1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: Afro Tech is back in Austin, Texas this November is 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: the place for all things black tech and web three. 3 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: The in person afro Tech Conference experience is bridging the 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: worlds of afro technologists, innovators, investors, corporations, musicians, and everyone 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: in between. So pull up, grabb your crew, and graff 6 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: of tickets and join this at the largest black professional 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: conference of the year. This experienced the afro tech dot 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: Com learn more. I'm will Lucas. This is black tech, 9 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: Green money. I'm gonna get you to see some of 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,480 Speaker 1: the biggest names, some of the brightest minds, and brilliant ideas. 11 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: If your black, in building or simply using tech to 12 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: secure your back, this podcast is for you. All it 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: those your Tiebo is founder Analog Teams, which connects talent 14 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: from people and underrepresented backgrounds with tech companies looking to 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: build digital products and log teams on connecting African engineers, 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: which start a space in the States, and his company 17 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: is betting on the idea that others will begin sourcing 18 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: talent from Africa the same way we outsourced to India. 19 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: As all of those who bother the common misperceptions that 20 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,839 Speaker 1: exist with outsourcing tech talent that prevail, such as security 21 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 1: risks and verification of skill. Some of the issues has 22 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: to deal with security UM data security, in particular having 23 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,119 Speaker 1: you know, people across the world having access to you know, databases, 24 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: having access to codebases, etcetera, UM and not knowing exactly 25 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: how they can get a lock on their information. A 26 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: lot of the times, when you hire someone in the US, 27 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: you have their you know, you send them a laptop, 28 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: you're able to secure the laptop, etcetera. But when utilizing 29 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: tallenge across the pond, UM you're not able to do 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: all of those things. So you have to have a 31 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: level of trust UM that you may not have if 32 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: you've never worked with an out sourcing partner. UM likely 33 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: UM as also what you said about UM just ensuring 34 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: qualifying them ensuring that they can actually deliver UM. A 35 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: lot of times you may find UM that someone has 36 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: used outsourcing in the in the past and haven't had 37 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: the best experience, and so them wanted to dive back 38 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: into this outsourcing model is not always the greatest. Lastly, 39 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: on that point, UM developers are actually an asset to 40 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: a company. That's why when you see all these companies 41 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: closing their doors or UM they keep their developers or 42 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: sell their developers to another company because they're actually an 43 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: intellectual property property UM. So that's some of the issues 44 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: when it comes to Africa in particular. People have never 45 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: just worked with Africans, right, They've worked maybe a potential 46 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: with Indians or UM people in the UK or Ukraine, 47 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: but they've never worked with Africans before, and so when 48 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: they're they're getting this opportunity to work with Africans, they're 49 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: usually in shot and all one that they're able to 50 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: communicate at levels they've never been able to before. UM. 51 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: The level of genius and intelligence that they meet with 52 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: the people, specifically from analog with the people we've worked 53 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: with UM, that usually blows their minds, so that once 54 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: they've had that experience, then they're more likely to open 55 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: up more. Usually all of our clients, when they've met 56 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: one or two of our people, they end up asking 57 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: for three, four or five more people to work with them. 58 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: I want to get before I talk about, you know, 59 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: the other implications. I want to talk about the security 60 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: that you just mentioned at the top of your response there, 61 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: and that is, you know, for big companies, you know 62 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: they have all sorts of security people working inside their 63 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: organizations that can make sure those databases are protected and etcetera. 