WEBVTT - Becoming a Dog Ramp Mogul 0:00:15.316 --> 0:00:22.716 Pushkin. Maybe just to start, can you just, like, off 0:00:22.716 --> 0:00:26.196 the top of your head, list a bunch of the 0:00:26.276 --> 0:00:29.996 businesses that you've started in your life. Oh? Okay, yes, 0:00:32.356 --> 0:00:38.316 that's a lot. I'm Jacob Goldstein and this is What's 0:00:38.356 --> 0:00:40.956 Your Problem, the show where we talk to entrepreneurs and 0:00:40.996 --> 0:00:43.716 engineers about the future they're going to build once they 0:00:43.716 --> 0:00:48.236 solve a few problems. My guest today is Ramon van Nir. 0:00:48.516 --> 0:00:50.556 He's been starting companies since he got kicked out of 0:00:50.596 --> 0:00:52.876 high school in the Netherlands more than twenty years ago. 0:00:53.436 --> 0:00:58.116 A lot of companies. A construction company, online pianta website, 0:00:58.876 --> 0:01:06.436 soap opera blog, a YouTube channel, festivals in Vegas? What else? 0:01:06.436 --> 0:01:09.836 What else? Oh? I did, an online travel company. And 0:01:10.196 --> 0:01:13.396 at the moment, Ramone runs an e commerce company that 0:01:13.436 --> 0:01:16.956 has sold tens of millions of dollars of ramps for 0:01:17.236 --> 0:01:20.796 docsins like ramps that let weener dogs get up and 0:01:20.876 --> 0:01:23.956 down off the couch. And as the owner of an 0:01:23.996 --> 0:01:26.996 online weener dog ramp business, Ramone has to figure out 0:01:27.116 --> 0:01:30.556 how to solve some really big global problems, you know, 0:01:30.636 --> 0:01:34.316 everything from jammed up supply chains to privacy fights between 0:01:34.356 --> 0:01:37.636 Facebook and Apple, and on top of that, even more interesting. 0:01:37.956 --> 0:01:40.916 Ramone is trying to solve these problems as a relatively 0:01:40.956 --> 0:01:44.756 small business in an era of giants. You know, there's 0:01:44.756 --> 0:01:48.276 this obsession right now with trillion dollar tech companies and 0:01:48.476 --> 0:01:51.996 ten billion dollar Decca Unicorn startups, but we do not 0:01:52.196 --> 0:01:55.996 hear much about this whole big ecosystem of thousands of 0:01:56.036 --> 0:01:59.596 small and midsize online businesses like the ones that Ramone 0:01:59.596 --> 0:02:02.996 has built. All these entrepreneurs who make stuff and sell 0:02:03.076 --> 0:02:07.196 stuff and solve problems and in many cases build multimillion 0:02:07.196 --> 0:02:10.756 dollar businesses. They build on top of the giant tech companies, 0:02:10.836 --> 0:02:12.836 and also once in a while they end up getting 0:02:12.876 --> 0:02:16.996 crushed by the giant tech companies. My conversation with Ramone 0:02:17.116 --> 0:02:20.756 started with his first big success, a blog about soap 0:02:20.796 --> 0:02:24.356 operas that he started back in twenty fifteen. At the time, 0:02:24.436 --> 0:02:29.796 he had never watched a soap opera, no Silicon Valley startup, 0:02:29.876 --> 0:02:33.956 was thinking, hey, let's build a block for soap operas. 0:02:34.316 --> 0:02:36.596 Everybody was laughing at me when I was, you know, 0:02:36.996 --> 0:02:39.436 saying like, yeah, I just started a blog about soaps. 0:02:40.916 --> 0:02:42.956 Don't want to made me make a two personal at 0:02:42.996 --> 0:02:45.756 that time actually was going through a really difficult time 0:02:45.796 --> 0:02:49.956 personally and I'm a single father, was me and my son. 0:02:50.716 --> 0:02:53.076 You know, when I started this, I was literally at 0:02:53.116 --> 0:02:57.916 that time paycheck to paycheck barely. I actually paycheck to 0:02:57.996 --> 0:03:00.756 the less paycheck, like I barely could make the rent 0:03:01.436 --> 0:03:04.916 when I started soap op. And actually I think