1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank. 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring, 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,719 Speaker 1: and sure they definitely can be, but understanding of professionals 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little, 5 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: day after day. It's like banking with P and C Bank. 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: It might seem boring to safe plan and make calculated 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,479 Speaker 1: decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is 8 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: what helps you live or more happily fulfilled life. P 9 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: and C Bank Brilliantly Boring since eighteen sixty five. Brilliantly 10 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,479 Speaker 1: Boring since eighteen sixty five is a service mark of 11 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc. P and C Bank 12 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: National Association Member FDIC. 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 2: I like that. 14 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: I like that such it's about the money. This is 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: another vote for the live band. Clap it up with 16 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: the live van. 17 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 3: Y'all. 18 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 2: This is elevated. It feels like prime time. 19 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 3: This is prime Tom. This is beautiful. How's everybody doing? 20 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 3: Feeling good? 21 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 4: So we have your favorite shark tank shark. Yeah, we've 22 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 4: interviewed with a few sharks already. 23 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, we've gone down the list of sharks. We started 24 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: out with Mark Cuban. Everybody you know Mark Cuban. Of course, 25 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: we had our good friend of our Damon John. I'll 26 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: be honest with you, our favorite, Well, probably today's gonna 27 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: pass it. But Barbara Cochran was amazing. Clap it up 28 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: with Barbara. But there's one guy who conds and resonates 29 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: with us a little bit. You know, the way he 30 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: carries himself, the way he dresses, the way he conducts himself, 31 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: and when he talks about marketing. 32 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 3: And that's Robert. Her Jane and I hope you're excited, 33 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:45,639 Speaker 3: because we're excited. 34 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: This is the first time we're getting to talk to him, 35 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: and we got a lot of questions and we're gonna 36 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: do it from the entrepreneurial mindset. How many entrepreneurs in here? Oh, 37 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: this is great, we know a thing or two about that. 38 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: Huh sure for sure? 39 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 4: All right, Well, without further to do, list, queue it 40 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 4: up for Robert and let's uh, let's get it going. 41 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 5: I was born in Gratia. I think what makes me 42 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 5: different than the other Sharks is I'm an actual immigrant. 43 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 5: That shapes a lot of how I think and who 44 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:24,919 Speaker 5: I am. 45 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 6: There is no certain day in life. 46 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 5: My dad came here at thirty seven on the boat 47 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 5: didn't even speak the language. What I look for is 48 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 5: people that can land on their feet and adapt. 49 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 6: So you have a great degree. 50 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 5: Harvard sendsraally fancy, but you missed one school. You didn't 51 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 5: go to the school of hard knocks. 52 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 6: Well, the matters is that the world becomes a better 53 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 6: place to live. 54 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 5: The world cannot become a better place to live if 55 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 5: you don't contribute to it. 56 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 6: There is no rearview mirror in my life. You gotta 57 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 6: let go. This is the deal in front of you 58 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 6: right now. 59 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 5: Let's go. 60 00:02:57,680 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 6: Are you breathing. 61 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 5: Question? 62 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 6: Freedom is the ability to control your own life. 63 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 5: No one can fire you, no one's gonna tell you 64 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 5: what to do. 65 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:14,399 Speaker 6: It's all up to you. I'd like to be part 66 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 6: of the journey. 67 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 5: If you're gonna dream, let's dream big, baby. 68 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 3: I told you about the style. 69 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 2: Right. 70 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 5: Hey, everybody, thanks for having me. How great is the band? 71 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 5: You guys are killing it? 72 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 2: Give it up for the band, all right? 73 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 5: All right? 74 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 2: If you guys are excited for this conversation, make some 75 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 2: noise for sure. So Robert, let's get into it. 76 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 4: So you know your journey as far as being an 77 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 4: immigrant come into this country, being extremely successful in business, 78 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 4: what my set shifts, if any, did you have to 79 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 4: make to kind of have the success that you've had 80 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 4: the United States of America. 