1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,680 Sean Aylmer: Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business Interview. I'm Sean Aylmer. 2 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,200 Sean Aylmer: Small business owners have been under pressure in recent years. 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,120 Sean Aylmer: Their rise in cost of living, high interest rates, soaring 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,239 Sean Aylmer: power bills, low consumer sentiment, and a dip in retail 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,880 Sean Aylmer: spending means SMEs need to be very, very resilient. But 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,080 Sean Aylmer: with rates now coming down, inflation looking like it's under control, 7 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:28,840 Sean Aylmer: and the election now behind this, I wanted to take 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,360 Sean Aylmer: a more positive look at the state of small business. Well, 9 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,320 Sean Aylmer: I hope it's more positive as we head towards the 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,520 Sean Aylmer: end of the financial year. What can SMEs be doing 11 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,640 Sean Aylmer: to set themselves up for a successful 2026 fiscal year. 12 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,760 Sean Aylmer: What are the challenges they're facing? What are the big opportunities. 13 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,920 Sean Aylmer: Beau Bertoli is the co founder and chief revenue officer 14 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,800 Sean Aylmer: at Prospa, a great supporter of this podcast. Beau, Welcome 15 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:49,520 Sean Aylmer: to Fear and Greed. 16 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:51,240 Beau Bertoli: Thanks for having me. Great to be here. 17 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,800 Sean Aylmer: So let's set the scene. How tough has last couple 18 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:54,440 Sean Aylmer: of years been. 19 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:56,520 Beau Bertoli: Look, it's been a really tough couple of years. I 20 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,680 Beau Bertoli: think you touched on inflation being generational, highs TRSs rates, 21 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,280 Beau Bertoli: you know, well over four percent. It's been really, really 22 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,840 Beau Bertoli: tough for small business owners in particularly their costs wages 23 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:08,440 Beau Bertoli: have gone through the roof for them. So it's been 24 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,399 Beau Bertoli: a really difficult couple of years. And I think what 25 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,280 Beau Bertoli: we're finding now as we sort of head into the 26 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,760 Beau Bertoli: middle of twenty twenty five is that business owners they 27 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:17,560 Beau Bertoli: are resilient, but it's also been a bit of a 28 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,640 Beau Bertoli: survival of the fittest that we're now finding the businesses 29 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:22,480 Beau Bertoli: who are still here in the middle of twenty five. 30 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,280 Beau Bertoli: For the ones that have been able to adapt, they've 31 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,240 Beau Bertoli: adjusted their cost structures, they've got their pricing model on 32 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,600 Beau Bertoli: their margins right, and they've weathered the storm, so to speak, 33 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:32,240 Beau Bertoli: so they're almost at the other side of it. 34 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,800 Sean Aylmer: Are there some sectors that have struggled more than others? 35 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,800 Beau Bertoli: Definitely. I think if you look across the Australian economy, 36 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,160 Beau Bertoli: the areas that have had the most difficult time hospitality, retail, 37 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,680 Beau Bertoli: and probably the building and trade sector. And if you 38 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,840 Beau Bertoli: look at things like insolvency rates, they've been again generational highs. 39 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,600 Beau Bertoli: It's been those three sectors that have been most impacted 40 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,400 Beau Bertoli: in the small business arena, and again, I think it's 41 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,120 Beau Bertoli: the resilience of small businesses within those industries where we've 42 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,240 Beau Bertoli: seen consolidation start to take place, we've seen business owners 43 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:06,360 Beau Bertoli: looking for opportunities within these difficult times. On the flip side, 44 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,640 Beau Bertoli: there's been industries that have actually performed really well in 45 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,960 Beau Bertoli: the last twelve to twenty four months. For example, in 46 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,760 Beau Bertoli: professional services, that's been an area that we've seen really 47 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,360 Beau Bertoli: strong growth. Manufacturing as well, and wholesale has been another 48 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,919 Beau Bertoli: area that's done very well. So it is a bit 49 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,639 Beau Bertoli: of a tale of two stories across the Australian economy. 