1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: In recent years, people all over the world seem fascinated 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,480 Speaker 1: to learn more about their family history. One of the 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: companies helping people do that is Ancestry, a company now 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: led by Deblu, a technology expert previously working at PayPal 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: and Facebook. I had a chance to sit down with 6 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: her to learn why it is that people are so 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: interested about their ancestry. So tell me this. What does 8 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: Ancestry do for its customers. 9 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,159 Speaker 2: Ancestry has over three point six million active subscribers, and 10 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 2: these subscribers come to learn more about their history, building 11 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 2: their family tree. They're discovering new content, They're actually building 12 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 2: their family story every single day on our platform. We 13 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 2: also have a business in consumer genomens. So twenty three 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 2: million people have taken in their DNA test and we 15 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 2: can show you a little bit more about your family 16 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 2: history through genetics, really where you're from, your communities, ethnicity. 17 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 2: But we can also show matches such as distant cousins 18 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: you might never have discovered. 19 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: I suppose I go onto your webs site and I say, okay, 20 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: I want to learn about my ancestors. Do I send 21 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: an email to you saying I want to subscribe, and 22 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: do you actually do the searching, or do they do 23 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: the searching based on the records that that you make 24 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: available to them. 25 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 2: We consider this a collaborative process. So let's say you 26 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 2: go to ancestry dot com and you sign up. The 27 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 2: first thing you do is put in a little bit 28 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 2: about yourself. You can put your name, your birthday, where 29 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 2: you're from, and then we start helping you build that 30 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 2: family tree, so you know a little bit about your parents, 31 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 2: your grandparents, and as you go further further in your history, 32 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 2: we might actually suggest ancestors that you didn't know about. 33 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 2: So maybe you don't know the names you were great grandparents, 34 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 2: but you might know where they're from, or you might 35 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 2: not know that much about you know, your great aunts. 36 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 2: We would actually say, hey, this might be a potential 37 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,279 Speaker 2: ancestor of yours, and then we actually unfold their history 38 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 2: as well, so maybe it's your grandfather's draft card or 39 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 2: your grandmother's immigration papers. We start helping you kind of 40 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 2: put together the story of their lives. 41 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: So, but if somebody calls up or sends an email 42 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: and says I want to use the service, they pay 43 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: a fee and then you have somebody that works with them, 44 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: or you just give them their records and they can 45 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: dig through it. But then if they need help, they 46 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: can maybe pay a little a bigger fee or something. 47 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, so if you come, it's really the automation and 48 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 2: technology that we've built. You know, we have over one 49 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 2: hundred and thirty million family trees that are already been built, 50 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 2: and using that we can help derive a little bit 51 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 2: about your cousins, your second cousins, your third cousins, something 52 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 2: about your grandparents, your great grandparents as well. And so 53 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 2: using technology, this assist of technology allows us to help 54 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 2: you build out your tree for yourself. Now, if you 55 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 2: need an additional help, we actually have what we call 56 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 2: pro genealogists that can actually do research projects specifically for 57 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 2: you as well. 58 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: So why do people want to know so much about 59 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 1: their genealogy? Because, like in my case, I'm afraid I 60 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: might have some horse thieves in my background and I 61 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: wouldn't want to know that. So tell me why do 62 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:47,679 Speaker 1: people want to know so much about their background? 63 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 2: Well, you know, we actually surveyed folks and three quarters 64 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 2: of Americans actually want to learn more about their family history. 65 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 2: But a lot of that is we call it journeys 66 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 2: a personal discovery because you know, what brought you here today, 67 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 2: what brings your children here? Is a history of lots 68 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 2: of people migrating throughout the world, you know, having impact 69 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,839 Speaker 2: in so many different ways, and so so many people 70 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 2: want to go back and understand where they came from 71 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 2: so they can understand who they are today. 72 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: Typically people can go back one hundred years, two hundred years, 73 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: two hundred years. Sometimes in Europe people say I can 74 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: go back a thousand years or so. Is that realistic? 75 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: You can trace your ancestry back a thousand years? 