The 20 Most Successful Shepreneurs to watch in 2019 by Insights Success Media

Vol.03 | Issue 01

www.insightssuccess.com March 2019

The 20 Most Successful Shepreneurs to watch in 2019

The Art of Leading Attributes of a Good Leader

Imparting Wisdom Successful Personality Traits to Learn from Elon Musk

Vandana Luthra

FROM EDITORS DESK

Redeﬁning the term Beauty

hen you hear the term ‘a beautiful woman’, what is the first thought that comes in your mind? A woman with beautiful face, figure or posture, may be? Don’t you think, beauty is beyond those stereotypical perceptions? In my opinion, beauty lies in anything that pleases the aesthetic senses; thoughts, vision, approach, confidence, in absolutely everything. However, in the social setting where woman is considered inferior to man, evidently, the beauty in thoughts struggles sustaining its value. Sometimes a woman with an ingenious mind and exceptional capabilities is neglected just because she is a woman. Be it business, education, or employment, she the discrimination is quite visible. We can term it male ego, socially stoned opinion or prejudices, but we can’t deny it exists to an extent.

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When she decides to walk an extra mile, success is predictable. It is just about the ﬁrm ﬁrst step.

Yes, the shift is happening and we are now in the times where society is accepting contribution of women and encouraging them to make their own mark. However, every welcoming evolution is a fruit of unforgettable sacrifices of revolutionaries. Their courage, confidence and determination to take the stand embark the rise. The empowering journey, bundled with grace and perseverance of these individuals, keeps inspiring generations to walk on the path they desire to pave. Every field is blessed with women who has challenged typical mindsets and created an unwavering impact on the respective sector through their work. Art, science, business, every single entity has flowered with their contributions. Entrepreneurship specifically is a tough road to travel. With all the misogyny that exists around, it becomes even tougher for women. Finding time for her becomes hard and stressful after ensuring all the household duties are served properly. Imagine establishing a company and running it successfully. From proving the idea in male dominant society, raising funds to incepting a team that shares same vision and approach, she does it all, when she decides to walk an extra mile. A homemaker running a prolific catering business from home or a millennial techy innovating a revolutionary gadget, it showcases that she is capable of conquering everything. On this women’s day Insights Success proudly presents an exclusive edition ’The 20 Most Successful Shepreneurs to Watch in 2019’ that exhibits the inspiring journey of some renowned shepreneurs dominating various sectors. They are the symbols of a far-reaching beauty, a beauty of work embedded with the thoughts and soul. Let’s relish the contributions that made the business world more beautiful than ever.

Bhushan Kadam

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Cover Story

VANDANA LUTHRA A Face of Persistence & Adaptability

A Leader's Touchpoint

Effortless

Paying it Forward!

Balancing the Needsof Business

Expert's Outlook The Fuss about AI

CXO

Articles

Imparting Wisdom

From Editor's Desk

The Art of Leading

Successful Personality Traits to Learn from Elon Musk

The Journey to Self-Discovery

Attributes of a Good Leader

Colleen Wong A Trailblazer with Technology Expertise

Kathryn Petralia Leading the Global Fintech Revolution

Liz McKinley Exemplifying Strategic Leadership

Logan Cohen Making smartphone screen time smart

Loral Langemeier Say Yes to Wealth Then Figure Out How!

Marina Tognetti An Inspiring Leader in Technology

Pae Natwilai

Revolutionizing Construction Industry with 3D Drone Mapping

RenĂŠe Safrata Tenacious and Exemplary Entrepreneurial Voyage

Sophie Thompson A Determined Believer Beyond Prejudices

Suzanne Grant An Ofď&#x20AC; cer of Leadership

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Executive Editor Bhushan Kadam

Managing Editor Anish Miller

Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes Hitesh Dhamani

Visualizer

Art & Design Director

Associate Designer

David King

Amol Kamble

Nagesh Tembhekar

Senior Sales Manager Co-designer

Co-designer Priyanka Rajage

Business Development Manager

Passi D.

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives

John Matthew

David, Kevin, Mark, Prasad

Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Alan, Vishal

Technical Specialist Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza

SME-SMO Executive Prashant Chevale

Research Analyst Patrick James

Database Management Stella Andrew

Circulation Manager Robert Brown

Technology Consultant David Stokes

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A Face of Persistence and Adaptability

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I started VLCC with a simple dream. I wanted to create an environment where people felt nurtured, supported and would be encouraged to achieve their full potential. I envisioned a place where people would work towards becoming the best version of themselves, for themselves.

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Cover Story

Vandana Luthra Founder & CEO

VLCC Healthcare Lted

ream is a divine power in itself. It fuels eﬀorts and inspires to explore possibilities. A dream instigated with persistence and adaptability is capable of creating wonders. And a dreamer triggered with such blend of abilities can challenge stereotype perceptions and make their own mark by achieving something considered impossible. A woman establishing and leading a world’s renowned venture, in the society were women are considered inferior to men is one such impossible dream, according to stereotypes. Vandana Luthra, Founder and CEO of VLCC Healthcare, is the cover feature of our exclusive edition. She challenged this perception by forming a company in 1989, and proved her mettle in the evolving industry like Beauty and Corporate Wellness by making it world’s leading platform. In an interview with Insights Success she exhibits her journey of creating VLCC Healthcare. “VLCC was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a well-nurtured dream which took years of dedication, hard work and perseverance to bring it where it is today.” She derives.

