You could have taken a safe route and gotten into, like, climate change, hunger, you know, just, you could. You could have done something. One of the philanthropist things that some people do where you're not going to be attacked, you're not going to have hateful comments, you're. You're going to have an easy time of it. So what made you choose this?
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, I mean, listen, there are a lot of important issues in this world that you described. A few climate change and, you know, poverty, all the things that we all should be fighting against. But for me, I have in my heart and soul a very strong connection to Zionism and to my Jewishness. I was raised by my mom, who I lost about 12 years ago, who just instilled in me and my sister this incredible Jewish values of standing up for our community and always being a strong Jew. And my grandfather, who is really a legend amongst the Jewish community, literally the founder of the state of Israel and really my mentor, who really, you know, showed us how to give and give again and give even more and always be a proud Zionist and a proud Jew. So it was always in me to do this. It's always a very, very important piece of who I am. And now that I have two young children, five and three, I worry for their future, of course. And so people say to Me, you don't have to do this. I hear that a lot. But like, I do have to do this. I don't understand why more people aren't doing this. We're fighting, we're fighting for our future. If you have children or you don't have children, but if you do, you understand the connection you have to them and you want to make sure they can live in a world that's safe for them. And it's a very precarious situation for them as a Jewish child right now that they, that that's even going to be a world that's going to be here when they grow up. You know, I want to make sure they can wear yarmulke. We're not religious, but they can wear yarmulke if they want. They can wear a Jewish star around their neck. They can celebrate Shabbat, they can be proud Jews. And that's what I fight for every day.
Carol Markowitz
So there's always these polling numbers that show that Jewish youth is even moving away from Israel. You know, not in huge numbers, but the headlines are always very sensationalist. How do you kind of maintain in your home or how do you, how are you teaching your kids to follow in your footsteps? I know they're quite young, so maybe not quite yet. Yeah, well, I, I worry about it all the time. I have a 15, 12 and 9. And they're very pro Israel, they're very into their Jewish identity. But look, you know, it's, it's definitely something that concerns me, concerns me every.
Ari Ackerman
Second of the day. But I've also seen polls where 90% of Jews, even 95% are Zionists or at least lean Zionist. And to me that gives me hope that there is a communication in the next generation because there also is polling of the next generation that isn't so great as well, I'm sure you're saying. And so for me, like every day I fight because like you and your children, I want to make sure my children feel that strong sense of pride. And, you know, how do I, how do I do it? Well, my wife is right on board with everything I do. She's incredible in terms of her stand up nation in her own way for the state of Israel and for being Jewish. But for me, like I am leaving them with a legacy of Instagram reels.
Carol Markowitz
Right?
Ari Ackerman
They are able.
Carol Markowitz
Here are all my thoughts. Yeah, yeah.
Ari Ackerman
Here are all my thoughts. And like, you know, so we all have a responsibility to do all we can right now so that our next generation sees what we did as you just described.
Carol Markowitz
And.
Ari Ackerman
And I'm leaving that legacy for them and showing them, like, during this period of very dangerous Jewish hate and anti Semitism, their dad stood up loud and proud. And, yeah, so it makes me emotional, but, like, so I want to make sure they see that. And hopefully that's how they get. It gets instilled in them that sense of Jewish pride. And we always, you know, in terms of the religion, we do Shabbat dinners at night, and, you know, we just are constantly instilling in them Jewish values and the importance of being Jewish. My daughter is 5 years old, and I've already whispered in her ear, if she marries a non Jew, I'm not coming. It's things like that.
Carol Markowitz
You got to show them Fiddler on the Roof to really bring that point home.
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, but one of them married a non Jew.
Carol Markowitz
Well, that's the whole thing when she married an undoubted, and the dad was like, you're dead to me. And my daughter watching that as a little girl was like, oh. I was like, you know, I don't.
Ari Ackerman
Even want to put it in her head, but I'm sure we'll see Fiddler at some point.
Carol Markowitz
It's not even an option.
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, but she's more into Shrek right now. We saw Wicked. Great. But. But yeah. So I. What you're saying right now is the most important thing I think a Jewish parent can do is to what, in every way they feel is appropriate and relevant to the child, instilling them that sense of Jewish pride, that sense of, you know, the state of Israel being the Jewish homeland. Take them to Israel, you know, whatever the case may be, instill it in them in any way they can. And we all have a platform, by the way, no matter how large or small, it's important you use that plat again, as I say, so the future generations see what you did during this time of real, just terrible Jewish hate.
Carol Markowitz
We're going to take a quick break and be right back on the Carol Markowitz Show. So you came up with Bunk one because you saw a hole in the market. Do you see a hole in the market in terms of kind of the PR that Israel gets or the organizations that support Israel in America? I find a lot of them to be kind of on the weaker side. Do you see anything that could be improved?