50 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,440 Beau Bertoli: And I think over the last you probably six months, 51 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,960 Beau Bertoli: with the first interest rate cut earlier this year, a 52 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,680 Beau Bertoli: second recent cut now as well, we're in a really 53 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,080 Beau Bertoli: good position to create I think the next platform of 54 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,079 Beau Bertoli: growth for the Australian economy for small businesses. 55 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,520 Sean Aylmer: So let's talk about that. We're at a point from 56 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,120 Sean Aylmer: what you just said then both not quite the survival 57 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,000 Sean Aylmer: of the fittest, but the fittest have done best. They've 58 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,480 Sean Aylmer: come through or they've gotten fit as a result of 59 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,120 Sean Aylmer: everything that's gone on. How are they feeling about twenty 60 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:51,480 Sean Aylmer: twenty six. Do you think there's more optimism out there? 61 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,760 Beau Bertoli: I think there is, And again you took us farther 62 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,480 Beau Bertoli: the fittest. It is a genuine thing in business that 63 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,160 Beau Bertoli: most small business owners they are running right to the edge. 64 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:01,400 Sean Aylmer: Now. 65 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,760 Beau Bertoli: One of the bits of researcher we've conducted recently showed 66 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:06,840 Beau Bertoli: that the majority of small business owners have less than 67 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,760 Beau Bertoli: ninety days of business expenses as cash in the bank account, 68 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,280 Beau Bertoli: literally three months of runway. So it is really important 69 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,120 Beau Bertoli: that business owners, I guess, see these opportunities that are 70 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,200 Beau Bertoli: now starting to emerge in the economy. I think looking 71 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,080 Beau Bertoli: forwards in terms of optimism, it's definitely coming from a 72 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,480 Beau Bertoli: place where interest rates are coming down, Unemployment is relatively stable, 73 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,840 Beau Bertoli: consumer growth, while it's not booming, it's relatively stable. We've 74 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,560 Beau Bertoli: got the election result out of the way as well, 75 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,360 Beau Bertoli: which is good for certainty around our policy and where 76 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,920 Beau Bertoli: to So I think all of the platform ingredients are 77 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,600 Beau Bertoli: there now for business owners to take advantage of those 78 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,320 Beau Bertoli: opportunities that are going to be coming over the next 79 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:43,960 Beau Bertoli: twelve months. 80 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,880 Sean Aylmer: In a sense, how do they take advantage of the opportunities. 81 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:48,960 Sean Aylmer: I know it depends on what sector they're in, and 82 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,920 Sean Aylmer: someone do better than others. But as you sit here today, 83 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,600 Sean Aylmer: where abounds, I mean, watch the proactive steps business owners 84 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,040 Sean Aylmer: should be taking to be thinking about these opportunities to 85 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,400 Sean Aylmer: be able to grasp them when they arrive, or even 86 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:04,840 Sean Aylmer: going out and finding them. Yeah. 87 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,040 Beau Bertoli: Sure, I think if it as fitter, faster, stronger, they're 88 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Beau Bertoli: my three kind of ideas for a business owner. And 89 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,560 Beau Bertoli: when we think about being fitter, how is it you 90 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:13,840 Beau Bertoli: can cut some waste in your business? And every business 91 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:15,960 Beau Bertoli: owner has got it. Can you trim down the fat 92 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,719 Beau Bertoli: a little bit in terms of saving just a little 93 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,480 Beau Bertoli: bit more to your bottom line? How do you get faster? 94 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:22,640 Beau Bertoli: So there's a lot of different ways you can get 95 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,880 Beau Bertoli: faster as a business owner. At the end of the day, 96 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,600 Beau Bertoli: the customer is what's driving speed in our economy and 97 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,040 Beau Bertoli: I think customers, all of us are guilty of this. 98 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,680 Beau Bertoli: We are, so I guess we value speed of outcome, 99 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,240 Beau Bertoli: whether that's a quick answer and a credit application with 100 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,440 Beau Bertoli: prosper or whether it's buying something online and getting it 101 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,880 Beau Bertoli: delivered the next day or that day. There is this 102 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,760 Beau Bertoli: demand now for experiencing in terms of experience, and that's 103 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,400 Beau Bertoli: a really important thing to get right, and that takes 104 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,880 Beau