Below is the highlight of the interview between Vandana and Insights Success. What is your take on your journey as an entrepreneur? I was privileged to be born into a family that encouraged me to study and pursued my dreams. From an early age, I wanted to be independent and start something on my own that would help the society at large. When I decided to start VLCC, I faced a lot of challenges from arranging finance to working my way up in a male-dominated environment and having medical doctors onboard. However, none of this could stop me from realizing my dream. Over the years, I have withstood the test of time, criticism, and competition to establish VLCC as the leading Indian beauty and wellness brand, whose operations today span 330 locations in across South Asia, South East Asia, the GCC Region and Africa. How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to appeal to the target audience? At VLCC, we constantly strive to offer the latest technology, services, and products to suit the modern customer. We focus on providing a scientific approach towards beauty, slimming and wellness services. We introduced a

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Very often the biggest obstacle women face is the one in their minds. Be condent about your skills and abilities and strive for more. And don’t ever let go of your ambition.

first-of-its-kind DNA Wellness Program where a new series of tests are performed to help the individual understand his/ her body tendency towards weight gain, lifestyle diseases, and also to understand the right changes to be made in diet, exercise and lifestyle to lead a healthy life. Moreover, considering the body sculpting and contouring market is expanding and people are now looking to seek their desired shape, VLCC is one of the first brands in India to introduce Coolsculpting ― the most futuristic fat freezing technology for body shaping using Cryplypolysis. Adding more to our plethora of services, for detoxification and overall wellness, we have LipoDetox program which focuses on weight loss and cm loss. Apart from this, we also have several therapies and appliance-based programs like Curve Xpert and 3D treatments for accelerated weight loss and cellulite reduction. In the beauty domain, we offer multiple services which include skincare with exotic natural ingredients like DiamondLite 60 and plant stem cells, marine-based skin care, and antipollution skin care. We also offer a range of scientifically advanced facials from Bellewave which is powered by Swiss Bio-Technology and combines nature and science in the most unique way, picking exotic ingredients to address multiple skin concerns in a single facial regime. Besides this, we have partnered with renowned French skincare brand Ericson Laboratoire, to introduce their premium range of facial treatments in India. The treatments are suitable for all skin types and successfully tackle the visible signs of ageing and various skin problems. What are the most essential traits that every entrepreneur should imbibe according to changing times? The most essential trait that every entrepreneur should imbibe is adaptability. If you are going to be an

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entrepreneur, the only thing that will be constant is change. You will have to adapt according to the changing dynamics of the industry and consumer preferences. A close second to adaptability is persistence. Inevitably, you will encounter bumps in the journey. To succeed, you will have to be willing to persist through difficult times. The third necessary trait that every entrepreneur should imbibe is the ability and the willingness to work hard. Running an organization is filled with challenges, but if you’re adaptable, have the willingness to persist, and are willing to work hard, you will greatly improve your odds of success. What were the past experiences, achievements or lessons that have shaped your journey? My journey can be best described as a roller coaster ride which had its share of ups and downs. There have been lots of past experiences, achievements, and lessons that have shaped the journey. VLCC was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a well-nurtured dream which took years of dedication, hard work and perseverance to bring it where it is today. It has definitely not been an easy journey for me. From arranging for finance to convincing and having medical doctors onboard, I faced it all. Being a women entrepreneur in the eighties, and trying to scale up in a highly unorganized sector like beauty and wellness was one of the biggest challenges initially. It was the support of my family and the belief in my concept that gave me the strength to win against all odds and achieve my dream. The reason why I chose this path was because of my interest in transforming lives; something that also helped me keep going at every step of the journey. Today the fact that I can contribute towards skill development and women empowerment through VLCC Institute and in my capacity as the chairperson of B&WSSC also gives me immense happiness.

What’s your strategy to contribute eﬀectively in a hyper-competitive market? The beauty and wellness industry is ever evolving, and hence it becomes important to keep me abreast of all the latest happenings in the industry and simultaneously adapt to changes. Being part of a hyper-competitive market like beauty and wellness, I prioritize the tasks according to

importance. I believe in delegating the tasks to the people who are skilled in their respective areas of work. Doing this allows me to act upon the changing dynamics of the industry and also contribute eﬀectively. What are the frequent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the workplaces and what are the ways to tackle them?

When it comes to entrepreneurship, women have many odds stacked against them. From arranging for ﬁnance to establishing a stronghold in a maledominated environment, women have faced it all. The only way to tackle such challenges is to ﬁght for your rights and work relentlessly towards pursuing your dreams.

ﬁnance more accessible for even the small entrepreneurs. However, for better progress, organized players and the government sector need to work together to provide support to women.

Fortunately, times are changing now as we can see some government-led initiatives creating entrepreneurship opportunities by making banking

As a Shepreneur how do you manage to achieve a balance between work and family? Frankly, it is easier said than done. But then, my family and I have learned to cope. While I always wanted to do something, I started my entrepreneurial journey relatively late - in 1989, with the opening of the ﬁrst VLCC Beauty & Wellness Centre in New Delhi once I felt my two daughters were old enough. I was also very fortunate. I could not have done this without the support of my husband Mukesh, who always had more belief in my abilities than I did. Nor would I have spent that kind of time in building what I had started, without the understanding of my parents-in-law, given that I had married into a joint family. Where do you see yourself in the future? The year 2019 marks the 30th year since VLCC’s inception in 1989. VLCC’s journey that has brought us to this milestone year has been pathbreaking, and I am conﬁdent that with our continued dedication and hard work, we will surpass our expectations to date and breach new frontiers that will take the organization to its next level of growth. Personally, I would like to create some regulatory body for the beauty and wellness sector. It is still mainly an unorganized sector. I see a future where this sector is going to become big support for initiatives such as ’Skill India’ and women empowerment. What advice would you like to give to young women to succeed in the workplace or as an entrepreneur? How do you perceive the role of mentorship to guide aspiring Shepreneurs? The road to entrepreneurial success is

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There will denitely be many challenges in your path, but what will keep you going is the faith in yourself and the belief in the dream you harbor in your heart.

