Making Something From Nothing: Wanda Malhotra of ‘Crunchy Mama Box’ On How To Go From Idea To Launch
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Work smarter not harder. When you are struggling, reassess and make the necessary changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, outsource. When you are working too hard and not getting the expected results it’s time to bring in experts and stick to what you love and do best.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Wanda Malhotra.
Wanda Malhotra is the Founder of Crunchy Mama Box eco marketplace as well as a Certified Health Coach and mother of three. Wanda was born and raised in the fertile lands of Brazil, where she learned about botanicals, holistic healing, and Ayurveda which she now shares with a community of families looking to learn, cultivate and grow their commitments to better living.
Prior to starting the company, Wanda spent over 20 years in the natural cosmetic industry creating vegan and organic skincare, henna, and plant-based hair products and developing corporate wellness events. Today, Wanda uses her healthy living experience to cut through the clutter of the wellness industry and provide consumers with only consciously curated brands that truly promote a sustainable lifestyle.
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 and raised in Brazil, where I learned about botanicals from various regions in the country, including the Amazon Forest. Growing up I learned about holistic healing and Ayurveda from a young age, all of which fostered my “crunchy lifestyle”. My heritage is equal parts Italian and Indian, my Nonna Anna and my father Raj, both showed me how to take care of myself using the best of what nature provides.
Brazil is a melting pot with a mixture of cultures and traditions with immigrants from all over the world, including my own family. I was raised in a multicultural environment. I attended an American school in Brazil with students and faculty from all over the world. By being introduced to diversity from a young age, I acquired a strong desire to learn and connect with different cultures and always loved traveling to places where I can experience all of it in person. From this exposure, I learned to work with people regardless of status or race. I became more open-minded and aware of the rest of the world, which led to my desire to create an impact on our planet and communities.
Both my parents are entrepreneurs, I was able to learn from their endeavors and even more from the obstacles I so closely watched them face. I learned to adapt to change, and that mistakes can be great learning opportunities if you see them that way and keep moving forward.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.”
― Tom Hiddleston
I have been surprised so many times in my life that I try to keep my eyes (and ears) open. I love talking to people, I am interested in people’s experiences and learning about their story. I’ve learned invaluable lessons from conversations with people of different ages, professions, and backgrounds. You can meet someone who will share something so important for your business or your life in the most random places. You never know where your life will take you, and that is why I love to observe, listen, and be surprised by opportunities in places never expected. Networking events are great, but sometimes a visit to a small village can transform your life. I like to think back to the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met and see how they inspired me. This also motivates me to keep going, knowing there is so much more to learn and accomplish.
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 love the book Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus; I’ve read it a few times. This autobiography of the world-renowned, visionary economist who came up with a simple but revolutionary solution to end world poverty — micro-credit, has kept me motivated to keep looking for different ways in which I can give back to the community and the planet. I hope that through Crunchy Mama Box I can help artisans, small businesses, and families from all over the world offering my own contribution to empower minority groups.
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?
There are so many great ideas, but whether it becomes a business or not depends on how much you believe in your ideas and how much work and time you are willing to put into making it a successful business. I’ve had business partners in the past with fantastic ideas, but if the business didn’t quickly make a profit, they were just as quick to give up and move on to something else.
The way I see it is, there comes a time when you must decide to make changes or improvements to your business to keep it going. However, giving up on what you truly believe and moving on to something that just pays the bills, will just make you frustrated and unhappy. I agree that we all want to thrive and not just strive the entire time, so to keep yourself focused on your goal, you need to really love your idea to keep yourself motivated to make it happen in one way or another. The journey can have changes but not the mission.
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?
People can have similar ideas, but if and how they execute the idea is what makes all the difference. If you dismiss an idea, it’s either because you don’t believe you can make it happen or you fear that someone can do it better (our fears can fog our vision). I have seen similar ideas transform into completely different products and in some cases geared towards different audiences. If you have an idea that you are truly passionate about, don’t dismiss it before going through the process of visualizing it already happening, doing the research and creating a business plan on how you will make it happen. Start taking action and enjoy the journey. That sounds easy, but it isn’t, that must be combined with persistence, determination, and consistent work, while believing in your abilities and always working to improve them. Ideas don’t become successful overnight, you must have patience, build the right team, stick to your values and keep on going despite the challenges you will face, while making necessary changes, always focusing on the final result you want to achieve. Try not to listen to negative opinions that sometimes come from family and friends, who although have your best interest, might let their own fears or bad experiences try to convince you your idea won’t work because theirs didn’t. We are not all the same, we do things differently, and just because it doesn’t work for one person doesn’t mean it won’t work for another. Be ready to pivot if you have to, but don’t give up on your dreams, keep going believing in the end result.
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.
If you are going to file a patent, this is the first thing you should do before reaching out to a manufacturer or a retailer to introduce your idea. My advice is to first hire an attorney to help you structure your company, file your patents and register your trademark.
The next thing is finding a good manufacturer that will embrace your idea. If your plan is to start by bootstrapping and have limited funds this might be a bit of a challenge. You have a vision of an awesome product, but you have to make it into a marketable product in terms of price and packaging. You will have to think outside the box and be open to different possibilities to make your idea viable and keep the costs down. The ideal manufacturer will be the one who understands your idea and will use their know-how and experience to help make it into a product in the most cost-effective manner.
Finding the right retailer can also be a challenge. When you launch a product, you dream of having it sold everywhere, at all your favorite retailers. Here’s another journey that must be well thought in order to achieve the desired result. You need to make sure the retailer’s audience is the right one for you or you will be just another SKU and not a best seller. You want to see your products fly off the shelves, so choosing the right retailer to start your journey is very important. Choose a retailer whose values are aligned with yours, that understands the importance of what you have to offer and how you can grow together. This collaboration is crucial to grow your brand.
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- Work smarter not harder. When you are struggling, reassess and make the necessary changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, outsource. When you are working too hard and not getting the expected results it’s time to bring in experts and stick to what you love and do best.
2- Don’t settle for your comfort zone. This applies to work and personal relationships, just because something is familiar doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
3- Not everyone shares the same values and work ethics. I had to learn that the hard way.
4- Don’t take things personally. When you get rejected in business, take it as a way to reassess and improve your product or service. A “no” can become a “yes” later on, when the time is right or when you’ve made the necessary changes.
5- Everything is always working out for the best, open your eyes and see beyond the problems. During moments of stress sometimes you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. The times I’ve faced my hardest challenges, I’ve stopped to meditate, take time off, enjoy my children and spend time taking care of myself. It is when you can distance yourself from all the stress that you can see more clearly. When I was younger, I would let it take over my life to the point that I would burn out. I wouldn’t allow myself to stop, reset and then go back to figuring things out.
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?
How passionate are you about this idea?
How many more people would be passionate about it? What problem does it solve?
What feelings would this product evoke in your target audience?
Where would you see it being sold? Can you put a price on your product/service? Who would be able to afford it?
How many people and what skills would you need to create your product?
Would you need outside investment, or could it be self-funded it in the beginning?
Do as much research as you can and see if you’re still in love with your idea and the process it takes to get it to market.
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?
If they can hire an experienced consultant to give them guidelines on how to get started, if they are not sure where to start, that would be very helpful. Sometimes you start off well but reach a phase where you feel stuck and need an experienced consultant or mentor to help you find solutions to keep moving forward. If you are truly passionate and by now know it is a viable idea, persist even if you have to pivot a little, keeping your focus on your goals that will make your idea happen.
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 have bootstrapped all my ideas since I’ve started in business. That doesn’t mean I’m not open to looking for venture capital when the time is right for my business. If you are testing the market or want to have more control in the beginning, I recommend bootstrapping. It really depends on your business model and how you plan to scale.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
My core value and mission are to contribute as much as I can to make the world a better place.
I am passionately committed to environmental conservation, animal protection, education, and social responsibility. I have created, volunteered, and donated to social projects in every business I have been involved in as a founder, consultant, or collaborator. As my business grows, my plan is to expand the ways in which I give back.
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 hope that through Crunchy Mama Box we can inspire a global movement that will promote sustainability, health, wellness and community. Our goal is to create a “Giving Back Chain” where together we support women-owned, minority, small, and sustainable businesses that also do their part by making clean, healthy products, and that are motivated by a cause. It’s a requirement for any brand we onboard that they also give back to charity in some capacity as Crunchy Mama Box is always thinking of customer health, the planet and others. This is our movement. Everyone giving back together, our vendors, our customers, and our team, all sharing the same mission to protect our planet and our 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.
Before I tell you the person I would love to meet, I’d like to share that a big influence for me since I was a child was Anita Roddick. She spoke of human rights, fairtrade, and zero tolerance for animal testing. She was revolutionary at the time and very inspiring. She was one of the first to shape ethical consumerism, something very close to my heart. She is unfortunately not with us anymore.
Holly Branson, the Chief Purpose and Vision Officer of the Virgin company is someone I deeply admire. She is helping transform the business world into a force for good. I love her goal to help people who are creating solutions with a purpose, whether it is a product or a service. Her work is inspiring and is helping create an impact in the world. Having a conversation over lunch or breakfast with Holly Branson would be a dream come true for me.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Sometimes, it is easier to do the work than explain how to do it. I realized that for my team to grow, I had to allow them to do the work and if they get it wrong, coach them to identify what went wrong and ask them to redo it.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ogaga Johnson.
Ogaga Johnson is the founder and CEO of the Ogaga Johnson Company, a Project Management Education and Consulting company that helps individuals and organizations turn their ideas to reality using Project Management techniques. She has educated and helped 5000+ professionals across 5 continents gain clarity, launch, and advance their careers in Project Management.
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 a family of six (6) in Lagos, Nigeria. Aside from my parents’ careers, they operated various investment and business ventures to provide for me and my siblings. They valued education and gave us the best education and opportunities available. This is one of the reasons why we moved to the United Kingdom when I was a teenager.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“With God all things are possible” has to be my favorite. Knowing that impossibility is nothing has helped me to take bold steps and make bold moves despite fear. Whenever fear or doubts come, I remember that with God all things are possible and that motivates me to continue pressing on and breaking barriers. I remember putting this into action for the first time in secondary school. I was told that mathematics and further mathematics were difficult subjects to pass, so I told myself that I can pass and get a distinction because with God all things are possible and that’s exactly what happened.
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 Bible has made a significant impact on me. It has and is still shaping my life. Whenever I read the Bible, I believe it, put it into action, and I see it become my reality. It’s real to me and it’s filled with wise words to live by for a fulfilling life.
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 so true and reminds me of a popular saying by Les Brown, “the graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled”
Based on my experience and that of my clients as a Project Management Consultant, I will share five (5) things to do to take an idea to launch.
1) Write the idea down:
There are so many things and responsibilities vying for our time daily. Writing your idea down and putting it in visible places helps you to remember your idea. Because if you can’t remember it, there is no way you can launch it.
2) Have a plan:
This doesn’t have to be a detailed plan. It can be very high-level such as: Brainstorm, Market research, Features, Execute, Test, and Launch.
Having a plan helps you to create a structure and timeline that you can follow to take your idea to launch.
3) Have a team:
Have a team of people you can brainstorm your ideas with and work with. It can be your partner, children, family members, and friends. Or even a consultant, coach, or mentor. Surround yourself with a team of people that are rooting for you and want you to succeed. There is always strength in numbers and safety in having many advisers.
4) It is possible
This is very important because doubts and fear will come. Imposter syndrome would make you feel like a fraud and tell you that you can’t do it. Even if the idea has been done before, there is a unique perspective you can bring to it that no one else can and that’s your unique selling point. Your mindset is very important. Believe you can do it and you will. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
5) Now is always the perfect time
Saying “I will start working on the idea after project A or when I’m on holiday” is not true because when that time comes, there might be something else “more” important that comes up unexpectedly. Now is the perfect time to start.
Go ahead, start working on that idea, right now.
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?
There is nothing new under the sun! Yes, someone else might have thought about your idea and even launched it. However, you are unique and can bring a unique perspective to the idea so don’t dismiss it.
Research on the internet, the great thing is that we have access to information at our fingertips via Google. Search to see if it has already been created or what similar products are out there.
However, as I said before, remember that even if it has been created, there is a unique perspective you can add to that idea that no one else has thought of. Don’t dismiss the idea.
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.
Once you have an idea, write it down.
Gather your team, doesn’t have to be a big team. A group of people you trust and want you to succeed who you can brainstorm ideas with and advise you.
Perform market research to see what’s out there and how you can make yours better or stand out.
Have a plan and include timelines, this will help you keep track of the implementation of the idea.
Market it. Identity your target audience or ideal customers and get early adopters of your idea. They would help provide feedback which is so valuable and useful to improve your product before going public
Launch it. Get it out to customers. You can decide to do a phased or full release.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
This is an interesting question. Leading a company is a life-long learning journey. Here are my five (5) things:
1) You need a team to scale your business, you can’t do it alone.
I didn’t have a team for 2 years in my business, I didn’t realize how I was limiting my company’s growth. When I hired my first team member, I saw how much growth we had and within a year, my team grew to 7 members and so did the company revenue.
2) How to hire staff.
My first hire was a total disaster. The wrong fit skill and culture wise for my business.
3) Allow your team to fix their mistakes.
Sometimes, it is easier to do the work than explain how to do it. I realized that for my team to grow, I had to allow them to do the work and if they get it wrong, coach them to identify what went wrong and ask them to redo it.
4) Be ready to wear multiple hats.
I had to do marketing, design, customer service, accountings, everything including areas I had little knowledge of. Be ready to learn and pick up new skills.
5) Learn to be your own cheerleader.
There are many times when I wanted to give up and quit. Learn to clap for yourself and tell yourself that you are doing well.
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?
First step is to conduct a market research to understand business viability and path to invention for the product
Second, identify your stakeholders including team members you need
Next, work with the stakeholders and team to work on the product to launch including defining the product, identifying the features, plan the development, testing, providing feedback, and product release.
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 depends on the individual. Having a coach or consultant most times helps fast-track the process and help you on the right path. If you can afford one, go for it.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
The idea of project management never occurred to me while growing, because of the career uncertainty surrounding people who never studied professional courses such as doctors, engineers, and lawyers.
When I transitioned to project management from engineering, it was the perfect fit.
Now, I educate students and professionals about Project Management, help them launch and grow a career in Project Management with a focus on helping immigrants to launch their careers in their new countries so they can thrive and have successful careers. I also help organizations deliver results by launching their ideas or strategy.
I have been privileged to educate and help 5000+ professionals across 5 continents gain clarity, launch, and advance their careers in Project Management globally.
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.
It would be in the immigration space. People spend huge amounts (thousands and hundred thousand to immigrate) and it’s so painful to see them struggling or barely surviving in their new countries with their years of experience, expertise, and brilliance. I would like to help more professionals who are immigrants to launch their careers or businesses in their new countries without having to take up survival jobs or underemployment through mentorship, education, and job matching.
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.
That person would be Ali Abdaal because of my husband. My husband loves watching and learning from him and so do I. It’s inspiring to see how he is growing multiple successful businesses and influencing online. Also, he loves to teach, so do I and my husband. Would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with him.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Hire the right shooters. After you’ve clearly articulated the goals, you need to ensure you have the right people to get the job done. Hiring the right people is mission critical.
As the Chief Marketing Officer at Plenty of Fish, Christina oversees brand, performance marketing, and public relations for one of the largest global online dating companies — impacting millions of lives. With 20-years experience in performance and brand marketing at leading consumer-facing technology companies, Christina brings a holistic approach accelerating brand momentum and measurable business results.
As vice president of global marketing at Rosetta Stone, Christina led a 50% sales growth solely through marketing, leading a 60-person global team.
While working with the Bing and MSN brands at Microsoft, Christina created a brand strategy that disrupted the category. At Expedia Group, she oversaw all aspects of Expedia.com’s $35M online advertising program.
Christina lives in Seattle and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University, and an MBA with concentrations in Marketing and International Business from the University of Washington.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My career path was definitely not a straight line! I started my post-college career in international relations focusing on the former Soviet Union, primarily in educational exchange and business development. After a few years, I went back to school for my MBA. I intended to focus on international business but caught the marketing bug and ended up with a double concentration in international business and marketing.
What I love about marketing is similar to what I loved about Russian Studies — the duality. Marketing is a complex relationship between art and science. To me, you can’t have one without the other. There’s the focus on performance and attribution which attempts to be as logical and scientific as possible, yet does have some art to it. And then there’s the subjective artistry of creative that is equal parts data-driven and pure magic when done well.
All of this fueled my career through a variety of businesses and industries that I felt a connection to, but nothing quite as magical as Plenty of Fish. When you think about what business we are in, it’s helping to foster human relationships and connections — and if we’re lucky, love. What could be better?
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?
I hate to say it but there are several so I will try to pick just one! My favorite was probably when I was at Expedia early on in my marketing career. Our UK office was having great success selling travel via infomercials — long form television ads. Our leadership was curious about our ability to mimic that success in the US. I was asked to drive this effort. It was a bit of a hot potato on the team but I was green enough to see it as a great opportunity to try something new. I was involved in every phase of development, completely hands on…and it failed miserably. I will never forget sitting in a conference room with our leadership team reviewing the results after the test. The performance was awful. I actually had to point out that the numbers in the deck were the actual numbers — they were not multiples of 1,000 or even 100. It was a spectacular failure and we learned so much about what did and didn’t work for the US travel market. Most importantly, I learned the value of failing. As long as you are learning quickly and applying those lessons to the next thing, failure is usually a blessing.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We’re a bit unique in the world of online dating. So much of social media and dating online is focused on appearances. There’s a desire to curate experiences and personas to such a degree that it’s hard to tell where the image ends and the real person starts. Plenty of Fish is all about being your real, authentic self. It’s not about creating an image that may not truly reflect who you are. We were the first online dating site to ban face filters for this reason. We are for people who want a more relaxed dating experience and to feel comfortable being themselves.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Of course! We are continuing to promote a more welcoming dating experience by encouraging healthier behaviors on Plenty of Fish. We launched the campaign with the Gallery of Dick Pics (https://virtualgallery.pof.com/) which brought attention to a much despised online dating behavior — the unsolicited dick pic — and we will continue to turn bad behavior on its head by promoting a more positive approach. We’ve rebranded the app and site to present a fresh modern look to our users. And we’re launching pre-match experiences to enable people to meet more naturally like in real life. Our first initiative in that vein is Cue’d Up, our interactive game that provides daters with an opportunity to get to know one another in a more relaxed and fun environment. Stay tuned for more!
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?
It’s simple — I wouldn’t. Gone are the days — with a few exceptions — of brands that can afford to have brand building budgets that are evaluated solely by positive movement in brand health metrics. Now all marketing needs to demonstrate value to the bottom line. Thankfully there are some incredible attribution models out there that enable marketers to understand the value of marketing throughout the funnel — not just at the bottom. For that reason, I don’t view marketing as a world of performance and brand — it’s all marketing.
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?
I love to refer back to a quote from Henry Ford to explain the importance of investing to build a strong brand: “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” It simply doesn’t work. Some brands are very lucky in that they do not need to invest a great deal to establish their brand early on. They hit the market with perfect timing and a product and brand that instantly connects. But that’s the exception and not the rule. Even those companies hit a plateau where they need to invest just to remain relevant and grow their connection with consumers. Building a brand enables a company to have a relationship with its customers such that it transcends the product. At least half of the value of Coca-Cola is brand equity. It’s a brown carbonated sweet liquid. It’s not unique. It doesn’t really do anything that another brand of brown carbonated sweet liquid couldn’t mimic. But not to its customers, because they’ve formed an emotional connection to the brand that gives the product more meaning.
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 clear on the problem you’re trying to solve with your brand. One of the most frequent questions I will ask is — what are we trying to accomplish? This question is never more important than when you are defining your brand. What value are you delivering to your customers? What is lacking in the market? What is the emotional connection that’s currently missing? If you don’t know what you are trying to solve, your brand will be built on shaky ground
Know thy customer. For me, this is mission critical and I cannot emphasize it enough. Invest in the research to understand your core target audience — what makes them tick, what their hopes and dreams are, what they do in their free time, how they consume media. Understand what sets them apart from other potential customers and what’s most important to them. And then understand what percentage of potential revenue they represent so you have more clarity on the business opportunity. Only once you have an in-depth understanding of your key target audience, can you start to develop the right creative, buy the right media, and create meaningful campaigns that will resonate with them. It also enables you to enhance the product in meaningful ways.
A lot of companies get this step wrong. They look at the customers that are coming to them and simply try to find more who are similar. But how do you know those are the right customers for your brand? Often those are not the people who represent a greatest value to the business and the greatest customer potential.
Paint the bullseye. This is the most important role for marketing leaders. If you’ve clearly outlined the end goal, what it looks like, and why it’s important, then your team will understand the opportunity and their role in attaining it. It sounds simple, but so many marketers miss this step and then wonder why things aren’t going well. Clarity is essential.
Hire the right shooters. After you’ve clearly articulated the goals, you need to ensure you have the right people to get the job done. Hiring the right people is mission critical.
Get out of their way. And then, don’t micromanage. Get the right people in place and get the heck out of their way so they can do what they do best.
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?
There are a few that I truly love. I’m a huge fan of Alaska Airlines. They are user-friendly, they are IRL friendly, and their loyalty program cannot be beat. They have a clear personality that comes through.
My favorite example of a beloved brand though, is Disney. Not everyone loves Disney, and that’s ok. But they have their hooks thoroughly implanted in me. One of the most magical things about having young children is watching them learn about the world and the wonder that lights up their eyes. Walt Disney famously said that he created Disneyland so that parents and children could have fun together — essentially a place where they could all be children together and experience that magic. Disneyland embodies every bit of that to me. My daughters are now teenagers but they still love to visit Disneyland and embrace that playful magic — even with me! And when they have a bad day, they will often put on a favorite Disney movie to cheer themselves up. It renews their positivity and gives them a little magic back in their lives. We are total Disney nerds.
Replicating that is no small task but it comes down to understanding the customers and connecting with them on an emotional level. For me, Disney understands how important it is to connect with my children — at any age — and provides magical experiences to enhance that. The result is that we not only have that connection with each other as we experience the brand, but with the brand itself.
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?
As I mentioned, gone are the days of measuring the success of “brand marketing” solely by brand health metrics. Those are still important, but brand efforts also need to earn their keep by having a clear role in driving the business forward. I tend to think about the levers collectively as all marketing, since they all need to work together. I don’t believe in siloing “brand” and “performance”. They need to be interconnected, and work together to drive business and brand health metrics.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Social media is an important channel for us. It’s a great way to connect with users on a more personal level than many other media channels. It’s also inspiring to see how users talk about and utilize the brand. What’s wonderful about social media is the feedback loop. We don’t just speak to our customers as much as we hear from them and talk with them. We have learned about a lot of beautiful love matches that people have found on Plenty of Fish this way. Our daters have shared photos and videos of their weddings and babies! It never gets old.
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.
That is terribly kind of you and I don’t know if I can fully own that description. That said, I hope we can inspire a movement with Plenty of Fish’s Gallery of Dick Pics (https://virtualgallery.pof.com/) to encourage healthier and more welcoming dating behaviors. The gallery is intended to draw attention to an unwanted behavior — unsolicited nudes — and flip it on its head by showing a photo gallery of men named Richard (aka “Dicks”) to demonstrate a kinder, more friendly way to experience Dick Pics. There’s a lot of negativity in our world today. It doesn’t need to carry into dating. Dating should be fun. We want to encourage people to have more fun dating by being real and kinder to each other, not objectifying and belittling each other. A more welcoming way to date is how dating should be — and that’s what we are trying to encourage on Plenty of Fish.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It would be Helen Mirren: “If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to use the words ‘f*ck off’ much more frequently.”
As a woman in business, I’ve encountered many well meaning men throughout my career — and a few women — who have “encouraged” me to smile more, not be so assertive, not be direct, etc. And frankly, it’s BS. We should recognize that everyone has different strengths and gifts to bring to the table and none of us should be judging those who might not be carbon copies of ourselves. We need to focus on substance and not get distracted by the less important elements. Most women I know, regardless of their career, have encountered people attempting to tell them how to behave — often in ways that you would never hear anyone speak to a man — and it’s just nonsense. This quote reminds me that we all have permission to say “no” and forge our own path.
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. 🙂
There are so many! If I had to choose one, it would be Hillary Clinton. She is the epitome of grace under pressure. She’s brilliant, accomplished, and yet has experienced such chaos and failure while handling it with aplomb and an amazing sense of humor. She exudes optimism despite her experiences. I truly admire that Phoenix quality about her.
I don’t believe in alliterative lists or “mottos.” But I do believe words express a way of thinking.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jay Valgora.
Jay Valgora, FAIA, AICP, LEED AP, WEDG, is founder and principal of STUDIO V, a cutting-edge design practice dedicated to the reinvention of the 21st century city. He leads a talented group of designers creating unique buildings, public spaces, and transformative urban design, reconnecting innovative architecture with urbanism. His designs focus on the edges and gaps of cities — industrial and contaminated sites, divisive infrastructure, former urban renewal, historic and industrial artifacts, and waterfront’s potential to address climate change and reconnect communities.
Jay was born in Buffalo where the abandoned grain elevators and the industrial waterfront inspired him to become an architect. He is a graduate of Harvard and Cornell and a Fulbright Fellow to the United Kingdom. Jay advised on NYC’s Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, was appointed by the mayor to NYC’s Waterfront Management Advisory Board, headed the New York AIA Waterfront Initiative, and sits on the Advisory Board of NYC’s Urban Land Institute. Jay has lived in many cities — but he has never owned a car.
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 story begins with climbing fences. I was born in the shadows of the steel mills where my father worked near Buffalo, New York.
When I was young, I would go places I wasn’t supposed to, jumping fences, and climbing barriers to explore cut off waterfronts and abandoned buildings. I was fascinated by the industrial ruins, the towering, abandoned grain elevators, and the seemingly endless industrial buildings where my father worked. I felt like you could see the curvature of the earth in them.
Buffalo is one of the greatest designed cities in America, with magnificent architecture, vast networks of world class parks, and a stunning sense of place along the great inland ocean of the Great Lakes. It’s also evolved into one of the greatest ruined cities in America with industrial decay, abandonment, red-lining, and the destruction wrought through so called urban renewal. This inspired me to become an architect to create buildings that engage the city, breathe new life into abandoned industrial structures, and public spaces that reconnect communities.
Now my work is all about breaking down fences.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We solve problems by making them more complex.
Most architects attempt to “solve the problem.” Given a complex problem — they immediately start to isolate complex issues, simplify them, attempting to reach one solution. After finding that solution, the architect works feverishly to convince everyone of the “right” solution and “protect” a design through the gauntlet of client’s needs, budget, and construction.
STUDIO V takes the opposite approach. To solve a problem, add layers of complexity that speak to the underlying forces that created the problem to address that but offer greater richness and meaning.
For example, our design for Empire Stores. This was a competition to transform seven magnificent 19th century coffee warehouses, abandoned for a half century on the most prominent site on the Brooklyn waterfront. The problem: rehabilitate abandoned historic buildings and convert them to commercial uses.
Instead of solving that problem — we created a new one.
The Empire warehouses were called “stores” (as in “ship’s stores”) and together, they comprised “Fortress Brooklyn,” a wall of continuous historic warehouses that originally separated upland communities from their dangerous working waterfront. We immediately made the very unusual suggestion: restore the historic buildings by cutting a hole through the middle of them.
This was a pretty non-intuitive idea, to take a ruin and repair it by cutting a hole through it. But from this way of making a problem more complex, not just “solving” it, we worked with many people to find overlapping benefits: This opening would form a sequence of public spaces to reconnect the community. It would activate the building and promote more complex programs and uses (restaurants, offices, tech showcases, a museum, a public park). It would provide authentic material to repair missing parts of the building (historic brick, timber). It would admit light and life into the heart of structures originally designed to keep coffee beans cold and dark. It would create a public realm to reconnect the community.
The bottom line: the public spaces drove traffic and created a civic realm, connecting the park and community. The commercial spaces became the most successful in Brooklyn. Funds from those spaces support the public programming of the park. Private investment rebuilt buildings that were abandoned for a half century. And Empire Stores won every architecture and civic award the city had to offer.
I like to combine things that don’t belong together- old and new, edge and center. This applies not just to architecture, but how we engage people and process: we work equally with non-profits and developers and government officials and activists. Our projects combine experimental work with huge developments. We wade into situations with intractable problems and create a culture of using design to offer new answers.
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 STUDIO V, designing our own space started off as a disaster.
I founded STUDIO V sixteen years ago and asked a friend if I could rent a few desks in his office. He agreed — but then lost his lease at the last minute! Needing a new office, he found a larger space, but asked me to take half with a ten-year lease. I was terrified but there was no time, and all I wanted was just a few desks!
I took a risk and said “yes” only now we had to renovate a raw space with little time. After a very modest renovation, I didn’t have money to buy furniture and my friend offered to give me his leftovers, odds and ends of a few desks and chairs. I was lucky to hire an amazing first employee, John. He’s still a legend at STUDIO V. When John came in, the office was only partially constructed, and pieces of desks and chairs were lying on the floor. John took one look, and calmly asked for a screwdriver. He offered to put it together so he could sit down and start work.
And I always remember for years after, John said it wouldn’t have been a real startup when he showed up on day one, if he didn’t have to assemble his own desk.
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 greatest mentors come from family and a few remarkable teachers.
My father is a great influence. As a child, he took me to an original, primordial island, the size of Manhattan, covered with woods and lakes in their original unchanged state (we don’t say where, but far to the north). I return throughout my life to this vast and largely still unexplored island, now with my own children. The landscape and experiences of this special place provide a sort of touchstone of utopia that influences my work, and a counterpoint to the island metropolis of New York in which I live.
A few teachers had an outsized influence. At Harvard, I studied under Alvaro Siza, the brilliant, world-renowned architect. Siza taught me the importance of reinterpreting modernism and fusing them with a richness of spatial experience and profound humanism. At Cornell, I knew Colin Rowe who influenced generations of architects. I would sit on juries at Cornell’s first program in Rome, then walk around the ancient city while Colin made extraordinary and wild leaps of insight into the relationship of classical ideas and the modern world.
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?
Cities are our greatest work of art, and my work is all about the reinvention of cities.
But one of the most disruptive urban transformations in the history of cities was a drastic form of city reinvention called “Urban Renewal.” Urban renewal was one of the most destructive transformations of our urban environment. It destroyed entire neighborhoods, tore through them with infrastructure, and used devastating tools like red-lining and “blighting” to erase large areas of collective history.
The two historical events that most influence my work are industrialization and urban renewal. Much of my work focuses on the edges and gaps these forces left within our cities and the opportunity these sites offer today. My designs attempt to restore and reinvent sites that bear the scars of industrialization and urban renewal and invest them again with the richness of meaningful forms, public spaces, and history, to weave them back into the community.
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 don’t believe in alliterative lists or “mottos.” But I do believe words express a way of thinking.
So here are five simple words I use every day:
“see” looking and seeing are not the same things; we look in order to “see”.
“draw” the first step to seeing — drawing is choosing, representing, seeking.
“create” the act of making starts with seeing and drawing.
“explore” making requires questioning and evaluating every choice.
“recreate” both senses: starting again and refreshing: beginning the process all over.
In a world of computers and complexity, I still draw by hand every day, working with a talented group of people and using these five simple words to infuse the process of everything we design.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We’ve spent years building up our practice and skills to reinvent communities and cities. Now we’re ready to reinvent ourselves.
We just purchased a small building in Manhattan a few blocks from our current space, in which we will move our Studio. Our goal is to re-make and redesign ourselves. We have to decide what will define the next stage for STUDIO V and are looking at some exciting ideas: how will we engage the street with a storefront studio? How can we create a more creative workplace? Can we create a garden for our designers?
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 listen to podcasts, go to lectures, stay up into the night talking ideas with friends and strangers. I love to read, but for “deep impact,” you’ve got to go for the stuff that transcends.
So I’ll toss out the poet Virgil, and his great work, The Georgics.
It’s the strangest thing: sort of a classical Farmer’s Almanac. It’s ostensibly about “agricultural matters” and a description of how to raise crops and livestock. But as an architect, it’s really a remarkable poem that defines a way of thinking about how we make our world. It’s a dissertation on man’s place in the world, how we make and cultivate our vision of that world, and a wild utopian and dystopian ride into our greatest aspirations, fears, and dreams.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
As part of the disruptor vibe, I’m going to swerve from the life lesson deal, and go for something that speaks more to me. I’m talking poetry, and I see Walt Whitman as one of the first to express a truly American “voice.”
Here’s a tiny piece of the poem “Under Brooklyn Ferry,” better known as “the Sun-Down poem.” Whitman does this crazy thing; he reaches out to us from the past, from his time into our time, and literally speaks to us. And he speaks incredibly optimistically, describing the growing and exuberance of the city around him, knowing we will live and experience it as he did, and offering us a vision of the individual and the city:
Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt,
Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one of a crowd,
Just as you are refreshed by the gladness of the river, and the bright flow, I was refreshed
The poem combines so many things that I think about, all the time. The river and the city’s edge. How we are drawn to the edges of a city, temporarily leaving it and yet within it. Whitman speaks about what makes our collective experience in the city. And in an incredibly optimistic way, he fearlessly speaks to you and me, knowing we will hear him, and understand him, giving us hope and a greater sense that we are part of a collective enterprise that encompasses all of us.
It’s helpful to remember today — this is a guy who lived during a devastating time of dramatic upheaval and civil war, but he was one of our greatest unrepentant optimists.
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 offer a new riff on the building code. It would require a garden or green space, for every residence, for every person. Not a luxury — but a necessity for living.
To successfully scale your business from start up to small business it is paramount that you have established a market/message match. You need to ensure that people actually find value in your product, good, or service. I see so many early-stage business owners pushing to make products or create complicated marketing and sales systems to support a business that has not passed proof of concept yet. Early-stage businesses need to presell products to help dial in the messaging and process through the real-world experience of building the business. If no one cares about your new greatest idea or invention, then they won’t buy it and the business won’t be able to exist for long.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ryan Niddel.
Ryan Niddel is a CEO, Board Member and Entrepreneur. He is also the leading authority on improving revenue of companies by improving EBITDA through increased operational efficiency, lean manufacturing principles and more. He has helped with the acquisition or exit of more than 11 companies while seeing their collective revenue surpass more than $237M. Niddel has successfully tripled the revenue of more than 5 companies in under 2 1/2 years adding an extra $950M in valuation to these companies.
Thank you 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’?
I am a Midwest man at heart. I was born and raised in Ohio and still reside there today. I grew up the son of two hard-working, middle-class parents who saw tremendous value in pushing me to earn my own way for things that I found value in. This led to my first entrepreneurial journey at 10 years old, a local lawn care business. I went door to door, selling my services to our neighbors. With 4–7 lawns at $10 a piece per week, I got a taste of the good life and was hooked (tongue in cheek). This lawn care business led me to a mentorship relationship, and employment, with a local business owner who showed me what it meant to consistently strive for excellence while putting in a full and hard day’s work. I didn’t fully realize the lessons he was instilling in me, until a few years back. I will be eternally grateful for that opportunity and relationship that lasted until I was 20 years old. I eventually found myself as an affiliate manager for a startup tech company out of Akron, Ohio. Within 6 months of employment, I was able to take over as President and Chief Executive Officer while simultaneously becoming a partner. We collectively grew the company from 10,000 clients to 580,000 clients in two years’ time, before selling off the company to a competitor. Since then, I have launched 2 companies, sold one of the companies (in the CBD space), have helped 11 people exit their companies, launched a small private equity fund, and am now the CEO of MIT45.com.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
There are two key decisions that helped get me to where I am today. Both involve investing in myself and mentorship that showed me a new way of thinking and being. The first decision was to stop lying to myself, about myself and to others. This came from the wisdom instilled upon me by Garrett J. White and his company, Wake Up Warrior. The tools that I picked up from that season of life are still some of the core pillars of my success today. The next decision was to view reality as something I am creating in every moment of everyday life, and from that space to understand that I have the ability to effortlessly change my reality at any moment. William Lam and John Madson shared that with me through their company called UPGRD which I am still currently working in.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
I lead an initiative to create stock issuances for all the employees that are helping support the rapid and exponential growth of my company MIT45. Being able to arrive at the idea that it was best for the growth of the company to issue stock to all employees, then to figure out the ideal corporate structure that was able to minimize downside risk while maximizing the future potential, and then to work with our team to create the proper documentation, structure and administration of the issuance was amazing. All of that was trumped by being able to surprise our staff with a company wide offsite where they received their stock issuance changing their net worth forever. It was one of the best, most emotional days of my life.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
I launched a merchant processing company focused on obscure clients. In consistent pursuit of new sales (growth), I paid little to no attention to the operations, and finances of the business. It took less than a year for me to run the business into the ground. It taught me to create simple systems of tracking and accountability inside of my businesses before I begin to truly scale the revenue. While sales are the life blood of an organization, operations and finance are the backbone.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
Being mentored by individuals that are further down the road of business and life has allowed me to scale my current business more efficiently and effectively from $5m a year to north of $75m a year in revenue. While paying tithes to the church may certainly be important, paying tithes to the future version of myself is even more important to me. Consistently investing in mentorship and accountability is vital. Mentoring others has been a mainstay of the past 4 years of my life. I run a tight knit and exclusive virtual mentorship group each week. Being able to share lessons I have learned and skills I have obtained over my professional career, see that they are implemented, and then be able to witness others’ continued success is something I cherish each week.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
My leadership style is a combination of Jack Welch, Ben Horowitz, Andy Grove and Bill Campbell. From Jack Welch I have taken radical candor, extreme ownership, and differentiation. These skills help establish and maintain the culture of my businesses. From Ben Horowitz I have taken the importance of hiring only A players and realizing there is ALWAYS an option. These skills help consistently level up the team that is supporting our rapid growth mission. From Andy Grove I have taken humility, removed communication barriers and focused on teaching others. These skills help me not take myself so seriously and to stop and enjoy the ride occasionally. And from Bill Campbell I have taken holding high standards and expectations while being supportive and completely transparent. These skills simply make me feel better each day. I love knowing that our company’s “high tide” is raising all our ships.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”?
To successfully scale your business from start up to small business it is paramount that you have established a market/message match. You need to ensure that people actually find value in your product, good, or service. I see so many early-stage business owners pushing to make products or create complicated marketing and sales systems to support a business that has not passed proof of concept yet. Early-stage businesses need to presell products to help dial in the messaging and process through the real-world experience of building the business. If no one cares about your new greatest idea or invention, then they won’t buy it and the business won’t be able to exist for long.
To begin to move from early-stage small businesses to mid stage a business must dial in its numbers and centralize reporting. I see so many business owners that have crossed the $5m a year revenue hurdle still “winging it’’ when it comes to the critical numbers of their business. Tracking average order value, cost of acquisition, lifetime customer value, accounts receivable balance, cash balance, accounts payable balance and 10–12 more variables on a day-by-day basis begins to allow a business owner to feel more in control of the business and less reactionary.
All businesses need to focus on tax planning and cash flow management but at a late-stage small business ($40m +) these variables become a lot more pertinent. In most businesses Payroll, COGS and Taxes are the three largest expenses. Payroll is a variable that is driven by the market and the quality of talent you wish to attract. COGS are a function of your buyer being able to navigate relationships and dialing in the best terms. Taxes on the other hand are constantly changing and the strategy to support them is always changing. An LLC of the $40m in revenue size is taxed north of 40% a C Corp is taxed around 20%. It is vital that a growing business understands that the same systems that began their growth may not be best to continue it.
As businesses continue to grow into mid-market companies, acquisitions become the most effective and efficient way to grow. This is going to require knowledge of the merger and acquisition process, the ability to find good deals that can be strategically integrated into a company to increase its enterprise value while simultaneously adding profit to the bottom line. Growing from $50m to $80m can happen VERY quickly when you apply leverage to a business versus a process in a business.
The mid to large market cap hurdle will require an understanding of the IPO process and the rules that govern the SEC business game. This feels like learning business all over again. SOX compliance, PCAOB audits, Q-1 and K-1 Filings and so much more. This is also where a new level of generational wealth can be created. By this point in the evolution of most businesses, the founder will have accumulated a good amount of strategic relationships that will help them navigate the waters that are uncharted.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
Companies that are attempting to scale keep the wrong people in key seats for too long. Every year that a company experiences exponential growth, the roles, and responsibilities of team members in leadership seats (and many others) are almost entirely different than the year before. For example, the sales manager of a 5-person sales team generating $5m a year in domestic annualized revenue would have a much different skill set than the sales manager of a 30 person $100m a year global sales team. It is challenging to keep the team together through each growth season. It is the founder/CEO’s responsibility to encourage people to keep growing, investing in their growth while simultaneously realizing that roughly 20% (or less) will be able to keep up. The more painful reality of rapid growth is…many people don’t actually want to keep up.
Companies that are in midscale do not properly allocate capital towards growth initiatives. This forces them to go to market for capital infusions to continue to grow. The capital either costs them points of interest or dilution of equity. I have been guilty of this in the past. As companies scaled, I began to take larger and larger personal paydays. This had me trigger larger distributions than the business was able to afford for sustainable growth. Leaving capital in the business with a strategic plan for capital allocation is a vital requirement of ongoing sustainable growth.
Founders of rapid growth businesses do not normalize their salaries anywhere near early enough. The role of CEO for every business, in every market has a pay band that should be associated with it. This compensation should be in alignment with what the investment would be to bring in a new, highly qualified CEO. From that place you can see the true viability of the business and its ability to continue to grow. This also allows for CEOs to replace themselves once the business has grown to a point of their incompetence (which every CEO has).
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
A company can preserve its culture by infusing it throughout their hiring and onboarding process. At MIT45 we recorded B roll footage of our 6 offices and personnel interviews which showcase who we are, what we stand for and the cultural standards we adhere to. This video is part of our hiring process. There are questions inserted throughout the process to confirm that a candidate not only watched the video but would be a good fit for the culture of the business. It is also important to reaffirm that same message during the first 90 days of employment. We do that by having all new hires shadow other departments in 2-hour increments with a report on what they learned, what they have questions on, and what they believe could be improved. In addition, each employee spends 2 hours a month in a customer service role to better understand what our customers experience is when dealing with our company. This unifies everyone to the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
We have created a comprehensive company intranet where we share updates as well as an ever-growing knowledge base. We challenge all employees to document one new process per week, and then get it uploaded to the company intranet for review and understanding. Creating a simple level of available redundancy is paramount as a company grows. Documenting the standard operating procedures of the revenue path for the organization is a great place to start.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
I recommend Cloverleaf to better understand their internal motivators and personality types. I recommend Lattice to better help employees see the goals of the company and the individuals that are supporting them. I recommend Voxer to keep up with real time auditory updates that impact the company or the individual. I recommend Criteria for IQ and EQ assessments to help ensure the right candidates are qualified for the right seats.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I would inspire a movement that shares with people that they are much more capable, much more powerful, and much more deserving of success than they could have ever imagined. All the power to create the life of your dreams resides in you at this very moment. If you tap into it, hold onto it, and own it, life is yours for the creating.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Ryanniddel.com
Rethinking Business Podcast on all platforms
Ryan Niddel on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
Once you have launched you have to give yourself time — why? Because it takes time for your customers to understand your brand, product and to gain a level of trust before they purchase. Rarely is an idea an overnight sensation! This is important for your funding and for what you focus on after launch. Idea to launch is only one part of the journey. Running and growing your business requires more patience and money!
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Richard Sharman.
Chief Bag Carrier at Gladstn London, Richard Sharman exhibits a profound appreciation for uncompromised quality craftsmanship and a strong eye for elegant, timeless design. The iconic British brand specializes in luxe, impeccably made bags, the perfect companion for one’s daily journeys.
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”?
My late mother, who was a strong role model for me, was told I was a lucky baby just before she was discharged early from Hospital on the grounds I cried so much! My early years consisted of growing up in a quintessential English Cotswolds village, the sort visited by many overseas tourists each year. My childhood could be best described as: study, sports, fashion and my brother, Christopher.
My younger brother, Christopher was diagnosed as mentally handicapped. Throughout my childhood I began to understand responsibility and vulnerability. My bond with him is very strong and he has always helped ground me and to appreciate the things he struggles with on a daily basis that many of us take for granted.
Reflecting on my childhood two things stood out — my passion and dedication to sport (sadly not quite as much to study) and learning to be prepared to win and lose. I learnt so much from this period of my life through achievement but also as much from my mistakes. There have been a few close calls! However from an early age I was always interested in business and set up my first little venture cleaning cars to earn some money! I also had a love for travel. I was always excited to visit new places on holiday and I have been fortunate in my career to combine business with travel and view the world. That’s where my love of bags comes from!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Not everyone in life has the opportunity to be stressed by the potential to achieve exceptional things” [unattributed].
This has guided me throughout my life. Do your best with what you have and where you are. Don’t waste your talents and sit on the side-lines. Always want to play on the field. Throughout my career I have always had the confidence to back myself which has not always been easy, particularly in difficult times. If you work hard and are dedicated to your cause — whatever it is — then there is a chance you may have the opportunity to achieve exceptional things. Please don’t waste it or expect someone else to earn it for you. It’s easy to sit on the side lines in life and comment on others. It’s much more difficult and stressful to be on the field in the game. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
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 not a big reader or listener of podcasts. My reading and learning has always been work focused and I find it difficult to read for pleasure! My daily read has always been the Financial Times and now The Business of Fashion & Luxury Briefing. So let me choose a film! So many that have had an impact. If I have to choose one it would be Top Gun (the first one!). A film that resonated for me in many ways as I was growing up. Style, glamour, aspiration, teamwork, skill, resilience, achievement, sadness and just so amazingly cool! A great piece of entertainment for being in the game and not on the side lines.
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 diving board moment! I know I can jump (the idea) but what happens when I do (business). This is never an easy thing to do and from my own business experience it took a long time to do, perhaps to long. So how can we overcome it?
Firstly don’t beat yourself up for not doing it but ask yourself ‘do I have a passion for my idea or is it just a good idea?’. Do I want to play in the game with my idea or am I happy to be on the side lines watching someone with a similar idea? Often great ideas don’t have the passion to execute attached to them. I think that’s why we find it easier to watch someone else hesitate on the diving board rather than putting ourselves in that position. Confidence to back yourself, having the courage to say ‘I am going for this’, and if I am wrong, I will make a change and still be fine as well as a passion to find a result will give you energy to jump. Running a business is just like jumping off the diving board, it takes true character!
So I am going to do it! But before you do, have a plan and test whether it can work. The will to win should never be as great as the will to prepare to win. Ask family, friends, colleagues for advice, test your idea on them, sketch out a plan and think of as many of the things that can go wrong and ask yourself how would you overcome them. You can never plan for everything but its easier to jump in if you have thought through the worst that can happen.
Finally look after yourself mentally and keep an-open mind on the journey. Translating your idea into business is like having a child. You can take great confidence from your achievement but be as flexible as possible for what happens next. It will get passionate and personal and you will find growing your business is nurturing your child. Your passion, love for and attention to detail of what you are doing really become valuable.
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?
Never waste anything! The simplest of ideas and routine detail is often over looked. Someone else may have had the idea before you but they may not have been inspired by it or had the passion or courage to execute it. So research thoroughly even it it results in an outcome you were not expecting. So how?
I would recommend researching your idea by looking at it as problem that needs solving. The trick is to solve the problem creatively by looking at it from many angles. As if you were viewing an object by walking completely around it observing new details from different angles.
Keeping asking yourself ‘so what?’. For example, it may be nice but who needs it? What’s the benefit for the customer? Is it solving a need in society? Can it be made? Can it be communicated so people understand it? Who’s doing it now and in what form? Does the world need another? Would I use it? Do I feel a passion for it? …….That way you start to build up a 3D researched picture of your idea and where it stands. Research then take a break. Then come back to it and look at new angles and detail. Your picture will evolve to a point that gives you enough confidence to make a decision either way. For some this is very quick, for others it takes longer!
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.
There is a lot to cover here but I like to keep things simple. I think of idea to launch and the steps required in three ways — Brand; Product; Customer Journey.
Brand — Some important steps. You have to create a brand story for your idea/product and the business. Your customers need to understand who you are, what you do and the story behind you and the idea. This has to be both simple and personal. Where I see many making mistakes is thinking this is just about a brand logo and off we go!
Product — Firstly absolutely register and protect your IP and brand. My advice is to use a specialist lawyer to guide you through the process as it depends on the jurisdiction you are in but it’s a wise up-front investment. If someone else has done it before or has something similar to your idea and brand here is where you will find out before you have spent lots of dollars on production!
Sourcing a good manufacturer is trial and error and a game of patience. Allow plenty of time in your launch plan for this! Understand first which is the best country in which to manufacture. It’s not just about cost — it’s a balance with quality. That’s why I would work hard to build relationships with your shortlisted manufacturers. There is no substitute for visiting them as you have to sell your brand story to them as much as they have to sell their quality and production capability to you. If it’s not possible to visit, use technology to get to know them.
Always sample! This is where you get to see the quality and also look to improve or make changes to your idea. This is one of the most valuable steps before you commit $ to production. Finally, continue to invest in the relationship with each other. Unless you own your manufacturing capability there will always be other businesses purchasing their production time so make sure they like you and understand where your brand and business is going.
Customer Journey — The importance of seeding! Steps here are all about making visible your idea and testing it with potential customers before you launch. For example it could involve early promotion, customer groups, using the product yourself, early conversations with retailers to get their feedback. This has to be done first — it’s not ‘here is my product now buy it’!
The retailer relationship should be just like your manufacturer, it’s a partnership. Same process. Where do you want to retail first given your potential target customers? Identify a prioritised shortlist that sit comfortably with your brand and work from the top to approach them. If you don’t have any relationships with a particular retailer research who is who and contact them. If you know someone who does, ask for an introduction. Again this takes time so start in the seeding process or earlier, don’t wait until the product is finished — use your samples! If you can visit the retailer to see what similar products are being sold to understand is there a gap for your product. Be very flexible with how your product is retailed in the beginning. The retailers are taking a risk on your brand first time so be realistic and flexible with your arrangement. If your idea sells, the relationship will work and benefit both parties over time.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
1. The conversations when things don’t work are often the most valuable — why? Because real time they can be frustrating and disheartening and test your resilience. However the result is they always encourage you or others to think differently and often through necessity come up with new ideas that work out better in the end. Learn to like these conversations!
When I first led the company everyone told me we had to do our own pop-up store. We examined it and found it was expensive and high risk. As a result of difficult economics and not being convinced of its short term value I decided a better path was to identify our preferred wholesalers and look to see if we could do a pop up with them, which we did!
2. Make risk based decisions early rather than getting excited by new things and wasting money — why? It’s very easy when you first launch your business to be told by experts or third-parties you have to do things a certain way or to a certain standard because that’s what expected if you want to compete, particularly in my case in the luxury industry. It’s also easy to spend time and money on new and exciting things the business may not need at that point in its life. If you are a small business you can get distracted, make mistakes and waste money on things you don’t really need! You will always have to accept trade-offs in your decision making so try and get in the habit of doing it early.
The investment we made in out very first website was limited. We were advised as a retailer we had to use one of the major brand platforms and on day one needed certain digital capability. As the brand has evolved this was right but not at the very beginning of our journey from launch. Our designs were still new and our brand not well known. We invested differently and built a simple site with strong visual content but limited capability to start with. It was more an on-line catalogue than a fully functioning website. A trade off we were aware off and we tried not to get distracted by a shiny new website!
3. Everything takes longer to execute than you think or you are told — why? Because as humans we like to please and often underestimate things. It’s clear in recent years we live in a world more dominated by external forces and more competition which means things may take longer to deliver than you agree to. This is really important in your business and financial planning. I have found that adding an extra 25% to timescales , costs etc is a really simply way of factoring this into the business. If it takes less time and costs less than budgeted, that’s great!
Our very first packaging order was late! We had planned it to arrive in a particular window based on a committed delivery schedule to coincide with the delivery of product. Unfortunately it arrived a month late and taught me very early to have a plan B which we did for a month until it arrived. A combination of quality and external factors led to it’s late arrival.
4. Don’t get distracted, you can’t do everything — why? Because when you launch you will be competing against others who have more or less resources than you do. It’s easy to be distracted by what others do rather than having the focus and discipline to execute your own priorities. As a leader it’s always a series of trade-offs and getting comfortable with and regularly reviewing what you are focusing on and what you are not is important for your own sanity! Some things have to be well thought-through and executed whilst others may be experiments with a different expectation and outcome.
When we first launched the business I had an idea to develop the Gladstn London Exchange where our customers could buy and sell any bags through our platform. It’s an idea we have since developed and will be launching in the future. However I tried to do this on launch alongside our core business of designing and making beautiful bags. It taught me not to get distracted and try to do to much to soon. I learnt to focus on our core business and not spread ourselves too thinly too soon.
5. Once you have launched you have to give yourself time — why? Because it takes time for your customers to understand your brand, product and to gain a level of trust before they purchase. Rarely is an idea an overnight sensation! This is important for your funding and for what you focus on after launch. Idea to launch is only one part of the journey. Running and growing your business requires more patience and money!
Having learnt this I think about the business in two ways — maintenance and momentum.
Making sure we are investing our time and money into both in differing amounts depending on where we are in the business cycle. Maintenance is continuing to run and invest in
activities that keep the business running. Momentum activities move the brand forward in new areas, collaborations, product etc.
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?
If you only do one thing it’s this — ask yourself ‘am I inspired by the idea and do I have the passion to execute it with the help of others?’. Make a conscious decision, even if you decide not to take any further steps. Don’t just dismiss the idea because you think someone else must have thought of it before or wish you had considered it carefully when someone else does do it. In other words don’t sit on the sidelines, play on the field — however briefly — to make your decision. If you are not true to yourself at this step it will show in your future work.
If you are inspired and have the passion work at cause not affect — by this I mean set yourself some research objectives, put yourself under pressure, take some actions, be flexible rather than just waiting to see what happens. Research your idea as if it’s a problem that needs solving and keep testing your picture until you have a level of confidence or not to go further.
The previous steps very often don’t have to cost much money but they do have to involve a serious application of time and emotion. As a third step bring your passion and research together in a ‘what to do next plan’ with an idea of costs that need to be funded. Here it starts to get real for you and the idea. Can both be given the time and money to launch the idea into a product and then a business? Very often I see entrepreneurs struggle with this step. Here more than ever I would ask for help.
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 and strike out on your own — you can’t outsource your own individual inspiration and passion for others to own.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
For me the answer is try both if you can. I would always start with some form of bootstrapping however small to follow my passion. You need to put some skin in the game! Even if at a minimum it’s funding yourself to take the time to really decide you want to do it and researching it carefully to underwrite the business plan and funding requirement. Having also been an investor I have seen many “conceptual” proposals with idea owners not being in the detail enough but asking for funding. Where ideas require large funds to test and refine or funds to take a business to a next level of growth, then external funding plays a very important role.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
The answer is not enough yet and this is a good reminder that I have more I want to do. For me personally helping others learn and develop and become future leaders and entrepreneurs is very important to growth in the world. Too often the focus is on money rather than skills and human capital.
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.
A growth movement — Very simply to create an accessible marketplace where people who want to develop new ideas can come and access free time and funds from business leaders around the world who can help them execute their passion. Each year business leaders with different skills and experience sign up and pledge a certain amount of their time. Those who need help can come on the platform and access it — coaching on real opportunities. A movement of new ideas to launch to help more people establish businesses and stimulate growth rather than us continuing to rely to heavily on large corporate organisations to deliver future global growth.
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.
That’s a difficult question! As Chief Bag Carrier of Gladstn London it would be great to have a private breakfast or lunch with the Chief Twit — Elon Musk. Why? Because here is an individual who can teach so much & help so some many because he only plays on the field. Like any successful individual or company he divides the crowd but just imagine what we would not have had if he’d decided to sit on the sidelines. I’d also love to chat through putting a bag into space!
Persistence: It will probably take you a few tries to get noticed or selected. Don’t let it wear you down. Continue believing in the power of your message and leverage your connections to expand your reach.
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 Marta Spirk.
Marta Spirk is a wife, triplet mom, TEDx speaker, author, empowerment coach & marketing strategist. She helps women simplify marketing their business with a personality-based approach that reduces overwhelm and procrastination, so they can step into VISIBILITY, CREDIBILITY & PROFIT. She does that with her podcast The Empowered Woman (over 100K downloads), The Empowered Woman: The Ultimate Roadmap to Business Success (book) and The Empowered Woman School membership and workshops.
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 and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the younger of two girls. My mom was a stay-at-home mom and my dad was an engineer who then opened up his own company. We moved to a different city when I was 6 and the change prompted my mom to follow her heart in starting her own church. I grew up seeing her speak boldly to small and large groups of people and eventually, at 14, I stepped up to share my own story and message with her church. By 18, I was an integral part of the ministry, from workshop (singing and playing the keyboard) to ministering and interpreting for American preachers that would lead conferences through her church.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Choosing my majors was not a hard task at all — I had an easy time with languages and a natural talent for communicating my thoughts and helping others do the same. I earned a BA in Translation in Brazil (Portuguese, English and French) and a Master’s in Applied Linguistics at the University of Colorado Denver.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In 2016, I was blessed to give birth to triplets, Samuel, Benjamin & Gloria. This huge plot twist in my life showed me I had yet another chapter to live: start my own business. When they were only 9 months old, I joined a network marketing company and dove into the world of personal development. This opportunity opened a door for me that would eventually take me to my ultimate vision: mentoring other women entrepreneurs as a speaker, author and marketing expert. I started creating my own coaching courses and programs, launched my podcast in 2018, landed my first speaking engagement in 2019 and was featured on TV, TEDx and published my book, The Empowered Woman: The Ultimate Roadmap to Business Success.
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?
Through my journey, I’ve learned to reframe mistakes into lessons. Had I known what to do differently at any given time, I would have. I’ve accepted that I am always exactly where I need to be and have zero regrets. That said, I remember having a very abrupt close to my first keynote. I was nervous and hadn’t prepared for the close — a very rookie mistake! I literally said “And this it!” And walked off stage. Recently, I reconnected with the organizer who booked me for that presentation and shared that with her, she said she didn’t remember it and still carries some takeaways from that talk!
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 have had so many wonderful mentors, friends and supporters along the way. I am very grateful for my media coaches Christina Nicholson and Lisa Simone Richards for helping me increase my visibility. It was through their guidance that I landed my first TV segment and so many other amazing opportunities. And I can’t forget to mention my business coach, Gary Barnes, who is an international business coach, author and speaker. He was the main driver behind the growth of my business, as well as my book publishing.
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?
In simple terms: failure doesn’t exist. Everything is a stepping stone toward the next level of success. If you truly believe in your message, you will not shy away from sharing it. And if you have it in your heart to share your message on stage and through speaking, then the doors will open and you will reach heights that once were only a dream. I am proof of that: a girl from Brazil with no connections in the US, who was able to start her business from the ground up and become an on-demand speaker. You just have to start somewhere — like everybody does. Network, put yourself out there. Offer your wisdom freely and more opportunities will find you.
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?
My empowering message is the message that we must take responsibility for our own dreams — and success. Sure, there will be hardship and people who are unsupportive, but that should not hold us back. We all have a very important role and part in this life and it is our responsibility to own up to it, step up to it and serve the world with our God-given gifts. One of my favorite opportunities to share this very message was on TEDx. My talk is titled “The Transformational Power of Defeat” and in it, I explain how the struggles in immigrating from Brazil to the US and having triplets were also the catalysts for so many accomplishments in my life. Whatever feels like defeat can also be turned into an amazing opportunity for incredible success.
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 am currently working on a Book Club for my book The Empowered Woman as well as coaching programs for women entrepreneurs who are ready to get published and on stage to share their story and message. I have been mentoring business owners on how to craft their signature talk, land a TEDx and get featured as a guest expert on TV and am so excited to see more and more of my clients shine!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of my favorite quotes that really describes my personal journey and message to the world comes from Napoleon Hill’s book, Outwitting the Devil, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” I have lived it and continue to carry this wisdom with me. No matter what life throws at me, I can overcome it and believe in the blessings within the hard times.
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 Expertise: Realize you DO have knowledge on something that could benefit others, provide advice and shortcuts. This makes you valuable to people and outlets that need content.
#2 Awareness: Become aware of the opportunities out there to share your message. There are communities and outlets closer to your reach than you imagine needing content right now! Do your research.
#3 Persistence: It will probably take you a few tries to get noticed or selected. Don’t let it wear you down. Continue believing in the power of your message and leverage your connections to expand your reach.
#4 Empowerment: Find the intersection between what you can offer and what your community and outlets need. How can you make your message fit their needs?
#5 Transform: Document your journey as you start growing your speaking influence and features and learn from these experiences how to refine your craft and your message. Keep track of your personal and professional growth and don’t forget to spread gratitude along the way!