Ari Ackerman
I mean, you know, first of all, two Jews, three opinions, right? So take on what the situation is. But. So I was invited by the government of Israel, and if you saw this on my Instagram, to come at the End of January with about 15 others. They described influencers so that we would help them with the PR of Israel, that they took us all around. They took us to the Gaza border where the food was going in. We literally videoed it and showed the world, at least our world. And so there is a problem. Even the Israeli government identifies the problem to the point where they took us there to try and help with the pr. I still think they can do a better job of it. You know, I think the reaction time is very, very slow in terms of Israel responding to whatever takes place in terms of the news. And listen, I understand partially why it's slow because they're verifying actual facts and they're not releasing information that isn't true. But with the news cycle is what it is right now, it's instantaneous. You almost have to adapt to the times a little bit and at least get something out there that the world sees, unlike the other side, which is just releasing lying propaganda that gets picked up immediate, immediately page of the New York Times and just spread all over the world.
Carol Markowitz
So that's right.
Ari Ackerman
There's definitely a PR problem, which makes me nuts too, because there's so many amazing PR agencies run by Jews here in the United States. I don't know why we just don't hire one or two of them full time and just have them do Jewish PR like 24 7. And that's it. That's all they do.
Carol Markowitz
What do you worry about?
Ari Ackerman
It's really my children. It's the future of the Jewish people. It's, you know, the way I see hate on the streets, the way I see Jewish hate being normalized right now. You know, there's not even press coverage when a Jew gets beaten up at this point, you know, or. Or gets even killed. There really wasn't much press coverage on it. So, like, is that the way the world is heading right now? It's very, very scary. A lot of it reminds me of what I read and what I see from 19, late 20s or even 30s, 19, Germany, you know, as we describe. And it worries me. It literally keeps me up at night to the point where you see what I do online, you see what I do on Instagram. I'm constantly posting about these things. So the world at least sees maybe some of the truth that's not being portrayed by a lot of the mainstream media channels. So, yeah, what I worry about is, is that my few. Our future existential.
Carol Markowitz
Right, existential concerns more than anything else right now.
Ari Ackerman
I mean, yeah, listen, I want my back to feel better, you know, I worry about that.
Carol Markowitz
Marlins to win.
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, it'd be nice if we won a few games. Although we're having a good season this year, which is awesome, you know, But. But the real, real issues to me are, are my children, are my family, which is the most important thing in the world, and Jewish continuity, which is the second most important thing in the world to me. And those are the things I really worry about on a daily basis, you.
Carol Markowitz
Know, when I leave kind of the major cities in America. When you go out into America, you see such a difference in support for Israel, but also just pro Jewish behavior. I talk about it a lot on the show, actually. Like, I. I did an internship. Not an internship. I did a fellowship at Hillsdale in rural Michigan. And you drive by churches and they say, pray for Israel. I just. I want people to know that there is more than the New York Times. There is more than just, you know, kind of the. The ever moving leftist media and enclaves in this country who do support not only Israel, but Jews across the world.
Ari Ackerman
It's. I mean, that's why we're still around. I mean, like, thank God for, like, the evangelicals, you know, I think that's what you're describing.
Carol Markowitz
Oh, for sure.
Ari Ackerman
You know, like, they. They're more pro Israel than a lot of Jews.
Carol Markowitz
Oh, I know. Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
I can't believe that's a sentence, but it's true. And, you know, and I have so many friends. I. I was with Patricia Heaton the other day.
Carol Markowitz
Oh, I know. My. I had a. My friend, the Hollow Queen, was at that event with you. She's amazing.
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, Patricia, like, and I know each other basically through social media, but this was the first time we actually hugged in person. And she's like, all right, I love your videos.
Carol Markowitz
So wonderful.
Ari Ackerman
You love my videos, but you're our hero. Because you. You say, I don't have to do this. She doesn't have to do this. She does not have to support us. But she is all in. She believes it in her heart and soul. I did a quick interview with her. I'll post soon. And it's just so meaningful to. I know, to you and to me and to all of us that are such strong Jews to have this support all around the country. And, yeah, you know, it's so great to see it from states that, like, you can't imagine that these are the states that are really the ones that are keeping.
Carol Markowitz
I feel like I could imagine just because I'm a lifelong conservative, you know, I always felt Very supportive, supported by the conservative community. And I love seeing kind of that support on all kinds of levels with Israel now. It means a lot to me.
Ari Ackerman
Yeah, I mean I grew up as in an Orthodox Jewish environment, so for me it was, it was a very conservative environment. It was a very pro Israel environment.
Carol Markowitz
Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
And you know, you saw who your friends were even back then.