76 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 2: Definitely, especially of European heritage. We have those records. We 77 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 2: have worked with archives and governments throughout Europe to actually 78 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 2: gather those documents so that you can trace yourself. And 79 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 2: so many people say, hey, I trace myself to a 80 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 2: sixteen hundred royalty. 81 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: You know. 82 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 2: And what's really amazing about that is that journey is 83 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: actually helping unfold so many stories, not just the most 84 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 2: famous royal that you have, but also all the people 85 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 2: in between. 86 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: Sometimes I've heard of people, some friends of mine, who 87 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: have done ancestry or equivalent on some other method and 88 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: they find that their parent isn't really their parent or 89 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: their biological parent. So that happened a lot. 90 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 2: We do see occasionally surprises in your DNA in particular, 91 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 2: so when people take a DNA test, you'll find some 92 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 2: relatives that you knew about who've already done the test. 93 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 2: But sometimes we do find folks who get new information 94 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 2: about their family. We actually have a dedicated team that 95 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 2: helps folks who experience that so that they can talk 96 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 2: them through that experience. 97 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 1: So how many people here go on to your website 98 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,479 Speaker 1: and say I want to learn my genealogy. 99 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 2: Actually millions of people come even every month every year 100 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 2: to actually learn about the genealogy. As I said, we 101 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 2: have three point six million active subscribers, but we have 102 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 2: millions of people come. And you know, we have twenty 103 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 2: three million people who have done their DNA as well, 104 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 2: So we have millions of people coming to discover something 105 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 2: new about themselves. 106 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: So today, if somebody wants to use your service, they 107 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 1: become a subscriber. But a subscriber means you pay a 108 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: one time fee or an ongoing monthly fee. How does 109 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: that work? 110 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 2: So ours is a subscription service, so you pay an 111 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 2: ongoing monthly fee as you continue to access your tree 112 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 2: and access the records. We have new records coming in 113 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 2: all the time. So not only do you know you're 114 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 2: not just finishing your tree, there's actually new records that 115 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 2: are coming to help you on your journey. So you know, 116 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 2: we have over forty billion records already on our platform. 117 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 2: This year actually we're adding fifteen billion, so there's more 118 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 2: discoveries to be had all the time. 119 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: So the average person who is a subscriber, they are 120 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: subscriber for three months six months a year. How long 121 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: does somebody typically subscribe. 122 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 2: Well, you know, people come for various reasons and there's 123 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 2: actually different tenures. Some people are doing it for a 124 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 2: single project where they want to discover one thing, maybe 125 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,359 Speaker 2: for a fiftieth anniversary party. Others are really here to 126 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 2: you know, we have subscribers who've been here ten twenty years, 127 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 2: and so it's really important to really think about what 128 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 2: it is that they're trying to do. 129 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: When did this company start? 130 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 2: So this year we celebrate our fortieth anniversary. Surprisingly has 131 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 2: been it's been such a journey over the four decades. 132 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: So who helped start it? 133 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 2: So you know, there was a group of people actually 134 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 2: in Provo, Utah who started this as a publishing company. 135 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 2: So this was not always a technology company or subscription company. 136 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 2: It started as a publishing company, publishing records and genealogy 137 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 2: to help people discover their past. 138 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: So you've obviously risen up to run a publicly traded company. 139 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: And what's the market value of this company today? 140 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 2: So we're actually privately owned by Blackstone and the transaction 141 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 2: was at about close to five billion Dollarsay, it was public, 142 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 2: It was public about ten years ago, and now. 143 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:17,799 Speaker 1: It's privately owned by Blackstone. 144 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 2: That's correct. 145 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,040 Speaker 1: Okay, So presumably Blackstone, since I know that business reasonly, well, 146 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: they'll probably try to sell it at some point or 147 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: take a public but not in the media future. 148 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think, look, you know there are owners, 149 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 2: and I think you know our partnership with them is 150 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 2: very very close. 151 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: Right, So how are you going to grow the company? 152 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 1: The company is now the biggest in the United States certainly 153 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: maybe the biggest in the world. But everybody wants growth. 