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
My favorite piece of advice I once received from a mentor was: before coming out to speak, say the prayer “Let me touch one.” At the end of the day, regardless of the size of the audience, we can only hope to touch and facilitate transformation for ONE life and that is more than enough. Remembering that it’s not about the numbers but each individual life helps keep things in perspective — our mission is bigger than your fear.
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?
My hope is to inspire a movement of individual empowerment that leads to collective empowerment. Again, I want to further my message that if each of us realize how powerful we are as an individual, as a group and society we become unstoppable to create more good for future generations.
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 would love to have lunch with Jennifer Lopez. As a fellow latina entrepreneur, I have been amazed at all of her accomplishments throughout her career. @jlo
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes! I am on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Just look for @martaspirk
I also have my podcast, The Empowered Woman on all podcast platforms.
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Makers of The Metaverse: Sam Speaight Of VRJam On The Future Of The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
You need to be a dreamer. This is a space that’s just beginning to come of age, it’s really in such a nascent embryonic stage right now, and if you’re unable to dream big and imagine a future where this technology is going to transform the possibilities to humanity, then it’s the wrong place for you.
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 interviewingSam Speaight.
As a leader within the technology and creative industry sectors over the last 20 years, Sam Speaight is the Founder and CEO of the immersive, virtual entertainment platform VRJam, that’s taking live performances to a new reality as it gains momentum across the music and tech industries. Following a recent $2 million round of funding, VRJam announced their Closed Beta Platform Launch, which unveiled a line up of live dance music events and innovative experiences, along with educational sessions with leaders and visionaries from the worlds of business and crypto to further engage the platform into new areas of technology. With core specializations including new business development for creative sector companies and executive management of SAAS and enterprise solutions providers, Sam also brings his extensive international experience in music touring to solidify his strong track record of entering new markets and developing projects in a range of territories including USA, Asia Pacific and the UK, as he takes the global music community into the next realms of 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?
Sure. I grew up as a child of the 80s, immersed in computer games and also I guess more traditional names. I was a huge fantasy nerd and went right into playing Dungeons and Dragons, and this kind of gave me my first understanding of storytelling and narratives and just dreaming, I suppose. As I grew up I became more and more engaged in entertainment culture and as a young guy I was doing things like releasing records and putting on little DJ parties and gigs in weird wonderful places. All these things kind of all coalesced together into my career as it exists today.
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 Fight Club novel by Chuck Palahniuk was really impactful for me. Always been a bit of a revolutionary thinker, and the revolutionary spirit of Fight Club really sort of polarized my thinking around sort of individual action. It had a really radical impact on the way that I view the world. I read that book at a time when my world view was really crystalizing in terms of understanding how important it was to take individual action, to try to change the world around you.
The other book that was really impacting for me was Otherland by Tad Williams, which is a series, a trilogy actually, of novels all about a future time in which virtual reality was a dominant force in society. This book had a huge impact on me and expanded my understanding of a possible future in it; even possibly considering what I do today.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry?
I think science fiction broadly inspired my desire to get involved in the immersive content or virtual reality technology space. I’ve always been a futurist, loved to imagine the future, loved to dream about what’s possible in the space of future time and future tense, and bringing to bear solutions for manifesting that vision, a possible vision of future that was defined in some way shape or form by my own understanding of life. That’s what really led me to really want to get involved in developing technologies that can redefine the concept of reality, that allow people to in some way shape or form create their own realities.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
In 2020, we created a virtual reality experience for Europe’s biggest music festival, Glastonbury Festival. We pulled out all the stops to create a hyper real simulation of the festival and it turned out to be the most highly attended digital music festival of all time. The experience was so realistic that you could actually hear your feet squelching in the mud as you walked around the festival. Over 4.3 million people tuned into the live stream or attended in VR and we had over 100 music and visual artists perform part of the event. Moderation was a challenge and we had to arrange teams of moderators to roam around the virtual world monitoring what was happening to police hate speech and that sort of thing. One of the people we had to ‘moderate’ was a guy in VR attempting to sell drugs by mail to other attendees in VRl! It was a bizarre moment because this is the exact same kind of antisocial behavior that a security guard might have to deal with at a real festival, only we were having to manage it in a virtual world!
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?
So many funny stories, which one to choose? Hahaha. The first time we took the VRJam platform, the core technology, it was a much much earlier iteration of the tech; much earlier than what exists today. There was a big technology conference in Amsterdam called IBC, the International Broadcast Conference. I had set up a solution whereby we had our technical director, who was present inside our virtual world, and this was a demo. It was basically like a live demo that was made available on the trades store. There’s a booth of one of our partners who paid for us to be there, a partner called Agora, who is still great friends with us today and still works very closely with us to this day, stemming back to 2018. I had a solution set up where we were basically giving interviews to random passers by who wanted to experience our tech, which of course had Agora solution running inside it, and making it available to everybody and anybody who wanted to understand the possibilities for the integration of video streaming into a virtual world which was what the demo was meant to show and prove. Unfortunately, I had relied on the conference wifi in order to run that solution, and it caused total chaos. I wasn’t able to communicate with my technical director, and was kinda a bit of a disaster. We managed to hobble through it, but there were some really crazy moments where I was just sprinting around the venue desperately trying to use the conference wifi to communicate with our technical director who was in an off site location, and was a horrible harrowing start to taking our technology to a public space. That’s the morale of that story, don’t ever rely on conference wifi for a tech demo.
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?
Definitely my co-founder Ivo Slivkov. Ivo is co-founder of VRJam. While I was launching the business, I met Ivo about 6 months after I’d rendered the very very first iteration of our technology which was nothing more than a half working mvp. Ivo had vastly greater experience in the tech space, as I was a bit of a newcomer to software development, and through Ivo’s tutelage, I guess you might say, in many ways through collaborating and cooperating with him I was really able to understand what it took to run a successful software company. Ivo’s had some incredible successes in his past career in the tech space, and I’ve just learned so much from him, and I continue to learn from him as a partner, as a friend to this very day.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Well, we’re about to launch our platform! Launching the consumer facing iteration of VRJam platform in November ’23, which is an incredible milestone for us. It represents the culmination of four years of development and a heck of a lot of blood sweat and tears from our incredible developer team. That solution is going to be a best in class product, and it’s going to enable content creators and brands to exist inside virtual worlds in ways that just haven’t been possible up until now. It’s going to redefine the way that fan experience takes place inside virtual reality and inside the metaverse, more broadly. This is something that I’m extremely personally proud of, something that is really going to set the bar in terms of a new standard for the sorts of solutions in the consumer space.
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?
HTC Vive has a headset coming to market which integrates a computer brain interface, CBI. This is going to be a virtual reality headset that allows you to control what goes on inside VR using nothing but your mind. I believe the intersection between computer brain interfaces, that is, a computer hardware solution that allows the brain to control software, and virtual reality is probably the most exciting technological development in the history of consumer tech. I think these two things coming together, that is where human beings begin to be more fully integrated with software systems, and the incredible power of virtual reality, when those two things combine, it’s going to redefine so many different things in terms of human communication, and just a broad definition of consciousness in digital space. To me it is just an incredibly exciting thing. I’m a huge fan of computer brain interface technology, and I really believe the combination of these two things can define a completely new vision of how human beings create value using software in computers.
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?
I guess the biggest concern is the influence of very large corporations in the space. While we’ve worked very very closely with all sorts of bluetooth tech revs, we’ve been very lucky to have the support of some of the biggest players of the global tech industry. We’re very grateful for that. I think that the traditional extractive business model can pose some very real problems inside the virtual space where you really do have people’s captive attention. I think this is something that our industry needs to be very, very, cautious about, that is, giving access to things like consumer data, and breaching privacy in the virtual reality space has a much deeper implication than the sorts of implications that you might find for instance when that same phenomena arrives in a web browser. The web browser application for those kinds of ills, those negative forces, are already terrible, but they can be magnified greatly in the virtual world, and I think we need to be careful with how we, as an industry develop this technology going forward to safeguard its awesome potential and stop it from being misused by extractive capitalism to harvest data and invade privacy. I believe that the virtual world can be a space wherein those problems are likely mitigated or reduced, and that’s the pathway we need to travel as we go forward in this industry and develop new solutions in this space.
The other problem is a big problem for a lot of folks, and it’s the potential for a sort of addiction to virtual reality experiences. Right now, the hardware isn’t really at a point where the solution or the experiences that are available in these spaces is addictive enough for it to be a serious problem, but that’s just around the corner. I believe in the next five or ten years, the realism and the depth of that realism is going to become extremely compelling and is going to really take a huge spike upward. We need to be very very careful with these solutions, not creating the same kinds we’ve seen online today with things like social media where people become so entrapped in the virtual experiences that take place inside the metaverse that they become negative. This is, again, something else that we in the industry really needs to address from the beginning. That needs to be hardwired in our software and hardware developed to ensure that we walk the path of light, not the path of darkness.
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?
Apart from the entertainment space? There are so many incredible applications for immersive technology outside the entertainment world. One of the most important ones for me personally is distance learning. There’s a fascinating thing that takes place inside an immersive experience and that is that memory retention increases by between 10–12%. Immersive experiences and immersive content create a far greater degree of memory retention then, say, book learning does. Now, this is incredibly exciting when you’re talking about distributing education solutions, particularly to less advantaged amongst us in society. I’m talking about the developing world, receiving access to education in their less advantaged communities, particularly in the global south.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
Utilizing this type of tech to create more visceral connectivity, such as in education is a fantastic example of one of the many different places and spaces in which immersive technology can create huge benefits for society. Connective-ness, in terms of being able to have a more authentic relationship with other human beings online is another incredible opportunity for the technology space. I believe that there are a whole host of ways that the connectedness of human beings could be greatly magnified through the use of immersive tech that provides value across a whole range of different verticals, whether you’re talking about pure simple human connectedness and friendship or something as mundane as a business meeting or conference. Wherever you find a need for humans to be more connected and for there to be more authentic interaction between them, this is a space within which immersive technology can really create amazing value.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
There’s a myth that really pervades the consumer space in virtual reality right now that says it’s the preserve of the wealthy and the elite. If you look at most of the entertainment content creators that have engaged in this space whether your talking about Marshmallow on Fortnite, or Travis Scott also on Fortnite, or perhaps some of you have had Roblox experiences with Lil Nas X, these are all really massive, minted content creators, elite-class creators and entertainment brands. What we as an industry need to get grips with is that this technology can be accessible for everyone and anyone, and this is a huge part of what VRJam is trying to do. We’re trying to provide a solution that gives access to the same kinds of tools and solutions that have been made available to these top tier content creators to anybody and everyone, to democratize access to this technology and create a way for any content creator in the world, be it game streamer or a DJ to get access to the same kind of tools that your Marshmallows and Travis Scotts and Lil Nas Xs have had access to over the last several years. We are aiming to create a way for this technology to bring value to anyone and everyone, not just the elite class.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The VR, AR or MR Industries?”
A small degree of insanity, haha. Hallucinogenic optimism. When people first started talking to me about the combination of block chain technology and virtual reality being the singular solution with the potential for increasing human connectedness, everyone thought I was mad. You really need to have an incredible degree of optimism to get around the doubters and haters because there are a lot of them. You need to have the capability to really be incredibly flexible, because the industry and the technology are so fast moving. The targets for where the technology is going and where it can create value change every quarter, and you need to be incredibly agile and have the ability to rethink your business model on a whim once every couple of months. Finally, you need to be a dreamer. This is a space that’s just beginning to come of age, it’s really in such a nascent embryonic stage right now, and if you’re unable to dream big and imagine a future where this technology is going to transform the possibilities to humanity, then it’s the wrong place for you.
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.
That would be a movement that is built upon the ideology that we need to understand that a collective good is a prerequisite to the individual good. Right now, society is hardwired to put the individual good first and for that to be the enabler for a collective good to manifest. We’re very lucky to live where we live. I live in a developed nation in one of the most livable cities in the world. In order for this situation, the situation that I am in to continue, there needs to be a widened understanding, a much greater understanding of the fact that there needs to be a collective approach to creating positivity and happiness for everybody in the world. The days of self indulgence, whereby the rights and needs of the individual are all that matter are very rapidly coming to an end. I believe that if we as a species don’t transform our understanding of this, and realize that for me to be good, so must everyone else, that unless that change manifests very rapidly and effectively in the near term, we’re going to face problems the like of which we have never seen before on this planet as a species, and that is a movement in part we’re trying to, we hope to, instill via what we’re doing here at VRJam. There’s a part of our corporate ideology which we call “VR Life’’, which is our charitable fund which is devoted to committing a significant part of the wealth we create through this business and project to creating solutions just like the ones I’ve mentioned, that is solutions that support the wellbeing, the happiness and the piece and positivity of the least wealthy and the least fortunate people in the world today, and if that ideology were hardwired in every major corporation in the world today, the world would be a very different place, a much happier, more beautiful more awesome place for everybody in it. That is a fundamentally important part of what I personally want to do with this business and this project, to really inspire a movement around doing good for everyone and everything on the planet, not just us.
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 person would be Ghandi, but he’s no longer here. Dead or alive? Yea, it would definitely be Ghandi. Going back to what I said a moment ago about inspiring a movement of positive change that embraces a collectivist ideology, Gandhi managed to create the single greatest manifestation of this vision in modern times. He managed to move India into a state of indepence and free India from the control of the British colonialist using a platform and movement based entirely on peace and passivity. He managed to liberate his country without firing a bullet and without any act of violence or anything like the revolution that one might usually think is needed to cause that kind of massive system change. He is, in my personal opinion, the greatest system changer of modern times, and I would love to sit him down and really understand how he achieved what he did with nothing more than peace and positivity to create that change.
Also, Satoshi Nakamoto is definitely at the top of the list. Understanding how and why he or she created cryptocurrency and the expectations that he or she had for social impact as a result of the publication of the bitcoin whitepaper is a kernel of knowledge I would truly prize!
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Tal Zackon Of Tres On The 5 Things You Need To Understand In Order To Successfully Invest In Cryptocurrency
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Know your risk appetite. Do you know what you are getting into? Are you a trading firm who wants to create alpha by engaging in yield farming or a company simply managing its treasury that just wants to stake stable coins or ethereum for example? Or are you an individual who wants to dip your toe in the crypto waters? In that case, your risk tolerance might be a lot more conservative.
Over the past few years, the Cryptocurrency industry has been making headlines nearly every week. Many people have gotten very wealthy investing or leading the cryptocurrency industry. At the same time, many people have lost a lot investing in the industry. In addition, more people have been scrutinizing the ecological impact of crypto mining, as well as its potential facilitation of illegal activity. What is being done and what can be done to address these concerns?
In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Understand In Order To Successfully Invest In Cryptocurrency” we are talking to leaders in the cryptocurrency industry, as well as successful investors, who share insights from their experience about how to successfully invest in Cryptocurrency.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tal Zackon.
Tal is CEO and co-founder of Tres, which launched in September 2022 as the first financial data lake for Web3 companies. Previously he led the F2 Venture Capital investment team and also served as the General Manager at The Junction. Having served as a Captain in the Israeli Special Forces, he is on the board of Combat Ventures, a non-profit organization assisting IDF veterans’ integration into the Israeli startup ecosystem.
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 little about your backstory and how you grew up?
I was born in South Africa, and partly raised there until later moving to Israel. Eventually I was recruited to the Israeli Army and served in their Special Forces for six years. That’s where I met my company co-founder Elion Lotem.
After serving, I studied business in Israel and during that time did various diplomatic projects with the Israeli government and also worked with a business intelligence company. During my third year, I joined an early stage venture capital firm called F2 Venture Capital and remained with them for four years, running the Fund’s accelerator and investing in several companies including a blockchain firm. Overall, I learned a great deal about startups during my tenure.
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?
A book that really impacted me was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I think I read it when I was in the Army, or just before, and it changed my way of thinking about the world in terms of innovation, technology, and building something important. It made me realize that what drives the economy and the world forward is innovation and striving for excellence and hard work.
The book made me realize that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and create something that will impact the world in some positive way.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue your particular career path? We’d love to hear it.
My dad was a financial advisor and built himself up with his own ten fingers, exposing me to the start up mentality and technology scene. I think that I’ve always had the need to build something; create something from nothing. And that is what pushed me forward to go and build my own company, Tres, a financial data lake for Web3 companies, along with Elion (more details are below about Tres). I also think my leadership service in the Special Forces Unit in the Israeli Army made me believe in myself and understand that anything’s possible.
As I said, my first entry was as an investor, and I got to see first-hand founders go on to build great companies. They would go from two people with an idea, and a funding presentation, and go on to grow businesses into 20, 30, 50, or 200 people and build a product. That was really inspiring to me. I felt it was time for me to stop sitting on the sidelines and watching the action happen, and become one of the players on the field.
One company I invested in while at F2 was called AVO, a grocery delivery service. When they started they had about five employees. I remember joining them one day for delivery as part of our due diligence process, and seeing the founder do the hard sweaty delivery work on his own was cool. Two years later they grew so much that they had a warehouse with 600 people — that’s the most inspiring thing I’ve seen recently from a start-up perspective.
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’t really think of anything that is terribly humorous, although there I’m sure there have been funny moments and missteps on the way. I guess you could say that in the beginning it was very “garage oriented” in that we were working out of my co-founder Elion’s apartment, or other team members’ apartments in Tel Aviv.
The one thing I’ve learned is that an idea is one thing but execution is everything. If you don’t bring your idea to life and have people interact with a product — you don’t know if it’s a good idea or not. Your friends may say “oh, that’s a great concept, you should definitely go and build it,” but until you meet real life customers who will give you real feedback — you don’t really know. Is someone actually going to pay for your idea?
I guess what’s funny, in a way, is that you can have an amazing idea for a new feature as well, in a vacuum, but then when you show a client they don’t think it’s useful or relevant. What I learned is not to spend too much time on an idea until you can shop it around in the field.
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 is still so much yet to come on Tres’ journey, but when I was thinking of building a company, I wasn’t quite sure exactly what that would look like yet. I was consulting with a lot of different and inspiring people and had all kinds of offers, but nothing felt quite right.
Then Elion, my co-founder and I, went for lunch and he showed me what he was working on, and what he wanted to build, which was a data platform in the crypto space. And I knew right away that it was something I wanted to help build.
For me, Elion was the perfect partner because of his skills and expertise in technology, and because we came from the same army service — so we spoke a very similar language. I knew that our values were aligned and his ambition and hard work would be invaluable.
Truthfully — I never thought I would find someone who would work as hard as I do. And suddenly I’ve got a partner who is constantly pushing and showing me what excellence and hard work really looks like.
I haven’t really been able to match him or kind of reach his levels. But he is the person who inspires me every day to be better, and that’s been a huge part of building Tres.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Elion and I were thrilled to launch our new company Tres recently — the first financial data lake for Web3 companies — along with a $7.6 million seed round. A data lake is essentially a large repository of data stored in a raw format, which is then used to make the data actionable for reporting, visualization, analytics and machine learning.
Nowhere is this more applicable than in the world of cryptocurrency. Web3 businesses (you can read more about Web3 here), are struggling to manage the exponential growth and complexity of financial data across digital assets. Tres’ financial platform provides an unparalleled level of visibility, monitoring, alerting and automation to Web3 finance teams and seamlessly translates high volumes of raw blockchain data into actionable information.
Tres does this by collecting and aggregating data across disparate crypto wallets, accounts and platforms, reducing the workload of manual spreadsheets — a process prone to human error — by 80%. The data is organized and enriched and allows finance teams to work with it the same way they handle fiat data, making the user experience seamless and familiar.
If you’re so inclined, you can read our press release here and our debut in TechCrunch here.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The cryptocurrency industry seems extremely dynamic right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
Its massive potential — The global crypto market cap is $1.06 trillion as of August 1, 2022. Approximately $112 billion is traded in cryptocurrency per day, and there are more than 6,000 different types of cryptocurrencies. The global blockchain market is predicted to go up to $23.3 billion by 2023. At this rate, analysts forecast that the cryptocurrency market will triple in size by 2030 at a valuation of around $5 trillion.
Greater mainstream adoption — Most professional investors think that crypto will become increasingly mainstream. Recently, the United States’ oldest bank, BNY Mellon, became “the first mainstream bank to offer cryptocurrencies alongside traditional products on the same platform.”
Stable coins — which are “cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged, or tied, to that of another currency, commodity, or financial instrument, providing an alternative to the high volatility of the most popular cryptocurrencies.” (Investopedia) I think that stable coins are going to be a real game-changer, as they’ve already boosted mass adoption. They will enable companies to de-risk themselves while still staying part of the crypto ecosystem
What are the 3 things that concern you about the industry? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
1) The growing complexity of managing crypto assets across platforms, protocols, accounts and wallets. There’s been a movement happening in the Web3 space in the last couple of years. If you look backwards, you’ll see that most crypto operations interacted with Bitcoin or Ethereum and businesses held maybe one or two wallets. Today, with the influx of protocols and exchanges, the companies we engage with have such a large variety of endpoints where they store value and crypto assets. There is so much more diversity today, and financial management is becoming more of a challenge.
There are just so many transactions, both internally and with third party “smart contracts’ (or terms of agreement between buyer and seller). There’s just a massive influx of data for the middle, front and back office — and it is very difficult to grasp the big picture, to know the company’s net worth, and see where the money is flowing to and from. Analyzing all these financial movements is very, very difficult.
If you compare that to the Web2 world — what we have traditionally been used to — we have everything pretty much in order moving between bank accounts. It’s much easier to see what is happening.
But when it comes to the blockchain, crypto and Web3, that’s a much more technological ecosystem. It’s much more code oriented, and therefore it’s very difficult for financial teams today to get their arms around it.
Fortunately Tres makes this easy in one central dashboard in a format finance professionals are used to. We’ll take all that financial data and parse, cluster and enrich it in order to enable treasury teams — and any person in an organization — a clear visibility into their financial operations. We can leverage that data for compliance, reconciliations, audit and accounting, and also so finance teams can analyze their revenue and optimize their internal operations.
2) Scams and Security — These two concerns go hand in hand. The amount of scams that happen in the crypto universe is quite concerning and that puts the spotlight on security, or how to protect one’s crypto assets.
I think that until we clean up the industry from this mess, and have good enough tooling to help us avoid the scams and protect our assets better, we will still be regarded by many people around the world as an industry they don’t want to be part of. It’s hurting the branding and the reputation of our industry. And that is something that we have to help move forward and progress. I think the Web3 rebranding was a great idea — it signifies a fresh start.
3) The Web3/crypto Echo chamber. There are another two or three steps that we need to take in order to position Web3 as the future of finance. Most in this Web3 ecosystem are trapped in an echo chamber, and drinking our own kool aid.
There needs to be another level of accessibility, sort of like Apple Pay. Right now you can’t buy a hamburger with crypto, and you can’t order groceries or purchase a couch. Apple Pay took some time to take off but now they are ubiquitous. We still need to get there, but there is another layer of technology that needs to be built.
Circle, an investor in my company, is the primary issuer of USD Coin (USDC), which is a blockchain-based token pegged to the dollar also known as a stable coin. It is considered to be the top challenger to market leader Tether, in fact. I think they will help bring more accessibility to the ecosystem which we need.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about cryptocurrency? Can you explain what you mean?
One myth, that many people I speak to believe, is that crypto is mainly used to launder money for terrorism and drug deals. While that may happen, these same groups also do nefarious things with fiat. It’s not a rogue community, the Web3 ecosystem itself has totally changed with the type of legitimate investors, VCs, founders, engineers, finance teams and more that interact and engage in the ecosystem.
How do you think cryptocurrency has the potential to help society in the future?
A bankless society is really more of a cliche, but crypto does have the potential to optimize the financial world through capital, job creation, and technological advancement. It may be very similar to the Industrial Revolution and how it changed the world — that I do believe.
Think about something as simple as sending an invoice. If I send one in USD (US dollar) it can take two weeks for money to get into my account — or even arrive by check — if you factor in bank holidays, weekends etc. But with USDC (a crypto stablecoin), from the minute you send an invoice the money will be wired to your wallet. That’s revolutionary.
Recently, more people have been scrutinizing the ecological impact of crypto mining. From your perspective, can you explain to our readers why the cryptocurrency industry is creating an environmental challenge?
Yes, many have grown concerned about the environmental impact of “crypto mining” which can be an energy-intensive process using massive servers. But when you compare that to the environmental damage caused by airplane travel — that is much more damaging than a server helping to mine bitcoin.
From your perspective what can be done to address or correct these concerns?
Of course, the industry is still sensitive to sustainability efforts which was one of the big reasons to move towards Proof of Stake (PoS) vs Proof of Work (PoW) when validating crypto transactions on the blockchain.
There’s so much to read about that, your readers can find a lot of information about the differences with a quick search! Basically PoS requires much less energy and no special equipment.
Recently, more people have been scrutinizing cryptocurrency’s impact on illegal activity. From your perspective, can you explain to our readers why cryptocurrency, more than fiat currency, is seen as an attractive choice for criminals?
Cryptocurrency has no central authority, such as a traditional banking system — hence the term DeFi (decentralized finance) — which is the entire point. Eliminating a central bank and operating on an accessible blockchain was meant to democratize access to currency.
Digital assets are a brilliant concept, but because this money is virtual it can be more vulnerable to criminal activity and hacking — and with billions of dollars at stake, nefarious activity is almost inevitable. Bad actors can stay anonymous, route crypto around and then disappear very easily.
From your perspective what can be done to address or correct these concerns?
There is a lot of attention to this problem, and countries around the world are responding with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist-Financing (CTF) legislation with the end-goal of Know Your Customer (KYC).
One really big story back in May was when Bitcoin blender was closed down by U.S. law enforcement for laundering money for North Korea — which is scary stuff. So you can see that serious measures are being taken to curtail rogue activity.
Ok, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are “The 5 Things You Need To Understand In Order To Successfully Invest In Cryptocurrency?”
The information provided here is not specific investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
Set a goal and have a strategy. Have a goal, and when you achieve it — know what is next. Think steps ahead, in other words. Generating as much yield as possible is not a strategy. Many experts will say it’s best not to exceed 5% or 10% of your portfolio in crypto. Pick which percentage feels comfortable to you within this range. You can’t time the market, so stick to your strategy. Don’t feel uncomfortable returning to base (hold where you are).
In Hebrew there is a saying ”a small pig eats a lot, but a big pig gets slaughtered.” You want to be a small pig.
2. Know your risk appetite. Do you know what you are getting into? Are you a trading firm who wants to create alpha by engaging in yield farming or a company simply managing its treasury that just wants to stake stable coins or ethereum for example? Or are you an individual who wants to dip your toe in the crypto waters? In that case, your risk tolerance might be a lot more conservative.
3. Do your due diligence. Investigate and look into all the opportunities carefully. Look at the website, talk to other investors, do your OWN due diligence, and don’t blindly trust the “picks” of others or any media hype.
4. Avoid fluctuation risk. If you are in a transitory position, i.e. if you are moving between coins and exited positions, try to move back to stablecoins to avoid fluctuation risk. Don’t forget to go back to your base (eg take a breather). For example, staying long on ethereum or moving back to stablecoins could be a risk averse approach.
5. “Not your keys =not your coins.” This is a very common phrase in the crypto world. If you don’t control the keys, the coins don’t really belong to you. Take Celsius as an example in which users found out they had no control over its business activity or its assets. Know who controls the coins and know what your level of access is. Will you still be in control of your own assets?
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they enter the industry? What can be done to avoid that?
Believing stories about people getting rich quickly through crypto is a mistake; that is extremely rare. For every one person who gets rich, there are 100 who lose their pants.
When investing in crypto, be thoughtful, build a strategy, and do your own due diligence. Don’t make media hype guide your investment strategy. This bears repeating: always return to base periodically (i.e. stay put for a while) and don’t go down a rabbit hole of new opportunities and projects. Stay calm, know your risk appetite and don’t be afraid to cut losses.
Do you have a particular type of cryptocurrency that you are excited about? We’d love to hear why.
Aptos, the Cosmos Network, and Polygon have all received a lot of media attention (some good, some not). We are seeing an uptick in engagement, especially among builders, so I’m very excited to see the future and how things develop. I would definitely keep my eye on those.
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 have absolutely loved to have dined with — or even met — Nelson Mandela. I was actually born in South Africa and my parents grew up there during Apartheid. Just as it was ending, my family moved to Israel — but my roots are there and Mandela looms large over my memories.
His greatness is just super inspiring to me — he changed the lives of so many people and brought peace through compassion, love and compromise to a huge country. An exceptional leader with no comparison, in my mind, and I have no doubt that a conversation with him would have been priceless.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
When you are getting successful, people are starting reach out to you because they want to collaborate or wants to use your services. I never looked at experience but only at the results. Results never lie and maybe you can learn something about it.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Didier Rooms.
Didier Rooms is a serial entrepreneur with a main focus on branding — Social media and Google marketing. He has business interests in over 3 continents.
Didier Rooms has been described as a true innovator in his industries. He created a B2B matching platform “Experts at Expo” where businesses can meet during expo 2020 Dubai.
He is also founder of ADD-Design, a leading digital marketing agency based in Belgium, Europe.
Thank you 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’?
Started with nothing.
Now just 9 years later, Serial Entrepreneur and closed business in the U.A.E. , U.S. and Europe.
He became one of the innovators by teaching the art of branding, social media and Google marketing.
Even though his recognition and success in business, his true passion is reaching out to those who dream of achieving their digital goals.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
A key decision in my career that helped me get where I am today is visiting the U.A.E. and get inspired by the thought to be always the number 1 in everything you do.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
In the beginning we were only selling websites and we were just one of a dozen. After endless strategic thinking I believe that we found the golden nugget, Creating an ecosystem for our clients.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
It’s easy to start a new service but you always need to keep in mind if the new service will bring you more revenue. This was a mistake in the beginning.. We were not focussed enough on the return on investment from a single project.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
I think it is both.. From the start of the Pandemic I met JT Foxx, he is an American business coach and has also several global businesses. Still he is coaching me and it brings me motivation and also a clear view from people that are more successful than me. I use this learnings to teach our clients and bring their mindset and also their businesses to the next level.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
Steve Jobs is my big example. He was always trying things were nobody in believed. Innovation is key in our industry and you don’t need to copy your competition but you need to create your own path. That’s also what Apple did.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”? Please give a story or example for each.
Keep the door, And your mind, Open
When you are getting successful, people are starting reach out to you because they want to collaborate or wants to use your services. I never looked at experience but only at the results. Results never lie and maybe you can learn something about it.
2. Change Or Be Changed
Try to do a daily 5 minute strategic thinking session. You need to think about your existing work and what you think that is needed to implement in the future. If you don’t think about changing yourself or your business, your competition will overrule you.
3. A talent obsession
I believe in commitment to my clients. When we promise to deliver something, in 99% of the cases it will be delivered on time. I only attract staff with the same mindset. It’s not about education, but about the willing to succeed and do whatever it takes.
4. Nurturing talent Locally And Internationally
In our industry it is impossible to have all the knowledge locally. That’s why we started early in our scale up phase with nurturing talent from other continents. Also we are able to work the clock around because our staff is in different timezones.
5. Innovate or perish
This year we have won already 2 global innovation awards so I think innovation is in my DNA. You always need to be 8 steps ahead of your competition. If you combine this with the daily strategic thinking, I believe that this is my succes formula.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
I see a lot of scale ups raising money, but only a few will survive after 5 years. A clear business plan with milestones can maybe help them to survive. It’s not only about raising capital and burn that money, only with dedication to your business plan you will survive.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
There is always a single point of contact within our company. New people are getting the smaller tasks so they can prove themselves. I am standing in for the quality control before the delivery to our clients so our brand will not be impacted.
Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
Write clear procedures from the intake to the delivery of a project. In most cases there is also a timeline involved.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
Be Decisive And Don’t look back
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Philip Blows of AQRU plc On The 5 Things You Need To Understand In Order To Successfully Invest In Cryptocurrency
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Beware of market cycles: In stocks and shares, you would expect to see in an average year a peak-to-trough drawdown of about 10% and, every five to eight years, the market would become bearish and drop around 33% on average. This has been consistent for around a hundred years and, as a free market, crypto follows a similar pattern.
Over the past few years, the Cryptocurrency industry has been making headlines nearly every week. Many people have gotten very wealthy investing or leading the cryptocurrency industry. At the same time, many people have lost a lot investing in the industry. In addition, more people have been scrutinizing the ecological impact of crypto mining, as well as its potential facilitation of illegal activity. What is being done and what can be done to address these concerns?
In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Understand In Order To Successfully Invest In Cryptocurrency” we are talking to leaders in the cryptocurrency industry, as well as successful investors, who share insights from their experience about how to successfully invest in Cryptocurrency.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Philip Blows.
Philip Blows is CEO of AQRU plc, with more than 15 years of leadership experience in the fintech and asset management sectors where he spearheaded the scaling-up of online trading platforms at several leading companies. Philip’s previous experience includes Sales Director at Wealth Wizards, a UK robo-advice platform; Senior Foreign Exchange Adviser at Continental Capital Markets S.A; and Head of Trading at Moneycorp.
Philip holds several internationally recognised financial certifications, including an Investment Management Certificate from the CFA Institute and has been certified as a Blockchain Expert by the Blockchain Council. He is also the author of the personal finance book, The Money Triangle.
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 little about your backstory and how you grew up?
I was born in the UK, just outside London. Since a young age I had a massive interest in finance and, as a 10-year-old, I would even look for finance jobs in the local newspaper and would think of how to apply to them.
I went to university, but I didn’t do anything finance-y. I studied geology, as I had the idea of spending my time at university outside and not having to work in a classroom. But, throughout this time, I continued to be interested in finance.
So, when I left university, I went straight into a career in finance where I helped people find the best exchange rate when moving money around the world. This was around 2005, the markets were good and there was a lot to be done, so I often found myself helping people buy investment properties abroad and ensured they got the most for their money whilst doing it. However, I quickly realised that stocks and shares were something I was also interested in.
As a result, I joined a trading desk and worked there for seven or eight months until I got my lucky break: my boss and my boss’ boss left, so the company started looking for someone to run the business. I was only 21 at the time but, as I was the top salesperson and had proven to be a hard worker, I was given the chance.
After successfully running the business for a few years, I moved to a company called Moneycorp where I became Head of Trading and, after this, I started working in institutional derivatives broking at Continental Capital Markets. I then started working in a FinTech company that was developing the UK’s first online platform to provide automated financial advice. Here is when I saw how many people struggled to manage and invest their money.
This was also around the time when crypto was becoming more popular, but it was this terribly complicated arena that so many people did not understand, and I realised that there was a need for a solution that could help people invest in the crypto markets. This is why I created the crypto yield and investment app AQRU, and the reason why AQRU plc is focused on building, operating and scaling decentralised finance (DeFi) and Web3 start-ups offering services, such as crypto investment, lending and custody, that bridge the worlds of traditional and decentralised finance. The mission is to enable everyone to easily and safely participate in DeFi.
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 always liked ‘The Lean Startup’, a book in which the author, Eric Ries, uses his journey building his own business to explain how to release a new product to market and then quickly get customer feedback to support innovation and improve the solution. It’s a sort of ‘flywheel’ that goes round and round, with the companies that excel at innovating being those that can spin the flywheel the fastest.
The model in The Lean Startup was central to our strategy for the AQRU app. We initially launched AQRU as an email service through which we would use our expertise to help people generate yields in the crypto market and, every week, we would send our customers an email to update them on our progress.
Once the service was launched, we started spinning the ‘flywheel’: we would regularly approach our customers to better understand their needs, as well as to get their feedback on how we could improve our service and what they would like to see in the AQRU mobile and web app that we were developing at the time.
The AQRU app launched in December 2021, but we’re still ‘spinning the flywheel’ to ensure that we’re delivering a service that truly works for crypto investors. For instance, following the series of high-profile collapses of crypto companies earlier this year, we heard from many investors that they were frustrated with the lack of transparency of many businesses that took excessive risks with their money and, even worse, did not provide them with information on where their assets were being invested, and what the risks were.
So, as part of our flywheel, we’ve focused on showing in our AQRU app that our customers’ crypto is safe. As such, we’ve adopted a marketplace model, where investors can access a number of yield-generating solutions which have either been developed by the AQRU team or by our trusted third parties. We’ve made sure to always provide customers with detailed information on the third-party behind the yield strategy, as well as on how assets are being invested to generate returns.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue your particular career path? We’d love to hear it.
In terms of what got me into finance to begin with, it was reading a book called ‘Market Wizards’ and then the sequel, ‘The New Market Wizards’, a collection of interviews with the most successful investors, hedge fund managers and traders in the world. The first version is quite old, but I find it fascinating how everyone takes different approaches to trying to make money out of the markets.
The book resonated with me because I just love being close to the action. For me, the action is helping people make money and excess returns in the market. AQRU has given me a fantastic opportunity to do this as we’re helping customers every single day to make money out of crypto. That’s why there’s nowhere else I’d rather 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?
This is probably funny in retrospect, but not so much at the time. Very early in my career, I had just started at this new trading business and one of the senior traders on the desk took me out at lunchtime to tell me the way of the world and we had a chat over a couple of pints.
When we went back to the office, I was a little worse for wear, so I tripped on the stairs and made a massive hole in the knee of my new suit. As someone who was on very little money and had just upgraded their suit to the next level, this was quite a knock.
Previously I had this really old, horrible threadbare suit so this slapped me back down a level. This was also a lesson learned: don’t drink at lunchtime and know your limits! Good advice for all of life.
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?
Everyone needs help to succeed. I’m so fortunate to have an incredibly supportive partner in my wife, Anna. We have two amazing kids, who are a lot of work, so Anna spends her time managing our home life and keeping things running smoothly, which is a huge, huge job. Having that stability behind the scenes is something I’m incredibly grateful for, I couldn’t do it without her.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
The most exciting new project we’ve launched recently, and one I’m really proud of, is BlockLender, a company that enables people to borrow against their crypto, and use the loan for whatever they choose. In other words, BlockLender is a way for people to make the most real-world use of their crypto, in a way that is simple and easy to understand — and true to our mission, completely transparent.
Many people who’ve been burnt in crypto have used platforms that have taken massive risks with their crypto — we’ve seen a wave of CeFi collapses over the past six months, many of which can be attributed to poor risk management. BlockLender changes that — we’ve changed the way loans are funded, meaning no unpleasant risks are being taken with our customers’ crypto. And we’re completely transparent about all our innermost workings, too.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The cryptocurrency industry seems extremely dynamic right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
Promoting finance and inclusion: One thing that we have seen, time and time again, is that the people who have the least money, or the least ability to make money, are the most under-served. There are billions of people who still don’t have a bank account, and traditional banks just aren’t set up to be able to deal with these types of individuals.
In a fully decentralised financial system, there are no barriers to entry. All you need is an internet connection to trade, send money and transfer value around the world. Crypto’s original purpose is to create a financial system for all which is something we need to hold on to.
Removing the middlemen: If you go to a bank and deposit money there, you may earn less than 1% in interest but, if you go to that same bank and then try and borrow money, you could be asked to pay around 5%. This difference is the cost of the middleman.
By using some of the more innovative borrowing, lending and yield generating tools within crypto today, there is a huge compression of those fees. Additionally, the fees that are generated go back to the community that supports the project so it’s a completely different economic model and something that’s really exciting for everyone.
Innovation: There’s been this enormous movement of incredibly talented people from traditional finance and big tech to crypto, with some big executives having even left major investment banks to come into small little crypto start-ups. I think that this growing talent pool that’s entering crypto is what is going to make it succeed, it’s impossible to throw this much brain power at an industry and not have it grow and outperform what is already in place. So, watch this space because the pace of innovation is accelerating.
What are the 3 things that concern you about the industry? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
Ill-thought out regulation: Regulation is the biggest catalyst for growth in crypto, but it is also one of its biggest threats. When we look at crypto regulation, we know that once there is a firm regulatory infrastructure in place, all the larger institutions will get involved and with them, their customers — it would be incredibly positive for the sector.
But, before we reach this point, there is going to be a big learning curve for regulators as they first need to understand crypto. Many regulatory bodies are incredibly understaffed and underfunded and, as a result, they can’t move at the pace that crypto can which means that some of the regulations that that are coming in are not particularly well-thought and don’t take into account just how different crypto is from traditional finance.
Ill-thought out regulation can affect the sector and stifle innovation, making it one of the biggest threats to the crypto sector as a whole. So, as an industry, we need to develop, and work through, industry bodies to ensure that we can continue engaging with regulators on this.
Misinformation: Everyone who has been on Twitter, TikTok, or almost any other social media platform for that matter, has seen some sort of gasping face in some thumbnail claiming to have the next crypto silver bullet, which is just bonkers.
What’s needed to help protect people from these scams, and what we’re trying to achieve at AQRU, is trusted sources of information where people can hear from those who have their best interests at heart and can help them understand crypto and the risks associated with investing in this space. Without trusted sources, people will be floundering in the dark, lost in the ether of the internet, and unfortunately, they’re going to find nothing but trouble.
Pace of adoption: A problem with big financial institutions, which I discovered previously in my career, is that even when it is blindingly obvious that something is in their best interests, they’re often too big to innovate. For example, I once sold a piece of software to an investment bank and it took them four years to sign it off so, by the time all the admin was done and the project was ready to go, the person who had originally led the initiative had left. So, at the end, a million dollars had been wasted, and the service never even launched.
If we say that blockchain is a great improvement on financial institutions’ current systems, that’s great. But it also means that financial organisations may have to rip out all of their old legacy systems, which is something that takes significant effort and coordination. Some of these big institutions won’t be able to do it, but it’ll be interesting to see if new institutions, which have such a competitive advantage because they’re able to pivot and use new technology, will force some of them to exit the market as they can no longer compete. This whole process is going to take a long time — that’s the nature of the beast.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about cryptocurrency? Can you explain what you mean?
I think one of the myths people talk about is that cryptocurrency is only used by criminals and money launderers. That’s something that you hear in the press a lot, because on the whole, the media remains very sceptical of the sector.
But that’s not what the majority of crypto is used for. Cryptocurrency is about transferring value seamlessly around the world for low cost. This can be done through tokens like Bitcoin, which is often seen as a store of value, but we’re now also seeing things like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) appear.
Everyone knows about these massively overpriced, profile picture NFTs that have got all the press. But this is not all these tokens are about. NFTs’ main use is to serve as a tool to transact and transfer value. NFTs are letting us take something we own in the physical world, break it up into a thousand pieces and sell them to other people, or collateralise them and borrow against that asset more easily than ever before. There are use cases in the real world for crypto that are transformative for everyday life, and that’s something that people need to understand.
How do you think cryptocurrency has the potential to help society in the future?
I’ve touched on this already, but crypto is reducing the barriers to entry to the financial system. Anyone with an internet connection can access blockchain technology and see value from other counter parties around the world. This changes the game for billions of people who are underserved by banks and, as a result, do not have access to basic financial services. By bringing them into a more inclusive financial system, crypto is only going to benefit everyone.
Recently, more people have been scrutinizing the ecological impact of crypto mining. From your perspective, can you explain to our readers why the cryptocurrency industry is creating an environmental challenge?
Cryptocurrency is decentralised which means that there isn’t one party keeping a record of everything. Instead, there are thousands or millions of people, all of whom participate in the security of the network and who mutually agree on who owns what. So, how does everyone agree on the correct ownership of an asset and what does this have to do with the environment?
The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, uses something called ‘proof-of-work’ to do their consensus or agree on who owns what. In this methodology, you have millions of people around the world who are all trying to quickly solve equations to be able to confirm or ‘mint’ the block of transactions that have just occurred. And, for doing that, they are rewarded in Bitcoin.
As more miners try to solve the equations, the blockchain automatically increases the difficulty, but the amount of Bitcoin mined remains constant. As the equations become more difficult, miners invest in more powerful mining rigs to gain a competitive advantage, which use more and more energy. This spiralling arms race of computing power is not great for the environment.
From your perspective what can be done to address or correct these concerns?
A lot of blockchains are now looking at creating consensus models that are less carbon intensive. One of these new models is called ‘proof-of-stake’ which works like a lottery system whereby if you own a token in that blockchain, you have a ticket to the lottery. So, if your ticket is selected, you are the one who gets to confirm the transaction and you get paid a reward.
As ‘proof-of-stake’ doesn’t have all these validators out there constantly trying to solve these equations by using large amounts of processing power, this consensus model is over 99% more energy efficient than ‘proof-of-work’. As a result, we’re now seeing that some blockchains like Ethereum, which is one of the most popular public blockchains, have switched from ‘proof-of-work’ to ‘proof-of-stake’.
The move to ‘proof-of-stake’ is going to be a game changer for investors, especially institutional actors which often need to show that they have considered the environmental, social and governance impacts of their investments. And this is why Ethereum may find that it’s a bigger candidate to be held by institutions than Bitcoin.
Recently, more people have been scrutinizing cryptocurrency’s impact on illegal activity. From your perspective, can you explain to our readers why cryptocurrency, more than fiat currency, is seen as an attractive choice for criminals?
Historically, there was a lack of controls in place, and people who owned Bitcoin could send it to whomever, for whatever. The early days of crypto were tied to a notorious website called ‘Silk Road’. You could buy anything on Silk Road using Bitcoin: drugs, guns, all these sorts of things — it was the Wild West.
From your perspective what can be done to address or correct these concerns?
What we found over time is that as new people entered the market, most of the crypto has been bought with fiat. But, to do so, users must first go through a platform or business that can support with the exchange. These exchanges are required to have anti-money laundering controls in place, so it’s a completely different ballgame to how it was at the start of crypto.
Ok, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are “The 5 Things You Need To Understand In Order To Successfully Invest In Cryptocurrency?
Beware of market cycles: In stocks and shares, you would expect to see in an average year a peak-to-trough drawdown of about 10% and, every five to eight years, the market would become bearish and drop around 33% on average. This has been consistent for around a hundred years and, as a free market, crypto follows a similar pattern.
Crypto is a highly cyclical market that seems to go in two-and-a-half to three-year waves during which there is a big build up to a peak and then a big crash. This is something that people need to be very aware of because, unlike in traditional finance where the average bear market experiences a decrease of 33%, in crypto, the average crash has been from 80% to 85% which is almost a complete wipe-out of the entire previous move.
For example, in November of last year, we saw Bitcoin reach an all-time high of around $68,000 but, since then, there has been a pullback of around 80%. While it could be argued that this decline shows that the situation might be slightly different from the 80–85% decline in price that we’ve seen before, we can still be fairly confident that, in terms of where we are in the cycle, we’re heading towards the bottom end of the range.
The trend is your friend: There’s another way of looking at this, don’t catch a falling knife. As markets crash, a lot of observers start saying ‘now’ is the time to buy and they’ll say it every time the market drops a little bit further, and further again, until everyone runs out of cash.
People investing in crypto must be disciplined and ask themselves if prices over the last few months were lower than they are today, as that means that we’re in an up-trend which is usually a catalyst for us to begin buying. Now it also works in reverse, if prices were higher before, the market is probably in a down-trend so people should probably start selling and taking off exposure. This is exactly what we’re doing at AQRU through our trend-following system, which we call AQRU Trend, that looks at the price action over the last three months to help our customers jump in at the right time.
Diversification: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. Yes, it has been one of the best performing asset classes for the last 10 years, but it should never be more than 10% to 15% of your overall portfolio. Crypto was not designed to be someone’s entire net worth, it is an alternative asset that complements a diversified portfolio, that should predominantly hold equities, property and, now that we’re seeing the markets change, maybe even bonds.
Be careful: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There’s no way around this, I’m afraid. When someone says that they’re making a hundred percent a month, this is probably a scam. Always do your homework before jumping in, and you’ll be fine.
Keep educating yourself: Crypto is incredibly innovative. If you invested in Bitcoin in 2008, you’ve obviously done exceptionally well but, with new investment protocols and tokens currently available in the market, you’ve probably missed some good return opportunities too. To identify the next rally on time, you must be involved in the space and always on the lookout for opportunities to learn more about it.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they enter the industry? What can be done to avoid that?
The most common mistakes are literally the opposite of what we just discussed: people jump into something simply because they heard about it on social media. The reality is that by the time a new ‘opportunity’ hits your Twitter feed, it’s probably too late and all you’re doing is buying as the people who got in early are selling to you. In other words, you’ve missed the bell and are now buying and selling at the wrong time.
Do you have a particular type of cryptocurrency that you are excited about? We’d love to hear why.
I’m going to keep this blindingly simple — Ethereum. All the innovation that we’ve seen so far in terms of reducing transaction costs and NFTs, to name a few, is reliant on the Ethereum blockchain. This means that there is an enormous potential for Ethereum to become even more widely used across the crypto and DeFi ecosystems.
Additionally, as I previously mentioned, Ethereum recently transitioned from requiring ‘proof-of-work’ to ‘proof-of-stake’, helping limit the cryptocurrency’s impact on the environment. I suspect that, in the long term, this will only make Ethereum more attractive, particularly to institutional investors who must consider the impact that their portfolio has on the environment.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I like the idea of paying it forward. Everyone is so caught up in their own lives and their own emotions that they can just forget how to treat other people. This is particularly obvious online where you see some people with these online personas that are highly toxic and negative.
I think this is something we need to counterbalance. So, if I could inspire a movement, I would like it to be a paying it forward initiative where people do something good or nice to someone else, either online or in-person, for no additional gain to themselves. Hopefully, this would have a ripple effect which then begets people to be nicer to each other.
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 Under Armour’s founder, Kevin Plank. I think he’s a phenomenal businessman and a very inspiring person that has done great things for the business community in Maryland, including consciously deciding to grow Under Armour in this state even though start-ups were not particularly well-represented there.
I also think he has done a great job of building Under Armour’s employee culture. For them the business isn’t a family, it’s a sports team so it’s the job of the leadership team to cultivate an environment which gets elite performance out of the people who work for Under Armour. Kevin Plank once gave this great lecture about employee culture, where he talked about how he was hoping Under Armour would reach a billion dollars’ worth of revenue that year and said that, if they were very close by the end of December, the whole team had agreed to go out and buy shirts until they made it!
Kevin Plank’s methodology and thought patterns around creating a positive working environment where people can do their best work is something that I’ve really tried to do with AQRU and that I would like to get his thoughts on. Also, I really like that he’s a bit of a fist-bashing-on-the-table, big personality which would certainly make breakfast entertaining.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Don’t start selling a wide range of services but just focus your attention on what you are uniquely great at. The times of all-encompassing brands, like Toyota and Sony, have come to an end.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Eloisa Marchesoni.
Eloisa is a Tokenomics Engineer focusing on token model architecture, token macro-/micro-economics structure, crypto market simulations and gamification strategies for Web3 businesses. She is currently a partner to VCs and accelerators, while also working as an advisor to self-funded crypto startups, which she has been doing since 2016.
Thank you 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’?
My name is Eloisa Marchesoni. I’m a 24-year-old Italian-American born in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
I am a crypto-entrepreneur and modern digital nomad, tokenomics expert, tech business angel, fixed passive income crypto investor, and freelance consultant. I’m also a member of numerous blockchain associations, including the newly-formed Scaramucci-backed GMI Super PAC.
When I was a student at Bocconi University in Milan, I did well but got tired of being the typical valedictorian and felt like it wasn’t what I wanted. At the time, ICOs were starting to become a thing. I had already purchased some cryptocurrencies, then waited for the ICO bubble to pop to officially start in crypto as a token model artist. It was a big pivot — I had planned on a career in management consulting with McKinsey.
Later on, I met Giacomo Arcaro and his growth hacker team. After building our skills together, we started to work on innovative management consulting following the crypto trends. I still work with him, but now I’m focusing my attention on DeFi, NFTs, and especially on projects aimed at aiding the mass adoption of blockchain technology and its applications.
The crypto world has interested me for a long time, mainly because of its potential to make our world a better place to live. I also enjoy seeing the constant growth behind a new continuous chain of innovation and efficiency backed by wonderful and diverse projects.
I was shy in the beginning. As I started gaining experience in the crypto industry around the world, I felt like the crypto world was an important part of me and my role as a young woman was overall accepted. People have always been welcoming and nobody ever took advantage of me. With crypto, I felt truly valued for my skills and ability.
That led me to public speaking. People kindly appreciated what I had to say, like specific insight into certain sectors, which I could adapt to the various geographic areas I went to and the people I spoke to. It makes me feel grateful to everything and everyone that I have credibility and growing opportunities through those public interactions.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
Reached out to Giacomo’s team and followed them around the world, while forming my own Web3 identity. This was a great catalyst for a lot of the wonderful things happening now.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
R&D in the Tokenomics field, uniting otherwise-isolated figures in the space.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
Burn-out from attending too many conferences in 2019/20, and being so overwhelmed that the networking only resulted in hundreds of business cards that are still sitting somewhere in a drawer.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
I’ve received guidance at points in my career from Tokenomics pioneers, like Lisa JY Tan and the Outlier Ventures team. I’ve also given my fair share so far to my current junior collaborators. It’s a lifelong give and take, the exchange of knowledge and skills.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
My own style, but theories are backed by the lessons learned when studying the very ancient Bocconi management tradition. Who said tradition must be completely supplanted by Web3?
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”? Please give a story or example for each.
1. Outsource
The most successful DAO has likely 0 employees and hundreds of freelancers with high competences in their vertical.
2. Focus only on your strengths
Don’t start selling a wide range of services but just focus your attention on what you are uniquely great at. The times of all-encompassing brands, like Toyota and Sony, have come to an end.
3. Build a loyal team rather than a team of geniuses
We are witnessing an era with the highest number of resignations due to the decentralization and competitiveness within the job market. The ticket you are going to pay by having a genius team member quit at a random time (because a genius never notifies anyone!) is much higher than the profit you could ever make through their inconsistent value addition to the company.
4. Build a trusted sales network rather than hiring sneaky sellers
You never buy a product. You buy into the feeling of being able to trust the company selling the product, and nothing sells more than word of mouth. Which restaurant will you choose tonight? The 5-starred one on TripAdvisor or the one your Italian friend suggested you on WhatsApp? The second, most likely.
5. Be patient and wait for your moment
Every new day is a chance to make a new bet and your life is a beautiful casino (by the way, in Italian, a “casino” is literally a “mess,” which Web3 really got me into, since day 1 — hahah!). Every day, life airdrops you new tokens to be gambled, and all you have to do is place a bet wisely and wait for the odds to play out.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
The first reason for failure is the Round A investment. The main reason is that the CEO is more focused on raising funds rather than expanding the business, and the other reason is that, after having secured enough funds, the adrenaline may drop and the dopamine may relax them to the point where they forget that the goal is running a successful business with the funds raised, and not going for more funds to get another adrenaline rush while screwing up the business itself.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
Screen new hires very carefully before you choose them, through a good amount of social media background checks and, instead of an official interview, rather have a friendly chat with them, discussing more or less indirectly about their own culture and ethos. Plus, give them examples of how your team and you work and ask the prospect hires how they would have acted in times where your team was struggling with certain clients.
Do not impose culture and ethos on new hires, after you have done a poor job at screening them and they are already hired. It will not work!
In my work, I focus on helping companies to simplify the process of creating documentation of their workflow, so I am particularly passionate about this question. Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
Corporate communication is crucial. The communications model changes every three to four months. There’s media convergence, new technology, and new analytics, which affect how you need to communicate internally and externally in the company, and how people inside and outside of it will get their information.
Communicating your company’s top-level goals with the entire organization helps employees connect their everyday tasks to the bigger picture. This fosters a valuable sense of meaning in their jobs — which encourages them to contribute more.
Encourage your team members to voice their ideas, opinions, and concerns on a team communication platform of your choice, which may be the result of the combination of two or more platforms. This leads to stimulating and rich conversations which spark productivity, collaboration and innovation.
Encourage people to build their personal brands on social media by sharing the company’s thought leadership content, appearing on podcasts, and speaking at events. When you give your employees such opportunities, they feel more involved with the company and are ready to contribute more to your business success.
Before team members can innovate, they need to be informed about both internal company updates and external industry dynamics and economic developments. Using a team communications platform, as simple as a combination of Slack and Telegram, allows you to encourage your team to share articles and updates about your industry, competitors, and the economy with their colleagues. Similarly, they can share internal updates about customer challenges, successes, and so on. This knowledge will help your teammates come up with ideas and initiatives that truly reflect the needs of customers and the market.
Corporate communication is important for improving cross-departmental communication in the workplace. Innovation never happens solely within the confines of a lab. Truly profitable ideas and execution require inputs from across departments like tech, support, marketing, and sales.
When members of the organization have the means to communicate with people across departments effortlessly, they will be able to easily collaborate to discuss and refine innovation initiatives that become genuinely profitable. Productivity is all about getting more done in less time. The more productive your people are, the higher your revenue generated/employee and the lower the cost/employee.
Many collaborators will waste tons of time searching for the required information to execute specific tasks. This isn’t just the case with new hires. Anyone who’s trying to execute a process they are unfamiliar with would face this issue. However, an internal communications platform largely eliminates this problem. People can just ask their colleagues for help over the platform — in specific departmental/ topic-based ‘channels.’ Anyone who has experienced that situation before will be able to help out by providing an immediate solution.
Corporate communication encourages the practice of sharing knowledge and experiences. For example, a support or sales team member can share their unique experience with a customer. Everyone else can use that knowledge to help other customers more successfully in the future. Communication leads to better collaboration. And when people collaborate more efficiently, they get more done in less time with less friction.
Finally, companies are only as successful as the people who work there, but attracting top talent is an expensive and time-consuming process. With an employee advocacy program in place, your existing employees will be able to talk about open positions on their social networks. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on job ads, you can acquire suitable candidates through corporate communication on social media.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
LinkedIn and Twitter to reach out, and then Telegram and Slack to onboard them into the internal corporate communications system.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
Bring even more experts together, from directly/indirectly-related fields of Web3 and Data Science, in order to set up a one-stop not-for-profit community that offers 360-degrees due diligence on any Web3 project that is submitted by anyone, even anonymously.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Surround yourself with people that you can rely on.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Aimee Stoopler.
After moving into Manhattan from Long Island, Aimee Stoopler and her husband Evan Stoopler were on the hunt for a vet for their dog Mason, a 10 year old Maltipoo, who had hurt himself jumping off the bed. The vet they found upcharged them for anti-inflammatory drugs, gave an impersonal and incorrect diagnosis, as well as poor customer service start to finish. It was then that the Stoopler’s saw an opportunity to provide New York City with the best medicine, best customer care and best customer service to the furry patient and the patient’s family.
Aimee is thrilled to be a disruptor in the animal and veterinary care space, and is having fun while doing it. The duo works hard to find the best quality Veterinarians, Specialists, Practitioners, and Client Service Representatives — and want these friendly faces to care for your pets each time you walk into a URvet Care location.
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 a small beachtown on Long Island, NY, we lived a simple lifestyle enjoying the freedom of playing outside (with no cell phones) and only hearing moms calling us home from their porches as the sun went down. Our neighbors were our family, and our family was this small town, cut off by a small bridge from the rest of the world — even from our classmates from school. I grew up with several cats and a dog named Sandy Suki Chan, who was a Llasa Aapso.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis
I am a staunch believer that you cannot change what happened yesterday but you have the control to make today and tomorrow your power. People spend a lot of energy manifesting the past, which is a helpless situation. I believe taking the bull by the horn and creating a new energy is the best choice we can have.
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?
When I was pretty young, I watched the movie Ship of Fools (released in my birth year 1965). I reflect back and realize this movie made a profound impact on me throughout my life. For me, it has shown me not to always judge people by what I see, that people have stories — and all of these stories make up who we are, who our world is. I have always had a passion to help others, especially our elderly population and I spent a lot of time volunteering. Today I am a Board Certified Patient Advocate so that I am able to support the underserved, give a voice to people that don’t have one, and offer love and caring to those whose tanks run low. This movie really was meant to reflect all of these “broken” people that make up the world’s microcosm. It is something that we all struggle with today- to recognize the struggles of others.
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?
Taking an idea, or a feeling, you have and making it a reality is a daunting task. However, my husband and I repeatedly were faced with barriers in veterinary health care. One day, we sat in bed and really “talked” about it. Our ideas were endless and the things we had stirring in our heads were overwhelming.
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/opens its doors?
Get it on paper, dream it, dream it some more, and be organized.
Float the idea to others.
Get money!
Hire the right team- and do not make decisions too hastily.
Make it legal. Get your name, your social media, everything in order!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
I really value the advice of others and the people that did this “before me.”
Never react without absorbing the information first.
Write every step that you took down, from Day 1.
Surround yourself with people that you can rely on.
DO not forget to keep in touch with friends and family.
