WEBVTT - Grow By Developing Your Own Talent 0:00:01.080 --> 0:00:04.360 Will Lucas here, Black Tech, Green Money. I'm super excited 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:06.320 to be back with you guys. I want to talk 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:08.559 about a couple of things today started the first start 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:10.840 off talking about afro Tech, getting to some news and 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:15.400 then the conversation. But afro Tech twenty twenty three back 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:19.520 in Austin just a couple of weeks. We are less 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:23.000 maybe three weeks away. Two weeks away from afro Tech 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:27.320 twenty twenty three in Austin, Texas. I am excited because 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:32.800 the schedule just dropped and it includes, you know, performances 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:37.559 by Jadakiss, Rick Ross. I am personally the music I 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:40.400 listen to mostly like if it's hip hop, if it's 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.319 rap music, I am listening to hustling music. So I 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:46.559 care about rap music that makes me feel like I 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:48.840 want to go get a bag and like, So that's 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:53.320 like Nipsey Hustle, that's jay Z. Obviously it's Rick Ross 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:57.280 and Rick Ross. I am already brushing up on my 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:00.720 Rick Ross lyrics so that I am to turn it 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:04.840 out at afro Tech this year. And so I'm hopeful 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.600 that you guys will join me in having the time 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:11.039 of my life, having the time of your lives, having 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:13.000 the time of our lives at afro Tech. This year 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:16.119 it's going to be big. And every year I leave 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:20.040 afro Tech wondering how we could ever top the year 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.760 before the time we just had, How can we top it? 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:26.000 And I am super excited for the work that the 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:30.039 team has done because this stage is set to be incredible, 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:32.600 and so I hope to see you there. We've got 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:36.600 talks like, if you're raising money, you should be there 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:40.360 because there's a conversation happening around VC trends for twenty 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:45.480 twenty four proactive strategies for fundraising. My guy Marlon Nichols 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:47.880 is going to be on that panel. He's co founder 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:53.400 and managing partner at mac Venture Capital. Henri Jacques, Henri 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:59.720 Pierre Jacques, who's co founder and managing partner of Harlem Capital. 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:03.560 He will be there speaking on this subject in this 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.280 conversations moderated by Aaron Samuels, who's one of the co 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:11.400 founders of Blavity, which founded afro Tech, and he's also 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:14.760 a founder and managing partner at Collide Capital. So if 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.000 you are raising money or you will be, it's important 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.519 to know how VC's a thinking and which verticals they're 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.720 paying attention to and so you need to be in 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:30.960 that conversation. Also, Robert Smith will be there, billionaire, black billionaire. 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:36.040 He's talking about creating a shared digital future, powering forward. 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.919 So he is chairman and chief executive officer of Visa 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:43.320 Equity Partners. He's the guy a couple of years ago 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.840 paid off all the college debt for the guys at 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:50.000 Morehouse and so he's going to be at AFRO Tech 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:52.960 this year talking about what he sees opportunities for black 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.680 innovators and how you can scare your ideas. One of 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.120 the things that I love about here and Robert talk 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.280 is how he's always pushing a to think bigger. And 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.119 sometimes we don't even realize we're not thinking big enough 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:07.560 about the opportunities in front of us. But he issues 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.040 that challenge and he starts to prode you on how 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.280 you can think about your thing a hundred times bigger 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:16.959 than you may be thinking about it today. So what 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:21.680 if your journey is an entrepreneurial one and it's you know, 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:24.919 and it's based on you. Whether it's a lifestyle brand 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.520 and so sometimes we think lifestyle brands can't be big businesses. 