1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,960 We are here now with Dr. Smirti Agarwal. And 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,720 I met her at just an event a while back. And so you 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,520 have been on my list to have on this podcast of someone I wanted 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,360 to have on. She has been a successful entrepreneur and 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,200 has taken a step back from the first company and is launching a new 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,640 one. But I want to just start all. And the new company 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,410 is very helpful for new entrepreneurs. But I want 8 00:00:26,410 --> 00:00:29,930 to start at the beginning and have you tell us about your first 9 00:00:29,930 --> 00:00:32,810 journey into entrepreneurship and what that was all about. 10 00:00:33,290 --> 00:00:37,130 Yeah. So thanks, Mary. It was so exciting to 11 00:00:37,130 --> 00:00:40,810 meet you at that networking event and I'm so glad we met. 12 00:00:41,210 --> 00:00:44,730 So. Yeah. So I'm Smriti. I started 13 00:00:44,970 --> 00:00:48,810 my journey as a grad student. So I was doing my PhD 14 00:00:49,050 --> 00:00:52,520 in genetics. I was working on neurodegenerative, 15 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:56,640 rare neurodegenerative conditions that lead to blindness. So I was 16 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,320 understanding both the cause of it, like looking at patients and 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,120 understanding the cause of these rare diseases. And then also 18 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,600 I had the fortune of working on a 19 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,000 therapy. So I worked on gene therapy, which is a treatment 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,920 for these children. And so while I 21 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,960 was doing my PhD and I actually had just started 22 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,360 my first few weeks at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,000 I was asked if I wanted to consider the MD PhD program. 24 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,920 So in that, I said yes, and I will 25 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,200 finalize and make this decision after. I have 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,360 observed surgeries, like I've seen surgeons in action and I've seen the process 27 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,840 and what it entails day to day. So I went and 28 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,250 shadowed surgeons and really got into it. So I ended up shadowing, 29 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,920 shadowing like hundreds of procedures. And I would go to training, 30 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,200 like hands on training events, and I would go into surgery for brain 31 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,520 surgery, you know, women's health, like 32 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,160 hysterectomy procedures. I would observe a lot of 33 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,440 oncology, like cancer procedures, pediatric 34 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,120 procedures. And throughout this, I 35 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,960 guess, process, what I understood was that the system is 36 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,600 flawed. Okay. And why it's flawed. It's like, well, if 37 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,280 your surgeon tells you that they're going to do their best, they truly mean 38 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,120 it. But is that really the best for you? And 39 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,480 that just. That's an interesting debate, I imagine. 40 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,440 Right. And how they learn is it's a skill. And 41 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,000 surgeons just like any other skill, they learn by practicing. 42 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,960 So when you're practice, practice, practice, practice makes perfect and then you get 43 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,700 really good at it. But when you're practicing, you 44 00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:44,540 know, overcoming the learning curve on patients, then that leads 45 00:02:44,540 --> 00:02:48,060 to compromise and quality of care that the 46 00:02:48,060 --> 00:02:51,700 patients don't deserve. But there is no alternative solution to 47 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:55,460 this. Right. Because like I said, it's a skill. So 48 00:02:55,540 --> 00:02:59,180 I understood that problem. I really, like, had 49 00:02:59,180 --> 00:03:02,860 deep conversations with surgeons who were very vulnerable 50 00:03:02,860 --> 00:03:06,640 with me on this topic. And they explained to me, you know, 51 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:10,320 what this. How this makes them feel, and, like, how this affects their day 52 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,920 to day emotionally, you know, psychologically, 53 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,360 all of that. And once I understood the problem, I started 54 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,440 diving deeper into the solution. So that was the start of my first 55 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,280 company. That's fascinating. So say the name again. Lazarus 56 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,120 3D. Lazarus 3D? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So tell us 57 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,960 what that is. Yeah. So Lazarus 3D, it's a platform. And what 58 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,140 we provide surgeons is the ability to rehearse 59 00:03:36,460 --> 00:03:40,260 upcoming cases before they operate. So let's say, you 60 00:03:40,260 --> 00:03:43,940 know, Mary had a surgery coming up and your doctor told you 61 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:47,620 it's going to be really complicated. You know, I've not 62 00:03:47,620 --> 00:03:51,220 seen one like this before. What we do is we take your scans, 63 00:03:51,220 --> 00:03:54,460 so MRIs or CTs, and create replica of you 64 00:03:54,940 --> 00:03:58,660 of your organ with its disease and deliver it to 65 00:03:58,660 --> 00:04:02,270 the physician. So your surgeon will get a organ 66 00:04:02,270 --> 00:04:06,030 replica that is a copy of your specific 67 00:04:06,430 --> 00:04:09,790 anatomy, and it cuts and bleeds, realistically. 68 00:04:10,190 --> 00:04:13,710 So what that means is that surgeons can basically do a dry run of 69 00:04:13,870 --> 00:04:17,710 your upcoming case before they do it on you. And this gives them 70 00:04:18,110 --> 00:04:21,750 basically an unparalleled ability to not 71 00:04:21,750 --> 00:04:25,550 just validate their plan, but modify 72 00:04:25,550 --> 00:04:29,080 it and perfect it before they do it, before they have the real case. 73 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:33,040 That is fabulous. And I don't really think I 74 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,640 understood what that all was when you were first telling me about 75 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,280 it. Oh, yeah, yeah, I can imagine. That's just so. I 76 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:44,040 can see how that would be so helpful to a surgeon to have 77 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,400 that and so comforting to patients. 