Tyrone Powell - Launching a Tech Start-Up, Basketball Career, and Mindfulness - Ep. #1

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Let's start there.
So what the like your car's here

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today, obviously.
Well, that's a rental car,

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actually.
Oh, so that's still not your

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car?
Still not You still don't have

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your?
Car After a month and a half, I

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still don't have my car.
I was impressed.

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And the crazy part is that
they're always.

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I called them about once or
twice a week to hear the status

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and they're like, oh, the parts
are being sent at the end of the

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week, oh, early next week.
And they keep pushing it back.

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So at that point I'm like, I
don't know when I'm going to get

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my car.
I have this rental car right

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now.
Hopefully I'll get it soon, but

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yeah.
Given I'm 6/6, I can't really

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fit.
And yeah, I'm like scrunched up

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a little bit, but it is what it
is.

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I was surprised to see it this
morning.

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I was like, Tyrone's a big dude.
Like you had the duck coming in

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the door.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, and I feel

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the same way in my car.
Like my head touches the room

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and I'm like, I can just barely
see over the room.

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So it's a struggle.
But man, So what happened in the

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accident?
So I was driving to my house and

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just somebody had was at the
stop sign and then just went

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right in front of me.
Didn't have time to see them

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because the car in front of me
was turning right into their

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lane and it was a bigger like
truck.

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So they couldn't see me behind
and then they just pulled out.

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And so they have time to slow
down, hit them.

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And then that was a month and a
half ago.

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Dang.
It was right before I was going

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to, I was going to go to France.
And it was, it was right before

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you were going to France.
I actually pushed France back

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for another week because I had
to take care of my car.

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It was actually three days
before I was supposed to leave

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for France.
And so I had to call the

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insurance, do all that stuff for
my car.

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And so I had to push France back
another week.

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But it's fine.
Were you able to switch your

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flight and everything O?
K Yeah, yeah, it was it was

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fine, I think.
Because I have the flying's blue

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pass, so I have some type of
insurance for it so I didn't

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have to pay any extra to push it
back.

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So yeah, how long it, how long
it had been since you've been to

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France the last time?
A year and a half last Christmas

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and then my parents came last
year for my college graduation

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and then before.
A lot this past Christmas, but

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the one before.
So Christmas of 2021 before

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that.
I haven't gone by in like 3-4

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years prior to COVID.
A year prior to COVID actually,

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because that's when I just had
the idea for you next.

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And so I was like, I would love
to come.

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But I just started this business
and I really want to start

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developing it.
And so she was like, oh, OK, I

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get it.
And then later that year, COVID

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hits.
So unfortunate, but yeah, so

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spot second time in the past
five years, Yeah, Yeah.

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And that was probably, I mean
that was when you next was fresh

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before you had any capital and
that was an idea.

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Yeah, that was an idea at first.
It was cause it was called

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Knowledge Seeker.
And so I didn't know that that

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was our first name.
We started, we started it two of

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my well, not cofounder because
we just started it for a school

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project originally.
We started it for the school

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project and then.
We didn't know what we were

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going to do at first.
The original idea for you next

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at the time dollar figure, I
don't know if a lot of people

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know this but we would connect
students to retired

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professionals in the field just
so they can ask question and be

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kind of this mentor to the
students.

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So we did that for a few months
for just for the competition

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that the competition release and
then I wanted to continue the

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business.
So I.

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Flipped it to more recent
professionals and so that's how

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it really all started.
But first it was knowledge

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seeker, which sounds corny, not
that I think about it like

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knowledge seeker, but at the at
the time, we needed a name.

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And so, yeah, yeah, it's the the
stakes are a little bit

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different for a school project
versus trying to get someone to

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give you a bunch of money to
make something of the like, like

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if they were at the table and
they said knowledge seeker,

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they'd probably back.
Yeah.

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Was the next one coming in here?
Like this.

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Fast though And then Unix just
came because I don't know, I

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really wanted to find a name
that had a double entendre.

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And so Unix for your next in
your career and Unix for

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universities next.
And so it's like for students

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their next path or high school
student and their path at the

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university.
And for the university students,

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their next path is to be
employed and so.

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Yeah, that's really the, the
reasoning behind creating you

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next.
Yeah.

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And at that time, I remember we
had a chance to talk about this

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quite a bit like you.
You kind of diagnosed that need,

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right, Where you saw that
students couldn't.

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Like there was no good way to
get a shadow.

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Like most students won't just
send an e-mail or something like

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that and say, hey, can I come
in?

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Although most people will answer
and say yes, but that bridge

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between that you kind of noticed
there wasn't one, right?

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Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.

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So.
First, I noticed that.

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And that was crazy to me, but a
lot of students didn't even know

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what a job shadowing was.
So still, yeah, so I'm like, OK,

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how could they get connected if
their only way that's being

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promoted by the universities is
through internships and jobs?

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Why don't they?
Why don't they just put more

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focus on job shadowing and know
a lot of universities?

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Didn't include those services in
their career services and didn't

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help students.
And I started having more

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conversation with students
because I found that problem

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myself.
And so I started off as a

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computer science major, like to
create stuff from scratch, like

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to see my idea flourish.
And that's something that's been

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with me since I can remember.
And so I thought that really

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computer science was a path for
me.

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And then.
I tried getting help connecting

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to a short term opportunity.
I didn't know if that would be

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just a one hour conversation or
a job shadowing, but I wanted

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some type of connection in the
computer science field because I

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didn't really know anyone.
And I knew that the professional

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world was different than just
the classes I was learning.

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And so I It took me about seven
months to land a shadowing

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opportunity in computer science.
I did the shadowing and I

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realized that computer science
wasn't for me because you have

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to sit in front of the desk just
cranking code for hours on end.

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And I'm like, I need more
interaction.

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I need to work on different
projects, not just one project

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for two weeks straight, just
cranking code.

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So I like the creative aspects
of it.

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I love the computer aspects of
it, but I understood that the

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lifestyle wasn't for me and so I
looked for other.

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Shadowing opportunities in
different fields and industry

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and more specially around
business because that's was my

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next field of interest and I
really started loving more

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marketing stuff, more
entrepreneurship.

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And so I knew that I wanted to
go within this Ave. of just

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marketing and entrepreneurship
in general, because me growing

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in France and that's something
that I've learned between the

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two different cultures.
Is that in France?

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Entrepreneurship is in, is in
discussed, is in, thought, is in

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displayed on TV like for
example, Shark Tank.

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I never knew what Shark Tank was
until I moved to the US and that

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just teaches kids, adults,
teenagers, whatever.

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It may be about entrepreneurship
and in France that you don't

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have access to that.
So I didn't really know

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entrepreneurship was possible.
I thought it was just.

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Completely separate field, that
it was just something I just

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never thought of growing up.
But going back to the original

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question, I'm kind of like
rambling on.

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But then I realized that
marketing and entrepreneurship

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was for me.
And then I started asking other

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questions other students about
have they gotten connected

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outside of internships and jobs?
And a lot would come to me

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saying, oh, I've heard good
things about your shadowing

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opportunity and.
I started doing more research

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and everything was just very
similar, just internship and

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jobs.
And so that's when I found a

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true disconnect and really
helping the students understand

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their major prior to committing
to an internship or a job,

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really making sure that is the
right one for them.

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But furthermore, and something
that a lot of students overlook,

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is.
Making sure that the employer

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shares the same culture and that
you're a good cultural fit, and

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that employers have different
cultures and a lot of students

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don't think that way.
They think that all because I'm

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working at a one job in this
company, the same job in this

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other company would be the same,
but it's really not.

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And so a lot of students don't
really think about that.

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So shadowing really enables the
students to understand different

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cultures, different job
responsibilities.

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And then just really overall
expense to student network,

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which at the end of the day the
network is key and definitely

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when finding a job and so really
helping student understand the

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meaning, the meaning behind
shadowing opportunities and how

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that can help them in their
career.

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And so doing more research on
that and finding that there

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isn't a lot of options, if any,
for students out there and so

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that's when.
Knowledge secret originally

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started but then transmitted
into you next.

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Yeah, yeah.
How how old were you when you

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moved to the US from France?
I was 15 years old.

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Fifteen.
Yeah, that's so it probably.

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I mean, outside of seeing Shark
Tank for the first time, that's

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a huge cultural shift in
general.

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Yeah.
How was it?

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Explain it.
Yeah, yeah.

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So my dad.
Is from the Milwaukee area.

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He went to Marquette University,
played basketball there, and

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then played professional
basketball over in France.

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And though so that's where he
met my mom.

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And so I grew up spending the
school year in France, in the

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summertime in the US.
So I.

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Had a good understanding of the
culture during the summer time,

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because then winter comes and
then you get a lot of snow here,

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which I wasn't ready for.
And then just the school in

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general here is completely
different than in France.

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And then just the culture around
learning is completely

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different.
And so that was a big shift.

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But in terms of the language, I
knew how to speak English since

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I can remember because I used to
speak English with my dad and

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French with my mom, and so that
really wasn't a change.

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I had family here, so I had
connections and then going to

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school you meet other people.
So it was the connection thing

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really wasn't the issue, but I
would want to say the

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educational piece and just how
everyone just.

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Freely talked about money, which
I wasn't used to it and I know

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it sounds it sounds abnormal,
but in France and I know a lot

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of countries in Europe, they're
really closed off about

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discussing financials.
And when it comes to

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entrepreneurship or investing or
different strategies around

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money.
And so when I came to the US and

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I saw that there was classes
teaching about money, there

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shows teaching about money,
people talk about investing

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strategies all the time.
And that's something that I was

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not used to in France.
And so that kind of got me

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thinking about business and
entrepreneurship early on

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because I didn't really know
that was a possibility.

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And I think that's something
awesome, that's.

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Comes with this country.
And so, yeah, that's something I

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really, really wasn't or having
been acclaimed to yet.

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Yeah, that that shift at like a
pivotal time too, is that has to

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be part of like why you can look
at things the way you do, right?

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Because, you know, having that
drastic change and seeing, you

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know, the the differences and
maybe the lapses of what's

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better or worse in different
things probably started you off

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at a young age to say, OK,
here's how I can provide

228
00:13:24,910 --> 00:13:27,670
something else that's better
than what's available.

229
00:13:27,790 --> 00:13:31,950
Yeah, yeah, most definitely.
And I think in retrospect, same

230
00:13:31,950 --> 00:13:36,830
with France as well, because in
France they do a lot better job

231
00:13:36,830 --> 00:13:39,950
at connecting students to their
career already on, I mean

232
00:13:39,950 --> 00:13:45,130
elementary school even and so.
Come into the US and seeing the

233
00:13:45,130 --> 00:13:48,610
lack of that, but then the US
has more of something and France

234
00:13:48,610 --> 00:13:51,210
have the lack of something.
He gave me, like you said, a

235
00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:54,890
good perspective on 2 on the two
different cultures and how to

236
00:13:54,890 --> 00:13:59,570
really adapt, serve in different
cultures based on what I see

237
00:13:59,570 --> 00:14:02,290
work in France, not work in the
US, so on and so forth.

238
00:14:02,450 --> 00:14:05,250
Yeah, it's like the value, the
value of diverse thought in a

239
00:14:05,250 --> 00:14:06,530
nutshell, right?
Exactly.

240
00:14:06,530 --> 00:14:09,250
Diverse thought is important.
Yeah, absolutely.

241
00:14:09,250 --> 00:14:12,610
Yeah.
And so yeah, the just growing up

242
00:14:12,610 --> 00:14:16,530
in the two different cultures.
It was probably enabled me to

243
00:14:16,530 --> 00:14:21,010
have this entrepreneurship mind
of seeing different markets, so

244
00:14:21,010 --> 00:14:24,090
in France and in the US and
really adapting to that.

245
00:14:24,250 --> 00:14:25,850
Yeah.
Do you remember a specific

246
00:14:25,850 --> 00:14:27,450
turning point when you were
like, maybe I want to be a

247
00:14:27,450 --> 00:14:29,170
business owner?
Like maybe that's for me.

248
00:14:30,850 --> 00:14:35,250
I had interest in it from a
young age, but I didn't think it

249
00:14:35,250 --> 00:14:38,490
was possible.
So it was like in the back of my

250
00:14:38,490 --> 00:14:41,850
mind, but it was never something
I was like, I want to do that I

251
00:14:41,850 --> 00:14:45,460
just had interest in.
Starting something.

252
00:14:45,660 --> 00:14:48,580
It wasn't even particularly
business, but just starting

253
00:14:48,580 --> 00:14:53,500
something.
And what was the pivotal point?

254
00:14:54,100 --> 00:15:04,420
I feel like there was oh, OK, in
high school I had a friend that

255
00:15:04,420 --> 00:15:06,980
did.
And that's actually the good

256
00:15:06,980 --> 00:15:09,100
thing you you asked that
question because that just

257
00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:12,260
reminded me.
So I had a friend that.

258
00:15:14,060 --> 00:15:18,900
Started ecommerce before
ecommerce was like really big on

259
00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:21,380
social media and media in
general.

260
00:15:21,380 --> 00:15:26,620
So he was getting items from
Wish or Alibaba or something

261
00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:32,220
like that and then reselling it
in the US and making a profit.

262
00:15:32,220 --> 00:15:35,180
And I thought that was really
cool because I've never seen it

263
00:15:35,180 --> 00:15:36,820
before.
The Internet wasn't talking

264
00:15:36,820 --> 00:15:40,640
about it at the time.
And I thought that was really

265
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,680
cool and I didn't know how he
would do it because at the time

266
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,160
I didn't know about which.
And on the Express he was like,

267
00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,840
I just got my supplier and he
has, he has cheaper items than

268
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:53,480
in the US.
So I get them.

269
00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,840
I do this type of marketing and
just the structure of

270
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,320
everything.
And at the time I was a

271
00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:07,740
sophomore in high school, so
20/20/15. 2015 And so he was a

272
00:16:07,740 --> 00:16:08,940
sophomore in high school as
well.

273
00:16:08,940 --> 00:16:11,500
And I just saw the structure
that he had.

274
00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:14,220
He was making money.
He had fun.

275
00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:17,500
He was in the sector that he
really liked.

276
00:16:17,820 --> 00:16:20,060
He was growing, he was learning
and I was.

277
00:16:20,460 --> 00:16:24,260
I just thought about it and I
was like, man, this guy is so

278
00:16:24,260 --> 00:16:26,780
cool.
He established this structure.

279
00:16:27,140 --> 00:16:30,540
He is so motivated.
He loves what he's doing and

280
00:16:31,020 --> 00:16:33,400
that just.
I think that was the first

281
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,920
really introduction that I had
to not only business, but

282
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,160
hearing somebody talk about
their business, how they

283
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,200
structured their business.
And that's when I was like

284
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,680
that's really cool.
I kind of want to do something

285
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,880
like that now.
And so yeah, I think that's was

286
00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:51,840
the first introduction to
business.

287
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,600
We became friends, talked about
business for a little bit.

288
00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,240
And then I got I took a computer
science class and I enjoyed it.

289
00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,400
So I wanted to go more down
route.

290
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,119
But first introduction of
business.

291
00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,599
My friend from high school.
Yeah, the people that got into

292
00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:10,400
that early made some bucks.
Yeah, yeah.

293
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,960
That's so that's fascinating.
It lines up directly with when

294
00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,119
you started like seeing those
conversations of entrepreneurial

295
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,760
and stuff being a possibility.
Yeah, yeah, that's great.

296
00:17:21,339 --> 00:17:25,140
So to switch a little bit, you
said your dad played

297
00:17:25,140 --> 00:17:27,660
professional basketball.
You played a lot of basketball,

298
00:17:27,660 --> 00:17:30,220
too.
I mean, tell me about that.

299
00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:31,660
You were, you were great in high
school.

300
00:17:31,660 --> 00:17:34,500
You started playing at UW GB.
How long did you play there and

301
00:17:34,780 --> 00:17:37,540
kind of what what was your
basketball story?

302
00:17:37,540 --> 00:17:44,140
Yeah, So my dad grew up in
Milwaukee, played high school

303
00:17:44,140 --> 00:17:48,060
basketball in Milwaukee.
Really famous basketball player?

304
00:17:49,430 --> 00:17:51,150
He was one of the best in the
state.

305
00:17:51,150 --> 00:17:54,910
Had multiple offers to play
Division One chose Marquette.

306
00:17:55,230 --> 00:17:57,390
Played four years in Marquette
University.

307
00:17:57,390 --> 00:18:01,470
He's in their Hall of Fame for
anyone that watches that his

308
00:18:01,470 --> 00:18:03,630
There's Trevor Powell if you
guys know him.

309
00:18:04,910 --> 00:18:10,550
But yeah, so basketball from a
young age, too.

310
00:18:10,630 --> 00:18:14,390
Yeah, yeah.
So he when moved to France and I

311
00:18:14,390 --> 00:18:17,830
remember him as a professional
athlete, that's my earliest

312
00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:23,070
memories is him on the
basketball court, just playing,

313
00:18:23,270 --> 00:18:26,310
traveling a lot of course during
basketball season and then

314
00:18:26,310 --> 00:18:30,270
coming back and playing.
So my earliest memories were of

315
00:18:30,270 --> 00:18:33,640
basketball and.
Fun facts and I don't, I don't

316
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,680
remember this, but my first
steps were on the basketball

317
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:41,520
court, actually chasing a
basketball family, which I found

318
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:46,360
out not too long ago.
And so that's a fun fact.