64 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: But if I'm a startup and I'm just trying to 65 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: get you know, a beta version of my thing out, 66 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: and I'm a domestic startup, what can startups do? What 67 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: are some of the really cool things you've seen startups 68 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: do to trust and have confidence knowing that when I'm 69 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: sending something, whether it be to the continent or anywhere else, 70 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: to make sure that they're being safe. Yeah. So, UM, 71 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: there are locks and controls that you can have specifically 72 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: for your database that you can control who has access 73 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: and who doesn't. Um, you're able to even check the 74 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,679 Speaker 1: activity as well. Um. I've also seen people who send 75 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: their their send laptops across the water to two different companies, 76 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: So that's also been something that we've we've worked on 77 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: as well. And then a lot of it just has 78 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: to do with the level of trust, right, just blind 79 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 1: faith believing that an individual that you've met, maybe spent 80 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: a little bit of time with, actually has your best 81 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: interests at hand. And then um, once you're able to 82 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: build that trust over a period of time, UM, you 83 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: can kind of just you you have you have a 84 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: sense of what this person is going to do with 85 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: your information. UM. But in when you're a startup, you 86 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: kind of have to balance that risk and reward, right, 87 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: so you do take this risks, but also, uh, it costs. 88 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: It's a little bit more affordable to have this person. 89 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: So yes, you may may potentially leak a little bit 90 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: of information, but at the same time you're able to 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: save money on your on your balance sheet, and you 92 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: just have to weigh that balance and make a decision 93 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: from there. I do know venture backed startups in particular, 94 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: UM do have to have that conversation with the people 95 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: that they work with, are are funded by, and that 96 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: understanding that hey, we are going to do this UM, 97 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: and it may cause us a certain level of risk, 98 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: but we believe that over a period of time this 99 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: will be more valuable than the risk that we're taking. 100 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: So I'm on the belief that you know, just being 101 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: black as value to your perspective. And so when you 102 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,359 Speaker 1: think about sending technology, you know, to the continent to 103 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: be developed, what is this particular value proposition you can 104 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,559 Speaker 1: position to potential partners so that when you're saying, hey, 105 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: you guys are doing this in India, you should really 106 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: be doing this on the continent because what Yeah, so 107 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: there's there's quite a few UM and I'd like to 108 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: say sometimes they are slightly intangible. But there are things 109 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: like the hours. The amount of hours. So I be 110 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: leave India from the US from East coast, time is 111 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,159 Speaker 1: about twelve hours UM. But you don't usually working with 112 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: people in like uh in Africa are about the same 113 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: time as Europe in the UK, so if you're familiar 114 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: working with the UK, those hours are a little bit 115 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: more more familiar. On top of that, you have the 116 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: the degrees the a lot of US companies actually are 117 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: US universities actually have schools in Africa, right, so off 118 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: student schools in Africa, so you have students are familiar 119 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: with the way that the West does business. And then 120 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: lastly UM, once you meet the level of just the 121 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: hunger and the desire, that quality bar that is often 122 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: missed when utilizing UM talent in India that is used. 123 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: That's usually the complaint that I get is the quality level. 124 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: You actually find that that the quality drop does not 125 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: go down, it actually goes up. UM. For instance, we 126 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: have a lot of people who have masters in you know, 127 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: chemical engineering, mechanical gredgend and software development, et cetera. So 128 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: when you work with them, you find out that they 129 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: produced better work, longer hours, work harder, complain less than 130 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: the people who are actually on your real staff. So 131 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: talk to me about like why you know, we're very 132 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: familiar with sites like up work and fiber and these 133 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: other sites. Number one, what's the difference in working with 134 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: like an analog labs versus like an up work And 135 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: particularly when in your response, if you can talk about 136 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: how you rate and recommend people who have done work 137 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: with you before, so people coming later know that this 138 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: person I'm working with, you know, did this project for 139 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: this other guy or this other lady and they were successful. Yeah. Absolutely, 140 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: Upwards is like a connection platform, right. You find someone, 141 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: they've got a decent profile, you meet them, you work 142 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: with them. That's it. Upward doesn't necessarily provide that individual 143 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: with anything else, no support. The difference we're working with 144 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: analog is we're not about just a quick fix or 145 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: a quick person to find. We're actually talking about deep connections. 