78 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:51,240 Yeah, yeah. And the patients often get to hold it too, 79 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,080 like the replica of their kidney or their 80 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,900 brain. And it just. I think it boosts confidence 81 00:04:59,460 --> 00:05:02,740 and it builds just confidence 82 00:05:03,380 --> 00:05:06,980 in the dialogue that you're having with the surgeon. Like, hey, 83 00:05:07,060 --> 00:05:10,900 yeah, you know, we're not just going into this blind. Like, I've really 84 00:05:11,140 --> 00:05:14,580 done, you know, the rehearsal, and 85 00:05:14,660 --> 00:05:18,500 I am going to be really genuinely providing you 86 00:05:18,500 --> 00:05:22,350 the best quality of care. That's awesome. Yeah. So as 87 00:05:22,350 --> 00:05:26,030 a. Because we're now at Reno Startup Week, I see you again, and there's lots 88 00:05:26,030 --> 00:05:29,870 of entrepreneurs here and there's a lot of tech here also. So much 89 00:05:29,870 --> 00:05:33,390 tech. Tell it. Give us some ideas on what was really 90 00:05:33,390 --> 00:05:36,990 helpful in building this. You had, obviously had a great model 91 00:05:37,229 --> 00:05:41,070 and there was a need there, so that's probably fundamental, I imagine. 92 00:05:41,790 --> 00:05:45,550 Yeah. So I think people start with an idea and 93 00:05:45,550 --> 00:05:48,670 then they come up with a solution and then they build a solution and then 94 00:05:48,670 --> 00:05:52,270 they try to sell it, right? We did not do that. Okay? We 95 00:05:52,270 --> 00:05:55,710 identified the problem, okay. And we worked 96 00:05:55,790 --> 00:05:59,230 alongside our customers who are physicians, surgeons, 97 00:05:59,390 --> 00:06:02,910 and these are best in class surgeons to build a product 98 00:06:02,990 --> 00:06:06,350 together with them with their input, with their insight, with their 99 00:06:06,350 --> 00:06:09,150 feedback. And we iterated on every, 100 00:06:10,510 --> 00:06:14,270 you know, advice, every piece of data point that 101 00:06:14,270 --> 00:06:17,550 we were generating from their, from, from the 102 00:06:17,550 --> 00:06:21,310 collaborations and together built that product, right? 103 00:06:21,470 --> 00:06:25,070 And we always kept patients first. 104 00:06:25,310 --> 00:06:27,950 Like that was really like the underlying, 105 00:06:29,390 --> 00:06:33,150 you know, principle was patients come first. 106 00:06:33,390 --> 00:06:37,150 And we're building this for the patients and we're doing it to 107 00:06:37,150 --> 00:06:40,870 empower their surgeons so that they have the best tools to provide the best 108 00:06:40,870 --> 00:06:44,370 care. So that's how we built it. And actually 109 00:06:44,610 --> 00:06:48,170 right at that, the beginning of it, when I 110 00:06:48,170 --> 00:06:52,010 never like exhibited my own company, I never built my own 111 00:06:52,010 --> 00:06:55,690 company. This was my first rodeo. And 112 00:06:55,690 --> 00:06:58,930 so we went to a trade show and at this medical 113 00:06:59,010 --> 00:07:02,650 conference, we showed up with our table chair or 114 00:07:02,650 --> 00:07:06,410 whatever and we'd set it up and it was a 10 by 115 00:07:06,410 --> 00:07:10,130 10 booth. So the surgeons we were working with were telling their friends about it, 116 00:07:10,130 --> 00:07:13,460 and their friends were telling their friends about it. And it was just all very 117 00:07:13,460 --> 00:07:16,900 organic until a point where a medical device 118 00:07:18,340 --> 00:07:22,020 marketing executive came by and said, oh, 119 00:07:22,580 --> 00:07:25,940 can you make this for me? And I was like, oh, you're, you're a medical 120 00:07:25,940 --> 00:07:29,780 device company, like, why would you need this? And then they told me 121 00:07:29,780 --> 00:07:33,620 that if I could create a bladder for them that had 122 00:07:34,660 --> 00:07:38,480 like different, like bladder, so there's polyps which 123 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:42,160 are like cancer, they can be cancerous. So can you create 124 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,440 a bladder cancer model for me that I want to, 125 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,800 you know, demo my device on? Okay. I asked them, 126 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,600 yeah, we could do that. And so I said that. And then I was 127 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,600 like, what are you using today? And he said he was using a pig bladder. 128 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,440 Like, literally, like they will go to the butcher shop or somewhere 129 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,740 and get like animal parts or 130 00:08:05,380 --> 00:08:09,060 another company was using a bell pepper to do 131 00:08:09,060 --> 00:08:12,740 the cystoscopy. That's the procedure. That's fascinating, right? 132 00:08:12,740 --> 00:08:15,540 And so I was like, can you show me what you're doing? And they literally, 133 00:08:15,540 --> 00:08:19,060 they took me to their booth. And now these are like extravagant, 134 00:08:19,300 --> 00:08:22,820 you know, multi million dollar booths for these 135 00:08:23,460 --> 00:08:27,140 Fortune Hundred, Fortune 500 companies. So he 136 00:08:27,140 --> 00:08:30,420 showed me in this very extravagant booth, 137 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,760 lo and behold, the pepper. And he was doing the 138 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:38,360 demo on that pepper with all of the surgeons 139 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,200 that walked by. And I was like, this is a joke. 140 00:08:42,680 --> 00:08:46,440 And he's like, nope, this is the best we have. Oh my gosh. Yeah. 141 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,960 So then I was like, this is it. And we started 142 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,000 like at that point, I went to every single exhibitor and I was 143 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,640 like, what's your product? What are you doing to do your demos? 144 00:08:58,030 --> 00:09:01,470 And tell me, is that really like serving your 145 00:09:01,550 --> 00:09:04,990 needs? Like, are you happy with that? And that just 146 00:09:05,230 --> 00:09:07,390 opened up a entire 147 00:09:08,590 --> 00:09:11,310 division of the company which was focusing 148 00:09:11,630 --> 00:09:15,390 exclusively on medical education and training for 149 00:09:15,390 --> 00:09:18,430 new products. When they launch new devices to the market, 150 00:09:19,230 --> 00:09:22,190 they should be doing demos on things that are 151 00:09:22,990 --> 00:09:26,660 more human right and representation of the human disease 152 00:09:27,140 --> 00:09:30,180 than, you know, a bell pepper. 153 00:09:31,620 --> 00:09:35,060 I love that. So then you started doing that. Then we started generating revenue 154 00:09:35,220 --> 00:09:38,580 from that. And that revenue actually funded 155 00:09:38,980 --> 00:09:42,220 all the other things that we needed to do, like all of the material science, 156 00:09:42,220 --> 00:09:45,540 R and D, our patent protection 157 00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:48,980 for legal, our regulatory 158 00:09:49,620 --> 00:09:53,130 filings, like for the FDA, our 159 00:09:53,130 --> 00:09:56,970 hiring of the first employees. All of that was funded or not all, 160 00:09:56,970 --> 00:10:00,810 but a chunk of significant chunk of it was funded from 161 00:10:00,810 --> 00:10:04,530 revenue with these customers. That's 162 00:10:04,530 --> 00:10:08,329 fabulous. Yeah. So where is it at today? What stage is the company at? 163 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:11,930 Yeah, so fast forward 10 years. So it's been 10 years, so 164 00:10:11,930 --> 00:10:15,650 that's okay. Yes. 10 years in the 165 00:10:15,650 --> 00:10:19,210 making. And you know, we broke a lot of things and we learned a lot 166 00:10:19,210 --> 00:10:22,640 of things in that process, but today it's already 167 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,160 on the market. So the patient specific models are FDA cleared. 