that 0:03:05.276 --> 0:03:09.476 helped me motivate, like, shit, I need to soon. As 0:03:09.476 --> 0:03:12.636 I saw like okay, we have ten dollars a day 0:03:12.716 --> 0:03:16.236 with soap Opera the blog, I said, Okay, I need 0:03:16.276 --> 0:03:18.196 to make this work. I can. I can get this 0:03:18.276 --> 0:03:20.116 to one hundred dollar day if I just work my 0:03:20.156 --> 0:03:23.036 ass off. So I'm interested in the work you did 0:03:23.236 --> 0:03:26.356 on that soap opera blog, and in particular, I know 0:03:26.436 --> 0:03:28.716 you used all these tools and sort of tricks that 0:03:28.796 --> 0:03:32.196 people can use to build a business almost for free. 0:03:32.476 --> 0:03:34.636 So can you talk me through the story of how 0:03:34.676 --> 0:03:37.796 you did that. You started out basically on Facebook? Is 0:03:37.836 --> 0:03:42.156 that right? At that time Facebook was it was a 0:03:42.236 --> 0:03:48.436 different time for Facebook where more or less two fifteen sixteen, okay, 0:03:49.316 --> 0:03:53.476 where it was very fairly easy and cheap to build 0:03:53.676 --> 0:03:57.756 a huge fan page around any topic, right, And I've 0:03:57.836 --> 0:04:00.676 learned very quickly, like okay, instead of building a fan 0:04:00.716 --> 0:04:04.516 page about daytime TV shows or even soap operas. The 0:04:04.636 --> 0:04:08.876 best engagement you get if the fan pagees is targeted 0:04:08.956 --> 0:04:13.836 and niche as possible. And so I saw that building 0:04:13.836 --> 0:04:16.316 a fan page that just talks about days of our 0:04:16.316 --> 0:04:20.636 lives or just talks about the young arrest O soap 0:04:21.116 --> 0:04:24.076 because people don't care for these others. They just care 0:04:24.196 --> 0:04:29.036 for their soap. So you start these pages on Facebook. 0:04:29.436 --> 0:04:32.996 You figure out that building a page for one show 0:04:33.276 --> 0:04:35.596 is kind of the right way to do it. And 0:04:35.636 --> 0:04:39.516 then what do you do next? Yeah, as you can hear, 0:04:39.596 --> 0:04:42.476 I have an excellent English is now my first language. 0:04:42.956 --> 0:04:45.516 And I also am not really good at writing, and 0:04:45.556 --> 0:04:47.836 I don't watch the show, so I couldn't really write. 0:04:48.196 --> 0:04:54.596 So the idea was, okay, let's start a blog to 0:04:54.596 --> 0:04:58.676 write about what's going to happen tomorrow in the show. 0:04:59.116 --> 0:05:03.516 So I bought the domain first. I never buy a 0:05:03.556 --> 0:05:07.836 premium domain. I just bought whatever was available. What was 0:05:07.836 --> 0:05:12.396 it at that time of soap shows? Dot com? Dot com? Okay, yeah, 0:05:12.436 --> 0:05:14.916 so now I have the website. Now I need the content. Um, 0:05:15.356 --> 0:05:19.276 I cannot write it, So let's find a writer. So 0:05:19.756 --> 0:05:24.316 there's these websites platforms out there. I use upwork dot Com. 0:05:24.356 --> 0:05:28.356 You can basically hire any type of freelancer that you 0:05:28.396 --> 0:05:31.836 can think of. I found a writer that started writing 0:05:31.916 --> 0:05:34.916 one article day, and then we shared that on our 0:05:34.916 --> 0:05:38.956 fan pages. And that's how we started to drive traffic 0:05:39.676 --> 0:05:42.916 slowly from Facebook back to our website. And how are 0:05:42.916 --> 0:05:45.836 you making money? UM? There's a service called Google ad 0:05:45.836 --> 0:05:48.956 Sense that's like everybody's seen the banners when you go 0:05:49.036 --> 0:05:53.316 to a website. Typically those banners are served by Google. 