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easy especially for women. not always easy, All aspiring women entrepreneurs should develop the skill set first and then eventually gain domain knowledge once they start working in the field. A woman should always believe in her abilities and be confident enough to fight against all odds that may come in her journey. The key to succeeding in the workplace or as an entrepreneur is to never give up on your dreams. It’s heartening to see so many women from different walks of life doing exceptional work. Becoming role models for each other and inspiring one another to achieve the pinnacle of success. Back in those days when I started out, my mother became my greatest role model, who had a huge impact on me both personally and professionally. She was an Ayurvedic doctor and always helped people feel better, which actually sowed the seeds of my interest in beauty and wellness at an early age. So while I would say that having a mentor definitely helps in guiding an aspiring shepreneurs, it is equally important to derive the motivation from within. You have to be a self-starter if you wish to achieve all that you want to accomplish. There will definitely be many challenges in your path, but what will keep you

going is the faith in yourself and the belief in the dream you harbor in your heart. How are Shepreneurs contributing to the Economy and women empowerment? Gender inequality still exists globally despite international measures to gap it. It prevails in basic education, political, economic, social empowerment and opportunities. Usually regressive cultural and social norms lead to further inequality for women. To think on a positive note, women along with men can strive to create a better future. This is exactly what some exceptional women are doing, the present-day female entrepreneurs, who are ruling and empowering businesses and sustaining the economy. According to me, education is necessary and essential for entrepreneurship. It builds character and personality, boosts selfesteem and conﬁdence in an individual. More women should be highly encouraged in vocational training courses, which will give them the ability to excel on their own terms and enhance their control over ﬁnancial, intellectual and human resources in the society.

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n an interview with Insights Success, the Founder and Director of Techsixtyfour, Colleen Wong shares the key insights over her organization’s journey and its specialized solutions and services. She has also broadly discussed about his company’s core competencies and how the company is establishing its foothold in the global market. Considering these inﬂuential and inspirational aspects, Insights Success recognizes Colleen Wong as one of the most successful shepreneurs to watch in 2019. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Colleen and Insights Success: Give a brief overview of your background as an entrepreneur. My idea for My Gator Watch came to me almost 3 years ago when I was with my 2 babies, then aged 4 months and 18 months old. I saw a fellow mum running around looking for her young child and my ﬁrst thought was ‘how can we be more connected to our younger children so we don’t lose their minds.’ A few weeks later, Techsixtyfour was born.

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How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to appeal to the target audience? We currently have one product, My Gator Watch, which solves a major problem. Over 95% of parents dislike their younger child owning/using smartphones but for peace of mind, they want to stay connected. There is a dramatic increase in depression, anxiety, obesity in young children recently and smartphones/screen time are largely to blame. My Gator Watch is a mobile phone and GPS/WIFI tracker made for children between the ages of 5-11. It does not have access to the Internet, social media or games. The watch is designed to offer peace of mind to parents who have a child too young for a smartphone but old enough to want some independence. Describe some of the vital attributes that every entrepreneur should possess. Be an effective and honest leader who leads by example, quick decision making abilities, have integrity and someone who works smart. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle competition in the market? We stand out from our competition because 1. We are the only brand selling through retail channels. 2. We offer multi network coverage which makes the product more reliable 3. Our design is simple and sleek 4. Our offering to parents is simple and easy to set up 5. Our focus on security of our data is top priority and we have a London cyber security firm run tests on a monthly basis on all our servers and systems. 6. We are a team made up of flexible working mums and dads and we know exactly what parents need and want and we focus on that. What are the frequent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the workplaces and what are the ways to tackle them? Challenges include getting less investment, not being taken seriously, have ability undermined. The best way to tackle all these challenges is to know your facts and figures and be confident about yourself.

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What were the primal challenges and roadblocks you faced during the initial phase of your career as an entrepreneur? The biggest challenge was getting a new technology brand to market with very little marketing budget. I would meet with some of the biggest retail brands but no on wanted to take a risk on a new brand. It is not easy getting others to believe in something new much less buy it. Another major challenge was juggling everything within the business while also at the same time, juggling 2 babies. Where do you see yourself in the near future and what are your future goals? I see myself continue to be the driving force behind my business and hoping to bring the business to proﬁtability in 2019. I hope to expand to other markets such as the elderly market and also to add new features and products into the mix. What is your advice for budding and emerging Shepreneurs? Manage your ﬁnances wisely. Focus on how you will sell your product and if people will buy it. Spending money is far too easy. Earning it is the hardest part. Know your accounts like the back of your hand. Stay laser focused on building a solid foundation for the business even though it is never perceived as the sexy or glamorous part of being an entrepreneur. About the Company My Gator Watch is the coolest Wearable mobile phone & tracker made just for children. It has no internet, no games, no social media, so kids will be more active. My Gator Watch, part of Techsixtyfour, launched in 2015 with a mission to support kids (and their parents) as they take a step towards independence and explores the world on their own. My Gator Watch is Secure with end to end encryption platform.

Kathryn Petralia:

Leading the Global Fintech Revolution

T Kathryn Petralia President & Co-founder Kabbage Inc.

he true deﬁnition of success is remembering where we were when we started our journey, and realizing the fact that how we persist through it, aids in believing that we’ve attained success. Similarly, the journey of an ardent entrepreneur, Kathryn Petralia, has come a long way from getting her start as an English Literature major to now helping lead one of the most successful FinTech companies in the U.S.