319
00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:51,040
But yeah, so just seeing my dad
being this professional athlete

320
00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,360
on the basketball court, just
spending a lot of hours and

321
00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:56,810
then.
Him starting to teach me about

322
00:18:56,810 --> 00:18:59,810
basketball.
It was in my jeans and so I just

323
00:18:59,810 --> 00:19:01,770
picked it up because I love the
sport.

324
00:19:02,290 --> 00:19:09,170
And then played basketball.
Started in a club at 4:00, but

325
00:19:09,170 --> 00:19:12,770
probably dribbled around the
house earlier than that.

326
00:19:13,770 --> 00:19:20,290
And then in France.
And then just really in love

327
00:19:20,290 --> 00:19:24,570
basketball in general, but I
just love sports so.

328
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,240
I always religiously played
basketball, but on the side I

329
00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:33,400
played soccer.
I did handball, which isn't a

330
00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:38,280
famous sport in the US, but it's
a mix of soccer and basketball.

331
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:46,040
And then I did judo.
I did a little bit of karate.

332
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:52,220
I did volleyball.
I played instruments and so I

333
00:19:52,220 --> 00:19:56,060
had passion in all these
different sports and hobbies and

334
00:19:56,060 --> 00:19:58,460
such, but basketball was my main
one.

335
00:19:58,460 --> 00:20:00,980
So I religiously played
basketball over the years and

336
00:20:00,980 --> 00:20:06,940
tapped into other sports and
then I moved.

337
00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:11,820
So I was born 45 minutes north
of Paris and then I played

338
00:20:11,820 --> 00:20:13,940
basketball there, but I
remember.

339
00:20:14,570 --> 00:20:17,930
I always played basketball
because they didn't have youth

340
00:20:17,930 --> 00:20:21,450
leagues.
I always played basketball 12,

341
00:20:21,450 --> 00:20:26,170
sometimes 3 levels up.
And so I was always the smallest

342
00:20:26,170 --> 00:20:29,450
one there, even though I'm tall
for my age.

343
00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:32,650
But when you get moved up,
you're you're the smallest one.

344
00:20:32,650 --> 00:20:36,530
So it enabled me to look at
basketball in a different way

345
00:20:36,570 --> 00:20:40,230
and play in a different way,
like I was shorter and smaller

346
00:20:40,230 --> 00:20:42,390
than everyone else.
And so growing up playing

347
00:20:42,390 --> 00:20:46,550
basketball against older people,
then when you get older it just

348
00:20:46,550 --> 00:20:52,670
changes your game and enables
you to be a lot better.

349
00:20:53,590 --> 00:20:55,070
Well, how much of it is
confidence?

350
00:20:55,550 --> 00:20:59,910
So much of sports is confidence.
And like, was your, was your dad

351
00:20:59,910 --> 00:21:02,150
like behind that?
Was he like, we're going to get

352
00:21:02,150 --> 00:21:04,030
Tyrone playing kids bigger than
him?

353
00:21:04,540 --> 00:21:06,020
Was it like, was that his plan,
you think?

354
00:21:06,340 --> 00:21:08,820
I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if
it was.

355
00:21:09,620 --> 00:21:12,340
I don't know if it was, but
maybe it was.

356
00:21:13,460 --> 00:21:16,220
But yeah, so much of it is
confident and that definitely

357
00:21:16,220 --> 00:21:19,100
builds your confidence up
because you play against these

358
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:22,180
people that are so much older
than you at the time you think

359
00:21:22,180 --> 00:21:25,020
they are.
And yeah, when you're, I mean

360
00:21:25,020 --> 00:21:27,660
when you're 911 year old is
huge.

361
00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:30,340
Exactly right.
That's an adult.

362
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:32,880
That's so funny.
Yeah.

363
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,800
I mean, that's exactly how I
thought, like, I was like, if I

364
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,560
can play against them and do
well against them, going against

365
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:41,720
my age should be a walk in the
park.

366
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,200
And so that really enabled me to
wire my mind.

367
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,440
But talking about confidence,
and that's another thing, is

368
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,800
that in the US they have a
different confidence and

369
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:58,700
especially about sports because
I mean trash talking in the US

370
00:21:58,700 --> 00:22:02,900
is just so common in France.
You would never see that, like

371
00:22:02,900 --> 00:22:06,540
people do not trash talking.
Like that competitive aspect is

372
00:22:06,540 --> 00:22:11,820
something that is really
prevalent in the US but not too

373
00:22:11,820 --> 00:22:17,340
much in other countries.
And so my dad like told me that

374
00:22:17,340 --> 00:22:20,780
mindset of being just ultra
competitive in sport and that

375
00:22:20,980 --> 00:22:27,310
just always working harder.
And so that really translated

376
00:22:27,310 --> 00:22:30,670
into sports and then business
and everything in general.

377
00:22:30,670 --> 00:22:33,670
But that's something that's
really American because in

378
00:22:33,670 --> 00:22:35,470
France they don't really have
that.

379
00:22:35,910 --> 00:22:39,910
They they have that competitive
aspects around sports, but not

380
00:22:39,910 --> 00:22:43,510
to the extent of the US.
Yeah, and I mean, you can see

381
00:22:43,510 --> 00:22:46,710
the difference in NBA players,
so of players that aren't from

382
00:22:46,710 --> 00:22:50,270
the US and players that are like
you can generally see.

383
00:22:51,460 --> 00:22:54,620
I mean nuanced differences in
their game, but differences in

384
00:22:54,620 --> 00:22:58,020
the the mental aspect of the
game and how they approach it

385
00:22:58,020 --> 00:23:00,660
and how they interact with not
only the other team but their

386
00:23:00,660 --> 00:23:03,860
teammates and stuff.
It's fascinating to see and just

387
00:23:03,860 --> 00:23:07,500
hearing the stories.
I mean like on the effects about

388
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:10,060
the Dream team, the Redeem team
and all of that.

389
00:23:10,100 --> 00:23:13,540
You see those, they go at each
other, they trash talk each

390
00:23:13,540 --> 00:23:16,620
other and they just go hard.
And that's something that isn't

391
00:23:16,620 --> 00:23:20,850
coming in other countries.
And you play basketball as well.

392
00:23:20,850 --> 00:23:23,410
You were an athlete as well.
So you definitely understand

393
00:23:23,410 --> 00:23:27,690
like how trash talking works and
how that brings the best into

394
00:23:27,850 --> 00:23:30,570
athletes.
And so yeah.

395
00:23:31,290 --> 00:23:33,450
There's that.
There's that ultra famous story

396
00:23:33,450 --> 00:23:38,450
about Kobe when they played Pau
Gasol.

397
00:23:38,770 --> 00:23:40,330
I'm pretty sure it was in the
Olympics.

398
00:23:40,530 --> 00:23:42,610
And Kobe told the team, he's
like, I'm going to run right

399
00:23:42,610 --> 00:23:44,170
through him the first play of
the game.

400
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,560
And then he did it.
And I like now hearing this,

401
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,440
I've never thought I'd been able
to think about it through this

402
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,160
late.
Like, imagine what Powell Powell

403
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,400
probably kind of knew because
they were friends.

404
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,040
But like, imagine what Powell's
teammates thought of that.

405
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:02,040
Like, you know what?
The people had to be awestruck

406
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,520
or something like that.
And that's the the mentality of

407
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:06,440
Kobe.
You know?

408
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,320
And I mean Kobe kind of a
similar story, right?

409
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,320
I mean, Kobe grew up in France
too.

410
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,440
I think it was Italy.
Italy, yeah.

411
00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,360
Yeah, his dad.
So similar story to mine.

412
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:20,920
So his dad is American, played
professional basketball in

413
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,760
Italy, so overseas.
And yeah, he grew up there and

414
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,920
then moved to the USI don't
know.

415
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,440
I think he moved in high school,
but I'm not sure.

416
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,520
Maybe it was earlier than that.
So yeah, similar story.

417
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:39,600
And then, yeah, that's a funny
story of his team, which are we

418
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:41,320
like?
Are they good?

419
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:42,840
Like, do they not like each
other?

420
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,880
Are we seeing one version of
them?

421
00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:48,160
But yeah, that's funny.
That's funny.

422
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,840
And see, after that they just
became friends.

423
00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:55,030
That's just a mentality that a
lot of countries outside of the

424
00:24:55,030 --> 00:24:58,910
US just aren't used to.
And I mean, he's Kobe, so he's

425
00:24:58,910 --> 00:25:02,110
definitely different, a
different breed, but yeah.

426
00:25:02,350 --> 00:25:06,510
Yeah, so did you, did you run
any of any of those different

427
00:25:06,510 --> 00:25:10,390
nuances of the game being like I
met you had to play some in

428
00:25:10,390 --> 00:25:14,510
Europe at some points and then
here like the the actual like

429
00:25:14,670 --> 00:25:17,390
playing of the game outside of
like the mental aspect, I mean,

430
00:25:17,390 --> 00:25:19,070
they play a little bit different
too.

431
00:25:19,190 --> 00:25:21,350
Did you run into any of that?
Did that affect any of your game

432
00:25:21,350 --> 00:25:24,620
here or vice versa?
Yeah, definitely.

433
00:25:25,140 --> 00:25:32,580
It's different basketball games.
So it took actually a lot of

434
00:25:32,580 --> 00:25:39,780
adjusting because in the US they
like to dribble and ISO and it's

435
00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:46,020
a lot more individualistic in
the US, While in France, if you

436
00:25:46,020 --> 00:25:49,230
take more than five dribbles,
your coach will take you out.

437
00:25:49,230 --> 00:25:51,910
You're like you got to pass that
and you'll shoot it if you're

438
00:25:51,910 --> 00:25:54,070
open.
So it's two different ball

439
00:25:54,070 --> 00:25:57,670
games.
And then growing up, I didn't

440
00:25:57,790 --> 00:26:01,350
really understood it as a kid.
And I played more so with the

441
00:26:01,350 --> 00:26:06,350
Americanized version of
basketball, which is it's okay

442
00:26:06,350 --> 00:26:09,590
to sometimes take 5 dribble in
place and then just pass the

443
00:26:09,590 --> 00:26:13,700
ball and such.
And then growing up, that's when

444
00:26:13,700 --> 00:26:17,580
I really started understanding,
OK, this is way different

445
00:26:17,580 --> 00:26:20,420
because when you're a team, when
you're a kid, the team isn't

446
00:26:20,420 --> 00:26:22,620
really organized, it's just you
play basketball.

447
00:26:22,900 --> 00:26:28,980
But then when I started, so OK,
so I'll go back a little bit.

448
00:26:29,300 --> 00:26:36,220
But then I moved to the South of
France after 10 years around

449
00:26:36,220 --> 00:26:40,220
Paris, and then when I moved to
the South of France, I started

450
00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:44,400
playing in teenager basketball.
And that's when they start

451
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,680
recruiting for professional
camps.

452
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,480
That's when they really start
recruiting.

453
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,520
So I was playing a lot more
competitive and I started

454
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,880
playing throughout France and
that's when I realized, holy

455
00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:59,480
crap, I can't just take 3
dribbles between my leg, cross

456
00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,120
somebody and go to the rim.
Everybody is good now.

457
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,120
And so that's really when
European basketball started

458
00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,840
kicking in.
And then I would do the summers

459
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,680
in the US where I would just
pass and then all of a sudden

460
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,240
somebody takes 5 triples, go to
the whole makeup basket and our

461
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,360
coach doesn't care.
So I started really implementing

462
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:26,160
both, I want to say a year or
two before I moved to the US,

463
00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:30,280
where I really started
understanding how my game could

464
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:35,640
transition from France into the
US because I started wanting to

465
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,280
be a point guard.
And so I needed to dribble a lot

466
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,440
more.
And so that really came in handy

467
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,080
with practicing with the older
kids and then going into the US

468
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,000
and such.
And so that's when my game

469
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,920
really elevated and then I
started.

470
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:57,240
I got invited to play for or got
selected for the youth national

471
00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:01,280
team for France.
And so that's when I really

472
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:05,000
started getting looks from
professional teams in France.

473
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,840
And that's really when my
basketball career started taking

474
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:14,000
a turn for the better.
And so then I decided to move to

475
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,480
the US in high school, played
basketball there and then.

476
00:28:18,620 --> 00:28:20,180
That was probably a hard
decision, right?

477
00:28:20,380 --> 00:28:24,820
Because over there, that's a
unique scenario where your dad

478
00:28:24,820 --> 00:28:27,500
played professionally.
So that's probably a certain

479
00:28:27,740 --> 00:28:30,540
advantage at some points that
people know your name, they know

480
00:28:30,540 --> 00:28:32,420
your dad.
But at the same point, the

481
00:28:32,420 --> 00:28:33,980
opportunity was probably
different here, right?

482
00:28:34,060 --> 00:28:34,660
Yeah.
Yeah.

483
00:28:34,740 --> 00:28:39,140
So, So yeah, it was a tough
decision.

484
00:28:39,140 --> 00:28:43,340
I mean, that was.
So I had a few options.

485
00:28:43,380 --> 00:28:48,510
I could go to the professional
team in France, they have youth

486
00:28:48,510 --> 00:28:50,790
teams underneath the
professional team.

487
00:28:50,790 --> 00:28:54,270
And so when you get older that
increases your chances of

488
00:28:54,270 --> 00:28:55,910
playing professionally for that
team.

489
00:28:56,110 --> 00:28:58,670
You play more basketball, is
more structured.

490
00:28:58,990 --> 00:29:01,670
And so that was a big
opportunity for me to

491
00:29:01,670 --> 00:29:06,070
continuously grow on my, at the
time, NBA aspirations.

492
00:29:07,150 --> 00:29:11,360
And so I was strongly debating
that.

493
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:15,600
But then I wanted to move to the
US as well because this is the

494
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:20,160
basketball capital.
My dad had a lot to teach me.

495
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:22,720
And so I was just really
hesitant.

496
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,200
And I love just the US culture
and I know that eventually I

497
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,920
wanted to move here.
And so that decision was a tough

498
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:31,760
one.
I talked to a lot of people

499
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:36,810
about a friend's family and
decided to come to the US and

500
00:29:36,810 --> 00:29:38,930
other think about it.
If I wouldn't have made that

501
00:29:38,930 --> 00:29:43,330
decision, I probably would have
went to high school and College

502
00:29:43,370 --> 00:29:46,330
in France and so that would have
just changed the course of my

503
00:29:46,330 --> 00:29:53,010
life and so, so yeah, so I
decided to go to the US and that

504
00:29:53,010 --> 00:29:56,450
was, that was a big decision,
one of the biggest one I've I've

505
00:29:56,450 --> 00:30:01,410
had to take yet.
Yeah, so you know when you think

506
00:30:01,410 --> 00:30:04,240
of.
Like towards the end of that,

507
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,640
then when basketball starts
maybe diminishing and

508
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:12,280
entrepreneurship, business
ownership starts climbing,

509
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,160
that's another decision.
Like how?

510
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,000
How did you approach that in
life?

511
00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,040
Yeah, yeah.
So then, yeah, I played two

512
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,160
years of basketball at UW Green
Bay.

513
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:28,600
And halfway into my second year,
So halfway into my sophomore

514
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:33,610
year, the idea of you and I
started to come into fruition.

515
00:30:33,610 --> 00:30:38,410
I want to say quite quite.
Not yet, but I started to think

516
00:30:38,410 --> 00:30:41,770
about it and started to ask
questions about it, talk to

517
00:30:41,770 --> 00:30:45,410
people about it.
And so you next started to be

518
00:30:45,410 --> 00:30:48,570
more and more on my mind.
And then basketball.

519
00:30:48,730 --> 00:30:51,570
I was just still playing
basketball with the team, loved

520
00:30:51,570 --> 00:30:55,890
it.
And then all of a sudden I had a

521
00:30:55,890 --> 00:31:05,350
conversation with the career
services at GB and then an

522
00:31:05,350 --> 00:31:08,350
employer, and they really love
the idea.

523
00:31:08,390 --> 00:31:12,030
And they started to give me
feedback on how that could work.

524
00:31:12,030 --> 00:31:16,230
And then that employer asked him
for a reference and he gave me

525
00:31:16,230 --> 00:31:18,310
the name of five other
employers.

526
00:31:18,710 --> 00:31:21,670
And that's when I started really
having a structure playing

527
00:31:21,670 --> 00:31:23,950
around you next to see where.
The door started to creak.

528
00:31:24,150 --> 00:31:25,790
Yeah, exactly.
The door.

529
00:31:25,790 --> 00:31:29,030
Like I could see the light at
the end of the door, so in the

530
00:31:29,110 --> 00:31:32,730
door.
So I just started to find more

531
00:31:32,730 --> 00:31:37,290
and more interest in business
and just building that entire

532
00:31:37,290 --> 00:31:43,290
infrastructure.
And I don't know, for some

533
00:31:43,290 --> 00:31:46,290
reason I started spending more
and more time with business than

534
00:31:46,290 --> 00:31:54,010
basketball.
And then finals hits and I had

535
00:31:54,010 --> 00:32:00,880
basketball business and finals
and so I was like okay.

536
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,840
I don't know how much longer I
can take of all the mix of all

537
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,960
three because even till this day
I don't know how I did it.