0:05:53.436 --> 0:05:55.916 And then the more traffic you get to your website, 0:05:56.036 --> 0:05:58.236 the more money you make. And it started with one 0:05:58.276 --> 0:06:01.196 dollars a day, and then five dollars a day, and 0:06:01.196 --> 0:06:04.436 then ten dollars, and then slowly, you know, and went up, 0:06:04.556 --> 0:06:06.956 keep going up. What did I get to? UM? Right 0:06:06.996 --> 0:06:11.796 before I sold the business, the company was doing or 0:06:11.796 --> 0:06:14.556 a website was doing around four hundred thousand dollars a 0:06:14.636 --> 0:06:16.956 month in revenue. And then so it's making all this 0:06:17.036 --> 0:06:19.876 money and then you sell it, right, Yeah, for a lot, 0:06:20.356 --> 0:06:23.076 it's public, right, the amount of the sales much? How 0:06:23.156 --> 0:06:30.156 much was? It? Was close to nine million dollars in cash. 0:06:30.796 --> 0:06:33.596 After the break, Ramone takes his millions and starts investing 0:06:33.596 --> 0:06:36.516 in new businesses, including that company that makes ramps for 0:06:36.556 --> 0:06:39.836 wiener dogs. And he comes up against a few gnarly 0:06:40.156 --> 0:06:50.916 global problems. Now let's get back to what's your problem. 0:06:50.956 --> 0:06:52.836 With the millions of dollars he got from selling a 0:06:52.876 --> 0:06:56.036 soap opera blog, Ramone invested in a few different companies. 0:06:56.316 --> 0:06:58.956 Some didn't work so well, but one that did was 0:06:59.076 --> 0:07:02.596 that company that sells ramps for wiener dogs, which apparently 0:07:02.956 --> 0:07:04.996 wiener dogs tend to have spine trouble and so they 0:07:04.996 --> 0:07:07.436 can actually hurt themselves by jumping down from the couch 0:07:07.556 --> 0:07:10.516 or whatever. This is a show about technology and business 0:07:10.516 --> 0:07:13.116 we're doing here, not a show about wiener dog physiology. 0:07:13.516 --> 0:07:16.156 But in any case, the key thing for us is 0:07:16.596 --> 0:07:19.836 in this instance, Ramon did not start the company from scratch. 0:07:20.036 --> 0:07:23.596 He bought an existing online wiener dog ramp company for 0:07:23.676 --> 0:07:27.956 around three hundred thousand dollars. The company was actually called 0:07:28.036 --> 0:07:31.476 Sausage doc Central at the beginning, so they were really 0:07:31.596 --> 0:07:36.236 leaning into the wiener dog market, exactly the weiner dog market. 0:07:36.396 --> 0:07:40.796 And but I love the idea because it really it 0:07:40.916 --> 0:07:45.876 solves an actual problem for a target audience. The wiener 0:07:45.956 --> 0:07:49.116 dog ramp does feel like the sort of e commerce 0:07:49.276 --> 0:07:53.436 version of a blog for one soap opera, right, It's 0:07:53.436 --> 0:07:56.596 like this very narrow thing that some universe of people 0:07:56.716 --> 0:08:01.036 care a lot about. Yes, and nobody was looking at 0:08:01.036 --> 0:08:03.236 it seemed like with soap propose. So I bought this 0:08:03.396 --> 0:08:10.196 business instead of starting it, and the previous owner build 0:08:10.236 --> 0:08:15.636 an amazing product, but they were not Internet marketers. So 0:08:15.756 --> 0:08:18.636 there was a lot of low hanging fruit that I 0:08:18.716 --> 0:08:21.396 saw that I can, Hey, I can just you know, 0:08:21.516 --> 0:08:24.796 improve conversions, or I can do X y Z to 0:08:24.996 --> 0:08:29.076 increase revenue. So it's kind of like a house that's 0:08:29.116 --> 0:08:32.116 like a nice house in a good neighborhood, but the 0:08:32.236 --> 0:08:34.996 paints peeling off and the roof needs a patch, and 0:08:35.156 --> 0:08:36.796 so you can get a deal on it and fix 0:08:36.796 --> 0:08:39.756 it up and make it worth a lot more. Yes, 0:08:39.876 --> 0:08:42.116 And that's funny, you say, because I used that same 0:08:42.156 --> 0:08:46.716 example all the time. Their website was