168 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,840 They have billing codes for reimbursement. They are 169 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,880 in large health systems across the country. 170 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,280 And we also work with pretty much 171 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,520 the best medical device companies that are global companies 172 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:46,160 in providing them with demo units. 173 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,240 So for, for hands on demo and training purposes. 174 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,640 And their teams are so much happier, 175 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:57,480 I can't imagine. Because it's safer for humans 176 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,640 and safer for doctors to not freak out that they're 177 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,440 not practicing on a human for the first time, really. But something more 178 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,200 human, like to brilliant. They would have done training also 179 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:13,010 on cadavers. So I just wanted to share that. Okay. So, so 180 00:11:13,010 --> 00:11:16,690 cadavers are like, you know, people and once they 181 00:11:16,690 --> 00:11:20,490 pass away, they want to donate their bodies to science. And so medical 182 00:11:20,490 --> 00:11:24,330 schools have these cadavers and you learn anatomy 183 00:11:24,330 --> 00:11:27,490 on that. Right. So you learn like you know, the different organ 184 00:11:27,490 --> 00:11:30,930 systems and gross anatomy. Right. But 185 00:11:31,170 --> 00:11:35,010 those cadavers don't have diseases. So if you're a brain surgeon 186 00:11:35,010 --> 00:11:38,770 trying to like learn how to treat a solid 187 00:11:38,770 --> 00:11:42,500 tumor in somebody's brain, you will not 188 00:11:42,500 --> 00:11:45,980 get that training from the cadaver because it doesn't have that 189 00:11:45,980 --> 00:11:49,820 disease. So this was sort 190 00:11:49,820 --> 00:11:52,300 of a big leap forward 191 00:11:53,740 --> 00:11:57,580 paradigm shift in how people learn and 192 00:11:57,580 --> 00:12:01,380 how people treat patients and all of that. That is amazing. I 193 00:12:01,380 --> 00:12:05,220 love that so much. Thank you for going into so much explanation 194 00:12:05,220 --> 00:12:08,580 because I don't think I knew all of that. Cause right now. So 195 00:12:08,820 --> 00:12:12,660 you're new to moving back to Reno or moving to Reno? To Reno. To Reno. 196 00:12:12,660 --> 00:12:16,500 Okay. Like me to Reno. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So I 197 00:12:16,500 --> 00:12:20,260 grew up on the east coast. I went to school in Houston. Then I moved 198 00:12:20,260 --> 00:12:23,939 to Oregon to build this company. And we moved to 199 00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:27,540 Oregon during COVID. Those were such good years, 200 00:12:27,540 --> 00:12:31,100 weren't they? Yeah. Yeah. So we had a business 201 00:12:31,100 --> 00:12:34,690 pivot where we were making, you know, 3D 202 00:12:34,690 --> 00:12:38,290 printing PPE supplies, and then we were sourcing 203 00:12:38,290 --> 00:12:41,610 supplies and became the largest supplier to the Harris County Health System 204 00:12:42,090 --> 00:12:45,610 in Houston. And then when that crisis was sort of 205 00:12:46,010 --> 00:12:48,890 marginally averted, we decided to 206 00:12:49,530 --> 00:12:52,650 go focus on the core products. So we pivoted back to 207 00:12:54,010 --> 00:12:57,610 our core technology, the patient specific models 208 00:12:57,770 --> 00:13:00,970 we were submitting to the FDA at that time. So it gave us that flexibility 209 00:13:00,970 --> 00:13:04,050 to actually, you know, move and 210 00:13:05,090 --> 00:13:08,650 find our facility. We wanted to be in Oregon or 211 00:13:08,650 --> 00:13:11,810 just west coast in general because for many reasons, but 212 00:13:12,450 --> 00:13:16,090 we found, we'd found a spot. So now we have a 25,000 square foot facility 213 00:13:16,090 --> 00:13:19,570 there. Okay. And it's doing well. So 214 00:13:20,290 --> 00:13:23,970 I last year exited. I'm in the process of 215 00:13:23,970 --> 00:13:27,730 exiting from my company. Okay. And that was 216 00:13:27,730 --> 00:13:31,570 like 10 years of go, go, go, grind and hustle, bustle. Right. 217 00:13:31,570 --> 00:13:35,390 Like, just no breaks. So this time I 218 00:13:35,390 --> 00:13:38,830 put the brakes and I took a break. And 219 00:13:39,390 --> 00:13:43,230 that was definitely the most stress, 220 00:13:43,390 --> 00:13:46,830 anxiety, PTSD inducing. Oh, no. 221 00:13:47,870 --> 00:13:51,710 Taking the break was the anxiety producing thing. Yes. 222 00:13:52,270 --> 00:13:55,550 At first I was like, yeah, you know, I need to step away. And 223 00:13:55,790 --> 00:13:59,490 I wanted to do that for many reasons. 224 00:14:00,450 --> 00:14:03,890 But after I did that, I was just like, really 225 00:14:03,890 --> 00:14:07,730 miserable. So I talked to mentors, 226 00:14:07,890 --> 00:14:11,570 I talked to advisors, I talked to other founders 227 00:14:11,570 --> 00:14:15,410 that had, you know, stepped away. And 228 00:14:15,570 --> 00:14:18,530 I just asked them, like, why did you do it? You know, how did you 229 00:14:18,530 --> 00:14:22,330 manage that and would you Recommend it? And 100% 230 00:14:22,330 --> 00:14:25,340 of them were like, yes, we recommend this. And 231 00:14:26,460 --> 00:14:30,300 their advice was to not dive into the next thing until I was 232 00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:33,660 really clear on 233 00:14:34,300 --> 00:14:38,060 whether I was ready for that next thing, to commit to it. And also 234 00:14:38,860 --> 00:14:40,620 just to reset. 235 00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:46,540 Your cortisol levels are so high because you've been in that 236 00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:51,740 fight or flight. Yeah. For so long. For a decade. And so 237 00:14:52,670 --> 00:14:56,030 they basically advised me that there was going to be a significant 238 00:14:56,190 --> 00:14:59,830 reset and there was an identity crisis where you're like, I was the 239 00:14:59,830 --> 00:15:03,630 face of the company, I was the founder and my public 240 00:15:03,630 --> 00:15:07,150 identity and Persona was tied to the brand 241 00:15:07,230 --> 00:15:10,950 that I built. And so everybody's 242 00:15:10,950 --> 00:15:14,430 like always asking you like, how's the company doing? And you have that 243 00:15:14,430 --> 00:15:17,910 hesitancy to say like, you know, actually I've taken a break. 244 00:15:17,910 --> 00:15:21,670 I've have sort of stepped away momentarily from 245 00:15:21,670 --> 00:15:25,270 that. And yeah, so that was 246 00:15:25,990 --> 00:15:29,590 last year. And then fast forward into 247 00:15:29,590 --> 00:15:33,350 it. I came to this realization that all 248 00:15:33,350 --> 00:15:36,950 of the problems that I was dealing with as a first time founder 249 00:15:37,190 --> 00:15:40,870 with my first company are real problems that every 250 00:15:40,870 --> 00:15:44,630 founder, every entrepreneur deals with. Right. This is not 251 00:15:45,350 --> 00:15:48,990 unique to me. Okay. I was not special. Right. 252 00:15:48,990 --> 00:15:52,390 And so how can I help those other 253 00:15:52,630 --> 00:15:56,470 founders, those other innovators that are also 254 00:15:56,870 --> 00:16:00,630 perhaps stuck in meaningful ways that 255 00:16:00,630 --> 00:16:03,910 helps them accelerate their journey without making 256 00:16:04,310 --> 00:16:08,030 the 500 mistakes that I made. And 257 00:16:08,030 --> 00:16:11,750 so this is leading you into your next thing, this thought? Yes. So this 258 00:16:11,750 --> 00:16:15,460 is leading to, you know, we're still at 259 00:16:15,460 --> 00:16:18,820 the very early stages of it, but it's my new 260 00:16:19,860 --> 00:16:23,220 venture, it's Atlas 360. So Atlas 261 00:16:23,220 --> 00:16:26,900 360, the goal is to go 262 00:16:26,900 --> 00:16:30,740 in and help startups. So I most, 263 00:16:30,900 --> 00:16:34,660 most of my background has been med tech and biotech and basically 264 00:16:36,020 --> 00:16:39,860 provide executive leadership where they need it most. And so 265 00:16:40,660 --> 00:16:44,260 it could be in operations when you don't have 266 00:16:44,260 --> 00:16:47,820 processes, you don't have systems in place and you're doing everything 267 00:16:47,820 --> 00:16:51,620 yourself. It's exhausting and it can lead to burnout 268 00:16:51,860 --> 00:16:54,500 and you don't want it to get there. So how can we 269 00:16:56,020 --> 00:16:59,620 get in there and address it before it takes the best 270 00:16:59,860 --> 00:17:03,700 of you from you? And then also 271 00:17:04,180 --> 00:17:07,770 when companies, you know, lots of people like build good products 272 00:17:07,850 --> 00:17:11,690 or solutions but they don't know how to bring it to the market or they're 273 00:17:11,690 --> 00:17:15,490 struggling and they're getting no's, or they're getting rejections and they're so like personally 274 00:17:15,490 --> 00:17:18,650 affected by that. Or a fear of 275 00:17:18,970 --> 00:17:22,730 success or a fear of failure or a fear of failure. Fear 276 00:17:22,730 --> 00:17:26,450 of talking about it, not knowing how to 277 00:17:26,450 --> 00:17:29,650 ask for help or not knowing why they should or when they should ask for 278 00:17:29,650 --> 00:17:32,970 help. Yeah, exactly. And can they ask for help? Because 279 00:17:33,690 --> 00:17:37,530 it's their company and you know, should. They 280 00:17:37,530 --> 00:17:41,090 may not feel comfortable asking for help. Right. And so 281 00:17:41,090 --> 00:17:44,930 it's difficult. And it's also difficult to find people that have the exact set of 282 00:17:44,930 --> 00:17:48,690 skills that you are looking for. And let's say you 283 00:17:48,690 --> 00:17:52,250 find that person but you can't afford them full time. So what do you do 284 00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:55,850 then? Right, so that's where I step in and 285 00:17:55,850 --> 00:17:59,450 I come in as a fractional C suite. So I can be 286 00:17:59,450 --> 00:18:02,800 your fractional chief operating officer or fractional 287 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,520 chief commercial officer or chief strategy officer and 288 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,120 basically, you know, get to the 289 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,920 grind and help you with whatever your 290 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,760 biggest urgency is. Right. Like you're always fighting fires. So 291 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,520 having a lending hand in that can be really 292 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,120 helpful and especially from somebody that's been there and done 293 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,910 that and they know exactly what you're going through. The other 294 00:18:28,910 --> 00:18:32,110 thing that I'm really good at is product 295 00:18:32,110 --> 00:18:35,190 positioning. So when you have a product and 296 00:18:35,750 --> 00:18:39,430 you want to create a strategy, your go to market strategy 297 00:18:39,750 --> 00:18:42,870 and you want to bring in your first customers, paying customers, 298 00:18:44,230 --> 00:18:48,070 it can be overwhelming and it can take a long time. 299 00:18:48,230 --> 00:18:51,510 So how do we remove the stress from it 300 00:18:52,150 --> 00:18:55,800 or minimize the stress rather? And how do we shrink the 301 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,320 timeline to commercialization and to 302 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,960 revenue generation, which I think is like most important in 303 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,760 any business. Oh, so yeah, so important. So those are. So 304 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,520 that's you just laid out so much. So let me ask because this is 305 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,120 a lot of stuff and I think it's important. I think there's, I've heard, I've 306 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:16,800 met a lot of people in Reno that are doing fractional 307 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,400 CEO or you know, that kind of. Can you explain to people who have no 308 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,520 idea what you're talking about and they want to start a business maybe what that 309 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,120 means and why that's beneficial. Yeah. 310 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:32,000 So a fractional CXO, it could 311 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,480 be CEO, it could be 312 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,920 COO, CCO, doesn't 313 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,880 matter. Is a person that has the 314 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:45,880 expertise, ideally from experience building 315 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,600 other companies in their past and they 316 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:53,400 bring that expertise and you know, the breadth of 317 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,200 what it takes to build a company. You know, you need to know like 318 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,720 really everything. Right. So they bring that experience 319 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,560 and expertise to you without you having to 320 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,360 hire them full time. So they are sort of like, you can 321 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,920 think of it as a consultant, but they're not just a consultant, 322 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,440 they're operators. And so they're like helping you 323 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,360 build a business. They're in it with you, next to you, you 324 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:23,160 know, doing things, making things happen. So there's 325 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,880 benefits to the company. The company doesn't have the 326 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,640 overhead of the benefits like that they would have provided 327 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,680 a full time employee. They also don't have the liability 328 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,960 of hiring on the full time employee. Right. And it's 329 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,640 also like low risk in terms of 330 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,370 fit. Like if this individual is not a good 331 00:20:45,450 --> 00:20:48,250 