538
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:13,360
Like just mixing the three,
which individually are all super

539
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,360
time consuming.
I had no life for solid two to

540
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:21,480
three month and so I understood
that in order for me to scale

541
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:24,640
Unix, I would have to either
drop school or basketball.

542
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:30,590
I was not going to drop school.
So I had really had to have a

543
00:32:30,590 --> 00:32:36,350
conversation with myself, not
only but my family, friends and

544
00:32:37,110 --> 00:32:42,590
just get their perspective on
basketball, on business.

545
00:32:42,950 --> 00:32:48,150
And at that time I just I could
see myself playing professional

546
00:32:48,150 --> 00:32:52,630
basketball less and less.
I was like, I love basketball,

547
00:32:52,630 --> 00:32:55,670
but could I see it as one of my
careers?

548
00:32:56,170 --> 00:32:59,770
I knew I wasn't going to make it
to the NBA unless I spend

549
00:32:59,770 --> 00:33:02,850
another 10 hours every day
playing basketball and therefore

550
00:33:03,050 --> 00:33:05,210
leave you next.
And I didn't want to leave you

551
00:33:05,210 --> 00:33:07,930
next, which at the time, it was
not a seeker.

552
00:33:09,010 --> 00:33:12,170
And so you had just a whole
bunch of conversation, and I

553
00:33:12,170 --> 00:33:17,250
decided to pick you next and had
the conversation with my coach.

554
00:33:18,370 --> 00:33:20,330
I explained you next.
He loved it.

555
00:33:20,810 --> 00:33:24,130
And so, yeah, I decided to step
away from basketball.

556
00:33:24,130 --> 00:33:29,170
But I mean, after 18 years, 19
years of playing basketball at

557
00:33:29,170 --> 00:33:31,330
that time, it was a tough
decision, but.

558
00:33:31,890 --> 00:33:36,290
Probably freeing in some way.
Like a deep breath.

559
00:33:36,610 --> 00:33:37,450
Yeah.
Wow.

560
00:33:38,690 --> 00:33:41,930
I mean, eventually.
Initially, yes.

561
00:33:42,210 --> 00:33:45,530
Initially, yes.
But then I want to say a year

562
00:33:45,530 --> 00:33:48,730
after stopping basketball, I
like, started missing.

563
00:33:49,130 --> 00:33:53,510
And I think that was partially
my fault because I went from

564
00:33:53,510 --> 00:33:58,510
being an athlete playing Do you
want college basketball to not

565
00:33:58,510 --> 00:34:01,230
really playing any sports
Rarity, because I was just so

566
00:34:01,230 --> 00:34:06,710
focused on schooling you next
and so your win by And then I

567
00:34:06,710 --> 00:34:08,469
started to miss basketball a
lot.

568
00:34:08,830 --> 00:34:10,830
I started to miss the
competition.

569
00:34:10,830 --> 00:34:14,590
Just the memories that you have
on and off the court with your

570
00:34:14,590 --> 00:34:19,380
team, just the chemistry within
the team, you could definitely

571
00:34:19,380 --> 00:34:22,820
transition that into business,
but it's a little bit different

572
00:34:22,820 --> 00:34:25,139
than it with sports because
you're active, you're playing

573
00:34:25,139 --> 00:34:29,380
sports as well.
And so I missed that aspect.

574
00:34:29,380 --> 00:34:33,300
And so I understood that I
needed to be more active sports

575
00:34:33,300 --> 00:34:35,380
wise.
I can go from playing sports all

576
00:34:35,380 --> 00:34:39,620
the time to just doing business.
And so I started reintegrating

577
00:34:39,620 --> 00:34:43,420
sports within by daily routines,
and that's when it went a lot

578
00:34:43,420 --> 00:34:45,670
better and started to free
myself again.

579
00:34:45,670 --> 00:34:48,949
But yeah, initially, just
stopping basketball, it was like

580
00:34:48,949 --> 00:34:52,110
this freeing like OKI think I
made the right decision.

581
00:34:52,190 --> 00:34:55,710
My business is going well.
I love what I'm doing right now.

582
00:34:55,909 --> 00:34:58,150
This is great.
And then eventually it started

583
00:34:58,150 --> 00:35:02,390
picking up.
So yeah, I, I cold Turkey really

584
00:35:02,390 --> 00:35:05,390
stopped playing a lot of sports.
But that wasn't the right

585
00:35:05,390 --> 00:35:09,150
decision mentally.
And so when I started picking

586
00:35:09,150 --> 00:35:12,900
that back up, it was it was a
lot more freeing once again,

587
00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:15,660
yeah.
Yeah, it's a It's really neat to

588
00:35:15,660 --> 00:35:20,380
think about the both, the
overlaps of similarities, but at

589
00:35:20,380 --> 00:35:22,940
the same time the massive
differences between like a

590
00:35:22,940 --> 00:35:26,180
commitment to and a dedication
to being good at a sport or

591
00:35:26,180 --> 00:35:30,300
being an athlete and having a
business or being in business.

592
00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:31,780
It doesn't have to even be
yours.

593
00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:38,930
I think longterm successes.
Being an athlete transitions to

594
00:35:38,930 --> 00:35:41,970
success in the business world so
well because athletes know how

595
00:35:41,970 --> 00:35:44,490
to set a goal and work towards a
goal.

596
00:35:44,490 --> 00:35:46,610
And I mean it teaches us so much
discipline, right?

597
00:35:47,250 --> 00:35:50,850
Like especially you said it, I
think it gets overlooked the

598
00:35:50,850 --> 00:35:55,090
commitment that any D1 athlete
takes to their of their time and

599
00:35:55,090 --> 00:35:58,210
out of their life.
Like we don't see the work that

600
00:35:58,210 --> 00:36:03,610
gets put in by those athletes.
And then you you think about how

601
00:36:03,610 --> 00:36:05,850
that dedication and that
discipline?

602
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:08,920
How that equates to success in
the business world, it does for

603
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,400
everybody, right?
But at the same time, I think

604
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:15,440
one of the main differences and
something that I noticed outside

605
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:19,800
of just like it being great for
your mental health to be active

606
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:24,160
and and you know, keep your body
engaged so you can keep your

607
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:26,960
mind engaged.
Outside of that even I think one

608
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,640
of the huge differences that
I've diagnosed is that business

609
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:33,600
successes take so long, they
take so long.

610
00:36:34,150 --> 00:36:36,390
And you have to.
That discipline is working

611
00:36:36,390 --> 00:36:39,910
towards something.
But in sports, like if you're

612
00:36:39,910 --> 00:36:42,630
practicing six days a week,
seven days a week, basketball,

613
00:36:43,150 --> 00:36:46,750
even if you go run an open gym,
you can cross the dude up and

614
00:36:46,750 --> 00:36:49,830
you're like, all right, my
work's working and that's great

615
00:36:49,830 --> 00:36:51,670
for your brain.
Like your confidence keeps you

616
00:36:51,670 --> 00:36:54,190
going.
If that doesn't happen so much

617
00:36:54,190 --> 00:36:57,830
in business unless like.
You know you get super lucky

618
00:36:57,830 --> 00:37:00,190
where you have a random
conversation that you can spit

619
00:37:00,190 --> 00:37:02,630
out an elevator pitch quick and
they're like, OK, here's my

620
00:37:02,630 --> 00:37:05,830
card.
Other than that, it's like this

621
00:37:05,830 --> 00:37:11,270
slow burn towards success where
athletes I that was one thing I

622
00:37:11,270 --> 00:37:13,710
missed.
That was like immediately you

623
00:37:13,710 --> 00:37:17,510
can see your work come into play
like it, you know, if I I love

624
00:37:17,510 --> 00:37:20,910
golf, if I chip and putt for an
hour, I can go on the green and

625
00:37:20,910 --> 00:37:22,990
if I knock a few chips close,
I'm like, all right.

626
00:37:23,350 --> 00:37:33,510
That's why I'm here, right?
Yeah, no, that's definitely

627
00:37:33,510 --> 00:37:26,150
true.
Being a business owner isn't

628
00:37:26,150 --> 00:37:28,190
like that.
Everything takes so long and you

629
00:37:28,190 --> 00:37:30,350
have to be so patient.
And I think that's a big

630
00:37:30,350 --> 00:37:36,990
difference.
Because I remember if I just the

631
00:37:36,990 --> 00:37:41,110
day before, if I just spend 5
hours just constantly shooting

632
00:37:41,110 --> 00:37:45,570
threes and then I just take the
day off and then the next day at

633
00:37:45,570 --> 00:37:48,730
practice I would just make a lot
more threes.

634
00:37:48,730 --> 00:37:52,050
Because the day prior I just
shot 1000 threes.

635
00:37:52,290 --> 00:37:55,730
But in business, and that's
something that I was not ready

636
00:37:55,730 --> 00:38:00,050
for, win starting new days,
nobody is exactly like, no,

637
00:38:00,050 --> 00:38:03,130
everyone thinks of business is
just going to go smoothly like

638
00:38:03,130 --> 00:38:06,150
that.
If they have a plan, it is so

639
00:38:06,150 --> 00:38:09,510
far from the truth.
And I didn't think that because

640
00:38:09,630 --> 00:38:12,630
in basketball it's like you do
the right things.

641
00:38:12,630 --> 00:38:15,750
You put in the hours and within
a week you're gonna start to see

642
00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:21,670
significant results.
And business is like, you put in

643
00:38:21,670 --> 00:38:26,030
the hours, you do the research,
you grow this piece for a few

644
00:38:26,030 --> 00:38:30,030
months and then all of a sudden
the market changes or there's a

645
00:38:30,030 --> 00:38:32,390
new competitor or there's
something, there's always

646
00:38:32,390 --> 00:38:35,310
something moving in business.
And you're like, now I need to

647
00:38:35,310 --> 00:38:39,110
readjust everything I just did
or I need to think about this in

648
00:38:39,110 --> 00:38:41,750
a different way or you learn
something new and that just

649
00:38:41,750 --> 00:38:45,910
changes everything.
And so business is definitely a

650
00:38:45,910 --> 00:38:48,190
roller coaster.
But like you said, half feet

651
00:38:48,190 --> 00:38:52,730
just do well in this area
because of the discipline and

652
00:38:52,730 --> 00:38:58,210
the hard work because everyone I
played against especially at the

653
00:38:58,210 --> 00:39:02,130
Division One level, the amount
of hours that they put in, just

654
00:39:02,370 --> 00:39:05,770
working on basketball, just
saying know that things just to

655
00:39:06,490 --> 00:39:09,810
make workouts, make games and
all of that is just a lot of

656
00:39:09,810 --> 00:39:13,010
discipline hard work and saying
and doing it even though you

657
00:39:13,010 --> 00:39:15,610
don't want to do it.
And so that, that transition

658
00:39:15,930 --> 00:39:20,870
into business.
And so that that is 1 aspects of

659
00:39:20,870 --> 00:39:23,430
sports.
That really transition is the

660
00:39:23,430 --> 00:39:27,550
discipline and the hard work
that it takes to become good at

661
00:39:27,550 --> 00:39:32,710
a sport and then just
transitioning that into

662
00:39:32,710 --> 00:39:35,030
business.
But additionally, there's

663
00:39:35,030 --> 00:39:39,270
another aspect that I want to
touch on because I've seen it a

664
00:39:39,270 --> 00:39:43,520
lot of times is that's not
necessarily true for everyone,

665
00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:45,800
but I guess it is true for
everyone.

666
00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:48,040
But it depends what they get
themselves into.

667
00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:53,200
So if an athlete decides to
start a business, but they don't

668
00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:56,120
necessarily like it or they
enjoy playing their sports more

669
00:39:56,120 --> 00:40:00,600
than doing the business, they'll
be like, you know what, maybe I

670
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,560
can relax this week.
And so they'll have a different

671
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:07,320
mentality over their business or
venture or anything that they do

672
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:10,680
that's not sports related.
And so it's really once.

673
00:40:11,050 --> 00:40:14,370
And that's the hard thing about
athletes is really once you're

674
00:40:14,370 --> 00:40:17,650
not playing sports anymore, what
are you going to do?

675
00:40:17,650 --> 00:40:22,850
What are you going to do?
And so that's that's been a

676
00:40:22,850 --> 00:40:25,810
reoccurring topic and I actually
talked to a lot of my old

677
00:40:25,810 --> 00:40:30,290
teammates regarding my business
and how I transition from sports

678
00:40:30,290 --> 00:40:33,220
to business and they're like, I
don't know what I want to do

679
00:40:33,220 --> 00:40:34,980
now, how did you come up to
that?

680
00:40:35,260 --> 00:40:39,380
And so they have this hunger
that they had in sports where

681
00:40:39,380 --> 00:40:41,820
they want to work on something
but they just don't know what.

682
00:40:41,820 --> 00:40:45,900
So it's really for athletes is
understanding what do I love to

683
00:40:45,900 --> 00:40:50,020
do that's not sports related
that I could possibly do as a

684
00:40:50,020 --> 00:40:53,260
career if I don't do sports.
And that's the hardest part of

685
00:40:53,260 --> 00:40:55,540
it all.
But once half these really

686
00:40:55,540 --> 00:40:59,360
figured that piece of themselves
out, then they can put in the

687
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:03,640
hours that they did with sports.
But it's not necessarily a

688
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:07,800
guarantee that an athlete would
work as hard in their career as

689
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:11,720
they did in their sports.
So it wires your brain to do so,

690
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:14,480
but then you have to do some
self searching to see okay.

691
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:18,280
I know I can put in the work in
the hours, but what am I going

692
00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:20,800
to put it in?
And what am I passionate about

693
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:22,720
exactly?
Yeah, that's a huge thing.

694
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,920
Thinking about that, all I can
think about is the agility you

695
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:30,840
mentioned there and how much a I
is going to change what your

696
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,960
business is doing or evolve what
your business is doing what.

697
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:36,600
What have you found with a I so
far?

698
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:43,880
I mean, A I is scary.
I was not expecting A I to be

699
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:47,640
this powerful and I thought it
would come in segments.

700
00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,600
Well, I did think A I would be
this power for you eventually,

701
00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:54,480
but not right away.
And it took some exploring, it

702
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:58,360
took some exploring it.
Just understanding the different

703
00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:04,200
types of a I that are out there
is just a research on its own.

704
00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:08,920
But then the possibilities that
you can do with a I is really

705
00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:12,040
looking at it from a different
perspective because there's so

706
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:17,010
many different things that a I
can do right now that nobody has

707
00:42:17,010 --> 00:42:19,450
ever thought of.
And it's just who's going to be

708
00:42:19,450 --> 00:42:24,050
the first one to understand that
a I works this certain way.

709
00:42:24,050 --> 00:42:28,890
So it's just spending a lot of
time with a I just teaching it,

710
00:42:28,890 --> 00:42:32,930
but also enabling you to enabled
in it to teach you some things.

711
00:42:32,930 --> 00:42:37,010
And so just understanding how it
works, how you can code around

712
00:42:37,010 --> 00:42:41,090
it, implemented in different
software, is just a long journey

713
00:42:41,090 --> 00:42:44,130
of just learning a new skill.
It's just like learning a new

714
00:42:44,130 --> 00:42:47,890
sport, learning something new.
And that's something I've always

715
00:42:47,890 --> 00:42:50,370
been passionate about.
And if I find something

716
00:42:50,370 --> 00:42:53,210
interesting, I'll Start learning
about it and I'll find it a lot

717
00:42:53,210 --> 00:42:57,490
more interesting.
And that could be a flaw or

718
00:42:57,490 --> 00:43:01,730
benefit of mine to find so many
different things interesting.

719
00:43:01,770 --> 00:43:06,480
But yeah, A I has definitely
enabled us to do business a lot

720
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:12,840
easier, get more done, but also
just looking at different

721
00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:17,160
industries in a new way.
And so A I is going to be a long

722
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:22,160
process to implement in
different industries and there's

723
00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,800
small steps to doing it, but
recognizing Okay, how can that

724
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:29,880
affect the recruiting industry
which we were in or how can

725
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:33,880
college student take advantage
of that this fees and so really

726
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:36,620
understanding how we can change
markets.

727
00:43:36,620 --> 00:43:39,700
But yeah, it's been it's been a
lot of fun so far.

728
00:43:39,900 --> 00:43:43,020
Yeah, Do you, do you have like a
process for something like that?

729
00:43:43,020 --> 00:43:47,220
Like as you know, you carry this
weight of, you know, founder,

730
00:43:47,220 --> 00:43:48,740
right.
Like this is your thing.

731
00:43:49,100 --> 00:43:53,220
You next is your you know, it's
your baby that's developing into

732
00:43:53,500 --> 00:43:55,540
hopefully everything you want it
to be and more.

733
00:43:55,780 --> 00:44:01,180
What's your process for like,
you know, recognizing the need

734
00:44:01,180 --> 00:44:07,930
for a change And then?
Going through the steps to one,

735
00:44:07,930 --> 00:44:13,770
determine if you need it or two.
Once you do implementing that

736
00:44:13,770 --> 00:44:16,290
change, like how do you work
through those types of things,

737
00:44:16,490 --> 00:44:21,250
Yeah, so the first aspects is
like you said, do I need it or

738
00:44:21,250 --> 00:44:24,090
do I want it?
And being a startup, being so

739
00:44:24,090 --> 00:44:26,370
small, you really have to be
careful what you do with your

740
00:44:26,370 --> 00:44:30,280
resources because that could put
you month behind or month

741
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:33,800
forward.
And so do I need it or do I want

742
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:38,200
it?
And then if I need it, then I

743
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:41,800
know this may be weird, but I
asked myself again, do I really

744
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:46,040
need it though?
And so that enables me to do a

745
00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:52,280
lot more research on it and to
find out if I can implement it

746
00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:55,560
in our capacity.
So in terms of cold budget time,

747
00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,540
I'm sorry.
Sorry, that's okay.