There are many development consultants when it comes to starting a business. 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 have found the speed at which marketing and advertising has moved away from the baby boomers is staggering. I have always worked within industries that required me to be in touch with digital technology, advertising and sales. Today, the information roller coaster to create the correct presence is best left up to the newbies, as for them it is second skin. There are so many different skill sets needed to “come dressed to the party” it is virtually an impossible task to strike out on your own.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
Of course this depends on the product you are building, the cost to build an ice cream shop versus a hospital is a lot different. In the instance of URvet Care we were committed to producing medical excellence. Our standards made it necessary to raise capital.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
There is not one day that goes by that I do not make a conscious effort to better the life of someone in my circle. It can be someone on a NYC street, a caretaker for someone, or people that work for you and with you. Creating jobs is about creating happiness, creating a culture that feels like you are part of a team and extended family. People want to feel safe, and feel like they belong. This is what I am all about.
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.
Without hesitation, I would inspire a movement of listening. People need to listen to what is being said, absorb it and act. Regarding URvet, our main focus is to provide excellent, personal, convenient and safe medicine for our pets and make the experience for our pet owners and doctors a lot less daunting, and alleviate the stress and anxiety associated with owning a new pet and treating ill ones. I have always had a passion for our elder population and providing them with attention and the resources they need to age in place with respect. As a Board Certified Patient Advocate, it is very common for my clients to have their own therapy animals, providing comfort and love.
Oftentimes, I have seen these animals need their own special attention. For instance, some clients are not able to transport their animals for care, so I started thinking of a solution with my husband. I thought “Let us try to either get transport services or have someone come to their home.” Some clients are away from their home for extended times in a hospital or a rehab, requiring friends and family to step in and help with the pets’ care. These are obstacles that are common and exist daily. Providing the solutions can alleviate so much stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety in our elderly often gets exhibited in ways that we do not immediately recognize i.e. obstinance, depression, anger, frustration.
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 sit down and meet with Bethenny Frankel because she is a real person and an animal lover, and for me she is in my own genre. Bethenny is a doer, a helper and her BStrong initiative has caught my attention many times over. She has become a public figure and uses that platform to help and support those in need. Her personality is real, and she is direct and to the point — similar to myself. I believe she can offer input to build upon our URvet culture as we are only just getting started.
Transparency is everything, to us and our customers. All of our packaging lists the product use or ingredient in its name and has all ingredients and directions on the back.
As a part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview John James.
John James is the founder and head trainer behind the Strong and Sexy Fit Ebooks and Products. James’ passion for helping and supporting women on their fitness and health journies stems from watching his mother and sisters constantly strive to feel their most confident selves. James knew he wanted to make a difference in the culture surrounding women’s body image, confidence, and fitness and health journies. It wasn’t until he met and married his wife Ali James, that now would be the time to make a difference in this space. John James has now made it his life mission to ensure the women in his life and now across the country feel their best in their own skin, always STRONG and always SEXY. Aside from creating a fully curated line of women’s supplements he feels proud to share with his wife, James continues to share his passion for fitness, with his one-on-one fitness sessions.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Thank you so much for having me! My name is John James I am the founder and head trainer behind the Strong and Sexy Fit Ebooks and Supplements. My passion for helping and supporting women on their fitness and health journeys stems from growing up in a house filled with women. I was constantly watching my mother and sisters strive to feel their most confident selves and wondered how I could possibly prevent my wife and daughters one day from feeling those same feelings. With my passion for fitness and nutrition, I knew I could help make a difference in the culture surrounding women’s body image, confidence, and fitness and health journeys. This passion of mine really came to fruition when I met and married my wife Ali. My wife is the love of my life and I couldn’t imagine seeing her struggle with self confidence, that is why I poured myself into Strong and Sexy Fit. I wanted to ensure the women in my life and now women nationwide always felt their best in their own skin and knew there was someone out there cheering them on.
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?
When you start a business it is really about trial and error, seeing what works for you and your customer base and where you may need to pivot. While this experience I am going to share is not so-called funny, it was an experience that completely changed the way I think and approach marketing Strong and Sexy Fit. When we first started marketing our Ebooks we used women who were in incredible shape on the covers. I quickly realized that having that fitness enthusiast or fanatic was very intimidating to a lot of our customers who are newer to the health and fitness space. If you are a beginner and looking to start your fitness journey the last thing you want to purchase is an ebook with a fitness model on the cover who is already in fantastic shape, you want to see someone like yourself, a real person on that cover whom you can identify to. The lesson I took away from this is that it is incredibly important to KNOW and cater to your customer base and create products they can see themselves using. When you genuinely know your demographic you are much more likely to close a sale.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Strong and Sexy Fit was not only created from personal needs but built from the passion of growing a community of strong and confident women around the world. Strong and Sexy Fit offers all types of supplements curated specifically for the female body whether your goals are lifestyle or fitness related.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are always working on something new and exciting for our customers! We love to change up flavors and have special releases of products, definitely stay tuned for a possible drop… we can’t share too much as it would take some of the surprise and excitement away, but it will definitely be a sweet drop…
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?
For Strong and Sexy Fit it was important to have branding that felt like something familiar, it felt like a best friend’s product they loved they wanted to share with you. Our branding is light, fresh, and inviting. All of our packaging has the type of supplement in its name allowing our customers to feel no confusion when purchasing. For advertising and marketing, we feel organic is best. We created these products to our personal standards so we love them and share them through our social channels, what we truly love to see is customers sharing their personal experiences after using Strong and Sexy Fit supplements whether it be the Greens, the hormonal balance Goddess, the pre-workout or the collagen. The best form of marketing for us has been word of mouth because the products do speak for themselves.
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?
It is incredibly important to invest in your brand. The cliche, “you get out what you put into something” is a cliche for a reason, it’s true. If you invest in your brand and keep investing in it, it will grow.
Can you share 5 strategies a company should use to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
Create a brand or product you are proud to use yourself. If you believe wholeheartedly in your brand others will believe in it.
Don’t take shortcuts. For example, we have a Greens powder that provides you with only the good and nutrient-packed parts of the fruit or vegetables. We also felt that it was important to use patented ingredients, only the best of the best and while they may not be as cost-efficient they were exactly what we believed in and felt our customers deserved.
Transparency is everything, to us and our customers. All of our packaging lists the product use or ingredient in its name and has all ingredients and directions on the back.
Be available for your customers. Something Strong and Sexy Fit offers is for our customers to email us with any questions they may have regarding product recommendations from us. We are happy to help our customers find the products that will best suit their needs.
Keep your customers and or clients top of mind when bringing your product to market. You want to ensure your product can be easily understood and is marketed in a way it is relatable to your consumer. Make your packaging pop, make it stand out, and have your marketing do the same.
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?
The Honest Company has done a fantastic job creating a brand that is universally trusted with something as sensitive as our little ones. One thing the Honest Company does that makes me trust them and loyal to their brand is their commitment to the continuous study of ingredients they choose to use. I think the best thing you can do to replicate that is putting conviction over profit. Prioritizing doing the right thing over the easy thing as a business owner is something I personally think will make a successful and trusted business as the Honest Company continues to do. When your customer base personally experiences the wonders your product can do and feels the transparency from you, they will be dedicated to your brand too.
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?
The success of a brand-building campaign for our brand is measured by the satisfaction of our customers. When our customers see results, love the taste, and continue to share the products, we have succeeded. After all, we built this brand to contribute to the well-being of women’s lives across the country.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Social media plays a major role in our branding efforts as we have personally used our platforms to share Strong and Sexy Fit but also have partnered in creating products with influencers such as Tanner Mann. We created a delicious and efficient pre-workout together and wanted to share that with all of our followers.
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. 🙂
The reason we started Strong and Sexy Fit is the same movement we hope to keep inspiring. It is to create and continue to build a Community of strong women who feel confident in themselves, not only physically but who they are as people. A healthy body, strong mind, and happy heart can contribute so much to others’ lives and the world in ways we may not have thought possible. Strong and Sexy Fit is here to show women are powerful and can be both strong and sexy, and that there is nothing wrong with being both.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My mother always said, “Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which fills up faster.” It may sound like an obscene quote but it carries a lot of weight with me. So many times in life we spend our days wishing on our goals and ambitions. Those wishes are often left unfulfilled if not met with action. I myself spent years wishing on my goals and never saw them come to fruition until I got the ball rolling and started putting in the effort. If you have a dream or a goal, chase it, put in the work, the late nights, whatever it takes to get you closer to achieving it. Nothing in your life will change or be accomplished until you change it or take active steps to accomplish it.
OR IF this is to “much” here is an alternative
My second grade teacher used to always say to me “ When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”, Often in reference to my desire to be the top accelerated reader. Although the quote was used in light context, it has lived with me every day since. Often in life we are met with adversity and challenges and those are the very times that call for us to step up to the plate and face them with dedication and courage. Owning a fitness/ supplement company during arguably the greatest supply chain challenges of modernity has come with a laundry list of issues to navigate in order to strive towards perfection and meet customer expectations. I can still hear Mrs. Rivers at times of strife encouraging me with her favorite quote!
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. 🙂
I’d prefer a night out with my wife who is one of my greatest assets to my business.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
We would love it if you followed us on Instagram @strongandsexyfit
Jake Dempsey of Project Broadcast On How to Effectively Leverage The Power of Digital Marketing, PPC, & Email to Dramatically Increase Sales
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
I don’t care what anyone tells you, this is a component to any great marketing. Innovate and crush your customer’s expectations by being outright ferocious on delivering value for them. It creates great marketing material for you to then go out and tell your story. If you’re marketing someone else’s products, make sure to tell their story of how they’re crushing it on behalf of their customers.
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 Jake Dempsey, Co-founder and CEO of Project Broadcast.
Jake Dempsey is the co-founder and CEO of Project Broadcast. He has 20+ total years of software development experience, including a decade of experience working directly in the network marketing and direct sales industry. Dempsey’s primary mission is to develop and deploy bundled products and tools that help network marketing and direct sales professionals successfully scale their entrepreneurial business ventures. Prior to co-founding Project Broadcast, he served as the CEO of StarterStep LLC, a leading web and mobile app development company leveraging leading-edge technologies for clientele in multiple industries. Dempsey brings a lead engineer focus to software development in the network marketing and direct sales marketplace, with a clear understanding of how to apply agile methodologies and the technological advancements that move the needle among entrepreneurial-focused professionals.
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?
Well, that’s quite a long story! I often joke with friends and family that my life is probably best suited for a TV mini-series! I’m a nerd with a less than humble upbringing that dreamed of being a surgeon. Luckily, along the way I found technology and changed the trajectory of my life forever. After decades of building software for big brands, myself and my co-founder Brian Knorr decided to solve a problem in the digital marketing space and launched Project Broadcast. It was born out of the need for our spouses to have a more meaningful and scalable way to communicate to their customers. At the time we didn’t see any tools or platforms that we felt satisfied their needs or industry at a price point that could scale to large, distributed sales forces. After one year of heads down development by our entire team, Project Broadcast was launched. We now support over 30k entrepreneurs that want to leverage the power of text marketing for their business.
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?
Don’t trust your gut — trust the data! Instead of a single mistake I’ll share with you a whole strategy that creates a multitude of mistakes! Early in our growth phase we relied purely on instincts. Now, I’ll be the first to say that I believe all great businesses probably have great instincts. It’s a prerequisite for problem solving in my opinion. I remember in our early years we would build a feature or try a marketing tactic, and in the end, the conversation would be “how do we feel” about what we had done. Well, newsflash, it doesn’t matter how we feel about the approach. Later, through continued development of ourselves as entrepreneurs and business owners, we began asking more thoughtful questions. We started thinking more about what outcome we wanted to produce. With a desired outcome we would develop strategies and plays to put them to the test. But before putting a strategy in play, we would ask a simple question: “How will we measure if this is successful?” I know that may sound simple, but you would be surprised how little that question is asked. Asking yourself how you will measure the success, measuring it, then reflecting on the outcome, helps to eliminate defining success/failure purely off of the feeling the test provided. We still leverage instincts heavily as they are foundational in understanding the problem you are solving for and maintaining the ability to react quickly — so now we just make sure to layer data into that discussion. Will all your plays succeed? Heck no! But using data helps you to understand what works, and doesn’t work, objectively. And with that data, you can make better decisions on what to stop doing and what to lean into more!
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?
Let’s talk about Brian. Brian Knorr, CTO and co-founder of Project Broadcast, has been a great colleague and friend for more than two decades. In fact, it was Brian who would nudge me to “get a real job” before I ever took my first position in technology. Brian, eight years my senior, told me one day early in my career: “I know that one day I’ll work for you. I just know it.” I’ve never forgotten that, and it inspired me to push every day to be a better teammate and business owner. Twenty two years have passed since Brian and I first met. During that entire time, except for one year we don’t discuss, we’ve worked together at every company. Building software requires talent across a spectrum of skill sets. From people who are talented “at the bare metal” of the project writing code with a deep understanding of technology — to people who have a deep understanding of the customer. Brian and I have been such a great duo because the two of us represent a broad area of that spectrum, while enjoying plenty of overlap in the middle. Project Broadcast would not exist without Brian. There is no debating that fact and his continued leadership as our CTO is invaluable to our continued success.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
At the heart of our team is a strong desire to scale and automate the success of the small entrepreneur. It is something we discuss frequently as a team. We feel that this only happens when we truly invest in the success of our customers. I remember feeling sad for our customers, because I saw that higher paid entrepreneurs were able to afford “strategists” to help them improve their business. They would pay a strategist to consult them on creating systems for their business, help with marketing strategies, and the understanding of emerging trends. As I thought more and more about our role, as it pertains to our customers, I decided we needed to provide these types of benefits for everyone. As a team, we defined what it meant for our customer to be successful. And with that, we started our Project Broadcast Customer Success Team. Whether good or bad, they have the vaguest job description in the entire company, with a simple mission to “help our customers be successful”. I was lucky to find two of these paid strategists in the marketplace and they joined Project Broadcast full-time, so that all of our customers would have access to their skills and experience. It was one of the best decisions we’ve made as a company. I get so much joy out of knowing we provide the value of in-house strategists — at no cost to our customers — so that everyone can tap into that as a resource. On a daily basis, we receive messages from our customers expressing their gratitude for providing access to our Customer Success team.
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?
I’m actually a believer that, ultimately, it takes only two character traits! I feel strongly that if you have both aptitude and passion you can conquer the world. Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough, and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” I think passion and aptitude function as the lever and fulcrum. Aptitude, generally speaking, is the understanding of the problem domain and solution. You have to know what problem you are solving — and how you’re going to solve it in a specific way. But just knowing the problem and solution will get you nowhere. It’s all about execution. For me, passion is my motivation for getting things done. It’s the hustle that doesn’t sleep. Now, without passion, you could certainly apply your aptitude and begin the journey of solving a problem. However, without a true passion for the domain and solution, you simply won’t finish the job. Real passion is what gets you to work on the days you’d rather just sleep in. My family jokes with me constantly about working too much. I jokingly reply that I’ll retire one day — which gets an immediate response of eye rolls and laughs. They know I love what I do too much to stop. My passion for my mission is so strong that I don’t view the work I do as toil. Because there is a big difference in work and toil. The work we do at Project Broadcast empowers others to crush their business goals — and I’m addicted to empowering their success!
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
At Project Broadcast, on a product level, we feel that we should deliver on three primary objectives for our customers. 1.) Deliver the most robust marketing platform at the most affordable price. 2.) Provide deep collaboration zones for entrepreneurs and their team members. 3.) Help customers manage their customers and leads effectively. Currently, I think we knock №1 out of the park. Project Broadcast is by far the most robust and affordable text marketing platform available today. We’re hard at work improving our commitment to №2, with our new spaces feature, and we have tons more work to do there. In 2023, we’ll take a deep dive into fulfilling our commitment on №3. We have some great stuff on the horizon, and even after five years of driving value on behalf of our customers, we’re just getting started!
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.
I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is not knowing what problem they’re trying to solve. PPC campaigns should be targeted. But who should they be targeted to? When you define your audience, why did you pick that audience? It’s so critical to be thoughtful about who your potential customers are and where they hang out. We recently revisited this discussion internally. We launched our social media presence a while back (admittedly, we were a little late to the party) and have been driving engagement on our social platforms, as well as doing paid ad spends for well over a year — at times spending upwards of $20k a month. One of our recent discussions focused on our own efforts for our social platforms. We were working hard on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and TikTok. As we discussed these efforts, someone brought up a very thoughtful question: “Why are we spending time on LinkedIn? Our customers don’t hang out there.” It really made us sit up and think again about who our customers are and where they hang out. Once you establish those two answers, you can then begin to think about where you should spend ad dollars and how to target your audience more effectively.
If you could break down a very successful digital marketing campaign into a “blueprint”, what would that blueprint look like? Please share some stories or examples of your ideas.
As I said, the first step is to truly discover who you customer is and where they hang out. Once you have those two pieces of information, it’s then possible to identify what problem you can solve for them. Your marketing should be about solving a problem for someone. If your advertising doesn’t show how you solve a problem, then you’re likely not going to convert. I’d also note that before you spend anything you should determine how much a customer is worth to your business — and what you’d be willing to pay to acquire them. Knowing that figure helps you to evaluate whether you’re capturing customers in a sustainable way. For example, let’s say you determine that you’d spend $50 on acquiring a customer and your CAC for a given campaign comes out to $10. Well, if I’d be happy with $50 per acquisition, but I’m actually acquiring customers for $10, then I’m going to go figure out how to crank the dial up to 11 on my spend for that particular campaign. Conversely, if my CAC is coming in above $50, I may reallocate those dollars to a better performer, or decide to terminate that specific campaign.
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?
I think marketing should be a multi-faceted approach. It’s one of the reasons Project Broadcast exists. If your entire marketing approach is wrapped up in PPC, then you likely aren’t engaging with your audience in a meaningful way. Should you have PPC? Probably. We’ve had both great success and great failures on Meta and Google. Hulu recently launched ads, and I’ve not had time to play with their platform, but I’m intrigued by it. Same with TikTok. At Project Broadcast, we exist to empower small entrepreneurs to create conversation. We’re a huge believer in the idea that business flows out of relationships — and not the other way around. If you agree, you must make sure your strategy includes a way to truly engage your potential customer audience on multiple channels. If you really want to increase sales, and do it in a sustainable way, you have to create relationship with your customers.
Can you please share 3 things that you need to know to run a highly successful PPC campaign?
For me, it boils down to finding out who your customers are, where they hang out, and how much you’re willing to spend in acquiring them. If you don’t have a deep understanding of these three factors, you’ll likely fail with an ad spend.
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?
Look, I’m going to sound biased here. For the most part, email has about a 20% open rate, a 15% or less read rate, and an even lower response rate. The data changes slightly from year to year, but those are the rough numbers. Conversely, texting has a 98% read rate. And the response rate from texting is also quite high — as I’ve seen stats in the 50% range. So, let’s apply some basic math here. You send 100 emails, 15 of which are read, and even less illicit a response. On the flip side, you send 100 text messages, 98% of which get read, and 50% generate a response. Texting, by far, has higher engagement than email. But what do you do with that data? Well, you use a tool like Project Broadcast, allowing you to engage with your customers in a thoughtful way that creates real relationships and loyalty. My three tips are simple -be personal in your marketing, make sure you understand the problem you’re trying to solve, and get your customer to engage with you. If you create marketing the feels individualized and personal, solves their problem, and makes them want to engage with me, then I’m your customer for life.
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?
One of my favorite digital marketing tools is actually Canva. Again, I’m here for the small entrepreneur and tools like Canva can bring the power of creating beautiful graphics with excellent typography to the fingertips of any business owner. They provide templates for social media posts, so you can get the right image, sized correctly, from a massive library of content to leverage. For the small entrepreneur it’s absolutely a must have.
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?
1.Know who your customer is.
If you can’t identify who your customer truly is, why even try? Spend the time. Put in the work. Don’t spend money casting a net so wide that you don’t catch the right fish.
2. Know where your customer hangs out.
This is vitally important. It’s great to know who the customer is, but we then have to make certain we know where they hang out. I don’t want to oversimplify, but if you don’t know where they hang out, you’ll spend dollars trying to capture customers in places they don’t frequent. I mean this both digitally and in a physical sense.
3. Understand what you are willing to spend to capture that customer.
Marketing involves basic economics of spend, in my opinion. In order to be successful, you have to understand what you’re willing to spend to capture a customer. You have to make sure you attribute your efforts, collect data on the effectiveness, and evaluate the spend. Reallocate funds or terminate what doesn’t work.
4. Execute ferociously on your actual product.
I don’t care what anyone tells you, this is a component to any great marketing. Innovate and crush your customer’s expectations by being outright ferocious on delivering value for them. It creates great marketing material for you to then go out and tell your story. If you’re marketing someone else’s products, make sure to tell their story of how they’re crushing it on behalf of their customers.
5. You have to truly care about the success of your customer.
This matters so much! You have to make this part of your story. It can’t just be lip service. If you truly care about the success of the customer, you also create a massive amount of content to then use for marketing. If you truly care about their success, and deliver on that premise, you can follow up by asking them to provide a testimonial quote or social shout out. Every customer is an influencer. Yes, their sphere of influence varies in size, but every last one of them has some level of influence — and you can really stretch your spend further once your customers are doing the marketing for you!
What books, podcasts, videos or other resources do you use to sharpen your marketing skills?
I recently read “Amp It Up” by Frank Slootman and I’m still digesting what I learned from the book. Ultimately, Frank talks about increasing expectations on yourself and the business in order to be more aggressive about growth. You never want to finish the race with fuel in the tank. Leave it all on the playing field. I also continue to learn that, as a leader, if your team sees you working hard, they’ll almost always find a bit more in themselves and push harder too. I’ve also always been a huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuck’s “Thank You Economy.” I think he’s spot on with his observation of business today. You have to get personal. You have to build real relationships with your customers and show them you truly care about their success. Every day at Project Broadcast, we demonstrate how we truly care about our customers. And the most beautiful thing is that they recognize it and refer others to our platform. When your business is nearly 80% referrals, you know your customers love what your providing.
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. 🙂
Wow, a zinger at the end huh!? Right now, so much of my world revolves around Project Broadcast and the business owners we’re empowering. More than 95% of our user base is female. They’re small entrepreneurs (solopreneurs in most cases), oftentimes as a consultant working for a network marketing, direct sales company, or some other version of a small side-hustle. They’re using Project Broadcast to create and scale relationships to grow their business. If I were capable of starting a movement, I’d want to create something that empowers their success even further — by helping to remove many of the outdated and false stigmas associated with their chosen profession. Every day, I see them fight to overcome the former stigmas of their profession in the world. But the reality is different. While there will always be bad actors, the direct selling and network marketing profession as a whole has become much more grounded in providing an equitable outcome for everyone involved.
How can our readers further follow your work?
If you want to follow our journey at Project Broadcast, you can follow us on Instagram, and you can also find me on LinkedIn.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
Meet The Disruptors: Ben & Stephen Joffer Of Jelly Belly Sparkling Water On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Take care of yourself — For the longevity and health of the businesses we must take good care of ourselves as leaders. We prioritize our health and wellbeing so that we can be effective and execute in the business. If you don’t take the time for exercise, eating healthy and relationships then eventually you will burn out.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ben & Stephen Joffer.
Stephen Joffer is Co-Founder of Joffer Beverage Company, and his responsibilities include sales, marketing, team building and overall strategy. Stephen lives in Southern Oregon where the company is based and enjoys fly-fishing, reading and community involvement. Previously, he was a Junior High Pastor and continues ministering in a volunteer capacity at his local church.
Ben Joffer is Co-Founder of Jelly Belly Sparkling Water specializing in corporate sales. He enjoys spending outdoor time with his wife Amy and their two daughters Reese and Mia. When he’s not making sales calls, participating in athletics or telling jokes, ben likes to spend time flyfishing Southern Oregon’s rivers. He is part of the 6th generation of the Jelly Belly Candy Company family business.
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?
Stephen: Growing up in a business family, I think calculating margin was one of the first things I learned alongside my ABC’s. Living in that ecosystem you pick up terms, concepts and strategies essential to being a successful entrepreneur that I didn’t realize until I went to business school. It gave me a great foundation for my education when I studied business at Biola University in Los Angeles. Upon graduation, I worked as a middle school pastor until the idea for Jelly Belly Sparkling Water was formed. I was so eager about the idea that I was the first to quit my job and go full time into the beverage company.
Ben: I had a very strange career path leading up to this point. I was big into sports in school, where I gained a love for competition and hard work. In college, I worked for three summers guiding raft trips, where I learned to love adventure and charting a new path. After graduation, I went into Real Estate Sales for five years, which were very successful. I’m a big people person, I love meeting new people, building relationships and having fun. But when the opportunity came up to work with my family to grow the Jelly Belly brand that I love so much, I was very excited to jump right in and learn a new career. Jelly Belly has always been such a big part of my life and I’m also passionate about being healthy so creating Jelly Belly Sparkling Water is a dream come true for me.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
The most significant differentiation between the many sparkling water brands is flavor. And so, the king of flavor will be the king of the category, and we want to take a bold approach to get there. Jelly Belly offers unique, powerful and iconic flavors that other brands do not have. We perfectly matched the flavors of our jelly beans and the taste is really unbelievable. We hear all the time “This is the best sparkling water I’ve ever had.” And who else can make flavors like Chocolate, Juicy Pear, French Vanilla, Orange Sherbet and Very Cherry. These are all iconic Jelly Belly flavors and unique to the category.
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 many mistakes in launching this brand, but the most obvious was that we were too conservative in our initial flavor offerings. On the advice of others, we launched the company featuring pink grapefruit, lemon-lime, and tangerine, common flavors across the industry. We then pivoted our strategy to lean into our family’s successful heritage in candy by introducing unique and innovative flavors such as Juicy Pear, French Vanilla, Orange Sherbet, Very Cherry, Watermelon and most recently Chocolate. It’s clear to us that consumers are looking for something different and unique in the category and expect that from the Jelly Belly brand.
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?
No one gets anywhere in life or business without some guidance and mentorship. We have been very blessed to have some incredible business minds within our family who’ve served as mentors. Our Father, Andy, was the genius who originally came up with the idea for flavored sparkling water and still provides his insights. During our family gathering in 2019 where we came up with the idea, he was the one who brought Jelly Belly and Sparkling Water together. Of course, my grandfather, Herm, has been an incredible help through the journey. We sat down with him for a whole weekend and drilled into the numbers. He provided valuable insights, and it was a great exercise for us to see where we stood. Now we know our financials well, which is essential to any successful entrepreneurial enterprise.
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?
First, know your industry. Know everything about it and how each step works and why companies are doing what they are doing. In our case, we are disrupting a multi-billion industry by providing a unique and superior product experience. However, we don’t need to disrupt the manufacturing or distribution process. In the manufacturing and distribution process we have taken the stance, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Once you’ve mastered the key drivers that impact your industry, you can begin to identify areas of the business that need to be optimized. Those are the focus areas where you seek to find solutions. Solutions are disruptors.
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. Quality is a word we have always used with great emotion — Our grandfather says this on a video played on every Jelly Belly factory tour. It reminds us that this is not just a business, but a passion. This has been part of our family’s DNA for generations and will remain a cornerstone of our family business.
2. Stay Focused. — Entrepreneurs are inherently curious and can sometimes get distracted. We are no different, and collectively have a thousand new ideas a day, but we understand the need to stay focused. Due to the success of Joffer Beverage, new opportunities have been brought to us from other large companies. However, we limit our involvement to stay focused. If we are spread too thin, then nothing will truly get done.
3. Hire thoroughbreds, not donkeys — This is a Dave Ramsey quote which emphasizes the importance of building a top-notch team. We have already hired a fantastic national director of sales and are continuing to build a team of other thoroughbreds throughout the business.
4. Take care of yourself — For the longevity and health of the businesses we must take good care of ourselves as leaders. We prioritize our health and wellbeing so that we can be effective and execute in the business. If you don’t take the time for exercise, eating healthy and relationships then eventually you will burn out.
5. Stay humble — If at any point we think that no one can teach us anything, then the collapse has begun. We constantly learn, listen and engage so that all of our strategy and decisions are as effective as possible. Pride will kill an organization.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Ben: Well as you can imagine Jelly Belly has a huge runway of flavors for us to explore. I could list at least 10 flavors right now that we’ve already successfully turned into a sparkling water… And most of them are completely unique to the Jelly Belly brand. We can’t wait to launch them.
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?
Tim Keller is a thinker from NYC whose book, “Every Good Endeavor” has provided us with a framework on how to view work in its proper place in our lives. Being entrepreneurs, it is easy for our businesses to become all consuming, almost taking over our identities. This tends to drive us to overwork and abandon other responsibilities in order to make sure the business succeeds. Hustle culture within start-ups is a prime example of this tendency. On the flip side, work is frequently degraded as a drudgery. Something to escape from as soon as possible. However, Tim’s perspective on work shows the goodness, necessity and meaning of work without allowing it to rule our lives and become our identity. I would recommend every businessperson to read this book so that they can have a wholistic view of business, work and life.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Don’t be an idiot. — Said by Michael Scott and Dwight Shrute in The Office. When you work with family it’s a bit of a balance. You need to be able to challenge one another and confront one another but not let anything wear down the family relationships. Humor is key to not taking ourselves so seriously during these moments, and some of the funniest business quotes to us are found in The Office, which has become a family favorite.
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 believe that it is through business innovation that many of the great developments in society have also been created. The system we live in incentivizes and rewards those who serve their neighbors with what will make their lives easier or more enjoyable. Therefore, the thing that will do the most good for the most people is true entrepreneurship. Starting quality businesses is the most effective way to bring good to the most people.
The Future Is Now: Kashyap Deorah Of HyperTrack On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
It doesn’t become easier. My fourth startup was the hardest. The market was there, and the product was right. The technology risk was underestimated. We developed the tech architecture right on the third attempt.
As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kashyap Deorah, founder and CEO of HyperTrack.
HyperTrack’s founder and chief executive is fourth-time entrepreneur Kashyap Deorah, who previously sold companies to OpenTable and Future Group. He is also a best-selling author and investor. Kashyap started his first company as a college student at IIT Bombay and sold it to a Silicon Valley firm. Since then, he has operated in the US-India corridor and done business in China, South-East Asia, and Northern Europe. Kashyap has written for leading print and online publications and made keynote presentations at Internet technology and ecommerce conferences. He is the author of 2015’s The Golden Tap — The Inside Story of Hyper-Funded Indian Start-Ups.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have been curious about the convergence of physical and digital commerce for over a decade. I sold a mobile commerce startup to a leading physical retailer to become their digital commerce subsidiary. At the time telecom operators and handset makers decided what apps we use on our phones. The invention of iOS and Android changed everything, app developers could now distribute directly to consumers. Soon after, mobile Operating Systems allowed apps to use device location to power local experiences with the user’s permission. This led to the birth of Uber and then Uber-for-X, or the on-demand economy.
The convergence of physical and digital commerce that we had only imagined a few years prior had now revealed itself. Consumers would press a few buttons in a mobile app and the physical world would conspire to bring products and services to them. The world at your fingertips if you will.
This was a powerful metaphor for retail consumption. Startups and incumbents alike wanted in. Except, the technology for location infrastructure spanning mobile, cloud, and map technologies was proprietary to only a few large on-demand apps who invested billions of dollars each. It became my mission to level the playing field and democratize that technology for everyone else.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I built an app for restaurant diners to pay and go without waiting for a check at the end of their meal, think of it as an Uber for table service restaurants. Once it was installed at about 50 restaurants in the Bay Area, I began to demo it to companies that had both sides of the marketplace, consumers and restaurants. At the time, these were Paypal, Yelp, Groupon, and OpenTable. We would invite them over to their favorite restaurant of choice and show them the magic firsthand. OpenTable loved it so much that they intercepted the upcoming Beta release and offered to buy us. They were a public company at the time and we had not raised any money, so this added up to a good chunk of change. Since the company was still young, we all held on to our OpenTable stock to have enough holding period to save on capital gains taxes. As luck would have it, the Booking.com group bought OpenTable just a year later, bumped up the stock by 50 percent, and cashed us out a year earlier than expected. I decided to take that year off to travel the world with my family and write a book that ended up becoming a bestseller!
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Location-based services were built by the mobile OS to power location-based experiences on the user’s device. Maps were built for consumers to find places and navigate to them. However, simple location-based logistics use cases like dispatching an order to nearby drivers and live tracking orders with ETA require stitching these technologies together in the cloud, followed by building and operating complex cloud and data infrastructure. It becomes a square peg in a round hole. HyperTrack built this infrastructure out and offered it up as simple APIs to plan, assign and track orders. In addition, we use this data to build custom logistics maps for our customers so they know where their customers are, how much time it takes to service them, how long it takes to get to them, and so forth.
Democratizing this technology for developers worldwide helps them build logistics tech that was previously not possible for them to build. Unlocking the imagination of entrepreneurs, creators and builders has a meta effect of bringing more income opportunities for the workforce and awesome experiences for consumers. This in turn leads to better run businesses with high trust and low emissions.
How do you think this might change the world?
Anytime you can make something that was previously challenging really easy, a new generation of businesses is unlocked. In the case of HyperTrack, there are three larger trends that seem to benefit from our APIs. One, consumers want things here and now. Second, the workforce is going gig and flex. Third, businesses are automating their logistics more than ever. It is rare for three large trends to converge into one business in such a direct way. If HyperTrack can accelerate the logistics tech market from its present $25 billion to $100 billion within a decade by empowering developers to deliver higher income to the workforce and greener fulfillment to consumers, it would be a worthwhile mission.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks of this technology that people should think more deeply about?
My personal view is that consumption is the source of many of the world’s problems. Insatiable and gluttonous consumption. Be it climate change, mental health issues, or extreme inequities. While I believe that shortest path logistics powered by location and mapping intelligence can increase worker income and reduce carbon emissions, I worry that it may multiply consumption of what people want but really do not need.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
The idea of starting a fourth company, and then of HyperTrack, came about in the process of writing The Golden Tap (The Inside Story of Hyper-funded Indian Startups). After selling three companies, I was experiencing a new sense of financial freedom. My options were to become a VC, a CEO of a high-growth startup, or activate a new line of business for fast growing decacorns, or start my own company. After much deliberation, I found there was unfinished business and I wanted to build a lasting company. Given my instinct to build products and embed them into existing networks, the API economy resonated with me on many dimensions. Building an API for the future of commerce seemed an obvious place to be. Location and mapping were clearly the bridge between physical and digital commerce, so it was only a matter of time that the mission found me.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Thousands of users who find HyperTrack to be exactly the API they were looking for and then use it to build what they have imagined. Even if a hundred of them become successful, some being insanely successful, we will successfully impact millions of workers and hundreds of millions of consumers. Logistics tech builders are the heroes who will win the best actor award while we get to be the best supporting actor.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
For the first few years, we spent close to zero on marketing. We wrote technical blogs, published open source repos, and great documentation. This brought us early adoption who then evangelized us to their friends and audiences. We earned our first million in revenue with that inbound and word-of-mouth.
With our new VP Marketing, Gaurav Deshpande, who joined us in the summer, we have now begun reaching builders in enterprises and high-growth startups through events and account-based marketing, while doubling down on content and inbound. In a world with low attention spans and withering mindshare, any effective marketing needs to be creative so it stands out. Gaurav and the HyperTrack team are doing a great job of getting the mindshare of our potential customers.
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 late Naren Gupta. I knew of him as a veteran Indian entrepreneur and VC. When we first met at the end of 2016, I was surprised that he knew of me too. He had read my book and thought highly of it. It took him about 15 minutes into the meeting to understand the power of HyperTrack. I was not looking to raise VC money until the following summer, and he convinced me to raise right away. Business was off to a flying start after the raise, but soon after we hit a wall because our tech did not work. This was my first time building an infrastructure software business and I learned my lessons the hard way. My tech co-founder left, the first team I had assembled in India imploded, and re-building out the team and re-architecting the product was constantly flailing. My confidence in myself as a leader was at an all time low. During this two year period, any other VC partner would have written us off and moved on. Naren supported me deeply and helped me find answers. HyperTrack owes its survival and revival to Naren. His passing on last Christmas has only increased my resolve to fulfill this mission we started together.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I started giving back in a more meaningful and deliberate way last year. My family and I believe that the best way to contribute to society is to bring equality of opportunity. Outcomes will never be equal, it is the law of nature. Though it is only fair that we all get equal opportunity to succeed. Most of us have what we have today because someone helped us get our break that we would otherwise not get. Education, climate, and gender are three areas where I see the opportunity to make an impact with philanthropy.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
It doesn’t become easier. My fourth startup was the hardest. The market was there, and the product was right. The technology risk was underestimated. We developed the tech architecture right on the third attempt.
APIs are infrastructure software. There is a difference between a product having an API and an API being the product. When the product has an API it is a way for two applications to talk to each other. When the product is an API, other applications are built on it, thus making it equivalent to an Operating System. Building an OS is different from building an app.
Bottom-up and top-down GTM are not mutually exclusive. Everyone wants to build a Google or Stripe. Though it takes a set of unique events, including many external ones–including some that are once-in-a-lifetime. Pure bottom-up adoption cannot be built as a plan. It has to be chanced upon as serendipity. Bottom-up adoption for the first set of users provides a strong signal for what users really want so you can build a high fidelity product. Once the product-market fit is achieved, it becomes critical to augment that with sales and marketing motions to deliver predictable revenue.
Selling to developers is necessary but (almost always) insufficient. We were fanatical about selling to developers in the early years of HyperTrack. While we earned positive uptake, we ran into two issues. One, developers were not great at building the right workflows and experiences for other users. Two, developers were not great at selling the business value to their executives. Working with their colleagues and finding solutions for their users helped them be successful.
Sell to customers whose business is healthy (duh!). Obvious in hindsight, though it is always hard to look away from the incoming business. Tech startups are typically the first adopters of an API product. As a result, well-funded high-growth startups often end up dominating the book of business. However, high-growth startups with unhealthy businesses are the first to go when markets turn or the next round of funding gets tight. This brings undue pressure on the business. It is important to focus on the right markets and to diversify to enterprises.
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. 🙂
Practice meditation. There are several paths to mindfulness. After picking the one that calls to you the most you would wish you did so sooner. The best things in life are free, monetarily. Yet the best things in life take the most amount of work. Find your path and get on it today.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“What you resist persists” — Carl Jung
In a world where we are asked to do what we love, follow our passions, stand our ground, be unbreakable, and predictably repeat success, I have learned that the biggest superpower is to learn to let go. It is increasingly hard to listen to ourselves and understand what gives us joy, what we truly love, and what we experience as success. The path to that discovery is our ability to let go of things, especially the ones that we naturally resist, thus giving it significance and perpetuating it. Losing that baggage helps us move on to what we actually want to do.
Data-Driven Work Cultures: Abhishek Mehta Of Tresata On How To Effectively Leverage Data To Take Your Company To The Next Level
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Distribute Data Assets: When you’ve connected all your data and linked their one-to-many relationships, the assets aren’t limited to a single use but can benefit many parts of the business. This usable data must get distributed across your many customer, business and enterprise systems and processes. In essence, you liberate the data so every last bit can be used and monetized to achieve transformational results. For instance, we’ve helped one global bank attain usable data from 300 million entities across its transaction and payment systems. From these assets, the bank has powered over 30 use cases — from cross-selling and ESG monitoring to fraud detection. In the first year alone, the bank has seen three times the return on investment.
As part of our series about “How To Effectively Leverage Data To Take Your Company To The Next Level,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Abhishek Mehta, Chairman and CEO of Tresata.
A radical technology expert, disruptor, and in-the-trenches, outspoken leader, Abhishek founded Tresata in 2011 with a mission to help businesses harness the power of data to Enrich Life for every customer. He has since grown Tresata into the first profitable unicorn company in analytics with successful software implementations in nearly every major industry for the Fortune 100. In the following interview, we sit down with Abhishek to discuss how companies can leverage data to become digital businesses.
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?
I am fortunate to have the luxury to call two of the world’s largest democracies home — I was born in India and bread (as in earned my bread) in America.
I have always believed that life is better lived when manifested in decades, which is how I live mine. Since I was very young I have had a burning desire to build something and I was willing and able to seek experiences that have allowed me to do so.
In my twenties, I experimented and challenged myself to learn as broad a variety of skills as I could so that I could leverage them to build what I wanted to build in my thirties. These experiences allowed me in my forties to help others build what they wanted to, leveraging all I have learned.
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?
One of my favorite life lessons comes from a Charlie Chaplin quote: “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”
With that, and in hindsight, everything seems funny in those early days. If I was to pick one moment, it would be the first three months when we decided to raise capital. It was like the Sand Hill Shuffle episode in the show “Silicon Valley” had been scripted based on us. It’s Season Two, Episode One, in case anyone’s wondering — minus the Hollywood-hyperbolic additions.
The funny part was we decided not to raise money from VCs at that early stage but we learned so much in the process so I don’t know if I’d call it a “mistake.” The lesson learned from it was simple: Believe in your vision as no one else will — but also don’t be obstinate. Use questions and critiques as inputs to bulletproof your plan.
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?
This may sound nuts, but the movie I bring up the most when reflecting on entrepreneurship is “The Croods.”
The entire movie is summed up in this one scene when the family is trying to escape the destruction of the planet. The father, who has been resistant to his daughter’s risk-taking, adventure-seeking, and ‘dreaming of new possibilities’ ways, finally realizes that the only way to survive the explosions is to make a leap through the fog to the other side that may not have solid footing…but “THERE’S A CHANCE.”
This sums up the life of every entrepreneur — the willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice and do everything it takes to realize a dream, not knowing what lies on the other side…simply because it represents a chance to do something no one else would.
To me, the fact that there are few among us who, like all of us, were also taught to not play with fire, not jump off cliffs, not dive into the unknown and play it safe, but are still willing to make that ultimate sacrifice is deeply humbling. It’s a reminder that these few brave souls deserve our ultimate respect, compassion and pride, as without them, we wouldn’t evolve.
Are you working on any new, exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m very excited about the new technology that Tresata is introducing in the market, our Digital Business Platform. DBP, as we lovingly call it, was designed to deliver to every company in the world the ability to use data to better understand and serve their customers, employees, partners and products as a unique segment of one.
DBP enables companies to obtain usable data faster and more affordably and of a much higher quality. And it does so by alleviating the pressures that companies of all sizes and scale face today: lack of talent, a massive influx of data, and rapid technological shifts to becoming “digital.”
We believe that the best in the ‘digital business’ biz are data-first companies, like Google and Netflix. By accelerating the rate at which more traditional companies can create usable data, DBP allows for the creation of data assets that are critical to the foundations of building and evolving successful businesses. For instance, what would take a company two to three years to deploy through traditional, manual data engineering can now be delivered, with DBP, in just a few months.
For organizations struggling with talent shortages in data engineering, analytics and sciences, DBP has the added benefit of both (a) maximizing the productivity of existing talent and (b) freeing up existing talent to focus on higher value delivery. Moreover, DBP is delivered via an extremely cost-effective consumption-based model, where companies only pay for the data that is made usable.
We believe that DBP can usher in a new Data Engineering as a Service (DEaaS) paradigm that has the ability to help enterprises brace for all economic cycles, by helping to control the rising costs that we are all facing in the race to become more data- and digitally driven.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about empowering organizations to be more “data-driven.” For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly it means to be data-driven? On a practical level, what does it look like to use data to make decisions?
In October 2010 I announced in a speech at Strata that the world was about to enter a new Industrial Revolution, the raw material for which would be data.
While I was the first to go on record with this proclamation, the concept of data being the new fuel for organizations to transform or build businesses has since become ubiquitous.
Today, being data-driven isn’t a matter of choice. It’s existential. To become data-driven, organizations must do three things:
Understand what data they are creating in their business, across all products, processes (sales and service) and people.
Engineer capabilities that can use that data as the key to unlock the “secrets of their business” — and enable the understanding of customers, employees, partners and plans better, cheaper and faster.
Apply that intelligence to build and create products and services for their customers that help enrich, simplify and improve the quality of their lives.
Organizations that can achieve that level of “data IQ” have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally transform their business models. Just look at what the MAANA’s (Meta, Alphabet, Apple, Netflix, Amazon) have been able to do in their industries. They have fundamentally transformed advertising, retail and entertainment. Operating with a data-first model is what has enabled them to dominate and disrupt entire markets.
The secret sauce to the success of these “digital-natives” is their ability to capture and use all of their data — as it’s generated — to gain dynamic insights about their products, processes, people, supply chains and most importantly customers. Think of how Netflix knows what shows to not just recommend but script so you continue to binge watch…or how Amazon knows what products to suggest at checkout based on not just price, but the time of delivery, so you add even more to the shopping cart.
For companies that want to be more data-driven like the MAANA’s and evolve into digital businesses, I always say the foundational step is to create “segments of one” of their customers. Only then can you optimize every process and interaction to serve each customer — not as target segments — but as unique “segments of themselves.” This drives better decisions, builds more meaningful relationships and inspires unparalleled customer loyalty.
Which companies can most benefit from tools that empower data collaboration?
I don’t necessarily agree that companies need more data collaboration tools. The problem is we have too many collaboration tools and processes, and not enough usable, good quality data to collaborate on.
Practically any company can benefit from having real-time, quality usable data ready to support their business. In fact, regardless of industry, many organizations face the same data challenges. They have these raw bits of data riddled with errors, duplication, inconsistencies and other variabilities that make it incredibly hard to extract any actionable intelligence from them. And most of it exists in many, siloed systems. The sheer volume and variety of data is overwhelming — for businesses of all shapes and sizes, from the smallest ones to the global behemoths.
Trying to capture, clean, reconcile and understand the inherent relationships between these vast, disparate bits is an enormous obstacle. Organizations have tried to overcome it by pouring money into massive storage platforms and data discovery and preparation tools. Or, they’ve tried hiring departments of people to do the cleansing and integration manually, only to come up short on available skilled talent and variability of output.
When you have a dearth of human resources and a daunting task that needs to keep up with the speed and scale of your business, automation is the only answer.
At Tresata, we were one of the first to recognize the challenge and decided to solve it by applying AI to automate the entire data engineering lifecycle — from collecting raw bits of data from multiple systems to creating data assets that are instantly usable and relatable for immediate business value. It’s the same technology principles that have empowered the MAANA’s to reign supreme. We’re bringing these principles to traditional industries and helping businesses become digital.
We’d love to hear about your experiences using data to drive decisions. In your experience, how has data analytics and data collaboration helped improve operations, processes, and customer experiences? We’d love to hear some stories if possible.
A stateless bit of data on its own doesn’t provide much value. But when you link all of the bits to find the relationships your data can show you — across customers, products, services and interactions — then you start to uncover intelligence about your business.
The trouble is most companies assign each bit to a single use case at a time, which limits the insights that can be gleaned, causes massive duplications in effort and not much re-usability. In addition to being unscalable, this limitation leads to many one-off exercises where data teams need to start from square one with each project.
DBP breaks that cycle of inefficient data processing. Instead of using one bit for one use case, DBP allows for raw bits to be assigned and used for multiple use cases. For instance, we allow raw bits of data to be linked to create a common, unique and tokenized customer identifier across multiple systems and data feeds. Not only does this allow for efficient movement of data, but also protection and privacy that meets and exceeds regulations and customer expectations.
This also allows organizations to take their analysis further, by linking duplicate accounts, multiple accounts, family and business relationships etc. The result is a complete, secure and multidimensional understanding of each customer that can be applied to multiple use cases and analytics processes.
Take for instance an airline that has fragmented information about its passengers in different sources like their ticketing, payment, frequent flier and baggage check-in systems. Small nuances in how their name is entered into the systems (e.g., Jane Doe vs. Jane W. Doe) or if a passenger doesn’t enter their frequent flier number can prevent an airline from connecting the dots that the records all relate back to the same customer.
We helped one of the world’s leading airlines weave together 4 billion daily records to capture 102 million unique customer profiles. From these profiles, the airline provides every passenger with a positive and personalized experience based on their recent activity and demonstrated preferences — even if they’re not part of the frequent flier program. Customer support representatives can easily get up-to-date travel information on each passenger to assist with rebookings or refunds. Gate attendants have been able to proactively contact passengers to assist with sudden schedule changes and mitigate frustrations. The airline is treating everyone like they are royalty to inspire a different level of loyalty.
And I say often — loyalty IS royalty.
Has the shift towards becoming more data-driven been challenging for some teams or organizations from your vantage point? What are the challenges? How can organizations solve these challenges?
I think becoming data-driven has been challenging for some because so much emphasis has been placed on one aspect of it — CLOUD. Some have come to believe that having all your data in one place will make it instantly ready for analytics. But in fact, as highlighted in a recent TDWI Research study, 76% of the companies said they’re seeing most of the same challenges with their cloud data warehouses and lakes as they did on-premise. This isn’t surprising because the cloud only addresses the issue of data storage and access. What’s more, companies often just port their data as is — with all of its existing issues and siloes — straight over to the cloud. It’s like pouring the same wine into a new bottle and expecting it to somehow taste better.
To become data-driven and evolve as a digital business, companies need to not just move their raw data, they need to now integrate, enrich and distribute it via these cloud frameworks and automate the creation of usable data — in the cloud.
Given the speed and scale of data generation in the modern enterprise, automation is the only way forward. Only then can you link and make sense of all the information from across the enterprise at absolute scale and gain a deeper, richer understanding of your business.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are “Five Ways a Company Can Effectively Leverage Data to Take It To The Next Level”? Please share a story or an example for each.
Great question — I believe there are five things that a company needs to do to effectively leverage their data:
Be Intentional With Your Data: There should be a clear intention for why you want to leverage this data. What ultimate goal do you want to achieve? What value do you want to derive from these assets? Setting a prescribed goal helps to map out the steps for success. For instance, in 2021, Tresata launched a free tool Bad Actor Discovery as a Service (BADaaS) with the goal of applying our record linkage technology to uncovering hidden financial crime networks. We knew what data we needed, scanning and linking trillions of data points on beneficial owners sourced from legal, corporate, offshore leak and sanctions data. We made BADaaS totally free to aid governments, banks and journalists in exposing the hidden tracks of bad actors and preventing further exploitation of the world’s financial resources.
Don’t Overlook the 80%: In the data analytics lifecycle, companies get excited about the last 20% of the journey — where you’re extracting intelligence from the data. This last 20% is viewed as the sexy part of analytics and where you get the most returns on investment. The preceding 80% of the journey — all the unsexy data discovery, preparation and plumbing work — gets less attention because it’s frankly arduous. But I would argue that it’s even more vital to get this 80% right because otherwise, you’ll be making critical decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate data. At Tresata, we developed our DBP solution to automate that 80% of the analytics lifecycle and simplify the process down to three steps: ingest, enrich and distribute. DBP gathers data from all enterprise sources, fuses them together for instant usage and makes it available on demand for analytics processes to empower digital businesses.
Go All In With Your Data: To be data-driven, it’s not enough to leverage piecemeal versions of your data or to make decisions based on the information in a single system. Think of the many parts of a business and supply chain that go into the launch of a smartphone. There’s the raw materials supplier, the manufacturer of the phone’s components, final assembly, marketing to promote the phone, shipping, sales and distribution. Contextualizing such a supply chain and making decisions to optimize processes upstream and downstream requires data from all of these sources. Currently, one of our important projects is “susAIn,” where we’re taking financial data and overlaying digital, physical and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) data to understand supplier relationships across supply chains. Our goal is to use the data to help companies know if their suppliers are following ESG best practices and improve accountability and sustainability for the future of our planet.
Don’t Get Lost in the Hype: Every few years a new platform or approach emerges that purports to be the solution to the world’s data management woes. First came enterprise data warehouses, then cloud data warehouses, lakes and lakehouses, and now the hype is all around data fabrics and meshes. With so many approaches to choose from, it can be difficult to narrow down what’s best for your organization. Anything hyped up and new naturally appears enticing. My advice is to not get lost in the hype. Don’t lose sight of the fundamental fact you ultimately need a way to integrate and make sense of all your bits — whether they’re housed in a data lakehouse or data mesh. You will always need a usability layer within your data stack to reap the full benefits of your digital investments.
Distribute Data Assets: When you’ve connected all your data and linked their one-to-many relationships, the assets aren’t limited to a single use but can benefit many parts of the business. This usable data must get distributed across your many customer, business and enterprise systems and processes. In essence, you liberate the data so every last bit can be used and monetized to achieve transformational results. For instance, we’ve helped one global bank attain usable data from 300 million entities across its transaction and payment systems. From these assets, the bank has powered over 30 use cases — from cross-selling and ESG monitoring to fraud detection. In the first year alone, the bank has seen three times the return on investment.
The name of this series is “Data-Driven Work Cultures”. Changing a culture is hard. What would you suggest is needed to change a work culture to become more Data Driven?
Change is a human superpower. But it is also the only constant in life (or so said, Heraclitus). To create a culture that is truly data-driven, people across the organization (whether they are customers, employees or partners) must be educated and bought-in to adopt a data-first mindset.
And I believe this is a unique mindset where it must be engendered across all levels of an organization. It definitely needs complete, unanimous buy-in at the very top (the C-suite and the board). But equally, it needs the creation of capabilities where access to good quality data is democratized across all levels, processes and teams, with a clear, defined vision of how intelligence from data can help improve, simplify and enrich the day-to-day lives of employees, partners and eventually customers.
The key is to invest in capabilities that don’t rely on large human efforts to create usable data, as those efforts will fail and thus become demoralizing. Secondly, it should show quick value so the investment needed to enable this change has a ready supporter in the CFO.
Everyone can agree that putting data-driven intelligence in the hands of employees and customers should result in positive outcomes for all — across every interaction, transaction and business decision. I believe once one person or team starts to demonstrate the impact of having usable data on demand, then it’s easy for a data-driven mindset to go viral as everyone wants to win.
The future of work has recently become very fluid. Based on your experience, how do you think the needs for data will evolve and change over the next five years?
From online shopping and food delivery orders to social media, so much of our daily interactions are happening in the digital world. Over the next five years, I expect 95% of all human activity will leave a digital footprint — and bring with it an exponential proliferation of data.
At that point, unless businesses of all shapes and sizes are adept at using this digital exhaust of data, they will “drown” in their own data lakes.
Does your organization have any exciting goals for the near future? What challenges will you need to tackle to reach them? How do you think data analytics can best help you to achieve these goals?
One of Tresata’s biggest goals is to bring our technology and intellectual property to the masses. We want to empower every business — not just the Fortune 100 — to become data-driven, digital businesses. This includes your neighborhood mom-and-pop stores, local restaurants and every other small- to medium-sized business. Many of them were already forced to become digital during the pandemic, across POS systems, delivery platforms, social media, mobile apps and the like. These platforms contain a veritable treasure trove of customer data that belongs to the businesses, not the platforms, and can help the business understand and better serve each customer. They just need an easy, affordable way to connect all those bits and bytes. That way, for every customer that walks into a corner coffee shop, the barista already knows if their go-to order is the chai latte or the vanilla americano.
How can our readers further follow your work?
To learn more about how Tresata is powering digital business of tomorrow, I invite all interested readers to check out tresata.com and explore our resources section. You can keep up with what’s happening in our global offices on Twitter at @tresata or follow me at @ab_hi_ and on LinkedIn. Here’s to unleashing the power of data to enrich life!!
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Trust your gut. Data is important but sometimes your instincts are everything you need to make the right decision.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Neal Sarin.
Sona Founder, Neal Sarin is an entrepreneur, music executive, record producer and screenwriter. He is currently the Founder and CEO of sona labs, music-based digital therapeutics company that uses research-backed restorative music to relieve anxiety naturally and efficiently.
Previously, he served as Head of A&R at JioSaavn — South Asia’s leading music streaming platform (100+ million MAUs). He co-founded the company’s in-house record label and led creative strategy towards ‘artist-friendly’ deals, while producing cross-continental hit records with artists like Nas and Marshmello. After developing the careers of independent South Asian artists, JioSaavn was selected as India’s Most Innovative Company by Fast Company in 2019.
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”?
I’m an entrepreneur, A&R executive, and music producer from the Bay Area, California. When I was sixteen, I knew I wanted to develop artists as a profession after interning at Universal Music Group in London. Before founding Sona Labs, I was the Head of A&R at JioSaavn — a South Asian music streaming service based out of New York City. I joined the team to start the company’s in-house record label, which focused on signing South Asian artists. I oversaw the production of cross-continental records with established acts like Nas and Marshmello and signed Prateek Kuhad, Sid Sriram and Zack Knight’s ‘Bom Diggy’.
What led you to this particular career path?
I started learning focused-based meditation back in 2010. It helped reduce my stress, but it also took time, practice, and money to see results. I became inspired to create music that could generate benefits similar to meditation and began composing demos in my home studio in 2015. Over the course of four years, I developed a few songs using a series of composing and sound mixing techniques. I would listen to the music for 10 minutes and it felt like I just had a meditation session. It was also having a similar effect on my friends and family. That was the moment I decided to leave my job and start the company in 2019. I started signing composers in the restorative music space, gave them the composition process as guidelines and worked with them to create their own music.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
At sona, our music is designed to facilitate neural entrainment, which shifts the listener’s brainwaves from an active beta (waking) to alpha (relaxed). We’ve conducted research with leading institutions like UC Berkeley and Nielsen Neuroscience, highlighting our music’s efficacy. We are now working towards becoming the first FDA-approved music-based therapy solution for anxiety, so that sona can be prescribed as treatment by a doctor or psychiatrist.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?
Our sona co-founder Dennis Hauser was completing an MBA at UC Berkeley and we didn’t have an app yet. Instead of browsing the internet to find developers, we put up flyers around campus to build an MVP. We paid and recruited a young undergrad who quickly developed a working prototype, but none of the code he used was proprietary so we had to rebuild the entire app from scratch.
Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Do your due diligence before hiring someone.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors?
I’ve been fortunate to have learned from inspiring friends, co-workers and family throughout my life.
Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
In 2017, a well-known producer introduced me to his son who was working at Snapchat at the time. I had just signed a record called ‘Bom Diggy’. We worked together to create the first Snap music lens for South Asia, which helped the song go viral and generate over a billion streams.
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’?
Being disruptive should be a positive thing to ensure that it benefits society. In our case, we’re creating science-backed music for anxiety as an alternative or supplement to current solutions like prescription medication, CBT, and holistic alternatives like exercise and meditation.
Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’?
It depends on the lens you’re viewing it from. There’s always an audience that resists change. But if you’re helping people with the intention of positively impacting culture, I think it’s worth pursuing.
Can you share some examples of what you mean?
We are working with neuroscientists and GRAMMY-winning producers at the cross-section of music, health and tech. Our solution is a therapeutic app that plays science-backed music that’s been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. We aim to provide a natural, efficient and affordable solution that’s passive and intuitive.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey?
Enjoy what you do. When you’re passionate about something, it helps you get through the inevitable hard times you face as a founder.
Take your time. I view life as a marathon, not a sprint. It’s important to take time for reflection and making important decisions.
Freedom is currency. At sona, we are a fully remote team and part of our culture is to empower one another to maximize the time we have to achieve a balanced lifestyle.
Selling is storytelling. I learned this lesson while raising money. People really do ‘buy’ for emotional reasons.
Trust your gut. Data is important but sometimes your instincts are everything you need to make the right decision.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
At sona, we are conducting research to better understand how sona’s music affects the brain and develop new music-based therapy solutions.
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 recommend Sir Ken Robinson’s talk about creativity and divergent thinking. The link below is an example brought to life through animation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHMUXFdBzik
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?
“Simplicity is the key to brilliance.” — Bruce Lee
Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It’s a helpful reminder when things get complex.
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 sona, we are incubating a new genre called restorative music, which we believe can help people improve their mental health efficiently, intuitively and affordably.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Don’t take it personally — this can be a tough one for a Founder because your business is personal, but there’s a reason it’s one of the four agreements. Create separation between you and your business and don’t wrap your entire identity in it.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Abelin, Co-Founder of PlantBaby.
Alex Abelin is an innovative entrepreneur, perennial optimist, and spirited connector. He has the unique ability to take big visions and bring them to life. He has founded three companies in diverse categories: PlantBaby in food & beverage; LQD WiFi in communications; LiquidTalent in technology. He spent over seven years working for Google, and two years for Verizon Smart Cities through its acquisition of LQD WiFi. He’s a proud alumnus of UC Berkeley and has called California, New York, and Hawaii home. As a new Dad, Alex is working harder and smarter than ever to make tomorrow’s world better for his son’s generation.
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?
Ever since I was a young boy, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to walk my own path, trailblaze, create, and do something that’s never been done before. My career started at Google because at 22, I wasn’t ready to be a founder. Google was an incredible experience and I ended up spending over seven years at the organization. As my 30th birthday approached, I knew it was time to take the leap of faith. I gave my notice, went on a solo backpacking trip around Southeast Asia, and returned with a full tank of creativity and motivation.