very old, not pretty, 0:08:46.916 --> 0:08:50.276 the copy was not great, It was very difficult to navigate, 0:08:50.396 --> 0:08:53.316 it was very slow. So I thought, okay, we can 0:08:53.356 --> 0:08:57.596 just redesign it for fairly cheap, higher copywriter to make 0:08:57.596 --> 0:09:01.556 the copy and and make better pictures. That will for 0:09:01.676 --> 0:09:04.796 sure increase the conversion rate, Like more people will buy 0:09:05.036 --> 0:09:07.836 once they're on the website. And did you also change 0:09:07.876 --> 0:09:10.516 the sort of commerce kind of backbone of it, the 0:09:10.556 --> 0:09:13.716 way that actual commerce back end of the site work. Yeah, 0:09:13.716 --> 0:09:18.716 so we switched to Shopify. Shopify is you know, to 0:09:18.836 --> 0:09:21.196 you like, I'm sure it's like Google or whatever, but 0:09:21.436 --> 0:09:24.156 most people don't know what Shopify is, and yet it's 0:09:24.196 --> 0:09:27.356 this giant force on the internet. Right, just talk for 0:09:27.396 --> 0:09:33.876 a minute about Shopify. Yeah, Shopify, it's basically anyone can 0:09:33.996 --> 0:09:38.476 set up your own store and start selling products within 0:09:38.556 --> 0:09:41.636 a matter of hours. I think that is their mission, right, 0:09:41.716 --> 0:09:45.876 that my mom, without knowing anything to code, could basically, 0:09:46.156 --> 0:09:48.756 within a couple of hours, set up her own store 0:09:49.236 --> 0:09:53.316 and start selling whatever she wants to sell. And it's giant, right. 0:09:53.316 --> 0:09:56.316 What was there was some metrics I heard recently that 0:09:56.596 --> 0:10:00.196 there were more visits to Shopify sites than to Amazon 0:10:00.316 --> 0:10:03.476 over the last quarter or something like. It's like millions 0:10:03.516 --> 0:10:06.316 of businesses at this point, certainly billions of dollars in 0:10:06.356 --> 0:10:10.476 revenue flowing through the businesses. Yeah, Shopify is actually on 0:10:10.516 --> 0:10:15.556 a mission to really compete with Amazon. And that's why Shopify, 0:10:15.716 --> 0:10:18.796 right sort of shot, they're succeeding that thread, right, the 0:10:18.916 --> 0:10:22.116 thing we were talking about earlier of you know, everybody 0:10:22.516 --> 0:10:25.956 is so focused on the giant tech companies and for 0:10:26.036 --> 0:10:29.716 good reason. Right, clearly, they're extraordinarily large, powerful companies worth 0:10:29.756 --> 0:10:31.716 paying a lot of attention to. But at the same time, 0:10:31.756 --> 0:10:34.676 there is this other parallel thread that I feel like 0:10:34.756 --> 0:10:37.556 you are emblematic of, and in a way, Shopify is 0:10:37.636 --> 0:10:41.116 kind of emblematic of, right of all of the dog 0:10:41.196 --> 0:10:47.156 ramp and soap opera blog and custom pinata businesses growing 0:10:47.196 --> 0:10:53.556 alongside the giants. Yeah, and it's it's really um especially 0:10:53.716 --> 0:10:56.116 last year, and you know, maybe this is a good 0:10:56.316 --> 0:10:59.356 pivot into like the e commerce you know world in 0:10:59.436 --> 0:11:01.996 the last year. How much has changed it actually in 0:11:02.476 --> 0:11:07.756 the last twelve months? Yeah, tell me, Yeah, what has 0:11:07.836 --> 0:11:13.476 changed for most has unfortunately has changed for the worst 0:11:13.476 --> 0:11:17.476 for a lot of e commerce, including ourselves. So on 0:11:17.476 --> 0:11:21.476 one hand, the supply chain has dramastically changed and we're 0:11:21.476 --> 0:11:27.876 still in it. But because with covid, there was a 0:11:27.956 --> 0:11:32.756 huge backlog of containers coming from overseas to a point 0:11:32.796 --> 0:11:36.716 where there were over one hundred container ships stuck at 0:11:36.796 --> 0:11:40.196 sea waiting in front of Los Angeles Ports. So that's 0:11:41.636 --> 0:11:43.396 what does it mean to you? What does it mean 0:11:43.436 --> 0:11:47.156 to your business? So that means for me and a 0:11:47.196 --> 0:11:50.236 lot of companies is that we were not able to 0:11:50.236 --> 0:11:54.396 get inventory or if we ever got inventory huge delays. 