fit for many reasons, cultural fit performance, 332 00:20:49,450 --> 00:20:52,170 maybe like, you know, whatever they are 333 00:20:53,290 --> 00:20:57,130 capable, whatever their expertise are may not be best aligned 334 00:20:57,130 --> 00:21:00,930 with what your needs are or maybe you know, you just want to go in 335 00:21:00,930 --> 00:21:04,490 different directions, you can go your separate 336 00:21:04,490 --> 00:21:07,930 ways. Right. Much easier. Yeah. So it 337 00:21:08,330 --> 00:21:11,950 really is a good start soft spot for companies where they're like, 338 00:21:11,950 --> 00:21:15,590 man, I really like need a clone of me today and I 339 00:21:15,590 --> 00:21:19,070 wish that clone existed so I could grow my business and 340 00:21:19,070 --> 00:21:22,910 like go from my six figures to seven figures or seven figures to eight 341 00:21:22,910 --> 00:21:26,630 figures. But I can't hire them full time. Maybe because 342 00:21:26,630 --> 00:21:29,230 you're a beta positive but you're not profitable 343 00:21:30,350 --> 00:21:34,110 or you just don't want to take on that risk of 344 00:21:34,190 --> 00:21:37,640 bringing in a full time C suite. Yeah, that's very, very good. 345 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,720 So how would someone, would they hire you month by month? Is there a 346 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,440 certain time frame that you get hired for? Yeah, so I 347 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,240 mean that's a good question. I know you're still 348 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,920 developing this. Actually like I've never asked this question, so I don't know how it 349 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,280 works. So it's a contract and like every 350 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,680 other standard consulting contract, it's on specific, 351 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,270 whatever terms you negotiate. So it could be, you know, 352 00:22:04,270 --> 00:22:07,990 like for this duration or, or it could be milestones. Like I want 353 00:22:07,990 --> 00:22:11,670 you to help us achieve this X milestone. Yeah. And 354 00:22:12,310 --> 00:22:16,070 you know, like help us get there. And it's not really 355 00:22:16,070 --> 00:22:19,110 about time because time is actually 356 00:22:19,990 --> 00:22:23,190 very, it's a vague concept in startups. Like 357 00:22:23,510 --> 00:22:27,030 sometimes it's moving so fast where you don't even remember. 358 00:22:27,190 --> 00:22:30,920 Like, like, oh, it's, you know, a whole week 359 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,640 has gone by and you still feel like, you know, where are we in this? 360 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,000 And sometimes it's so slow moving like you're waiting for a customer to 361 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,560 find close a deal and you're like, man, like it's been five minutes 362 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,160 and why are we not done with it yet? Right. So yeah, big 363 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,840 concept. But I like to be like goals 364 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,280 or outcomes, focus. So yeah, that makes sense. Want to structure it and I have 365 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,070 been structuring it that way. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So go to 366 00:22:58,070 --> 00:23:01,390 market strategies. I know I had even referred a friend to you 367 00:23:02,110 --> 00:23:05,870 for a go to market strategy. So what is involved in that? Yeah, 368 00:23:05,950 --> 00:23:09,750 so you know your industry, you know what you're 369 00:23:09,750 --> 00:23:12,990 building, you know your target customer. Right. 370 00:23:13,310 --> 00:23:16,990 But you don't have a complete 371 00:23:17,070 --> 00:23:20,270 like mapped out plan of how you're going to 372 00:23:20,750 --> 00:23:24,360 get the product to the market. So you may 373 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,440 have an understanding of the need 374 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,720 and why the solution is serving that need. But how do 375 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,520 you communicate that to your target customers and how do 376 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,880 you actually. So essentially in 377 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,560 marketing we talk about buyer Persona. So 378 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,960 that's part of the go to market strategy is like you're building the buyer Persona, 379 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,880 you're building your beachhead customers, your first early 380 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,690 adopters who are going to be your early customers. And they're not going 381 00:23:53,690 --> 00:23:57,250 to ask you questions like who else are you working with? Right. 382 00:23:57,490 --> 00:24:01,290 Like, they need it and they will use 383 00:24:01,290 --> 00:24:05,090 it. They will be your first customer. So how do you make that happen? 384 00:24:05,650 --> 00:24:08,610 So all of those components are part of this 385 00:24:09,410 --> 00:24:13,170 strategy that allows you to stay focused. 386 00:24:13,570 --> 00:24:17,410 And essentially it's like a blueprint for how to get those 387 00:24:17,410 --> 00:24:21,170 early paying customers to buy your products. 388 00:24:21,410 --> 00:24:25,090 Yeah. And it may involve hiring too. Like, it may involve, 389 00:24:26,770 --> 00:24:30,530 you know, collateral creation, content creation. It may involve 390 00:24:30,930 --> 00:24:34,330 hiring a business development expert. It may involve a 391 00:24:34,330 --> 00:24:37,890 partnership with a strategic business or 392 00:24:37,970 --> 00:24:40,210 entity. It may involve 393 00:24:41,250 --> 00:24:44,450 strategy with contracting through the government 394 00:24:44,610 --> 00:24:48,450 agencies. So you have to, you know, there's like 395 00:24:48,450 --> 00:24:52,090 so many different things. There's so many different things. Yeah. Involved in that initial process. 396 00:24:52,330 --> 00:24:55,290 Yeah, yeah. And I've owned a business and I think I did it all wrong, 397 00:24:55,290 --> 00:24:58,130 you know, but it was Covid era and I was just, you know, I was 398 00:24:58,130 --> 00:25:01,610 an island unto myself. Way too much so in a very 399 00:25:01,610 --> 00:25:05,210 techie ish. Well, you know. Yeah, it was 400 00:25:05,210 --> 00:25:08,010 online sales and shipping, which is tech enough for me. You know, 401 00:25:08,730 --> 00:25:12,250 logistics, all the logistics stuff was not necessarily my 402 00:25:12,250 --> 00:25:15,430 forte. So there's a lot to it. I know there's a lot to it. And 403 00:25:15,430 --> 00:25:18,750 running your own thing. And I know you're giving a talk tonight, which we're going 404 00:25:18,750 --> 00:25:22,310 to be at, about using different AI 405 00:25:22,310 --> 00:25:26,070 tools. Yep. So tell us what you 406 00:25:26,070 --> 00:25:29,750 know on that or what you recommend. Yeah. So when I started my 407 00:25:29,750 --> 00:25:33,470 journey, you know, 12 years ago, we didn't have. 408 00:25:34,590 --> 00:25:38,430 Or maybe they existed, not that I was aware of at that time. 409 00:25:38,670 --> 00:25:42,350 And, you know, nobody was like robustly using it and there was 410 00:25:42,350 --> 00:25:46,000 little awareness of it. So fast forward to the last 411 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,240 few years. We've had these tools that really have been 412 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:53,800 so pivotal to making life 413 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:57,600 easier. Like for a founder or an entrepreneur, a 414 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,760 creator or a business owner, where, 415 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,920 you know, traditionally I would have hired a team. Like I would have hired 416 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:08,680 a agency to do my marketing work or an agency 417 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,370 to do X, Y and Z things 418 00:26:12,370 --> 00:26:16,130 that I needed done. Like if I wanted to create a product 419 00:26:16,130 --> 00:26:19,810 book, I would have brought somebody in to do that. 420 00:26:21,250 --> 00:26:24,850 Today, there are tools that can help you get there. 