Bertoli: things like investing in technology to be able to actually 105 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,320 Beau Bertoli: move faster as a business and be more productive. And 106 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:54,040 Beau Bertoli: then how do you get stronger. Well, that's actually building 107 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:56,920 Beau Bertoli: up your balance sheet. And Prosper one of the things 108 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:58,960 Beau Bertoli: we're really proud of is that we've funded almost five 109 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,760 Beau Bertoli: billion dollars into this strain economy for small business owners 110 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,520 Beau Bertoli: and we know how valuable having some extra working capital 111 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,960 Beau Bertoli: in your business can be. So strengthen your balance sheet. 112 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,160 Beau Bertoli: Take advantage of an opportunity, which could be to consolidate 113 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,159 Beau Bertoli: part of the market that you're in. How do you 114 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,680 Beau Bertoli: do that? You need funding to do that. Take advantage 115 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:17,400 Beau Bertoli: of opening a new site, how do you do that? 116 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:19,320 Beau Bertoli: It needs money to actually go and open that side. 117 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:21,640 Beau Bertoli: Perhaps you want to expand into state there's now an 118 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,800 Beau Bertoli: opportunity to open up in a different part of Australia. 119 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:25,760 Beau Bertoli: How do you do that? Again, it takes money. So 120 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:27,920 Beau Bertoli: this is one of the things where I think business 121 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,000 Beau Bertoli: owners need to understand there are options out there, not 122 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:32,960 Beau Bertoli: just the big banks, but outside of the big banks, 123 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,520 Beau Bertoli: companies like Prosper where we can actually help you take 124 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,120 Beau Bertoli: advantage of those growth opportunities, which nine out of ten 125 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:40,080 Beau Bertoli: times takes money to actually get advantage of. 126 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,120 Sean Aylmer: I talk a little bit about more about that, but 127 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:51,200 Sean Aylmer: we'll take a quick break. My guest this morning is 128 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,680 Sean Aylmer: bo but totally co founder of Prosper. Before we went 129 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,200 Sean Aylmer: to the break, you were talking about the need for 130 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:02,719 Sean Aylmer: funding to take advantage of opportunities just Prosper itself. Where's 131 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,960 Sean Aylmer: your funding come from? Just like a one ah one 132 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:07,239 Sean Aylmer: on prosper sure. 133 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,120 Beau Bertoli: So Prosper as a business we started thirteen years ago 134 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,359 Beau Bertoli: and we are a self funded on balance sheet lender, 135 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,559 Beau Bertoli: so we basically source our own capital and we provide 136 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,320 Beau Bertoli: that capital there to small business owners. We have loans 137 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,880 Beau Bertoli: between five thousand dollars up to half a million dollars. 138 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,039 Beau Bertoli: We have revolving line of credit products as well that 139 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,359 Beau Bertoli: operate like overdrafts. So it's a really broad range of 140 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,080 Beau Bertoli: products that we offer and we fund almost every industry 141 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,000 Beau Bertoli: and geographical area in Australia. 142 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,039 Sean Aylmer: And so what size of the loans that you're talking 143 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:36,040 Sean Aylmer: about in the overdrafts? 144 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,360 Beau Bertoli: So from five thousand dollars up to five hundred thousand dollars. 145 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,279 Sean Aylmer: Okay, And is that an area how I mean, I'd 146 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:44,560 Sean Aylmer: imagine the banks are fairly aggressive in that area. That's 147 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:44,960 Sean Aylmer: a question. 148 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,400 Beau Bertoli: No, not really, because I think the banks they're very 149 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,840 Beau Bertoli: good at certain things. So they're very good at writing mortgages, 150 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:54,679 Beau Bertoli: very good at institutional and corporate banking. But to a bank, 151 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,080 Beau Bertoli: a small business is someone looking typically to borrow two 152 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,960 Beau Bertoli: million dollars. Now, whereas we're looking at a business owner, 153 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,360 Beau Bertoli: it's someone who's doing two million a year in revenue. 