Bouncing back after Lady Gaga dumped him

West Philadelphia's Troy Carter gets rave reviews in a Fast Company profile for the way he roared back after Lady Gaga fired him as her manager.

The L.A. resident has a net worth estimated at $30 million, but he talks to another West Philly export about fearing the worst:

"Will [Smith] was talking about how he still worries about being broke. And I laughed because I'm like, 'Me too,' " says Carter. "It's a thing from where we come from. A lot had to do with going broke as an adult too. So when you come from nothing and you work your way up and you make something of yourself, there's always that sense that all of this could go away tomorrow."

He tells the reporter how the first time he was fired, he was in his early 20s:

He'd dropped out of West Philadelphia High School at 17 to be a rapper in a group called 2 Too Many. It flopped, though it led Carter to a job with Jeff Townes and Will Smith, at the time known as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Carter soon became a local concert promoter for then-upstarts like Notorious B.I.G. until Smith's business partner James Lassiter recruited Carter to Los Angeles. But Carter was cocky, more interested in success than working for it. "James called me in his office and said, 'You gotta get your act together. This isn't working,' " Carter recalls. The kid was sent home.

The piece details his long climb up, his gift for branding, his drive, and, above all, resilience.