421 00:26:25,170 --> 00:26:29,010 So in as little as 30 seconds, I can get like a first draft 422 00:26:29,570 --> 00:26:32,850 of my product deck completed. 423 00:26:33,090 --> 00:26:36,210 And yes, it's going to be atrocious. 424 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,520 Totally not to your satisfaction or 425 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,040 may just be completely off too, but it still 426 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,880 really is helpful. And so there are Tools like that, where I have 427 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,880 been using those tools and leveraging them to expedite 428 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,240 the process. And instead of sitting there and 429 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,640 every image with every text box and 430 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,700 whatever margins, I don't have to do that. You know, there are tools 431 00:27:03,700 --> 00:27:07,260 that automate that process for you. And then same thing with 432 00:27:07,260 --> 00:27:10,140 like basic things like spelling, grammar, 433 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:14,580 even writing an email draft, there are tools that can help 434 00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:18,220 you with that. So I don't think you can solely rely on them. 435 00:27:18,860 --> 00:27:22,660 And yes, Everybody is using ChatGPT, which I think that's a good place to 436 00:27:22,660 --> 00:27:26,300 start. But there are much more sophisticated tools that are like, 437 00:27:26,540 --> 00:27:30,230 tailored to the specific needs 438 00:27:30,470 --> 00:27:34,310 and they provide tailored output for that specific 439 00:27:35,590 --> 00:27:39,190 area of your need. And I think 440 00:27:39,190 --> 00:27:42,630 like. So actually there are more than 70,000 441 00:27:43,110 --> 00:27:46,910 AI tools and apps on the market. Today, which is 442 00:27:46,910 --> 00:27:50,230 overwhelming, right? And we know of like ChatGPT, but there's 443 00:27:50,230 --> 00:27:52,870 2000 generative AI tools. 444 00:27:53,590 --> 00:27:56,790 Okay. It's a lot, right? And so you can't, 445 00:27:57,340 --> 00:28:01,100 I mean, you could just trial and error and like sift through them. 446 00:28:01,260 --> 00:28:04,700 But my talk is focused on the ones that are 447 00:28:04,700 --> 00:28:08,060 tried and true, the ones that I have worked with. 448 00:28:08,460 --> 00:28:10,460 And yes, there are some 449 00:28:12,300 --> 00:28:16,100 tips and tricks, tips and tricks, right. On how to use them and 450 00:28:16,100 --> 00:28:19,860 how to optimize and even really like what the 451 00:28:19,860 --> 00:28:23,180 intended uses versus how I use it is different in 452 00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:26,900 some instances. So I'm going to be sharing that. Okay, you want to talk about 453 00:28:26,900 --> 00:28:30,620 the specific one right now? We're going to do it now. Yeah, sure. So 454 00:28:30,620 --> 00:28:33,660 I think a good one would be like, 455 00:28:34,380 --> 00:28:37,340 customization for the ChatGPT 456 00:28:38,380 --> 00:28:41,260 where you can create your own ChatGPT 457 00:28:42,380 --> 00:28:45,980 and it's a prompt engineering, but it can be pretty simple, 458 00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:50,070 especially if you have a sort of 459 00:28:50,070 --> 00:28:53,870 a outline for how you're going to prompt it. 460 00:28:54,030 --> 00:28:57,750 Then it can really help you build 461 00:28:57,750 --> 00:29:01,150 a custom GPT that you can rely on for business development 462 00:29:01,310 --> 00:29:04,990 or marketing, content creation, whatever. 463 00:29:05,070 --> 00:29:08,430 And the other tool is Gamma AI. So Gamma AI. 464 00:29:09,390 --> 00:29:13,190 I have been using it for quite some time. I really like it. It helps 465 00:29:13,190 --> 00:29:16,590 create pitch decks, it helps create product decks, it helps create 466 00:29:17,540 --> 00:29:21,260 marketing content, like, with ease. Yeah. And I was 467 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:24,820 just talking to you about this because you sent that to me and 468 00:29:24,980 --> 00:29:28,740 Erika actually had already heard about this and heard some good things about 469 00:29:28,740 --> 00:29:32,540 it. So I, for the talk that I was giving, I put it, 470 00:29:32,540 --> 00:29:35,980 I used Gamma and then realized it didn't translate to 471 00:29:35,980 --> 00:29:39,700 Keynote, but I didn't know that. So. Yeah, but it did help kind of 472 00:29:39,700 --> 00:29:43,430 give me, made me go, oh, like this is. I think it saved 473 00:29:43,430 --> 00:29:47,190 me some hours on that initial to Just kind of put my thoughts. This 474 00:29:47,190 --> 00:29:50,670 is the first time I had given the talk that I gave this week. 475 00:29:51,470 --> 00:29:55,190 So, you know, creating it from scratch and 476 00:29:55,190 --> 00:29:58,750 making sure in your brain you're actually wanting it to be what it is. So 477 00:29:59,230 --> 00:30:02,950 that was a helpful tool. So why that one though? Why do you 478 00:30:02,950 --> 00:30:06,590 like that one? Why? I like Gamma. So I've used so many other tools. 479 00:30:07,070 --> 00:30:10,620 So I've used Gemini, which is integrated with Google 480 00:30:10,620 --> 00:30:14,460 Slides. I've used just ChatGPT. Of course it 481 00:30:14,460 --> 00:30:17,860 doesn't like. It gives you ideas and it can create your 482 00:30:19,060 --> 00:30:22,860 maybe outline, but it's not going to 483 00:30:22,860 --> 00:30:26,500 build a deck for you. Then there is beautiful 484 00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:30,300 AI. There are so many. There's Canva AI, there are so 485 00:30:30,300 --> 00:30:33,380 many others. I like Gamma because 486 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:38,070 it has different, like, sort of starting 487 00:30:38,070 --> 00:30:41,430 points. So you can feed it your entire outline 488 00:30:41,990 --> 00:30:45,190 and you can feed it additional, like knowledge 489 00:30:45,830 --> 00:30:48,950 and ask it to build a deck from that 490 00:30:49,590 --> 00:30:53,270 database or content that you have 491 00:30:53,270 --> 00:30:56,830 provided it. Or you can start with like a blank 492 00:30:56,830 --> 00:31:00,550 slate. And it's like, hey, you know, I'm feeling really lost 493 00:31:00,550 --> 00:31:04,190 and I am feeling low energy and just, you know, 494 00:31:04,190 --> 00:31:07,470 too stressed right now to give it all this 495 00:31:08,510 --> 00:31:12,190 intake. So I'm just going to give it like a glimpse of what 496 00:31:12,270 --> 00:31:16,030 I want my presentation to be on. Okay, it 497 00:31:16,030 --> 00:31:19,710 will start there. And the output, I think it's like, 498 00:31:20,510 --> 00:31:24,270 you know, decent. Right. So I have 499 00:31:24,270 --> 00:31:27,230 high standards, but I think that if you prompt it well 500 00:31:28,510 --> 00:31:31,810 and of course what you put in is what you get out, but if you 501 00:31:31,810 --> 00:31:35,570 prompt it well, it will do a decent job of your first 502 00:31:35,570 --> 00:31:38,770 draft. And from there I can iterate and 503 00:31:40,450 --> 00:31:44,250 modify it to my liking. Yeah, Which I think that's one of the best 504 00:31:44,250 --> 00:31:47,850 things about AI is that you don't have to start with a blank slate. So 505 00:31:47,850 --> 00:31:51,450 sometimes the blank slate is what's most intimidating. But if there's something in front of 506 00:31:51,450 --> 00:31:54,890 you that you can go, yes, no, yes, no, edit this, yes, no, yes, no. 507 00:31:54,890 --> 00:31:58,350 I think you can just get rolling a so much quicker. Exactly. 