748
00:45:02,340 --> 00:45:04,340
Everything So much is budget at
that point.

749
00:45:04,620 --> 00:45:09,180
So much, almost all of it.
I mean just budget and time in

750
00:45:09,180 --> 00:45:11,860
general.
And so yeah, just doing the

751
00:45:11,860 --> 00:45:18,700
proper research but also having
a lot of conversations about it.

752
00:45:18,700 --> 00:45:25,060
And so I which goes with hand in
hand with research, but before I

753
00:45:25,060 --> 00:45:30,030
implement something, I'll talk
to 50 different peoples about it

754
00:45:30,070 --> 00:45:31,990
and then just get their point of
view.

755
00:45:32,230 --> 00:45:35,110
And then I'll look if it fits
into the market.

756
00:45:35,110 --> 00:45:39,030
I'll look at if anyone else is
doing it and how they're doing

757
00:45:39,030 --> 00:45:44,630
it and would happen when they
implemented it, when they didn't

758
00:45:44,630 --> 00:45:47,190
implement it.
And so there is this entire

759
00:45:47,190 --> 00:45:52,910
process that I look for, but the
main one is, does it align with

760
00:45:52,910 --> 00:45:56,930
our mission and values?
Does this align with Unix?

761
00:45:56,930 --> 00:46:01,210
And 1st you have to establish
what Unix is and that really

762
00:46:01,210 --> 00:46:06,570
enables, that really enables a
business owner to just look

763
00:46:06,650 --> 00:46:10,210
outside of their business.
And So what I mean by that is

764
00:46:10,210 --> 00:46:13,450
business owners should always
fall in love with the problem,

765
00:46:13,490 --> 00:46:17,690
not the solution.
And so a lot of business owners,

766
00:46:17,690 --> 00:46:21,170
they find the problem and then
they find their solution and

767
00:46:21,170 --> 00:46:25,610
they're just so focused on their
solution that they don't look at

768
00:46:25,610 --> 00:46:30,050
different ways to solve their
problem that may not be their

769
00:46:30,050 --> 00:46:33,850
solution but that could get
there faster or more convenient.

770
00:46:34,130 --> 00:46:37,970
And so a lot of business owners
just get so focused on the way

771
00:46:37,970 --> 00:46:40,410
that I'm doing it is the best
way and there's no other way.

772
00:46:40,690 --> 00:46:43,490
And so if you fall in love with
the problem and that your

773
00:46:43,490 --> 00:46:48,410
solution, you'll constantly look
for new ways to make your

774
00:46:48,410 --> 00:46:51,190
business better.
And when with maybe not when you

775
00:46:51,190 --> 00:46:54,110
have an established business
that you proved yourself, then

776
00:46:54,350 --> 00:46:58,430
you know that your solution is
is a powerhouse in the industry.

777
00:46:58,430 --> 00:47:00,550
And so you can kind of just add
to that.

778
00:47:00,550 --> 00:47:03,350
But when you're a startup and
when you're constantly analyzing

779
00:47:03,350 --> 00:47:06,310
the market and trying to
penetrate it in different ways,

780
00:47:06,550 --> 00:47:08,470
you have to fall in love with
the problem.

781
00:47:08,470 --> 00:47:15,630
And understanding different
tools can just, even if you're

782
00:47:15,630 --> 00:47:20,730
not going to implement it, can
enable you to maybe a year down

783
00:47:20,730 --> 00:47:24,410
the line find a new way of doing
something, even if you're not

784
00:47:24,410 --> 00:47:26,290
going to implement it.
Now if you have a good

785
00:47:26,290 --> 00:47:29,850
understanding of a I, which I
think all startups should have,

786
00:47:29,850 --> 00:47:32,810
especially in the tech world,
even if you're not going to

787
00:47:32,810 --> 00:47:35,490
implement it now, maybe a year
or two down the line, you're

788
00:47:35,490 --> 00:47:38,770
going to remember something and
that's going to enable you to

789
00:47:38,770 --> 00:47:40,850
pivot.
So yeah, there's a lot of

790
00:47:40,850 --> 00:47:43,690
research I do.
I could talk about this all day,

791
00:47:43,690 --> 00:47:47,870
obviously, but yeah, falling in
love with the problem, not the

792
00:47:47,870 --> 00:47:51,270
solution, really enables you to
look at your business in a

793
00:47:51,310 --> 00:47:54,150
completely different way.
That's such a great way to look

794
00:47:54,150 --> 00:47:56,350
at it because when you stop
solving problems, you stop

795
00:47:56,350 --> 00:48:00,030
making progress.
Like then then you know that

796
00:48:00,030 --> 00:48:01,950
there's an adage.
I can't remember exactly how it

797
00:48:01,950 --> 00:48:06,030
goes, but it's either it boils
down to you're either making

798
00:48:06,030 --> 00:48:08,030
progress or going forward or
moving backwards.

799
00:48:08,030 --> 00:48:11,590
Like there's no like staying
stag and if you're not solving

800
00:48:11,590 --> 00:48:15,540
the next problem.
Those problems are eventually

801
00:48:15,540 --> 00:48:17,500
going to eat you more and more
and more.

802
00:48:17,500 --> 00:48:19,540
That's such a fantastic way to
look at it.

803
00:48:19,580 --> 00:48:21,860
I've never, I've never heard it
put that way, but that's great,

804
00:48:21,860 --> 00:48:24,260
man.
Is that something you came up

805
00:48:24,260 --> 00:48:25,740
with?
Did you get that from a mentor?

806
00:48:25,900 --> 00:48:27,020
I did.
I did.

807
00:48:27,020 --> 00:48:31,700
I get that from the Blueprint
program here in town.

808
00:48:31,700 --> 00:48:34,940
Is for small startups in Green
Bay.

809
00:48:35,820 --> 00:48:39,340
Just to have an accelerator.
Talk to mentors and such.

810
00:48:39,380 --> 00:48:44,730
And he, what was his name?
I think a Rashad was his name

811
00:48:45,130 --> 00:48:47,730
and he was like, when you have a
startup, you need to fall in

812
00:48:47,730 --> 00:48:50,010
love with the problem, not the
solution.

813
00:48:50,250 --> 00:48:54,050
And all of a sudden I'll pause.
I was like, wait a second, what

814
00:48:54,050 --> 00:48:56,970
did you just say?
Because I never looked at it

815
00:48:56,970 --> 00:49:00,250
that way.
And when he said that, I just, I

816
00:49:00,250 --> 00:49:05,610
did a entire break on Unix and I
was like, OK, what pieces can I

817
00:49:05,610 --> 00:49:07,170
add?
Like what is our problem?

818
00:49:07,170 --> 00:49:13,010
And now that's once we establish
our mission, our vision, then

819
00:49:13,010 --> 00:49:15,770
the problem really falls into
those line and the problem

820
00:49:15,770 --> 00:49:18,450
statement of course.
And then once we add something,

821
00:49:18,450 --> 00:49:20,450
we're like, does that fit into
our problem?

822
00:49:20,450 --> 00:49:23,250
Does that fit into into what
we're trying to solve?

823
00:49:23,250 --> 00:49:26,730
And there's so many different
ways of thinking outside of the

824
00:49:26,730 --> 00:49:33,890
box that it may not look like
your initial initial idea, but

825
00:49:33,890 --> 00:49:38,520
it will solve the same problem.
And yeah, that's that's been a

826
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:40,200
game changer.
Absolutely.

827
00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:42,960
Those Nuggets always come from
mentors like that.

828
00:49:43,240 --> 00:49:47,320
And I think a lot of people,
even those that are extremely

829
00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:50,840
successful in business or
whatever work they do, I think

830
00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:55,480
overlook the importance of
mentors or someone that's done

831
00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:57,240
the same thing you're trying to
do.

832
00:49:57,600 --> 00:50:00,520
I'll be it, it could be in a
completely different capacity or

833
00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:03,800
something, but a lot of times
similar to our conversation

834
00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:06,280
about sports to business
success.

835
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:09,160
Overlaps.
It happens for a reason.

836
00:50:09,200 --> 00:50:13,640
And when you can find somebody
that has success and then if you

837
00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:17,240
get the opportunity to ask them
questions about digging for the

838
00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:21,680
reason about what drove that
success, you can often find it.

839
00:50:21,720 --> 00:50:25,240
And I guarantee that's one of
those one of that guys that's

840
00:50:25,240 --> 00:50:28,280
one of his probably staples of
however he got to wherever he's

841
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:34,070
now.
I mean I haven't talked to a

842
00:50:34,070 --> 00:50:38,510
single successful startup which
a startup that still running and

843
00:50:38,510 --> 00:50:43,470
growing that hasn't had at least
one mentor like a mentor is so

844
00:50:43,470 --> 00:50:48,990
important in growth.
And I don't, I would not be

845
00:50:48,990 --> 00:50:52,790
where I am today and not have
the lessons and just the

846
00:50:52,790 --> 00:50:56,550
opportunities that I had today
if it wasn't for a great mentor

847
00:50:56,750 --> 00:51:00,530
or different mentors or just
different people just giving me

848
00:51:00,530 --> 00:51:02,290
insight.
And that's the thing about

849
00:51:02,290 --> 00:51:04,610
business.
You have to always be learning.

850
00:51:04,810 --> 00:51:09,570
You never know everything ever.
And so you just have to

851
00:51:09,850 --> 00:51:13,770
constantly ask questions even if
they're hard, even if they to

852
00:51:13,770 --> 00:51:17,570
you may sound stupid, but they
probably are great questions.

853
00:51:17,970 --> 00:51:24,140
And so getting outside of that
habit of being too afraid to ask

854
00:51:24,140 --> 00:51:27,660
certain questions or thinking
you know it already so you don't

855
00:51:27,660 --> 00:51:31,380
want to talk about it.
So just making sure the

856
00:51:31,700 --> 00:51:37,740
constantly being a sponge and
learning and so that's that's

857
00:51:37,740 --> 00:51:41,180
what every business owner should
do is just surround themselves

858
00:51:41,420 --> 00:51:44,500
with people that have done it,
that are doing it and just

859
00:51:44,660 --> 00:51:48,660
bounce ideas and that really
enables you to have different

860
00:51:48,740 --> 00:51:53,430
aspects of business that then
makes it a lot easier to pivot

861
00:51:53,430 --> 00:51:56,950
or to look at it in a way and
just learning just about

862
00:51:56,950 --> 00:51:58,750
learning.
Absolutely.

863
00:51:58,950 --> 00:52:00,670
Yeah.
You know, another interesting

864
00:52:01,310 --> 00:52:04,430
thing about startups in general
I wanted to ask you about today.

865
00:52:04,430 --> 00:52:07,310
It's something that I've never
encountered in the pursuits that

866
00:52:07,310 --> 00:52:10,710
I've done.
What's it like trying to get

867
00:52:10,990 --> 00:52:14,470
investors?
What is that process like?

868
00:52:14,470 --> 00:52:18,870
Like, I think I'm trying to
remember you used a phrase one

869
00:52:18,870 --> 00:52:21,510
time when we were chatting, it
was like you had an Angel

870
00:52:21,510 --> 00:52:23,790
investor or something like that.
And I've, I've wondered what

871
00:52:23,790 --> 00:52:26,350
that was since.
And I've never, like, I've never

872
00:52:26,350 --> 00:52:30,510
went down that path.
My entrepreneurial pursuits have

873
00:52:30,510 --> 00:52:37,030
been more of the grassroots,
ground up my own capital, and

874
00:52:37,030 --> 00:52:38,990
then I try to build something
out of that.

875
00:52:39,590 --> 00:52:43,830
And what you've done in like the
the startup atmosphere and what

876
00:52:43,830 --> 00:52:47,590
a lot of tech almost has to do
in a lot of aspects to compete

877
00:52:48,350 --> 00:52:52,630
is to start bigger.
You have this idea, but in order

878
00:52:52,630 --> 00:52:54,190
to start big, you have to get
capital.

879
00:52:54,470 --> 00:52:56,710
What is it like trying to get
investors and what does that

880
00:52:56,710 --> 00:52:58,390
process even look like?
Yeah.

881
00:52:58,390 --> 00:53:04,680
So, so I don't have any Angel or
VC investors within the

882
00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:07,360
organization.
I had many conversation and

883
00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:10,160
that's around that we're going
to open up later this year.

884
00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:18,520
But I have individual investors.
But that process man, I mean

885
00:53:18,520 --> 00:53:24,960
it's it's something that I
didn't understand for the

886
00:53:24,960 --> 00:53:29,800
longest and I started having
conversation with investors and

887
00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:31,600
they just threw all these terms
at me.

888
00:53:31,600 --> 00:53:41,490
Convertible knows the cab table,
safe notes, I'm just different

889
00:53:41,490 --> 00:53:43,610
aspects of getting an
investment.

890
00:53:43,930 --> 00:53:47,170
And so I was like I have no idea
what any of this is.

891
00:53:47,210 --> 00:53:51,890
And so I just started educating
myself on just overall Angel and

892
00:53:51,890 --> 00:53:57,010
V C's investors.
And so it's a very long process

893
00:53:57,010 --> 00:54:00,910
and a lot of time.
And what I didn't know is if an

894
00:54:00,910 --> 00:54:07,030
investor says no right away,
then you continuously grow and

895
00:54:07,030 --> 00:54:09,710
send them updates.
A couple months later, they'll

896
00:54:09,710 --> 00:54:12,470
be like, OK, now I'm ready to
give you an investment.

897
00:54:12,470 --> 00:54:15,110
And that's not something that
it's.

898
00:54:15,350 --> 00:54:16,950
Like trying to get a date with a
girl you like.

899
00:54:19,310 --> 00:54:21,270
Like, no.
OK, let me try to.

900
00:54:21,590 --> 00:54:22,590
No.
OK.

901
00:54:22,990 --> 00:54:25,750
So yeah, I mean, I didn't even
think about business that way.

902
00:54:25,790 --> 00:54:29,630
That's the funny part.
It's like, that's funny that you

903
00:54:29,630 --> 00:54:34,630
put that up.
It's like it's just wired like

904
00:54:34,670 --> 00:54:38,030
it just wired me different.
Because usually I saw no as no.

905
00:54:38,030 --> 00:54:42,550
Like once somebody says no, that
means they're not interested.

906
00:54:42,790 --> 00:54:49,310
Why continuously bother them?
And so that was really a change.

907
00:54:49,310 --> 00:54:52,470
I was like, OK, you said no now,
but next week I'll send you this

908
00:54:52,470 --> 00:54:54,670
and now and then the week after,
I'll send you this.

909
00:54:54,670 --> 00:54:57,030
And now and then we're doing
this report.

910
00:54:57,030 --> 00:55:00,310
So I'll send you this out and
then OK, maybe we can have

911
00:55:00,310 --> 00:55:02,310
another conversation next month
about it.

912
00:55:02,310 --> 00:55:08,150
And so it was just not giving
up, which enabled us to really

913
00:55:08,150 --> 00:55:12,910
have a lot of investor interest,
investor just relationships.

914
00:55:13,030 --> 00:55:18,300
And in order to have an
investment, I mean over the

915
00:55:18,300 --> 00:55:24,820
years, we've spoken to at least
30 to 50 different investors

916
00:55:24,820 --> 00:55:27,780
groups.
And so you have to just

917
00:55:28,460 --> 00:55:32,300
constantly talk to investors and
not only that, but it's how you

918
00:55:32,300 --> 00:55:34,540
talk to them, how you present to
them.

919
00:55:34,540 --> 00:55:38,940
So when we went up to investors
and said we want an investment

920
00:55:38,940 --> 00:55:42,060
to do this, this, this and this,
they always had reasons.

921
00:55:42,300 --> 00:55:45,260
They're always in their minds
saying why would I not invest in

922
00:55:45,260 --> 00:55:47,500
this startup?
And when when you come up to

923
00:55:47,500 --> 00:55:51,060
them, as I need an investment to
do this, this, this and this,

924
00:55:51,060 --> 00:55:56,550
they're part of their brain is
like is wired to say okay, they

925
00:55:56,550 --> 00:55:58,670
want an investment.
But now I'm going to look at

926
00:55:58,710 --> 00:56:01,870
every aspects of their business
to see why I shouldn't give them

927
00:56:01,870 --> 00:56:03,710
an investment.
They're looking for like holes

928
00:56:03,710 --> 00:56:06,590
in the dam, right?
Yeah, exactly, exactly.

929
00:56:06,590 --> 00:56:09,190
And they're like a lot more
lenient on those.

930
00:56:09,470 --> 00:56:12,110
And then we change our
perspective on how we were

931
00:56:12,110 --> 00:56:16,590
talking to investors and we were
like, we're doing this now and

932
00:56:16,590 --> 00:56:19,510
then this is how it's growing.
I would love to get your

933
00:56:19,510 --> 00:56:23,150
feedback on what we're doing.
And so now the conversation

934
00:56:23,580 --> 00:56:27,300
become still helping us grow and
seeing how we could fit into

935
00:56:27,300 --> 00:56:29,620
different markets.
So you're really changing how

936
00:56:29,620 --> 00:56:31,620
you're approaching investors
about it.

