Meet The Disruptors: Nicholas Mercadante Of Pursue Care On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
“Learn to let things go and keep moving forward” — Being an entrepreneur is anxiety-inducing. You really do have to let things roll off your back so you don’t get bogged down. Whether it is negativity, a mistake, or a failed effort…it is all progress if you let it be.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicholas Mercadante, JD CEO & Founder of PursueCare.
Nicholas Mercadante is Founder and CEO of PursueCare, a virtual addiction treatment platform shifting the paradigm for how people access lasting recovery from substance use disorder. He is a healthcare veteran holding numerous leadership positions including President and COO of MedOptions, a national provider of behavioral healthcare to long-term care that developed a first-of-its-kind skilled nursing telemedicine program. Mr. Mercadante graduated from Tulane Law School and is a licensed attorney consulting with venture-backed digital health products and services companies.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I grew up stocking shelves and working at my father’s pharmacy, which eventually grew into a national chain and public company. I got to see first-hand what success through entrepreneurship and “sweat equity” really looks like. I also learned that working in healthcare gives you a mission you can feel good about every day.
I’ve always been driven to try to solve the most challenging problems. To me, it’s exciting and rewarding to figure out a complex puzzle. I guess that is what pushed me toward a law degree initially, and eventually toward behavioral health.
I also had a personal experience with pain management that opened my eyes to what is going on with substance use disorder. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a GI condition, when I was in college. It eventually became extremely severe and required a number of surgeries to remove a cancerous colon. In lead up to that, and for a time after, I was dependent on opioid pain medication to get through my day. I had an incredible team of providers that monitored my pain and utilization of powerful pain meds. I’m not sure it would’ve gone the same if I didn’t have the benefit of great care. It really gave me perspective about what others face. There are so many external factors facing people trying to get good behavioral health care. Barriers based on social determinants like where you live, and how much money you have. Nowhere is it more clear than in substance use treatment, where patients are frequently stigmatized and penalized for what is truly a medical and mental health condition.
All of this propelled me toward investing myself in trying to solve for treatment disparities. That was the basis for PursueCare.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Most people don’t have access to addiction treatment in their community, or it is frequently not something they can easily transition into from other points of care they might pass through.
PursueCare is a virtual clinic for addiction treatment. We focus on providing easy, low barrier access to evaluation and treatment for addiction through technology. We collaborate with settings that act as “front doors” for people experiencing substance use dependency or disorder.
We bridge a gap that people frequently experience: when they go to their primary care provider, community health, urgent care, or even a hospital, they infrequently receive a warm handoff into treatment that can help them thereafter to tackle their condition. We use a combination of technology integration and human care coordination support to help both the on-site medical providers, and the patient to engage with a treatment program they can take home with them and continue through our app.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
There are so many embarrassing moments when you’re the founder of a startup. You’re constantly fluctuating between overconfidence and imposter syndrome. And you’re frequently moving really fast. Even though I am a lawyer, I went ahead and signed the wrong version of a really important contract and locked myself into a set of terms that I had previously revised but failed to send to our vendor. I had to go hat in hand and ask for a take back…as a lawyer!
You learn pretty quickly that you really need to slow down sometimes, get organized, and ask for help when you need it.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I have had so many exceptional mentors. My most impactful has been my father, who is an entrepreneur and innovator in healthcare. He’s taught me so much, but one of the most significant lessons that has impacted my own path revolves around how you build up your team. I learned from a young age that fostering the personal and professional success of your team will ultimately ensure your own success as a leader. It’s really what being a leader is all about: helping others to do their best by reinforcing their sense of purpose within a shared mission, vision, and set of core values. When you make your team the owners of the end goal, you don’t have to tow them along with you because they’re the ones pushing you and the organization.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I am very leery of the wave of venture and private equity-backed digital health point solutions that used the widespread deregulation experienced during the COVID-19 public health emergency to generate rapid profit, without adequately building infrastructure that actually helps patients with varying needs reach better health outcomes. I think technology can help to positively disrupt, or, more aptly, innovate, in areas of healthcare that need improvement, like addiction treatment. But the “move fast, break things” mentality and the commoditization of healthcare is dangerous. Healthcare is complex, deeply personal, and individualized. The rush to turn healthcare companies into unicorns rewards near-term profit motives over practicing high quality care that accounts for that. It doesn’t sit well with me.
You can disrupt a complex industry by finding inefficiencies or inequities and addressing those. But you always have to make your customer, or in our case the patient, the focus and ask how it will impact them now and in the future. If you’re trying to create efficiencies just to generate more profit faster…you’re going to hurt someone.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Simple stuff always seems to have the most impact on me.
“Get a planner” — As an entrepreneur and a leader you’re inevitably going to wear too many hats. Nobody can keep it all straight. Get a planner and use it, religiously.
“Block focus time” — Related to the above. CEOs frequently lose track of their time because they’re pulled in many directions. Time blocking is a tacti I use to keep myself productive and to give myself time and space I need to focus on key projects.
“Get some sleep” — Easier said than done when you’re throwing yourself into the deep end in what you do. I really try to maximize my days and nights. But sometimes you just have to shut it down and get rest to be at your best. Try blocking sleep just like you block other time in your day. And staying on schedule with it if you can. It makes a big difference, even for those of us who don’t sleep enough.
“Reward the effort, not the result” — As a leader, I try to focus on the attempt, the great effort, and the passion of my team to do the work. And I try to foster continuous improvement. You can’t have it both ways though. You can’t get on someone’s case because they didn’t get the result you wanted to achieve, or they made a mistake. You’ll lose them even faster if you spend your days constantly trying to pin down who is at fault. So try to reward great effort and positive progress. That recognition of effort will compel your team to run through walls for you. That will ultimately, eventually, get the results you’re hoping for.
“Learn to let things go and keep moving forward” — Being an entrepreneur is anxiety-inducing. You really do have to let things roll off your back so you don’t get bogged down. Whether it is negativity, a mistake, or a failed effort…it is all progress if you let it be.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Right now my goal is to continue to innovate in how we deliver whole-person substance use disorder treatment in this country. We want to try to help as many people find better health as we can. We are developing really cutting-edge interventions for people who use drugs. To name a few:
Adding in-app pharmacy tools for patients so that they can chat live with our pharmacy and have medication delivered, avoiding stigmatizing trips to the local pharmacy for Suboxone;
Natural language processing assessments at partnering points of care to help recognize condition acuity and sentiment so that we can better triage and transition people to the right level of care;
Working with health plans to develop value-based continuums of care for addiction treatment that bring evidence-based in-network resources to their members that traditionally would not be covered by insurance.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
I highly recommend reading “The Weight of Air: A Story of the Lies about Addiction and the Truth about Recovery,” by David Poses. David sadly passed away earlier this year, after writing this profoundly impactful memoir. It is a sometimes brutal read, but an absolutely critical one at this moment.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Wherever you are, be all there” — pretty self-explanatory. If you don’t make yourself present in what you do you’ll either fail to put your best foot forward, or you simply won’t appreciate what you’re doing. It goes for work, family, and not texting while driving. Pretty simple rule, but one that is surprisingly hard for people to commit to.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I really believe that what we are doing at PursueCare, and what other great organizations in our space are doing, is the movement I want to inspire. A movement toward broader access to lifechanging healthcare for people who use drugs and people with mental health issues. And a movement toward destigmatizing mental health so that it is treated as what it is: part of the human condition and something we can all talk about, ask for help on, and get care when we need it.
How can our readers follow you online?
I am on LinkedIn sharing my thoughts on digital health and addiction treatment advocacy.
Twitter (@nmercad) for unadulterated me — you’ll have to deal with the hockey and Italian soccer talk.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Don’t worry about your competition. Worry about your customers.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewingKen Dalley Jr.
Ken Dalley Jr. is Founder, Chairman, and Chief Warrior of GUARDIAN RFID. He has pioneered inmate tracking technologies for U.S. correctional facilities for nearly twenty years, focusing on leveraging technology to protect the 480,000 correctional officers who defend our nation’s jails and prisons.
Since its founding, Dalley has transformed GUARDIAN RFID into a premiere public safety technology company, recognized by Inc. 5000 as the 396th fastest growing software company in the U.S. in 2021, and as a 2021 U.S. Technology Innovator by KPMG. Dalley was a finalist for the 2021 EY Entrepreneur of the Year.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Technologists in the late 1990s predicted that mobile computing would be one of the fastest growing technology vectors since the personal computer. Mobile devices would be more prevalent than PCs by an order of magnitude, and forever alter the way people interacted with information and each other.
I was an English major and my senior college capstone project was to create a business around publishing. Electronic publishing (e-book devices) was an emerging device category at that time, as were Pocket PCs, which began to compete against Palm Pilots. So, I created a business plan around a mock company called Codex Corp., in homage to ancient manuscripts, which was focused on creating mobile devices, applications, and content.
After graduation, I started my job as a stockbroker, but found myself focusing more on building prototypes of an e-book reader. With my dad’s encouragement, I decided to bring Codex Corp. to life, and formally incorporated the company on September 7, 2001.
Three years after founding Codex Corp., we began piloting some of our technology centered around mobile computing and RFID technology for jails. That’s when we deployed our first beta version of our platform, now known as GUARDIAN RFID, at the Hardin Co. Jail in Eldora, Iowa.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
We’ve had the distinct pleasure of deploying specialized applications for projects that are or were confidential. One of the most interesting deployments of our technology was for the U.S. Army, in which we helped to enroll and track Americans and green card holders from Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2021. In one weekend, we customized and deployed a specialized platform for the Army, complete with 100,000 RFID wristbands and mobile devices, as well as helped track the evacuation of thousands of Americans and Afghans from the Kabul Airbase.
I worked with our software development managers and certain members of our development team for 48 hours straight over the weekend — basically not sleeping Friday or Saturday — except for short breaks. What we needed to do wasn’t particularly complex, but what we lacked, was time. So, we built, tested, and shipped software that would’ve ordinarily taken two weeks in one weekend while remotely training members of the 10th Mountain Division on how to utilize this specialized platform.
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Our team recently announced Command Cloud, a first-of-its-kind officer experience platform (OXP) designed to equip correctional officers with all the tools required to create safe and secure environments. Command Cloud is an integrated suite of applications and services that deliver a common operating picture (COP) — a consolidated display of relevant information designed to improve awareness, collaboration, insight and discoverability among corrections officers in any facility. It leverages new and existing cameras, RFID and vision systems, and will integrate with more than 80 different applications currently in use today in correctional facilities, including offender management, jail management, and case management systems.
Based on the most sophisticated computer vision, RFID, facial recognition, machine learning/AI, and mobile technologies on the market, Command Cloud enables real-time situational awareness, a term used in public safety to refer to complete visibility into operational data and context that leads to fast decision-making.
Historically, correctional facilities — which employ more than 480,000 individuals in the United States — have relied on paper reporting and siloed technology systems for operational awareness. This has left them with critical blind spots, some of which can be a matter of life and death.
This technology has the power to put critical information in the hands of officers to address those blind spots. Using Command Cloud, officers can use real-time surveillance and insights to enable safer facilities for all.
How do you think this might change the world?
Correctional professionals have one the highest rates of non-fatal, work-related injuries of any profession in the United States. Labor shortages and safety concerns have left the U.S. correctional system with a deadly mental health crisis. As these brave men and women work to keep their facilities and themselves safe, their mental health has suffered. Command Cloud can enable teams to streamline tasks and ensure officers are using their time efficiently, allowing them to spend the appropriate amount of time on the critical tasks that keep their facility safe. By using cameras and machine learning, officers can feel a sense of relief knowing they have a complex surveillance system supporting and notifying them of any critical safety concern that may have been missed.
There is no single solution that will solve this mental health crisis, but we feel confident that Command Cloud can enable officers to feel supported and equipped on the job with the only officer experience platform tailored to their specific needs as correctional officers.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Fotis, we would like to skip this question. Thank you.
Was there a tipping point that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
In October of 2017, four correctional officers were murdered by inmates who were attempting to escape the Pasquotank Correctional Institution in North Carolina. Veronica Darden, Justin Smith, Wendy Shannon, and Geoff Howe all brutally lost their lives. Eight other jail employees also were injured. The inmates were able to follow through with the attack using tools they had collected from the workshop in the facility over time. Due to understaffing and growing inmate populations, only one officer was typically responsible for overseeing 30 inmates in the workshop, which allowed inmates to discreetly stash tools for days leading up to the attack.
Unfortunately, stories like this aren’t rare. Correctional officers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States, exposing themselves to extreme situations where they are vulnerable and without weapons to defend themselves. We knew we had to develop a tool that can provide officers with the situational awareness that can prevent these types of attacks.
Command Cloud’s computer vision capabilities include the ability to monitor and track workshop tools as inmates are using them. The camera can capture who is removing a tool from storage using face recognition, what tool it is they are taking, and alert officers if the tool is not returned in the appropriate amount of time. This advanced AI technology can help facilities avoid tragedies like the one at the Pasquotank Correctional Institution.
We feel so proud that our technology has the power to save lives, but we know our work is not done. The sacrifices that Officer Darden, Officer Smith, Officer Shannon, and Officer Howe made in 2017 continue to fuel our passion to create safer correctional facilities for all.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Technological adoption has the potential to upset the status quo in every industry, but it can be a larger hurdle for industries that are used to manual reporting, like corrections.
For us to lead this technology into widespread adoption, we work with facility leaders to ensure their teams feel comfortable and confident using our tech. Helping facilities understand the value the technology has in addressing officer mental health, labor shortages, growing prison populations, and increased safety concerns is our job. And it is a job we take very seriously.
We have been so fortunate to work with amazing customers across the country who have adopted our technology in their facilities and proven how successful getting outside of the industry norm can be. I have a feeling it won’t be long until Command Cloud is the new industry norm as facilities continue to adopt technology in order to improve their safety and security.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
When deciding how to launch our Command Cloud product, we knew we wanted to bring industry leaders together to not only discuss the exciting technological developments but also celebrate all the work they do daily to keep America’s correctional facilities safe for all.
We hosted a large-scale, heavily produced virtual event in April, VISION 22. The event featured exciting presentations from the GUARDIAN RFID team followed by breakout sessions where attendees could chat directly with our team and ask questions. It was extremely successful. We were able to connect with customers, prospects, and media to discuss this first-of-its-kind technology and how it will change the corrections industry for good. Now we can focus on VISION 23, making it even stronger and more exciting.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Without hesitation, my dad was the biggest champion of my starting GUARDIAN RFID. He was entrepreneurial himself. Earlier in my dad’s career, he was the vice president of Comserv, which was the first publicly traded software company in Minnesota. After five years, he acquired the mainframe computing division and ran this company for 30 years. My dad understood the tenacity and resolve it takes to start a company. While I’m not sure that I would’ve had the same confidence in myself that my dad had, he at least saw that I would take the opportunity seriously, and provided some of the early capital and guidance in the first few years of the company’s existence.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Correctional officers face the highest rate of non-fatal work-related injuries of any profession in the United States. Corrections is also one of the most litigious, and indeed highest risk departments in any local or state government. Our technology works to protect the 480,000+ correctional officers who work in our nation’s jails and prisons.
When you’re arrested and go to jail, you lose many rights, and you gain others. Our technology serves correctional officers by enabling them to execute better coordinated and efficient oversight of the entire inmate population. At the same time, we’re able to ensure that inmates gain access to essential care and services required by law, whether that’s access to medicine, medical care, nutrition, or program activities.
GUARDIAN RFID supports stakeholders on all sides. We strengthen the safety and defensibility of correctional officers while ensuring that essential services and care are delivered to inmates. We create the transparency that Americans are increasingly demanding of its government agencies.
As part of our success, we also created a 501(c)(3) called the Warrior Foundation, whose mission is to support the men and women of America’s Thin Gray Line through scholarships and financial aid.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
1.Interweaving your culture and mission is one of the most important and powerful competitive advantages you can create.
It took us nearly 15 years to figure this out, and while we might not have mastered it today, we’re in the deep end of this. Folding your mission, vision and values into our culture and brand was a definite watershed moment.
A few years back, we looked more closely at our industry, specifically our end users. Nearly 40% had military experience. We needed an aspirational rallying cry around our software. It had to be empowering and ambitious, conveying strength combined with courage. It couldn’t be sterile. It had to be authentic. And it couldn’t simply describe what we do. So we created a tagline called “Warrior Technology” and we decided to call our end users “Warriors,” not just “customers,” “clients,” or “end users.”
We created specially branded “Warrior” hoodies and gave away at least 500 in the first year to our VIP users.
To this day, we believe interweaving “Warrior” with our mission to protect America’s Thin Gray Line — an emblem that represents corrections professionals — has created more of a movement than us simply leading with uninspiring talk about best-in-class products or features, which fails to motivate.
2. Place greater emphasis on your company’s values and what you stand for, and less on features and functions.
Every industry has its own needs beyond the problems that your products or services may address. You need to figure out what these are and focus on them as much as the problems your products help solve. This helps accelerate your thought leadership development.
In late February 2020, the American Jail Association was circulating a slide deck by Dr. Anne Spaulding, an infectious disease specialist from Emory University in Atlanta, about the potential spread of COVID-19 to jails. Since we have a video production team, we thought it would be an ideal way to use their talent to create timely educational content about a topic of emerging concern.
I called Dr. Spaulding and asked if she would be willing to shoot a video about her slide content at one of our customer sites on the east coast. She agreed. Our customer, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland, volunteered the use of their jail for the production. Within 72 hours, Dr. Spaulding and our team were on a flight to Reagan National Airport, filming on March 12. The video quickly went into post production and was promptly uploaded to our YouTube channel on March 16. Many states went into shelter-in-place orders the following week.
It was a good example of seeing and acting on something that benefited jails nationally but had nothing to do with our products or services.
3. Hire employees who bring energy and clarity.
Be on the lookout for really smart employees who make complex tasks become simple. Identify those who don’t just radiate positive energy, but who see things others don’t and can actually deliver on their outside-the-box thinking. These people are transformative contributors who are competitive advantages unto themselves.
4. Don’t worry about your competition. Worry about your customers.
There can be an inclination to focus more on your competition in the early days of any new company. Don’t. One of the most important stakeholders you can obsess about is your customer base (the other includes your employees). Know your customers like the back of your hand. Focus obsessively on their needs, fears, and frustrations. This is what we call being “Warrior-Led,” which is our number one core value.
Get to product/market fit as soon as possible. Don’t worry about what your competition is doing or saying. Don’t imitate them. Being customer-obsessed ensures you’re investing your time and energy where value can be created.
5. Your life experiences will teach you if you listen.
Some of our best learning opportunities are unintended discoveries. Take time to self-reflect. Leaders and entrepreneurs can be hard-charging characters. Slow down. Synthesize data. Reset or regroup and try again.
I remember visiting a jail in rural Wisconsin in 2007 for training. On the day we showed up, neither the staff nor the supervisors had been told we were coming, what they were deploying, or how our software was going to be used. We looked like complete fools. We were treated even worse. The first day of training resulted in more justification about why the product existed than curiosity about the product itself and how it worked.
Needless to say, that training experience made for a long, four-day effort. However, it resulted in one of the best breakthrough process changes we still use to this day.
To avoid challenges like this, we schedule what’s called a “pre-training meeting” for each new customer. We virtually walk through our software platform with every supervisor and select power user, and review the policies and procedures that will be impacted by our software.
By the time we come on-site for training, virtually every member of line staff is now familiar with why we’re there, what changes they should expect to policy and procedure, and why they’re using GUARDIAN RFID. This makes for a far-improved, streamlined learning experience for our training team. It also builds buy-in at all levels for using our software.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
While it’s well known that our military service members have high rates of post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI). What’s less well known is that correctional officers suffer PTSIs at rates equal to those with military experience. An average of three correctional officers commit suicide each week in the United States.
Corrections professionals serve a unique and crucial role in American law enforcement. They are first responders, caregivers, and counselors, while managing safety and security. Every correctional officer is equipped only with their resourcefulness, self-discipline and interpersonal skills. They have no weapon to rely on and are generally outnumbered four to one.
Americans, in general, have little understanding of, and certainly a limited appreciation for, the role correctional officers play in the safety of our communities. Correctional officers lack tremendously in the mental health support they need.
Can you please give us your favorite VC “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.”
Arnold Henry Glasow, a successful American businessman.
It has taken our team 7,571 days to get where we are today. Some markets take longer to mature than others. We jokingly say that the fictional TV company Dunder Mifflin is our biggest competitor, because corrections isn’t known for its trailblazing reputation.
GUARDIAN RFID was the first company in law enforcement to combine radio frequency identification, mobile, and Cloud computing as standard technologies. Seventeen years ago, we had to explain how an RFID tag worked, because the technology was mystifying then.
In the early 2000s, mobile devices were historically clunky, not particularly durable and expensive. Today, it’s a completely different world with low-cost, highly capable devices surrounding us. There’s very little in our lives that isn’t touched in some way by digital technology.
Trying to persuade the government to store their data on someone else’s server, accessible only through a Web browser, was a conversation that was a lot more challenging in 2005. Today, there’s an expectation of the cloud, and we see a deeper, more sophisticated understanding of cloud computing and security than ever before.
You need to have the patience to allow the market, and sometimes certain technology vectors, to mature at a pace that you can’t control. You cannot outrun the market. Patience will always be as important as tenacity.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
There are 480,000 correctional officers responsible for tracking nearly two million inmates every day, yet the predominant technology systems they rely on are analog and paper-based. GUARDIAN RFID is a public safety technology company that maximizes the safety and security of those who are responsible for enforcing the law, and those who are in their custody through a fusion of data from traditionally disparate systems, powered by AI.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
YouTube: GUARDIAN RFID
LinkedIn: @Guardianrfid
Facebook: @Guardianrfid
Twitter: @Guardianrfid
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Makers of The Metaverse: Brad Martin Of Another Reality Studio On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Just take the step to get started in some fashion. Many people want to make career changes or want to be a certain thing “when they grow up,” but oftentimes, it seems out of reach, and people don’t make moves towards getting there. I would encourage you just to take whatever the next step is (no matter how small) and just get started in some fashion. It may lead to something sooner than you know!
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewing Brad Martin, Founder and CEO of Another Reality Studio.
Brad Martin is Founder and CEO of Another Reality Studio, where he has overseen the creative and technical direction since 2013. He is a subject matter expert and is an in-demand speaker on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies and services. Brad is one of the top-rated developers on Upwork and has been published in multiple articles, including Forbes, Fast Company, and CNBC. He is an innovative and creative thought leader who brings new technology, project management, and ideation to clients and industries.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I grew up in St. Louis, MO, from birth throughout high school (Oakville Senior High). I have always been very into playing sports and watching movies (perhaps what many kids did). Right after high school, I moved to Columbia, MO, where I attended the University of Missouri to study architecture and interior design. After graduating in 2012, I moved back to St. Louis and worked for a couple of Architecture firms. Throughout my entire collegiate and professional career, I was focused on showing the end-user what designs and spaces would look like once built by using realistic rendering and animation. I was always interested in using the latest technology and most immersive methods. In 2010, I started to get involved with the Oculus Developer kit 1 for testing Virtual Reality (VR) for architecture. It was immediately apparent to me that it was the future. I began to look for career paths for any and all VR development, which led to 5 job offers, but all on the coasts and away from the Midwest. My wife, Renee, and I were interested in sticking around the area, friends, and family. Luckily one of the offers, based out of New York City, offered a remote position. I worked for Floored (prior to CBRE acquisition) creating online walkthroughs for architecture and office space planning. Unfortunately, after only a few months of working for Floored and the company made a pivot to autonomous space planning instead. At this point, Renee encouraged me to keep doing what I enjoyed the most with the consulting relationships I had made, and I began to work with other companies in many industries developing VR applications; so once the Floored company pivoted, I moved into full-time contracting. I solo contracted for a little over one year until I was too busy to complete my workload alone, and shortly after, Mauricio Espin joined me, and we founded a company called Another Reality Studio. Mauricio and I are very similar; we are still kids at heart playing games and turning our hobby and love of XR into a career. Now we are able to offer the same to 26 other employees and contractors. I still play sports (just started ice hockey!) and absolutely love animation films and movies. I have already started watching some with my 10-month-old son, Milo.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
When “Despicable Me” came out in 2010, it really highlighted how much I loved animations and visual experiences to engage people. In another life, I would be creating short films or feature-length animations. Regardless, it really opened up my imagination of how visualizations and animations can emotionally connect with people.
Another completely different topic of books that really impacted my life were Intercessor, a biography of Rees Howells, and The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee, a book that brought simplicity and clarity to complex theologies and purposes. Both of these books have encouraged me lately in the “why” I do what I do and help bring perspective and purpose to my future and life goals.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
When I was in college, my friends and I were into gaming and building computers. My friend, Luke, had found online that Oculus (a nobody name at the time really) had just come out with their Developer Kit 1 headset (DK1). At this time, I had some experience modeling and rendering spaces as well as exploring some technologies like stereoscopic rendering and VRML walkthroughs, but nothing major. I went over to check out the DK1, and we downloaded a game called Windlands, which was an exploration/puzzle game. The second I put on the headset, I was enthralled with the game and exploring not only the low-poly, stylized environment but exploring VR and its impact on me, the user. I would sneak over to his house while he was out and continue playing. It’s what opened my mind and excitement to how VR can be used for exploring spaces (architecture), and from then on, my goal was to push realism in VR and XR technologies.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
This career path has been one surprise after another. Honestly, my intention was not to start a company necessarily and definitely not to have a 28-person team. I was so interested in the XR technologies that I began freelancing outside of my day job in architecture and interior design. I would get online (odesk/Upwork) or reach out to local contacts in architecture to pick up rendering jobs and always try to sell the “next best thing” that included lots of ideas surrounding XR. When consulting work picked up and was too much for me to handle alone, I reached out to an online contact, Mauricio Espin, who was also interested in XR, to see if he wanted to help out on a project. At the time, there were not many people in XR, so finding groups and people on the internet, you came to know who people in the industry were. Mauricio joined me on a project, and we clicked and worked so well together that we stayed working on all projects together and eventually started ARS with me as CEO and Mauricio as CTO. The interesting part was that we worked together for around one and a half or two years, talking every day online (discord) and hanging out online (games), but we did not actually meet in person until a work trip brought us to the same spot. Mauricio is now one of my best friends (and obviously a partner at ARS) whom I continue to speak with daily as we grow the company, but more importantly, enjoy what we do and offer the same to others. It goes to show that technology can be used in so many ways, and is very important to explore the possibilities of tech! So I guess the sum up of the most interesting story for me is that two random guys met online with a shared interest in VR and started a business together, not meeting in person for a couple years later.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
With new and emerging technologies, there are always challenges and bugs to work through that have no posted solution online; you are literally paving the way for the technologies. One of the toughest challenges that remains today is estimating and scoping an XR project due to the unknowns and possibilities clients only understand once you get into development. One day I was meeting with a friend at a different architecture firm in St. Louis and showing some VR use cases without knowing that they were in the middle of finalizing plans for a new office and planning an opening party for clients, family, and friends the following Monday. He asked how long it would take to see something in VR for the event, which is a very vague question that has lots of directions… My mistake was agreeing that we could likely get something in VR for the event, and I would get started. I did not leave my office from that Thursday talk until that Monday night to bring them a VR solution (on the GearVR) that was a walkthrough for their office. I learned a lot along the way about estimating and agreeing to timelines. Luckily, this one worked out and can just be a funny memory!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I had a mentor at the University of Missouri (Mizzou) that encouraged, pushed, and gave opportunities to me that drove my desires, knowledge, and understanding of emerging and immersive technologies, Bimal Balakrishnan. Bimal started out as my professor in design communication, teaching me the proper tools to visualize and showcase designs through traditional means like sketching to advanced methods like rendering and animation. After my first class with him sophomore year, I continued to meet with him and learn. Bimal invested time in me by involving me in our iLab setup (an immersive lab with emerging tech hardware), helping me receive funded research grants, and keeping me aware of all technologies and how to use them throughout my undergrad. After college, Bimal and I stayed in touch, and he continued to dream with me on how these technologies could be used, giving me advice as I pursued consulting and other jobs in the industry. He would always push me to do something that hasn’t been done before and find a good/purposeful use of the technologies. Years later, Bimal became an advisor to ARS in research and development and has brought opportunities in grants and clients. Although Bimal is still a mentor and advisor, he is also a friend.
Also, a huge shoutout to Arch Grants, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to transform the economy in St. Louis by attracting and retaining extraordinary entrepreneurs, for all the help they are and have been in the recent past! Arch Grants awarded ARS $50,000 in non-equity funding through its annual Startup Competition in 2021 for our Looking Glass platform for its high-fidelity architecture design communication tool and VR viewer. ARS is partnering with Arch Grants as much as we can; their purpose is amazing and the people there are inspirational!
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, many! As a development agency that brings XR tech into other companies, we have loads of opportunities to dream with clients and use the technology in a fun and creative way; I think every project that we work on is exciting and has tons of potential to bring benefits in the product or service of ANY industry. One example of a very useful and “cool” project is a safety training that we are doing for one of the largest oil and gas companies in the US. We are using virtual reality to train and educate thousands of employees. The goal is to animate and showcase real-world, dangerous tasks that take place on an oil drilling site in an immersive and fully dynamic VR scene. The user then walks through the experience and can recognize safety issues that are taking place and point them out to pause the event until it is addressed. During the experience, we collect data and score the user on their retention of the training and how they did recognizing safety issues. Afterward, we generate a report with the data, and we can fine-tune safety training and highlight areas of concern. The whole application is much more involved and allows for a more efficient training and safer environment in the real world, saving lives and preventing injuries. From a business standpoint, we will also be saving time and money by expediting the training process for the thousands of workers while bringing more engagement and safety understanding. I wish I could share some other current projects we have going on around St. Louis; Follow our social media and website to see over the next few months what comes about!
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
It is hard to limit to only three, but I will try my best!
People are starting to understand and see the potential that these technologies bring to the table of all industries, and it’s generating a lot of great use cases of how XR technologies can be used across the board. So the fact in and of itself that the XR industry is growing and bringing huge benefits that no other technology allows is extremely exciting.
One thing that we are excited about at ARS is that we have figured out how to stream high-fidelity experiences with in-depth interactions from cloud computing or a dedicated rack straight to VR, AR, and MR devices! We are currently using this for our Looking Glass platform for community developers and architects to realistically visualize their unbuilt spaces and designs from any device. It not only visualizes the spaces accurately and realistically, but it has built-in tracking of redlines, communications, CDs, and specifications and allows the user to see real-time installations of the options for materials, lighting, furniture, etc., on the fly as they walk through. Our VR streaming now gives the users scale and sight lines without having to download the experience and at a visual quality, the device itself could never obtain. VERY EXCITING. Looking Glass and its cutting-edge abilities have been greatly helped by Arch Grants! ARS won an Arch Grant in last year’s cohort for Looking Glass, and the networking, funding, and community has been a much-appreciated help in where Looking Glass is and where it’s going!
Of course, the new hardware coming out for immersion and wearables are exciting. Many companies are creating great headsets and accompanying hardware to engage other senses. ARS is managing a XR research lab with TREX downtown St. Louis that will house many of the latest and greatest XR hardware so we can really explore and help others explore the true potential of the XR technologies for their industries. Of course, other technologies and growth like NFTs, metaverse, digital twins, IoT, ai, ml, cv, etc., are all very exciting when used properly with XR, and we have been having a lot of fun including those in our current projects and research efforts.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
For this question, Mauricio and I put our heads together. Here is what we think.
VR, in particular, CAN lead to isolation and can be used to separate a user from the real world. The concern is that good and useful technologies can be used to try to live life outside of the real world and not used to enhance the lives we have. Consider social media and the studies of how they affect users in negative ways- loneliness, comparison to others, unrealistic depiction of their lives, bullying, etc. Then think about all of those things in a more immersive manner of absorbing them… Furthermore, some users can get so involved in VR that they care more about it than the real world (WOW and Second Life are good examples). In my opinion, technology is a great tool that can bring tons of benefits to this life and world, but it’s no replacement for the life we have, and I would not want to see anyone get lost (literally) in an alternate reality. I think developing the technology side by side with the real world and bringing useful technology that promotes connection to others while still encouraging real-world experiences will help this issue. Also, large companies will play a huge role in what the XR experiences can do and look like, so there is a huge responsibility on our side to develop better practices that are not to consume and addict to platforms. A cheesy but applicable analogy is the ending of Ready Player One (spoiler alert), where the Oasis is limited to a few days a week to force real-world living.
There are a lot of unrealistic expectations with the current technologies available due to demos that have been post-processed and are not actual experiences but instead good cinematography. The problem is that there are great use cases with current technologies, and we need to build the foundation with what we have to make them better and more immersive in the future, but when clients and investors come expecting some of the movies they have seen (Iron Man for example), they want holograms and perfect simulations. The solution is good education and exposure to the current technologies and continues R&D on our side to showcase what is possible and what we can work up to in the future.
Big companies are basing technological advances on what benefits them and their interests OVER solutions that improve the quality-of-life advances. The problem is that big companies spend enormous amounts of research dollars to push certain parts of XR technologies (which is great), but they also have influence over how that is used, and it’s often to drive their revenue dollars and ambitions, which has little to no concern for people and what’s in their best interest. As Mauricio put it, big companies aren’t investing billions of dollars to make our lives better… To address these concerns, other companies and people need to develop alternative solutions that improve quality of life and have the end-user in mind.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR, and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
Actually, ARS is heavily involved in the business enterprise solutions that XR tech brings over the entertainment side of XR. However, we do use aspects of “entertainment” in our applications to drive the engagement and repeat use of our applications. We use the term gamification at times, where the goal is to turn a learning experience or tedious task into an interesting and engaging event. It has to be done properly, but through our experience of what works and does not work, we have been able to moderate how far we take the “gamification” process to involve a person with rewards or reactions to the VR experience based on how well the task is completed. An example of this would be a project we are working on for a Florida company that trains in Cell Tower installations. We have created a “world” that allows a user to learn how to operate equipment, install cell tower equipment, and run a company that is rewarded with different points and monetary systems in-game as well as unlocks new opportunities for their user and company. The games and entertainment industries are extremely helpful in funding the development of new XR technologies and bringing joy to people along the way!
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
We have not begun to develop many of the ways that XR (extended realities- VR, AR, and MR) can improve our day-to-day lives. Most experiences are still one-off experiences for gaming or work-related tasks, but eventually, XR hardware, software, and use cases will be just as commonly used and referred to as traditional work machines like computers, cell phones, and programs. As different wearables and sustainable methods of running programs and experiences come out, the more use people will receive from them. Probably the most talked about in terms of hardware is the Apple MR Glasses that could lead consumer adoption and allow users to interact with the augmented and real-world more seamlessly (think facetime calls with your friend/family walking beside you or browsing amazon and dragging and dropping the item in your house to see how it looks and fits). COUNTLESS day-to-day tasks will move to MR and allow for more efficient and beneficial experiences to users. That is more of a lifestyle improvement, but from other standpoints like sustainability, society/business/culture, and world planning, any number of ideas and imagination can improve lives through XR- healthcare industry is an obvious life improvement that XR can solve a number of current challenges (surgery planning and training). This is such a loaded question; maybe we need to write a book :).
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
There are a few that come to mind, but being in the middle of the great recession, probably one of the most important myths to bust would be that it’s too hard to learn how to develop for XR applications. I would encourage anyone who has interest in XR to just try to get started in creating something simple. I think companies such as ARS and enthusiasts in the industry should also evangelize in primary and secondary schools more. The XR research and development lab will be used in St. Louis to showcase the possibilities to students and offer programs for learning and certification.
Some other quick myths to bust are that XR technologies are gimmicky, super expensive in development and hardware, and only used as a cool factor. I will gladly meet with any company in any industry to hear out your pain points and brainstorm with you real solutions that XR can bring to solve those challenges and offer ROI. We have worked with many companies to bring just this to their product, service, or workflow. I have yet to find an industry that cannot benefit.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
You need to study yourself and understand what your role and expertise would be. It does NOT have to be programming strengths (mine wasn’t). Instead, I found that I was really good at brainstorming real solutions that use XR technology to solve issues. I enjoy keeping up with the latest technology and their limitations and then creating ways to use those for unique and creative experiences. So learn about yourself and what you enjoy doing and then ask someone or review positions in XR industry companies and figure out where you fit in. Development, creative, storytelling, planning, QA testing, management, etc. Only get into the industry and career that you love and find interest in. There is no money or fad or industry worth getting into if they themselves are the goal. Find something that you enjoy and run with it.
Get into VR and experience AR content! It amazes me how many people have yet to test out some VR game or application or who has not yet tried an augmented reality app on their phone. The second that you get into XR and see the possibilities, it will spark how it can be used in what you are familiar with (industry, tasks, day-to-day things you do). The first time I used stereoscopic rendering for architecture (shows very little depth on a screen), it opened my eyes to understanding architecture dimensions and sight lines from an image.
Ask questions and connect with people in the industry. One of the most challenging things for Mauricio and me was that no one was around (or at least easy to find) that was exploring these technologies, especially for business and enterprise! Now, this technology is being taught in universities, and there are clubs and meetups, so get as involved as possible and be around people that are also passionate about the tech and industry. I am always available to chat about this!
Just take the step to get started in some fashion. Many people want to make career changes or want to be a certain thing “when they grow up,” but oftentimes, it seems out of reach, and people don’t make moves towards getting there. I would encourage you just to take whatever the next step is (no matter how small) and just get started in some fashion. It may lead to something sooner than you know!
Stay up to date with the technology. It is CONSTANTLY changing. Every day there is new hardware, software, accompanying technology improvements (ML, CV, AI, IOT, etc.). Research often and subscribe to people in the know and then get creative with use cases or develop cool demos, depending on point 1.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
At ARS, we have focused on trying to bring positive change from the use of XR and accompanying technologies. That manifests in lots of ways, from VR training that helps save lives (dangerous jobs, healthcare, police, and armed forces) to AR that helps bring people joy and ease of use to products and services (fashion, sales/design, geospatial). An active project we are currently working to get funded that I believe would make a tremendous positive impact on society, sustainability, and efficient future city planning is a Digital Twin and management platform to St. Louis (ability to bring to other cities as well). Put simply, Digital Twins are virtual representations of real places that are accurate and have the ability to show real-time analytics or tie the virtual and physical places together in some way. ARS, TREX, Arch Grants, Beyond Housing, and others are invested in bringing this technology to St. Louis for the purpose of resilience and sustainability. The goal would be to allow municipalities to have a full city view of current efforts around them to plan as a whole instead of separately, as well as giving communities the opportunity to voice challenges around the city (such as downed trees, traffic, crime, food deserts, etc.). As the different municipalities see efforts going on nearby, they can partner up to save resources, time, and money and make the biggest impact and changes for the most good. There are also tons of simulations that can be run on a digital twin to best plan for natural disasters, environmental impact of new developments, green canopy, city services locations and work requests, as-builts visualized to match city documents, etc. I believe that XR, along with AI, ML, CV, IoT, Digital Twin, and other technologies, can bring great impact for the whole society and bring positive change for the present and, even more so, the future people of the city.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
The long-shot answer is Elon Musk. Probably a lot of people’s answer to this question; however, his boldness to not only start projects but form companies around some of the most challenging issues for our time is impressive and fun to follow. It would be great to discuss the technologies surrounding Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and the boring co (I guess possibly Twitter, too…). When he gets to the heart of these companies, though, it’s all about the joy in life that people should have and the sustainability of the world, two topics I love to talk about.
A close second is Francis Chan, which is probably the complete opposite to the first answer. There is not a more clear and inspirational speaker/teacher around today that I can think of. I would love to discuss some of his books and messages and encourage each other.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Be aware of what you spend for marketing and do your double/triple due diligence to evaluate if the money is worth it.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rushabh Shah.
He started his career as an engineer and is currently managing strategic and tactical initiatives in the field of information technology. However, he pivoted his focus during the pandemic, creating Glish with his family. He wanted to create a beverage that his whole family could enjoy, young and old. He also was concerned with making his brand truly healthy for the consumer and incorporating ingredients that would be nourishing.
Rushabh started his career as an engineer and is currently managing strategic and tactical initiatives in the field of information technology. He pivoted his focus during the pandemic, creating Glish with his family. He wanted to create a beverage that his whole family could enjoy, young and old. He also was concerned with making his brand truly healthy for the consumer, and incorporating ingredients that would be nourishing.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I am a sports lover and a movie and music buff, I was also good at school and very driven. Consequently, like a typical Indian brown boy, I decided to pursue a bachelor’s in engineering and eventually graduate studies here in the U.S. at Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester NY. In addition, I am an avid foodie, always wanting to try out new things
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The famous quote of Tony Robbins: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react.”
I relate to this as an immigrant, when I entered the U.S. as a student there were a lot of uncertainties (visa, job, stability etc.) over the past decade that I had experienced on a personal and professional level. There was a specific situation when I was working at a startup, I was deliberately being pushed to a corner and became the single point of failure for customer delivery. Instead of choosing self-pity, I chose to look at it as a challenge. I not only ensured a successful customer delivery program but also provided additional onboarding help. The customer was so happy that they let the CEO know about my work, which opened a way for me to showcase my work and come out with flying colors.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Steve Jobs’s Biography by Walter Isaacson had a significant impact on me personally. The book states the importance of believing in yourself and your gut instinct. I was inspired to get out of my comfort zone and do the unusual. Starting a new business while being an engineer and a manager, was difficult but something that I wanted to do. Like Jobs, I had a solid vision and gut instinct to create products that could impact the entire world, despite knowing little about the field I was pursuing.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
This is a fantastic question, and yes, transitioning an idea into a commercial business is the most challenging thing an individual can face. However, based on my experience I can share some ideas on how to overcome this challenge
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Set a goal.
Break up the goal into small tasks so you can check them off easier and keep track of all your progress.
Do not set multiple goals, focus on each step as they come.
Be patient but aggressive when putting your brand and yourself out there.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
One should never presume that someone must have done it before. There is a saying, “you won’t learn how to swim unless you get inside the water” the same concept applies here. One should directly search their idea if it has been implemented before or not. There can be only 2 outcomes: if there is a similar idea already implemented, research it in more detail, identify the gaps and fill the gaps and see how you can better it. This forms your pathway to commercialization. Or option two, the idea doesn’t already exist and now you can make the path from conceptualization to commercialization relatively easy.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through from when they think of the idea until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
Being an entrepreneur, one must be outgoing and social above and beyond their core competency. Sourcing a good manufacturer and finding a good retailer can be done in multiple ways but the few things that personally helped me are the following.
Scour the internet.
Going to my local stores and networking with store managers and asking them about retailers and overall functioning.
Going to local quick-serve restaurants and speaking/networking with restaurant managers.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Be aware of what you spend for marketing and do your double/triple due diligence to evaluate if the money is worth it.
Hire an accountant in advance so you don’t have to worry about taxes, especially filing sales tax if you are in the CPG business.
Focus on core competencies and don’t be afraid to take calculated risks based on data.
Leverage consultants in areas that you fall short of by using tools like Fiverr or Upwork.
Focus on the mission of your company, and make sure you align everything you do with it.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Develop a minimum viable product.
Register an LLC/Inc and get an EIN.
Because everything is digital, get your domain and all your social media handles.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
In my humble opinion, I wouldn’t recommend that. If you are personally not connected, or invested in your product you won’t be able to do justice to it holistically.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
This is situationally specific. There is no cookie-cutter method. Both are equally good ways to kickstart your business. They both have their pros and cons.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
We are just getting started. Glish’s mission is to bring people/families together to cherish life via our refreshing sparkling beverages that are fun and functional.
In addition, we are trying to ensure that people are able to enjoy a lifestyle that is truly guilt free but at the same time is fun as well.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Do not ignore your instinct. Try to follow it and see the magic unfold. This is because the guidance that your instinct gives you is 100% pure, unbiased, and true to yourself. Consequently, the success probability increases multifold.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Cavu Ventures — They build brands for a healthier world and exist to democratize healthy living for all humans.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
The Future Is Now: Facundo Diaz Of TravelX On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Follow your passion and your instincts. It will give you the energy and courage you need to face the challenges and hopefully achieve your goals.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewingFacundo Diaz.
Facundo Diaz is Chief Blockchain Officer at TravelX, the company building the travel industry’s first blockchain-based distribution protocol. Diaz is a Former Deutsche Bank Investment Banker and Accenture Director (15+ years as a tech consultant for Global 500 companies). “Silicon Valley” entrepreneur (VR / Blockchain) with 2 successful exits. He’s also the Founder of Reality Code, a pioneer company in the use of NFTs for digital assets’ protection and management. He was identified as “one of the 5 global minds that are revolutionizing the audio tech” (Mashable 2016) and one of the #100 US most innovative Startup CEOs in 2015 by Inc.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
It was basically a summary of coincidences, events and personal discoveries.
I developed my career in a very traditional way — school, university, Master’s — then an executive role at a big consulting firm. But my career completely changed direction while I was leading a project in Puerto Rico for that firm.
After many years without it, I was constantly enjoying one of my passions as a kid: Surfing. It was impossible not to try it again while living around the amazing beaches in Puerto Rico. It was then I decided, after meditating at my board waiting for waves, that I wasn’t happy nor doing my passion in life.
With a wife and two kids, I decided to take the risk — resign from my well-paid corporate role and start my own venture. With all my savings, I started a Surfboard factory in my native country Argentina.
I became an entrepreneur at that moment, but I also learned how painful it is to fail, as the board factory didn’t work out. After this experience, I learned how important and rewarding it is to do what you love and follow your dreams.
I was broken, but full of energy. Being a tech guy, curious and music lover, I decided to develop a platform to film and distribute music concerts in VR, a technology that was starting to gain momentum at that time.
This helped me dive into the early blockchain community focused on NFTs in 2017.
Seeing the potential of blockchain as a technology, besides cryptocurrencies or speculative purposes, I started to get involved in projects that use blockchain as a technology to solve real-world problems.
Through this, I reconnected with my good friend Juan Pablo Lafosse, a travel industry entrepreneur and veteran. We saw the opportunity to revolutionize the way the travel industry distributes inventory by taking advantage of blockchain technology and NTFs.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Although I have many fond memories of my career, I think the most exciting moment was auctioning off our first NFTicket for the first-ever NFT flight. We hosted a launch party during Blockchain Week at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
The NFTicket sold for more than $1 million. It was the most exhilarating and proud moment in my career to date. It was a validation of our company’s vision and that the travel industry is ready to take the next big step for the industry in the last 30 years with us.
Can you tell us about the cutting edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Web3 will revolutionize the way many industries run their business, creating a more transparent, efficient, decentralized and collaborative economy.
We are creating a Web3 blockchain-based infrastructure that lets airlines (or other travel players like hotels or cruises) tokenize in NFTs their inventory (tickets, staterooms) to distribute it more efficiently.
We are creating the infrastructure that allows the travel industry to jump into Web3 and take advantage of its core concepts like decentralization, community consensus and participation, transparency and frictionless technology, that will enable a better travel experience.
TravelX’s blockchain infrastructure could bring airlines new revenue streams, including earning residual profits each time an NFTicket is sold on the secondary market. These NFTickets will also save the airlines money by simplifying the purchasing and post-sales ticket management process.
Travelers can easily resell or transfer tickets without friction or unnecessary intermediaries. We are bringing more freedom, transparency and opportunity to the ticket buyers because of how they can purchase, resell, auction or trade those tickets wallet to wallet
We are creating a secondary market for one of the biggest industries in the world, but we don’t aspire to create a marketplace as an end goal. We are focused on building the proverbial plumbing — an infrastructure that current and hopefully new players can take advantage of to run their businesses or create new ones.
We are aligning traveler’s and travel industry players’ interests, taking out friction and allowing for new and better solutions to happen.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Blockchain, as a technology, has evolved drastically during the last few years, but there are still a few challenges we face. Its cost (or gas fees) and the fact that it consumes a lot of energy and computational power which isn’t sustainable, are great challenges.
We thought that those issues could present drawbacks to our project, that’s why we decided to use Algorand, a specific blockchain that has solved those challenges. As the world’s first pure proof-of-stake blockchain, the Algorand network was designed from the ground up to minimally impact the environment. Because its consensus is not based on energy-intensive proof-of-work and requires minimal computational power or electricity and at the same time the cost of the network to operate is minimal.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
I was traveling in a fundraising roadshow for the NFT company I founded before TravelX. That was before the NFTs’ boom, so I spent most of the time with the potential investors explaining to them the benefits of blockchain as a technology and NFTs as immutable and transparent digital certificates.
During that roadshow visiting investors in San Francisco, LA, Europe and Latin America I had to change and reschedule my flight many times.
I remember the exact moment when I was dealing with a cancellation (nothing easy) when I thought, “It would be so much easier if people could manage their flight tickets as they manage their bitcoins.” They are just in your wallet, and you can decide what to do whenever you want. And flight tickets are not fungible, each flight ticket is a unique seat on a plane. It was a no-brainer, the natural evolution of the eTicket should be the NFTicket, so let’s make that happen!
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
The main challenge that stands in our way from widespread adoption is educating the travel and airline industries, a very legacy industry, on the benefits that blockchain technology can bring.
Fortunately, they clearly understand it and are beginning to embrace it, which is great for us.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The truth is that I’m where I’m because of all the people that surrounded me right now and during all my career in the past.
Thinking about one moment or advice that changed my life, one, in particular, is coming to mind.
I remember a boss of mine when I was working in a corporation. With his best intentions, when I was trying to bring new ideas for a project we were working on, he said, “Hey man, we are losing time and your ideas will represent an extra effort. Everything is already invented, and we don’t need to innovate or create new ways of doing what we have to do.”
As you can imagine, it wasn’t the most motivational advice, and I felt very frustrated.
But I thank that advice because it shocked me and made me understand that I wasn’t in the right place.
I’m sure that is not happening anymore and right now every company is looking for and promoting innovation and are open to new ideas. Fortunately, today, people don’t need to have their own projects to develop their ideas and vision, and being an intrapreneur can be just as exciting as being an entrepreneur.
Sometimes advice doesn’t come in the way we expected, but I learned that the important thing is maybe not what they say, but what triggers you.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
Dream big.
Everything will happen. Good and bad things, so try to enjoy as much as you can the good and do not skip the bad ones but go deep into it and learn as much as you can.
Do not change who you are or how you act based on how other people treat you. Integrity, especially during hard times will always give you the north to make the right choices and decisions and others won’t be able to force you to go against your values and principles, something very important along a professional path.
It is never too late. I’m 46 and just starting a new startup.
Follow your passion and your instincts. It will give you the energy and courage you need to face the challenges and hopefully achieve your goals.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I really believe that we are in a transitional moment for the world and humankind. We are more digitally connected than ever before, but at the same time super-disconnected at a personal level.
The actual internet model is broken and monopolized by less than 10 companies that manage social media networks and rule the way we connect and how information flows.
Blockchain and Web3 have arrived to help us evolve in the way we digitally connect, share, involve, collaborate and participate in what we do, use or create.
We saw an opportunity to take advantage of these concepts and create a better travel industry. We are already seeing an impact in the financial industry, but just imagine the impact it could have on industries like renewable energies, genetic engineering or health care.
If I should inspire a moment or a vision, it will be based on those key concepts: collaboration, decentralization, consensus, and distributed ownership based on the value that all the actors could bring to the common purpose, besides only their personal interest.
The era of monopolistic companies is ending. We can create and pursue technological impacts and solutions based on common purposes, created and evolved by communities with space for all.
It is the moment to take action, learn, share, challenge and understand how to take advantage of the technological advances and opportunities to create a better future by, and for all.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Not sure if it is a Life Lesson Quote, but I love and always apply to my life the Latin phrase: Carpe Diem, which means “pluck the day,” and was used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that we should enjoy life while we can.
We only have the chance to live once, and the best thing we can do is to live and connect with others. I had many many failures and some successes in my life, but after all of them, I learned that the most important thing is always the path and what you learn, experience and who you surround yourself with doing the journey.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
A better travel industry is possible. Join us to make that happen.
Use properly-structured stories to emotionally connect with your audience and make your points memorable.
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Sheryl Green.
Sheryl Green is a New York native living and thawing in Las Vegas since 2008. After a devastating divorce, Sheryl discovered the power of storytelling and has brought her love of the craft to fiction, non-fiction, and content writing for businesses.
Sheryl holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology and has worked in Customer Service, Public Relations, Education, and the Non-Profit world. A passionate animal advocate, she served as the Director of Communications and Cuddling for Hearts Alive Village animal rescue.
She is the author of “Surviving to Thriving: How to Overcome Setbacks and Rock Your Life,” “Once Upon a Bottom Line: Harnessing the Power of Storytelling in Sales,” “Book Writing for Busy People,” and “Do Good to Do Better: The Small Business Guide to Growing Your Business by Helping Nonprofits.”
Sheryl brings a unique blend of experience and insight to her audiences. A high content speaker who is motivational in style, she will entertain your audience with humor and heart.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up on Long Island, New York. My parents divorced when I was 4-years-old and my mom and I went to live with my grandparents. I spent weekends with my dad and my stepmom until they moved out of state when I was a teenager. Then, I’d spend some holidays and summers with them.
I’m an only child, so I grew up kind of fast. I was frequently called “precocious” and excelled in school (except for history… man, was I bad in history). I always loved to read and write, but I was deathly afraid of speaking in front of people. As I got older, I started wearing all black and considered myself a “goth.” I was really into music and I was obsessed with serial killers.
I graduated high school and then went to a local college to study Psychology and Anthropology. By the time I finished, I decided that I wanted to be an FBI Profiler and catch serial killers, so I got my Masters in Forensic Psychology. I’ve never worked in that field, but the degree has come in handy while writing mystery novels.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
As I mentioned, I was deathly afraid of public speaking. If you’d have told me 15 years ago that I’d be doing it for a living, I would’ve laughed in your face.
I moved out to Vegas because of a really traumatic divorce. My ex-husband did a very, very bad thing and I left him to start a new life. I began to share what I’d been through and realized that it was helpful for others going through similar circumstances. About that time, I joined a writer’s group here in Vegas and agreed to be on the board as the Critique Group Organizer. When the president told me that I’d have to stand up and address the attendees at every meeting, I pretty much had a heart attack. He recommended Toastmasters and it gave me the confidence I was missing.
The first meeting I spoke at, was the clincher. I had some humor in my presentation and the entire room was laughing with me. It was like a drug! I knew that my place was on stage.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I spoke at a personal development conference and shared the story of my marriage, my hasty exit, and the steps I took to rebuild my life. At the end of the event, an attendee came over to share. He had committed a similar crime as my ex-husband and never realized the impact it had on his own ex-wife. He actually called her on the break to apologize for what he’d done.
I never met that woman, but I know I changed two lives that day.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was chosen to give a TEDx Preview talk about Why Animal Rescue is Better Than Antidepressants. Despite the fact that I practiced for weeks, there was one line (at the very beginning of my speech) that I couldn’t get out correctly. When the day finally came, I got up on stage, delivered my first line, and then froze at the “problem sentence.” It took almost a minute to get back on track and regain my composure.
When I finally finished my speech, the sound guy met me in the hallway. “You did an amazing job!” he said.
I responded with a string of obscenities about how I did not do a good job.
That’s when he pointed to my lav mic… which was still hot.
The lesson? Always assume your mic is on and be careful what comes out of your mouth!
I also learned that if a line isn’t working, stop trying to force it and just change it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
It’s hard to pick just one! I have had so many mentors along the way and so many individuals that have supported me and kicked my butt when I needed it.
However, I will give a shoutout to Darren LaCroix. He’s a World Champion of Public Speaking, a CSP through the National Speaker’s Association (NSA), a mentor, and a friend. As a brand-new speaker, he got to know me and saw my potential. He invited me to work at his events and gave me the opportunity to learn, connect with successful speakers, and become a better speaker myself.
Cut to a few years later when he saw me present to our local NSA chapter and gave me one of the best compliments you can give a speaker, “You made me cry, made me think, and inspired me to make changes to some of my stories.”