81 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 5: You know, we sharks always talk about this, like what 82 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 5: makes one person successful and another one not successful. I 83 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 5: remember one night we were having dinner with Mark Cuban 84 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 5: and we got into this topic, like I said, Mark, 85 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 5: when you were twelve years old, did you know you 86 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 5: were going to be successful? And Mark said yes, I 87 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 5: knew I was going to be very wealthy and I 88 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 5: was going to buy a basketball team one day. And 89 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 5: I remember how much that affected me, because at twelve 90 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 5: years old, I just didn't want to be poor. And 91 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 5: so this mindset of fear and simply getting by is 92 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 5: what I had to change. I think, if you're going 93 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 5: to build a great business, or you're going to do 94 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 5: anything great in life, you have to have the ability 95 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 5: to believe in yourself. And most people have this fear 96 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 5: what if I don't make it? What if people make 97 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 5: fun of me? Especially as an immigrant. You know, people 98 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 5: are always making you feel less than you are. And 99 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 5: I think that was the big mind shift for me 100 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 5: because I wasn't born like that. I wasn't born Mark Cuban, 101 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,919 Speaker 5: I wasn't born confident. When I was twenty, I was 102 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 5: afraid of my own shadow. I couldn't speak in front 103 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 5: of a group of people, and so that was really 104 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 5: hard for me to get out of that shell. 105 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: You spoke about something that I'm sure that everybody can 106 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,559 Speaker 1: resonate in here, and that's that idea of like, I 107 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: just don't want to be poor. And so when people 108 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 1: go into business, and a lot of people here are entrepreneurs, 109 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: the first thing they think is how can I make money? 110 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: And I think that's kind of a mind shift, that 111 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 1: mindset shift that we need to change. One of the 112 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: things we recognized earlier was money wasn't the goal, it 113 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: was really the value. Talk about how you have to 114 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: have that mindset shift, because if you're going into just 115 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: trying to make money and then you don't, then you 116 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: give up on it. 117 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm going to disagree with you just a little bit. 118 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 5: Just a little bit. I think there's two phases of 119 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 5: starting a business, just reality. I think the first phase 120 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 5: is survival. I think a lot of people start a 121 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 5: business to get out of a condition therein, or at 122 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:34,839 Speaker 5: least I did. I just wanted to start my business 123 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 5: in order to make enough money to pay my mortgage 124 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 5: and maybe path my house one day. I mean, my 125 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 5: dream was to make one thousand dollars for my life. 126 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 5: So if I was fifty, to make fifty grand a year, 127 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 5: buy a used corvette and maybe path part of my 128 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 5: house one day, because that's something my parents had never done. 129 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 5: So in the realm of my ability to dream, that 130 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 5: was man, that was it. But to your point, I 131 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 5: did that. And then if you do that and your 132 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 5: goals are really small, you look around and you realize 133 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 5: it's pretty empty. Because if you're only doing it for 134 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 5: the money and you have some level of success, you're 135 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 5: going to get very lonely. Money doesn't keep you warm 136 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 5: at night. Money doesn't inspire you to keep going. So 137 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 5: when you make a million, if that was your goal, 138 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 5: what makes you go to ten million or twenty million, 139 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 5: or a hundred or a billion? And I think eventually 140 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 5: you have to have a great purpose. Eventually you have 141 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 5: to look at yourself and say, all right, forget the money. 142 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 5: Why am I working my ass off twenty hours a day, 143 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 5: not getting into sleep, sacrificing everything? What's my why in 144 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 5: doing it? 145 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 4: So for entrepreneurs, I'm sure everybody watches Shark Tank. And 146 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 4: you know, when people come in front of you, guys, 147 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 4: you asked them a lot of questions as far as 148 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 4: their profit margin and addressable market, their marketing plan, all 149 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 4: that stuff. What do you think is the key, the 150 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 4: number one thing as far as on a business bottom 151 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 4: line that entrepreneurs needs to focus on and completely understand 152 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 4: fully in their business. 153 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 5: Wow, that's a great question. I think. Uh, First of all, 154 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 5: every business is slightly different. I think everybody out here 155 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 5: who has a business, you have to figure out what 156 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 5: the heartbeat of that business is, and it's different for 157 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 5: every business. So I know in my business, I had 158 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 5: to know what the recurring revenue was, what our margin was, 159 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 5: and what our cash flow was on a daily basis. 