154 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: So how are you going to grow the company? Or 155 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: we have new lines of activity you're going to get 156 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: into or something like that. 157 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 2: Well, as I said, you know, seventy five percent of 158 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 2: the United States has said that they're interested in family history, 159 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:54,919 Speaker 2: and you look at globally, actually in many key countries 160 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 2: that we're in that's very similar as well. There's so 161 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 2: many more people interested than are in the category today 162 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 2: and part of that is pretty intimidating. And come to 163 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 2: our site. You know, you're trying to figure out how 164 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 2: to make it work. We want to make it simpler. 165 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 2: And one of the things we're doing is on top 166 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 2: of ancestry for all, we have something we call me 167 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: to we so how do we actually take genealogy from 168 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 2: this kind of solo activity where one person's doing it 169 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 2: for the family and bring your family together so that 170 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 2: as we're doing with my cousins, we're adding photos together, 171 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 2: we're talking about those things. We're actually collecting family history, 172 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 2: your one piece at a time. 173 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: So what about your DNA and your ancestry of you 174 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: to check that out? 175 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 2: I have, I have done my DNA and no surprise, 176 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 2: I am Southern Chinese and so my family is from 177 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 2: guangzhel I. 178 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: See, let's talk about your background for a moment. You 179 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: grew up where. 180 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 2: I grew up? Well, I was born in New York 181 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 2: and when I was six, I moved to a small 182 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 2: town in you're Charleston, South Carolina. 183 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: And why did you do do that. 184 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 2: So my dad actually was discriminating against at work, and 185 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 2: my parents really felt like there wasn't a future for 186 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 2: them in New York. And so his friend in Indianamerican 187 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 2: family said, come down to Charleston. I work at the 188 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 2: Charleston Naval Shipyard and the government doesn't discriminate. So my dad, 189 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 2: I have no idea what he was thinking, picked up 190 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 2: our whole family. We drove to a place he had 191 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 2: never been, and we moved and became South Carolina. 192 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: And were your parents immigrants from China or were they 193 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: born here? 194 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 2: So my parents were both immigrants from Hong Kong and 195 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 2: they actually met and married here. 196 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: And so you grew up in Charleston, right, yes? And 197 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: so where'd you go to high school? 198 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 2: I went to school. It's a place called Hanahan High School. 199 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 2: So it's a small town about thirty minutes from Charleston. 200 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: And then you went to Duke University I did. And 201 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: were you an engineer student? 202 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 2: I was. I studied civil and environmental engineering at Duke. 203 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: Were there a lot of women in engineering at that time? 204 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 2: Not at that time and probably still not as much 205 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 2: as it could be today. 206 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: And then after you graduated, what did you do. 207 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 2: So I graduated and went to Boston Consulting Group. And 208 00:08:57,880 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 2: then right after that, after a couple of years of 209 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 2: being in the Atlanta office, I went to Stanford for 210 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:03,079 Speaker 2: business school. 211 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: Okay, so you graduated from Stanford, and then where did 212 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: you go? 213 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 2: So it wasn't sure what I wanted to do with 214 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 2: my life. We thought we wanted to move back to 215 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 2: the South, and so we were looking for jobs, but 216 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 2: the economy was terrible, and so I stumbled on the startup. 217 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 2: It's called PayPal. Is actually fairly large today, but obviously 218 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 2: when I was there, there were about three hundred people 219 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 2: in Mountain View working at that company. And I joined. 220 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: She joined PayPal, and what was your responsibility at PayPal? 221 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 2: So I joined as a product manager. Back then, there 222 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 2: weren't a lot of product managers, and I wasn't one 223 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 2: hundred percent sure what the job was. When I showed up, 224 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,719 Speaker 2: they asked me, well, just tell us what you think 225 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 2: we should build. And I thought, as an advid eBay seller, 226 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 2: I was a power seller at one point. I I 227 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 2: had all these things to make the selling experience better, 228 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 2: and so I led the seller experience for a time 229 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 2: and eventually led the integration between PayPal and eBay. 230 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: Right, So after PayPal, where did you go? 231 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 2: I finished up at PayPal after a few years. I 232 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 2: had had my son, I was working part time. I 233 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 2: was thinking about quitting tech. I was really struggling and 234 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 2: feeling like I was making a difference. And I got 235 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 2: a call to lead the buyer experience at eBay, where 236 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 2: I spent a couple of years. 