937
00:56:31,700 --> 00:56:35,580
And now when we started doing
that, we had investors saying

938
00:56:35,620 --> 00:56:39,580
okay, now let's meet against.
They started getting a lot more

939
00:56:39,580 --> 00:56:42,830
interested in giving us an
investment and they're like, let

940
00:56:42,830 --> 00:56:45,550
me connect you to this person
and then you close this

941
00:56:45,550 --> 00:56:49,070
agreement and then I'll start
aligning more investors for you

942
00:56:49,070 --> 00:56:52,550
guys to get your next round.
And so it's not more so of

943
00:56:52,630 --> 00:56:56,830
evaluating and saying yes or no,
but approaching investors as

944
00:56:56,830 --> 00:57:02,030
mentors And then that enabled us
to get a lot more interest in

945
00:57:02,030 --> 00:57:05,150
our ventures.
And when we will open around

946
00:57:05,990 --> 00:57:11,710
probably later in 2023 or early
2024, we'll have a lot more

947
00:57:13,070 --> 00:57:18,190
contact from investors, not more
investor conversations.

948
00:57:18,430 --> 00:57:21,390
And then overall they'll be a
lot more in tune where where

949
00:57:21,390 --> 00:57:24,990
we've been and where we are now.
And they would have seen that

950
00:57:24,990 --> 00:57:28,270
growth and work with us through
that growth that it makes it a

951
00:57:28,270 --> 00:57:31,270
lot easier for them to give us
an investment.

952
00:57:31,270 --> 00:57:34,990
So yeah, that's definitely been
the approach of changing how you

953
00:57:34,990 --> 00:57:41,130
approach investors, but really
how you just see contacts in

954
00:57:41,130 --> 00:57:44,370
general, relationships in
general with investors is just

955
00:57:44,650 --> 00:57:47,490
just forget about the investment
help me as a business and then

956
00:57:47,490 --> 00:57:50,610
if you guys are interested of
investing in the way then we can

957
00:57:50,610 --> 00:57:52,170
talk about that so.
Yeah.

958
00:57:52,610 --> 00:57:57,250
How do all those transitions
happen Once you have investors

959
00:57:57,250 --> 00:58:02,210
that has to be interesting like
because you know at at the at

960
00:58:02,210 --> 00:58:06,770
the on the one hand it has to
grow and develop and evolve into

961
00:58:06,770 --> 00:58:08,130
what it's going to be.
That's how it's going to

962
00:58:08,130 --> 00:58:10,030
succeed.
But at the same time, if you

963
00:58:10,030 --> 00:58:12,550
have a couple different
investors who might see things a

964
00:58:12,550 --> 00:58:15,790
different way, it has to be
interesting having those

965
00:58:15,790 --> 00:58:19,870
continual conversations about,
OK, here's how we need to pivot

966
00:58:19,990 --> 00:58:23,590
and why, and then it's a whole
another round of the kind of the

967
00:58:23,590 --> 00:58:25,590
first thing again, right?
Then I'm trying to poke holes in

968
00:58:25,590 --> 00:58:28,830
the pivot.
Yeah, no, it's that's exactly

969
00:58:28,830 --> 00:58:31,950
what it is.
And that's that's the great part

970
00:58:31,950 --> 00:58:35,190
is that there is a lot of
investors out there and that's

971
00:58:35,350 --> 00:58:40,430
another thing that differs from
Francis, I don't know 1VC or

972
00:58:40,430 --> 00:58:44,950
Angel investor in France and in
the US there's so much and it's

973
00:58:45,030 --> 00:58:48,270
just having all these
conversation which is very time

974
00:58:48,270 --> 00:58:51,750
consuming and a lot of things
you do in a startups is super

975
00:58:51,750 --> 00:58:53,750
time consuming.
So just talking to all these

976
00:58:53,750 --> 00:58:57,030
investors, it's a lot more time
especially if you pivot is

977
00:58:57,030 --> 00:59:00,910
longer conversations.
But if there's an investor that

978
00:59:00,910 --> 00:59:04,630
really does what you're doing,
could see aligns with your

979
00:59:04,630 --> 00:59:08,460
vision and everything and how
you're doing it, they'll they're

980
00:59:08,460 --> 00:59:10,220
a good fit.
But if you talk to another

981
00:59:10,220 --> 00:59:13,660
investor and just say, ah, you
shouldn't be doing this, no,

982
00:59:13,660 --> 00:59:16,580
that's not it.
That doesn't mean they're right.

983
00:59:16,580 --> 00:59:18,780
Just because they're an
investor, they have the money,

984
00:59:18,780 --> 00:59:22,260
that doesn't mean they're the
ruler and the knower of

985
00:59:22,260 --> 00:59:26,500
everything.
And so and so it's just finding

986
00:59:26,500 --> 00:59:30,500
the right investor that believes
in your idea and could see it go

987
00:59:30,500 --> 00:59:33,820
through.
And so just just being honest

988
00:59:33,820 --> 00:59:37,900
with investors having as many
conversation as possible is just

989
00:59:37,900 --> 00:59:41,100
enabling you to understand your
pivot a lot more because they

990
00:59:41,100 --> 00:59:44,780
will have intake and input into
the way you pivot.

991
00:59:44,780 --> 00:59:49,100
But managing that, yes, I
haven't gone through the process

992
00:59:49,180 --> 00:59:53,020
of the agreements for investors
and just having to redo that

993
00:59:53,020 --> 00:59:56,980
count table based on a new wave
of investors, but that's

994
00:59:56,980 --> 00:59:59,490
something that I'll have to deal
with soon.

995
00:59:59,490 --> 01:00:03,170
So I can't have onto all these
aspects until I already

996
01:00:03,170 --> 01:00:05,250
experienced it.
But right now I'm doing

997
01:00:05,250 --> 01:00:09,210
research, so maybe we could talk
again in a couple of years and

998
01:00:09,210 --> 01:00:11,170
then see where we are at with
everything.

999
01:00:11,330 --> 01:00:14,330
Absolutely, Yeah.
So I've always wondered about

1000
01:00:14,330 --> 01:00:15,450
that.
I've always wondered about that

1001
01:00:15,450 --> 01:00:16,890
aspect.
Like you mentioned Shark Tank

1002
01:00:16,890 --> 01:00:19,370
earlier.
I'm sure that's the tip of the

1003
01:00:19,370 --> 01:00:21,170
iceberg.
I know they like, they must have

1004
01:00:21,170 --> 01:00:24,480
conversations with producers and
stuff beforehand about here's

1005
01:00:24,480 --> 01:00:27,040
what you might be asked, here's
what you should be able to

1006
01:00:27,040 --> 01:00:29,920
provide because, I mean, some of
those are seasoned businesses,

1007
01:00:29,920 --> 01:00:33,000
but some of them are people that
are building something in their

1008
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:36,640
garage or something like that.
That, I mean, so many people

1009
01:00:36,640 --> 01:00:39,840
have entered in that arena the
same way you did and it's just

1010
01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:43,000
the willingness to grow and and
learn and solve the problems

1011
01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:47,080
that you're going to encounter.
So you know, I've, I've always

1012
01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:49,560
wondered what that process
looked like because you would

1013
01:00:49,560 --> 01:00:52,440
think, you know, hearing you
talk about those investors, the

1014
01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:58,070
successful ones are probably
problem solvers in their own

1015
01:00:58,070 --> 01:01:01,470
right, they're supporters
instead of directors because I

1016
01:01:01,470 --> 01:01:05,430
mean that's I I like, I like
leadership a lot and I like

1017
01:01:05,430 --> 01:01:08,230
talking about and you know
looking at leadership through

1018
01:01:08,230 --> 01:01:10,790
different lenses and I mean
that's what effective leaders

1019
01:01:10,790 --> 01:01:14,310
do, they support their people
into success as opposed to

1020
01:01:14,310 --> 01:01:17,870
direct them into success.
Investors got to be the same

1021
01:01:17,870 --> 01:01:22,740
way, like if someone comes in
too rigid, you know they should

1022
01:01:22,740 --> 01:01:25,540
start the business and then run
it how they want, right?

1023
01:01:25,660 --> 01:01:27,260
And I would, I would think
anyway.

1024
01:01:27,620 --> 01:01:30,740
I mean there's all types of
investors, I mean all types of

1025
01:01:30,740 --> 01:01:34,260
leadership styles investors.
And so yeah, it's super

1026
01:01:34,260 --> 01:01:37,180
important for a startup to find
the right one because I mean

1027
01:01:37,940 --> 01:01:42,460
investors and they they want to
make money out of their ventures

1028
01:01:42,460 --> 01:01:47,580
and a lot of startups sign deals
that once they exit they.

1029
01:01:48,440 --> 01:01:51,040
Get a fraction of the money they
actually thought they were

1030
01:01:51,040 --> 01:01:56,240
getting or the VC or any
investors just take control of

1031
01:01:56,240 --> 01:01:59,040
the company and then therefore
change management.

1032
01:01:59,040 --> 01:02:04,880
So founders have to be very
careful of which which investor

1033
01:02:04,880 --> 01:02:08,040
they decide to partner with
because usually that's that

1034
01:02:08,040 --> 01:02:09,960
takes up the lifetime of the
business.

1035
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:14,080
And so it's like, yes, they're
giving you capital in terms of

1036
01:02:14,320 --> 01:02:16,940
money, but.
Are they really helping you in

1037
01:02:16,940 --> 01:02:19,860
any other way?
And if they're not, is their

1038
01:02:19,860 --> 01:02:23,260
money worth what is to come
after?

1039
01:02:23,260 --> 01:02:28,540
And so that's what a lot of
startups think is OKI need to

1040
01:02:28,540 --> 01:02:31,420
find an investor, they'll give
me the money and then we'll be

1041
01:02:31,420 --> 01:02:33,660
able to grow.
But if an investor is willing to

1042
01:02:33,660 --> 01:02:37,380
give you the money but want to
change parts of your business,

1043
01:02:38,060 --> 01:02:41,260
parts of the leadership teams,
or whatever it may be, are they

1044
01:02:41,260 --> 01:02:42,580
a good fit?
And can you?

1045
01:02:43,510 --> 01:02:46,470
Just take the hit right now and
go to another investor.

1046
01:02:46,470 --> 01:02:49,230
And so that's something that
startup founders have to be

1047
01:02:49,230 --> 01:02:52,630
really careful about, because
there's really all types of VCs

1048
01:02:53,670 --> 01:02:55,950
that's interesting.
In starting the podcast, I had

1049
01:02:55,950 --> 01:02:59,150
some conversations to see if
anybody may want to sponsor from

1050
01:02:59,150 --> 01:03:02,670
the beginning.
And one of the one of the people

1051
01:03:02,670 --> 01:03:07,570
that I was talking to asked how
much creative control they would

1052
01:03:07,570 --> 01:03:09,490
have.
And my my answer was very blunt.

1053
01:03:09,490 --> 01:03:12,970
It was 0 like you, you wouldn't
have any creative control.

1054
01:03:12,970 --> 01:03:15,450
Like I have a vision for what
it's going to be and I think it

1055
01:03:15,450 --> 01:03:18,490
can be successful.
And ultimately like they

1056
01:03:18,490 --> 01:03:21,890
understood that that's that
didn't come into negotiations or

1057
01:03:21,890 --> 01:03:25,250
anything like that.
But the question in itself was

1058
01:03:25,250 --> 01:03:28,770
interesting to me because it
mirrors kind of what you're

1059
01:03:28,770 --> 01:03:33,130
saying about how hands on or off
somebody can be.

1060
01:03:33,130 --> 01:03:36,730
That same thing happens I think,
a lot in the music industry

1061
01:03:37,570 --> 01:03:42,970
where and we've seen a
transition of people making

1062
01:03:42,970 --> 01:03:46,610
music under labels in different
ways.

1063
01:03:47,330 --> 01:03:51,170
There was a really cool thing.
I saw a guy musician named Jelly

1064
01:03:51,170 --> 01:03:57,050
Roll talking about this, where
he would only sign a deal that

1065
01:03:57,370 --> 01:04:00,570
he maintained full creative
control of his music.

1066
01:04:01,090 --> 01:04:04,010
And there's the total flip side
of that that we've seen where

1067
01:04:04,010 --> 01:04:07,570
someone just gets like created
canned music that's made for the

1068
01:04:07,570 --> 01:04:10,290
radio and then both can make a
bunch of money.

1069
01:04:10,690 --> 01:04:15,650
But as the musician, it's like
being the business owner.

1070
01:04:15,770 --> 01:04:19,770
It's what is your what's not
only what's your product, but

1071
01:04:19,770 --> 01:04:21,890
what's your intention for this
product.

1072
01:04:21,890 --> 01:04:25,290
Because being successful is one
thing.

1073
01:04:25,290 --> 01:04:30,150
Monetarily being successful with
a mission based platform of

1074
01:04:30,150 --> 01:04:32,710
something that you're passionate
about like you are connecting

1075
01:04:32,710 --> 01:04:37,590
people to careers is a whole
another thing that could get

1076
01:04:37,750 --> 01:04:40,590
lost in the shuffle of someone
that says I know how to make

1077
01:04:40,590 --> 01:04:42,150
money and I know how to make
money now.

1078
01:04:42,230 --> 01:04:44,190
Yeah.
No, absolutely.

1079
01:04:44,190 --> 01:04:48,080
And I think that's.
That's very interesting because

1080
01:04:48,080 --> 01:04:52,720
it's really it enables someone
to understand their personal

1081
01:04:52,720 --> 01:04:55,720
brand in themselves, not only in
the music industry but in

1082
01:04:55,720 --> 01:04:59,320
business, sports, whatever it
may be, is what am I looking to

1083
01:04:59,320 --> 01:05:03,240
do with this venture and if
someone comes along and has

1084
01:05:03,240 --> 01:05:06,400
something?
That you value, Of course they

1085
01:05:06,400 --> 01:05:10,040
want something else from me,
whether it be equity, salary and

1086
01:05:10,040 --> 01:05:13,360
other connections or if they're
just a mentor and just looking

1087
01:05:13,360 --> 01:05:16,320
to do good, that's well.
But if they want to be a sponsor

1088
01:05:16,320 --> 01:05:18,560
or anything, they're going to
want something else.

1089
01:05:18,560 --> 01:05:21,600
And so it's really understanding
are they a good fit for me or

1090
01:05:21,600 --> 01:05:23,760
not?
And that comes with a personal

1091
01:05:23,760 --> 01:05:27,820
brand, which I love.
To discuss an overview, but it's

1092
01:05:27,820 --> 01:05:31,940
just really understanding what
is your personal brand and I

1093
01:05:31,940 --> 01:05:36,100
think you touched on a great Are
you looking to make can music

1094
01:05:36,100 --> 01:05:39,940
that a lot of variety of people
want to will probably like?

1095
01:05:39,940 --> 01:05:42,900
Or do you want to do more
personal music that your

1096
01:05:42,900 --> 01:05:47,060
audience that really represent
what you love to do?

1097
01:05:47,220 --> 01:05:50,420
And so it's just understanding
who you want to be in the type

1098
01:05:50,420 --> 01:05:54,140
of artists, athletes, business,
owner, whatever it may be.

1099
01:05:54,970 --> 01:05:57,890
That you want to be What's the
mission statement of you next?

1100
01:05:59,410 --> 01:06:03,210
To enable students to grow
within their careers and

1101
01:06:03,210 --> 01:06:04,890
graduate with a career that they
love.

1102
01:06:05,210 --> 01:06:08,850
OK, yeah, yeah.
Something that's so needed.

1103
01:06:08,850 --> 01:06:10,810
I know, I know.
You know my my one of my

1104
01:06:10,810 --> 01:06:12,330
previous role as a career
advisor.

1105
01:06:12,330 --> 01:06:16,250
Just like having those
conversations, the the need for

1106
01:06:16,250 --> 01:06:20,650
that is, is I don't want to say
dire because it's not like, you

1107
01:06:20,650 --> 01:06:24,470
know, it's not life or death,
but it in some ways it is

1108
01:06:24,790 --> 01:06:28,390
because like that happiness
translates in different ways.

1109
01:06:28,470 --> 01:06:32,510
And we're not.
I don't think humans are

1110
01:06:32,510 --> 01:06:39,390
innately ingrained with the
capability to make that decision

1111
01:06:39,390 --> 01:06:44,150
without some help and guidance,
whether it's conversations with

1112
01:06:44,150 --> 01:06:45,710
your family.
That's one thing I've taken from

1113
01:06:45,710 --> 01:06:48,150
our conversation so far today is
that you lean on the people

1114
01:06:48,150 --> 01:06:51,670
around you and not everyone does
that.

1115
01:06:51,790 --> 01:06:55,470
But it's so helpful at different
times and I'm, I'm definitely

1116
01:06:55,470 --> 01:06:59,670
guilty of it where I've
throughout my life made

1117
01:06:59,670 --> 01:07:04,150
decisions in my own little silo.
You know, like I, I I go into

1118
01:07:04,150 --> 01:07:08,110
like my think tank and and I
don't take in enough outside

1119
01:07:08,110 --> 01:07:09,990
perspective from the people
around me.