146 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: Um people who you end up working with for one year, 147 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 1: two years, and you see their growth and are part 148 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: of their growth, and they're a part of your growth 149 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: as well. Not only that, we support our team in 150 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: the back right, so we as as they're working with 151 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 1: you and showing up every day, they're still having regular 152 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 1: meetings with their leadership teams and ANALOG, ensuring that they 153 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: have everything they need to be successful, ensuring that they're 154 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,680 Speaker 1: showing up at their as their best selves, and ensuring 155 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: that they also are accountable to a higher power as well. 156 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: So it's not necessarily just a quick connection and go 157 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: off and do your your own You have the support 158 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: of ANALOG behind you, ensuring that these people are standing 159 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: for a long time. Um. Not only that, as you mentioned, 160 00:08:57,360 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: are are the recommendations of the people that we have. 161 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: These are people that we've worked with. We actually keep 162 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: them on staff, We hire them full time. We ensure 163 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: that the projects that we have they're not just short 164 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,680 Speaker 1: term projects. They're projects that we can keep the developer or. 165 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: We also work in recruiting, so the recruiters for a 166 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: long period of time, and that way they actually have 167 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: many projects under their belt. They've worked with many people, 168 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: they've worked internationally many times over and so by the 169 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: time they get they get to you, by the time 170 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: you've worked with them, for a year, they've you know, 171 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: we've we require additional learning behind right, We require them 172 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: to show up to certain events and meetings that will 173 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: propel their careers forward. So it's not just a stagnant thing. 174 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: It's their support. There's actual support from analog as well. 175 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: So if I'm hearing you correctly, the people who you 176 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: recruit to work on company excess, you know, startup, you're 177 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: also employing them to work on your stuff too, Is 178 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: that correct? Yes, when they're not on a contract, they 179 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: also they work internally. They work on projects internally so 180 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 1: that they they keep staying updated, They continue to work, 181 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: continue to elevate their skill set, so by the time 182 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: a new contract comes on, they're actually better than they 183 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: were before. I think it's genius. I think because you 184 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: get the people too, So I think it's fantastic. Man, 185 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: for sure. I mean I remember somebody because I live 186 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: in a place where you know, we don't have like 187 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: a lot of you know, technical depth, particularly computer science, 188 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: and where I'm from in Ohio, um and I was 189 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: talking to some folks who are out in the valley 190 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: and said, they're like, you know, you kind of have 191 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: to build your own talent when you're hiring for technical expertise, 192 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: you may not have the expertise in area, so you 193 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: have to develop and grow your own talent and teach 194 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: and that way you know the actual skills you need. 195 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: You can be UM instrumental in helping the people come 196 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: in earlier in their career to be able to fulfill 197 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 1: those things. So I think it's a brilliant move. I 198 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: think it's brilliant. Thank you. Yeah, So I want to 199 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: talk about, you know, because you just talked about this 200 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: like being really integrated with the companies that you're working 201 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: with and not just kind of like a one and 202 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: done contract. And I remember when I was in the 203 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: music business. Um, I remember a producer tell I'm going 204 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: to use an analogy. I remember a producer telling me 205 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: it's a lot easier to sell a song when it's 206 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: a complete song and not just a hot beat. Because 207 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: if I come to you with a hot beat, like 208 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: you're like, okay, that's that's a hot beat. Now I 209 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: got to go make a song around it. But if 210 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 1: I came with the beat and the lyrics, all you 211 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 1: gotta do is singer is going to booth and singing. 212 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: And so I wonder, you know, how does you bringing 213 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,199 Speaker 1: the whole package and actually becoming integrated into a company, 214 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: being their technical department, you know what have you? How 215 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: does that help analog close more deals? Yeah? So the 216 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: beauty is that um, when people as mentioned, when they 217 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: when they meet us, and similar to what you said, 218 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: when they realize that we're a full package of a 219 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: full team, that the person has support behind that they know, um, 220 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: that the people with us have been with us for 221 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: a year, two years, etcetera. We can show their resume 222 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: and the portfolios. You can go online and see the 223 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: projects that they've worked with. When they experience that they understand, 224 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: as you mentioned, that they're getting not just a singular person. 