237 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: And then after that, did you join Facebook at some point? 238 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 2: Yeah? I got a call when I was actually on 239 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 2: attorney leave with my daughter. So and my friend had 240 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,439 Speaker 2: joined Facebook and said, I have the perfect job for you. 241 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 2: You need to come interview. And I thought, I'm nursing 242 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 2: a newborn, I have a toddler, It's probably not the 243 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 2: time to do another startup. And at the time Facebook 244 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 2: was a startup, but I just had to see where 245 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 2: it was going to go. And I joined Facebook when 246 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 2: it was about nine hundred employees. 247 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: And what was your job at Facebook? 248 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 2: So I was in product marketing. So I was really 249 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 2: there to build what we call consumer modization, so the 250 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:41,199 Speaker 2: alternative to ads. So is there a different different products 251 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 2: we can do modization with outside of ads? 252 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: Right? So how many years were you at Facebook? 253 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 2: Eleven years? I was there for over a decade, right, 254 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 2: so over. 255 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: A decade and then somebody calls you a headhunter and says, 256 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: how about Ancestry. 257 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 2: Yes, I did actually get an email that said, Hey, 258 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 2: there's a tech company looking for CEO. Do you want 259 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 2: to talk to us? And at first I I had 260 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 2: deleted a lot of those emails over the years, but 261 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 2: I thought, I'm really interested, So you know. 262 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: All right, So when was that? 263 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 2: That was twenty twenty. It was during the lockdown, lots 264 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,079 Speaker 2: of things going on, but it is really interested in 265 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 2: learning more. 266 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: So that was about three years ago. So you've been 267 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: the CEO for three years? 268 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, about two and a half years. Yea. 269 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 1: So what is your biggest challenge now at anceftire? What 270 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: are you trying to do that wasn't done before? 271 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 2: Well, what's been amazing about Ancestry is it's been such 272 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 2: a resilient company over so many generations, and yet there's 273 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 2: so much more to do. And what I'd say is, 274 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 2: you know, one of the things I really wanted us 275 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 2: to do was really make Ancestry for all. How do 276 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 2: we make the product not just amazing if you have 277 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 2: European heritage, but across any heritage and so part of 278 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 2: the work that we've been doing is really diversifying our product, 279 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 2: making sure we're bringing in new communities, new content, to 280 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 2: make it more possible for people from different backgrounds to 281 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:51,559 Speaker 2: have a great experience. 282 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: Okay, so you have competitors who else competing with Ancestory. 283 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: You don't have to mention their names if you don't 284 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: want to, but I assume they're competitors. 285 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 2: But I think a bigger competitor is really time. Right, 286 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 2: this is a hobby where you're spending time on discovering 287 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 2: your family history, so you know, things that compete for 288 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 2: your time and attention is really our biggest competitor. The 289 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,440 Speaker 2: other thing is people learning about their family history. They 290 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 2: use pencil and paper and research and we you know, 291 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 2: a lot of what we're trying to do is bring 292 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 2: digitize all of that and make it a lot easier. 293 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: And so in the business of genealogy genealogy research, are 294 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:24,960 Speaker 1: you the biggest company in the United States? 295 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 2: We are the biggest company in the United States, in 296 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 2: the world, I believe in the world too. 297 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,560 Speaker 1: So in China, there's a lot of interest in genealogy historically, 298 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: and I think it's the case that you can trace 299 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: your genealogy back many hundreds of years, not a typically 300 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: the case. There is there an equivalent in China of ancestry. 301 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:45,960 Speaker 2: Well, we do partner with a company called my China Roots, 302 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 2: which does a little bit of you know, expat genealogy 303 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 2: in China as well, and I've used them for my 304 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 2: own family. 305 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: When you did your own genealogy, what was the most 306 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: surprising thing that you learned about your own genealogy? 307 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 2: Well, what's really fascinating is, obviously, you know, beyond and 308 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 2: point the records are from China and so I don't 309 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 2: have access to those records. But what's fascinating is really 310 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 2: seeing my cousins all come together and actually pull together 311 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 2: photos from our family. Each of us have sections of 312 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 2: the family photos from our parents' childhoods, and we realize 313 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 2: that each of us only had a portion of them, 314 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 2: and we've all been scanning them and actually putting them 315 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 2: together onto ancestry. 