160 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:53,199 Speaker 5: So if you woke me up at two o'clock in 161 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 5: the morning and said, what was the cash flow from yesterday? 162 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 5: I could tell you that. Now I couldn't tell you 163 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 5: a bunch of other things things because they have to 164 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 5: learn along the way. But I think you have to 165 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,599 Speaker 5: figure out what the heartbeat of your business is, and 166 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 5: it's usually only two or three things. You know, people 167 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 5: make the mistake of trying to do too much, But 168 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 5: there's two or three things that advanced the ball every 169 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 5: single day. It's not about maintaining. It's about growth, and 170 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 5: one are the things that are growing your business. 171 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: You talked about fear just earlier, and a lot of 172 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: people have that fear and they start to question the why. 173 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 3: Right. I wonder, at what point did you realize this 174 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 3: is my why? 175 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: Because sometimes people get passion and purpose confused and that 176 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,679 Speaker 1: could sometimes be hurtful in business. 177 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 3: When did you discover the why? 178 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 2: Oh? 179 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 5: Man, that's such a great point. And I think that's 180 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 5: such an individual thing for everybody, and I think I 181 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:58,199 Speaker 5: was very fortunate to figure that out really early, because 182 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 5: I think a lot of people don't. They kind of 183 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 5: drift along and fear can be all consuming. Everybody in 184 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 5: this room is going to wake up one day and 185 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 5: have a crappy day and question why am I doing this? 186 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 5: Why is this so hard? 187 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:16,079 Speaker 2: Why? 188 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 5: Why isn't it easy for me? So for me, I 189 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 5: started my first business, and you know, man, I'm working 190 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 5: like eighteen hours a day. I'm not making enough money 191 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:33,559 Speaker 5: in my business to support myself. So I'm working nine 192 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 5: to five at the business. I'm waking up at five 193 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 5: in the morning to read about cybersecurity because I'm not 194 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 5: an engineer, and I'm competing with engineers. And then from 195 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 5: eight at night till one in the morning, I'm working 196 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,359 Speaker 5: as a waiter to make enough cash to pay my rent. 197 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 5: And I'm doing this every day. And I come home 198 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 5: one day and I'm like, this sucks. And I go, 199 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 5: this is really hard. And my mom is in the 200 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 5: room and I'm telling her how hard it is, and 201 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 5: woe is me? My life sucks? And my dad comes home. 202 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 5: He's working at the factory sweeping floors, and he comes 203 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 5: home to take a shower and get some food before 204 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 5: he goes back to the factory to work a second 205 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:36,199 Speaker 5: shift to pay for them to exist. And I look 206 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 5: at him and I say, I will never in my 207 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:47,560 Speaker 5: lifetime work as hard as that man is working right now. 208 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 5: And that was it. And what I realized is they 209 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 5: gave up everything thirty seven years old. They came to 210 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 5: a foreign country, didn't speak the language, didn't know anybody. 211 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 5: We leave in someone's basement for eighteen months in order 212 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 5: to give me an opportunity. How do I then not 213 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 5: acknowledge and justify that sacrifice? And that was my why? 214 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 5: And I realized, stop complaining. Nobody cares nobody cares, and 215 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 5: from that moment on, like customers would say to me, Robert, 216 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 5: how you doing today? And I'm a pretty happy guy 217 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 5: ninety percent of the time, But everybody in this room 218 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 5: has a crappy day where you don't feel good and 219 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 5: something's going wrong. My customers ask me, Robert, how are 220 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 5: you doing today? You know how I'm doing one hundred 221 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 5: percent of the time. I'm wonderful because I get the 222 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 5: opportunity to live out my dreams. And somebody gave up 223 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 5: everything in their life to give me that opportunity. So 224 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 5: if you're not going to if I'm not willing to 225 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,560 Speaker 5: work hard enough for me, I'd better be willing to 226 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 5: work hard enough for them. 227 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 4: I believe one time you said, strategy without structure is 228 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 4: just a wish. So can you explain that because a 229 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,439 Speaker 4: lot of people put together the business strategy quarterly or 230 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 4: at the beginning of the year. But how talk about 231 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 4: the structure part of that and even for your personal routine, 232 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 4: like how do you how discipline are you in making 233 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 4: sure that the strategy goes from idead ideation? 234 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 5: Man, great question again, So I think it's fluid. I 235 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 5: think everybody in the room has a business realizes there's 236 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 5: a lot of fluidity in business. Everything you think is 237 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 5: going to happen, it's probably going to happen differently. So 238 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 5: most businesses controlled chaos. And strategy is really important, and 239 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 5: planning is really important, and scale is really important, but 240 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 5: execution is better. I think too many people make really 241 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 5: well laid plans and they are kind of like deer 242 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 5: in the headlights when their plan doesn't work out. I 243 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 5: love that Mike Tyson quote. Right, everybody has a plan 244 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 5: until they get hit in the face. Running a business 245 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 5: is getting hit in the face every day. So I 246 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 5: think if you're running a business, it's chaos. You have 247 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 5: to execute every day. But eventually you get to a 248 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 5: point where if you're the one executing on everything, and 249 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 5: and I went through this, I used to you know, 250 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 5: one of the things I used to say is I'm 251 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 5: the best salesman in my company, and I'm the best 252 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 5: this in my company. Then one day I realized, if 253 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 5: I'm the best i me and my company, how am 254 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 5: I ever going to grow? Who's ever going to buy 255 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 5: this business? So eventually you have to get to a 256 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 5: point where you shift from being the best doer to 257 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 5: being the best enabler. And if if you want to 258 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 5: build a five million dollar business, ten million dollar business, 259 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 5: you go out there and be the best everything in 260 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 5: your company. You want to build one hundred million dollar business, 261 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 5: you better be a great leader and a great enabler, 262 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 5: because your number one job becomes making others successful. 263 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 4: He can't just go a little bit into that because enable. 264 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 4: I feel like enabler has a bad connotation to it. 265 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 5: Yeah, you're right, that was a bad word. 266 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 4: But I mean, I guess it can be good too, 267 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 4: right as far as like you know, just well nurturing, 268 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 4: nurturing people on their journey to kind of oversee it. 269 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 5: Somewhere along the way, I realized I've got to amplify me, right, 270 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 5: Like I have to leverage and make more of the 271 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 5: things that I'm not good at. And you know, it 272 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,880 Speaker 5: gets easier in some ways where you get bigger, the 273 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,800 Speaker 5: dynamicism and the energy becomes harder the bigger you get. 274 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 5: I mean, my last company at the end, we had 275 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 5: you know, twelve hundred employees. And so I get in 276 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 5: the elevator and I'd be like, does this person work 277 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 5: for me? Do I like, should I know who they are? 278 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 5: And that was odd for me because in my company, 279 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 5: I knew everybody like we were like whoa one team go. 280 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 5: But when you're starting out, you can't afford to hire 281 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 5: somebody with five years of experience in marketing. So instead 282 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 5: of hiring for experience, you hire for aptitude. And you've 283 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 5: got to look at those people and say, what are 284 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 5: they missing to make them great? How can I teach 285 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 5: lead give them the experience to become better at marketing 286 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 5: than I am or somebody who had the experience. You know, 287 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 5: when you have money, you hire for experience with aptitude. 288 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:18,159 Speaker 5: When you don't have money, you hire incredible aptitude and 289 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 5: give them the experience. 290 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 3: That was a jewel. 291 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 1: That was a jewel I'm looking out and the shark 292 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 1: ting theme. It was speaking to me when we walked in. 293 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:31,680 Speaker 3: I'm soory. Everybody that walked in recognized it as well. 294 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: One of the things that you know when you watch 295 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: the show that I know you're keen on it big 296 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 1: on this authenticity and why that's important in storytelling. There's 297 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,960 Speaker 1: a lot of entrepreneurs in here. They want to get 298 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: to the next level, but people don't know about their 299 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: business right And one of the things earners, what's up 300 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: you ever walk into a small business and everything just 301 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:53,200 Speaker 1: works like the checkout is fast, or seats are digital, 302 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: tipping is a breeze and you're out the door before 303 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:01,200 Speaker 1: the line even builds odds are they're using. We love 304 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 1: supporting businesses that run on Square because it just feels seamless. 305 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,119 Speaker 1: Whether it's a local coffee shop, a vendor at a 306 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: pop up market, or even one of our merch partners. 307 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: Square makes it easy for them to take payments, manage inventory, 308 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 1: and run their business with confidence, all from one simple system. 309 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: One of the things we love most is seeing neighborhood 310 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,680 Speaker 1: businesses level up. Business West Indian spired writing our community 311 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,959 Speaker 1: that started with a small takeout counter. Now with Square, 312 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 1: they've been able to expand into a full sit down 313 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: restaurant and even started catering events across the city. That's 314 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: the kind of growth that inspires us, and it's powered 315 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: by Square. Square is built for all types of businesses, 316 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 1: from the corner bagel shop that turned into a local chain, 317 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: to the specialty market with thousands of unique items, to 318 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,800 Speaker 1: the stylist who's been holding you down for years. If 319 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 1: you're a business owner or even just thinking about launching 320 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: something soon, Square is hands down one of the best 321 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: tools out there to help you start, run and grow. 322 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: It's not just about payments, it's about giving you time 323 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: back so you can focus on what matters most ready. 324 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,639 Speaker 1: To see how Square can transform your business, visit Square 325 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: dot com backslash, go backslash ey l to learn more 326 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 1: that Square dot com backslash, go backslash eyl. Don't wait, 327 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 1: don't hesitate. Let's Square handle the back end so you 328 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: can keep pushing your vision forward. Things that they have 329 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,400 Speaker 1: at the advantage is that there's only one of them 330 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:31,040 Speaker 1: in this world. Talk about the role that authenticity plays 331 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: in marketing and growing your business. 332 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,640 Speaker 5: Yeah, it's such a great point. You know, why does 333 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 5: Shark Tank work? Because you would think you're gonna launch 334 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 5: a business show that's gonna entertain Also, let's get a 335 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 5: bunch of celebrities. Wouldn't that be your knee jerk reaction. 336 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 5: Let's get a bunch of celebrities that are entertaining and interesting. 337 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 5: But to the incredible credit of our producers and the 338 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 5: people that put on Shark Tank, they didn't do that. 339 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:10,240 Speaker 5: They got authentic, real business people and when you see 340 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 5: the show, it's really us. I mean Barbara not being 341 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:20,399 Speaker 5: able to do math. That's really Barbara. You know, Kevin 342 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 5: calling somebody a cockroach. I've been at dinner where he's 343 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 5: called people a cockroach. I mean, it's really him, and 344 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:34,680 Speaker 5: so it's very, very authentic, and I think that's why 345 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 5: the show works. We are not actors, We are not scripted. 346 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 5: When we get mad, when we get excited about something, 347 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 5: we're mad and we're excited. And you know, to your point, 348 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 5: you cannot fake authenticity on a long term basis. You 349 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:59,760 Speaker 5: can spike authenticity, you can go viral once for some 350 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 5: BS thing you did or you staged. But consumers today 351 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 5: are too smart and they see through that. Some of 352 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 5: the best investments we've had on the show that I've had, 353 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 5: sand Cloud, Tipsy Elves, I mean, these people are so authentic, 354 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:22,919 Speaker 5: it's in their blood. Everybody in this room is great 355 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 5: at something. Greatness doesn't come from you changing who you are. 356 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:39,439 Speaker 5: Greatness comes from discovering what it is that you bring 357 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:44,239 Speaker 5: to this world that nobody else can and leveraging that. 358 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 4: The biggest topic of discussion right now is artificial intelligence. 359 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 4: So I'm interested to hear your take on how you're 360 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 4: currently using AI for your companies and any advice for 361 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 4: entrepreneurs that may be a little intimidated or they don't 362 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 4: fully understand, they're not fully educated on AI. 363 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 5: So let me start by saying AI is the greatest 364 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 5: technological shift in everybody in this room's lifetime. If you 365 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 5: don't think that, you've got the wrong mindset, so you 366 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 5: have to run to AI, not walk or dottle or 367 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 5: go gingerly into the night. You have to sprint towards AI. 368 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 5: And if you don't know about AI, go to YouTube 369 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:44,480 Speaker 5: University and learn everything you can about AI. So it 370 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 5: is going to change the dynamics of everything we do. 371 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,119 Speaker 5: First of all, the simplest application of AI for any 372 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 5: business is taking any redundant task and changing it with AI. 373 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 5: So if you have a customer service business and you 374 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 5: want to hire more people to do customer service, one 375 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:11,200 Speaker 5: of your competitors is hiring less people and using AI 376 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 5: to do customer service. If you're doing logistics with human 377 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:20,199 Speaker 5: beings and you've got people doing simple tasks, that's going 378 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 5: to be replaced by AI. And it's not about getting 379 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 5: rid of people or laying people off. It's about upscaling 380 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:33,479 Speaker 5: your workforce to do higher value tasks. The one task 381 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 5: that AI will never get rid of is human interaction. 