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.560 We think lifestyle brands are just ones that we work 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.920 personally day in and day out, and it might do 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.200 six figures, it might do seven figures. But lifestyle brands 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:40.240 can actually be pretty big. So we're gonna be talking 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.680 about that. If you're going to be an afrotech and 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.080 you're an entrepreneur, and maybe you're not trying to build 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:48.840 the next Facebook, but maybe your brand is built around 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:53.080 you as an individual. So there's talks about that. Whether 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.800 you're trying to get a board seat, there's conversations about 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.160 that about people who sit on boards and who put 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:01.040 people on boards. They will be on the stage at 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:05.200 afro Tech. If you're managing remote teams, their talks there 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.720 for you at afro Tech this year, and the big 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:11.560 conversation of the day is AI. I'm sure in almost 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.320 every conversation that we have at Afrotech this year, AI 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.880 will come up because it's that disruptive to our norm. 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:20.800 So I guarantee there's something there for you. And one 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.600 of the things I try to stress when I'm talking 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.039 to anybody about afro Tech is sometimes people think because 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.160 they're not directly working in a technology related role. If 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.800 you are using technology to perform your duties at work, 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:37.440 you should be at afro Tech because whether you're working 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.480 in healthcare, whether you're working in law, whether you are 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:46.560 working in sports entertainment, you are utilizing technology to power 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.720 your work, and so it's important that you're in the 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:52.440 room where the conversations are being had that can in 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:56.279 many ways dictate the future of your role. So highly 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.440 encourage you to be at afro Tech this year getting 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:04.880 some new It is notoriously hard to get a true 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:09.280 Kangnac and it has he made in a certain region 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:13.040 in France, the Cognac region. So shout out to Faughn Weaver, 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:19.440 founder of Uncle Nearest. So look, Hennessy is by far 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:23.120 the biggest distiller of cognac and they account for like 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.800 almost half of all cognac production. I think it's like 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:31.400 forty six percent. Then there's like Martel, there's Remy Martin 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:34.840 and Covasier, which like are started in like eighteen o nine, 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:38.760 so they've been around for two hundred plus years. Uncle 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:42.440 Nears is now the young gun and according to a 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.120 press release they sent to afro Tech Fawn Weaver, they 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:50.560 just acquired domain Saint Martin in the state, which encompasses 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:54.760 over one hundred acres with Charente River frontage and a 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:59.680 unique island. Furthermore, it's fifty acres are dedicated to Grant 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:03.839 Shan Paying Vineyards make it Kanyacs Citi's crown jewels. So 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:08.360 Kanyac City is a place in France where kannac is made. 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:12.120 They're made Kanyak is made from a much more delicate, 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:16.320 like seasonal raw material grapes, so and that distillation period 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:18.560 is like super duper short, so like they got five 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:21.719 months every year to make kanyac. It's hard to make 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.640 and therefore it's like expensive, and so it is a 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:29.120 status symbol, you know, because it's priced in the way 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.599 that it's you know, ability to be made dictates. It's 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:35.640 really hard to do and kanyak makes up like less 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.960 than one percent of the world's spirits by volume. And 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:42.200 so the fact that there's now a black owned kanyak 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:46.040 coming to market is very, very exciting. So shout out 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.680 to farn Weaver and the work her and her team 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:53.200 at Uncle Near's are doing. Sony Group wants to put 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:57.000 money into African entertainment startups. A lot of people who 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:59.479 listen to this podcast are on the content, so shout 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:03.320 out to you, especially if you are building something in 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:09.760 the gaming, music, film content distribution space, Sony Innovation Fund 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:14.600 wants to fund you, and they're putting ten million dollars 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:19.400 of capital in that fund to deploy two startups, particularly 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:25.520 ones in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana. Last year, 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:30.440 according to Partech Africa, the venture capital that was spent 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:35.920 or deployed into African entertainment startups equaled about zero point 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:40.440 nine percent of the continent's total venture capital investments. And 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:45.680 Jen Toshikawa, who's CEO of Sony Ventures, believes that there 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:50.760 is an untapped potential for African creators, entrepreneurs and teams 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:55.160 and that there's a growing adoption of technology that is 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:59.400 developed on the content. So if you are in that space, 