He’s helped me become a better presenter, and I’ll always be grateful.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
What is your WHY? If you’re just going into this business to make money, there are much easier ways to do that. You need to have a passion for helping people and affecting change. That’s what’s going to keep you going and help you attain the level of success you’re looking for.
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
Sharing our stories is a gift we give the world. When you are open and vulnerable, you give everyone around you the freedom and the permission to be vulnerable as well. Stories empower us to communicate better, share our lives, and operate in a space of compassion… something our world could use a lot more of.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I’m queuing up to do a series of programs that will teach salespeople, fundraisers, speakers, etc. how to tell better stories in their businesses and their lives. I’m also working on my next book about the life lessons we can learn from plants (I will neither confirm nor deny that I have 100+ houseplants).
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
When I was at the lowest point of my depression, my stepmom told me to “Go do something for someone else.” It was the kick in the pants I needed to leave my pity party, find purpose, and make a difference in the world. If we stop focusing on our own problems and start focusing on what we can do for others, our problems magically get better.
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
1 . Knowledge of your audience so you can tailor your content to who will be in the room.
When you ask someone who their audience is, you’ll often hear something like, “oh, everyone!” This is a dangerous pit to fall into. Not everyone needs to hear the same message, and among those who do, not every audience needs to hear it the same way. When you know who is in your room and have an idea of their backgrounds, goals, challenges, etc. you can tailor your message, your content, your examples, and your call to action, to them. If you have the opportunity to speak to a few audience members before the day of the event, do it! You’ll gain a ton of “insider” knowledge and be able to speak to the audience in a way that shows them you get them and their struggles.
2. A little bit of anxiety. If you don’t feel a few butterflies, you’re likely not invested in giving your audience your all.
I can’t count how many times I’ve stepped on stage with butterflies doing parkour in my stomach. However, I do know it’s “every” time. In fact, there are some days that I’m walking up to the stage screaming inside my own head, “Why do you keep doing this to yourself!?! Go home!” Thankfully, the moment I get on stage and say the first few words, I can look into the audience and realize that my program is about them, not about me. I can take my energy and focus off of my fear of looking foolish and shift it over to impacting their lives.
3. Properly-structured stories to emotionally connect with your audience and make your points memorable.
A lot of people consider themselves “storytellers” but few actually realize the structure that goes into crafting a story. Our brains are wired for story and in order to effectively tap into the power of stories, you need to understand (and follow) the rules. When you structure properly, you take the audience on a journey and evoke a strong neurological response. The neurotransmitters released (Cortisol, Oxytocin, Dopamine) create the emotions necessary to make your stories relatable, sticky, and life-changing.
I just saw the Top Gun remake in the theater and that story took me through a roller coaster of emotions and then delivered me safely to a good place. (Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it). This is the experience you want to create for your audience.
4. Remember that the speech is about what the audience needs to hear, not what you want to say.
It’s fun to talk. It’s fun to tell stories. It’s fun to be the center of attention (for some). But, when you deliver a speech or a program, it’s not about you and what you want to share. It’s about what your audience needs to hear. Whenever I deliver my storytelling programs, I drive home that you must decide on the point you want to make first, and then select a story that backs it up. This ensures that you are presenting for your audience, not for your own ego.
5. A book or other materials that 1) position you as an expert in the field, and 2) Provide a “next step” for your audience members.
You’ve probably heard the old expression: “He wrote the book on it!” It’s constantly used to establish someone as an expert on a specific topic. Professional speakers aren’t just speakers. They are experts in their fields and they deliver their expertise through a number of avenues. Writing a book is the best way to communicate, “I know what I’m talking about and I can help you with your problem.”
A few years ago, I reached out to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) conference about speaking. The meeting planner was hesitant to have me speak about storytelling since I’d never worked in radio or television. Then, I shared my book “Once Upon a Bottom Line: Harnessing the Power of Storytelling in Sales.”
The meeting planner changed her tune. “Oh, well since you wrote a book on the subject, we could definitely use you.”
A book also provides a way for people to follow up with you and get more help in the future (while you get more business).
If you need help writing a book, I wrote one called “Book Writing for Busy People” which will take you through the entire process.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
Practice. I know it sounds trite, but the only way to get over your fear is to face it. Join an organization like Toastmasters and take advantage of every opportunity to stand up and speak. You won’t die. You probably won’t even pee yourself. But if you do, it’s a safe place and you won’t be the first or the last person to do so.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would invite every single person to do something for someone else. Lend your time, talents, treasures, and voice to a cause or a nonprofit. Help others. Focus on something outside of yourself and ask yourself each day, “How can I make the world a better place?” If everyone did something we could solve this world’s problems.
And please, adopt don’t shop… and spay and neuter your pets. There are plenty of wonderful animals waiting for a loving home. Go save a life.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
I’d love to meet John Paul Dejoria, the co-founder of Paul Mitchell. His work as an entrepreneur and philanthropist is inspiring and I’m grateful for everything he has done for animals and the environment.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Diverse businesses have a more diverse customer base. As a Person of Color who grew up in a predominantly white area and unwelcoming area, I know how much representation really does matter. Once consumers see people that look like themselves in your company, then they’ll be more likely to choose your product over someone else’s.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Aaron Gray.
Aaron is the co-owner and founder of Practice Makes Perfect Music Studio, A Black, female and LGBTQIA+ owned music school. In addition to running the studio Aaron also serves as a private piano, voice, and organ teacher. Aaron started Practice Makes Perfect in March of 2020 with co-owner Sam Specht-Burns. He lives in Greensburg Pennsylvania with his wife Julia, and their daughter Cadence.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I started taking piano lessons from my grandmother, Frances, when I was 7 years old. We always had a special bond I was born on her birthday, and we shared of love of music, specifically piano. She continued to pay for my piano lessons until the day she passed away around my 18th birthday.
I continued to get a degree in piano performance and held several full and part time music director positions at local churches, while also trying to balance playing for musicals, gigging, and teaching private lessons. When the church jobs started conflicting with my other jobs, I realized I needed to have control of my own schedule. That’s when I reached out to my friend Sam Specht-Burns and we started Practice Makes Perfect as just the two of us teaching during the pandemic. We eventually gained a few students and asked a couple of our friends to hop on board. Fast forward a year and now we have 220 students in two physical locations, with virtual teachers across four states, and developed our own children’s music courses for infants and toddlers, and are well on the way to starting our Frances and Marian Foundation. I have a beautiful wife Julia, and we have a one year old daughter, Cadence.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
So a few years ago, I was serving as the music director for a musical at a theater in Scottdale, PA. The music director would also serve as the pianist for the shows, and the shows were at 7pm with an early matinee on Sundays. Anyway, this Saturday performance of the show was at 7pm and the evening before I had made plans to go to the Casino in Pittsburgh, for a brunch around 11am. Upon leaving the casino and proceeding toward the city to go home to get ready for the show, we were greeted with stand still traffic about 2 minutes into our journey. Now we think, we’ll be here for maybe 45 minutes maximum. Turns out the traffic was built up due to an eight-car accident in the Squirrel Hill Tunnels, the ONLY way out on our route.
We ended up being stuck in traffic for 5 hours, my friends had to drive me to the show I arrived about 10 minutes late and was wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of the traditional concert attire.
I learned three things that day, always have backup concert attire with you, always arrive early, and just stay home when you have events.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“Always be over-prepared.” Just recently I had a gig where I had to bring my whole keyboard setup. I always try to bring two of everything because something inevitably goes wrong or missing at every event. This particular gig I had decided against bringing a second keyboard stand, as my car was already filled and I was excited about this new stand I had just bought. Once I started unloading my gear we discovered that the top bar of the stand had snapped off and there I was without a keyboard stand, two hours away from three extra ones laying around in the studio. Had I just packed that second stand I could have avoided the entire situation!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I have several and there is no way I would be where I am without any of these people. My wife, Julia Gray and my business partner, Sam Specht-Burns. They both do a ton of the heavy lifting at the studio and I literally would not be anywhere without both of them.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Practice Makes Perfect stands out in a number of ways, our biggest one is that we are completely devoted to being a safe, diverse studio. We are an LGBTQIA+, woman and Black owned business, the only music studio of its kind. We strive to keep a diverse staff, which in turn attracts a more diverse student base. We’re also able to offer lessons anywhere in the U.S. via our online lessons, and already have some teachers and students in other states.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We are in the process of turning something we have called the Frances Fund Into a non-profit called the Frances and Marian Foundation. Frances being my grandmother, and Marian being Sam’s. We are starting this foundation to eliminate barriers to learning music by paying for lessons, covering costs for instrument purchase/rental, instrument repairs and other financial needs of our students and music students anywhere.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Well so far we have started the Frances Fund, which provides free and discounted lessons to students. We currently have 6 students taking lessons for free, we have provided two students with a keyboard, one with a violin and a several other instruments. We also fundraise for our community, we donated $600 for a family in our neighborhood over after they suffered a house fire. We are constantly fundraising for these students and our community. Our Frances and Marian Foundation will soon be up and running and help us bring more good into the world.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line.
Diverse businesses have a more diverse customer base.
As a Person of Color who grew up in a predominantly white area and unwelcoming area, I know how much representation really does matter. Once consumers see people that look like themselves in your company, then they’ll be more likely to choose your product over someone else’s.
2. Having a diverse staff solves problems.
Sometimes you run into obstacles while running a business that you otherwise wouldn’t have thought to prepare for. A lot of these problems can be solved by having an effective, diverse, efficient staff. One problem a partner organization recently had was that they held an event in a mostly Spanish speaking area where they placed sign up sheets for their newsletter. They had a record number of sign ups but they were unable to read any of the email addresses because they were all in Spanish! This is a problem I’ve never thought about before and one my company is prepared for, as we have two teachers on staff who are fluent in Spanish, just because my company is committed diverse hiring.
3. Pride.
Employees who feel welcome, seen, and safe, will also be employees who take pride in their position. We empower our teachers to be themselves and promote diversity and inclusion and in turn they feel more empowered. Having employees who believe in your mission and the work you are all doing together makes running the business significantly easier.
4. New Perspectives.
Having a diverse team brings about new and welcome perspectives on every aspect of the business. I consult with several employees and make sure I always consult with people of varying backgrounds so I can get as many perspectives on something as possible. Often times you’ll learn something incredible that you wouldn’t have dreamed up because your life experiences are so different from someone else’s. I use this a lot with marketing, and teaching, it is an incredible and important resource.
5. Representation.
Having a diverse staff also gives you the chance to offer a diverse representation to the community. As a music studio, we have a lot of diverse school-age students, and it is great for the students to be able to see a teacher who looks like them, that they might not otherwise get at school, or even at work. I never once had a Black teacher myself, but now I have over 30 students who can’t say that now.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
If you really want your employees to thrive, the absolute best advice I can give is to pay them what they’re worth. If an employee doesn’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, I find they’re a lot more productive, and generally happier. Our lowest pay tier is $27 an hour, and that is only our student rate!
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
Communication is extremely important to manage a large team of people, but the biggest thing is trust. If you can communicate a welcoming and safe environment to your team, they will be much more likely to trust you and communicate better. Remember you choose your team, so get your team a safe space, stand behind them and don’t let them down.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
Honestly there are so many that I would choose, but if I had to pick one right now it would probably be Billy Porter. He represents all lot of the things we are trying to accomplish in the community, being a gay, Black performing artist and succeeding really inspired us to persevere.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can check us out online at pmpmusicstudio.com. We’re also active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The links to all of our socials are located on our website and our handle is @pmpmusicstudio
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Don’t try to be perfect right out the gate. Ruthless prioritization is key. The general tendency in most start-ups is to try a hundred different ideas. Be careful that you don’t fall into that trap. Always calculate the effort to reward ratio, figure out the key metrics you want to track, and FOCUS.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Bhavik Rathod and Tripti Ahuja.
Bhavik Rathod is the Co-founder and CEO at DIY.org. Bhavik was the founding leader of Uber in India. He launched their first city, scaled their operations across South-West India & Sri Lanka, and was most recently the Head of Uber Eats in India & South-Asia. Prior to Uber, Bhavik founded EmployeeSocial, a social rewards and recognition solution for large enterprises and has also worked at Ernst & Young as a Manager in Finance Transformation, consulting CFOs around the world.
Tripti Ahuja is the Co-founder and COO at DIY.org. Tripti has spent 10 years designing customer experiences for top companies around the world, and an additional five years being part of founding teams at early-stage startups in India. Prior to founding DIY, she was the Co-founder at 400 Things, a destination for luxury handcrafted items and the founding leader at Rizort, a marketplace for luxury resorts around the world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
As business consultants based out of New York, we were both pursuing our individual careers. Over time, we found ourselves more and more interested in what was happening in India with respect to the burgeoning start-up ecosystem.
Reading up on the news and excitedly discussing new ideas, initiatives, tech innovations, infrastructure, and more had somehow become the best part of our day. We knew we had to walk the walk and take that plunge. We moved to Bangalore, India in 2010, which is where some of the most successful startups started and made their marks. The more we worked toward making our plans a reality, the stronger our faith grew that we could also one day be the kind of entrepreneurs that make a powerful positive impact on the lives of all the people that our business touched.
When Bhavik took an opportunity with Uber, it wasn’t only about helping our customers move conveniently from point A to point B, but also (and just as importantly), it was about the 100,000 drivers and their families whose lives were made better by being part of the Uber family. This emphasis of our work’s impact is what drives us to create and innovate.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Bhavik feels life has a way of sometimes lining up coincidences that steer you in directions that you later realize were probably meant to be. When he attended the Uber Leadership Summit in 2014, he interacted with some of the most powerful investors in the valley, like Arianna Huffington, Bill Gurley, and Ashton Kutcher, who were building eco systems that were improving the lives of every individual they touched. In that room, he truly felt as if there were no limits to what could be achieved and it truly inspired him to take that really big next step.
Tripti has a similar story. She had been looking for a home on rent and ended up looking at a house owned by Mohit Saxena, co-founder of InMobi. As she was speaking to him, she realized that this just might be a sign from the universe to take that leap and start her own travel start-up company — which she then went on to do!
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
The biggest principle that guides both Bhavik and Tripti is to Build What Matters. Whatever you do, big or small, work towards creating something that would make a valuable difference for your consumers.
“Making a product that you are proud of with people that you genuinely respect and care about is what gets us all up and excited for each new day,” said Tripti.
Another important philosophy they remind their teams of is that they’re not part of the proverbial rat race.
“You’re building something unique so of course there will be risks,” Bhavik said. “Go on out there and take them — your team will always have your back.”
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
Between the ages of 5 and 15, kids are in their most formative years. We also know that human beings are the summation of their experiences. What we are trying to do via DIY is to touch as many childhoods as we possibly can with positive content and hands-on learning. We aim to encourage skill-building by fostering a healthy competitive spirit and build a community of proactive, self-confident, eager-to-learn, and — above all — kind children. We hope that these kids will go on to become adults that have the same qualities.
How do you think this will change the world?
DIY is the largest global interest-based community where kids interact with each other and learn hundreds of skills through thousands of how-to videos, hands-on projects and live interactive workshops. Kids on DIY think, learn, and create in a safe environment that is moderated by mentors, 24/7, across all time zones. If a kid wants to learn how to do science experiments at home, we’ve got them covered. If a kid loves playing the piano but wants to learn some tips or showcase their talent in front of a global audience of supportive kids, we’ve got that covered too!
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
A concern that we do have is how more and more dependency on screens is bound to have negative repercussions. Of course, adults generally know that too much of anything is never a good idea. But since our product is meant for kids, there is a lot more riding on us as creators to make sure that our platform doesn’t negatively impact the very kids we’re trying to empower.
We make sure that all the content we put on DIY has an action element associated with it. For example, kids can watch TV shows on DIY, but each show has inspired challenges that tells kids to get off their screens to go build projects based on whatever they have learned so far. In fact, we’re really proud of the fact that for every 10 minutes spent on DIY, kids spend 30 minutes offline thinking, planning, and creating.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
Our moment of realization came to us in the early phase of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The world was collectively going through experiences that were brand new, and in several cases, quite unsettling. We were worried about our six-year-old daughter struggling to adapt to the new online mode of communication and learning, but she adapted quickly! How?!
We’d always believed that the future of learning was online, but this positive experience brought home the sheer vastness of what could be achieved on a global level. The main idea behind DIY is for every kid to have access to ideas, tools, and techniques that help them pick up skills and also connect with other kids on the other side of the planet in ways that inspire them to be better learners, faster builders, and happier individuals.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
We believe more and more parents need to focus on not just the academic side of learning, but also social learning and project-based learning. It’s important that kids are able to look at a problem and break it down into steps that bring out a solution. Kids need to ask more critical questions and be able to reason things out as a part of everyday problem solving.
We believe that the most practical way of doing this is by enabling kids to do it themselves via projects and real-world activities that help them pick up skills that stick for life!
More parents and educators around the world are adopting DIY as a way of life. They need better and more strategic resources that stimulate action. Through DIY, we want to become the biggest supporter of parents and teachers around the world as they raise their children to be smarter, more responsible and self-confident adults.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
It’s not going to be easy. Keep your head, even if all those around you are losing theirs, and it’ll all turn out for the best. Bhavik and Tripti started a travel company right before the COVID pandemic hit, and they were quick to pivot to an ed-tech startup for kids.
Define what success means to YOU. Ultimately, what matters is the user joining your community and staying on long-term for the experiences that you offer. Everything else is just noise.
Don’t try to be perfect right out the gate. Ruthless prioritization is key. The general tendency in most start-ups is to try a hundred different ideas. Be careful that you don’t fall into that trap. Always calculate the effort to reward ratio, figure out the key metrics you want to track, and FOCUS.
A great team is far more important than having even the best idea in the world.
There will always be 20 opinions. Stick to your convictions no matter what.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Prioritizing mental health.
Carefully giving time and attention to family.
Being data-driven and focusing on key metrics.
Celebrating even your small successes.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
DIY is here to change the world. We believe it has the power to change mindsets and build communities that care about kids acquiring important life skills that place them in good stead to take on all the challenges and opportunities that the world has to offer. Offering a very strong solution in the after-school learning space, DIY is an amazing proposition for kids, parents, and educators globally.
Makers of The Metaverse: Terry Guy Of Secret Wall On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Network + Collaborate — Need to surround yourself with a solid supporting network and experiment.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingTerry Guy.
Where the notions of originality and creativity intersect, Terry Guy is at the center. As a creative visionary, Terry Guy founded Secret Walls in London in 2006, building a stage where there wasn’t one — for artists and their communities — to gather, celebrate, and be inspired. By seeing artists as athletes and leaning into the Art of Competition, Terry unlocked some of the most unique, sought-after IRL + URL programming in the world — the true global leader in live art entertainment.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
My name is Terry Guy and I am currently living in Los Angeles, but I’m originally from the magical Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. I studied Digital Design and Animation in London but after graduating I quickly realized that finding a proper job was tough. So, in 2006, I created Secret Walls — a live illustration battle platform where artists take a stage to show off their talent and compete to win. The vision was to disrupt the dusty art gallery scene, entertain fans, support local artists and showcase the best creativity on the planet.
Secret Walls is a LIVE Arts and Entertainment company that is known for the Paint and NFT Battles we have hosted in 50+ countries around the world.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The energy of the city nightlife and the urban landscape were my two inspirations when creating Secret Walls. I was also inspired by films like Fight Club, Style Wars, Battle Royale and Warriors as well as Secret Wars comics. Live competitive sports also play a role in how I structure a Secret Walls battle. Football (soccer) is the reason why 90 mins is how long a battle takes. I’d have to say the one book that played a huge role in my entrepreneurial spirit was It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be by ad man Paul Arden — This made me feel like everything was possible.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the creative industry? We’d love to hear it.
When I was younger, I was never focused at school and always achieved the minimum to get to the next level. I knew I wanted to do something creative but my options at the time were limited. I remember one night when I was 16, my uncle and aunt came over for dinner and gave me some great advice. I always looked up to them because they were both entrepreneurial and traveled around the world for business. They encouraged me to embrace my passion for creativity and move to the big city of London. This inspired me to pursue a creative career via University in London, but to get there I needed to do more than just the minimum. So that is what I did — I got my grades up and went to college to study computer programming and then ended up at University a few years later living a dream studying digital arts and animation.
My upbringing and story from a working class family helps me stayed grounded to this day and allows me to understand and communicate with the kids of today who do not see arts as cool or a future career option. My mission with what we do at Secret Walls Academy is to make them see it as a fun subject and one with infinite potential — Telling the Secret Walls story and showing them what we do and that we get paid to make street art and illustrations, really does make their faces light up. They can quite quickly see how comics, movies, video games, sports all weaves into the arts, and now we have web3 technology / innovation layered over the top of that. The next ten years will be a fun and fruitful space for those that put the work in!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
There are so many fun adventures, but the one that really stands out was the Secret Walls Euroleague that we created in 2010. This was an ambitious tournament concept that I dreamt up where we recruited 17 city teams to participate across the year. We were able to work miracles and brought in Casio, Edding, Ecko, and Reebok to sponsor an amazing year-long event that included over 50 battles. We would battle 2–3 times a week and had super fans flying out to the various European cities to come support. The sporting and competitive side of Secret Walls was really born out of this project and made us see the much larger potential a brand like ours could achieve. I had artists telling me that they were traveling for the first time and that these creative events were inspiring them to go bigger.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Here’s a funny one…I remember when Marc Ecko told me and the team to buy this thing called Bitcoin back when it launched in 2009 and was cents on the dollar per coin. We didn’t have a clue what he was talking about when he said “crypto coins” but I wrote it down to research. The funny and regrettable part was I didn’t follow up and only recently found that notebook that says “Marc Ecko says to buy some Bitcoin.” Moral of the story: When someone who is already very successful tells you to do something…just get it done ASAP.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
When Secret Walls first started, Marc Ecko was one of our biggest supporters. He came from the graffiti world and became a hip hop/media multimillionaire very quickly. He built huge companies and has a great vision for arts and business. We were very fortunate that he found us early and saw the potential in Secret Walls…probably before we realized it ourselves. Marc gave us our first few sponsorship checks, bought the original canvases and was always there to give us solid business advice. Keen to reconnect with him one day soon to show him what we have built.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Everything we do is built with the SYLA (Support Your Local Artist) DNA in mind, and we always want to shine a spotlight on new talent and inspire audiences young and old to have fun and see the arts in new ways. Secret Walls has built a community and high energy show around the Art of Competition. This is a powerful movement that will expand in its fandom in the coming years.
There are tons of exciting new updates coming this year with some big ones just announced, such as the evolution of Secret Walls from a black and white original paint battle has now evolved with new digital battle formats that are in full color. We also have a huge bus tour in the works that we are very excited about. You are the first to hear about it outside of the Secret Walls HQ but we are excited to share more info soon on what cities across the US we will be battling in.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
Secret Walls and the battle universe transfer very easily into VR, AR and MR — we already have a year of battle tests behind us in some of these spaces and the future is very exciting. The 3 things that most excite me about the industry include web3 mentality, DAO’s and disruptive blockchain NFT ownership. All of this will lead to a strong creator’s economy, a reality we have been dreaming about since day one.
This new web3 world offers so much opportunity to an art community like ours that make the new horizons look endless with what can be achieved with some hard work and hustle. What makes me very bullish in this new world is that we have a tried and tested brand that still stands strong 16 years on and now we enter this new era that is offering us solutions to problems we could not solve previously. Everything from protecting artwork IP, royalties paid correctly through the blockchain, getting the art into the home of the masses using VR and digital tech.
The tech is evolving so fast it is hard to keep up but we are slowly surrounding ourselves with smart leaders from these worlds and have opened our IP and platform up to try any fun experiments. We will always approach everything we do from a “Live Arts Entertainment” viewpoint first and then look to add any layers that enhances the experience, the show, the art and gets us to the moonshot goal of getting live art back in the Olympics.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Probably the main concerns at this point would be digital fatigue, equitable access, and global warming.
We consider these issues every day as we build and develop in this space. We will always lean in with our IRL experiences first and then add URL digital elements that will be layered bonuses, so we hope our crowd will not get screen fatigue. Solving the equitable part is a big one that we are always conscious about. Our Support Your Local Artist DNA will always naturally serve a diverse group of artists, mainly those young upstarts and rising stars. The Secret Walls Academy, an arts immersion program that provide teens around the US and globe with a hands-on education in free-style drawing, character design, commercial design, and mural planning, all while fostering open collaboration and enhancing storytelling abilities, will start to tour and help bring the arts and knowledge to kids in underserved areas that need that extra support. In the long run, we dream of creating open online resource spaces that will house conversations for everyone to attend and learn from. Lastly, the environment gets a lot of attention in the media right now and we are aware of the concerns. We hope that as this technology matures, the chains will get greener and more efficient like any other growing industry. Until then, we will always do what we can to offset any projects and do good to our local communities through sensible initiatives.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
VR, AR and MR create capacities for innovation and flexibility at work. Using Instagram Live, Facebook, VR, and other livestream technologies, we have been able to bring in a far larger audience for our eponymous illustration battles, creating a more accessible atmosphere than ever. This virtual shift allowed for even more capabilities to grow our brand into the virtual space.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
I think we will see huge innovations using this technology in all industries. The way you buy a house can change with the use of VR tours and possibly purchasing a home through the blockchain. There’s growth potential in the healthcare industry with the use of AR glasses for surgeons and VR doctor appointments. It can also extend to how we communicate with our friends and family. Can you imagine a family dinner where family members attend via hologram or a birthday party totally done in the metaverse? It’s a wild time to be alive and being a kid that grew up through the 16-bit SEGA era, I am excited for what is to come.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
The myths I am always looking to correct are how the mass audience sees street art, graffiti and the types of alternative talent we have built our brand around. Typically, when people hear these labels, they think of vandals and crime but over the last 10 years this type of urban art has become more pop culture and accepted in everyday advertising and museums. There has been a nice shift and education here, we still have a way to go but we have come a long way since the first graffiti on subway trains back in the 1960’s with legends like Cornbread, Crash and DONDI.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Skillset — Have great ideas and the talent to bring those to life.
Work Rate — Need to be ready to put the hours in and hustle harder than most.
Team — Need a core crew around you that believe in your vision.
Network + Collaborate — Need to surround yourself with a solid supporting network and experiment.
Hype — Be your own hype man and marketing machine through social media and beyond.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I dream of a world where every kid can create with the tools they need to excel. I would love for Secret Walls to help inspire and inject some energy and fun into the outdated art programs most schools around the world teach. Art and design are needed for pretty much everything we consume, buy and experience and I would love for students rich or poor to understand how to connect the dots of arts and business. Helping more kids get online and using these exciting future tools will create huge change in their lives and inspire them to go onto be the best version of themselves and possibly change the world along the way.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I have many heroes and inspirations but for me I would love to sit down with Swizz Beats and chat arts, culture, Verzuz, Secret Walls and how we can build more creative platforms for the next generation. He has DM’ed our brand on Instagram before but we are now ready to show him the blueprint 🙂 Swizz if you are reading, hit me up ☎️
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Experience. You do not need a college degree, if you can show me that you know how to create a 3D model, your credentials don’t matter. Of the current workforce at OCAVU, 30% do not have a degree from a university, and no one cares in the slightest. This is such a young industry that if you’re dedicated to your craft, you’ll become experienced very quickly.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingJon Cheney.
Jon is a visionary leader in the world of augmented reality. Prior to founding OCAVU, where Jon currently resides as CEO and founder, he provided 12 years of management over several organizations. Jon is passionate about building strong teams and inspiring them to lead their industry.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I was raised in Houston, Texas and lived there until I was 12 years old. When my parents were called to serve a mission, our whole family moved to Paraguay for three years, where I went to middle school. After that, we moved to Utah and I’ve lived here ever since — aside from when I was serving a mission for my church in Taiwan after high school. When I returned from my mission, I attended college at BYU and majored in business and Chinese. Having the opportunity to live abroad has given me invaluable life experiences and I am able to speak three languages.
Throughout my childhood, I had several hobbies. I was a competitive gymnast (and can still do a backflip today) and grew up playing the piano and composing my own music. I am still very passionate about music and have published several albums as a professional pianist. I’m also a huge thrill-seeker and love white water kayaking; I was a sponsored kayaker before founding OCAVU.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Jurassic Park, specifically the scene where the characters see the Brontosaurus for the first time. The music, cinematography and CGI really resonated with me and led to me composing my own music. The film’s composer is John Williams, of whom I’m a huge fan. The scene where Grant and Ellie first see the brachiosaurus combines music, filming, script-writing, and CGI to create pure movie magic–this has inspired my music and interest in film and media since I was 7 years old watching at the theater.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
We kind of fell into the XR industry. When I started SeekXR, now OCAVU, it started off as a company called Treasure Canyon. We put together physical treasure hunts, hiding prizes in the Utah mountains and posting clues online. That was inspired by Forrest Fenn’s treasure hunt that he launched over a decade ago. When we decided to turn it into an app, we called the app Seek. This was right around the time that Pokémon GO launched. This was my first real exposure to augmented reality, and the way in which the world reacted to this new way to interact with the world inspired us to pivot into AR.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
There are so many moments from which I could choose–moments where I would turn to my co-founder and say, “Can you believe we’re here?” One of those moments was standing in a castle in Portugal with some of the most powerful CEOs and investors in the world. It was just at a founders-only event at the Web Summit conference that happens every year, but it’s always so much fun to meet all of the incredible people out there that are building and funding the products we use every single day.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This mistake isn’t funny, but this had the largest impact on our future and led to our company becoming what it is today. When Seek, now OCAVU, was still in the early stages, we had four different investors that each backed out for different reasons, within days of each other. All of a sudden, we didn’t have enough money in the bank to make our payroll. We were very open with all our employees but we had to let the majority of our staff go. At that moment, we abandoned the B2C app and became a B2B SaaS platform. That ‘failure’ set us on the path we’re on today, and we have survived and thrived ever since.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my incredible co-founder, Mike Snow. We met as roommates in college, and he’s stood by my side through the thick and thin of growing this company. We’re quite the team — I hate the operational side of things but Mike knows how to get things done. He is always ready to support my ideas and help make them happen. When we lost our investors, Mike didn’t take a salary for six months, but kept working just as hard, which shows his character and commitment to our vision.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are building an NFT platform that we believe can completely reshape the way that communities connect with each other. Right now, brands, influencers, celebrities, sports teams, musicians, and artists use public social media channels to interact with their communities, but they don’t own the content they’re sharing, and there’s no real one-to-one connection for their fans. Our NFT platform will decentralize social, allowing the creators to retain ownership of their content, provide opportunities for fans to engage with people that they admire, and connect with others around a common interest. We’re thinking about NFTs differently than most; these NFTs will provide a real-world utility and long-term value to the person who owns it.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
The ever-improving ease of access to get into the metaverse. We’re already there with AR — with OCAVU’s technology you can access 3D content on any device, no app required.
The progress of metaverse hardware. It’s still early days, but the Oculus Quest 2’s performance, graphics and content are impressive and it will only get better.
The future of an AR-enabled world. I envision a true consumer version of AR glasses that can be worn every day that has the ability to turn the whole world into a metaverse. For example, the glasses will remind you of the person’s name you run into at a networking event, unlock incredible creativity to layer on top of the real world, or give you easier ways to consume media than ever before.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Real estate in the metaverse. People are buying virtual land, which is unlimited and easily replicable. Until there is mass adoption, I don’t trust virtual real estate as a solid investment.
Big centralized metaverses. If large companies like Meta monopolize the metaverse, they’ll hold all the power to govern and dictate the content and rules in the metaverse.
Harmful content. With new technology, there’s always new ways for undesirable content to spread. We need to figure out how to protect children (I have four kids) to make sure they’re safe from offensive content and anonymous predators.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
These technologies will allow for greater collaboration without physical barriers as remote work continues to become a major part of our work life. So much progress has been made already; if you wanted to collaborate with someone in another country 50 years ago, it was a lengthy and expensive process. Now, you can chat face-to-face on Zoom or Facetime. But with VR, you’ll be able to actually be in the same room with someone from anywhere, which will be revolutionary and allow collaboration to skyrocket. With AR and MR, there are all kinds of applications. For example, a technician can repair a toilet remotely; they’re able to instruct the customer how to do it themselves by circling specific parts or drawing diagrams on the customer’s video. Insurance companies can process claims more efficiently with live, 3D views of properties. Law enforcement can do a 3D scan of a crime scene so investigators can examine the scene indefinitely, even after it’s cleaned up.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
These technologies can democratize access to visual learning. When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to go to well-funded schools that had interactive learning materials, such as a physical model of the heart or a life-size skeleton. Unfortunately, many schools are underfunded and lack these resources. With OCAVU’s AR education platform, any student can explore digital models of the Egyptian pyramids, journey through space, even witness a dinosaur. AR/VR encourages interactive learning and improves student engagement and information retention, especially for visual learners.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
People think that NFTs are just a new type of digital art, but they are not. The art is actually just metadata tied to a token on the blockchain. You can tie anything to a token on the blockchain — a picture, video, 3D model, text, physical piece of art or even a house. An NFT is a perfect record of ownership, and an efficient method of transferring that ownership on a public blockchain.
With XR, there are people that still think this technology is still quite a ways off, but they’re mistaken — it’s already here and the rate of adoption is incredibly fast. Brands who think this way are especially behind. If they do not have 3D models for their products ready yet; they’ll be left behind without any compatible content when Apple Glasses are released.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Experience. You do not need a college degree, if you can show me that you know how to create a 3D model, your credentials don’t matter. Of the current workforce at OCAVU, 30% do not have a degree from a university, and no one cares in the slightest. This is such a young industry that if you’re dedicated to your craft, you’ll become experienced very quickly.
Try everything. When a new metaverse launches, explore it. When a new video game comes out, play it. When a new device is released, try it. Spending time participating in this way allows you to stay up to date with what is possible in our industry.
Understand how things connect. From a leadership perspective, grasping how different components fit together at a high level enables you to better communicate with your team. You don’t need to know HOW to do it; but you need to know how to speak the language.
Networking. This is important in any industry, but especially ours, and there’s so many events you can attend in this space. Put the effort in to connect with potential customers, partners and employees. Talk about what you’re doing with like-minded people, and debate with people that disagree with you to learn their perspective. Get out there and test your ideas in the market. It will lead to deals and opportunities.
Stick with it. The reality is, this is not a fast-win industry. If you give up and jump to a different industry, you’ll never become an expert and you’ll never get ahead. But if you stay in the industry for long enough, you’ll start to really understand how things connect, the major players, and how to create real value for people.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Decentralization. This movement puts power back in the hands of creators. As a creator myself, I recently experienced why this movement is so necessary when I released a Christmas album last year. The album had 200,000 streams, which means I created value for thousands of people — but I only earned a few hundred dollars. Luckily, I compose music to bring joy to others and have another source of income, but so many artists are struggling. If we can decentralize ownership of content so that the creators are the ones being rewarded, we’ll have so much more art in our world.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
John Williams, the great movie composer, because he’s my hero from a music perspective. Music is such a huge source of inspiration for me. All the different instruments of an orchestra come together to create something beautiful, and that’s a great metaphor for the Web3 ecosystem we’ve built at OCAVU. The sum is greater than the individual and the ecosystem will only thrive if we all work together.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Agile Businesses: Katie Burwell Of AdQuick On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Keep learning. The more you learn about disruptive technologies and confront the unknowns, the less power they have to disrupt the business. The most important thing leaders can do is continuously take in and synthesize new information. This ultimately allows us to deliberate faster and be swiftly decisive rather than reactive or blind sided by a disruption.
As part of my series about the “How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Katie Burwell.
Katie Burwell leads business development at AdQuick.com, the first platform to allow marketers to complete the entire process of planning, buying, executing and measuring out-of-home (OOH) advertising campaigns anywhere in the U.S. and around the globe. At AdQuick, Katie oversees over 1300 vendor partners, and is responsible for sourcing and managing new partnerships throughout the marketing ecosystem.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Thanks for having me! I started my professional career at an IT staffing firm in Ohio. While in the IT business services world, I moved into more sales and solutions-oriented roles until I unexpectedly clicked with a potential client and the work their organization was doing. There was an opportunity for me to be more hands on in tech which was where my education and professional interests were aligned. I got to help shape some interesting pieces of software, participate in full development cycles and take it to market as a sales engineer–and ultimately moved to New York to grow other parts of the business. During this time I was a “digital nomad” working in my clients offices and many coworking spaces around the city doing everything from business process mapping and requirements gathering, to daily project management and media planning. Today, I head up supply side partnerships at AdQuick, the top out-of-home advertising marketplace in the world. I’ve gotten to help launch our programmatic DSP, develop our marketplace programs and enable our internal and external sales teams to hit their goals.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I really wanted to come in guns blazing so I self-taught a lot of my technical skills and read books on methodology to further enhance my knowledge. But none of that really prepares you for when you run your first script and overwrite important data. Luckily, it was an easily fixable mistake, but that did not stop the gut dropping feeling that my first script blew up some part of our database. The takeaway is the same as woodworking, “measure twice, cut once.” Lastly, you can always have the engineers run the scripts.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Adam Culbertson is the manager who hired me away from the IT staffing business which–we both agree now–was a shot in the dark. He is one of the best teachers, mentors and friends I’ve gained in my career. I was a novice in every aspect of the business, role and industry, and he created an environment where experimentation and personal development could exist harmoniously with our KPIs. He helped build my confidence quickly in a new space and that is something I try to impart on the people I work with today.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
At AdQuick, our mission has always been to empower everyone to put their message into the world. We do that by removing all barriers to out-of-home (OOH) ad buying, with a powerful platform that’s a delight to use. Our products might have evolved over the years, but our mission remains the same.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?
AdQuick is revolutionizing how companies view and approach out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Founded in Los Angeles in 2016, AdQuick’s end-to-end OOH platform has rocketed to the top of the outdoor advertising arena by placing the ability to buy, plan, and measure campaigns right at the fingertips of advertisers. In just six years, AdQuick has turned the OOH space on its head.
As the first true OOH marketplace, AdQuick is at the forefront of reviving the marketing channel long thought to be antiquated and limited to static billboards. Today, thanks to new technologies, a plethora of new formats–i.e., street furniture, wallscapes, and digital OOH to name a few–and AdQuick, marketers are realizing that OOH is truly without limits and has endless space to grow.
Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?
OOH advertising can trace its roots back before the invention of the internet, when farmers wanted to sell their goods on fences and walls in the early 1800’s. Like every industry, OOH has grown and evolved with the times, eventually becoming the billboards, bus shelters, street furniture and more along the highways and roads that we see around the world. Even today, OOH supports municipalities through partnerships that both broadcast community information and contribute revenue to public budgets.
Until recently the world’s oldest form of advertising was at risk of being left behind. OOH remained stagnant. Unchanged. In 1994, the first digital banner ad appeared and the world of advertising forever changed. The rise of digital advertising quickly evolved to give marketers a clearer look at the ROI they desperately needed. Would OOH be left behind as the dinosaur of the advertising industry? AdQuick wasn’t going to let that happen.
What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?
AdQuick is at the helm of bringing OOH advertising into the advanced technology fold. Thanks to AdQuick, advertisers can now buy ad space on billboards, bus benches, transit wraps and more worldwide like they’re web ads.
There’s no question that OOH, and specifically digital out-of-home (DOOH), is an effective medium. However, the process of researching, bidding, securing, planning, executing, and measuring outdoor media have been a complex, confusing, and painfully slow process. AdQuick has changed that.
AdQuick Programmatic DSP provides simple, end-to-end self service, giving advertisers complete control over their OOH campaigns including flexible scheduling, audience targeting, instantaneous creative swaps, and measurements that optimize for conversions rather than impressions.
In the past, advertisers have measured OOH performance through impressions without any connection to conversions. With the ability to get granular and in-depth during the creative process, AdQuick Programmatic DSP provides advertisers with comprehensive analytics to easily monitor and adjust campaigns based on performance. Right from their dashboard, AdQuick Programmatic DSP users can measure and track online, offline and performance KPIs such as in-store foot traffic and sales, app events, attributed conversions and exposure conversion rate.
With such insightful analytics, advertisers can show an OOH campaign’s direct impact on the success of marketing campaigns and ultimately, revenue generation. Advertisers can utilize this data to determine which ad units are the most likely to be high performing and responsively adjust campaigns in real time to capitalize on, and get the most out of, their OOH campaigns.
OOH now effectively competes with the digital advertising industry and beats it in value. Using outdoor advertising space can save marketers time, money, and generate higher consumer response than many forms of in-home or digital advertising.
Was there a specific “Aha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path? If yes, we’d love to hear the story.
I can’t take credit for the idea, but I was excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work on it. For me, the aha moment is on a weekly rotation these days. Every week I’m reminded that we cannot yet contemplate the full capabilities of what we’re building and how we are pushing the industry forward. The aha moment is that we’re no longer following a framework or looking at how digital is doing things. We’re setting the roadmap as we learn, iterate, and develop these new approaches to OOH.
Programmatic DOOH was talked about for a decade before anyone did anything about it. When we launched our bidder and Rick Rolled Times Square, all of those conversations, conferences and concepts felt very real. It was a big moment; clicking a button and seeing our goofy ad on the Nasdaq screen a few seconds later.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
AdQuick Programmatic DSP now stands alone as a leader in the programmatic DOOH space. Now, media buyers and advertisers have access to the largest collection of OOH inventory available (over 30 billion impressions across 600K screens from 170+ publishers) in real-time.
Placing even more information right in the hands of advertisers, AdQuick Programmatic DSP includes a global map in which advertisers can set filters and quickly scan over 600K ad units across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, and 13 other major nations. These filters, including geography, CPM, venue type, screen type, publisher, audience, and point of interest, allow advertisers to find the best available units for their OOH campaigns in mere minutes.
AdQuick is continuously introducing ways for advertisers to uplevel their programmatic OOH campaigns. For example, AdQuick introduced dynamic creative and smart spend controls to enable advertisers to optimize their creative content and deliver the right content at the right moment. More specifically, users can optimize their content based on dynamic triggers, such as the weather, dayparting and point of interest. Smart spend controls help advertisers stay within budget by auto adjusting budget allocation based on performance.
Advertisers finally have the experts and resources needed to make the most of their OOH campaigns and deliver meaningful — and measurable — results.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?
Perhaps it’s okay to admit now, but I knew next to nothing about programmatic advertising when we started building our DSP. I was very much in the deep end learning to swim in this world. Together with our engineers and some fantastic partners, I got to see our programmatic DSP go from zero to sixty–and now we have bonafide experts in DOOH programmatic sales and strategy at the helm which is incredibly satisfying.
Overseeing the programmatic and direct supply side of our platform has given me a unique perspective on how things function across different sides of the industry. Almost nothing is simple, but AdQuick makes it very easy.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
A leader needs to have a laser focus on the vision. There are endless distractions, lots of parties that have different priorities, markets rising and falling, and upstarts trying to hack their way in. I used to row and in a boat race, your job is to be in sync with your crew for 2000 meters. If you look at the boat next to you, your 11-pound head turn disrupts the entire boat’s stroke. Keep your head in the boat and row.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
Ground yourself every day in the things you do that have made you successful to this point. The chance that those behaviors need to change are slim, but they will be refined and applied in different and innovative ways in the future. Make sure you celebrate every win, professional or personal. Celebrate every new feature shipped as well. Learn from your team and what makes them feel successful.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
Prepare to be adaptable. A lot of organizations get very tied to their processes, governance, and the way things have always been done. All of these practices seem functional on paper but can make the business brittle and ill prepared to pivot much less survive turbulent times. Disaster Recovery is not just about servers anymore, it’s about your space, your people, your product, and your planned reaction to disruption.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with a disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Thinking you can only do the thing you’ve been doing in the face of disruption. Outdoor advertising used to be thought of as old fashioned or only a brand awareness medium. Now, through connected DOOH networks and robust measurement, OOH performs alongside digital, radio and TV, positively impacting every part of the marketing funnel.
Another misstep is that they hit the brakes or shift budgets away from the core product or strategies, but instead end up churning through valuable resources. When technology is disrupted, like the changes we’re seeing to third party cookies, it doesn’t mean every innovation that uses cookies is broken. OOH is not becoming more or less valuable because of cookie policies. OOH is valuable because it communicates with the masses and it has since long before the internet.
Lastly, I’ve seen companies overcomplicate their pitch while trying to pivot around disruptive technologies. Facebook is one of the most disruptive platforms in advertising, privacy, politics, you name it. They’ve added and removed features countless times. However, after all these years evolving into the ad platform they are today, their pitch to consumers is still social networking: connect with people, share photos, and invite your friends. Explaining something simply and consistently can outlast disruptive tech.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies? Please share a story or an example for each.
Stay nimble — The more attached we get to one way of doing things the less easy it is to pivot, so staying nimble means you’ll never get whiplash. OOH selling and buying was done the same way for a very, very long time. Companies that have implemented technology, partnered with emerging companies, and prepared for a future where things would be done differently have enjoyed growth and stability.
Iterate or Die — Okay, this is the title of a book by Eric Berridge and Michael Kervin, but the sentiment carries through. Disruptive technologies don’t care about your roadmap or development cycle. Media used to be planned and bought in 12-month upfront cycles. We’ve all experienced how much can change in one year, so by allowing teams to iterate and run shorter sprints whether in software development or media planning, you are allowing your teams to not just move faster, but adapt to disruptions in real time, and preserve your dollars by not locking budgets up in long term programs.
Keep an open mind — Not every disruptive technology is going to disrupt your business. Maybe it’s invigorating or having less of an impact than you thought it would. Third-party cookies, which I mentioned earlier, that are heavily integrated into marketers’ measurement and tracking models are going away. What we have seen measuring OOH campaigns at AdQuick, where some of our data sets rely on cookies.
Try it — One of our core values at AdQuick and an important part of pivoting is trying new things. Run experiments and establish what success looks like. Empower every member of your team to be entrepreneurial and seek out solutions.
Keep learning. The more you learn about disruptive technologies and confront the unknowns, the less power they have to disrupt the business. The most important thing leaders can do is continuously take in and synthesize new information. This ultimately allows us to deliberate faster and be swiftly decisive rather than reactive or blind sided by a disruption.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If you rest, you rust.” — Helen Hayes. I’ve applied this quote throughout my life whether it be pursuing sport, lifelong learning, or work. While I do not wish to have an 80-year career like Ms. Hayes, I’ve always striven to keep momentum, stay energized, and reject complacency.
Makers of The Metaverse: Matt Fedorovich Of Insight Enterprises On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Spreading Knowledge, Insights, Lessons: I’m a firm believer in humble sharing. Maybe someone else’s ideas could ping-pong off yours (and vice versa) and lead to something really special. The industry always has been a small group of people that are pushing ideas forward, and we should maintain this sense of camaraderie and community. We will collectively benefit if we can support others in advancing developments across the industry.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingMatt Fedorovich.
With more than 10 years of experience in gaming, mobile and spatial computing, Matt focuses on bringing the latest virtual, augmented and mixed reality solutions to enterprise clients. He believes eliminating the barrier to entry for the next dimension of computing is key to realizing impactful business value and promoting a deep integration of natural spatial interfaces.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Although this may sound a bit cliché from someone who works with immersive technologies, “The Matrix”, “Ready Player One” and “Minority Report” are all films that have had a profound impact on me and influenced my career trajectory in the industry.
Specifically, these films challenged the way I thought about “reality” in general — apart from all the captivating technical and extended reality (XR) implications — and made me realize that there are potential scenarios in which alternate realities (similar to our own reality) could exist once we have the compute power and recreation methods available. I also love Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” particularly the dream sequence, because it encourages questioning everything around us.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
I have been involved in the gaming industry for a long time. My initial interaction with mixed reality (MR) was through HoloLens, Microsoft’s take on augmented reality that uses multiple sensors, advanced optics and holographic processing that melds seamlessly with its environment. That was one of the most mind-expanding moments in my career to date.
Having a device display holographic content in front of you, while still seeing my physical surroundings at the same time, was really incredible. Then having that content interact with the physical world around me was even more incredible! From that point forward, I knew I wanted to work on accelerating that kind of technology and innovation in the space.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Once I encountered a situation where there was too much immersion in an application. Years ago, we built a “mini-game” application that was intended to put people into real environments — like browsing paintings in an art gallery and or walking through exhibits at a certain museum — through XR. The thinking was that someone would put on a headset and then be able to “walk around” and look at the different sculptures and pieces.
However, unintentionally, the experience was so immersive for the participants that a couple users “lost” all sense of their actual environment and were left discombobulated and confused once they took off their headset. To put this into context, because advanced headsets are more powerful, a lot of fidelity and realism can be packed into certain experiences like these.
The lesson here is that we must always remember the human aspect of this technology and how whatever is built physiologically affects people, as well as how they think, feel and behave. This is particularly true for adults who are often newer (and perhaps more susceptible) to these concepts than the younger generations are. Immersive experiences can be overwhelming if not handled in considerate, thoughtful ways by experts building and designing these devices and accompanying software.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m extremely grateful to my first mentor, a well-seasoned, intelligent startup founder who pulled me into his growing organization when I was in high school (even though what was going on around me was a bit over my head as a teenager!) For context, this happened at the beginning of the iPhone revolution, so it was a really exciting time for technology and innovation across the board.
Through this opportunity, I went from doing some basic icon design and branding to actually working with the team to build full-scale mobile 3D games. I was so inspired and driven by the work they were doing. In fact, I still follow the principles and ideologies I learned from this startup founder today.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
What’s great about AR, VR and MR is the potential to redefine innovation and problem-solving across industries — spanning manufacturing, education and beyond. We’re working with a variety of companies to help them figure out how to solve for business challenges by utilizing these technologies in smart ways.
Think about healthcare innovation, for instance, and this “reality switching timeline” that medical professionals can progress through, where they journey through AR, MR and VR to hone their craft. AR has the ability to boost the depth and effectiveness of medical training in many areas, including imaging equipment training and simulations of complex surgeries, leveraging things like holographic content. The “end” of this timeline, is, of course, practicing on real patients in real life. The cycle continues as VR can provide recurring education and training, and the journey repeats itself, helping those in the medical field improve patient outcomes time and time again.
We’ve worked with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the National Health Service in England on a project like this. They sought immersive and mixed reality technology to reduce the amount of physical contact between hospital staff, patients and visitors during the pandemic. But they also wanted a way to allow practitioners, including pediatric heart surgeons, to share their exact view with other remotely located experts while in the operating room to consult in real time during a procedure. This allows clinicians in acute care scenarios to remain heads-up and hands-free to concentrate on their lifesaving tasks — allowing surgeons to share information and their exact view in high-definition without pausing their work or holding additional devices. It also enhances surgery by using 3D visualization to aid clinicians when performing heart procedures, increases the number of people who can observe live and improves the ability to record procedures for VR training later to practice procedures.
We’re also working with businesses that are looking to AR, MR and VR as a “virtual office” for HR onboarding and training support. In fact, one of my teams was inspired to hold our weekly Friday meeting in VR, where my colleagues — who are physically located all around the world — can work and collaborate with greater ease. In this regard, the metaverse can be helpful for things like design reviews, review processes, creating presentations, etc.
One project I’m personally working on that I’m really excited about is preserving memories in 3D. The ability to capture certain memories, such as a family gathering or celebration, and then reliving them in real-world scale rather than on a simple 2D screen, is pretty remarkable. I love that immersive technology has the power to bring raw emotion and interaction back to the places and people we love.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
Convergence of Reality: I’ve been waiting for cloud, AI and devices to start colliding, and it seems like everything is coming to a head now, which is exciting to see. There’s a unique integration ability from which we’re seeing businesses deriving value. One device can handle multiple realities, as opposed to requiring companies to purchase two different applications and devices in order to unlock sufficient value on their proof of concept. Now, there’s one solution from one device that generates an ROI with multiple realities. That advancement is critical for businesses that are looking for an integration component for their technology.
Advancements in Hardware: It’s clear that developments across the industry are contributing to improvements in physical hardware products. For instance, we’re starting to see cutback in the size of certain devices (e.g., headsets are getting lighter) as well as longer wear times, improved battery life and better processing power. These hardware advancements can enable better usability, as well as more efficiency and productivity for users across the board.
Deepening Connections: One of the most powerful improvements this all can have on our lives is connection. Virtual collaboration has been one of the key use cases bringing everyone together across geographies, specialties and skillsets. With spaces like AR, we have the ability to translate speech in real time and build bridges between cultures.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
1 . Potential for Misinformation: Because the “metaverse” concept has become more mainstream recently, there are some metaverse experts that have not characterized the technology properly and have — likely inadvertently — contributed to widespread misconceptions. In actuality, there’s really smart, well-intentioned people doing really good work in this space. To this same effect, there’s also concern for content moderation as users could spread misinformation on a platform (like what some might see and try to counteract on traditional social media platforms).
In order to combat these kinds of misinformation issues, companies need to be more transparent about what’s happening in terms of regulation and progression in the space, especially given all the positive outcomes that have resulted — and can result — from continued innovation across VR, AR and MR capabilities.
2. Security Concerns:VR, AR and MR devices can be an entryway for malware or data breaches, so ensuring they are secure is of paramount importance. Metaverse networks are not immune to issues like false identities, fraud, bad actors, phishing, or ransomware attempts. Developers must ensure secure software is a priority from the very beginning, with all devices being encrypted, before pushing any solutions onto the market. Sufficient security is table stakes.
3. Privacy Concerns: In a similar vein, there should always be heightened vigilance anytime someone’s personal identifiable information is involved. These industries are no exception. Building safe, properly regulated virtual worlds should be top of mind for all organizations that seek to build immersive experiences.
To accomplish this, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must prioritize finding ways to manage privacy concerns and protect peoples’ personal data at the very beginning of the ideation process. The good news is there’s a lot of important work being done, especially across enterprises, to lock the security and privacy pieces down.
Within the virtual worlds, there is also concern for personal space. As we enter new worlds in new avatars, there is a movement to implement tools to stop things like verbal or physical abuse that would then cause mental trauma. Because users are so immersed in the virtual world, mental trauma can be just the same as in reality.
In a recent development, OEMs like Meta are building in “safe zones” that places a protective bubble around your avatar when a user feels threatened. Within it, no one can touch them, talk to them or interact with them in any way.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
It can be difficult to imagine what the metaverse is like until you actually experience it. I think a lot of people still have a misrepresented, preconceived notion of what the metaverse can do for us (think “cartoon-y” avatars and video games).
As AI advances and devices improve, metaverse technology will as well, particularly as it relates to improvements in realism. With all the exciting developments, it’s a really interesting career path.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
1 . Harnessing the Ability to Ideate in 3D: One must rebuke traditional, classical ways of thinking that have been commonplace over the past 40+ years to be successful — and disruptive — working in immersive technology. “Typical” problem-solving is limited by 2D constraints instead of expanding one’s horizons, designing and building in a boundaryless, spatial way.
The reality is that we live and interact with things every day in 3D in the real world; this same thinking and ideation should cross over to the digital world. Someone who is interested in a career in the VR/AR/MXR industries must be willing to build from the real world, a cartoon one, their own memory and so on.
2. Embracing Human Design Thinking: While designing and building in the 3D space, you need to design with the human interaction in mind. Best practices for 2D interfaces have generally been set into place, but 3D human interaction design is still in its infancy. The way one interacts with buttons, holographic models or tactile feedback is all new and everchanging.
3. Being Willing to Fail: Let’s face it, having a career in immersive tech means you will fail (a lot.) It’s inevitable. You will undoubtedly encounter roadblocks, whether they be with the device, the visuals or the interface you want to set forth. When this happens, you need to pivot by taking, or even making, an entirely different path as you progress in reaching your goal.
One example that many developers are familiar with is the “build and test” process, in which a developer codes up an application and then runs it on a device to test it out. The challenge with taking this route with immersive experiences, however, is that the simulator cannot necessarily provide the exact same experience as it can on a device. This requires trial and error — and often failure — through building, adjusting, installing, testing, identifying the errors and making changes once again. This cycle happens over and over again; patience and persistence are key.
