🎙️ Episode 5: From Side Hustles to Sky Rises | Barry Zolty’s Story of Jewish Grit

Entrepreneurs are a class of their own. They find something, they try to develop it, and if it doesn't work out, they pivot. They use it as a stepping stone for growth. Barry Zulti is a serial entrepreneur. This week on Jewish Grit, listen to the story of his success. [Music] Barry, um, we'd like to get to know you a little bit better. Uh, let our viewers understand who Barry Zulti is. So, why don't you start by sharing in 60 60 to 90 seconds a little bit about your personal life. Where'd you grow up? Where'd you go to school? A little bit about your family if you're comfortable doing that. >> Sure. I grew up in Toronto, Canada. I got married in 2005. >> Lived in Israel for um about two years and then moved back to Lakewood, New Jersey. >> Even after you got married, you were studying Torah. >> Mhm. Mh. >> And then you pick yourself up and you move back to >> Yeah, we we were expecting our second child and we felt that uh maybe this is a good time to consider how we're going to support the family. >> Okay, great. >> So, you moved back to Lakewood? >> We moved back to Lakewood >> and right away you entered the professional world. >> So, pretty much pretty much. >> Now, did you go to college at all? >> I did not go to college. >> Wow. But I did. Yeah, I but I What's interesting is that one of the things I did was actually arrange for people to get college degrees. was one of my little businesses is is so I didn't have a you know a proper college degree. I mean a talmudic degree which is obviously very valuable. >> Sure. >> But um I I did assist people in getting their MBAs or I I ran a nursing cohort for for women in Lakewood to get their nursing degrees. That was a I did that for a stint. I guess I would consider myself an entrepreneur by nature. >> Okay. >> Um I started multiple businesses. uh failed at many businesses and was successful at many businesses. I guess the the one career or one business that I did have was a newspaper distribution business in in Lakewood. I started a a business from scratch and it grew pretty pretty large uh in in Lakewood. Ultimately, I I sold that business. So, we were quite successful. Then it was a lot of hard work and a lot of warehouse work as well, but negotiating with clients and and stuff like that. So, >> is it still in existence? it's still in existence and it's still it's actually with the growth of Lakewood, the growth of Lakewood alone kind of contributes to the success of the company. So eventually, I mean, there's a couple businesses in between, but I did have a a friend who I was introduced by a rabbi of mine from Detroit, so I didn't actually spend time yes with him, but he was referred to like a a mutual rebby. He came to my office one day and looking for, you know, a career and I set him up with something I was doing at the time was ball bearings. did, you know, my father-in-law was doing ball bearing distribution and I kind of came up with a unique, you know, way to reach the markets and stuff. So, I I did that for some time and kind of elevated his business. But I brought this guy along, my friend Sam and uh he went out to different markets. He actually, you know, a salesman, traveling salesman, and he did really nicely for that. But it was it was short-lived and we obviously kept up and used to come by my office and uh just the backstory is that my family is in the real estate business in in Toronto. But so they they were in the real estate business and and I was kind of on my own, you know, trying to you know hustle things out and try figureing things out. Anyways, in this in this distribution business, I used to meet this friend Sam and there's actually a good hashkah story divine providence story where uh he received a expensive cigar from a client >> and uh he had nothing to do with it because he doesn't smoke cheap cigars either. So he says, "Barry, you want to come over for a you know a cigar?" I'm like, "Sure." You know, is it good? Whatever. you know, I went to his house and um we've chatted in the past about, you know, business and stuff, but at that point, you know, we had this conversation. He was frustrated with being on the lending side of the real estate business and, you know, certain things in that business and he just, you know, I really wanted to get on the other side of the business. I really want to, you know, buy stuff and, uh, I guess he needed some encouragement and and some, you know, background and I did have, you know, some business background and, you know, come from a, you know, real estate family and, uh, over that cigar, I said, you know, Sam, let's do this. Let's do this. you know, and you know, I guess I'm I am pretty spontaneous and I would say there was things that were going on my business that I wasn't excited about mainly that it was just, you know, it was just being successful and not nothing more, you know, and and as an entrepreneur, I like starting up. I like new things. I like, you know, change. So, it was just this great opportunity and it was it just kind of in some ways it fell on my lap. But if you kind of look at the whole story, how how things kind of came together, it was pretty amazing. So um we we started this real estate company uh myself Sam and a third partner Aaron and uh we started that business in 2017. I used proceeds from the sale of my of my business as as a you know launching tool for us. Yep. >> And we actually started uh our office was in my uh warehouse office. That's that's where we started. That was our first uh Brentwood Investment Group office until we moved out and uh grew our portfolio. >> Very nice. So, are you doing multif family now? >> Yeah, it's pretty much multif family and uh most of our real estate is in actually Virginia, but then we got you know in Texas and