1120
01:07:10,630 --> 01:07:16,270
And that's a huge part in making
that transition from, you know,

1121
01:07:16,790 --> 01:07:22,990
student, child, adolescent, to
adult career post education.

1122
01:07:25,270 --> 01:07:28,670
Not only what you think and
feel, does it align with what

1123
01:07:28,670 --> 01:07:31,790
everyone else sees and is your
personal brand what you think it

1124
01:07:31,790 --> 01:07:33,550
is like?
That's a.

1125
01:07:33,870 --> 01:07:35,510
Hard question.
It's always hard.

1126
01:07:35,510 --> 01:07:40,610
It it'll be a hard all the time.
So anything that can make that

1127
01:07:40,610 --> 01:07:44,010
come to life like I, I I don't
know that we've ever talked

1128
01:07:44,010 --> 01:07:45,970
about the actual mission
statement of you next.

1129
01:07:46,050 --> 01:07:49,650
But I I assumed as much it would
be something like that.

1130
01:07:49,650 --> 01:07:50,850
Yeah.
That's great.

1131
01:07:50,930 --> 01:07:54,050
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's it's
definitely hard.

1132
01:07:54,050 --> 01:07:58,730
And don't get me wrong, I also
like to spend a lot of time

1133
01:07:58,730 --> 01:08:02,970
within myself just thinking
about aspects by myself, but in

1134
01:08:02,970 --> 01:08:06,840
order for me to make a.
Very important life changing

1135
01:08:06,840 --> 01:08:09,560
decisions.
I have to consult my family and

1136
01:08:09,560 --> 01:08:14,960
my friends is it's just, yeah,
they know you the best.

1137
01:08:15,080 --> 01:08:19,029
Of course you.
I'm hoping people really spend

1138
01:08:19,029 --> 01:08:22,270
time to understanding
themselves, but they are the

1139
01:08:22,270 --> 01:08:24,270
second people that knows you the
best.

1140
01:08:24,270 --> 01:08:27,430
And so just getting their input
is just crucial.

1141
01:08:27,430 --> 01:08:30,390
Even if you don't agree with it,
just hearing their reasoning and

1142
01:08:30,390 --> 01:08:34,149
why they think that may help you
look at it through a new lens.

1143
01:08:34,149 --> 01:08:38,430
And so that's something that
I've gotten better over the

1144
01:08:38,470 --> 01:08:43,270
years at.
But yeah, it's it's hard.

1145
01:08:43,270 --> 01:08:46,510
It's hard, but understanding
your your personal brand is.

1146
01:08:47,439 --> 01:08:49,479
Even harder.
I feel like it's harder.

1147
01:08:49,479 --> 01:08:55,000
Yeah, it's harder to like.
It's so hard when you have the

1148
01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:56,960
discipline of working towards
something that we talked to

1149
01:08:56,960 --> 01:08:59,120
earlier.
It's hard to have that and then

1150
01:08:59,120 --> 01:09:02,000
remember to take time and stop
and look at other perspectives

1151
01:09:02,000 --> 01:09:06,279
because like you get so caught
up in in the work that you're

1152
01:09:06,279 --> 01:09:08,040
doing progressing towards
something.

1153
01:09:08,590 --> 01:09:10,990
But it's like here's what I do,
I do, I do, I do.

1154
01:09:11,590 --> 01:09:15,870
And then it's not like how is
what I do being perceived is it

1155
01:09:15,870 --> 01:09:20,870
what I should be doing.
And taking in those other not

1156
01:09:20,870 --> 01:09:24,590
only opinions but other
perceptions of what's happening

1157
01:09:24,590 --> 01:09:29,710
is so valuable and you know,
hearing looking inward and

1158
01:09:29,710 --> 01:09:31,229
stuff.
Another thing I wanted to talk

1159
01:09:31,229 --> 01:09:35,069
with you about was meditation
and how that goes into your

1160
01:09:35,069 --> 01:09:38,660
Wellness.
And and like that's kind of the

1161
01:09:38,899 --> 01:09:41,540
opposite side, right?
The the opposite side of taking

1162
01:09:41,540 --> 01:09:46,420
everything in meditation and
mindfulness is about, you know,

1163
01:09:47,140 --> 01:09:50,020
taking time to be with yourself
and and look with yourself.

1164
01:09:50,020 --> 01:09:52,140
How does that come into your
daytoday life?

1165
01:09:52,140 --> 01:09:54,140
I know it's something that
you're passionate about and do.

1166
01:09:54,780 --> 01:10:01,060
Yeah, without meditation, I
don't think I could do what I

1167
01:10:01,060 --> 01:10:03,740
do.
To be honest, meditation really

1168
01:10:03,740 --> 01:10:09,690
enables me to.
Relax my mind and often times

1169
01:10:09,690 --> 01:10:13,210
when I have a lot of things
going on throughout the day, I

1170
01:10:13,210 --> 01:10:16,330
have several different meetings
about different topics and then

1171
01:10:16,330 --> 01:10:19,890
I have all this information
being fed to my brain.

1172
01:10:20,210 --> 01:10:25,730
Then I'll take a 30 minute break
and my mind would not stop like,

1173
01:10:25,730 --> 01:10:28,780
my mind would be like.
Oh, you need to do this, this,

1174
01:10:28,780 --> 01:10:30,900
this and this.
Or you just got this idea.

1175
01:10:30,980 --> 01:10:33,660
Oh, you got to send this e-mail.
Oh, you have to respond.

1176
01:10:33,860 --> 01:10:37,380
Oh, you have to do this.
And so it's constantly going and

1177
01:10:37,780 --> 01:10:43,580
it's so overwhelming and if you
had it or other watch viewers

1178
01:10:43,580 --> 01:10:48,260
have it, but is this
overwhelming aspects in your

1179
01:10:48,260 --> 01:10:52,700
brain that just doesn't allow
you to rest.

1180
01:10:52,740 --> 01:10:56,960
And so I just understood that.
In order for you to make the

1181
01:10:56,960 --> 01:10:59,120
best decision, you have to have
a clear mind.

1182
01:10:59,120 --> 01:11:02,920
And if your brain can rest, can
you make great decisions?

1183
01:11:02,920 --> 01:11:06,440
And so meditation really enabled
me to do that.

1184
01:11:06,480 --> 01:11:13,520
If I feel stressed, if I feel
overwhelmed, if I feel like I'm

1185
01:11:13,520 --> 01:11:16,560
not going the right direction,
or even if I feel like I am

1186
01:11:16,560 --> 01:11:19,840
going the right direction, I
just take some time.

1187
01:11:19,840 --> 01:11:26,350
Breathe 5 to 10 minutes.
Just that, and then just going

1188
01:11:26,350 --> 01:11:30,710
back to my day.
And so meditation can come in

1189
01:11:30,950 --> 01:11:34,830
multiple ways.
You can just sit, just meditate.

1190
01:11:34,830 --> 01:11:39,030
But meditation can just be just
staring at a tree, staring at

1191
01:11:39,030 --> 01:11:43,510
the sky, and just shutting down
your brain, or just slowly

1192
01:11:43,510 --> 01:11:47,830
thinking about just one single
aspect and just kind of letting

1193
01:11:47,830 --> 01:11:54,730
it go and what meditation did.
And I know this may, like, not

1194
01:11:54,730 --> 01:11:59,290
sound good for business, but it
enabled me to not take things

1195
01:11:59,290 --> 01:12:03,450
too seriously.
And so I love business.

1196
01:12:03,450 --> 01:12:07,050
And that's something I I'm not
like.

1197
01:12:07,050 --> 01:12:10,290
I love business.
I love everything that I do.

1198
01:12:10,290 --> 01:12:17,210
But I know that.
It isn't me like I could do

1199
01:12:17,210 --> 01:12:21,690
something else, I could do
whatever, but it doesn't define

1200
01:12:21,690 --> 01:12:24,210
me.
I'm the only person that defines

1201
01:12:24,210 --> 01:12:27,490
myself.
And so just being able to

1202
01:12:27,490 --> 01:12:31,250
disconnect yourself from
basketball, from your

1203
01:12:31,250 --> 01:12:34,890
profession, from your
relationship, being able to see

1204
01:12:34,890 --> 01:12:40,450
yourself as your own entity,
enabled me to reduce my anxiety

1205
01:12:40,450 --> 01:12:43,010
a lot.
Because. 1st starting Unix.

1206
01:12:43,050 --> 01:12:47,810
I had so much anxiety and when I
was able to differentiate myself

1207
01:12:47,810 --> 01:12:51,170
from my business, from being a
student, from being all those

1208
01:12:51,170 --> 01:12:56,170
different aspects of my life, it
just enabled me to be a lot more

1209
01:12:56,170 --> 01:12:59,730
clear minded but also just to
reduce my anxiety.

1210
01:12:59,730 --> 01:13:04,210
And I want to say I dirty have
anxiety nowadays.

1211
01:13:04,600 --> 01:13:07,520
But when first starting Unix, it
was something that was so bad

1212
01:13:07,520 --> 01:13:10,680
because I was so out of my
comfort zone and I didn't know

1213
01:13:10,680 --> 01:13:12,600
how to get back into my comfort
zone.

1214
01:13:12,600 --> 01:13:17,320
And so that's something that
just meditation really enabled

1215
01:13:17,320 --> 01:13:20,400
me to refocus on.
Yeah.

1216
01:13:20,480 --> 01:13:24,600
It's so hearing your journey
with that, it's it's just rings

1217
01:13:24,600 --> 01:13:29,080
loudly.
The I started meditating

1218
01:13:29,600 --> 01:13:35,950
probably about three years ago
now, and the not taking things

1219
01:13:35,950 --> 01:13:41,870
so seriously is one of the main
reasons that I do it.

1220
01:13:41,870 --> 01:13:47,070
And I've enjoyed it and I've
kept doing it because there So

1221
01:13:47,950 --> 01:13:51,590
my whole life, up until a
certain point a few years ago, I

1222
01:13:51,590 --> 01:13:53,470
was very good.
I probably leaned on

1223
01:13:53,630 --> 01:13:56,270
compartmentalizing a little bit,
but I was really good at not

1224
01:13:56,270 --> 01:14:00,700
taking things too seriously.
And then I became a dad and like

1225
01:14:00,860 --> 01:14:07,420
it completely changed how I like
view everything I do in life

1226
01:14:07,500 --> 01:14:10,860
like I was.
I was you know really good at

1227
01:14:10,860 --> 01:14:13,300
being laissez faire in my in my
normal life.

1228
01:14:13,300 --> 01:14:16,500
Like, you know, I didn't take
anything overwhelmingly

1229
01:14:16,500 --> 01:14:18,060
seriously.
I worked really hard.

1230
01:14:18,060 --> 01:14:22,420
I had good discipline, but I I
constantly was really good at

1231
01:14:22,620 --> 01:14:25,790
not taking things too seriously
and that it was great for my

1232
01:14:25,790 --> 01:14:28,710
mental health.
Like I was in a fantastic place,

1233
01:14:28,910 --> 01:14:30,670
you know, my whole life, because
I was like, whatever, if it

1234
01:14:30,670 --> 01:14:32,030
doesn't work out, I'll do
something else.

1235
01:14:33,910 --> 01:14:38,230
Then I I became a dad and like,
I don't know, there's this.

1236
01:14:39,470 --> 01:14:46,070
I felt, I always felt this like
creeping pressure on me of not

1237
01:14:46,070 --> 01:14:51,790
only providing but like living
up to the expectations of

1238
01:14:51,790 --> 01:14:54,350
myself.
And then it I put weight, I

1239
01:14:54,350 --> 01:14:59,070
started putting a ton of
pressure on decisions that

1240
01:14:59,350 --> 01:15:04,350
weren't, you know, earth
shattering, like I was putting

1241
01:15:04,470 --> 01:15:06,070
too much pressure on these
decisions.

1242
01:15:06,070 --> 01:15:10,430
And then I I would get to this
point where the, the brain

1243
01:15:10,430 --> 01:15:13,230
overload that you were talking
about early were like there's

1244
01:15:13,230 --> 01:15:18,070
9000 things in my brain and how
how am I supposed to focus on

1245
01:15:18,070 --> 01:15:20,630
solving any of those problems if
they're all there?

1246
01:15:20,790 --> 01:15:23,880
So that's why I started
meditating.

1247
01:15:23,880 --> 01:15:27,520
Seriously, I I had delved into
it a little bit prior to that.

1248
01:15:27,520 --> 01:15:32,440
But then I diagnosed that need
of like, I can't, I can't

1249
01:15:32,440 --> 01:15:37,360
function effectively because I
noticed my coinciding with that,

1250
01:15:38,360 --> 01:15:45,120
the outcomes of what I was doing
weren't as favorable as they

1251
01:15:45,120 --> 01:15:47,800
were prior to starting to feel
those ways.

1252
01:15:48,220 --> 01:15:49,620
And that's in a lot of different
ways.

1253
01:15:49,620 --> 01:15:53,380
That's not just career, that's
friend and family.

1254
01:15:53,380 --> 01:15:57,340
That's the people who I interact
with, strangers who I interact

1255
01:15:57,340 --> 01:16:01,300
with.
All of that stuff was being

1256
01:16:01,300 --> 01:16:05,420
affected and is still being
affected by the shift in that

1257
01:16:05,420 --> 01:16:07,700
mentality.
And it wasn't something that I

1258
01:16:07,700 --> 01:16:11,220
was completely ready for, to
tell you the truth.

1259
01:16:11,220 --> 01:16:15,120
It was because that's such a
stark difference to what I was

1260
01:16:15,120 --> 01:16:18,280
used to in my life, of how I
would make decisions and how I

1261
01:16:18,280 --> 01:16:20,360
would just operate on a daytoday
basis.

1262
01:16:21,040 --> 01:16:25,920
And it's funny because like a
lot of my successes, I attribute

1263
01:16:25,920 --> 01:16:28,680
to that laissez faire attitude,
which is really weird to think

1264
01:16:28,680 --> 01:16:31,240
about.
We talk about discipline and the

1265
01:16:31,280 --> 01:16:34,960
importance of all these things,
but like I I firmly believe a

1266
01:16:34,960 --> 01:16:37,880
lot of my successes have come
from not taking it too

1267
01:16:37,880 --> 01:16:42,440
seriously.
And I'm consistently trying to

1268
01:16:42,640 --> 01:16:48,760
find different ways to do that
again and still and meditation

1269
01:16:48,760 --> 01:16:51,360
is one of the one of the ways
that's allow me to do that.

1270
01:16:51,480 --> 01:16:54,720
Yeah.
And so how has that transmitted?

1271
01:16:54,720 --> 01:16:58,480
And so at what point in time did
you realize, oh, I don't have

1272
01:16:58,480 --> 01:17:02,160
that last affair attitude
towards everything?

1273
01:17:02,160 --> 01:17:06,960
And what really made you realize
that you wanted to make that

1274
01:17:06,960 --> 01:17:09,480
feel like was there a trigger in
point.

1275
01:17:12,320 --> 01:17:17,680
There's not a specific one that
I can think about if if I think

1276
01:17:17,680 --> 01:17:21,160
about kind of the the root of
what made me made that decision

1277
01:17:21,160 --> 01:17:25,840
is, is probably the my
interactions with people close

1278
01:17:25,840 --> 01:17:31,640
around me they they shifted and
and recognizing that kind of,

1279
01:17:32,400 --> 01:17:36,720
you know, it it made me uneasy a
little bit because I didn't

1280
01:17:37,270 --> 01:17:41,630
like, I know that's not my true
authentic self coming out but

1281
01:17:41,950 --> 01:17:45,710
it's the burden of those
thoughts coming out.

1282
01:17:46,270 --> 01:17:50,670
And I was lucky enough to not
have those come out so much

1283
01:17:50,670 --> 01:17:53,390
throughout life because people
get that for a host of different

1284
01:17:53,430 --> 01:17:55,590
reasons.
People feel pressure for so many

1285
01:17:55,590 --> 01:17:58,990
different reasons.
And mine just happened to wait

1286
01:17:58,990 --> 01:18:01,510
until it was responsible for
another human.

1287
01:18:01,550 --> 01:18:03,750
You know, like that's when mine
started to come out.

1288
01:18:03,750 --> 01:18:06,310
But they come out at all
different times and and in

1289
01:18:06,310 --> 01:18:14,710
different ways and mine would
have been seeing, trying to see

1290
01:18:14,710 --> 01:18:19,110
my interactions with people
close to me through their eyes

1291
01:18:19,750 --> 01:18:23,270
and constantly.
I'm I'm still trying to do that

1292
01:18:23,270 --> 01:18:26,390
because I'm still working at it.
My mind isn't in the place that

1293
01:18:26,390 --> 01:18:27,870
it wasn't.
It probably never will be.

1294
01:18:28,110 --> 01:18:31,870
We developed into a different
thing, but working towards it is

1295
01:18:31,870 --> 01:18:36,430
really important to me to try to
nurture that skill because it's

1296
01:18:36,430 --> 01:18:42,110
something I I've not only value
about my prior self, or if you

1297
01:18:42,110 --> 01:18:45,950
want to call it a prior self, my
my historical self, but I think

1298
01:18:45,950 --> 01:18:52,830
it's important to the success of
those relationships and the

1299
01:18:52,830 --> 01:18:54,790
outcomes just in general of
life.

