Erik’s entrepreneurial aspirations started early. “At age 9, I decided I wanted a guitar, so I gathered a bunch of my parents’ ‘unused’ objects in a garbage bag, and went around the neighborhood selling them,” he recalls. “By age 26, I had founded, grown, and sold two e-commerce companies.” 

Since the 2014 launch of Hawke Media, Erik has continued to strategically expand his business portfolio. Those expansions include the 2018 launch of Hawke Ventures, the 2020 launch of his HawkeTalk podcast, the 2021 launch of HawkeZ (a Gen Z-guided marketing agency), and the 2022 release of his first book, “The Hawke Method.”

When asked how Oak Grove School influenced Erik to become the person he is today, he responds by saying that it really encourages the idea of just being happy. “That could mean trying to take on the world and be hyper-ambitious; or it could mean living a life of adventure, traveling and being a nomad; or it could mean staying in the Oak Grove family and working at the school,” he explains. “One thing I notice that really brings a good portion of the alumni together is they really seem to be comfortable in pursuing their own happiness and not necessarily falling into the pressures of the world.”

Erik adds that some of his favorite memories at Oak Grove are all of the concerts and performances students put on at the Pavilion. “The school built such a community of support and celebration, and I didn’t realize until much later how unique that experience was.”