0:11:54.476 --> 0:11:57.596 Instead of you know, waiting a month, it took three 0:11:57.676 --> 0:12:02.076 to four months. But most importantly, the prices of getting 0:12:02.196 --> 0:12:07.076 our products to our warehouse went up. Like for US 0:12:07.276 --> 0:12:10.596 ten x so we used to pay two thousand, five 0:12:10.716 --> 0:12:15.276 hundred to get one container from Asia to the United States, 0:12:15.316 --> 0:12:18.636 we got quoted twenty nine thousands. Well that's just for 0:12:18.676 --> 0:12:23.516 shipping to be clear of containers of dog correct. Yeah, 0:12:23.516 --> 0:12:26.516 And there's no I have to pay. It's like I 0:12:26.596 --> 0:12:29.076 have to choose between not being able to sell something 0:12:30.156 --> 0:12:33.356 or you know, just pay these fees. And that's just one. 0:12:33.716 --> 0:12:35.796 So just to be clear, this show is called What's 0:12:35.836 --> 0:12:38.516 Your Problem, and we're definitely into the what's your problem 0:12:38.556 --> 0:12:41.156 portion the interview. So what are you doing about the 0:12:41.156 --> 0:12:43.636 supply chain problem? Can you do anything about that? Yeah? 0:12:43.716 --> 0:12:50.476 So we moved our manufacturing to Mexico. Oh interesting, interesting 0:12:50.676 --> 0:12:53.436 from Asia? It was in China before? Where was it before? 0:12:54.196 --> 0:12:59.236 We used China and Vietnam both countries. So okay, the 0:12:59.276 --> 0:13:01.676 supply chain problem, that's one big problem that you and 0:13:01.996 --> 0:13:05.316 like every other importer and exporter on the planet are 0:13:05.356 --> 0:13:08.516 dealing with, and like a lot of other companies, you're 0:13:08.556 --> 0:13:11.196 moving product to Mexico? What else? What else you got? 0:13:11.196 --> 0:13:14.396 What other problems are you working on? On the marketing side, 0:13:15.076 --> 0:13:19.996 we had Apple making updates to their operating system called 0:13:20.036 --> 0:13:25.236 to iOS fourteen updates, where it makes it more difficult 0:13:25.436 --> 0:13:31.876 for em or for online businesses to target um their 0:13:31.916 --> 0:13:36.356 potential audience. And just to be clear, like I remember 0:13:36.356 --> 0:13:40.516 that as as an iPhone user last year, there was 0:13:40.556 --> 0:13:43.156 some update and I was able to like opt out 0:13:43.196 --> 0:13:48.396 of being tracked so intensively by Facebook and other similar companies. 0:13:48.796 --> 0:13:50.796 It was like, not a huge deal to me, But 0:13:50.836 --> 0:13:53.636 we also know that that that iOS update from Apple, 0:13:53.676 --> 0:13:58.116 it wound up costing Facebook billions of dollars in lost 0:13:58.156 --> 0:14:01.076 ad revenue because they could no longer track users like 0:14:01.196 --> 0:14:05.556 me so so intensively. And then for you, it means 0:14:05.636 --> 0:14:10.396 it's suddenly harder for you to get someone who is whatever, 0:14:10.396 --> 0:14:12.876 who is a weener dog owner and is worried about 0:14:12.916 --> 0:14:16.116 their dog spine, you know, to target exactly the customer 0:14:16.196 --> 0:14:19.396 you want to target with your ants exactly what do 0:14:19.396 --> 0:14:22.156 you do about that problem? Yeah, And that's a tough 0:14:22.356 --> 0:14:25.636 problem and everybody, a lot of e commerce are trying 0:14:25.676 --> 0:14:27.636 to figure that