Even during college, Petralia’s interest in technology and ﬁnancial services led her down a path of entrepreneurship. She has spent the past 20 years working with tech startups and established companies, focusing on credit, payments, and e-commerce. Currently, she is the President and Cofounder of Kabbage Inc., an online ﬁnancial technology company providing small businesses access to funding through an automated lending platform. 20

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We’re committed to helping small businesses grow successful and longlasting companies.

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Rob Frohwein, Kabbage’s CEO, had the idea to automate small business lending via APIs and analyzing the live business performance of a company. After connecting with Kathryn, Kabbage and another co-founder, the company launched in 2009. To this day, the company leads its industry with a focus on data, maintaining more than 2 million persistent data connections with its customers, and by delivering a fast and simple lending experience which approves and gives small businesses access to funding in minutes. To-date, Kabbage has provided more than 165,000 small businesses access to over $6 billion. In an interview with Insights Success, Kathryn shares her valuable insights on avidly leading a comprehensive lending platform. Below are the highlights of an Interview: Give a brief overview of your background as an entrepreneur. I have always been attracted to technology and its potential to change the way we live. I was fortunate enough to build a career in ﬁnancial services and the rest is history when Rob called with his idea to automate small business lending. How do you diversify your organization’s oﬀerings to appeal to the target audience? When we started Kabbage, we didn’t prove that small businesses needed capital. That was evident. We proved there was a better way to access it. Replacing dated paperwork and waiting months for a response, we allow businesses to connect their live business data to apply, qualify and access a Kabbage line of credit in minutes. March 2019|

Describe some of the vital attributes that every entrepreneur should possess. A tremendous amount of hustle. We recently surveyed 400 small businesses to understand what drives and motivates entrepreneurs. You can see those findings here: https://www.kabbage.com/motivation/ How do you strategize your game plans to tackle competition in the market? Competition is healthy for your market. It validates your product or service and is unavoidable in business. Instead, put that energy in designing the best products for your customer, deliver the best experience and ensure you’re delighting them every step of the way. The rest will fall in place. What are the frequent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the workplaces and what are the ways to tackle them? Be the expert in your field. A lot of confidence comes from knowledge. If you prove your knowledge in your business, everybody will look to you as a trusted, valued and equal partner. What were the primal challenges and roadblocks you faced during the initial phase of your career as an entrepreneur? All businesses have challenges, especially the ones you start. My approach is it is never as bad as you think it is. There is a solution, just break down the core elements of the problem and prioritize the top challenges. Where do you see yourself in the near future and what are your future goals? We have a lot to accomplish at Kabbage, and we’re committed to helping small businesses grow successful and long-lasting companies. What is your advice for budding and emerging Shepreneurs? Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Instead, celebrate them. If you aren’t afraid to fail, greater opportunities will open up for you.

Benji Coetzee Founder & MD Seedpitch Innovation Consultancy

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A Leader's Touchpoint

Paying it Forward! “

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Benji Coetzee is the Founder of award winning freight matching marketplace EmptyTrips and Managing Director of Seedpitch Innovation Consultancy. She is an evangelist for purposedriven business. She was recognized by Forbes in Top 60 woman in technology ‘18, a Top50 Woman to watch by Entrepreneur Mag ‘18. In addition she was also the winner of the Global Impact Challenge ‘18 of SingularityU Ventures Africa and of SA Innovation ‘17.

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ever do a deal with a bad person” quoting my idol Warren Buffett, is exactly the sentiment I have used to ground my career, companies, teams and personal relationships. Although my wealth or success cannot measure up to Warren Buffett as yet, it has been a great adventure over an aggressive 10 years since leaving university. To be honest, my ambition far outweighs my talent – yet, since the age of 7 I have been a go-getter, overachiever and outright nerd. This attitude of abundant success enabled by a steadfast work-ethic and tirelessly creative mind, has provided for countless opportunities both in South Africa and abroad in top firms. I have been very fortunate to work with great teams, companies and leaders. However, initially geared with a millennial expectation to walk into a dream job. With my BCom and two Master degrees (one from Stellenbosch University of South Africa in Economics - Maritime and the second in Corporate Finance & Law from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University), I was surprised when, as many others, I started as a glorified filing clerk and a small basic salary. I also took extreme steps of courage to venture into a bank with no appointment to see Human Resources after months of tedious online, nosuccess job applications. This reality quickly brought me back to humble ground whilst being a good reminder that we all need to start somewhere, and work for it! Be relentless After earning my stripes and proving my excel modelling capabilities in “not my job description” extra efforts, I was promoted from mundane KYC (know you customer) client services of HSBC bank to analyst, the role I had hoped I would have secured initially. Thereafter I survived the intense and challenging interview process of management consultancy firms Mckinsey and Boston Consulting Group, nearly failing the final case study at BCG due to pure exhaustion of 18 hour banking days, finishing a thesis and studying for CFA. Fortunately, partner Stefano Niavas had compassion and gave me a second chance. Needless to say, I then embarked on a journey of development, growth and exploration as a consultant. I was fortunate enough to work with leading teams, executives, brands in Africa and Switzerland improving processes, unlocking savings and

was prevalent. It is estimated that ±30% of total transport costs can be reduced by reducing empties with signiﬁcant environmental positive impact too. This mismatch in demand for space and supply thereof burdened me, and I decided to ﬁnd a better solution. I started developing an algorithm, similar to online dating, to better match cargo to space moving in a direction. This algorithm paired with an innovative platform-driven business model enabled by digital was the creation of the EmptyTrips platform. Since launching the enterprise orientated marketplace in April 2017, we have won numerous accolades, persuaded clients to try new things, and systematically changed the way big goliath companies think of innovation and technology.