Upon my return, I immediately started building. My first company was LiquidTalent, which was a modern job marketplace. We matched developers and designers with short-term gig projects through a beautiful web and mobile app. My second company was called LQD WiFi, where we re-designed and modernized the payphone into a digitally enabled 13 foot tall kiosk. We sold LQD WiFi to Verizon in 2016.
Now, I’m building my third company, PlantBaby. This time is different, because this company’s origins come from a personal pain point. The pain that my wife Lauren and I felt when we couldn’t find a suitable infant formula for our then six- month year-old son was all encompassing. He had colic and we needed a dairy-free and soy-free formula to supplement my wife’s breast milk. Turns out, it didn’t exist. In March of 2020, we rolled up our sleeves and have been working on family-focused, plant-based solutions ever since.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Most food companies cheat. The next time you’re at the supermarket, look around and read the ingredient labels and nutritional panels. Most of the so-called foods within those paper and plastic and metal containers aren’t actual food. We’re being disruptive because we only use certified-organic whole foods. No fillers, no additives, no weird stuff. We third-party lab test for glyphosate and heavy metals, and our products are carbon-neutral. Our brand is honest, personal and trustworthy. These things may sound simple, but in today’s world, they are very disruptive.
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?
As mentioned, we started PlantBaby to design the first USA made plant-based infant formula. We are still very committed to this product, but it was naive of me to think that we can just make an infant formula and get it to market off a pre-seed round of funding. Infant formula is one of the most highly regulated products and the FDA is deeply involved. So, looking back on it, my first VC pitch was funny because it didn’t take into account the real costs of getting this product to market. But it was in the aftermath of this now humorous pitch moment we paused, broadened our vision, and developed a product portfolio that includes formulas, beverages, foods, and supplements. That funny pitch opened the door to more than we could ever imagined.
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?
One of our mentors is Julia Collins, the Founder of Planet FWD and Moonshot Snacks. Julia is a leading voice in the sustainability movement and has been instrumental in helping us think about Planet Earth in every decision we make. We launched Kiki Milk as a climate-friendly product at the end of 2021, and shortly thereafter took it a step further and made it carbon-neutral. Julia has this incredible way about her, a tone that is warm yet authoritative, professional yet personal. We are very grateful for her guidance and support over the years.
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?
Sure, disrupting for disruption sake can be harmful and take you backwards. But those businesses never make it through the gauntlet. True disruption leads to value creation, making a product or service healthier, better, easier, faster. When you think about disruption, think about your end customer’s quality of life rather than from a place of an egoic founder and good things will follow.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
“You’re going to do great.” My wife Lauren tells me this every time I head into a big investor pitch. The stakes are high and nerves are firing, so hearing this very soothing and positive affirmation from her makes all the difference.
“Picture yourself entering the building with your new key fob and badge, and sitting down at your corporate desk on the first day of work.” This visualization technique was offered to me by my friend Colin when we were discussing whether or not I should build my third company or take a more cushy 9–5 job. The feeling of future disappointment settling for a job during that exercise pushed me and inspired me to take another entrepreneurial leap.
Some balls are glass and some are rubber… you don’t have to juggle it all. Find out which ones are rubber and let them bounce so you don’t drop ALL the balls at once.
Don’t take it personally — this can be a tough one for a Founder because your business is personal, but there’s a reason it’s one of the four agreements. Create separation between you and your business and don’t wrap your entire identity in it.
Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish — it’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae and grip everything too tightly. you want to make sure you’re managing the things that actually move your business and not hyper focus on the little things that can be distracting and actually not that important. I also like the 80/20 rule as a compliment to this advice.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
How are we going to shake things up? Well first off, because real food separates, you have to really shake your Kiki Milk! Ok, kinda lame joke. We’re going to shake things up by doing some experiential marketing campaigns (Kiki Milk Ice Cream Truck anyone?!) and offering new products under the Kiki umbrella. We have some very big things planned in the plant-based space in early 2023 so keep an eye out!
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?
My favorite books are Journey of Souls, Shantaram, and Harry Potter. I also love The Four Agreements, The Power of Now and most recently, Animal, Vegetable, Junk.
A few years ago, Lauren and I saw Eckhart Tolle speak in New York (the author of The Power of Now, A New Earth, and more) and it was fascinating to witness an enlightened human being. His presence, pace, tone and energy were all just different. One of my favorite things about Eckhart is how we came to reach enlightenment. His depth of struggle, agony and pain was the catalyst that ultimately set him free and into the light and bliss. It’s amazing how interconnected things are, that pain and bliss are two sides of the same coin. I try to remind myself that startup life may have plenty of struggle and pain but it also leads to so much joy, levity and growth.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Savor the moment. I love this life lesson quote because we can often find ourselves living in the future or past. So much mental energy away from the now. Savor the moment reminds me that all we have is now, that today is a precious gift to be celebrated, remembered and enjoyed and not taking anything for granted. In startups, we’re constantly looking ahead at future growth and projections that we can often miss the gems in the moment, the milestones worth celebrating on the journey. Smell the roses.
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’m doing this as we speak with PlantBaby and Kiki Milk! We’re on a mission to nourish, inform and empower future generations with access to real food. We care deeply about the health of humans and the planet, and we intend to be one of the organizations that ushers all of us into a brighter, more healthier future.
Know who you are. Wanting to be a “jack of all” can be exhausting and also dilute your brand’s efforts. Being niche and dedicated to a vertical is valuable. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with punching out of your weight class and trying to be a greater than you are but don’t take a fight too early.
St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Publishing dubbed Richie Frieman a “Modern Day Renaissance Man” due to a career that spans life as an author, illustrator, artist, entrepreneur, screenwriter, cartoonist, and even a champion professional wrestler. He is a #1 best selling and award winning author and illustrator of seven books in multiple genres, with work being sold worldwide.
Outside of the arts, Frieman is the Co-Founder/CEO of Brand U Sports, an innovative sports marketing firm dedicated to connecting brands with NCAA student athletes through brand ambassador programs for Name Image Likeness (NIL) sponsorships.
Over the years, Frieman’s success has landed him on media outlets across the globe, appearing live on numerous radio and TV shows, including MSNBC and FOX News Entertainment, and featured in Time Magazine, Money Magazine, Yahoo, Martha Stewart, Forbes Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, Huffington Post, Fast Company, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Parade, Story Monsters Ink, and many more.
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 call myself a “professional tryer” in that I’ve been able to chase — and accomplish — careers or aspects of my personality that had a career path to them. From art, to wrestling, to the corporate world, whenever I found something I was interested in, I reached out to anyone I could find to learn more. I networked, I asked around, I took meetings, and then was able to capitalize on my hustle. The backbone of everything, really comes down to marketing though, which is what led to the development of Brand U Sports. To make it anywhere — in any career — you have to market yourself and your abilities, or else no one will care. So, when the Name Image and Likeness (NIL) law was passed (which I had been following), my two partners and I (both long time marketers) saw a niche where we could help out these college athletes expand their brand in a positive way. It’s been amazing to see the growth of the industry and of Brand U Sports. I was able to use my love for sports, working with people, and business background to create a firm place in a very growing industry.
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?
I love this question because I know for a fact that everyone has that one “oops” moment but doesn’t like to talk about it. Not me! I love a good laugh at my own expense. Without giving names, I was presenting a product/opportunity to a very important client and when I went to pull up my presentation on my computer, it had disappeared. Apparently some virus hit my computer and zapped what I had on my desktop. I had backups but not on me, so, I improvised. I played it off like that was a part of the plan all along. “Everyone shows you slides… I want to show you with my actions!” Pulling into my professional wrestling background, I put on a show of energy, excitement, and turned my presentation into some whimsical form of performance art, acting out my concept. Big hand gestures, movements, you name it — I pulled out all the stops. I was actually sweating too and not from the nerves.
But it worked and we got the client. From that day forward, I always have a backup file or plan just in case. That was exhausting! However nerve racking it was, it gave me the confidence to believe in my abilities to work off my feet and handle tough issues with some creative grace.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Brand U Sports takes our brand-first model to become an outlier in the sports marketing world. We know what brands want and we know how to meet those needs. What makes Brand U Sports stand out is that we’re the only company in the sports marketing realm that made it a mission to “play nice” with everyone by carving out a unique niche in the sports marketing world. We know our industry better than anyone and understand that the real influence lay in h If you’re an athlete, we’re here to help you get exposure but don’t “own” you any longer than the contract of the campaign. So, we give the athlete their freedom and they give us their commitment. If you’re an agent, we’re going to bring deals to you, to give your athletes’ opportunities.
Here, we’re not trying to take their clients, but rather give the agent proof to show their clients that they can bring the athlete opportunities. If we’re working with your brand, we’re the best consultants and connectors for your team, doing all the heavy lifting and working the tough corners of NCAA sports marketing they’re not used to. And if you’re a marketing firm who is hired by a brand, we’ll work with you, under you, so you keep your brand happy. We don’t ask for the attention but rather make you look good for your brand. It’s an overall win-win. We aren’t trying to be anything we’re not and take over other lines of business that don’t involve our mission — regardless of how attractive it may appear.
As a result, we have essentially created a marketing machine that works as a connector to every facet of the NCAA sports world; not stepping on anyone’s toes, playing well in others’ sandboxes, and creating long term value to athletes, agents, and other marketing firms.
We’re everyone’s best friend and they know we can deliver… because we do. Not many people can say that.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
A recent project we worked on was with Dr. Scholl’s and The University of North Carolina Tar Heels football team, along with the legendary NFL football coach, Rex Ryan. We had 8 players, promoting two of their new products. The reason that has been so fun is because we’re working with the entire UNC sports team from compliance office, to coaches, to players, to the alumni who are making sure that UNC gets the attention they deserve. When it’s a full-campus, it always makes it more fun. Plus, we were able to bring an international brand, that was designed to help athletes, to a group of individuals who use it in real time to remain in top shape.
The campaign we created allowed the product to be showcase in real time, to real athletes that have a very busy schedule, which make balancing their health difficult at times. The life of a D1 athlete is challenging and although they have many cool amenities in the facilities, it’s up to each individual player to do what they can for their body. It was an eye opener for all of them and we loved how it came out!
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?
The way I see it, brand marketing (branding) is about the entirety — culture, audience, and beliefs — of the company/persona. Product marketing rather, is an extension of the brand that is being presented to the public. For example, an entertainer or influencer is a brand unto themselves (LeBron, Nike, Vineyard Vines, etc.) but their new custom shoe is a product they’re marketing. The products will come and go, or be one of many for a brand, but the brand as a whole and entity is what is the real driver for a long standing relationship with the public. Rolex will always have the brand image of class, status, and wealth, regardless of how many products they market. This is because they have invested in curating their brand to a certain standard that has become the standard in our culture.
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?
It’s important to invest resources and energy into building a brand because it’s the foundation of your public structure. Without a solid brand, there is no sustainability for long term success, which includes commitment from the public. Yes, general marketing and advertising are essential, however everything comes back to how the public or consumer views the messenger of those marketing and advertising efforts. For example, you can advertise how great your clothes are and how fashionable they appear but if you find out the brand is running a sweatshop paying people pennies, and the corporate office is a disaster of a work environment, then no one will buy those fancy clothes.
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.
Don’t rely on the gimmicks. Gimmicks are good to get some hype and attention but if a gimmick gets old it becomes tacky and untrustworthy. You may get lucky for a while but eventually people will see through the holes of a brand’s shtick and you’ll lose credibility.
Know who you are. Wanting to be a “jack of all” can be exhausting and also dilute your brand’s efforts. Being niche and dedicated to a vertical is valuable. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with punching out of your weight class and trying to be a greater than you are but don’t take a fight too early.
Always be authentic. People can see through a façade easily. They may not come out and say it but the minute you’re looked at as phony or pretentious, people will start to look elsewhere. Being true to your brand’s values and core areas makes you essential for the long run.
Don’t be a jerk. At the Baltimore Ravens games, the saying, “Don’t be a jerk!” is shown on the big screen to remind rowdy fans that the Ravens’ stadium is not a place for hooliganism. This notion is true in creating a trustworthy and believable brand. Stand up for yourself, take on an argument when you have to, but don’t be a jerk. Don’t treat people like they’re less than you or use improper humor at their expense to show your dominance. No one is ever that good that others will tolerate being rude.
The butt you kick on the way up, is the butt you kiss on the way down. When I was training to be a professional wrestler, one of the veterans told me that saying and I will never forget it. It means, don’t step on people with your climb to the top because eventually they’ll catch up, and they will remember how you treated them. A brand is an lifestyle commitment and similar to “don’t be a jerk”, people’s memories of how you didn’t play well with others, will tarnish your brand with serious consequences.
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?
One of my favorite brands is Ralph Lauren (Polo) which has created a culture of class, comfort, elegance, and American heritage, that has crossed not only generations but geographics as well. Whether it’s pajamas, their legendary polo shirt, suits, dresses, accessories, even coffee at Ralph’s Coffee in New York, when you see that brand you automatically know it’s high quality and timeless class. For example, the RL polo shirts could very well be one of the most iconic fashion pieces that hasn’t changed (much) in decades. To this day, I have RL polos that are over ten years old and when I go into a RL store now that same polo is there; same look, same feel, same level of class. RL is timeless and because of that, they have remained on the top of the game for almost sixty years.
The way you can replicate the heritage and culture of Ralph Lauren is make sure that everything you do has the same messaging throughout. Whether it’s a clothing brand or a food truck, stick to your style and be consistent; your message, your photos, your tone, your color pallet in designs, etc. People will catch on — and commit — when they know something is classic.
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?
Measuring success isn’t always about dollars. Of course, if you’re not making money, you don’t have a business but sometimes the ROI on a campaign isn’t necessarily about the monetary return. What your ultimate goal should be is dedication and commitment from your customers. That commitment will convert into sales overtime and multiply for years to come. That customer commitment is what makes a brand legendary and superior in their marketplace.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Today, without a shadow of a doubt, social media plays the most essential role in your branding efforts. Social media is the most cost effective, convenient, and timely form of branding any company can maintain. The ROI on a social media engagement is not only more valuable but it’s the safest way for trial and error. Everyone spends more time on their phones/devices than anywhere else and the social aspect of marketing is the fastest way to provide your desired conversion. With that, don’t feel like you have to master all platforms 100%; try the ones that work best for your brand and blow it out that way. Work the channels that your audience is likely to use and they’ll join in.
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. 🙂
If I had my choice, one movement would be to give more attention to the arts. I’ve been an artist my whole life and it’s a form of self expression that has allowed me to become who I am today. Sadly, the arts are being cut in schools and kids are being pushed away from the arts for other professions. Regardless of what medium (theater, painting, music, etc.) the arts are a way to handle anxieties, self expression, and build your confidence. Plus, there is not “wrong” in art and that allows for people to find their way, while stumbling around to gather their footing in life.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Crazier things have happened than my dreams coming true.” If I had a nickel for every time someone told me I was going to fail or an idea was too whacky, I could outbid Elon Musk for Twitter. It’s remarkable every time someone tells me something won’t work out and it took many years for me to stop listening to that nonsense. Remember when those two goofy brothers in North Carolina wanted to build a “flying machine” made out of timber covered with fabric? How many times did they hear “You’re nuts!” When you think about all the insanely wild things people have done and then think about what you want to do and how it compares to that, it puts things in perspective. Plus, it’s always the doubters that are the first to look for a handout once you have any success.
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. 🙂
Wow, that’s a tough one. But if I’m really going pie in the sky, and can pick anyone it would be Paul McCartney. I’m a huge Beatles fan and his influence was so immense globally (or across the universe) and generationally. But as a writer, I’m always fascinated about the story behind the art and what made someone create what they did. Although I’ve heard many of those stories in his interviews, to hear him talk in person, over lunch or breakfast, would be insane!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Yes, @RichieFrieman on Twitter and Instagram and @BrandUSports on Instagram
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Ulli Appelbaum Of First The Trousers Then The Shoes: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Give meaning to your brand beyond product features and specs. Unless you are an innovation leader and are able to maintain a competitive advantage via product features you should try to create brand associations that transcend features. But even if you can do so (focus on features) it is hard to maintain this approach in the long run.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
When in business school, I initially wanted to do my Master thesis about supply chain management and “just-in-time” manufacturing, a concept developed in Japan by Toyota, if I remember well. But as I learned more about the subject and talked to more people, I realized that I was more interested in the cultural aspect and the people side than the logistics and manufacturing side. At the same time, I came across Trout & Ries’ book on Positioning and was hooked right away. A few internships confirmed my interest in the subject and led to a career as account planner and brand strategist in various agencies in Europe and for the last 20 years in the US.
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?
I was in the process of moving to the US to work for one of the most creative agencies in the world at the time. We were pitching a very important and significant piece of business. I had been hired because of my experience with this type of business and client.
The final and all decisive presentation took place in a conference room in the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. There were around 20 senior international executives on the client side, all the senior executives of the agency that had just hired me as well as the CEO of the holding company to which this agency belonged. I was probably the most junior person in this room.
Everything was timed to the second and I remember I had 7 minutes for my part. We rehearsed and rehearsed. At the end of my part, I was supposed to play one of the client’s commercials and show them a tag we had added to the commercial. We wanted to add this tag to all their ads around the world, so it was a big deal and an important part of the recommendation.
My part went great and was coming to an end, and 6 minutes and 10 seconds into my presentation I pressed “play” on the AV system. But I was so tense and nervous that I pressed “stop” at the end of the commercial and before the tag. The second I pressed “stop”, my world switched to slow motion. I realized my mistake and saw the global chief creative officer raise in slow motion screaming “nooooooo……” leaping across the room and taking over the control of the AV system. I remember thinking, “well I might as well not unpack my suitcases and just fly back to Germany. Goodbye dreams to live and work in the USA for one of the best advertising agencies in the world.” Luckily my immediate reaction was to say “and THIS ladies and gentlemen is how we do NOT recommend building your brand around the world. Our global chief creative director will now show you what we ACTUALLY recommend doing”. The one advantage of my mistake and the commotion it created was that it woke up half the client executives who were slowly dozing off allowing us to get their full attention for the closing section of the presentation.
At the end of the meeting and once the client had left, the CEO of my new agency came over to me and gave me hug (he must have known how devastated I felt even though I maintained my professional composure), the chief creative director decided to affectionately call me “button” for a month following the presentation and the CEO of the holding company promised to send me to AV training to learn the difference between “play” and “stop” while shaking my hand with a smirk.
A week later we had won that global business.
I learned a few lessons that day:
Mistakes are human. They make us likable and are not the end of the world. Since then, I’ve significantly improved my presentations not by being perfect but simply by embracing my own style and having fun with the mistakes I still make.
The unconditional and non-judgmental support of your executive leadership team is priceless in making you feel valued and an important member of the organization.
The difference between “play” and “stop.”
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The name of my company, First The Trousers Then The Shoes Inc. says it all. We are a brand research and strategy firm that believes in strategy first but also that the strategy development process is first and foremost a creative problem-solving process. As such we combine analytical rigor with tools and techniques that promote divergent thinking, the key to coming up with truly novel ideas. For our positioning development methodology, for example we leverage the insights of 1,200 case studies of effective brand building to stimulate and inspire our thought process when working with a client on a project.
The outcome is that we often help our clients reframe the way they look at their business and uncover a world of new opportunities. After a large segmentation and positioning project leading to over 60 new product ideas, a senior client walked up to me and said “I’ve worked in this category for over 20 years but have never thought about our business in this way. And yet the way you helped us reframe it makes so much sense.” These are the moments I live for as a consultant.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I recently helped an online fundraising platform understand its market and define its positioning. During the pandemic the online fundraising market had exploded, and while the company saw tremendous growth it wasn’t in control of its growth. In addition to that, their customer base was extremely diverse. By helping them frame the very chaotic and complex market of donations, quantify their business opportunity, and help them understand their core consumer segments, we were able to help them focus on their core strengths and provide the clarity they needed to better allocate their limited resources. I had also added to my team a DE&I expert allowing us to really understand the needs and perspectives of their diverse customer base. As a result, not only did the strategy and positioning coming out of this project crystallize the brands core values and strengths, carve out a unique and appealing positioning in this very cluttered market, it also allowed us to extend the access to this platform to under-privileged communities that otherwise would not have had access.
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?
Let’s start by defining what a brand is. In my perspective a brand is the sum of all the associations a specific offering has in the mind of its core target audience. The associations are the sum of what the consumers experience themselves, what their friends and family say about the offering, what media and culture in general say about the offering and what the company itself claims about its offering through new product development, marketing and advertising and so forth. These brand associations also need to be rooted in the product or service (or idea), else the company will not be perceived as genuine and risk a consumer backslash. A typical example would be for a brand to claim to be sustainable even though it is not (using advertising to try to create a sustainability brand association).
As such a strong brand should always start with a great and unique product or service or idea and bring it to life in a compelling and differentiating marketing program (the 4 Ps of marketing) including advertising. A great example of that is Chobani which started with an amazing product (Greek yogurt) and a purposeful approach to business and marketing.
The role of marketing and advertising should then be to 1. Reinforce the desired brand associations (brand positioning) and 2. To keep those desired brand associations relevant and contemporary over time.
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?
Investing in a brand, or more specifically investing in clear and differentiating brand associations, is comparable to compound interest. Over time and if invested in regularly, these associations will grow stronger and more distinctive making the brand less vulnerable to competition and less sensitive to price variations.
There is a whole body of research that shows that strong and distinctive brand associations lead to better brand salience (the likelihood that a brand will be thought of at the moment of purchase), that brands with strong and differentiating brand associations are less price sensitive and more profitable and that companies that continue to invest in their brands during recessions will grow faster than brands that do not invest during those times. Investing in your brand means creating an intangible value to your consumers that competition cannot replicate.
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.
Understand the people buying your brand. I am purposefully not saying the “consumers” as most consumers do not think about your brand as much as you do. Yes, it is important to understand the category dynamics and purchase drivers in your specific market, but it is equally If not more important to understand people’s broader values and perspectives, their rituals, and the role your brand plays in their lives. One brand that understood the people buying its brand is the candy bar Kit Kat in Japan. In fact, Kit Kat is Kitto Katto in Japanese, which roughly translates into “You’re bound to win” or even, “Never fail.” As a result, one in three Japanese students are said to purchase Kit Kats before an entrance examination and one in five reportedly bring Kit Kats to where they take the test! Nestle, the company owning Kit Kat has even developed special packaging for this occasion. Thanks to its name and the brand team’s savviness, Kit Kat has become an essential part of the Japanese preparation rituals for taking entry exams, a unique position no competitor can aspire to claim.
Understand that brands are networks of associations in the mind of the people buying your brands and that your job as a marketer is to create and reinforce those associations. You would run away if your doctor told you, “oh I am not sure how your body works, but please entrust me with your health, I ‘ll take good care of you and make sure you live a long and healthy life”. As such, you should either create your own brand associations or borrow associations from something else. The National Pork Board for example closely associated itself with chicken by claiming that pork is “The other white meat”, clearly positioning itself as an alternative to what is perceived as a healthier alternative to red meat, while taking full advantage of all the positive associations created by the idea of “white meat”. This “reframing” led to an increase in pork sales of 20%.
Define the 3 or 4 associations you want your brand to stand for (positioning) and focus all your resources on building these associations without distractions. Geiko has spent the last twenty years single-mindedly telling us what it stands for so that when we hear “15 minutes could save you..” we all say “15%” in unison.
Give meaning to your brand beyond product features and specs. Unless you are an innovation leader and are able to maintain a competitive advantage via product features you should try to create brand associations that transcend features. But even if you can do so (focus on features) it is hard to maintain this approach in the long run. Think about Gillette. First, they offered one blade for a cleaner shave, then 2, then 3, then 4. How many blades does one need for a clean shave? Same with the iPhone. Is there really a significant difference between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 13? One example of a brand that did it well is Beats by Dre, which became the leading brand of headphones with a claimed 70% market share. It was intentionally associated with the pre-game moments where athletes try to focus on the game by blocking out all the noise, criticism, and self-doubts, and basically get mentally ready for the game. By doing so, it took the category generic functional benefit of “noise cancellation”, created an association with this very specific and relevant listening occasion, and turned it into a relevant consumer benefit of “achieving focus”. All without claiming any superior functional benefit.
Create distinctive brand assets and continuously communicate them across touchpoints: some of these brand associations are brand assets, the logo or brand mark, the primary colors, the shape, a character or spokesperson, a jingle, everything that makes your brand distinctive. Brand assets are often underrated and typically ignored by advertising agencies. And yet research firm Quantar has shown that strong and distinctive brand assets lead to a 57% increase in brand salience, i.e. your brand is 57% more likely to be thought of when the consumer is making a purchase decision when you have strong and distinctive brand assets. That doesn’t mean that your communication needs to be boring. Brands that excel at this include McDonald, Heinz Ketchup, Veuve Clicquot, Apple and basically every brand you immediately recognize even without seeing the logo.
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?
One brand that has done a fantastic job is Heinz Ketchup. Over the decades it has stood by its positioning and core product values. For example- one of the negatives associated with Heinz’s Ketchup has always been its slow pour (before the introduction of the plastic squeeze bottle). But instead of ignoring the issue Heinz has regularly embraced it to justify the richness and quality of its product, an unwavering commitment to its positioning and the brand associations it had created. It even went as far as to tilt the labels on its bottles so that the label would be perfectly horizontal when held in the position that ensured the best pour angle. Heinz turned a perceived negative into a positive by justifying it with the product’s richness and quality.
In addition to that, Heinz Ketchup has built iconic brand assets (the shape of the bottle and the color red) which are immediately recognizable around the world. As a result, any other ketchup brand around the world -and there are a lot- is only seen as a “second best”.
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?
Sales is ultimately the only success metric. However, from a branding perspective brand equity is the second. What is brand equity? Simply the combination of two elements: brand awareness (how many people know of you) or to be more specific brand salience (how many people think of your brand at the moment of purchase) and strength and differentiation of your brand associations (sometimes also called brand image). As such, the metrics you want to track include brand salience as well as the strength and distinctiveness of the brand associations you want to create.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Social media is typically an amplifier of an existing communication plan. Again, research shows that a campaign will be more effective when spread across a variety of communication channels, including social media. I do not believe in this popular saying that the consumer owns your brand and that social media is a great channel to have “conversations” with consumers. When was the last time you actually had a conversation on Facebook or Instagram with your preferred brand of mayonnaise? My point exactly.
Social media can also be a great source of learning for a brand and a great way to be in touch with culture by observing and monitoring what resonates with consumers. The trick is to listen to a brands’ real consumers and not to the armchair activists that have a loud voice but don’t buy the product. Research showed for example that in the case of a social media backslash (for example Peloton a year or so ago or Chick-fil-A a few years back) the loudest complaints came from people who have never or will never buy the brand. Those are obviously not the people you want to listen 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 live in a bicultural, biracial household. I’ve lived in nine countries and cultures across three continents. I really consider myself as a citizen of the world even though I really enjoy my suburban lifestyle in Minnesota. If I could inspire a movement, it would be a movement about promoting global understanding and tolerance and about valuing and celebrating our cultural differences. And while this may sound ambitious, I started small by creating a set of game cards called “The 26 Most Popular Children Games From Around The World” which teaches children in a playful way about other cultures. I only sell the cards over the holidays on Amazon and donate the proceeds to charity. It is not much, but a little contribution and a first step.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
As I mentioned, I grew up in different cultures and was strongly influenced by this variety and diversity. The quote I always come back to thanks to this experience is Marcel Proust’s “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” You could say that this “life lesson” has guided me in everything I do, in my consulting practice, when writing my Brand Positioning Workbook and in the way I approach life and every day.
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. 🙂
I would love to have breakfast with Ryan Reynolds to understand how he found his voice and lunch with Kim Jong-un, yes, the leader of North Korea, not because I admire him but to get a glimpse into his world views (beyond politics and geo-politics).
Austin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Outfield, a web and mobile based CRM that specializes in data driven revenue and efficiency solutions for organizations with an Outside Sales force. Outfield’s League Play app is the first of its kind, bringing together sales and gaming. It is designed for sales reps to showcase their talents in a friendly and competitive way, while ultimately contributing to their company’s main goal: driving revenue performance.
Thank you for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this career path?
I started Outfield to solve a problem that I had personally experienced working for several different companies as an outside sales person. The tools these companies provided to us were supposed to support our workflow requirements and expectations. However, they did just the opposite. The complex UI/UX arrangement instead made our jobs more difficult and tedious.
Essentially, I believed I knew what a better solution could look like for the specific job function. And when given the opportunity, I sought out to build on my ideas. The rest is history.
Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
Probably the most interesting thing about my career deals in launching Outfield. For the first year and a half I was homeless. I would couch surf and sleep on the floors of various friends and family.
I learned three things from that experience: Focus on your vision. Manage your mental health. And see failure as an opportunity.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are working on the Closer’s app, which is going to be the world’s first globalized sales league! It’s set to be launched in the next few weeks.
Based on its focus on enhancing the utilization of CRM, It will help various parties. This includes sales reps, sales managers, and the company in general.
Sales reps can expect more recognition and potential for advanced career opportunities.
Sales Managers can expect better CRM adoption, improved reporting, data entry, data output and less of their CRM budget going to waste.
For companies, once systems are properly adopted and the sales organization is equipped with the appropriate information, they now have the two most important foundations for success in driving revenue.
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?
Manish Patel is a friend and mentor of mine. He is the individual who sold the initial code of Outfield to us and essentially became our first partner and customer in the process. Partnering with him in the beginning is what ultimately led to our sustainability early on.
For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit why you are an authority on the topic of sales?
Why some might consider me an authority in sales would be most likely based on my experience. I’ve worked in sales for over 20 years in various roles. I was a high performing sales person across various industries. As well as a sales manager responsible for leading over 80 sales reps at once. And now I’m co-founder and CEO of Outfield, which is a Gaming CRM and solution to sales professionals around the world. I’ve built a platform that serves thousands of sales people.
Now I’m working to build the world’s first digital sales league where’s sales rep around the world compete for prizes, recognition, and awards.
Ok. Thanks for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. As you know, nearly any business a person will enter, will involve some form of sales. At the same time, most people have never received any formal education about how to be effective at selling. Why do you think our education system teaches nearly every other arcane subject, but sales, one of the most useful and versatile topics, is totally ignored?
I’m not really sure why that has been the case. It might be a chicken and an egg type problem. Are universities not offering sales programs due to low demand? I’ve actually never come across someone with a degree in sales. Most people I know just fall into the role of a sales professional.
However, I believe it is changing. I’m seeing more universities offering sales training courses. For example, The University of Houston has a program called the Sales Academy, which teaches college students selling techniques. More specifically, they offer training in SaaS selling. I do not see this trend slowing, as the demand for quality sellers is increasing every day.
This discussion, entitled, “How To Be Great At Sales Without Seeming Salesy”, is making an assumption that seeming salesy or pushy is something to be avoided. Do you agree with this assumption? Whether yes, or no, can you articulate why you feel the way you do?
In all of my career as a sales professional. I never used “being pushy” to close deals. Yes, you want to nudge and suggest respectfully, but at the end of the day I always wanted to be guilt free in any deal that I made. For me that meant articulating value to the best of my ability in a way that addresses the needs of the customer. If I’m unable to do that, then it means it wasn’t the right option or time for the buyer. You can not dwell on a missed opportunity. Move on.
The seven stages of a sales cycle are usually broken down to versions of Prospecting, Preparation, Approach, Presentation, Handling objections, Closing, and Follow-up. Which stage do you feel that you are best at? What is your unique approach, your “secret sauce”, to that particular skill? Can you explain or give a story?
The discovery call is where I’m at my best. That’s primarily because I put the most emphasis on this phase. It’s the most important in my opinion. Everything you learn from the customer at the initial stage will help you convert each of the following sales steps properly, ultimately leading to a sales conversion.
The “secret sauce” to discovery calls is my ability to switch my persona. I choose a different hat to wear. Rather than conducting the call as a sales person, I approach the call as if I was interviewing the person. When you wear the hat of an interviewer you instantly become way more curious, conversational, and exude having less of a sales agenda. As a result, the prospect is less guarded and you wind up learning more valuable information.
Lead generation, or prospecting, is one of the basic steps of the sales cycle. Obviously, every industry will be different, but can you share some of the fundamental strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
Our focus has been primarily on leveraging proper SEO practices in order to drive warm leads to us. We also have referral targets that each sales person should hit a month.
Roughly 90% of our leads are generated from inbound marketing efforts and word of mouth.
In my experience, I think the final stages of Handling Objections, Closing, and Follow-up, are the most difficult parts for many people. Why do you think ‘Handling Objections’ is so hard for people? What would you recommend for one to do, to be better at ‘Handling Objections’?’’
Overcoming objections becomes way easier if you conduct a proper discovery call. The reason why so many have challenges in closing is because they don’t really know enough about the customer’s pain points to target them. If you drive the dagger into a pain point deep enough, you’ll get the sales. You just need to know where to target.
Something else I tell my guys is to use both logic and emotion in your proposal delivery. Not only do you target the pain point with a dagger, you make a financial case for your offering. Use numbers as proof.
‘Closing’ is of course the proverbial Holy Grail. Can you suggest 5 things one can do to successfully close a sale without being perceived as pushy? If you can, please share a story or example, ideally from your experience, for each.
Assume the deal will close.
Offer more than one option so that the customer feels like they have some control.
Reiterate the customer’s pain points (use their words as they were communicated to you) at the start of the call. Follow up with how your product or service solves for their pain point.
Remain professional, while being assertive. Do not get bodied by the customer.
Give off the impression that you’re okay with walking away from the deal. Don’t come off as desperate.
Finally, what are your thoughts about ‘Follow up’? Many businesses get leads who might be interested but things never seem to close. What are some good tips for a business leader to successfully follow up and bring things to a conclusion, without appearing overly pushy or overeager?
Break up emails are the best. You’ll be surprised at how often customers respond stating that they would like to move forward.
Sometimes the timing just isn’t right for the customer. In a final email or phone call steer clear of coming off as passive aggressive. This will put a sour taste in the mouth of the prospect and surely ruin any potential deals for the future.
Be respectful and move on.
As you know there are so many modes of communication today. For example, In-person, phone calls, video calls, emails, and text messages. In your opinion, which of these communication methods should be avoided when attempting to close a sale or follow up? Which are the best ones? Can you explain or give a story?
Do not attempt to close a deal via email or text. It’s lazy and will prove to be ineffective. Moreover, tone is oftentimes difficult to sense in these forms of communication.
In-Person and video calls are my favorite. It’s easier to present and have prospects follow along to your business proposal. It also helps with capturing the full attention of a prospective customer. Overcoming objections is easier because you hear tone, vocal inflections, body movement, etc. These are all clues to what the person might be thinking.
Ok, we are nearly done. Here is our final “meaty” question. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
There needs to be more economic resources driven in the direction of entrepreneurs who come from underserved communities. Oftentimes, minorities are overlooked for investment opportunities even when their ideas are brilliant. Venture Capital, historically, has had a type of face they’ve gravitated to with their resources. Purposely. It’s unfortunate for the groups of people who are left out.
My goal is to eventually become a founder of a VC firm with the focus on serving African American entrepreneurs.
Agile Businesses: Josh Berman of C2C Global On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Build an intentional culture. Be transparent. Be honest. Encourage open feedback in both directions. Don’t feel like you need to stand in front of the room or stand in front of the initiative.
As a part of my series about the “How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Josh Berman.
Josh Berman is President of C2C Global and an expert in community building with a long track record of establishing connections between technology companies and their target audiences.
In his role at C2C Global, Josh curates and facilitates timely industry discussions for cloud users — oftentimes having representatives from partner organizations take part to provide expert commentary on how to use the cloud for success. He brings together thousands of users a day to collaborate to solve problems such as cybersecurity, data management, cloud storage and management and eCommerce issues.
As the largest community of Google Cloud users, C2C has helped forge relationships and develop new, cutting edge approaches to problem solving. For example, it recently launched its Google Cloud Startups group after seeing many startups join the community struggle to learn how to best leverage Google Cloud for their business. C2C serves a host of startups at various stages, from those who just launched, to startups in the trenches of scaling their business. No matter what phase of business they are in, these businesses seek this community to make connections, share ideas, ask questions, and contribute.
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 got my start in tech. In the late 90s and early 00s, I was doing hands-on work with applications and IT products. For the last decade-plus, however, I’ve made community my specialty. I’ve had the fortune to stand up user communities at some of the biggest companies in today’s tech and innovation universe. Including Oracle and Palo Alto Networks. Going into my current role at C2C, I knew I was entering a customer ecosystem with amazing potential for growth.
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 remember standing in front of a group of a couple hundred people in an airplane hangar in Dallas, Texas. I looked at some rocketship looking thing, and something made me think of Houston and NASA, and I’m like, “Hello Houston.” The dude in the front seat’s like, “We’re in Dallas, man.” That reminded me to be in the moment and really shift as hard and fast as I can to active listening.
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 learn most from the teams I work with. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to hire many people I’ve built lasting relationships with. There is really no substitute for that. Some of my closest colleagues are people I’ve brought with me through several initiatives, even at different companies, and some of those people are still with me today at C2C. Mentorship is important, and I try to give as much as I take, but it also moves in all directions.
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?
What’s old is new again. In the 90s the original OEMs that had amazing software, like IBM, Oracle, they didn’t have great call deflection strategy. People just struggled when they had a problem, so what they did was they found each other and formed user groups, and then software got better. The need for what I consider the user group 2.0 or community has become incredibly valuable again, critical. It’s like an open source. You need to recognize that you only can do and know so much internal to your company. You have to be able to have your people connected outside to a larger ecosystem to stay relevant, stay on top of things, keep a good healthy relationship with the next hires, all that.
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.
Everyone needs their customers’ feedback, advocacy, and I think everywhere, getting connected, staying connected, finding your peers, whether they work with you in a company or just do something similar in other companies, other industries, finding them and connecting to them is critical, especially as we’re all working from home, we’re working elsewhere. The need for community is stronger than it’s ever been. C2C is here for that reason: to fill that need for Google Cloud’s customer base.
Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?
There’s been a confluence of shifts in the market in the last couple of years. Nobody is going to anyone’s website to ask and get their opinions of themselves. Everyone goes to Opentable or Yelp when they go to Chicago, and they want to pick the best deep dish pizza because there’s twelve of them. Same thing in B2B. A customer a peer-sourced platform is a critical path for any large tech company, for their customers to be talking about what it’s like to work with them.
What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?
When I had the opportunity to jump on to C2C, one of the things I asked for was the ability to get to know the current team, and ultimately to blow it up. We need to over-hire, we need to hire people who really could operate at the next level. I don’t know marketing. I like marketing, I have an opinion often, but I’m no marketer. I’m not a CFO. I’m not an events czar. So seeking permission, which I was super fortunate to get to do, to hire a very strong leadership team.
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 think my team can relate to me saying yes to certain things and going, “What the hell?” So making sure you’ve got the support of them team and you’re delivering back to the client, whatever that client looks like, like whether it’s a community or a classic vendor relationship, what they need and not what they want.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
We’ve got the teams. We can operate at scale. We’ve built templates and frameworks and a philosophy and an approach. We’re not perfect, and we’re subject to change, but I think in many ways getting a strong leadership team in place has been a lesson I’ve learned.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?
I have this deep personal learned philosophy which is, go meet people in person. For me, personally, sitting at home was tough. I learned a lot, and I adapted, I evolved. As we’ve gotten this thing off the ground in the past year and a half, I’ve tried very hard to get on every airplane I possibly can to get to these events, to meet all of these important people, whether they’re team, Googlers, partners, customers, and I did that before, when I had an opportunity to help launch the Palo Alto Networks Fuel community.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
I think it’s making sure that you’re building a very intentional culture. Everyone’s treated the same way to the degree that it’s reasonable and possible and consistent with the way the organization is laid out. I think companies can be really short-sighted with their hiring strategy. Going back, I would rather hire from the top down than just be putting out fires by hiring one thing after another based on what’s on our plate.
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?
A company always needs to invest in research and development, always needs to invest in professional development, continuous learning, has to be hard-wired to any person’s day, week, month, year, at any level of the company.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
I think change is the new constant variable. I don’t know when that started to be the case, but that is certainly the case. There’s been more innovation in the past year, in the past five years, in the past fifteen years, than there probably was in the past hundred years, in terms of how we all interact, how we buy, how we sell, so deeply believing in change and, to the degree that we can, all becoming comfortable with a dynamic fluid environment. The quicker you get there, the less anxiety you have, whether you’re leading a company or you’re an individual contributor.
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
Catering to rock stars who ultimately erode from the culture, from the team. I think that’s a terrible mistake a lot of companies make, where they get trapped. Maybe there’s a salesperson who does really well in terms of revenue generation, but is a toxic personality. That’s no way to grow a company. It depends on what you’re doing, but in the business of community, not good. Overcommitting resources early on to go get great people that you know can run with you is pretty key. I see a lot of hiring based on limited budgets, which I think makes sense, I get it, but it’s a short-term approach that I think nets pretty weak long-term growth and health and all that. Going to back to general leadership, saying yes to your customer over and over again without really thinking, bringing your team in, challenging what they’re asking for. Maybe they’re asking for what they want versus what they need, I think that’s a huge long-term mistake a lot of people make, companies make. It can be terrible on morale.
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 — Keep everyone’s skills up. It helps to constantly learn. Bring back new ideas, better skill sets, more innovation, more ROI.
2 — The grass is always greener. I think we all have that sometimes in our heads, and I think the more exposure we all get the more we really respect and appreciate where we are.
3 — Build an intentional culture. Be transparent. Be honest. Encourage open feedback in both directions. Don’t feel like you need to stand in front of the room or stand in front of the initiative.
4 — As opposed to hiring from the bottom up, I’d rather hire from the top down, which not all leaders would get behind. That’s an expensive approach, but I think it’s a much more resilient approach toward long-term healthy growth.
5 — I try not to take myself too seriously. I do think having a light friendly positive culture is often quickly dismissed. Work-life balance, having fun, enjoying work, not taking yourself too seriously. Take yourself seriously, take work seriously, but ultimately it’s a moment in time. It’s not the story.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I say it a lot, but the hokey line is, “My genius is I know I’m not a genius,” and what I mean by that ultimately is: be as self aware as possible, test for self-awareness frequently, be confident, and ultimately make sure to surround yourself with talent, ensure the talent feels like they’re in a very healthy environment to bring ideas, good or bad or otherwise, and then get behind them.
How can our readers further follow your work?
I’m very active on LinkedIn, and make a point of updating there when something exciting is happening. However, right now, what’s top of mind for me is always what’s newest and of most essence to the C2C community. To keep up with what’s happening there, go to c2cglobal.com, or better yet — join us as a member. We’ll come to you.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Surround yourself with organized and talented people. Thankfully, I have been doing this for a while now because I recognize my strengths and weaknesses.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Alexander Dunlea.
Nicole is the Founder & CEO of Ivy Alexander, a luxury accessories company that launched with it’s flagship product, handbag hooks so your handbags and other personal items never have to sit on the floor. Nicole is an attorney and an adjunct professor teaching among other things, Legal Ethics. She sits on many charitable boards and has recently founded the Ivy Alexander Foundation, dedicated to supporting organizations and initiatives that foster equity for women and girls.
Ivy Alexander will be launching more products in the upcoming months and proceeds from Ivy Alexander sales go towards the Ivy Alexander Foundation.
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 fortunate enough to have spent a ton of time with my grandparents when I was younger. I actually named the brand after my grandmother, Ivy who was from England. She taught me how to sew and how to make a great cup of tea but more importantly, she had a career at a time when women were not a staple in the workforce. My mom also had a career. She was emphatic that I get the best education so I would never have to be dependent on someone else for income. My whole family encouraged me to be independent and to work hard. I’m not sure that they loved it when I moved from Southern California to the east coast for law school but in the end, they were very proud.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Everything is negotiable.” One of my bosses taught me this and it is true. For instance, just because a price is listed for a product or an advertisement, or a sponsorship, doesn’t mean that the price is set in stone, particularly when a sales associate needs to make a quota. Heck, we have all been car shopping and know the drill. But I think the art of negotiation is very important for a person looking to start their own business. For instance, I was having a hard time justifying the contract price for one of our photographers. So I picked up the phone and asked if we could work out something closer to my price range. She was very amenable. We worked together to adjust a few elements et voila! The price point was reasonable and the pictures were stunning. I continue to be grateful for the kind people who have helped me along the way.
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?
JOY starring Jennifer Lawrence. Joy Mangano threw herself into her business. She struggled at first, then found success, then struggled, and ultimately succeeded in building an empire. After doing so, she supported and sponsored other inventors paving the way for their success. Starting a business has its ups and downs and you need to roll with the waves and have faith. A lot of hard work helps too. Her dedication to helping others also resonated with me.
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?
Prior to the launch of Ivy Alexander, I lost my grandparents and my parents within a two-year period. It was devastating. As part of the estate process, I was going through my parents’ things and found a large cardboard box with the words, “Nick’s Box of Broken Dreams” scrawled across it in black marker. In the box, I found unpublished books my father (Nick) had written, architectural drawings for buildings that hadn’t been built, and patents for products that never made it to a store shelf. It hit me like a ton of bricks. My dad was brilliant. I was heartbroken that this box even existed and I vowed I would never have a similar one. So I started to keep a list of my ideas while doing my day job and one day, I had a little epiphany. Midway through the pandemic, when restaurants started to open for outside dining, I brought a random purse hook with me because I couldn’t fathom leaving my bag on the ground. Strangers kept approaching me asking about the hook and where they could get one. The thought occurred to me that now more than ever, people would want a product like this to keep their belongings off the ground. And what if I made a better, more stylish version? Even better, what if I marketed the hell out of the product so that people knew that something like this existed? And then Ivy Alexander was born. Sometimes you have to take an educated leap and have confidence in yourself. Don’t end up with a box of broken dreams.
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?
Just because a product may already be in existence, doesn’t mean you can’t improve upon it so long as you are not infringing on any patent. A deep dive on the internet will usually yield results. There are also search engines developed for patent and trademark applications.
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, you need to do some research to see if the product actually exists elsewhere. If it does, can you make it better? Then you need to look at your funding and realistically create a budget you can stick to. Then, you should probably set up an LLC for the company’s brand and/ or an umbrella company so that you can also do the necessary tax filings. But before you select a name, do some more research to ensure that you will not be infringing on any copyrights. Assuming this is a “no”, you will need to file your own application for copyright protection. Because I am an attorney, I did some of this on my own. I also have a gaggle of fabulous attorney girlfriends who filled in the gaps.
Next, comes the website. You will need to purchase URLs that can be linked to your website. Even if you are not conducting eCommerce, this is still a good idea. You will also need to have a website developer on hand or you can develop one on your own using the vast resources online.
Now, you will need to find a manufacturer if you are not going to make the products yourself. You can also do this research online and there are platforms where you can send out an RFQ (Request for Qualification) to potential vendors. You will also need to determine how the products will be fulfilled once ordered. That brings me to packaging, which in the luxury business is “très important”. Oftentimes, packaging can be very expensive, adding costs to the bottom line.
Once you link the product to the website, you need a strategic plan for launch and you better have a killer social media component of this plan. That is critical. Next, you have to spread the word and consider hiring a PR/marketing consultant to help you meander your way through this new media world. It is constantly evolving and as a business owner, you have to keep evolving too.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Don’t expect overnight success. I really believed that once we launched, I could immediately expand the company. But it takes time, patience and a willingness to be flexible and make changes when necessary.
Networking is everything. There are no coincidences. You never know who is going to lead you to your next product, next vendor, or next fruitful connection.
Surround yourself with organized and talented people. Thankfully, I have been doing this for a while now because I recognize my strengths and weaknesses.
Delegate to those organized and talented people. You cannot do it all and when you spread the wealth, you can do more and do so more efficiently.
Don’t just sell the product, sell yourself. I am still learning this. Consumers want a story and they want to buy into a brand. Thus, if you let them know more about you, a brand bond is created. I used to think that including pictures of me with my product was egotistical. I was wrong.
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, research, and more research to see if the idea is already in existence and as I have said before ask yourself whether you can create a better version. Then do a survey of your friends and family about the idea. Is this something that would be appealing to them? Be careful though. You might need a form Non-Disclosure Agreement in hand. You don’t want someone stealing your ideas. (Not that your friends and family would but you get the gist.)
These are just the beginning steps you should consider before you go to the next level.
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 think consultants can be very helpful, particularly when you are learning your way. I would just be mindful of the price and find a consultant through a reputable and trusted referral source.
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 cannot tell you how many people have told me I should go on Shark Tank. I think each person has to make the venture capital decision on their own. Currently, I am providing all the financing for this venture and it’s challenging and scary at times but this way, I maintain creative and financial control over the company. I am not putting venture capital completely out of the picture, but I do think it depends on the product, how quickly you want to expand and whether you are willing to relinquish some control. If you do choose to outsource funding, consider having ironclad contracts in place to protect your interests.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Late last year, I started the Ivy Alexander Foundation. Proceeds from Ivy Alexander go to the Foundation which in turn supports organizations and initiatives that foster equity for women and girls. I have had a lot of help through the years — scholarships, great mentors, and opportunities. I would like to give back in the same way that I have been blessed.
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.
Kindness. Sometimes the world seems to be lacking in it. Last spring, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview acclaimed author Tayari Jones for an event entitled, “Women, Power & Promise” at the Newark Museum of Art. She talked of her love for Stevie Wonder and in particular his album,, “Songs in the Key of Life.” The songs on this album resonated with me because Love is in Need of Love Today. Oftentimes people get so mired in their worlds that they keep dodging ahead without being mindful and thoughtful of others. Small acts of kindness can make all the difference. They also make you feel more grounded during this very colorful time.
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.
Tory Burch. I love her style and what she is doing with her foundation. I have participated in several programs the foundation has hosted and would love for Ivy Alexander to participate in her foundation programs in the future.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Connecting on a personal level. Advancements in technology have impacted how we interact with each other at home, in school — and certainly in business. Consumers buy from people they trust. Many of us rely on recommendations from friends and family, customer reviews, and even endorsements by influencers. There’s a social element in the buyer’s journey — and more so when that purchasing decision affects our health and wellness.
As executive vice president of Distributor and Customer Experience, Ibi Montesino helps global nutrition industry leader, Herbalife Nutrition, deliver on its purpose to nourish the potential in everyone for a healthier future. She oversees functions that develop and deliver tools and programs that support the Company’s independent distributors and their customers. Her responsibilities also include serving as Chief of Staff, coordinating the work of the Company’s executive committee and interaction with the Board of Directors.
Previously, Ms. Montesino served as senior vice president and managing director for North America, where she was responsible for all business, strategic, sales and marketing functions across the region, which includes the U.S., Canada, Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Prior to my current position, I’ve been fortunate to hold several positions within the company, which has helped me understand how to best support the heart of Herbalife Nutrition — our independent distributors. I joined the Company in in 1998 as an assistant to the vice president of personal care training, and then went on to become a global product marketing manager before joining the North America regional team. During my tenure with the North America regional team, I served in multiple capacities; first as manager of the West Coast and then director, senior director, vice president of sales and marketing for the U.S. Latin market.
The most rewarding part of my job, and I believe what has led me to the position I am today, was the passion I developed over many years of helping the Company and independent distributors offer healthier lifestyle choices to people in a wide range of socioeconomic conditions.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Herbalife Nutrition is a global nutrition company that not only manufactures and sells science-backed nutrition products, but also aims to enhance the overall wellbeing of its consumers by nourishing them physically, emotionally, and with a financial opportunity through the company’s direct selling business opportunity.
We may not think about it often, but nutrition is complex. Many people struggle to form healthy habits like keeping up with a well-balanced diet, exercise program, or supplement regimens. Our direct sales channel helps consumers around the world pursue their diverse nutrition and wellness goals through a personalized experience provided by our independent distributors, who have already experienced their own personal success with the products. Additionally, they receive education and training support from our corporate nutrition and fitness experts on coaching principles to aid them in creating trusting relationships with their customers, so they can provide the daily motivation, accountability and guidance their customers need to achieve their healthy lifestyle goals.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, there are a few things our corporate team has been working on to support the success of our sales force:
This past year in Mexico, we initiated a new weekly commission payment system that enables our independent distributors to receive their commissions on a weekly basis instead of monthly. This payment system is the first of its kind for our company, and it’s an exciting opportunity for our sales force to receive their income more frequently and expedite their cash flow patterns. We’ll be analyzing this program’s success, including its impact on distributor metrics, and evaluate the possibility of extending it to additional markets in the future.
In North America, we are planning our first-ever vegan product line to launch in 2023. While our products have always been primarily plant-based, we believe this new line will allow us to better meet the needs of conscious vegan consumers seeking certified vegan and organic nutrition products and dietary supplements.
From a corporate perspective, we are also refreshing our brand to help consumers better understand our company’s holistic approach positioning our science-backed nutrition products as self-care solutions to support the body as it ages and nourish one’s whole self.
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?
A brand is the complete and distinct impression a company leaves in consumers’ minds. Brand marketing is creating a broader experience that can have several touch points, including advertising, which essentially support that brand.
Strong brands help drive preference, loyalty, advocacy, and attract and retain talent. Because we understand that a “brand” touches every part of the business, our re-brand project strategy will ensure consistency within our top touch points, including the science-backed nutrition products, the services we supply through our business opportunity, and the education and training provided to our independent distributors to better help their customers.
People are increasingly placing more value on personalized shopping experiences. They can make better educated buying decisions when guided by a product expert, or someone who has had successful first-hand experience and results using the product. That is why social selling or direct selling– selling products directly to people through trusted relationships — has proven to be an effective sales channel.
These trusting relationships are especially important when it comes to nutrition. Every person has unique health and wellness goals; achieving results can be difficult if you simply purchase products off the shelf, online, or without any guidance or support. Our independent distributors not only provide nutritious, high-quality, science-backed products, but they also serve as trusted coaches to their customers, providing the motivation and confidence to help their customers establish healthier habits and meet their health goals.
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?
While general marketing and advertising build brand recognition that brand recognition will quickly erode if you haven’t built trust with your customers. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 90% of consumers surveyed across 15 global markets said they are more likely to recommend a brand that they trust to family or friends compared to other brands; 88% of global consumers said they are willing to buy more of a trusted brand’s products or services — or buy them more frequently; 75% of global consumers with high brand trust say they will buy the brand’s product even if it isn’t the cheapest.
As a company, we don’t typically advertise, except through social media and minimal advertising in our regional marketing. Instead, we rely mainly on our independent distributor to build brand awareness and recognition, as they embody the brand and act as brand stewards. (or as brand ambassadors)
One of our main goals is to drive consumer lifetime value, or retention, and increase brand awareness, familiarity and trust. Thus, we are investing in Brand strategy work like building foundational tools to tell the compelling story of who we are, what we do and why we do it. These tools will also help upgrade our creative expression personalizing the brand experience for our independent distributors and their customers.
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.
Connecting on a personal level. Advancements in technology have impacted how we interact with each other at home, in school — and certainly in business. Consumers buy from people they trust. Many of us rely on recommendations from friends and family, customer reviews, and even endorsements by influencers. There’s a social element in the buyer’s journey — and more so when that purchasing decision affects our health and wellness.
Meeting the needs of your customers. In our case, this means our distributors and their customers. Trust is the confidence people have in our company and in our brand, and is impacted by whether we consistently deliver on our promises and stay true to our values. We continue to see an ever-increasing trend toward healthier food. And consumers are relying on science and technology to make more educated choices when selecting products to support their overall health and wellness goals. To aid consumers in this process, it’s our responsibility to ensure we’re providing a variety of products to meet consumers’ individual dietary needs including plant-based, gluten free diets, or those focused on building muscle through sports nutrition. It is our goal to ensure that consumers can easily personalize their programs by adding optimal amounts of protein, healthy carb sources, fiber, good fats, vitamins, and hydration that meet their needs.
Delivering consistent product quality. Consistency in your product or service offerings allows your customers to know exactly what to expect every time they purchase from you. At our company, we invest in technology and staff that ensures consumer safety and ingredient transparency which has earned consumer trust by providing high-quality, science-backed products that deliver results.
Educating yourself and your customers. Whether you’re an established company or opening a new business, customers and clients immediately see you as an expert in that field. Whether you are selling software solutions or nutrition products, people expect you to know your industry and to have effective solutions to their problems and educated answers to their questions. This is why it’s important to increase your knowledge and elevate your skills with ongoing education and personal development to make sure you are the pro that your customers expect and deserve.
Committing to bettering our planet and social responsibility. While companies and business owners are focused on building their business, they also need to connect with and be active in their community. Your ability to connect over a shared passion or cause creates an opportunity to provide support and expertise without a heavy sales motive. We’ve made our commitment to global responsibility by partnering with organizations that nourish economic empowerment, nutrition, and a thriving planet to continue improving the health and wellbeing of future generations.
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?
What makes a brand strong is its ability to stay consistent and relevant by evolving its offerings through deeply understanding it’s audience, pivoting to what they need and delivering consistent products and services that enrich the lives of their customers helping them meet their goals and or unlock potential to make changes they didn’t know they could. Driving that positive experience ultimately creates lifelong customers.
We’re inspired, obviously, by many of the larger, globally recognized companies who have successfully been able to consistently deliver on their promise to consumers and have ingrained themselves into our culture.
Apple, for example, has succeeded in building a brand based on strong insight that consumers are inspired to buy technology that empowers them. At their stores, they organize their products and services in a simple way to help customers find, select, and buy, offering a single holistic experience from interface to packaging, retail store to website, Genius service to content — driven by simplicity, inspiration and empowerment to enrich customers’ lives.
Another example is Nike. Their vision is that everyone has the potential to be an athlete, and everyone should have the chance to maximize that potential, no matter who they are or where they come from. They lead their brand with a strong purpose: to unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet, active communities and an equal playing field for all.
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?
Everyone who leads a company or runs a business wants to make sure they are profitable — but what’s even more important for sustainable success is building brand awareness, familiarity to ensure you retain repeat-customers.
As a direct-sales company, our success is measured by the retention of both our customers and independent distributors. We are committed to creating and improving resources for our distributors based on market needs and consumer demand, as well as partnering with them on safe product use and customer retention strategies. These efforts allow them to build confidence in their communities as they prioritize their customer’s safety and well-being — ultimately retaining those customers and attracting new ones.
This past year, our global retention of sales leaders hit a record 68.9%, which was up from last year’s prior record of 67.9%. We believe this reflects the ongoing sustainability of our business and the business opportunity that we offer.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Connecting through social media allows our company, as well as our sales force, to establish connections based on similar interests and new people who are looking to lead a healthier life.
From a corporate perspective, we use social media to engage our audience through nutritional tips, company news and creative recipes using our products. We also use social media as an opportunity to leverage our internal nutrition and scientific experts, and our executive leadership, to educate people about the company.
Especially during the pandemic, our independent distributors were able to use social media to maintain one-on-one interactions with their customers, which is critical to running their businesses. Whether sharing weekly meal plans on Instagram or talking about wellness journeys on Facebook Messenger, our distributors have continued to connect with their customers around the world, from anywhere in the world, using these digital tools. The relationships they support daily are a huge part of building and maintaining a successful business.
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’ve all faced challenges during the pandemic. Covid-19 wasn’t just a virus that took the lives of many, it became political and divided us as a nation. We all learn lessons through challenges and hard times, and it taught me that we must always lead with love, because if we do, it reduces the friction, frustration and anger and helps us to understand that we have more in common than we think. Life is so much better when we put our differences aside and start looking people in the eyes and have real conversations and take more time to listen. So, my movement would be called “Lead with love movement”.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“To whom much is given, much will be required.” My faith sustains me and reminds me that I have been blessed throughout my life. Yes, like so many of us, I have experienced heartache, fear, anger and loss, but I have also been blessed beyond compare.
I left Cuba when I was four years old with my parents and grandparents. Like many immigrants, my parents wanted a better life for me and that meant leaving their country and coming to America. They didn’t speak the language and had a handful of relatives that were settled in Los Angeles. They worked hard all their lives to give my sister and me the opportunities that we wouldn’t have had back in Cuba. I credit my parents for my work ethic and integrity.
When I found Herbalife Nutrition, I started working as an assistant, and now almost 25 years later, I have been given a platform to lead, guide and mentor our employees and our independent distributors. I have a passion to always give back and give more than I have received to ensure that others are given the same opportunities in life — because, to whom much is given, much will be required!
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. 🙂
Given the opportunity, I would love to meet Sara Blakey. Talk about someone who started from nothing and built an empire. But more than that, she and her husband are always giving back to communities and helping other entrepreneurs. She also started “the sisterhood of the traveling wedding dress.” When the pandemic began, she decided to loan her wedding dress to brides who had to make last minute changes to their wedding. I mean, doesn’t get better than that!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
To see what we’re doing at my Company, follow @Herbaife on Instagram!
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Meet The Disruptors: Jordan Wexler Of EarlyBird On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Lead with inspired curiosity.
Hire people smarter than you.
