When Mario Armstrong (pictured) talks about the struggle to achieve his dreams, he draws from a wellspring of experience. Ten years ago, the Emmy Award-winning talk show host and his wife, Nicole, had negative bank balances, maxed-out credit cards and groceries bought by their parents.

Fast forward to the present, and the picture looks dramatically different. Armstrong’s “Never Settle Show” has been recognized as one of the most interactive in America, and he is a regular contributor on CNN, NPR, “Inside Edition,” “Dr. Oz,” and NBC’s “Today Show.” If there were a degree in perseverance, Armstrong has been through graduate school.

Armstrong built his TV program around a highly interactive model where viewers not only watch the content but dictate it as well. Technology, through social media and other segments of an always-connected ecosystem, has disrupted the status quo and pushed the gates of participation and entrepreneurship wide open.

“The problem with most systems and structures is when people want to hold the control and not share,” Armstrong said. “When you start thinking from that small, limited position, you’ve already lost the game.”

Armstrong spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and Stu Miniman (@stu), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the LiveWorx 18 event in Boston. They discussed the role of interactivity in television, the merging of new technologies, concerns surrounding media ownership and Armstrong’s philosophy of entrepreneurial success. (* Disclosure below.)

This week theCUBE features Mario Armstrong as its Guest of the Week.

First TV program with online interaction

Armstrong’s “Never Settle Show” bills itself as the first real-time talk show with an interactive audience who participates online. When the host interviews a guest, a screen will appear offering three topic options. The one with the most votes gets posed to the interviewee.

“We’re using other technologies and bringing them together to create real-time conversations,” Armstrong said. “When the popular vote comes out, a few seconds later, we scramble and adjust to that. That’s real-time television giving viewers what they really want.”

The use of interactive technology to enhance the TV viewing experience is just a part of what Armstrong finds fascinating about the industry. Appearances on various media outlets give him the opportunity to highlight various consumer products, such as Nucleus, a smartphone-compatible video intercom, and Xuma, a waterproof pouch that lets a user make calls inside the bag, during one report for NBC.

Empowering control as media merges

Technologies are not the only things merging these days. As major media properties get acquired by large corporations or wealthy individual investors, there will continue to be concerns that independent news will soon be an oxymoron.

AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner Inc., a merger agreement between Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox, and Comcast Corp.’s interest in TV satellite provider Sky Networks are only the most recent examples of the trend. A single company — Berkshire Hathaway — owns 78 daily or weekly newspapers.

“That’s always going to be an issue,” Armstrong said in a discussion of media ownership. “That’s why it’s even more empowering that individuals are taking control of their own narrative. People are going to be able to create and get the stories that they want.”

That level of personal control over technology appears to form the core of Armstrong’s entrepreneurial approach, mirrored in the name of his TV program. Taking control means pushing on and never settling for defeat, as captured by the TV host’s “Three Ps” — passion, perseverance and patience.

After his journey back from the brink of financial ruin a decade ago, Armstrong believes that technology can show the way. “What we try to do on our show is blend how you can leverage technology to move forward on your passion,” Armstrong explained. “We need to have a little bit of patience to see the reflection of where we are. Now is just a great time for a lot of people to figure out where they can make their moves.”

Here’s the complete interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the LiveWorx 18 event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the LiveWorx event. Neither PTC Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE