1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,680 Speaker 1: The views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent 3 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: those of Into It QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal, 5 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 1: or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: that the info is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors, 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: and the information presented is for general information purposes only. 8 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: Into It QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating 9 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: or revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before 10 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: relying on them. Hey everyone, and welcome to the very 11 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: first episode of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories, 12 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: a podcast brought to you by iHeartRadio and Into It QuickBooks. 13 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: I'm Austin Hankwitz, hosted the Rate of Return podcasts and 14 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: co founder of wits Ventures. But you may recognize me 15 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: from my short form videos about the personal finance and 16 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: investing on TikTok and I'm Jenny's Torres, the creator and 17 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: host of the award winning personal finance podcast Jokioo the Neto. 18 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: You may have come across one of my videos on 19 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: social media where I empower others with personal finance knowledge 20 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: in every episode of this podcast, you'll hear Austin and 21 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: I chatting with small business owners as they share their 22 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,839 Speaker 1: stories about the ups and downs of only a small business. 23 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: Plus we'll learn from their experience about how you can 24 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: help fortify and strengthen your own business. That's right, Genius, 25 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: and I'm really excited for everyone to hear this podcast. 26 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: And I'm so happy you'll be coming along this right 27 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: with me to hear some awesome entrepreneurial stories. Today we're 28 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: talking about capital and funding, but before we bring on 29 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: our guest and dive into all that, I'd love to know, Genius, 30 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: more about your business journey. So I realized now I 31 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: was charting a path to becoming a content creator, even 32 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: before that was an actual thing. I started my small 33 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: business journey in twenty thirteen and I was looking for 34 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: a creative outlet from my corporate engineering job. I followed 35 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: in my dad's footsteps to be an engineer, but I 36 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: felt like this wasn't the thing I'm meant to do, 37 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: and so I actually started a food blog called delish 38 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: Delights dot com, where I started sharing my Puerto Rican 39 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: heritage and recipes online. And I took it from a 40 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: hobby into a business by learning the ins and outs 41 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: of what content creators do for monetization purposes, so things 42 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:12,799 Speaker 1: like affiliate marketing, brand partnerships, putting ads on my website. 43 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,959 Speaker 1: And after a couple of years of doing the solopreneurs thing, 44 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: I realized there's nobody in my circle who's doing this 45 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: stuff too, and so I turned to the Internet to 46 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: start learning more about personal finance entrepreneurship, and I ended 47 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,959 Speaker 1: up getting addicted to podcasts so much so that after 48 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: a couple of years of being a consumer of podcasts, 49 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: I decided to start my own, which is Yokioo the Neto, 50 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: and on the show, I really wanted to create a 51 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: community of changemakers and highlighting stories of people who are 52 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: in communities of color that typically don't hear entrepreneurial success 53 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: stories and folks who are pursuing financial independence. And it 54 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: became an accidental business, and ten years later I could 55 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: absolutely say that this is not any part of my plan. 56 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: I have always approached entrepreneurship from a place of curiosity 57 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: and passion and just wanting to explore these crazy thoughts 58 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: that come into your head. And so from becoming a 59 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: food blogger, to now being a full time podcaster and 60 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,079 Speaker 1: content creator. My mission has always just been to connect 61 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,639 Speaker 1: with stories and to find inspiration that not only now 62 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: I can use, but folks who are in my community 63 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: can use as well. Yeah, I'm right there with Eugenius. 64 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: So I'm also a small business owner, not a veteran 65 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: like yourself. Not ten years. So what happened was I 66 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: actually graduated from the University of Tennessee back in twenty 67 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: eighteen with this degree in finance and economics. Super nerd 68 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: I love it. I ended up doing mergers and acquisitions 69 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: for a publicly traded healthcare company. I did that for 70 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: about three years, and then I was sent home right 71 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: during COVID like everyone else, to work from home. But 72 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: instead of lip syncing and dancing on TikTok, I decided 73 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: to share my experience of paying down my student loans, 74 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: growing my credit score, and even buying my house right. 75 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: And I did this all from a place of authenticity 76 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: and transparency because I'm a really big believer that the 77 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: wealth gap in America is only going to get smaller 78 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: if we get as many people as possible to be 79 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: owners of assets, not so much consumers. Right, And so 80 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: now I'm a full time, constant creator. But what's been 81 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: really fun about this is I've also been able to 82 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: invest into the businesses that i'm advertising, if that makes sense. 83 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: So a fintech or a financial technology company that I 84 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: would use would say, hey, Austin, this is so cool 85 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: that you're a creator now, which you want to talk 86 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: about us and say, sure, but I love what you're 87 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: doing so much. Right, I'm a customer as well. Can 88 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: I own equity in your business? Right back to that 89 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: idea of the owner mindset? And so that's what's so 90 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:41,680 Speaker 1: exciting about this episode we have coming up right now, 91 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: is this is all about raising money, raising capital. And 92 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: I'm not saying with the money I'm investing as materially 93 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: raising that capital for these people, but it's more of 94 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: a sign of hey, I'm with you in solidarity. I 95 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: want to grow this with you. So that is really 96 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: what I've been up to over the last three years. 