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:01.880 or or if you have an idea to get into 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.960 that space, now is a good time to get your 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:08.120 wheels going because the set date for distribution of that 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:12.200 ten million dollars into African entertainment startups is pending. But 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.320 you know, if you stay ready, you ain't got to 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:20.200 get ready. This conversation about Africa and so many African 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:25.000 companies and things from the African culture, whether that be 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:30.040 afrobeats or otherwise, they are now starting to come to 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:33.360 mainstream here domestically in the United States. And it's so 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:37.319 interesting to me because what that says to me about 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.800 what's happening back on the continent is that there's more 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.360 opportunity for people to be able to do things that 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:46.200 can be exported to the world then historically. And what 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:51.599 that causes is more people, younger people particularly to find 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:56.000 more career opportunities that are available to them now than 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:59.520 historically might have been available to them. And so when 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:04.440 I think about that in my experience, and so I 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.760 have a couple of companies in one particular that makes 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:10.960 sense to talk about in this scenario, it's Creatio. So 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:17.320 Creatio we are a full service video production, website development, communication, strategy, design, 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:21.920 and more. And we focus on companies that want to 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:26.920 reach and engage multicultural and diverse audiences. And so what's 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.400 been important to me is, you know, when I started 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.720 this business, I was doing all of the work. I 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:37.960 was teaching myself how to develop websites because I didn't 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.240 have the capital to pay somebody else to build a 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:43.520 website or to even the website for Creatio, our own 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:46.320 individual website. I didn't have the money to ship that 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:50.199 out to somebody else to build a website for Creatio, 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:53.480 or whether I was installing a system at one of 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.920 our client locations. I had to learn how to install 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.520 those systems at a client location. And we started venturing 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:04.160 into other offerings service wise, whether that be in video 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.840 production or photography, I had to learn how to do it. 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:11.200 And so what's been important to me about our entire 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.079 arc of you know, so far in our art I 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:18.680 should say, is you know, having this scrappy mentality of 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:23.240 a desire personally to be really good at the things 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.160 that we are going to be providing to our clients. 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.400 And so this does not necessarily mean that whatever you're doing, 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:31.520 you should be spending the time to learn, you know, 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.520 if especially if you're gonna, you know, do something that 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.320 scales really really fast. This company wasn't designed to scale 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:40.520 really really fast. When I started the company, I didn't 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:43.880 really understand, you know, about scale. And so it is 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.760 a lifestyle company. It's a successful one, but it is 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:50.040 a lifestyle company. We have employees and et cetera. But 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.080 it was not designed to take off like a unicorn. 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.600 And so this particular conversation I want to have is 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:02.000 for people who you know are building lifestyle companies, and 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:06.360 it is about the idea of how do you grow 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:10.720 talent and should you grow talent. Often in particularly black 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:16.000 owned businesses, lifestyle businesses that are not funded by outside parties, 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:19.200 you do not have outside investors. You are at a 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:23.160 disadvantage when you're trying to attract high caliber talent because 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.280 you may not have the resources to pay high caliber 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:29.880 talent what they can get in the marketplace. And so 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:33.319 what do you do. You could, you know, throw your 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:35.800 hands up and say, you know what, I can't afford 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:38.160 the people that it's going to take for me to 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.440 be able to run this business successfully. And you give up. 