225 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: You're getting a person who's showing up with an army 226 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: behind them. Uh. And so that you're you can be 227 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: sure that um, again, it's not just for today, it's 228 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: not just for tomorrow. But even let's say we have 229 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: to replace this individual, you understand that the people that 230 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,559 Speaker 1: will come to replace that individual is also can pick 231 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 1: up where they left off. Right. They know where we 232 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,439 Speaker 1: always are in communication with what you're working on, etcetera. 233 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: Obviously we make sure to draw the line of where 234 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: security lies, right, We ensure that if there's proprietary information 235 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: that that person is working on, we at Analog will 236 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,680 Speaker 1: keep we will stay away from utilizing it or hearing 237 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: about it, but any thing that we're able to share, 238 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,320 Speaker 1: especially when it comes to handing over, will make sure 239 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: that that's prepared so that when you get a new person, UM, 240 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: they're ready to go. So UM it's been really great, 241 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: especially UM in the realm of recruiting, especially in the 242 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: realm of software development. UM, they see that there is 243 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: so much more to be had, and then it also 244 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:23,959 Speaker 1: lessens the fears of utilizing an outsourced team because they 245 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: know that they have the backing of Analog. So this 246 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: it's starting to make sense in my mind when when 247 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: you talked about upward versus like analog or fiber versus analog, 248 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 1: and if I'm correct, what you're saying is is you're 249 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: not just hiring SAM you know, from Analog, but you're 250 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: hiring Analog who's gonna bring all the machine with them 251 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: to help deploy against a particular technical issue at company X, 252 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: Y or Z. That correct, perfect, Yes, that's a perfect explanation, 253 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: all right. So when you think about that, you you 254 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: get not only the people who have been doing this 255 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,319 Speaker 1: a while, but those people who are more experienced are 256 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: bringing along UM talent who maybe newer and has less 257 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,560 Speaker 1: experience what they're learning as well. How early in a 258 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: person's technical journey do they qualify to be recruited by 259 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: a law M hmm. That's a good point. UM, it 260 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: really depends, uh, there is there. It depends one on 261 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: the client and what their needs are, and it also 262 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: depends on what we have available. We have people who 263 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: are senior, very senior, who've been working at a lot 264 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: of different companies who have a lot, you know, five 265 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: six up to hey years of experience UM in software development, 266 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:38,280 Speaker 1: who worked on some major projects and worked internationally. UM. 267 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 1: We also have UM We've had an intern who came 268 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: to Analog on an internal project and was just an 269 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: intern while they were in school, and then once they graduated, 270 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: we actually hired them back train them up for another 271 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: six months and then they were on a contract. And 272 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: the company we were working on in this particular situation 273 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: was actually nervous of using a JR. But once I 274 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: explained to the person that the person I always called 275 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: this individual and in his Hannah my favorite developer. Even 276 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: though she didn't like me that much. I was always 277 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: pushing her, but she she's my favorite developer. UM. I 278 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: told them how hard working she was and just how 279 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,920 Speaker 1: diligent of an individual she was, and so they gave 280 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: her a shot, and three to six months later they 281 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: were calling me like, do you have more? Like I 282 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: need more of this. So it really just depends I 283 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: I really I tried to do a mixture of the 284 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: qualities and characteristics of the individual along with their technical 285 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: skill set, because I believe personally, UM, we always talk 286 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: about the unlimited potential of human beings. And if you're 287 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: a hard worker and someone who's diligent, then it doesn't 288 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: matter what task I put up in front of you, 289 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: You're going to be able to handle it. I just 290 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: need to give you time and the proper tool set. 291 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: And so if you're looking for someone who just needs 292 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: to be hard working, diligent, you know, drive shows up 293 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: on time, UM and really has a great technical skill 294 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: set and can climb this mountain, we have the right 295 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: people for you, and so I'll place them on that project. 