154 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:04,559 Beau Bertoli: That's a small business owner. They might only need fifty 155 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,400 Beau Bertoli: one hundred, two hundred thousand dollars. So what we've I 156 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,200 Beau Bertoli: guess innovated a prosper. It's a way for those businesses 157 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,040 Beau Bertoli: out there that need a quick, almost immediate answer to 158 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,200 Beau Bertoli: am I eligible for funding or not? We can turn 159 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,080 Beau Bertoli: applications around in less than twenty four hours and they 160 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,800 Beau Bertoli: can have the funding almost overnight in most cases. So 161 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,720 Beau Bertoli: it's a really powerful proposition for business owners. When you 162 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,920 Beau Bertoli: see an opportunity which often comes up last minute, and 163 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,880 Beau Bertoli: you need the capital to take advantage of it, well 164 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:30,840 Beau Bertoli: where there and we can get you an answer really 165 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:32,680 Beau Bertoli: quickly on whether or not you can get that capital. 166 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,360 Sean Aylmer: So if I'm asking for a loan from you, what 167 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,760 Sean Aylmer: are you looking at from me? Though? What are the 168 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,120 Sean Aylmer: characteristics that you want the small business to have so 169 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:43,920 Sean Aylmer: that they can get the loan? What are you looking for? 170 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,360 Beau Bertoli: So for us, it's really looking at the cash flow 171 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,920 Beau Bertoli: of the business. So the peanut and the balance sheet 172 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,760 Beau Bertoli: are important documents, but that's actually what the banks typically 173 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:54,800 Beau Bertoli: will look at. So we prefer to understand the cash 174 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,040 Beau Bertoli: flow of the business, and what we've found is that 175 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,440 Beau Bertoli: that allows us to lend the right amount of money 176 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,080 Beau Bertoli: and in case there's more money to small business owners 177 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,640 Beau Bertoli: than what perhaps the financial statements are supporting. So it's 178 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,600 Beau Bertoli: really really valuable for us to have a good insight 179 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,320 Beau Bertoli: into who the business owner is, what industry you're in. 180 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,760 Beau Bertoli: The whole application process for Prosperous Online takes about ten 181 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,240 Beau Bertoli: minutes to fill out and off. It's the provision of 182 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,280 Beau Bertoli: your bank statements, so just some transaction information to understand 183 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,920 Beau Bertoli: how the cash flow of your business is working. With 184 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,000 Beau Bertoli: that information, we're able to provide an answer, as I 185 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:28,480 Beau Bertoli: mentioned earlier, over within twenty four hours, and that's a 186 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:30,160 Beau Bertoli: really great experience for business owners. 187 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,560 Sean Aylmer: Okay, I want to talk about tech. Prosper does both 188 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:37,760 Sean Aylmer: tech and finance based solutions? Do SMEs use tech? And 189 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:39,480 Sean Aylmer: then I want to go into AI, So just don't 190 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,520 Sean Aylmer: talk about AI yet. I'm just interested in whether SMEs, 191 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,040 Sean Aylmer: whether they are people who just don't have time to 192 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:49,360 Sean Aylmer: invest in technology or to understand it whether they do 193 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:50,600 Sean Aylmer: and actually drives their business. 194 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,880 Beau Bertoli: So there's two groups of customer when it comes to technology. 195 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,920 Beau Bertoli: I think one hundred percent of business owners use technology 196 00:08:57,920 --> 00:08:59,440 Beau Bertoli: in some way, shape or form. So they've got an 197 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,400 Beau Bertoli: email address, they've got some type of yeah phone, or 198 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,600 Beau Bertoli: even some type of basic software that they might use, 199 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,679 Beau Bertoli: whether that's Excel or word or something like that. Then 200 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,040 Beau Bertoli: there are the business owners who really vyue technology and 201 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,559 Beau Bertoli: they're using it to try and enhance their customer proposition 202 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,800 Beau Bertoli: or run their business far more efficiently. So there is 203 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,160 Beau Bertoli: this group of small business owners that really care about 204 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,800 Beau Bertoli: technology and they're constantly trying to think about how can 205 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,040 Beau Bertoli: I make my website experience better? How can I make 206 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,000 Beau Bertoli: my product experience better. You might be a plumbing business 207 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,000 Beau Bertoli: and you're thinking about how can I invest in telematic 208 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,160 Beau Bertoli: so I can plan out the routes of my vehicles better. 