innovating business models. Although many question the value consultants bring to companies, I have never doubted the impact our projects brought to management via enabling a clearer strategy and often enabling them to shine as rockstars. Check your own pulse In 2016, after an emotional December of disappointment and over-ambition, I resigned from BCG and joined a niche strategy and investment firm named Singular Group. At Singular, under the mentorship of Lorenzo Tencati I was given immense autonomy with the taste of entrepreneurship and a health scare. Within 6 months I resigned to attempt to launch a platform I believed could create purposeful impact paired with profits in a legacy driven industry calling out for disruption; logistics. Be bold During my consulting years and on many holidays, the topic of inflated transport costs to absorb the empty haul

Make a plan, and then have fun To fund an idea was harder than I expected. I always say that the economy of ideas is thriving, yet the currency of execution is feeble. As such, we endeavored to prove we had the execution capability, and not just a great idea. To fund the journey, I relied on the one skill I trusted in, strategy consulting. Being a creative that is deliverable orientated often ensured that executives enjoyed working with me on their goals, company strategy or even simply independently sound-boarding. Seedpitch Innovation Consultancy was created to fund Emptytrips through its development phase until we could earn revenues to “bootstrap”, grow and then attempt to raise venture capital. VC is not a strategy, it is a tactic to growth after all. To date Seedpitch has assisted executives across Mauritius, Dubai, Saudi, Kenya, Tanzania, Switzerland and South Africa to recalibrate growth strategies, and operational turnarounds. It has been daunting juggling two roles, but I have fun doing it with such a winning feeling when I see a client succeed oﬀ a practical but bold roadmap we developed together. Aspire to share EmptyTrips foundation principle is ﬁlling spaces to places, this is only possible by enterprise sharing of data (securely) and asset capacity of course. Personally, the concept of the sharing economy goes beyond that of the platform. I have been so fortunate over the past 10 years to learn, grow, travel, build, launch, fail and win. Teachings I willingly share with those who ask for help. Sharing is caring, I can only encourage all of us to “pay it forward”.

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Imparting Wisdom

Successful Personality Traits

to Learn from

Elon Musk egends never need an introduction. They tend to be victorious despite of their uneventful histories. They stick to captivating traits such as Discipline, determination and self-belief which help them accomplish wonders in the long run. One such example of an extraordinary person is Elon Musk, a South African Business Magnate, Investor and an engineer.

Strong Risk Tolerance Founding a start-up involves a great deal of uncertainty and risk. A study found that after 10 years of being in business, 96 percent of the start-ups fail. Going by the statistics, Musk must have faced the same odds against him, when he had decided to leave an otherwise comfortable life to start a risky and uncertain business venture.

Musk is the founder, CEO, and chief architect of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product designer of Tesla Inc.; and co-founder and CEO of Neuralink. As of February 2018, he is the 53rd-richest person in the world and has a net worth of $20.8 billion, which is far more than the net GDP of Greece taken into consideration.

For instance, Musk left his PhD program at Stanford University to find a company called Zip2 with his brother in the year 1995. Later, the company was sold to Compaq computers, profiting Musk a bit over $20 million. Following this, Musk once again took a great risk by investing millions of dollars to found a company called X.com, one of the world’s first online banks.

While each entrepreneur possesses a unique set of traits that makes him/her successful, this Tech founder has a few traits much diﬀerent from any other ordinary CEO, which has allowed him to build some of the world’s most respected and innovative organizations. Musk once quoted, “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

‘Always Be Learning’ Attitude An astounding and less-known fact about Elon Musk is that he is self-taught in programming and in many advanced level subjects. He read and understood a variety of books, which helped him gain endless and persistent knowledge and understand diverse concepts.

Let’s have a look on these personality attributes and characteristics that make him a contender for the most innovative intellectual entrepreneur of the century alive.

The best piece of advice on learning and implementation is to constantly think about how things could be done in a better manner and question self to seek the answers.

Hard-work and Characteristic Work Ethics Elon Musk is a hard-working innovator, working for about 100 hours a week, and has been productive since many years. He may even be considered as the hardest working employee of the company, setting standards for his colleagues to follow and implement. Since the ﬁeld of work lies inside his radius of interests, he enjoys it to every moment and bit when it comes to learning and execution.

Feedback Loop It is of prime importance to recognize the present symbol or otherwise ‘status quo’ in the market as an organization and re-position accordingly. Musk solicits constant feedback of the companies and executes ‘self-analysis.’ He induces eﬀorts and divergent strategies to improve customer feedbacks and strives towards perfectionism.

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For example, he seeks out his critics and tries to converse with them. This habit of self-reﬂection at regular and considerable periods is pivotal for any entrepreneur or organization to succeed in the long run. Tendency for Vertical Integration Vertical integration is a strategy where an organization or a ﬁrm acquires business operations within the same product vertical. Both Tesla and SpaceX embrace this concept. For example, Tesla not only produces electric cars; they also generate public awareness about their cars via Tesla showrooms across various countries. And SpaceX does not only have the primary goal of rocket propulsions; they develop their own rocket architecture as well. Faith in Self and the Founding Team Musk undoubtedly possesses a profound belief in his own capabilities March 2019|

as well as the potential-seeking factor of its founding team. He does not hesitate to gamble on large scale unless he is genuinely aware of the expected end-results. It is equally essential to maintain clarity of doubt in any large scale organization. Under his supervision, Musk encourages in creating a positive and comprehensive environment across his ﬁrms. Preferring to Stand Out From the Crowd Musk elects to bring up innovation at every level of his understanding. He tends to impart theoretical knowledge at the base level, applying changes and executing the same on the practical level. He relies more on transitional aspects such as research and development, thereby increasing the probability of ground-breaking inventions.