316 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: Now do you do the ancestry of let's say, presence 317 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: of the United States? Have you've ever done that? Or 318 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: Presence ever call you up and say can you chase 319 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: my ancestry? 320 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 2: We do have some well known people's ancestry on there's 321 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,559 Speaker 2: public trees that we have put out, and it's something 322 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 2: that we have done for folks. 323 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: And do people ever call you after they get their 324 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: research down and they say, I'm not happy with what 325 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: I learned. 326 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 2: Actually, a lot of people it's really a journey sometimes 327 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 2: what they learned for the first time and how they 328 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 2: feel the first call versus the second, versus the third. 329 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 2: People are processing new information about themselves that they might 330 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 2: never have known, and so part of that is part 331 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 2: of what we do is try to help them along 332 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 2: in that journey. I don't think that it's about discrimination, 333 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 2: and like my dad faced, it's much more about kind 334 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 2: of what societal expectations are. I have three kids, I 335 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:07,720 Speaker 2: want on three maternity leaves. You did to slow my 336 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 2: career down during those six years. I wasn't promoted at all. 337 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,439 Speaker 2: In fact, I took a demotion to go to Facebook. 338 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 2: And so I don't think it's as easy as pointing 339 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 2: to one thing and saying, hey, this was a circumstance, 340 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 2: like what happened to my father. It's much more of 341 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 2: how do we build workplaces where it makes it possible 342 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 2: for everyone to rise together. 343 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: You've written a book about how women can maybe get 344 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: ahead in their careers. So what prompted you to write 345 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: that book, when did you have time to write it, 346 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: and what are the main lessons that somebody who hasn't 347 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: read the book yet might learn from you? Right now? 348 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: About the book? 349 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 2: You know, yeah, I started this book Journey actually several 350 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 2: years ago. It was actually a four year process, and 351 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 2: when I was working on it, it was because I was 352 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 2: coaching a lot of women. So at that point I 353 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 2: had coached maybe one thousand women over the years. I 354 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 2: do these fifteen minute calls to help and help them 355 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 2: through their careers, and I realized a lot of the 356 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 2: themes were so similar, and so I pulled them together 357 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 2: and a lot of the advice I put in the 358 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 2: book was based on those conversations that I had over 359 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 2: that eight year period, and I was able to pull 360 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 2: it together into ten rules for new Women, ten new 361 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 2: rules for women at work. And those rules are really 362 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 2: to help women take back their powers, I say, which 363 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 2: is you know every day, you know there are so 364 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 2: many circumstances where you don't have a lot of power, 365 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 2: But when you do taking advantage of those opportunities and 366 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 2: really leaning in and making things happen, that's really what 367 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 2: the book is about right. 368 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: I suppose I don't want to spend the money to 369 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: buy the book, but I'm thinking about buying the book, 370 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: and I'm a woman. Can you give me one tip 371 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 1: or something or one thing that you would say somebody 372 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: should do if they want to rise up there a 373 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: woman in a business environment. 374 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 2: Well, give you an example, you know, don't give yourself 375 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 2: a free pass? Right, how many times before you turn 376 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 2: on that zoom meeting, before you show up to a meeting, 377 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 2: do you tell yourself, well, I'm just going to show 378 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 2: up and not say anything. I'm not going to have 379 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 2: any impact. I'm just going to sit in the back. 380 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 2: Like my friend caroliz Azaki, who's a leadership coach, calls 381 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 2: it ridiculous, unintentional, ridiculous strategies that we employ. But then 382 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 2: how many times, you know, do you actually even meaning 383 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 2: when you just did that where you didn't have an impact? 384 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 2: So what if you walked in every meeting every day 385 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 2: with intention? What do I want to accomplish today? How 386 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 2: do I want to show up and just made those 387 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 2: choices and the things that don't matter, just cut those 388 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 2: things away? Really kind of no longer giving yourself a 389 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 2: free pass and saying, you know what, I'm just not 390 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 2: going to get that done. That's really critical. 391 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: So did you write this when you were at Facebook 392 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: or so. 393 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 2: I wrote it over for your period and partly when 394 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 2: I was at Facebook. 