Don’t shy away from the uncomfortable conversations.
Find the biggest problem and tackle it.
Always learn from your users.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jordan Wexler.
CEO, Jordan Wexler, is a serial entrepreneur, who built and sold his first company at 24-years-old. Prior to EarlyBird, Jordan served as COO at a global software development firm called Agility.io
Jordan is a loving uncle to two beautiful children and a godparent of twins. It was when he welcomed these children into the world and showered them with gifts that he first saw the core problem EarlyBird needed to solve — that there was no simple and meaningful way to gift a financial asset or invest in the children we love most.
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 have always been entrepreneurial, as I love finding problems and working on solutions. Prior to starting EarlyBird, I had already founded two businesses, but this was the first idea that I knew deep down would truly have the impact that we are going to have.
It all started when my baby niece, Isadora, was born. I was head over heels in love, and I found myself wasting hundreds of dollars on the most ridiculous stuff that she would never use or grow out of. In wanting to make a bigger impact on her life, I grew frustrated by all of the wasteful gifts, and instead, decided to start the Jordo Fun Fund. I committed to putting away $500 every year into an assortment of ETFs that would grow as she grows older. The challenge I faced was that there was no easy and meaningful way to do this. I really had to hack together a solution to make it work — and that is when everything clicked and the journey with EarlyBird began. Sometimes it takes just a tiny spark in your everyday life to change your entire trajectory.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
The wealth inequality gap has never been larger as the rich keep getting richer and the middle class and lower class are left behind. Most American adults live paycheck-to-paycheck and are financially anxious. Just over half consider themselves financially literate, and the jury is split on where to go for solid financial advice: A professional advisor? A family member? A spouse or trusted friend? The Internet?
Almost a third of millennials have overdrawn their checking accounts at least once, and over 80% have one or more forms of long-term debt. This has to change.
Historically, large-scale financial institutions have catered to the wealthy and restricted easy access to fundamental wealth creation tools like investing in the stock market. Over the past decade, fintech platforms have been disrupting this intentional exclusion, and now we are seeing the boom of the retail investor. This is a great step forward, but making true generational wealth takes time, and if we want to change the world for the better, we have to start from day one.
That’s where EarlyBird comes in. We’re on a mission to make generational wealth a reality for ALL American families, starting at the earliest age. With EarlyBird, parents, family and friends can collectively invest in the kids they love — even before birth! Alongside the child’s growing nest egg, a time capsule of love is created — with photos, videos, and special messages that preserve the most meaningful moments and celebrate the child’s milestones as they grow. Today, this intersection of financial capital, emotional capital, and community has inspired over 50k families to start their investing journeys with EarlyBird.
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?
As any great startup, we have made a fair share of mistakes, but that is the key to success. Fail fast, learn, pivot, and grow.
One early mistake that we made was going all-in on an opportunity to be on the Ellen Show back when we first launched. Long story short, we worked for months to be able to make an appearance and had an amazing campaign all planned out, but had to pivot at the last minute due to new advertising regulations that the SEC had just passed at the time. We ended up being able to collaborate in a different way, which was ultimately a big win for EarlyBird, but we did learn a lesson: You can never predict what’s going to happen, so don’t put all of your chips on one bet. That said, roll with the punches, since there is often an alternative solution if you have the resilience to discover 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?
My co-founder, Caleb, and I are extremely lucky to be supported by an amazing community of mentors. We don’t shy away from asking for help and have made sure to surround ourselves with a network of resources whose expertise and experience we can rely on to help guide us in every vertical.
One tangible example of their impact came when we founded the company. All startups have to get started somehow, and generally that is by raising a friends and family financing round. At EarlyBird, we looked to raise $500k to get off the ground. Of course, at that time, all we had was an idea and the extreme unwavering passion to solve this problem. It takes a lot of trust and belief in the founders to raise money early on — and along those lines, the majority of our raise ended up coming from mentors that we had cultivated over the past 10 years of our professional lives. These mentor-investors now continue to guide us forward.
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 without purpose can cause chaos. Disruption with clarity, vision, and a mission for improving the world has historically been the way that humanity has continued to push forward.
At EarlyBird, we aren’t looking to disrupt how people invest their money, as that is a system that has proven to work and ‘withstood the test of time’. We are looking to disrupt how large-scale financial institutions offer their services, so that ALL American families have equal access to the tools of wealth creation.
Generally, when people set out to disrupt an industry, it primarily involves creating more access for people to engage and take ownership. I genuinely believe this is a powerful approach to creating progress.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Lead with inspired curiosity.
Hire people smarter than you.
Don’t shy away from the uncomfortable conversations.
Find the biggest problem and tackle it.
Always learn from your users.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We want EarlyBird to be in the household of every American family. It’s our goal to ensure that every child is fully invested in a modern, holistic portfolio that encourages dollar cost-averaging and guarantees that no child gets financially left behind. This financial freedom will create endless opportunities for kids whose dreams and outcomes might otherwise be restricted.
Earlier this year, we added crypto as an addition to our offering — and as we learn from our customers and collaborate with incredible partners like BlackRock and Gemini, we’ll continue to find ways to evolve and support the youngest generation of investors.
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 Lean Startup by Eric Ries
This is considered to be one of the most foundational books on early-stage startups and how to approach your business in an agile, iterative way. The concept of build, measure, learn might sound simple, but when put into practice can change the entire way we operate and approach innovation. Almost no one gets anything right on the first go. It takes continuous cycles of learning and breaking to finally carve the path forward that solves the problem you are working on.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”
– Reid Hoffman
With EarlyBird being a product-driven company, this has been a critical phrase for our team to live by. Most of us are naturally perfectionists who strive to deliver a flawless experience. Unfortunately, delivering value is a lot more complicated than we think. It is so important to get something out fast and early, so that we can receive direct user feedback and learn in an efficient manner. Until a real person is engaged with your product, everyone is still operating under hypotheses and assumptions.
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.
The movement that I deeply believe in is the one that I have committed my life to — and that is fighting to ensure that the next generation grows up financially literate and financially empowered, so that they can truly experience financial freedom.
Tina Karras, owner and founder of Tina’s Planet Vodka, began her career in the alcohol industry as a musician. After moving to Los Angeles from Charlotte, NC with one guitar and two suitcases to pursue her dream of being a singer-songwriter, Tina paid rent by working in restaurants and eventually the world famous Roxy Theatre. Here she worked her way up the ranks and became the alcohol buyer for the venue, leading her to countless liquor & wine tastings and classes — and a big realization: there wasn’t a vodka on the market that had all of these traits: made from organic corn, non-GMO, American made, fantastically smooth, delicious, and at a good price. She started Tina’s Vodka with her credit cards and an SBA loan after just finishing her album that was also self-funded, and was prepared to release her vodka and her album just as the pandemic lockdown hit. Two years later, Tina and Tina’s Vodka has found immense success with her brand being sold across the country, distributed by Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, her record out on all digital platforms, and making a major impact on the health of the spirits industry along the way. “I’m excited to finally share my vodka and music with you. It’s never too late to realize your dreams, they can be bigger than you ever thought.”
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 moved to LA as a songwriter and the live music venue, The Roxy Theatre, came into my life through that path. Then I became the Roxy’s special events and beverage director which led to me tasting every spirit brand on the market. It was great fun creating the beverage program there and it’s what helped me realize there was a void in the vodka market. There was no vodka that was non-GMO, used organic corn, was female owned, American made, delicious, very clean, came at a good price, and gave back to planet Earth.
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?
Iwasn’t really that savvy with social media before, but am getting better — I‘m proudly Gen X and don’t share too much of my life online. Sizing the photos, hashtags, the fonts were a mess at first, but I’ve since figured it out.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I really do have the best vodka on the market when it comes to quality, price, and taste. But I also work with a fantastic team of other self-made entrepreneurs where our skills all compliment each other. We buy corn from non-GMO and organic sources so we support conscious farmers which is so much better for our ecosystem. I’m an official impact partner of Kiss the Ground and my dream is to have Tina’s Vodka income help pay for farmers all over the US to shift their farms from GMO/pesticide laden crops to using regenerative agriculture that doesn’t use those harmful pesticides, instead focusing on soil health. Regenerative farming naturally pulls the CO2 back into the soil, whereas traditional farming techniques actually release an immense C02–which we know to negatively impact our environment. Our planet’s ecosystem is so intelligent it knows where to send the nutrients, and regenerative farming works in harmony with this intelligence. This will improve the health of the soil, plants, air, water, wildlife, and us.
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?
Since I’m female owned and non-GMO, organic corn vodka, I specifically chose imagery to evoke harmony with nature and Planet Earth with the green colors, the tree Earth, the grass at the bottom of the label, and of course, the wise owl. My owl is inspired by Bubo, the Greek Goddess Athena’s Owl. Athena is known for handicraft, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, and skill. I come from a long line of proud Greeks and wanted to evoke the intelligence, power, wisdom of our planet, and femininity of my brand through this imagery. I’ve put a lot of energy into this part of my company, the brand marketing. As for product marketing, I do a lot of tastings, events, and outreach. As a newer company, I’ve found that physically getting Tina’s Vodka in front of consumers is the most powerful advertising tool I have.
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?
I say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I consulted with very specialized and expensive attorneys to make sure my contracts were solid, in alignment with the liquor laws, and protected my intellectual property. Spirits are very limited in how they can be marketed. Knowing the laws and the restrictions can save you headaches in the future.
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.
To me the 5 most important things in building a great brand are to.
1: Have integrity and never compromise on your standards of quality. My vodka is non-GMO and organic, and we’re currently going through the certification process.
2: Know why you’re creating a brand and what impact that will have on others.
3: Understand there will be new challenges almost every day and embrace them and rise to the occasion.
4: Communicate to your customers what your brand is about and why it’s important and unique.
5: Align with a cause that is greater than you and your brand. I talk about regenerative agriculture at all my sales meetings and play the trailer to Kiss the Ground on YouTube from my phone to share the new climate story of optimism and solutions and leave that buyer in a better place.
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?
Brother’s Bond Bourbon — they, like me, have an authentic story that evolved naturally into the creation of a spirit brand. They are also involved in Regenerative Agriculture and Kiss the Ground. They’re American made, clean spirits that give back to planet Earth in exponential ways which to me is very impressive. For someone to replicate that, search yourself for what makes you and your story authentic and unique, and let that guide you to what you create- follow the inspiration.
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?
It does come down to sales for the most part. If people resonated with my vodka and enjoyed it, then they will purchase it again. I’ve gotten some fantastic feedback online through reviews and tags where real people talk about how much they enjoyed my brand and it’s delicious and clean taste. That word of mouth is priceless and once people start requesting my vodka at their favorite restaurants and bars, that’s the best success, which will lead to more sales.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
It’s a huge part! People generally look at a brand’s instagram before they look at their website, that is, if they ever make it to the brand’s website. Having that presence and having people tag my vodka and tell a real story of how they enjoyed it is the best marketing.
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’m a musician and just finished my album right as the lockdowns hit, so I’m just now promoting it with the release of my vodka. My music and the positive self image lyrics are to remind us who we are and to embrace the potential and power that we each have inside of us. On my album there are 3 songs, all connected — Potential Energy — Kinetic Energy — Magnificent Machine that depict the evolution of asking why we’re even on this planet, to finally, by the end of the third song, embracing your unique magnificent self with confidence. I have another song that I added to that album that I wrote during the lockdowns called The Magical Ones that was a reaction to being told how weak and scared we should be of the pandemic. We are powerful beings that have untapped love, energy, and passion that we can access at any time. The lyrics in this song: “I lift up my eyes then it’s easy and light” is how you put your brain into the alpha wave state where you’re more receptive to inspiration and ideas with ease.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The best life lesson quote for me is you’re not creating a business, you’re creating yourself and the business is the vehicle. And every situation is an opportunity to be a new and better version of yourself.
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. 🙂
Woody Harrelson. I loved his work in Kiss the Ground and was so inspired by that film. It leaves you in an optimistic place about our future instead of the doom and gloom that we’re being pummeled with every day. He’s also got a great southern accent and that reminds me of home back in North Carolina.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I’m @tinasvodka on all social media sites.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Trading too much time for money. Scaling a brand at the level of time investment you’re at now isn’t likely sustainable without considerable team restructuring which you likely won’t have capital for initially. Establishing ways to make more passive income along your scaling journey will give you the margin of time you’ll desperately need.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kristy Rice.
Kristy Rice wears many hats: serial entrepreneur, adoptive mama, 11 time author, celebrity invitation designer, and stylist, but her first love is watercolor.
Thank you 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’?
My beginnings as an entrepreneur were quite meager — just me, a dining room table, a ton of drive and no money, In 2003, I launched Momental Designs where I literally hand drew and painted art on invitations. If there were 100 invites ordered, I’d sketch 100 tiny hydrangeas and fill with watercolor. I built our first website in Microsoft Front Page and quickly tamed the SEO beast, landing us on page 1 search results for some big player search terms. 3 years in our growth was massive but chaotic and I brought in Momental’s first employees. Over the next 15 years our growth continued. We launched a sister brand Paintcrush, continued to grow our team and build our service and product offerings across both brands.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
In 2013 I was very much still in the day to day of my brands. Momental Designs had a strong team of full-time artists and designers, yet I felt all would crumble if I ever fully stepped away for a time. I was presented with an opportunity to travel for a month during that time. It was an opportunity I couldn’t easily turn down. At that moment I decided to finally pave a path to empowering my team to fully lead in my absence. We spent 3 months restructuring our workflow to eliminate the need for me to be omnipresent. As the brand leader, being tangled in the minutia of every decision was holding me back from my true power. I was a dreamer, and I was forced into relinquishing my builder role to a team much more qualified. By giving myself the space to be an empowered dreamer or visionary in my brands, my focus became clear, and it was only then that the true capacity of my brands’ growth was revealed.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
Honestly building a team of passionate, empowered women has been the biggest joy of my career that at the same time has imposed the most impact on the brand’s trajectory. Learning that I work and build for these women to succeed has been a massive learning curve but the most worthwhile journey of my career.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
Early days were exciting, But I took the idea of functioning as a solo entrepreneur entirely too literally. Looking back, I would have ventured out into my community quicker. I would have invested resources into learning and brand building sooner. The fear of spending unnecessarily stunted my brand growth more times than I care to admit.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
I’m embarrassed to admit that it’s only been in the last year that I became fully aware of the entrepreneurial force that is Gary Vee. His kindness-driven leadership style with a focus on becoming serially grateful felt like a refreshing wakeup call to the cutthroat hustle culture I came up in.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
1. Niching down not up. As entrepreneurs we’re often taught to niche down but to scale within our existing niche, I suggest niching up. Scaling a brand demands you reach a larger, somewhat less specialized audience. In my specific case scaling would have been nearly impossible within my established audience of marriers.
2. Trading too much time for money. Scaling a brand at the level of time investment you’re at now isn’t likely sustainable without considerable team restructuring which you likely won’t have capital for initially. Establishing ways to make more passive income along your scaling journey will give you the margin of time you’ll desperately need.
3. Too much risk aversion. Scaling a brand is not for the faint of heart. You will lose money first. Be ready and willing to lose before you win.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
I’ll be brutally honest. So much of the culture shift that happens when new team members are brought in has to do with your existing team.If you’ve been ignoring team culture prior to your brand’s growth, you’ve set yourself up to struggle as new team members are onboarded.
Additionally in the early days of onboarding your new team members your own visibility as a brand leader is incredibly important.Taking time to personally model and communicate the brand’s ideals and passion will go far in locking in empowering new hires and reinvigorating your existing team.
Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
As your existing team is asked to essentially split their focus (especially in early days) it becomes key to establish new workflows that support the transition.
1. As Momental Designs scaled with Paintcrush, we found Voxer to be powerful. The ability to communicate quickly and hear each other’s excitement or frustration was invaluable.
2. Leveraging social media in a heartfelt way has become integral to our marketing strategy. Since my team came up during the early years of vanity metrics in social media, we’ve invested in learning how to build an authentic community of engaged followers.
3. Further to our social media push, we’ve become well versed in the skills needed to produce powerful short form video content on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
#artforjoysake is the cornerstone of my niche-ed up brand, if you will. I believe in the joy inducing power that watercolor holds for anyone, literally ANYONE willing to carve out a few moments to give it a go. While I’m absolutely no doctor, I’ve heard from 100’s of souls who’ve found deep healing from the simple act of repeatedly putting brush to paper.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Making Something From Nothing: Don Schoendorfer of Free Wheelchair Mission On How To Go From Idea To Launch
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Trust God. On a personal level, I wished I’d done this sooner in my career. Thankfully, by the time I started Free Wheelchair Mission, I’d mostly learned this lesson, though I’m still not perfect. I have found God to be the very best leader anyone could ask for and I’ve put my trust in him to help our organization flourish.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Don Schoendorfer.
Dr. Don Schoendorfer is a biomedical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and humanitarian who lives in Santa Ana, California. Armed with an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and a PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT, Don spent nearly twenty-five years in the medical device industry, designing cutting-edge innovations resulting in more than sixty patents to his name.
Don’s humanitarian work has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including ones from The White House, the United States House of Representatives and The White House Congressional Medal of Honor Society. When he is not busy tinkering with his inventions, Don enjoys spending time with his three daughters, two amazing granddaughters and a Siberian Husky named Tolbi.
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 on the shores of Lake Erie in a small town called Ashtabula, Ohio with my parents and two older brothers. My dad was a machinist, so I had plenty of exposure to building things. We didn’t have much in the way of money, so I also got acquainted with fixing things around the house instead of buying new ones. I loved to tinker at a very early age, taking apart electronics and building various contraptions like go-carts. My brothers’ hand-me-down Erector sets were the most fascinating things in the world to me and I’d play with them endlessly. One Christmas, I was in heaven when my parents got me my very own set. While my parents didn’t show a lot of emotion and we had our share of problems growing up, my dad faithfully took us to church every Sunday. They did their best to raise us, despite the challenges. I’m grateful to my parents and many others who encouraged my love of engineering. This passion would eventually lead to me accomplishing my childhood goal of getting a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of the most impactful life lessons for me wasn’t necessarily a book or film, but rather was a story told by a pastor at church called “The Fool’s Game.” As the story goes, the fool is a person who wants to do something good — for the world, for God, for society, for whatever — but he’s got this long list of things that he must get done first. He also has another list, one full of things he really wants to do someday, and that list is getting longer, too. As soon as something gets checked off the first list, another thing gets added, and the list never gets any shorter. There’s always one more thing to do, one more thing to cross off, and then he dies. He spent his entire life playing The Fool’s Game, and he lost. Upon hearing that story, it shook my world. I realized this is exactly what I’d been doing in my life up until that point. I realized I’d been the fool and my life had to change.
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?
As a biomedical engineer, during most of my career, any truly new idea would have to go through a great deal of rigorous testing, eventually with human subjects. The sheer weight of this process meant that new ideas would have to be filtered out very early on due to cost, impracticability, or often just the science. This meant a lot of work upfront before something even was tested. So, when I came up with the idea of creating low-cost, durable wheelchairs for the developing world, I sort of did the opposite of what I’d been doing in my prior career. I kept things simple by building prototypes myself in my garage, using off-the-shelf parts such as mountain bike wheels and the white resin plastic lawn chairs (like the ones you might see in Home Depot). In the long run, this strategy of keeping things simple and laser-focused on this one solution to a very big problem is a big part of why we’re still going, 21 years later.
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?
Thankfully, by the time I moved forward with my idea of building low-cost wheelchairs in 1999, the Internet, while in its early stages, had some good information to help with my research into this area. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as robust as it is today, so I still had to ask a lot of questions and make a lot of phone calls. These days, however, it’s easy to do internet searches for patents, products, and companies in just about any field or industry. At the same time, much to my surprise in 1999, there were actually very few others doing it. I’d assumed for 20 years or more that someone “must have already thought about” building low-cost wheelchairs for the developing world. So, in my case, that assumption was wrong and I’m sure it is for many who have wonderful ideas, but never pursue them thinking they’ve already been done.
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.
When I worked in industry, or at the early stages of Free Wheelchair Mission, the answer to this question may have been different than it is today. In the biomedical field, as I said earlier, it costs a lot of money to test new products. So, it’s not as easy for the small, independent entrepreneur without a lot of funding. The patent laws have also changed quite a bit in the past 10 years or so, so the first step might be to find a good patent lawyer to give you guidance. The process to find good manufacturers, on the other hand, still seems to be the same — ask a lot of people a lot of questions, look for advice and recommendations, and then be very thorough in your review of each option. The decision to find good manufacturers is one of the most important ones you will make, so take a lot of time to get this part right. In terms of distribution, with Free Wheelchair Mission, we have a bit of a unique model in that we distribute our wheelchairs through other partner humanitarian organizations around the world. This model has provided us with an on-the-ground presence across 94 countries — something that would have been cost-and-time-prohibitive for us to do ourselves. So, creatively look for cost-effective ways to get your product in front of as many customers as possible, as quickly as possible.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
Invest upfront in your mission statement, your unique value proposition, and your core messaging. At one point early on, I was told to, “Get your story straight, because if you succeed, you will tell it thousands of times.” This was good advice. We’ve told our story thousands of times. For a donation of less than $100, someone with disabilities will receive a new wheelchair and their life will be transformed. This is a powerful and long-lasting story and we have more than 1.3 million of them to tell. I also wanted to cast a mission statement that would outlive my presence in the organization so that, even if I wasn’t leading the charge, our mission would continue.
Invest in yourself and your people. Have people you trust and admire do a 360° review of you. A year or two after starting our organization, I had people do 360° reviews of me to find my strengths and weaknesses. This helped me early on to identify my gaps and look for people who can fill them. Also, I looked for help from people who have the heart to help us. Without the heart and the passion for our mission, they were just employees.
Be tenacious. If I knew I needed something, I wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. I also ignored the folks who said, “it cannot be done.” The more persistent I was, the more people wanted to help me. They thought, “Well, I guess I should help this guy to get him off my back!”
Take as little credit as possible and fail often. Anything less than this leads to attitudes that will hinder success. For every success, identify those who had the most to do with the success, and affirm them. But, also realize that failure is necessary. I accepted the fact that if I fail, others on the team will benefit from my failure. The path to success is paved by rocks of failures.
Trust God. On a personal level, I wished I’d done this sooner in my career. Thankfully, by the time I started Free Wheelchair Mission, I’d mostly learned this lesson, though I’m still not perfect. I have found God to be the very best leader anyone could ask for and I’ve put my trust in him to help our organization flourish.
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 personally haven’t worked with invention consultants, so I cannot speak to that. However, if you are inventing something in a field you know well, you might decide to strike out on your own first until you get to a point where you have key decisions to make about product/feature choice or whether to file patents. However, as I mentioned, in today’s changing patent environment, I would consult with a patent attorney if your new idea is going to require this kind of protection. One way or another, be prepared to invest a lot of money if you intend to obtain strong, defensible patents.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
For the most part, in the biomedical field, bootstrapping is much more difficult due to the high cost and long period of time needed to develop new products in that field, especially those that will require FDA approval. Prior to starting Free Wheelchair Mission as a nonprofit, I had been working with my partner on a skin patch that could be used in diagnostic applications. It would collect sweat that could be sent to a lab to diagnose a variety of conditions. We thought it had huge potential and secured outside funding from a large medical manufacturer. We spent more than five years developing and testing it, then five more years eventually getting it to be FDA approved. We spent a lot of money to secure a family of patents to protect the ideas and we’d spent tens of thousands of dollars to set up a solid business structure. Eventually, the company that invested in us got impatient. Not only did they pull our funding, but they also had the rights to our patents. Much to our shock and dismay, they took all our patents and we had to shut down the company. This was an extremely painful lesson that I would only truly understand later with the “Fool’s Game” and then being called in another direction to start Free Wheelchair Mission. While our nonprofit was “bootstrapped” for the most part, we do have outside “investors” in the form of our volunteers, supporters, and donors. Thankfully, for the most part, they are just as passionate about our mission as we are. They are willing to invest their time, talent, and/or treasure in our cause. So, based on the hard lessons learned, my advice would be to develop a network of smart people you can trust to fill in your gaps and get as far as you can without having to rely on outside money coming from people who aren’t as passionate as you are about your mission.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Well, going back to the Fool’s Game, you don’t have to be “successful” in the eyes of the world before trying to make the world a better place. We all can contribute to making the world a better place starting here and now, in whatever capacity and whatever gifts we each may have. It’s been a blessing and honor to have been called to start Free Wheelchair Mission. We’ve now provided more than 1.3 million wheelchairs to those living with disabilities in 94 developing countries. Each wheelchair we provide transforms the lives of the recipient, their caregivers, their families, and their whole communities. It enables the recipient of the wheelchair to go to school, go to work, get medical care, and see family or friends. We literally have more than a million stories of transformation and each one is unique. It’s been an honor to witness and share these stories.
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.
The answer is right within your question: “movement.” We would like to inspire a movement to provide movement. To give the gift of mobility. An estimated 75 million people around the world live with disabilities but are unable to get a wheelchair. It’s a worldwide humanitarian crisis that has been going on for decades, but unfortunately that few know about. It can be solved within even my lifetime. Our mission is to irradicate immobility. Mobility moves us — in more ways than one. We would love to have as many of your readers as possible join us in this mission and they may visit our website to learn about the many ways they can help: www.FreeWheelchairMission.org. You can also read about the story behind Free Wheelchair Mission in my new book Miracle Wheels: The Story of a Mission to Bring Mobility to the World. Miracle Wheels shares the story behind the “miracle wheels” that have transformed the lives of millions of people with disabilities. Miracle Wheels is available on December 6 on Amazon. All net proceeds from the book will go to benefit the ongoing work of Free Wheelchair Mission.
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.
One perhaps obvious choice would be someone like Elon Musk. He grew up in South Africa and may have seen some of the people we serve in his home country with our wheelchairs — those living with disabilities who often must crawl in the dirt or be carried wherever they go. He’s also an engineer focused on solving some of the world’s greatest challenges. With about a third of the cost of Twitter, he could help us completely eradicate immobility. Approximately that level of funding would provide new wheelchairs to the 75 million people around the world who are desperately waiting for them. This is a solvable problem and we have a proven solution. With the help of someone like Elon or others in the tech industry, we can do this. I would love to share our story with him as I think it would resonate.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Consciousness — Without awareness, there is no real connection. Consciousness focuses on the speaker’s ability to be fully present in the moment and genuinely open with him/herself.
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 Marcy Amaro.
Marcy Amaro, Speaking and Leadership Coach, and Founder of the Igniter Series, helps heart-centered community, faith, and business leaders define, refine, and leverage their message so they can authentically and confidently create transformational impact experiences.
After more than 20 years as an educator, Marcy became disillusioned with what she perceived as the death of creativity and uniqueness, and the squelching of pure talent and ability. Recognizing that the effects of this trend extended to leadership in the marketplace, she turned her attention to helping leaders rise to their full potential by differentiating their talents, stories, and abilities. Through her proprietary Impact Igniter Playbook, she has helped her clients land and create thousands of stages across the world over the past 12+ years.
Marcy is an international speaker and has been featured on many live and virtual stages including the Puerto Rico Association of Realtors, and ASOPYMES (The Puerto Rican Association of Small and Medium Enterprises). She has shared the stage with the likes of Dr. Shad Helmstetter, Michael Sorensen, Natasha Miller, Lisa A. Romano, and Dr. Zoe Shaw. She is the host of the Sincerely Speaking Podcast and for her expertise has been featured on The Humane Marketing Podcast and Live on Purpose Radio. Marcy offers free tools and resources through her website MarcyAmaro.com.
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 a curious daydreamer. I spent most of my time pretending to be other people and acting out my fantasies. As the third of five children, I often felt torn between the need to keep the peace and the desire to stand out. My solution? To become a performer! If I could distract people when they were feeling less than happy, or relieve tension with a song or a dance, I could simultaneously achieve both of my goals. That seemed to work for a while. The only problem was that I am a natural introvert, which meant my solution was not sustainable.
Then, when I was thirteen, we were shocked with two announcements that resulted in very conflicting emotions. First, we were told my mom was pregnant (which was very unexpected)! Then, within a few months we received the news that my dad had irreversible kidney failure. As the oldest girl in a Hispanic household this meant that it was time to stop dreaming. It was time to step up to the plate and grow up.
As with most challenges in life, this time period turned out to be an amazing blessing. I learned to embrace and even use my introverted nature to help me focus on the important elements that needed my attention. I also realized how good I am at listening, a skill I used to help my siblings, especially my sisters, tackle the difficult times ahead.
It was also this period in my life that catapulted me into leadership. I took the reigns of the household when my mom was in the hospital taking care of my dad. I still managed to do well in school. And, most importantly, I learned to push myself beyond my comfort zone and search for solutions.
I owe everything that I am to my family, my faith, and to the lessons learned as I grew up. I would not have it any other way.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was 16, I was called into the guidance counselor’s office at school. Since I was always a good student who did what I was told, being called to the office came as a HUGE surprise. The even bigger shock came when I entered the office and was greeted with a truly unexpected question: “Who do you think you are?”
My guidance counselor, the person that was supposed to guide and support me, made me feel like to most undesirable person on the planet. As she went on to explain how I came across as arrogant and full of myself and continued by describing all the ways in which I acted like I thought everyone else was beneath me, all I could think about was how wrong she was.
In reality, I felt inferior to all my peers. I never really thought of myself as better, smarter, prettier, or even nicer than anyone around me. So, at the time, the only logical conclusion I could come to was that I needed to become invisible.
I spent the next few years trying to find new and more creative ways to not be seen or heard.
At 21, through several unexpected circumstances, I started work as a teacher (instead of the neurosurgeon I had planned to become). Soon after, I found myself helping young people recognize their untapped potential and the value of their voices in sharing their unique talents with the world. And that is when it hit me!
I had allowed someone else to silence MY voice, and here I was trying to convince others to speak up and share their messages with the world.
It was then I realized I needed to work on liberating my voice and using it proudly and confidently for the purpose for which it was intended. I would help others define, refine, and leverage their own messages. I would become a catalyst for others to ignite transformational impact through their stories as I helped them become confident and bold in sharing the unique discoveries they have made along their journey.
This one realization started me on a decades-long quest to help others release and leverage their messages as they lead authentically and powerfully.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One of my first speaking engagements was for a school department which hired me to help them transition into a new set of procedures that were about to be implemented. My task was to build up morale and empower the teachers to adopt the new guidelines without feeling like they were being robbed of their pedagogical freedom.
I was really excited about this job! As a former teacher, I have a heart for educators, but I have also witnessed first-hand the many ways in which the system is flawed. Needless to say, I saw this as an opportunity to effect real change. I knew that if I planted the right seed in these educators, they could disseminate it throughout the district.
So, I went in there ready to take on the world.
I started talking about autonomy and putting students first. I made it a point to let the teachers in the audience know that they were still in control and that they could still make a difference.
Then, I made the comment… “Paper holds anything you put on it. So, make sure your paperwork complies with the rules, but in practice give your kids what you know they need.”
I swear, I heard a collective gasp as the words left my mouth. Turns out one of the administrators was sitting in the audience. His hand immediately went up, and he started drilling me about the statement I had just made and whether my intention was to incite insubordination.
Now, while my intentions were pure, I learned from that experience to carefully research both your event and your audience.
You can have the most perfectly crafted message, know the content inside and out, have all the technology and the visuals in place, but if you don’t take the time to research your audience and to know exactly who’s sitting across from you, then you’ll never reach the highest level of impact of which you are capable.
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’ve always been clumsy.
My daughters and I joke about it all the time… NOW!
When I was younger, however, it was a real cause for concern and constant embarrassment.
I hardly ever wear skirts, and I NEVER wear dresses. It’s not that I have anything against them. I just don’t think I look good in them. But, for one of my first presentations, I figured I should look as proper and presentable as I could. So, I dusted off one of my skirts, pulled on my blazer, and slipped on my professional-looking black pumps. I was ready!!!
I remembered my dad always taking off his coat before getting in the car to avoid getting wrinkles on it. So, I did the same, and hung my jacket on the little coat hook in the back of the car. Unfortunately, when I went to grab my jacket out of the car, I stepped right in a puddle that was perfectly hidden by the car’s shadow. My black pumps were now brown!
Not having any other shoes and realizing that I was quickly running out of time, I took a deep breath and wiped my shoes with the jacket. So much for wearing a blazer and looking perfectly put together! But what else could go wrong?
Well, now that I had considerably less time to get backstage, I rushed down the long hallway trying my best not to sweat and ruin my makeup. Bear in mind, though, that I wasn’t used to wearing high heels of any kind. And one of my shoes was still wet from the puddle. As you probably suspect by now, I lost my footing and landed face first on the sidewalk.
The good news? My shirt and skirt did not suffer any damage that a good dusting couldn’t fix. The bad news? My knee was now bleeding, and my hair was a total mess!
When I finally made it to the backstage area where I was to meet the event coordinators, I looked like I had been run over by a truck! They looked at me in disbelief! “What happened?” “Are you alright?” I could hear the voices echo all around me.
Well, I got on that stage anyway. With all the nerves and frustrations of the day, I still managed to deliver a presentation that touched people’s lives and made a difference for the cause the event supported.
I learned three very important lessons that day. Trying to be, or look like, someone you’re not is a recipe for disaster. If I had just worn pants and a nice pair of flats I would’ve avoided a world of embarrassment and pain. Second, always prepare for the unexpected. Bring an extra change of clothes, arrive earlier than you’re told to, bring an extra copy of your notes, have your slides in an external drive and bring it with you. Do everything in your power to ensure a smooth delivery of your presentation, because even the slightest mishap can throw you off your game.
The most important lesson I learned that day is that being a speaker is not about looking good, it’s about DOING good! I looked like a mess, felt like a failure, and probably worried the event coordinators to death. But, at the end of the day, the only thing that truly mattered was that the audience heard a message that impacted their lives and made a difference. THAT, that is truly the one thing that matters most!
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?
Along my journey I have worked with many mentors and coaches without whom I could not have done ANY of what I’ve done. Out of the many people I am grateful for, the one that still stands out as having the greatest impact in my life is my dad.
He grew up in a very dysfunctional home, barely finished high school, and married my mom at 19. However, he managed to be an amazing father, extremely successful in business, and a humble leader with a servant’s heart.
When I was 7 years old, I was faced with a decision that felt life-altering to me. Instead of making the decision for me and imposing his will, my dad took me for a drive and talked me through the process of making the decision myself. At the end of our conversation, he shared with me the wisest words I’ve ever heard. He stopped the car, looked me in the eyes and said: “Honey, people seldom regret the things they try, but the almost always regret the ones they don’t.”
That maxim has propelled me to venture into some of the toughest, and most rewarding, experiences of my life.
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 not a possibility, it’s a guarantee. Anyone who dares to try something new will experience failure and disappointment.
The key is, first, to understand that failure is the greatest and most effective teacher. While it might be hard to accept, we learn a lot more from our failures than from our successes. So, look at every new failure as feedback. Capture the lessons that serve you. Use them to grow and improve. Then, discard the rest.
Second, it is important to understand that we can use failure as a measure of how close we’re getting to the success we crave.
Allow me to tell you a story to illustrate what I mean. When my oldest daughter was about 3 years old, she refused to stay in bed at night. We would tell her stories, play classical music, give her warm milk… You name it, we tried it. Still, we could not get her to stay in bed. Most nights, we would wait until she fell asleep on the floor, or the couch then move her to her bed.
One day, we became truly frustrated and felt like real failures as parents. How could we possibly be good parents when we couldn’t even get our baby to stay in bed? So, in desperation, we sought help from my best friend, who happened to be a professional nanny. We asked her how we could win this battle. “How many times should we put her back in bed?” we asked. Her answer: “One more than she gets up!”
That simple answer enveloped so much wisdom! It is still the anchor I use to help me navigate failure and all sorts of difficult situations.
How many times should you try? One more than you fail.
So, when faced with the prospect of failure, remember that you only have to persist one more time. If you work at making sure that the number of times you rise is one more than the number of times you fall, you will never stay down, and success is guaranteed!
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?
First and foremost, my faith and the love for my family. Everything I do, I do to serve others and to be a positive role model for my two daughters. I also strive to make my husband proud.
When it comes specifically to giving my talks, I am driven by the belief that I can help people transform their lives and the lives of others by sharing my message and knowledge with them. I believe that every human being on the planet has a special and powerful message to share with the world.
I don’t believe for a second that any of us is here simply to occupy space. I believe we were given this life to make a difference with our unique perspectives, talents, abilities, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is my life’s mission to help as many people as I can discover, refine, and share that message or story which most clearly promotes their purpose and vision.
My main empowering message is: “You too have a story. And it is a story someone is desperately waiting to hear! So, go out and share it!!”
The true essence of who we are encounters so much opposition out in the world. It’s time to rise above the fear, judgment, hypersensitivity, and ego-centeredness that keep us silent and disconnected. I aim to be a catalyst for releasing the voices of those who strive to make the world better for future generations.
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?
Well, I recently launched a new workshop called “Speaking Confidence Catalyst: How to be bold, confident, and charismatic on any stage without feeling like an imposter or a fake.” And I’m also about to launch my new digital course, which is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to creating electrifying presentations that engage your audience, spark action, and ignite transformation.
In the coming months, I will also be launching my new immersive experience, which will be a three-day retreat/intensive workshop which will walk people through the entire process of discovering their passion and purpose, elevating their self-leadership, and advancing their message.
I’m excited about the feedback I’m getting from workshop participants, and to share my decades of knowledge and experience with others. It also brings together my two greatest passions: speaking and teaching!
I can’t wait to see the amazing platforms people create through these programs and new offers.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote is “The Good is the Enemy of the Best.” Although I’ve seen this quote attributed to others, the first time I read it was in a book by Oswald Chambers.
When I first discovered this quote, I was reminded of my dad’s lesson I mentioned earlier. So very often we become content and complacent. This quote helped me understand that being grateful for what we have and how far we’ve gotten is not the same as settling.
When life is tough and we feel pushed, or shoved, into difficult choices, the decisions seem easier. We will do whatever it takes to get out of an oppressive situation. When things are going well, however, the thought of risking what we have, even for the possibility of something better, tends to paralyze and confuse us.
This quote along with my father’s advice has kept me moving forward and taking risks. I would not have had children, moved to a different state, changed career, or made many other difficult decisions were it not for the transformation these lessons created in my mindset.
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.
In order to be a HIGHLY effective public speaker, it’s important to remember the 5 C’s: Communication, Consciousness, Charisma, Clarity, and Cause.
Communication– Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. “We’re talking about being a highly effective public speaker! Of course, communication is important!” However, when I mention communication, I’m not simply addressing your ability to convey information in a way that lands with the listener and is positively received. Within communication I also include the often ignored, and rarely taught art of listening! Listening is an integral and irreplaceable part of communication. Anyone who speaks without listening is not only a poor communicator but will quickly become irrelevant in their space. Listening as a public speaker happens in three dimensions: before, during, and after the delivery of the speech.
Before delivering a speech, listening comes in the form of research. Get to know the audience you will be addressing. If you are addressing an organization or business, familiarize yourself with institutional goals and mission prior to the event. Listen to the audience’s concerns and desires, and see how your message and approach might best fit their needs.
Listening during the event is called being aware of context. In other words, learn to read the room. I was once a speaker at an event in which participants could select from a menu of topics in breakout rooms. As speakers, we got to deliver the same content to 4 different groups throughout the day. Now, I could’ve delivered the content in the exact same way every time. However, I noticed as the third group entered the room that they were dragging their feet. They looked tired and hungry, and I was genuinely concerned that they would fall asleep. So, I did things VERY differently with this group. Instead of simply following my original outline, I quickly thought of ways in which I could have them stand and interact. Since I always overprepare, I brought flipchart pads with me, so I had them collaborate on activities using the large paper, and then had them discuss their insights. Time flew by, and everyone got the content they came for PLUS some innovative ideas on how to engage a group. Had I not read the room, most of the audience would’ve likely fallen asleep.
After the event, request and actively listen to feedback. The only way to grow is to become aware of the areas in which we can improve. Without feedback this effort will be wasted. Have a way to measure your performance and get feedback. Whether that is by having evaluation cards, conversing with the audience after the presentation, or something more tangible like conversion rates, find a way to measure and evaluate your performance.
2. Consciousness — Without awareness, there is no real connection. Consciousness focuses on the speaker’s ability to be fully present in the moment and genuinely open with him/herself.
Great speakers tap into their audiences’ emotions. They bring the listener along on a journey that often includes many twists and turns. In order to do this effectively, the speaker can’t be guarded or unaware.
Instead, a highly effective speaker will be keenly aware of any emotional blocks or distractions that might be standing in the way of making a real connection with their audience. This connection goes in both directions which makes being fully present essential for the speaker.
If you’re on stage planning your next vacation or thinking about the grocery list or the idiot that cut you off on the way to the event, you will not create the kind of lasting impact and memorable experience that great speakers are known for. You might deliver all the words in the right order at the right time. People listening to your presentation might even learn something, but you won’t reach their hearts.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of witnessing the most impressive example of what a fully conscious speaker looks like, and the lasting effect they can have on their audiences. I was participating in an industry event while I was still teaching. As the orator began her presentation, I felt like she was distant and detached. A few minutes into her presentation, she had a moment of real consciousness. She stopped, took a deep breath and chuckled lightly. Then she looked across the room for a second and admitted that she had been distracted by some news she received prior to going on stage. She then made a joke that she used as a segway for the next element in her presentation.
From that moment on, she had both our mental and emotional attention. I will never forget her or her talk, because I felt she brought me into a very intimate and fully connected conversation among friends.
3. Charisma — People don’t want to hear from anyone they don’t like, trust, or respect. Many speakers and other presenters mistake credentials and other credibility markers as the only or the most essential way to garner approval from their audiences as people of authority.
In truth, credentials and titles can have the opposite effect. They can often create a void between you and your audience, making you feel unreachable and your suggestions unattainable.
How do we remedy this? By tapping into charisma.
Contrary to popular belief, charisma is not something you’re born with or that is reserved for a lucky few. Charisma is the ability to rally others around you and to make them feel like they can trust you and even like you.
Doing this from stage is very simple and can even help ease your nerves. Simply focus your energy on being grateful and compassionate.
When you can find genuine reasons to be grateful for the people in front of you, the event you’re taking part in, and the message you get to share, you become a magnetic force. People will almost instantly lean towards thinking that you’re a likeable, trustworthy person.
If you add compassion to that equation, their opinion of you as trustworthy will be reinforced. Compassion and goodwill are near synonyms in this conversation. Focus on helping them win! Think about what THEY need, what THEY can gain from your speech, how THEY want to feel after your presentation is done. Ultimately, make your entire presentation about what you can do to help THEM win and be genuinely thrilled when they do.
You’ve heard that in order to calm yourself before an important speech or presentation you should picture your audience in their underwear or naked. The main problem I have with this idea is that it relies on you degrading your audience to feel better about yourself. A completely different approach, which I learned from Olivia Fox Cabane, is truly effective and creates a much more positive environment. Picture your audience as having angel’s wings. When you can see your audience as a group of benevolent beings who mean you no harm and want to help you succeed, you feel much more inclined to want to do the same for them. Be your audiences’ angel!
4. Clarity — One of the biggest mistakes I see speakers make is starting their preparation process by focusing on the content or information they want to share. They spend hours, even days worrying about what they will say and how they will say it. While this level of preparation IS important, and there is obviously no speech or presentation without information, the truth is that there is something even more important that you should be crystal clear about before you even begin planning content.
Before gathering information or writing an outline, even before giving a title to your presentation or settling on a topic, you should ask yourself these questions: What is the end result I’m creating for my audience? What problem am I solving? What am I doing to improve their lives or make their present better? How am I contributing to their dreams and aspirations? How will I ensure they have a solid return on their time investment?
Now, this doesn’t mean that all your presentations need to be earth-shattering or deep. There are some extremely gifted speakers whose main goal is to entertain and delight. Guess what? The people sitting in their audiences are very grateful for the release and the gift of laughter.
The point is not to pigeonhole all highly effective speakers into a singular category or area of strength. However, it IS essential that you plan your speech with a specific and clear end in mind.
Once you are clear on the end result you want to create for your audience, making decisions about what to include and how to deliver it becomes easier and a lot more streamlined.
Imagine if you will, that you’re going on a road trip. You pack your bags, fill the tank with gas, grab snacks, and even create a playlist of your favorite songs for the road. You start your trip with excitement and anticipation, then your spouse asks where you’re going. To which you respond: “We’re going on a road trip!” They look at you with less patience than before and ask you once more to tell them where you’re going. How many times do you honestly think you can respond to that question by simply stating that you’re going on a road trip before they ask you to turn the car around or let them out of the car?
The same is true for your audience, if you can’t set a clear course for where you’re intending to take them, and if it becomes evident to them that you haven’t planned a destination that they will benefit from, then they will abandon the journey. They will check out.
5. Cause — What action do you want to cause your audience to take? What is your call to action? How will you wrap this conversation up so that it doesn’t all end in nice words with little to no significance?
Good speakers inspire their audiences and leave them feeling ready to take on the world. Great speakers add another layer to that, they TELL their audiences exactly what they should do with that feeling and inspiration.
Every presentation, regardless of the context or type, should end with an effective call to action (CTA) that delineates the path the audience should follow once their time with you has ended.
We have been trained to think of CTAs as pertaining only to sales conversations. Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout history, all great orators have moved their audiences to transformation by inspiring them to take specific and decisive action.
Now, your CTA doesn’t have to be extreme. We don’t all have the calling to end world hunger and poverty. Not all our speeches will echo the passion, strength, and determination of Martin Luther King, Jr or Winston Churchill. We do, however, all have the ability to move our audiences to action. Whether it be to share a smile with someone, contribute to a charity, or spread kindness to strangers, a great speaker holds the power to initiate a chain of small changes that can snowball into positive and lasting results in our communities and even the world. It is our responsibility to do so.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
Yes, speaking in public is the number one fear in the world. Now, there are very valid reasons for this fear. We are designed for community, and the feeling of being an outsider and feeling like you don’t belong can be very damaging, difficult to process, and can translate into a fear that rejection might result in isolation, abandonment, and even death. When you stand in front of others, you expose yourself to judgment that can lead to rejection.
During our early years of existence, our ability to survive depended on others liking us enough to take care of us. We were at the mercy of others until we learned to take care of ourselves. But, that need to be liked in order to feel secure remains deeply ingrained in our brains.
Not only that, but at the primitive brain level, speaking in front of others feels very similar to being a prey stalked by predatory eyes. All these triggers activate our instinctive fight, fly, or freeze response.
So, is it possible to rise above these instinctual and VERY real emotions? Of course, it is! And I believe it starts with three simple strategies.
Shift your focus — In spite of what our primitive brain might be telling us, we KNOW we’re not in real danger of being attacked by a large beast or becoming dinner for our audience. In our new reality, this fear is more closely related to protecting our ego. So, the first strategy is to let go of the ego. To make this shift, stop focusing on you. Stop worrying about your voice, your outfit, your credentials, or even what you will say. Shift the focus outward and think about the people you will serve. Think about what THEY want, what THEY are there to get, how THEIR lives will be transformed after the event, and what THEY will be grateful for in the end.
This exercise becomes even more powerful if you can think of ONE specific person that can represent your audience. Think about that one person and what they might be praying for, hoping for, willing to invest and sacrifice for.
Your job then is to do your best to help them get what they’re there for. When you can remember that it’s not about you, the pressure is considerably reduced and the prospect of helping others makes the nerves and fear completely worthwhile.
2. Use your body — In recent years, we have come to realize that the opposite of the expression “mind over matter” is also true. Thanks to the work of people like Amy Cuddy, we have come to understand that “matter over mind” is just as powerful, and much more efficient.
While training your mind to control your actions and the way your body reacts to certain stimuli can take a long time, it is fully possible for a shift in your body to positively affect your mind almost instantly. So, use your body!
Check your posture. Are you slouching? Are your extremities crossed? Is your back curved? Are you tensing up? If so, shift your posture. If only for a few seconds prior to entering the stage, assume a “superman” stance. Straighten out your back, uncross your arms and legs, move a bit to loosen up any tension.
Check your breathing. Is it shallow? Is your chest open enough to allow oxygen to flow freely? Is your clothing restrictive? Make any necessary adjustments to ensure you’re getting as much oxygen as possible.
Release. This one is very personal but find the things that allow your body to be as energized and lose as possible. Some speakers jump up and down, some dance, some scream, some meditate, some chant, some pray. Test a few different things until you find what works best for you. Then, make it part of your routine and do whatever is necessary to get yourself into peak performance state.
3. Use the fear — Here’s the truth, fear will never go away. We can learn to work through it, we can try to ignore it, or we can find ways to cope. But fear will always be there because it is essential to our survival.
However, I have found that what we call fear can be interpreted in many other ways. Our emotions can be easily misdiagnosed. I’ll give you an example. Think about the first time you fell in love. What evidence did your body give you of the fact that you were in love? Did you feel clammy hands, rapid heartbeat, sweat, butterflies in your stomach? Now, think about the last time you were really nervous or afraid. What evidence did your body give you? Did you feel clammy hands, rapid heartbeat, sweat, butterflies in your stomach? Same feelings, different interpretation.
I have trained myself, and many others, to use this to our advantage. When I start to feel what I would normally label fear or nerves, I ask myself two questions: “What else can this mean?” and “How can I use this?”
The first question allows me to relabel the sensations I’m experiencing as a more empowering emotion. Instead of saying that I’m scared, I might conclude that I’m excited or that something big is about to happen. Once I have a new, empowering label, I repeat it over and over. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to see what awesome thing happens next…”
The second question helps me channel the emotions and turn them into energy. “I can use this emotion to keep me going.” “I can use this emotion to perform better than I ever have.” “I can use this emotion to drive me to be even more in tune with my audience and their needs.”
With a bit of practice, your brain will automatically run through the exercise without much need for prompting and you will be able to leverage your “fear” with minimal effort and maximum speed.
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?
Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone deserves to be heard!
As I said previously when I shared my story, I started down this journey because I allowed someone else to silence my voice. I spent way too many years hiding and repressing my message and the value I could share with the world.
Through my decades of teaching and helping leaders reach their greatest potential, I have found more than enough evidence to support the belief that all of us, each and every one, has a story that can help elevate, support, heal, rescue, or validate another human being. Each of us has a unique set of experiences, traumas, victories, regrets, joys, and perspectives that make us uniquely qualified to serve certain groups of people. Our obligation is to liberate our voices and share our messages boldly and unapologetically so that those who need to hear what we have to say can find us.
It is our responsibility to speak up and speak out, so others understand that they have permission to do the same.
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!
Wow, that’s an interesting question!
Someone I have always admired and would LOVE to have lunch with is Tom Hanks. The breadth of his work and the ease with which he transforms into each of his characters is fascinating. Beyond his work, though, I have always had the sense that he must have fascinating stories to tell. I would love to learn about his creative musings and the inspirations behind them.
From the business world, I would love to have a one-on-one conversation with Russell Brunson and his wife Collette. I admire their ability to support one another through all the madness of entrepreneurship and the way in which they integrate business, family, and faith. It would be amazing to have the opportunity to ask them both about their journey and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
The easiest way to connect with me is through Instagram (@marcy.amaro). Your readers can also follow me on TikTok, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
They might also be interested in checking out my podcast, Sincerely Speaking, which can be found in all major podcasting platforms.
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Be Authentic — It is essential that you can be true to who you are when you are speaking so that you can deliver the best message possible. For example, I love music, dancing or sometimes being a little dramatic. I think that this makes for a better presentation then standing before individuals in a monotone. The goal is to be memorable while engaging the audience. Be authentic and have fun!
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 Dr. Nicole D. Bradford.
Dr. Nicole D. Bradford is a published author, life coach, entrepreneur, and speaker with two decades of experience in the field of education. She energizes and equips others to take action and live audaciously authentic lives. She stresses the importance of creating the life that you desire and take steps to move from pleasing others to doing what makes you genuinely happy. It is very important that we focus on removing the lies, labels and limitations that maybe placed on you by others so that you can live an Audaciously Authentic life.
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 in Austin, Texas on the east side of town. I am the youngest of six children born to two parents that had very humble beginnings. I was bussed from the east side of Austin to the other side of town to complete my high school education. Growing up was tough at times because I was raised in a dysfunctional family where I witnessed domestic violence, had siblings that would go in and out of jail, and had siblings that became mothers at very young ages. No matter what was going on I was always attempting to keep peace withing our family circle, my objective was always to make everyone happy, and focus on the positive. Although I experienced some very rough patches in my youth, I always attempted to love life and live out loud focusing on enjoying every moment.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Since being crowned the first African American Miss Austin USA in 1996 I have enjoyed speaking. I began speaking at graduations, community celebrations and local school districts. As a result of those experiences, it inspired me to continue my love for public speaking. In 2018 I lost my sister when she was forty-eight years old. She had recently retired from her job with the State of Texas and one night in an unexpected accident her life came to an end. This made me think about what we do with the time that we are given on this earth. I established MAINTAIN THE FLAME to encourage others to strive to design the life they desire rather than living life for others.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting stories for me usually happen at the end of my presentations. One in particular was the family of a single mother who had been having difficulties with raising her son. The mother shared with me what an inspiration the speech was to her and her son. I love to connect after presenting and it is encouraging when people share how my ability to be vulnerable and transparent makes a huge difference. I am a firm believer that we go through situations in life not just for us, but to help someone else and it confirms that I am on the right path when I have audience members share their connections with me after the presentations.
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 happened when I was serving as Miss Austin, and I was asked to introduce the comedian that was in town for an event. Not only did I get his name wrong, but I tried to exit the stage and could not find how to open the curtain. I learned to make sure that I practice names prior to, and practice how to enter and exit the stage properly 🙂
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?
As an educator I know the power of teachers. I would say that the person that helped me along the way was Ms. Ellie Lardon. She was my English teacher in high school, and she never allowed me to settle. She would continuously push me to be the very best that I could be. I was never the type of student that could just study a few minutes and then walk in the room and ace the test. I was the student that was very persistent and never stopped trying. There were many teachers and individuals in my life that had written me off because I was not at the top of my class academically, but Ms. Lardon took time to connect with me on a personal level and her love and belief in me has stayed with me since I met her in the early 1990’s.
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 share that you cannot allow people or situations to deter you from what you have set out to do, and you must learn to be your own cheerleader/advocate. No one is going to believe in your goal/dream more than you so you can’t expect others to share your passion or desire to accomplish the goals that you have set. Remember when you are starting out you must know your “why” it will help to keep you focused, and you won’t get discouraged when you post something and get only one view or one like. It’s not for the likes it’s the information that you believe in that you are providing, and you must believe that it will pay off in the long run. Remaining tenacious and persistent is the key! You also must learn to find out your ways of coping with disappointment where you can take a step back, rest and reflect but you must get up and keep moving. The three important strategies I use is:
Always keep a “You go girl journal”. I keep it with me so at the end of each day I write down at least one positive thing that occurred. It keeps me encouraged and motivated to reflect/regroup and prepare for the next day.
Connections Count — Identify one person in your life that you can share your journey with that will be honest with you at all times. You must have this person because as you begin to have accomplishments people tend to become “yes” people that just say and do what you want. That does not benefit you in the long run…you must have at least one honest person surrounding you at all times to keep you focused and grounded.
Always remember when dealing with FAILURE you must:
F — Face your fears
A — Always ask for feedback
I — Ignore the haters
L — Learn from all situations good/bad
U — Uncover the positive in the situation
R — Refuse to Retreat
E — Eagerly wait because your time is coming!
What drives you to get up every day and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
The main force driving me to get up every day and give my talks is my dedication to the message, and my children. I say my dedication to the message because I truly believe in the importance of individuals maintaining the flame that they have for life. Life will become less stressful if we just have the courage to live in our truth no matter how we are judged and viewed by individuals that are watching your life unfold from the outside instead of understanding what you are experiencing on the inside. The second reason I give my talks is to inspire my children. As we are all aware kids rarely hear what we say, but they do watch what you do. Even though my children are 25, 21, and 19 they are always watching how I live and watching if what I preach to them, I believe. I truly believe that you cannot give what you don’t have, and I can’t give my children the Entrepreneurial spirit to remain dedicated and go in the direction of their dream if I am don’t remain committed.
The main empowering message that I inspire to share with the world is that you can either live a life that is always narrated by someone else (your job, your spouse, your friends) or you can decide to narrate your own life and live an Audaciously Authentic life where you take control and remove the lies, labels and limitations that keep you from enjoying the journey! Life is full of choices, and we need to find the courage to choose you over others’ opinions and expectations.
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?
Thank you. A project that I am currently working on is my next book “My Soul is not for Sale.” I can’t wait to share with the world my perspective on why it’s important for us to decide not to settle or compromise who we are just to be accepted by society.
After the book I would like to get more involved in television.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is actually a bible verse:
Matthew 17:20 — “And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” This quote is very relevant in my life because there have been several mountains (challenges) in my life that I felt that I would never be able to overcome. However, I know that because of my faith allowed me to continue to preserve and come out on top.
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?”
Find a topic that you enjoy speaking about. for example, If you enjoy speaking about fashion, then you will be passionate and engaged when speaking and it will bring out the best in you while leaving a great impression on the audience.
Be Authentic — It is essential that you can be true to who you are when you are speaking so that you can deliver the best message possible. For example, I love music, dancing or sometimes being a little dramatic. I think that this makes for a better presentation then standing before individuals in a monotone. The goal is to be memorable while engaging the audience. Be authentic and have fun!
Start strong — When you enter the stage it is very important that you capture the audience’s attention immediately. It could be by entering the room from a different location; starting with a video or asking for audience member to assist right out the gate. This sets the stage for the presentation and lets the audience members know that this will be a presentation that they will remember.
Be Transparent — When people invest in a speaker, they are also investing in an experience that allows the audience members to connect with the speaker. When a speaker is transparent, they do not mind sharing stories and being vulnerable at times. Bing transparent allows the audience members to see if as a human that they can connect with.
One person — the goal is to walk away knowing that you have helped at least one person in the room. If you can leave the stage with one person connecting with you at the end sharing the impact that your presentation has made on their life, then you are on your way to being a highly effective public speaker.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
Some ways to overcome your fear of speaking in public are Practice, Practice and Practice some more. The more you practice the better you will become. In addition, you must understand the importance of identifying your way of preparing for the presentation. You may choose to meditate, take a walk or exercise. It is important that you place yourself in the best state of mind prior to speaking. The last suggestion would be to ensure that you know your material. If you know your material, you are less likely to make mistakes when presenting and it will help the presentation to flow.
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?
Well thank you for that. If I could inspire a movement to bring about good, it would be the E & K movement. I say that because it would be the Empathy and Kindness movement. We all struggle with something at one point and time in our lives. My goal would be to inspire others to empathize with their fellow man/woman while being kind. You never know what people are going through and you never what can help or hinder the situation. Life is tough but it is easier to manage when you are surrounded by individuals that will take the time to empathize with you and show a little bit of kindness.
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 would love to have lunch with Shaquille O’Neal. He is an amazing basketball player, and a successful entrepreneur that always goes out of his way to connect with and support our youth. I can learn a lot from a businessman like Mr. O’Neal.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes, please feel free to connect with me on Instagram @maintaintheflame and feel free to share with others. Connecting via social media will give you an opportunity to get to know the personal side of Dr. B and what keeps me going.
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Thank you so much for the opportunity. I truly enjoyed the experience.
Meet The Disruptors: Michael Gibson Of 1517 Fund On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
“Workmanlike.” Not a piece of advice, but a description of my writing from one of my grad school professors. It’s a mild compliment, but I found it insulting. I want my writing to be punk rock.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Gibson.
Michael Gibson is co-founder of the 1517 Fund, a venture capital fund investing in teams led by dropouts, the uncredentialed, and renegade scientists. Previously he was vice president for grants at the Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital, where he helped launch and run the Thiel Fellowship. He has written on innovation and technology for MIT’s Technology Review, the Atlantic, National Review, and City Journal. His book, Paper Belt on Fire, will be published in November 2022.
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 have no business doing what I’m doing. I thought I was going to be a professor of philosophy. Through a series of unlikely events, I found myself interviewing for a job with Peter Thiel. He hired me to help him teach a class at Stanford Law School on philosophy and technology and to be an analyst at his hedge fund. But I showed up the first day of work and the night before Peter had decided to launch the Thiel Fellowship. I got pulled into that and co-ran that program for five years, from 2010 to 2015. Because we saw so many great things come out of that program–Figma, Ethereum–my cofounder, Danielle Strachman, and I decided to launch a VC fund to back these eccentric young entrepreneurs who didn’t have college degrees.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We hope that by backing people without credentials we’re showing that there is not one path to success in America. You don’t need a college diploma to have a fulfilling and rewarding career.
