The Democrat Who Could Flip Texas and Pivoting Out of a Dying Industry

Scott Galloway on why Talarico could reshape the 2028 Democratic race, how to think about a career pivot when one industry is all you know, and what to do when the job is great but the product weighs on your conscience. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to [email protected], or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Scott Galloway?

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• 0:48Speaker 01

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• 1:19Speaker 02

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• 1:54Scott Galloway?

  Welcome to Office Hours with Prof G. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question for next time, you can send a voice recording to officehourswithpropgmedia.com. Again, that's officehourswithpropgmedia.com. Or post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit, and we just might feature it in our next episode. Our first question comes from pristinebutterfly961 on Reddit. They say, "Prof, what are your thoughts on James Talarico? I listened to your episode with him and Jessica. He was well spoken and seems to be a genuine, down-to-earth guy. Seems like the Dem nominee is up in the air for 2028. If Talarico wins the Senate in Texas, how does that impact his ability to be a Dem nominee in 2028?" Okay, so some data.

• 2:35Scott Galloway?

  Talarico won the Democratic primary on March 3rd with 53% of the vote versus Crockett's 45.6%. And she was a very strong candidate. Cal Street traders had Talarico at 86% likelihood to win the Democratic primary. Polls showed the race considerably tighter. And then the Texas Senate winner, Cal Street is also stating that it's the Republicans have a 65% likelihood of holding the seat versus 35% for Democrats. So it's 2 to 1 right now, but that's down from 4 to 1, 80% Republican odds in late 2025. So Talarico is giving, it appears, the markets are more hopeful about a Talarico nominee. Texas is sort of known for producing

• 3:19Scott Galloway?

  a Democrat that we all fall in love with and then get our hearts broken. And every time, you know, Democrats around the nation give money to a Texas candidate, like a Beto O'Rourke, who was a very attractive candidate, especially against a guy named Ted Cruz, who was, you know, I would argue is an unattractive candidate for most people. And then we get our hearts broken. The Texas is just pretty, pretty deep red. But here we are again, hopeful that this outstanding candidate will change that.

• 3:49Scott Galloway?

  So if Talarico does in fact win in November, it would be a major shift. Texas Democrats have not won statewide office in, let me see, I think it was 88, so 12 years. So, oh gosh, almost 40 years. He'll face the winner of the Paxton versus Cornyn Republican runoff on May 26. Right now, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appears to be the favorite in the runoff, which would be great for Talarico because Paxton, what's the term, is fucking crazy. And I mean, that's kind of the problem with our electoral system is we send crazies from the left and crazies from the right. Talarico is seen as pretty moderate, mostly because he constantly cites scripture and his religious background and weaves it really elegantly into his politics.

• 4:34Scott Galloway?

  And I think that appeals to a lot of moderates and probably a lot of people on the right. He's pulled slightly better against Paxton than Senator John Cornyn, who's more moderate than Paxton. You know, this is, this is very hopeful.

• 4:49Scott Galloway?

  And I said that if, if Talarico were able to pull off a big win in Texas, maintain that popularity, that he would be, I think, almost immediately on any shortlist to be the VP candidate for the Democratic ticket for president in 2028. If people felt he could deliver Texas, if, if anybody on the ticket delivers Texas for the Democrats in 2028, it's game over. That means the Democrats win. So the prospect of it being, say, a 1 in 3 chance that they can get Texas versus a 1 in 20 chance by putting a Talarico on the ticket, it might be worth the risk. It is a risk though, because they would be giving up the Senate seat, because my understanding is the likely Republican governor would then get to appoint someone to that Senate seat

• 5:34Scott Galloway?

  and would appoint a Republican. So given how close the majorities are in the Senate, I'm not sure they would give up the Senate seat. But if he won big, he's immediately a candidate, as is John Ossoff. If John, if Senator Ossoff goes on to win decisively.

• 5:54Scott Galloway?