97 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: I host a podcast called the Rate of Return Podcast. 98 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: I've got the Rate of Return newsletter over ten thousand 99 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: subscribers of people who work across a bunch of different careers, 100 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: and we've also invested into twenty six different startups from 101 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: the preset all the way to Series C. It's creator economy, 102 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: it's fintech, it's even a mail shampoo company, believe it 103 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: or not. So all these really really cool opportunities that 104 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: have been afforded. As a constant creator and a small 105 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: business owner at that of course, uses QuickBooks. QuickBooks literally 106 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: saved my sanity. It wasn't until I started using QuickBooks 107 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: that I actually knew what was going on with my 108 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: money and capital or money and how to raise it 109 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: is what we're talking about today. I decided to take 110 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: the route of business credit cards and small business grants. 111 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: So I don't think I'm at the place where I've 112 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,840 Speaker 1: started thinking about venture capital just yet. But it's always 113 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: really interesting to find these stories of folks who go 114 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: and pitch their business ideas to venture capitalists and make 115 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: magic happen with other people's money. I love that. So, 116 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: speaking of other people's money, Austin, can you talk about 117 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: the way is that a business can raise capital? Most definitely. 118 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: So there's a couple ways that come to mind. The 119 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: first way is you know, other people's money. Angel investors, right, 120 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: These are those wealthy individuals who want to invest into 121 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: small precede or even seed stage startups. We think about 122 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: shark tank, Right, that's essentially an angel investor. So the 123 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: next one list is VC funding, right, venture capitalists, And 124 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: this is essentially like private money. Think about like a 125 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: mutual fund, how people kind of pulled together millions of dollars. Well, 126 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: that's the same thing here. A firm would come out, 127 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: pull together tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to 128 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: then invest that money into budding, seed or precede stage startups. Right, 129 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: we're gonna hear from one here very soon. She raised 130 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: more than six million dollars from venture capitalists investors. The 131 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: next one that comes to mind is crowdfunding. And I 132 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: think we've all kind of heard of this one before, 133 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 1: right Indiego, Go, Kickstarter, other things like that. Right. This 134 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: is essentially rallying your community, your friends, your family, to say, hey, 135 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: give me money so I can build my business. Right. 136 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: One that I think you mentioned here earlier with credit 137 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: cards and things of that nature of the small business loans. Right, 138 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 1: this is going into debt to fund your small business 139 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: if that might be the operating capital needed or are 140 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: things that nature to get off the ground. You'll see 141 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: tons of different banks offering small business loans and things 142 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: that nature. Even I think the United States government even 143 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: have some small business loans as well. Yep, the Small 144 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: Business Administration also known as the SBA. That is it. Okay, 145 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: there we go. And the last one that comes to 146 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: mind are grants. Right, This is money received from anyone 147 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: who's trying to solve a problem to qualify for a grant. 148 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,679 Speaker 1: It could be nearly anything, right, could be your background, 149 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: your experience. I've been kind of like, I think of 150 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: this as a scholarship to college in the sense that 151 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: you have these very specific parameters, you check the boxes, 152 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: and you get to apply for this money. But for 153 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: a little perspective, here are some quick stats as it 154 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: relates to how business owners who want to start a 155 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: business in twenty twenty three plan to fund it. So, 156 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: the most popular way is using their own money or savings. 157 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: The second most popular is a loan from family or friends, 158 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: the third most popular is a business loan from a 159 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: commercial lender, and way at the bottom is the VC 160 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: funding that venture capital funding that we're going to get 161 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: into a little bit more today. So those are the 162 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: different ways that I can think of as it relates 163 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: to funding a business. But do you mind walking us 164 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 1: through a little bit more about your own experience with grants. 165 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: I think grants are probably the most accessible for folks, 166 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: especially people who don't necessarily have a network of people 167 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: that they can leverage as investors. As a first generation entrepreneur, 168 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: I don't have a lot of people in my circle 169 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: who I can just be like, hey, guys, can you 170 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: write me a check because I have this really cool 171 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: business idea, And so when it comes to funding your 172 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: business without having to take on debt, grants are really 173 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: really key. And there are federal grants and state grants 174 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,319 Speaker 1: and even grants from corporations. So, as someone who's received 175 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: a grant before, how did you decide that that was 176 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: the right way to raise money for your business? Why 177 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: did you do it grants and maybe not crowdfunding or 178 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: an angel investor. I think for me, just because of 179 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: the nature of my business, I really am still trying 180 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,839 Speaker 1: to figure out what exactly it is I do as 181 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: a podcaster, an influencer, content creator. In my head, I'd 182 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: never pictured pitching what I do to venture capitalists. It 183 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: just did an equate I usually think about that for 184 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: like a product based business or a technology company, So 185 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: For me, I was just operating in a very small 186 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: business mindset and I wanted to be able to actually 187 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: offer a scholarship program where I could teach people for 188 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: free about investing. And I found an organization that supports 189 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: that type of work and they gave me a grant 190 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: that I could use to then give money to people 191 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: who participated in the program to start investing. Right. So, 192 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: there's like so many different things that you can do 193 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: with the money that you receive from grants, and it's 194 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: out there for the taking. I think that's really powerful. 195 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:47,959 Speaker 1: And I also think you hit the nail right on 196 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: the head as it relates to angel investors or vcs, 197 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: like a very product based or technology based. Right. The 198 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: person we're going to be talking here with soon, she 199 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: has a payment processing platform. It's one of these businesses 200 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 1: that can grow to a multi billion dollar enterprise if 201 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: it can scale enough. And so that's what I think 202 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,199 Speaker 1: the big differences between raising from an angel investor in 203 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: vcs and stuff like that, or raising from grants or crowdfunding. So, Austin, 204 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: as a content creator like me, did you raise any 205 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: funds for your business as a content creator? It's been 206 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 1: very lean, just kind of get a laptop, maybe a camera, microphone, 207 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: it's maybe a thousand dollars or so if you're able 208 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: to do it right. But I would say that if 209 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: I was to try and find capital right now, would 210 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: actually be through a technique we have not yet talked about, 211 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: and that is borrowing against existing assets, specifically my portfolio. 212 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: So I've got thirty thousand dollars in a brokerage account 213 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: right now on a platform that allows me to borrow 214 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: against that if I need liquidity. So, for example, if 215 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: I had wanted to perhaps take on a bigger project 216 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: or maybe hire an employee, I could borrow up to 217 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: twenty five or even fifty percent of that amount at 218 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: a reasonable interest rate to then deploy toward that project. 219 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: So Austin, if someone doesn't have a portfolio, can they 220 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: still access capital this way? So that's a really good question. 221 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: The short answer is no, and that's because there's no 222 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,319 Speaker 1: collateral to borrow against. However, having a stock portfolio is 223 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,640 Speaker 1: only one form of collateral. Perhaps they might have a 224 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: house or perhaps something else that's generally expensive, a car, 225 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: a valuable of some sort that they would be able 226 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: to borrow against. That's a really interesting way to leverage 227 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: funds you already have for a new project. Now that 228 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: we have a better idea of the most common ways 229 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: to raise capital, let's hear from our guest about her journey. Today. 230 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:37,560 Speaker 1: We're joined by Ami Comoji. Ami is a Stanford trained physician, 231 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,439 Speaker 1: an x BCG consultant turned founder CEO of Sika Health. 232 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: At the age of six, Amy emigrated from Ghana with 233 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: the dream of becoming a physician and achieving that dream, 234 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,199 Speaker 1: she learned how broken the financial side of US healthcare 235 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: can be. That's why she created Seka Health in order 236 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: to reinvent the way we pay for our health. Seeka 237 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: Health is a consumer first payment company that enables merchants 238 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: to accept funds at checkout from health savings accounts or 239 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: HSA's and flexible spending accounts or FSAs, so we can 240 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: all afford our health needs. You might be familiar with 241 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: these types of accounts as you may have an HSA 242 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: or FSA yourself, or they might be something that you 243 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 1: offer to your employees. Amy started funding for her company 244 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: during the pandemic and has raised a six point two 245 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: million dollars seed round from world class investors. Ami, welcome 246 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: to the show. Thank you so much, Janis and Austin. 247 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: It's wonderful to be here. Thank you so much for 248 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 1: hanging out with us. Ammi. I think a really good 249 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: place to start this conversation is for us to understand 250 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: the origin story of seek A Health, and I believe 251 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: it has to do with your mother being laid off 252 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: during the pandemic and the decisions that had to be 253 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 1: made because of that, like having to become a tax 254 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,679 Speaker 1: expert essentially overnight, just to figure out how to use 255 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: those healthcare funds from her job. Can you walk me 256 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,079 Speaker 1: through how that circumstantially inspired you to start this company 257 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 1: so exactly as you mentioned, inspiration for starting Seeka actually 258 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,560 Speaker 1: happened in twenty twenty when unfortunately, my mom was laid 259 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 1: off of her job. She's working as a hotel worker 260 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: at the time, and that meant that she was going 261 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,439 Speaker 1: to lose her health plan, of which her FASA was 262 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: part of. That the FSA is a wonderful tool and 263 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: that it does allow you to spend that money pre 264 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,959 Speaker 1: tax on your health, but in her case, it was unfortunately, 265 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: use it or lose it. And the hardest part about 266 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 1: these tools is that you can only spend them on 267 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: certain things, and no one tells you what those things are. 268 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: So we actually had to scramble to try to figure 269 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: out and exactly like you're saying, practically to become tax 270 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: experts overnight in order to determine how we could use 271 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: these funds. But in doing so we learned a lot, 272 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: and I learned a lot and really three things specifically 273 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: that ended up giving the court insights for starting SEEKA. 