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 started the Thiel Fellowship, we had an application. Our big mistake was that we were too imitative of college applications. We asked for things like GPAs and what colleges people went to. We learned even after that first year that applications are like fruit: starts off fresh but rots fast. Many applicants would want to update their application in real time because they started a new company or their current idea took off. So the information in the application was old even after a month. And then we came to see that the most important factor that contributes to the success of a startup is the character of the founding team. We met all sorts of people who were successful on paper. They had perfect test scores, science fair prizes, and an Ivy League pedigree. But, when it came to creating something new in the wild they were lost. The so-called meritocratic competition to get into college is not a good predictor for how good an entrepreneur someone will be.
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?
An entrepreneur named Bill Hunt volunteered early to help out in the Thiel Fellowship. Bill has launched many companies. Five of them were acquired for $600m in total by Oracle, Avaya, Alcatel and other big names. Bill would come to the quarterly update meetings we had with a handful of Thiel fellows. It was in those meetings that I learned how to be a great sounding board for founders. Bill never gave me direct advice. It was more like an apprenticeship. I would hear how he thought as a founder and how he asked questions to our fellows. I’ve carried Bill’s spirit of helpful inquiry with me to this day whenever I work with founders. If there was one takeaway, it’s “get out of the building.” Your customers are the best accelerator for learning and growing. Go talk to them. Often.
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 believe it was Clayton Christensen who coined the term disruptive innovation. In that original sense, it was meant to describe the way a new product can enter a market on the low cost, low quality side, but then over time, come to dominate a sector or an industry. A good example might be Honda motorcycles, which started out as cheap scooters or mo-ped like bikes in Japan in the 1950s. It then expanded over the decades to take a big chunk of the global motorcycle market. A more recent disruptive example would be Napster, which destroyed the music industry’s business model completely. Another would be Craigslist, which destroyed every newspaper’s ability to make revenue through classified ads. These disruptions are good insofar as consumers benefit, but something is also lost when the album disappears as an art form or newspapers have polarized and become more biased in order to pander to their subscription base. Even worse socially might be the invention of fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. If there was ever a socially destructive disruptive innovation, this is it. Just over 80,000 overdose deaths due to opiods in the U.S. last year. That rate is up 60,000 per year from the 21,000 deaths in 2010.
The key to evaluating the consequences of any innovation is some judgment on the benefits versus the costs to all stakeholders. That can be tough to assess, since some things resist quantification, but we have to start somewhere.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
“Workmanlike.” Not a piece of advice, but a description of my writing from one of my grad school professors. It’s a mild compliment, but I found it insulting. I want my writing to be punk rock.
“Courage is in shorter supply than genius.” There are a lot of smart people out there, but they tend to be conformists or risk-averse. Many of the great problems we face–whether it’s clean energy creation or curing cancer–are all solvable. My sense is that too few people have the courage to attack them.
“There is no formula.” Beginners need to master rules and recipes, the foundational techniques. But we only become masters of a craft by moving beyond the rules to situational knowledge. The expert answer to any question is, “It depends.” Greatness can only be attained by gaining a deeper understanding of an art or craft than can ever be expressed in rules. This is as true of chess and flower arrangement as it is of startups and investing.
“We all walk the long road.” Life is a marathon with periodic sprints. Also with rain and meteors.
“The truth is always revolutionary.” At some point in the last fifty years, our culture flipped. Dedication to the truth became the counterculture. The establishment became denial. For us as a venture capital fund, the truth became profitable. We’re the only fund out there that believes the college degree is mostly a signal and not a validation of someone’s talent or skills.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Scientists start their careers too late nowadays. The average age at which scientists get started has increased by about six years over the last century. All the main grant-giving institutions are dramatically biased toward awarding grants to scientists in their late 30s and into their 40s. This might sound like no big deal, but it means we are missing out on the creative discoveries of younger minds. It’s important to remember that Newton discovered calculus when he was 22 or 23. There are many lost discoveries because young people are trapped in degree programs that take too long to finish. So we want to find a way to get young brilliant scientists out to the frontiers of knowledge faster. We’re starting what we call the Invisible College, after the precursor to the Royal Society in England. It was one of the early institutions to kick start the scientific revolution. Through the Invisible College, we’re going to back independent research and unorthodox scientists who are young and want to try to solve any of the great unsolved scientific mysteries out there.
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?
Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. Life is full of paradoxes. One of the things I appreciate most about Herrigel’s book is that he shows we are at our best when we try to live in paradox, rather than trying to dissolve it one way or another. In the world of startups, I find the best founders are possessed by the paradox of “egoless ambition.” They are operating in an arena of ambition that could be global in scale. Billions of dollars are at stake. There is great pressure from investors and customers and employees to deliver miracles. But even though these founders have that grand ambition, they are nevertheless egoless in its pursuit. They don’t get wrapped up in the narcissism of identifying their whole life with the company or with outcomes. Herrigel describes masterful archers much in the same way. These archers believe that archery is important. They compete against each other in contests. They don’t say, “Oh, well, to be wise is to detach myself from worldly things, so I’m going to live as a meditating hermit in a cave up on some impossibly remote mountain.” No, the best archers compete. But when they pull the bow back and are ready to release the arrow–it is then that they are totally detached from the outcome.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stranger.” Not stronger. The German philosopher Nietzsche said stronger. I like stranger better. The great challenges of life may not make us stronger, but they do color us, push us out of our complacency, make us different. When I was about 20 years old, I discovered the man I thought was my dad wasn’t actually my dad. My biological father died when I was about a year-and-a-half old. Discovering that certainly made me stranger. A single fact can turn your whole world upside down.
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. 🙂
That everyone should go to college is a discredited ideal. I hope my book shows that. But, I’ll go further. Schools are not education. By far, my most heretical idea is that we should do away with compulsory K-12 schooling. I believe all children should have the opportunity to realize their fullest potential, and everyone agrees that our schools are failing us. But I go a step further than incremental reform. Compulsory schooling, where children sit at desks in rows for six hours a day, has got to go. The only lesson this imparts is a joyless obedience and it brings death to curiosity.
How can our readers follow you online?
If they have ideas, they can reach out over our contact form at 1517fund.com or they can follow me on twitter @william_blake (I took the poet’s handle when I signed up in 2007, because I thought it was a site for haikus!)
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Rajoshi is a serial entrepreneur, co-founder & COO of Hasura, an SF-based software technology company. She is the founder of 5 additional startups, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and started her career as a published bioinformatics researcher in the field of genomics at the Genome Institute of Singapore. Rajoshi is an alumna of the National University of Singapore and Stanford University Graduate School of Business Ignite Global Innovations Program.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. What was the “Aha Moment” that led you to think of the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
When my cofounder Tanmai Gopal and I decided to start a company, the first thing we looked at was a food delivery application, believe it or not.
We did some market research and decided it had potential, but we delayed building the tech because we expected it to take the least amount of time. So, we did everything else, and when we had sufficient confidence that it was worth getting into, we started building the application.
As we built the prototype and started adding features, we realized that we wanted to build a way of building things faster. That’s when we realized that there had to be a way to make application development easier. That triggered us to create Hasura by asking ourselves why we couldn’t build this application in a week. We weren’t sure what that would look like, but it was a problem worth trying to solve.
Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
The initial period of starting up was one of the most challenging times. We started a consulting services company, building applications for other startups and established companies. Alongside this, we were bootstrapping a platform that could be used across different products we were building for our clients.
We wanted to do it in a way where we could sustain both services and product development together. But we realized that was going to be really difficult, so one of the hardest things we had to do was make a decision to focus entirely on the product and shut down the services side of the company.
Since it was our primary revenue source, we had to go and raise funds the minute we shut it down.
We never considered giving up, but the fundraising journey was really challenging because we were based in India during that time. There were very few developer-facing companies and almost no infrastructure companies from India in 2017. The VC ecosystem for developer & infra companies was practically non-existent, and investors didn’t understand how the products would make money.
It was a tough spot to be in, but our excitement and belief in the vision of Hasura drove us to continue. Positive feedback from early users of our product made us realize the pain was worth it.
So, how are things going today?
Hasura is one of the fastest-growing GraphQL products in the world today. We have an enthusiastic developer community. We grew from 0 to 2 million downloads the first year and 2 to 100 million the second year. Last year we started at 100 million downloads and ended with 400 million.
How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
There are key decisions you make early in your journey as founders of a startup that shape your success. We decided to be bold and have faith in our vision, to make decisions that make a product great and pave the way to becoming a large company.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?
Early in my career, I made the mistake of misspelling the name of a potential business associate. When I arrived at their offices, I noticed they went through an effort to get my name (which is not always easy to spell or pronounce correctly) on their lobby welcome screen. Throughout the meeting, the host was polite and did not correct me when I repeatedly mispronounced their name. It was only afterward that I received an email politely calling out my mistake. How embarrassing!
Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
Always pay attention to the details, no matter how small they may be. It could cost you your first major deal. Luckily for me, all turned out well, and we had a good laugh about it later on. But it could also have easily gone the other way.
What do you think makes your company stand out?
What typically takes large-scale development teams a year to two years to build projects in Fortune 500 companies can be reduced to three to six months with Hasura. Typically, products that help you achieve crazy amounts of speed or productivity are reached by giving up a lot of control and flexibility, forcing you to stick within the boundaries of the product.
But Hasura has managed to balance speed and power with flexibility built into its code. The ability to create powerful products in a fraction of the time makes Hasura stand out.
Hasura is built with the end-user in mind and with community-led adoption. Developers like using our platform, so the adoption is more bottom-up. It’s not somebody mandating that you have to use Hasura as much as the developers have chosen to use Hasura.
Can you share a story?
A solution architect at a large healthcare provider discovered Hasura at a conference. Eventually, his team adopted Hasura and saw a massive productivity boost in their development team, building applications that generally took 2–4 years in a highly regulated environment like healthcare to under a year.
The team saw the productivity benefit, but the architect who picked Hasura kept getting promoted and taking on larger projects because his team was outperforming in terms of development speed. So not only are we increasing product development, but our champions are also creating more impact and positively advancing their careers. It’s been amazing for us to watch, and it’s a story very close to our hearts.
We’ve heard this from many startups — they’re basically outperforming their competitors because Hasura is a part of the team doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Having a personal routine outside work helps you stay anchored amidst the chaos. That really helps me a lot.
I also find it helpful to use a notebook for my daily tasks and to-do lists. It takes me away from my computer and the constant notifications coming in. It’s just a pen and paper — an old-school way of planning that enables me to take back some time and reflect on the tasks at hand.
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 can’t point to any particular person, but I’ve always had my guardian angels. They’re in the background, helping me along and giving me advice. When you least expect it, someone comes along and opens a door for you that sends you on a whole different trajectory of success.
Hearing someone else’s way of solving problems brings in that fresh perspective that you can also apply. Being able to talk to someone who’s been in your position and seeing how they navigated challenges, even if it’s not the exact way you would navigate, helps. Just knowing that someone else has been there, done that, is surprisingly comforting.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. Approximately how many users or subscribers does your app or software currently have? Can you share with our readers three of the main steps you’ve taken to build such a large community?
Hasura has over 25,000 GitHub stars and millions of downloads on the platform. Our enthusiastic and engaged community contributes to our code and rapid growth.
When we first launched Hasura, our entire team was on Discord, and our engineers could jump in any time a developer had a question on our community forum.
Being able to get back to people very quickly on any blockers they had was super important. That really kickstarted the community for us and was our first step. I would encourage anyone trying to build a community to get started by helping people out.
The second step is constantly investing in the community and listening to them. As our community grew, users could help each other out, and we would jump in, of course, but with enough people, the community was sustaining itself.
We started monthly community calls on Zoom two years ago, held on the last Thursday of the month. It’s an informal demo-driven engineer-to-engineer forum where our community, product, and engineering teams work closely together. Our teams showcase projects they’re working on or have already launched, allowing us to be very open with the community. They hear about it firsthand and can ask questions or provide feedback.
The third way is to find the final stage of scale. We’re at step two, and that is still something for us to unlock. The next phase for us is how we will enable our community to be successful. How do we enable the community members to become advocates who can influence the folks around them? If there are members in the community who want to speak at meet-ups or engage in other ways, how can we help them? How can we empower people to do things that grow themselves and the community?
What is your monetization model?
You can use Hasura to build powerful applications entirely for free on our open-source product. In terms of monetization, when you are running Hasura in production at your company, you’re already buying into the philosophy that you want to spend your most valuable time building things that will be a differentiator for your product or your business. So you do not want to spend time writing code or building repetitive things that are not giving you a competitive edge.
Continuing with the same philosophy, when you are deploying Hasura in production, there are multiple things that you need to handle at the ops layer that are also critical because Hasura is in your critical path. One simple part is the hosted cloud, hosting and managing the ops of scaling and high availability.
When we think of our monetization model, the economics of us running it for you must be cheaper than actually running it yourself. When you’re building, that’s open source. When you’re running in production, that goes into our monetization model.
Hasura’s commercial offerings are a no-nonsense choice because the economics of doing it with Hasura is better and cheaper.
Based on your experience and success, what are the most important things one should know in order to create a very successful app or a SaaS? Please share a story or an example for each.
Set yourself to fail fast and don’t be afraid to pivot if your product or service falls flat in the market.
We first launched Hasura as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) product and got great feedback from the usual developer channels. We kept iterating and building new features on the platform, but the adoption rate was less than expected.
After several months, we realized that a lot of our growth and usage was coming from an audience that did not have the ability to pay and we didn’t see a path to building a successful business.
This led us to have a deeper discussion on the kind of adoption we’d expect and the right audience that would help us build a large successful business which led us to drastically simplify and pivot our product to offer only one of all the features that we’d built, but make sure that experience was stellar and an order of magnitude better than what was possible to do with existing technology. We made the right decision as Hasura would not be the success it is today without that critical pivot.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Building diverse teams with an awareness of how to appreciate differences in others is a great way to bring in new, innovative ideas. These ideas, born of rich back-and-forth exchanges among team members with varying perspectives, preferences and behaviors, drive the innovation that can drive your company’s success.
As part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Ong.
Lisa M. Ong, PCC, CPA, is an award-winning executive coach; speaker; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategist and consultant. Prior to founding Wishing Out Loud LLC, she was a national diversity director in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at PwC. Lisa designs DEI strategies to attract, retain, develop, and advance diverse talent by focusing on minority retention and advancement efforts, as well as growing inclusive leaders at all levels to foster a culture of belonging.
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?
In the early part of my career, I had the good fortune to work in one of the world’s top recognized firms for DEI, reporting to the Chief Diversity Officers from the program’s inception. I saw the evolution of the strategies and programs played out on a national scale. After 30 years in public accounting, consulting, and human resources as a DEI and Belonging leader, I saw 2020 as the opportune time to use my experience and knowledge to become more impactful by launching my new business. A natural problem-solver, I enjoyed designing solutions to help retain and advance diverse talent and promote inclusive leadership and belonging. I was able to do this through coaching, speaking, and training within the national Office of DIversity at my former employer. It was a natural extension to create a firm where I could continue that work for companies lacking internal resources but needing similar help. I became a fractional Chief Diversity Officer for CEOs and CHROs in need of real-world, field leadership to co-create their DEIB strategies.
I named my company Wishing Out Loud to combat the key element that I’ve found hinders my clients’ success: their reluctance to tell others their biggest dreams. Highly talented individuals can oftentimes be held back by the fear that comes with the vulnerability to share big, meaningful dreams. Working with them, I’m able to help bring clarity to create cultures of belonging within their organizations.
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 takeaway you took out of that story?
Early in my career, as a new manager recently relocated from Houston to Dallas, I struggled to meet new people. I kept candy on my desk, and soon my office became known for that, so people would drop by for sweets. This simple act of sharing helped me connect with colleagues quickly, and the investment in the cost of candy was priceless. I took the initiative to bridge differences to make it easier for others to connect with me versus waiting for an invitation. One morning when I arrived, I was dismayed that the dish was empty, so I learned to lock it up at night and only put it out when I was there. As a talent gardener, I learned you certainly do attract more bees with honey (or candy).
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?
Surround yourself with generous, heart-based leaders who inspire and uplift you. We are a product of both with whom we spend our time and where we spend our time. Invest in your continuous learning every day.
“Be bold when managing your moments. Be kind to yourself and others. Be brave and keep “wishing out loud” ™” I learned this later in life, and it’s now my signature system for activating “The Power of Wishing Out Loud,” which is my registered trademark coaching approach.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are?
I have said I’m most grateful for the support and guidance I receive from my husband. He understands me best, so he knows how to help me. I’m grateful to many mentors and sponsors but in the marketing and public relations area, I’d like to highlight Bernadette Davis, who has been a champion of my work with her marketing and communications agency and passion for DEIB. She offered me her expertise and mentoring for many years before I launched my business. Because she knows me and my work so well, she was an obvious choice to hire to help me promote my company brand. She represents the successful business model that I wish to emulate. She is my guide by my side and cheerleader who offers stretch assignments for me to aim bigger.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
People tell me my company is who I am and how I lead. It’s me. They see me consistently showing up, whether I am in person or online. I am known as an inclusion connector and talent gardener, providing free introductions and mentoring to others. Many of those I have coached or mentored are now in positions of influence and hire me. I focus on building long-term memorable relationships, not for future work, but to help others thrive and grow. They remember it, and our business comes from a blessed number of referrals as a result.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m excited to be launching my members-only portal on my website, wishingoutloud.com, in 2023. This new website feature will allow me to scale how I mentor and coach so I may reach more leaders who need support as they grow their inclusive leadership skills. I have found that many DEIB leaders benefit from hearing from my extensive CPA, HR, coach, and DEIB practitioner experiences to help them shape their strategy and goals into action plans. Through individual coaching, group mentoring, and office hours as well as cohort workshops, we will be able to move forward faster together.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We volunteer on several governing boards to lend our DEIB expertise in academia at area colleges and universities as well as professional associations like the Texas Society of CPAs and Infusion Nurses Society. We donate 10% of our profits — if not more — every year to charities doing work in DEIB. To bolster those donations, we promote and amplify their work and invest in long-term solutions. We also hire with DEIB in mind.
My personal social media policy is to share what is educational, encouraging, affirming, and uplifting. I like to share my platforms to highlight the work of others who may not have the tailwinds that I had from my long-tenured corporate career for a top-tier firm. I try to lead by example and hire other diverse businesses so we can grow together.
I also regularly share what I’m learning, along with the mistakes that I’ve made, so that others can accelerate their success. We all have career speedbumps, but if I can share mine to lessen the pain for others so they can accelerate and navigate more smoothly, I’m happy to share. It creates psychological safety and trust to share that we are all works in progress, learning together.
My Texas Women’s Foundation Orchid Giving Circle sisters have inspired me in the philanthropy space with how they lend their time, talents, and treasure to giving back in the community as AAPI women leaders. I’m being more bold this year to stretch myself to raise more than $56,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s spring campaign as part of their Visionary Leaders efforts Feb. 22-May 5, 2023. I will be wishing out loud with my connections to make that goal a reality.I joined the spring 2023 Visionaries of the Year campaign as one of their candidate leaders for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to learn more about philanthropy and engage my connections in a cause I care about deeply. I anchor on humanKIND in my work and since we all bleed the same, we all have a shared goal to fight blood cancers and support patients and families impacted by them. I hope we can crush our team goal to raise more than $56,000 by bringing people together as inclusion connectors.
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.
Diversity has always been an important key indicator of a company’s success. With my unique experience and perspective as a CPA, I’ve witnessed how DEI can have positive impacts on the bottom line, traditional return on investment, and budgets. Here are five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line:
Building diverse teams with an awareness of how to appreciate differences in others is a great way to bring in new, innovative ideas. These ideas, born of rich back-and-forth exchanges among team members with varying perspectives, preferences and behaviors, drive the innovation that can drive your company’s success.
According to research conducted by Gartner, diverse teams, continually fueled by inclusion, improve team performance by up to 30%. Diversity and inclusion efforts must be intentional to reap the benefits of increased team yields. When you realize successful results, mimic that action to sustain your momentum and continue to grow.
Cost savings are realized as a result of building a culture of belonging. Additionally, once you foster environments where everyone feels safe bringing their authentic selves to work, you can save on recruitment efforts. Promoting your DEI accomplishments externally is a great way to attract diverse talent in a cost-effective way.
When your company widens the diversity spectrum of your employee base, the benefits extend further than your enriched work product. As consumers see themselves in your company’s goods and services, it results in an expanded brand reach.
Increased productivity occurs when your employees feel more engaged. There is an excitement that sparks original and fresh thinking when many, varying ideas are allowed to flourish. Appreciation for those differences in thought occur when those ideas lead to creative solutions.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
For employees to thrive, leaders must create an environment where everyone feels comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. Everyone’s varying perspectives, backgrounds, and behaviors — when allowed to flourish together without fear of rejection — fuel rich conversations and push employees to find out-of-the-ordinary solutions. This creative process in turn pushes employees to contribute more significantly and be their very best selves. Inclusive leadership skills can be learned and role-modeled to embed the habits into the culture. Investing resources to teach listening, empathy, and feedback skills is vital. It all starts with truly listening and once you act on the feedback you receive, you start to build the trust necessary to shape your desired culture.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
Start with the “why?” Each leader has a DEIB “why” or reason for their passion for participating in the efforts as well as what they are trying to achieve for team culture and the overall organization. It helps to get clarity on the why DEIB, why now? It’s most effective to meet people where they are and include everyone — allies, learners, and supporters. As you solve for inclusion, it helps not to exclude, and to over-index on welcoming everyone. I love it when leaders remind everyone that they do not have to “be (a member of an affinity group) to belong”.
More hands make for lighter work. Ask for volunteers and assign them to roles where they can leverage their super powers or untapped strengths. We are all very busy, but we prioritize and find energy to do the things we love when we get to flex our strengths.
A regular cadence of accountability and a compelling vision and scorecard can also help keep everyone on the same page to reach key objectives. It helps motivate others to see the progress as well as how each contribution is making a difference.
It also helps to keep the messages and pillars succinct so that others can embed the same language, purpose, and vision. Anything over five goals gets harder to memorize.
Rewards and recognition for the extra work is also helpful to acknowledge those going above and beyond to be DEIB ambassadors within the organization and also in the community.
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 🙂
There are many leaders who I respect and admire, so it’s difficult to choose only one.
Recently I was thrilled to see Mackenzie Scott’s $3.8 million grant to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. As a Girl Scout Gold Awardee, and former troop leader for the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, I would be thrilled to meet her to thank her for her example of investing in the organizations that are growing our next generation of strong, inclusive leaders while exposing girls to new career possibilities. I love how she is leading by example to invest in changing lives, which is truly a priceless ROI. She is using her power and influence for great positive world impact, and that inspires me too.
I admire the writing of DEIB consultant and author Lily Zheng. I’d love to hear more about the process that went into Lily’s new book, “DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right.” Having a chance to meet with Lily would be a great honor. The way that Lily concisely and directly addresses the truth that needs to be said for positive and meaningful DEIB momentum is incredibly helpful to me. I’m curious to learn more.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You Can’t Win if You Don’t Keep Score — The most successful organizations all have goals, and they measure to them. Teams gel and develop a magic camaraderie around chasing goals. It is the spark that brings the life, the drive, and the sense of urgency to the organization.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kirk Alexander.
Kirk Alexander is a consulting COO to that organizes and scales organizations that have become too big not to have one, but not large enough to afford an in-house COO. He has spent the last 20 years in various COO roles, delivering hyper-growth to medical practices, dental practices, and medical distributors. In his consulting practice, he works with businesses from a myriad of different industries, particularly focused in the small-to-medium market space.
Thank you 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’?
Thank you for taking the time with me today. I have a wide-ranging background, and all of the experiences contributed to my ability to add value to my clients today. I started in the armed services, graduating from the US Air Force Academy. In the Air Force, I learned operations principles of one of the most well-oiled outfits in existence; lessons I still apply with my clients today. During my service commitment, I earned an MBA and joined the civilian business world. Early in my career, I worked for large corporations where I learned what organizational structure and operations discipline looked like at scale: American Greetings, Honeywell, Mannesmann, and ADT. While at ADT Security, I led major IT Initiatives, learning the power of leveraging technology to accelerate business at scale.
All this experience was put to work when I was hired as the COO of a mid-size orthopedic surgery practice in South Florida. I nurtured a team of professionals to bring 300% revenue growth to the practice over 3 years. We were the first large orthopedic practice in South Florida to implement Electronic Medical Records (EMR). We vertically integrated the business, adding an MRI, Physical Therapy Department, and commercial pharmacy. We grew the practice from 60 employees to 160, and it is still thriving today.
I went on to serve as the COO of a medical distributor in South Florida, an independent sales company of orthopedic implants. Over a period of several years, we successfully pivoted the company’s strategy from selling to civilian hospitals to selling exclusively to the VA and DoD. The reason? We found a sustainable advantage in government sales when we certified the company as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), a certification that gets preferred treatment in all procurement activities in the US government. To operationalize this massive change, I led a software development team to perform a complete overhaul and re-write of our order management and fulfillment software, pushing it to the cloud in Microsoft Azure. This software was successful and spun off to its own Software as a Service (SaaS) company.
My most recent COO position, I joined a mid-sized dental practice to focus on driving revenue growth and improve operations. Our plan was a 5-year vision to scale the practice and sell to private equity. Joining this practice in steady state, we selected some key projects that would “move the needle.” From June of 2020 to June of 2021, we grew company revenue by 52% (during COVID!). We sold at the end of 2021 to Heartland Dental, the nation’s largest Dental Support Organization, well ahead of our 5 year window.
Today, I’m helping bring chaos to order for my clients. We go through a process of defining values, culture, goals, and putting in place operational disciplines to keep the team on the same page. We map workflows, leverage technology, and get teams aligned. I’m providing peace to frazzled CEOs and scalability to fast growing organizations.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
I was given an opportunity in 2004 to leave Corporate America and lead a mid-sized medical practice. It was a significant departure for my career, especially without experience in medical practice management before. I discovered that the foundational skills of leadership, focus, organization, and process orientation were just the same in this new industry. I was able to take my previous lessons and integrate them into new solutions for the practice of medicine, a process that “burned in” the lessons that are timeless and add the most value to any enterprise.
That career shift helped me be a better consultant. Much of the time, being able to separate the noise from the signal is the very skill that can add the most value.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
In 2000 to 2001 I led a project at ADT Security to “glue” together their siloed IT software systems. We pulled together a team of software developers from the United States and India and implemented Tibco Software across the silos so we could keep our customers’ information consistent across systems. With over a $10m budget, we were able to clean up an extremely messy enterprise, gluing together their myriad systems: billing, marketing, alarm monitoring, etc.
That project proved that the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle still works at scale. It was a profound value-add for such a simple concept… glue together the systems, so we could have an end-to-end view of our customer.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
Only recently has my biggest career mistake become clear to me. Over 20 years, I’ve had the benefit of taking a lot of personality surveys and preference tests. The more tests I take, the more I see consistency across findings. I discovered that my personality type is one of a problem solver and a builder. I am a classic operations-focused COO, and I’m drawn to building and scaling teams and companies.
My mistake was I stayed too long in some of my roles. I have always valued loyalty, and typically stay in a role 5–10 years. What I have discovered over time is, that once the role shifts from “building” to “maintaining,” I find myself less enthusiastic. In retrospect, there were a few roles I should have left sooner.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
The value of mentorship cannot be overestimated! I have played both the mentor and the protégé over my career. These relationships have led to most of my career moves. My mentors have helped my career, have helped my development and progression, and I would not be here without their influences.
I pay that forward in my leadership roles, serving as a mentor to key people, even after we no longer work together day-to-day. Many of these have become long friendships. In medical and dental practice management, much of the individual-contributor roles are staffed by young, high-school educated newcomers. I have always felt a personal responsibility to help them learn the early adulthood life lessons, almost in a paternal role. My greatest compliment was on my 50th birthday, when the team bought everyone WWKD (What Would Kirk Do) bracelets.
Ironically, the role that derives the most benefit is not the protégé… it is the mentor!
I have seen such value over the years, that I hire business coaches from time to time. As an entrepreneur, their external accountability, “outsider” perspective, and feedback help me navigate tough transitions and keep me focused as a businessman.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
I am lucky to have grown up with a father who is a world-class leader. Also, an Air Force Academy graduate (he was the 4th class to graduate), he served 32 years in the Air Force. I watched and listened to every bit of advice he ever gave, and I deeply value it to this day. Dad retired from the US Air Force a Lieutenant General. If you met him, you’d never guess it. Dad is a mild-mannered Southern Gentleman with a humble, gentle affect, the perfect combination of humility, confidence, and gravitas.
A few lessons stick with me today. He taught me that one of the most important things that led to his success in the Air Force was a book that he read at least once a year. That book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, is still an annual listen on my Audible account! They are principles of leadership and interpersonal relations that transcend generations.
Another lesson I learned through action. It was the Summer of 1980. We were at RAF Fairford, England where Dad was the Group Commander. There was an air show called the “RAF Fairford Open Day,” with static aircraft displays, flight demonstrations, and the tarmac was open to the public. At the end of the show, I needed to get from the flightline down the mile-long road (“miracle mile”) to the housing area. Dad said I would have to walk and couldn’t ride in his Air Force staff car. He said, “Son, when you’re in a leadership position, it’s important not only to avoid misdeeds, but it is also just as important to avoid even the slightest appearance of impropriety.” I walked home the mile so no one on base might misinterpret his use of the staff car for personal use.
Those are just two examples of countless. Thanks to Dad, I’ve learned the finest lessons of character, integrity, and service anyone could ask for.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”?
This is the real meat-and-potatoes of what I love to do! Two decades of constant study, application, success, and failures have left me with some lasting truths of how to scale. To quote Sam Walton (Walmart founder), “Most of us don’t invent ideas. We take the best ideas from someone else.” These 5 things have been borrowed, modified, and integrated from my experience and learning. I stand on the shoulders of those who I studied.
You Can’t Win if You Don’t Keep Score — The most successful organizations all have goals, and they measure to them. Teams gel and develop a magic camaraderie around chasing goals. It is the spark that brings the life, the drive, and the sense of urgency to the organization.
The process is quite simple. Start with your visionary goal. This huge goal is 10–15 years out, and it’s so big that it should scare you a bit! This is known as the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (the BHAG). These become the “north star” of the organization’s goals and aspirations. They rally the troops and give purpose to the company. Here are some examples:
– Starbucks — Become the most recognized and respected consumer brand in the world
– 1960’s America — Land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth in the next decade
– Walmart 1990 — Become a $125 billion company by year 2000
What’s your visionary goal? What will your team rally around?
The next step is a series of “peeling back the onion.” Break that BHAG into 5, then 3, then annual goals. With your annual goals in mind, what part does each department play in reaching that annual goal? Set those annual goals for each department. The next layer, within each department, what should be the annual goals of the individuals in that department, so they do their part to meet the department goal? At the end, you have total alignment of individual to department to organization goals.
How do we measure progress towards those goals? We need to pick performance numbers that reflect our progress towards goals. These are known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and they are the “scoreboard” that tells us if we are on track. While this sounds fairly simple, it is not easy. Picking the right KPIs is harder said than done. We need to identify “leading” indicators rather than “trailing” indicators. For example, a trailing indicator in a sales department might be the quarterly sales volume. By the time you see how your numbers were for the quarter, it’s too late to adjust! A better indicator might be to figure out how to measure the activity and amount of activity that it takes to hit those numbers later. For example, if a construction company knows that they only win one out of 5 bids, and they know that they want 10 jobs this year, then they know they have to be doing at least one bid a week to hit that number! You’ll know at the end of week one whether or not you’re on track to make that quarterly or annual goal!
Goals, KPIs, and scoreboards are incredibly important to scaling your business!
90 Day Project Cycles — It is critical not only to work “in” your business, but to also work “on” your business. It’s important for everyone to have a spirit of constant improvement and have projects they are doing to improve the organization and get better. Better at customer service, better at eliminating waste, better at any aspect that will help push the organization forward faster towards its goals. But it needs to be methodical, and metered.
It starts with each department identifying its operational issues. All levels of the organization should participate; often the best ideas come from the people doing the detail work! The issues are the areas where things could use improvement, processes that are broken, or where inefficiencies exist. Leadership meets and prioritizes these issues and picks the top 3–5 to focus on for the next quarter. Those issues become projects that get tracked for the next quarter. Tasks and initiatives are assigned out to the appropriate team members to accomplish team buy-in and engagement.
Why only 3–5? When reviewing projects, it is natural to bite off more than you can chew. Often, leadership sets too many priorities and finds itself with no progress on any of them. This is often called an attempt to “boil the ocean.” Consider the metaphor of light: diffused light can simply lighten a dim room. Focused light in the form of a laser can cut through steel. Diffusion and dilution actually slow progress. This is where organizational discipline and focus come to play. Leadership has to commit to the 3–5 projects, track the progress, and not diffuse the team’s focus.
Why 90 days? One consistent thing about teams and organizations is that they seem to lose focus after about 90 days. Not quite sure the reason, but it’s simply the case. Rather than fight it, build it into the rhythm of the company. 90 days is a perfect tie-in to a quarterly cycle, which coincides with performance reporting and planning cycles.
Communicate, communicate, communicate — To keep multiple levels of an organization all lined up and working in sync, goals tying together, it is critical to communicate, even at the risk of over communicating. I used to joke that when my team is rolling their eyes and lip-syncing my message, I’ve finally communicated it enough. What does this look like in an organization?
Team “Same Page” Meetings — These are weekly meetings for the team to keep all updated on how they are doing on their tasks supporting the company or department quarterly projects. These are quick status meetings with a disciplined, repeatable agenda. The meeting is held the same day/time each week religiously and kept to a strict timeline. In this meeting, scorecards are reviewed, 90-day projects are reviewed, wins are celebrated, and urgent issues are brought up and prioritized and discussed until time is exhausted. Again, it is critical that this meeting occurs with dependable regularity. Start on time. End on time. Follow the same agenda every time. Don’t let someone derail the meeting. You don’t realize how important it is until you’ve missed 3–4 weeks and the focus is lost.
Quarterly “reset” meetings — These are one-day meetings held offsite to minimize distractions. Annual goals are reviewed, quarterly projects are assessed and celebrated, issues are stack-ranked and new quarterly projects are chosen.
Annual meetings — This meeting is held by the strategic leadership team. BHAG, 5, 3, and annual goals are reviewed. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analyses are reviewed, major company challenges and issues are discussed and brainstormed. It is a time to stop and look back at the year’s accomplishments and look forward to the next year. It produces a cathartic, team bonding moment in time. Gratitude for the accomplishments of the year, and motivation for the year to come.
Some notes of implementation
Be disciplined — Only miss the meetings if you are ill or on vacation. Avoid vacation for the quarterly or annual meetings.
Follow the agenda — Many organizations don’t have good meeting hygiene. It’s important to stay on track, stay focused.
Celebrate the wins — It’s easy to stay so focused on the project, KPI, or issue that we don’t stop to express appreciation and celebrate even the small wins.
Map your Processes — Every company has a value chain, the series of consecutive steps that go into the final product. There are also operational processes that regularly repeat and are critical to the company (i.e. HR processes, onboarding, offboarding, etc.). How smoothly these key processes run is a primary determinant in your company’s ability to scale.
Marcel Herrmann Telles, one of the controlling partners of Anheuser-Busch InBev, was quoted, “A company can seize extraordinary opportunities only if it is very good at the ordinary operations.” Mapping your core business processes helps you document procedures, improve operations, track accountability, and eliminate confusion.
Laying out your business processes in a simple flow chart or a swim-lane flowchart will help you standardize and bring consistency, improving the reliability and repeatability of the outcomes. It will also help you analyze, track, modify, and improve, leading to a more efficient and consistent outcome. Finally, it will help you identify opportunities to leverage technology platforms to automate portions of the processes, turbocharging your organization’s ability to perform.
Leverage Technology — When demand increases, many small businesses just “pedal harder,” adding people, paper, and more email to the mix. These are the most expensive, least trackable solutions. Rather than throw people and paper at a process, consider throwing technology at it. Workflow automation and project management tools provide centralized management, a single source of “truth,” and management by exception. When configured properly, they can provide KPIs to help focus on goals. And finally, they can allow a geographically distant group of people to perform like a team.
The last 10 years of web development have produced a wealth of platforms to automate and track workflows. Companies like Asana, Monday.com, Microsoft (with Office 365 Tools), Google Workspace, and others present a democratization of workflow automation that only large corporations could afford in the past. With these new workflow and project management tools, a small company can behave as efficiently as a large corporation, at a fraction of the cost (with no IT infrastructure setup!).
When you can apply technology platforms to manage and automate your core company processes, the returns on investment aren’t incremental… they’re orders of magnitude. These very tools are the scaffolds that we can use to scale up a small company without bloating costs.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
Almost all companies start with limited capital and work from a shoestring budget. In fact, the leading cause of business failure in the United States is under-funding. As a result, early in the evolution of the company, the focus is more on finding the right product and price to trigger customer demand. It’s hard to fund investment in operations when sales are slow. So we typically see underinvestment in technology and operations, and the team just works harder and harder. Eventually the team peaks out and growth levels off to the capacity of the existing staff.
When it’s time to scale the business, don’t make the mistake of leaning on the old way of performing operations. Invest in Business Process Management (BPM) and technology to turbocharge the core company operations. This will allow for a team to operate more efficiently and with better quality.
In summary, nothing can guarantee you’ll successfully scale your business. But mastering these core 5 organizational disciplines will give you a significant advantage!
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
Make sure your company culture is concise and easy to understand! It needs to be one that’s inspiring and easy to remember. Limit it to 3–5 core values with specific terms. When recruiting, clearly define and explain how the organization lives those core values. Give examples. If one of the culture words is “flexible”, illustrate how in your job posting. Flexible schedules? Work from home? Job sharing?
Some often-used culture terms are: agile, collaborative, meritocracy, inclusive, flexible, fast-paced, and integrity.
Once you’ve identified your culture, live it. Put the slide in every major company presentation. Identify scenarios where people have lived the culture, and celebrate it company-wide. It can’t just be words on a website, it needs to be weaved into the day-to-day of the company.
Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
The last decade has presented a renaissance in company operations. With $12.50 a month (per user), a small to medium size business can choose Microsoft or Google’s business suites and perform advanced collaboration, document management, project management and workflow automation that would have taken entire data centers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in development just 15 years ago. As I mentioned in an earlier response, these platforms have democratized enterprise IT and best practice operations.
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the two “packaged” solutions that offer a wealth of functions. The challenge that most companies have is that they don’t utilize all the features that these platforms offer. Most companies end up using email, calendaring, and contacts, and leave the most valuable portions of the platforms idle. I refer to this as “shelfware.” You bought the software, you pay the bill every month, yet you let it sit on the shelf adding no value. Just like a gym membership, you’ve got to use it to gain the benefits!
Literally EVERY company that I have encountered is either a Microsoft 365 shop or a Google Workspace shop. You’ve paid for it! It’s sitting on the shelf! Go learn more about it. Develop some projects to leverage the additional tools!
Worse, many companies go and buy “point” solutions that overlap with what they’re already paying for to Google or Microsoft. Do you pay for Zoom? You’re wasting your money. That function already exists and you pay for it! Other Examples: Slack’s equivalents are Microsoft Teams and Google Chat. If you pay for project management platforms like Asana, monday.com, or Trello, their equivalents are Microsoft Lists and Google Tables. The list goes on. Dropbox? Drop it. Use Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive. Using Calendly? Why? Use Microsoft Bookings or Google Reserve. The list goes on.
Keep it simple. Choose the Microsoft or Google platform. Maximize its use. You’ll save money, be more streamlined, and you’ll be leveraging decades of software development if you apply it to your core company operations.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
Even the smallest company should be using an HR Information System (HRIS) (also known as an HR Management System (HRMS)). Just as Microsoft and Google have lowered the investment cost, so too have HRIS systems that are offered as a Software as a Service (SaaS). They are now affordable to even the smallest of companies.
HR management is difficult. It is rife with regulations and compliance requirements. It needs a dedicated system that keeps your company in line with federal and state employment laws. Your HRIS should be able to handle the storage of employee data, manage payroll, handle the recruitment process, perform benefits administration, time and attendance, handle employee out processing… at a minimum. Additional features are recurring performance management (annual reviews) and training management.
Fortunately, many payroll companies offer HRIS solutions in order to earn your payroll business! If you would consider outsourcing payroll, you should make sure they offer a platform to manage your HR. Good payroll companies that offer complete solutions are ADP, Paycor, and Zenefits.
If you insource your payroll function, then you need to find a company that has a complete HRIS and implement it. Examples of leaders in this market are: Rippling, Paycor, BambooHR, and APS.
One last critical consideration. Buying the platform is only the first part. Make sure you invest in good project management and technical training for your staff. The last thing you want is more shelfware in your company!
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
At the core of most team-oriented work today are two things: team collaboration and project management. Every company should be training its staff on how to manage projects, be a good project team player, and how to use the collaboration tools chosen by the company.
I’m consulting a 350 person company right now, and we are rolling out Microsoft 365. Part of that rollout is training for the staff on how to use ALL the tools available, and how to apply them in working environments. We aren’t overcomplicating it either. There are YouTube videos already available from great producers that show how to utilize every tool Microsoft offers. We just curate the best videos and build training playlists for the staff to follow. The same goes for project management disciplines. We’re developing a curriculum of YouTube playlists for people selected to lead projects, so they can understand the basics of how to successfully complete team-oriented implementations.
These tools and platforms won’t implement or operate themselves. They need to be leveraged, and they can’t if the users don’t know how. Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Learn good project management and how to leverage the IT platforms your company uses, and you’ll be standing on the shoulders of giants!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find me online at www.methodize.us, Instagram @methodize.us, Twitter @methodizeus. I love helping companies scale. It’s my passion!
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
Know when to ask for help. You are ready to scale your business when you are unable to manage the workload yourself. My own business required me to be physically present at the job, which prevented my business from taking on more work if I couldn’t be there in person. Training others to take over this role opened up so many opportunities, through them I am able to be in multiple places at once.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kiernan Michelle.
Always a creative from a young age, Kiernan Michelle knew that her purpose in life was to capture love and happiness on camera. After working with several world-class photographers, she is now the owner of a successful wedding photography company based in Southern California. She has worked at hundreds of gorgeous venues, and delights in creating art in new places every day.
Thank you 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’?
At the age of 19 after the dream college I was attending shut its doors, I was distraught. I decided right there that I wasn’t going to let this be a roadblock on my journey to having a successful wedding photography company. I realized that I was given the opportunity to get started years before I would have originally. I studied with photographers from all facets of the industry such as celebrity, fashion, corporate and luxury maternity photography. The people I met along the way have been my mentors and become my friends. Just 5 short years later I have an LLC that photographs upwards of 60 weddings a year with several associates.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
Realizing that I can’t do it all on my own and needing to know when it is time to allow someone else to step in to help. As my business grew, I quickly realized the workload I was taking on was unsustainable long term. I felt like everything was going to fall apart if I took a day off. Learning to trust others has been life changing.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
I have always been very passionate about animal rescue and spend my free time volunteering at my local animal shelters. I take photos of the different animals so they can put their best foot forward with potential adopters. I am proud to know that my efforts have resulted in hundreds of animals finding their forever homes.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
Networking has never been my strong suit. I thought that if I could be the best at what I do then the clients would just come flooding in and I could continue to stay in my bubble. I have since managed to get out of my shell a bit and learned that having a network is a huge asset. You can rely on your connections for advice and create a community that helps everyone get to the next level instead of focusing on competition. As the old saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
Mentorship has played a huge role in my career. When I was just starting out, I quickly realized that I didn’t know a thing about how to run a business, and that there wasn’t anyone in my life that could help point me in the right direction. I decided to reach out to the people I aspired to be. Working with people that were living my dream was inspiring and a huge reminder that anything is possible — If they could do it, so could I. Now that I have my own business, I still talk to my mentors several times a week, and I feel that I learn something new every day.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
My mentors have been my biggest influences. Early in my career I heard a proverb that I took to heart: “Do Everything in Love.” Fostering an environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing their opinions and to feel like they are an important and valued part of the business. To always build people up instead of bringing them down. Trusting employees to do what they’ve been hired to do increases their confidence and produces better results while also taking a larger weight off of your shoulders.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”?
Have a plan. I like to break it down into 10, 5, and 1 year goals. Before anything, think of where you want your business to be in 10 years, and make a bullet point list of your biggest 10-year goals. Then think of the steps you need to take to get there by working backwards. To be on track, where do you need to be in 5 years? 1 year? You need to break down your big crazy dreams into actionable steps you can work on now. Without a clear vision, it is impossible to measure success. Keep track of your progress with a list or journal. Reassess your goals frequently, they will always be evolving.
Get out of your comfort zone! Always have your eyes open for opportunities and take risks. When I put myself in situations that have me questioning if I am really ready, I experience the most growth. Growth requires change, and change isn’t easy. Beware of your habits, keep your eyes open for the next opportunity, and take a leap of faith when the time is right. You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take.
Know when to ask for help. You are ready to scale your business when you are unable to manage the workload yourself. My own business required me to be physically present at the job, which prevented my business from taking on more work if I couldn’t be there in person. Training others to take over this role opened up so many opportunities, through them I am able to be in multiple places at once.
Know who your ideal client is. A fantastic thing that I have realized is the more I try to find my ideal client, the more I attract them. Really try and focus in on who you want to work with. Who is your ideal client and what do they want in a service or a product? Don’t be afraid to ask your good clients questions about your work. Don’t be afraid to turn away clients that are a bad fit. Think about what areas you can improve in order to better serve the ideal customer you’ve created.
Have an attitude of abundance and foster community over competition. There is room for everyone to succeed because you all bring something unique to the table. Don’t be weighed down by fear and jealousy of others, instead encourage and build each other up. Be the same way with both your peers and employees. You want your employees to feel the same passion you do, a positive attitude will inspire creativity and encourage new ideas, which will make your business thrive.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
Firstly, trying to scale too fast. You need to have enough work available so that you aren’t paying people to do nothing, as well as make sure there is appropriate time and opportunity to train them. A bunch of people with no training or values doesn’t get you very far. Having a core team that shares your passion and who really know the ins and outs of your business is key.
Two additional mistakes are micromanaging and being completely aloof. You need to find a healthy balance between the two. Be present, but make sure your employees feel confident doing their jobs without you looking over their shoulder. Micromanaging can cause serious gridlock but being completely hands-off can cause confusion. Trust that your employees can do their jobs but verify and instruct as needed.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
Only hire people that specifically reflect your brand and company values. Further, a pre-existing team that is happy and passionate about what they do, will inspire and excite new recruits. Encourage your employees to do their best by celebrating their wins and other forms of positive reinforcement. You want your employees feel important and to see how they matter. A good way to do this is to create a safe environment where they are encouraged to share their thoughts. A happy team is a productive team.
Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
Crosstrain. Have everyone do a bit of everything until your company is so big that you actually have to specialize. This has its limits, but as much practically possible have someone be able to step in for anyone else. That way if one person leaves the next person can immediately take over. I find that creating lists for processes that teams can reference is a simple way to ensure things are being done correctly. It is easy to get lost in the day-to-day work, but frequent reminders of the big picture can also help keep a team on track.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I would love to help encourage more people to realize their full potential through self-empowerment so they can take charge of their destiny. I imagine a world where everyone realizes their own power and capabilities, filled with confidence and pursuing their passions. I wish more people realized how strong they were and that they can create real change with their ideas.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Life happens. Remain flexible without becoming too rigid at how you want to execute your business plans and manage your portfolio of endeavors. Some chapters of life are quieter than others. Take advantage of the slower pace to strengthen the areas of business that need attention. Develop an internal audit / compliance system that tracks progress by communicating which initiatives are delivering a positive ROI.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sasha Laghonh.
Sasha is a Founder and Entrepreneur of an educational and entertainment platform that integrates self & professional development into nurturing meaningful outcomes. As a speaker, mentor and author, she partners alongside different clients, from individuals to organizations, to capitalize upon their talent. She is the host in residence for KreativeCircle.com and Global Ambassador for Style My Soul, a Lifestyle & Interests Community. She has also authored books and educational content focusing on business, self-development and spirituality. To learn more, please visit www.sashatalks.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 Southern California for a brief period of time before my nomadic adventure began taking me to other geographies within the United States, including opportunities to live abroad. This granted me a chance to observe and meet people from all walks of life through my academic and social environments. I know how it is to be homeschooled, situated in public schools, Sunday School, and private institutions. Change became an integral theme embedded throughout my childhood which helped me transition into adulthood with the aid of seasoned life experiences. Therefore embracing change and navigating through it isn’t a foreign concept for me. It has definitely helped me leverage those experiences when applying myself in the business realm.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
‘Fight your battles based on who you are, not what you do.’ — Myself
It was a line I contributed to a recent engagement. Life presents many battles along our way and it’s inevitable to be tested with tempting propositions of all kinds that can yield unfavorable outcomes. What we do for a living can and will evolve over our life spans. Who we are will also evolve over time as long as we refine our values along the way. It’s better to learn which battles are worth fighting for without letting what we do get in the way. Human beings are a work in progress. If we do choose to fight a battle, it should be anchored from a place of who we are rather than investing ourselves over a fleeting matter in life. Battles will always exist. It’s only a matter of whether they serve a legitimate purpose justifying our time and effort.
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?
Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing by Paul Jarvis. It talks about discovering ways to engage in a fulfilling career without having to compromise your quality of life unless it’s a personal choice to spread yourself thin among all of life’s commitments. It touches upon learning how to effectively develop your priorities and nurture them through crafting smart solutions that work for you. Entrepreneurs that choose to stay small do so by choice in order to leverage other parts of their lives better. This is achieved without compromising the quality of their work and rewards that nourish their mission.
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?
I encourage people to keep a notebook or a tracking tool that welcomes them to write down their ideas for possible development. It’s important to notate them when they come to mind because it’s easy to forget them when they present themselves in their raw initial form. Write down the words, phrases or any supporting thought that trails it. Invest time researching these ideas because a good portion of them will already be taken, prematurely applied and have failed in the market, some of them may already have a variation of the idea at play; etc. Life happens. It takes a lot of creative and critical thinking to take simple ideas from conceptualization to launch.
Coming up with ideas is not the hard part. It’s investing the time to learn whether it’s a kosher idea that can translate well in business. Because a person loves an idea doesn’t mean that it’s welcomed by potential consumers in the business realm. Conducting business can be a complex idea for some people but underneath all the emotions and brainstorming, it still demands a practical application in life. Make sure your ideas are well researched to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in the market, including legal issues. Conduct your market research through legitimate resources. Refrain from using online search engines to answer all your questions.
Take ownership of your chosen idea. Take action by doing live real-time research by speaking to people on the phone, in person and making field visits to address questions by vetted sources in those respective industries. Become a student because sooner or later you will be explaining your concept to others whether it’s investors, business partners, prospective clients; etc. Putting in the effort up front will yield results down the road. No one is interested in investing in any product or service which lacks benefit(s) for the end consumer. It can be the best idea out there but if it lacks a good foundation, its prosperity will be limited.
I’ve seen many products and services that have remarkable marketing but the actual item they’re selling is flirting with mediocre standards. Consumers are made to believe quality goes hand in hand alongside the amplified PR efforts. On the other hand, there are people and brands that engage in conservative marketing efforts therefore it takes more effort to discover their high quality presence & delivery. Figure out what you want to be known for without discounting the marketing and quality control efforts.
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?
If their idea has to do with licensing and copyright, it’s wise to run a few varied searches on this matter through independent efforts, seeking out legal sources that specialize in licensing and patents, speaking to people within the respective industries to guide you to legitimate / vetted government sources that track these developments. Blindly trusting an online source is risky business because not all databases and websites are updated on a regular basis nor are they credible.
It’s very important to conduct such due diligence before investing resources, especially money, into developing the idea until you know there’s a minimal chance of running into costly issues down the road.
The information is only as reliable as the source.
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.
For the sake of simplicity, I’ll keep it topical because steps vary based on the idea itself.
Write down the idea and all the thoughts that trail it. It’s important to know how you intellectually frame this idea. You will need to remind yourself how you rationalized the idea’s conception prior to dressing it with questions, research, feedback, recommendations and an action plan for next steps.
Allow the brainstorming session to include crafting your questions that need to be researched and answered by sources you’ll contact. Make a list of all the items you will need from things to types of people that can contribute their professional expertise to either guide you, or provide services (as vendors) to help your idea become a reality.
The research phase will be dictated by the type of idea. Are you selling a product or services? Is it something that needs to be manufactured, or produced real-time? If it’s services, what are the services and who are the members providing them? The latter are a few operational questions. It’s important to take into consideration legal, finance, insurance, marketing, and other aspects of nourishing the ideas as you proceed in your research. Seek out professionals that specifically cater to the industry specific to the product/service you’re developing for the target audience. Do not discount market research — it serves as the nucleus to creating your idea and better refining it to better serve the right people at the right time and right place.
Run beta-testing with your idea if it’s an option. It will allow you to learn what is working with the idea, what needs work, what are the blind spots and how changes need to be made to better accommodate the ideal target market. You want to be a student that is willing to learn and succeed. Constructive feedback can serve as a blessing in disguise.
Implement the lessons learned and launch the respective product / service. Track its progress, keep refining the deliverables. Make sure to adhere to compliance guidelines by partnering with vetted vendors, licensed sources and appropriate tools to help you navigate the early stages of the launch and thereon forward.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
It’s about the people. No matter how you do the math — it’s about the people. Don’t just exist, engage with people to learn and develop yourself to become a better business professional.
Niceness has nothing to do with aptitude or one’s intelligence to perform well in life. Everyone needs to put in an effort to earn their opportunity to contribute. Hiring ‘nice’ people will also invite people who lack life and people skills that can include conflict avoidance, speaking up and refraining from asking questions. While this can be cultural for some people, in business we need people who can get the job done with a firm presence and grace at the same time. You want to hire good people who speak through their actions. Niceness translates to lip service most of the time. Also you want to avoid nice people who become liabilities because they fall short in performing their duties when they need to balance their alpha and beta attributes.
The truth will tick you off once in a blue moon. If a question or conversation with third parties attracts more questions than answers, it simply means you knew to implement a process but decided to overlook it for one reason or another. You want to thank your fleeting critics for reminding you to stick to your standards. In fact, increase the standards so you aren’t creating bandwidth for substandard mindsets prompting substandard behaviors. It’s a sheer reminder how we execute ideas will determine the type of engagement these ideas will attract. Always remember whom you serve. Everyone who falls outside that realm can join you amicably or go kick some rocks.
Work on your blindspots. I often see talents become well known for a particular skill set while their life skills are granted less credence. Sometimes the companies gloss over these deficiencies as part of their work culture but the ramifications are great for those who co-exist with these personalities. Just because you’re good at one thing doesn’t exempt you from making an effort as a human being to co-exist with your colleagues. More companies are coming on board for not tolerating or enabling a- — — — — -s in their workplace. I’m an advocate for talents of all calibers to continue working on their self and professional development. We all can leverage an opportunity to learn new ways of performing better in life.
Life happens. Remain flexible without becoming too rigid at how you want to execute your business plans and manage your portfolio of endeavors. Some chapters of life are quieter than others. Take advantage of the slower pace to strengthen the areas of business that need attention. Develop an internal audit / compliance system that tracks progress by communicating which initiatives are delivering a positive ROI.
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?
Write down the idea. Ask yourself what you like about the idea, what makes it an idea to begin with and why others should be interested in your idea. It’s important the creator remembers they are expected to either serve a need or refine an existing idea for the mass market. The idea can’t serve the audience of one. There’s a small subset of entrepreneurs who fail because they love their idea so much that they forget to remain rational during their conceptualization phase. Vet your idea from as many angles as possible. Become your own devil’s advocate. Ask credible and honest sources to play devil’s advocate to help you understand your idea better. Being the primary source of an idea doesn’t make that individual the master of their creation. It’s always a work in progress.
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’s contingent upon the type of idea which requires external assistance. Some ideas are initially meant to be vetted by limited eyes and ears for proprietary purposes. If this is the first time an individual is engaging in such an endeavor, I would recommend seeking guidance from a legal counsel or someone who has already worked with a vetted invention development consultant. I would heed caution because we live in a world today where a handful of unregulated business professionals are setting up a tent to make a quick buck. If any professional guarantees you the results for the idea, I view that to be a red flag.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
Treat the entire endeavor as a professional transaction. If you have the personal funds to bring this concept to reality, rely on yourself without projecting expectations on friends and family. You want your friends and family to still acknowledge you without money matters becoming an issue later in time. If your idea hosts enough steam to welcome venture capitalists, this is an avenue to explore. I’ve seen third party businesses irresponsibly manage VC money because it wasn’t their own and also because they lack the business acumen in knowing how to invest such funds to create an expected return for investors. Treat all and any dollars like you worked to earn it. Both paths are feasible but keep it simple. The more personal the transaction, the more likely you will hold yourself accountable regardless of how your idea is funded. VC money can introduce you to new relationships and possible avenues for bringing future ideas to market. It doesn’t mean the VC members will forgive or forget any financial negligence on your part. No money is free money — everyone who receives it ends up paying some price for it.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I’m doing my best to apply myself in new business spaces which welcome my contribution. I tend to make sure there are new learning curves to master, small or big, because it helps me improve my skill sets.
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.
Go about your daily routine only in a slower manner for a day. Pay attention to your senses to recognize the people and things you cross paths with everyday. Details matter. Sometimes we overlook some of the most beautiful things (and experiences) in our paths because we’re set on autopilot.
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.
Sheryl Sandberg. She’s become a great resource for guiding female talents through her Lean In community. It would be a privilege to engage her in conversation to gently chat about life.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Meet The Disruptors: Jesse Baker Of JET Hospitality On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
… I can give it my best shot. The hospitality industry has stood the test of time — and disrupting can be good and/or bad. To me, the guest experience itself is positively disrupted when new concepts emerge and push the status-quo. Or new amenities enter the picture. That is because people crave for new, and uncertainty. However, I do believe the guest experience itself can also be negatively impacted when an element becomes out of balance. For example, technology is a great amenity: it allows for marketing on multiple platforms or self-check-in, which really helped during the pandemic. But the core basics of the guest experience — such as serving the guest from the heart, meeting and greeting the guest with eye contact, meeting with a smile, a hand shake, aka the ‘Statler 5/10’ to make a Cornell reference, picking up the phone instead of texting, or going the extra step to booking the reservation instead of just referring to the website. Technology can disrupt this process and have some not-so-positive effects on the traditional elements of the hospitality industry, regardless of the sector. It limits the human aspect.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jesse Baker.
Jesse Baker is Founder & CEO of JET Hospitality. The company is a pioneer in the growing Alternative Lodging segment and re-engineering the guest experience. With destinations in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, JET is serving up “Hospitality from the Heart” with a mix of “Big Outdoor Energy.” Each location offers a variety of unique accommodations including tiny homes, glamping, bungalows, themed cabins & guestrooms, lodge suites, RV Hook Ups, and BYO camping — bringing together the company’s vision of accommodations for all walks of life. Jesse graduated from the Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in 2009 with B.S. in Hospitality Management and a Real Estate Minor. He is also a licensed general contractor and the owner of Jet City Builders, a construction company he founded in 2016.
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 have been starting and running businesses since I was a kid. I did ok at school and went to Cornell to play football where I enrolled into the Hotel School. After graduating in 2009, I spent five years in the corporate world working for Cintas, climbing the ranks. In 2014, I moved to Seattle and became a commercial hotel appraiser, starting my own company Jet City Capital Management on the side flipping houses and investing in startups. I was learning how to create value.
Enter 2017, I was now a hotel appraiser, general contractor, and founder of multiple startups. Two of the startups, JET Hospitality and PacNW tiny homes, had me running vacation rentals while building a tiny house and looking for a commercial property to build out in between appraisals. The idea was to find a motel/RV park where we could install tiny homes to create a boutique hotel with tiny homes and glamping — getting popular now, but this was five years ago.
It took over a year to find and close the right deal, but we made it happen in 2019 with an option contract and were eventually able to acquire, rehab, rebrand, and open our first location, Pacific Dunes Resort, in 2020, opening Fourth of July weekend that year. We are now at six locations and counting. With the alt-lodging market taking off, our concept is not so alternative anymore!
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
People want to invest in real estate and start companies; both can seem daunting and risky, plus there are significant barriers to entry and long-term success. We are offering a passive investment in or near an ideal recreational location that with it comes passive real estate gains and active operational cash flow from a side-partner stance. By doing so, we are also creating a dynamic capital investment platform to drive our growth. We are applying a hedgehog approach to creating highly desirable real estate opportunities and doing it in way that is disruptive!
We are the Wu-Tang of the modern hospitality industry. We are bringing alternative lodging to the people in all forms — tiny homes, glamping, trailers, RV, themed-rooms, mural walls, tree houses, not just one target niche. This also includes our decentralized management team. Our innkeepers are onsite swiss army knives. Our marketing team is building an army of contributors. The way we raise capital. It’s all different. But our main principal, ‘Hospitality from the Heart’ is as basic as it gets.