  In Georgia, he'll be a likely presidential candidate. Not enough if you've been watching Senator Ossoff, but he's, he's made a really key strategic move and messaging and words are so important. Rather than demonizing the billionaire class, he's using this new term, the Epstein class, which is just genius and something the broader Democratic Party should adopt. Because if you start trying to, with this progressive rhetoric bullshit, self-inflicted wound of saying billionaires are evil, white people are racist and young men are a problem, then all three of those cohorts are going to leave. And, you know, 30, you know, about 60% of the electorate is white, 30% of the electorate is white males.

• 6:39Scott Galloway?

  And if you start with this messaging around successful white males or young white males are, you know, just fundamentally bad by virtue of their identity, they're just gonna, okay, fine, have at it, we'll vote Republican. So that's just really stupid messaging that might work, might be red meat in a primary, but in a general, it's suicide. So he's elevated from that and is now going after what he calls the Epstein class. I think that's, I think that's genius. But in general, I think whether it's Talarico, Ossoff, Senators Murphy, Bennett, Klobuchar, I just got outreach from Senator Slotkin's office. My sense is she's gearing up for a run.

• 7:22Scott Galloway?

  She seems to be very ambitious and going on a lot of programs lately. Good for her. Anyways, and I think they're all, you know, good or great. I think our bench is just incredibly strong. Governor Shapiro, Newsom, I think these are really strong candidates. And when I look at their bench, it's Rubio and Vance, which are, you know, sort of, I think Rubio's gonna have a tough time defending some of the past statements he's made. He just comes across as literally like an amorphous blob that'll say anything to try and advance his political career. I also think the war in Iran will end squarely on his shoulders.

• 8:00Scott Galloway?

  Yeah, also Vance is just incredibly unlikable. And every president, I would argue, since Nixon has been, had one thing in common, and that is they're likable. People say Trump isn't, but a lot of people say when you meet Trump, he's very likable and very charismatic. Anyway, I think our bench, when I say our, I mean the Democrats, is much stronger than the Republican bench. We're just gonna have to be smarter about it. There is, just to wrap this up, there's what's called a jungle primary in California, and there's a lot of good, or a lot of decent Democrats running, but they're all splitting the vote, and the top two might be two Republicans, and the top two advance to the general election. So you might end up with a Republican because of the fact that there's a lot of decent Democratic candidates splitting the vote.

• 8:43Scott Galloway?

  This is where Speaker Pelosi, or Obama, or Governor Newsom need to weigh in and start getting deals done, or Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, excuse me, need to step in and start promising Democrats some sort of appointments or something, or intimidating them or threatening them and get them the fuck out of the race. Anyways, we never underestimate the Democratic Party's ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but State Representative Talarico brings a new dimension to the Democratic Party, and that is the integration of his faith and politics. And Democrats are seen as being openly hostile towards, towards religion, which I think

• 9:27Scott Galloway?

  has really, really hurt Democrats. Anyways, thanks for the question. Question number two also comes from Reddit. OKshare36-03 asks, "Hi Scott, I've been in the auto industry for 14 years. The last 11 years I've been selling Ferraris. Woo hoo hoo. In the last three years, I have noticed a major change in buying habits in the people who buy them. I've witnessed clients age before my eyes, and they are not being replaced by the younger generation. Two questions. What advice do you have for people working in an industry that might look drastically different in five to 10 years? And what advice do you have for someone who might be stuck in an industry because it's the only experience they have on their resume?" I get this question a lot. So according to the data Ferrari buyers are actually getting younger. Forty percent of new Ferrari buyers are now under forty, up from thirty percent

• 10:11Scott Galloway?

  in twenty twenty-three, according to Ferrari CEO. I kind of think a lot of that's crypto, sort of crypto in the manosphere. I can't help it. Anytime I see someone under the age of forty in a Ferrari, I think they're probably living with their mother or they rent. You should never own a nice car if you rent, in my view. And that is, that's not the ultimate, I mean, the real brag is to have a nice home, is to have a place that's clean, well decorated, and comfortable. I think a car is really trying hard, you know, from someone who's owned a bunch of Range Rovers. This is how I can tell I can get, I'm getting older. I'm actually looking at that new Ferrari twelve cylinder. I don't think I would fit in the thing, but I think, oh, it's so beautiful. I would just want

