From Pawned Car Titles to World Cup: The Soccer Star’s Grind Is Tech’s Unspoken Success Secret

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(SeaPRwire) –   By: Lucas Caldwell
Everyone’s sharing Ricardo Pepi’s World Cup run as a feel-good sports story. But almost no one connects his journey to the exact grind that powers tech’s most successful founders. Pepi didn’t just have raw talent—he had parents who pawned their car title to keep his dream alive. That’s the same choice every early-stage startup founder makes when they skip a paycheck to fund product development. The parallels between his story and tech’s underdog origins are impossible to ignore.

Pepi was born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents. His dad Daniel was 23 when he became a father, his mom Annette just 16. The family lived in a trailer, scraping by day to day. Daniel started working at 13 in concrete finishing, so hard work was baked into his identity from a young age. When Pepi’s soccer talent emerged, the costs of elite youth tournaments and travel stretched the family’s budget to its breaking point.

Daniel Pepi recalled in *The Long Game*, a new book about U.S. men’s soccer, that they did whatever it took to keep going. They borrowed money, took out job loans, asked family for help, and even pawned their car title. Pepi made his MLS debut at 16, earned his first USMNT call-up at 18. In 2023, he joined PSV Eindhoven for a $10 million transfer fee, one of the largest ever for an American striker. FIFA’s winning national team can earn up to $50 million in prize money, and his earnings have climbed into seven figures from contracts, bonuses, and endorsements like Home Depot and Allstate.

This isn’t just a feel-good sports anecdote. It’s a masterclass in how discipline beats raw talent every single time. Former NBA star Metta World Peace learned this lesson firsthand from Kobe Bryant earlier this year. He showed up at the gym at 8 a.m.—what he considered an early start—only to find Bryant already finished his workout and showered. That’s the same relentless energy that turns a side hustle into a tech unicorn.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has framed this exact mindset in his career advice. He told the Capital Group’s Power of Advice podcast that success starts with starting at the bottom and paying your dues. Jassy played soccer at Harvard before pivoting into business, and he said trial and error shapes every meaningful career. Pepi’s dad told him directly that if he didn’t want to play, he should throw away his uniform—no wasted time or money. That’s the same tough love every tech founder gets from early mentors and investors.

The next time you write off a startup’s rags-to-riches story, remember: they probably pawned something to get here too.

Author bio: Lucas Caldwell, a tech opinion leader with millions of followers on X/Twitter who draws parallels between sports and startup culture.