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?
Yeah, it’s funny now because we are done with it. We purchased a tear down house and lot that was pre-approved for a 6-lot short plat. The engineering was set and we had to follow that plan. Big mistake. We got stuck with a design that didn’t make sense and caused massive delays. Luckily, I had the right partner to help navigate through this one. I learned: 1. not to get too far out of your wheelhouse, 2. you need a partner with deep pockets when a deal goes sideways, 3. sometimes it’s better to blow up a plan and spend the time to press reset, instead of charging forward with a bad plan in the interest of saving time.
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?
Absolutely, couldn’t agree more. My uncle Matt Becker was instrumental in developing my interest in sports, real estate, and investing. I also worked for some great guys at Cintas, Matt Aller, Danny Young, and Hal Stansbury. Here in the Seattle region John D. Gordon, MAI taught me how to be a hotel appraiser and helped me find my lane. Also, my father-in law Claude Remy has been a great mentor and fellow Commercial RE developer; we talk a lot of shop.
Here is a great example of Big Matt Becker’s influence: he handed me the Rich Dad Poor Dad book when I was ten years old, told me to read it and start thinking about cash flow. That mentality of generating a passive cash flow supported lifestyle has stuck with me to this day.
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 can give it my best shot. The hospitality industry has stood the test of time — and disrupting can be good and/or bad. To me, the guest experience itself is positively disrupted when new concepts emerge and push the status-quo. Or new amenities enter the picture. That is because people crave for new, and uncertainty. However, I do believe the guest experience itself can also be negatively impacted when an element becomes out of balance. For example, technology is a great amenity: it allows for marketing on multiple platforms or self-check-in, which really helped during the pandemic. But the core basics of the guest experience — such as serving the guest from the heart, meeting and greeting the guest with eye contact, meeting with a smile, a hand shake, aka the ‘Statler 5/10’ to make a Cornell reference, picking up the phone instead of texting, or going the extra step to booking the reservation instead of just referring to the website. Technology can disrupt this process and have some not-so-positive effects on the traditional elements of the hospitality industry, regardless of the sector. It limits the human aspect.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Yeah, I can do that. How about an old country song, “Always Stay Humble and Kind”?
I use this example because it’s been very applicable to all phases of my life from growing up playing sports, to going off to school, to starting new jobs, to founding new companies. It’s a natural phase of sport, career, and life in general I’ve gathered thus far. You are humbled at the beginning. You earn respect along the way. You pass it back at the top.
At JET, we are trying to implement this mentality in our company culture all the time. On the leadership team, we come from humble backgrounds. We pride ourselves on getting along with all walks of people from all backgrounds and ways of life. We strive to demonstrate servant leadership. These are two of our core competencies. I would never ask an employee to do a job I wouldn’t do. I am at the top, but no job is beneath me. I was the innkeeper when we started and I always will be.
On the Innkeeper side, we are providing housing, lifestyle, and an opportunity to be part of something great. Our best innkeepers are from humble roots; they are not afraid to get their hands dirty, and no job is beneath them. The difference in successful employees at our company is perception of the position. If they are thankful to be there, they are bleeding JET.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We added our sixth property in September 2022, dubbed the Lazy Lake Outpost because of its history and location just five minutes down the road from Columbia Point Resort. It’s across from the lake, state park, and marina just outside of Kettle Falls, Washington. We are planning a beachside, funky retro trailer park with Ag-venture vibes. This will be quite the guest experience and will fully open May 2023!
We are adding glamping and tiny homes at all properties across the board in 2023. We have these lodging elements at many locations already but rounding out the action at all locations will allow us to pick our lane and dominate it. We are creating repeat guests who come back to try a different unit type, each time, and they are now trying other locations as the brand spreads across the region. Whether its RV, bungalow, tiny home, or glamping — our guests return for the vibe and lifestyle. So, we call it “Lifestyle Lodging.” Take it to the bank, you heard it here first, we are bringing all the alt-lodging options to the people, and not a single niche like most competitors.
On the disruptor side, we are going to raise capital and scale in 2023. We want the right partner that lets JET be JET, stretch out a bit, and ultimately continue the hedgehog model. We have new things in the works that could shake the industry dynamically. I will keep those under wraps for now, but I like the direction we’re going.
On the big disruptor side, my business partner Aaron Mumford is executing a hedgehog model of his own and is about to have his third kid in November. My wife Danie and I are also expecting our first child in December. It’s going to be a wild holiday season!
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?
Yes, two books. “Good to Great,” speaks of the hedgehog concept. It has a simple but profound impact. Find your lane. Duplicate it. Repeat it. Pour on capital and grow it.
A lightbulb went off for me because I am someone who likes to compartmentalize my energy, working across multiple lanes. JET Hospitality is in hedgehog mode with our 360-degree model.
JET 360 Degree Model
Harvest the Deal (Find it)
Farm the Deal (Sell it)
Rehab the Deal (Fix it)
Rebrand the Deal (Market and open it)
Operate the Deal (Run it)
Stabilize the Deal (Show it)
Exit the Deal (Refinance or sale)
Repeat the Deal (2–3-year process)
The other book is “Atomic Habits.” It’s about trying to get 1% better each day and the exponential effect over the course of one year. This book supplies the reader with the building blocks to dramatically change their life overnight — I highly recommend this book.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Sure. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” That one has stuck with me. I once shot 0–18 in one of my high school basketball games. I shot 20+ times at the next game. It’s ok, I was a victim of circumstance. But my point is, that in sports, or life, or business, it doesn’t matter how many times you miss or fall down, it’s about how you get back up and take another shot. I have been really lucky to be successful in a lot of things I’ve done. But that get it done attitude and the confidence expecting to be good at anything I try is likely the primary factor behind my success and certainly the growth of this company, JET Hospitality.”
You are a person of 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 am a person who beat the odds and who has done things to prove many doubters wrong. If I can get to where I am, anyone can. I have accomplished goals through entrepreneurship, real estate, and by leveraging capital to go after my vision. I took my last $8,000 in 2014 and bought my first house.
If I could inspire a movement, it would be a change in the way our kids are educated. By this, I mean the education systems should teach the kids tested-and-true entrepreneurial concepts early — starting your own business and owning real estate — as an alternative to status quo of graduating high school, going to college, and coming out with a salary and benefits. Teach them exactly how the credit system works, and why good credit is important to secure capital, to invest in your dreams. I believe this movement is already taking place across the country, with many youth reexploring the trades and alternatives to four-year degrees. It ok to drop out to pursue your startup. And taking out that college debt, maybe an alternative to consider is to buy a few rental properties. Seems logical. It would be cool if kids were considering these things in their teens instead of their thirties.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Patricia Baronowski-Schneider Of Pristine Advisers: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Listen more and Talk Less. You want to listen more and talk less. You want to know what it is that your customers or clients need. Are you providing that? And if not, you must figure out a way that you can. Because people don’t just buy things just for the sake of buying them, although, sadly, some people do. But the main reason people buy things is because there’s a need. So can you fill that need? Can you fill that void. Listen to what they say, what they need and what they want. This is where my next point comes in below. Digital Marketing allows you to search the “search phrases” people are looking for.
Patricia Baronowski-Schneider is CEO of Pristine Advisers. She is an Investor Relations/Public Relations/ Media Relations and Marketing Expert. Her motto is “Driving Brand Awareness Through Integrated Marketing”. She is a 2x Bestselling Author with 30+ years’ experience working with all types of niches around the world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Ironically, I always say “I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up” ha-ha. I never set out to be an IR/PR or Marketing Executive. It was basically a job I had right out of high school. What I liked about it was that, unlike a receptionist for example, it wasn’t the same boring work day in and day out. The team of IR/PR Professionals that I worked for were constantly running around with projects. It seemed that we never knew what was in store for the day until they opened up their emails in the morning. I basically enjoyed the rush of constantly being busy, constantly having to find solutions and being creative for clients. I then worked my way up the corporate ladder. Being on the agency side has allowed me to work with clients in just about every niche out there and across the globe. I love the creativity part of the work, plus the constant evolution of the industry keeps me on my toes. Always having to find new and better ways marketing clients across multiple platforms and gadgets makes it fun.
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?
Well, back in those day, this was long before the technology we have today. We didn’t have PowerPoint or Digital presentations. We had to literally print out a presentation on paper — run it to a presentation shop who would then make these 5 foot by 6-foot printouts for us to then put into a desktop flip chart where we would have to read and present off of that. So I am sure you can imagine how big of a deal it would be to have a typo on one of these pages.
Lesson learned was obvious. Check, double check and triple check your work BEFORE ever moving forward.
As time progressed, things were evolving and getting better and someone else made a rather funny mistake. Well, it wasn’t really funny but I guess it depends how you look at it. We had a client back then that had our Company marketing them to the state of Washington. That should have been simple enough, however, my co-worker who was not geographically savvy, actually was marketing them to Washington, DC which is 2692.4 miles away. We realized that when he was trying to arrange one-on-one meetings with potential customers when they were asking him at that point why he would be asking them when they were so far away.
Lesson learned — again, double and triple check your work and when you aren’t 100% sure of something — ASK. It’s always a good idea to ask someone else for their feedback from time to time. That could have alleviated that whole problem much earlier on. Another lesson learned — be involved. Don’t just pass on work to someone else and be done with it. His supervisor should have been on top of that, checking his work along the way. At the end of the day his superior was just as fault as he was.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
One of the main things that makes us stand out is that we are a one-stop-shop for clients. Most firms are either an Investor Relations firm, a Public Relations Firm, a Media Relations Firm or a Marketing Firm. I’ve yet to see any firm that does all that we do. How this actually came about was that back in the day I worked for an agency that did all of these services. When they closed their doors I was forced to seek employment. In my interviewing at other agencies I found that the majority of IR firms did strictly annual meetings or annual reports, or things of that nature. They did not do everything else that I did. Then I tried interviewing at Public Relations Firms and yet the majority of them focused solely on advertising. I thought that was bizarre because I did so much more.
After continuously interviewing, I realized that I had something unique and valuable. Rather than Businesses having to hire an IR firm, a PR firm, a Marketing firm, etc. they could hire me to service all of their needs — all under one roof.
Now, that’s not to say that everyone does that, and that is ok. I work alongside many internal or external IR/PR/Marketing teams. I explain all that I can bring to the table — and leave it to the client(s) to tell me what it is that they need from me. I don’t step on anyone’s toes. It is often good to see/hear what others in the same industry and/or Company think and how they see things. We often brainstorm together to come up with the best ideas to help put them up front and center. Ans if we see things differently — then it’s good to understand why. As I always say — the best thing you can do is listen more and talk less — it helps you understand how others see things. It’s never about “me” it’s about the client or company I am working for.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, I think it does go hand in hand where IR, PR, and marketing all play a role because you have your current investors, and then you have your potential investors. Your current investors want to know everything that’s going on within the company on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis because they have their money at stake. With potential investors, it’s a matter of introducing who you are and really setting the stage of why you’re an important company or an important person and why they should consider investing in you. So it definitely does come into play, and then media relations ties it all together, where you have your story and you want to try to get media exposure almost in a form of advertising, again, to pose you as an expert in that specific niche, that specific type of company. And marketing as a whole is just getting the story out there repeatedly, continuously, and in front of the audience of investors and your potential targets.
I am working for a Company now and they initially said that they only wanted to do a quarterly piece on their work and share any news and updates the company is doing. This Company needs to be in front of not only current investors but future/potential investors as well. This is where the IR role plays a key focus on the PR/Marketing side.
Shareholders need to be told what is going on with the Company and anything “additional” you can share brings them even closer to you. Every listed company or company with shareholders — they have to legally (according to the SEC) provide quarterly and annual reports and such. But those that keep investors informed continuously and communicate with their shareholders — that brings value and trust and that goes a long way.
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?
Well, let’s use Kellogg’s Cereal as an example. Kellogg’s is the brand and all of the variety of cereals are their products. Everything is built upon trust and brand recognition. If you come out with a new cereal and you don’t have brand recognition (let’s just say you are an entrepreneur who just made up a recipe for a cereal) that is ok, but your marketing efforts will be bigger and harder than if you currently had a brand with recognition. That being said, you need to work on your brand marketing alongside your product marketing.
Kellogg’s is a company, but they obviously have various brands of cereal. Think of Kellogg’s as the parent and its products, the children. My mom always told me you’re defined by the company you keep.
Think of Celebrity parents. If everybody is looking at a celebrity parent, they obviously are going to start checking to see how your kids are raised. And if your kids are troublesome, that reflects on you as being a bad parent. So think of your product and your brand in the same manner. Your brand is the head of the products. So overall, you want to have a good sense of who you are, what you do, and how you have your investors or your customers best interests at heart. And then each specific brand can be tailored to that.
So think of, for example, Disney. Ever wonder how they stay on top of the line year after year after year? Because they’re constantly evolving and they’re constantly setting the stage for whatever the customers might want. So something new comes out. Say there’s a new Harry Potter movie. Okay, well, now we have a new Harry Potter ride. Or there’s a new cartoon out for the kids. Okay, we have a new ride for that. You can tell that the parent, the brand, is always looking at what’s in the best interest of its potential customers, clients, etc., and that each ride is meant specifically towards that desired customer. In essence, they are paying attention and showing how they are thinking of their customers/investors before themselves (or at least that is the appearance, and how it should look).
So you have your product and you have your brand. Your brand has to stand out, and your product reflects your brand and the brand reflects the products.
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?
If I buy something on Amazon, the first thing I want do is check the reviews. It could be something I’ve never bought before. If it has bad reviews, I’m not touching it because to me, the average buyer, it is basically saying that the owner of all of these items is not good. The same would be the case with the brand. So if your brand has a bad reputation or isn’t really known, I don’t know how much weight I’m going to put into the products or the services from that brand. You really want to highlight that you are a reputable brand. And then any product that you have, I’ll now take notice of because you have a recognizable brand and sometimes a brand goes a long way.
Think of going to a dollar store and for example, a women buying makeup at the dollar store versus purchasing from Revlon. I wouldn’t expect the dollar store makeup to be as good as Revlon. Why? Because the dollar store is associated with “cheap” and Revlon is associated with “good and valuable”. You see how them having invested in building a brand recognized name comes into play? That really goes a long way.
The same goes with buying a shirt or buying pants or buying clothes or buying a car. Let’s just think of cars. You have a brand-new car that comes out. If it’s not a reputable brand, then customers are going to wait. They want to see. It has to build momentum. No one wants to be the first person to buy something from somebody they’ve never heard of. They want to wait and see and see if it has any value. Is it reputable? And a brand name takes time to build. If you have a good marketing team, that can actually help expedite that process.
So you want to really build a brand because again, people want to buy from someone that they know , someone that’s proven themselves. And again, if you prove yourself but no one knows about it because there is no marketing, well, that is like “If a tree falls in the forest with no ears to hear does it make a sound?” Well, how will anyone know ? That’s where the marketing comes in with building a brand. Marketing can go a long way.
Let’s, say, for example, if you’re a company listed on the Stock Exchange and history shows that you can be really valuable, your stock price can go really high. But, let’s say with a recession, the markets are tanking and everything’s gone down and everybody wants to panic and sell their stock. You can go out there and say, “No, no, we’re a great company” with marketing but that’s where Investor Relations can come hand in hand with the marketing — helping to tell the story in a way that would catch the attention of investors. That’s where you come in and say, you know what? Think about it this way. What a great buying opportunity this is now. Buy low, sell high. You don’t sell low and buy high. You buy low, sell high. So this is an awesome marketing opportunity.
It’s definitely worth putting in the money, because the ROI on it can go a really long way
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.
Being Honest. I worked with a few financial companies at one time and they were heavily invested in the financial markets when they were tanking. I had advised both of these Companies to communicate to their investors and let them know that you are on top of this situation and doing what is necessary to ensure that the shareholders money was not lost. One Company listened to me and the other chose not to, despite my numerous suggestions. What happened? The one who chose to listen to me gained the respect of his shareholders and the stock price reflected that. The one who chose to not listen to my suggestions and said nothing lost the respect of their shareholders and the Company eventually closed. Life happens, things do not always go as we planned, but communicating everything and being honest goes a long way. It’s ok to say, “We realize the financial industry is not working the way we had hoped. We have now reshuffled our attention to ABC instead now, and it has been performing extremely well. Always know that we respect our shareholders and continuously have your best interests at heart and will continue to do all that we can to bring you the best value for your investment.” Think of yourself, as an investor, receiving those kind words as opposed to not hearing anything at all and seeing your investment swindling away. What would you do?
Really know and understand who your ideal customer or client is. It’s nice to think the world is your customer — but being focused and narrowing down who your ideal customer or client is can better help you to tailor your message. I worked for a fast food healthy eatery in Manhattan several years back. In Manhattan there are 2–4 eateries per block so finding food is never an issue. That being said, why should someone choose them? I had to narrow down the ideal customer. They were a healthy fast food eatery. So McDonald’s customers might not be the best target market. However, gyms and healthy lifestyle customers obviously would be. Also, celebrities like to stay fit and healthy and there were a few recording studios in the area. I tailored the focus to these specific customers and the result? Dozens of celebrity photos of them eating the food, local gym members signing on for daily deliveries as well as local yoga, dance, etc. locations signing on. This food eatery because a franchise across the USA.
Listen more and Talk Less. You want to listen more and talk less. You want to know what it is that your customers or clients need. Are you providing that? And if not, you must figure out a way that you can. Because people don’t just buy things just for the sake of buying them, although, sadly, some people do. But the main reason people buy things is because there’s a need. So can you fill that need? Can you fill that void. Listen to what they say, what they need and what they want. This is where my next point comes in below. Digital Marketing allows you to search the “search phrases” people are looking for. So for example, maybe you are Elmer’s Glue for example. Do you know all of the reasons people might use your glue? You can search for everything people search for in terms of glue and then you can market to those categories as well. Digital Marketing can show you where people are finding you, and you can even sponsor or advertise on these portals. Once you know what people want, making it happen will be so much easier.
Conduct Market Research or Case Studies on your product/brand to ensure you are meeting the needs and expectations of your customers. As I mentioned in #3, knowing what people want will help you reach the top in your marketing efforts. So many times what businesses believe their customers want or need or believe are completely opposite. I had one client who was a doctor. He believed that his practice obtained clients because of his specialty. While that may have been true, he was unaware of what his current and potential customers really wanted. In sending out anonymous research questions, he was able to see, learn and know what else he could be doing to reach more patients. The result was him gaining clients from not only his area, but from a variety of states who knew what he did and how he offered more procedures under one roof than any other doctor. It was a win-win to know what was needed and wanted and not what he believed it was.
Be personable. Too often the top players of a Company are out of reach and the customers or investors or audience only see and hear from the customer care center or assistants. That is all fine for most occasions but people want to see who is in charge and that he understands me. That’s why attending local events and shaking hands with people can go a long way. How many times do we see singers at concerts inviting someone up to the stage to interact? Or on television shows, they invite someone from the audience up on stage. I knew of someone entrepreneurs that were making and selling produce out of their garage. They had great products, but only neighbors knew about it. I invited them to sponsor local sporting events, interact with local restaurants and eateries to enable them to hand out flyers, and even meet up with the Mayor of their town to get his support. That in turn helped them to be known in their town and the result was they had various supermarkets who wanted their products, restaurants started using their products, they started becoming a household name in their town and eventually they had investors to take them to the next level.
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?
I would again have to use Disney as an example. They are continuously evolving and proving how they are on top of the trends, how they have their customers best interest at heart and how they want Disney to be “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Every time there’s a new ride, a new store, a new anything, they’re constantly out there changing and evolving and coming up with new rides or coming up with new things, because that’s what keeps them going. If they just did one thing, set it and forget it, that’s not really helping because the world is changing. The world evolves. New things happen every single day. And you want to be riding that wave.
They’re constantly getting feedback from people. And in the world of digital media, digital marketing, people posting their pictures in Disney and tagging Disney in the photo, etc. I am sure that they’re getting discounted tickets or they’re getting freebies and such. It is a way of keeping them involved and going back.
In various case studies or market studies/research, they find out what it is people want, what it is that keeps them there. And they have their staff and people that are involved that see what works, what doesn’t work, what rides people favor the most, etc. The constant marketing and commercials and just seeing everybody happy to be at The Happiest Place on Earth, their whole tagline.
And they’re honest, their helpful and the biggest part of marketing, they listen. They are also helpful. For example, in their one blog they point out 9 BIG Problems You’ll Face in Disney World (and How to Solve Them), which includes things as needing cell phone battery, not getting a fast pass, not getting the dinner reservation that you wanted, etc.” so they see/know what people are enduring and offer ways to help. It’s a win-win. People feel understood and listened to.
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?
It is actually different. There is a little bit of an overlap between them but both branding and advertising are two different actions with different goals. Building a brand campaign is focusing on shaping and creating your identity whereas the advertising’s goal is to promote this brand so that customers notice you. Most start-up companies will most likely need both.
Brand building includes making people aware of who you are, your logo, your mission, etc. Let’s take Coca-Cola for example. About 7.1 billion people would recognize the Coca-Cola logo if you showed it to them. That is 94% of the population of the Earth, which is amazing considering that only half of the earth recognizes the cross as a symbol of Christianity. There are mainly three types of brand awareness, which include brand recall, brand recognition and brand dominance.
Brand awareness is the foundation that all of your marketing efforts have to rely on, from social media to SEO. It’s what helps you make people aware of your brand and what you have to offer, so you can gain their trust and influence their decision-making process, in order to get more sales, faster. Brand awareness builds brand equity.
Advertising can enhance brand awareness, while branding drives the style and direction of advertising campaigns.
Various kinds of tests are used to measure the effectiveness of advertising. These are: attention, exposure; comprehension, attitude, and behavior or action.
Marketing effectiveness is measured by the short-term and long-term revenue generated by a campaign and by how well the company’s costs of customer acquisition are lowered during that campaign. A good customer data platform can contribute to your marketing effectiveness.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
Social media plays an important role in how consumers research, discover, and share information about products and brands. Sixty percent of consumers researching products through various online sources learned about a specific retailer or brand through social networking sites. Active social media users are more likely to read product reviews online, and 3 out of 5 create their own reviews of products and services.
Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities and in 2021, 82 percent of the population in the United States had a social networking profile, representing a two percent increase from the 80 percent usage reach in the previous year.
Many active social networkers (53%) follow brands. These brands are actively recruiting their followers and fans to spread word-of-mouth recommendations about their services and products, and those consumers who write product reviews online, many say that they share their experiences to “give recognition for a job well done” by the company. Social media users also like collaborating with their favorite brands, saying they want to give product improvement recommendations, and another 64 percent who want to customize their products. It is an ideal method of having their voices heard.
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 have to say that the one thing I wish people would do more of is a simple one — be nice and help others. The world is full of so many people with the mentality of “every man for himself” and judging a book by its cover, neither of which I support. I used to volunteer in local hospitals and visit many elderly patients. It always brought me so much joy to share stories and see the smiles that my visit brought to each patient. I also love how people take one look at me and feel that they have me all figured out. I recently published a book called, “Life’s Obstacles Can Be Your Biggest Motivators” where I talk about the many struggles and obstacles and turmoil in my life. Because I am always smiling and appear happy, people assume my life has been one way when it definitely has not. People should never judge a book by its cover.
People can take one day a week — helping someone — it goes such a long way.
There are many benefits to helping others.
It feels good. There’s evidence that suggests that when you help others, it can promote changes in the brain linked with happiness. It creates a sense of belonging. Helping others helps us make new friends and connect with our community. Face-to-face activities such as volunteering can also help reduce loneliness and isolation. We never know what someone else is going through and how important your presence can be to them. It gives you a sense of purpose. Studies have shown that volunteering enhances a person’s sense of identity and purpose. This is because helping others makes us feel rewarded, empowered and fulfilled. Giving also helps to keep things in perspective. Helping others, especially those who are less fortunate than ourselves, can help to put things into perspective and make us feel more positive about your own circumstances. Most importantly, it’s contagious. Studies have found that people are more likely to perform feats of being generous after seeing others do the same. This can cause a ripple effect throughout the community, inspiring dozens of individuals to make a difference. Also, helping others can help you live longer. Being a regular volunteer can improve your ability to manage stress and ward off disease as well as increasing your sense of life satisfaction. This might be because volunteering alleviates loneliness and enhances our social lives.
It will also give you a sense of renewal. Helping others teach us to help ourselves. If you’ve been through a tough experience or just not feeling great in spirit, it is a great way get back to feeling like yourself. It can also boost your self-esteem. Volunteers have been found to have overall wellbeing and higher self-esteem. The benefits of volunteering also rely on consistency. So, the more regularly you volunteer, the more confidence you’ll gain. You will also create stronger friendships. When you help others, you give off positive vibes, which can rub off on people and improve your friendships. Being a presence for good in a friend’s life can help build a lasting bond. You’ll also become a glass half-full type person. Having a positive impact on someone else can help you change your own outlook and attitude. Experts have said that performing acts of kindness will boost your mood and ultimately make you more positive and optimistic. It’s a win-win.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I would have tosayGive out what you most want to come back. I believe in life, we get out of it what you put into it. Sort of like the law of attraction in a way. If you surround yourself with negativity and turmoil, you seem to get that in return. But surround yourself with positive and kindness and you will get that in return. These are lessons that I learned later in life, but have proven to me how life is what we make it. One can wake up on a rainy day and complain how the day is ruined. But looking at the positives — the rainbow after the storm, the singing birds, the smell of rain in the air, the flowers that bloom because of it, etc. I always wake up and tell myself 5 things that I am grateful for. Being positive.
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. 🙂
I would love to have dinner with Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. His contribution to the computing revolution, defining the advancement of this era, is beyond amazing. His unrelenting pursuit of excellence in creating products that are both highly functional and beautifully designed would make him a fascinating lunch or breakfast partner. I feel that I could learn so much from him. And also Oprah Winfrey. Much of Oprah’s success can be attributed to the fact that she took risks and was willing to venture into new territory. Winfrey is also a committed philanthropist, providing significant assistance to schools (Morehouse College, Tennessee State University, Chicago Academy of Arts) as well as to the Chicago Public Schools. She also funds battered women’s shelters and campaigns to catch child abusers. As a former victim of abuse, I commend her efforts and think so highly of her. She is also someone else that I am confident that I could learn so much from.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
And thank you for having me. I love sharing my story and expertise with others. If I can ever be of assistance to anyone, I am just a phone call or email away.
Meet The Disruptors: Paul Hersko Of Discount Lots On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Customer is always right within reason. The customer has a right to be treated with the respect they deserve so always make the customer experience your total focus, every minute of every day if you’re starting out any business.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Hersko.
A successful serial-entrepreneur, Paul Hersko is co-founder of DiscountLots.com. In his latest business venture, Hersko and his business partner, William Goldberg, paired their expertise in e-commerce and investment banking to create a national marketplace for vacant land. With DiscountLots.com, the pair is revolutionizing how individual consumers can purchase real estate.
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 decided to start my first business back in 2016 — an Amazon FBA business. Within the first nine months it grew to a seven-figure brand. The brand was moving along until one day I crossed paths with my now business partner, Willie Goldberg. I found myself instantly fascinated by what he was doing. And as our friendship grew, I learned more and more about his business, he was selling vacant land online. I quickly realized there was a massive gap in the market we could fill. We partnered up and created discountlots.com. Our mission is simple: Make land ownership easy and affordable for everyone. Fast forward to today and we have sold 1000’s of properties with a team of 75 people.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
Most people don’t know that you can go online and buy vacant land with a swipe of a credit card. Land is an underserved market because the financial industries aren’t really there. They’ve overlooked this space. It’s very difficult to go to a bank and get financing. To fill this gap, we created a trusted nationwide marketplace with proprietary technology. Now people can visit our website, find their dream property, and check out with their credit card. We are modernizing a broken industry, one property at a time.
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 first started, we had a very small office in a co-working space where the walls didn’t go to the ceiling. It was just the three of us in this little room. Within the first month of the business, sales started to soar, which meant our phones were ringing nonstop — all day, every day. Everyone could hear us since the walls did not go to the ceiling. Within a month, pretty much everyone at the co-working space absolutely hated us because we were so loud. Shortly after, we decided it was time to get our own office space. The lesson in this was that the beginning days of any startup are super fun, gritty, and you need to just make the best of what you got. It was really exciting to keep outgrowing our projections and workspace!
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?
Over the last three years, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time, money and effort investing in mentors to help me forward my path towards success. Specifically, I have worked hard with my business/life coach, Molly, who has helped me leave my comfort zone, challenge the status quo, and break through the things that I thought were not possible to achieve. It’s probably one of the best things I ever did as a founder — to pay for people’s time who’ve already accomplished the things you want to do. It’s the single best investment you can make as an entrepreneur.
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?
It’s a fact of life that the world is constantly changing, and the small businesses that were once the focal point of communities are often forced out by big-box stores and private equity firms. But I think it’s important to remember that this was not always the case. Just a few short decades ago, if you lived in a rural part of America, your local hardware store was an institution — it was where you went to get garden supplies, or paint, or even just ask for advice on how to fix something. It was a place where people actually knew each other’s names and cared about what happened to their community.
While I’m all about disrupting the status quo and challenging convention when necessary…I also have empathy for what happens when a small business gets forced out by the Walmarts of the world. Because while it may be great for those companies’ bottom lines, it often comes at the expense of losing touch with our communities; it means losing something. You’re getting rid of all the stories that are attached to that store, and all the people who worked there, and all their families. And those things are what makes a neighborhood feel real and authentic — and if all those things are gone, then your brand loses its character. I wish that there was more room for both to exist. There needs to be more of a balance. And that is what we’re trying to achieve — balancing a sense of community while at the same time disrupting a market to serve even more and more people in the future.
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. Treat your team like its family. Be positive and open minded. Always be supportive and ready to lend a hand to others. Show respect for others’ cultures and beliefs. And ultimately, encourage others to voice out their ideas while also allowing them to enjoy and have fun.
2. Hire the most expensive person. I’ve learned that when you hire someone who is really expensive, they’ll deliver results in a shorter period of time and with higher quality output. It’s a simple shift in thinking, but it’s made a huge difference in my business.
3. Do a lot of journaling. I’ve found journaling as one of the best ways to stay consistent and strong as a founder. It’s an opportunity for me to have self-reflection that can give me clarity and insight into my feelings, goals, and values. There’s a lot of emotional and physical aspects to this journey, but journaling really helps me stay grounded.
4. Customer is always right within reason. The customer has a right to be treated with the respect they deserve so always make the customer experience your total focus, every minute of every day if you’re starting out any business.
5. Keep it simple. Make things as simple as possible. Less words. More action. Focus on what moves the needle and let go of anything else that doesn’t matter. If something isn’t working, try something else. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We’re not going to sleep until we’re able to thoroughly disrupt this industry. In fact, we’re just starting this revolution. Our long-term goal is to sell 10,000 properties over the next three years and become a Billion Dollar Company. We won’t stop until we make this happen.
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?
My most favorite Ted Talk episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQMbvJNRpLE&t=8s
When I was younger, I used to think that you could only achieve big things by taking massive action. But then I watched this TED talk by Stephen, it really changed my perspective on what it means to be successful. The premise of this talk is that if you try to break down what you have to do each day into small pieces and take action on those pieces, you can achieve anything. And this has been my building block ever since I started as an entrepreneur. I always improve a little bit each day, versus trying to take massive action. Because I know that if I just do a little bit each day and implement it into my daily life, I can have massive, compounding results over time.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?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. 🙂
“Life doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger.”
When you are the founder of a business — you are in the trenches, in the ring and the center of attraction. You’re omnipresent. You have to do everything whether you like it or not. You are responsible for everything. It takes a lot of dedication, endurance, hard work and long sleepless nights. The truth is, no matter how many people tell you that your idea is brilliant and that it’s going to be the next big thing, there are going to be some days when you feel like giving up. But it’s important to remember that there will always be good days and bad days in business — the key is to find a balance between the two. I keep this picture above next to my desk: it shows two wolves with arrows in their backs, one big wolf with lots of arrows in its back standing up strong, which says “me now,” and a little wolf with one arrow in its back on the ground defeated, which reads “the old me.” The quote above them states “life doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger.” As your business grows, the problems don’t get easier — you just get better at solving them!
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 wish that people would just treat others how they want to be treated. It’s important to remember that we all have different backgrounds and experiences, and that makes it hard for us to see things from other people’s perspectives. But when we can put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, it really helps us understand why they might act the way they do — and maybe even help us empathize with them. If we could just all take a minute out of our day to talk with someone new and look into their eyes without judgment, everyone would feel so much better about themselves and other people.
Simo Salmensuu Of Miradore On How To Use Digital Transformation To Take Your Company To The Next Level
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Leverage device management strategically. Implement basic use cases to make your company compliant with regulations, efficient with device management, and secure against threats. For example, when it comes to the transportation industry, using device management can help trucking companies stay compliant with the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate, helping to save them from potential fees.
As part of our series about “How To Use Digital Transformation To Take Your Company To The Next Level”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Simo Salmensuu.
Simo Salmensuu was appointed CEO of Miradore in March 2016. An IT industry veteran since 1998, Simo brings broad experience and a strong global network to the company. His prior experience includes management roles at Taiwanese networking manufacturer Zyxel, Finnish software company Comptel, and worldwide Nokia Networks.
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?
I’m originally from Lahti, a city in southern Finland, and from there I got my Master in Science degree in computer science from the University of Helsinki. Around the same time I started at the University of Helsinki, I began my first job as part-time IT support at a help desk in the evenings after my classes. I believe that this truly kickstarted my passion in using IT to solve problems. After graduation, I landed different roles with Comptel, Nokia, and ZyXEL before eventually becoming the CEO of Miradore in 2016. I’ve always been drawn to the world of IT, and find the pace of innovation fascinating!
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 think back to the early days, there’s one particular situation that I’ll never forget. My team and I planned an on-site customer event at our office in Finland, but due to the lack of sign-ups, we made the unfortunate call to cancel the event. Fast-forward to the day we had originally planned, and one of our customers showed up because he hadn’t received the news of the cancellation. We moved quickly and tried to brainstorm what to do while some team members took him on a tour of the office. We turned this mishap into a fantastic one-on-one meeting with the client which ended up being a blessing in disguise. Rather than conversing at the surface level with multiple customers as we had originally planned, we were able to narrow in on one customer’s challenges. This conversation ultimately taught us the importance of customer feedback in steering the company in the right direction. I’ve guided my teams on this principle 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?
Success comes with teamwork. If I could, I would name everyone at Miradore — we really have an exceptional team, and that’s one thing that makes Miradore what it is. If I had to pick one person, though, I’d highlight our Head of People Operations, Mira Majuri. Funny enough, the job interview for Mira only took 10 minutes, which was enough time for me to be 100% certain that she would be an asset to Miradore. Over six years later, and here we are today, with Mira by my side. I couldn’t be more grateful!
We have a lot of fun working together, but what’s most important is that Mira continuously challenges me and forces me to look at things from different perspectives. She always has our employees’ best interest in mind, which makes it easier for me to steer our company in the right direction.
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?
Personally, I like to follow everything Jason Lemkin does. He runs SaaStr, the world’s largest community for B2B/SaaS founders, and I’ve found his guidance to be spot-on for SaaS company CEOs like myself. As a niche group of leaders, it doesn’t always make sense to look to general business CEOs, so I’ve resonated with a lot of what Jason has to say. For example, a quote by Jason is, “In business, the only thing you can count on is change.” I can definitely relate to this, especially being in a business that didn’t always exist and is constantly counting on innovation!
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 Miradore, our vision was to take the IT industry by storm with our SaaS product, aiming to help small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to work more efficiently and securely. Our mobile device management product is so much more than just a seamless way for companies to manage their Android, Apple, and Windows devices.
We wanted to give SMBs peace of mind when it comes to their devices, which can help to create better work environments, and give more time back to leaders and employees so that they can do what they really love. Further, the pandemic drastically changed the world that we live in, and the work we are doing helps our customers streamline business operations, which increases efficiency and frees up time for more important tasks.
When it comes to security, there has been an increase in cyber threats, especially for SMBs, in recent years. And companies are not always equipped to face these challenges. That’s where MDM comes in, which can allow companies to automatically patch software vulnerabilities, prevent the download of malicious files, and enforce company-wide security policies.
Are you working on any new, exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Most recently, we joined forces with GoTo, an all-in-one business, communications, and IT support and management platform. GoTo’s acquisition of Miradore officially closed last month, and I’m thrilled to see how this partnership will evolve as it brings our customers forward in our vision to help SMBs lead the future of work movement.
Something else that excites me is our “onboarding” project, where we aim to improve the no-touch and low-touch product onboarding process for SMBs. The goal of the project is to simplify the first steps of device management, making device enrollments and initial configurations user-friendly and intuitive for people who are not that familiar with MDM.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about Digital Transformation. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly Digital Transformation means? On a practical level what does it look like to engage in a Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation in the world of Miradore is more about the everyday IT changes that can dramatically increase efficiency for the average person. It’s certainly not rocket science, but we believe it lands just as large of an impact! Our innovations are changing the lives of caretakers and nurses in nursing homes who use mobile phones and tablets to enable calls between patients and doctors; logistics companies can streamline their operations by using mobile devices to share real-time inventory and delivery information; and tablets configured with MDM can be used for teaching in a secure way. The list goes on and on across a variety of industries, namely healthcare, education, transportation, and retail.
Which companies can most benefit from a Digital Transformation?
Not to sound cheesy, but I can’t think of a company that wouldn’t benefit from digital transformation! Specifically, in SMBs, the impact of transformation is very concrete — happier employees, less manual work, a safer workplace.
We’d love to hear about your experiences helping others with Digital Transformation. In your experience, how has Digital Transformation helped improve operations, processes and customer experiences? We’d love to hear some stories if possible.
We help to improve operations by allowing employees to focus on their actual work, as opposed to needing to spend time on managing mobile devices. Worrying about updating apps, securing phone and laptops, and other technical tasks are all taken care of by Miradore!
As an example of how Miradore improves processes, we can look to one of our customers, a fast-growing French company that helps freelancers and companies to connect with each other. Like many other organizations looking for an MDM solution, the growing number of employees — and devices — compelled the company to look for a more efficient way to manage smartphones and laptops. With the help of Miradore, they are able to configure devices 30 minutes faster. This not only helps IT but also improves employee satisfaction and makes the onboarding process smoother, creating a direct impact on business results.
When it comes to customer experience, an example is Miradore’s work with a Spanish company that provides IT solutions for the travel and tourism industry, including hotels and car rental companies. With the help of Miradore’s MDM, the company can provide tablets in Kiosk mode.
Has integrating Digital Transformation been a challenging process for some companies? What are the challenges? How do you help resolve them?
Challenges in SMBs often relate to the company’s knowledge and competence of IT. If there isn’t an IT department in the company to help mitigate this, it’s hard to build trust in digital transformation. And vice versa. If it’s not your full-time job, it’s almost impossible to reserve the bandwidth necessary to even think about digital transformation, let alone execute on it. This is where Miradore comes in. We help SMBs by providing them with easy-to-use and flexible software that allows them to control and secure their devices and automate processes related to that.
One of those processes is by managing their devices involved in their digital transformation. We can automate this process, so it doesn’t fall on people without the proper training or knowledge base, and so that it doesn’t fall on IT employees who are already at their maximum capacity. Essentially, we are here to relieve workloads, streamline processes, and make life easier! We believe that MDM is crucial to the future of work that is dependent on digital transformation.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are “Five Ways a Company Can Use Digital Transformation To Take It To The Next Level”?
First way: Leverage device management strategically. Implement basic use cases to make your company compliant with regulations, efficient with device management, and secure against threats. For example, when it comes to the transportation industry, using device management can help trucking companies stay compliant with the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate, helping to save them from potential fees.
Second way: If your company is big enough and you have the resources, recruit your own IT person. This is the way to get internal ownership over the digital transformation you’d like to see, and they can serve as a point person for implementing necessary solutions like mobile device management.
Third way: Identify easy processes you can automate with IT. Start from the easiest one and go one step further, and then another. One example is automating device setups for new employees. When companies have multiple people starting at once, who all need their devices up and running, doing this manually can be a headache. Streamline this so that your employees can focus on more valuable work, while allowing for greater time and cost savings.
Fourth way: Try to find services supporting YOUR company challenges ahead of digital transformation. SMBs do not benefit from enterprise-level service as it costs them too much and is often incredibly complex. And the opposite goes for enterprise companies who need a significant amount of services to enable the digital transformation. You need to search out the precise solution that is right for you. Beyond that, if you are looking for an MDM provider, you’ll need to find the right team to support you, a team that can understand your challenges as they adapt and align on the values that are most important to your organization. This is something we pride ourselves in at Miradore.
Fifth way: When thinking of implementing a strategy for digital transformation, involve the Chief Financial Officer from the start. You need to have a clear idea of what your limitations might be before dreaming up a comprehensive plan. You should always have a clear monetary direction before you start to do any digital transformation work “just for fun.” If done incorrectly it could stunt your growth. As your company grows and transforms, there’s always the opportunity to grow the budget and your transformation approach as well.
In your opinion, how can companies best create a “culture of innovation” in order to create new competitive advantages?
At Miradore, we strive to create a culture where every employee feels empowered to throw out crazy ideas and test them, but to test them with data. No one can be creative and innovate without mental space and free time. So it’s essential to make sure employees feel they have enough time to focus on idea brainstorming and testing. Do what you can to prevent them from being bogged down by admin and other menial tasks that detract from this.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of my favorites is “stick to the goal.” I notice that competitors or other companies in general lose sight of what their original goal or purpose was. It’s too easy to get lost along the way, but I make it a point to always ask myself why I started on this path in the first place. I let that ground my approach to running Miradore and supporting my team.
Another one of my other favorites is, “if you can’t find the answer to your problem in 10 minutes, ask for help.” I think that showing this vulnerability as a leader, and leading by the example that not one person can solve everything, is important for demonstrating that teamwork is the best way to earn success.
Pay attention to your company’s core cultural values, be clear and consistent, and do not compromise on whom you hire. New hires that demonstrate cultural fit will, over time, maintain your company culture for the long term and not work against it. Consistency with these values can also become a key retention mechanism over time. The book “Culture Code” explains how defining, maintaining, and upholding critical values with your team can help mold the company’s culture. Providing opportunities to model corporate culture through daily interactions can have a profound effect on instilling cultural values for the long term.
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Apy.
Jennifer Apy is an accomplished growth marketer with 30 years of success at fast-growing B2B, B2C software, SaaS and services companies, from Fortune 500 companies to startups. She excels at aligning sales, marketing, product, and development to drive revenue growth using traditional and digital marketing strategies. From steady 10/20/30% YOY growth to 200% annual growth for new businesses, she gets results and builds skilled teams that drive metrics-based marketing excellence in deadline-pressured environments.
Thank you 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’?
I studied computer science in college because I relished the challenge but had no idea how I was going to use it. After a few years, I realized I wanted to be in marketing so that I could talk to customers and make sure the products I represented met their needs. Fast forward 20 years to the digital marketing world, where understanding the “Martech stack” and data analytics is critical to revenue generation. I never realized that my technical background would help me quickly expand beyond being a brand/print/broadcast/direct mail marketer to the omnichannel B2B and DTC marketer I am today, helping companies achieve growth through digital channels.
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
Being at Adobe during my transition to Creative Cloud was a highlight. Helping a large organization think about ways to analyze user behavior and develop predictive data points for accelerating free-to-paid conversion was a seminal learning moment that has helped me adopt a test-and-scale approach that I use with growing companies today. After the launch, I applied what I learned to help startups and small businesses in various industries bring their products and services to market and deliver steady growth rates while navigating channel, competitive, and company culture challenges.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
Disc golfers are amazing people. They care about their families, the sport, and each other. When I helped ZUCA launch into the disc golf market, I traveled the country to understand how and why they needed disc golf carts and how the product fits into their lives. Those experiences enabled me to craft a cost-effective go-to-market for disc golf carts that achieved market share leadership within a year from launch, despite heavily entrenched competitors. I discovered how accessible and enjoyable the sport is, why it is so popular even in cold weather climates, and how a cart provides utility both on and off the course. I witnessed the fierce pride and camaraderie the community shares on the course and on social media, leveraging this to drive a lot of earned media. These insights helped me form a cost-effective marketing mix focused on amateur players that competitors had ignored. Enabled a Blue Ocean breakout value curve!
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake and the lesson you took away from it?
As digital channels become more crowded and noisy, achieving the performance required to scale a business has become more complex. This means more time and energy to get each channel’s approach (creative, keywords, landing pages, nurturing sequences) right. Which might mean pulling back on the number of channels you start with. The mistake I have made in the past is to be overly ambitious with the number of channels needed to scale and spread the budget too thin at the start. Instead, I have learned to focus on one or two channels initially, iterate quickly to get them right (or nix them fast) then move on to others.
Sometimes the challenge is that a market is narrow, and it takes time to get significant data to prove efficacy. In this case, I have learned to look for early signals that a campaign will work or not by combining customer insights (qualitative) with early quantitative data. It also may be possible to focus on one critical metric to optimize to provide early go/no-go decision data.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
As a fractional CMO for small ready-to-scale companies, I am often brought in at a time when there are very few marketing people. Sometimes their marketers have transitioned from another area, or the company is ready to hire an internal resource but only has a budget for a junior-level person until they are confident they have a strategic marketing plan to win. In these situations, I often work alongside the marketing team, developing the messaging, positioning, and competitive foundation, then testing and scaling into the channels and campaigns that deliver cost-effective execution. I love working with people who are driven to succeed and ready to learn, and when it is time to either promote or hire my replacement, I can take satisfaction that I helped the career of a marketer that will carry on what others have taught me.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
I have worked with some incredible CEOs of all ages and stages in their careers. I always admire the ability to understand a situation and create clarity that helps everyone arrive at a logical conclusion or reasonable course of action. Moreover, if they do not fully understand a situation immediately, they ask great questions to help them achieve the clarity they need to act. It takes a lot of patience and humility to listen actively and ask thoughtful, clarifying questions before providing a point of view on a complex or emotionally charged topic.
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then a large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”? Please give a story or example for each.
Tip #1 — Determine the most cost-effective channels for each stage of the customer acquisition funnel. Whether you are marketing a product or a service, B2B or B2C, think of customer acquisition as a funnel. Be clear on the purpose of each marketing campaign or activity — does it primarily generate awareness (top of the funnel, cold outreach) or does it build on pre-existing awareness and nurture to conversion (middle of the funnel), or does it create urgency and endeavor to convert with an incentive or offer (bottom of the funnel). Understanding the role helps define the metrics you are looking for. Pay attention to conversion rates at the bottom of the funnel first. Otherwise, you may find yourself paying for top-of-funnel leads, only to see them “leak” out because the bottom of the funnel has not been optimized.
Whether the channels you test into are social media or institutional influencers, eCommerce, referrals, content marketing, paid search, conferences, and trade events, if you lead with insights about your customers first, you will keep your marketing mix focused on the most critical channels at the heart of your customer acquisition engine. Then, continue to test into new channels, scale the ones that work, and pivot over time if necessary (your channel mix may shift as awareness grows, or as users migrate to new channels, you might need to shift your mix).
Tip #2 — The more you can harness the enthusiasm of happy customers, the quicker and more cost-effective your marketing mix will be. The challenge is to figure out how to get them to do this naturally. Hiring influencers or celebrity pitch partners may not work for your business or may have a limited effect. However, getting authentic recommendations from friend to friend will never go out of style. Think about where and how a happy customer might use your product or service and how you can create a natural sharing moment where someone asks your customer — where did you get that? Can you tell me where to get one? Cultivate V-Factor!
Tip #3 — Look for a blue ocean breakout curve to create a new way to compete in any given category. This requires careful attention to what is essential to customers, especially emerging trends your company/product/service can capitalize on. The Blue Ocean Strategy Framework developed by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne provides examples of how companies have navigated out of the red ocean of competition and created customer-driven differentiation.
It could be as straightforward as finding a new target audience to cultivate or launching a new product to help you break out of your current competitive set. Or it could be as drastic as disrupting yourself before your category gets disrupted (see Tip #5). Either way, making these shifts based on shifts in customer needs and demands will ensure your marketing motions have merit.
Tip #4 — Pay attention to your company’s core cultural values, be clear and consistent, and do not compromise on whom you hire. New hires that demonstrate cultural fit will, over time, maintain your company culture for the long term and not work against it. Consistency with these values can also become a key retention mechanism over time. The book “Culture Code” explains how defining, maintaining, and upholding critical values with your team can help mold the company’s culture. Providing opportunities to model corporate culture through daily interactions can have a profound effect on instilling cultural values for the long term.
Tip #5 — Future proof your business by staying close to the wants, needs, and experiences demanded by customers and prospects, and the actions of direct, indirect, and adjacent competitors and substitutes, so that you can spot potential macro disruptors that could upend entire categories and could take you and your competitors down. If you are zeroed in on core customer and competitive insights, you will hopefully spot these category disruption trends before they disrupt you. And if you are a first mover in making necessary shifts, you could reap the benefits of being in a blue ocean (Tip #3) before other companies catch on to the trend.
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
Don’t mistake spreading your budget too thin or spreading your efforts too broad too soon, or you will not learn quickly enough about what works and does not. In their haste, companies often mistake doing too much at once, feeling they must invest in everything quickly and hoping something will stick. Avoid these random acts of marketing in order to more quickly assess the channels that deliver the best results, leading to a more consistent performing marketing engine.
All channels are not equal. Some might perform more cost-effectively or require more investment than others, and sometimes there are interaction effects that help with their combined effectiveness. Methodical testing and scaling will provide the information you need to prioritize the channels you need to invest in.
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
The first step is to be very clear on the company culture and ethos and make sure that the company’s values are clearly articulated. Then ensure that the existing organization is aligned with company values daily. Next, encourage everyone in the company to celebrate everyday examples of cultural values in action through daily shoutouts. Catching people doing the right thing will foster a culture of encouragement rather than penalization, allowing you to address actions that work against company values effectively. Having plentiful examples at the ready demonstrates “culture in action”; without it, your stated company values might be perceived as “all talk and no action.”
Think about the onboarding experience carefully. How do you introduce cultural values simply and clearly and help new people see them in action every week, every month? What are the signals that someone is not falling in line with the company’s cultural values? Having consistent criteria will help people internalize vital aspects of the culture.
A key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
In smaller organizations, you cannot just leave this up to HR (or you might not even have an HR person yet). However, everyone in the company should be able to explain what they do, the best way to do what they do, and the processes for crucial workflows and projects. I know there are other tools, but all of the small-scaling companies I’ve worked with since 2015 use Google suite and Slack as their leading platforms for company-wide communication, both formal and informal. And a basic CRM/marketing automation platform such as Hubspot or Salesforce. Even Intuit, a global organization with over 10k employees, uses Slack.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
Shortly after the company-wide announcement informing everyone of a new person’s role and scope of responsibility and where they fit in the company org chart, give them access to whatever communication tools they need quickly. For example, in today’s hybrid and remote working world, using Slack as your “digital HQ” can help new hires see how the organization communicates and works on projects together, giving them daily examples of company culture in action.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
I believe everybody has a story, and if we heard it without filters, we would have a greater understanding of others in this world. However, we do not always have opportunities to listen to others’ stories, appreciate them, learn from them, and incorporate them into our understanding of the world, much less shape our thinking, actions, and decision-making in new ways. How much do we miss because we do not take the time or make the space to hear each other’s stories without filters? In today’s pressure-cooker world that seems to spin faster every day, I, too, am a guilty proponent of crisp 30-min zoom calls that are all business. However, when the time feels right, I do try to make a sincere effort to authentically insert a few personal comments or questions that open the door to deeper understanding.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Connect with me! Chief Outsiders has published several of my articles on their blog, and I have written a few for The Startup on Medium and Linked in. So reach out to me anytime to chat about demand generation, channel development or campaign trends. I especially love hearing about emerging businesses that have found product market fit and are ready to scale!
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
Adrienna McDermott Of ‘Ava and The Bee’ On How To Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur
An Interview with Fotis Georgiadis
… Don’t Do it Alone. Being a small business owner can be incredibly isolating. It’s hard to explain what you do or the unique challenges we face. Even our best friends or partners often don’t understand what we do! So, it’s important to create a community around you. Whether you choose to join a group coaching program, or join a local networking group, creating those connections is key to riding through those lows while having people to celebrate those highs with.
Being a founder, entrepreneur, or a business owner can have many exciting and thrilling moments. But it is also punctuated with periods of doubt, slump, and anxiety. So how does one successfully and healthily ride the highs and lows of Entrepreneurship? In this series, called “How To Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur” we are talking to successful entrepreneurs who can share stories from their experience. I had the pleasure of interviewing Adrienna McDermott.
Adrienna McDermott is the founder and CEO of Ava and The Bee, a content marketing agency exclusively for wedding pros. Ava And The Bee offers done-for-you digital marketing through the power of consistent content, all while focusing on proven SEO strategies. She is also the founder of The Creative VA Academy, a hub for creatives looking to hone their natural skills and establish a profitable creative virtual assistant business that earns them a full-time income doing what they love.
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?
I’ve never really had a “real job”. Even at the age of 14, when I started making MySpace layouts, I’ve always created my own career path.
I started in the wedding industry over a decade ago, at 18. I was creating bridal accessories and Derby hats, think the Kentucky Derby type hats, and was dreaming of becoming an accessory designer and milliner. In my junior year of college, I transferred to Savannah College of art and design, and I continued working in the wedding industry.
During the summer of my senior year in college, I co-opened a wedding-planning bridal boutique and florist company called Ivory and Beau in Savannah, Georgia.
A few years in, I started to hit burnout and needed a change after working 6–7 days a week for years and years. In 2017, I sold my part of the business to the other owner, which was terrifying since I didn’t have a backup job or a real plan. Ava And The Bee was truly formed out of a need in the industry and a passion for helping.
What was the “Aha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
My ‘Aha Moment’ came sitting at Back In The Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia. I was meeting with some wedding vendor friends weekly to co-work, and week after week, they were saying how they needed to outsource. And they kept using this term “virtual assistant.”
At the time, I had never heard that term. I had no idea what a virtual assistant was, but they were just so frustrated because they couldn’t find anyone who knew the wedding industry. They didn’t have time to train anyone in the industry. I kept thinking, “I can do this. I’ve spent the last 6 years mastering marketing for my own business. I know exactly what they need to do!”
So, I finally piped up and said that I could help them. One thing led to another, and within months I was completely booked. I didn’t have a website, and I was still working a 9-to-5. I quickly saw how large the demand was, quit my job, and dove into Ava And The Bee full-time.
Over the last few years, Ava And The Bee has grown from a solo virtual assistant business, to a marketing agency with a team dedicated to helping wedding professionals grow their business.
In your opinion, were you a natural born entrepreneur or did you develop that aptitude later on? Can you explain what you mean?
I’ve always had the desire to create a unique life. Even as a young child, I was constantly creating and making. I never saw myself in an office or working a traditional 9-to-5. I started making accessories to sell on Etsy right after high school, and started doing craft fares shortly after. That turned into me wanting to become a milliner, and by age 19, I had hats I made being worn to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and galas.
This passion for accessories led me to work in bridal boutiques. And that passion turned into a love of the wedding industry and led me to co-open the bridal boutique and planning company at 23. So, when this opportunity came for me to help wedding professionals, I wasn’t scared — but was excited!
Was there somebody in your life who inspired or helped you to start your journey with your business? Can you share a story with us?
There wasn’t just one person. I have been incredibly blessed to have a support system around me. My mom always allowed me to lean into my creativity and taught me almost everything I knew, from sewing to accounting.
My parents have always encouraged me to try new things, even the most terrifying things. They supported the decision when I came to them both, saying I wanted to take out a huge business loan before I had even finished college to co-open a bridal shop and wedding planning company. Most parents would not be a fan of that idea!
I’ve also been fortunate to have an incredible husband, who was my biggest cheerleader when I chose to leave my former company, Ivory And Beau. It was a huge decision to leave a job, without any backup plan, and while we were only dating then, it encouraged me to listen to my heart, look out for myself, and leave a job I was miserable in.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Ava And The Bee stands out because we are a team of wedding experts. We are not just knowledgeable but have hands-on experience in the wedding industry. We also believe in completely custom marketing. Every single wedding professional, even two photographers in the same city, will not be marketing to the same audience.
We are also incredibly passionate about our clients and their results. We want our clients to have results that are measured by their own meaning of success. Whether that means fewer weddings booked and more hours than at home or growing a team and booking hundreds of weddings year, we work to get them to that goal.
For example, one of our clients booked us because of our industry knowledge and because we were able to create a complete strategy. Now, she can work on other areas of her business and take more days off, all while seeing more inquiries and website traffic. For her, she needed more hours in the day, and by hiring us, she quickly got those back.
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?
Kindness
I value kindness above everything else. I believe everyone deserves to be treated with respect, patience, and understanding. I also believe in being kind to ourselves, and I do this by setting boundaries, taking time off, and offering myself grace when I feel like I am not enough. As a business owner, so much of my success has been simply from being a kind person. I treat my clients with respect and am always looking out for them and their best interests.
Creativity
Being a creative has been a driving force of being an entrepreneur. I am always looking for new ideas and curious about new ways to explore my creativity. I also use creative outlets outside of my business, like art, to fuel my passions. My best business ideas happen when I am creating art or in the pottery studio!
Reliable
I believe you should deliver what you promise, help when asked, and support those around you. This reliability also allows me to be a hard worker and set up our business for success. I am always looking for ways to help our clients while also being a reliable member of their outsourcing team. I will never suggest a service just for the paycheck — I only offer services I know will grow their business!
Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?
That you have to hit certain numbers each month to be a success. When I got started in the online business world, all the big coaches were saying that success was $10,000 months and hitting $100,000 in your first year. So, I tried that — and I almost burned Ava And The Bee down. By trying to make my business what I thought was “successful” I lost sight of what was important to me and my values.
Once I started to shift what success meant to me, and focused on my personal and mental health, our growth flourished.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them create a work culture in which employees thrive and do not “burn out” or get overwhelmed?
The first is to create processes and SOP’s. Having a set system in place for every task and service you offer will allow for everyone on the team to know what is happening, and what is expected of them. Organization and systems help prevent burnout since it gives guidelines. This way, employees are not constantly asking, “What next?”
Another is to lean into breaks. Whether that means giving more days off or allowing remote employees to make hours around their schedule, prioritizing their time, and giving ample time-off, is essential! For example, in my business, office hours are flexible depending on each employee’s needs. One of our full-time employees is a mom of two, so it’s important for her to work earlier in the morning so she can spend the afternoons with her kids.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
The biggest one, especially one that happens in the wedding industry, is this hustle culture. That in order to be successful, you need to have 100 clients, magazine covers, thousands of followers, and awards. Working seven days a week is a badge of honor for so many business owners and wedding professionals! But that is such a huge mistake. When you start a new business, it’s important to work hard — but is even more important to take care of yourself. Don’t live your life for someone else’s approval. You are enough!
Ok fantastic. Thank you for those excellent insights. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about How to Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur. The journey of an entrepreneur is never easy, and is filled with challenges, failures, setbacks, as well as joys, thrills and celebrations. This might be intuitive, but I think it will be very useful to specifically articulate it. Can you describe to our readers why no matter how successful you are as an entrepreneur, you will always have fairly dramatic highs and lows? Particularly, can you help explain why this is different from someone with a “regular job”?
The biggest difference between being an entrepreneur and having a regular job is that you are solely responsible for your business. Even with a business partner or two, you are responsible for all of the highs and lows. When you have a “regular job” you have a hierarchy — and unless you are the founder or CEO, you are not individually responsible when mistakes are made. It is a team effort!
Being a solopreneur means that you are responsible for every single decision and every single dollar that comes in and out of your business. You are responsible for your team’s paycheck, so if you have a bad season, that money comes out of your account. As an employee at a regular job, you never have to worry about this — your paycheck is expected.
You also have to really focus even more. I’ve found that creative business owners get bored quickly. We constantly want something new, something fresh, something exciting. But that doesn’t lead to business growth, just confusion. You have to know when to jump into a new big idea or when to put blinders on and rein it in and focus.
Do you feel comfortable sharing a story from your own experience about how you felt unusually high and excited as a result of your business? We would love to hear it.
So many of these highs are little reminders we are making a difference for our clients. On my computer, I have a folder called “Love Notes” that I fill with screenshots when our clients have a win. From emails praising our work to Instagram DM’s when they book a dream client — I screenshot it and save it! It really helps when I have a rough day to look at these notes and remind myself that what we are doing is impactful.
Do you feel comfortable sharing a story from your own experience about how you felt unusually low, and vulnerable as a result of your business? We would love to hear it.