209 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,840 Beau Bertoli: So there's a lot of different ways to invest in technology, 210 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,000 Beau Bertoli: and that's relevant for a pocket. But then there's a 211 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,319 Beau Bertoli: very large pocket of business owners that don't invest in technology. 212 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,800 Beau Bertoli: In fact, one stat that surprised me in the last 213 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,319 Beau Bertoli: few years is that forty two percent of business owners 214 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,960 Beau Bertoli: don't even have a website, let alone a social presence. 215 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,160 Beau Bertoli: So that's a really big insight into how much opportunity 216 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,280 Beau Bertoli: can still be out there given that there are so 217 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,640 Beau Bertoli: many businesses that are not even really active in the 218 00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,120 Beau Bertoli: digital world that we live in today. 219 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,320 Sean Aylmer: I mean, they're not investing in AI either. What about 220 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,560 Sean Aylmer: the third that are investing in technology? Is AI being 221 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,160 Sean Aylmer: implemented in small business at the same pace that is 222 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:10,079 Sean Aylmer: in big business? 223 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:12,840 Beau Bertoli: I mean, first, I'm not sure that's being invested in 224 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,120 Beau Bertoli: a big business at a fast enough pace at the moment, 225 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:16,959 Beau Bertoli: but I think at the small end of town it's 226 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,840 Beau Bertoli: even worse. So I think a lot of people are 227 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,080 Beau Bertoli: playing around with some of the basic models like chat, 228 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,559 Beau Bertoli: GPT and almost using it as an advanced search engine. 229 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,280 Beau Bertoli: But you're really the utility of AI is how can 230 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,240 Beau Bertoli: you bring it into the operations of your business and 231 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,559 Beau Bertoli: how can you invest in it in the customer experience 232 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,680 Beau Bertoli: whatever that product experience happens to be. So I again, 233 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,040 Beau Bertoli: I think there's a whole spectrum of small business owners 234 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,600 Beau Bertoli: that are even understanding and aware of what AI can 235 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,640 Beau Bertoli: actually do for a business. I think there's a short window, 236 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:45,640 Beau Bertoli: maybe it's only twelve or twenty four months where business 237 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,120 Beau Bertoli: owners need to get on board, and they need to 238 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:50,360 Beau Bertoli: really understand how AI can help their business. It's not 239 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,360 Beau Bertoli: this scary foreign thing. It's actually a really easy technology 240 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,800 Beau Bertoli: to start playing around with and use to about website development. 241 00:10:57,800 --> 00:10:59,920 Beau Bertoli: I mean, you can literally use an AI tool now 242 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,640 Beau Bertoli: online to build a website in ten or fifteen minutes 243 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:04,880 Beau Bertoli: using natural language. You don't even need to know how 244 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,200 Beau Bertoli: to code or anything like that. So there are really 245 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,199 Beau Bertoli: simple things that you can now use that could really 246 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,439 Beau Bertoli: help a business owner get forward. And I think it's 247 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,080 Beau Bertoli: really important that business owners and as a community we 248 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,320 Beau Bertoli: try to educate more business owners around the value of 249 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,839 Beau Bertoli: not just AI, but general technology, because we know how 250 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,120 Beau Bertoli: valuable it is at opening up productivity, at driving more 251 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:26,880 Beau Bertoli: profit and revenue through the economy, and ultimately creating more jobs. 252 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:28,920 Beau Bertoli: So super important that we keep investing in it. 253 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:30,920 Sean Aylmer: Thank you for talking to Fear and Greed. 254 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,000 Beau Bertoli: Thanks for having me. 255 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:35,760 Sean Aylmer: That was Beau Bertoli, Co-Founder and chief revenue officer of Prospa. 256 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:38,480 Sean Aylmer: This is the Fear and Greed Business Interview. Join us 257 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:40,760 Sean Aylmer: every morning for the full episode of Fear and Greed. 258 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,959 Sean Aylmer: Daily business news for people who make their own decisions. 259 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:44,800 Sean Aylmer: I'm Sean Aylmer. Enjoy your day.