• 10:54Scott Galloway?

  to park it in my driveway. Yeah, so it looks as actually as if the buyer is getting younger. Ferrari shipped almost fourteen thousand cars in twenty twenty-four while generating one and a quarter billion dollars in profit. Waiting lists currently sit at two years. Jesus, that's amazing. Eighty-one percent, they manage scarcity almost as well as any brand in the world. The key in luxury is scarcity. And I'll come back to that, but I think it's a key point in managing your own brand. Anyways, eighty-one percent of twenty twenty-four Ferrari sales went to existing owners. That's right. They, they do the same thing with Birkin. I bought someone in my life a Birkin bag and they asked me if I wanted to get on the list for another bag. And I thought, well, okay, if I need to be on a list, I want on the list. Forty-eight percent to buyers already own multiple Ferraris.

• 11:37Scott Galloway?

  Wow. So half the people who buy Ferraris already own more than one. The new younger buyer is largely recycling with a closed loop. So in sum, it does look like actually they're getting younger. But your broader question is, what do you do when you're kind of have nothing but experience in a certain industry and you're looking to make a pivot? What I would suggest is ask yourself, why are you making the pivot? And is there a way to make the pivot internally? What do I mean by that? You might think I'm sick of sales and I want to be more in marketing, or I want to be managing people. Is there a way to go to someone internally and say, okay, I've been here a while. Would it be possible? Is there a Ferrari management program?

• 12:19Scott Galloway?

  Is there, is there a path to another part of Ferrari? Where you would get to scratch the itch to do something different? Because I would not, I don't, when people say, I don't like what I do, I'm just going to quit and it'll force me to find something different? No, no, no, no. Don't leave a job until you have another one. Because unless you have rich parents and you can do whatever the fuck you want. My sense is it is much harder to find a job when you don't have a job. And also to just be honest with yourself, do you have good momentum right now? Are you saving money? Are you good at what you do? And should you just tough it out? If none of that is true and you're truly miserable and want to make a pivot, then one, see if you can do a pivot internally.

• 13:00Scott Galloway?

  And two, maybe start a side hustle or start thinking about other types of jobs. Maybe you want to buy a business from a boomer that is giving a, selling a vocational business. It's so situational because the questions I would ask you are, what are you good at? Do you have any capital to invest in a business? And do you know anyone else at other companies who you might be able to join and do something else with a friend or someone you've known for a while? Have you been presented with any opportunities? What kind of money do you have saved up? You know, it's very situational, but this is what you want to do. You want to put together a kitchen cabinet with two or three people that you trust and ask them for coffee and just lay it all out for them. Say, you know, I'm kind of, I'm thinking about a career change. I would just love your advice. You're a smart person.

• 13:45Scott Galloway?

  And hopefully they'll ask you a bunch of questions and you can give them a full transparent lay of the land and they can advise you. But there's no one size fits all here. And I get a lot of outreach from people in the advertising and the agency business, which I used to be in technically as a brand strategist, saying, I'm in this industry. I know it's dying. What do I do? All right, if you're under the age of 35 and you have the ability to jump ship and go to a different part of the marketing ecosystem, specifically the digital part, then get out. But if you're 45 and your clients like you and you're making good money, yeah, I'd say ride it out and just start packing away money such that at 55 or 60, you can quit and do something else, whether it's teaching high school math or being an artist, and you have

• 14:30Scott Galloway?

  the money to do whatever you want. But I just hate the idea of leaving when you have momentum. And I, again, don't know how much momentum you have at Ferrari. So what do you do? One, see if you could do a pivot internally. Two, assemble a kitchen cabinet of people who can advise you and ask you good questions and help you make this decision because you'd benefit from some outside questions. And I don't, I don't make any decision, important decision anymore, without talking to a few people because I used to think leadership and masculinity was about assessing the situation and making bold, dramatic decisions. No, that's called being reckless. So absolutely start to talk to other people and, and see what

• 15:15Scott Galloway?

  they say and then, and then make a decision. And also put me on a list for the Ferrari 12, is it Chalindri, Type F167, the front engine Grand Tour, featuring a six and a half liter naturally aspirated V12 engine producing 830 horsepower at 9250 RPM. Not that I'm going through a midlife crisis. Thanks for the question. We'll be right back after a quick break.