296 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: You know. I wonder if like working for a company 297 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: like Analog actually helps you retain people longer because they're 298 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: not having to go to the same office to do 299 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: the same project, you know, for a long period of time, 300 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 1: but they get the chance to bounce around and get 301 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: experiences of things that you know, no day is the same, 302 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: you know, and so many respects. Can you talk about 303 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: how having somebody who maybe in between contracts, you know, 304 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: externally the Analog gets to work on Analog stuff, then 305 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: they're back on the contract for company. Why then you 306 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: know they semi done with that, then they get the 307 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: bounce over the company. W like, can you talk about 308 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: the myriad of experiences people get to have and how 309 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: that helps them stay engaged. Yeah. So one of the 310 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: favorite things I love about Analog is that we're a 311 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: learning company. Just as you said, we actually say we 312 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: grow three years every six months. So every six months 313 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: we expect people to have just been phenomenally further than 314 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: they were when they started. And so this comes in 315 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: a variety of ways, challenging projects, different things that we 316 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 1: throw at individuals, different looks. And I'll give a specific example. Um, 317 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: we had someone who came in as an engineer. She 318 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 1: had her name is Noma Google. She had a chemical 319 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: engineering uh masters masters in chemical engineering, and she ended 320 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: up becoming a recruiter for one of these projects. Right, 321 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: so we went from an engineer to recruiter. Was just 322 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: one of the projects I needed someone like I mentioned, 323 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: I just needed a diligent individual who knew how to 324 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: perform at a high level placed on the contract um. 325 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 1: Within a year, that contract had had blown up from 326 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: just this one individual to literally fifteen people from Analog 327 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: working at that company. And she went from an engineer 328 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: to a recruiter, to a lead recruiter and so and 329 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,719 Speaker 1: leaving that entire team having almost twenty people under her 330 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: internal and external um. So that that is part of 331 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: the importance, right, And and a lot of times it 332 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: comes with very you know, very serious conversations. Hey, I 333 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: know this is where your career is headed, this is 334 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: what you wanted to work on. Here's what I have 335 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,880 Speaker 1: before you in front of you. If you perform here, 336 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: here's where your career could go. Right. And if they 337 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: buy in and have that level of buying, then they're 338 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: very adamant about delivering. And yes, absolutely, we we have 339 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: people who love to stay at Analog, love to be 340 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: with this because just the experience is vastly different than 341 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:43,160 Speaker 1: anything that would get anywhere else. You don't sit and 342 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: just do the same thing for two years and you're like, 343 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: I haven't learned. You're constantly getting different information. We have 344 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 1: people who you might just do a side project on 345 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 1: the weekends, right just to keep you strong and keep 346 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: you growing. So we always make sure that people are 347 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,679 Speaker 1: constantly learning all the way up to my off as CEO, 348 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: constantly finding ways that I can improve, learn grow my 349 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: skill sets, and find myself in different positions as well. 350 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:13,640 Speaker 1: Talk to people the variety of experienced people you're able 351 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: to recruit, for instance, like, you know, if I'm not 352 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 1: just building you know, a new software, but what if 353 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: I'm building hardware tech hardware? What if I'm gonna build 354 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 1: a new drone technology? Is this the kind of people 355 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: that you can help, you know, place in a company 356 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: like mine? Absolutely? Absolutely. In fact, Um, that engineer that 357 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: I mentioned was my favorite. Um she was actually a 358 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: She had a master's in electrical engineering, electrical engineering with 359 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: the monor and like mechanical engineering as well, had worked 360 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: already on embedded systems and internal prom I'll something like robotics, etcetera. 361 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: But yes, we do have people who work on hardware, 362 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:02,439 Speaker 1: who work on on you know, the actual um, excuse me, 363 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,640 Speaker 1: some of like the deeper technologies as well. So we've 364 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: had machine learning engineers, um AI engineers as well, so 365 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,200 Speaker 1: we can I mean, the beautiful thing about the continent 366 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,399 Speaker 1: is that it's fifty four different countries, over a billion people, 367 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: and it has the youngest population in the world and 368 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,960 Speaker 1: and growing at it at its fastest rate. We're graduating, 369 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 1: you know, hundreds of thousands of of engineers a year. 370 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 1: The statistics as by that half of every high school 371 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,440 Speaker 1: student that graduates in the entire world will be African. 