508 00:31:58,910 --> 00:32:02,670 That's my talk. So it's blank to brilliant. Oh, good. All 509 00:32:02,670 --> 00:32:06,470 right. I just landed on that so fast, didn't I? Went from 510 00:32:06,470 --> 00:32:09,550 blank to brilliant. It's a really good name too. So I love that. 511 00:32:10,270 --> 00:32:12,910 I'm looking forward to seeing it. So tonight that's going to be fun. 512 00:32:13,790 --> 00:32:17,230 So question with chat. So with ChatGPT to get to that. 513 00:32:18,110 --> 00:32:21,230 So it's just driven, custom to you. Is that like 514 00:32:21,550 --> 00:32:25,390 buying it at the different level and then doing customizations from then 515 00:32:25,390 --> 00:32:28,740 or what do you do with. That if you're a solopreneur or you're just 516 00:32:28,970 --> 00:32:32,810 starting out, the plus works. So I think 517 00:32:32,810 --> 00:32:35,850 that's like the $20 mark. 518 00:32:36,250 --> 00:32:39,930 $20 per month, I think. Yeah. And you do have to have the, 519 00:32:39,930 --> 00:32:43,130 the paid version of it because it is a custom 520 00:32:43,370 --> 00:32:46,810 feature and I think it's, it's a 521 00:32:46,810 --> 00:32:50,170 fantastic tool. So. And it's well worth it. So you, you're still going to be 522 00:32:50,170 --> 00:32:52,810 able to do all the regular chat things, 523 00:32:54,580 --> 00:32:56,820 which I use it for so many different 524 00:32:58,020 --> 00:33:01,060 purposes today, like even organizing 525 00:33:02,260 --> 00:33:05,460 my to do list or you can prompt it to 526 00:33:06,420 --> 00:33:09,140 put reminders for you in your Google Calendar. 527 00:33:09,940 --> 00:33:13,140 So there's those features, but the 528 00:33:13,460 --> 00:33:16,580 custom GPT, basically 529 00:33:19,700 --> 00:33:23,300 you can prompt it and you can make it be as specific as you would 530 00:33:23,300 --> 00:33:26,420 like or you can be a little more generic. 531 00:33:27,060 --> 00:33:30,420 So if you're being specific, you can tell it like, what's your brand? What's your 532 00:33:30,420 --> 00:33:34,220 brand identity? You can put your brand book in it. Perhaps it wants 533 00:33:34,220 --> 00:33:37,780 to know your mission vision. Like, you know, it wants to know your core values, 534 00:33:38,020 --> 00:33:41,740 it wants to know your product like it wants to 535 00:33:41,740 --> 00:33:44,900 know your pricing so that it has all this information. 536 00:33:45,620 --> 00:33:49,200 And as you are brainstorming ideas with 537 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,960 it or running different proposals through 538 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,640 it, you can rely on it because it's going 539 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,920 to talk to you as a professional and it's going to. 540 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:04,120 Only you can limit its data source, so 541 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,800 you can limit it to the information that you have provided it. 542 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:09,440 So there are all these different, 543 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:14,660 I guess, components of, of the custom GPT 544 00:34:14,740 --> 00:34:17,860 tool that optimizes your 545 00:34:18,260 --> 00:34:22,060 productivity, like to the next level. Yeah, I love that. And especially 546 00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:25,900 when you're a solo entrepreneur or you're just starting out, there's not a lot 547 00:34:25,900 --> 00:34:29,500 of money and you got to pay your bills and fund your 548 00:34:29,500 --> 00:34:33,340 business and so, you know, skipping steps that you'll get to later. I 549 00:34:33,340 --> 00:34:37,100 know like with our podcast, even we, we are still going to use 550 00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:40,940 a graphic designer to do the logo, but we just haven't done it yet. 551 00:34:40,940 --> 00:34:44,540 So we did something that's kind of simple. I think it was Canva or something 552 00:34:44,540 --> 00:34:48,200 like. But so we kept it simple until you're ready to do the 553 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,800 bigger thing. And that's kind of how you 554 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,600 start things sometimes. Yeah. So that's your mvp. So, you 555 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,720 know, minimal viable product is a perfect place to start 556 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,080 and, you know, leveraging the custom GPT 557 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:06,760 to make it what you need or what you want it to be. It 558 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,240 could be your executive assistant, it could be 559 00:35:12,140 --> 00:35:15,660 your executive business director, 560 00:35:16,380 --> 00:35:20,020 it could be your legal right. I mean, you don't take legal 561 00:35:20,020 --> 00:35:23,740 advice from It. But a good first pass through, you. 562 00:35:23,740 --> 00:35:27,499 Know, for just basic ideas before you go to someone 563 00:35:27,499 --> 00:35:30,700 who really knows this stuff. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. 564 00:35:31,100 --> 00:35:34,700 So this is just. You're just starting this out and 565 00:35:34,780 --> 00:35:37,340 do you have kind of. Is there a way for people to find you yet 566 00:35:37,340 --> 00:35:39,480 or you're not quite launched it yet? 567 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,680 Yeah. So most of my, most 568 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,240 of my engagements have been organic. So it's people in my 569 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,640 circle that know me. You know, I have a fairly large 570 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:55,080 network so they can find me on LinkedIn. 571 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,200 So just Smriti Agarwal on LinkedIn 572 00:35:59,240 --> 00:36:03,080 and connect there. Yeah. But yeah, I'm not 573 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:05,800 like advertising it or really 574 00:36:07,430 --> 00:36:11,190 I don't have a website and I don't know if I will need it 575 00:36:12,470 --> 00:36:15,710 and I don't want to have a whole pile of clients like, you know, it's 576 00:36:15,710 --> 00:36:19,030 a boutique service, so. Right. 577 00:36:19,270 --> 00:36:23,030 Yeah. There's a limited thing that you'll do with it. Yeah. How did you 578 00:36:23,030 --> 00:36:26,670 find out about Reno Startup Week? And like, I know you're volunteering here and 579 00:36:26,670 --> 00:36:30,470 helping. Yeah, so I found out about Reno Startup Week 580 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,840 through one of the speakers who's, you know, 581 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,640 I've known Christina for a little while. Yeah, I know Christina. Yes, yes, 582 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,600 yes. And we were just talking to her, I was asking her, I was like, 583 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,360 hey, can you tell me more about, you know, like the 584 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,600 network here for entrepreneurs, innovators? 