Carol Markowitz
Totally. Absolutely. What advice would you give your 16 year old self? Having to do this all, all over again. How do you protect your back?
Ari Ackerman
Well, I think that like so 16 now versus 16 then it's.
Carol Markowitz
Yeah, it has to be 16 then it has to be you 16 then.
Ari Ackerman
You know, so I would say like first of all, enjoy being 16, my guy. Go to every party, you can do everything again, your body is only 16 once. But think about your time being the most valuable commodity that you have. And I say that a lot. And you know, make sure you're constantly trying things, legal things, legal things, doing things that are appropriate, but you're just trying things and you're out there and you're living your life and you're, you know, learning about the world and you're questioning things and you're just being, you're staying, you know, you're happy, but you're also staying true to yourself about who you are, about your family, about what's important to you. You know, those are the things. Especially now that I'm doing this like online Instagram stuff. I get so much hate on a daily basis that like I would say to my 16 year old self like, you be you, you're gonna throughout your life. And this is the same with Bonk one by way they told me it was the worst idea they ever heard. You know, like I was like, okay, I'd be me. You know, like there's a lot of heat going on right now. I'm gonna still post my Instagram reels to make sure that people see my truth and the truth, you know, I love that. So, you know, that's, that's what I'd say. And it's not easy because 16 is not an easy time to be anything. And you know, you got peer pressures and for sure girls that are starting to like you or not like you, which is even worse or boys or whatever it is, you know.
Carol Markowitz
Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
And so it's, it's not easy to be true to yourself. But I would say like really do your best that you can and, and be proud and you know, if something doesn't go your way, that's life. It's going to Happen and, you know, things will turn around.
Carol Markowitz
Go to the parties and be true to yourself. I like that a lot.
Ari Ackerman
By the way. Whoever knows me knows how true those two statements are. Both of them, like, that is who I am.
Carol Markowitz
Did you grow up in New York?
Ari Ackerman
I did. I grew up in the city.
Carol Markowitz
In the city. I grew up in Brooklyn. Oh, you did? Yeah, I went to all the parties.
Ari Ackerman
I mean, did you go to yeshiva high school?
Carol Markowitz
For sure. I know, but I did go to yeshiva for the first eight years.
Ari Ackerman
Okay.
Carol Markowitz
Yeah.
Ari Ackerman
Very cool.
Carol Markowitz
So. Well, I've loved this conversation. I think your voice is really amazing and I love following you. Leave us here with your best tip for my listeners on how they can improve their lives.
Ari Ackerman
How they can improve their lives. Well, first of all, have passion in whatever you do. If you're not passionate about something, you are completely wasting your time, and you're just not going to live a fulfilled, fun, meaningful life, and it's just not. Not as good. I also, I also say, because I do this all the time, like, wake up with goals for the day, goals for the week, goals for the month, and really try and hit those goals because it keeps you focused and doing things and it keeps you, you know, nicely aggressive about how you live your life and what you want to accomplish. But also as kind of we've described in the last 21 minutes, like, do, do the hard stuff. Don't just do the easy stuff. Do the hard stuff. You will feel better about yourself if you are out there challenging yourself and you're out there doing things that make you even a little bit uncomfortable. Again, all legal, all good.
Carol Markowitz
Sure.
Ari Ackerman
Being nice.
Carol Markowitz
But, like, this is a show about doing legal things. Guess.
Ari Ackerman
I don't know why I've said that a few times.
Carol Markowitz
You just want to reiterate. Don't do anything illegal.
Ari Ackerman
I've never done anything illegal in my life, so it's, like, funny that I'm even saying this out loud, but challenge yourself. Do the hard things. You're. You will be more proud of yourself. Others will look up to you more, and it's just. It's just a better way to live. And it's like, you know, you have all this, like, instant gratification in this world, right?
Carol Markowitz
Sure.
Ari Ackerman
If you do the hard stuff, appreciate the delayed gratification, appreciate the things that, like, you're doing right now that will make your life better, your children's life better in the future. And it's just, you know, we don't have enough of that right now. I need that instant. Two second. Yeah, it is. And it's just, you know, it's, it's making us all nuts. Like do things that are, are more long term right now, like fighting for the Jewish people, which I hope I do in a good way right now.
Carol Markowitz
I love it. Do the hard thing. Set goals. Wake up and do it. Thank you so much. He is Ari Ackerman. Check out his Instagram. It's really excellent. Follow him there. Thank you so much, Ari for coming on the show.
Ari Ackerman
Thank you Carol. This was awesome. Appreciate it.
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Ari Ackerman
This is an iHeart podcast.