372 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 1: And so this where the pool of talent is uniquely 373 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: large and has so many different skill sets that we 374 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: can pull from so many different countries that literally any 375 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: need can be filled. There was an article I was 376 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: reading where you were interviewed and you had this quote 377 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,679 Speaker 1: that I thought was really interesting. You said, there's not 378 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: a pipeline issue or a knowledge gap. Is just about 379 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,919 Speaker 1: providing opportunities and looking for the gems that are in 380 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,120 Speaker 1: the rough. And so often when we think about when 381 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: companies say, you know, there's a pipeline issue here, domestically, um, 382 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: that's an issue we domestic black people, you know, have 383 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 1: have to overcome. And so now you're trying to do 384 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: this and get them to hire you know, um, black 385 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: people on the continent, Africans on the continent. Does that 386 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: mean it's doubly hard for you? Yeah? Yes, right, the 387 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,120 Speaker 1: simple the simple answer is yes, Um, the difficult answer. 388 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 1: As recruiters, as I mentioned, we do a lot of recruiting, 389 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 1: We do a lot of recruiting in the US as 390 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: well for like us in it as well. Um, it 391 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: is exactly that. And sometimes I have to have conversations 392 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,640 Speaker 1: with these you know CEOs of companies and startups that 393 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: if you actually care about diversity and inclusion, sometimes you 394 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: don't have to lower your requirements. You have to change them. Right. 395 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,600 Speaker 1: If you're looking for the person from an IVY League 396 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,439 Speaker 1: and they have to have this year's experience as you 397 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: know at Google or etcetera, Well just look at the mathematics, right, 398 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: I think one percent of all technologists in like Silicon 399 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: Valley is like are black? Like one percent? Okay? Will 400 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: you take that one percent and you say how many 401 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: of them graduated from an IVY League school? Well, let's 402 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: say it's that one percent, And then you say how 403 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 1: many have been working for five, six, or ten years 404 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: of experience? And you get an even a smaller number. 405 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: And so this this pipeline issue, it has to deal 406 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,639 Speaker 1: more with where are you looking and what are your requirements? 407 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:40,879 Speaker 1: So I also have often have the conversation is sometimes 408 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:44,919 Speaker 1: you're looking for quality of a candidate. Sometimes you just 409 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: need to groom an individual who has the capacity. Maybe 410 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: they've worked at an assent. Sure there's not an ad 411 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 1: for them at an essential or you know a small 412 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: a big firm, but you they have this hunger and 413 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: desire that when you bring them into this startup, they 414 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 1: will excel and in a year or two you'll find 415 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: them as a leader in your company. You just have 416 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,480 Speaker 1: to change what you're looking for and you'll still get 417 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: the quality outcome that you look that you expect. I wonder, 418 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: you know, because you've been bootstrapping for a long time, 419 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: and I wonder if it's either of these two reasons 420 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 1: why you bootstrap. Either you know, you went to all 421 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: the places and they said, now we don't see it, 422 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 1: and so you decide, you know what, we got something 423 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: here and we're gonna do this. Or you said there's 424 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: no need to boot there's no need to get outside investment. 425 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,360 Speaker 1: Can you talk to me about your logic behind continuing 426 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: to do this on your own money. Yeah, it was 427 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: mainly the second part, right, Um, if you really think, 428 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: what I often say is the issue with venture capitalist 429 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: a two part issue. One is the again similar to 430 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 1: the pipeline issue, the criteria that people are utilizing to 431 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:57,719 Speaker 1: find startups. But the second from our perspective is the 432 00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: fact that I also I often talk to black founders 433 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: of start um entrepreneurs and I say, how many people 434 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: in your network have raised over a million dollars in funding? 435 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: No one raises their hand, So we don't even have 436 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 1: that network or even understand. I can't even pick anyone's 437 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: brain to say, how did you do it right? It's 438 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 1: not even in my network. So when we started out, 439 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: we said, why do things that we have no clue 440 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,199 Speaker 1: about and don't understand. We have a little bit of 441 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: money in here, let's all pull it together. We put 442 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: all of our money together for about two years, and 443 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: then that's when we started the product. We did planning 444 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 1: and and pulling our money for two years, and then 445 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: we started our started our journey, and the idea was, well, 446 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:36,199 Speaker 1: if we can just do it on our own, we 447 