382 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 5: So the one thing we're always telling about our businesses. 383 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 5: You know, in Disney has a great saying every time 384 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:50,480 Speaker 5: you touch a client in a physical interaction or an 385 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 5: online interaction, they call those moms moments of magic. Because 386 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 5: every client interaction or a can consumer interaction is an 387 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 5: opportunity to create magic. So use human beings to create 388 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 5: that magic, because that's what we're really good at. We're 389 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 5: really good at relationships and talking to each other. AI 390 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:20,879 Speaker 5: is not going to replace you, guys. It's not going 391 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 5: to replace me. But if you have somebody typing into 392 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 5: a keyboard every day repetitive tasks, that's going to go away. 393 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:32,200 Speaker 5: And then the third part of it is how can 394 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 5: I feed AI to give me creativity in my business. 395 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 5: A good friend of mine is an e commerce online expert. 396 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 5: He does about six hundred million a year. He just 397 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:48,119 Speaker 5: saw product slippers that are trending well online. So he 398 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 5: used AI and created in two hours an entire video 399 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,480 Speaker 5: to promote it and then put it out there and 400 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 5: is selling it. I mean you can do that with 401 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 5: your business us absolutely. 402 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: I like that you said you got to run swort 403 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: it because most people think, yes, we have to use it. 404 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:08,119 Speaker 3: And it's funny. 405 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,880 Speaker 1: I just heard of lat enf said ten years ago, 406 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: every company that is a publicly traded company is a 407 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,760 Speaker 1: tech company because it needs a tech component. This week 408 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: he said every company will be an AI company in 409 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: the next five years. 410 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:23,200 Speaker 5: So true. 411 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,399 Speaker 1: The other part of AI is the protection of it. 412 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: And that's kind of a sweet why for you, because 413 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: cybersecurity is something that is going to be vastly needed 414 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,199 Speaker 1: because the more we create apps and the more we 415 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: create and give task to AI, we still need protection 416 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: from it. Talk about the role that cybersecurity is going 417 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: to play in their future. 418 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,080 Speaker 5: So this is gonna sound funny coming from me, but 419 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 5: I think the security risk of AI is overwrought. I 420 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,080 Speaker 5: think we're making too big a deal out of it. 421 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 5: So I've been in cybersecurity for forty years. I'm probably 422 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,200 Speaker 5: one of the top people in the world on cyber 423 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 5: The Wall Street Journal did a study a number of 424 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 5: years ago where they stood on a street corner and 425 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,360 Speaker 5: set to people, I will give you a free McDonald 426 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,879 Speaker 5: hamburger for your name, date of birth, and a copy 427 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 5: of your driver's license. How many people you think said yes, hamburger? 428 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,919 Speaker 3: Happy mil not even a cheeseburger. 429 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 5: I forget what the meal was it was, but it 430 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 5: was free food. So consumers have want to talk about security, 431 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 5: but there's an expectation that the company will take care 432 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:47,679 Speaker 5: of security. Meaning if I'm buying from this company and 433 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 5: they get hacked, you know what I'm going to do. 434 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 5: I'm just going to go buy from another company. So 435 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 5: consumers care about it if it's simple. But if you're 436 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 5: forcing me to do two factor authentication, if you're forcing 437 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 5: me to buy off your website and I have to 438 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 5: click here and are you a robot? And then I 439 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 5: have to go here, you know what that consumer is 440 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 5: going to do. They're going to go the path of 441 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:17,200 Speaker 5: least resistance and go to somebody else. What really drives 442 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:21,560 Speaker 5: and will drive AI security is compliance. That's what drives 443 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 5: most security. So today, if you're a publicly traded company, 444 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 5: you have to have a certain level of security because 445 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 5: the onus of proof goes to the companies as opposed 446 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 5: to the consumer. So I'm not really worried about it 447 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 5: that much because I think it'll become a competitive feature. 