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.120 You've given up even before you started, right, And so 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.520 that is not a mentality that was going to work 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.760 for me. And so I was like, look, I'm first 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:55.200 of all going to become the high caliber talent that 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:58.600 I wish I could hire, and then I am going 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:03.120 to replace myself in each of those particular roles. So 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:07.120 one of the first things, fortunately I got an opportunity 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:10.040 to stop doing which I actually do enjoy it personally, 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:16.480 but I stopped doing video production and photography. While I 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:20.800 did enjoy doing it, it's time consuming, and what I 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.640 could not afford to do was keep doing it just 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:26.760 because I enjoy doing it. If I am in in 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:31.959 front of a computer editing video and I'm out at shoots, 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:36.800 you know, taking pictures, who is out building the business 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:40.000 for everybody else to continue to have other projects to 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:47.600 work on. Because producing video, taking pictures, that is two 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:50.120 jobs right there. It could be three even because some 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:53.079 people can just be videographers, some people can be editors, 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:56.120 some people could just be photographers. That could be two 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:58.920 to three jobs right there. So if I'm doing two 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:03.200 to three jobs just based on the capturing of content, 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:09.280 who is out finding you know, business for the next 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:13.199 round after this particular project is done. Now, it's a 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:15.400 different thing. If we're talking about you know, being there 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.920 because the client wants to see you and you're their 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.560 representative and et cetera, and you're making making sure everything 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:25.679 is going well, that's a different conversation. But the conversation 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.280 I'm having is about, you know, if I am actively 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:33.400 doing the work, if the product, the asset doesn't get created, 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.520 if I don't create it myself with my hands, with 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:40.079 my eye, with my skill and my ability to perform 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:44.240 the work, then we can only grow so far. So 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.880 I also don't have the capital to go higher. You know, 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.760 a photographer or a videographer at the beginning of this 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:56.080 business at the rate that they can afford to get 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.200 either freelance or with an agency that's more established. So 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:02.760 what do you do? You have this business, you want 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:05.640 to get off the ground in your early stages, whether 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:07.640 that be a couple of months old or you're a 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.000 couple of years old. In so many cases, because you 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:12.640 can still be in the early days. If you haven't 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:15.720 caught traction yet, you're in the early days. You don't 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.400 necessarily have the capital to go hire people who are 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:23.200 very well versed in that work, in producing that work, 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.440 because they can get more money from a freelance perspective 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.840 or with an agency firm company that is more established, 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:35.600 has deeper pockets than you. What do you do? What 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.600 I did was I started knocking on the door of 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.920 my local university. What I did was I started to 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.560 hire people who were earlier in their career and just 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:49.320 wanted a shot. Maybe they were learning videography or maybe 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:53.760 they were learning photography, but they may not necessarily have 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:57.400 the skills to go be successful from a freelance perspective, 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:02.000 which means they can't go sell themselves. And so I was, 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:06.760 you know, in many ways, their representative. I could have 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.000 been their manager, except they were coming into the fold 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:15.360 of my enterprise. That's how I built this company. I 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:20.960 built this company by leveraging ambition, by leveraging initiative of 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:24.880 other people who otherwise wouldn't have been given a shot 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:28.800 at a company or a firm that's more established. But 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.040 I wanted to give them a shot because they were 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:36.200 taking a shot on me. I could sell. I also 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:39.320 knew how to do the work, so I was able 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:43.480 to be able to vet people who were while they 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.840 were early in their journey. I could see that they 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:50.960 had something, and so my ability to both sell and 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:53.760 to bring the best out of somebody even though they're newer, 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.440 was where I found success. Now, if you're trying to 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:01.200 go and encourage somebody who's early in their career to 