Tennessee uh and some other markets. >> Why don't you share with us if you're comfortable doing so like what your typical day looks like? How much do you dedicate each day to your professional life? How much to your personal growth, to your spiritual growth? Like what do you do on a typical day? >> Okay. So my schedule changes often but right now the way it looks typically and you know I'm always you know tinkering with it. So yeah on a on a typical day at 7 >> uh then I have a kusa after davin >> study buddy. >> A study buddy uh for like an hour and a half. >> Wow. >> Yeah. And >> what do you guys study? >> We study garum Talmud. >> We study Talmud. And the the style that I chose with this particular study buddy was uh moving >> uh covering ground. >> Covering ground. Okay. Covering ground. >> The high that you get when you accomplish and understand >> it's like better. I I don't I've never done real estate deal in my life. And I'm assuming that when you get a really good deal and you know I don't know it's sure there's some type of high. >> Yeah. >> And it's comparable maybe even better. I don't know. You tell us. >> You know what? I think it's an age thing. So, I I I I know that when I was younger, certain things would make me more excited. And now that I'm older, you know, and wiser. For me, it's really getting into like God's work, you know, that that's what it is. It's it's dabbling in, you know, God God stuff, right? And and that that's the part that just just makes us like, hey, I tapped into something that some really great people have have, you know, I'm just tapping in such a tiny amount, but it's it's it's a it's really that's that's I think what the what the highlight is. >> And how like what's your typical workday like? How long do you spend in the office? >> Um it I'm like all over the place with with But I but I'll come into the office at 10:00 or so. Uh after, you know, the day of the week that I work out, it's going to be in the morning after the study buddy. Uh, and then I'll come in at at 10:00 or so. And then, you know, I'll either leave at 4:00, 5, 6, or 7, depending on what's going on. It depends on how much it's it's needed of me. And it it shifts with what's going on in the market and and, you know, we have going on. You know, we're we're the the business itself, you know, I've learned to delegate a lot. So, there's a lot of uh pluses in delegation. I would say the minus is that sometimes you kind of try to figure out what you're what you where you're going to do. You know, if everybody else is doing everything and the market is a little slower, you know, what do you do? So, you got to pivot and and figure out, you know, where where you're most valuable and and stuff like that. >> Fortunately, you're a lucky man. You have eight children. How do you balance like, you know, running your business, studying, going to the gym? How do you balance that? >> It's challenging. >> It's It is challenging, but >> a wife. >> Yeah. and a wife. Yeah. So, she's a great partner. Okay. She's a she's a wonderful partner with me and and um you know, so she definitely does put me maybe more of the work than I do. But um I pride myself on on being a great dad. And you know, for some reason, the more things that are on my plate, the more I'm able to give. I don't know. It's just this weird thing that I would never imagine that I would have enough time in the day to give each each child the attention. And there's so many other things that are going on in my life, too. I'm I'm home. I'm there. Sundays I'm I'm home except when I got to come out for >> Sorry, I took away from your family >> like this. But, you know, we do a lot. We go, you know, I travel with the kids. I take my boys this year, took my girls, too. We go skiing a lot where, you know, we do we do a couple ski trips a year. We're constantly on the go. We're constantly spending time with the kids. Um, the balancing act is in 2025, you can do a lot of work on the road. You don't always have to be in the office, which is really nice. And it ju it just works. You know, there's there is a tremendous amount of responsibility. Sometimes responsibility doesn't translate into amount of minutes worked, but it's more about what you're dealing with and decisions that you need to make and the people you need to support and your employees and staff and everything else like that. >> Do you have a mentor? Is there someone in your life that you go to when you're just not sure how to do it yourself or just when you need another perspective? >> Yes, there isn't a single mentor in my life, but I have learned how to draw on other people. I would say my wife is the one that I turn to most. not necessarily when it comes to business, you know, specific business things, but you know, interpersonal kind of things and perspective, just gaining perspective. It's always great. And I have the rabbis I've collected over the years, uh my business partners as well. I feel like I've built kind of a rolodex of different people in my life where I can draw on, you know, for for specific things. So, um I wouldn't say I'm all set with that. There is that sometimes I'm like, "Oh gosh, what do I do here?" You know, but I have collected I have collected I, you know, my parents are are are people in my life who who I can draw on. >> That's really beautiful. >> Yeah. >> At this age, you know, a person who can still go to their parents and say, "Hey, they do have life wisdom." It's a little counterculture for the American society or even Canadian society, but hey, good for you. Two points. We talked to a lot of different people and I like to hear some people's personal challenges if they're willing to share. like if you could think of a particular challenge that you're willing to be open about and kind of how you worked it through and kind of came out on