1300
01:18:54,790 --> 01:18:59,070
I think it's important for me to
be able to look at it through a

1301
01:18:59,070 --> 01:19:03,400
way that I used to.
Yeah, so it sounds like, and I

1302
01:19:03,480 --> 01:19:08,920
believe in that too.
But I like to have the balance

1303
01:19:08,920 --> 01:19:13,560
of lesser fair, but also a
balance of discipline because I

1304
01:19:13,560 --> 01:19:19,280
feel like if I'm too much in the
lesser fair or just just

1305
01:19:19,880 --> 01:19:22,640
whatever.
Wait, how should I face this?

1306
01:19:23,280 --> 01:19:25,440
What's another synonym for
lesser fair?

1307
01:19:25,640 --> 01:19:29,750
Whatever works like you know,
like you know, nonchalant about

1308
01:19:29,870 --> 01:19:31,430
whatever.
Whatever happens, happens.

1309
01:19:31,430 --> 01:19:34,950
Yeah, exactly.
And so, yeah, so in the lesser

1310
01:19:34,950 --> 01:19:38,990
fair attitude, if I'm always in
that attitude and that's

1311
01:19:38,990 --> 01:19:46,470
something that I guess sports
taught me, is to rewire the

1312
01:19:46,470 --> 01:19:51,830
current mood that you're in.
And so in sports, and athletes

1313
01:19:51,830 --> 01:19:55,590
definitely can relate before a
game if you have your music on

1314
01:19:55,590 --> 01:19:57,170
your.
Focus.

1315
01:19:57,170 --> 01:20:00,250
You're ready.
You're changing your internal.

1316
01:20:00,250 --> 01:20:04,810
I like to call it vibration but
internal mood and so you're

1317
01:20:05,330 --> 01:20:08,770
getting ready for the game and
so you're you have this

1318
01:20:08,770 --> 01:20:12,290
different aspects of just how
you just interact with people

1319
01:20:12,290 --> 01:20:14,690
around you before a game or just
look at life.

1320
01:20:14,690 --> 01:20:19,650
And so it goes further more, and
I learned that about a year ago

1321
01:20:19,650 --> 01:20:23,450
is you can really change your
attitude towards.

1322
01:20:25,050 --> 01:20:26,930
What are you trying to be
productive?

1323
01:20:26,930 --> 01:20:31,610
And so I'll come up with a
different head space, mood and

1324
01:20:31,610 --> 01:20:36,210
attitude if I start planning for
a marketing strategy.

1325
01:20:36,210 --> 01:20:39,490
And then once we start looking
at the development of the

1326
01:20:39,490 --> 01:20:42,850
website, I'll just completely
change how I view things and the

1327
01:20:42,850 --> 01:20:44,930
mood that I have and start doing
that.

1328
01:20:44,930 --> 01:20:50,480
If we start, if I or if we start
talking about making different

1329
01:20:50,480 --> 01:20:53,920
lists or algorithms within a
platform, I just change my

1330
01:20:53,920 --> 01:20:57,520
vibrations on that.
And then if I go in a sales call

1331
01:20:57,520 --> 01:21:02,240
or whatever it may be, I just
continuously change how I feel,

1332
01:21:02,240 --> 01:21:05,920
how I think.
And so really being able to

1333
01:21:05,920 --> 01:21:11,720
change that is the balance which
then come with I know it sounds

1334
01:21:11,720 --> 01:21:14,280
like pretty indepth but with the
lesser ferry.

1335
01:21:14,280 --> 01:21:17,960
So when you're when you're not
so long about everything, you

1336
01:21:17,960 --> 01:21:23,400
can look at it but from the
perspective that's higher up and

1337
01:21:23,400 --> 01:21:27,240
be more critical about it.
And then once you understand

1338
01:21:27,760 --> 01:21:31,440
that you can kind of sector your
energy into these different

1339
01:21:31,600 --> 01:21:33,960
compartment.
And when you started talking to

1340
01:21:33,960 --> 01:21:38,880
me and you said you could you,
when you talk to your family,

1341
01:21:38,880 --> 01:21:40,960
you were able to get these
different perspective.

1342
01:21:40,960 --> 01:21:44,870
And that kind of reminded me of
just when you have this list of

1343
01:21:44,870 --> 01:21:48,550
her attitude that you can like
look at it from high up and come

1344
01:21:48,790 --> 01:21:52,630
about it with these different
angles of energy and mood and

1345
01:21:52,630 --> 01:21:55,950
focus in general.
And that's really a benefit of

1346
01:21:56,270 --> 01:22:00,510
just having that mentality is
looking at it at a more

1347
01:22:00,510 --> 01:22:02,710
controlled and organized point
of view.

1348
01:22:02,710 --> 01:22:05,630
And when you said that, that
just reminded me of this, but

1349
01:22:05,630 --> 01:22:07,870
yeah.
Yeah, the balance between those

1350
01:22:07,870 --> 01:22:11,270
two things is a constant game,
you know?

1351
01:22:13,110 --> 01:22:18,510
I I like to look at it as like
you know set your vision work to

1352
01:22:18,510 --> 01:22:22,270
that with all the discipline you
can but be comfortable and know

1353
01:22:22,270 --> 01:22:24,630
that it's probably not going to
work out just like that and

1354
01:22:24,630 --> 01:22:30,710
that's okay you know and and
there's this a cool this is

1355
01:22:30,710 --> 01:22:34,310
widely talked about is like the
find a gift mentality like you

1356
01:22:34,310 --> 01:22:37,910
know if it's probably not going
to work out how you exactly

1357
01:22:37,910 --> 01:22:41,640
picture it.
Good, bad or indifferent, What's

1358
01:22:41,640 --> 01:22:45,240
the gift from that?
You know like what what happens,

1359
01:22:45,280 --> 01:22:50,200
what happens to you you know
like look at your your accident

1360
01:22:50,200 --> 01:22:53,000
for example and not having a car
for two months.

1361
01:22:53,520 --> 01:22:58,560
You know that's it's it's a one
on the the spectrum of man you

1362
01:22:58,560 --> 01:23:02,320
don't want that to happen but
what's the gift in that There's

1363
01:23:02,320 --> 01:23:05,600
probably something that you
could dig out that's a positive

1364
01:23:05,760 --> 01:23:12,620
from that and.
I think that kind of third piece

1365
01:23:12,620 --> 01:23:17,820
to those two things is important
because it allows you to take

1366
01:23:17,820 --> 01:23:25,420
some of that pressure or some of
that like because when when you

1367
01:23:25,420 --> 01:23:28,020
it's hard because when you set
those sights and you become

1368
01:23:28,020 --> 01:23:31,850
disciplined in that.
You feel like you're gradually

1369
01:23:31,970 --> 01:23:36,010
earning something and then if it
shifts or change, you're like,

1370
01:23:36,170 --> 01:23:39,090
oh, it's really easy to say all
that work was for nothing or

1371
01:23:39,090 --> 01:23:41,010
something, but what's the gift
from that?

1372
01:23:41,010 --> 01:23:44,010
Maybe you learned something that
you didn't know before that

1373
01:23:44,010 --> 01:23:46,050
you're going to use in a
different way in three years

1374
01:23:46,050 --> 01:23:48,170
that you would have never known
if you didn't.

1375
01:23:48,450 --> 01:23:53,330
There's always a gift.
And integrating that third piece

1376
01:23:53,330 --> 01:23:55,810
into those two things I think is
important to the balance because

1377
01:23:55,810 --> 01:23:57,450
that is hard.
The, the.

1378
01:23:58,170 --> 01:24:00,620
The.
Differentiating and kind of flip

1379
01:24:00,620 --> 01:24:05,180
flopping seemingly between
discipline and structure and

1380
01:24:05,180 --> 01:24:07,420
then at the same time like what
it is, what it is.

1381
01:24:08,940 --> 01:24:12,860
No, that's you put it perfectly.
And I mean, just looking for

1382
01:24:12,860 --> 01:24:20,020
that gift is it's it's something
that you must have as an

1383
01:24:20,020 --> 01:24:22,740
entrepreneur, but even as a
professional and everything,

1384
01:24:22,740 --> 01:24:25,800
because nothing is guaranteed in
business.

1385
01:24:25,840 --> 01:24:29,040
And if you think you're spending
five years of your life building

1386
01:24:29,040 --> 01:24:32,680
a startup that all of a sudden
doesn't work out, you didn't

1387
01:24:32,680 --> 01:24:34,360
just lose five years of your
life.

1388
01:24:34,360 --> 01:24:39,120
You had so many experiences,
lessons that you can change your

1389
01:24:39,120 --> 01:24:41,600
life maybe in another five
years, you never know.

1390
01:24:41,600 --> 01:24:43,640
And just looking at it from that
aspect.

1391
01:24:43,640 --> 01:24:46,520
So I completely agree.
And those 3 components, I'll

1392
01:24:46,520 --> 01:24:48,560
start looking at all them side
by side.

1393
01:24:48,560 --> 01:24:50,160
I like that.
I like that.

1394
01:24:51,020 --> 01:24:57,740
It's the mental part of life in
general is so important and

1395
01:24:57,740 --> 01:25:00,220
that's why I was excited to talk
with you about meditation,

1396
01:25:00,220 --> 01:25:02,220
because it like even people that
meditate.

1397
01:25:02,260 --> 01:25:06,300
I've met so many people or know
so many people that like I

1398
01:25:06,300 --> 01:25:10,660
didn't know, like, meditated or
practiced mindfulness.

1399
01:25:11,140 --> 01:25:12,300
Until.
Because it's not something that

1400
01:25:12,300 --> 01:25:14,500
comes up in conversation
regularly, right?

1401
01:25:14,500 --> 01:25:17,260
Like, we've known each other for
quite a while and just our last

1402
01:25:17,260 --> 01:25:19,820
conversation I found out that
you that you meditated.

1403
01:25:21,500 --> 01:25:23,420
It's.
I don't know, it's helped me a

1404
01:25:23,420 --> 01:25:26,380
lot.
Yeah, no, I 100% agree.

1405
01:25:26,380 --> 01:25:31,780
And I I think that I would be
way too overwhelmed without

1406
01:25:31,780 --> 01:25:34,460
meditation.
I would have a lot of anxiety

1407
01:25:34,460 --> 01:25:37,140
and it just enabled me to
recenter myself.

1408
01:25:37,700 --> 01:25:41,540
And for me is crucial.
And I think that every

1409
01:25:41,540 --> 01:25:44,860
entrepreneurs or in any
professional should have

1410
01:25:45,060 --> 01:25:48,340
something that relaxes them,
refocus them.

1411
01:25:48,340 --> 01:25:51,380
And for me just doing that
quickly is through meditation.

1412
01:25:51,380 --> 01:25:56,700
And I think that is the perfect
balance for just what I'm doing

1413
01:25:56,700 --> 01:26:01,580
because it's so much pressure
and so much time and having

1414
01:26:01,580 --> 01:26:05,850
something to really reroute your
brand is very crucial for me.

1415
01:26:05,850 --> 01:26:09,330
And yeah, I have no idea you
meditated as well.

1416
01:26:09,330 --> 01:26:12,610
So that's super interesting, but
yeah.

1417
01:26:12,890 --> 01:26:15,610
Did you meditate as an athlete?
Oh yeah, you did.

1418
01:26:16,090 --> 01:26:28,080
So I started meditation when I
was 1617 because I understood

1419
01:26:28,080 --> 01:26:31,160
the benefits that he had in like
rerouting the mind.

1420
01:26:31,160 --> 01:26:34,520
Because sometime I just felt
like my mind was elsewhere and I

1421
01:26:34,520 --> 01:26:40,520
needed to really just being able
to refocus my energy or my mind

1422
01:26:40,520 --> 01:26:45,240
into different aspects.
And so I did it a lot again,

1423
01:26:45,600 --> 01:26:52,120
like 1617 area.
Then when I got to like 1920, I

1424
01:26:52,120 --> 01:26:53,760
did a break.
I probably.

1425
01:26:53,760 --> 01:26:57,190
I used to do it every day before
that and then took a break and

1426
01:26:57,190 --> 01:26:59,350
probably did it once or twice a
week.

1427
01:26:59,790 --> 01:27:04,670
And then I went a couple months
without doing it and I just

1428
01:27:05,350 --> 01:27:10,110
immediately saw the difference.
It was night and day, My mind

1429
01:27:10,110 --> 01:27:14,150
was completely elsewhere.
My anxiety was back.

1430
01:27:14,150 --> 01:27:19,150
And so I really, really
understood that meditation was

1431
01:27:19,150 --> 01:27:21,110
crucial.
And then I picked it back up.

1432
01:27:22,470 --> 01:27:26,450
And when I did, I mean, it was
night and day again and it's

1433
01:27:26,450 --> 01:27:31,330
just, it just enabled me to
recenter myself and just look at

1434
01:27:31,330 --> 01:27:35,690
it from an other perspective.
Yeah, what do you do now?

1435
01:27:35,690 --> 01:27:38,330
You said you reintegrated
athletics back into your life.

1436
01:27:38,330 --> 01:27:39,610
What do you do to stay active
now?

1437
01:27:40,810 --> 01:27:46,650
I run a lot.
I I grew up hating running for

1438
01:27:46,690 --> 01:27:48,210
some reason.
Yeah, me too.

1439
01:27:48,370 --> 01:27:52,690
Still do.
I mean, it's is is nicer now.

1440
01:27:52,730 --> 01:27:55,290
I mean, I used to just hate
running just to run.

1441
01:27:55,490 --> 01:27:59,210
Now I'm like, I'm OK with it.
So if I don't do anything, I

1442
01:27:59,210 --> 01:28:01,450
run.
Then I'll lift.

1443
01:28:01,490 --> 01:28:06,530
I'll play basketball sometimes.
I'll do Muay Thai when I have

1444
01:28:06,530 --> 01:28:10,650
time.
I don't know the difference

1445
01:28:10,650 --> 01:28:12,210
between all those things.
What's Muay Thai?

1446
01:28:12,370 --> 01:28:14,650
Muay Thai is kind of like
kickboxing.

1447
01:28:14,930 --> 01:28:19,990
OK?
And then and then what else do I

1448
01:28:19,990 --> 01:28:24,070
do?
I try to play tennis.

1449
01:28:24,830 --> 01:28:26,830
I don't.
There's not a lot of people that

1450
01:28:26,830 --> 01:28:28,830
play tennis.
But I did tell somebody play

1451
01:28:28,830 --> 01:28:30,870
tennis, so I'm always down to
play tennis.

1452
01:28:30,870 --> 01:28:34,350
But yeah, the two things I do
the most is probably running and

1453
01:28:34,350 --> 01:28:38,230
lifting at that at this time
when I can basketball.

1454
01:28:38,750 --> 01:28:40,580
But yeah.
I haven't been able to

1455
01:28:40,580 --> 01:28:43,140
transition to being a runner.
I've always hated running.

1456
01:28:43,140 --> 01:28:45,900
Still do Really.
Yeah, go play basketball for two

1457
01:28:45,900 --> 01:28:47,460
hours.
But I just can't go for a run.

1458
01:28:47,460 --> 01:28:51,300
I don't have it in me why is
there is just the single motion

1459
01:28:51,340 --> 01:28:54,900
I'm just constantly running.
Yeah, I think it's funny.

1460
01:28:56,140 --> 01:28:58,260
All that's flashing through my
mind right now is there's a show

1461
01:28:58,260 --> 01:29:01,460
on HBO called He's Bound and
Down and Kenny.

1462
01:29:01,820 --> 01:29:05,940
Kenny Powers is talking to a
person and I think he says he's

1463
01:29:05,940 --> 01:29:07,380
being, he was in track or
whatever.

1464
01:29:07,700 --> 01:29:09,580
And Kenny Powers says, you know,
I'm good at.

1465
01:29:09,700 --> 01:29:10,940
Sports.
I'm not trying to be the best at

1466
01:29:10,940 --> 01:29:13,460
practicing.
And I like that's what I look at

1467
01:29:13,460 --> 01:29:16,180
running as.
Like I I just it's so monotonous

1468
01:29:16,260 --> 01:29:18,740
and I bet it's freeing when you
can get to it.

1469
01:29:18,740 --> 01:29:21,780
But I I can't.
So now I haven't made that

1470
01:29:21,780 --> 01:29:23,260
transition.
I'm jealous of people I can look

1471
01:29:23,260 --> 01:29:27,580
because it's so quick.
Like I found out recently, a

1472
01:29:27,580 --> 01:29:29,860
couple months ago, like I
sprained my ankle so I haven't

1473
01:29:29,860 --> 01:29:32,300
been able to play basketball.
So I've been looking for those

1474
01:29:32,660 --> 01:29:35,780
different outlets and trying to
find what they were and it's

1475
01:29:35,900 --> 01:29:38,820
it's been a lot of like yoga
and.

1476
01:29:39,870 --> 01:29:42,990
In one place type exercises for
me that have helped.

1477
01:29:42,990 --> 01:29:46,230
I've got I can do more pushups
right now than I've ever been

1478
01:29:46,230 --> 01:29:48,870
able to in my life.
Just solely because of that man.

1479
01:29:49,190 --> 01:29:52,150
Because I because of yoga.
No because of spraining my

1480
01:29:52,150 --> 01:29:55,270
ankle.
I I haven't been able to like do

1481
01:29:55,270 --> 01:29:59,430
anything to you know get those
brain circuits firing and and

1482
01:29:59,430 --> 01:30:03,070
release that tension in any way.
So I started just doing like

1483
01:30:03,390 --> 01:30:06,710
pushups on top of the yoga that
I would do and.