Let me tell you about my breakdown in the Ulta parking lot.
At the time, I co-owned a successful bridal boutique + wedding planning company. On the outside, I was living the dream. I was being featured in magazines, TV interviews, and working in this Say Yes to The Dress dream world.
But it wasn’t all glitter and gold — deep inside, I was miserable. I was working 18-hour days, going weeks without a day off and I was in a terrible business partnership. I felt underappreciated, undervalued, and honestly, I felt like a failure. Our business was so pretty on the outside, but it was falling apart internally.
I was at such a low point, sinking into depression. I cried almost every single day and was constantly getting panic attacks. My OCD and anxiety were at an all-time high. And the stress wasn’t just mental — I was getting kidney stones every other month.
It was early 2017, and I was leaving Ulta, and my car wasn’t working. And instead of just being frustrated about my car (that I could barely afford because we were paying ourselves pennies each month) everything crashed down. I called one of my friends to come pick me up, and as she sat with me, waiting for the tow truck, I just fell apart. I told her everything — all the pain, the struggles, everything. She already knew I was struggling, but this was the first time I had opened up to someone about the reality of it all.
It was in that moment, in an Ulta parking lot, that I realized I had to let go. So many people dreamed of what I had. But I hit burnout. And not just mental burnout. My body was physically falling apart, and I knew I had to leave and change my life.
This is the moment where I not only decided to leave, but to focus on a new career that would allow for me to have space. From space to take time off, to space to work from anywhere, it was a life-changer.
Based on your experience can you tell us what you did to bounce back?
So much of the bounce back came from support from those around me. I had so much support from family and friends and even others in the wedding industry. I also finally saw what work-life balance meant. I finally got to take a vacation without panicking the whole time and checking my phone. I got to take weekends off! This really helped me see what life could be like and helped get me excited for the future.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “Five Things You Need To Successfully Ride The Emotional Highs & Lows Of Being An Entrepreneur”? Please share a story or an example for each.
Passion + Drive In Your Business
Being a business owner isn’t easy. Social media portrays this entrepreneur’s life as the easy “solution” to the 9-to-5 grind. But it’s not a solution. It’s challenging, and when you first start, you work way more hours than you did at your 9-to-5. To become successful, you need to have a passion for what you do. This is what gets you through those long nights, difficult clients, and endless emails.
Passion + Drive Outside of Your Business
Just as important as having passion and drive for your business, it’s important to have passions outside of work! You need to have things that are outside of your business that brings you joy. Whether that is art classes, going to museums, or working out. Your joy should not only be from your job — but from your soul! When I started taking pottery classes, I wasn’t only more relaxed but had better business ideas since I allowed my brain to rest and create.
Success Isn’t Just Monetary
One of the biggest things that leads entrepreneurs to burnout, and those deep lows, is not feeling like they are successful enough. But what success is should be entirely up to them — not what the textbooks say. Hitting a $100,000 financial goal shouldn’t be the only measure of success. Spending the evenings at home, or taking Fridays off, or even having time for their favorite hobby is the true measure of success.
Don’t Do it Alone
Being a small business owner can be incredibly isolating. It’s hard to explain what you do or the unique challenges we face. Even our best friends or partners often don’t understand what we do! So, it’s important to create a community around you. Whether you choose to join a group coaching program, or join a local networking group, creating those connections is key to riding through those lows while having people to celebrate those highs with.
It’s Okay To Pivot and Change
Owning a business means you might ebb and flow with what you do. I used to be so afraid of change. I thought that if I left the bridal boutique, I owned, I would be seen as a failure. But that just isn’t true at all! Being a business owner means you have to make changes and lean into them.
We are living during challenging times and resilience is critical during times like these. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
I see resilience as not just being optimistic but knowing that our mistakes do not define us. When you hone in on every single mistake and let it take over your thoughts, it leads to more mistakes that just start to fester. I know my mistakes are not my core identity. They are just stepping stones to another opportunity and something that I can learn and improve on.
Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Would you mind sharing a story?
When I was 8, my dad had a brain aneurysm, and while he luckily survived, he was in the hospital for a while. Being a child and seeing someone you loved face a near-death experience really set in a lot of my resiliency from a young age. I had to grow up pretty quickly in a short period of time, and it’s something that I believe has shaped the rest of my life.
In your opinion, do you tend to keep a positive attitude during difficult situations? What helps you to do so?
As an eternal optimist, I tend to see the glass half-full in any situation. On the other hand, I also have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, so I will internally obsess over small mistakes. I do a lot of mindful meditation to find balance during difficult situations. It helps me to re-center myself and clears my mind, even if it’s just for a few minutes. It’s certainly not easy some days, and sometimes I have to just go to bed early to stop worrying about it. But so much of your attitude really does connect with your mental health and focusing on getting better every day!
Can you help articulate why a leader’s positive attitude can have a positive impact both on their clients and their team? Please share a story or example if you can.
As a leader, you have to have a positive attitude. Without it, your team will suffer, and in return, so will your client work. I’ve experienced first-hand what happens when a leader has a negative attitude. In leads to stressed out employees, and a high quit rate. And in return, mistakes are made when employees are constantly under stress and pressure. It is all connected!
Your employees should never feel the stresses of the business. If you have a bad month, that should never be taken out on your team. As the owner, it is up to you to find the solution, adjust as needed, and steer your ship forward. When your employees get worried, they start to underperform (which is only natural!). So, by creating a positive environment where mistakes are a learning opportunity, you create a team that respects you and wants to continue to grow with your business.
Ok. Super. We are nearly done. What is your favorite inspirational quote that motivates you to pursue greatness? Can you share a story about how it was relevant to you in your own life?
Anything by Morgan Harper Nichols. One of my favorites that I have saved on my phone is, “As you notice the ways other people bloom, may you remember the ways you are blooming, too.”
Owning a business in an online space, where being on social media is a key part of my day, it can be so easy to slip into imposter syndrome. To see the successes of others and feel that tinge of jealousy, wondering why I didn’t think of that. Or why I am not as successful as they are.
But then I remember this quote and remember that while they are blooming, so am I. I am growing each day, creating a path for myself.
Meet The Disruptors: Anton Derlyatka Of Sweat Economy On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
On a practical level, someone told me when I was in secondary school: drink, but don’t get drunk. Can’t say I followed it to the t, but it worked for me most of the time 😉
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anton Derlyatka, the CEO and Co-Founder of Sweat Economy.
Anton Derlyatka is the CEO and Co-Founder of global health and wellness company Sweat Economy. Sweat Economy incentivises people to become more physically active by rewarding users for the number of steps they take each day through in-app loyalty points (Sweatcoins) and crypto tokens (SWEAT). In September 2022, the company expanded upon its Sweatcoin app, which now has 120M users and is the #1 health and fitness app globally, with the launch of a new crypto app, the Sweat Wallet, and a cryptocurrency offering, SWEAT.
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! I am the founder and CEO of Sweat Economy. Our mission is to get the world more active through incentivizing steps with both in-app loyalty points (Sweatcoins) and crypto tokens (SWEAT). Our ultimate vision is to create a financial economy around movement, an economy that enables a direct link between health and wealth — one that not just users can enjoy the fruit of, but is used by global governments, healthcare providers like the NHS, insurance companies and brands worldwide for people to embrace more active, healthy lifestyles.
Even though I have been active most of my life, there were moments when I’d find it hard to keep going. In one of those spells about 7 or 8 years ago I found myself thinking about what makes it so hard to be physically active. One thing led to another, I started reading on behavioral economics with ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ being a pivotal point. That book gave me plenty of ideas as to why we tend to be sedentary (although I prefer ‘lazy’!) and what can be done about it. In behavioral economics lingo, our inactivity stems from ‘present bias,’ a behavioral heuristic resulting in us underestimating the importance of future events and overestimating the here and now. In other words, when you exercise, you sweat, suffer, you are in pain, and this is now. But the benefit of you working out is removed into the relatively distant future and therefore less tangible.
Anyway, one of the really effective ways of fighting that present bias is instant gratification. So, if you have a way of bringing the value that your behavior creates in the future into the present moment this will be a really powerful way to tackle the present bias. Fast forward a year, together with my co-founders Oleg and Egor we came up with a concept and a prototype mobile app, which was doing exactly that — it used instant gratification by rewarding people with loyalty points through a mobile app. And we spent the next few years turning the prototype into the biggest health & fitness app in the world with more than 100M+ happy users.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
No other health or fitness company has assigned a financial or economic value to movement before. I believe that the Sweat Economy will play a major global role in preventative health, using the power of incentives to help everyone to improve their health. Doing so will reduce the burden on the healthcare systems and increase productivity in the workplace. It provides the behavioral nudge that sees people make the choice to walk up, rather than stand, on an ascending escalator; to take the stairs as opposed to the lift; or to get off the bus at an earlier stop
On a slightly less serious note, I always liked wacky things. And what can be more wacky than a promise of being paid for being active? 😉
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?
Originally we launched in the UK and the US. When it was time to start scaling globally, we went about it in a pretty well thought-out (we thought!) manner. We picked a test market (Ireland), put in quite a lot of effort in preparation, creating lots of hypotheses, overthinking that stuff as you do. After a few weeks of meticulous planning we were ready to go. We ‘pressed the button’ and sat there waiting for a huge success, because previously we were pretty successful both in the UK and the US. Guess how many users we got in the first 24 hours in Ireland?
One.
I am not joking!
Lesson learnt: do plan ahead, but be ready for the fact that reality will be very different, especially if you are dealing with a pretty novel product, market, or message. Be ready to iterate quickly and never think that any launch is the finish line. It is a start line in fact.
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 am not very good at finding mentors, I actually think of it as one of my weaknesses. But I do take lots of energy and value from speaking with people who are very different to me in the way they are, the way they think, the lifestyle they are from. I love talking about all sorts of crazy stuff because every now and then it ignites an idea or thought, or lets me improve things I am working on. At the very beginning of Sweatcoin, even before it was Sweatcoin, I started discussing my idea with a few friends who were very good at throwing some wacky ideas at me and challenging my thinking. In fact, Sweatcoin was created at the moment when I started discussing my idea called Fitcoin, a ‘loyalty programme for fitness’, with my now co-founder Oleg. He said “You know what? This should not be a loyalty program, it should be a currency. And BTW Fitcoin sucks as a name.”
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?
Of course disrupting something is not always good. Two things come to mind immediately, off the back of current affairs. Disrupting the business of conventional war by inventing a nuclear bomb was arguably one of the most dangerous things that’s ever happend to mankind (although some would argue it prevented the ‘conventional’ World War III from happening through the nuclear deterrence doctrine). The other example is the way that social media disrupted the traditional media and distribution of information. On paper, it all looked fine — breaking down barriers, letting everyone be their own media and getting billions of people around the world to decide what information they consume from millions of different sources rather than from a handful of incumbent newspapers and TV channels. The reality proved to be starkly different. The world of newsfeed algorithms optimizes for user eyeballs, or engagement, not for objectivity of information. So modern social media has created an echochamber of extremely subjective views accelerated through people’s inherent confirmation bias. As a result, the media has completed its transition from an information business to an entertainment business, which I do not think is healthy for the world of growing complexity, where reliable information matters more than ever before.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
One of the most elegant and yet powerful truths I learnt when I was a kid was the Occam’s razor, which goes something like this: ‘The best of all the possible explanations usually relies on the fewest possible assumptions’ or, in even simpler terms, the simplest explanation tends to be the most likely one. This really helps prioritize and minimize anxiety.
Another one is Murphy’s law, ‘If sh*t can happen it will happen’. This one also makes your life easier because, for one, it makes you prepared for the worst and anything better than that is a free bonus, and two, it really puts your mind at ease as you realize there is only that much you can control, so you can just go on and ‘do what you must and come what may’
Finally, on a practical level, someone told me when I was in secondary school: drink, but don’t get drunk. Can’t say I followed it to the t, but it worked for me most of the time 😉
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
That’s right! In September 2022, we expanded upon the Sweatcoin app, which has 120M users, with the launch of a new crypto app, the Sweat Wallet, and a cryptocurrency offering, SWEAT. The cryptocurrency is the first to be literally ‘minted by steps’ and effectively establishes a true economic unit of value for movement. Since this launch, we onboarded millions of new, everyday users to crypto in what was the largest Web3 on-ramp ever seen.
The Sweat Wallet quickly became the most downloaded Finance app in 51 countries. Over two million users downloaded and activated the Sweat Wallet app within 72 hours of the TGE (Token Generation Event) and was the second most used App across all chains since its launch.
In the next five years, Sweatcoin and SWEAT: the token, will redefine walking, turning it from an aimless activity to something directly associated with wealth. As people are motivated to walk more and invest in crypto, they will — by default — stimulate a new economy for health-conscious brands and organizations to offer their services to local communities. We’re so excited to have seen the incredible reception so far and to build on it’s huge potential to connect the concepts of health and wealth
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?
“Thinking Fast and Slow.” It provides great insight into why we are who we are. Also, it firmed up my belief that every single action is rational, the question is what lense you are looking through and how deep you are prepared to dig into the person’s mind and psyche to understand that rationale.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
‘You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after’ J.R. Tolkien — this is not always true, because sometimes you indeed find what you were after, but I feel this is a really good summary of an entrepreneur’s life. It is full of surprises, for better or worse! 😉
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 Sweat Economy, we want to make it easier to be healthier and happier. That is the essence of what we are working towards. I feel we are already making good progress ‘hacking’ the human psyche for the better, but we are only just getting started.
You can’t do it all: You can’t be in charge of everything as much as you want to. Delegate tasks to your team and trust them to handle them. This will free up your time to focus on the bigger picture.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jacqueline Vizcaino.
Jacqueline Vizcaino is a powerhouse Latina entrepreneur who stopped building other people’s businesses and founded an award-winning full-service wedding and event design firm, Tinted Events, in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, she is a best-selling author focusing on the advancement of the wedding industry. Jacqueline is committed to empowering wedding entrepreneurs through equitable education, treatment, and positive mentorship. She believes everyone should be provided the opportunity and guidance to achieve their entrepreneurial dream. She currently serves as International Board Director of Diversity and Inclusion at WIPA™️.
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 always been the person who loved everything about celebrations growing up in the Bronx, New York, and later moving to the South in a Latin-Caribbean home. Additionally, we didn’t celebrate the usual holidays like most families. My family emphasized milestones. They made sure we didn’t feel like we were missing out, and they were terrific at it.
That’s how I became the unofficial event planner of the family, my friends, and their parents. The challenge would be a repetitive guest list and a limited budget while creating a unique experience each time. Do you see? I would get bored quickly. So, I had to make memorable events to give myself something to look forward to. This skill would serve me well when conceptualizing and designing for future clients I didn’t know I would have.
Aside from that fun hobby, academia was not at the forefront growing up. No one in my family had a degree. I hadn’t met anyone who had attended college until I moved to the south. I was sixteen when I found out my father was illiterate due to having to work in the family business at the age of eight. I had no idea because he ran a successful meat business and was the ultimate salesman, equally strong with finances. I was blindsided.
From that day, his guts and grit made sense. The words that echoed in my head growing up were loud and clear, “Outwork and outperform those around you, follow your passion, and don’t let anyone tell you where you belong. It’s your choice where and when you will be present.” And so, I took that route and undoubtedly rose in positions and would eventually land leadership roles. You know what they say, “Ignorance on fire.” For me, it was not knowing that what I was doing was extraordinary for someone with my background.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Maya Angelou famously said, “When you know better, you do better.” Knowing better doesn’t just mean gaining book knowledge. It also has to do with who you surround yourself with and the person you become because of those influences; your environment can shape you without realizing it.
When I was starting in the corporate world, very few people looked like me or had a similar background. When you don’t have people around you doing what you want or have done, how will you know what’s possible? So, I would hide in the shadows and observe those in leadership positions in their business or my department and watch how they conducted themselves. I was always very observant of the behavior that contributed to their success or was keen to pick up on what wasn’t working for them and what was a liability for them. In either scenario, there was a lesson to be learned.
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 Color Purple is a film that had a profound effect on me. The protagonist, Celie, is a woman of color who doesn’t know what she didn’t know. She was always that girl in the room, soaking up every little thing, trying to make sense of it all, and often feeling like she didn’t belong. However, that still didn’t hamper her curiosity; she would take what she learned and eventually create her world.
This is an excellent analogy for someone starting their entrepreneurial journey. You must be willing to learn as much as possible and create your path once you know. The best way to become an expert in something is by becoming a student of it and committing to the process. So, be Celie, be the one in the room who takes everything in and eventually creates their world.
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?
When I was younger, my father would tell me, “If you want something done, you have to be the first willing to do it yourself.” And that’s how I approached business. If there was a task or project I wanted to complete, and I knew no one who could help me, I would find a way to do it myself. This tenacity and willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done have served me well in business.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that you can’t do it alone. You need a team of people around you who complement your skills and help you achieve your vision. Being the ship’s captain is okay, but you need a solid crew to help you navigate the waters.
As an entrepreneur, getting caught up in the day-to-day and losing sight of the bigger picture is easy. But it’s important to step back and reflect on your journey and where you want to go. What are your long-term goals? What is the legacy you want to leave?
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?
If you’re beginning your entrepreneurial journey and don’t know where to start, my advice is simple: get out there and start talking to people. I’m a big believer in releasing my dreams into the universe so that it doesn’t stay plugged inside me. No one has all the answers, but by sharing your dreams and goals with others, you open yourself up to limitless possibilities.
I also feel that researching your industry is critical. When starting, you don’t know what you don’t know, so educating yourself and learning as much as possible about your field is important. Read books, listen to podcasts, and attend industry events. Again, by surrounding yourself with knowledgeable people, you’ll get a feel for what’s possible and what isn’t.
I’m in the full-service wedding and event design and planning industry, and I had to embrace the fact that even if there seem to be hundreds doing what I do, my lived experiences, knowledge, and unique perspective make me the only solution for my ideal listener or client.
You never know who you’ll meet or what opportunities will come your way. And that’s the beauty of entrepreneurship: it’s an ever-evolving journey with limitless possibilities.
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.
One of the things I wanted to do but thought of many reasons why it could not work for me was writing a book. However, I first needed to know about myself and the best method to extract information from between my ears.
Well, as I mentioned, I put it out into the world. I knew self-publishing wasn’t the way for me to go, but I always look to be led by those leading in their expertise, so I did just that and stumbled upon a method and publisher that was the perfect fit for me.
I would love to say that I had a laundry list of secrets, but I can’t. Two tricks helped.
One was outlining talking points. Perhaps you already have a course or a coaching program you could use as a guide. It’s a literal brain dump, deleting those speaking points that could be considered repetitive or consolidated.
Now, this next part of the process was where the magic happened. Instead of staring at a blinking cursor, I had three one-hour and thirty-minute sessions three days in a row and just spoke into the zoom screen and let the record button fly. That is where the liberation of my thoughts and experiences began and oozed out and became its paragraph, page, chapter, and book.
From there, the transcription was produced, and I had the opportunity to edit at will. There wasn’t a lack of thoughts to choose from, so filling in the content was not a concern. Instead, I was purging the unnecessary.
Those edits were submitted to a developmental editor. Now, this is what I like to say is the roller coaster ride. It gives the chapters the tracks to ride on and provides the highs and lows that make for an exciting journey.
Then the final stages of formatting and category selection, and submission. And a book was born. “I Was the Help. Now I’m the Wedding Pro.”
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
1. It’s not all about you: As the leader, getting caught up in your vision and what you want to achieve is easy. However, it’s important to remember that you’re not the only one affected by your decisions. Your team relies on you to make the right choices, so consider their input.
2. You can’t do it all: You can’t be in charge of everything as much as you want to. Delegate tasks to your team and trust them to handle them. This will free up your time to focus on the bigger picture.
3. Be prepared for the ups and downs: Running a business is not a smooth ride. There will be highs and lows, so it’s important to be prepared for both. Stay positive during tough times and celebrate successes.
4. Be patient: Rome or any city wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a successful business. It takes time to grow and establish yourself in the market. So be patient, and don’t expect overnight success.
5. It’s okay to make mistakes: We all make them, so don’t beat yourself up if you do. Instead, learn from your mistakes and use them as learning opportunities. Your team will respect you more for owning up to them.
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?
Have a clear vision and purpose: Before you can even begin to bring your idea to life, you need to have a clear picture of what it is you want to achieve. What is the problem you’re solving? What need are you filling? What solution are you providing? What are your long-term goals? Once you understand your vision well, it will be much easier to start putting the pieces together.
Research your industry: It’s important to educate yourself about your industry and learn as much as possible, but don’t become paralyzed by the need to get all the information before beginning. Yes, educating yourself will help you better understand the landscape and what’s possible; however, you may also learn along the way with books, listen to podcasts, attend industry events, and talk to people who are already doing what you want to do.
Build a prototype or create your ideal client avatar diary: This is a great way to bring your idea to life and get feedback from potential customers. This will help you further validate your concept and ensure that it’s something people want B2B or B2C. Each has its own set of challenges and opportunities, so it’s important to do your research and understand which one is right for you.
Build a strong team: You can’t do it alone. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to surround yourself with people who complement your skills and help you achieve your vision. First, gather feedback from your team. Then, ride the momentum of your team’s appetite for sharing your dreams and goals as a collective.
Launch: Once you’ve gone through the above steps, you’re ready to launch your business. This is when the real work begins, but if you’ve done your homework and put in the hard work, you’ll be in an excellent position to succeed.
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?
There is no easy answer to this question. It depends on the person’s circumstances and what they feel comfortable with. In the wedding industry, the barrier to entry is low, and sometimes hiring a business coach or consultant can be a good way to get started if someone doesn’t know where to start. They can help with market research, developing a business plan, and figuring it out. However, they can also be expensive, and the person will still need to do a lot of work independently.
Ideally, immersing oneself in the local wedding community and connecting and laying the groundwork for solid vendor-partner relationships with providing a footing in the beginning.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs. looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
For someone starting a business from scratch, it’s important to have a clear vision of what they want to achieve. One of the benefits of launching in the wedding and event space is the cost is minimal as it relates to the planning side of things: the customary business startup licensing and insurance expenses. In addition, taking on debt for a storefront is a thing of the past. Instead, you can meet clients and the very offices of vendors most suitable for their wedding day dreams. Get them excited about the overall feeling at these creative studios.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
As a leader, I have always strived to make the world a better place. One of the ways I have made a difference is by mentoring other aspiring and up-and-coming wedding professionals who, at one time, were the help. The creatives behind the scenes inspire, design, and execute lavish and luxe weddings. In addition, I have always been a strong advocate for women in the workplace and have tried to help other women navigate the often-tough business landscapes.
I believe we all are responsible for making the world a better place, and I will continue to use my skills and success to help others.
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 inspire a movement of a kind, accepting, and supportive wedding industry. The fortitude to stand up on behalf of other minority and underrepresented professionals when they are not given a fair chance, especially when they are not “in the room,” even if that means denying myself or a majority member the opportunity.
Inclusively recognize, acknowledge, and compensate these pros for their expertise and creativity. But, unfortunately, even giving a mention or a share on social media doesn’t result in the same for them.
A movement of people who lead by example and who are unapologetically authentic. These are the people I would want to inspire with my words, actions, and businesses for what is right. A movement of people who believe that love is love, and weddings should reflect that. A movement of allies to help those who can’t fight alone. That is the world I want to see.
We are 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 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.
Years ago, I began a long-standing morning routine with Darren Hardy’s Darren Daily #BetterEveryDay. He is the Author of the Compound Effect, a former Publisher of Success Magazine, and one of the most positive influencers of leaders and high-achievers. But, as a student of his Insane Productivity Program, his poignant leadership and personal development messages fuel the tank. It would be an honor to meet him, and I wish I could say break bread with him, but if we are eating, he wouldn’t be talking and pouring his wisdom, so I would opt for a meeting and a glass of water.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Make yourself a safe space. Create a habit of open and honest discussion, free of judgment, advice and distractions to facilitate active listening. When the time comes, take the opportunity to share something with your loved ones that is true and deep– and see how that goes.
As a part of my interview series about the ‘5 Things We Can Each Do Help Solve The Loneliness Epidemic’ I had the pleasure to interview Jenny Dalio.
On a mission to save the world from loneliness — one conversation at a time, Jenny Dalio launched Live Deeply, an ecosystem of experiential products, services and communities designed to help you discover the intrinsic joy that comes from authentic relationships.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
From the moment I could talk, I was asking existential questions. Why are we here, and what makes life worthwhile? Along the way, I discovered that a prerequisite for a purposeful life involves meaningful relationships. These in turn, are built through deep and enriching conversations.
After college, I lived in a house with three other women who intentionally shared their lives with one another. Every night we would have dinner together, engaging in deep and meaningful conversations. On the fridge was a magnet that said, “Live deep instead of fast.” It resonated with me because we live in such a fast-paced world that we often forget to slow down and really connect with each other.
Professionally, I’ve worn many hats, but I am most proud of SoulFire Series, an event series that I launched. The events ranged in capacity from 8-person intimate dinners to 5,000-person stadium gatherings. Through the range of these events, the core concept and utmost goal I wove into the fabric of the experience was human connection.
Live Deeply, my newest venture, has been a culmination of 17 years of creating, learning and making meaningful connections.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
What comes to mind are the social events we created with SoulFire, which began in Argentina and eventually expanded globally in places like London, Bali and San Francisco, to name a few. I specifically remember the impact in Argentina — how people came away feeling absolutely transformed, happier, at peace and connected with each other. It was miraculous and rewarding that we could create a place where people would have that experience.
Can you share a story about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?
I was under a tight deadline for the first batch of Life Stories cards. I had close friends review the final deck and made a few small tweaks ahead of printing. After pulling an all-nighter on a Friday, I was not able to see the cards in person before submitting the final edits. When the Life Stories cards came back, there was an error on the packaging!
It didn’t feel humorous at the time, but it did teach me a valuable lesson. Now, looking back I realize some things cannot be rushed. Today, we have a thorough user-testing program in place so that all of our products are rigorously reviewed many times before going out.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
There’s a loss of connection and community in the world today that cannot be restored without our willing and intentional participation. We do that by taking the time to listen to one another, creating safe spaces for conversation and taking the risk of being vulnerable.
In the last year, I’ve created eight (8) unique product collections crafted for deep and meaningful relationship-building that you can find on www.welivedeeply.com. Each deck of conversation cards is designed to help others connect in meaningful ways and challenge the way people build and maintain relationships. Whether it’s acquaintances, lifelong family partners or friends — Live Deeply is created for the sharing of ourselves and our life experiences — and that often means sharing stories, sharing laughter and playing games.
Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of the Loneliness Epidemic?
As many of us do, I experienced loneliness in college. I was surrounded by people and invited to parties, but never felt like I fully belonged. I would go home early as a compromise for being true to myself. Unable to connect deeply, the relationships I did form began to feel superficial. I felt isolated and invisible — living alone with no true friends, family, or meaningful relationships to lean on emotionally or mentally.
The irony of my situation is that I was studying mass communication in college. Finding ways to connect has been a lifelong passion, which has materialized in many ways over the course of my career, including the SoulFire Series, which focused on fostering human connection among people from different walks of life.
Since then, I’ve created an easy-to-follow roadmap for deeper connection in the form of these fun, colorful games that are designed to help people get closer to those around them. Whether it’s acquaintances, family, partners or lifelong friends — Live Deeply was created to share ourselves and our life experiences. Our conversation cards are a “go-to game” for conscious connection. If you, your loved ones and your friends have run out of stories to share, or you want to spark meaningful conversations but you are unsure of where to start, Live Deeply is your way to unlock those new stories — think if Cards Against Humanity meets Oprah.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. According to this story in Time, loneliness is becoming an increasing health threat not just in the US, but across the world. Can you articulate for our readers 3 reasons why being lonely and isolated can harm one’s health?
Loneliness can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts, according to a 2020 study that directly linked increased mental health issues in young adults with increased loneliness. I saw that first-hand while volunteering at a suicide hotline, where my primary responsibility was to answer the phone and be there for the callers. So many of the people who called felt like they had nobody to confide in.
According to a study conducted by neuroscience and psychology professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, loneliness and isolation are twice as harmful to physical and mental health than obesity. Lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or suffering from alcoholism, while prolonged isolation can even contribute to heart disease, strokes and premature death.
Being part of a community is proven to help you live longer, according to Harvard Women’s Health Watch. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the world and caused many of us to “shelter in place,” alone for months on end, a 2020 study published by the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs discovered that 80% of participants aged 18–35 reported feeling isolated and were experiencing “significant depressive symptoms.”
On a broader societal level, in which way is loneliness harming our communities and society?
We’ve lost the community habits we once had. My great-grandmother used to make time to see a different friend every single day. We don’t have or make time like that anymore.
Technology often acts as a crutch that makes us think we’re connected, so we don’t take the extra step to really connect in person. We might stay in our home, scrolling or texting people which only partially satisfies our desire for connection– and we settle for that.
Instead, our heart’s deepest desire is real connection, but that takes more work and vulnerability in putting ourselves out there. If I knock on my neighbor’s door and introduce myself, I risk rejection and awkwardness, but all of those risks come with bigger rewards.
Now, because we have greater access to less significant connection and ease of communication, we often take the easy way out (myself included). It takes more effort, conscientiousness and mindfulness to start building a life that optimizes for the things that satisfy us in terms of loneliness and connection.
The irony is that so many of us experience loneliness and are ashamed to admit it. Yet, loneliness happens to everyone at some point; it’s a universal feeling that should be de-stigmatized.
Although being in connection with people is fulfilling and takes energy in the same way that working out does, it requires motivation and endurance.
The irony of having a loneliness epidemic is glaring. We are living in a time where more people are connected to each other than ever before in history. Our technology has the power to connect billions of people in one network, in a way that was never possible. Yet despite this, so many people are lonely. Why is this? Can you share 3 of the main reasons why we are facing a loneliness epidemic today? Please give a story or an example for each.
We have an inability or fear of showing our authentic selves.There’s so much polarization and judgment in the world today that people often don’t feel safe to open up. We struggle to offer a safe space for one another and we’re not in the habit of taking risks to be vulnerable.
We are living in a time when shallow connections and small talk are the primary lane for communication. In addition to our fear of vulnerability, many of us have either lost the habit or never learned how to be good listeners. This leads to surface-level conversations absent of deep and meaningful connection.
Cold connections or tech-centered connections are used as a cure instead of a tool.Tech-centered connections (such as social media “friends”) don’t necessarily translate into meaningful relationships. Technology is usually not optimized for depth in relationship-building and oftentimes we’re tempted to turn to social media to satisfy that hunger. While likes and reposts can placate us for the time being, it does not fill the human need for real authentic connection.
Ok. It is not enough to talk about problems without offering possible solutions. In your experience, what are the 5 things each of us can do to help solve the Loneliness Epidemic? Please give a story or an example for each.
Make yourself a safe space. Create a habit of open and honest discussion, free of judgment, advice and distractions to facilitate active listening. When the time comes, take the opportunity to share something with your loved ones that is true and deep– and see how that goes.
Ask deeper questions. The best way to ask deeper questions is to start with being a good listener. Stop what you’re doing, make eye contact and remember the details of what is being said because the details are what shape our lives.
Initiate outreach in unconventional ways. Every time I move to a new place, I leave a hand-written note underneath the door of my closest neighbors, inviting them over for drinks. I am always pleasantly surprised how warmly the notes are received and it opens the door for more communication.
Show gratitude to the people in your life. Our lives have been touched by so many people and they are mostly unaware of how the relationship has shaped us. Reaching out to somebody you are grateful for shows that you are appreciative of the connection and opens the door for deeper, more meaningful moments.
Be consistent. Consistency goes hand-in-hand with making yourself a safe space. Make a conscious effort to reach out regularly and follow up with the people in your life. These kinds of interactions are needed to show your humanity, build trust and create meaningful relationships.
All of these are shared for free in our 30-day closeness program.
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. 🙂
Much like the SoulFire Series I started, my movement would be focused on forging meaningful relationships through deep conversations and human connection. The most important things in life are meaningful work and relationships, built through true and beautiful friendships.
We are 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 with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Sarah Blakely, CEO of Spanx. She’s bold, daring and ready to make mistakes.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit www.welivedeeply.com for our free 30-day closeness program and find us on social at @welivedeeply.
Thank you so much for these insights. This was so inspiring, and so important!
Data-Driven Work Cultures: Dan Catinella Of Total Expert On How To Effectively Leverage Data To Take Your Company To The Next Level
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Personalized messaging. With enhanced visibility into the individual behaviors and goals of your customers, you can ensure you are leveraging the right messaging at just the right time. For example, if you know your customer has a young child, you can provide them with engaging messaging around planning and saving for college, right when it is most relevant for them.
As part of our series about “How To Effectively Leverage Data To Take Your Company To The Next Level”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dan Catinella.
With 20 years of experience in mortgage technology, Dan Catinella is a seasoned technology executive focused on driving digital transformation through all channels of lending. In an ever-changing digital landscape, Dan keeps a constant pulse on the next innovation that could change the way business is conducted. As Chief Lending Officer for Total Expert, Catinella identifies and develops high-impact innovation strategies that align with the company’s business goals and growth priorities. He works with Total Expert’s customers to dig into the problems they’re looking to solve and aligns Total Expert’s innovation strategy with their business goals.
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?
My career has always been at the intersection of lending and technology. Before joining Total Expert as Chief Lending Officer, I spent 20 years working in mortgage technology roles supporting technological efficiency amidst a fast-changing digital landscape. In my previous role as Chief Digital Officer with Finance of America, I led sales and operations support through digital innovation and core digital platform strategies.
I’ve always been passionate about modernizing the lending industry and I joined Total Expert because they aligned with that vision. Now, I get to help lenders leverage technology and data to foster deeper relationships and create customers for life.
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 started my career, I was responsible for what we called “Wednesday night updates,” which was every Wednesday (except for the last week of the month) we pushed out our software changes to the loan origination system and other software platforms we were making changes to. We would conduct these at 10 p.m. EST each night, and back then, had to do onsite in order to deploy the updated code to our on-prem infrastructure. So, on one Wednesday, it was my time to shine…after working a full day from 8 am to 6 pm, I decided to grab a bite to eat and then headed back to the office around 8 pm to prepare. I was well prepared and ready to go about an hour before our 10 pm window, so then decided to cozy up and watch a show on the TV in the lobby….the next thing i remember…an originator woke me up at around 7:30 in the morning, asking me what the heck I am doing sleeping at the office!! Moral of the story….drink lots of espresso and don’t lay down before a long night of software deployments!
Are you working on any new, exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Our team at Total Expert recently launched Customer Intelligence, a first-of-its-kind the only complete turn-key solution that uses intelligent automation and consumer insights to empower banks and lenders to gain a holistic view of their customers and to use data-driven insights in order to engage them at the ideal moment to best serve them.
Providing lenders with the behavioral data they need to reach their customers with hyper-personalized messaging and offerings can drive growth, have a crystal clear ROI model, and help build lifelong customer loyalty by anticipating needs and surface opportunities to serve them, ultimately creating additional deal flow.
The platform helps lenders work efficiently and effectively to uncover opportunities that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks — something critical now more than ever as market conditions and interest rates have impacted sales volume. Some current users of Customer Intelligence were able to uncover 1,200 opportunities that would have otherwise been missed in only two weeks of using the platform, which is extremely meaningful for those teams.
It also helps drive financial literacy and success for consumers. When banks and lenders can tap into their customers’ intent data, they can provide recommendations and products that best fit their individual financial needs and goals.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about empowering organizations to be more “data-driven.” For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly it means to be data-driven? On a practical level, what does it look like to use data to make decisions?
Financial institutions are inundated with data. They have so much of it, but often lack the tools or time to ensure it’s being properly leveraged for sales, operations, and marketing. The difference between having data and being data-driven comes down to ensuring it is usable and actionable. Without relevant insights into customer intent, it’s nearly impossible to ensure you’re delivering the right messaging and products every time.
To be data-driven means to keep your data at the center of everything. To us, that means keeping your customers and their needs as priority #1. If you can leverage customer behavior and intent data to inform marketing, product development, and sales, you can ensure you are keeping your customer at the center of all operations — and, ultimately, enhance your customer experience and become a trusted advisor well after the initial transaction.
Which companies can most benefit from tools that empower data collaboration?
Customer-facing teams across industries have so much to gain from integrating data into sales and marketing functions. Throughout financial services, there is a major opportunity for traditional banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies who are competing with fintech companies who have focused on creating seamless digital customer experiences. These institutions can use available financial data to unlock insights that help their employees deliver intentionally designed offerings and experiences that drive desired outcomes at precisely the right time.
We’d love to hear about your experiences using data to drive decisions. In your experience, how has data analytics and data collaboration helped improve operations, processes, and customer experiences? We’d love to hear some stories if possible.
While I currently work directly with Total Expert’s customers and prospects to address industry challenges and respond to financial trends, my previous role as Chief Digital Officer with Finance of America included implementing Total Expert across all business channels; including distributed retail, consumer direct, and wholesale. Our teams leveraged the platform to drive efficiency while growing and scaling the business. We were able to innovate around the platform to set a strategic vision for leveraging data to empower our loan officers to enhance the customer experience and engage with customers at the right time.
We had no shortage of data, but what made the most difference was the ability to blend it with real-time industry information to get comprehensive and actionable insights about our customers and prospects. When we could achieve this holistic view of our customers, it changed how we engaged with them and ultimately grew the pipeline and strengthened customer loyalty.
Has the shift towards becoming more data-driven been challenging for some teams or organizations from your vantage point? What are the challenges? How can organizations solve these challenges?
The challenge isn’t the data; most industries, including financial services, have no shortage of it. We know that data is the key to understanding customer intent, but how can it be filtered down to actionable insights? How can teams combine those insights with industry trends to see the bigger picture? These are the questions that many financial institutions find themselves asking when assessing their own ability to be data-driven. In-house data science or machine learning can be expensive, and few institutions have the capacity to integrate their existing customer data with data from third-party providers. Luckily, new technologies like Total Expert exist to combine data integration, analytics, and marketing automation into single end-to-end platforms.
When we work with our customers to adopt our technology, we also run into another common challenge: the process in which financial organizations approach digital transformation. They tend to be somewhat siloed and often use many different technologies, so they struggle to approach digital transformation holistically. Where we often see success is when institutions start with a narrow slice of their business to drive impact, then move to the next slice. When they can use the digital transformation of one part of the business to drive the next, it’s often easier to understand ROI.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are “Five Ways a Company Can Effectively Leverage Data to Take It To The Next Level”? Please share a story or an example for each.
Relationship building. Data allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your customers and their behaviors. By learning about them and their individual pain points, sales teams can engage with prospects and customers in personalized ways that drive long-term relationship growth. For example, imagine you had a prospect that initially did not credit qualify, however after educating them on the steps to take, their credit improves to the level necessary, and you immediately are able to re-engage with them with the positive news.
Personalized messaging. With enhanced visibility into the individual behaviors and goals of your customers, you can ensure you are leveraging the right messaging at just the right time. For example, if you know your customer has a young child, you can provide them with engaging messaging around planning and saving for college, right when it is most relevant for them.
Product development. Using data to transform customer experience must go beyond personalized marketing. Personalized marketing shouldn’t lead to a one-size-fits-all product; it ideally should drive customers to hyper-personalized products that are built with their pain points and goals in mind. This is another way you can ensure a human-first versus a product-first strategy. For example, you notice a customer just turned 62 and has a significant amount of equity in their home and could benefit significantly from better understanding a reverse mortgage.
Integrations. Engaging with technology integrations that can provide third-party data strengthens your insights and your ability to achieve a holistic customer view. By combining first- and third-party customer data, you can create a single source of truth to drive growth and product innovation. For example, imagine being able to identify when your customers’ debt or income profiles change significantly and could benefit from a refinance.
Leverage automation. Data-informed marketing automation can take any team’s efficiency to the next level. Using behavioral and transactional insights to segment consumers into groups allows you to assign them to hyper-personalized customer journeys. This ensures you’re providing the right message at the right time — from lead to conversion to customer and beyond.
The name of this series is “Data-Driven Work Cultures”. Changing a culture is hard. What would you suggest is needed to change a work culture to become more Data Driven?
Digital transformation can be difficult to implement, especially when working in an industry that is tasked with catching up to other disruptors. To drive data-driven work cultures, marketing, sales, and operations teams must be un-siloed and work together to understand the goals, roadblocks, and opportunities of digital transformation.
When previously separated data and workflows can integrate across teams, they can identify more opportunities to leverage that data to drive growth and enhance the customer experience across all business objectives.
The future of work has recently become very fluid. Based on your experience, how do you think the needs for data will evolve and change over the next five years?
As consumers grapple with fluctuating market conditions and societal shifts that have changed what it means to be financially responsible, they will be looking for financial partners that can understand their individual financial situation and provide valuable services and expertise. Financial organizations will continue to feel the increasing pressure to keep their customers engaged and meet their unique needs to compete with digital fintech companies that have prioritized building modern tools.
Over the next five years, these pressures will force financial institutions to look at their data and ensure that they are providing their teams with the technology they need to enhance customer experience and build innovative products that go beyond one-size-fits-all solutions.
Does your organization have any exciting goals for the near future? What challenges will you need to tackle to reach them? How do you think data analytics can best help you to achieve these goals?
Current market conditions and rising interest rates have made it increasingly important for loan officers to provide a competitive customer experience as it relates to a purchase-centric market. Understanding when and what to offer their prospects based on their behavior and intent data can help them get a leg up as every lead is becoming increasingly important.
Over the next year, we want to continue to help our customers leverage technology to address the shifting market and step beyond traditional outreach efforts to surface new mortgage opportunities and enable cross-sell from their existing customers. By making continuous platform upgrades and adding industry-leading integrations, we’ll help our customers adopt technology when it can be most critical and support lenders nationwide as they navigate the changing market and help their teams understand what modern lending means and looks like in their organizations.
Planning: Having a clear strategy and selecting the right platform for the meeting is crucial. An event is as successful as the clarity with which its objectives are agreed upon. A detailed plan should outline immersive experience offerings, speakers, timings of the sessions, and preferred tech applications.
Lalit Mangal is the co-founder and CEO of Airmeet. Heading strategy, product design and development, Lalit considers the internet to be a milestone achievement in human history and believes that there is still a lot that can be achieved with it. Prior to co-founding Airmeet, Lalit co-founded CommonFloor, India’s leading online real estate platform and later sold it to Quikr. He’s held multiple advisory positions including the one at Unacademy, a 4th ranked LinkedIn top start-ups. Apart from that, Lalit is an engineer at heart and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from IIT Roorkee.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! 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 India and grew up with my parents. My father retired as a diligent government officer overseeing the construction of roads and public infrastructure. My mother was a lawyer who came from a family of entrepreneurs. My parents were an inspiration for me to mix diligent studies and hard work along with risk-taking.
I have always been interested in building products since an early age. The first time I got my hands on a computer was when I entered college. From that day on I developed a special passion for computers and programming. While I was in college I started to build products and I even built some for my college website. Since then I have been determined to help people with technology.
Can you tell us the story of what led you to this particular career path?
Events have the power to generate new ideas. They give like-minded individuals the ability to learn by leveraging the sheer presence of others who share similar pursuits. During a brief break after my previous startup, I was yearning to go to conferences that were taking place in different countries but couldn’t because of time commitments. That is when this idea of remote or virtual-only events germinated in my mind.
As the co-founder and CEO of Airmeet, today I lead product design and development for the company which has enabled 120,000+ event organizers to stream around 150 million minutes of video to audiences around the globe in 2021.
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 have always used our product as a customer. Let me expand on what this means.
In the first 20 events, I was the host myself. The funny mistake was that I did not buy a power backup for my internet connection and in one of these events there was a power cut for 10 mins and of course, I was disconnected. That was very embarrassing. Fortunately, the speaker was kind enough to engage with the audience via Q and A.
The lesson learned is that events do not have to be perfect but preparing ahead of time is the best way to prepare for success.
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 the Joe Rogan and Naval podcast. I have listened to them both quite a few times and soaked up a lot of the wisdom shared in the conversations. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work so some of the thoughts that were shared in the podcast changed my perspective and made me bring a long-term perspective to progress. This also helped me bring down my stress levels and look at the bigger picture.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Surround yourself with people who know about the things you don’t.
As a leader, I learned early on what my personal strengths are and learned to surround myself with a well-rounded group that balanced out other areas. It’s why I co-founded my latest company and why we all emerged into different leadership roles. When you can focus on what you can be the very best at, it allows others around you to grow, provides autonomy at even more levels, and offers a glimpse of humility not always found in top leadership. I love learning — and I actually use our platform to participate in learning moments so that I’m always challenging myself.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit about your experience organizing events in general?
In my previous startup, my team had done quite a few events and I had experienced struggles in organizing and driving attendance to a well-crafted event. The friction of travel and asking for a substantial time commitment is sometimes so high that it surpasses the motivation to attend the event.
I look at formal events as a bundle of three core value propositions: content, connections, and camaraderie. In my experience, only Camaraderia-focused events are best done in person. The value of connections and content can be delivered so much more in a digital format, plus the advantage of getting global experts and audiences is unmatched.
Can you tell us a bit about your experience organizing live virtual events? Can you share any interesting stories about them?
An increase in virtual experiences has led companies to explore new channels through which they can improve business applications that increase engagement, create more meaningful interactions, seamlessly share feedback and build lasting relationships with customers. I have worked with hundreds of companies and showed them how their hybrid or virtual event can truly make a difference for their business or company.
I have seen firsthand that humanizing virtual events to augment the digital experience is something sought after. It involves replicating real-life event spaces, adding immersive functionalities, DIY customization, and extensive in-depth analytics to maintain prolonged audience engagement. Airmeet deploys these technologies to enhance its own customer experience and recently started using AI to accelerate it. Sharing these amazing tools with companies and entrepreneurs has helped them be efficient, successful, and remembered. Live virtual events can be one of the most beneficial ways to grow a business long-term. Of course, there is a possibility there can be some hiccups but we have a team of people ready to jump in and assist in a time of need. Live virtual events are exciting, exhilarating, and fulfilling for both us and the company.
We are creating a world where people will always have a place to gather and meaningfully connect from anywhere. Our mission is to empower organizations and communities in achieving effective collective progress.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job creating live virtual events? What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Dealmakers produce content and bring people together for both formal and informal networking opportunities. Before the pandemic, many of their events were primarily in-person. When the pandemic hit, the Founder & CEO of Dealmakers says it was pretty difficult to run virtual meet-ups because they were restricted and limited to certain platforms. She noted that providing one-on-one virtual meet-up opportunities, just like in physical events, to enable productive connections was a crucial must-have.
She appreciated that Airmeet offered an experience that was similar to their working style. Wendy was pleased with the event format and stated “the event hosted was not like a regular webinar; attendees were not passive listeners, but active participants.” She went on to state that Airmeet’s social lounge allowed for Q&A along with networking similar to previous in-person events Deadlmakers had hosted. I loved how she used networking tools and social webinar features. Dealmakers wanted their virtual setup to offer the audience an excellent experience that was consistent with their brand and in-person events. This is something that also helps with long-term engagement.
After the series of events, Wendy came to the realization that “Virtual Events are not a replacement for in-person events, but an added value. Most of the events are now hybrid. We see virtual events and virtual meet-ups as an add-on. In-person events are episodic; they would happen once or twice a year. But virtual meet-ups and events allow us to deliver content and connect throughout the year, generate additional leads and serve our sponsors. It helps brands to stay on top of their mind.” Wendy said, “We would expect to see virtual event attendee numbers grow here.”
She is using vertical events as a part of her annual strategy which is something most companies can also start doing to enhance their business, grow their customer base, keep employees engaged and spark creativity.
What are the common mistakes you have seen people make when they try to run a live virtual event? What can be done to avoid those errors?
There are a few things I have seen over the years that have hindered the success of an event or caused issues. Here are three mistakes that can be prevented.
Trying to replicate an in-person event to a virtual one.
Humanizing video interactions using technologies and platforms to augment the experience involves mimicking real-life event spaces, using immersive functionalities and hyper-customization to maintain increased audience engagement. The next gen of video conferencing isn’t that at all. It’s an immersive and engaging experience built to combine both the physical and virtual ecosystems. You have to take into consideration that people have different attention spans when attending a virtual event vs an in-person one.
2. Choosing the wrong virtual platform.
Each virtual platform has its own unique set of tools to provide users. These tools are a crucial part of having a successful event. Choosing the wrong platform can limit the interactions between attendees and not properly execute an idea.
3. Not planning.
Because the event is virtual does not mean you can overlook any steps in the planning process. If anything, you need to take extra precautions to ensure everything goes on without a hitch.
Which virtual platform have you found to be most effective to be able to bring everyone together virtually?
Without trying to brag, Airmeet is the most engaging event platform on the market. Airmeet’s attendee-first platform is built to offer choice, convenience, and customization to deliver highly engaging interactions and a unique experience with every use. While there are many good virtual platforms out there, Airmeet was built to address current and future pain points with our attendees — virtual and physical ones — in mind.
Maximizing the opportunity between virtual, IRL, and hybrid events, Airmeet supercharges attendee engagement with a 360-degree engagement profile. It has DIY customization, experience closer to real-life events, contextual features to enable productive meetings, video on demand, extensive in-depth analytics & and AI-driven smart speed networking capability.
The event-led customer engagement suite offered by Airmeet can help new-age marketers engage and interact with their customers, prospects, and community via immersive content, events, and webinars. Airmeet not only helps businesses host and monetize events with ease, but also provides them with dedicated interactive, engagement spaces for lead generation, networking, and collaboration.
Are there any essential tools or software that you think an event organizer needs to know about?
If someone is running their virtual event on Airmeet there are so many fantastic tools available. Measuring hybrid event ROI for actionable business insights is one of them. We recently launched our Event Experience Cloud (EXC). The EXC includes four all-new products — AirStudio, AX360, AirControl, and AirIntel — a much-needed solution for the stagnant event landscape. Each product is designed to help B2B marketers, Event Marketing leaders, and HR leaders, host the kind of event experiences everyone deserves. These products will drastically improve virtual and hybrid event ROI, making it easier than ever for businesses, marketers, and community managers alike to interpret it for business growth.
Marketers, community managers, sales executives, and customer relationship teams leverage the engagement suite to dive deep into audience needs and update their customer engagement strategy with highly interactive touch points resulting in more effective lead generation, networking, and collaboration. The EXC reimagines the virtual and hybrid event experience, reduces friction for attendees, and increases opportunities for event organizers. Airmeet’s Event-Led Growth philosophy offers event organizers the option to host unlimited events of any size and pay only for what actually matters — the number of people who attend.
Ok. Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our discussion. An in-person event can have a certain electric energy. How do you create an engaging and memorable event when everyone is separated and in their own homes?
The beauty of engaging in memorable personal events is those magical moments of spontaneous, informal conversations that allow people to connect with one another. Making these special moments available and accessible in a virtual setting will make the event unforgettable.
Networking and allowing your attendees the ability to connect will keep everyone engaged and excited. Building these things into the agenda in clearly structured ways helps keep everyone organized and allows for maximum time usage. Airmeet first introduced superior networking features like Q&A, emojis, live polls, dedicated network lounges, and speed networking to tackle the lack of interaction during any virtual events, conferences, and webinars. But we have also taken it a step further and have introduced Fluid Spaces, a way to revolutionize the event space.
Organizers get the flexibility with Fluid Spaces to host informal meetings and sessions that are not bound to tables. They can use the multi-purpose space to host different formats of informal sessions. This is how attendees can interact in a more informal way. This space is a catalyst for building meaningful connections, skyrocketing engagement, and improving customer experience.
Overall, we have quickly learned that the more attendees feel comfortable the more engaging it will be for everyone.
What are the “Five Things You Need To Know To Successfully Run a Live Virtual Event” and why?
Pick the right platform.
Planning: Having a clear strategy and selecting the right platform for the meeting is crucial. An event is as successful as the clarity with which its objectives are agreed upon. A detailed plan should outline immersive experience offerings, speakers, timings of the sessions, and preferred tech applications.
Choose compelling speakers and performers: A huge part of making an event successful and memorable are great speakers and moderators. Another way to keep attendees engaged, pending the type of event is to have a special appearance. It will encourage everyone to talk about what they saw or learned and continue the conversation well after the event is over.
Choosing the right platform: Choosing the right virtual platform with technology applications capable of accommodating the two groups is essential. Hybrid events should integrate virtual and in-person elements, allowing the entire audience to engage digitally. Airmeet’s video-on-demand feature is great for remote attendees while the talk show format can keep in-person audiences engaged in real-time. Other popular hybrid features include versatile streaming, 360-degree attendee analytics, AI-powered networking, and an interactive stage for boosted engagement.
Promotions Strategy: Developing a promotions strategy pre and post-event will keep attendees engaged throughout the entire process. Social media, email marketing, and owned content on the company website are all great options to both build excitement and retain engagement long after the event is over.
Debrief and follow-up: It’s important that your event does;t end once it’s over. Following up with all attendees via email or text is a great way to continue the conversations and get feedback. Offer surveys and encourage them to share their experiences on social media.
Let’s imagine that someone reading this interview has an idea for a live virtual event that they would like to develop. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Pick a platform that will work best for you and your event.
Pick the day and time that works for everyone on the team and lock it in.
Then you can begin to plan.
Super. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. 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.
Going back to the basics is an important part of long-term success and bringing more awareness to a solid morning routine would be a movement I would love to stand behind. We are inundated with information, tasks, projects, alerts, and societal pressure. Humans can be a lot more efficient if they pause every morning, disconnect from the deluge, work out, meditate, contemplate, organize and get their minds ready for the day. Just a few of these will help you be ready to execute the day with confidence and peace of mind.
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.
Paul Graham of YC. I have read his essays multiple times and have benefited from them greatly.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
“Have a strong backbone” — meaning that coming into any business, whether it be entertainment or any other business, you have to have a strong backbone to survive! People will try you, people will say any and everything about you to try and break you down to get the best of you. You can’t let them! It is okay to stand up for yourself and speak up. Especially in the entertainment business, it is extremely competitive and tough and not everybody is happy with your successes.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Antonio “Tony” Neville.
Antonio “Tony” Neville is a comedian, actor, and content creator from Raleigh, North Carolina. Growing up Neville dreamed about entertaining others and it was a natural career choice that he pursued theatre and comedy. Neville’s social media channels titled “HeyTonyTV’’ are filled with relatable and creative character skits and have skyrocketed him to national fame; with his TikTok alone at 3.7 million followers and growing. With the ability to capture audiences with many relatable characters, Neville’s comedy style is often compared to some of the comedic greats, including Eddie Murphy. Past partnerships include Nike, Lenovo, and hosting Raleigh’s 2022 LGBTQ+ Pride Parade.
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?
As a kid, I’ve always wanted to entertain people in some sort of way. I watched my grandfather growing up, DJing and hosting events. The smile he was able to put on people’s faces made me really want to give it a try. I fell in love with comedy around 15 or 16 years old. I really didn’t dive deep into it until my college years when I became president of the comedy club at my school! From there I created a path of my own.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re currently doing and how you are “disrupting” the TikTok comedic space?
I love it! I make relatable comedy and twist it into my own little world so that it’s funny but still relatable at the same time. I think with TikTok, during the time I was blowing up on the app, nobody was able to have access to the things I had access to because of Covid. Buses, schools, gyms, classrooms. I definitely had people wondering in every video “How did he get a…” and I’m not even a teacher!
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 did the “How Girls in High Series,” in the beginning there wasn’t a “laugh” just a Starbucks cup shake. In one particular video, I had to sneeze during the middle of filming it. So I sneezed and ended up laughing at the same time. I was going to delete it and start over but for whatever reason, after watching it back during the editing process, the wig flew up and I couldn’t stop laughing at the laugh/sneeze thing. So, I posted it and it became a viral sensation! Sometimes your worst mistakes can be your best mistakes!
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?
My grandfather was definitely one of my mentors. He used to host events and had his own radio segment. I remember taking trips with him to the radio station from time to time as a kid and listening to him on the radio. My grandfather showed me what it meant to entertain in your own way. The way people used to enjoy the music he played, the way he brought people together through his music choice, his unforgettable laugh, and his catchphrases made me appreciate what he was doing. He was making a mark on people’s lives so they would always remember him. I miss him and thank him for those experiences.
The next would be My Mother! She is my rock, my best friend, and someone I talk to about everything. I could share so many stories! She pushes me more than anyone I know. She has shown me what it’s like to be confident, to own your presence, and to have a tough backbone. I run some of my jokes by her, and she’ll tell me if they’re “ehh” or “good, but needs work”. Through thick and thin, through some of the crazy moments I’ve had as a teenager, she will never leave my side. Like I said before, we have so many stories, I would be here all day trying to pick the best one!
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? 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?
It all depends on how you set your intentions. I wanted to make people laugh and smile, especially during a time when we needed it. People couldn’t leave their homes or see their friends and family. We couldn’t go to work or school and be around one person without fear that we might catch Covid. I wanted to give people hope by disrupting their fear at the time. Laughter is the best medicine and even though at that time we weren’t able to see those teachers, students, co-workers, friends… watching a video that reminded you of someone in your life in a positive way gave you faith. Sharing that video with that person to help brighten their day is an excellent way of positive disruption. Now, when it comes to the negative, sometimes it’s all in how you say it and how you do it. It’s okay to joke and laugh. But when it becomes hurtful to someone’s culture, sexual identity, or ethnicity out of the expense of likes and follows, then that becomes a negative disruption. It’s never okay to do that. You never know what that person has been through or is going through. Just because you don’t know them or a screen is separating you from them, regardless words have power and can take a toll on a person’s mental state. Even if only you find it funny.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
“Have a strong backbone” — meaning that coming into any business, whether it be entertainment or any other business, you have to have a strong backbone to survive! People will try you, people will say any and everything about you to try and break you down to get the best of you. You can’t let them! It is okay to stand up for yourself and speak up. Especially in the entertainment business, it is extremely competitive and tough and not everybody is happy with your successes.
“Take time out for yourself!” — I am someone who strongly believes that mental health is important! Any industry can be demanding and draining sometimes. However, you have to take time out for yourself and your mental health. Relax, enjoy life, and find yourself a piece of mind! If you have fans that love you, they will be here when you return. Don’t overwork yourself because that’s when the cracks sometimes start to show.
“Be confident and be persistent in your goals” — It’s important to be confident in yourself as well as your dreams and aspirations in life. Nobody believes in you more than yourself! Not everyone will understand what you’re trying to accomplish in life and that’s okay. However, if you set your goals and intentions to what you’ve always wanted, it will come! Be confident in your craft, be persistent in your goals, and set a foundation for yourself to build slowly on. Slow and steady always wins the race!
“Get to know your craft, find your Niche” — Knowing your craft is so important! It also helps how you find your niche as well. Try out things, see what works, see what doesn’t, and build up your craft from there. Almost every entertainer, singer, comedian, actor, etc, have some kind of niche that separates them from their counterparts. Knowing your strongest points, weak points, and what works for you will take you very far. Once you have generated a loyal fan base then you can branch off and try different things and incorporate them into your work.
“Just have fun!” — Sure, setting a goal is just as important as working hard to achieve it. However, at some point, you have to relax, enjoy life and have fun! Life is about creating memories and gaining experiences that you’ll take with you forever. Having fun is included in that. Don’t take yourself too seriously so that you lose the fun in yourself and your work. I love to laugh, I love to have fun, and hang out with friends and family because that’s the time you can’t get back or recreate once we leave this earth. So live it up and enjoy it!
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Well, I don’t want to say too much, but I have a movie coming out next year, I’m working on a fun podcast and some other things I can’t wait for you all to see!
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 love the “Drinks with Champs” podcast! I remember watching an episode with Alicia Keys. She said that she had to eliminate negative things and people from her life in order to feel a sense of happiness. That sat with me because, as an influencer, you meet people and make friends, but you never know who’s going to be a positive influence on your life and a negative influence. You have to really balance out your circle and block out any negativity so that you can really focus on yourself, your brand, and your happiness! I totally agreed with Alicia on that one.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Life is so much easier when you stop explaining yourself to other people and just do what works for you!” Sometimes as a creator and an influencer, I used to spend a lot of time trying to make people happy with what “they wanted for me” when I wanted to do other things. I was afraid to step outside of the box. Then, I realized that I have to make myself happy! I have to explore my creative mind and be different! It works for me and I love being different. It takes time for people to get used to change but if they love you, they’ll stick around for the ride!
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.
To be kind to one another! That’s the movement I want to spark. Yes, we laugh, we joke, and we have a good time but I’d love to finally see people respect each other. Respect each other’s preferences, ideas, and walks of life… I just want to spread love around the world and see other people spread happiness as well.
How can our readers follow you online?
You can follow me on TikTok and Instagram at @HeyTonyTV!
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
