1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde
2026-10-05 · 31 min · 20 entities
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1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://getdtla.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://wholesoulmusic.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://thatviolakid.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://getdtla.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://wholesoulmusic.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://getdtla.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://wholesoulmusic.com/
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Link in episode "1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde": https://thatviolakid.com/
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1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde
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1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde
Episode description as stored
In this episode, Brian sits down with Drew Alexander Forde, the world-renowned musician known as "That Viola Kid" who has masterfully blended artistic excellence with sharp entrepreneurial instincts. Drew shares his incredible journey from playing viola in NYC subways to performing with legends like Adele and Kanye West, and how those experiences forged his business mindset. This isn't just a story about music; it's a masterclass in turning a passion into a multi-faceted career, building a personal brand, and creating a tech solution (DTLA) to solve the biggest pain points in your industry. For any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur, especially those in creative fields, this episode is a powerful lesson in valuing your work, building systems, and dropping the "starving artist" mentality for good.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
How to build a powerful personal brand by sharing your process and journey, even before you have a product to sell.
The subway busking mindset: how to find the audience with a problem you can solve and focus entirely on serving them.
Why creative labor must be quantified and valued, and how to shift your mindset from "artist" to "business owner."
The strategy of scratching your own itch: how Drew identified the administrative pains of freelance musicians and built a tech company (DTLA) to solve them.
How to use "loading screen" moments (like commutes) for intentional strategic thinking to grow your business and diversify your income.
Why developing a non-negotiable work ethic in your core skill allows you to handle the unpredictable challenges of business with ease.
The "compound interest" effect of consistent practice and how it applies to building both skills and business expertise over time.
📝 About Drew Alexander Forde
Drew Alexander Forde, known online as "That Viola Kid," is a Juilliard-trained violist who has transformed his classical music career into a modern entrepreneurial empire. He has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in music, including Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys, and Kanye West. Refusing to be just a performer, Drew embraced social media to build a massive personal brand and co-founded two businesses: Whole Soul, a hip-hop and R&B string quartet, and DTLA, a software company designed to eliminate administrative and financial headaches for freelance musicians. Drew is a shining example of how to merge world-class talent with a savvy business mind.
🎯 Drew’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Don't be afraid of pain... It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop."
📢 Memorable Quotes
"The role as an entrepreneur is to find the people who have the problems that you can solve and then quickly and deeply try to solve those problems." – Drew Alexander Forde
"Creative labor is real. It must be measured, it must be quantified because at the end of the day you only have 24 hours on the planet." – Drew Alexander Forde
"If I get sick and I can't move my arms anymore... I lose all of my income. And to me, that scenario was unacceptable. So when I would sit in the subways or I would sit in the car and I would think about that possibility, it would drive me to read more books." – Drew Alexander Forde
💡 Actionable Takeaways
Identify your industry's biggest "painful administrative problem" and brainstorm a simple tool or system to solve it, just as Drew did for musicians with DTLA.
Start building your personal brand today by documenting your process. You don't need a finished product to start providing value and owning your audience's attention.
Audit your "loading screen" time (commutes, waiting in line) and dedicate it to intentional thinking about your business goals and strategy.
Stop accepting the "starving artist" narrative. Start tracking your time and quantifying the value of your skills to confidently charge what you're worth.
Reframe a past rejection or failure. Instead of a verdict on your ability, view it as a nece