Tesla Motors, a far headed firm headed by Elon Musk, is anti-ordinary. Its compelling marketplace has become a one-stop destination for potential buyers where they can interact about product specifications. They also have video testimonials that far outperform in the sales-dominated industry. There is no ambiguity that Musk, by far, has been a pillar of inspiration for budding entrepreneurs and investors because of his prolific and optimistic approach towards life All these traits possessed by Musk, in some manner or the other, coincide with most of your habits. The only thing that stands as a potential barrier between these two is identifying your strengths and working on them on a continual basis. Go on, apply these traits into your daily life, and you may become the next big CEO the world is in need of today! 27

Liz McKinley: Exemplifying Strategic Leadership

he oil industry is notably a male dominated industry. Only a few woman-owned businesses exist in this industry and the other women in the industry inherited their business as opposed to starting them from scratch as Liz McKinley did with Pinnacle Petroleum, Inc. Liz’s journey has been marked with astonishing achievements. Her parents were both academicians, and thus, her interest in business was outside the box. Liz had a keen interest in economics, finance, and how geopolitical events change the value of currencies. She was asked by Koch Industries to interview as an oil trader. Living in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the oil trader position was the closest Liz could get to trading a commodity. Liz was the first female hired by Koch Industries at a commercial level. After working for various trading companies, she left to start her own business in 1995. Currently, Liz owns Pinnacle and serves as the Company President. A Certified Woman-owned Enterprise Pinnacle is a national provider of competitively priced petroleum products and services. The Company has delivered refined fuels, lubricants and specialty fuels nationwide as a certified woman-owned business enterprise (WBE) since 1995. Pinnacle has a large footprint, making the Company desirable to larger corporations who prefer to minimize their vendors. Furthermore, Pinnacle strives to be a One Stop Shop for all fueling needs, differentiating the Company in the market place. The Company is leading edge at providing 28

inventory management which leverages client’s inventory to take best advantage of market conditions. Pinnacle is constantly pivoting. Liz likens it to a speed boat in the harbor competing against the ocean liners. Pinnacle is smaller than its competition, which are largely multi-billion and multi-generational companies, while the Company is fierce and nimble. Pinnacle offers flexibility and creativity to its customers. Today, the Company has reached new heights due to its customer centric approach as Pinnacle works within customer’s processes as opposed to forcing the customer to adhere to the Company’s services. Learning Curve Being a woman entrepreneur, Liz faced many challenges. Initially, getting bank financing was hardwon. When the Company needed the cash, banks were less inclined to work with the Company as they doubted Pinnacle’s viability. For the first line of credit, Liz had to have a male friend accompany her to the bank to vouch for her. Another road block was getting “good ole boys” to accept Pinnacle and do business with the Company. The oil business is inherently a very closed industry with many barriers to entry. Pinnacle’s business depended on other companies to establish the Company’s distribution channel. Many women entrepreneurs face similar challenges in their workplaces. According to Liz, the most frequent challenge women deal with is clients assuming that they are less capable than their male competitors. It is always March 2019|

a learning curve for prospective clients to understand that a woman-owned businesses is not a small business with limited capabilities. Flourishing Future Over the last few years, Liz has been working hard to build her bench and develop talent, so that Pinnacle’s team members can take on more leadership roles. In the near future, Liz is interested in creating an online lifestyle company that would establish micro manufacturer businesses in third world companies using Pinnacle’s excess warehouse space for storage. Liz wants to give back to the community and use her knowledge base to assist others who are less fortunate.

Secondly, a valuable support system is essential for a woman entrepreneur. Liz advises other business women to find a trusted confidant with whom they can consult. She says, “In retrospect if I had had a seasoned business person to consult, I would have been less stressed about my unilateral decisions. I recommend getting involved with peer groups of women who can also support and advise them in their journey i.e. Women’s President’s Organization. In the first few years of my business I didn’t join any groups because I thought I was too busy and I believe I missed out on valuable support.”

“

Business goes where it’s invited and stays where it is cared for.

“

Tenacity is the Key In the Liz opinion, the most important personal attribute every entrepreneur must have is tenacity. She believes that hard work always pays-oﬀ, but, it isn’t necessarily a guaranteed linear pathway. As long as an entrepreneur tenaciously and smartly plugs away at a goal, there will eventually be a payoﬀ.

— Liz McKinley President

Pinnacle Petroleum, Inc.

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Logan Cohen Making smartphone screen time smart

The map is not the terrain, go do it

ntrepreneurship can be exciting and challenging. While a successful entrepreneur possesses many qualities, perseverance is at the top of the list.

Logan Cohen, the Co-founder and CEO of KÜDZOO, showcases the genuine meaning of perseverance by converting her simple idea into a globally recognized app. The basic idea of KÜDZOO is to leverage teen smartphone usage away from scrolling through mindless, never ending newsfeeds toward mindful consumption. At its core, KÜDZOO continuously asks, ’what’s in it for our student users?’ This app fosters good habits and grades by recognizing and rewarding students for mindfulness, kindness, and academic achievements. At KÜDZOO, the belief is that recognition changes everything. Even though cell phones are often seen as a distraction for students, Logan Cohen sees an opportunity. On KÜDZOO, students submit their report cards, academic achievements, acts of kindness, volunteerism, and answers to daily trivia to earn points redeemable for rewards. As of this publication, KÜDZOO has over half a million student users in over 46,000 schools in the USA. Logan completed her degrees in Finance and International Business from Florida International University. The tremendous strides made at KUDZOO led Logan to be named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 in education. She is also a TEDx speaker and was featured at 2018’s SXSW EDU. Amplifying Product through Assessment When asked about the factors that have helped KÜDZOO scale, Logan embraces the importance of market analyzing skills. She mentions: “So many entrepreneurs are relying solely on their vision and gut feelings. Both of these are important, but at KÜDZOO, we take pride in admitting what we don’t know. Put simply, data and market feedback always trumps opinions. We beneﬁt greatly by diversifying our product oﬀerings to appeal to students by asking students for help. Before a product launch, we conduct countless surveys and focus groups. Students are helping to enhance the product in more ways. Their clear Logan Cohen, vision and honesty, drive us to Co-founder & CEO perpetually improve our product.”