4. Understanding the Crossroads, Complexities: In the coming years, there will be a convergence of realities, in which many devices will be capable of both VR and AR. Because their abilities will be far superior to what we have today, having a keen understanding of where VR stops and AR begins, and vice versa, is really important.
5. Spreading Knowledge, Insights, Lessons: I’m a firm believer in humble sharing. Maybe someone else’s ideas could ping-pong off yours (and vice versa) and lead to something really special. The industry always has been a small group of people that are pushing ideas forward, and we should maintain this sense of camaraderie and community. We will collectively benefit if we can support others in advancing developments across the industry.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Fulya Uygun Of Bowery Boost On How to Effectively Leverage The Power of Digital Marketing, PPC, & Email to Dramatically Increase Sales
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Know how to market yourself. Having the ability to network is just as important as all these other hard skills.
Marketing a product or service today is easier than ever before in history. Using platforms like Facebook ads or Google ads, a company can market their product directly to people who perfectly fit the ideal client demographic, at a very low cost. Digital Marketing tools, Pay per Click ads, and email marketing can help a company dramatically increase sales. At the same time, many companies that just start exploring with digital marketing tools often see disappointing results.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Fulya Uygun.
Bowery Boost co-founder Fulya Uygun is a digital marketing expert with 15 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has scaled brands through seed funding to Series B in addition to working as lead digital for corporate companies. Her agency works seamlessly to build teams and profitably scale direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Before starting Bowery Boost, Fulya worked as the Head of Digital communications at online retailers and brands, including Dermstore, Briogeo and Winkly Lux, and she was brought on by L’Oreal to launch a new DTC brand. Fulya has a business degree from one of the most prestigious colleges in Turkey, Bogazici University, in addition to a postgraduate degree in Marketing from Baruch University, and an MS in Integrated Marketing from NYU. She is also a member of the Female Founders Fund, The 10th House, and the venture firm The Helm, all dedicated to investing in and supporting women and minority entrepreneurs.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
After graduating college with a business degree, I started working at the brand marketing department of a big corporation in Istanbul. As in many entry level positions, I ended up doing all sorts of marketing activities, including graphic design, copywriting, PR, events, etc. About a year in, they somehow handed over their first PPC marketing campaign to me, and I fell in love with data and watching customer behavior online. I knew that was it for me.
I moved to NYC and went to Baruch for a postgraduate marketing degree to get a better understanding of the digital world — this was back in 2009. Facebook advertising was at its simplest, and only about two years old. We were more focused on PPC & affiliate in those years. After Baruch, I ended up at NYU for a masters in digital marketing, and that’s how everything started. I trained myself on top of the academic knowledge and worked my entire career after that in fashion & beauty digital marketing. I loved and am still loving every second of it.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Sure. But just to say it out loud before even getting started, that mistake was not necessarily funny at the time. Now that over 10 years have passed and I’ve learned so much from it, it’s easier to laugh it off.
Around 2010, I built a jewelry eCommerce business. I wanted it to be different, so with my CTO, we built a virtual dressing room where online visitors could try our products online. It was great, and we became one of the semi-finalists of IBM Smartcamp with our tool. It might have been more gimmicky than providing any value to the customer journey, but it was unique.
During the process of building our company, we spent all of our funds to buy merchandise and build our AI. And eventually, when our super user-friendly and elegant site with very talented jewelry designers and stunning pieces was completed, we had absolutely no money left to market it. That’s how I got deeper in marketing — digital marketing to be more specific.
No matter how amazing your product is, if no one knows about it, you’re not going to last. I always tell this to early-stage startups. Marketing might as well be your biggest expense. Be smart when allocating funds to not end up like me. Believe it or not, I still have a whole bunch of designer pieces in my apartment, and I’m almost certain my friends are tired of receiving jewelry as gifts for their special days.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Not specifically a person, but a community. Us female founders, we are very well connected and are always ready to support each other. I’m a member of Female Founders Fund and the 10th House, and anytime I need some advice, there are some wonderful female founders there to offer a helping hand. I’m also a member of the Helm, a women- and minority-only investment fund, where we have a community of women that supports each other. I love the community that we have in NY. We are very united and supportive to each other.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Without sounding super cheesy, I’d like to say that we truly care. I care about each and every client, no matter where they are in their journey. We support our partners. We do more than what is stated on our mission. We are an agency that comes up with suggestions. Problems occur, and my job is not to focus on them — to acknowledge them for sure — but work with our brand partners to test alternative solutions to get us through tough times. Digital marketing is an always-changing industry, and I love it for that very reason. Yet, we need to always be aware of what’s to come to be ready to adjust, and we do that well.
One quick example would be, in the very early stages of Bowery Boost, I was introduced to a brilliant young female founder with an absolutely amazing product. But the funds were low, and we were at the testing stages on the ad platforms. This means as a smart company owner and marketer, you can’t be spending too high. Our agency takes a percentage of spend as a form of payment, and when the budgets are low, we might also end up with very low monthly invoices. We didn’t care about that. Eventually after a three-month period of heavy audience and ad creative tests, we figured out what people react to and want to see. After two years, that particular client is still with us, and now they’re one of our biggest clients.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Never stop learning is a big one. Digital is about change, and we need to constantly read and learn to not only follow what’s happening, but to make up our own ideas, truths, and strategies to become pioneers. I read a lot, put together thoughts, build tests, and have fun with it.
Don’t be afraid of failing. For sure it’s a cliche, but it’s my biggest strength. I’m never afraid of failing or making mistakes. I admit it if I made a mistake, and find a way to fix it rather than focusing on the mistake. That part is very important, but only after we find a way to make things better.
Never give up. As long as you believe your goal is humanly possible, you can find a way to get where you want. I’m a driven person. I don’t mind working hard, and sometimes working not-so-smart, but I still try to make things I believe in happen.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes! We have a very fun and exciting project coming up next quarter. As a digital marketing agency, we do see the importance of influencer marketing while working very closely with our agency brand partners. For the last year and a half, we’ve been building a platform that will allow brands to connect with influencers, create content with them for organic and paid social, run true whitelisting ads through our platform, compare results, and scale in a very simple and cost-effective way. Initially, we were planning on using the tool exclusively for our agency partners, but what we built has become way bigger than what we initially targeted.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main questions of our interview. As we mentioned in the beginning, sometimes companies that just start exploring with digital marketing tools like PPC campaigns often see disappointing results. In your opinion, what are a few of the biggest mistakes companies make when they first start out with digital marketing? If you can, please share an example for each.
Not running enough research and building goals before starting anything paid digital is a mistake. Digital means data. We have access to so much data with all the advertising and analytics tools out there. Using tools like SEMRush, running a thorough competitor research, and analyzing keyword cost and competitiveness will give you a head start.
In addition to PPC, if we talk about paid social, Facebook has an ad library that you can research ads being run by your competitors. Search for the ads that have the oldest launch date. That somehow might be an indicator that’s a long-term, high-performing asset. We don’t suggest copying from your competitors, as every brand is unique and different in their own way. But it won’t hurt to take some inspiration from them.
Another very important point is building a cost analysis. What are the numbers for break-even? What are the numbers for profitability? Don’t expect them to hit right out of the gate, but build a roadmap with every channel that can get you there and expect improvements each month (except the times of seasonality).
Let’s talk about Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC) for a bit. In your opinion which PPC platform produces the best results to increase sales?
Google Search Ads become more and more important after the iOS14 updates. We saw it coming and started allocating higher budgets on NonBrand Search for our clients to make sure when the data is lost, we have a second channel that supports our growth. We did a great job for many of our clients in finding the least competitive, high-conversion, long-tail keywords to target high-intent, strong ROAS traffic. I’d say definitely Google. And the platform is also coming up with new campaign types like Performance Max, which is picking up pretty well for our certain clients.
Can you please share 3 things that you need to know to run a highly successful PPC campaign?
You need to do your research. You should do a thorough competitor analysis using tools like SEMRush and Moz, and find the keyword gaps that might work for you.
You need to pay attention to your ad quality score. Google values the keyword x landing page relativeness more than any other platform. You should plan on building landing pages for different NonBrand campaigns.
You need to constantly optimize, exclude, and include search terms within your ad sets. You should also not mess with your campaigns during the learning phase. Google takes longer time periods, and it’s definitely less effective during that phase. I won’t say the same thing is true on Facebook. On Facebook, I don’t mind the learning phase that much, unlike what Facebook reps constantly tell us.
Let’s now talk about email marketing for a bit. In your opinion, what are the 3 things that you need to know to run a highly successful email marketing campaign that increases sales?
You need to understand your customer’s journey, and not everyone’s is the same. First-party data, especially after iOS14 updates, became more and more important. Run analysis within your customers, and don’t treat everyone the same.
If you have a strong product mix, figure out the product many of your first time buyers converts the most with. Then build lifecycle funnels to guide people to your high-retention products.
Don’t get spammy and bombard people with lots of email with no value. Email marketing — or any marketing for that matter — is about the customer and how they benefit from your products. Once you build the relationship with your customers, tell them more about your brand and brand values. Brand loyalty is harder than ever to achieve. People would love to know why you’re doing what you’re doing and why your brand matters.
What are the other digital marketing tools that you are passionate about? If you can, can you share with our readers what they are and how to best leverage them?
We use SEMRush for Google Ads analytics. Google Analytics is very important for last-click data. We utilize Supermetrics for our dashboards, and also integrate our Shopify clients to Glew.io for more visual data tracking. We also have a partnership with a creative analysis tool called Motionapp that gives us lots of data about creative performance and next steps for creative tests.
Here is the main question of our series. Can you please tell us the 5 things you need to create a highly successful career as a digital marketer? Can you please share a story or example for each?
You need to love reading and constantly learning. Digital will never stay the same. Last year we had iOS14 updates, next year we need to adjust to the cookieless world. Loving the challenge of it all helps 🙂
We need to adopt and adapt to newness. New platforms, new data collecting techniques — there’s always something new.
Don’t be afraid to test new channels and to be on the lookout for new platforms. We get the best pricing when companies are brand new (when the service makes sense for us to use, of course). Remember the tests, take notes, and learn from them.
Data is important, but we should be aware that the creative — and who you are targeting with that creative — is important. You have to be able to analyze and understand creatives.
Know how to market yourself. Having the ability to network is just as important as all these other hard skills.
What books, podcasts, videos or other resources do you use to sharpen your marketing skills?
I’m old school. I still have my Feedly feed I built years ago, and I update it every year with all ecommerce and marketing publications. I read about 30 minutes every day to go through important titles in the eCom and tech worlds. I also like podcasts like Work Party, Female Founder World, and The Skimm.
Thank you for all of that. We are nearly done. Here is our final ‘meaty’ question. You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would want us to question gender roles and stereotypes around gender. Knowing first hand the opportunities we couldn’t tap into just because I am a woman was dejecting. And that’s just a small piece of it.
How can our readers further follow your work?
We’re active on Linkedin, and IG, and starting to be more active on Twitter now.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
Mistakes are opportunities. When something is new, there are aspects that aren’t fully understood until it’s implemented. For instance, we developed an application for internal use. After it was developed, we realized it didn’t do what we wanted. Ultimately, we decided to redesign most of the app. It happens as part of the learning curve with any new technology.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingAdam Hintzman.
Adam Hintzman is a machine design engineer and the AR, VR and MR technology leader at 3M. During his career he has worked to deploy this technology at 3M corporate offices, labs and manufacturing sites worldwide. His passion to empower 3Mers with X Reality has shifted mindsets and prepared 3M for the future.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
Growing up, I watched sci-fi movies, played immersive gaming systems and invented gadgets. These moments always kept me thinking of what could be, instead of what is. For instance, I turned unused lawncare parts into a go-kart, raced for first place in a 90s NASCAR videogame headset, and always wondered if the future of tech would look like anything in the movies. Eventually, these passions grew to a career in which I engineer machinery for a vast array of 3M products and lead some of the company’s efforts to leverage the latest X reality (XR) technologies.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Star Wars is easily the most influential movie series to me. Even though it is set in a universe that is apparently different (e.g. space travel, hovering vehicles), it can captivate you and make you believe this could be our near future. As a kid, I was always fascinated by this, especially by the tech.
Some of that technology correlates to what I’m doing now. For instance, Boba Fett’s helmet mounted display resembles a lot of current AR headsets, and R2-D2’s holographic messaging is very similar to the experience with the latest MR headsets. It is exciting to think that what was thought to be futuristic technology just a few decades ago is now reality.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
I have always been interested in the XR industry, but I was focused on the entertainment aspects before working at 3M.
My pursuits into XR for enterprise began at my first 3M engineering picnic when I met my director for the first time. He introduced himself and he asked if I knew about AR and VR. I replied, “It’s augmented and virtual reality,” and he said “Alright, you’re in!” From there I was part of the AR/VR Venture Engineering program, which allocates resources to investigate or develop new techniques, processes and technologies. I capitalized on this opportunity to influence XR at 3M, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of the 3M’s major AR, VR and MR (mixed reality) efforts ever since.
I saw this technology as a means to unite my project stakeholders and break the barriers between the digital and real world. For example, I could use VR to display an interactive model of a new machine design that accurately portrays ergonomics, safety and maintainability. After the design has been approved, I could use AR/MR to review equipment being fabricated or support equipment that has been installed.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
The 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which happened right before COVID shutdowns, was pivotal. I was given an amazing opportunity to represent 3M at CES and explore the latest and greatest XR products. It was like a dream come true! I was able to meet a ton of awesome people and put on tech that I never thought I’d be able to try — like a VR haptic bodysuit that sends electrical charges to your skin to simulate interactions with the virtual world (e.g. wind). It was a “pinch me this isn’t real” situation.
The CES show opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities and helped me realize this isn’t an industry of one, but an industry of many — many individuals and companies that are approaching various industry issues in innovative ways. I also had opportunities to hear some of these individuals discuss how they’ve implemented this technology at an enterprise scale, which inspired me to think about how we can do more at 3M. Let’s keep pushing. Let’s see where we can go with this technology.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I recall facilitating an MR demo before we deployed MR headsets globally in a glass walled room. I noticed the curious, borderline concerned looks from passersby as their colleagues were rapidly gesticulating and tapping the air. So, I guess my funniest mistake was not picking a more appropriate conference room to conduct product demonstrations.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Four people come to mind:
Cale Schwalm, my director, enabled me to work on 3M AR/VR/MR when I first started at 3M. He always pushes status quo boundaries and he’s very supportive of 3M’s “15% Culture” of allocating a percentage of your work week to explore areas of interest that aren’t directly related to your day-to-day job. He has been a hands-on supporter of this technology, always willing to help set up for internal demos, coordinating stakeholder meetings and ultimately supporting XR in any way he could.
Jeff Rasmussen, IT risk specialist, is a mentor within the IT organization. Jeff always says “yes, if” rather than “no, because.” He found ways to relate new headsets to existing approved equipment, which significantly helped gain buy-in from IT. His mentorship allowed us to cultivate a strong working partnership with IT that continues to support VR, AR and MR technologies.
Martin Pozniak, digital software engineer, close friend, and AR/MR technology leader is a crucial member of the team. He started the train-the-trainer support network, which has allowed us to support this tech without additional headcount. He always pushes the team to consider how else it can help 3M, and always considers our users with every decision we make.
Elizabeth Harris, Six Sigma black belt, oversaw our business relations with our internal stakeholders. She was an early supporter of the tech and enabled a swift deployment of MR headsets during the start of COVID to enable 3Mers to communicate with each other without needing to travel. She was crucial in helping bridge the gaps between our technical expertise and our stakeholders’ needs.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
From an enterprise perspective, there are four main categories of use cases: communication, training, design and data visualization. Some of which are currently being used, while others are being actively worked on.
Communication: We rolled out mixed reality in 2020 with the Microsoft HoloLens 2 to alleviate communication issues caused by COVID travel restrictions. By using the built-in head mounted camera, 3Mers were able to stream various aspects of their work environments to remote participants, giving a virtual first-person view. It allowed 3Mers to engage in complex situations with vendors, customers and coworkers, and it even assisted with 3M’s respirator production when we had to ramp up production to meet rapidly growing demand.
Training: Training can be broken down into two main categories: virtual and hands-on. For virtual training we use various VR headsets in different ways. For instance, our Personal Safety Division uses VR to train customers on how to use our safety products. This is extremely helpful because you can simulate dangerous experiences without exposing the trainee to any inherent danger. 3M also uses it for tradeshows to showcase how 3M products act in real world simulations (e.g. a driving simulator with various road conditions to demonstrate 3M reflective films on road signs). Personally, I think our work in VR allows us to engage users in ways that traditional media can’t and provides users with a deeper understanding of the content.
For hands-on training, we are actively looking into how MR can elevate the training experience. Since MR allows trainees to view the content hands-free, they can actually go through training steps while performing the tasks. For example, with hand detection you can naturally progress to the next step of the training guide by placing your hand on the next tool. Or, it can be more traditional, appearing as pictures, videos and text. Because the content is holographic, it’s like a 30-inch TV that you can put anywhere you want — above your workspace or wherever you feel like it’s most ergonomic — and see it while you work. It’s more immersive, quicker, and easier to understand than simply watching videos beforehand.
Design: As with training, design is broken into the VR and MR applications. As a mechanical engineer, VR is extremely helpful to make quick iterations with equipment I design. One can quickly view designs in a 1:1 scale from an office and make iterative changes for ergonomics, safety and maintenance-conscious design. VR enables engineering stakeholders to engage with the design by walking around it and interacting with the different touch points. For example, I have seen someone from maintenance simulate a task of replacing a part, which led to accessibility improvements that would not have been addressed without this tech.
For MR, we are looking into holographically placing equipment to check fitment and cohesion with the existing space. This is extremely beneficial as engineering can proactively catch issues with interferences and confirm that assembly and installation of equipment is as designed.
Data Visualization: The holy grail of XR is data visualization. This is the most complex and time-consuming application, but it is the current pinnacle of XR. By interlacing real world parameters with the digital space, you can overlay machine data over the sensors that are creating them. In theory, allowing you to interact with the data and equipment in the real space.
Another exciting development at 3M is that we recently hired our first mixed reality designer, so now we are essentially building the 3M design language for AR, VR and MR. If you consider brand recognition and app development, there is a specific style and format that has been carefully optimized for traditional platforms like phones and laptops. XR brings new modalities, which require a completely new way of designing.
With our own designer, 3M now has the skillset to internally design digital content in this space that is optimized for each platform. For instance, typing is easy on a phone but difficult in XR. And instead of having the limitation of a single screen, you now have a head mounted display. You have something that you can manipulate in any way you want. It opens avenues for a lot of design challenges, but also affords different ways to leverage the technology. So now we’re looking at how we can best create content in this space, not just leverage existing platforms.
The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
I would say it’s accessibility, accessibility, accessibility. Technology is driven by interest, and interest is a product of accessibility.
If you look at VR, it began to reach critical mass when devices became no more expensive than most gaming consoles. In turn, that increased the opportunity for developers to reach a wider audience and justify the cost of their games.
Now, companies are developing new technologies for these industries to further increase their overall accessibility. For instance, 3M developed a folded optics product that significantly reduces the size and weight of VR headsets while improving optical clarity.
What are the 2 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Personal safety: There are reasonable concerns from enterprises when adopting XR headsets since they can occlude or augment what you see. Fortunately, the industry has responded to most of those concerns. For instance, VR headsets use pass-through video feed to help ensure users don’t walk into or trip over nearby objects in their immediate real world while they’re interacting in the virtual world.
Metaverse ecosystem: Many companies are trying to create a metaverse of some kind, and the trick will be coming up with a way for all these different devices, operating on different platforms, to interact with each other.
History has shown that different digital ecosystems tend to segregate users, think iOS vs Android. Without synergy in the metaverse, users will struggle to build a digital community, which is especially troublesome with technology that is still being adopted. Fortunately, companies working in this space acknowledge this concern. If they are able to follow through with a device- and platform-agnostic metaverse, then we are going to see tremendous growth in this industry.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
As I mentioned earlier, VR, AR and MR currently have four main use cases at work: communication, training, design and data visualization. Depending on which technology you use, the benefits within these categories change.
VR is a fantastic tool to simulate experiences that would otherwise be costly, dangerous or logistically challenging. If you are a new fork truck operator, you can simulate driving a fork truck in different simulations that prepare you for operating one for the first time.
AR displays digital information in the field of view of the device. If you are stocking a grocery store, now you can pull up your phone and have a digital compass pointing to exactly which shelf the product goes on.
MR combines the benefits of both, allowing a worker to see and interact with holograms that interface with the real world. If you’re an engineer installing new equipment in a specific space, you can overlay your design and visually confirm that it is being installed correctly.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
There are many different use cases for XR. VR has the power to build friendships while removing geographic limitations. You can attend virtual parties and through body trackers dance away the night. With these technologies, you can pull out your phone and have your GPS app show you how to navigate around a city with overlaid arrows and business information. You can ski and have performance data like heart rate, speed and elevation appear in your goggles. You can showcase the benefits of your product in different conditions without having to transport heavy and elaborate demonstration equipment.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
The one myth that I would like to dispel is that new tech can completely replace old tech/processes. In reality, new technology is more of an evolution of current ones, and rarely is it better in every way. For instance, there isn’t a substitute for physically troubleshooting equipment if you are available and travel is possible. In situations where that isn’t the case, new technology can help you get “eyes on the problem” by streaming a first-person view at that location. MR communication isn’t a substitute for travel but it is a powerful solution when travel isn’t possible. In other words, new technology is about adding a tool in the toolbox.
Another myth is that adoption follows innovation. You must focus on real-world use cases to cultivate support and adapt the technology as new uses cases and issues arise. It is easy to forget that most of our technology also had many years of growing pains before it became commonplace. The cutting edge isn’t easy, nor is it quick.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Always say “yes if” instead of “no because.” When we first deployed this technology and we were seeking buy-in, finding ways to assimilate, correlate or compare a new technology to something existing was helpful in changing or shaping perceptions. For example, rather than saying no we can’t use an MR headset because we don’t have the policies in place to manage it, you can say yes if you consider this new headset operating system is roughly similar to a tablet we currently use.
Partnerships and endorsements are crucial. Identify the individuals who will help you and guide you through the obstacles you will almost inevitably encounter, such as negotiating licenses, managing devices or funding new equipment. You can’t navigate these obstacles alone.
Mistakes are opportunities. When something is new, there are aspects that aren’t fully understood until it’s implemented. For instance, we developed an application for internal use. After it was developed, we realized it didn’t do what we wanted. Ultimately, we decided to redesign most of the app. It happens as part of the learning curve with any new technology.
Passion is essential. There’s no reason to get involved with this if you don’t have the passion to do so. You must be driven because you’re going to face a lot of obstacles and you will easily lose your drive to continue. Given time, you might eventually see a technology you have been passionately advocating for become advocated by others — including some who were initially the biggest skeptics.
Vertical integration. Having in-house expertise makes it much easier to create an app or an experience that is exactly what you want. We’ve been doing this for quite some time in the VR space and we have expertise that allows us to create content that we couldn’t necessarily get from the outside.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would inspire people to break corporate and individual silos. It is very easy to have the mindset that this is my process/idea/specialty without realizing that others in the company might benefit from your experience. I have seen this firsthand with AR/VR/MR and I have been working toward a corporate-wide community of users. It’s incredible when an individual posts about an MR project they are working on and others in the company chime in to offer suggestions or draw inspiration for a different project. Ultimately, we are stronger together and benefit from everyone’s experience.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why?
Two people came to mind:
Sandy Monroe: He’s an automotive manufacturing engineer by trade and he has become popular on YouTube for pioneering a new genre of vehicle reviews that seek to understand the engineering behind the vehicles being reviewed. This is the first time I have ever seen anyone review a car that went beyond stating that a car is efficient and address how it is efficient. He demonstrates to a global audience what great engineering looks like, and as an engineer I love to see industry leaders advocate for my passion.
James Hoffman: From a high level he is a coffee connoisseur and has an amazing YouTube channel dedicated to brewing the best coffee. There are few good engineers without coffee, and his videos inspired me to buy my own coffee machine and locally sourced beans. I’d never thought I’d be a coffee aficionado, but here I am!
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Meet The Disruptors: David Štýbr Of Livento Group On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Manage your time: Work, private life, and sleep should always be balanced.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing David Štýbr.
David Štýbr is the CEO of Livento Group, which focuses on acquiring and developing companies with disruptive business models. He manages AI and machine learning products for portfolio optimization and recently launched the BOXO Production brand focused on movie production. Štýbr is looking for companies where the team can deliver 30x value through an IPO.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Since university, I have been leading teams, restructuring organizations, looking for ways to do things more efficiently, increasing performance and delivering added value to companies. I restructured and built four divisions/companies during my time at CPI Property Group in order reorganize the company and a focus on clients and organic growth. I am on the board of Iconic Labs, a UK-listed company, currently acquiring technology companies worth $100 million.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
First, I would say that disruption doesn’t mean always going against the flow at any cost, while just having a vision that something can work. Disruption happens in my work through a focus on specific goals with a strategy to help reach it. These targets are often something new to the market, which creates a disruption in the business or industry. Our stock market Portfolio Management System is a disruptive tool for asset managers and high-net-worth investors that seamlessly rebalances portfolios to obtain the best results. BOXO Productions is also disruptive. Through the brand, we are democratizing investment in movies and TV shows and leveraging the growing customer demand for new entertainment content. We deliver high margins and a positive financial outcome for investors.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I would say attention to detail is something I missed. I was two days into my new job, as a confident junior finance manager, and I almost got fired. I overlooked that the signature space in one agreement was on an empty page of the document and my boss did not like that. There were two lessons that I learned: first, you never know if you are making your next mistake at any moment, so always be ready, and second, pay attention and think twice before you feel that you’ve completed something.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
My mentors have manifested in a less traditional way. I was working with successful people and managing their assets, and I became very interested in listening to how they got their start in business, their path in life, and any recommendations they had for me.
The most important thing I learned is that what really matters is the paying customer. No matter what business you build, you need to have revenues. I believe that a lot of people in companies that are not in direct touch with customers should have this written on their desks or monitors because sales teams and revenues are the basis of success.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disruption usually means change and people, by nature, typically don’t like change. Some people use disruption to “negate” some way of doing things and want to do things differently at any cost so they can personally benefit from it. But I believe that’s not how this concept should be taken and executed since that’s the opposite of a positive approach.
Disruption should be linked with a path to achieve a selected target. Disruption should be the result of a needed change and not the cause of it.
Take for example our portfolio AI system. We developed it as an answer to today’s information and news flow problem.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Think positively: Never think about why something doesn’t work, instead, think about how to make it work.
Focus on the customer: Without revenues, you do not have a business.
Prepare for a black swan event: You need to be ready for a new obstacle to arise at any moment.
Manage your time: Work, private life, and sleep should always be balanced.
Team: Find people that excel in areas you do not and people who move you forward.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Livento Group becoming public is a big step ahead for us and is enabling us to develop and grow our projects more quickly. I believe our revenues can be tripled within the next several years since our projects have the potential to grow and the right business model to succeed in the market. Our target is to uplist Livento within the exchanges so we can reach a wider investor audience and become an interesting partner for corporate clients. We plan to grow our revenues by establishing new offices and targeting new clients in the US.
We have one more ongoing IPO project under Livento and a venture project that we will announce in the next couple of months, which is focused on green personal transportation.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
When I was very young, I often read books about the universe and people climbing the highest peaks of the Himalayas. Both have a few points in common, which I am employing now: if you want something, you need to work on it so it can happen, you will never solve a problem without finding the cause, and the distance to a final goal is what matters.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I like a quote from Henry Ford, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” We all are at work or home under a constant deluge of events and new information and need to find a way to not become totally absorbed with it. Especially at work, the operational part of a job can often fill a whole day easily. But what’s important is to sit down for 20 minutes and think about questions such as “How did I help today in regard to short-, mid-and long-term goals?”, “Is my time being used properly?”, and “How can I move forward faster toward my goals (not dreams)?”
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I believe that everyone should try to find where they belong and create some good in that space. With billions of people on the planet, everyone can make a change, even a small one, to have a positive impact on the climate or technological advances, for example. As you can see with Livento, we are building new AI systems and brands like BOXO, and we want people to be part of it so we can all benefit in one way or another.
Patrick Dorn Mills-Winfield Engineering Sales, Inc. Longtime sales and engineering experience in the mixer and agitator markets, for varied industries. Degreed Chemical Engineer.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I started in the industrial wastewater market developing systems for industrial wastewater treatment markets. Some of our systems utilized small mixers, which were supplied by Mills-Winfield, for these treatment systems. They were incredibly reliable, and when I was looking at a new career path an opening at LIGHTNIN Mixers was available for aftermarket sales in the Midwest. After about 13 years there, an opening at Mills-Winfield, who is the LIGHTNIN representative, became available so I joined Mills-Winfield. It was more rewarding solving customer’s issues with a more direct approach here.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Keeping the customer informed is the most important aspect of marketing. I do remember forgetting to tell a customer of a new development in a product that would aid them in their processing/manufacturing. They happened to see it somewhere else and asked me about it. I forgot that it would be useful for them. Fortunately, they saw it and we changed course in solving their problem. But it reminded me — always keep your customers informed.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Mills-Winfield stands out in experience. Our business has been around since 1930, and selling mixing equipment since 1950. Our team of sales engineers has many years of experience between the 4 of us, over 100 years combined.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Many of our projects touch people in ways that are important, be it from a pharmaceutical product, food product, water treatment, etc. Our products are the backbone to manufacturing important products people rely on in everyday life.
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Brand marketing is the simple marketing of a brand. We provide more than that — our products are marketed to industries that need them. Products are marketed for what they can do for a specific industry and customer. The brand marketing is the reliability.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
Brands are what the customer expects in terms of performance — across the uses and industries we serve. Customers reward brands that are reliable and stand behind their products.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
Be accessible — answer your phone and respond to customer’s needs.
Have a reliable product — time and money are wasted when you are simply fixing a product. Find a solution to improve your processes.
Be honest — tell customers if there are delays and the truth as to why things are delayed. It lets th customer plan for the future.
Bring value to your client — Customers need ideas, not just products. Solutions are important!
Maintain consistency — make sure the customer’s needs are met and done correctly.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
In the machinery and equipment world, Caterpillar has made an excellent job of making a brand that is trusted with building unique solutions for customers. To replicate that, you must continue to innovate your products, along with keeping your quality standards.
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
Brand building can measure success with the desire for customers to obtain that branded product, when alternatives are out there that are similar.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Being active and authentic on social media is a required effort for success in almost any industry in todays information age. People want to see what the company is doing, what’s new and exciting, and who we are and they go to social media to find these answers. Knowing that, we are intentional about putting out a genuine picture of who we are and what we do to continue to build a trustworthy brand our current and future customers can rely on.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Don’t push the negative — find the positive.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Always keep your customers informed, even if the news is not what they (or you) want to hear (or convey). Customers would rather hear from you than you ignore issues. I’ve had some deliveries that were not acceptable to either the customer or me. Conveying that information is not always easy, but it is important. People can’t plan without information.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Elon Musk — developed technologies that are on the cutting edge of the future industries. Much of his success was due to innovation and research — which some companies forget to do when they get bigger. If you don’t innovate, you stagnate.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
We are available to follow through our website, www.mills-winfield.com, or on Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We post new products and uses for them on these pages.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Diversity promotes corporate innovation, which can lead to new revenues. As just one high profile example, a Disney park engaged in brainstorming sessions with other Disney parks and divisions, and were able to shorten the timeline on idea execution from 40 to 6 weeks.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Becky Sarwate.
Becky Sarwate is a PR and communications leader who brings 20 years of demonstrated success in reputation management and branding growth to her role as Head of Communications for CEX.IO. She previously held high-visibility positions in the traditional finance and cybersecurity spaces with companies such as HUB International, TransUnion and Tanium. A multiple award-winning journalist, Sarwate serves as CEX.IO’s overall company spokesperson.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I’m a bit of a professional “late bloomer.” Though I always loved writing and knew I had a talent and passion for communications, I originally explored music and dance as creative outlets. Eventually realizing I possessed neither the talent nor the thick skin for performance, while I thrived pretty well in front of a keyboard, I pursued an advanced degree in English Literature. Back in 2007 when I concluded my studies, I suspected this deliberate course of action could prove to be a corporate communications career game changer, no matter how unorthodox. And it certainly was — in all the right ways.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
I’ve spent a number of years in the crisis communications space. One of the longest-running and most complex challenges of my career was when I worked at TransUnion in 2017, and the infamous Equifax breach became household conversation in the U.S. Though TransUnion is an entirely separate company with different practices, I learned the hard and painful way that in a space with few competitors, public determinations of guilt by association are very real. And they take time and commitment to unwind. It taught me an important lesson about brands being a living thing, and that the need to establish and communicate competitive differentiation is continuous work.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself.”
Sula, Toni Morrison
In one of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s seminal novels, this quote is often misperceived as a rejection of motherhood. I never saw it that way at all. I viewed the words rather as a call to action for capable, successful women. I want to make a positive difference in every way, but that can only be accomplished through continuous work on myself as a human, a professional and a citizen of the world.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
There are more people who deserve gratitude than I can possibly name in one brief space. However one of my most important career mentors has been Ilyce Glink, a well-known real estate and personal finance expert. I worked for her about a decade ago producing content for her wide variety of traditional and digital media platforms, and we’ve remained friends. She’s good at everything she does professionally, is a terrific wife and mother, a caring mentor and is never afraid to try and learn something new. She is present in all areas of her life and makes it look effortless. I have tried to carry that model with me through my own life.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
CEX.IO is a company built on the notion of providing crypto ecosystem accessibility, and opening the benefits up to as many people as desire to enter the space. You won’t find overcomplexity and exclusivity here. We’re comprised of a geographically diverse team that is constantly working to build new services and improve upon existing ones for our customer base. We uphold the greatest regulatory and financial industry standards, because we believe that security and simplicity are the keys to global adoption .
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
The company recently launched our new CEX.IO University, which is a one stop shop for all things crypto education. We developed this platform with the goal of providing the necessary knowledge and tools to novices within the crypto space, which can only empower them and further the goal of adoption.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I like to think so. I am a rabid Cubs fan with a satisfying communications career that earns me a living. So in 2019, a writing partner and I published Cubsessions: Famous Fans of Chicago’s North Side Baseball Team. I was able to interview entertainment industry luminaries like Bob Newhart, Joe Mantegna and Nick Offerman, sharing their long-suffering stories as fans of the “Loveable Losers” turned 2016 World Series Champs. My partner and I donated all of our proceeds to relevant non-profits like the Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities. It was an opportunity to live a dream while using it as an opportunity to give back.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line.
Sometimes employers need a negative motivator, so here’s a good one: the failure to diversify your teams will cost your business money — and a lot of it. Upwards of a $1 trillion is lost by companies each year due to attrition and voluntary turnover. Many of these job hoppers are from underrepresented groups that simply do not feel included in the business. Look no further than the biggest tech giants for recent cautionary tales.
At the same time, hiring practices that meaningfully promote diversity can help a business actually make more money. Companies that place more women in the C-suite for example, enjoy an average 10% revenue bump.
Diversity promotes corporate innovation, which can lead to new revenues. As just one high profile example, a Disney park engaged in brainstorming sessions with other Disney parks and divisions, and were able to shorten the timeline on idea execution from 40 to 6 weeks.
It may seem counterintuitive as hiring is regarded as an internal practice, but diversity in recruitment, job offer extension and training can be very good for your external brand health. Brands with high diversity scores show an 83% higher consumer preference.
At the same time, businesses known to show an aversion to self-examination and greater efforts at inclusion, are a common source of consumer frustration.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
To be blunt: when hiring and building teams, look past your own face for quality talent and candidates. What I mean by that is, and this is especially prevalent in the crypto industry, confirmation bias can be real and stubbornly pervasive. As of the time of this interview, I’m disappointed to report that women represent only 4–6% of the crypto and blockchain work force. Given that we are more than 50% of the global population, with careers to build and money to invest, this is an embarrassing imbalance that must be conscientiously rectified. If DeFi as a whole wants to change its personal and private reputation as an exclusive male club, it starts by ensuring that there are female perspectives and voices in the metaphorical corporate boardroom. The fact is that female professionals cannot thrive where they are not present.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
As a leader, you simply cannot be everywhere at once. So I believe in the “three Ts,” in this order: train, trust and temperature check. Provide your teams with the tools and resources they need to succeed. Have confidence that they are talented adults that you hired for good reason. Then put it on yourself to regularly connect with your team members, and keep each other honest as business needs and priorities evolve and skills need to pivot.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
Martha Stewart, and not because I have any talent or passion for domestic lifestyle subject matter expertise. She is simply one hell of a tough and admirable lady. Started her career as a model, was a single mother, built a business empire, went to prison and lost, then built it again. Living proof that there can indeed be second acts for people whose talent and work ethic will not be denied.
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Self-awareness. Before my most recent speech, I realized my heart had started racing and I was nervously tapping my foot. These are the kind of physical sensations that indicate anxiety over speaking. If you’re self-aware of how your own individual mind and body react to anxiety, you’ll know when you’re being “triggered” by fear of public speaking.
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Cobin, Founder of DynamiCoach / Polishing Your Presence for IMPACT.
Tom has been a public speaker for literally a half-century. He started public speaking in 7th grade, gathering contest trophies all over the New York City metropolitan area. The following year, he was named Class Valedictorian and gave the commencement speech at his elementary school graduation. He kept up his presentation skills through high school debate, and in college studied journalism at NYU, where he was a radio reporter, DJ, and interview program host. Even before graduation as the top student in his journalism class, he was working at CBS.
After 10 years “behind the scenes” as a writer & producer, Tom left NYC for a successful on-air career as an award-winning Investigative Reporter, Weathercaster, and Anchor. After another decade in journalism, Tom transitioned into pharmaceutical sales — where his outstanding presentation skills helped him achieve top sales awards and a promotion to National Sales Trainer. In this role, he conducted workshops in Presentation Skills, to help colleagues elevate their performance and career prospects. Outside of work, Tom also has experience as a trainer & coach in windsurfing, skiing, sailing, rollerblading, and yoga.
Tom is now helping others benefit from his wide-ranging experience through DynamiCoach — holding live and virtual workshops, and providing one-on-one coaching. He is also available for corporate training, and Keynote speeches for companies or organizations. He is currently Vice President / President-Elect of the Brickell ToastMasters Chapter in Miami, Florida, and a member of the Florida Speakers Association, the state chapter of the National Speakers Association.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Grew up? Past tense? I’m still growing up!
Seriously: my upbringing has everything to do with how I became a speaking coach. I was raised in the suburbs of New York City, and was incredibly fortunate to have many advanced opportunities through Parochial School — including Public Speaking, which I began in 7th grade. This means I have been speaking publicly for half a century, literally! After graduation from elementary school (I was Valedictorian), my family moved to the Catskills in upstate New York, where I continued speaking and presentation in debate. In my final year, my partner and I went all the way to State Finals! After graduating high school early in three years, I began a pre-med curriculum at Cornell University, but dropped out in my sophomore year and moved to New York City, where I later resumed my education at NYU studying journalism. My speaking continued on-air at the college radio station, WNYU: I was a DJ, news reporter, and interview host. I also got my first paid work as a reporter, working part-time for WHN-AM (at the time, the largest and most powerful country music station in the nation), and the Mutual Broadcasting Network (of which WHN was an affiliate, and where Larry King had his pre-CNN radio show). By the time I was graduated (yes, that’s the grammatically correct form) as the top student in my NYU journalism class, I was already working at CBS headquarters as a writer & producer!
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
After 20 years as a journalist — both behind the scenes as a writer / producer in NYC and later on-camera as a reporter, weathercaster, and anchor — I transitioned into pharmaceutical sales. People would often say that seemed like an unusual career transition. But I realized both careers could be summarized by the same description: researching, absorbing, and summarizing information to be verbally presented for the benefit of others. Throughout my life, I’ve enjoyed training and instructing others to share my knowledge and experience for their benefit. Professionally, I served as a Pharmaceutical Trainer at District and National level. Recreationally, I’ve been a trainer / instructor in yoga, skiing, windsurfing, rollerblading, and sailing. So my current career as a Speaking Coach / Presentation Skills Trainer is a natural, organic confluence of my entire life’s activities for both business and pleasure.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I witnessed an example of one of the most encouraging aspects of public speaking: that what we fear the most — embarrassment — can actually form an emotional bond of “connection” between speaker and audience.
I was at a ToastMasters meeting where someone got up in front of the group for the first time. She only had to speak for 1–2 minutes, about “three things in life that are important to you.” She did fine through the first and second items, but then she stopped. The Timer pointed to his wristwatch and motioned for her to keep going. She started silently rocking back and forth on her feet, and looking up into the corners of the ceilings — two classic “tells” of anxiety. Then she started crying. Several of us literally leaped out of seats to run up and reassure her: “that’s fine, it’s your first time. You did great! You’re so brave.”
This exemplifies what researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have determined: moderate embarrassment can form a “social glue” among people.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was demonstrating a form of deep breathing, and I stumbled while telling the group where to place their hand in order to perceive movement in their lower abdomen. I started by saying, “put one hand between your navel and your …” and stopped myself before getting any more specific. I quickly corrected myself: “Put your hand below your navel.” Everyone in the group laughed at this awkward moment.
I learned a few things from this experience: 1) think in advance about the details and specifics of what you’re going to say and how an audience will react, 2) be careful when human anatomy is involved, and 3) as cited in the research finding mentioned above: moderate embarrassment in front of a group is nothing to fear, and can actually enhance your “connection” with the audience.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The best leader / mentor of my TV career taught me an invaluable lesson 30 years ago on the power of non-verbal communication.
As News Director at WCBS-TV in New York City, he was grooming me as a Broadcast Producer. One day in the Control Room, we had a minor crisis — which I and the crew handled fine, with nothing apparent to the audience. After the broadcast, we met in his office and he pointed out to me that anchors on-set are in an environment of almost total quiet, with very little audio input other than the voices in their earpieces, primarily mine. He had observed that, during the show’s crisis, I was speaking in a fast, clipped, loud voice that conveyed anxiety and tension. Such emotions would be transmitted to the anchors through my voice in their earpieces, which could make them anxious and agitated as well, degrading their performance.
This was such a “profound revelation” that it remained with me throughout my life, and is especially important to me now as a Speech Coach and Presentation Skills Trainer. “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” Tone of voice can completely change how others perceive what we say.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Failure is temporary, and often provides important experiences and learnings that later contribute to success.
I left pharmaceutical sales for two years and started a venture which provided the first-of-its-kind technology for medical education on mobile devices, before the iPhone. We failed for a number of reasons, but what I was forced to learn and execute for that endeavor formed the basis for the rest of my career. I mastered a suite of software: Illustrator; PhotoShop; Acrobat; PowerPoint; etc. I learned about the technology of relational databases (I do have a background in IT: my minor in college was Math / Computer Science). Combined with my background in television, all of this further technical knowledge and skill formed the basis for my gaining the opportunity to play a pivotal role in the “digital transformation” at my last pharmaceutical company, as National Sales Trainer. At my going-away party upon leaving that position, the Director of Training told the group that I had “changed the way this Company does training.” The experience of my earlier “failure” formed the foundation for everything that followed, including what I’m doing now.
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
I’m driven by HELPING OTHERS, pure and simple!
If I hold onto everything I’ve learned, I’m only helping myself. If I share what I’ve learned, I’m helping others.
My goal in life is to “have a positive impact” wherever I am, whatever I’m doing. That can mean contributing to tactics that help my sailboat win a race. That can mean cleaning-up trash at the party of a friend who is busy socializing. That can mean elevating others’ performance as a Sales Trainer, helping them find and use their own unique traits for success. Currently, it means dispelling myths about public speaking and conducting practical, experiential workshop exercises that have immediate benefit in helping others communicate better.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I plan to start a YouTube Channel with short, tight video clips breaking-down the key components of my workshops: “Tips & Tricks of Becoming a Better Communicator”.
I intend to expand my client base and move into more Keynote Speaking, larger group workshops for corporations, and 1-on-1 coaching and consulting.
I aim to gain a large following on social media and establish a reputation as a recognized expert in public speaking.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
If I may, I’d like to quote myself: “If you’re happy with where you are, embrace however you got there — and just make it a point to be happy with where you are!”
This saying / attitude has helped me live without regrets. It keeps me positive about both past and future, and avoids the risk of “getting down” about anything that has happened in the past, or what I fear may — or may not — happen in the future. Regrets lock you into negative emotions about things that are beyond your control, because they’ve already happened. It can sometimes be hard to accept perceived failures, but in my experience, lessons thus learned generally contribute to future success. In terms of other life moments you may be tempted to regret (for example, career / relationship decisions): you can’t ever know for sure how things would have turned out — so why second-guess yourself and your past?
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
At DynamiCoach, I use an acronym for effective public speaking: I.M.P.A.C.T. Yes, that’s six letters, so your readers are getting an extra “bonus” tip! To be “five things” I’ve combined the first two — which are closely related, as exemplified in the relevant story.
I (eye) Contact
M ovement
P acing & Pausing
A uthenticity
C onfidence & Conviction
T elling stories
#1: EYE CONTACT / MOVEMENT
Being a “dynamic” speaker involves movement of many kinds: hands; eyes / face; body position; and voice (vocal variety can be considered a type of “movement”). Here’s a rhyme to review and remember:
Move your hands, move your face,
Move your body in its space.
Move your voice throughout its range.
Just don’t make it sound too strange.
Hand gestures should be purposeful and convey meaning, without becoming a distraction.
Eye contact and facial expression are innately connected, since your eyes are a major part of your face and usually the focus for others’ attention. The eyes & face provide critical ways to “connect” with your audience. They also provide immediate, real-time, in-the-moment feedback to the speaker. In human development, even before we can speak, we develop and use “mirror neurons” to recognize facial expressions and mirror them back. This is what’s happening when you look at a baby and smile: they smile back! It’s primal, and pre-dates verbal speech.
Physical movement through the presentation space is a means to convey action while also establishing eye contact in different directions with different parts of the audience.
Vocal variety is critical, to avoid being perceived as monotone / monotonous. Breathing techniques can help with projection, volume, pitch, and vocal quality. Modifying your speed and pacing can draw attention to what you’re saying. Don’t be afraid to “switch it up” while you speak!
Here’s an example of how intertwined eye contact and body movement are — and a demonstration of what NOT to do.
I was attending a meeting of a franchised public speaking system, where the moderator showed a videotape of their founder. After standing up to speak, he initially faced the camera in the middle of the audience. Then he moved to one side of the stage, and began looking at that section of the audience. “Great,” I thought, “he’s demonstrating both movement in his space, and eye contact with the audience.”
I waited for him to move from that spot, shift his gaze, and establish eye contact with the rest of the crowd.
And waited.
And then waited some more.
It actually became uncomfortable to watch him speak to only one small part of the audience. All I saw was his right side. I felt neglected, ignored, and disengaged — even just watching on videotape and not being there in person. He had failed to properly engage the entire audience with his body movement and eye contact.
P is for PAUSING (which is powerfully amplified by repetition)
As a pharmaceutical rep, I attended a lecture by a cardiologist at the University of Virginia, who was an especially effective speaker. He reviewed the complex process of lipid metabolism, and wrapped up with a memorable catchphrase, a key take-home point for the audience: “sugar makes LDL small.” He paused, lowered his voice, and repeated. “Sugar makes LDL small.”
That was nearly 20 years ago, and I remember it to this day.
Neuroscience explains the importance of pausing. Interrupting the “stream” of input gives the listener’s brain the opportunity to review and reflect on what you’ve just said, increasing the probability of retention. A pause also makes the listener’s brain more sensitive and attuned to whatever comes next. In this way, pausing emphasizes what you just said, and what you’re about to say. If “the next thing” is a repetition of “the last thing” you said, it’s a double-whammy for retention! This is what the cardiologist did to make what he said so memorable: pause, then repeat.
A is for AUTHENTICITY
“Just be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
During a virtual conference of an organization to which I belong, I observed several speakers in varied situations through several days of meetings. One individual interacted with us in workshops and presented as a very calm, quiet, soft-spoken individual. When he later made a speech to campaign for a new role, he was speaking so loudly that I had to turn down the volume! The other candidate, similarly, seemed like she was yelling at us. I see this quite often: speakers confusing passion and energy with volume. This is one way in which speakers can seem unnatural, “forcing the issue” and trying to be someone they’re not. I stress the importance of “finding the voice that is uniquely your own.” Each of us has a one-of-a-kind personality and presence. I encourage clients to seek consistency between speaking and everyday life, so that you’re always just being yourself. Training as a public speaker will probably make you more expressive in normal life off-stage, and allow your expressiveness to come out organically without seeming artificial on-stage. Of course, we all can learn by imitating what we like and admire in others; it’s OK to identify specific things about individual speakers to mimic and adopt, to “find within yourself” some of those desirable attributes. Just be judicious, and remember: what works for someone else may not work for you, and can make you appear insincere or phony.
C is for CONFIDENCE
Everyone has their own “baseline” of confidence in general, and specifically in front of a group. I ‘ve identified a list of “R’s” that can boost our confidence.
Research: be the expert.
Whatever the topic, you’re giving a presentation specifically because you have information that has value for others. You should know something they don’t. Establishing yourself as the “subject matter expert” will give you the confidence that you have a good reason for being the center of attention. A related “R” is for References: providing citations of your sources gives you confidence that your audience will see that you’ve “done your homework” and view you with credibility.
Review: know your stuff.
Go over your materials inside and out. Thoroughly review everything you’ll use. This can help if you lose your place, or are thrown off-balance for any reason: you’ll gain confidence from knowing you could deliver the goods “off the top of your head, with your eyes closed.” Have additional supporting materials on-hand and easily accessible to address questions that go beyond your formal presentation. You’ll be more confident knowing you’re prepared to provide additional, unexpected value to your audience.
Rehearse: practice, practice, practice!
There is no substitute for rehearsal and repetition. Use your practice time to explore your options. Try saying things different ways, in different sequences. See which feels most natural. Caveat: avoid memorizing too much material verbatim, which may seem unnatural and might even derail you if you lose your train of thought. Practice delivering smaller, manageable “chunks” of information; think in terms of “bullet points” to summarize the sections of your talk.
Before a TV live-shot, I’d typically write a bullet item or catchphrase IN BIG, BOLD, CAPITAL LETTERS for each point I’d want to make. Then a few quick glances down to my Reporter’s Pad would keep me on-track. This is still my method when presenting on-camera virtually. Practice passages individually, until each is largely committed to memory and feels natural. Then rehearse transitions from one section to another. This is also a good way to decide where to pause between bullet points — either for emphasis and retention, or simply to take a break for both you and the audience.
Revel in the praise when you crush it.
Recognize how much you’ve improved.
Remember your success to build confidence for next time!
When I applied to be National Sales Trainer at my pharmaceutical company, I started my slide deck with a short video clip. I practiced at home, and rehearsed how to load the slides and insert the clip to play from within PowerPoint. On-site, the Training Team verified the system was functioning properly. The clip played as expected.
Until it didn’t.
The Trainer who helped me set up the equipment shrugged at me from the back of the room. I tried in vain to get the video to play. While the audience started to fidget, I accepted that the video wasn’t going to happen. I turned to the group, described the clip, and asked if anyone knew the “punch line” from that scene. One of the Trainers knew and said it for those who didn’t know.
I explained the connection to my material, and proceeded with the presentation and workshop. Things went smoothly, with the most senior person in the room nodding to what I was saying. Looking around, I saw that others noticed her approval and become more engaged. Afterwards, one attendee emailed me that it was the best presentation he’d ever seen. He clarified: he didn’t just mean among presentations by people applying to be National Trainer. He meant IT WAS THE BEST PRESENTATION OF ANY KIND IN ALL HIS TIME WITH THE COMPANY!
I RESEARCHED my subject and was able to provide new and valuable information to my audience. I REVIEWED my materials and REHEARSED enough that when the video clip crashed, I remained cool, calm, and collected. I REVELED at the positive feedback (from someone who within a year would become my Manager’s boss!) And I REMEMBERED that it was confidence that enabled me to turn a seeming disaster into the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the skills required in the position for which I was applying.
RESEARCH, REVIEW, REHEARSE, RECOGNIZE, REVEL, REMEMBER. That’s how you build confidence.
T is for TELLING STORIES
Before the written word, our very history as a species was kept solely by storytelling. Stories in fictional literature represent real-life ideas and values. People relate to characters they know. TV news pieces are called “stories.” The recognized international authority on public speaking, ToastMasters, calls for someone to start each meeting with a joke: the combination of story-telling and humor.
Telling stories, humorous or otherwise, engages an audience. Done properly, stories create points of reference to which listeners can relate. They’re interested and curious about how each story ends. A memorable story will help the audience “get the point” you want them to remember, in a way that conveys a self-evident truth.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
#1: Don’t “buy” it when you hear public speaking is our worst fear, even more so than death. That’s a myth, widely-circulated and often-repeated, based on misinterpretation of a marketing survey from 50 years ago! Still, fear of public speaking is very real and quite common — even among experienced speakers.
#2: Understand the nature of fear of public speaking. It’s a vestige of human evolution as a species, with our very survival dependent on protection from predators through the “safety in numbers” from the tribe. Today, anticipation of ridicule and rejection can feel being an “outcast” from the group. At its core, fear of public speaking is fear of embarrassment — which is not a literal threat to our survival, and can actually be beneficial, creating an emotional “connection” of empathy with the audience. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley found embarrassment during public speaking made the speaker seem more human, relatable, and trustworthy.
#3: Confidence, as described above, is a key component of conquering this fear. The more you speak and gain confidence in your own abilities over time, the less likely you are to suffer anxiety about presenting.
#4: Self-awareness. Before my most recent speech, I realized my heart had started racing and I was nervously tapping my foot. These are the kind of physical sensations that indicate anxiety over speaking. If you’re self-aware of how your own individual mind and body react to anxiety, you’ll know when you’re being “triggered” by fear of public speaking.
#5: BREATHE. Take deep, slow, rhythmic, abdominal breaths. I have been doing yoga since I was a teenager; breath techniques are a key part of any yoga discipline. Put a hand beneath your navel and push that hand away with your abdomen as you inhale. It takes a little getting used to, but this body-awareness trick helps you identify how the lower abdominal muscles can be trained to suck air more deeply into the lower lobes of the lungs, providing more oxygen to the surrounding area, which is dominated by the vagus nerve (the word root is the same as “vagabond,” or wanderer, because the vagus “wanders” throughout the body). The vagus nerve thus gets “oxygenated” and secretes a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which is known as the body’s “natural tranquilizer.” Due to its capacity for self-regulation, this nerve has come to be known as the “smart vagus” — because it can act almost like a second brain. This is the neuroscience behind the old adage to “take a deep breath,” or “just breathe.” This is what I did when I realized I was getting nervous prior to my latest speech.
#6: Distract yourself. Take a walk. Focus on nature. Pick up your phone and peruse Facebook. Phone a friend. Do anything to get your mind off your anxiety. Reviewing your material may help, by continuing to build confidence through practice, and focusing on the subject matter itself instead of your anxiety. On the other hand, it could reinforce your anxiety by reminding you of what you’re about to do and the associated apprehension. Evaluate your own individual situation and see whether pre-speech review helps.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Caring about others. Call it “the Golden Rule,” love, empathy, compassion. It’s all the same to me.