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,880 Speaker 1: don't have to try to fit into this small amount 448 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: of people that exist that are getting funded. We can 449 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: actually just do it on our own and instead of 450 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 1: knocking on the door and begging to be let in, 451 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: we'll wait until they beg us right, We'll build it 452 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: until they say, hey, you have something amazing, can we 453 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: put our money into it? And then we'll decide if 454 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: we would like to or not. And until then, we've 455 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: continued to bootstra up and we've gotten to a place 456 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: where we've been able to build our team, we've been 457 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 1: able to expand we're here in the US where um, 458 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 1: as you mentioned, where seven African countries, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, 459 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: South Africa, Zimbabwe, we have people in the UK, Switzerland, 460 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: um Lebanon. We actually had an intern from Hong Kong. 461 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,440 Speaker 1: So we've we've literally crossed the waters and so many 462 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:24,680 Speaker 1: different capacities just by saying let's do it on our 463 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: own might and when we're ready and when they come 464 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:30,159 Speaker 1: knocking at our door, we'll let them in. And so 465 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: let's say I'm building a startup that I ultimately want, 466 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: you know, to go to one of the big firms 467 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: and get you know, some some investor capital into this thing. Um, 468 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 1: but I'm using outsourced talent. Can you talk about is 469 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,879 Speaker 1: it is it possible to build a venture backable company 470 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 1: with talent that I don't have under my banner. That's 471 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 1: a good question. It is definitely possible to get you 472 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:01,640 Speaker 1: to a certain point and then instead of it being 473 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,639 Speaker 1: your entire team, they become a connection to what you 474 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,679 Speaker 1: have internally. Again, as I measured earlier, developers are actually 475 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,400 Speaker 1: seen as an asset. They're seen as an intellectual property 476 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 1: for a company. So eventually you will need to have 477 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,399 Speaker 1: some people on staff, You will need to have your 478 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 1: own developers in house. But also we do a conversion 479 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: as well. So this person has been working with you 480 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: for a year or two, there's an opportunity for you 481 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: to just say, yes, this person actually is not outsourced. 482 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: They just are remote in a different country, which the 483 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,239 Speaker 1: pandemic has been very open to and it has you know, 484 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:40,159 Speaker 1: it's an actual common practice as well. So there is 485 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 1: that opportunity, and the easiest way to get to that 486 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 1: venture backed moment to actually building that product is keeping 487 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: your costs low and still getting great talent. So outsourcing 488 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: is that can all can sometimes be your best option 489 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 1: and best opportunity. So let's talk about that the cost things. 490 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 1: So when you talk about the reason people go to 491 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: India is a lot less expensive. Um. And but I 492 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,120 Speaker 1: don't want to position just because we're black, we can 493 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 1: be cheap too, like right, but so talk about why UM. 494 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:16,959 Speaker 1: Talk about the value from just the monetary perspective and 495 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 1: how how does it stack up and what should our 496 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:26,360 Speaker 1: thinking be regarding what we pay expertise. Yeah, I love 497 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: that we actually started with the idea of like, we're 498 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,879 Speaker 1: cheap and then we said no, we're not because of 499 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: how great we deliver. There's no need to be cheap, right, 500 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,879 Speaker 1: we actually deliver a great quality product. We actually have 501 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: the best talent. I compare my talent against anyone from 502 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: Silicone Valley, and I promise you ten times out of 503 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 1: ten will we will come out ahead. I'm not afraid 504 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,240 Speaker 1: of that. You can put me to the test. I'll 505 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: prove it time and time again. I'll bet on my 506 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,680 Speaker 1: people a million times over. So it's not really about however, 507 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,160 Speaker 1: I'll just be honest as well. From the monetary perspective, 508 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 1: the cost of living is lower in our country, right, 509 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: but we also like to pay top dollars, so no 510 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 1: matter what, it will be cheaper right, I'm not gonna 511 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 1: charge you the same. You know, the three years as 512 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 1: a recruited three years experience UM for a developer in 513 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:20,439 Speaker 1: the US is a d K or something like that 514 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: base level. Right, We won't charge you that. It's it 515 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:26,200 Speaker 1: comes out to be thirty two sixty sorry thirty to 516 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: cheaper than that price. However, the value you get is 517 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: far beyond. We don't our people don't complain, right, you 518 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: don't need to have the coffee and the being bands 519 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 1: and all these extra things. We don't do all that. 520 