KÜDZOO 32

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A Blend of Perseverance and Confidence Logan considers the ability to persevere to be one of the top attributes of an entrepreneur. When asked about her success, she referenced the popular quote: “It is funny, how many nights it takes to become an overnight success.” In entrepreneurship, there are many ups and downs, and Logan insists that her momentum is credited to “failing forward.” “In an environment of motivational memes and social media filled with ’winonly’ posts, we don’t get enough of the authentic story.” When asked about additional qualities that are essential in an entrepreneurial quest, Logan includes: empathy, active listening, confidence while avoiding hubris, and lifelong learning. Striving to be better Logan considers it is important to be knowledgeable about one’s market.

while keeping a pulse on the everchanging market. Unfolding Initial Difficulties Being an entrepreneur is hard. There are loads of challenges faced by anyone who wants to start their own business. It is, however, important to note the unique challenges that women entrepreneurs face. According to Fortune, “Female founders got merely 2% of venture funding in 2017.” Logan refers Dana Kanze’s Harvard Business Review Study of “Male and Female Entrepreneurs get asked different questions by VCs — and how it affects the funding they get.” Investors adopt a promotion orientation when quizzing male entrepreneurs, which means they focus on hopes, achievements, advancement, and ideals. Conversely, when questioning female entrepreneurs, they embrace a prevention orientation, which is concerned with safety, responsibility, security, and vigilance. Logan learned to proactively combat these types of questioning by answering “prevention” questions in a “promotional” manner to keep the conversation transparent, yet optimistic.

“This is not something that one can accomplish in once; it takes to keep a pulse on it. Now more than ever, the market is changing. Especially in the ﬁeld of technology, the next workforce is expected to master tools that do not even exist yet.”

Self-belief is the key Initially, Logan prided herself on being a perfectionist. However, she learned that perfectionism can lead to procrastination. Logan encourages entrepreneurs to “launch to learn.” Now, this doesn’t mean to not plan and prepare, but to recognize that too much planning may lead to stagnation. She has challenged herself to emphasize execution. Put simply: stop being busy and start being productive.

According to her, KÜDZOO has thrived on being aware of the competitors, but they do not let competitors dictate the company’s strategy. KÜDZOO has been able to diﬀerentiate and scale by providing quality products and services to its students and brand partners. The team is sticking to its mission and ensures a valuable user and customer experience,

When asked what advice she would share with her younger self, Logan says: “Be unapologetically yourself.” She used to think that she had to conform to how a business person thinks, act, speak or dress. She didn’t want to stand out since she was usually the only woman or the only 20-

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something-year-old in the room in the pitch meetings. Over time, she learned that being you actually help the business. Logan says, “As cliché as it sounds, we are taught to differentiate our businesses, but there is not enough emphasis placed on differentiating yourself as a leader. Take pride in who you are, be aware that you have a lot to learn, and recognize that, especially in the early stages, investors and teammates are getting involved in the company because they believe in you. Give them something to believe in.” Prepared for the Challenges Ahead What’s in store for the future? Logan is looking forward to continuing to grow KÜDZOO. She shares her excitement about KÜDZOO’s positioning: “We have a unique opportunity that the more we grow, the more students we can impact for the better, and that’s a beautiful thing. We take this opportunity seriously and our team is grateful for the responsibility of scaling a mission driven business.” Failure is not the End We asked Logan what advice she has for other entrepreneurs. She advises: “Perfectionism leads to procrastination. The only difference between you and those who make a difference is that they decided to go for it. Be the CEO.” She admits that, early on, she thought that she was somehow lacking, whether it was in experience, networking, or a particular skillset. “Entrepreneurship keeps you on your toes. One of the benefits is that you’re constantly learning since you’re perpetually humbled about how much you do not yet know. That challenges you to want to learn, to grow to improve.” 33

From Editor's Desk

The Journey

to Self-Discovery E

ntrepreneurs set up their new ventures with a new and unique vision, goal, and its future. These entrepreneurs face many challenges over the course of their journey. However, ďŹ nancial challenge is the most painful ones they have to face. Making a list of all the ďŹ nancial challenges can aid a business and a new starting player in attaining sustainability and economic stability. The Small Business Association estimates that around forty-four percent of startups and small business survive at least for four years only. Others cite that poor capital management, overspending, and the lack of reserve funds are some of the common reasons behind a business closure. All these three terms come under the ďŹ nances of a company. 34