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – The Karol Markowicz Show
Episode Title: From Startup to the Major Leagues: Ari Ackerman on Tech, Faith, and Jewish Pride
Host: Karol Markowicz
Guest: Ari Ackerman (Entrepreneur, Owner – Miami Marlins, Philanthropist, Social Media Activist)
Date: August 20, 2025
This episode features Karol Markowicz in conversation with Ari Ackerman. The central themes include entrepreneurial grit, Jewish identity and activism, the power of social media, and the challenges of Jewish continuity in the modern world. Ari shares his journey from building Bunk One – an app revolutionizing summer camp communications – to becoming an owner of the Miami Marlins. He also discusses his outspoken activism around Jewish pride and support for Israel, especially in the wake of increasing antisemitism, and reflects on instilling Jewish values in the next generation.
[03:41 – 06:54]
“They told me it was the worst idea they'd ever heard in their entire life. True story... I got really drunk that day and I went to the Cubs game and sat in the bleachers in Wrigley Field. If you've ever done that, it's a great experience. And realized that this was something I wanted to do.” (Ari Ackerman, 04:16)
“We introduced this idea of staying connected in a one way window to your child when they're away at camp for the first time and then sending those bunk notes... it became a great company that I ran for about 18 years.” (Ari Ackerman, 05:11)
[06:54 – 08:33]
“The attraction of baseball and even the city of Miami, which I love so much, made it even more attractive to be part of this group, to buy the Marlins.” (Ari Ackerman, 08:16)
[08:33 – 14:50]
“I've always been a very loud and proud Jew. I was speaking before October 7th in front of the Chancellor of CUNY... we were out there yelling... that this was outrageous and unacceptable and this is Jewish hatred.” (Ari Ackerman, 09:00)
“You reach 500 people in the first second, you know, a thousand, two thousand, ten thousand people in the first few minutes... In the last month I had 5 million views.” (Ari Ackerman, 09:48 & 10:12)
“We’re in the fight for the survival of our people right now. I don’t even say that lightly... and it gets worse every day, all over — not even just in this country, but really all around the world.” (Ari Ackerman, 10:13)
“My grandfather... literally the founder of the state of Israel and really my mentor... showed us how to give and give again and give even more and always be a proud Zionist and a proud Jew.” (Ari Ackerman, 11:18)
[12:38 – 15:48]
“Every day I fight because like you and your children, I want to make sure my children feel that strong sense of pride... my wife is right on board... I’m leaving them with a legacy of Instagram reels.” (Ari Ackerman, 13:14–14:02)
“We do Shabbat dinners at night, and... constantly instilling in them Jewish values and the importance of being Jewish.” (Ari Ackerman, 14:13)
[15:48 – 18:48]
“There is a problem. Even the Israeli government identifies the problem... I still think they can do a better job of it... the reaction time is very, very slow in terms of Israel responding to whatever takes place in terms of the news.” (Ari Ackerman, 16:16–17:09)
“We just don’t hire one or two of them full-time and just have them do Jewish PR like 24/7.” (Ari Ackerman, 17:35)
“The way I see hate on the streets, the way I see Jewish hate being normalized right now... is that the way the world is heading right now? It's very scary. A lot of it reminds me of what I read... from 19, late 20s or even 30s, 19, Germany.” (Ari Ackerman, 17:53–18:48)
[19:16 – 21:18]
“You drive by churches and they say, pray for Israel... there is more than just... leftist media and enclaves in this country who do support not only Israel, but Jews across the world.” (Carol Markowitz, 19:16)
“Thank God for, like, the evangelicals... they're more pro Israel than a lot of Jews.” (Ari Ackerman, 19:58–20:10)
“She doesn’t have to do this... She is all in. She believes it in her heart and soul.” (Ari Ackerman, 20:22)
[21:30 – 23:42]
“Make sure you’re constantly trying things, legal things, doing things that are appropriate... you’re staying true to yourself about who you are, about your family, about what’s important to you.” (Ari Ackerman, 21:48–22:17)
[24:07 – 25:56]
“If you do the hard stuff, appreciate the delayed gratification... do things that are more long term right now, like fighting for the Jewish people, which I hope I do in a good way right now.” (Ari Ackerman, 25:27)
On Entrepreneurship and Resilience
On Jewish Pride and Activism
On the State of the World
On Parental Legacy
On Doing the Hard Thing
“I've already whispered in her ear, if she marries a non Jew, I'm not coming.” (14:38)
This episode is an inspiring look at how one person can have an outsized impact by blending entrepreneurial drive, cultural pride, and fearlessness in the face of criticism. Ari Ackerman’s example underscores the importance of standing up for one’s identity, taking initiative, and doing the “hard thing” even when it isn’t popular or safe. Both practical (goal setting, finding purpose) and deeply personal (family, faith, legacy), the conversation offers a blueprint for resilience and pride in challenging times.