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.680 come alongside you and you can't bring the best out 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.800 of them, they will not stay with you long. These 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:12.119 are ambitious people, and ambitious people want to be challenged, 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:17.080 and so your ability to both a sell so that 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:20.640 you can pay them and be coach them bring the 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.520 best out of them, create an environment that they that 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:28.600 they enjoy working in. That's your job, and so we 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:32.640 were able to find success in that way. Some of 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:35.600 the first people who ever worked for Creatio I got 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:40.360 directly out of college or before they graduated, and they 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:46.320 were producing work under the umbrella of Creatio that put 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:50.000 us on the map. But it wasn't just about the 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:55.080 money for them. They enjoyed the money, but they also 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:59.520 enjoyed working on something that meant something. They got a 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:03.040 chance to build something alongside somebody who took a shot 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.320 on them, because they recognized that they were early, and 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.560 they also recognized that they weren't going to be able 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:11.440 to go and demand a lot from an agency that's 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:14.360 been around for a long period of time and had 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.040 very senior people there. They knew that probably in that 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:22.840 firm they were going to be bringing somebody's coffee, and 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:27.359 so here in this newly formed company, they were going 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:29.480 to get an opportunity to be a part of building 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:35.000 something and creating a culture that valued ambition and ambition 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.359 and people trying to figure it out together. That's a 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:45.320 special place to be in So I've always valued people 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.719 who want to take a shot on themselves because I 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:50.280 took shots on myself, and so we're taking shots on 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:58.080 ourselves together. We abandoned brothers and sistors, and so alongside that, 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:01.840 it's important also to think about why do the norms 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:06.280 that exist in traditional enterprises, traditional companies? Why do they 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:10.080 have to why do they have to exist here? So 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:12.120 my team knows I only care about I care about 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:16.240 three things. Some companies you go to have a long 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.520 list of things that they care about. I care about 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:22.800 three things. That the work is done on time, that 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:26.879 is fire, and that you guys work well together. You 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.840 figure out a way to work well together. That's what 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:33.120 I care about. And so there is no list of Hey, 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:36.080 you know, office hours are from eight to five when 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.119 we expect you to be here, and there's two weeks 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:41.520 off a year, and you know those sorts of things. 0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:44.560 It didn't work for us. I didn't even try to 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:46.199 make it work for us because I didn't want to 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:49.280 work in a place that operated that way. So why 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:52.400 would I institute some policies and ways of doing things 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:55.960 that I didn't appreciate Being both a creative and a businessman, 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.560 so I got to design the company I wanted to 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:02.600 work for. And so many of you listening to this 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:06.440 are in a position to design the kind of company 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:10.000 that you would want to work for, if you just 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:14.320 recognize that you have that opportunity to do that. Why 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:20.240 am I telling and demanding a creative somebody who's editing video, Hey, 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:25.639 you need to be here at nine am? Why what 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:30.080 if they work best at noon. I used to have 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:33.000 a guy who shout out to nick. I used to 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:37.480 have a guy he's in La now doing movies, and 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:40.840 he used to come into the office at eleven pm 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:43.439 and he would be there till three in the morning. Now, 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:45.720 obviously when we got a shoot, he would show up 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:48.040 for the shoot and on time and be professional, etc. 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:54.720 But when there's a deadline for computer work, when there's 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:57.440 like things that he needed to do at his desk 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:01.760 that didn't require interfacing with a client, why do I 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:07.120 care if he's there at you know, nine am, eight am? 