1484
01:30:07,770 --> 01:30:10,010
That's been my outlook, but I'm
jealous of that, of folks like

1485
01:30:10,010 --> 01:30:12,370
it, cuz you can get a run in
like 20 minutes and have a

1486
01:30:12,370 --> 01:30:15,450
pretty good workout fitting
inside a busy life.

1487
01:30:15,450 --> 01:30:19,970
That's that's good.
I basketball can't do that.

1488
01:30:19,970 --> 01:30:23,010
You know, I'll probably start
playing again soon, but that's

1489
01:30:23,010 --> 01:30:24,170
a.
Two hour endeavor.

1490
01:30:24,170 --> 01:30:27,170
Like when you said, when I can
play basketball, it's like, do I

1491
01:30:27,170 --> 01:30:31,170
have a chunk of time and does it
align with when other people are

1492
01:30:31,210 --> 01:30:33,930
exactly.
I mean, that's probably the only

1493
01:30:33,930 --> 01:30:36,690
reason why I picked up running,
because I used to.

1494
01:30:36,850 --> 01:30:40,410
It was my least favorite part
about basketball was the running

1495
01:30:40,450 --> 01:30:45,970
part, and so I just did.
It just grew up not liking

1496
01:30:45,970 --> 01:30:49,250
running.
But for some reason, I only like

1497
01:30:49,250 --> 01:30:52,010
running when it's early in the
morning.

1498
01:30:52,820 --> 01:30:55,220
For some reason.
I don't know why I don't like

1499
01:30:55,220 --> 01:30:57,420
running at night.
I don't like running in the

1500
01:30:57,420 --> 01:30:59,820
middle of the day.
I don't know, just some

1501
01:30:59,980 --> 01:31:03,620
something about just seeing the
sunrise and then just having

1502
01:31:03,620 --> 01:31:08,420
that breeze from the morning and
then just knowing that like the

1503
01:31:08,420 --> 01:31:11,580
whole day.
It's just how I my mind is

1504
01:31:11,580 --> 01:31:14,940
programmed in the morning.
When I run is like the only time

1505
01:31:14,940 --> 01:31:18,850
I really enjoy running, which is
so weird and I don't know why

1506
01:31:18,890 --> 01:31:22,610
that's like that, but.
Yeah, there's something really

1507
01:31:22,610 --> 01:31:26,410
invigorating about mornings.
I I joke all the time that, you

1508
01:31:26,410 --> 01:31:30,010
know, my day starts at its peak.
Like I wake up like a golden

1509
01:31:30,010 --> 01:31:32,090
retriever, you know, like I wake
up ready to go.

1510
01:31:32,130 --> 01:31:35,050
And my wife isn't a morning
person, so it's hilarious.

1511
01:31:35,850 --> 01:31:37,770
Like I I wake up just ready to
go.

1512
01:31:37,770 --> 01:31:39,970
And you know, she's one of those
wakes up with one eye squinted

1513
01:31:39,970 --> 01:31:41,530
like needs her coffee type
thing.

1514
01:31:42,210 --> 01:31:46,370
And like, my day starts here and
then it gradually, it gradually

1515
01:31:46,370 --> 01:31:48,450
goes down.
Like there's something about

1516
01:31:48,450 --> 01:31:50,530
mornings.
Like I love a morning hike, like

1517
01:31:50,530 --> 01:31:55,890
going for a hike in the morning,
like just there's something

1518
01:31:55,890 --> 01:31:59,290
about how it centers me for the
day that I really, really enjoy.

1519
01:31:59,290 --> 01:32:02,030
So I can appreciate that aspect.
I've never tried that.

1520
01:32:02,030 --> 01:32:04,430
Maybe that's the secret.
I've never tried waking up at

1521
01:32:04,550 --> 01:32:07,710
6:00 to go running.
You know, I go on hikes and

1522
01:32:07,710 --> 01:32:09,030
stuff.
Maybe that's when I just need to

1523
01:32:09,350 --> 01:32:12,750
Sprint on my door.
Yeah, no, I definitely agree.

1524
01:32:12,750 --> 01:32:16,470
I mean, if I wait later, I'll
just know I'm not going to do it

1525
01:32:16,470 --> 01:32:18,630
if I don't do it in the morning
and I enjoy it.

1526
01:32:18,630 --> 01:32:24,050
But yeah, I mean, I do it as if
I don't completely win the

1527
01:32:24,050 --> 01:32:27,730
morning, then it's just harder
for me to do things during the

1528
01:32:27,730 --> 01:32:30,090
day.
Like if I don't get a quick

1529
01:32:30,090 --> 01:32:35,490
sweat in the morning, send a few
emails out, meditate, and then

1530
01:32:35,490 --> 01:32:38,930
just do something productive.
Even if I'm not just necessarily

1531
01:32:38,930 --> 01:32:41,730
working on Unix, but doing
something productive towards my

1532
01:32:41,730 --> 01:32:44,930
life.
Like once I like get those 2-3

1533
01:32:44,930 --> 01:32:49,210
hours done in the morning, then
the day just goes by a lot

1534
01:32:49,250 --> 01:32:52,630
easier.
Like I'm just more focused and

1535
01:32:52,630 --> 01:32:56,110
able to do my job more
efficiently and I don't know.

1536
01:32:56,110 --> 01:33:00,950
And when starting you next, I
didn't have that mentality and I

1537
01:33:00,950 --> 01:33:05,270
think that it, like business,
just rerouted by mine towards

1538
01:33:05,270 --> 01:33:09,110
being more of a morning person,
which I thought you were bored a

1539
01:33:09,190 --> 01:33:11,790
morning or night person, but I
don't know.

1540
01:33:12,630 --> 01:33:14,870
No, I don't think so.
I haven't always been a morning

1541
01:33:14,870 --> 01:33:15,750
person.
Oh yeah?

1542
01:33:15,830 --> 01:33:18,130
How did?
You were in, you were in France

1543
01:33:18,130 --> 01:33:34,410
for a long time.
Yeah.

1544
01:33:18,890 --> 01:33:23,290
How did that, like, how did that
shift your mentality about your

1545
01:33:23,290 --> 01:33:26,650
business and your, you know,
your Wellness and and just like

1546
01:33:26,650 --> 01:33:29,690
your daytoday routine because
you didn't work much when you

1547
01:33:29,690 --> 01:33:30,650
were there, right?
Or at all.

1548
01:33:30,650 --> 01:33:33,530
Like it was kind of a go there
to spend time with people,

1549
01:33:33,530 --> 01:33:38,090
right?
So I was there for a month And

1550
01:33:38,090 --> 01:33:41,610
then are you talking about this
past time?

1551
01:33:41,610 --> 01:33:41,850
I.
Was.

1552
01:33:41,970 --> 01:33:42,730
Yeah.
Yeah.

1553
01:33:42,730 --> 01:33:44,130
Because you were there for quite
some time.

1554
01:33:44,130 --> 01:33:47,720
And I know like.
You know, as a as a founder of a

1555
01:33:47,720 --> 01:33:51,400
startup, you know, you probably
got a little, I'm sure, anxious

1556
01:33:51,400 --> 01:33:53,720
at times, right?
Like Oh my goodness, this work

1557
01:33:53,720 --> 01:33:55,600
has to be done.
But you know, how did?

1558
01:33:55,600 --> 01:33:57,960
How did you spend a month there
and remove yourself from

1559
01:33:57,960 --> 01:34:01,120
everything?
Yeah, so for the first two

1560
01:34:01,120 --> 01:34:07,600
weeks, I spend my mornings up to
like 1:00 PM.

1561
01:34:07,680 --> 01:34:13,000
Still working on you Next.
So I did a little bit of work.

1562
01:34:13,200 --> 01:34:16,160
It was hard to have calls
because we're seven hours ahead,

1563
01:34:16,160 --> 01:34:19,920
so it was hard to align those.
So I try to limit the amounts of

1564
01:34:19,920 --> 01:34:24,560
calls that I had, but also still
being able to work for the two

1565
01:34:24,560 --> 01:34:27,640
first weeks in the morning
because we did some traveling,

1566
01:34:27,640 --> 01:34:32,060
but it was nearby.
And so that was a lot more

1567
01:34:32,060 --> 01:34:34,340
freeing because that's something
I was nervous about.

1568
01:34:34,340 --> 01:34:37,900
Going to Frances a month there,
I better get some work done.

1569
01:34:37,900 --> 01:34:40,500
There's no way I'm going to
whole month without getting work

1570
01:34:40,500 --> 01:34:44,060
done.
And so previously, I mean before

1571
01:34:44,060 --> 01:34:46,980
France, I work every day, seven
days a week.

1572
01:34:47,020 --> 01:34:49,540
On weekends, weekdays didn't
matter.

1573
01:34:49,980 --> 01:34:55,300
And so going to France and just
not working for sometimes three

1574
01:34:55,300 --> 01:35:02,640
to four days, the second, the
two weeks afterwards it was, it

1575
01:35:02,640 --> 01:35:07,240
was nerve wracking a little bit
and it wasn't until the last few

1576
01:35:07,240 --> 01:35:11,360
days that I was really able to
enjoy that.

1577
01:35:11,360 --> 01:35:14,560
And I feel like sometimes I'm
like victim of that, but

1578
01:35:14,960 --> 01:35:18,040
sometimes I don't live in the
present moment enough.

1579
01:35:18,520 --> 01:35:21,320
And it's so hard with your
startup always thinking about

1580
01:35:21,320 --> 01:35:24,720
the next move and the next move
and what the, what else could

1581
01:35:24,720 --> 01:35:27,640
happen from there and then still
focusing on the present moment.

1582
01:35:27,640 --> 01:35:32,390
So it's like, it's like during
my whole entire work day, I'm

1583
01:35:32,390 --> 01:35:35,190
just like thinking about the
future and how that could affect

1584
01:35:35,190 --> 01:35:37,550
the future.
But living in the present moment

1585
01:35:37,550 --> 01:35:39,390
is still something I'm working
on.

1586
01:35:39,390 --> 01:35:44,030
And just the last few days I
just started to just being like

1587
01:35:44,230 --> 01:35:46,950
present and like, OK, I'm not
doing business now.

1588
01:35:47,190 --> 01:35:51,830
Let me refocus my mentality
because often time I was just

1589
01:35:51,830 --> 01:35:55,230
with my family, we were just
laying on the beach.

1590
01:35:55,230 --> 01:35:58,570
And then I'm just thinking about
work, thinking about what we

1591
01:35:58,570 --> 01:36:00,770
could do and such.
And I was in and out of

1592
01:36:00,770 --> 01:36:05,530
conversations and it just took a
lot of time to just focus on

1593
01:36:05,530 --> 01:36:13,570
just that moment.
And so it enabled me to, once I

1594
01:36:13,570 --> 01:36:18,610
came back, it enabled me to
really.

1595
01:36:20,250 --> 01:36:24,740
So we're pivoting and we're like
re putting a lot of effort, but

1596
01:36:24,740 --> 01:36:30,580
it enabled me to look at
pivoting in a new lens and being

1597
01:36:30,700 --> 01:36:35,260
more like relaxed because I was
able to take the five days.

1598
01:36:35,260 --> 01:36:39,580
And I think since the creation
of Unix, I I don't think I've

1599
01:36:39,580 --> 01:36:43,180
spent five days in a row where I
was really like present with my

1600
01:36:43,180 --> 01:36:47,580
family and just kind of like
zone job out for a little bit.

1601
01:36:48,100 --> 01:36:52,610
And once I got done with those
like last I want to say yeah,

1602
01:36:52,610 --> 01:36:54,170
anywhere from three to five
days.

1603
01:36:55,570 --> 01:37:01,770
I just like that's for some
reason that I enabled me to look

1604
01:37:01,770 --> 01:37:08,330
at you next in in a more clear
way in the pivoting process.

1605
01:37:08,330 --> 01:37:13,970
And when we did our pivoting
plan, I was a lot more detail

1606
01:37:13,970 --> 01:37:17,240
oriented into that, into that
adjustment.

1607
01:37:17,240 --> 01:37:21,440
And so I think that it took me a
while to adjust to not thinking

1608
01:37:21,440 --> 01:37:25,480
about business.
But it was definitely tough.

1609
01:37:25,560 --> 01:37:28,320
It was tough.
Feel like my mind is so

1610
01:37:28,320 --> 01:37:30,400
programmed into thinking about
the future.

1611
01:37:30,400 --> 01:37:35,320
And so spending two weeks trying
to stay off of a computer is

1612
01:37:35,320 --> 01:37:38,640
kind of hard.
But yeah, eventually hit and die

1613
01:37:38,640 --> 01:37:40,520
actually felt really good.
Yeah.

1614
01:37:41,200 --> 01:37:42,760
Yeah.
Yeah.

1615
01:37:42,760 --> 01:37:45,880
I'm really excited for you next.
But I'm excited for you, man.

1616
01:37:45,880 --> 01:37:49,880
I I it's got so much potential.
Thank you.

1617
01:37:50,160 --> 01:37:52,960
I I just, you know, the Sky's
the limo that it has to be so

1618
01:37:52,960 --> 01:37:55,760
exciting.
It is very exciting, I mean.

1619
01:37:55,800 --> 01:37:58,920
So it's hard not to keep
working, you know, that's what

1620
01:37:58,960 --> 01:38:01,480
I'm saying.
Like it's so hard not to take

1621
01:38:01,480 --> 01:38:04,480
and work and think about work or
work.

1622
01:38:04,480 --> 01:38:10,520
But yeah, I mean, it's excited.
I just think about the future.

1623
01:38:10,680 --> 01:38:16,760
I'm like, I don't try to get too
excited about it, because if I

1624
01:38:16,760 --> 01:38:21,920
get too excited about it, I
don't look at it at the proper

1625
01:38:21,920 --> 01:38:23,680
angle.
And you start caring too much.

1626
01:38:23,680 --> 01:38:28,840
Yeah, I start caring, right?
I I lose the nonchalant.

1627
01:38:28,840 --> 01:38:31,520
But yeah, I know it's like I
have to.

1628
01:38:32,800 --> 01:38:36,400
It's and that's something that
I've seen in a podcast when I

1629
01:38:36,400 --> 01:38:41,500
was in high school, is don't let
the highs be too high, but don't

1630
01:38:41,500 --> 01:38:45,420
let the lows be too low.
And if you let the highs be too

1631
01:38:45,420 --> 01:38:48,620
high, you'll be blinded by what
could actually happen.

1632
01:38:48,620 --> 01:38:52,940
And if you let the lows be too
low, you won't be open to new

1633
01:38:52,940 --> 01:38:56,940
opportunities.
And so I tried to look at what

1634
01:38:56,940 --> 01:39:01,020
you next can be, but also not
get too excited about it and

1635
01:39:01,020 --> 01:39:03,620
just stay focused on what we
need to do right now.

1636
01:39:03,980 --> 01:39:07,920
And I think that's like, that
was a hard thing to change about

1637
01:39:08,000 --> 01:39:11,040
it.
Because when something great

1638
01:39:11,040 --> 01:39:13,240
happens, you want to feel
excellent about it and just

1639
01:39:13,240 --> 01:39:16,320
celebrate it.
But you know that when something

1640
01:39:16,320 --> 01:39:17,840
happens, something else could
happen.

1641
01:39:17,840 --> 01:39:21,040
So just not letting the high
speed too high and low speed too

1642
01:39:21,040 --> 01:39:25,040
low is like one of the main
things I've worked on my whole

1643
01:39:25,040 --> 01:39:27,160
life and continuously working on
but.

1644
01:39:27,200 --> 01:39:29,240
Yeah, at a golf coach, that kind
of.

1645
01:39:29,520 --> 01:39:31,840
That was one of his mentalities,
really, For golfing.

1646
01:39:31,840 --> 01:39:34,550
Yeah, like.
Golf is one of the most humbling

1647
01:39:34,550 --> 01:39:39,030
sports there could be, right?
Like I golfed yesterday and had

1648
01:39:39,030 --> 01:39:43,430
a great ball, striking day.
Hit the ball fantastic and I

1649
01:39:43,430 --> 01:39:46,110
could go out tomorrow and I
could not.

1650
01:39:46,190 --> 01:39:48,030
You know, it's such a humbling
sport.

1651
01:39:48,350 --> 01:39:51,070
So I always remember that
thinking about like, you know,

1652
01:39:51,070 --> 01:39:54,470
you can hit 6 great shots in a
row but don't start, don't start

1653
01:39:54,470 --> 01:39:57,390
thinking that's where you are,
highs and lows.

1654
01:39:57,390 --> 01:40:00,310
You got to come back to the
middle for sure.

1655
01:40:01,490 --> 01:40:03,330
Yeah, Tyrone, I appreciate you
coming on, man.

1656
01:40:03,410 --> 01:40:04,410
It's been great talking to me,
man.

1657
01:40:04,410 --> 01:40:06,730
Already.
That was fun.

1658
01:40:06,730 --> 01:40:08,370
That was fun talking to you,
man.

1659
01:40:08,370 --> 01:40:11,370
And I love doing this.
So let me know if you want to do

1660
01:40:11,370 --> 01:40:12,770
it again, absolutely.