395 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: And there was somebody else at Facebook that wrote a 396 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: book about women leaning in. You're probably familiar with that book. 397 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: Did she say, Hey, look, this is my territory. You 398 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: don't write a book about this. 399 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 2: Well, I can tell you the definitive answer. She wrote 400 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 2: the forward to my book, So you can watch the book. 401 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 2: You you could read her thoughts on it. 402 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: Okay, any more books than the works, I. 403 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 2: Think I'm good for book writing for now. I actually 404 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 2: write a weekly newsletter though, where I share some thoughts 405 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 2: that I'm having top of mind. 406 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: So you've been in the technology world for most of 407 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: your professional career. Where do you think the tech world 408 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: is going as artificial intelligence is going to eat up 409 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: the rest of the tech world, and where do you 410 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: think the future of technology is going in Silicon Valley 411 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: and elsewhere over the next five or ten years. 412 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 2: Well, I think that one thing we talk about when 413 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 2: we talk about technology is we have this kind of 414 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,399 Speaker 2: monolithic idea of what it is, but actually Technology is 415 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,680 Speaker 2: changing different industries at different paces in so many different ways. 416 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 2: And if you think about the things, you know, what 417 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:19,400 Speaker 2: was technology like twenty years ago before the iPhone, for example, 418 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 2: and where it is today. The ability to have you 419 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 2: know answers in your pocket Jenai is going to make 420 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 2: it easier to access more information faster. How do we 421 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 2: think about all those things and where is that going 422 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,199 Speaker 2: to go beyond this? I actually very bullish on technology 423 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 2: because technology is an underpinning. It's not its own industry, 424 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 2: it is a part of every industry, and it's actually 425 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 2: going to increase productivity and actually make our lives better. 426 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,359 Speaker 1: I see. So do you think technology is still going 427 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: to be centered in the United State it's largely around 428 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: the Silicon Valley area, or is it going to change? 429 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 2: I think that what's amazing about what technology has done 430 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 2: over the last twenty years also is that you know, 431 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 2: now you can start an app anywhere in the world, 432 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 2: you can live anywhere, you can have you know aws, 433 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 2: and you can set up and not have to have 434 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 2: a system ANDAs administrator or a server that you have 435 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 2: to build. You know. Now, it's made it so much 436 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 2: easier with these tools to actually look at a problem 437 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,399 Speaker 2: that you have and solve it anywhere, and so I 438 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 2: actually think that distributes the ability for us to bring 439 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:15,720 Speaker 2: technology together any place. 440 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,159 Speaker 1: So artificial intelligence AI has changed the world and is 441 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: changing the world dramatically. People believe, what is AI going 442 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: to be able to do for you or not do 443 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:25,879 Speaker 1: for you? 444 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 2: Well, I think one of the most incredible things about 445 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 2: AI is gen AI is coming and it's changing the 446 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 2: way we're doing things. But what you have to remember 447 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 2: is so much of what we do every day actually 448 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 2: is already involving AI. I'll give you an example. So 449 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 2: last year, nineteen fifty census came and you know you 450 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,760 Speaker 2: have these you have millions of pages of these records 451 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,720 Speaker 2: that are handwritten, just people, you know, going door to 452 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,159 Speaker 2: door and writing it down. And you know, we had 453 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 2: done the nineteen forty census ten years before that. It 454 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 2: took us nine months to digitize it, people typing things, 455 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 2: indexing it manually this time in nineteen fifty. So last 456 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 2: year it took us nine days to do the same thing. 457 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 2: And it's because we had built AI around handwriting recognition, 458 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,640 Speaker 2: and it allows us to accelerate so much of the work. 459 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 2: That's why we can go from forty billion records to 460 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 2: another fifteen billion in just one year because of the 461 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 2: technology that we have built over the years. Jenai is 462 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 2: the type of AI that's coming that's really helping people 463 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,760 Speaker 2: to discover things in a different way. So AI is 464 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 2: a very vast field, and jenai is one subset of that. 465 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 2: JENAI is really helping to understand storytelling. So, for example, 466 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 2: you know, my parents immigrated in the sixties, what was 467 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 2: it like and why were Asian Americans coming in such 468 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 2: large rates in the nineteen sixties. A lot of that 469 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 2: has to do with such a history around the Chinese 470 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 2: Exclusion Act and those types of things. And with genai 471 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:41,760 Speaker 2: in line, we can actually answer that question. We can 472 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 2: answer questions of you know, the experience your grandparents might 473 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 2: have had with the Spanish flu in Chicago, you know, 474 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 2: these types of things, and we think that that's going 475 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 2: to engage people to really learn more about how their 476 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,120 Speaker 2: parents came to America, how their grandparents lived through various 477 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 2: world events, and it's going to be really powerful for people. 