Throughout history, tremendous pain and suffering has resulted from extreme imbalance between those with wealth and power — most of whom typically want more of both — and those with less. I would love to start a movement for more of the world’s wealthy and powerful individuals to recognize and achieve the priceless, beneficial feelings and sensations derived from caring about others and seeing them live better lives. There’s neuroscience behind this: we’re “wired” to care for each other. Committing, or even witnessing, an act of kindness causes the secretion of “pleasure hormones” in the brain. In this way, happiness could wind up being something money can actually “buy” after all — if only it were put to such use.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
@BarackObama
He’s such a historical figure, who exemplifies so many things I admire: intelligence, kindness, humor, courage, persistence, empathy. Far from a perfect individual, he admits his own faults — one of the many things I find so admirable. It’s an overt tragedy how his words and actions have been distorted, and how he has been vilified by millions of the very people he would want to lift up.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Caveat: since I only started my business very recently, my social media presence is still in an embryonic stage, but will be built-out in the coming weeks and months. Thank you for providing a platform to discuss what I’m doing to help others!
Jitendra Gupta of Blissfull Prosperity Solutions: Giving Feedback; How To Be Honest Without Being Hurtful
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Be calm and peaceful. Whenever you are giving feedback, your mind must be calm and peaceful because if your mind is disturbed, your communication will fail; it will invite resistance and blame from another person’s side. So, always be calm and peaceful whenever you are giving feedback.
As a part of our series about “How To Give Honest Feedback without Being Hurtful”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jitendra Gupta, founder & CEO of Blissfull Prosperity Solutions, a spiritual billionaire coach, and author of ZeroHurt Communication.
He is authoring another book called, Stuck! Can’t Stay, Can’t Quit, which is on Transforming relationships. He has transformed more than 5000 people across nations in 14+ years. He is on a mission to create Spiritual billionaires who enjoy spiritual bliss with material abundance and serves society so that everybody can live a life of joy, peace, and prosperity in the world.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
After working for ten years in the banking industry, I observed that most people are stressed due to work pressure, relationship issues, health issues, etc.
Everybody seemed to live a very mechanical life. They were running aimlessly without thinking about the direction they wanted to lead. This made me question myself: “Where am I heading?”, “What is the purpose of my life?” “Is my life only about giving loans to people, doing a job, and taking care of my family, or do I have any other purpose in my life?”
A voice from within told me that I have a bigger purpose: to serve humanity and bring joy, peace, and harmony to people’s lives.
This thought grew each passing day, and in October 2010, I resigned from the bank and joined a spiritual cum social organization. I learned many things about spirituality, social work, and human transformation. I made a lot of spiritual progress and started conducting many training programs on relationship development, stress management, organizing, time management, business development, etc.
Since then, I have done a lot of research in human behaviour, neuroscience, quantum physics, spirituality, transformation, motivation, and leadership, but soon I exhausted all my savings and went through a deep financial crisis which also led to strained relationships. This made me realize that in order to live a fulfilling life a person needs to balance: spirituality, meaningful work, and money, and this led to starting of the Spiritual Billionaire project.
A Spiritual Billionaire is a person who enjoys spiritual bliss, and material abundance while making a social contribution. My mission in life is to create Spiritual Billionaires to maintain peace, prosperity, and harmony.
During this time, I realized that most people face difficulty maintaining good relationships because of poor communication skills, and I started teaching people “How to communicate without suppressing or spoiling relations?” I also wrote the books “ZeroHurt Communication” and “Stuck- Can’t Stay, Can’t Quit”. By using the principles people started getting fantastic results.
For example — A project in charge and a project manager who were always arguing and fighting started working as a team. In another case, A father and son who were not in talking terms started talking like friends. Like that there are many success stories of how the right communication can drastically improve any relationship.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Going to the Root cause — The first thing that separates us from the lot is that we go to the root cause of any problem and find a solution that can work in day-to-day life.
Practical Solutions — The second is that all our training and coaching solutions are not just theories but practical and can be immediately applied by anybody for excellent outcomes. They are simple to understand and easy to implement.
Result Oriented — Third, our purpose is not just to share knowledge, but to give results for which our clients have hired us.
Spiritual Foundation — The fourth unique quality of all our programs is that they have spirituality as the foundation. We thoroughly believe and acknowledge that any solution based on spirituality will give long-lasting and practical results.
For example, one of our programs is the Spiritual Billionaire program. There we take participants to the depths of their spiritual self, where they experience bliss, joy, unconditional love, and oneness with the universe and use that for living a materially abundant life.
For example, one of my clients wanted to grow his business without leaving spirituality and with our help he doubled his income in just three months.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
This is Aarzoo’s story; I will never forget this story because it made a significant impact on me as it reminds me of why I started to transform lives. When she was 18, she lost her mother, and her father remarried. Aarzoo couldn’t accept her stepmother because she wasn’t able to give anyone else the same place as her mother.
As a consequence of it, her relationship with her brother, father, and sister-in-law also got ruined. She got into bad company and went through stress and depression. By the age of 23, her friends suggested that she should go to a psychiatrist, which she couldn’t accept. Somehow, she contacted me and asked “It’s been five years, and I have already tried so many things but still I am not able to come out of stress”, “Can I ever get out of this stress?” To which I replied, “Yes.” Later she decided to come for one of my Spiritual Billionaire mindset workshops.
At the end of the workshop, she shared, “For the last five years, I had this villain (stepmother) in my life and I tried everything to change my situation but all went in vain. I don’t know how, but something has shifted in the last two days, and now I can say that the villain has become my mother, and due to this I can sense my relationship with everybody in the family has also shifted. Now I am ready to rock the world”
This has been one of the most memorable experiences since I started my career; of course, there have been many such examples, but this one will always be special.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This incident happened when I was attending my public speaking classes and in one of the lessons, we were being taught about the importance of appreciating people around us. I started applying my lessons practically by complimenting people around me. One day on my way home on the bus, I saw a beautiful girl standing in front of me.
Being young, full of innocence, and enthusiastic about practically applying my lesson, I decided to appreciate this girl for her beauty but before I could say it, she got off the bus and I also got down just to appreciate her beauty. I followed her and when I said “you are so beautiful,” she said, “shut up”.
The lesson I learned was no matter how good our intentions are, the ways to achieve them should also be proper.
What advice would you give to other CEOs and business leaders to help their employees to thrive and avoid burnout?
In my organization, we have a culture where everybody should enjoy the work while delivering high performance. They should be able to balance their personal and professional lives, which is why people love working within our organization and never feel burned out.
People want to be treated like humans and not like machines. It’s important to understand that they also have feelings and emotions. If we trust them and give them the right environment, they will save themselves from burnout and provide excellent results while leading a more balanced life.
So, I would request all other CEOs and business leaders that yes, it is important that people deliver results but it is also important that they enjoy the work so create a culture and environment where everybody can enjoy the work, form deeper bonds, and have the flexibility to balance their personal and professional lives while delivering high performance.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is all about taking full responsibility for whatever they want. A leader is a visionary who has a vision for the future that will improve the quality of life for people. A leader is not the one who is only interested in getting the work done, but he’s also interested in the growth of people. Personally, a leader leads by example, inspires, brings out the best in people, gives credit when there’s a success, and takes the blame when there’s a failure.
In one of the banks where I was working, I did some work that was not up to the mark, and it had some grave mistakes, so my boss told me that we will have to go to the head office to face the management. I got a little anxious. I went along with my boss, and when I came in front of people at the head office, they started telling me about the mistake I had made. But then my boss took the responsibility on himself. He protected me and assured them that such a mistake would not happen again.
This is a sign of a great leader, he did not throw me to face the brunt, but he protected me and boosted my confidence. The next time I completed the work, it was good, and my boss allowed me to take the credit for it. So, for me, leadership is basically about taking 100% responsibility; it’s not just about achieving the goals and vision but also developing people, giving credit to others for success, and taking the blame when things don’t go as planned.
In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?
My way of handling stress is to move my body in different ways before any critical situation, either by jumping, stretching, taking deep breaths, or affirmations.
Whenever I focus on what I will get or lose, whether I will do well or not, all these thoughts lead to stress and anxiety, but when I think about it, I am here to contribute and make a difference in their lives, I experience freedom from stress. I also focus on giving my 100% and leaving the rest to God, which relieves all tension.
For example, Once, I had to go to an event, and I was nervous about “what to say?” “How to say?” So just before it, I tried relaxing my mind taking some deep breaths, and had a conversation with myself that “I will give my best, and I am here to contribute”, then, whatever happens, it happens for the best,” and after completing the speech, I received a standing ovation from the audience.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Can you briefly tell our readers about your experience with managing a team and giving feedback?
As a team leader, when we work to achieve our goals and visions, it becomes essential that the entire team is on the same page. Quite a few times, people may not perform as per expectations, or their behaviour may not align with the organizational values. Hence, it becomes imperative to give feedback to your team members to make them aware of their mistakes.
I have always had an excellent experience working with a team because of the art of communication I have developed over the years to give empowering feedback.
This has helped me get cooperation from my team members, and because of this, there is harmony in our team. We also have a system of giving feedback regularly to each other, which is required to develop good team bonding. Everybody feels that their views are valued and have freedom of expression. This empowers them to contribute towards building a fantastic team spirit.
I’ve been always working with teams, first when I was in the bank, second when I was in a spiritual organization, and third when I started my organization. I firmly believe that any team can work together only when they have a free flow of information and freedom of expression without any fear.
This might seem intuitive but it will be constructive to spell it out. Can you share with us a few reasons why giving honest and direct feedback is essential to being an effective leader?
It is essential to provide direct and honest feedback for various reasons –
Workability — When you provide honest feedback, people will understand and will be able to recognize what is and is not working for them.
Getting Results — Honest and direct feedback is essential for a leader because the leader is responsible for getting results. The leader is also responsible for whatever happens in the organization.
Be on the same page — if things are not going in the proper direction, it is essential as a leader to bring the entire team in the direction of the goal. Suppose something is not going well, whether it is about some person’s behaviour or performance. In that case, it is essential to bring people’s attention to what’s not working, redirect their energies, and guide them on things needed to achieve the goals.
Developing people — A leader is also responsible for developing people who run the organization and do the work. They must be given regular feedback on what they are doing right and what needs further improvement. I believe that feedback is the breakfast of champions and people can only grow by receiving constant feedback. If people are not given regular feedback. The growth will be prolonged, and as a leader, you want people to grow to their fullest.
Avoid Gossiping — If you don’t give direct feedback, there’s a very high likelihood of misunderstandings, gossip, politics, etc. Direct feedback overcomes all of them.
Hence, as a leader, it is paramount to provide direct and honest feedback, both positive and constructive, at the appropriate time in a proper manner.
One of the trickiest parts of managing a team is giving honest feedback, in a way that doesn’t come across as too harsh. Can you please share with us five suggestions about how to best give constructive criticism to a remote employee? Kindly share a story or example for each.
My top five suggestions on how to give direct feedback without being harsh, which I have been successfully using along with all my clients, are –
Be calm and peaceful.
Whenever you are giving feedback, your mind must be calm and peaceful because if your mind is disturbed, your communication will fail; it will invite resistance and blame from another person’s side. So, always be calm and peaceful whenever you are giving feedback.
2. Ensure the other person is ready to listen.
Always ensure that the other person is open to receiving our feedback because if the other person is not even ready to receive your feedback, then what is the very the point of giving feedback and the way you can ensure it is as follows-
By creating an empowering context — It means the reason why you are communicating should be empowering to other people. If the reason why you’re communicating is disempowering to people, they will most likely not be open to receiving your feedback. For example, if your aim of communicating is to make people seem wrong, bring them down, or yell out your anger and frustration, then that will not empower the other person. But if your purpose is to uplift the person, or help the other person grow, then it will empower the other person, and the chances of them listening to you will be much higher.
Relate with the person in an empowering way — If you think about the person negatively, for example, He is irresponsible and unimportant. This will not make the other person open to listening to you. But if you relate to other people as important and valuable, the chances of the other person listening to your feedback are higher. Always remember, “No correction without emotional connection.”
3. Express Responsibly.
It means you don’t attack the person but point out their action you have an objection to. Attacking on a personal basis will only make it difficult for the other person to receive your feedback. You want to make it easy for the person to listen to you and not hard.
Also, show them the reason why you have an objection to their action. Make them aware of the impact of their action on you, on them, the team, the organization, society, etc., so they are not left guessing why you are having an objection to their actions or behavior.
For example, if a person is coming late, you can tell them that their action of coming late regularly is creating indiscipline in the organization. It upsets me because I feel that I am being taken for granted. It is affecting you because you are creating a reputation of being very irresponsible and casual or any other reason that is making you upset.
4. Ask for a specific action/request.
After you have given the reason for your feedback, please don’t leave the process just there. Ask them the specific action you want them to take now or in the future. For example — You may say, “From next time, please be in the office by 10 am”.
5. Acknowledge and offer support.
After you have given the feedback, acknowledge the person for patiently and positively listening to you and for accepting your feedback, and offer any support that you can provide, which can help the other person to implement your request or action that you want them to take.
And finally, given the other person an opportunity to express themselves and listen to them empathetically.
Applying these things would go a long way in creating good team bonding. It will help you to give feedback without spoiling the relationships.
Can you address how to give constructive feedback over email? If someone is in front of you much of the nuance can be picked up in facial expressions and body language. But not when someone is remote. How do you prevent the email from sounding too critical or harsh?
The principle of giving constructive feedback will remain the same whether face-to-face or over email; the same five steps are to be followed.
It doesn’t make any difference whether the person is in front or remotely present. Even If you’re giving feedback via email, it is important to follow the system because it always does wonders.
Another thing that can be done is instead of giving feedback only in writing; you can record your constructive feedback and attach your audio file with the email.
In your experience, is there a best time to give feedback or critique? Should it be immediately after an incident? Should it be at a different time? Should it be at set intervals? Can you explain what you mean?
There cannot be one answer to this question because it depends on the situation, to whom you are giving feedback, and how critical and urgent the feedback is.
But a general rule is that constructive feedback should always be given one to one in private unless you want to provide common feedback to a group of people. For example — An entire sales team, all the employees, etc.
Another critical point is that you give them feedback only when your mind is calm and the other person is ready to listen to you. If you provide feedback when the other person is not in the right frame of mind, high on emotions, and is disturbed, then it is not the best time to provide feedback because it will probably backfire.
Subject to the above guidelines, feedback must be given immediately after the incident as far as time is concerned. It is fresh and makes sense to rectify the mistake immediately. It is also essential to provide feedback at regular intervals, so a person knows how they are doing and they get a chance to improve their performance and behaviour and not wait till the end of the year.
For example, if I see one of my teammates making the same mistake repeatedly, I may not tell that person immediately, but I will set up a time to give feedback.
How would you define what it is to “be a great boss”? Can you share a story?
In my view, bosses can never be great because a boss means somebody who is only interested in work rather than the person.
So, instead of saying a boss, I would say be a leader. A leader is a person who on one hand is concerned about the vision, goal, and performance, but at the same time, they equally care for the people.
In our organization, whenever anybody joins our team, we ensure that while everybody is performing at their highest level, they are also growing personally by providing them regular training and feedback, which will not just help them in their career but personally too. At the same time, we give them the flexibility to balance their personal and professional lives.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Yes! for me, the idea or the movement that is very close to my heart is the movement of Spiritual Billionaire.
This is important because we see problems of stress, insecurity, poverty, unemployment, crimes, terrorism, pollution, divorce, and separation faced by individuals, families, and society. These problems can be traced to a lack of spiritual grounding and material prosperity in individuals.
Suppose every person grows spiritually and is grounded in their reality and operates from that reality in the service of humanity. At the same time, they enjoy material wealth and abundance. Then, we can have a heaven on earth where every person can live a life of joy, peace, and prosperity.
I am also working on the same movement, and I would like to invite everybody reading this article to be a part of this Spiritual Billionaire movement.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favourite life quote is — “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is a matter of choice.” In other words, I am in charge of my happiness.
So how has this quote helped me in my life?
When we go through life, we will face challenges, ups, and downs, profits and losses, pains and gains.
Pain is inevitable, whether physical pain, emotional pain, or mental pain. It is an unavoidable part of life that nobody can escape, but suffering is a matter of choice which means that I can choose whether to suffer or not to suffer.
When I give energy to disempowering conversations, the things that I don’t like, and continue brooding, thinking, and talking about them, I am only making my pain bigger instead of focusing on what’s lovely and cheerful in my life, I can be happy and peaceful.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Don’t forget; no matter what, you are not a big deal in the broader context of world history. Try to be cool.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Parker Beauchamp.
Parker Beauchamp is the founder and managing partner at Markd. A fifth-generation insurance professional with nearly 20 years in the industry, he is committed to transforming how the insurance space does business and leading by example. He is the former CEO of INGUARD, a forward-thinking insurance and risk management firm, where he managed a personal portfolio of clientele who required complex insurance and risk management strategies, such as high net worth individuals, celebrities, athletes and their companies. Additionally, Beauchamp was named one of Insurance Business America magazine’s “Young Guns’’ in 2015.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I had a great childhood. Of course, it was not a breeze or anything, but I wouldn’t change any of it. I grew up in a small, rural, yet progressively artistic, city called Wabash, Indiana. It had 15,000 people when I was born and 10,000 when I left. I was an entrepreneurial little guy. As a kid, I started companies, mowed lawns and worked on farms. I always had a project going for money or how I thought I could create good in the world.
Growing up in a community like that, I, of course, did not have all the opportunities in the world, but I did have some benefit of growing up in an area where everyone knew me, even if that came with some strings attached.
I was very fortunate that my family valued travel and we did it extensively. At a young age, I made it to all 50 states in the US, and at least as many countries. Some of my favorite trips as a kid included visits to Lloyd’s of London with my mom and dad, where I tagged along as a stowaway of sorts. Both of my parents were ‘names’ at the organization, essentially meaning they were personally, financially responsible for a portion of the losses and expenses that exceeded underwriting proceeds. As with many Americans at the time, I’m not sure that went well for them.
But, that exposure to the insurance industry, at a relatively young age, probably 5 years or younger, made an unshakeable impression on me. I got to go into the new (at the time) Lloyd’s building and ride the escalators observing underwriters and brokers going about their business. I was completely obsessed. I read all the books, even if I didn’t understand them.
In addition to that experience, my family, along with some other families, owned a small insurance agency. Very typical stuff. My great-grandfather, Ward (my namesake), had acquired our piece of it from a bank for $5,000 just before the depression. During the depression, the bank reneged on its contract and stole the clients back, but Ward was a tough guy. He had his leg amputated by a civil war surgeon, on a block of ice, when he was only eight years old. He essentially fought to keep his clients and saved the agency. It grew like so many agencies grew; brought in some sons (truly), merged with competitors, and acquired others in surrounding towns and such.
As a family, we talked about insurance and helping our customers all the time. I dreamed of making all of them proud of me. I wanted to be the best and still do. I started mowing the lawns for the company when I was around 12, I think. Then, I started working in the office on breaks in high school, until later, as a teenager in college, I started getting shipped off to insurance companies for internships.
It was at one of those, in 1999, where I came to the conclusion all of insurance was going online. And, I thought it might be soon. It would surely just be a few more years I thought, and I was determined to be the one to see to it. But, yet, here we still are as an industry, 23 years later, with all this opportunity, just barely scratching the surface with the application of technology. It will happen.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It is not my line, but it sure means a lot to me. That is; it is better to be smart…but, if you’re going to be dumb…you better be tough. Even though I was undersized, I always took anyone on if I thought there was an opportunity to stand up for someone. This was especially useful getting into neighborhood fights as a kid and wrestling for the Wabash Apaches (right). I still apply this belief every day. To me, winning comes down to what you’re made of. Rarely does anything ever go to plan. Mistakes happen and you don’t get any redoes. So, other than to learn from mistakes, what already happened is not relevant in my mind. There is only where you are now, and where you can go, so figure out a way to survive and advance. In wrestling, you could be getting beaten badly on points, banged up, lungs on fire and feel near death, but if you can just get your opponent’s shoulders to touch the mat at the same time for a split second your arm gets raised as the winner. I loved this. Some people have makeup that would never allow them to quit. This is how I want to be — always. This is a fragile mentality. Because you only have to quit once to lose it. I’d rather die or lose a limb before quitting. I am fiercely protective of this. I think of my great-grandfather. Having his leg amputated in those days put him at an incredible disadvantage his entire life. Who cares? Just keep going.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
There is not. My own life experiences and adventures have led me to the highs and lows that mean so much to me now. For me, I think it has been more important to get out there and do something myself, even if that means I could screw something up.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
Definitely. I think most ideas are generally good. They’re just ideas after all and those are free. I think the hardest part about getting a good idea to become a business is shepherding it through all the naysayers, doubters, jealous people and cranks. Most people haven’t started a company, and never will, so what authority are they to tell you what’s wrong with your ideas? Take their feedback, but don’t let them kill off your dreams. Just keep going. Think of all the good ideas that never came to be because of someone talking another person out of it.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
Well, I don’t know. Maybe someone has, maybe someone hasn’t, but who cares. Google wasn’t the first search engine. Tesla didn’t invent the car, not even the electric car. Apple didn’t invent a mobile phone. Amazon wasn’t the first bookstore. Netflix wasn’t the first rental company. One doesn’t have to be first. It is a great big, complex world that has a lot of needs — I think there is enough space for you so do your homework and go for it.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
I am sorry. I just can’t. There are so many ways to go about it. One has to find their own way. Above all else. Just start.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Go for it. Starting is the hardest part. I never had trouble with this, but it does not mean I ever started without fear; fear of failing, fear of hurting me or my family, fear for my reputation. Embrace these feelings for what they are, feelings. These make life worth living.
Raise hell. My grandfather told me this every time I said goodbye to him. “Okay man, raise hell,” he would say. It didn’t matter what we were doing. “Teach the teachers a thing or two,” was another. You can’t start a company by being afraid to put yourself out there. It’s unnatural. So be confident. Shake off the losses and just keep going.
Have tons of fun. If you’re going about something. It might as well be fun. Most people will never start a company. Take pleasure in being one of the few that have or might. I try to walk the line of being excited AND terrified at the same time. I think that’s a good place to be.
Be a fair dealer. Soon your time on earth will end so don’t cheat folks. What’s the point if you do? You’ll be liked more and have more success if you don’t.
Don’t forget; no matter what, you are not a big deal in the broader context of world history. Try to be cool.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
I’d socialize it. Talk about your idea to as many people you trust that you can. After that process, do you still think you have something? Then, keep going. Involve some other professionals in the space, or investors, attorneys, analysts, etcetera. Your people will likely lead you to the next set of people, and the next and the next. If you love what you’re doing, keep plugging along.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
Personally, I’d strike out on my own. No offense to consultants. They have their place in the world, and I love some of them, but that is not where I would go to start a company. I would probably go to someone that has started a company (and not a consulting company).
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
Geez. Unsure. I think it depends. I’ve definitely done both, and also taken on reckless amounts of debt to see my ideas through. One trap I think many get caught up in are old adages about ‘being debt-free’, or obsessing over profit and loss while ignoring value creation. If you are focused on creating value quickly, I think having money to invest in your ideas and companies is the way to go. Having started with nothing, or maybe worse, starting with debts, today I’d side on raising venture money. That money is extremely important, and can be helpful to grow value quickly, but perhaps even more meaningful is that if you’re strategic, you’d have the potential to pick up some really great partners that can give you a second set of eyes, ears and ideas, networks, encouragement and such. Business is hard and can be an emotional rollercoaster, which is great. This makes you feel dead and alive so sometimes it helps to have a buddy or two with you along the way.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Well, I hope that I have. I don’t think that you can ever stop trying. One of the few great wealth creators in the world, if not the only true version, is just that — creation. Creating businesses, for example, can do good in the world and can also create wealth. With this comes a voice, influence, money and power for one to use as a source of good. But none of these are necessities. Don’t wait around for success to try to help people. There are a lot of folks we interact with all day long that we can help. Maybe it is as simple as a hello, or opening a door, telling someone you are proud of them, that you are cheering for them, or that you are sorry. There is so much to be happy for. Don’t let the details get you down. Smile.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Selflessness
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Neil Armstrong. So many questions. So many. Gosh I want to walk on something other than Earth, and I will forever be jealous he got to do it first.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Find a mentor or two and no more. Stop listening to others. Find one, maybe two mentors at most, and listen keenly to them. Be open to what they say. Be open to paying them so that they are vested in your success.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Soheil Nazari-Kangarlou.
James Lam, owner of LAM — Look Ahead Marketing, helps heart-centered entrepreneurs discover their superpowers and then use those gifts to shape their businesses into change-making enterprises via his 12-week signature program, Superpowered Business Success. James also built the successful franchise, Learn Photography Company, with over 5000 students at ten studios across Canada. https://www.lookaheadmarketing.com/.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I grew up in Burlington, Ontario, where I was one of 3% of minority skin colors going to school. My parents are immigrants from Hong Kong. Growing up, we had money and a wealth paradigm, with my parents always talking about the kids becoming a doctor or a lawyer, some kind of a professional. The paradigm my family lived by was hard work will get you to your goals. We had to sacrifice fun, we played violin, I played piano, did great in math — it was an environment based on external validation. I drew a lot of the lessons for this article from my childhood because a lot of people in the coaching space and in the entrepreneurial world feel they can outwork the problem, but they’re wasting so much time.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
When I was growing up I was a big Star Trek The Next Generation fan. In the very first episode, there was an all-powerful being simply named “Q” who threatened to extinguish humanity unless the crew of the Enterprise passed a trial that he set up.
As the bridge officers were debating on how to proceed with this trial, the Captain turns around and says “if we’re going to be damned, let’s be damned for what we really are.”
That saying has guided my entrepreneurial journey from start and it’s a big reason why I’m being featured today. Be yourself. Be proud of it. Wear it. You’ve earned it.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I loved reading Mindset: The Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. It made a HUGE impact on me when we really started to expand the business. For so many years, we had struggled with achieving marginal success, and then here was the first opportunity to truly go BIG. We were scared and, quite frankly, terrified that we were going to make mistakes (we knew we were going to make mistakes — just how many and how fatal were the questions!).
Mindset provided an infinite canvas from which to improve. Instead of seeing the world as “success or fail”, it taught me that “done” is a wonderful starting place and nothing is ever fatal.
In this industry, it’s common to have people abandon plans at the smallest hiccup. Instead of leaning into the problems as an opportunity for learning, many entrepreneurs give up far too early. This book challenges those assumptions that would have us believe that failure is fatal, and provides amazing context for continual improvement and eventually, guaranteed wins.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
This is a HUGE challenge with new entrepreneurs and one that I see all the time. In fact, it’s what generates 99% of the questions and keeps us in business! I’ll answer this all-encompassing question in a few different ways:
1) Making it too complicated and perfect. Set out to solve one problem and then test your offer.
People try to solve ALL the problems in one offer, which results in the offer never getting out the door because they continue to tweak it until they feel it’s “ready” (which is usually never). We underestimate the power of starting at Square One and improving. Come up with the solution to ONE problem and go all-in on that. For example, a good offer would be “how to change the oil in your car” whereas a not-so-great offer would be “how to rebuild your car”. One problem = one solution. Test it first to see if the public wants it and if so, improve on that ONE solution so it is the best it possibly can be. Then, you move on to the next solution ie how to change your brake fluid.
One of the recurring powerful themes in my work with coaches, healers, speakers, and authors is simply finding the courage to start being seen. The crown jewel of my signature course for online coaches and healers is them finally creating their first BETA product and being paid thousands of dollars without the complexity of funnels, landing pages, ads, or anything else.
3) Diluting the Idea
Stop comparing your Step 1 with others’ Step 26. A mistake that I see too often is new entrepreneurs strive for perfection and complexity from the get-go. This leads to poor decision-making and people becoming “busy” and over “productive”. A great example of this is having mentored some new coaches with amazing talents, who have created the most beautiful and amazing, highly complex email funnel logic campaigns… with sadly no emails to put in them.
This is a huge paradigm shift as we destroy the false belief that you needed ALL the systems, and all of them to be perfect in order to have a profitable business.
You have a special product that is unique to you and is amazing. Stop diluting it.
I’ve seen dozens of online coaches, healers, and course creators dilute an idea — and it’s all based on insecurity and lack of brand message clarity. It looks something like this — early on we do a competitive analysis and find somebody who is doing something similar. They’ve been in the space longer and we feel they are the authority so we change our very special product because we feel we need to be competitive. Some compensate by adding so many extra bells and whistles to the new product, that it ends up as just an overgrown shadow of what was once an amazing idea, having lost what once made it special.
Stay with your idea. Keep it special. Keep it simple.
3) People Don’t Find a Coach or Mentor
Find somebody who can help you succeed faster.
A good mentor or coach is somebody who will reduce your timeline to success by months, more likely years. Most people think a good coach tells you what to do, and sometimes that’s the case, but what’s equally as important, if not more important, is what NOT to do.
You have a finite amount of time in business and in the beginning, it’s critical that the time is used wisely. A good coach or mentor will give you a 100X+ ROI over many years.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
In my space, the better question is: does it *really* matter that you create something truly unique? Let me tell you these two ways of looking at this…
The people I have the privilege of working with — online coaches, healers, authors, and speakers — ARE the product (and let’s face it — everybody is unique in all their perfect imperfections). Normally we think that we always have to create something new and have to have the “first-mover” advantage. The reality is those first movers very rarely maintain that advantage, and in my space, the unique selling proposition is primarily the people themselves, followed secondarily by product and service uniqueness. What this means is that you have a crowd that is naturally attracted to you. So while you could argue that everybody who has worked with me could also work with Tony Robbins (truth by the way), personality and intuition dictate that my crowd will get better results because their personality and goals are in alignment with my skill set and knowledge. Hence — we are all individuals and all have unique businesses.
I am actually buoyed and encouraged when somebody comes up to me and says that their business idea is “taken”. There is so much business out there! We must believe in this as it’s one of the key tenets of abundance-minded thinking. Competition? That’s GREAT! Because it means you have a viable product so there’s money to be made.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands?
I LOVE the online coaching space because it’s super streamlined. One of the things I ask people to do is:
1.Come up with an idea
2. Have a conversation with their target market
3. Have an idea about the transformation their product offers
4. Sell to the email list as a Beta to verify that it is going to sell (while making a few thousand dollars)
5. Refine with feedback from Beta testers
6. Launch to market.
It doesn’t get any simpler (or faster) than that!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1) Go with your gut
So one of the things I do before making any decision, whether it’s big or little, is I always do a gut check. Of course, I run the numbers, I do the ratios, I look at possible scenarios and what could happen. But at the end of the day, more often than not, I trust my gut. And that’s one of the things I wish I had known earlier because I made a bunch of bad decisions by going against my gut, which caused me to take longer to get where I am now.
2) Find the courage to get out there and stop playing small
One of the things that I wish someone had told me is that entrepreneurship is scary. And when it is scary, it means you’re on the right path. There is risk in everything that we do. The best entrepreneurs take massive calculated risks, which pay off — and the result is a huge upleveling jump up to new levels.
3) Find a mentor or two and no more. Stop listening to others.
Find one, maybe two mentors at most, and listen keenly to them. Be open to what they say. Be open to paying them so that they are vested in your success.
To others who you don’t trust, keep them out of your mind. Follow this wisdom and you will go farther than ever.
4) Hard work in alignment with heart and spirituality
Here’s a nasty secret — the world is awash with one simple paradigm that needs to shift, which is “just work harder.” In my industry, it’s known as “hustle and grind.” Essentially there’s a false belief that if you work long enough, hard enough, and sacrifice enough, you will become abundant beyond your wildest dreams.
I wish that somebody told me to align my heart and spirituality with hard work instead when I first started in entrepreneurship. Spirituality and heart are the belief work that you must do around success. It’s the BEING part of your success. More than anything else this is the driver to your success.
5) Stop comparing yourself to other entrepreneurs. The road is long (and bumpy).
A mistake we make is comparing our Step 2 with others’ Step 30 and adopting all their strategies and tactics. We think, “if only I had that I could jump to success.” The reality is that every failure is like a brick and the more bricks you have, the bigger the house you can build. You have to have those brick-sized failures in order to win. So when you compare yourself to someone else, putting into play what they’re doing is not going to work because they got to Step 30 by going from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4, etc., solving a problem each step of the way. Your business has to have its own evolution without skipping stages.
The fastest route to success is to fail fast and fail often. As Soichiro Honda (yes, THAT Honda) said, “Success is 99% failure.” Take James Dyson, for example. Over the course of 15 years, he created 5,127 different prototypes for his bagless vacuum and when he finally had a working model, the British market rejected it. Did he give up? No, he sold it through catalogs in Japan, which eventually gave him the funds to open his own factory. Dyson is now valued at over $5 billion dollars.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Beta test the hell out of it! Try to explain it and sell a test version for real money to see if you can get buyers — that helps to test the market. Then have those Beta customers come back to you with feedback.
Know that you don’t have to solve everything in one offer as you can leave room to solve the next piece of the puzzle in a future product. What you do need is to have a very specific goal of solving ONE problem. Many times I see people trying to create solutions and packages to solve ALL of the problems at once.
Solve the one specific problem that you set out to, then Beta test another product that solves the problem that follows the solution your Product One provided.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
I was going to say venture capital because you always, always (always) end up burning way more capital than you would ever expect in any business plan — take my word for it — three businesses later and I’m always amazed at how much we spend before making a decent income.
After much internal debate, however, I’m thinking bootstrapping is essential for any entrepreneur who truly wants to grow.
Why?
The truth is that I am a strong believer that the tough times in an entrepreneur’s life help to mold them into the person that they need to be. The skills, beliefs, and personality that are forged through the fires of challenge are what help an entrepreneur grow. And a company grows when an entrepreneur grows. I think what happens is when someone doesn’t have to “work for it”, they miss out on a level of learning and development of character that makes them a better entrepreneur. Think of how many businesses are passed down to the founder’s grandchildren only to fail because they lack this entrepreneurial steel, with examples such as Gucci, Seagram’s, and Eaton’s department stores. There’s actually a term for it, the “third-generation rule,” which finds 70% of affluent families will have lost their wealth by the third generation.
So there it is — bootstrapping #ftw — at least for me 🙂
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Being the child of immigrants myself, I sought out an opportunity to help other newcomers to Canada, which is why I’ve been on the Board of Directors for the Immigrant Services of Calgary these last three years. I’ve been able to use my marketing skills to help improve messaging, build better and stronger systems and create partnerships with various organizations and businesses that can help refugees and immigrants build a new life while enriching the community.
In my professional work, I believe I’m helping change the world one person at a time. When my clients, who are coaches and healers, believe in what they can do and showcase it to the world, there is a ripple effect for the better. For example, one woman I work with tragically lost both her sons to murder. In order to honour their memory, she wrote books to help others who have undergone the loss of a loved one. My goal is always to help my clients shine their lights brightly to the world.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My movement would be “Get out of hustle & grind, get into heart & mind”. The way to success is to work powerfully aligned. I believe that your deep why, that reason you do what you do, is the internal drive you need to keep going and avoid burnout.
It doesn’t matter if you’re an entrepreneur, it doesn’t matter if you’re in corporate, it doesn’t matter if you’re a mother trying to raise amazing children. What really matters is having the belief in spirit and a strong mindset which provide an unshakable foundation to be the best version of yourself at this moment. When you find that — you find your personal potential that will keep you going through thick and thin.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Amy Porterfield!! Her course changed my business dramatically in under four years. I would LOVE to have the opportunity to thank her personally for the impact she’s had on our family.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Chip Conley of Modern Elder Academy: 5 Things You Should Do To Optimize Your Wellness After Retirement
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Give back. There are so many ways to give: know-how, know-who, money, energy. Mutual mentorship is my favorite. Be open to sharing your knowledge and wisdom with someone younger, but only if you’re going to learn something from them. I had over 100 mentees during my seven and a half years at Airbnb, but, in almost all cases, I was learning as much from them as they were learning from me.
As a part of my series about the “5 Things You Should Do to Optimize Your Wellness After Retirement”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mohammed Elamir, MD, FACP.
Chip Conley is the Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Elder Academy–the first-ever ‘midlife wisdom school’ dedicated to guiding and supporting adults through periods of transition in life. Chip is also a New York Times bestselling author, the former CEO and founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, and the former Head of Hospitality and Strategy at Airbnb, where he served as a “modern elder,” offering wisdom to the company’s three founders. His book, Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder forms the core of Modern Elder Academy’s curriculum and is inspired by his experience at Airbnb.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
The Modern Elder Academy (MEA) — for which I am the Co-Founder and CEO — encompasses three businesses in one: hospitality, wellness, and education. My entire career has been spent as a hospitality entrepreneur, beginning when I founded one of the first boutique hotel companies, Joie de Vivre, and then when I served as “modern elder” — offering my hard-earned wisdom — and Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy at Airbnb, a company that was becoming a global phenomenon. In addition to incorporating wellness practices throughout my adult life, I also owned the largest spa in San Francisco and created one of the first spa hotels in San Francisco. Lastly, I served on the Board of the Esalen Institute, and for a dozen years, taught workshops at America’s first human growth retreat center. The curriculum for MEA came from my fifth book based on my experience at Airbnb, “Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder.” This new path MEA is taking me on feels like the perfect trifecta of my past career history.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Joining Airbnb at age 52 after having been a CEO for two-dozen years was fascinating. I was no longer the “sage on the stage,” but instead the “guide on the side” for the three young founders who were nearly half my age. They called me their “modern elder” because they told me I was as curious as I was wise. I was the elder statesman for a company disrupting the hospitality industry — an industry I had been in for a quarter-century.
Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?
My first hotel purchase was a poolside motel in a rough part of San Francisco. I wanted to turn it into a rock ‘n roll hotel called The Phoenix. When I was buying it, I noticed they were running at 98% occupancy so I thought I was buying a successful business. However, I came to realize that the reason they were running those high occupancies was that they were renting rooms very inexpensively on an hourly basis (mostly to prostitutes). Vinny, the pimp, and his girls were the hotel’s biggest corporate account. Once I cleaned the place up, almost all of the old clients left and I was very cash poor. For the first 3 years, I took no salary, but fortunately, the place became famous for hosting well-known musicians. Over the next 24 years, I purchased over 51 more hotels and I always asked them who their business corporate accounts were.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I never met my mentor. I had a pen pal relationship with the long-time CEO of Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher. I originally reached out to him because I wanted my hotel company to have a fun, thriving corporate culture like Southwest. His assistant told me he couldn’t take phone calls from me, but that I could write to him once a year for advice. I did that for ten years in a row, and I was always impressed that he would thoroughly answer my questions each time. I was featured on the cover of Southwest’s in-flight magazine many years later, the month before Herb passed away, so I’ve always felt a kinship with him.
What advice would you suggest to your colleagues in your industry to thrive and avoid burnout?
Create and respect boundaries for all of your employees. Ask your leadership team to state proposed boundaries to their direct supervisor. Then, have the whole leadership team present their boundaries as a group and create a document outlining them. Quarterly, have each leader outline how they are doing with their boundaries and offer a 5% year-end bonus for each one who self-determines that they lived up to their boundaries during the year. This is what we’re doing at MEA and it’s amazing to see how it gives our people more agency.
What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?
In my book “PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow,” I outlined how the employee hierarchy of needs has ‘Money’ (or the full compensation package) at the base of the pyramid (a “survival” need), ‘Recognition’ in the middle (a “success” need), and ‘Meaning’ at the top (a “transformation” need). If you can build your culture keeping this hierarchy in mind, you will have more loyal, happy employees. The real differentiator isn’t at the bottom of the pyramid (Money), it’s at the top (Meaning). However, if your compensation package is just not competitive, it doesn’t matter how much Meaning you’re providing. Your people will go elsewhere.
From your point of view or experience, what are a few of the reasons that retirement can reduce one’s health?
Stanford’s Dr. Phil Pizzo has shown that the three foundational elements of healthy older people are Purpose, Community, and Wellness. When people retire, it’s obvious that they may lose the first two of these elements unless they find a new purpose or community to be a part of. It’s essential to “retire to” something, not just “retire from” something. The big surprise is that wellness declines in retirement and it’s primarily because work creates structure and discipline for most people. On average, people accelerate their mortality rate by 2 years when they retire.
Can you share with our readers 5 things that one should do to optimize mental or physical wellness after retirement? Please share a story or an example for each.
Find a mindfulness practice that suits you. For three decades, I loved meditation and hated yoga. (I later got over the yoga aversion thanks to an amazing “hack”.) As Viktor Frankl wrote, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is your power to choose your response. In your response, lies your growth and your freedom.” Meditation gives my monkey mind a nap. It allows me to create more space and not be reactive, which might be one of the most important emotional tools you have at your disposal.
Every two years, find a subject you’re passionate about and become an expert on it. Management theorist Peter Drucker did this for the last 30 years of his life until he passed away in his mid-90s. For me, I’ve studied everything from festivals to emotions to hot springs to the cultural history of Bali. Curiosity lubricates the mind and spirit.
Walk 10,000 steps a day. You can do whatever you want for exercise, but in my opinion, this is the gold standard for measuring your fitness. There are so many apps that allow you to see whether you’re meeting this goal. I average 8,000 per day except during those weeks when I’m more intentional about long walks with my dog, Jamie.
Give back. There are so many ways to give: know-how, know-who, money, energy. Mutual mentorship is my favorite. Be open to sharing your knowledge and wisdom with someone younger, but only if you’re going to learn something from them. I had over 100 mentees during my seven and a half years at Airbnb, but, in almost all cases, I was learning as much from them as they were learning from me.
Pursue “long life learning.” Life-long learning gets all the attention, but we learn differently at 30 than we do at 60. Long life learning is all about creating a life that is as deep and meaningful as it is long. I wrote a white paper on this topic (“The Emergence of Long Life Learning”) and it’s what MEA is all about.
In your experience, what are 3 or 4 things that people wish someone told them before they retired?
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?
Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning,” a story based on a Jewish psychologist in a Nazi concentration camp, is always a reminder that my life isn’t so bad. I had this book in my briefcase when I flatlined at age 47 after giving a speech in St. Louis. I had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, but at first, it wasn’t clear why my heart stopped 9 times in 90 minutes. Having that book with me when I was in the hospital for a couple of days meant that I created an “Emotional Equation” (the title of one of my other books): Despair = Suffering — Meaning. So, from that point forward, I constantly focused on what meaning I could find in my life. The more meaning I had, the less despair I would experience.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Yale’s Becca Levy’s research has shown that when you help someone move from a negative to a positive perspective on aging, they will likely live 7.5 years longer. This is stunning because that’s more than if you stopped smoking or started exercising at age 50. We have all kinds of public health campaigns focused on smoking or exercising, but the societal narrative on aging is pretty toxic, even though the ‘U-curve of Happiness’ research shows that our life satisfaction in our 50s and beyond grows with each passing decade after a low point in our mid-to-late 40s. This is what MEA is all about and why we’ve created a movement with 26 regional chapters all over the world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
This quote gave me the soul (and spine) to say no to an offer from one of the most powerful men in the world who wanted to hire me just as we were getting the Modern Elder Academy off the ground: “The cost of something is measured by how much life you have to give for it.” In fact, I quoted those exact words when I turned down that job, as I intuitively knew I would have to give my whole life to the role he was positioning for me. I wasn’t willing to pay that high of a price for the power and prestige that working for this well-known man would have offered me. And, based on my life these lovely past four years, I’m so glad that quote gave me the courage to say no to my ego that was pressuring me to say yes.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings is someone who I met long ago when I was still running my boutique hotel company. I quoted him in my book “PEAK” and I’ve long admired his willingness to be a contrarian. He disrupted his own business by spending hundreds of millions
to make Netflix a streaming giant — putting their movies by mail business out of business. I really appreciate his approach to culture and became friends with his head of HR. He’s also been an advocate for innovative approaches to education. I just need to summon the courage to reconnect with him.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
Don’t try to perfect the process from the start — In the beginning stages of a startup, you have to do things that don’t scale. Early on in starting Makeship, I always found it frustrating when we didn’t solve a problem we are facing in the most efficient way possible. However, things are never perfect, and if you want to grow fast, you might have to do things relatively inefficiently before you can reach the point of scaling it.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rakan Al-Shawaf.
Rakan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Makeship, a crowdfunding platform founded in 2018 with the mission of helping the world transition to the creator economy. Rakan is a Syrian-Canadian entrepreneur with two successful startups under his belt. His passion for creating value through efficiency and supporting new, innovative ideas threads all of his experiences together.
Rakan was born in Toronto but spent time living in different places around the world, learning from each new location and experience. While at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Rakan carved a new path for himself — taking a gap year in Shenzhen, China and starting his first venture, logistics company Ryno Global. By helping e-commerce stores manage and streamline their supply chain logistics, Rakan grew Ryno to an 8-figure revenue with more than 20 full-time employees.
Rakan founded Makeship just a year later, and has since helped hundreds of clients launch their own products, build their brand and make a living. Under Rakan’s leadership, Makeship has seen significant growth year-over-year, doubling its profits in 2020–2021 alone. Rakan has mastered sourcing, logistics and branding over the years, and is passionate about the endless possibilities in entrepreneurship.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I was born in Toronto to Syrian immigrants who had only recently arrived in the country. I grew up as the middle child of seven kids and moved around a lot growing up. We lived in Jeddah, Hamah, Dubai, Hangzhou, Mississauga and Riyadh before I went to Kingston, Ontario to attend Queens University. The constant moving around shaped me as a person. I grew accustomed to making friends quickly around the world. I wasn’t afraid to put myself out there and meet new people wherever I was.
My dad is a serial entrepreneur and his experience and teachings was the inspiration I needed in my childhood to become interested in business. He lit that spark in me. I like to think I earned an MBA level degree just from my dad talking to me about his experiences and watching the ebbs and flows of his career.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“A year from now you’ll wish you started today.” — Karen Lamb, author and lecturer.
This is one of my favorite quotes because it helped me navigate through goals that, in the beginning, always seemed insurmountable.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.It’s a book that explores what it means to be human — as the title suggests. It traces the origins, mechanisms and effects of human progress. From the days of hunters and gatherers to the twenty-first century, it unravels how mankind came to be and what the future might look like.
This book had the greatest impact on my life and I find myself referring to it often. My biggest takeaway from it is that every person’s behaviour, beliefs and values can be better understood if you take the time to learn more about them. It helped me develop an immense amount of empathy for people of all kinds. It also helped me understand the incentives that drive people to be passionate about working for a company. It gave me the foundational knowledge I needed to really understand why the world we live in is the way it is. The mechanics of the book is actually quite beautiful, and I now use this lens in all my decision making.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
Ideas are all around us and you can find inspiration from so many different places. The real tangible aspect of ideas coming to life is execution. In the case of building a business from scratch, execution comes down to being able to iterate — doing something again and again and again — and doing so consistently.
To me, the key to turning an idea into a business is to just start. Don’t judge yourself, don’t judge the speed at which progress is happening, or how much progress is happening.Every single company we admire in the world today started as an idea. That idea was the foundation and it took time, and intention, to create a full-fledged business. It comes down to mindset. Anyone itching to turn their idea into action should adopt a “failure is just learning” mindset with everything they do. Most businesses aren’t successful on the first try. It requires many failed attempts before it works. You should view failures not as shortcomings of your skills, but as an opportunity to learn.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
Most ideas that you will come up with are not going to be novel. An idea worth pursuing because of the market dynamics is an idea that is probably already being pursued by someone else. But don’t let that deter you from trying it out. A pool of different factors need to come together to make a business successful and the initial idea you’ve come up with is only oneof those factors. There are many others that can come together to lead you to success or position you above any competition. That said, some basic market research will spare you the trouble from starting an idea in a market that is already deeply saturated.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
I believe in stress-testing your idea as much as possible before trying to invest time and money into it.
Entrepreneurs should think about their product in a minimum viable way. You want to make sure you’re targeting the right customer base. The best way to do this is to create mockups or a “smoke and mirrors” version of your product. It might not be fully fleshed out, but it gives you an opportunity to talk to the demographic you want to sell to and bring them a physical example. You could even do this through online testing — targeting potential customers via social media or search marketing, seeing how many people click “buy” and taking them to a page where you capture their email and interest. This is just one simple example. The ultimate goal is to provide demand for your product — and provide evidence. If the conversations or tests show you a different path, or that your idea isn’t going to work, switch it up!
To find a great manufacturer, I personally believe in going in-person and feeling things out. When I went to China, where our supply chain for Makeship is based, not only did I visit each factory myself, I also partnered with a local man — Wang Tao, who ended up becoming a co-founder of Makeship — to launch the business so that I can ensure someone who understands the landscape has skin in the game.
For distribution, I recommend you try your best to go directly to your customer instead of going through a retailer. You want to be able to own the data and have a closer relationship with your customers. This allows you to iterate on your product more effectively and figure out new service/product lines.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Don’t try to perfect the process from the start — In the beginning stages of a startup, you have to do things that don’t scale. Early on in starting Makeship, I always found it frustrating when we didn’t solve a problem we are facing in the most efficient way possible. However, things are never perfect, and if you want to grow fast, you might have to do things relatively inefficiently before you can reach the point of scaling it.
Be more bold with spending — Being a bootstrapped startup founder, I always found it anxiety-inducing to spend money too fast. Each dollar we earned was a battle, so I knew we needed to make sure we spent it effectively. At some point I did fall into the trap of spending money too slowly and missed out on some growth opportunities as a result.
Focus on what you can control — It is easy to get caught up in what could go wrong when you are building a venture. I found that in the early days, I was very worried that the economic situation would deteriorate to a level that would not allow for Makeship to thrive. But I learned that my energy is better spent on finding solutions to daily problems!
Product market fit is the most important aspect to company success — It trumps everything else. I wish someone had told me that most of the mistakes that I made wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, because the ultimate factor we needed to get right was product-market fit.
Having a balanced life can actually support your company in a positive way — I definitely burned the midnight oil quite often and was living an unsustainable routine throughout my startup journey. More recently, I’ve learned the value of physical and mental health, as well as quality time with my friends and family. I’ve found that focusing on a more balanced life has actually helped me professionally and has helped Makeship and my employees do the same.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
I would actually start with why. Why do you want to create a product in the first place? Why do you want to be an entrepreneur and go down a relatively uncertain path? Bringing something brand new to the world is hard work, making it a profitable enterprise is even harder. You first need to understand your motivations and make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.That way, when things get tough, you’re still passionate, driven and interested in pursuing your product/startup.
Once you reckon with your “why,” I’d look at it in a few steps:
Define the problem you are solving and be able to explain it really clearly. This will take many conversations (for me, I’d say it took 100+ at least) with people you believe face that problem and will benefit from your idea. Understand why they struggle, what they have tried before to solve their problem, and why they still believe it affects their life in a negative way.
Create the minimum viable product that you can go out and “sell.” I put “sell” in quotations because you may not be in a position to actually exchange money for product/service at this point, but you can still sell your idea and gauge the level of interest in it.
Finally, keep iterating until you find a minimum viable product that resonates with your customer base.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
I recommend you go at it alone, because you will learn the most this way and fully own the resulting product/service. This will best support you as you then scale the business and bring in more outside support (employees, mentors, etc.).
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
I believe that if a business has the mechanics to be bootstrapped, it should be bootstrapped. Once you’ve proven incredible interest in the market, you may want to raise funds to add fuel to the fire, so to speak. But if you are building a non-capital intensive business, try bootstrapping!
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
First and foremost, we are focused on building a company people are genuinely excited to be a part of. As we grow, we are constantly improving the overall employee experience at Makeship and are very focused on our culture and HR practices. Since we’re a fully-remote company, fostering this level of support and culture is all the more important for us.
When starting Makeship, it was also important to me to be ethical about our products and output — as it should with most, if not all, new startups going forward. We’ve made it part of our mission to use only re-usable and compostable packaging for our products and started a partnership with Forests International to carbon offset the production and fulfillment of our products. For every product we manufacture, we make a donation to Forests International for the recapturing of carbon dioxide through the plantation of trees in Canada and Zanzibar.
In addition, my co-founders and I take on as many mentorship opportunities as possible for early stage founders that are just starting out.It’s important to share the wealth, just like my father did with me.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would really encourage more people to experience the values and benefits of meditation. As I started to steer away from that “burning the midnight oil” mentality and making my personal health a priority, I turned to meditation. It’s impacted me massively. My sense of balance and focus has improved and I know that it translates into my success.
While this is already a movement — and one that’s growing — I would love to see more people take it up and see what it can do for their lives, too.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would love to meet Naval Ravikant. He is a brilliant thinker and one of the most successful angel investors out there. There are many podcast episodes of his that I’ve listened to — probably five times or more! I believe there is so much value in the way he thinks and I would love to have even just a moment of his time to ask some questions and learn from him. If you haven’t heard him speak — you should!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Meet The Disruptors: Mohammed “Rab” Shanableh Of OxeFit On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Keep your life balanced — Family and personal time often take a hit in the race to the finish. Extreme and diligent efforts should be made to stay balanced. Too often you don’t realize just how important this effort is to your mindset, your health and your success.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mohammed “Rab” Shanableh.
With a career spanning 25 years in technology, Rab has teamed with some of the most elite industry global leaders in the technical arena. He is presently the Managing Partner of Lydia Partners Venture Fund and the Co-founder and CEO of OxeFit, a robotics fitness tech company that focuses on robust strength training and human performance.
Prior to co-founding OxeFit, he co-founded Affirmed Networks and was responsible for the Worldwide Operations organization and Systems Engineering divisions at Sonus Networks.
Rab received his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering at The University of Kansas.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Of course! Thanks for the opportunity. I’m the CEO of OxeFit, a first-of-its-kind strength training system that’s revolutionizing the world of connected fitness. Engineering and technology have always had a stronghold on me. I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering at The University of Kansas and I’ve also been drawn to problem-solving as I believe it’s not only one of the most valuable skill sets one can have — but also the tool that drives forward solutions in both business and personal endeavors.
Almost exclusively, my talents and efforts have been concentrated on the latest cutting-edge technology with a primary focus on software, mobile, and data architecture development and applications.
It started with Advising Sonus Networks during its pre IPO stage in the late 90s. Sonus Networks was the main tech driver behind voice over packet technologies. It was the first in the market to take traditional telephony traffic and packetize it over the internet and nowadays most people communicate over the internet. I managed the Sales and Operations of the company post the IPO stage. The original idea was very disruptive on both technology and cost fronts. It collapsed multiple legacy network elements into one elegant software and hardware solution that removed significant cost out of the service providers networks.
From there, I went on to co-found Affirmed Networks, an industry leader in virtualization and 5G, which was acquired by Microsoft Networks. Affirmed Networks was a huge success as it played a critical role in revolutionizing data center into cloud based architectures, and I’m proud to say a member of the prestigious Global Unicorn Club, an exclusive award recognizing outstanding private companies valued at over $1 billion. It truly changed the way operators build their packet core.
With a career spanning 25 years in technology and NASA research, and three successful company exits under my belt, I shifted my attention towards OxeFit to focus on designing a robust strength training platform that can be powered by AI-based algorithms. OxeFit was the outcome of meeting with my co-founder and CTO Dr. Peter Neuhaus who, at the time, was doing research in the robotics area. Fitness and wellness had always been an area of interest for me, and fitness technology was increasingly no longer seen as just for professional athletes, but also incredibly useful for anyone seeking a healthy lifestyle regardless of their fitness level.
I saw the white space to help an overlooked demographic of people discover and fall in love with fitness. Dr. Peter and I started discussing a fitness machine that should be simple and enjoyable to use — but offer all the options that can be found at a gym, and more — and thus OxeFit was born.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
First I wanted to revolutionize the way athletes train with science and technology, as this was an area that needed advancing, but would also provide key learnings for the consumer market. Not everyone was getting the proper education and tools to train or rehab safely. More so, elite trainers and pro-athletes were privy to information that other fitness fanatics weren’t.
My team and I were able to solve the difficult problem of developing a fitness machine for professional athletes — using state-of-the-art AI technology — that could ultimately be used in the comfort of a person’s home.
When we unveiled the XP1, OxeFit’s commercial fitness machine, many elite athletes benefited greatly from XP1’s advanced science and technology. With the help of XP1’s AI technology, celebrity athletes are using OxeFit to become the best versions of themselves and educate consumers on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and fitness routine. The ability for XP1 to track performance, deliver highly personalized analytics, and offer advanced coaching has never been done. I don’t want people to look at OxeFit as just a piece of gym equipment, I want people to use OxeFit as a lifestyle.