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: We tell them, wake up today, work hard, because what 521 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,480 Speaker 1: we're trying to do is prove that we are the 522 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,920 Speaker 1: best in the world. Improving we're the best in the 523 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,760 Speaker 1: world means showing up with your game face on every 524 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 1: single day. UM. And so the monetary thing is is 525 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: a bonus, but it is not what we're selling. We're 526 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: selling great X for tease and phenomenal delivery. There was 527 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: another code I read from you, UM, and you said this. 528 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,640 Speaker 1: You said, the most important thing about building a business 529 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: is to be the last one standing. UM. The right 530 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: way to do that is to constantly innovate and unquote now, 531 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: and I wonder about that statement because you know one 532 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 1: thing I think about when building businesses. I'm not romantic 533 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,240 Speaker 1: about business like, if the thing is working, is working. 534 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 1: If it's not, I do something else. And so I 535 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: wonder what your thoughts are on how you might have 536 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: had to pivot and if pivoting is something that you embrace, 537 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: if that's what the market says, or you just so 538 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,440 Speaker 1: passionate about doing this thing that you're gonna, you know, 539 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: figure a way out to make the thing work, even 540 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 1: though you may be facing insurmountable you know, wind pressure. Yeah, one, 541 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 1: I appreciate you for doing all this research. That's great. 542 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: Uh uh, that that's exactly right. And the reason why 543 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 1: I mentioned a lot of of why we do recruiting, 544 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: that's not what we set out to do. We set 545 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: out mainly for development. We set out um to hired 546 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: software developers. But as I mentioned, early software developments and 547 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: intellectual property, so people actually don't like to outsource that offense. 548 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: So even when we have some projects in that category 549 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: that's not everyone's favorite thing to do, everyone wants to 550 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: bring it in house. They don't even actually want to 551 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: go to India anymore. They wanted on shore right here 552 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: in the US. And so we learned that and during 553 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: the pandemic we realized and after the pandemic, when we 554 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: were coming out of it, there was an uptake and hiring, 555 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: and we realized that recruiting was actually this niche area 556 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: in which people don't care where you are, where you're 557 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: recruiting from. They really just care can you get us 558 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 1: great talent? And if if I can get you, if 559 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: you're a startup in Silicon Valley and I can find 560 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,800 Speaker 1: you someone in Silicon Valley and get you get them 561 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: into your company, I don't care where you are, right, 562 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 1: I just need you to help me connect me with 563 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: great talent. And so that's actually why we pivoted, and 564 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: majority of our projects and contracts are actually in recruiting 565 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,840 Speaker 1: because that's where we found that the market would actually 566 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:06,239 Speaker 1: accept us and and accept um. And so we what 567 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: we did was actually retrained, As I mentioned, we retrained 568 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: a lot of our engineers in recruiting. And so we 569 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 1: take that that really great understanding of tech, technology and 570 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 1: tech and that diligence of you know, being very technical, 571 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:25,000 Speaker 1: and changed it and we're applied it to recruiting and 572 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: we found phenomenal success here. I mean, we worked with 573 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,400 Speaker 1: some of you know, top fortunate companies. Some of the 574 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: top four tech companies we worked with, you may know 575 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: the fastest growing UM social media's we've worked with, fintech 576 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: companies we've worked with, so we've been able to find 577 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: that that niche and recruiting, which was a major pivot 578 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: for us UM. You know, it was hard for us 579 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: because we loved the engineering, We love the hardcore tech, 580 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,720 Speaker 1: we love building products. But we found that the market 581 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: accepts us in a different regard and when it wasn't 582 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:20,040 Speaker 1: working to the degree we expected to change course. Black 583 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 1: Tech Green Money's production of Black of the Afro Tech, 584 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: Black Effect podcast Network and i Heeart Media. It's produced 585 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: by Morgan Dubon and me Will Lucas, with additional production 586 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 1: supported by Love Beach and Rose McLucas. Special thank you 587 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: to Mike and Davis Vanessa Serrano. Learn more about my 588 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 1: guests and other technis, repence and innovators at afro tech 589 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,920 Speaker 1: dot com. The video version of this episode will drop 590 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: to Black Tech Green Money on YouTube next week. So 591 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:51,400 Speaker 1: tapping join your Black Tech Green Money, share us with somebody, 592 00:32:52,960 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 1: don't get your money. Peace and Love of