478 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: But most of what you do, or a lot of it, 479 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: I think, is based on public records that exist, but 480 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: sometimes public records don't always have the full story. So 481 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: do you have people Sometimes if you have a service 482 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: where you say, okay, the public records shows A, B 483 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: and C. But if you want to know about DEE 484 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: and F, you have to do more legwork. You have 485 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: to go out and talk to people, or you don't 486 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:20,120 Speaker 1: do that well. 487 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,479 Speaker 2: So you know, if you actually think about our record collection, 488 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 2: seventy percent of our forty million, forty billion records are 489 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 2: actually proprietary. So you know, just what public records are 490 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 2: available is available on our site, but we have so 491 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:33,919 Speaker 2: much more records that we have gotten from archives and 492 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 2: partnerships over the years. And then beyond that, we have 493 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 2: people who are every day organizing those records, augmenting them. 494 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 2: They can comment on them and actually makes them richer. 495 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,160 Speaker 2: They're actually attaching it to people, so that a record 496 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 2: might not look like it's related to your great uncle, 497 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 2: but actually somebody has put it on their tree and 498 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 2: you can actually explore it as well. And so it's 499 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 2: really kind of both the what is available in our archive, 500 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,479 Speaker 2: but then the work that humans have put in as 501 00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,919 Speaker 2: subscribers to really make their experience great. That's put that 502 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,440 Speaker 2: together that allows us to make that experience. 503 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: Good for you. I made a speech not long ago 504 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: at a genealogical society in New England, and as a 505 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,679 Speaker 1: gift to me, they gave me my genealogy had some 506 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,199 Speaker 1: things in there I prefer not to know. But okay, 507 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 1: but they were based on public records. But if I 508 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: went to your service and became a subscriber, would I 509 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: learn a lot more? 510 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 2: Yes, you could potentially learn a ton more because there 511 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 2: might be records you're not seen. One thing we have 512 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 2: is the archive of newspapers dot com, where you might 513 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,359 Speaker 2: be all the newspaper mentions. We might have trees that 514 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 2: other people have built, so it goes even deeper than 515 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 2: maybe what you were able to somebody one individual can do. 516 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 2: We actually have the power of the community that helps 517 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 2: build better and deeper experiences. 518 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: So if somebody doesn't know much about ancestry and they 519 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: are watching this, what would be the best reason why 520 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: they should go on to your website and become a subscriber. 521 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: What is it that you have that is unique and 522 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: why somebody should know more about their background? 523 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 2: Well, so much of our our lives is shaped by 524 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 2: decisions made by our ancestors, right the choice of my parents. 525 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 2: I talked to my parents about when they came to America. 526 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 2: They just picked up, went to a country with two 527 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 2: suitcases and a few hundred dollars and said, I want 528 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 2: to start a new life, not knowing whether they would 529 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 2: ever make enough money to even return home. That journey 530 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 2: is so incredible, and yet that journey is something I 531 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 2: know about because it was so approximately, so close to 532 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 2: what happened, because it happened in nineteen sixty, but that 533 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 2: happened with sixteen hundred, seventeen hundred and eighteen hundreds that 534 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 2: brought people all of the world that make you who 535 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,679 Speaker 2: you are today. And I think that that journey is 536 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 2: so important to understand because it makes you who you are. 537 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: Well, very interesting business, and you expect to stay running 538 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: this for quite some time, I assume absolutely. 539 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 2: I love it and it's so interesting every day to 540 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 2: feel like we're helping so many people really discover things 541 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 2: about themselves. 542 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to hear more of my interviews. You 543 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,119 Speaker 1: can subscribe and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple, or 544 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: wherever you listen.