448 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 5: And if the three of us have a company and 449 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 5: my company's more secure, more consumers are going to buy 450 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 5: from me? If you're getting hacked. Guess what consumers aren't 451 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 5: going to buy from you today. It's very fluid. People 452 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,560 Speaker 5: can buy from you today somebody else in an hour. 453 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 5: So and I also think them, so I will make 454 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 5: some of the security easier and harder. 455 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 2: You've had an amazing career. 456 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 4: You've done a variety of different things on television, off television. 457 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,680 Speaker 4: You talk to us backstage about bringing Shark Tank to Egypt. 458 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:14,119 Speaker 4: What's the highlight of your business career so far? Like, 459 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 4: what's the most exciting fun story that you think about 460 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,879 Speaker 4: and reminisce on when it comes to you know, some 461 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 4: accomplishment that you've done in business? 462 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 5: Easy? Getting on Dancing with the Stars makes sense, I mean, 463 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 5: I am you know. It's so funny. The dots of 464 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 5: your life never connect until you look back, you know 465 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 5: what I mean? Like, we all have these plans and 466 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 5: then we have this opportunity and we're like, is this 467 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 5: a good opportunity? Should I do it? And then when 468 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 5: you get older and you look back and you're like, wow, 469 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,920 Speaker 5: that connect to that and it all made sense. So 470 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 5: years and years before I was on Shark Tank, my 471 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 5: mom loved dancing with the Stars, like, you got to 472 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 5: picture this little Eastern European woman. That show was everything 473 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 5: her life wasn't It was beautiful, It was glamorous. Like 474 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 5: if you called my house on a Monday when the 475 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,720 Speaker 5: show was on, my mom would answer the phone and go, 476 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 5: why you call? 477 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 3: You know? 478 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 5: Show on. So my mom ends up getting ovarian cancer 479 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 5: and she goes to the hospital and I would go 480 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 5: there every Monday and with all the other ladies in 481 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,240 Speaker 5: the ward and we would throw a Dancing with the 482 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 5: Stars party. And one day my mom looks at me 483 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 5: and she goes, Robbie, you so beautiful. Why you not 484 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 5: beyond dancing? Now, think about this. This is at least 485 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 5: ten years before being on TV was even in my universe. 486 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 5: So of course I look at my mom and I say, Mom, 487 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 5: if they ever ask me, I'll do it for you. 488 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 5: So my mom passes away. Ten years go by, Shark 489 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 5: Tank starts. Thank god for the producers for getting me 490 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 5: on the show. We've become successful. The producers are Dancing 491 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,320 Speaker 5: with the Stars call me without before they finished a sentence, 492 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 5: I'm like, yes, Like would you like to know? No, 493 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 5: I'm at a real low point in my life, like 494 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 5: probably the hardest point in my life at that point, 495 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 5: like like you know when you're struggling and it's not 496 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:04,719 Speaker 5: like a good struggle. It's like a struggle where you 497 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:09,479 Speaker 5: don't you can't see tomorrow. Like there are struggles, but 498 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,880 Speaker 5: you see the light and you're like, oh man, I 499 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 5: was going through a point in my life where I'm 500 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 5: like it's just hard and there is no light. And 501 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 5: then the call comes, I walk in, I meet my 502 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 5: dance partner. All of a sudden, my life is full 503 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,120 Speaker 5: of joy. We get married. Eleven years later, we have 504 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 5: seven year old twins. Like, think about how those dots connected, right, 505 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 5: And I think I think that is the magic of 506 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 5: beauty in life. We all have the opportunity to write 507 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,640 Speaker 5: our own book. You know, if you're not happy with 508 00:31:54,760 --> 00:32:01,600 Speaker 5: your life, turn the page right the life that when 509 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,760 Speaker 5: you look back you're going to be happy with. 510 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 3: Absolutely. Yeah, life is a beautiful struggle. 511 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: When you were speaking earlier, it made me think about 512 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 1: the entrepreneurs that are sitting in this room. 513 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 3: A lot of them are solopreneurs. 514 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,480 Speaker 1: Right when we start businesses, we want to take everything 515 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: and do everything. And then I heard a quote the 516 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 1: other day say you can't do everything you only have 517 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:29,760 Speaker 1: two hands, right, So this beautiful struggle, like you talking 518 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: on the personal side, but the beautiful struggle of entrepreneurship. 