274 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: So first and foremost, I learned that there are way 275 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: more ways to spend FSA and HSA dollars than most 276 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: people realize, things like glasses, fitness equipment like a peloton 277 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: bike or gym membership, certain nutritional vitamins and supplements, maybe 278 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: even pet supplies for an emotional support animal or a 279 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: service animal, so a really really broad range of expenses. 280 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: The second thing we realized, and this I think was 281 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,680 Speaker 1: sort of the root cause, was that not only did 282 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 1: a lot of consumers like my mom not know how 283 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: to spend these funds, but a lot of merchants struggle 284 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: to accept FSA and HSA funds as a form of payment. 285 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 1: In fact, many of them don't even know which of 286 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: their items are eligible and which aren't. The third core 287 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: insight here is that there are about seventy million people 288 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: in the US who have either an FSA or an HSA, 289 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: and about one hundred and fifty billion dollars flows through 290 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: these accounts every year, and a lot of times the 291 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: money just sits there, and in some cases like what 292 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: almost happened to my mom, and people actually lose money 293 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: to the tune of about eight billion dollars every year 294 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: when these funds expire. So for all those reasons and 295 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: all the learnings, I saw that there was a real 296 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: opportunity for improvement, a very big market, and an urgent need, 297 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: and that's why I decided to start seek a Health. 298 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: Got it Okay? So for everyone listening right now, can 299 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 1: you explain the differences actually between an HSA and an FSA, 300 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: and then why are those differences so important for the 301 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: problem that you're solving with seek a Health. So episades 302 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 1: and hsas are really one of the best tools out 303 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: there to help people to save on their various healthcare needs. 304 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: But part of what comes with utilizing these tools is 305 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: knowing the key differences between them exactly like you're mentioning, 306 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: and so even though they sound really similar, they're actually 307 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: really different in terms of how and when you can 308 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: spend these dollars. For h says, the money actually rolls 309 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,240 Speaker 1: over from year to year, and you can actually invest 310 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: those dollars over time and grow those funds to be 311 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: a really large pot of money. For episays, they're use 312 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: it or lose it, which means you have to use 313 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:55,280 Speaker 1: them within the course of a year, and in some cases, 314 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: let's say, if you lose your job, you actually might 315 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: have to spend them right away, within the month. And 316 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,040 Speaker 1: so what that means for us, and the problem that 317 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: we're solving is that there can be a lot of urgency, 318 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 1: both because there's a big pot of money that you 319 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: don't want just sitting there, and also because the funds 320 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,520 Speaker 1: might be expiring on a deadline, and that makes it 321 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: really important to make it easier for people to identify 322 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: where and how they can spend these dollars. So the 323 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: way that we solve that problem specifically is that we 324 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: actually show up at checkout. We show up as a 325 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: payment method, very similar to let's say a buy now, 326 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: pay later product that you've seen, or perhaps a PayPal 327 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 1: except the difference with us is that you can actually 328 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: link your health funds as a form of payment. And 329 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: behind the scenes, we're doing a bunch of things on 330 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: the regulatory front, helping the merchants get certified and figure 331 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: out which items counting can be improved in which items 332 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: are not. But the goal is for you as the 333 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: consumer and the shopper, to have a really easy experience, 334 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,280 Speaker 1: a really easy way to buy the products that you 335 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: need and save money doing it, and likewise for merchants 336 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,120 Speaker 1: to be able to offer you a new way to pay. 337 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: Were you surprised when you found this huge literacy gap 338 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,880 Speaker 1: when it comes to how these accounts work? And were 339 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: you surprised that no one has thought of fixing this 340 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,199 Speaker 1: problem before? You know? I don't know that I can 341 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,120 Speaker 1: say that I was surprised. Unfortunately, in our healthcare system, 342 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,640 Speaker 1: a lot of problems look like this where things are 343 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 1: just very broken, not because it's anyone's fault or intention right, 344 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: but because there's a literacy gap. And what that means 345 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: is there is an opportunity for companies like us to 346 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: be created to close those gaps on behalf of consumers, 347 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: but also on behalf of other businesses, and that's what 348 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:41,719 Speaker 1: is creating the opportunity for us. So this episode is 349 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: all about capital raising and fund raising all that fun stuff. 350 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: You raised six point two million dollars from some of 351 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: the most well known and I mean four runner ventures. 