It was a satisfying milestone for us when we could make the XS1 available to anyone in their homes. Late last year, we launched OxeFit’s first consumer product, XS1, which allowed us to take all the cloud functions from XP1 and apply them to XS1 so consumers could use OxeFit’s latest innovation in the comfort of their home. The XS1 really offers something unique in the at-home market — it combines strength, cardio, balance, and immersive interactive fitness training all in a single apparatus. Programs include rowing, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, SurfSwiming, SkiCross and digitally-controlled pilates.
It’s truly the only at-home fitness system that offers the same level of workouts you can get in professional training facilities — and leverages robotics and artificial intelligence. The reason I’ve been so keen on AI is so consumers are able to get personalized insights and coaching that lets them take control of their own personal journey to a healthier life. I wanted to push the boundaries of what’s possible when you have the right data and OxeFit does just this.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When reflecting on some of the funniest mistakes I’ve made, a majority of the time they were centered around the belief that I knew or had a seasoned understanding of all the facets of my field. Some may call that ego or overconfidence, but when you’re starting out, you’re excited about the possibilities to prove yourself. There were many lessons learned and lots of laughs, but I came to realize that it’s impossible to obtain all of the knowledge and understanding in your field early on. It’s important to always continually grow and learn, no matter how much of an expert you are.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who has been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
A key mentor in my life has been Hassan M. Ahmed Ph.D., CEO of Affirmed Networks, former CEO of Sonus Networks, and an OxeFit board member. Hassan is a well-respected and prolific leader who brings an extensive technology background accompanied by a proven track record of disrupting industries through successful ventures. He’s helped bring more innovative perspectives to the table in the technology and fitness space and has been an essential part of my journey to starting OxeFit. When I worked at Affirmed Networks and Sonus Networks, I looked up to him to provide guidance on how to disrupt markets. Something that stuck with me was Hassan’s belief to always question if something was impactful. He continues to guide me on my ventures by advising on OxeFit’s business strategy and expansion in order to further the company’s leadership, growth, and profitability.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Being a tech guy, disruption is not only positive, but it’s a requirement for success. In today’s technologically advanced society, being savvy is just not enough. You’ve got to focus on and be drawn to constant evolution and always be a hundred steps ahead. This not only satisfies that insatiable appetite for “what’s next” in the world today but also keeps you ahead of your competition.
Positive technology disruption is where innovation can significantly provide improvements in a segment of the market. In this case with OxeFit, AI-driven technology will positively disrupt and shake the fitness industry due to its ability to track a person’s performance and provide them with feedback, thus, allowing everyone to help make their workouts as efficient and safe as possible.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Keep a strong focus — don’t bury yourself in the details.
Keep your life balanced — Family and personal time often take a hit in the race to the finish. Extreme and diligent efforts should be made to stay balanced. Too often you don’t realize just how important this effort is to your mindset, your health and your success.
Surround yourself with people who challenge and motivate you — it’s important to be around like-minded individuals who will help you pursue your goals. This is equally important in both your professional and personal life.
Don’t be hesitant when it comes time to commit and don’t be cautious about dreaming. Overall, innovation, determination, teamwork and focus are key to a technology startup’s success.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Fitness is typically used by a subset of the population to build body mass and lose weight. We see using OxeFit as more of an overall lifestyle change where with time, it will become part of every household or gym. People will want to use OxeFit to train, compete, and feel strong, of course, but we see equal value in that it can make you feel mentally strong, as well. Whether someone has five minutes to work out or an hour, OxeFit allows users’ workouts to be completely customized to their own unique fitness goals.
OxeFit also just announced a new round of funding, with celebrity athletes, such as Dustin Johnson and Jalen Ramsey, as investors. We’re excited by the support of the pro athlete community and adding Dustin and Jalen to our team of investors further validates the need — and excitement — for smarter, more diverse, at-home fitness systems. Last year was about OxeFit launching in a B2B setting and this year we’re thrilled to show off the excellence of OxeFit to consumers.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
Don’t specifically have a book or podcast that has had a deep impact on my thinking, but I’ve respected talks and have always had the utmost respect for Jack Welch and Steve Jobs. As a businessman, I’ve always respected how they wanted to push boundaries and not stick to the status quo. Jack Welch taught me to always discover the best in people around me. Steve Jobs, being the leader he was and being in awe of the way he changed the culture of technology, impacted my leadership style by allowing me to distinguish leaders from followers.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
A friend of mine once shared a story regarding a lesson his father taught him. “Before making a friend, think about it a thousand times, but once you make him your friend, never think about it again.” This has stuck with me as sage advice for not only personal friendships but also important business decisions. This lesson speaks directly to careful consideration and commitment — two important qualities for success. I practice these in every strategic business relationship I approach and it has continued to serve me well.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would definitely like to inspire a movement that focuses on education. Every day there are examples that represent the need for the increased development of more evolved, non-traditional educational opportunities. This is present at all levels.
The world is technologically advancing at an alarming speed and we must ensure that education and learning are available at the same pace. We as a society have an obligation to educate future generations and I would love to be involved in efforts that are focused on supporting our youth to develop advanced skill sets that deliver a more marketable, qualified, and self-sufficient population.
How can our readers follow you online?
To see how OxeFit will continue to shake up the fitness industry, I encourage readers to follow our latest developments on our website, Instagram and LinkedIn, all linked below.
Makers of The Metaverse: Christoph Fleischmann Of Arthur Technologies On The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
High uncertainty and optimism, as it is much easier to point out the problems in things than to see the good and the beautiful.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingChristoph Fleischmann.
Christoph Fleischmann is the CEO and Founder of Arthur Technologies, a pioneering large-scale virtual reality meeting, and collaboration platform. Arthur’s workspaces have been built to host high-value meetings among business owners and their team members, regardless of location in the physical world. Since its inception, Fleischmann has seen the platform adopted by renowned organizations around the world, such as the United Nations, Societe Generale, and ERGO.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I grew up in the south of Austria, close to the Italian border in the late 90s and early 2000s. The internet was not that prominent for everyone during this time, especially where I lived. But, I have always loved technology, software, and innovation. The internet was a fascinating place that could provide unique access to knowledge, incredible entertainment, and connections to people you could never meet. I found myself connecting with people all over the world via instant messengers and online forums.
Even with the internet at our hands, I still found the world to be a huge place. With my love for technology, I would work on software projects as a hobby; however, whenever I tried finding someone to work with, there were no people physically around me interested in these topics. I had to use the internet to connect with them — even though I love working with people in collaborative settings.
While the presence of games, computers, and the internet in my teens ignited my love for tech, technology’s limitations were why I founded Arthur. I wanted to live in a world where the internet was so strong that geography truly didn’t matter anymore. A world where I could connect and work with anyone globally as if I were in the same room with them.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I have always been a massive fan of Nintendo and its video games — first and foremost, Zelda. I think the beauty and passion that Nintendo put into their games inspired awe in me. You could find small details in the remotest spots of their virtual worlds where you know almost no one would look. But it was this amount of perfectionism that made their virtual world light up and become real.
The virtual world was expansive, and you could roam free in it with superpowers. Many of the concepts and principles explored by such video games are now reused and rediscovered in XR development, even for software heavily geared for professional enterprise use. At Arthur, we take a healthy dose of inspiration from these games for our virtual worlds.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the XR industry? We’d love to hear it.
The limitations of the early internet were the driving force behind why I wanted to work in XR and start Arthur. For me, it was recognizing that the internet was still in its infancy and the true paradigm shift was going to happen in the future on a new set of technologies.
I felt that all that the internet had to offer was just a prelude to a much more pervasive and powerful experience that would genuinely make geographical distance obsolete. That experience turned out to be XR.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
One “aha” moment for us happened very early in our journey with Arthur. In 2018, we were working with a distributed IT team at a large German automotive manufacturer. They used Arthur as a project office where they could align on complex technological problems. This work was all still done on PC-based VR headsets that were clunky and difficult to use because Arthur was still incredibly early and limited in its functionality.
One day, they invited us to a VR meeting in their office. It was a two-hour meeting, and we decided to take a short break after the first hour. Our team was about to take off our headsets when they told us to wait and took us into their virtual office outside to a small terrace they built themselves in Arthur. This area was the spot for their breaks, where they would have coffee chats in between work.That was the moment we realized we were on to something.
Arthur was being used not only as a tool for their meetings but more as a space to connect and work. A lot about our product strategy is built on this. We enjoy witnessing people pioneering this new medium and shaping it to their behavior to adopt it as a new and enabling tool for work.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We made the huge mistake of putting comfortable virtual chairs too close to a place where someone would start in our VR meeting world. I had the glorious problem that more than one person tried to sit down immediately despite having no actual chair. Seeing their avatar fall to the floor while the mic picked up a “thump” is funny in hindsight, although we were pretty worried at the moment that someone got hurt. Thankfully, no one got hurt.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are many people towards whom I feel grateful. I would like to mention my parents, who realized quite early that their children needed access to a computer. Instead of being afraid of the new technology and overly controlling with how often we used it, they embraced it and let me and my brother explore the internet and computers ourselves.
I remember them being heavily criticized by other parents for their easygoing attitude towards the use of the internet. However, they responded that they didn’t want to deny their kids that education. This, of course, is not parenting advice; however, it did work out very well for my brother and me.
Some of the thanks should go to my older brother, who introduced me to video games, programming, and even little hacks at an early age. Much of the initial knowledge I had about computers and most of my excitement and interest in tech came from him.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
With Arthur, we want to create a platform that can be used to connect and work with people all over the world in the most powerful and immersive medium there is — XR. While we are still working on Arthur, I think we underestimate how big a role geography still plays in our lives. Where we grow up, go to school, and move to for our jobs are all factors that fundamentally affect our lives and our opportunities.
Arthur helps enterprises establish hybrid and remote work models without compromising their company culture, collaboration, or creativity. For employees in many parts of the world, Arthur will bring them the freedom to choose where and with whom they want to work, without any compromises being made in their personal lives.
However, the most impactful part is what this technology can do for people in less fortunate countries. A solution like Arthur can truly make the world fair, no matter where you were born. As long as one has an internet connection and access to an XR headset, most of the current disadvantages will not be crippling anymore.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
The three things that excite me about XR right now are the timing, the impact, and the exploratory nature of it all. We are at a point in time where most of our journey is ahead of us, but it is no longer a pipedream or sci-fi. Right now, enterprises are deploying XR to improve their collaboration and communication, and consumers worldwide are enjoying social, entertainment, and gaming experiences with other people around the globe.
The impact of XR cannot be understated. It is truly the next interface with which we will connect to the digital world. In this way, the industry will transform our lives to the same extent as computing on flat screens. And, there is still so much undefined and undecided. Every day we are confronted with a new challenge potentially no one has ever faced. It is an incredible privilege to play a role in this technical revolution. It is truly magical to see the technology evolve, grow and unfold, with every single contribution by every individual working on it.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
We need more people working on XR developments. While Meta has managed to push the technology somewhat into mainstream attention with their Quest series, we still need a lot more people working on the software side. Humanity will need to build a digital world that effectively and ethically connects to our real one — so I would love to see many more people working on it.
Additionally, people equate a technological paradigm shift with one company’s mission and objectives. In people’s minds, the technology currently is too associated with Meta itself — and all positive or negative emotions they may feel about the company itself. While meta is indisputably a major player pushing this technology forward on both software and hardware, the whole technology is a lot bigger, and its opportunity is a lot larger than Meta itself. Some people are skeptical of Meta, but there should be a way to be still super excited about XR.
Lastly, the confusion about what it is. There is a fair bit of misinformation floating around about what the metaverse is, what Web3 is, and what XR is. Part of this is normal, as a lot of it is unfolding, but part of it should be fixable by focusing less on concepts, principles, and architectures and more on what people are building right now and which problems they are solving. I think the whole industry is suffering from too much theoretical future talk and too little focus on what we have in front of us and what a logical extrapolation of the currently solved problems could show. This would make it more tangible for end-users and alleviate people’s concerns about this new technology.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
VR, AR, and MR can make hybrid and remote work easier in enterprises. One of the biggest challenges for large companies is how to offer hybrid and remote work to their employees without compromising on productivity and culture. It seems pretty clear that with webcams and 2D screens, we have maxed out the technological potential in these dimensions. We need a more powerful medium to enable geographically independent collaboration, which is XR truly. Companies with this technology will become more agile. They will be able to offer their employees an unparalleled work-life balance while simultaneously being able to tap into the entire world as a talent pool. The implications of making remote and hybrid truly work are vast — and XR is definitely the answer.
VR, AR, and MR will also become a new computing medium with an entirely new level of productivity and communication. The technology allows for much more than just “recreating” a physical office setting with zero travel needed. As a new three-dimensional computing medium, it will open opportunities for new forms of data visualization, information sharing, and analysis. We will work in 3D, and that will enable people to have even better communication and unshackled creativity and productivity.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
Ironically, XR will make the world flat. Geography will no longer play a constraining role in our work lives. That means people with access to this technology will have more freedom to work with whomever they want, and their background, skin color, and preferred location will completely cease to matter in this virtual world. It will be interesting to see what this could mean for immigration and the problem of “brain-drain” in poorer countries. The future might bring a much more balanced picture of where value (and income) gets created worldwide than what we currently see.
VR, AR, and MR will also reduce the carbon footprint. Reducing business travel is a significant aspect of curbing CO2 emissions worldwide — and VR/AR/MR can play a huge role in this.
Lastly, it will make digital communication “human” again.In 2D computing, we are flat videos and profile pictures, and we communicate in messages and emojis. Our communication is incredibly abstractive in this digital world. There is scope for much negativity with this abstract and non-personal way of communicating. Online arguments escalate quicker than if we were talking to each other in person, and we never attempt to know most other people we engage with on the internet. Add to this the fact that we watch this digital world through small screens on our laptops or mobile phones, pulling us away from the real world around us.
XR is inherently more human than 2D computing. You actually get to be at the same place as others, you feel like you are present with them, and with advances in avatars and face/eye tracking, it will be even more human and realistic. We will finally look up from our phones again, as digital content will neatly weave itself into our real world.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
I am not aware of any “myths” that need to be dispelled.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR, or MR Industries?”
A passion for the technology.
A long breath as this journey will continue for a while.
The ability to quickly learn and apply new knowledge.
The ability to work with radically changing circumstances.
High uncertainty and optimism, as it is much easier to point out the problems in things than to see the good and the beautiful.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We already work extensively with the United Nations on how XR can internally help their teams to collaborate and communicate more efficiently. I would love to see how we could use this technology even more globally for education and more egalitarian access to the labor market. Any movement that puts this technology at the core of a strategy to improve people’s lives globally will be worth its efforts a thousand times over.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would love to meet Tim Cook, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, or Sheryl Sandberg for lunch. All four for different reasons, though!
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Meet The Disruptors: Amira elAdawi Of AMIRA & CO On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Frameworks and lists are so prevalent in the consulting world and I strongly believe that they often limit people’s thinking, preventing them from thinking multidimensionally. So, since I’m trying to change how we offer “advice” as consultants, let me not give you a list but rather offer a story about when my approach to life really changed.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amira elAdawi.
Amira is the Founder and Managing Partner of AMIRA & CO, a boutique management consulting practice designed to deliver transformational change during post M&A integration and enterprise optimization, through a next generation model of management consulting, predicated on the importance of co-creation with clients for long-term success. Amira has over 20 years of experience in top-tier consulting firms, and as a business operator at Fortune-50 companies. She is an External Adviser to Bain & Co, a former Senior Principal at Booz & Co as well as former Senior Group Manager at Procter & Gamble. Amira holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a MC in Hospitality Management from Cornell University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I spent over a decade in the management consulting industry following the traditional approach to consulting that assumes consultants are hired because they are smarter than their clients and that through a handful of interviews they can tell people who have been doing their jobs for decades how to do them better. I never bought into that thinking, and I don’t think empirical evidence would back it up. I always thought the service provided by consultants was essential, valuable, and needed, but I knew there must be a better way to do this. So I left my job at Big-5 consulting firms and dedicated time to do in-depth research with clients to understand what they hated about consulting (it’s a running joke in the industry, that everyone hates consultants! I wanted to know why), and what their “wish-list” is for working with consultants. That’s what led me to creating AMIRA & CO. A new type of consulting practice that uses a unique approach to delivering management consulting by collaborating with clients.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Our “transformation-from-within” approach is antithetical to traditional consulting. We believe that the best way to enact lasting success at a client’s organization is by partnering with them to co-create solutions. This empowers internal teams to play an integral role in the future of their success, rather than relying on external consultants to dictate solutions to them. As I tell my clients, my goal is for you to never have to hire me more than once for the same thing.
We don’t come in as outsiders and dictate solutions. Instead, we actively guide client teams to find the right answer themselves. We use best practices and industry expertise to show them how to analyze data, interpret results, test theories, and then we support them in solving the problems and eliminating the roadblocks that arise during implementation. Most importantly, using behavioral science, we coach them to work together in a whole new collaborative way that increases their job satisfaction as well as their productivity as a group.
I truly believe this is the only way to create lasting change. Successful management solutions must come from within.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think this is a common mistake made by all consultants, but it’s not really funny: you assume you have all the answers, and you assume because of your pedigree, or because you work for a big top-tier consulting firm that you’re the smartest person in the room and that you must share your brilliance with everyone. Needless to say, over time, you learn that the more you think you know, the less you actually do! (Have you read the Dunning-Kruger research? If not, please read it!). Now I spend more than 75% of my time on engagements listening to clients, junior and senior alike. They almost always have the better answer to an issue, my job is to help them find it.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
That’s a tough one. I grew-up in the Middle East two decades ago when female leaders were very few and far between, if they existed at all. There was no expectation that a woman would “last” in business. The assumption was that you got a job until you got married and had kids, then you left your job, which of course meant that mentors didn’t invest a lot of time in women as they didn’t think it was an investment that would pay-off. So I didn’t have “mentors” in the traditional sense, but I was inspired by many women and men alike. And I learned a lot from many people that have crossed my path in life, even if not all of them were aware of it at the time — it’s really amazing how impactful minor interactions can have on one’s life, and in aggregate they add up to a lot of unintentional and fragmented “mentorships”. I sometimes wonder if that was a curse or a blessing. Having a mentor to turn to definitely would have helped at many points in my career, but maybe not having one and having to figure it out for myself led to a type of growth I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
The tipping point should always be the customer. If you consistently listen to the user of your service with an open mind, and note any trend in input, or any common “inside-jokes” about your company or industry, that’s when you know change is overdue. Customers will always tell you what to continue doing and what to do differently if you listen honestly enough. And when I say customers I don’t just mean the ones you have — I also mean the ones you lost, and the ones you were never able to get. For example, when the common “joke” about consultants is that they “borrow your watch then charge you to tell you what time it is”, it’s time for disruption.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
I can come up with a list, like any good consultant, but I won’t. Frameworks and lists are so prevalent in the consulting world and I strongly believe that they often limit people’s thinking, preventing them from thinking multidimensionally. So, since I’m trying to change how we offer “advice” as consultants, let me not give you a list but rather offer a story about when my approach to life really changed.
So this story may not seem very inspiring to many people, but it was a pivotal moment in my life. As a child, I was smart enough to do pretty well in school without trying very hard. I would skim material before a test and get an A or an A-. Everyone was happy and no one ever told me to do anything differently — not until Mr. Archer. When I was 10 or maybe 11, my geography teacher, Mr. Archer, was handing out exam papers and stopped to acknowledge a normally-B-student that aced the test. He said it was a pleasure reading the student’s test paper because it was clear that “she took time to read the material with dedication and focus, she truly internalized what she read, then took it to the next level by reflecting on what she read and making the learnings her own” — simple right? No duh? But that was the first time someone had verbalized in such a clear manner what it takes to excel at anything if you want to go beyond God-given smarts. The aspects he articulated so well are the aspects that you as a person can control, take credit for, and be proud of. It just clicked with me, that’s how you personally contribute to your development. It changed everything for me. The most interesting thing about this story is that he wasn’t giving me advice, he wasn’t even thinking of me when he said those words, yet the words felt like they were meant for me.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I think there is still a long way to go before I’m satisfied and have disrupted this industry as widely as I would like, so I’m sticking with this for a while longer. I’ve converted a lot of clients, but I’m hoping to convince the traditional consulting industry to join the revolution.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
Numerous of course, but let me talk about the most recent one. I just finished listening to Adam Grant’s book “Think Again”, and a lot of it resonated very strongly with me. The most impactful part — for me — was reading about the complicated value of “grit”. He posits that sometimes, grit is not as great as the world of type-A people make it out to be (me being one of those “very gritty” type-A’s). He explains that grit means you sometimes invest too much time, effort, and energy into things long after they’re clearly not working. It was a very interesting notion to contemplate, because it’s really hard to know when you’re being too gritty and beating-a-dead-horse, and when you’re just not persevering enough to reach that elusive tipping point that can change your trajectory. I haven’t figured out the balancing act there yet, but I’m working on it!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I love Dr. Maya Angelou’s “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” I love this one both personally and professionally. I think this ties into the grit theme I talked about earlier — a lot of us really want something to be one way or another, so we deploy selective listening and confirmation bias and ignore any information we get that doesn’t support our hypothesis. So even when people, or life, or data, tells us something very clearly, we just refuse to believe it because we don’t want to. Applies to love, friendship, business networking and big-data analytics just the same!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
It would be a movement to reach girls in far corners of the earth, and somehow convince them, show them, prove to them how valuable they can be, on so many fronts and in so many different ways. I don’t even think we need to necessarily do anything beyond that, I think just that knowledge alone can create endless transformations.
How can our readers follow you online?
If readers are interested in finding out more about our unique approach to consulting or the impact we’ve had on clients we’ve worked with, they can check out our website at www.amiraandco.com and read some of our client’s “love letters” as we call them, and for more regular news about any interviews and podcasts that our team is contributing to, they can follow our LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/amiraandco — but no tweets from me, the world has way too many tweets as it is 🙂
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Makers of The Metaverse: Tamara Shogaolu Of Ado Ato Pictures On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Creativity made me see the things I wanted to explore. My travels around the world opened my eyes to the reality of others and how I can leave a meaningful impact through the media I use. My creativity really emerges from my passion to tell stories and explore different mediums.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingTamara Shogaolu.
Tamara Shogaolu is an interdisciplinary artist, director, and creative technologist. She wrote and directed five films, Half a Life (2017), Another Dream (2019), They Call Me Asylum Seeker (2020) and Un(re)solved (2021). She is a recipient of the 2020 Creative Capital Award and was nominated for The Netherlands Film Festival’s Golden Calf (also known as the Dutch Oscar). Shogaolu works on augmented and virtual reality projects, as well as installations, sculptures and video art.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I grew up between the neighborhood of Catedral and Ancón. My family is from Catedral, so I was there every day during my childhood. I studied at the Simón Bolívar School in San Felipe in my early years, and then I transferred to St. Mary’s School until I went to the United States to complete my high school and university studies.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
My favorite book is One Hundred Years of Solitude. I grew up in Central America, so a lot of the stories in the book resonated with me.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I honestly have so many mentors I’m truly grateful for. To mention, Lisa Osborne, who is an amazing film writer, Raney and Dawn and, of course, Susan Cartsonis, who is also a film producer and co-founder of and partner in Resonate Entertainment. They really helped me in finding and building my path as a creative.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, I do. Many of which are AR games. I’m also doing a sculpture project and of course my ongoing XR film project, Anouschka, which tells the story of Amara, a teenager from Amsterdam, and her journey as she tries to break a family curse using her unique power. I am equally excited about these projects.
I feel that these projects will truly elicit a sense of wonder in those who engage with them and, hopefully, encourage folks to further pursue media presented through the world of VR, AR, and MR.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
Using these technologies for work gives us more ways to enjoy and explore different media. Examples are the Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo immersive art experiences, which I think is romantic, the Megan Thee Stallion VR concert where fans will wear VR headsets to watch her, and our collaboration with PBS (FRONTLINE) for Un(re)solved, which is an award-winning web interactive where we share the lives and histories of 151 victims from unsolved civil rights-era murder cases.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
The use of VR, AR, and MR in healthcare is something we should consider. These technologies are making notable changes for health professionals and their patients. I’ve read about doctors using VR as preparations for surgeries and how VR helps decrease pain, especially for patients suffering from chronic pain.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
That you have to be a rocket scientist to understand these new technologies. For me, technology shouldn’t be intimidating, but rather, it should be used as a tool to tell your story and make it resonate with your audience. In that way, they will remember both your story and the technology that you used.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
I was surprised how this industry really uses a lot of my stamina. I am doing a lot of traveling, researching and meeting new people, so I really need to stack up energy, make sure I stay hydrated and just monitor my health, so I can continue to pursue my passions.
Creativity made me see the things I wanted to explore. My travels around the world opened my eyes to the reality of others and how I can leave a meaningful impact through the media I use. My creativity really emerges from my passion to tell stories and explore different mediums.
I can’t do anything without a good team backing me up. I’m very proud to say that although my team is small, I have the best people working alongside me. We’ve been working together for years, so I know that I can rely on them at anytime.
Be curious. Just having the thoughts of, Can I do this? Will this make a difference? These kinds of thoughts will push you to do and to learn more. This is where my curiosity leads me, and it opened a lot of opportunities up for me, as a creative.
And always do your best. While it sounds basic, this is the most important. When you’re working hard and just giving your all to anything and everything that you do, people will resonate with you, and you will appreciate your work knowing that you’ve given your all, right from the start.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I want to increase access to technology and the way that people utilize it. In this way, we don’t have to be afraid of allowing more collaborations across various fields, and also changing the extractive design approach to technology.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Definitely, Oprah Winfrey. I mean, who doesn’t want to meet Oprah? That aside, I think that what Oprah has been able to build is incredible, and I would love the opportunity to speak with her, but I also feel like bringing that level of empathy and humanity into the ways that technology and immersive technology are shaping the future, and how they can be beautiful and impactful. I think Oprah has the incredible ability to connect deeply with audiences, and her involvement in this world could expand the reach and have a positive impact on changing the landscape of who is included in the field.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
I wish someone would have told me is how difficult it is to get people to embrace a new technology that has the potential to transform the world and make even more money. Getting people to change from the way they are doing things — shifting conceptions, behavior and expectations — can be very difficult.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Joshua McClure.
Joshua McClure is the CEO, Co-founder, Co-inventor, and Chair of the Board of Directors for Maxwell Biosciences, a preclinical drug platform company that develops biomimetic therapeutics — synthetic compounds that mimic and improve upon biomolecules. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Joshua has more than 20 years experience as a CEO. He is a multi-patent innovator with a background in military and commercial intelligence and now devotes his time to biotechnologies. His knowledge of leadership principles alongside his 2016 big data study of immune proteins’ impact on health outcomes are the foundation of the company.
He has founded and led multiple category-first companies and now devotes his time to biotechnologies. In 2015, Joshua dedicated himself to extending human health span through combating pathogens — the leading cause of human disease and mortality. He is a co-inventor of the world’s first tissue-safe virucidal anti-infectives, anti-infective device coatings, the first virucidal condom, human gene expression modulation technology, and invented geo-placed digital media, and facial recognition-based ecommerce. In 2003, he co-designed and led commercialization for the world’s first dual core laptop computer with Advanced Micro Devices.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I felt called to help heal the world after seeing the impact chronic disease had on loved ones.
I began reading scientific articles regarding the expression of the genome, and how it circulates proteins in the bloodstream. It occurred to me that perhaps genetic expression could explain why some elderly folks are resilient vs other elders are sickly. Perhaps proteins in the bloodstream could explain the difference between those healthy resilient populations compared with those with declining, vulnerable health, such as with Alzheimer’s disease and other long-term degenerative conditions.
Through my research, I found that there are key proteins present in long-term resilient populations that are not present in the vulnerable populations. One particular protein stood out — LL-37, orHuman Cathelicidin Antimicrobial Peptide — and I decided there had to be a way to improve health outcomes by making and applying a synthetic, improved version of LL-37. That’s when I began discussions with bioengineers who were experts in LL-37, including my co-founder, Dr. Annelise Barron.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Meeting Dr. Annelise Barron and finding out that she had already made improvements to LL-37 was one of the most exciting moments in my career. I learned she had already done a lot of work in developing a synthetic, engineered version, proving its capabilities while showing that it has very high biomimicry to LL-37, especially when it comes to fighting bacteria and fungi. Her research really encouraged me and I started working with Dr. Barron as we connected in our search for cures, not just treatments.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
The main principles or philosophies that have guided both my life and my career are 1) being open to possibility and 2) embodying the possibility of power, compassion and health for the world.
Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
Following nature and listening to nature is better than blocking or circumventing nature. We all should strive to be inspired by biology and use the mysteries and magic of the body to treat disease.
Infectious pathogens and cancers continue to evolve and threaten our existence and our economies. Using nature as our guide, we’ve developed biomimetic therapeutics — synthetic low-molecular weight compounds that can mimic and improve upon thousands of human peptides, which play a key role in maintaining optimal health. With enhanced potency, safety and stability, the compounds imitate key components of the immune system, humanity’s greatest asset in fighting disease.
The compounds are created by Maxwell’s exclusive first-in-class, CLAROMER™ brand drug platform and have been effective in destroying viruses, bacteria, fungi and some cancers, while safely avoiding healthy cells.
They work by targeting vulnerabilities in pathogen membranes. This is accomplished primarily by engaging phosphatidylserine, a lipid that is exposed on the outer membrane of many pathogens, senescent cells and many tumor lines. Mammalian biology uses phosphatidylserine to mark a cell for recycling, so healthy cells typically do not express this marker.
These pathogen-specific phosphatidylserine membrane vulnerabilities are what allow your immune system peptides to target them. We use that same vulnerability in the drug discovery process.
It’s never been done before — and it’s our way of creating health for the world — safely and affordably.
How do you think this will change the world?
Imagine a world where viruses are not just treatable but curable … a world where MS (Multiple Sclerosis), Herpes, HIV, Syphilis, Covid, Influenza, Rhinovirus (the predominant cause of the common cold) and all enveloped viruses are now under the control of mankind.
This idea will completely restructure and sustainably transform the way we treat and deal with disease. Many chronic diseases will essentially disappear once the underlying viral, fungal or bacterial causes have been treated.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
As we know, viruses have been a driver of evolution for hundreds of millions of years because viruses edit our DNA. So if we’re significantly cutting back on viruses that are causing disease, then we could ultimately impact the randomized nature of evolution.
The developments at Maxwell are happening at the same time that CRISPR is evolving. To me, this is not a coincidence. I am both encouraged and inspired by the breadth of scientific innovation, which has accelerated in recent years.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
When I started to look at the proteomics of the extracellular environment — that being the proteins in the bloodstream — I began to understand that those proteins are a key driver of long-term aging. The ultimate tipping point is when I realized that — if we can modify and improve the proteins that are active in the bloodstream and clean up the plasma — then we can significantly extend human healthspan.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
All we need for widespread adoption is efficacy, safety and commercial viability — those three factors go along with the company’s vision to create health for the world safely and affordably. Our plan is to move forward with an eye towards market share — similar to what you’ve seen with cloud storage or email. Like the Amazon business model, we intend to offer very affordable, highly scalable drug products with the intention of capturing massive market share.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.) Written or video format optional (see details below).
The first thing I wish someone would have told me is how difficult it is to get people to embrace a new technology that has the potential to transform the world and make even more money. Getting people to change from the way they are doing things — shifting conceptions, behavior and expectations — can be very difficult.
The second thing is how incredibly effective and relatively simple it is — once you have created a team of people that believe in a new technology, understand it and understand the underlying mechanisms of action — to create a globally disruptive new technology.
The third thing is don’t trust what everyone tells you when you know in your heart you’re doing the right thing for humanity. When I started everyone told me that it was going to be very, very difficult for me as an outsider to the industry to raise money. My passion for this work, the support of an incredible team, and with our science and the potential to have a meaningful impact on global health, we have been fortunate to quickly raise capital.
Perhaps the fourth thing is the impact of timing. The pandemic hit around the same time that we were announcing Maxwell’s virucidal capabilities — it was completely coincidental since we started developing it years before COVID-19 overwhelmed the world. It helped that we had already assembled a stellar team of some of the top scientists in the world, and owned our patents outright. So, we had already done our homework with the metaphorical pop quiz hit.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Understand that failure is an option and look for opportunities to fail upfront and early. An absolute key to success is looking to fail fast, so try to find company-killing or technology-killing tests where you can prove that your technology doesn’t work so that you stop wasting money and time. Find as many of those tests as possible and be absolutely heartless with yourself so that — when you encounter anyone else — no one else can be as mean or as heartless as you have already been with your own idea. That one habit is really, really key.
Once you have completely eliminated failure as an option and there’s no way that you could completely fail, you understand the principles of the business, and the underlying basic data of the body and of the science, then you already know which cards are being dealt in the deck and you’re in a position to go ‘all in’. And that’s where I’m at now. My team and I really understand the technology — we understand how the body reacts to it and how the body works with the technology — so I am ready to go ‘all in’.
And finally for true success, understand what integrity is. Integrity is not only about honesty, integrity is about strength, like the integrity of a load bearing foundation of a home. And honesty is being completely authentic with yourself, which is absolutely key for attracting authenticity to your team, yourself and your company. Look for authenticity in the people you want to work with and know that attracting it starts by being completely authentic with your own self. That is the kind of authenticity that creates strength and integrity.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Imagine a world where viruses are not just treatable but curable … a world where MS (Multiple Sclerosis), Herpes, HIV, Syphilis, Covid, Influenza, Rhinovirus (the predominant cause of the common cold) and all enveloped viruses are now under the control of mankind. There are subpopulations of Type-1 diabetes that are caused by a viral infection of the pancreas duct. Research has shown that the onset of some cancers and chronic diseases are linked to infectious pathogens — viral, bacterial, fungal, polymicrobial and biofilms.
Maxwell’s patented biomimetic technology destroys a broad range of infectious pathogens — including all studied SARS-CoV-2, SARS-1, MERS, Influenza A — and could be the most disruptive technology that the world has ever seen.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Folks can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. My Linkedin account is mainly focused on people that I personally know, but Twitter would be a good place to contact me via social media and follow me for random thoughts.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Makers of The Metaverse: Brian Shuster of Utherverse io On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
You need a passion for MR. You can be successful as an animator or a character artist or a clothing designer. You need to learn the tools, be good at it, and be passionate about the underlying technology. There are also so many different paths for a career in CGVR like a networker or a front end programmer. It’s all very complicated and so new that it’s hard to discern what truly makes a successful person in MR aside from what always makes one successful — you must have love in the dream.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingBrian Shuster.
Brian Shuster is a pioneer of the internet and the Founder & CEO of Utherverse.io. He has developed more than 100 patents and pending patents to core internet technologies and the metaverse.
Shuster is a legacy developer and has committed to creating an online virtual community in the metaverse called Utherverse. As a visionary and lead innovator for the internet since the 90’s, key IP and 17 years in the metaverse, he’s learned from the trials of the early internet and mastered the technology needed to build a thriving metaverse. Shuster’s aspirations for the Utherverse are to help undo the damage done by social media, demonstrate the successful application of methods and metaverse technology, as well as provide an open, safe, welcoming platform to nurture community and the economy of the future. He is truly a disruptor and a Web3 radical.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I was inspired by the book Ender’s Game. One main feature in Ender’s Game, and really the trilogy, was this ansible concept: a new type of life form that arose within the technology from faster than light and communications. It inspired me to write the Minerva Virus, which is a much more high tech fiction thriller for the main purpose of warning humanity that it is about to go extinct. In the Minerva Virus, I similarly have a technology that becomes sentient, but it’s not a fictional technology; it is a real technology, which is the internet. The internet basically comes to life as a giant, sentient brain and threatens humanity. That is the inspiration, and inevitably one of these paths humanity takes with technology will destroy us, and I need to delay that. The idea is we need to change our use of technology from being something that separates us, isolates us, and dehumanizes us; and we need to switch it so it does the opposite. It should create love and connection so that people don’t want to destroy each other. We want to lessen the number of people who want to watch the world burn. In that sense, it was an inspiration for what I am doing here. Time is of the essence. I fear that humanity will go extinct from our technologies long before climate change can do it to us. This change has to happen now.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
What inspired me here was Star Trek and Holodeck. I realized there were real problems in implementing that technology, but if that technology could exist, everyone would spend all their time with it. It could be the most efficient way to accomplish so many things. The challenge is to get from web 2.0 to the Holodeck end point. This was my inspiration in the early 2000’s. My late partner, Ray Schwartz, and I started mapping out how to get there, how we could put those steps into practice, and that was the birth of the Utherverse.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
When my first company was shut down, it was because Visa didn’t understand the internet. My company went from nothing to 10 million dollars of sales each month in just a year and a half, and Visa didn’t understand how I could get this without physical signatures on the credit card receipts. They stopped us cold in our tracks. Visa froze our bank accounts, seized our money, and ultimately set us and the internet back multiple years. We weren’t shut down completely, but this was pretty stunning. Our company was the backbone of the internet at the time, and just as we were starting to real money flows that were feeding a vast portion of the commercial internet, the lifeblood got choked out thanks to credit card companies. It wasn’t just Visa either, it was also Discover and American Express. We see parallels now with what’s happening from MasterCard. They are trying to choke out new, innovative businesses and threatening the income of so many online entertainers. It’s why I pray for the success of cryptocurrency. We don’t have to deal with the ignorance, prejudices, and biases of these pseudo-government run industries. It’s an excellent alternative.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I made was letting Kanye West become the creative director of when I produced the first annual Pornhub Awards show. We had created what was going to be a spectacular, groundbreaking event for virtual reality with a fully immersive experience within the Utherverse.
And here comes Kanye West at the eleventh hour, and everyone at PornHub was so enthusiastic, that I agreed to allow him to be the creative director. That decision completely derailed the entire show and 11 months of effort. His team’s operations were utterly chaotic and they had no clue how to put on an awards show — let alone a show that was supposed to revolve around VR, and what should have been a great introduction to virtual reality to the masses, became the Kanye West show. So, I washed my hands of all the players. I learned to trust in myself and my team, and not get starry eyed with distractions.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m grateful to my dad. He had a healthy dose of both encouragement and skepticism. When I was first starting out, I had a business at UCLA, and I needed working capital. He trusted me enough to cosign a line of credit, even though he felt I should pursue a career path instead of being an entrepreneur. Still, he was able to give me advice and support me in that effort. At the time I was bringing up a business to compete with the campus bookstore. It ended up losing money, but it was really motivating to me because I needed to prove to my dad that I would be responsible for that loan. That drove me even harder to be successful in other ventures, and it was super satisfying to be able to make good on repaying the line of credit. I was able to make sure his faith in me was appropriate. He was my inspiration; he truly was a great man.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Utherverse is about to launch our Aeon browser. It’s a next generation metaverse platform. We’re getting ready to mint UTHER Coin. We’re doing an NFT drop in less than two months, which will be the first ever fNFTs. These are “functional NFTs,” so they actually do things in the Utherverse platform. I’m also about to release the Helium Haze, which is a groundbreaking way to consume cannabis. I’m also in the middle of creating the animated series called “Physics Unraveled,” in which I explain most of the issues in physics and conclude with a groundbreaking new breakthrough.
The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
These industries are totally transformative. It’s hard to imagine what life will be like once these technologies reach a point of maturity. Any time there’s a new technology that’s going to completely change anyone’s life — such as the personal computer, the internet, mobile phones and now Mixed Reality, it’s an exciting prospect. What I’m particularly excited about is the notion of a simulation of reality that everyone can interact with and which can provide almost any experience that one can imagine. You can do anything in MR and when considered in a networked framework, you can accomplish fantasy stuff as well as real world stuff with other real people.
For example you can attend college at the highest level for you personally, the class size isn’t limited to the physical building, and you’re not limited to being proximate to the campus. Even people in the most desolate places can get a world-class education for pennies.
You won’t have to physically go anywhere to accomplish both the mundane and fantastic once these technologies mature. This helps the environment, lowers exposure risks and generally makes life much easier.
I’d like to add that there is another technology called “haptics” and the more advanced “adaptics” that give you the ability to feel and be felt. With haptics and adaptics you can pick up a baseball, a doctor can do an exam, you can cuddle and watch a movie with someone halfway across the world. It is liberating and empowering for people to live their best lives, and that really excites me.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
The vision I just laid out is the best possible scenario. Left to its own devices, and given the way that these industries are developing, the outcome is shaping up to be the dystopian opposite. Right now we’re spending much of our lives on digital media, and when these flat-web offerings get upgraded into the next-generation metaverse system, the ability to manipulate, by those in control, will rise drastically.
Just as top tier educational experiences can be achieved in an MR future, it’s equally possible that first world companies and governments will, out of fear or greed, want to contain those prospects and keep them for themselves (or their populations). It would be a crime for all of humanity to create discriminatory restrictions and track and sell data from MR technologies, but this is certainly the path we are on. Humanity needs a metaverse bill of rights and digital governance to ensure the metaverse is governed justly and people are protected.
There are two paths ahead of us and one is very dystopian– where people are isolated, spend a lot of time on headsets, and are force fed propaganda. It is possible this could be the downfall of humanity. On the other hand there is a narrow but utopian vision that I am working towards, where people interact with each other, foster human connections and participate in an uplifting community where we are all accountable to each other.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
These technologies will help us at work in that they will create new jobs that don’t exist yet. Once these technologies mature this will create opportunities for virtual fashion designers, event coordinators, interior architects and the list goes on–all of these are new industries in the metaverse. You can also engage in low impact networking because it’s all in MR. You save money, put less burden on the environment and preserve company resources.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
It’s going to improve everyone’s life if it is done right–in profound ways that individuals have to figure out for themselves. These technologies are going to democratize opportunities and experiences. It will be liberating for everyone.
Here’s an example. A paraplegic man emailed me a long time back, telling me that he thought his life was over — but when he joined the Utherverse platform, he found that he was able to participate in the community as a fully-able bodied avatar. He told me that he became social again and he met someone, went dancing, fell in love and got married. That single message has stuck with me all these years because it reinforced the value that I didn’t even truly appreciate until that moment. So it really depends on who is using it but MR can impact people on every level. It’s what you make it and what you need it to be.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
People that are not heavily involved in the industry will look at a stunning image of an avatar and think it’s amazing and assume it can just be dropped into the metaverse. That’s a myth. Something that looks great is absolutely meaningless because there is a difference between how things look and the actual underlying technology. If you buy land in Decentraland you didn’t buy land in the metaverse, you bought it in Decentraland. As the metaverse grows up and turns into a real thing, in order for something that looks good to have value, it needs to be operational and interoperable — meaning people can access it and experience it from other metaverse locations.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
You need a passion for MR. You can be successful as an animator or a character artist or a clothing designer. You need to learn the tools, be good at it, and be passionate about the underlying technology. There are also so many different paths for a career in CGVR like a networker or a front end programmer. It’s all very complicated and so new that it’s hard to discern what truly makes a successful person in MR aside from what always makes one successful — you must have love in the dream.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why?
The one person I would like to meet with is Niel Degrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist brilliant person. Theoretical physics is a hobby of mine, and I’ve succeeded in solving some wildly challenging math that has eluded even the most brilliant physicists. I would love to talk to him about where Einstein went wrong and show him how I was able to fix the broken math of Relativity. Plus I could really use his help in solving two remaining equations that would pull it all together. As close as I am to solving those, I just don’t have the time to devote to those last two little outstanding puzzles.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Never stop learning and educating yourself. Every industry has a wide variety of knowledge on the internet, in books and through people in the industry. Make sure you are constantly keeping yourself up to date and educated- things change fast, you have to change with it!
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Soheil Nazari-Kangarlou.
Soheil Nazari is a successful business executive with over three decades working within the domestic and international markets. He has served as an advisor to various enterprises and heads of governments throughout the globe, working within the fields of energy, construction, oil and gas, financing, commerce, telecommunications, technology, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution services. Soheil’s expertise lies in international diplomacy and global business operations, which he utilizes to provide valuable insights to his clients. Soheil is an expert in business expansion and growth and has helped many businesses increase their reach and operations. He is also a skilled negotiator and has extensive experience in international contract negotiation.
Currently, Soheil focuses on being the managing partner of Gainful Solutions which he also co-founded. As a managing partner of Gainful Solutions, Soheil provides custom-tailored solutions and guidance to businesses and governments. He focuses on political, social, and economic evaluations in distinct global markets. Soheil and his team discover and provide a wide range of services, including government relations and public affairs, international business development, communications, and campaigns and advocacy.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I was born in Iran and lived there at the beginning of my childhood. In 1968 my father left Iran to participate in a research program at Stanford University in California. After seeing success in this research program he traveled back to Iran to bring my mother and I to the states. From there I grew up in Santa Cruz the remainder of my childhood.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
I believe that this quote is especially important for entrepreneurs. If you don’t love what you’re doing, it’s very difficult to be successful. In order to wake up every day and feel the drive and motivation to push through obstacles, you have to find great joy and love in your end goal. The key to success is to find something that you’re passionate about and to pursue it with all of your heart.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I am a startup enthusiast and avid reader. I’m particularly interested in books that provide valuable insights into the startup process and how to create a successful business.
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries made a significant impact in my process of beginning Gainful Solutions. Every campaign, business and politician I work with has a goal they are trying to achieve, The Lean Startup gave me valuable insight on how to begin the process of creating a successful strategy and business plan for them. I believe any entrepreneur who wants to be successful should take time reading this book, as it provides valuable insights into the startup process and how to create a successful business.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
Oftentimes I notice that when people have a good idea it is easily given up on because it is harder to bring that idea to life which is why I’m a big believer in the power of brainstorming. Once a good idea is thought of I find that it’s important to get as many people involved in the process as possible. I like to start by getting a group of people together and throwing around some ideas. Once we have a list of potential plans, strategies and product details/ideas, we then start to narrow it down and focus on the ones that seem the most promising. From there, we start to develop a plan of action and work on bringing the idea to life.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
We are in an age where we have the privilege of the internet right at our fingertips, I would first begin by researching your ideas- read articles, find companies doing something similar, search social media channels for information. Oftentimes it is hard to be the first person with a brand new idea that no one has pursued before but as stated previously we have the capabilities that come along with the internet and just because someone has had a similar or the same idea as you, doesn’t mean you can also pursue that idea even better. Being that we have access to so much information, we can take what people are liking/disliking/what people are looking for/ what businesses are lacking, and grow your business with that knowledge.
I also think that networking is a great form of research, talking to your peers and people in the business space of the market you are trying to enter. See what their ideas are, what have they heard of, do they have any tools or resources you can utilize? Do they want to be involved in your new venture? The possibility of generating a new business out of just an idea is possible- but it takes work, effort and research to accomplish successfully.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
Yes, unfortunately this is not a simple answer- as there are many steps and every idea has multiple routes it can choose to take depending on the industry, market and competition. I do think that the first and most important step is to make sure that your idea is written down, dated and witnessed- this helps in having priority in exclusive patent rights.
Once an idea is patented it is important to find the funding you need to appropriately market and design your product. If you already have personal fundings and are ready to do so, make sure you are researching and learning about the industry and market you are entering. Although your idea is patented there might be close competition that requires you to have an appropriate strategy in place to be successful.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Create a Business Plan — The first and most important step is to create a business plan that you see as sustainable and factors in the hardships that come with leading a company. If you have a solid business plan, your goal becomes much more clear and much more accessible. The very intimidating path becomes easier to manage and navigate with a great business plan.
Select the Best Team- Having a team of experts around you and working for you is extremely important because ultimately your team is an extension of you.
Client Satisfaction- In the business of strategy, business planning and government referrals are the biggest source of your clientele. Because of this It is extremely important to make sure your client is happy and a relationship of trust and reliability is built between your team and theirs.
Be Willing to Experiment- Nothing great ever came out of playing it safe. It is important to take risks, that is what sets you apart from your competitors and brings you to the next level of business.
Never stop learning and educating yourself. Every industry has a wide variety of knowledge on the internet, in books and through people in the industry. Make sure you are constantly keeping yourself up to date and educated- things change fast, you have to change with it!
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
The first steps I would take are first to educate yourself on the products industry; are there similarities or competitors? Make sure you know the market you are entering as that will help you determine the appropriate strategy your business plan should take, which is the next step- creating a business plan. One of the first steps you should invest in after having a solid idea and plan for your product is marketing, ensuring people know about your product and getting them excited to invest.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
I believe that a consultant can be a great asset for your team, but I do think you can only determine your need for a consultant after spending time researching, inventing and developing. If you feel you are still lost and need help- reach out to a consultant, as they may be able to bring your idea to life.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
The best way to decide which route you should take is first assess your access to assets. If you have the means to sustain a company and do not need resourcing, bootstrapping makes sense- you will just need to make sure what you have of your own is enough to invest in a successful business and you will see a return. If you do not have enough to begin your business then searching for funding only makes sense.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Yes, everyday. Being that I work in governmental and political campaigns, with politicians and with lobbyists, the business I do on a daily basis is to make the world a better place. The current laws and regulations we have in place are constantly changing, and hopefully to make the world a better place- my job is to put a strategy and plan in place to amplify these efforts.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I am eager and excited to see the world move towards more sustainable practices. If I could inspire more politicians, businesses and people to invest in sustainability and sustainable practices I believe the future will be a better place for the most people.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I am blessed to say I have had ample opportunity to meet with many people I admire so there is not one person in particular.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Be able to problem solve and think on your feet. This is brand new technology and many projects are doing something that has not been done before.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingRaed Al Tikriti.
As Chief Product Officer for visual storytelling company disguise, Raed is constantly keeping his eye on the market to understand how best to move disguise forward. He combines a deep technical understanding of how and why products get made with excellent relationship management skills, to help disguise exceed customer expectations. Raed has an extensive background in product management, having previously held similar roles across broadcast technology and digital media on both sides of the Atlantic, including Grass Valley in Canada and Ventuz in Germany.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I grew up in the UAE well before the boom that reshaped the country into what it is today. My parents are pharmacists, and my sister and I grew up regularly going with my mother to help out in the lab. There was always a strong interest in science in our house but if I ever had any plans to enter the medical field, they all fell by the wayside on my 10th birthday. That was the day my father gave me my first computer, and I was instantly hooked.
After high school, I moved to Canada to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering and then started my career working on real-time graphics for airplane simulators. I was still hooked!
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I would say that Star Wars: The Mandalorian series had a major impact as it was one the first examples of Virtual Production being used in a major production. Instead of using green screen technology, The Mandalorian used LED volumes and real-time graphics from Unreal Engine that, through camera tracking technology, could be updated dynamically as the camera moved. This created an immersive virtual scene visible to actors on set in real-time.
Seeing such a major franchise like Star Wars using real-time graphics for VFX was a sign to me that the virtual production workflows and technology we were working on at disguise were going to change the game for the film industry.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
My journey in this area started slightly over 2 years ago when I joined disguise. We had developed an extended reality (xR) platform that leveraged real-time graphics engines such as Unreal Engine, LED walls and camera tracking to create immersive environments for live performances. Our solution was based on the pioneering work done by Epic Games on the production of The Mandalorian and offered an integrated and productized system. I remember being amazed by the solution and evangelizing how this would be an important part of our future.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the tremendous shift we experiences when then the pandemic struck.
xR turned into a lifeline for content creation during the pandemic. Movies and TV shows could be filmed without the need to travel on location. Live music could be performed on stages with rich visuals and streamed to fans. xR adoption took off and continues to accelerate to this day.
It turns out the future we envisioned arrived earlier than any of us anticipated.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My first job was as a software engineer working on real-time systems for airplane simulators. These simulators are big 2-storey machines made up of airplane cockpits propped up on giant, powerful hydraulic jacks. I had just completed some software updates and, even though I was quite new in the role, I was feeling confident about the updates and decided to integrate them with very little testing.
I jumped into the cockpit and started flying the simulator to test my modifications. Within moments the simulator started shaking violently in all directions and it took me several minutes to find the reset button to stop the simulation and get down. My colleagues who were watching from the outside couldn’t stop laughing. I was feeling embarrassed and extremely motion sick!
Lessons learned: always double-check your work and always know where to find the reset button.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am grateful to the CTO at one of my previous companies who mentored me and helped me grow. He generously put in the time and effort to work with me over the years. I learned a few important lessons hands-on:
● How to simplify and present complex technical topics.
● How to zoom out and look for out-of-the-box solutions. Sometimes the solutions were counterintuitive or were best achieved with less, not more, tech.
● What font size to use in Powerpoint presentations.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
At the moment we are looking at expanding the capabilities of our extended reality (xR) platform to allow our users to start creating memorable experiences linked with the metaverse(s).
Our extended reality (xR) solution is currently powering over 300 stages in 35 countries around the world. These stages allow creative and technical teams to place talent inside infinite virtual environments for films, TV, live broadcast and more.
This vast network of stages has already been used to power some memorable metaverse experiences where we have streamed some live xR concerts directly into metaverses such as Fortnite. Looking forward, we see a future where such live stage performances can trigger actions in the metaverse and where metaverse avatars and content can teleport into the on-stage performance.
We believe that connecting the physical world with virtual worlds can produce new and exciting experiences.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
The first thing that excites me is that extended reality (xR) is changing traditional production workflows in film, TV and broadcast. Virtual production has VFX professionals taking graphics that would traditionally be applied in post-production and instead of having these virtual scenes appear in real-time on camera and visible for the entire cast and crew. This allows for creative decisions and changes to be made in the moment and for additional control while shooting (for example, productions no longer have to wait until sunset to shoot a night scene or for the weather to cooperate). Broadcasters and filmmakers can also cut their carbon footprints as extended reality immerses actors in any scene imaginable, negating the need for scouting and travelling to locations.
I am also excited by the sheer growth of the industry. This was partly accelerated by the pandemic but it’s clear that growth is set to continue, with some estimates pegging the market at $300 billion by 2025. We have seen widespread adoption and have continued to focus on democratizing access to these solutions by lowering the barriers to entry for creative and technical teams working with these technologies.
The third exciting aspect is that the opportunities for extended reality are limitless. Most are using these tools to enhance already existing entertainment forms like film, broadcasts, brand launches etc, however, we can use this technology to completely reinvent what we experience. We have seen partners use our hardware and software to power new experiences like Illuminarium, which are, essentially, “VR without the goggles” as 4K video content immerse visitors in a whole new world where they are transported to an African safari. We are also seeing new and interesting metaverse experiences with this technology and we can’t wait to see what disguise’s creative community comes up with in the next few years.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
My number one concern is the availability of skilled xR talent. Right now, as this industry is so new, we need to find the best way to support emerging talent. Those who can create virtual graphics in tools like Unreal Engine and use disguise to deliver projects are in high demand and we must nurture them and also encourage more talent to pick up these workflows. At the end of 2020, disguise launched our free eLearning platform and we have a dedicated team for training. We are also working closely with universities so they can start teaching these workflows to students. For example, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is using disguise for their film studio’s xR stage so the next generation of filmmakers can learn and become adept at xR workflows. In addition, we launched the xR & VP Alliance which includes creative studios and technology providers working together on standards and on training the next generation of talent.
The second challenge we see is related to the complexity of deploying xR solutions today. For this technology to hit its stride, deployment needs to be simplified so that creative teams can truly focus on creating compelling content. We offer one of the easiest to deploy solutions today, and we continue to enhance it to further simplify deployment and operation. We are also improving integrations with creative tools and workflows to lower the content creation barriers. In parallel, with the xR & VP Alliance, we are working across the industry to define interoperability standards.
Another concern is around how the metaverse industry will overcome some of the pitfalls we have seen in the internet age — particularly with access to and sharing of personal data. In the metaverse, the data that platforms will have access to will go beyond information like search history and linger time, and will encompass facial expressions and body language captured by the technology. This data is even more “personal” and so much richer and therefore more likely to be in demand. We look forward to robust industry standards that ensure protection for those interacting within these virtual worlds.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
During the pandemic, we saw how we can leverage platforms like Zoom to stay connected at work even though we are far apart. VR, AR and MR will allow us to continue to stay connected like this but also mimic the experience of seeing each other in person.