out. We're looking at you know, Okay, 0:14:27.636 --> 0:14:29.996 what where else can we put our marketing dollars? Can 0:14:30.036 --> 0:14:33.156 we do YouTube? Can we do TikTok? Can we you know, 0:14:33.356 --> 0:14:38.636 we're all trying different things. Um, we we are allocating 0:14:38.836 --> 0:14:42.076 some of our ad budget to influencers. That's been working 0:14:42.116 --> 0:14:45.596 well for us. Okay, So like weener dog influencers. Is 0:14:45.596 --> 0:14:48.436 there like the weener dog Queen of Instagram or something 0:14:48.436 --> 0:14:52.316 who you're sponsoring? Now? Yeah, like funny like you have 0:14:52.436 --> 0:14:54.876 you have? You have no idea? How I have no idea? 0:14:55.436 --> 0:14:59.476 Dog have? How many instagrams about dogs are? Meaning like 0:14:59.836 --> 0:15:03.796 dog insram like an actual you know, the influencers you're 0:15:03.836 --> 0:15:06.236 sponsoring our dogs? Are you sponsoring? How many dogs are 0:15:06.236 --> 0:15:09.476 you sponsoring? Well, we have a lots. Well, we're working 0:15:09.476 --> 0:15:13.476 with four hundred influencers and the majority of them are 0:15:13.516 --> 0:15:17.076 actually not a person, but it's actually a dog and 0:15:18.436 --> 0:15:21.436 some of them have over a million followers and it's 0:15:21.476 --> 0:15:25.396 just an account of a specific dog, you know, Rudy 0:15:25.476 --> 0:15:29.956 the dog fluencer. Is there one dog fluencer that's like 0:15:30.076 --> 0:15:32.836 killing it for you that's gonna save your business? No, 0:15:33.076 --> 0:15:35.756 it's it's because it's always it's It does well in 0:15:35.796 --> 0:15:39.276 the beginning, but after a couple of times, right, Like 0:15:39.636 --> 0:15:42.836 their audience have seen our ads and then affects it 0:15:42.916 --> 0:15:45.516 hard down right, So that makes it hard. You always 0:15:45.516 --> 0:15:49.676 have to find new influencers and new you know. Um. 0:15:50.076 --> 0:15:53.876 Actually the big takeaway is pivoting actually away from ramps. 0:15:54.036 --> 0:15:57.236 The big problem with the ramps, it's like, okay, ramp, 0:15:57.636 --> 0:16:01.396 it's a one time product. Sometimes a person buys another 0:16:01.396 --> 0:16:04.756 one for the bed, but there is a ceiling. There's 0:16:04.996 --> 0:16:08.636 technically going to be a day where I sold all 0:16:08.716 --> 0:16:12.356 the all. You know, there's every Wiener dog will have 0:16:12.396 --> 0:16:15.676 a ramp in the house right there. The bull is finished, right, 0:16:15.956 --> 0:16:17.996 there's no more Wiener dogs that sell ramps too. You 0:16:18.036 --> 0:16:21.636 gotta close up shot. Yeah, and so we are still 0:16:21.676 --> 0:16:26.116 going to sell ramps, but it actually we six months 0:16:26.116 --> 0:16:30.196 ago we really started to pivot to dog food. So 0:16:30.996 --> 0:16:35.356 dog food, the lifetime value is a metric that is 0:16:35.476 --> 0:16:38.356 used often in e commerce. Is like, the lifetime value 0:16:38.396 --> 0:16:41.556 of a dog food customer is so much higher, meaning 0:16:41.676 --> 0:16:43.996 it's thousands of dollars. Right, it's a dog owner and 0:16:44.116 --> 0:16:47.356 presumably most people who have dogs, when their dog dies, 0:16:47.436 --> 0:16:49.596 they get another dog. Right, So if I buy dog 0:16:49.636 --> 0:16:51.796 food from you and I live for another forty years 0:16:52.196 --> 0:16:54.956 and worth tens of thousands of dollars in dog food 0:16:54.956 --> 0:16:59.236 sales to you exactly versus so the amount of work 0:16:59.276 --> 0:17:01.876 to acquire you as a customer is more or less 0:17:01.876 --> 0:17:04.516 the same if I'm selling a ramp or I'm selling food. 0:17:05.036 --> 0:17:07.316 It's a little bit