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:12.199 For what reason? And so the important thing for me 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.480 to do and every again, it's another thing that everybody 0:20:15.520 --> 0:20:19.000 on my teams knows. My job today is not to 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:22.520 produce videos. My job is to make sure you have 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.520 what you need to produce videos. So if you come 0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:28.080 to me and you say, hey, will you know my 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:31.400 my you know, my iMac is a little slow. You know. 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:33.720 My job is to figure out why is it slow? 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:37.480 Is the memory running low? Is it old and you 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:40.040 need a new computer, you know? Or is it you 0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:42.240 need is you need to clear some hard dry space 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:44.679 off so you can, you know, more freely move around. 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:47.480 That's my job, and my job is to make sure 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:52.000 you have what you need. So if you need to 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:55.320 work in order for you to work best, if you 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.840 need flexibility in your schedule, as long as that is 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:03.919 not disrupting to the business. Why do I care? Why 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:07.399 do I care if your hair is a natural color. 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:10.840 He came in that same guy, he came in with 0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:15.000 yellow hair one day. What impact did that have on 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:21.400 his work? Zero? And So these things that some of us, 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:25.160 you know, think matter because those are the way we 0:21:25.160 --> 0:21:28.199 were raised in business, and there were these rules and 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:35.439 guardrails that restricted creativity and self expression. Those don't have 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.760 to exist anymore, and so sometimes we just need somebody 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:42.800 to free us, you know, to the possibility that working 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:47.399 can be fun and you can build again the type 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:51.600 of company you would want to work for. You can 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:56.280 build a culture, you know, and an environment that is actually 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:59.040 a good place to be, a fun place to be, 0:22:00.680 --> 0:22:04.159 where I want to come to work to, where I 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:06.600 know I've got projects on my plate. Hey man, I 0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:09.879 can't wait to get to the office tomorrow because you 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:13.439 notice nobody looking over your shoulder. Now, it comes with 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:17.439 a lot of trust, and that trust is earned. But again, 0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:20.320 everybody knows there's the three things I care about. I 0:22:20.320 --> 0:22:22.840 only care about those three things, and if I'm consistent 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:26.760 on those three things, they will trust me also, and 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:30.800 so we won't let each other down. So going to 0:22:30.960 --> 0:22:35.600 my local university was very helpful to me. There was 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:40.480 a website it's called Handshake that many universities across the 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:43.399 country use. I know my local ones use it. But 0:22:43.480 --> 0:22:45.360 it's a website where you can go and you can 0:22:45.400 --> 0:22:51.240 post opportunities, jobs and internships, co ops and etc. For students, 0:22:51.320 --> 0:22:54.240 and it's like a big student job board for colleges 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:57.320 and universities. They use it. So if you post a 0:22:57.480 --> 0:23:00.679 job to a place like Handshake, you get to say, 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:04.680 you know here the particular universities that i'd like this 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:07.840 job to be promoted to. And then those universities on 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:11.119 the back end, you know, will vet the role and 0:23:11.359 --> 0:23:15.520 you know, either accept or deny your job posting and 0:23:15.560 --> 0:23:18.240 so again you can do internships on there. You can 0:23:18.280 --> 0:23:22.200 do co op opportunities on their actual job opportunities on there. 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:26.719 And that's what I did. I posted the positions I 0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:31.800 had to handshake, and I even reached out to a 0:23:31.800 --> 0:23:34.600 lot of professors directly on a lot of websites. You know, 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:40.680 you can find you know, the email addresses of the professors. 0:23:41.320 --> 0:23:44.040 And this might not be something or a tactic that 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:47.080 a lot of people employed, because, at least in my experience, 0:23:47.280 --> 0:23:50.920 you know, professors seem to be very willing to make 0:23:50.960 --> 0:23:54.240 introductions or to show you, you know, the proper steps 0:23:54.280 --> 0:23:56.840 to getting in touch with their students. I got a 0:23:56.880 --> 0:24:01.600 lot of response, more than you might imagine, you know, 0:24:01.640 --> 0:24:04.760 when you send code emails, you know, I guess, depending 0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:08.040 on who you're emailing, you really don't expect the response 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:10.359 rate to be super high. But the response rate in 0:24:10.400 --> 0:24:15.320 my experience to this was very high. The professors were 0:24:15.840 --> 0:24:19.119 in many ways, you know, excited to give their students 0:24:19.119 --> 0:24:23.040 the opportunities to work on real things. A lot of 0:24:23.040 --> 0:24:28.240 colleges and universities, particularly in creative works, have their students 0:24:28.760 --> 0:24:31.800 work on make believe projects, like projects that are not 0:24:31.840 --> 0:24:34.720 going to be used in the wild, and so to 0:24:34.840 --> 0:24:38.080 have them work on things that might actually be seen 0:24:38.160 --> 0:24:42.720 in the world. You know, for many that's encouraging to them. 0:24:42.880 --> 0:24:47.640 It's inspiring for them to introduce their students to those opportunities. 0:24:48.400 --> 0:24:49.960 And you got to be smart when you do this, 0:24:50.080 --> 0:24:52.760