585 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:53,520 And I just wanted to mingle and like get to know the community 586 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,600 and see where I can support people. You know, I'm an advisor and a 587 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,360 mentor to other early stage founders. And so she was telling 588 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,160 me that I should come to, you know, Startup 589 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,760 Week. And I was like, what is that? And she said, oh, she's a speaker. 590 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:12,480 And I was like, like, what's happening? Like, I was just, 591 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:16,280 what does that mean? And this was a few weeks ago. Yeah. 592 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:20,080 So after she told me about it, I was very excited 593 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:23,760 and also disappointed because I had not had a chance to like, 594 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:27,960 you know, plan it in my schedule and like, you know, 595 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,440 apply to be a speaker or, you know, panelists. And so 596 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:36,280 at that point I reached out to the organizers and I was 597 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,799 so glad that there was an opportunity to volunteer. I think that's 598 00:37:39,799 --> 00:37:43,640 good. Great opportunity. It's been great for me because I've get, 599 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:47,320 I've gotten to know people, like folks from the government, 600 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:51,020 the Economic Development office here In Nevada, the 601 00:37:51,020 --> 00:37:54,260 SBDC, you know, other entrepreneurs, funders. 602 00:37:54,660 --> 00:37:58,420 There are VCs here. So it's been really awesome. Yeah, 603 00:37:58,420 --> 00:38:02,220 it's such a good community. I'm so glad you're here. So. Okay. So personally, 604 00:38:02,220 --> 00:38:05,460 what brought you to Reno? Like, why did you choose Reno? Yeah. So 605 00:38:06,100 --> 00:38:09,740 you know how it is. Like, you know, you've been in the same 606 00:38:09,740 --> 00:38:13,500 place for so long and like, when you want to hit that 607 00:38:13,500 --> 00:38:17,220 reset button and you're in the same place, like 608 00:38:17,690 --> 00:38:20,730 your environment, it's going to impact you and it's like, 609 00:38:21,930 --> 00:38:25,610 who are you talking to and what you're doing in your day to day. It's 610 00:38:25,610 --> 00:38:29,450 going to be the same old things. So I wanted to sort of start fresh 611 00:38:29,450 --> 00:38:33,250 and hit the reset button. So I looked at options, you know, 612 00:38:33,250 --> 00:38:36,650 looked at Washington, California and 613 00:38:36,730 --> 00:38:40,450 Nevada. I like Nevada because of its proximity 614 00:38:40,450 --> 00:38:44,210 to Lake Tahoe. Tahoe is 615 00:38:44,210 --> 00:38:47,940 a good draw. I'm like, I would say a 616 00:38:48,500 --> 00:38:52,180 novice skier. Like, I'm on the blues right now, so. Nice. Good for you. 617 00:38:52,180 --> 00:38:55,740 Yeah. So I figured, you know, with Mount Rose being so close 618 00:38:55,740 --> 00:38:58,180 by and like, it being an affordable city 619 00:38:59,460 --> 00:39:01,620 and it being so close to the Bay Area, 620 00:39:03,300 --> 00:39:06,980 why not? So I took a leap of faith and landed in Reno. 621 00:39:06,980 --> 00:39:10,700 Yay. Well, I'm so glad you're here and I'm so glad I met you too. 622 00:39:10,700 --> 00:39:14,420 So. And I'm looking forward to tonight and ways that 623 00:39:14,890 --> 00:39:18,410 I know we're always looking to ways to make things go faster. 624 00:39:18,810 --> 00:39:22,170 Something about a podcast, which of course, we're not really doing this to make money, 625 00:39:22,170 --> 00:39:25,770 so something about a podcast needing to go be. Be really 626 00:39:25,770 --> 00:39:29,290 good, but also to get lots out on socials and 627 00:39:29,450 --> 00:39:31,050 interact in a way that's 628 00:39:32,970 --> 00:39:36,770 time is time. At this point, it's not even money, but we 629 00:39:36,770 --> 00:39:39,970 gotta make use of the time because we only have so much of it. Yeah. 630 00:39:39,970 --> 00:39:43,050 I mean, I know that all the tools help. Yeah, yeah. Other 631 00:39:43,050 --> 00:39:46,890 podcasters like the tools that I mentioned, you 632 00:39:46,890 --> 00:39:50,370 know, you could become a partner with them. They could be a 633 00:39:50,370 --> 00:39:53,930 sponsor for your podcast. Hey, well, there you go. Like, lots of 634 00:39:53,930 --> 00:39:57,770 podcasts, take note. Monetize. Yeah, yeah. Like, they'll put in the 635 00:39:57,770 --> 00:40:01,570 ad even if you're listening to the Spotify podcast. Like, they'll have 636 00:40:02,050 --> 00:40:05,890 featured brands, right? Yeah. Hey, over 637 00:40:05,890 --> 00:40:08,130 time, we'll grow as fast as we can, and we're going to do some of 638 00:40:08,130 --> 00:40:11,920 that stuff. So that sounds like a good idea. So thank you so 639 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:15,720 much. Anything in closing that you want to add for this? 640 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:20,040 Yeah, I mean, it's been good. And 641 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:23,720 I think for anyone that is sitting 642 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:26,680 with the idea in the back of their mind and just 643 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:30,880 anxious or uncertain of, you know, should they do it, 644 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:33,840 should they not do it, they should take a leap of faith and should just 645 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:37,450 go for it and, you know, break things, make 646 00:40:37,450 --> 00:40:40,930 mistakes, don't be afraid, ask for help, get 647 00:40:40,930 --> 00:40:44,050 advice. You know, go to the people that 648 00:40:44,690 --> 00:40:48,210 came before you, like the people that have done it and have had success in 649 00:40:48,210 --> 00:40:51,490 their careers and learn from them. Yeah, for sure. 650 00:40:52,050 --> 00:40:55,850 Everybody is more than happy to give back, and everybody is more than happy to 651 00:40:55,850 --> 00:40:59,610 pass their knowledge along and just, you 652 00:40:59,610 --> 00:41:00,770 know, don't be your own 653 00:41:03,030 --> 00:41:06,590 bottleneck. Yeah, that's my advice. I love that. Don't be your own 654 00:41:06,590 --> 00:41:10,430 bottleneck. That is excellent advice. Well, thank you so much 655 00:41:10,430 --> 00:41:13,910 for coming on today and for just. I'm so glad I caught you. 656 00:41:14,310 --> 00:41:17,910 And like I had said, Erika and I set up out here and we have. 657 00:41:18,150 --> 00:41:21,790 We have had some scheduled this week and we have more scheduled this week, but 658 00:41:21,790 --> 00:41:25,110 today we're like, let's set up on campus. And as soon as we did, it 659 00:41:25,110 --> 00:41:28,710 started getting cloudy and then there was. It was noisy over there. It was 660 00:41:28,710 --> 00:41:32,470 noisy inside. And then everyone's kind 661 00:41:32,470 --> 00:41:36,250 of clear going to their different things. I think so. But I'm so glad 662 00:41:36,250 --> 00:41:39,690 I caught you today because you were on the list. I'm like, for a while, 663 00:41:39,690 --> 00:41:43,530 I'm like, I gotta get her on. So. Yay. Thank you to everyone 664 00:41:43,530 --> 00:41:45,170 listening so much.