352 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: Urikim is an incredible woman. So what I'm trying to 353 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,199 Speaker 1: get out here, though, is, I mean, how did you 354 00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:00,160 Speaker 1: do that? Right? What were some maybe unexpected challenges involved 355 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: you get any curveballs headed your way. I also read 356 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: that it was kind of the chicken and the egg 357 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: problem with hiring people, So maybe walk us through that 358 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: process as well, and maybe not having a team yet 359 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: when you were raising it. I'd love to know you're 360 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,400 Speaker 1: exactly right. It was definitely a lot of challenges. Part 361 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: of the reason I knew I needed to fundraise was that, 362 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 1: you know, in order to solve this problem, I needed 363 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 1: a really good team, a really strong team, particularly on 364 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: the engineering on the product side, and many of those 365 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,880 Speaker 1: folks currently work in tech. You are paid incredibly well, right, 366 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,360 Speaker 1: So it was a chicken and egg problem for sure, 367 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: But I decided that the way to start was to 368 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 1: bring on incredible partners on the investment side who could 369 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,920 Speaker 1: then help by providing the capital I needed to attract 370 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: a wonderful team in terms of my journey fundraising. I 371 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: definitely don't come from the traditional tech background. I've actually 372 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: never worked in tech professionally. My background is as a physician, 373 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: as you've mentioned, and I previously worked as a healthcare consultant, 374 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: which meant that I didn't necessarily have an automatic rolodex 375 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: of tech focused investors to call right away. And so 376 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,440 Speaker 1: what did I do? I actually started really close to home. 377 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: Started by telling everyone that I knew, I was really 378 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 1: excited about this problem, that I wanted to start this business, 379 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: and many of those people were my previous mentors or 380 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:27,480 Speaker 1: bosses or friends, maybe folks that had started companies before. 381 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: And it didn't really even feel like I was pitching, 382 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 1: or it wasn't intending to pitch. It was mostly just 383 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 1: telling my story. And sometimes there was an ask for advice, 384 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: but sometimes it was an ask for capital. And the 385 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: more comfortable I became, the more I began to ask. 386 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: And there are plenty of nos, but eventually I did 387 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: get to a first yes and then the next yes. 388 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: And when I set out to fundraise, I set out 389 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: to raise half a million dollars, but within a few 390 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: weeks I had actually surpassed that goal and raised over 391 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: one point two million, And that was because the people 392 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:06,439 Speaker 1: that I was speaking with, you know, really believed in 393 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: the opportunity, and they also really believed in me, and 394 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 1: you know, it became evident that this was a problem 395 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: that desperately needed to be solved. And the other thing 396 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 1: that happened was that many of those people actually knew 397 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: investors or knew people who knew investors, and so they 398 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: were able to help me with introductions. And eventually those 399 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,639 Speaker 1: at the introductions that helped me get pulled into the 400 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,159 Speaker 1: room in front of Forerunner Ventures and Shine Capital and 401 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 1: the co founders of Plaid some of the people who 402 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,680 Speaker 1: eventually led my seed round a few weeks later. That's 403 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: absolutely incredible, And I think another amazing part of your 404 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: story is the fact that you did this during the pandemic, 405 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: which I think a lot of people would be like, 406 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: I don't know if this is the right time to 407 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 1: be asking people for money to fund a new business. 408 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: So did you ever run into just mindset blocks or 409 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: concerns that this was not going to work out the 410 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: way that you intended. Yeah, So that's one of the 411 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:07,160 Speaker 1: hardest things about the entrepreneurial journey is there always will 412 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: be challenges. There will always be setbacks, and one of 413 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 1: the most important things is to quiet the noise, fake 414 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: it till you make it, and just know that if 415 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,880 Speaker 1: you can get your ideas across, convey your message, which 416 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:22,359 Speaker 1: is that this is a problem that needs to be 417 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 1: solved today. Actually this is a problem that's even more 418 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: urgent because of the pandemic. How many of us have 419 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: lost our jobs, how many of us have dealt with 420 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: health issues. How many of us could use a way 421 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: to save money on our health needs as a result 422 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 1: of this broader climate, So you know, they're certainly you 423 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,919 Speaker 1: know there are ways that the pandemic made things harder. 424 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,119 Speaker 1: But I had the belief internally that actually that was 425 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,919 Speaker 1: the reason why this needed to exist now, and then 426 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 1: as a result, I was able to convey that to 427 00:21:54,880 --> 00:22:00,879 Speaker 1: the people around me. Coming up on Mind the Business 428 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: Small Business success Stories. Fundamentally, fundraising is a form of 429 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: relationship building, so people don't invest in companies, they invest 430 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 1: in people. We'll be right back after the break. Welcome 431 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 1: back to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories brought 432 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:30,920 Speaker 1: to you by iHeartRadio and into a quick books. So 433 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: I'm curious if there's any maybe one or two tactical 434 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: things that you did during this fundraising that really led 435 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: to success. Was it a pitch deck that you were 436 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,360 Speaker 1: just combing through a thousand times? Was it practicing your 437 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: pitch in front of the mirror? Was like, what was 438 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,920 Speaker 1: maybe a couple of tactical things that you were practicing 439 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 1: and doing that truly led to the success that you 440 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: experienced in this round? You know, I think the way 441 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,120 Speaker 1: I'll answer that is by saying that I do think 442 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:00,240 Speaker 1: preparation is underrated in general, especially in the way that 443 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: these stories of fundraising come about. It's made to sound 444 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,479 Speaker 1: really magical, like all of a sudden, who woke up 445 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: and had this great idea and then a bunch of 446 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,479 Speaker 1: people started throwing money at me? And that's just not 447 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: how it works. By the time I was pitching to 448 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: say Forerunner, I had done