• 15:47Scott Galloway?

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• 16:32Scott Galloway?

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• 17:14Scott Galloway?

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• 17:53Scott Galloway?

  com slash PROP G. Upwork.com slash PROP G. Support for the show comes from Vanta. As AI adoption grows, so does your company's security risks and requirements. New frameworks, audits, and vendors keep piling on, but your team isn't getting any bigger. Most compliance tools promise automation, but you're really stuck doing all the work by hand, chasing screenshots, validating controls, and playing catch-up when audit season comes around again. Vanta works differently. Their regentech trust platform is built to scale with you. Not slow you down. With over 1,400 automated tests across 400-plus integrations, Vanta collects evidence and monitors your controls year-round, cutting your audit prep by 82%.

• 18:37Scott Galloway?

  Plus, you can access the Vanta agent everywhere you work, whether your team is in Vanta every day or living in tools including Claude or Cursor. Want proof? Over 16,000 fast-growing companies like Ramp, Ryder, and Harvey save time and resources while scaling fast with Vanta. Learn more at vanta.com/provg and get $1,000 off. That's spelled V-A-N-T-A dot com slash prof G for $1,000 off.

• 19:10Scott Galloway?

  Welcome back. Question number three comes from Sags on Reddit. "Hi Scott, I'm 27 and just finished my PhD. I've secured a role in big tech where the work aligns with my talent. The tension is that I don't fully align with the product's impact on society. The work, however, satisfies me intellectually. How do you recommend navigating this disconnect?" You've already navigated it. You've made a question. So stop, you've made a decision. So stop beating up yourself. I don't, I mean, if it gets too much, I don't, I don't know. How do you navigate it? Edibles, alcohol? I don't know. Or just acknowledge that you're focused on your own economic security. You know, there's a lot of good people that work in Meta. Meta is not good for the planet and, but people have an obligation

• 19:50Scott Galloway?

  to make a living. So I wouldn't, you know, you've made the decision, boss. So, you know, you can control what you can control on a regular basis. Ask yourself if that is really weighing on you. But I wouldn't, I wouldn't beat yourself up because you made the decision. So try and make as much progress as you can. You know, I would say this bullshit. You can be an internal agent of change now. Trust me. If you're trying to make a change in big tech from the inside, in my view, you're a gnat up against a giant windshield. I think it's got to be regulation. But look, I'm, I'm a bit of a capitalist on this stuff. I think you have an obligation to fix your own oxygen mask, take care of yourself, build economic security. And if you're in a position to then, if it becomes overwhelming for you,

• 20:34Scott Galloway?

  if, you know, you find out that one in a people, girls in the UK cite Instagram as a means or a catalyst for self-harm, which is data they collected and that really weighs on you, then get a job somewhere else. And I don't know if you're working at Meta or somewhere else, but. I don't know. The hand wringing after you've accepted the job is just self loathing. So I don't know. And some get over it and then spend a couple of years there, see if you like it, see if in fact it's weighing on your conscience and also if you have the opportunity to do something that offers the same upside in economic security without the kind of emotional, emotional tax. But anyways, congrats on the position. You must be very talented. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice

• 21:16Scott Galloway?

  recording to [email protected]. Again, that's [email protected]. Or if you prefer to ask on Reddit, just post your question on the Scott Galloway subreddit and we might feature it in an upcoming episode.

• 21:29Scott Galloway?

  This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez and Laura Janer. Kami Rieck is our social producer. Brad Williams is our editor. And Drew Burrows is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prop G Pod from Prop G Media.

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