Ryan Hogan: Solving Problems, Building Success - A Military Entrepreneur's Story

About Ryan Hogan:

Prior to founding Talent Harbor, Ryan Hogan co-founded Hunt A Killer, a subscription-based interactive murder mystery experience. In 2019, Hunt A Killer was named by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. In 2020, Inc. Magazine named it the fastest-growing CPG company.

Ryan started his career enlisting in the U.S. Navy as an MH-53E aircrewman and transitioned to officer, where he served as a Surface Warfare Officer onboard various warships. Along the way, he founded WarWear and Run For Your Lives, honing the entrepreneurial skills that he would use in Hunt A Killer and now Talent Harbor.

He is a proud serial founder with an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for building stronger, better teams. If you’re interested in starting a conversation, shoot him a message.

In this episode, Jim and Ryan Hogan discuss:

• How military discipline and rebellion shaped his entrepreneurial style
• The messy rise and fall of a zombie race empire
• Why product-market fit matters more than a clever idea
• The recruiting industry’s broken business model and how he’s fixing it
• Why business isn’t the goal — it’s the vehicle

Key Takeaways:

• Resilience isn’t just about big, dramatic comebacks. It’s the quiet decision to get up again after every small, annoying, or crushing failure.
• Product-market fit isn’t a luxury; it’s oxygen. No amount of hustle, branding, or clever storytelling can save a business from offering something no one wants.
• Recruiting isn’t about resumes — it’s about people. Culture fit, clarity, and character far outweigh bullet-point experience.
• In the military, you fail all the time on purpose. It’s not to humiliate you — it’s to teach you how to stay calm, lead through chaos, and adapt when things inevitably go sideways.
• Business is a tool. Use it to fund your freedom, build opportunities for others, or chase audacious goals — but don’t confuse it with your identity.

"I fail every day, and I've had big failures, I've had small failures. But like, who cares? You get up, you learn, you move forward, and that's it." – Ryan Hogan

Connect with Ryan Hogan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanehogan/ 

Website: https://talentharbor.com/ 

Connect with Jim Hardwick:

Website: .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}