my pitch a thousand times, 449 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,439 Speaker 1: certainly in front of the mirror, but most importantly in 450 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: front of other people who could give me advice, who 451 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: could critique the way I answered this question, who could 452 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,199 Speaker 1: give me insight into how I could convey my message 453 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: even better. And so part of what that looked like 454 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: tactically was setting up meetings with all sorts of colleagues 455 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: just to practice and having docs, I would list out 456 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: all the questions that I could possibly get and the 457 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: ways that I would handle some of those questions and 458 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: those objectives. I think the takeaway here is that fundraising, 459 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,159 Speaker 1: like any skill, is one that can be learned, one 460 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,360 Speaker 1: that can be improved, and one that can be perfected 461 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: over time, and you know it's important to invest in 462 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: some of that preparation upfront. I'd love to know how 463 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,359 Speaker 1: one determines how much money you actually want to raise. 464 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: I've never raised venture capital. The whole idea of kind 465 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: of freaks me out, honestly, but I think it's because 466 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:20,479 Speaker 1: I watched too much Shark Tank. So I want to know, 467 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: how do you find out you know? Or how do 468 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,400 Speaker 1: you determine how much money you need and what your 469 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 1: strategy could be? Because right you can take out loans, 470 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,719 Speaker 1: you can put things on credit cards. So how did 471 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: you decide to go with venture capital? Yeah? For me, 472 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 1: the way that I determined how much money I needed 473 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: to raise was actually I built a model. It was 474 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: maybe overly precise, to be honest, but I figured out, well, 475 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: how many people do I need to hire? First and foremost? 476 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: What will each of those people be doing, and I 477 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,440 Speaker 1: knew that the biggest cost in this business given that 478 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,639 Speaker 1: it was essentially a fintech business with payroll costs essentially, 479 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: so that was the major input. We would also likely 480 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: use the funds for things like marketing an office, so 481 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: building in some of those costs. But the lesson in 482 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 1: there is just to figure out why are you raising 483 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:08,400 Speaker 1: money to begin with, what are you going to use 484 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,080 Speaker 1: that money for? And then try as best as you 485 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: can to estimate about how much of those resources, how 486 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: many resources you'll need to be able to get there. 487 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: The other big piece of fundraising isn't a fundraise, it's 488 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: to build a great business, right, So what are the 489 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: key things that I need to figure out in this 490 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: stage to build this business and how much time and 491 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,400 Speaker 1: what resources will it take for me to get there? 492 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: So we're really fundraised with the intent of bringing on 493 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: the people I needed in order to sort of prove 494 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,119 Speaker 1: or disprove the hypothesis of the business. So you know, 495 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: what is it going to take to prove to yourself 496 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 1: right that this is a business that has legs? And 497 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: then fundraising ideally just enough with a little bit of 498 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,960 Speaker 1: buffer of course, to help you get to that next milestone, 499 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: and then outside of that, part of how I thought 500 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: about fundraising is I really do see our busters not 501 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: just as people who provide capital, but people who are 502 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: important strategic partners and strategic thought partners. So using that 503 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: the fundraising process is a way to actually grow your network, 504 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: to find the right experts to bring around the table 505 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: so that you can accomplish some of these key milestones 506 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: that you have in front of you. Now, I hope 507 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,359 Speaker 1: you don't mind, but I really want to rewind for 508 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 1: a second here, because something you talked about in the 509 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 1: beginning of this interview was you shared this with everyone 510 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 1: close to you, right, You shared it with your friends, 511 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 1: your colleagues, your mentors, all these people who were excited 512 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,400 Speaker 1: to lift you up and see you succeed. What advice 513 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: would you give to the small business owner that's trying 514 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 1: to raise money that might not have access to investors 515 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 1: or friends or family with all this extra advice, time 516 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:51,639 Speaker 1: and money to give and support. Fundamentally, fundraising is a 517 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,200 Speaker 1: form of relationship building. So people don't invest in companies, 518 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: they invest in people. And what that means is that 519 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: it's really important for all aspects of your business. Actually 520 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:05,640 Speaker 1: to constantly be building your network and to be building relationships. 521 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: So let's say you're a small business owner. Maybe you 522 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,640 Speaker 1: don't have a network of investors potential investors today. Part 523 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: of what you can do is to actually find networks 524 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: of other founders and join communities. So I joined early 525 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,879 Speaker 1: on a bunch of Slack groups, for example, of people 526 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 1: that were trying to build businesses and health tech and fintech, 527 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,879 Speaker 1: people that were product oriented. That is free to everyone 528 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 1: and available to everyone. There are different communities. So our 529 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,480 Speaker 1: company is built in New York, and there's actually a 530 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: community called built in NYC, and various people who have 531 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: different email list serves where you can put yourself out there. 532 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 1: You can write a small post, let's say, for their blog, 533 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: and so there are a lot of really creative ways 534 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 1: where you can just start to build your network and 535 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: start to surround yourself with people. And they might not 536 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 1: be investors right away, they might be other folks just 537 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: like you that are starting to get off the ground. 