Educational institutions have used xR stages to host remote learning sessions that were more engaging than Zoom calls. We also saw corporate customers leveraging xR stages for richer corporate communications and presentations. The feedback from both educational and corporate users has been very positive and we are seeing an increase in their demand and use of these solutions in the future.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
A key benefit of this technology is its ability to reduce environmental impact through enabling virtual experiences.
I have already touched on how production teams in film, TV and broadcast are using extended reality to reduce their carbon footprint while still creating amazing productions filmed in exciting locations without leaving the studio.
AR can also be a step forward in reducing costs for bricks and mortar shops as well as allowing people to make more conscious decisions that eliminate waste when buying. Makeup brands like L’Oreal and Sephora now allow consumers to virtually try on their makeup from home; furniture brands like IKEA are using AR to visualise what a product might look like in their room. Fashion brands are using AR to allow customers to try on their clothes virtually. Research from Growth from Knowledge has found that 42.8% of global consumers want to use AR and VR to shop like they’re in a real store and 38.2% to experiment with new products. We have also seen famous fashion brands use AR, VR and MR to create virtual garments and even use our extended reality technology for virtual fashion shows. All of this promotes less waste and more environmentally conscious behaviour.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
The number one myth I see is that the industry is just about wearing headsets. Blurring the line between the physical and virtual has many different technology components and headsets are only a part of that. At disguise we are creating virtual environments by integrating graphics engines like Unreal Engine, LED canvasses and camera tracking technology into an immersive experience. This is inherently complex, yet the results we see from this have been amazing. The first memorable application was during Katy Perry’s performance of ‘Daisies’ in the 2020 American Idol finale where she performed on an LED stage in real life yet was transported to a cartoon house that morphed and moved dynamically during the performance. This was all done during a live broadcast. It is so much more than putting a headset on.
Another myth I would like to dispel when it comes to the metaverse is that it is just an online gaming platform. Although games like Fortnite and Roblox have been crucial in showing the potential of metaverse platforms and that they are most likely the closest thing we have to a metaverse platform right now, the metaverse is for anyone who wants to connect with others and experience something different to reality. An example is “Party Royale” within Fortnite, where attendees can interact and experience concerts, movies and other events together. Roblox and Fortnite concerts have attracted tens of millions of attendees with performances by Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
There is so much opportunity in extended reality, not just when it comes to the technology, but also when it comes to the creative and content side as well. You truly can do anything!
It’s challenging to narrow it down, but in order to be successful, you must:
1. Be curious and willing to explore new technologies, methods and knowledge.
2. Be able to problem solve and think on your feet. This is brand new technology and many projects are doing something that has not been done before.
3. Be able to link both the creative and technical elements together so the technology can be used to the fullest of its ability.
4. Work together with a highly motivated community who are all pushing boundaries both technically and creatively. Our network of partners does amazing things and often collaborates with each other to make a project successful.
5. Dream big! Extended reality and the metaverse is not a place to limit our imaginations. There is a solution for everything if you are willing to look for it, so don’t be afraid to let your imagination run wild!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
There’s already a focus on this topic, but I would encourage dedicating more energy to growing and diversifying enrollment in science and technology. Industry can help by working directly with schools to reach students early and by growing technical internships that can offer a gateway into these fields.
Many of the challenges that we face today and will face in the future require innovative approaches and solutions, and we will need all the scientists we can get!
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
It would have to be Serena Williams. She’s widely considered to be the greatest tennis player of all time. But after becoming more aware of her life story, I am even more in awe of how she overcame all the challenges to rise up and completely dominate the sport. I believe that grit is critical to success and it’s clear that she has it in spades.
Serena Williams is truly inspirational and a great role model.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
No matter if you’re making an app, or making a new HR policy, the first draft should always answer the question ‘what’s the simplest possible way this can work?’ and go from there. If you can make something work and it’s simplest, it will work when you add bells and whistles.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Stewart.
Joe Stewart is a designer and founding partner at Work & Co, a global digital product company. Since co-founding the company less than 10 years ago, it’s grown to nearly 500 team members across eight offices, been featured on Ad Age’s A-List, named Digiday’s Agency of the Year, honored twice on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and dubbed one of the “most consequential agencies of the decade” by Forbes.
Joe — who is based in Portland and continues to be a hands-on leader working actively on projects — was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business. He holds design patents for Apple, Google, and Target, and is a Cannes Lion winner for his designs for Virgin America and Apple.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My career backstory is more linear than most people’s. I’ve really just been doing the exact same thing — designing digital interfaces — for a very long time. I started as a Web design intern in 1998 at a tiny agency in the Bay Area of California, and I just never stopped. I was studying graphic design at the time in college and I was mostly interested in record covers and skateboard deck designs. But I got an internship during the very wild west days of Flash 3 and IE4, and fell in love with the tools, the medium, and the potential digital design had for the world and for me.
I dropped out of school during the ‘dot-com boom’ of 1999 to work full time at another agency and just kind of kept going. I have the type of personality where I like to do the same things over and over and try to get better at them — so the story of my career is simply just 25 years of trying to be a better digital designer.
Eventually I worked my way up to being a Partner at a pretty large digital agency called Huge, where I met my other co-founders, and we decided we needed to branch out on our own in order to do things right. At the time, most agencies were trying to do everything for everyone — and we knew that the only way to do digital products well was to focus solely on them. So we formed Work & Co nine years ago for the express purpose of designing and developing digital products that can transform companies. We’re about 500 people now with 8 offices around the world, and as I said to all our colleagues around the globe on our anniversary recently, I’m excited for the next nine years!
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
The biggest accomplishment in my career to be disruptive, really, has been the advocacy for digital to have a seat at the table. It seems like an alternate reality now, but not that long ago companies really didn’t care about digital at all. A lot of us fought very hard to convince c-suites around the world that investing in digital products was one of the best paths to ROI there is. Trying to convince a CMO to invest in fixing their e-commerce site, or making better software for their employees instead of making another TV commercial was a battle we had over and over and over. It really wasn’t until the last few years that there was finally enough evidence to prove without a doubt that not only is digital product quite possibly the most valuable part of many companies, it is often intertwined with the brand itself.
I must say, it feels like quite a luxury at this point for everyone to agree that creating good tools for your customers and employees is a must. It seems obvious and inevitable in retrospect, but believe me, it was a fight to get us here. I feel immensely proud to contribute to this shift along with my co-founders and a lot of other folks who believe in Work & Co’s mission.
This manifests in the work I’m doing today by changing the power balance of the company / customer relationship. The way companies interact with their customers has changed from push to pull. It used to be that companies would do their best to tell their potential customers what to think and hope they could convince them to buy their goods. Now people expect a very different kind of relationship: they tell you what they want and if you have good tools in place for them to meet their goals, they take what they need, and be on their merry way. This creates much deeper bonds between brands and individuals, and makes for a much more pleasant way to deal with the world in general.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we were starting Work & Co, we had to come up with a name, get business cards, make a logo, and buy a URL for our website. I was working on a lot of that stuff, including getting the website domain name and we got ‘work.co’ which took a lot of negotiation and back-and-forth, but I bought it finally and set it all up and forgot about it. About 3 years later, I got a very panicked phone call from someone in IT saying “The website is down! The domain ownership expired! You are the only one who can fix it, because you bought it and have been running it with your personal account!” Oh shit. I let the URL lapse. I let a technology company’s website go down, because I forgot to renew the domain. Hahaha — what a rookie move. Anyway — after some very panicked typing, I transferred it over so that it was on the company’s account, and it hasn’t been a problem ever since. Moral of the story is, I’m glad to be surrounded by a lot of very smart people now.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I have had a few great mentors in my life, but I think what is most interesting is my current state of mentorship — because it’s cut into two very different categories. First is masters from the past, and second is rising talent right now.
In my field, there is no history yet. I can’t pick up a textbook and see how masters solved digital product problems. We are really the first ones to be able to make a life-long career out of it, so we look to the masters of other design disciplines — architecture, industrial design, graphic design, etc.
I read a lot, and really encourage people to read as much as possible about people they consider to be successful in their field, even if they don’t instinctively like their work. What you learn by doing so is not how to design, but how to think about design. How to approach a problem, where to begin, what to do when you get stuck, how not to be afraid. Design is fundamentally terrifying. You are handed a blank sheet of paper and told to produce an answer to a problem. In the early part of one’s career it’s a deer in the headlights moment. But as you learn more and more from others about what they do in those situations, you can apply that to your own life — and — eventually the deer disappears and the designer arrives. For me, Massimo Vignelli, Naoto Fukasawa, and Dieter Rams have probably influenced me the most.
When it comes to actual nuts and bolts application of process, my mentors are a younger generation of designers I am lucky enough to work with. I can think of two, in particular, who fundamentally changed the way I work forever — Dever Thomas and James Ayres, who both rose through our company and are now design partners at Work & Co.
Dever really taught me never to move on until I was really happy with something. Before her, things would often be ‘good enough’ because I had to move onto the 99 other things I needed to do, but not her. She wouldn’t move on until it was totally right and she loved it — and that made the other 99 things much much faster and be easier to do — contrary to my instincts. Going slower, and taking more time to get it all right, ends up being faster because you waste less time on making mistakes.
James changed the way I approach conceptual design. My typical method for design was to design full fidelity, perfectly kerned designs that looked great during the concepting period of a project. People were often impressed with the work, but the problem is I had to spend lots of time producing the design, and not as much time simply thinking about the concept. James did the exact opposite. His designs were literally 3 gray boxes with no words moving in a prototype — but it worked, and you knew what it was, and it made perfect sense. What was brilliant about this approach, is he would spend 6 hours thinking about what the right answer should be, and 10 minutes doing a prototype. So, it was a really really smart prototype. And since the level of effort was so low, he could do 20 in the time I could do 1 of my designs. And his 20th was better than my 1st, even though his was just a moving gray box. He really helped me create a process to detangle myself from the laborious side of conceptual design, and actually spend my time “concepting”. Once the gray boxes are perfect, you can see the entire app in your head and design it once.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I don’t think I have ever tried to intentionally “disrupt” anything. My goal has always been to make things simpler, meet peoples’ needs, and make tools that are a pleasure to use. What we often experience, though, is getting used to bad systems. We get used to things being hard to use, or barely working, or being a chore and we just accept it. Sometimes a technology, or an idea, or a group comes along that allows us to redo bad systems properly, how they should have been done in the first place, and only then do we realize just how awful the old way was — and sometimes people call that disruption. To me, it’s just making something good, which should always be your goal.
To go back to the question, ‘when is disruption a bad thing’ — or, in my framing — when do you stop trying to make something better? I think there are instances of things that are so good that any change can only make it worse. And, when that happens, you leave it alone. It’s pretty rare, but there are things that are done very well, and work very well, and if you try to re-invent them — they are worse than before. Don’t disrupt things that work better than any possible future version. Like… don’t do a cover of a Queen song. It will only be worse.
Here is a tiny concrete example of what I’m talking about, but it will illustrate the point. Not too long ago, designers always redesigned the scrollbars for the websites they were designing. They would change the colors, and the buttons, and the track — or sometimes totally re-write the entire scroll bar because they thought it would be better, or because they wanted to leave their fingerprints on the project. The problem was, the default scrollbars in Safari are REALLY well done. You can ONLY make them worse. Leave them alone.
There are not a lot of things that live up to this standard — something so good it can only be made worse — but that should always be our goal with every design we do. We should aim for our designs to last for many years. It’s impossibly hard in digital, but the only goal worth aiming for.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
1) Simple.
Always make the simplest possible solution first.
No matter if you’re making an app, or making a new HR policy, the first draft should always answer the question ‘what’s the simplest possible way this can work?’ and go from there. If you can make something work and it’s simplest, it will work when you add bells and whistles.
2) Be nice.
You will see everyone you work with again, so be nice.
It’s a very small world. The people you work with now could be your clients in the future. Your intern can become your boss. You will see everyone you work with again. Being nice to people means that when you see them again, you can pick up where you left off.
3) Never lie.
If you tell the truth, even when it’s bad news, your work will be 10,000x easier. If you are honest about a problem, people can help you solve it. If you obfuscate the problem, you’re on your own — and — you’ve probably made the problem worse.
4) Stick to your principles.
Do the things you think are right. If you get in trouble for doing the right thing, then you’re not in a good place. Be willing to walk away from a bad environment. In the long run, this will pay off.
5) You are the only one who will take care of you.
Prioritize your mental health, body, and spirit. The company you work for, no matter how benevolent, will never be able to know what you need like you do. You are the only one who can really take care of yourself, so do it. Never feel bad about prioritizing yourself and your family. As someone who has burned themselves out many, many times, I can tell you — it’s not worth it.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
I think of it a little differently than that. I think my role as a designer is more like a river that moves and changes over time. I’ve always just been doing the same thing: just trying to improve tools for people. The tools change, the medium changes, the technology changes, people change. What’s next for me is to keep doing what I have been doing for whatever comes next. So, if I get to help improve blockchain tech or brain implants then I’ll just keep doing my best to make those things simple and enjoyable to use.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
The book that has had the most influence on me in the last couple years is ‘The Miracle of Mindfulness’ by Thích Nhất Hạnh. I would recommend it to anyone. The book is a series of letters about the joy to be found in every moment. The universe is an amazing and beautiful place. If you practice stopping and letting go, your mind can become quiet and the beauty of the existential world can reveal itself.
This might not seem to have anything to do with digital, or business, or design but in reality it’s the key to all of it. I really believe that creativity comes from a place of stillness and calm. It’s why when we’re in the shower or falling asleep we have good ideas — we’re calm. You can be calm anytime you want through the practice of stillness — which can lead to great creative ideas for business or design or digital — but also throughout the rest of your life.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One lesson I have tried to draw upon many times comes from my business partner and one my favorite designers ever, Felipe Memoria. Working in tech can be pretty stressful. There are always 1,000 things to worry about, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed. Felipe once told me to only worry about what’s immediately in front of me — whether that’s my next meeting or my next hour of designing. It’s pretty genius, because it works on two levels. Firstly, it keeps things from getting overwhelming, and secondly, if you do a great job on each consecutive thing individually, you will eventually have done a great job on the whole thing. Focusing on the now ensures the future will be great. I love this idea from him.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
An idea that I am very interested in, and would like to spread as much as I can is: there is no such thing as “them” — there is only “us”.
This comes from Buddhism, but it has really changed the way I think and problem solve. I don’t believe you can change anyone’s mind by fighting, but only by working together. This requires dropping your guard, listening, letting go of your pretenses and prejudgments, getting to know someone, understanding their point of view, and really trying to put yourself in their shoes. This isn’t easy, but when you do this — that person is 1,000x more willing to do the same. This works in business and design, but it also works in real life and politics, and governments, and whatever. Humans don’t want to do this for some reason. We are naturally tribal and seek out differences and conflicts — but — if we recognize the truth that we are all “us” — then — we can come together and change things. I really believe this.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Many people in the business world resist it when I say that public speaking is a performance. Many professional speakers also refuse to accept that they are performers. This is a baffling mindset to me. We’re happy to use the word “performance” for almost every other situation where a person stands up and presents “material” (what we call “content” in business) to an audience: storytellers, singers, stand-up comedians, poets, TV presenters, clowns, actors, acrobats, … but for some bizarre reason business presenters want to make themselves different.
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Owen-Hill.
Alex Owen-Hill is The Voice Speaker. As a voice and performance coach, he teaches people how to bring their authentic voice to the stage so that audiences like and trust them. He also works with business owners and tech companies to help them to uncover the unique Voice of their Business — a voice that supercharges brand communications, improves company culture, and attracts the people they most want to work with.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up as the only introverted engineer in a family of actors and acting teachers. Most of the adults I knew as a child were performers, but I wanted to be an inventor and create robots. As a result, my story is a bit “upside down.” Many performers have the opposite story — they say “I wanted to be a performer but all my family had serious business careers.” I wanted to be serious, but my family were all performers. Ours was a noisy household — our family bursts into song at every available moment, we have strong vocal control so can project our voices across the entire house, and our emotions tend to burst out rather than keeping them hidden. I was, and still am, one of the most shy members of my family. But, my background taught me an immense wealth of fundamental performance skills that most people in the world do not learn.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
From between the ages of about 6 and 23 years old, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life — build robots! At aged 12, I had already chosen my university degree. Yeah, I’m a geek. I did a 5-year undergraduate Masters in robotics and then a 3-year PhD in robotics.
But my life’s purpose wasn’t as strong as I had thought.
Around the time of my PhD, my purpose started crumbling like a cheese. I developed a strong cynicism for robotic technology and how most researcher groups approached their research. Most research applications I read about claimed to help humans in some way, but I could see the researchers had made little attempt to actually understand the people their technology was supposed to help. And the standard of communication in technology was terrible compared to the performers I grew up around. Academics almost never burst into song mid-presentation!
Years later, I now feel this cynicism is part of what makes me valuable to technology companies — I never get “dazzled by the technology” as tech investors, founders, and customers often do. I always focus strongly on the practicality of the company’s products and the genuine needs of their customers.
The question became: Now what do I do with my life!?
I started a business creating online content for technology companies. At the same time, I started learning to become a professional speaker and a voice teacher, which is my mum’s profession. Over time, it has become clear that my strengths lie in helping business owners and non-performers by teaching them the performance and communication skills of professional performers.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One thing that always fascinates me is how dramatically a minor change can affect our ability to communicate. I imagine this will be familiar to both teachers and managers. I was working with one coaching client on her voice, to improve her pitches and presentations. In recent weeks, we had been working on breathing and “grounding” her voice.
After a few sessions, she told me she had used one technique during a difficult meeting in her company. The meeting had gone a lot better than she expected because of one “silly” little grounding exercise. Simply applying one minor change I had offered her for a completely different reason had now transformed how she handled hard conversations. I didn’t do that, she did!
As teachers, especially in the world of business, I think we often get stuck by assuming we know exactly how people will apply our teaching. But the real power of our teaching has almost nothing to do with us — it comes from how our students creatively connect the teaching with their own lives.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I started pitching businesses for my content writing and strategy services, I was waaay too keen! I would meet a prospect at a local networking event or see an advert online. I’d enthusiastically think “I can make them my client!” Then, I would spend days on a proposal, I might visit the company, and I’d basically just make a nuisance of myself. One time, I saw a job advert for a company looking for a full-time marketer. I thought, “I want to work freelance, not on a salary. But I’m going to convince these people they need me as a freelance marketer.” For my proposal, I basically created an entire content strategy for this company. I also redesigned their business model… because clearly I — a new freelance copywriter — knew more about their business than they did. I spent ages created a ton of content ideas and new directions for them.
Obviously, I didn’t get the gig! At no point had I talked with them about what they were looking for… I had just decided what they needed, then spent days creating the content for it. It was a good learning experience for me, but what a big ego I had!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’ve had a lot of guiding help in my life, though until recently I’ve been extremely bad at actually asking for help when I need it!
My close family (my mum, dad, and sister) has been an immense help to me. Over the years, they have been my reminder of the joys of performing and the skills that performers have.
In particular, my mum, Cathie Owen, was a great help when I started my journey to being a professional speaker and voice coach. Together with a fellow voice teacher, Marion Scott, we spent hours and hours reviewing the voice content I was writing. That would later become the fundamentals of my entire voice coaching methodology. I’m very grateful for all that time and work Cathie and Marion gifted to me then. I might not have become a speaker or performance coach without it.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Take advantage of your strengths, and lean into your weaknesses.
Like many people, I tend to gloss over my strengths. They don’t seem like a big deal to me, so I don’t take full advantage of them as much as I should. For example, I have skills as a singer, writer, musician, comedian, and improv actor. I’ve actively developed these skills over the years, but I started with a decent base level of skill thanks to my upbringing. As a professional speaker, I don’t always use these skills, often trying to be more “serious.” But, the more I bring my humor, writing, and performance skills into my own speaking, the more audiences like it!
When you notice that one of your weaknesses is holding you back, lean into it. For example, I’m quite a strong introvert. Naturally, I don’t really enjoy talking to people and I comfortably can go for a long time without social interaction. In the world of business, this isn’t acceptable — we need to network, speak, and regularly follow-up with our contacts. No successful company has been built by a hermit, as far as I know. I work very hard to always improve my skills in this area.
The more I lean into my weaknesses, the better I understand myself and the better I can operate as a businessperson and a human being (I’m not saying these are mutually exclusive). In a way, my whole business has grown from my weakness — I naturally struggle with communication which means I work on it a lot. This makes me a much better communication coach and speaker than people who are just naturally good communicators.
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
Like most professional speakers, I split my business between speaking and other income streams (for me, coaching and content strategy services). So I don’t give talks every day, which is normal in the speaking industry.
In all my work, one thing that drives me is the realization that we human beings don’t inherently understand each other… but we assume we do. When we work to deeply understand the people we’re communicating with, life and business become so much easier. In front of an audience, we succeed when we give most of our energy and thought to our audience. When creating content for your company, spend most time thinking about your audience. And successful leaders give most of their energy and thought to their teams.
As human beings, we find this very hard. Naturally, our tendency is to think of ourselves and our own ideas first.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I’m always coming up with new ideas and projects. Some of these I deem as hobbies, but they feed directly into my business. For example, I’m currently developing a street clown show, a stand-up comedy show, and preparing for a run of my family show Story Builders for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Story Builders is an interactive workshop I do with my sister and dad where we teach children how to create their own stories from nothing.
In business, I’m currently also working on a story project. It’s aimed at helping business leaders and speakers to create and tell better stories on behalf of their business. And I’m working to develop the framework I already use to help tech companies uncover a unique, authentic voice for their business.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The beginner’s mind is empty, free from the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities.” Shunryu Suzuki
I like this Zen quote because it underlines so well the problem (and the solution) for most communication problems. One reason I gave up academia after my PhD was that I could see a hugely unhelpful culture around professors and other long-time academics. There was a culture of saying “I am the expert, so I am right.” which I thought restricted real creativity. I also see this culture in the world of professional speakers — we all have quite big egos and we think our expertise is “the best”… apart from me, obviously, because my expertise really is the best.
This quote reminds us that there is a disadvantage to expertise. The more experience and knowledge we gain, the less open our minds become. We need to continually ask ourselves — what would I think of this if I had no knowledge at all? When we can see the world through the eyes of a beginner, it becomes much easier to communicate in a way that others can understand.
I do a lot of clowning. One of the most powerful skills that clowning teaches you is how to look at the world through the eyes of a child that knows nothing. This is one reason I do it.
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
A lot of the advice and “quick tips” you can find online about public speaking are extremely unhelpful. Some common tips are actively damaging. They set you up with bad habits that ruin your chances of becoming a spectacular speaker.
Instead of giving quick tips, I try to focus on the underlying fundamental skills.
Here are 5 things you can focus on to raise your game as a speaker:
1. The Performer Mindset: View yourself as a performer.
Many people in the business world resist it when I say that public speaking is a performance. Many professional speakers also refuse to accept that they are performers. This is a baffling mindset to me. We’re happy to use the word “performance” for almost every other situation where a person stands up and presents “material” (what we call “content” in business) to an audience: storytellers, singers, stand-up comedians, poets, TV presenters, clowns, actors, acrobats, … but for some bizarre reason business presenters want to make themselves different.
What results from this “I’m not a performer” mindset? Most business presenters and even professional speakers actively shy away from skills and training aimed at performers that could help them improve their presentations. They think it’s “not for them.” As a result, the general standard of presentations in business is woeful.
Do you want to be good at public speaking? Then you are a performer. Now behave like one.
2. Audience Focus: Change how the audience thinks, acts or feels.
How will your presentation (or any other communication) change how the audience thinks, acts, or feels?
All performances should change the audience in some way. If you don’t change them, why bother doing it at all?
When I’m being a stand-up comedian or clown, my purpose is to make people laugh. My job is to give people a catharsis from the stresses of their daily life by laughing together. Therefore, I change how the audience feels.
When I’m training a room full of engineers on how to give better presentations in their company, I aim to change all three things. I want them to feel more confident and capable in their presentations. I want them to change how they think about presentations. And I want them to change their behavior around presentations.
3. Strong Rehearsal Strategy: Over-rehearsal is a myth. Learn to rehearse.
If any presentation trainer tells you to “avoid over-rehearsal” run away quickly!
Over-rehearsal is a pervasive and dangerous myth, in my opinion. It actively stops newer speakers from ever increasing their skill. When you hear a speaker who sounds “over-rehearsed” what’s really going on is a failure in their rehearsal strategy, and perhaps a lack of good coaching.
Forget about over-rehearsal. Rehearsing more makes you better. Instead, focus on learning proper rehearsal strategies. And if a presentation trainer tells you to avoid over-rehearsal, this may be a warning sign that they don’t have the expertise to troubleshoot and fix your current rehearsal strategy.
4. Voice and Body Mastery: Become an instrument of communication.
When I was growing up, I learned how to use my voice properly. I couldn’t avoid it — my mum was a voice coach.
As young children, my sister and I used to sit in on my mum’s classes. We watched how she taught the next generations of young actors to use their voices. When I became a voice coach myself, this experience was part of my foundational knowledge of voice.
What’s the difference between the training for business presenters and for actors? Actors and other performers learn “voice and movement” from day one. Business presenters usually don’t.
People think that rehearsing a theater show is mostly about “learning the lines.” This is nonsense. Directors often require actors to learn all their lines before rehearsals begin. During rehearsals (which are often 3 weeks long at least) most of the time is spent applying skills related to voice and movement.
In business presentations, people spend almost all their time on content (which is like the actor’s lines) and nothing on voice and movement. You can improve your presentation skills hugely by developing your voice and movement skills.
5. Continuous Improvement: Never stop developing your craft.
It might seem strange that my final recommendation comes from the world of manufacturing — continuous improvement. But I am an engineer by training.
As a professional speaker, I continually find ways to improve my own performance skills. In the first half of 2022 alone, I’ve attended various workshops and courses in clowning, stand-up comedy, comedy writing, street performance, and improv acting.
My dad is an actor and has been almost all his life. He is 72 this year, and he is joining me on a 6 week intensive clown course this summer. If he doesn’t think that he has had “enough training” so far, why should you think you’ve “had enough training”?
There are always new skills to learn and hobbies you can take up that will can help you improve your communication skills. These won’t just help you improve your presentations, they will help you communicate better in all aspects of your life. Given that we spend most of our lives communicating with others… why would you not want to continually improve your skills?
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
I have social anxiety, so I completely understand the fear of speaking in public. For me, standing on stage is less scary than talking to people in social situations. I know it’s the opposite for many people.
I offer 2 pieces of advice for dealing with fear of public speaking:
1. Accept the fear. It will not go away. Don’t try to make it go away or it will just come back stronger. Instead, find strategies to channel that fear into something useful. Many people talk about “reframing the fear as excitement” which is a good approach. But don’t just mentally think “this is excitement, not fear.” Also, find ways to move your body to channel that excitement. What do children do when they’re excited? They run around! So, try dancing to music, going for a run, or otherwise just getting your body moving before a presentation. This really helps channel your fear/excitement.
2. Rehearse your presentation fully and with good rehearsal strategies. When you have fully rehearsed your presentation, it doesn’t really matter if you are afraid. You’ll still be able to give a good presentation. Ideally, you should know it well enough so “your body can take over” if the fear blinds you for a moment. I had a panic attack in the middle of a show once. Because I was well-rehearsed I could keep going “on autopilot.” Eventually, I calmed down and turned off autopilot so I could re-engage with my performance properly.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would teach people how to use their voice. Vocal health should be taught just as much as any other health-related topic. These days, we know a lot about how our muscles work when we exercise. But most people have no idea how their voice works and how to use it in a healthy way.
Even making slight changes in how we use our voices can be hugely powerful. When I was living in Spain, I heard the word “afonica” a lot. It translates as “hoarse” and people often lose their voices on a weekly or even nightly basis. With my knowledge of voice, I could see why this might be happening. Just making a minor change to their vocal technique could reduce this huge, damaging situation.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
I’ll admit, as an introvert, this question fills me with a bit of fear. What if the person does respond!? What if they contact me!? (answer: I’d be tickled pink and I’d handle it in the professional and charming way that I usually do… but the fearful thoughts are still there!)
I’d love to have lunch with Sacha Baron Cohen. He’s an extremely interesting person and I’m rather in awe of his ability to go out and “bring his clown” to every situation. I’m currently making my first foray into street theater and it’s scaring the hell out of me. Maybe I could “absorb” some of his courage over lunch, like a courageous sponge. Also, I’m currently preparing myself to be taught by the clown-teacher Gaulier and I hear he is a past student, so I’d love to hear about his experiences.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Georgina Shaw Of Shaw Marketing Services On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Focus on Your Message, Not on Your Fear — The more you think about being anxious about speaking, the more you will increase your level of anxiety. Instead, in the few minutes before you speak, mentally review your major ideas, your introduction, and your conclusion. Focus on your ideas rather than on your fear and then go for it.
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Georgina Shaw.
Georgina Shaw is aChartered Institute of Marketing Qualified professional with experience of all areas of marketing and communications. She is an offline marketing specialist, copywriter and event organiser and the Director of marketing agency Shaw Marketing Services. Since 2007 she has been representing high profile clients, as well as helping many small businesses achieve their goals. A trained teacher and experienced public speaker who has offered marketing advice and guidance for many years, she also offers training courses in Spain and Gibraltar to help businesses promote themselves effectively, the most popular of which helps people to overcome their fear of public speaking.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born in London, studied English and Philosophy at University and at the same time obtained my TEFL English teaching qualification. I taught English in Spain, China and Peru, worked in TV as a runner and warm-up artist, as an Events Organizer and finally found my way to marketing and PR in in 2005. I have been focused on marketing and communication since then, gaining a Chartered Institute of Marketing qualification and working for a number of agencies before opening my own agency, Shaw Marketing Services in 2008. As well as representing clients, I’ve also been able to combine my love of teaching and my TEFL qualification, with my passion for marketing and have been giving speeches and running training courses in all aspects of marketing. I also train professionals in public speaking, as I believe it’s a crucial skill for success.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Interestingly, I was determined not to go into marketing, as both my parents were in the advertising industry and I wanted to forge my own path. I originally wanted to be an actress and TV presenter, but after working in TV during my gap year I realized that wasn’t the place for me and started teaching, really as a passport to travel. I loved teaching, but wanted something a bit more corporate, so got into the events space, which I really enjoyed but was highly stressful. It was a chance meeting at a wedding that brought me to PR and marketing.
I was the Chief Bridesmaid at my best friend’s wedding and got up to make an announcement about someone’s car blocking an entrance during the wedding breakfast. My friend’s cousin came up to me after and praised me for how confident I had been giving the announcement and we spoke for a while about our jobs and what we were doing. At the time I was organizing events for an engineering association and he worked for a PR agency which specialized in representing engineering firms. By the end of the wedding he offered me a job, and I’ve never looked back. So you could say that my love of public speaking was what brought me into the career that I’ve enjoyed so much over the last 20 years!
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
What I love about working in a marketing and PR agency is that there is so much variety. One minute you can be sending out press releases, the next organizing big events, or dealing with politicians, celebrities and influencers.
One of the more unusual things we launched was a skydiving simulator, where you can fly on a column of air and we got the Mayor of the Town and a bunch of journalists to try it out as part of the launch and I joined them too. That got us a lot of great coverage and it was really fun too.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I was just starting out giving marketing presentations, I was a speaker at a big conference for International Women’s Day. We’d had a new template designed for my talk and the designer had added fades and timings on the slides which I hadn’t realized.
When I got up to speak the presentation was running on its own, going through the slides super-fast and I had to rush to catch up. I had no idea what was going on, but with 200 business women watching I just had to keep up with it and so finished the presentation in record time. The organizer was pleased as we were running late, and apparently no-one noticed my technical issues, but it was really nerve-wracking for me.
I learned three important lessons from that experience –
Check and double check your presentation and practice it as you will be doing it on the day so that there are no nasty surprises.
Strip out any timings or fades so you are in charge of how the slides run.
The show must go on! Even if it feels like things are going wrong for you, if you can keep a smile on your face and keep going, many people won’t even notice that anything is up. If you keep calm and in control, they will feel safe in your hands. Remember they don’t know what was supposed to happen, so keep a smile on your face and keep on going.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The Founder of the networking group Costa Women Ali Meehan has been instrumental in building up my reputation as a marketer and public speaker on the Costa del Sol. She has regularly given me opportunities to speak at events and took a chance on me early on to be the MC for their big annual conference. Her faith in me and the buzz it gave me to speak in front of such a big crowd led to me pursuing more speaking opportunities.
These experiences also led to lots of people speaking to me after the events saying how frightening they found public speaking and asking me for advice. These requests inspired me to start training people in public speaking and help them to build the confidence that comes to me naturally from all my years acting and teaching.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I would describe myself as a reluctant entrepreneur and someone who has been surprised at the success that I’ve had, both as a marketer and a public speaker. However, what has made it all possible has been establishing a support system around me of strong and confident business people who believe in me and never being afraid to say yes and give it a go. Remember that everyone has fears and self-doubt, and so try to think that it’s OK to get up there and give it a go. It’s never as bad as you think it will be once you start — so put yourself forward for that presentation, new job, or big client — it might just be the best thing you’ve ever done!
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
I am passionate about teaching people and empowering them to take control of their own marketing to be able to grow their business. I believe that if you can get the right skills and mindset, you can be a brilliant asset to your brand. I like to inspire people to not be afraid of marketing and send them away with practical tips and a belief in themselves to give it a try. The same goes for the public speaking training, my overall goal is to help my students to banish their fears and start to create opportunities for themselves and their businesses through public speaking confidence.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I love my job and am so lucky to be able to be running PR campaigns for the optical group Specsavers in Spain, alongside real estate agent Cloud Nine Spain, as well as copywriting and managing social media accounts for a number of clients in many different fields. There’s always lots going on and it’s never boring.
During COVID I had more time to pursue my passion for teaching and gave a number of online training sessions, as well as preparing a series of short marketing training videos called an A-Z of Marketing. Since travel restrictions have lifted I’ve been able to do some in person training courses in Marbella and Madrid as well as being the MC for a few big events and it’s been wonderful to get back out there. I’d definitely like to do more training and events moving forward.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I love the quote from Richard Branson — “Always think, ‘what’s the worst that can happen’ and have some kind of strategy to deal with it”
I like it for two reasons, because it inspires us to think about the worst that could happen, and then make a plan for success. I also think that when you think of what the worst outcome is, it isn’t normally as bad as you fear it could be. That’s certainly the case with public speaking!
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
1 . Remember it’s normal to be scared and don’t let that fear paralyze you!.
75% of people feel nervous about speaking in public, so you are not alone, but everyone can do it if they can build their confidence. I love the quote “good oratory is not the absence of fear, but taming it” and definitely believe that is true. If you can put your fears into perspective and get some coping strategies in place it will make everything else fall into place. So don’t let fear stop you from reaping the benefits that public speaking can bring! Being a good public speaker can give you more promotional opportunities, get you promoted at work, help you win more clients or earn more. It’s worth the effort!
2. Prepare properly.
Fear of speaking often leads speakers to delay preparing their speeches until the last minute. The lack of thorough preparation often results in a poorer speech performance, which reinforces a speaker’s perception that public speaking is difficult. Don’t let fear freeze you into inaction. Take charge by preparing early. Being prepared means that you have carefully chosen your topic to suit your audience, researched your topic, developed a logically coherent outline with a clear introduction, body and conclusion and created some great slides which will illustrate your points and help you stay on track.
My preparation and practice tends to start with a bullet point plan, which I’ll then develop into my script. I then move to producing the slides based around the script and making sure I have enough slides to support each point I want to make. I tend to do a number of read throughs, then record one to hear how I’m sounding. If I want to be really confident, I will listen to that recording for a few nights before my presentation just before bed, I find it really helps it sink in.
Once you’ve got a good grasp on your content you should practice aloud, standing up, with the slides running as they will be on the day. Vividly imagine the room where you will give your speech, or consider rehearsing in the actual room. It feels silly at first, but those practice sessions are invaluable to controlling the fear and giving a great presentation.
3. Know your introduction and conclusion by heart.
Actor and famed public speaker George Jessel once quipped, “The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.” The opening moments of your speech are when you are likely to feel the most anxious. Being familiar with your introduction will help you feel more comfortable about the entire speech. If you also know how you will end your speech, you will have a safe harbor in case you lose your place. If you need to end your speech prematurely, a well-delivered conclusion can permit you to make a graceful exit. So don’t be afraid to learn those opening and closing sections off by heart, as if you were learning lines, they can really help you.
4. Engage your audience.
Boredom is your biggest energy, so start with a bang and tell people why they need to keep listening and then use variation, relevance and emotion to be memorable. Don’t be afraid to look around the room and make eye contact with different people, it keeps the audience interested and engaged. Last but not least slow down, use the pause and try to enjoy the experience, so your audience enjoys it with you.
Channel the confidence that you admire in others, there’s a lot of truth in the concept of faking it until you make it! Don’t be afraid to gesture, smile and share anecdotes and stories and make it larger than life with plenty of energy. By keeping your energy high you’ll also keep the audience awake and with you. Finally don’t take yourself too seriously — remember it’s only a presentation and whatever happens it isn’t the end of the world. So, if something goes wrong like you drop your notes, lose your place, or trip over, just laugh and get back to it. The show must go on!
5. Seek out public speaking opportunities.
The more you give presentations, the better you become, and only by putting yourself forward can you overcome the fear. However, don’t start too big and scare yourself to death! A great first step is to start networking and work on delivering the best one-minute introduction of yourself and your company that you can. Over the course of the meetings, you’ll see yourself improve and start to build confidence. From there, ask the organizer if you can give a presentation to the group, it’s a safe space where you can practice. Once you’re feeling up to it, start to offer to give the presentations at work, or at events and build up to the bigger stages from there. Another great way to start is to find your nearest Toastmasters, an organization which teaches and develops amazing public speakers, or to take a few acting classes. Wherever you start doesn’t really matter, just put yourself out there and believe you can do it and you’ll be great.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
I always tell people to remember that it’s only talking and if they can speak to one person, they can speak to 100. People build public speaking up into something bigger than it really is.
If they can discover their confident persona and reframe the feelings of nervousness and anxiety to be excitement and readiness to perform, then they can start to enjoy it. I personally love that buzz I get from those pre-presentation jitters and then the satisfaction I feel when I’ve done a good job. I think those jitters usually take over and cause the problems, but if you can take control of the fear, that adrenaline can make you perform better than you ever thought possible!
I recommend being as prepared as possible and knowing your presentation inside and out and using some deep breathing techniques before they get on stage to calm and center themselves.
An adrenaline boost before speaking can make you jittery. While seated and waiting to speak, keep both feet on the floor and wiggle your toes. Gently (and without calling attention to yourself) grab the edge of your chair and squeeze it. Unobtrusively, lightly tense and release the muscles in your legs and arms. It really helps release that nervous energy.
Focus on Your Message, Not on Your Fear — The more you think about being anxious about speaking, the more you will increase your level of anxiety. Instead, in the few minutes before you speak, mentally review your major ideas, your introduction, and your conclusion. Focus on your ideas rather than on your fear and then go for it.
As you wait to be introduced, think and act calm to feel calm.
Walk to the front of the room as though you were calm.
Take a moment to look for a friendly, supportive face before you begin.
You can do it!
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would love to inspire people to support each other, be kind and be generous with their time and energy to help people succeed. Taking the time to help others really helps you too, and you could make a huge difference to someone’s lives by being kind and offering help and encouragement. If we all did it, the world would definitely be a better place!
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
There are so many fascinating and inspiring people out there, it’s so hard to choose. I love the author Bill Bryson and think he’s got so many interesting things to say about the world and is so funny — he’d be a great lunch companion I reckon.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes you can follow us on social media and also watch our A-Z of Marketing videos on our YouTube channel and we also have lots of great marketing articles and information about public speaking on our blog
Leadership — If you are running a company or an employee of one, the key to success is feeling comfortable with yourself when you have leading roles and responsibilities to your people.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewing Roberto DaCosta — Founder of VR Networking.
Roberto is a 30 year old entrepreneur from NYC on a mission to help business owners all over the world connect, build, and grow in ways never thought of before. He ran his own marketing and branding agency up until the pandemic where he, like many of others, started to struggle. Using what skills he learned from his business, and a new Oculus Quest 2 Headset on hand, he found new hope in building his network with his own business networking community in the Metaverse.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
I was born in Brazil and migrated to New York as a child. We were poor, and my parents sacrificed everything for me and my sister, I mean EVERYTHING. It was the right thing to do to help us live a better life. I remember having dreams of America in my sleep and imagining I could have all the toys and games I wanted, also playing in the snow! Being raised in a family that struggled but consistently worked on developing a better future was hands down the best thing for me and molded who I am today. I am forever grateful to my parents and grandparents for their part in making me. Everything I do to become the best person I can be is in reverence and in debt, in a way, for the sacrifice my family made for me.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
When I was in my late teens, I read “The Book of Secrets” by Deepak Chopra. I wasn’t heavily religious but I was spiritual and had my personal beliefs on why we are here. This book helped me be more centered in my life. This lead me to a path of self discovery, self compassion, and self mastery. From then on I have worked hard on my self development, that got me to where I am today.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
Yes! Believe it or not, as a child still living in Brazil, one of those dreams of having all the toys I wanted was the vision of me playing in virtual reality. I don’t remember the movie I watched but it helped me form these ideas that when I would be older I will be playing in VR. I thought I would have to be rich to own all those futuristic toys. From that belief I had set up in my mind that I needed to be a business owner. Now I am one, and I am living that childhood dream that I had back in Brazil in my sleep.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
There isn’t one particular story that is the “most” interesting per se. You know, the more I think about it, the more the whole store becomes the most interesting thing. It’s really the sum of many small disconnected sequence of events that people usually just brush off as a “nothing” event, but if you paid close attention, the magic of what we do in VR Networking is to make insignificant meetings and connections that lead to a higher potential. When we think “Oh wow that meeting was amazing! I am so glad I met that person!” we tend to overlook HOW we even got in the same circle of connections to find that awesome opportunity. You knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone that now put you on. It’s all amazing and interesting.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I can tell you, I hate being in the lime light, and starting a community in VR where now I had hundreds of people every week come and listen to me M.C. events was funny to me. I thought many times, how could anyone take me seriously when I fumble so much on a stage, and I sound like a child presenting at a science fair that I had not prepare for. Stage fright was a real big deal to overcome. Being in front of a camera or an audience still scares me. I learned though that even though the fear is the same, I grew larger than the fear. It’s a much smaller animal to me now and I feel really accomplished by that!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
So many people come to mind it’s unfair to pick one. In particular, though, a dear friend and mentor to me that I met through networking in NYC is Joe Rojas. He’s an amazing person and business coach, and over an 8 month period while I was studying with him at Start Grow Manage (his entrepreneur company) he helped me hone in on what I needed to be focusing on throughout my first year in developing VR Networking. I can say, without a doubt, if it wasn’t for Joe, I wouldn’t have been this far ahead. People wouldn’t have believed in me or my vision. We sat down and ran through the entire process on how to stay focused on what’s most important and how to organize each step. Everything was calculated and planned out. I still use all the knowledge and systems that he taught me and will continue to do for the rest of my life. He’s a life changer and that entrepreneur group was a key to my success.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Running business events in virtual reality is a new format for this whole industry, and there is much to learn and much still to be developed. All of our events and new programs are exciting and fun. We have all sorts of engaging events being worked on by a team of 12 people who took on leadership roles in this community. I think that’s the most exciting project, team development with people literally from around the world. We are all working together to create fun, interactive and educational events for business owners to attend, enjoy, and to come together so that they can continue networking in a fundamentally new way.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
You can bet on one thing, VR is going to completely change how we connect and meet new people. The first thing I will touch on is business connections. VR will allow business owners to meet each other instantly and connect on new partnerships, find clients, build referral systems, and most importantly help each other learn. The power of connection in virtual reality is unreal, and it can only be understood when you jump into a social VR experience yourself.
The second thing is community and events. In VR there is no limit to how many people can be in one space at one time, other than hardware limitation. Once we resolve the hardware problem you can bet there will be concerts and events like TED speakers presenting in front of millions, maybe tens of millions of people at one time, live. With this capability you will see community growth and the power of people with similar interest and goals like never before. Thats what we are focused on in VR Networking, we have the first business community in VR and plan on being the place to go, globally, for your networking and business Metaverse marketing needs.
Lastly would be marketing. In VR you can expect the standard ads on the wall, and video commercials popping into your view while you travel from world to world, or app to app. But the cool thing that most people aren’t seeing is the commoditization of influencer/community marketing. Now more than ever the power of marketing has been transfered into the hands of normal every day people. Brands are partnering up with TikTok users left and right to get their product in front of their followers. This market is only getting stronger, and by the time VR is in every home or 1 or 3 people own a headset, brands will focus less and less on the cost per click and more on the ROI of people within communities that hold some social significance or following.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Lack of content is one major pain point. Social VR has a huge potential to become one of the top mediums where people get their daily dose of content, even now in its inception. People are missing the point that they can organize and monetize in these spaces so they aren’t thinking large enough. So start planning a content strategy and community development strategy.
The lack of tools to market that content out keeps communities spread thin so there isn’t a large push to get more people to adopt the medium. I know for a fact that people will not jump into new tech just for any old reason. We need to have people there to connect with, and content that we can relate to. So my main focus is to share with the world more broadly how VR can help business owners connect and market in VR and we will slowly but surly start a cascade effect by bring more and more businesses into virtual worlds, meetups, conferences and shows we host.
Lastly, the biggest pain point is the size and weight of a VR headset. If we want grandma Sally and the rest of her family to join in on a family hangout session in VR because the family lives far from one another, we will need headsets that feel comfortable, have a lasting battery, look less bulky, and can easily be carried around. I believe these problems all rely on each other to exist, and if we were able to remove one of them, the rest would also vanish soon after.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
Sure, first let’s look at retention rate for a VR event. We have looked at our numbers, and our attendees retention rate is mid 90% for the first 60 minutes. To give some context, the above average quality Youtube channel videos have a retention rate of around 65% on an 11 minute video. That means more than half of people watching leave that video after only about 6 minutes. If you add the fact that learning memory retention rate in VR is 75% compared to a live lecture (5%) and reading (10%) you start to see why hosting business courses and classes in VR could fundamentally change how people learn about business and how quickly they could pick up and use their new found skills. Thats why at the center of VR Networking we wanted to have a core team of business professionals and executive coaches to help our community members make their businesses better from attending our VR Networking events.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
So many ways… One of the things I am looking forward to is the ability to hang out with my family all while living in different states and countries. Some of my family is in Florida, some in New York, and some in Brazil and Europe. I would love to have time with them “in person” whenever I felt like it. VR and AR is a connection tool. It puts people together in person, on demand.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
Yes, that VR is for games and children. Both of these are wrong. VR can be a tool for many people to simply have fun and connect with others, or get away from reality for a while. It can and will also be a heavy business communication and marketing tool in the next few years.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Creativity — This is a new world and a new medium, the old way of thinking with 2D platforms will become secondary, so you’ll need your grey matter more than before for this.
A Team — Creating a successful community, business, or product for VR is a much heavier lift in general than our current market demands. Having a team of highly effective and skilled people around you is critical to growth in this space.
People Skills — Social VR is all about people getting together for the sole purpose of being around people. You need to know how to navigate a ton of different personalities.
Leadership — If you are running a company or an employee of one, the key to success is feeling comfortable with yourself when you have leading roles and responsibilities to your people.
Mentors — You need a circle of professionals around you who you look up to and who you can count on in giving you the right course corrections when you need it most. Mentors help clear your mind when you are foggy and help you become a better leader.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
This idea is deeply rooted in my philosophy for VR Networking. Everything we are has very little to do seeking referrals, finding clients, and making more money. Of course that is what we are all in business for but it is a secondary thought. We focus on one question only which is “how can I help you?”. Our community thrives on this and we plan on fundamentally changing networking by making networking and business events free globally, and producing the largest network group in the world.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
That could only be Gary Vaynerchuk. He embodies everything we are here doing. Bringing people up by caring for them and doing cool things for our communities at the same time!
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Hiring the right people is hard! We have gone through so many employees that interviewed amazingly, and that we were very excited about, only to find out within the first few months that they were the wrong person for the job. When you are a young company with limited finances the wrong hire can be a very costly experience. Don’t be scared to let somebody go and find the right fit.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Yauger, CEO for the cannabis industry B2B events company Lemonhaze.
Lemonhaze is a premier B2B events company that facilitates connections within the cannabis space. Lemonhaze events are designed to foster elite experiences. As a result, their Lemonhaze Cannabis Industry Executive Golf Invitationals have emerged as the most coveted invitation in the cannabis industry. Please visit their website to stay informed about other Lemonhaze experiences, including Virtual Upfronts, legendary Budtenders First Parties, and focus groups.
Lemonhaze — Where the industry grows together.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Brian Yauger is the visionary CEO behind Lemonhaze, architects of exclusive experiences connecting the cannabis space.
Known as ‘the most connected man in cannabis,” Brian’s career began in college football after attending Texas State University before transferring to Hardin-Simmons University, where he graduated with degrees in Political Science and History. He coached for 12 years, including Big 12 and Ivy League teams like Oklahoma State and Columbia University, before returning to Austin in 2011 to start his first company, Cool Earth Contracting and Coating.
Recognizing the potential of the burgeoning cannabis industry, Brian relocated to Seattle, Washington, and was soon leading business development for a fund. In 2015 he started FRONT RUNNER, a SAS cannabis sales data website rebranded as Lemonhaze in 2016. In 2018 Lemonhaze pivoted from data to an events company when Brian discovered that the events the company organized to promote its services were the most successful aspect of its business. They began with events focusing on budtenders, eventually expanding out of Washington to Oregon, California, and Nevada. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Brian and his company to get creative, which led to growing their business to include Virtual Upfronts. Described as “speed dating for cannabis buying,” these events offer product salespeople and dispensary buyers a distinctive opportunity to directly engage through the efficiency of video meetings and sales platforms.
An avid golfer, sports fan, and cigar aficionado, Brian combined his love for the cannabis industry and the game of bringing the company out of COVID in 2021 by creating the Lemonhaze Cannabis Executive Golf Classic tour and the Lemonhaze Cannabis Executive Invitational. Tailored for the industry executive, these tournaments offer a day of friendly competition and networking on the green, which quickly emerged as Lemonhaze’s signature events.
Brian currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, if you are ever fortunate enough to attend one of Lemonhaze’s coveted events, you can usually find him wearing sunglasses in a golf cart with a cooler full of beverages and a cigar in his mouth, laughing, shaking hands, and passing out drinks.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
Growing up in Austin Texas, sports were the center of my life. Like a lot of young people, I tried many sports, but from an early age, it was obvious that football was going to be my sport of choice. I lived the Texas “Friday Night Lights” high school years. I graduated from Westlake High School, well known for future Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks Drew Brees and Nick Foles, as well as NFL kicker and holder of the record for the longest kick in NFL Justin Tucker. I moved on to play football at Texas State and Hardin Simmons University.
It was obvious that my skills as a player were not going to take me much farther than playing for a small college, but my career ambitions were set to coach at the highest levels of college football. I was fortunate enough to do that for 12 years before my career path moved to entrepreneurship. The lessons I learned from sports still guide the life and business decisions that I make today.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
When I was a freshman in college, I was spending spring break with friends in Cancun, Mexico. One night at Senior Frogs, I looked up and saw I sign on the ceiling that read, “life is what happens while you are making other plans”. For some reason that stuck with me. And every time I have made a life-changing decision that went against my “life plan” I have thought about that sign and made many decisions based on that quote, such as getting out of my lifelong dream of coaching or starting my company when my original job in Seattle fell through.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The podcast “How I Built This with Guy Raz” is a regular listen for me. The books “Shoe Dog: a Memoir by the Creator of Nike” by Phil Knight and “The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley” are two of my favorite books.
Entrepreneurship is incredibly rewarding, but it is also incredibly hard. Podcasts and books that interview or are written by successful entrepreneurs that tell the story of how they started and share stories of how they faced the same challenges Lemonhaze faces today are an inspiration in my life. I love to hear how others have faced challenges and I try to learn from what they did to overcome them.
There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
The biggest lesson I have learned as an entrepreneur is to build a company that I would want to use myself because if it would be helpful to me, it will be helpful for someone else. I took my experiences of going to trade shows with the first company I founded, and we just built Lemonhaze with the idea of what I wanted when we would go to those shows. Ironically it has worked out so well for our sponsors, that Lemonhaze has actually become a customer of Lemonhaze. The executives that attend our Executive Golf events as guests are our exact customers for sponsorships. We even set up our own booth at our executive events to promote sponsorships to our budtender events (a budtender is a person who works at a legal cannabis dispensary that makes recommendations on products and helps customers with purchases) our own attendees, thus making Lemonhaze not only the event organizer but also one of the sponsoring companies.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
In today’s world, a simple Google or even YouTube search can let you know what else is out there. However, anyone thinking of starting a business should not let the fact that there is someone else doing something similar stop them from moving forward. If your idea is good, and if you are willing to work hard and not let the word “no” stop you, then you can be successful. Many times it is the pivot that is the success. In the case of Lemonhaze, we started as a data company tracking the data of the recreational marijuana industry in Washington state. We started throwing our own events to promote our own product. When the companies from around the industry started knocking on our door asking to sponsor the events so that they could get access to the audience we were bringing in for ourselves, we knew that our future was in events and not data. However, we never lost our data roots, and data is still a big factor in what we do.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands?
As happens a lot in life you work very hard for 5 or 10 years to become an overnight success. The company that people know as Lemonhaze today started in 2015 as a technology company called Tetratrak that provided a SAS data service that rebranded to Front Runner. Then rebranded again in 2016 as Lemonhaze to include an enterprise solution along with a SAS solution. It wasn’t until 2017 that we started holding events to promote our own product that we started making any money. In 2018 we made the full pivot to events full time, but we did not reach national recognition in the industry until 2021. Now Lemonhaze is the fastest-growing cannabis b2b events company in the country, but it took many steps, many failed attempts like other products to find what our customers wanted.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Hiring the right people is hard! We have gone through so many employees that interviewed amazingly, and that we were very excited about, only to find out within the first few months that they were the wrong person for the job. When you are a young company with limited finances the wrong hire can be a very costly experience. Don’t be scared to let somebody go and find the right fit.
You can’t be all things to all people: It is important to listen to your customers and guide your company to what the customer wants. But you can’t do everything. When we were starting, we tried to do everything that was suggested to us, and we ended up paralyzing our growth because we couldn’t focus on a core product.
Hire people that are smarter and better than you: When you start a company you do everything from product development to marketing, to sales. As our company grew, I started hiring people and telling them how to do the job I hired them for and I was underutilizing their skills. What I have learned is to hire people that are better than me at all the tasks I used to do. It is important as a leader that you make sure that all employees know and follow the vision of the company, but hire people that make the vision clearer and better and clearer to your customers.
Simply get used to the word and learn to love the word “no”: These are two parts. First, when it comes to finding new customers, finding funding, or even looking for strategic partners, you will hear the word “no” so many more times than you will hear the word “yes”. Don’t let it bring you down. It is just like breathing and eating. You have to have it. The second part of that is to learn to love to use it. People will know you are a start-up, and they will try to get discounts or something free from you in exchange for something less valuable. Don’t be afraid to use the word “no”. You will be surprised how many times they come back with a yes a short time later.