519 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: What are some words or some tips that you would 520 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: give to people to get through that moment because it's 521 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: going to happen, right Everybody looks at social media and 522 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 1: it looks glamorous. We know in this room, like tab said, 523 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: you and the shower like, oh my gosh, what are 524 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: some of those tips that you would give people who 525 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: are in that moment right now? 526 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 5: It's so funny because you know, you look on social media. 527 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 5: Everybody's got a yacht, everybody's got a jet, and you're like, 528 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,480 Speaker 5: everybody's beautiful, and you're like, why am I not on 529 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 5: those things? We social media has demystified success in some 530 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 5: ways and made it seem like it's so attainable, but 531 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 5: it's hard. It's really hard. And the sad reality is 532 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 5: when you start, you are going to be a solopreneur. 533 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 5: You cannot outsource the startup phase, like unless you're gonna 534 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:28,920 Speaker 5: Silkham Valley and raising a ton of money and you're 535 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:31,200 Speaker 5: going to hire the top people. You know what, at 536 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,360 Speaker 5: the beginning, you're gonna have to do sales and guess 537 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:36,960 Speaker 5: what you're gonna have to do accounting? And guess what 538 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:39,920 Speaker 5: you're gonna have to sweep the floor if somebody spills 539 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,160 Speaker 5: coffee on it. And if you don't like that and 540 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,080 Speaker 5: you think that's below you, you're probably gonna fail. And 541 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:50,960 Speaker 5: so what I will tell you is that all goes 542 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:56,760 Speaker 5: away when you start. You gotta be the solopreneur. You 543 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 5: have to be the best at everything in your business. 544 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,560 Speaker 5: But if you're still that person three years from now 545 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:08,000 Speaker 5: or five years from now, you're doing something wrong because 546 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 5: you're never gonna grow. You only have two hands. 547 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 4: Well, I want to thank you for your time, and 548 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:21,960 Speaker 4: I'm sure that the crowd got a lot from this. 549 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 4: Any last word of encouragement to any entrepreneur that you 550 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 4: know is coming for this three day conference, because we're 551 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 4: actually kicking this conference off. This is the first first 552 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 4: programming and they're going to be here tomorrow and I 553 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:39,319 Speaker 4: believe tuesday. Also, So what networking advice or what you know, 554 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 4: advice to soak in information can you give people that 555 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,279 Speaker 4: are on this journey for the next three days. 556 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 5: You know, first of all, congratulations for making the effort 557 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:55,239 Speaker 5: to be here. Right, how many how many of you 558 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,080 Speaker 5: we talked about solopreneur, let's talk but a w entrepreneur. 559 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:07,120 Speaker 5: How many of you have friends that, oh, yeah, I 560 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:12,440 Speaker 5: would have, I should have. Oh yeah, I was going 561 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:16,840 Speaker 5: to go to that conference, but oh you know, I 562 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:24,120 Speaker 5: had a hair appointment. Right Like, every every dream you 563 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 5: have is on the other side of a convenient excuse. 564 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 5: Everything you want to achieve, somebody is making an excuse 565 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,000 Speaker 5: not to do. You had a friend that you probably 566 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 5: thought about bringing to this. You know, one of the 567 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,400 Speaker 5: most motivating people I've ever met and I had a 568 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,719 Speaker 5: chance to work with, was Tony Robbins. I went to 569 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,680 Speaker 5: the first Tony Robbins seminar when I was like twenty two, 570 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:02,920 Speaker 5: and it costs two hundred dollars. I had five friends 571 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:06,840 Speaker 5: that were going to go with me. How many you 572 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:12,520 Speaker 5: think actually came only me? You know what the other said, 573 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,879 Speaker 5: why would it two hundred dollars to some guy talk? 574 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:20,439 Speaker 5: You want to know where those other four friends are. 575 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 5: I don't know either, because I don't hang out with them. 576 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,000 Speaker 5: That's the other thing I would tell you. One of 577 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:31,440 Speaker 5: the greatest advantages of being at a conference like this, 578 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:35,480 Speaker 5: it's the five person rule, and it's really true. You 579 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:38,759 Speaker 5: are the product of the five people you hang out with. 580 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:42,520 Speaker 5: You are in a room right now with five hundred 581 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,960 Speaker 5: people that want to be successful, don't want to do something. 582 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:52,680 Speaker 5: Feed off that energy and you can achieve anything in life. 583 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:55,360 Speaker 4: There you have it, Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for 584 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,560 Speaker 4: your time. Enjoy the rest of the conference. 585 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,480 Speaker 3: Whoo whoo I thank you guys.