538 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: But as you build your network, as you get yourself 539 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 1: out there, you will be surprised your network will really 540 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,400 Speaker 1: amplify and multiply, and through those loose connections here and there, 541 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,159 Speaker 1: you'll be able to find the path to investors. I 542 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:15,679 Speaker 1: guess my last question here for you, Ammy is you 543 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: know you probably know overall, black entrepreneurs typically receive less 544 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: than two percent of all VC dollars each year, while 545 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: company is led by black women receive less than one percent, 546 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: according to data from crunch Base. However, you beat those odds. 547 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,119 Speaker 1: You US six point two million dollars from world class investors. 548 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: So my question is, how did you beat those odds? 549 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 1: And what would you tell the person that was in 550 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: your shoes maybe two years ago that had the idea 551 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: that was trying to beat those odds right now? That's 552 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,320 Speaker 1: such a good question and also such an unfortunate question. 553 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,720 Speaker 1: I hope for a day where there isn't this funding gap. 554 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: And you know, by some of my research, black female 555 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 1: founders raised point three to four percent, so a third 556 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,440 Speaker 1: of one percent of the funds raised back in twenty 557 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,960 Speaker 1: twenty one when I was raising. Part of how I 558 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 1: beat those odds was going back to the fundamental belief 559 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: that this business needs to exist and I'm the right 560 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: person to do it. And as cliche as it sounds, 561 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,479 Speaker 1: just to bake it till you make it, you know, 562 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: I think people really get caught up in the details, 563 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: but then forget the sort of overarching message and fundraising, 564 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,520 Speaker 1: particularly at the seed stage when there's not that much traction, 565 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: the numbers aren't that great. You need to be able 566 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: to convince yourself as well as investors of two things. 567 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: Number one, that the problem that you're solving is a big, 568 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 1: important and urgent problem that needs to be solved, and 569 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: number two, that you're the right person or the right 570 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 1: team to solve that problem. And everything else is just 571 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 1: supporting bullets. So your traction, your revenue, the market data, 572 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: but the thing that really counts, the thing that moves 573 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,440 Speaker 1: people is the passion with which you speak, the conviction, 574 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: the ability to show that you will run through walls 575 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 1: to make it happen. And so that was part of 576 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: the difference maker for me, was just continuing to focus 577 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: on that as the core message and the story, and 578 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: of course big market MC data, and you know, we 579 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 1: had this level of commercial interests, but it really just 580 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: came down to grounding myself and I know this is 581 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: a big important problem and it needs to be solved, 582 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: and number two, I'm the right person to do it. Therefore, 583 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: come on board and help me build this business. I 584 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: love kind of ending things on an inspirational note, right, 585 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: So tell the aspiring capital raisers who are listening to 586 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: this right now, your best motivational saying or phrase or 587 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: something that you held onto during the process. Well, one 588 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: that comes to mind is you either win or you learn. 589 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 1: There's no such thing as losing. At least for me. 590 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:52,240 Speaker 1: This journey really is about the learning. No matter how 591 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: this business turns out, and I know that we have 592 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: a very very strong outcome ahead of us, But the 593 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: most important thing is just focusing on the learning, focusing 594 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,360 Speaker 1: on you know, what are the things that are working, 595 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 1: what are the things that aren't working so well? What 596 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: are some of the areas that our strengths for me? 597 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: Where are some of the areas that might be holding 598 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 1: me back? How do I apply that learning mindset to 599 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: every interaction that I have, whether it's with customers or 600 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 1: with my team. And of course through the fundraising process too. 601 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: I learned a lot during the fundraising process, and in fact, 602 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: the times that I learned the most was from the nose. 603 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 1: Some of the things that I learned from the nose 604 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: were which types of investors would be most interested in 605 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: the business, that I was building, and it was through 606 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,680 Speaker 1: that learning that I was able to correct and navigate, 607 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: you know, change this or that about the way that 608 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,280 Speaker 1: I tell my story and the audience to whom I 609 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,840 Speaker 1: tell it to, so that I could find that right 610 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 1: fit that I eventually landed on. So if I could 611 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,239 Speaker 1: tell your listeners anything is focus on the learning and 612 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 1: remind yourself that you either win or you learn, and 613 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: there's no such thing as losing. I mean, I think 614 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,880 Speaker 1: that your boldness, the passion for what you're doing, and 615 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 1: just your confidence. I could feel like when you would 616 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: walk into a room to pitch, people could just feel 617 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: how excited you were to make an impact with your business, 618 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: and so I have to credit that for your success. 619 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 1: So I just want to thank you for being an inspiration. 620 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 1: Especially as a woman of color. It's so rare for 621 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: us to see examples of folks who are really able 622 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: to make these things happen and to place themselves in 623 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: rooms where we might not have seen ourselves represented before. 