NEW YORK – Greek-American Steven Galanis, co-founder and CEO of Cameo, was featured in a New York Times Opinion section podcast titled Lifestyles of the ‘More Famous Than Rich.’

Galanis is “helping celebrities get into the gig economy,” the Times reported, adding that “he launched his company, Cameo, three years ago as a marketplace for the famous (and not-so-famous) to sell personalized shout-outs.”

“For $500, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may wish you a happy birthday. For $200, Ian Ziering (a.k.a. Steve Sanders from the original Beverly Hills, 90210) can send your mom a Happy Mother's Day greeting. And for $10, the company's chief executive, Mr. Galanis, will wish your kid's team good luck on its next hockey game,” the Times reported.

“The company is facilitating fan requests, gag gifts and even political pranks,” the Times reported, noting that “the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie was a recent target.”

Galanis told the Times that the point “is to bridge the gap for people who are ‘more famous than rich’ — aging athletes, faded pop idols, out-of-work supporting actors and even artists whose inappropriate actions have led them to be ‘canceled.’”

“Hollywood power houses” are among Galanis’ clients as “Cameo is cutting agents, managers and publicists out of the equation, compressing the distance between celebrities and, well, the rest of us,” the Times reported.

Actors of Greek descent are among the celebrities who can offer greetings to you or your loved ones through Cameo, including Greek-American actor Chris Diamantopoulos, Greek-British Game of Thrones actor Miltos Yerolemou, and Greek-German Voice Arts Award-winning voice actor Marios Gavrilis.

According to his biography on IMDB, Galanis, originally from Glenview, IL, was previously a film producer, options trader, and food blogger. The eldest son of Themis and Teddi Galanis, he is also the nephew of film producer George Furla.

Galanis graduated in 2006 from Glenbrook South High School where he was a State Championship winning hockey goalie, varsity football captain, award winning debater, and class president. He attended Duke University in Durham, NC, majoring in History, minoring in Economics, and earning a certificate in Markets and Management Studies. While at Duke, Galanis was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and played goalie on the Hockey team.