You will know when it is right: Don’t let impostor syndrome bring you down. If your product works for the market, you will know it, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be hard and that you won’t have doubts. Use the fear and the doubt to make it work for you.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Try it first on friends and family and listen to what they say, “would be cool if it did X”. People will tell you what they want if you give them a place to start. If you asked 10 people, “what would you want” you will get 10 completely different answers. However, if you build a widget that you would like to use and show it to the same 10 people they will say, “It is great, and you know it would be cool if it also did X”. And for 5 of them, the “X” will be the same thing. The “X” is what people will happily pay for. The entrepreneur has to be careful though. You can’t build something that does everything. You have to find the core of what “X” is and get very good at that. Then start expanding around that core product.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
I have hired multiple consultants over the years and while I have been able to take bits and pieces of knowledge from each of them, I have found that they have never been worth the money. Impostor syndrome is real. Having a little insecurity is normal and many times an entrepreneur thinks they should hire someone that they perceive knows more than them. But the reality is that the entrepreneur knows their business better than anyone else. The consultant ends up reaffirming what I already knew was right. For me, finding mentors that have my best interest at heart has been much more useful for me in growing our company. It is not possible for you to hire someone to come in and make your company successful in the way you want your company to operate. But it is possible to find people you trust to help guide the decisions you make to help you become successful.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
In my opinion, you have to bootstrap at first. Your first idea will probably not be the idea that takes off. You have to find what the market wants, and when you find it, then go for capital and push the gas pedal down towards what works.
As an events company, we have seen dozens of companies come into the market well funded and blow all their money in a year over promoting a product that probably could have worked had they spent time building it first before taking on money.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
This is something we are working very hard on right now. The Lemonhaze business model is to put events together that bring in all the decision-makers for segments of the industry together at a specific event. For us, those decision-makers can be budtenders, dispensary buyers, or cannabis executives. When we started doing events exclusively for cannabis executives when you looked around the room of executive attendees it was a lot of white middle-aged men. It was a huge mirror to the industry that did not go unnoticed. We are working on structuring our networking events to make sure that women and diverse candidates have access to the people that hire for the jobs at the c-suite and VP levels.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
You never know what your idea can trigger. For our executives, it is to get qualified women and diverse candidates in front of the people that hire for executive-level positions. For our budtenders that love the industry, we want to find ways to help them climb the corporate ladder. Today’s budtender could be tomorrow’s VP or owner if they have access to the right mentors and the right education.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Any entrepreneur that started with nothing and built a globally known brand. I would love to hear how they overcame challenges that we all face building our company. Peter Thiel or Phil Knight would probably top that list.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Women are naturally very community-oriented and for anyone starting out, I’d start there. Find a supportive community of like-minded people. I make it a point to talk to lead data scientists because it’s a very niche space.
As a part of our series about Wisdom From The Women Leading The Blockchain Revolution, had the pleasure of interviewing Imge Su Cetin.
Imge Su Cetin, CEO and Co-Founder of Defy Trends. Imge Su is a data scientist whose prior experience ranges from creating apps for the United Nations to studying the adoption of Electric Vehicles. Her vision with Defy Trends is to break down artificial information barriers and empower people to make informed decisions in crypto investing and trading.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of how you decided to pursue this career path? What lessons can others learn from your story?
Before founding my company, Defy Trends, I had no idea that crypto was going to be a calling. I am a data scientist at heart and was working at the United Nations as a lead data scientist building products, scraping the web to forecast bilateral migration around the world using big data. At the time, I became interested in investing back when Wall Street Bets was popular. So, I used my skillset to scrape social media sites like Reddit and other sources to help me make informed investment decisions. That led me to build a similar product for cryptocurrencies, which was starting to go mainstream. This really took on a life of its own. I had friends who were also looking for data-backed information about crypto and wanted more transparency around these digital assets. There was no one else out there doing this and I quickly learned that there was a major opportunity in this category.
What we do at Defy Trends is very niche. We’re not creating an NFT marketplace or crypto exchange like so many others are, but the solution we provide is desperately needed in this sector. Millions of people invest in crypto blindly. We are taking away fear and uncertainty from the equation by providing traders with real, data-driven insights to inform their investment decisions. I had never considered running my own company before; data scientists tend to go into academia or R&D careers. This was a new way of thinking as a career data scientist and I learned that I could in fact combine my entrepreneurial spirit, skills, and interests into one venture, and that is how Defy Trends was born.
Can you tell me about the most interesting projects you are working on now?
There is always something new and exciting in the crypto and blockchain sector that excites me, but one of the most interesting projects we are working on as a company is the Defy Trends Ambassador Program. We want to ensure all women are able to confidently enter this sector and get a piece of a disruptive technology. The Ambassador Program is a global education initiative to help women and those that identify as women to learn about new technologies and investments opportunities to achieve their long-term financial goals. We really believe that women should be empowered to take charge of their financial lives, particularly as investors. The crypto space is very community-oriented, and women especially naturally gravitate towards community and desire a safe space to learn about crypto and Web3. We’re creating chapters led by our ambassadors all over the world and are really excited to see it grow.
I’m very fortunate to have had great mentors in my life, particularly in a male-dominated space like data science. I notice that I’m often the only woman in the room and that’s something Defy Trends is passionate about changing and leading. We want the discourse around crypto, blockchain, and DeFi to be inclusive for all women. That requires creating safe spaces led by other women who are equally investing in the industry as they are in supporting other women who are just entering this space.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I had two very influential mentors that have changed the course of my life and career. My professor in grad school, Dr. Volkan Vural from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), is very entrepreneurial, like me. He really pushed me to investigate opportunities beyond academia. He was a great example of this — he had his own company where he used his research and experience to build AI for “smart clothing.” These items could do things like take your temperature and tell your smartwatch what you were doing. He was teaching data science to MBA students and got me to think outside the box. Turns out, you don’t need to have an MBA to start a company, and the world of data science is unlimited. Data science can optimize any tech company and is applicable in every business because we live in a data-driven world.
My second mentor was my pre-seed investor, David Moss, who is still guiding us with Defy Trends. They say the first investment is the hardest. He really believed in me and what we were trying to do with Defy Trends. He gave us the initial funding to excel and make it bigger, and he introduced us to a lot of other investors, too. Our network has flourished since then, and that’s critical in any business environment. The more people you know, the more you grow as a company, a leader, and individual.
What are the 3 things that most excite you about blockchain and crypto? Why?
As a data person, I appreciate that blockchain data is very transparent. There is no grey area when you have all this data at your fingertips to help you make informed decisions. I get really excited by the fact that blockchain technology is going to break down the barriers of entry for a lot of people, including startup founders who want to build something meaningful in this sector. It’s an emerging industry with so much to explore, much like the early days of the dot com era. I also get excited about how open and transparent the data is in blockchain, and that allows us to know what’s happening in the financial industry.
Right now, there is a lot of overcrowding and a lot of projects within blockchain. It’s not an oversaturated market though, especially in the data market. I don’t believe in an oversaturated market. Eventually the industry will course-correct, much like the markets do.
What are the 3 things that worry you about blockchain and crypto? Why?
As exciting as this industry is, people still don’t understand the underlying technology. Investors are basing a lot of their decisions on emotions, erratic behaviors, rumors, and hype. This is where Defy Trends comes in. We are scraping the information out there and putting it together in a way that enables investors to make educated, data-backed decisions.
Volatility is another big concern and problem in our industry, and that’s because it’s still so early. Lots of “whales” are moving on the investment side, and that scares off the risk-averse investor. But as we all know, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. We’re betting on Defy Trends to help investors navigate the ups and downs of the market.
Finally, we must consider the fact that eventually, regulations will catch up with the industry. Blockchain technology will become more predominant in the banking industry, and for that to work, the government will need to regulate it. It’s funny that this all started as a way to decentralize finance but more than likely, it will become centralized in some way. It becomes a double-edged sword especially if, and when, the technology gets in the hands of the wrong people. We’ve seen this happen with every technology. The World Wide Web, smartphones, AI — all these technologies started with the promise of doing good in the world but there will always be “bad actors” that use it to track or hurt people and organizations. It’s an unfortunate side effect of the technology industry.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?
The blockchain community is one that represents so much of who I am as a founder but also what I value in innovators. The community is smart, progressive, out-of-the-box thinkers that aren’t afraid to break the rules. This is how Defy Trends started and why I’m such a supporter of other women entering this space. Instead of following the traditional professional route of academia, I took a risk at starting a company in a brand-new industry. Defy Trends also breaks a lot of the outdated financial industry “rules” that have unfortunately, left a lot of women out of. A lot of what we do at the company is built around bringing women into this space, supporting them, and giving them the same benefits of learning, investing and prosperity that they’ve been left out of.
As you know there are not that many women in your industry. Can you share 5 things that you would advise to other women in the blockchain space to thrive?
There are actually a lot of women in this blockchain and crypto space. I’d argue that there are less of us in this very niche category of data products and infrastructure that Defy Trends is in. I’ve noticed through my academic and now professional career that I was usually one of the few, if not only, women in the room. What we really need across the entire financial sector is more women at the C-level.
Women are naturally very community-oriented and for anyone starting out, I’d start there. Find a supportive community of like-minded people. I make it a point to talk to lead data scientists because it’s a very niche space.
I also advise women to take initiative and be clear on what they want to do in this industry or what they want to learn. Then, start building the skills and get more involved in the industry because the opportunities are limitless. You can now create a company or NFT marketplace or start educating people around the subject. Now is the best time to start something before this industry reaches its full peak.
Finally, ask questions and get to know people. It’s more about who you know than what you know, and that’s going to pay off no matter what level you’re at in your career.
Can you advise what is needed to engage more women into the blockchain industry?
My message starts with CEOs. Engaging women in the blockchain starts at the top. CEOs must support more women and support the initiative of hiring more women, putting them in leadership roles, board seats, and so on. It’s understandable that most companies miss this. I never think of gender when I’m considering someone for a role; I’m looking at their skills set and experience. But if you’re not bringing awareness to it or giving women in your company the equal opportunity to grow within the organization, they won’t have the skill sets you’re looking for. So, it’s important to be very intentional as a leader about inclusion and hiring people with diverse backgrounds. Diversity brings different minds, perspectives, and skills to the table and that’s important when building out your team. Even at Defy Trends, our leadership team is very diverse. I didn’t set out to build a company that was only led by other women, but I was actively engaging in the community and meeting other passionate, entrepreneurial women from different countries and backgrounds and that eventually formed the founding team of Defy Trends. I’m very proud of that because it shows other women what is possible.
What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that had relevance to your own life?
“Well behaved women rarely make history,” is a one that feels relevant in our time. I’m often viewed as a rebel in the data science industry because I’ve created my own reality by building outside the boundaries of what is known as possible.
Whether it’s in academia or the workplace, women are often advised to conform and not make any waves. That’s something I was taught growing up and in my time in grad school. But had I stuck to that advice and remained a “well behaved woman,” I wouldn’t have built Defy Trends from the ground up and created a space for other women to dive into blockchain and crypto fearlessly. I think we all need a bit of a rebellious nature to accomplish big things.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I hope that our Ambassador Program is already doing just that- opening the space up to be inclusive and accessible for all and promoting education and involvement on a global scale. Web3 is a revolution that we hope to help everyone join regardless of knowledge base, prior involvement, wealth status, location, or any other factor.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Agile Businesses: Matt Wallace Of Faction On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Try to find the strengths you have that bridge from what you do today into what you need to pivot to.
As Chief Technology Officer, Matt is responsible for product development, managed and professional services, and architecting Faction’s cloud infrastructure offerings. Prior to Faction, Matt worked 20 years in technology roles at both startups and Fortune 500 companies, including leadership roles at Level 3 Communications, ViaWest, and Exodus Communications, among others.
Matt is the co-author of “Securing the Virtual Environment: How to Defend the Enterprise Against Attack”, one of the first books to holistically address cloud security concerns. Matt attended the University of California at Santa Cruz and is an official member of the Forbes Technology Council.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I first got my hands on a computer when I was 8, and taught myself writing BASIC from a manual. I dabbled a lot throughout childhood, and while in high school I had a mentor who ran an engineering team at Sun Microsystems, and I helped him with his side business, which was custom PCs. I was fairly sure I was going to write novels, be a lawyer, or focus on business until I started college and had a real Internet connection. I quickly became convinced that the Internet was going to change everything, in an era where even dial-up Internet accounts were still extremely rare.
I ended up starting at a tiny company called Exodus Communications, but it became one of the absolute behemoths of the tech boom. The team I spent most of my time on ran security services, but I was pushed relentlessly by mentors to become broadly versed in everything from networking to systems to code as well. We built many things for ourselves for automated deployment, version control, monitoring, and high availability that were miles ahead of vendor products, if they existed at all. My playful but extremely competitive peer group kept each other on our toes.
A former colleague later recruited me to VMware, and that experience pushed me beyond pure engineering. I wanted to see talented engineers not just doing great work, but doing it on the right things. I still think of myself as a builder, but I’m passionate about the vision for the future and enabling teams to create things that matter. Life’s too short to waste our time on the wrong things.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I’m grateful for a series of mentors that have helped me grow — from Jim Lovewell, who taught me a lot about hardware when I was still in high school, and hosted me as an intern at Sun Microsystems; to Mike Myers at Exodus who was a technology renaissance man who seemed to know everything and pushed me, and many others, to learn more — usually by doing. He had a remarkable talent for giving you things that were incredible stretch efforts.
These were remarkable because they really forced me to grow outside my comfort zone, but one thing I’ve realized now is that almost everyone has something to teach you. Being hungry and humble is great advice because it sets you up to learn. That environment was highly competitive but in a friendly, collaborative way.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?
Faction is a multi-cloud data services company. Many modern businesses with strong digital initiatives are multi-cloud by necessity, design, or both. Data is the lifeblood of their business, and we make the same copy of data available to all their cloud environments, and those of key partners, at once — without moving or copying it. This allows them to innovate faster, scale larger, and simplify operations and governance, all while achieving lower costs.
A great real-world example is how we enabled the construction of a multi-cloud supercomputer, built solely from spot instances across all the public clouds, allowing massive parallel processing of genomic data on cloud GPUs. The model for doing this work improved performance and could result in cost savings of over 75% versus more traditional ways of doing things.
Was there a specific “a-ha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path? If yes, we’d love to hear the story.
Faction had already built our first multi-cloud data service offering, but we were well known for our private cloud services, and we knew that our existing typical customer was not ideal for a multi-cloud data service. We wanted to make inroads with larger enterprises with larger data sets, who would benefit dramatically from our multi-cloud offering.
Our first big pivot started with the “a-ha” that as VMware launched their flagship cloud service, VMware Cloud on AWS, the initial hardware type wouldn’t have enough storage capacity. We worked with VMware to build an integration from VMware Cloud to our platform, which solved that capacity problem. Our prediction was right, and our solution moved us firmly into Fortune 500 & Global 2000 business, and also led to our investment by Dell Technologies Capital and our partnership with Dell.
That drove further innovation in our platform, and our second big pivot — we partnered with Dell to launch a set of multi-cloud data services that combined Faction’s multi-cloud platform with the capabilities of Dell’s hardware platforms, where they were and are a clear market leader. Dell was a leader in systems for unstructured data, and customers with petabytes of unstructured data were exactly the type of customers who would benefit the most from what Faction could do for multi-cloud architectures.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
Really well. Getting in front of the leadership at a Fortune 100 enterprise, and hearing that your product is “amazing” or “magical” is about as good as it gets for a technologist like me. Knowing that the impact is in millions of dollars saved, or even better, lives saved through accelerated research and improved patient care, means I get excited for Monday mornings.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
I think helping your team understand the motivation, the vision, and what is expected of them during a pivot is critical. Uncertainty and fear slow your efforts and hurt morale; by contrast, clarity and excitement for a new direction can rally a team to tackle a challenge. A pivot means adding a bunch of unknowns, but with the right context, it can be taken as the adventure that it is.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
I think the best thing is to connect all the dots. Your team needs to know what you want to accomplish and why — both why it is good for the market, your customers, or the world; and why it is good for the business. Then you need to make clear the role they play in that transformation, and help them understand their own opportunities to grow and accomplish things.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
Perhaps the most important thing is that you must become comfortable with uncertainty. To paraphrase Colin Powell, leadership happens between 40 and 70% certainty. If you are operating in tumultuous times, you sometimes have to make significant decisions when you have imperfect information. You can’t just guess, but the right decision made too late can be just as bad as the wrong decision. This goes hand in hand with fostering a culture where open communication — especially raising possible problems — is known to be virtuous. And of course — celebrate failure as a learning experience. You have to encourage risks if you want people to take them — and you should.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with a disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
First, a lot of truly disruptive technology is dismissed because it is too foreign from the status quo. You hear things like, “People will never do that!” But things with compelling fundamental value and clear growth are rarely truly fads. An obvious recent example is the cloud. The denial of its value, growth, and longevity took many forms, while trillions of dollars in value was created. I expect this to play out again with augmented reality, machine learning, and robotics in the coming decades.
Second, if it’s disruptive but not directly to your product, too many organizations either adopt technology for technology’s sake, without tying it back to business value; or they over-extend to adopt it when it requires too much effort and integration. Start with business value, and try to avoid straying too far from your core competencies when you are building complex things.
Third, I’ve seen a failure to really socialize and articulate disruptive technology. Some technology requires a complementary change in organizational behavior, and implementing a technology but failing to complete the swing on the human aspects can waste or delay a lot of the value.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies? Please share a story or an example for each.
Try to find the strengths you have that bridge from what you do today into what you need to pivot to.
Don’t think in absolutes — when you start to pivot, nothing is certain; try to think in terms of how likely certain outcomes are, and whether success or failure is a matter of degrees. Does partial success help you? Think ahead to how your business landscape will be different either way.
Always ask yourself what you’d be afraid of a competitor doing. If you can identify it, and it is possible, you should probably be looking at doing it.
Remember that major disruption often happens as things progress from being customized to standardized to commoditized. As different technologies go from bespoke and expensive to standardized and cheap, the ways they are leveraged radically disrupt adjacent technologies. Some of them — like the cheap, fast, distributed connectivity of the Internet — disrupt almost everything.
Don’t overthink things — you have to stay agile in the face of disruption. Remember the 40/70 rule; if you’re less than 40% certain you’re more guessing than leading change, but if you’re more than 70% certain you’re probably overanalyzing and further certainty comes at too high of a cost of agility.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
…Another reason is that inclusive culture businesses attract top-performing talent. Two-thirds (67 percent) of job seekers responding to a Glassdoor survey said that workforce diversity is important to them when evaluating employers and job offers.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nadja-Timea Scherrer.
Nadja-Timea Scherrer is a VP and Cultural Impact Strategist at the independent Social Impact Agency plus305 in Miami and Switzerland. Originally from Switzerland, she speaks 6 languages — some more some less fluently — and has traveled to and lived and worked in many countries around the world such as England, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, France and the US. She holds an Exec. MA in Intercultural Communication and consults businesses on how to integrate JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) into their DNA and is in charge of drafting sustainability communication strategies at plus305.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I am an impact entrepreneur from multicultural Switzerland. I believe in building bridges through storytelling and emotional connections. Being an Inclusion and Equity enthusiast, I am especially fascinated by lifestyles and perspectives that are very different from mine because it helps me rethink my own views and values. That is why I studied Intercultural Communication and Linguistics and have lived in and traveled to many different countries, among them Turkey, France, and the UK. I learned the languages of all the places I have lived in because language is closely linked to identity and culture. I love how languages give you access to the way people see the world. People only create words for what is important to them in a culture. In my own language for instance, we have a word that you cannot directly translate to English: Fremdschämen. It describes the act of being embarrassed for somebody else who is behaving in an embarrassing way. The fact that we have a word like this tells you a lot about our culture.
I started my career as a translator at the biggest media monitoring company in Switzerland and ended up building and heading the Language department which, for many years to come, achieved one of the highest turnover growths of the company. I then built my own company, consulting global organizations and government institutions on Intercultural Communication as well as offering PR, Interpreting, and Copy Writing services. When I worked for Apple in Silicon Valley on the intercultural adaptation of communication assets to the Swiss market, I met Alberto, the founder and CEO of plus305 in Miami. We decided to join forces in life and business and developed plus305 from a traditional advertising agency into a Social Impact Boutique. It has been quite a ride leaving my career behind and venturing out into the world of entrepreneurship, but it has been totally worth it. I have now been a partner, VP, and Sustainability Communication Strategist with a focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at plus305 for six years. Since 2019, we are also based in Switzerland.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
Ok, this is a sad and funny story at the same time. I had a Pakistani friend back when I was living in London right after 9/11. He always dressed in his traditional attire. One day, when we had coffee in central London he said to me: “You won’t believe what happened to me the other day! I was on a business trip. When I entered the plane and looked at my ticket to make out my seat, I looked up to see who will be sitting next to me. The man looked more or less just like me. Same traditional clothing, same beard, around my age. And you know what my first reaction was? I was fucking afraid, Nadja! Can you believe it?” We both laughed about it. But it also made me sad. It showed me how strong our unconscious biases are and that we even have them against ourselves. When I took the Harvard Implicit Association Test — which I would recommend to everyone, it is very insightful and free of charge — I was quite surprised at the results: as a woman not having children by choice and having built my career, I still have a bias towards associating men with career and women with family. I often wonder how this unconscious belief has held me back along the way. But it makes a lot of sense that I would have it: growing up, I had zero role models around me who would show me that women could be entrepreneurs or CEOs and if then they were so assimilated to the masculine business world that I did not relate to them. Understanding that we all have Unconscious Biases and even against ourselves was a very important insight that has shaped my JEDI programs to include what I call Mindful (Self) Leadership.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
Last year, I discovered that I have had a tendency in my life to take decisions without wanting to deal with the negative consequences. And let’s face it: absolutely every decision comes with positive and negative consequences. So last year, I (finally!) decided that I wanted to learn to deal with this better. I remembered an interview with the author Liz Gilbert where she said: “you just have to decide which version of shit sandwich you are willing to eat.” I realized that I had chosen my shit sandwich consciously and that I preferred it over all the other shit sandwiches out there so I would have to learn and accept the negative consequences that came with this decision rather than fighting them. This is when I took the decision that I would not suffer any longer about my own conscious decisions. And it worked. It has been life changing. It might sound trivial, but it brought me a lot of strength and empowerment. It kind of goes hand in hand with another one of my favorite quotes “The wound is the place where the light enters you” by Rumi, my favorite poet. There is no growth without pain…
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
So, so many. I don’t even know where to start! In the last few years, it has definitely been my husband and business partner Alberto Jaen. He has a very calm and grounded personality despite his creative mind. He has taught me persistence and perseverance — in my personal relationships and in business. I don’t think I would have been a very successful entrepreneur without him for this very reason: without persistence there is no gain. Especially when you build your own business. I am a very flexible person but also very volatile. My life has not been short of adventures but getting older I was missing a routine and some consistency. He inspired me to find this balance.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
plus305 is an independent Social Impact Agency. We are a new model of communication agency connecting Purpose Branding and Value-based Communication with Culture Transformation and Social Sustainability. We are an interdisciplinary agency bringing together fields that have traditionally been separated. Many businesses are still working in silos. We believe that sustainability and JEDI cannot be implemented into the DNA of an organization unless you approach it as a corporate Culture topic. And Culture is always connected to Communication: internal and external. When we talk about purpose- and value-led communication, what we do is connect an organizations values and purpose to their sustainability journey, their communication, and culture building. Beyond supporting organizations walking the talk, we also do: we have a sustainable business model that is based on the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Prosperity.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Our Social Impact Agency plus305 was selected to communicate Miami-Dade’s heat-related dangers due to climate change by developing a creative social sustainability campaign for the local county. Studies show that vulnerable populations are more at risk of being affected by heat-related illnesses and deaths. According to the Weather Channel, heat has been the leading cause of death in the US among weather-related fatalities for 30+ years and often happens on days with average rather than extreme heat. Per a 2018 study by a group of climate researchers, Miami experiences 133 high heat days every year — 27 more than it did in 1995. By 2075, the number is projected to hit 162. Yet, heat has failed to compete for media and government attention with Miami’s other major climate challenge: sea level rise.
We wanted to make sure that the campaign really speaks to everyone in an engaging way, so our Creative Director Alberto Jaen came up with the idea of involving local slam poet Eccentrich. Her poem connects the audience directly to culture, with a rhythm — like in a music video, creating an emotional connection. For the images, we scoured the streets together with Director Sergio Vizuete and filmed to align visuals with feelings, engaging the target like through a piece of art. The poet sets the tempo while reciting the words, with accompanying music emphasizing the crescendo towards the end.
The creation of this first ever heat campaign in Miami commissioned by Chief Heat Officer Jane Gilbert was made to protect everyone but especially those in lower-income neighborhoods inland where tree cover is 30% less than in upscale coastal areas, putting locals at risk during crises due to limited resources; waiting for buses on unshaded benches, no AC unit, and working outdoors on roofs. There is a strong correlation between equity and climate resilience, and the campaign works towards inclusion by targeting vulnerable zip codes. Miami-Dade County is drawing awareness to dangers in rising temperatures by declaring an annual “heat season” that will run from May 1 through Oct. 31 to increase extreme heat preparedness. As climate impacts mount, so does the urgency of resolving the equity challenge. Those least responsible for climate change are often the most vulnerable to changes in weather patterns and sea level rise, further exacerbating inequities.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I always felt that something was missing in my work. Having profitability as the only benchmark just didn’t feel right. At the same time, I was also disappointed by the NGO world with all their scandals back in the days. When I came across B Lab and first read Conscious Capitalism by the Whole Foods Market founders, I realized that we can create a new form of capitalism that made much more sense to me. I really believe in business as a force for good. After all, businesses are often a big part of the problem, so they also must be a part of the solution.
Supporting organizations in finding their purpose, their values, their voice in the world and accompanying them on their sustainability journey using creativity and strategy is beyond rewarding. You can of course not change companies from one day to the next, especially not if they are big international companies and you want to create long-term change. But we really believe that even small steps in the right direction can make a big difference. We are very adamant about not supporting green-, blue- or value-washing. And we tell our clients or prospective clients that, but we are equally adamant about not letting us stop because perfection can’t be achieved. Because perfect really is the enemy of good. Having the freedom to define our own values as entrepreneurs is one of the most important things to me. We integrated the Triple Bottom Line of benefiting People, the Planet, and Prosperity in equal measures into our companies’ bylaws. And we are also on a journey to become B Corp certified. I am also on the Board of the European Standards Committee of B Lab which certifies businesses which are a force for good. And I have just applied for a position at Solafrica to be a Board Member for the Marketing part of things. They are bringing solar technology to underdeveloped areas in Sub-Saharan Africa combining social and environmental sustainability with entrepreneurship and education. At the end of the day, trying to make a positive impact is more a way of life than something that is bound to a project: it is the way you talk to a waiter, treat your employees or clients, but also someone you don’t know and might need help and of course also your loved ones.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line.
Increased diversity per se does not necessarily boost the bottom line. Having a more diverse workforce is only the first step. Having said that, studies such as for instance this Wall Street Journal Study do show that diverse teams are more innovative and productive and manage risks better. However, what organizations really need to focus on is inclusion and equity within the organization. This is much harder to achieve. Just an example: even the most effective recruiting strategy for diversity won’t lead to long-term change if new talent isn’t supported to succeed.
The same study concludes that diverse and inclusive cultures are providing companies with a competitive edge over their peers. The most important word in this sentence is Culture. In order to create an inclusive organization, you have to create an inclusive culture. The study says that “The 20 most diverse companies in the WSJ study had an average annual stock return of 10% over five years, versus 4.2% for the 20 least-diverse companies.”
If Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) is managed properly in an organizations, everyone within the company benefits. Because it creates a culture where everyone can bring their best selves to work. So when employees’ energy does not have to go into hiding their real identities anymore, this energy can go into creating value for the company. If workers feel like they belong, companies reap substantial bottom-line benefits. High belonging was linked to a whopping 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days. For a 10,000-person company, this would result in annual savings of more than $52M.
Another reason is that inclusive culture businesses attract top-performing talent. Two-thirds (67 percent) of job seekers responding to a Glassdoor survey said that workforce diversity is important to them when evaluating employers and job offers.
The more diverse the workforce, the better the understanding of the needs of diverse consumers. Imagine for instance a period-casre brand hiring a trans person that draws their attention to the fact that not everyone who menstruates necessarily identifies as a woman. That’s when inclusive ads like this are created which define the new normal and are so important to promote inclusion also on a societal level. Beyond that, they also help with the bottom line. Because consumers want to be able to see themselves in the world out there, in ads, the entertainment industry, see that there are role models that resonate with them, see that they are included, not excluded. This drives their purchasing decisions.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
Create an inclusive and equitable culture of belonging and address your culture transformation bottom-up and top-down. You will have to look at structural and systemic changes as well as at mindset changes equally and address all touchpoints with all stakeholders. Try to avoid working in silos. Culture is the invisible net that connects everything. It is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Connect your culture strategy to your brand strategy, your sustainability journey, your core business — the connecting force are your values, your WHY, your mission, and vision and then communicate and activate it internally and externally alike, including all stakeholders on the journey.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
I would have wanted to meet Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but it’s unfortunately too late now. I would love to have a breakfast with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I admire her energy, eloquence, her career, and her courage.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find me on LinkedIn here. And you can find plus305 here: just sign up for the newsletter or get in touch if you are a change maker and would like to be portrayed in our Talks that Matter series.
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
You can’t cater to everyone — As much as your business idea is to cater to a massive group of people there will always be a percentage of individuals that still won’t like your business concept or model no matter how influential the business may be.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kayla and Kourtney.
Kayla and Kourtney are two sisters that both graduated from CSU Northridge with a Bachelor Degree in Communications and they’re both mothers. Kayla and Kourtney’s father Kederio is the founder of Goal Achiever Inc. a business dedicated to helping others and giving back. Their story was inspired by their late cousin Terri Large who passed away at the age of 18 years old due to a rare brain cancer. Terri’s vision was to help those in need. A decade later Kederio wanted to carry out Terri’s vision and help a massive number of individuals by hearing their inspiring stories and helping them achieve their goals. Kayla and Kourtney have been honored to be working side by side with their father and to take charge on getting 1 million goal setting individuals across the United States to be a part of an inspirational movement “Goal Achiever 1 million”.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
We had an amazing childhood, we were born and raised in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Our parents were the youngest homeowners on our street San Dimas Lane, we enjoyed being outside, swimming and doing everything a kid at our age would enjoy doing. We had good grades in school, played sports mainly basketball and traveled a lot with our basketball team. We grew up in a two-parent household and consider our cousin Terri Large (who passed away due to cancer) like a sister. Terri and Kourtney were only 4 months apart while Kourtney and I were 2 years apart, so we were all close.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Stay Focused” … this quote came from our cousin Terri Large. While she was in and out of the hospital doing chemotherapy, she always remained focused on school and her family and act as if the chemo was irrelevant to her, because she had other plans and goals to do so much for herself she couldn’t let cancer be her main focus. I (Kayla) remember Terri calling me when I was in college at CSU Northridge and asking me if I was getting ready for class, at that time Terri was bedridden and her body had given up to the point where she couldn’t walk nor take care of herself. I aways wonder why she was so concerned about my studies, but it dawned on me, she wanted me to “stay focused”. To stay focus on the things I can control and achieve and not letting small or big situations distract me even during her health decline she made sure I stay focused. I (Kourtney) remember Terri being my biggest cheerleader and motivator. She was my biggest critique, but in the same moment my biggest fan and she pushed me in ways that I didn’t even know I could push myself. Terri dealing with cancer only pushed me to go harder, stay focused and accomplish more than I set for myself if that was playing sports, my education or life in general. Stay focused is a life lesson quote that we always stand by, thanks to her.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Honestly reality and Terri’s story made a significant impact on us. Her story from dealing with cancer from the age of 10 up until 18 was eye opening for us both. There is a small 2 minute clip of her detailing her scholarship award from Kettle One Vodka and her excitement during that small clip just shows she was ready for life to begin, even while dealing with cancer. Terri’s ability to carry on despite what she was battling has resonated with us in many ways as women in business, mothers, sisters, daughters, and our personal friendships.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
How to overcome this challenge is to simply believe that your idea is worth putting out there to the world. Once you believe in yourself it becomes a feeling that only you can stop. Face these challenges upfront and know that you may have some doubt, uncertainty and fear but remember a toddler fear nothing when they are getting into everything, they just have a concept to just do it, think as toddler and just do it until it’s done.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
It’s always good to research to find out what others may me doing that is similar, but I (Kayla) learned something sometime ago that stuck with me. “If everyone was selling white T-shirts on different corners, you’d think by you selling the same white T-shirt wouldn’t give you any results because other people had that idea first, but what you don’t know is that your white T-shirt may be priced lower, your white T-shirt might fit better and you may have better customer service selling the T-shirt. So never sell yourself short because someone else came up with an idea before you, just learn new ways to sell it”.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
First — The idea is written on paper, taking every idea, and writing it down is the foundation of the new business.
Second — Share your idea and bring on a team, allowing others to help you on the developing side, editing, creating, designing etc. Your team could be people you know or look into freelancers that specialize in the field of work you are looking for.
Third — Build it, bring light to your written idea, and create, modify, and structure your business model.
Fourth — Launch it, start with your family and friends, word of mouth to get your business idea out there locally. Except feedback good or back so you can make necessary changes.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Not everyone is on board — Close friends or family may not always be your biggest supporter even when you think that they will be. It will be that random person that you least expect to really support and motivate you on your business endeavor.
You can’t cater to everyone — As much as your business idea is to cater to a massive group of people there will always be a percentage of individuals that still won’t like your business concept or model no matter how influential the business may be.
Not everyone will understand your company idea — Our company wants to help millions of individuals set goals and share inspiring stories, while we give back to scholarships, school donations and charity. We thought the concept was simplified, but some people still don’t understand it even if we broke it down word for word.
People will think you’re trying to take from them — Goal Achiever Inc. gives back, we do weekly cash reward giveaways on Thursday’s , we also had a April Savings Challenge to help individuals save and if they saved the amount of money per our calendar we were going to give back an additional cash reward for them saving, some people thought we were doing a bad deed or would say “I don’t need to save I have money”; our goal was to help those save and we did receive good feedback, but the negative feedback was shocking because what’s bad about saving and giving back?
It’s easier to manage a large group than a small group — Our founder has ran/owned multiple businesses and he would quote “it is easier to manage a large group of people than a small group of people” not quite understanding how that could be true, but we faced this theory…kinda. A small group of people can all fall off at once leaving you to handle everyone’s position. We are a small company for now, but as the CEO and VP we must wear many hats in our company to make sure things run smoothly even with our small team.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Research if the product has been invented before. If so, see how they built it and launched it. If not, decide who your target audience is for this product. Why would someone use it? How can they use it? What’s their pain (learned this from someone) the pain is why is this needed for anyone, how does that benefit them (i.e Goal Achiever Inc. allows members to set goals on our platform, why is this relevant to anyone? because those that write their goals down have a 42% chance of achieving it, so now we tap into the pain of a person that has troubles achieving their goals because they aren’t writing them down)
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
It depends on the invention you are looking to develop. Many entrepreneurs sought out to create businesses without seeking a consultant and just taking their idea and building onto it, AKA our father. In some instant a consultant is needed because you may not know where to start and we will be discussing this a lot on our podcast “Entrepreneur Talk” asking question on how that business owner started their business and did they seek any additional counsel to get it started.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
It really depends on the business endeavor and what the company’s goal is. As for Goal Achiever Inc. we are using our own funds to develop our business, but we also seek sponsors to help our business grow and to give back to scholarship awards, school donations and charity. We would recommend doing both if you can, one way may work better than the other.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
We are just getting our feet wet, but as of today we have given away cash rewards to participating members that have set goals and our first scholarship award in the amount of $500.00 to a Senior student that will go towards his college of choice. We will continue to do what we were at sought out to do which is to “help others” and hopefully our movement will contribute to making the world a better place one day at a time
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Goal Achiever Inc. our movement is to inspire others and to help them reach their goals.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Honestly, we couldn’t narrow this down to just one person, there are so many inspirational leaders, entrepreneurs and those that started ground up businesses just like ours. If this could be seen by anyone that has started from where we started, we’d love to enjoy a private breakfast or lunch with that individual and to really pick their brain and how they started, challenges they face and their inspiring success story.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
I personally think that, even if you’re not in a technological role or following an engineering path, you should get a basic grasp of the underlying engineering concepts and how the technology works. A lot of what we’re doing right now in VR/AR/MR is pushing the creative boundaries of what is thought possible. The technology is moving so quickly, that if you don’t understand the fundamental principles of that technology, and where the advancements and limitations are, you’re not going to be able to push the creative limits and will quickly fall behind.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingBen Davenport, VP Global Marketing at Pixotope.
Ben is a B2B marketer with a keen interest and understanding of the technologies that underpin the media and entertainment industry. During the past two decades, Ben has played a key role in some of the most complex and progressive file-based media solutions and projects in the industry while enabling leading media & entertainment technology vendors to differentiate their brands and products. Having previously headed up Portfolio & Marketing Strategy for Vidispine — an Arvato Systems brand, Ben now works as VP Global Marketing at Pixotope, the leader in live augmented reality and virtual production solutions.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
Growing up in Bristol, in the south west of England, my childhood was dominated by music — my whole family is musical and indeed my dad was a music teacher. But I was also attracted to technology. I was lucky that the school where my dad worked had great facilities, and I remember clearly when a shiny (well, grey) new midi synth and Atara loaded with C-Lab Notator arrived (Notator became Notator Logic under eMagic, and in time became Apple’s Logic Pro and Garageband). As a teenager I was fortunate to get work experience with Coach House Studios, then home to the band Massive Attack, and that led me to follow a career path into sound recording. I attended the University of Surrey, studying on the Tonmeister course which, as well as covering sound engineering in detail, introduced a lot of technical concepts from film and video. As part of the course, I spent a year working in industry, specifically with the Pro Audio Product Marketing team at Sony Europe and that’s really what set me off on a marketing career path in the media industry.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Now, more than ever, it’s really important that we recruit and retain top talent in our industry and especially in the areas around XR/AR/Mixed Reality where media is competing with gaming and other applications of the tech. However, like many industries, we’re not great at imparting management and leadership skills to staff as they progress through their careers in the industry. Especially as I’ve moved into leadership roles, I’ve been drawn to a number of books around culture and leadership and I really appreciate Lencioni’s style of writing. I think “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” should be mandatory reading for any team leader or manager, but his other books are very useful too. Written as a “fable” they’re all incredibly easy to read and I’ve not met anyone who hasn’t been able to identify with one of the characters in each book, possibly more than one, and at different points in their career.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
I can’t think of a specific story that inspired me to follow a career in media production — or now virtual production — but one of the amazing things about what we do is that there’s always something inspiring in terms of what our colleagues, partners or customers are doing. For example, the way The Famous Group used AR for fan engagement last year by creating a giant panther, jumping around the Carolina Panthers stadium, or how Video Canarias and the Weather Channel use Virtual Sets to create really engaging explainers for topical news and weather. Working primarily in the media and entertainment space, there are so many creative and inspiring people and projects.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
Some 15 years ago now I was working for a technology vendor rolling out a new product. We had managed to sell a particularly large deployment to a public broadcaster in Europe but we had a lot of stability issues with the initial deployment. To minimize the disruption to their productions, the broadcaster decided to buy a second “mirror” of the system that they could failover too. However, in synchronizing the two systems, we managed to corrupt tens of thousands of hours of programming. As problems go, it was a pretty big one. I remember sitting down in a meeting with the customer the day we discovered what had happened and it goes without saying that they were pretty upset. However, the project lead from the customer started the meeting by saying “Nobody died here today”. It was an incredible lesson in keeping perspective and it set the tone for a productive meeting — one focused on finding solutions to the mess we’d created and ensuring it didn’t happen again. In the end we had an incredible partnership with that customer and they became a great reference site, but those words — “Nobody died here today” — and that meeting have always stuck with me.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It wasn’t funny at the time, but I remember once almost 20 years ago being on the phone and bad-mouthing my boss, Russ,to then discover that he was stood right behind me. It’s only funny now because Russ and I became and stayed friends and still catch up regularly. The lessons learnt were first that you never know who’s listening — directly or indirectly — and second to always try to stay positive about colleagues. Our industry is pretty small and there is no sense in burning bridges.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
So many people it’s hard to think of one in particular but if pushed, I’d probably have to single out my significant other, Kirsty. I mentioned earlier that we often fail to give people the tools and training they need to be good managers — but Kirsty is in fact currently a Leadership and Management trainer. Her coaching and advice have been invaluable, not necessarily in securing “the next role” but certainly in making a success of the roles that I’ve had.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
It might be important to start by saying that when we talk about AR and MR in the Pixotope context, we’re talking about the mixing of virtual and real objects for television production. One of the reasons that it seems exciting right now is that although a lot of the techniques and technology we use have been around for a while, advancements in computers (GPU and CPU), alongside the rapid development of game engine technologies, mean that now we are able to bring virtual elements to life in “real time” — i.e. with no pre-rendering or post production. That brings a dynamic element to productions using Mixed Reality that makes the content far more engaging. I’d cite the Carolina Panthers again as an example there.
One of the other applications for the technology is in what we often refer to as XR (extended reality) — productions that use large LED volumes to project the virtual environment around the (real) talent and other either physical or virtual props. Famously, the Mandalorian uses this technique extensively, with one of the largest and most expensive LED volumes deployed. In creating the Mandalorian, the producers have found that scenes take 30–50% less time to shoot using XR when compared to scenes shot on a soundstage or back lot. In the wake of the pandemic, where on and off-screen talent have been working extremely long hours and in the context of threatened strikes, those kinds of reductions in time on-set are game changing.
Finally, I think the opportunities for advertisers to engage with audiences and localize content are huge. Another example from The Famous Group here in their collaboration with Colorado Avalanche and Chipotle in May 2022 — the mixed reality “ad” was entertaining and engaging.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
One of the thoughts I’ve always had about the moon landing conspiracy theories is that if they did fake it, it probably would have cost more back then than actually doing it. That’s no longer the case, though, and with the upsurge in misinformation and fake news in the last decade, the ease with which you can mix photo-realistic virtual elements with real footage obviously could be cause for concern in the wrong hands. Technological solutions to identifying manipulated media are relatively widespread but, as with all misinformation, the real challenge is the platforms and channels that are used to spread such media.
As for another industry challenge, it would be the lack of talent — there simply aren’t enough people that understand how to use and implement the technology. Pixotope is actively working on this and has created an education program, directly engaging with educational institutions, to give them access to the technology and experts that can help train the next generation of Virtual Production professionals. It’s a long game, and the shortage of talent in the interim is a concern, but it’s absolutely necessary to support the growth and adoption of these technologies.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
This is a tricky question to answer since Pixotope, and our customers, are focused on media and entertainment. That said, it’s our belief that Virtual Production (the use of AR/MR/XR in media) will simply become Media (or video) Production. Video has become such an integral part of all types of work, in communications, training etc. and it follows that the virtual element will follow too.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
As with many things in the “early adopter” stage, there’s a belief that you need a “Virtual Specialist”. As I mentioned above, we believe that Virtual Production will simply become Media Production, and for that to happen, the “virtual” toolkit needs to be just a part of any production. Of course, some skill sets, such as 3D artists creating the virtual assets, will be new roles in the production team, but for others — lighting, cameras, set builders etc. — it will simply be another tool in their arsenal.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Number one: even when working in a virtual world, you need to deal with real people. So like any other industry, people skills are essential. However, the nature of working in VR/AR/MR is that, being virtual, you’re more likely to be working with people from different countries and cultures. This makes for a rich and rewarding work environment, but does require that you have an understanding of different cultures and how to work alongside them. Even when speaking the same language, things can get lost in translation — there’s a well-known meme of “What a Brit says, versus what you think they mean, versus what they actually mean”. Stereotypes can be harmful but there is an element of truth in there.
Second, I personally think that, even if you’re not in a technological role or following an engineering path, you should get a basic grasp of the underlying engineering concepts and how the technology works. A lot of what we’re doing right now in VR/AR/MR is pushing the creative boundaries of what is thought possible. The technology is moving so quickly, that if you don’t understand the fundamental principles of that technology, and where the advancements and limitations are, you’re not going to be able to push the creative limits and will quickly fall behind.
Next, you need to be able to have fun and love what you do. Working in VR/AR/MR, and more broadly in media and entertainment, many of the most important events (e.g. sports etc) happen in evenings and weekends and wherever you are in the industry, it’s likely you’re going to face some pretty odd hours at times to get the work done. It’s really important that you enjoy what you do and have fun doing it together with your colleagues. Most companies in the industry are pretty relaxed — I was once threatened with expulsion from a customer site when I turned up in a suit and tie — and they’re nice places to be, but if you’re not having fun, it could quickly turn into a chore.
Fourth, in the words of Bill & Ted “be excellent to each other”. Relative to most, it’s a pretty small industry and things move really quickly. Your ally today could be your competitor tomorrow and vice versa. There’s also no “traditional” paths for promotion, so your report this year could well be your boss next year. It’s therefore best just to be friends with everyone, even your fiercest competition — newcomers to the industry are always surprised when I suggest the best way to get competitive info is to walk up to the competition, introduce yourself and ask them what they’re up to.
Finally, as a small industry, there is a strong sense of community and it’s important to give back to that community whether that’s by giving your time to training initiatives, participating in industry charity events, becoming a mentor in one of the industry programs or contributing to advisory boards of industry associations. I have a strong sense that the industry I am in is my industry and as such, encouraging others to join it, or changing things I don’t like about it are absolutely my responsibility. Not only that, it is through such activities that I have found and/or been recommended for a number of roles, including my current one.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
As with most of the tech space, there is a significant lack of diversity, both gender and cultural, in our industry. That’s something I feel strongly about addressing and I actively support organizations within the industry that are working to create a more diverse community. Understanding what the word “privilege” means in the context of diversity and inclusion. But perhaps more importantly, understanding and being aware of one’s own bias are not only crucial in tackling the issue of diversity, but can also be hugely beneficial. For example, I’m sure we’ve all fallen foul of affinity bias in a recruitment process — it’s much easier to identify with a candidate or a hiring manager if you share similar traits, but we also know that more diverse teams — character, gender and/or culturally — perform better. So that would be movement, to enable everyone to understand and be aware of their bias.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
He’s rather busy at the moment, but I’m fascinated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy — I’d love to understand how a comedic actor, playing a president, not only followed a path to become the actual president, but also where and how he acquired the leadership skills that have been so visible and powerful during the invasion of his country. However, if allowed to indulge myself, a second person I’d love to sit with would be Dame Steve or to give her her full name Dame Vera Stephanie Shirley. Having arrived in the UK as a child refugee on the Kindertransport in 1939, she had an incredible career, including leading the team that designed the black box for Concorde, and was a pioneer for women in technology — an amazingly inspirational person.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Makers of The Metaverse: Dave Galbraith Of Amerisure Insurance Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Limited availability of “off the shelf” safety training modules and the cost to custom-build content. This is improving with the acceptance of VR training and the commitment of VR tech builders to building more safety experience content.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingDave Galbraith.
Dave Galbraith is the Assistant Vice President and Risk Management Technical Lead for Amerisure Insurance. He is responsible for the identification, research, development and implementation of risk management technology programs, and associated vendor management.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
As a company highly engaged in risk management efforts and technologies for employers, we are involved in the VR industry in a very exciting and crucial way. One of the most important components of an effective company safety program is proper safety training. By properly training employees, businesses can help prevent injuries and fatalities as well as encourage ongoing discussions with workers on the best ways to help prevent workplace accidents. As one type of effective teaching method, virtual reality training can reinforce classroom learning and engage users with memorable content experienced in a safe setting. This helps minimize disruption to work and resources while improving retention and recall of training. Virtual reality technology provides downloadable training content within a cloud-based platform. Training lessons can include industry-specific simulation scenarios for high-hazard and high severity exposures for workers, including fall prevention and ladder safety. Amerisure offers leading-edge virtual reality safety training together with PIXO VR™. Most exciting related to this capability:
Employees can enter immersive hazardous operations without encountering real hazards.
The “hands on” experience is available for large numbers of employees instead of just the “theory of” how a job should be performed.
The realistic value in the VR experience: A worker can perform all the tasks virtually, from inspecting, selecting, and donning fall protection, then subsequently tying off properly. They can then perform a task requiring the use of fall protection. If all pre-tasks are performed properly, the worker will safely complete the task. If any pre-task is incorrect, they will fall virtually from the scaffold (without injury).
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Amerisure has experimented with the AR/MR technology in remote locations (jobsites). Connectivity has been an issue that has prevented further exploration for the live interactive streaming. It works well in fixed locations where internet and phone connections are predictable and stable but is less effective in remote locations where it can bring tremendous value.
5G upgrades and sensor technologies will continue to improve access to reliable networks in remote locations.
Pricing for connectivity hardware in remote locations will continue to improve, making it more affordable for contractors.
2. Given the recent pandemic, many people do not want to wear VR headsets recently worn by others. This is improving and will continue to improve with advancements in cleaning, the waning of the pandemic and durability of the contact areas on the headsets.
3. Limited availability of “off the shelf” safety training modules and the cost to custom-build content. This is improving with the acceptance of VR training and the commitment of VR tech builders to building more safety experience content.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
When Amerisure started the testing of developed content, we used “technical safety experts” to test the VR content. Many of the testers (such as myself) were not “gamers” in the entertainment spectrum. It was a very slow go. We reached out to employees who were “gamers” in their personal lives to help understand how to learn the VR world and how to train others. This switch was a game-changer in getting our VR program into the market for our customers.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
Just as YouTube® has helped non-mechanics, non-contractors, etc. watch a video on how to repair, assemble, replace parts, or fix problems, the VR/AR/MR world can help the average “homeowner or car mechanic” perform the actual repair in the VR world so they can do it in the real world.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Nobody else will be as passionate as you are (and if they are, hire them). As fired up as you may be about your business, not everyone you work with will see it the same way. Even if you’re burning the midnight oil or working weekends, it doesn’t mean your agencies or contractors are. Frustrating, sure, but that’s just reality.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Tichnor.
Sam Tichnor grew up in a family of entrepreneurs outside of Boston. A CPG veteran, Sam spent most of his career working at Harry’s, the highly-disruptive men’s personal care brand. While at Harry’s, Sam had hands-on involvement with fundraising and strategic planning, in addition to projects ranging from retail launches, to in-house brand incubation as a member of Harry’s Labs, and more. By 2020, Sam felt that he had gained a sharp perspective on how to build a brand in the modern era. After roaming the snack aisle in his local grocery store, Sam’s idea for FFUPs was born. He noticed something was missing — a puffs brand that was not focused on health claims, with the flavor variety found in other snack categories. Sam has built FFUPs with the consumer in mind, as a groundbreaking snack brand with nostalgic and craveable flavors made for the junk-food connoisseur.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I grew up as the youngest of 3 in a small town outside of Boston. My dad was an entrepreneur and my mom was a teacher. I played sports (slightly above average at tennis, slightly below average at baseball) and was fairly active, but definitely loved junk food and fast food and knew that’s what I wanted to eventually do with my life from a young age. One of my earliest memories was when my grandparents gave me a share of McDonalds stock for my 5th birthday (a wild present for a 5 year old) and I thought it meant I needed to put on a suit and go work there the next day. To my friends, my basement was known as a snack paradise; I made sure we (aka my parents) kept in stock a variety of sodas, chips, puffs, cookies and everything in between. To this day, my friends still request my mom’s cookies whenever I’m back in town! In high school, I had a perfect system for leaving campus during lunch, going to Wendy’s or our local pizza spot and getting back in time before my next class. One of the benefits of growing up in a small town is that I had a tight knit group of childhood friends and in fact some of those guys were my earliest taste testers and investors! I’d like to think that FFUPs as a brand represents who I am as a person: really dependable but doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” — Sun Tzu. In life, I’ve found that taking a breath, planning, and executing against the plan always leads to more success than just jumping right in without a thought. If you don’t know what game you’re playing, it is really hard to win. That’s especially true with FFUPs. We’re taking a very contrarian brand position that consumers don’t actually want all of the “better-for-you” products being pushed their way. We knew we had an excellent product on our hands but in order to truly stand out and start on our way to becoming an iconic consumer brand, we had to really plan and think through the longer-term impact of early brand decisions.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
As mentioned in the quote above, “The Art of War” has had a meaningful impact on me — so much so that I actually re-read it once a year. It has taught be to be more grounded with how I approach every facet of my life, personally and professionally. Especially earlier in my career, when trying to figure out what my goals are and how to get there, this provided me with a great framework to think about how to get to where I knew I needed to go. And now with FFUPs, it helps me think through and uncover strategies to stand out from our competition.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
Starting a business is easier said than done. I think many people are afraid of failing and get caught up in the “what if I do this and it doesn’t work” mindset? I took the approach of “what if I do this, and it does work?” And then, put together a simple business model of what FFUPs could look like with success and worked backwards to figure out what I had to do to take that first step, which was leave a very comfortable corporate job (where I was already working on new brands) and strike it out on my own.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
To a certain extent, it doesn’t matter whether the idea is “new” or not. I like to think that every idea that could exist has already been thought of. There are two questions I ask in this situation: has anyone acted on it yet, and what would happen if I act on it?
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
The steps I felt were necessary to go from idea to concept were:
Talk to potential customers about what their actual needs were, both through interviews and a survey to validate that the product is solving a problem that actually exists.
Engage a branding agency or freelancer to bring the brand world to life.
Work with an experienced operator to identify what the supply chain should look like and conduct a manufacturer search. The ins and outs of manufacturing and finding suppliers can be challenging, and while there is a real cost to it, working with an expert who has done it before is a prudent investment.
Find a 3PL who can handle all of your logistics (you can do this yourself depending on you product).
Translate the brand world into a digital experience. This is your flagship store! Make sure it communicates exactly what you need your potential customers need to know.
Let people know you exist!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Everything takes longer and is more expensive than you think. As an entrepreneur, I’m wired to be cautiously optimistic about everything and always want to find more ways to do more with less. But the reality is not always the case — it took us an extra 4 months to launch because it was harder than anticipated to find the right manufacturing partner, which meant all of our ongoing expenses did not have any cash inflows from revenue to offset it.
Nobody else will be as passionate as you are (and if they are, hire them). As fired up as you may be about your business, not everyone you work with will see it the same way. Even if you’re burning the midnight oil or working weekends, it doesn’t mean your agencies or contractors are. Frustrating, sure, but that’s just reality.
Find a small group of advisors, and don’t listen to any other noise. I’ve been lucky to assemble a core group of diverse advisors with expertise in a variety of topics. They’ve helped serve as a north star when putting the brand together, especially with something as different as what we’re doing. I’ve had folks tell me that I need to rebrand, change the name, change the design, etc. but having that group of advisors to lean on to parse out what is signal and what is noise has been huge.
You’re going to be told no, all the time, by everyone. The constant rejection takes getting used to. When I was getting going, I figured raising money would be a piece of cake. I’m relatively smart, can present well and have put together what I believe is a compelling brand. But not everyone sees it that way. I’ve been told no, been ghosted, ignored, you name it. It takes time to build the resilience, but once you have it, the rest becomes easy.
Capture some memories! My only big regret is not documenting the journey as well as I could have. When my first hire, Alex, started, I included an onboarding session around the “history” of FFUPs. It was so awesome to have gone through the first year of business that I really wished I had captured all of it in real time.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Ask yourself: why doesn’t this already exist? Then, what would it take for it to exist? As you answer those questions, assess them against whether you would be the right person to make it happen. If you can’t answer the first question enough to dismiss the idea, and feel like you are well positioned to bring it into the world, then you’ve got yourself a concept to go develop.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
Unless you actually know what you’re doing, work with and learn from someone who has experience.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
It really depends what your business is, what sort of goals you have, and who you want to have aligned incentives with. Raising VC money sounds cool, but their business model is built on making a broad number of bets, and hoping a handful of them deliver the majority of their returns. So you have to be comfortable knowing you might be a failed bet. On the other hand, bootstrapping comes with challenges as well; if you are chronically under-capitalized, it is hard to build the brand perhaps in the way it needs to be built.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I don’t believe one needs to achieve “success” to make the world a better place. And we’re just getting started with FFUPs, so I wouldn’t necessarily agree that I’ve achieved success yet.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I am hopeful we can do that with FFUPs. We were founded on the premise that people are tired of the pressure our increasingly socially visible society puts on them to be perfect / healthy / correct about all things all the time and we embrace the imperfections in humanity. If you want to binge out on some junk food, go ahead! You deserve it! So what I would like everyone to do would be collectively take a deep breath, get off the internet or your phone, enjoy a tasty snack and just live your life, whatever that may be. We could call it the “eat snacks on the couch” movement.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Larry David. I couldn’t imagine a more entertaining person to break bread with. And I have a feeling he’d like the ethos of FFUPs.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Location, location, location is real. As I shared previously, if you’re going to sell at retail, you need to find a high-volume environment.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Brown.