624 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: So just thank you for the work that you do 625 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,280 Speaker 1: just by being you. Thank you so much, and hopefully 626 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 1: the takeaway here is that you being different coming from 627 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,320 Speaker 1: a different background, whether it's an ethnic difference, or a 628 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: gender difference, or a country difference, or professional difference. All 629 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:45,600 Speaker 1: those differences can be advantages because it is so important 630 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,280 Speaker 1: to lean on your own personal experiences. That is the 631 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,239 Speaker 1: source of your conviction, your strength, that's what makes you 632 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: compelling as a founder and an owner and a builder. 633 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 1: So the more that we can lean into our differences, 634 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: I think the more successful we will be. Thank you 635 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: so much for joining us. I mean, this was I 636 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: learned so much. I'm sure a lot of the listeners 637 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: here are pumped, they're excited, they're inspired, especially by your story. Right, 638 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,200 Speaker 1: this was awesome. I can't wait to do this again, 639 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,080 Speaker 1: hopefully sometime soon. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank 640 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,239 Speaker 1: you so much for having me, Austin and Janie. It 641 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,720 Speaker 1: was wonderful to be here, and hopefully some of these 642 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:21,000 Speaker 1: tips were helpful to your audience. Thank you so much. 643 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: That was such an incredible conversation with Ami Komoji. You know, 644 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:32,760 Speaker 1: there are so many ways to raise capital and get 645 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 1: funding for a small business, and Amy is definitely on 646 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,440 Speaker 1: one end of that spectrum raising millions of dollars with 647 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,920 Speaker 1: multiple investors, but there are so many other ways, like bootstrapping. 648 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,160 Speaker 1: When you're doing it on your own grants, which we 649 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,320 Speaker 1: talked about earlier, and asking friends and family. You just 650 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: really have to find what's the best fit for your 651 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: business and your situation. I'm curious, Austin, what stuck out 652 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,920 Speaker 1: most to you about this conversation. Totally agree, great conversation. 653 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: I think a couple of things really stuck out to me. 654 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,479 Speaker 1: The first one was the preparation. Right We asked her 655 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,840 Speaker 1: about what all went into a successful raise, and she 656 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,400 Speaker 1: talked about a thousand times that she'd pitched. That is incredible, 657 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: lots of practice, lots of preparation. I think that's incredibly 658 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:14,439 Speaker 1: important for someone listening right now. The preparation is key. 659 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 1: The second thing that really stuck out to me was 660 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: just how interesting of a problem she's solving and how 661 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:23,520 Speaker 1: big of a total addressable market that is. She mentioned 662 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,920 Speaker 1: billions of dollars gets wasted every single year with the 663 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,279 Speaker 1: hsas and FSAs. But then also the urgency around that. 664 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 1: I mean, she gave such a personalized story with her 665 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:33,040 Speaker 1: mother and how she was laid off and you know 666 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:34,600 Speaker 1: she only had a month to spend this money, but 667 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: how to become a tax expert overnight to even be 668 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 1: able to do that what about you? What a couple 669 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 1: of things that stuck out to Eugenius. I absolutely love 670 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: the fact that she didn't let the dismal statistics that 671 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,760 Speaker 1: exist around black entrepreneurs receiving venture capital as a deterrent 672 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:51,279 Speaker 1: for her even pursuing that right, because I think a 673 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: lot of what I've discovered about entrepreneurship is your mind 674 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,359 Speaker 1: will keep you from opportunities and we'll stop you from 675 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 1: pursuing things before anybody actually tells you know. And so 676 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: the fact that she said, you know what, the stats 677 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: don't favor me, but I'm still going to show up 678 00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:08,439 Speaker 1: and I will take all the knows because it all 679 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,400 Speaker 1: starts with one. Yes. That's so inspiring and that's I 680 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: think one of my favorite parts of entrepreneurship is the 681 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,880 Speaker 1: mindset work and the confrontation of limiting beliefs that we 682 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,040 Speaker 1: constantly have to do to create things out of nothing. Yeah, 683 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:24,600 Speaker 1: And I really think it kind of leans back into 684 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: what she was saying. It's not a win lose situation. 685 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,640 Speaker 1: It's a win or you learn, right. It's an up 686 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 1: in its ounds, yes and knows, but we're winning and 687 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:34,279 Speaker 1: we're learning. It's never a win lose situation. Absolutely well, 688 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:36,120 Speaker 1: good stuff everyone. Thanks so much for hanging out with 689 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:38,560 Speaker 1: us today on our first episode. You can find me 690 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 1: on my social media accounts at Austin Hanquitz and you 691 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:45,000 Speaker 1: can find me at Jokieto Dinano podcast. You can follow 692 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: Into It QuickBooks on all social media at QuickBooks, and 693 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,000 Speaker 1: to get the tools that you need to start, run 694 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,880 Speaker 1: and grow your business, head to QuickBooks dot com today 695 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,520 Speaker 1: and be sure to catch the next episode of Mind 696 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:59,520 Speaker 1: the Business Small Business success Stories on Thursday, April thirteenth, 697 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:02,759 Speaker 1: where we speak to viral marketer Andrea Casanova on the 698 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,479 Speaker 1: different ways to effectively build your brand strategy. You won't 699 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,759 Speaker 1: want to miss that one, so don't forget to follow, rate, 700 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 1: and review this show wherever you listen to podcasts so 701 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,240 Speaker 1: you can stay up to date on our future episodes 702 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: and check out our show notes for more info from 703 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:18,879 Speaker 1: this episode and small business funding. And a huge thank 704 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 1: you to our guest Ami Kamoji. This podcast is a 705 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:26,200 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio and Into It QuickBooks. Our executive producer 706 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 1: is Molly Sosha, our supervising producer is in the Kia Swinton, 707 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:32,759 Speaker 1: and our writer is Tyree Rush. Our head of post 708 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: production is James Foster and we will see you next time.