top. >> I think what I touched on before is, you know, my entrepreneurial spirit and the need from a nature perspective to always be busy and always feeling like I'm doing something. One of the things that I feel like I shifted shifted more out of I wouldn't say completely. It's about like my identity with my career and and things like that. You know, I I think there's there's like a point in my career where where my career and what I did for a living or what do I do for a living is so much part of my identity and therefore if I'm bored, you know, as as the bread winner, even if I'm making money or but it becomes like, hey, you know, am I making enough money? Am I you know yes I'm very happy but there's all those feelings that I think a lot of people share but you know so for me it's the transition of you know what is my identity you know who is Dolby >> you know you know hey how are you you know what do you do for a living like I at this point what do I do for a living is it's it's just a small part of me it's a small part of my identity so I guess between you know identity shift as well as learning how to pivot when you know when there's a lot of delegation and tremendous amount of things that I could do but choosing which things to do what to focus where where am I going to find the most value and not just how am I going to make the most money but how am I going to feel the best and what are my contributions to society look like yada yada yada >> you know our audience is you know predominantly young professionals just starting their career what's the best piece of advice that you'd of somebody who's 24, 25, 28 years old just kind of getting into the workforce in a real way trying to figure out the next steps. What's something that could really help them? >> I would say there's a lot of a misconception of people are looking for the right career. They're looking for titles and looking for okay that position. I know a guy that does this that makes a lot of money. So the focus is on the title and what they, you know, what kind of income is available in that. And I think the shift for people can be to work on their own self-growth to to invest in themselves as much as they can. Doesn't matter what you do. It's a matter of how you grow through what you're doing. Opportunities come in my life. Opportunities kind of came and I I was able to jump on those opportunities. But while those opportunities were coming down the road, I was constantly working on myself, working on on how I can be a better person, how I can be a better businessman, how I can be right, I did newspaper distribution, right? It's it's, you know, and and uh but I tried to to be the best I can at that, you know, I'm an entrepreneur. I never worked for somebody, you know, in my life, so I don't have that experience. But I did a lot of career counseling, too. and and one of the things that I you know shared with a lot of people and just take you know it isn't it isn't rocket science about what career you you choose choose whatever is available at this point that you know you don't want something dead end whatever you know we're not getting into details but the idea is to to find something and become the best at it and create value in yourself and once you create value in yourself that the opportunities are endless >> this show is called Jewish grit I want to focus on the Jewish for a minute but the grit away >> so as a Jewish person you know you live in a world around us, the United States and Canada, what's the thing that makes you most proud to be a Jew? >> A lot makes me proud, especially especially when people might think this this is the time to maybe not be proud or maybe more fearful, but uh it it kind of brings out the pride, the Jewish pride. But I would I would think that the you know the one thing that especially you know with in my career and in my life uh I would say the the fact that Judaism has a blueprint for life. It is something that is so uh so important for me and it's such a like a relief. You know we're we're faced with so much you know non-truths. there's so many lies out there whether it's media or just the global in you know in in the world. Um sometimes it's you when when you're the one that's trying to decide what's correct or what's morally right or it's it's very confusing and you as you see there there but when you have when you have a blueprint of how to live and you can always come back you always can ground yourself with that blueprint of the Torah. Yeah. That that to me is something that I'm just you know immensely grateful for. It takes a lot of the pressure out of your brain. I know how I'm operating my business. I know the principles that I stand by are principles rooted in the Torah. Thousands of years tried, tested, and true. >> And I don't have to second guess myself when it comes to, you know, being honest in business. It isn't just a virtue because it's in style and, you know, I may get arrested or I may right that it it doesn't come down to that. it comes because this is a principal value that's rooted in the blueprint of my life. It uh so I would say that that makes me the most proud. >> That's a beautiful thought and it's a world with a lot of murkiness and having clarity and having your values straight is amazing. Been a pleasure talking. I'd love to hear more. Wish you continued success and hope that however your definition of success is. >> Keep coming back to that. >> Thank you so much. Pleasure. Wonderful. So much. Thank you for listening to Jewish Grit, an Ol mentorship podcast. At Oly mentorship, we believe that everyone needs a mentor. What better way is there to tap into your personal and professional potential than with a Jewish mentor at your side? Learn more at olam.org/mentorship. Don't forget to keep listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.