A serial entrepreneur and CEO with four decades of results-driven leadership, Jason Brown transforms startups into multimillion-dollar companies doing business on the global stage.
From e-commerce to brick and mortar, Brown has pioneered omnichannel, direct-to-consumer strategies for some of the world’s leading brands, including Columbia Sportswear, Custom Nutrition Services, Organic To Go, and Persona, a dietary supplement company he sold to Nestlé Health Science two years post-launch.
Over the course of his 40 year career, he’s founded 9 companies and raised more than $200 million in public and private capital across multiple industries including apparel, health and wellness, fast-casual dining, retail food and more — often serving as chairman of the board in addition to his executive duties.
Along with managing thousands of employees and opening hundreds of retail locations, Brown has acquired and invested in over a dozen companies, recruited high-powered board members, introduced established American products to new overseas markets, and built efficient, vertically integrated supply chains to successfully scale operations.
Today, Brown is the Founder and CEO of Family Central, a new web and mobile app that connects, organizes and keeps families safe through life’s ups and downs.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I was born in 1957 and raised in Pittsburgh, PA in a traditional Jewish household. We were a family of entrepreneurship, long before the concept of entrepreneurship existed. My parents owned restaurants, a bar, a laundry mat and a package store in their lifetime. When I was 14 years old, we moved to Miami Beach and I graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. After graduation, I moved to Boulder, CO and started out at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I traveled to Mexico and discovered an incredible Mexican shirt — a jerga. I bought them for $2.50 apiece and brought them back to college. I sold them for $12.50, and they sold out in 5 days. That was the beginning of my first company, Cotton Comfort. I never went back to college and never looked back.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“People plan and God laughs.” This life lesson is always in my mind. Every time I come up with an idea, I hire the brightest people to help build the company. At the end, what I had planned in my mind is different than the final product or company that is built.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The book, “The One Minute Manager,” by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson, M.D. has made a significant impact on me as an entrepreneur. I weave its teachings into my leadership style and give a copy of the book to all employees, so there’s a mutual understanding of my leadership style up front and how I’d like them to incorporate some of the tips into their style too. This has worked well over the years to keep meetings tight and communication to-the-point, so team members can keep working toward our shared goals.
I also enjoy watching old videos of Steve Jobs talking about brand and brand development. What he shares in the 90s is still very much relevant today as companies clarify their brand and the emotion they want to have with their customers.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
One thing that’s been at the core of every company I created was passion. It’s incredibly important that your idea is also your passion because it will become a focus in your life. If you don’t have a passionate reason to build something, then you’ll run astray, and you’ll only be in it for the money. What’s more, companies need to be authentic. The creation of a company must be real and come from the team’s heart and soul.
Another idea is to bring in a team sooner rather than later. The faster you build a team, the better your company will be. Hire or ask people to work alongside you in the very earliest stages of development, and make sure these individuals are smarter than you in what they do, so — as a team — you can build out the idea.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
It doesn’t matter if your idea has already been created. Take Tesla for example. There are multiple car companies manufacturing hybrid and electric cars. It didn’t stop Elon Musk from disrupting the auto industry. It took someone with maniacal focus to build a company. So, take your idea and be passionate about it and make it the best it possibly can be — it will be the best that exists.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
First things first — hire a lawyer and make sure your URL/domain name is available. Once the name is secured and your URL is available, file for a trademark.
Next, put together a board of advisors that will help guide the company in the earliest stages of development.
In terms of manufacturing, always look to go to the source. You can’t create a successful product unless you are as close to vertically integrated as you can be. However, in the early stages, it doesn’t matter how much it costs to manufacture the product. I’ve taken a cue from, Les Wexler, founder of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (formerly Limited Brands). If you see a dress and think it’s going to sell, buy as many as you can at retail price. Add them to your store at the price you can manufacturer them to see how fast they sell. If they sell immediately, you know you can manufacture them in volume and make a profit.
Location, location, location is a real part of retail. If you build it, they will come isn’t true. You need to put it in the way of customers. Digitally, if you’re going to sell a product — Amazon is most likely the channel of distribution. If you’re going to sell at retail, you need to find a high-volume environment.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Growth consumes cash. Entrepreneurs always think when they sell more, they’ll have more cash flow. But, what happens is that they have to buy more in advance and the lead time of manufacturing gets greater, so they end up needing more cash to service that growth. This has happened at every company I’ve started.
Agencies are better at selling than they are at implementing, most of the time. When I was building my last company, I thought I could create an agency strategy instead of hiring people with specific expertise we needed. Because the world was changing so fast, I felt we’d benefit from an agency model because we could lean into the learnings the agency had from other clients. I held an in-person strategy session to get everyone to work together. But, when they went back to their agencies, they were pulled in many directions. Their collaboration fizzled, and we didn’t get the output we needed from the time spent together.
Hire good people early rather than waiting until you need them. 1+1=3. When you hire someone, you trust and you can have an informed conversation based their professional expertise. I can add value to what they’re sharing, and I can learn from them. In the end, they are better at their jobs, and I have a better company because I hired someone earlier.
Always have a gross profit margin greater than 65% so you can spend the money on marketing. If you don’t make a material gross profit margin, you’re not going to make it up in the end. You’ll still have cashflow issues, marketing issues, and so it’s best to sell highest value possible, but with a material gross profit margin from the start. As your volume increases, other costs will go up, not down, so you want the dry powder necessary to grow the company geometrically.
Location, location, location is real. As I shared previously, if you’re going to sell at retail, you need to find a high-volume environment.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
The very first step should be a quiet trip alone for 1–5 days to really think about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re going to implement the idea. You need time to visualize success. Then, surround yourself with the best people possible to help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of what you’re doing.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
Try to strike out on your own. If a consultant was capable of starting a company by themselves, they’d do it. You need to be able to think it through as your product and your invention.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
In my opinion, you must bootstrap your idea in the beginning. This will control the energy around your idea. Raising money from friends and family will allow you to put your own energy into your product and brand. Once you have this piece figured out and you’re looking for growth capital, then align with VCs. VCs bring support, ideas, and people along with money — and you need both!
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
There’s always an intentional philanthropic component to every company I started — from helping people with disabilities ski, helping women and children who experience trauma, and supporting an organization that provided critical nutrition women and children in early life throughout developing countries.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Find a way to help men and women who are disadvantaged to have better services and support mechanisms for their families to live happier lives.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
McKenzie Scott and her husband, Dan Jewett. I’d love to explore ways to make my latest startup, Family Central, available to families at all income levels. The new web and mobile app reduces chaos and stress in a family’s life so they can focus on what really matters — Family time.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Makers of The Metaverse: Vishal Shah Of Lenovo On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Good timing — This industry will grow and change significantly in the next couple of decades. Unfortunately, quality solutions could come too early or too late as adoption rates for the technologies fluctuate. Stay as vigilant and nimble as possible.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewingVishal Shah.
As Lenovo’s GM of XR and Metaverse, Vishal Shah leads the ThinkReality solutions team. Vishal leads Lenovo’s XR and Metaverse practices and is responsible for building and managing strong cross-functional teams for holistic product management, operations, and sales. Vishal has a 20+ year track record of successfully conceptualizing and launching consumer electronics products, software solutions, and cloud services in the mobile industry.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
Mine is a typical first-generation immigrant story. Growing up in India, I was always in awe of the great melting pot that the United States was and a true “land of opportunity.” I admired its great university system and how it prepared you for global roles. During the time I grew up in India, computers and PCs were rare, hard to afford, and restricted to large corporations. My first experience with a PC was in the early 1990s at a close family friends house, when they called me over to install it for them. Needless to say, I was instantly enamored with the potential of what it could do, and after installing Windows for the first time (from DOS), realized the power and potential of the “user interface” in technology. I virtually moved into their house and spent just about every waking hour out of college in front of that PC, to the extent that they thought I had been disowned by my family. After my Bachelor’s in Computer Science from India, I came to the Pennsylvania State University for Master’s in Computer Science, during the early days of the Mobile Communication and Internet 1.0 innovation cycle.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
After my Masters, my first job was at Motorola where I took a Dale Carnegie course. As part of the course, we read How to Win Friends and Influence People. I was blown away by the simplicity of its timeless yet important principles. As a manager, I made the course and book an essential part of the new employee on-boarding curriculum, and to this day I have colleagues thank because the book helped them both professionally and in their personal life. More recently, I was really touched and inspired by Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, which chronicles the grit of Trevor, and the support from his mother, as he navigated the worst elements of apartheid South Africa to become one of the most successful comedians and TV personalities in the world.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
I had read Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, where the term “Metaverse” was first coined at an early stage in my career and thought it was fascinating but a little far-fetched. However, when I got to experience the Oculus VR device after it was acquired by Facebook, I was blown away. At the same time, I had a chance to see Qualcomm’s Vuforia platform developed for phone and tablet-based 3D AR rendering and crafty devices like Google Carboard. I was convinced that XR is the “visual interface” of the future. The computer industry has been restricted to the 2D rectangular space for decades now, and I saw XR as the means for it to evolve into a true 3D, immersive and infinite environment.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
My most interesting story is a personal one. I am blessed to have a 95-year-old grandfather who still loves to drive, travel and see the world. During the Covid 19 lockdowns, I had him experience various tourist sites and experiences on VR headsets and he was blown away at how realistic the experience was and that it transported him there. The other areas where I have seen XR have a huge impact are in mental/physical health, rehabilitation, and K-12 education. XR and the Metaverse can truly be the “great equalizer” when it comes to impact on health and education.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I don’t know if it is a funny mistake, but nevertheless, during the early parts of my career when I was launching AR headsets and solutions in 2014, there were a lot of lessons learned. One big mistake we made was being too early and ahead of the curve. Although our products were world-class and groundbreaking, not having the component supply chain and partners being able to scale at the same pace was a major reason for some of the failures in the early days of the XR journey for a lot of founders and innovators.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I will be forever grateful to my parents who have supported me to get the best education and opportunities with the limited means they had. To this day, their support and encouragement is a major pillar in my endurance system. Professionally, I have stood on the shoulders of some fantastic managers and mentors. Most recently, I am grateful to the senior management at Lenovo for the opportunity to lead the XR business unit for them and build the roadmap for our enterprise metaverse solutions. Last but not least, I am supported by a talented team that challenges and motivates me to do my best each day.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I lead the ThinkReality business unit at Lenovo. ThinkReality is our portfolio of solutions for commercial AR/VR. Lenovo’s ThinkReality platform is making it easier for enterprise customers to scale into the enterprise Metaverse — virtual platforms where work is enhanced by spatial computing. ThinkReality is among the first truly device and cloud agnostic AR/VR software platforms to enable commercial customers to build, deploy, and manage applications and content on a global scale, with global support. ThinkReality XR Services provide vendor agnostic, end-to-end, white-glove services to help customers plan, deploy and scale XR solutions. ThinkReality also offers a growing portfolio of XR devices, including the award-winning ThinkReality A3, the most versatile smart glasses ever made for the enterprise and the Lenovo Mirage VR S3 headset, built for the workplace and designed for comfortable use throughout a busy day.
The use cases for AR and VR in the enterprise are varied and have proven ROI. The three most common use cases for AR are Remote Expert — which is having and expert viewing what a worker sees through the glasses and assists in guiding tasks, Workflow — having automated guidance on tasks appear in the wearer’s field of view, and Visualization — users can view and work with 3D models or ‘digital twins’.
Because of the immediacy and fidelity of new digital tools experienced through AR/VR devices, workforces will barely be constrained by time and space. The ability to create and work in 3D environments will amplify collaboration and accelerate productivity.
Thank you for all that! Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
The convergence of technologies and the vision of the Metaverse, 5G technologies, and the impact XR solutions will have on the enterprise market all excite me.
The convergence of technologies, from computing power and optics to haptic interfaces and 3D content, is very exciting; we now have a more complete vision of what this will mean for businesses, users and creators. The Metaverse is a future state of technology where 3D data is easily created and universally readable, resulting in 3D applications as the norm for business processes, productivity, and entertainment.
5G enabled devices have a bright future as the Metaverse for the enterprise continues to develop. Enterprise 5G scenarios are increasingly common now while universal 5G coverage remains on the horizon. Use cases include the ability to quickly and seamlessly push content, as well as deliver location experiences regardless of Wi-Fi connectivity. This is very useful for the enterprise managing global device fleets and applications for its employees and customers. Lenovo is developing new 5G technologies to enhance AR and VR experiences, including a wearable ‘neckband’ smart phone and 5G ready PCs.
And finally, I’m excited about AR and VR’s impact on workers. A good example is in the manufacturing sector. Deloitte recently predicted U.S. manufacturing is expected to have 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. This shortfall is a result of several trends, including retiring ‘baby boomers’ and the loss of skilled workers in the sector. VR is incredibly efficient in training workers because of its inclusive nature, and AR enhances workers’ skill levels by providing access in digital information hands free to help complete tasks. These technologies hold abundant potential for closing the skills gap and increasing opportunities for workers and their employers.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
The three things that concern me all have to do with this being a young industry and the inevitable growing pains that come with that. They are: Awareness and Understanding, Interoperability, Privacy and Data Security.
The first concern is awareness and understanding about the capabilities and ROI of XR technologies. There are still a lot of customers in the market that don’t realize how AR and VR can improve worker’s performance and enhance efficiency. I’d urge any C-suite executive or IT decision maker to start reaching out to solutions providers, start taking meetings and begin their journey into the Metaverse sooner rather than later. There is a steep learning curve with the technology, and every organization has their own specific needs that are likely to grow over time. The sooner you start the sooner you can make progress.
The second is interoperability. The ability to unify economies, 3D assets like avatars, and systems across platforms should be a defining characteristic of the Metaverse. There are significant engineering, business and design challenges to achieving this vision. It will take a lot of industry coordination and cooperation to make this happen. Some firms will push for ‘walled gardens’, gated solution in which only their cloud services, hardware or property apps will be used. This is probably unavoidable. However, if that becomes the norm, and the industry fails to build common ground for the Metaverse, we’ll never achieve some of the fantastic experiences the Metaverse could offer.
And last is safety and security. In the rush to building and commercializing the Metaverse, there’s a risk bad and irresponsible actors will create distrust amongst users by failing to secure data or misusing it. We have several very clear examples of this happening from the history of the development of the Internet. With the advent of the Metaverse we have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and do much better.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
This is a great question, technologies and use cases previously thought as primarily being applicable to entertainment are increasingly crossing over to the business world. For example, the 3D graphic engines used to create video games are also being used to create virtual spaces for meetings and retail, because of this we can expect to see a lot more social and business collaboration and better experiences in the Metaverse.
What we are also seeing with the growing use of AR/VR in the enterprises is the gamification of training and learning. For example, you can virtually place workers in scenarios like dealing with difficult customers or responding to a hazardous industrial accident and let them ‘play’ through the situation and score their responses. The immersive nature of these experiences makes them more memorable and instructive. Also, because they are held on digital platforms more data can be captured and analyzed, i.e., many participants made mistakes in the same area, teams and personnel with particular backgrounds have faster response times, etc. That is very useful.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
Smarter technology can absolutely improve people’s lives. I’ve already mentioned some of the impact on workers, but other fields like education and healthcare are already benefiting. VR learning is a wonderful opportunity for children to ‘see’ and experience abstract concepts in math and science. For example, it’s much more engaging and memorable to walk through a pyramid or sphere to learn geometry. And if you want to understand photosynthesis or how a human heart works, a virtual tour of a plant or the body’s circulatory system provides students with memorable visual lessons. AR has a place too in education, for example, trade schools can improve their lessons with hands-on experience learning about and repairing machinery of all kinds with instructor feedback or automated workflow guidance.
In healthcare, VR has been used for a wide variety of treatments, including pain management and recovering from PTSD. And AR is being used to extend the reach of physicians by connecting them with first responders attending patients onsite so doctors can see what EMT crews are seeing and consult on how to treat them — an excellent way to enhance physician productivity when we have shortages of qualified practitioners.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
One myth that I would very much like to dispel is that either hardware or software by itself will determine which firms attain a leadership position in the new XR industry. If you read a lot of popular media, the leading discourse is about which AR or VR headset maker is going to reign supreme and capture the market, or which platform is going to be the most desirable real-estate in the Metaverse. I believe people are thinking about this the wrong way. In the Enterprise Metaverse, where business uses XR technologies to improve operations or create new services, it will be the sum benefit of hardware, software and services that will matter the most. Customers are looking for technology partners that can help them build and scale into the Metaverse with an end-to-end solution.
This is a very young industry, and the enterprise use cases are the cutting edge where innovation is occurring, and ROI is being achieved. The consumer sector will follow. This is similar to the early days of the PC market. There was a small group of hobbyists and tech aficionados that bought PCs in the 70s and early 80s, but it wasn’t until PCs became ubiquitous in offices that consumers decided to put them in their homes. The same is true here, and businesses don’t buy new technology solutions off the shelf, they get them from large, experienced firms with a track record of innovation, success and great service.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Because it is such a new field with enormous potential for growth and impact, if you obtain these five attributes, I’m confident you’ll have a successful career in the XR industries.
In-depth knowledge of the tech — The Metaverse will be the culmination of Web 3.0 and immersive computing technologies; haptics, lidar, optical sensors, AI, 5G and blockchain are just some of the technologies that are going to be combined to create new experiences and business models. Having a good handle of how these technologies are developing, covering and being leveraged is the foundation for seeing opportunities and building successful products or strategies.
Vision — It’s difficult to get somewhere if you don’t have a clear vision of where you are going. After you understand the relevant technology start building and testing models for the future of the market. Ask yourself questions like which kinds of workers will benefit most from AR or VR solutions, what are their use cases and specific requirements, etc.
Customer-centric mindset — As you start building your models about the future of the industry, NEVER lose sight of the fact you only win if the customer wins. It’s all about the customer, how do you design solutions for better price, comfort, durability, security and scalability? What services will customers need? How are competitors failing to meet these needs and why?
Network — XR solutions are highly complex, they can’t be built alone. Having good relations with the wide variety of software and hardware vendors that you’ll need to make your product come to market and evolve is critical.
Good timing — This industry will grow and change significantly in the next couple of decades. Unfortunately, quality solutions could come too early or too late as adoption rates for the technologies fluctuate. Stay as vigilant and nimble as possible.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
When you read books like Ready Player One and Snow Crash, the worlds they are set in are unhappy places and the OASIS or Metaverse is primarily a means of escape from a bad reality, rather than technology that improves human society. I think AR/VR technologies have a tremendous potential for good. They can help create more influence and empathy for worthwhile causes. They can help alleviate symptoms and achieve better health, and so on. I’d like to see more young people look at AR/VR and what the Metaverse could be and ask themselves, how can I make the world better with this opportunity?
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I am an avid fan of your column and a regular reader. I thank you for the opportunity to share my experiences and journey. Coming back to your question, I would love to have a breakfast/lunch with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. I am a big fan of his leadership style, and how he transformed Microsoft into the trillion-dollar market-cap league and primed to grow even further.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
No matter how hectic and stressful life is, if you have a clear conscious view of your decisions and have peace within, it helps to get through difficult things. The chaos of Burning Man and finding peaceful consciousness within that was a big learning lesson for me.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Timothy Lewis, Co-Founder of Tea, a company building the first open source software platform on the blockchain. Tea launched in 2022 with $8 million in seed funding led by Binance Labs, the venture capital and innovation incubator of Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I’ve been consulting as an engineer since I was 14 years old for clients including Fimat financial, Calyon Financial, NewEdge, Northern Trust, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and Kaiser Permanente. I switched over to primarily working on Blockchain Development in 2015 and have been involved in that area ever since. I founded Ikigai Asset Management in 2018, an L/S hedge fund now managing over 200 million. Then, in early 2020, I founded DEVxDAO, a non-profit that provides grants to build cohesion and longevity in decentralized systems. This year, I’ve teamed up with Max Howell, the founder of the open-source software package management system Homebrew, to fix how open source is funded by creating our company, Tea.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Web 2.0 accrued fortunes on the backs of free labor by unpaid open source volunteers. web3 has the power to change this. Software wants to be free, but programmers need to be compensated. Through the use of the blockchain and crypto, Tea has the potential to introduce new paradigms that allow open source compensation without direct payment. The platform can solve a core problem for the open-source software development community by utilizing the critical value proposition of decentralized token economies. We’re bringing the creator economy to open source. Our vision is to fix how open source is funded and create the tools that will accelerate its creation for the benefit of all humanity.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
Scott Morris, one of the world’s best infrastructure engineers, helped me hugely when I was young. We met through Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a communication forum that was thriving in the early to mid-90s. He shared expensive gear, like optical routers and optical switches, with me when I was a kid. I wouldn’t have had access to that in my bedroom on the farm without him.
Brian McGahan is a great educator on routing protocols and I’ve used his educational materials often.
Later in my life, Scott Walker introduced me to the world of cryptocurrency and where the crypto/blockchain market was headed, which significantly shaped my career and the creation of my current company, Tea.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
The one constant in life is change. One industry’s destruction is another’s creation. Disruption for the sake of disruption isn’t great, but if it’s an evolution in the ability for people to use a system in a better way, it should be expected and appreciated. From a technology perspective, things have always changed. Every generation has torn down and built new possibilities, but now the potential for technology is cycling much faster than ever before because we have a more interconnected humanity. As more intelligence is understood, the better the tools we’ll create will improve.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Captain Bernardo Herzer has 70-something patents and circumnavigated the globe multiple times. He advised: No moving parts on anything you’re building. I’ve built both physical products and software and have come to understand that creating something software-based in this day and age has the power to impact the world at a much faster pace.
Another piece of advice that I live by is to travel the world. By traveling, you can see different perspectives and integrate within the communities where you travel.
Also, don’t expect others to meet you at your viewpoint. Instead, try to understand why other communities have come to their views in their corner of the world.
Buddha’s quote, “Peace comes from within,” is another great and beautiful thing to live by.
No matter how hectic and stressful life is, if you have a clear conscious view of your decisions and have peace within, it helps to get through difficult things. The chaos of Burning Man and finding peaceful consciousness within that was a big learning lesson for me.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Our recent funding is being used to hire additional resources to continue work on the protocol, software, and community development. Tea will have unique, first-of-its-kind features like our blockchain remuneration component, token governance, security application, and decentralized distribution of packages.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman is a fantastic book. If a starfish loses a limb, that severed limb can create an entirely new starfish. The book explores how so-called ‘starfish’ organizations are changing the world. It explains decentralization in a great way and explores how other organizations with decentralized governance in history have succeeded.
I also really appreciated The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff and E. H. Shepard. Pooh is such a lovable character and a fun, accessible way to explore the ancient principles of Taoism. When I was younger, IQ was stressed instead of EQ, and this book laid out a much more impactful understanding of emotional intelligence.
And lastly, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I liked the author’s approach and the way he connected the understanding that if you want to strive for more in life, you have to be open to speaking with people who have more in life. It’s essential to be creative in how you see and imagine yourself; if you can imagine yourself in a way, you can be that way.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I don’t ascribe to any overarching quote that summarizes direction in life. Listen to those who love you. Love with an open heart. Hope. Believe. Continue to move forward. Rinse. Repeat. Do it again.
Meet The Disruptors: Brian Duncan Of HungerRush On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Prioritizing treating your team members with respect, responding promptly, and helping them when they least expect it creates a culture of compassion that will shine through to all your customers.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Duncan.
Brian Duncan is an experienced business development and sales leader with more than twelve years of leadership experience in strategy, director, and consultative selling roles. He specializes in SaaS sales for startups and Fortune 1000 companies, team building, sales strategy, C-level negotiations, and new business development.
HungerRush is driving the transition from the POS terminal of the past to the integrated POS system of the future. They call it the HungerRush 360 Restaurant Experience, making possible a 360-degree view of everything a restaurant needs to succeed, from the guests served to the operations and employees serving them. HungerRush can be found online at HungerRush.com
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this career path?
As a Civil Engineering major at Purdue, I already knew that hospitality was a specialty I wanted to be involved in. I’ve worked with a variety of companies since that time, including Hilton Hotels and Revolution Foods. In 2015, I founded Chowly, a POS company that integrated directly with third-party delivery platforms. Joining HungerRush in April 2020 as Director of Business Development gave me an incredible experience to leverage my knowledge in technology and hospitality. I’ve been committed to making a significant impact here in both growth and sales.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
HungerRush is really disrupting the way that restaurant franchises grow, scale, and satisfy our customers. The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to restaurants, and many are still trying to level out with a new normal of technology. Additionally, the onslaught of apps available to restaurants makes it overwhelming to make smart decisions. Add to that the challenge that many of these apps for ordering are often laser focused on meeting the needs of chain and larger restaurants, leaving the smaller restaurants behind. HungerRush is advocating and leading restaurants into a new world focused on multi-channel ordering that fits with changing consumer needs.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think the funniest mistake I have made was, at a young age, I accidentally hit “reply all” for an internal networking event which copied over 300 external clients. Unfortunately, about 100 additional guests showed up and we spent nearly ten times our budget, but ultimately strengthened some relationships and even signed new business. I guess the lesson learned is never to underestimate the importance of relationship building and more importantly a good happy hour!
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
There have been a few mentors along the way that I believe have helped mold me into the person I am today. The first people I must mention are my father and brother; each of whom challenged me to excel in all aspects of life and to never settle. They taught me there is no substitute for hard work.
I also learned how to lead from Mike Pitcher, former CEO of LeasePlan USA. During his time at LeasePlan, Mike helped our company to reach unforeseen revenue goals and ushered in expansions into new territories. But the one thing I took away from my time working under him was not about how he grew the company, but how he knew every one of his 400 employees’ names and never missed an employee’s special occasion or funeral. He made time to introduce 24-year-old me to global executives and include me in corporate meetings, opening my eyes to what’s possible.
What I have learned from the people mentioned above is that good leaders and good businesspeople are synonymous with successful companies.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disruptive is almost always a good thing. Change can be uncomfortable, but if you’re not changing, you’re not growing. That being said, sometimes technology or business process that withstands the test of time is the definition of disruptive. The key is to maintain an appetite for change and growth and build that into the fabric of your business model.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
There is no more important customer than the internal ones you work with every day.
Prioritizing treating your team members with respect, responding promptly, and helping them when they least expect it creates a culture of compassion that will shine through to all your customers.
One person can be a crucial ingredient to a team, but one person cannot make a team.
Any company or person can grow without collaboration or skill alone, but I never saw real exponential growth until I embraced working with other organizations and team members.
Goals must never come from ego alone, but from problems that cry for a solution.
Past companies that I created eventually became lucrative but that was never the goal. Understanding the pain felt by a large portion of a business segment and providing a cost effective and easy to implement solution, was what drove business.
Build for what you think you’re going to need not for what you have.
I have worked with developers across the board but the ones who have helped the company grow the most have the foresight to build products that are easily adaptable and ready to scale. With the speed at which tech moves if you build for what you need today you will always be a step behind.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
At its core, my role as Director of Business Development is to bring growth to HungerRush. The restaurant industry is constantly innovating, and it’s important to not only strive for big brands, but also work to keep current customers happy and give them the same opportunities for innovation as larger new brands. In order to grow our business, my role also requires that I’m in the know on our product development and innovation. On the technology side, our development team is always looking to leverage innovation in our offerings. That’s why we acquired OrderAI, and now have our OrderAI Text feature, which for example, Jet’s has rolled out. Since adopting the OrderAI Text feature, Jet’s Pizza has fulfilled 2 million text orders, tripling digital sales. That’s what we’re ultimately trying to do- help businesses optimize their full potential.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
The First 90 Days by J.D. Meir
At this point in my career, I take roles that have lofty financial growth goals but provide me with little training and I often have no roadmap of how to get there. My goal is to get up to speed as fast as possible so that I can provide an immediate impact and help the company scale in a short amount of time. The First 90 Days provides a roadmap on how to succeed in this exact environment. It does not just provide a high-level theory but lays out detailed plans on how to promote yourself within the business, have early wins, and even anticipate potential pitfalls.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Family comes first!
Putting my family and close friends first has helped me to excel in my personal and professional career further than I ever thought possible.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Promote diversity!
Hire people that you would never socialize with, promote people who are from the opposite background as yours, and grow with people from a completely different industry. I truly believe that our strengths come from our differences allowing us to look at problems from a unique angle. Diversity in thought, gender, ethnicity, and age will provide light to navigate in a corporate world while companies made up of similar minds can only see what is directly in front of them.
Makers of The Metaverse: Matt Venables and Jeremy Smith, Creators of Genzeroes On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
… Be okay with making mistakes. It’s going to happen, so just learn from them and keep moving.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, we had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Venables and Jeremy Smith.
Jeremy and Matt discovered their mutual love of film and music in film school and have been creatively joined at the hip ever since. Founding an independent music video production company shortly after graduating, they cut their filmmaking teeth creating and directing videos in multiple genres. With their undeniable passion for writing, their hard work found fruition when they landed writing gigs on the award winning and critically acclaimed time travel series CONTINUUM. It was here they served as writer/producers for the four-season run of the series before killing vampires on the SYFY/Netflix series VAN HELSING, where they wrote and Co-Executive Produced for its five-season run. In that time, they have received three Leo Award nominations for Best Writing (Van Helsing, ReBoot) with one win for Van Helsing. They also won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Digital Media Campaign (Continuum).
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?
Matt — I grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta. After graduating from high school I moved to British Columbia and worked in record stores and the majority of my life at that time revolved around music and movies. After living there for a few years I decided to attend film school and that is where I met Jeremy. We instantly connected over our love of music and movies and have been a team ever since.
Jeremy — I was born in Barrie Ontario and moved to BC in my teens. I always wanted to make movies and TV, but thought it was so out of reach. I wandered through dead- end jobs trying to find something that inspired me. One day I just said, “screw it” and enrolled in film school where I met Matt. 23 years later we’re still doing what we love and haven’t killed each other. It’s pretty amazing.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Matt — The first book I read and could see the film version in my head (this was pre-film school) was Perfume by Patrick Suskind. I still to this day know the film version of that book that I want to make.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in entertainment and now the metaverse?
Jeremy — The HBO Series Six Feet Under completely changed my perspective on what television could be. No other series inspired me the way it did. It set me on a path to want to write stories and create characters for TV.
Matt — It isn’t a story but a suggestion. In high school I always wanted to make skits for my projects, one day I was stopped by a teacher in the hall and she asked me if I had ever thought about going to film school. The world of Film and TV felt so far from my universe that I said no, but the seed was planted and here I am today. Thank you Mrs. Rohovie.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this journey?
Matt — I was lucky enough to have my Dad come to set and watch something that I wrote get shot. It was a proud moment for me, and I know a proud moment for him.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Matt — I don’t think it’s necessarily a funny story but in our first writer’s room I was the writer’s room assistant and Jeremy was the Script Coordinator. We were told not to speak unless asked to. So one day I had a couple ideas and I emailed them to one of the writers. He proceeded to pitch them as his own. This taught me to use your voice and it’s important to be involved even if you’re at the bottom.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Jeremy — There are so many people we could name, but Simon Barry has to top that list. He gave us our first job as writers on his first series, CONTINUUM. It was a big gamble for him to do that. He saw something in us, believed in us and is a big part of why we are where we’re at today.
Matt — You don’t get to this point without many people helping and believing in you. If I had to choose one it would be JP Finn. He taught me a lot about the production side of film making and how to troubleshoot difficult situations. He also taught me that the majority of the heavy lifting is done in prep. A strong prep will help the shoot go smoothly.
Tell us about GenZeroes? How do you think that will help people?
Jeremy — We always wanted to make a high-concept sci-fi story that was both thought provoking and fun escapism. GenZeroes creates this “what if” future for humankind that allows us to explore unique perspectives on how the human race should proceed after an apocalyptic event. Being able to play with all these varying philosophies that are at odds with each other mirrors what is going on in our world today, but then we give the audience an action adventure component with dazzling effects and cool tech to kind of take the edge off.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
The over commercialization of Web3. You see it already, and if it happens too swiftly, it can suck the fun out of it really quickly. There is no way to really stop it from happening, so just try to weed through the tripe and you will find some truly awesome organic experiences.
Educating people about it. How do you make things accessible and user friendly for everyone? Right now you need to have some level of tech savvy to navigate it.
Keeping your community engaged. It’s a very interactive industry and maintaining the dialogue with everyone is important. We’ve used engaging the community to help in decision making has helped. If you give them ownership in the process, it becomes theirs and creates greater loyalty.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
Jeremy — Small businesses will be able to participate in things that may have previously been out of reach. Seminars, conferences, training opportunities, they will now all come to you, saving massive amounts of time and money.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
Jeremy — Commuting is going to become a thing of the past, and that’s pretty exciting for a lot of people. Imagine not having to deal with a 30 minute or hour-long commute to and from work, appointments, etc. This time will then become yours to out toward things you love, your family, hobbies, side hustles. It’s going to change people’s lives in a positive way.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
Jeremy — All NFTs are ponzi schemes. Some are, absolutely, but to write off an entire new technology and cultural groundswell because a few grifters got some ink after scamming people is pretty ignorant. Wait till I tell you about banks.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
Jeremy — You definitely need to be adventurous. It’s such a new industry with no real template on anything. Many are making up the rules as they go, so you really need to have a trailblazer attitude.
A thick skin will do you well. There are a lot of naysayers whenever it comes to anything new, especially tech that threatens the status quo.
Be okay with making mistakes. It’s going to happen, so just learn from them and keep moving.
Collaboration is hugely advantageous. Find likeminded partners that you can help and that can help you. Strategic alliances will only make you stronger.
Matt — You have to be malleable; this space is evolving so fast you need to be able to adjust on the fly.
Believe in the product you’re creating, if you don’t fully believe in it you’re setting yourself up for failure.
You are both people of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
With the implementation of VR, AR, and MR, access to free education and training can offer opportunities for advancement previously unattainable for many across the globe.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Jeremy/Matt — Mark Hamill. Beyond the obvious Star Wars fan-boying, he just seems like a super nice guy. We would probably annoy the hell out of him with all the pitches we would throw at him. Getting to work with him would definitely be a career highlight.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Agile Businesses: Hannah Moyo Of The Storytellers On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Ground your teams with a strong purpose and inspire them in your vision. We use stories to help people connect with this. We also use stories as proof points to help people envision the future they want to create.
As part of my series about the “How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah Moyo.
As Head of Consulting at business transformation consultancy The Storytellers, Hannah is committed to truly understanding the needs of their global client base and working with the organization’s interdisciplinary team to tailor impactful transformation programmes centered around their unique, story-driven methodology. She has designed and delivered a number of large programmes with clients including National Instruments, British Airways, Santander UK, Bank of England and Experian.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
The fast-paced world of technology has always interested me. Whilst studying Business Management at the University of Surrey in the UK, I took a year out to work as a Financial Analyst at Hewlett Packard — this really got me hooked. During the placement, I quickly came to understand how important it was to make meaning from data and how to turn information into a compelling story for leaders to make critical business decisions.
After graduating, I moved to London to take up a graduate position at IT services company Capgemini. The experience I gained from working on various transformation and implementation projects — both in the public and private sectors — inspired me to focus more on the human side of technology-driven change.
I loved the experience of helping people to make the most out of the technology and systems we were introducing. Looking back, those four and a half years at Capgemini really did lay strong foundations for my future career in Consulting.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
When I first entered the workplace, simply because I am a woman, I was convinced it was business critical that I wear heels every hour of every day at work. I was worried I would be seen as less important, less corporate and my role less valued if I didn’t.
I specifically remember finishing one client meeting barely able to walk — all thanks to the worst blister I have ever had, caused by a new pair of heels I felt compelled to wear! I find it funny now, because I can’t believe how at the time I just accepted the pain of commuting and walking to the canteen or washroom in heels.
Eventually, I realised that I was just as important to the business if I wore a pair of flats too! Today, whilst I still like to wear heels from time to time, I focus more on how I use my voice, words and actions to own a room.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
During my time at Capgemini, my mentor set me a goal to publish a social media post to my professional network at least weekly, and ideally daily, to create a habit. I hated doing it to begin with and didn’t see the point… that was until I began to see the results of my efforts.
People started liking my posts, and it really helped me to engage with our clients beyond the usual business channels of meetings, emails and face-to-face networking. It even helped us to land new business — just by posting and making a habit of it. It taught me that even making tiny changes to the way you do things can lead to incredible results.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
At The Storytellers, we move people to do great things. This purpose has guided us through double digit growth and has recently led to our best revenue results ever since we were established nearly 20 years ago. It underpins everything we do and helps us to talk about the powerful role storytelling can play in helping our clients thrive and deliver extraordinary performance.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?
The Storytellers are business transformation specialists. Through a unique combination of consultative strategy and award-winning creativity — including creative campaigns, events and leadership coaching — we use the power of storytelling to activate extraordinary performance for our clients. For businesses navigating change, or looking to stay relevant and maintain competitive advantage, our programmes help to rapidly change mindsets and shift behaviours throughout an organization. To date we’ve worked with over 200 large, and often complex, global organizations.
Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?
Live and immersive events play an important role in our integrated storytelling programmes, and in the last two years, the rapid shift to virtual and hybrid event delivery has required us to pivot quickly to stay one step ahead of our client’s needs.
From the moment the pandemic hit, the questions our clients asked became all too familiar; How do we engage over 400 people on a call and still make it interactive? How do we get 20,000 people to understand and engage with our strategy when everyone is working from home?
Humans are social animals. Interacting as a group or a ‘tribe’ is a fundamental need we have for our sense of wellbeing, and to enable us to make sense of the world and what is going on around us. Events that bring people together — even if online — provide an opportunity to build a sense of community — a space for leaders to open themselves up to those around them and hear their colleagues’ voices.
At a time of social distancing and remote working, organizational connectivity was essential. We also needed to equip the senior leaders of our client organizations with the right tools and knowledge to keep their teams engaged and motivated throughout this unprecedented period of uncertainty.
What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?
Firstly, we brought together the experience within all our teams — from Consultants and Programme Managers to Strategic Writers, Creatives and Producers — to collaborate on how we create new story-driven approaches to event delivery. One of the new platforms we created was StoryLive, a live, virtual event solution that has enabled us to engage audiences of over 4,000 people through a combination of broadcast, CGI, webinar style content, data capture and interactive technology. It enabled us to provide alternative ways to evoke similar levels of unrivalled emotional connection and immersion that matched, and often exceeded, the in-person elements of our business storytelling programmes.
Was there a specific “Aha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path? If yes, we’d love to hear the story.
Although we have created and hosted virtual gatherings and experiences for our clients for many years, I think the real ‘Aha moment’ came when we realized that hybrid delivery was going to be our future and this gap in the market needed to be filled. Establishing a new blend of physical and virtual environments marked a new beginning for us in terms of how we inspire and continue to engage people in the new hybrid world in which we all live and work.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
Extremely well. After launching StoryLive we continued to research and innovate in this space. In the last six months we have undertaken multiple events engaging leadership teams and colleagues in new territories and are seeing success in international expansion, especially within the US. Through all this, I am incredibly grateful to our team. We have an amazing group of people who work together to make the magic happen — there’s no way we would be where we are without them.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?
Despite this being a period of incredible growth, perhaps the most interesting part is that we’ve not always focused too heavily on the numbers. Of course, you still need them to track progress. However, a crucial part of our journey has been to build a strong purpose-led organization together, where everyone is given more individual accountability, and through teamwork and clear direction — we are all pulling in the same direction. This has allowed us to explore these new markets, develop our product proposition and grow the team to take on even more high-profile clients. In turn this has led to commercial success.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
Keep your people with you. You may not have all of the answers — but that’s ok. Bring your teams together, have conversations and talk openly about your concerns and challenges. Create a safe space for challenge and to fail and take risks. You can successfully navigate the challenge with your teams if you keep talking and focus the conversation on your purpose, values and vision to help guide you even in the most uncertain of times.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
Sharing stories is a brilliant way to boost morale and engagement within teams. Small stories provide proof-points that create belief in a common purpose, foster creativity and evoke passion. Collaborative storytelling is a way to make sense of the world we live in and create communities who will support each other. During even the toughest of situations, when people share stories about what they’ve achieved or even how they’ve struggled, not only will this help your team to connect on a different level, it will provide the green shoots of hope that any uncertain situation can be overcome.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
In my experience, if you can embrace uncertainty — through conversation and collaboration — it will quickly lead to exploration and innovation.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with a disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Rather than mistakes, I get more frustrated when leaders make too many excuses for not facing up to disruptive technologies. For example, I’ve heard leaders dismiss exploring or using new technology because they say ‘everything is working just fine at the moment’ — great for now, but how will you remain relevant and stay competitive? Other excuses include, ‘we can’t innovate because we don’t know how’ and ‘we don’t have time’ or ‘we don’t have an R&D team’. As I’ve already said, every single person in an organization can innovate or adopt an entrepreneurial mindset — the mistake that leaders make is to not give their employees the space and empowerment to own it and do something about it.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies? Please share a story or an example for each.
Empower people to make decisions and help overcome a fear to take risks. For example, share examples of projects or situations that don’t always go as planned. We’ve seen the best results when leaders create safe environments where employees are able to sometimes risks — fail fast, learn fast and see results faster.
Ground your teams with a strong purpose and inspire them in your vision. We use stories to help people connect with this. We also use stories as proof points to help people envision the future they want to create.
Bring in industry trends and articles that help to create inspiration and spark ideas. For example, hold a hackathon or ‘industry inspiration’ session to discuss external thinking to vote on ideas from the team on new ways of working and doing things.
Discuss the legacy you want to leave as a team. What do you want to be known for? What disruptive technologies are going to make this a reality and what are you not doing now that you need to change?
Don’t lose focus and prioritize based on external data and internal agile thinking. Avoid taking on too many new ideas for disruptive tech at once, instead just focus on one or two big things to try as a team that will really make a difference.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My mantra is: It’s impossible to be perfect, we’re all human. When you make mistakes, as long as you quickly learn from them, you can usually grow even faster. Furthermore, when you’re leading a team that then isn’t afraid to make mistakes or take calculated risks, it can help you uncover opportunities that would have otherwise remained hidden.
How can our readers further follow your work?
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or follow The Storytellers for weekly insights on this and many more business transformation and future-proofing topics. You can also find out more about our work and sign up for regular updates from The Storytellers at thestorytellers.com
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Agile Businesses: Michael Schmidt Of Nerdery On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Make evidence-based decisions. Better decision-making is something we all strive for. The companies we work with that achieve better results often have a strong data strategy that supports the decision-making of the team. Plan for and build into your products the ability to capture the right data in a way that allows for fast and accurate analysis. This approach supports not only making better decisions but can also accelerate the pace at which they can be made.
As part of my series about the “How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Schmidt.
Michael Schmidt is CEO, Co-Founder and Board Vice Chair of Nerdery, a premier digital product consultancy. He is a seasoned leader with 20 years of experience in digital business consulting, where he is best known for solving complex business challenges and maximizing client outcomes through technology. He co-founded Nerdery in 2003, serving as CIO and then Chairman of Nerdery’s Board of Directors until being named CEO in 2020.
During his tenure at Nerdery, Michael has helped organizations across a variety of industries make long-lasting, transformational change. As CEO, Michael is passionate about guiding clients in making an impact through digital technology — ultimately, improving the lives of their end-users while growing their business.
In 2014, Michael co-founded and helped launch Prime Digital Academy, a full-stack engineering and UX bootcamp to provide training to help fill Minnesota’s IT talent pipeline, and has also guided various startups across industries. Away from work Michael enjoys spending time outdoors — fishing, skiing and wake surfing — and, most importantly, spending time with his family.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I didn’t grow up with technology as a part of my day-to-day life or in my home. In high school, I took a few classes on an Apple IIe and thought it was interesting but didn’t think much more of it. School was not a good fit for me, and ultimately, I chose not to go to college. However, in my late 20s, I discovered my interest in software development and enrolled in a night program at a local college. Here I learned that software development came very naturally to me. I saw a lot of early success during my first job and found myself quickly rising to the top. And a few years later, I co-founded Nerdery with two people I met at that job — Luke Bucklin and Mike Derheim. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about technology, consulting, business, how to run a company, and ultimately how to be a leader.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly funny story, especially at the time, but I can share the one that sticks with me the most. A couple of years into my career as a software developer, I had an opportunity to work with a very famous Twin Cities band. They wanted us to rebuild a platform for them. It was a very challenging request with a very tight timeline.
Knowing we had some long days ahead of us — the team and I got to work. But, due to my inexperience at the time, we built it on the wrong hardware infrastructure. In the scramble to fix the initial issue, we neglected to load test properly. During the big reveal, the site lasted all of 30 seconds before it failed. This was back during pre-cloud days when you couldn’t just scale resources. While we got the platform fixed, it was incredibly stressful and, frankly, embarrassing. It is one of those moments that changed me. Going through that experience helped me grow into a seasoned software developer. I learned the value of stepping back and truly understanding the needs of the client.
When we first started this company and began hiring more experienced developers, one of my favorite questions to ask was, “Tell me about one of the biggest mistakes you made.” When people couldn’t come up with a meaningful answer, I knew they either lacked experience or the humility to admit a mistake. Regardless, they weren’t a fit for the team.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
There are many of them. I believe life is filled with people who really help you on your journey. My former business partner Luke Bucklin was definitely one. He taught me the value of people, of doing the right thing even if it hurts, and the importance of great work. Running a business is hard, and every day is a challenge, so you have to love what you’re doing. Luke helped me grow and mature as a business leader.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
Nerdery was founded by the three of us — Luke Bucklin, Mike Derheim and me. We met at a previous job where we saw early on that it is hard to attract and retain great talent in an environment that doesn’t trust or respect people. Because of this, we knew the importance of building a business where people could be known and valued.
We believed a place that empowered people to do their best work would be the place where people wanted to be. We never judged a book by its cover and let “Nerds” lead with their character, hard work, and genuine talent. In that, we found that it’s not always about the most obvious person for the job; it’s about giving people a chance to show what they can do with the right attitude and aptitude.
Looking back, what I value most is all the great people that have come through this organization. Many folks have built careers and gone on to do amazing things. Their dedication, curiosity and passion are the ultimate drivers of their success, but getting the right opportunity can be a big lift.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?
Nerdery is a digital product consultancy that helps businesses grow revenue and serve customers through well-designed digital products. Our expert teams partner closely with clients to truly understand their business and the ever-changing needs of their customers.
The economy today is changing rapidly and putting a lot of pressure on businesses, so there’s a huge need in the market today to help companies learn how to compete amid this fast-paced change. We do this with end-to-end capabilities across strategy, analytics, design and development. Our strengths lie in delivering digital products with the speed, quality and agility to drive business results.
Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?
There isn’t any one technology that’s been disruptive. The disruption stems from macroeconomic change caused by the wholesale advancement of technology. The digital economy is all about leveraging technology in a way that is highly connected to customers and provides value in different ways. Today, the internet, cloud computing, machine learning, and a myriad of other technological advances have created an environment where it’s significantly faster and easier for businesses to stand up new products and compete in different ways. And so, traditional companies that have been around for a long time are under constant threat.
Those threats come from startups and incumbents, but it’s the shift in the market and the way value is delivered and created that is forcing everyone to pivot, creating the space for us to evaluate where and how we best support our clients.
What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?
It’s all about creating focus. We started out as an execution partner for organizations — early on, it was very tactical. The way the market has shifted has forced us to rethink how we provide value to our customers. We have narrowed our focus to the types of engagements we pursue. We pivoted from saying, “Hey, we’re a generalist that can do everything,” to specializing in digital product consulting, where we need to show up in a very particular way, targeting a very specific buyer. Focusing on our business has absolutely been a big shift for us.
Was there a specific “Aha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path? If yes, we’d love to hear the story.
It was more of a series of incremental changes in the industry, paying attention to where we saw traction, understanding our skill sets, and really knowing the market opportunity. During that time, we obtained a sharp perspective on how we deliver value, which is in understanding the needs of our customers and our iterative approach to digital products. To some extent, we allowed the market to provide direction on where to focus and align our expertise.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
I think it’s going really well, and that’s exciting. We’ve helped several amazing organizations embrace technology to deliver new value to their users and customers, positively change their business, and re-invent how they work. This business is about people, and when we get to work directly with our clients to help them achieve their goals, it’s rewarding and, frankly, fun!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?
Businesses need to be innovative to compete in the digital economy, but many don’t know how to start. To help support this early engagement stage, we created Nerdery Innovation Studio — a dedicated space for companies that need custom digital products and a partner who can help them step out of their comfort zone and realize what’s possible — and do so quickly.
Learning faster creates a competitive edge in a competitive market — it doesn’t matter if you operate a VC-funded startup or enterprise business with complex ecosystems. The Innovation Studio gives clients the space to learn quickly by strategically validating ideas and leveling up hypotheticals to working concepts that deliver marketable value right away.
Often innovation is viewed as an intimidating feat, but through the co-creation environment we established, innovation happens at the scale and speed that works best for each client. Whether the engagement is for incremental improvements or leading-edge transformation, successful outcomes are measured through building clarity around potential products and aligning business outcome owners on a shared future vision that creates the business value they seek.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
For me, personally, that means being unflappable and stable in the face of change. That doesn’t mean you can’t be vulnerable and honest, but trying not to let change negatively affect you. Begin with casting a clear vision, ensuring the team understands how that vision impacts them and how we win together.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
By winning! This goes back to setting a clear direction for the team. Being really clear on what our goals are and what success looks like. When change and uncertainty are omnipresent, communicating and celebrating wins together helps bring us back to the center. If you can start showing traction, people get excited about it and want to provide support where they can.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
Take care of your customers and take care of your people. For customers, understand what matters to them, and you will be able to accommodate accordingly. For your employees, providing the right work helps keep your teams engaged and excited to deliver for your customers.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with a disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Often, companies looking to innovate will start with what they think the product should be based on what’s important to them and they end up developing a product the customer may not want or need. When bringing products to the market, it’s really important to focus on what the end-user cares about.
Another trap that businesses can fall into is believing that they can deliver products using their internal IT teams. This in no way has to do with the team’s abilities; rather, it’s the methodology and approaches they use that make building a product challenging. Typically, the internal software team is a cost center, so they will normally think about an engagement through the lens of efficiency leading — thinking of each product as a project. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it makes it challenging to align with broader business objectives.
Lastly is not inviting their customer in to provide feedback throughout the process. It’s not uncommon to build something with a lot of unnecessary features or a product that doesn’t perform the way that it could or should. Without user insights and perspective, you miss a crucial opportunity to learn as well as the ability to pivot and understand what your customer truly wants.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies? Please share a story or an example for each.
1. Understand your customer. The pace of business is accelerating and so are the demands and expectations of our customers. Their voice should be the driver when prioritizing and grooming a digital product roadmap. One mistake we see companies make is equating what is important to the business is equally important to their customers or assuming they know what their customers care about. This is very often not the case. Truly understanding your customers is the best way to avoid building something they don’t care about or want while meeting the business outcomes you are after.
EXAMPLE:
A major food services company needed a partner to help transform their customer experience to meet rising home delivery demand and also streamline expenses. Through technical thought leadership, skilled execution resources and profitability analytics, we were able to achieve continuous improvement in customer experience and consistent KPIs to measure that progress.
2. Speed. Every day, the barrier to entry to compete in the digital economy is becoming lower as technology enables companies to bring products to the market faster and cheaper, which means the threat of competition or disruption is ever-present and it makes speed an important component of a company’s success.
Today, we are seeing success with a two-pronged approach to this. First is speed of learning which is the new unfair advantage. Businesses that can learn what their customers care about more quickly can beat the competition because they provide better and immediate value to their customers.
The second is speed to value. Using an approach that gets a digital product in the hands of your customers fast not only supports capturing monetizable value, but it also supports the team’s ability to accelerate validating a product and learning to get to the crux of what the consumer cares about.
EXAMPLE:
The head of deployment for a major medical device company had identified that they were losing millions of dollars in lost revenue, largely due to delays in releasing new patient apps. We provided best practices for app release management and a tech stack assessment, which quickly and cost effectively gave them a better path forward.
3. Continuous innovation. Avoid the trap of trying to deliver a near-complete and perfect product on the first pass. Instead, start with a true minimum viable product (MVP) and build on it by taking incremental steps, measuring what happens, learning from it, and taking another incremental step. That continuous innovation cycle is critical when faced with disruptive change or competing in the digital economy. Not only does this approach support delivering better products, but it also helps to de-risk the engagements by allowing companies to make better decisions and pivot faster.
EXAMPLE:
A premier marketing agency needed to simplify the customer experience and modernize the fundraising platform to bring their vision to life and grow engagement and revenue. We designed a user-friendly app and helped optimize their efficiency by migrating infrastructure to the cloud, as well as streamlining business and technical processes, databases and integrations.
We had one high level road map, but continuously built and pivoted. It was about having an eye to the long game but being willing to be flexible along the way to meet customers’ needs. With the launch of the new app, user engagement and revenue increased significantly and nearly immediately.
4. Tackle your riskiest assumptions first. As companies look to find new ways to create value for their customers, sometimes there is a natural and healthy desire to push the bounds of technology. Sometimes, those challenges can be overcome, and other times they cannot. Just as often people get excited about their idea and in that excitement, they don’t prioritize correctly, overlooking their riskiest assumptions. We recommend first identifying if those assumptions are deal-breakers, and if so, not spending time or money on anything else until you prove those assumptions.
EXAMPLE:
A major pet food company that we worked with came to us with over 70 web properties, which caused a costly, hugely disconnected brand experience. We provided them with best practices to refresh both infrastructure and development processes, which significantly improved time-to-market, while also streamlining more than $2 million in costs annually.
5. Make evidence-based decisions. Better decision-making is something we all strive for. The companies we work with that achieve better results often have a strong data strategy that supports the decision-making of the team. Plan for and build into your products the ability to capture the right data in a way that allows for fast and accurate analysis. This approach supports not only making better decisions but can also accelerate the pace at which they can be made.
I am one of those people who wants to trust my experience and intuition when making decisions. I have learned that verifying my gut with supporting data, can bring peace of mind and is a winning strategy for making better decisions and thriving in a disruptive world.
EXAMPLE:
Custom Manufacturer Due to the highly customized nature of this manufacturer’s product, waste scrap is unusable. The team had already implemented a simple machine learning model and were taking action on the data they had captured (adjusting humidity, changing the physical environment) but they needed smarter, actionable data to predict yield and make better business decisions. They partnered with Nerdery to leverage IoT and data science to improve the production planning process, reduce overrun and increase the on-time/in-full (OTIF) rate. This work resulted in an 85% yield increase for the company.
Here is a link to a video explaining more about these five things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5R79b4tp9A.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It changes often, but there are two:
Admiral James Stockdale has a quote in Jim Collins’ Good to Great that has resonated with me over the last year. “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” To me there’s a difference between having hope and confronting the reality of your situation and doing it directly without hesitation.
The other one is by a guy named Zig Ziglar, and that’s: “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, until you learn to do it well.” Part of my life lesson is that challenges are actually good, that’s when growth occurs, that’s when you become something more and really learn to do your job well. So really leaning into the challenges and knowing it’s a learning and growth exercise is important.