more difficult in food because it's 0:17:07.596 --> 0:17:11.316 more like it's a little bit more tricky. But in essence, 0:17:11.476 --> 0:17:14.556 it's like the amount of work I need a product, 0:17:14.596 --> 0:17:16.636 I need a website, I need a warehouse, I need 0:17:17.116 --> 0:17:20.116 you know, customer servers, I need ads. All these things 0:17:20.116 --> 0:17:24.396 are the same if ourselves ramp or food. But if 0:17:24.476 --> 0:17:27.396 I do all this work and try and sell and 0:17:27.476 --> 0:17:31.556 focus more on food, the return on my time and 0:17:31.636 --> 0:17:34.516 return on investment is so much higher because you know 0:17:34.636 --> 0:17:36.876 you're going to keep coming back every two weeks or 0:17:36.916 --> 0:17:42.516 every month. Coming up next, the Lightning Round, including the 0:17:42.516 --> 0:17:45.156 biggest bet Ramona's ever made, and the one piece of 0:17:45.196 --> 0:17:47.876 advice you give to someone who wants to start a business. 0:17:55.356 --> 0:17:57.556 Let's get back to the show. We're gonna close with 0:17:57.596 --> 0:17:59.956 the Lightning Round. Okay, Lightning Round, don't think about it 0:18:00.036 --> 0:18:02.756 too much. I'm gonna try. Are you ready go? What's 0:18:02.796 --> 0:18:06.716 the biggest bet you've ever made biggest bet was an 0:18:06.836 --> 0:18:10.556 big EDM party in Holland. I set all my money 0:18:10.596 --> 0:18:14.356 into one party plus more and it was a total flop. 0:18:14.396 --> 0:18:19.996 I lost everything. What's your favorite app on your phone? Slack? Wow? 0:18:20.236 --> 0:18:23.076 What's a trait you cannot stand in? A coworker? A 0:18:23.196 --> 0:18:25.916 big ego? If you have a ten minute break? What 0:18:25.916 --> 0:18:31.476 do you do to relax? I M call my son? Um. 0:18:31.916 --> 0:18:34.116 I like that. You're giving me a little musical accompaniment 0:18:34.156 --> 0:18:36.996 for the lightning round vibe? Oh yeah, this is my 0:18:37.076 --> 0:18:40.756 dog just locally. What would you do if you couldn't 0:18:40.796 --> 0:18:43.796 do what you do? I would do something in music? Yeah, 0:18:43.796 --> 0:18:45.596 oh in music. What's a piece of advice you'd give 0:18:45.636 --> 0:18:48.316 somebody who wants to start a business to not overthink 0:18:48.356 --> 0:18:55.676 it and just start and improve along the way? That 0:18:55.876 --> 0:18:58.756 was Ramone van Nier. The company he runs is called 0:18:58.836 --> 0:19:03.356 Alpha Paul. Today's show was produced by Edith Russelo. It 0:19:03.396 --> 0:19:06.196 was edited by Kate Parkinson Morgan and Robert Smith, and 0:19:06.236 --> 0:19:09.676 it was engineered by Amanda Kwong. The music by Luis Gara. 0:19:09.836 --> 0:19:12.636 Our development team is Lee, Tom Mulad and Justine Lang. 0:19:12.996 --> 0:19:15.676 A huge team of people makes What's Your Problem Possible? 0:19:15.836 --> 0:19:19.396 That team includes but is not limited to Jacob Weisberg, 0:19:19.516 --> 0:19:22.796 Mia Lobel have their Fame, John Schnars, Kerrey Brodie, Carli mcgleory, 0:19:22.876 --> 0:19:26.996 Christina Sullivan, Jason Gambrell, Brant Hayes, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, 0:19:27.036 --> 0:19:30.716 Morgan Ratner, Nicolemrano, Mary Beth Smith, Royston Deserve, Maya Kanig, 0:19:30.796 --> 0:19:34.276 Daniella Lakhan, Kazia Tan and David Clever. What's Your Problem 0:19:34.356 --> 0:19:37.636 is a co production of Pushkin Industries and iHeartMedia. To 0:19:37.676 --> 0:19:41.876 find more Pushkin podcast listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 0:19:41.996 --> 0:19:45.196 or Where Effort. I'm Jacob Boldstein and I'll be back 0:19:45.276 --> 0:19:50.396 next week with another episode of What's Your Problem.