Woodmere's Rom Raviv is not afraid to take the first step

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For 20-year old Woodmere resident and entrepreneur Rom Raviv, he wants to be a role model to younger Five Towns residents seeking to be entrepreneurs.  

The 2018 Hewlett High School graduate Raviv said the entrepreneur spirit in him comes from his family, in particular his father who is a real estate agent. When he was 18, Raviv started his first podcast called “Spreading Success.” The podcast subjects included business and entrepreneurship. Raviv has since stopped recording episodes for “Spreading Success” but noted he is putting together a new podcast set to be released in the coming months.

“I love entrepreneurship and I felt that there was no better way to get mentorship than by getting to interview entrepreneurs,” Raviv said. “Essentially, a podcast is a branded mentorship call, you can ask them anything you want without having to pay them a speaking fee.”

Inspired by doing the podcast, Raviv came up with another idea: starting a company that edits podcasts named Podblade. “A month into the podcast, I realized I didn’t know how to properly edit the audio,” he said. “I looked to hire an editing company but they were charging a hundred dollars an episode. There are a lot of people in podcasting that can use a business like Podblade.” 

Raviv said that Podblade currently works with roughly 250 clients. In between running his podcast editing agency, Raviv is also a full-time student at Macaulay Honors College in Manhattan. He studies digital marketing at the school. 

Ramiz Choudhry met Raviv at college last year and describes his friend as being wise beyond his years. “We hit it off right away and he came off as a real humble kid even with all his success,” Choudhry said. “He’s explaining to me all of these business strategies and all I was thinking was that there’s no way he’s just 19-years old.”

Choudhry added that Raviv is a giving person. “He’s very personable with everybody and is always willing to share knowledge,” he said. “He’s a generous person and if somebody had anything bad to say about him, I would think they’re lying.”

Dganit Raviv said that her son really started showing an interest in entrepreneurship during high school. “He was always mature for his age and we always knew that he was going to be a leader,” Dganit said. “He’s a great role model for his younger brothers who are 19. They’re always talking about ideas at the dinner table.”

Raviv said his advice for young and aspiring entrepreneurs would to not be afraid to take the first step on an idea or initiative. “When I was in high school, I wish I realized being the most popular isn’t relevant,” he said. “If I knew that, I would’ve started the podcast when I was 16 and would’ve led to me meeting new people and starting my business earlier. But you’re in a bubble in high school, so it's hard to see it that way.”

Raviv’s Instagram page @romraviv is open for any aspiring entrepreneurs who have questions for him.