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One way to address the financial problems is to use the 4R formula i.e. Review, Revamp, Research, and Rewrite the company’s business plans. By using this formula, they can take action against the things that are not working out. Working Capital Issue Startups have to wait for their big clients to pay up so that they can manage their expenses. Entrepreneurs must save at least the expenses of six months as its working capital, which can help them in engaging new customers and create a productive business pipeline. Players can also avoid inadequate working capital by cutting-costs up to twenty percent and set the cut out as the working capital. For the startups that are yet to make profits, should make sure that they are adequately financed before taking any harsh decision, which can affect their survival in the industry. Non-consistent Cash Flow Issue Most of the project-based business relies on their cash flow, which further relies on the flow of the project and the services rendered. It is therefore important for the company to have a good business team ready to connect new and reliable clients and projects. For the company that does not rely on the cash flow, must construct a flow of consistent cash flow at the proper time. If the client is unavailable to pay on-time, the businesses should think newer methods of client engagement. They should be patient and make decisions that would help them while dealing with the clients in the future. Another way of improving the cash flow is to get a down payment for the product and the services provided. This down payment will aid the companies in covering the expenses associated with the project sales and profit margins. Firms can also set a day in the week to go through the accounts, payables, and checks. Bookkeeping Issue Corporations can hire organized bookkeepers, which can save a lot of time. If they cannot find one, they can give this responsibility to one of its team member. The firm can improve by distinguishing the discretion and non-discretion spending. These include rent, office overhead, inventory purchases, and wages. The companies can even save further by polishing their overall marketing plans. Identifying and creating a larger clientele that can develop marketing strategies can help in promoting the service and products. Firms must set goals and expectations for marketing initiatives and develop the tools to improve the revenue outcomes. Wrong Predictions and Revenue Issue Businesses on a day-to-day basis have to predict the company’s revenues. This is even truer for the businesses that are dynamic in nature. Most of the predictions can be measured on a month-to-month basis. Although a lot of factors that are dependent upon the revenue prediction, but mostly it rely on the relevancy of the business. By foreseeing accurately, the firms can generate good revenue that is crucial for the cash flow statements. By paying attention to the seasoned fluctuations and affected timelines, they can predict the revenues accurately. Hiring Issue Hiring a good staff is not an easy task. A decision like over-hiring can create additional costs for the company in contracts and long-term employee liabilities. The employer is responsible for its employees and they have to provide them with the employee benefits that increase the costs. The key solution lies in hiring the term-based employees, freelancers, and independent contractors as they will provide services only for the time worked and employer do not have to add payroll costs in paying them. These independent contractors are paid only for their time spent on the work. Depending upon the job, firms can easily find out that whether these are perfect for the job or not. In return, these can absorb the work-related wages and can add the benefit of costs. In eliminating the conundrums, the mind-power and descision-making of the entrepreneurs is important. They can seek loans and grants which are specifically tailored towards boosting the company's finances. Even some of the vendors allow the company to offer their assistance and can refine the business debts. The players should not haste in making a decision. They should be thoughtful and intellectual for deciding the expenses. It is important for them to think strategically. They should be aware of their decisions and should seek guidance in decision-making and in expenses. 36

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Loral Langemeier : Say Yes to Wealth Then Figure Out How!

ho doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Money making conversations with ‘yes we can’ as a response is something every business individual strives for. And if a leading financial expert is assisting you in it, assuring the desired benefits through an intellectual conversation and with a solid proof, it’s the cherry on the top of a cake, isn’t it? Meet Loral Langemeier, a money expert, sought after speaker, entrepreneurial thought leader, and best-selling author of five books who is on a relentless mission to change the conversation about money and empower people around the world to become millionaires. Through her innovative platform Integrated Wealth Systems, Inc. she is converting this vision into reality. In an interview with Insights Success she sailed us through her persistent life journey that begins with ‘Yes! I can’ as an answer. Below are the highlights of the interview between Insights Success and Loral Langemeier Give a brief overview of your background as an entrepreneur. I didn’t come from success. I’m a farm girl from Nebraska – I created my success in life, and I think a large part of that is my desire to always have a high-level conversation. 38

One of my most formative memories is from when I was a child at Thanksgiving time. There was a table for the adults and there was a kid’s table. I was told to sit at the kid’s table, but I quickly decided that I didn’t like the conversation the kids were having and that I wanted to be where the real conversation was. I went to the adult table, pulled up a chair, and invited myself to the conversation! I think that lesson is so important and missing from so many people – they are not inviting themselves to the conversation! No one is going to do it for you, and so you have to go out and make it happen yourself. How do you diversify your organization’s oﬀerings to appeal to the target audience? We simply listen to the marketplace! During our workshops, we talk about the process that ANY sales person needs to utilize to help close a sale or better understand what their customer is looking for. Whether it’s a one on one conversation, or me learning and seeing what the market wants, we appeal to the audience by delivering EXACTLY what they ask for. It’s amazing to me how few entrepreneurs listen to their customers and the market, and it’s the biggest opportunity to make money or grow a business when done well.

Describe some of the vital attributes that every entrepreneur should possess. The most important attribute or skill is understanding your numbers; every entrepreneur should understand their finances, their taxes, and corporate structure. Business is a numbers game, and if you don’t have a thorough understanding of the numbers of your business, product or service, and market, you will not succeed. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle competition in the market? The easiest way to tackle competition is to have none! When you look at some of the biggest companies of the past 25 years, a majority of them created entirely new products or services that didn’t exist before. So when you are thinking about how you will compete, consider how many competitors there are first and whether or not it’s a field worth competing in. Once you decide you want to compete in a market with other providers, you need to determine what the best value is that you can provide and gives you an almost unfair advantage over your competitors, and then offer that. What are the frequent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in March 2019|

the workplaces and what are the ways to tackle them? Even though I am a world leading business and personal finance expert, I still find that there are men who have trouble dealing or working with a woman. While I can’t fight stereotypical mindsets, I can be the best at providing financial expertise. The key it to having enough potential clients and customers that I don’t have to rely on close minded folks who might not want to work with me. If they can’t wrap their minds around the idea of working with a woman, they REALLY won’t be able to wrap their minds about most of the deals I am working and I don’t need that hassle. What were the primal challenges and roadblocks you faced during the initial phase of your career as an entrepreneur? The biggest setback I ever had was the loss of my database during the move of my business from one location to another. I had been speaking and networking for years, and there were several hundred thousand people in it when we lost it. All of that hard work was gone and I was looking at having to start from scratch. The biggest thing this episode taught me was the importance of having the right people on your team no matter what it is you do. Having the right team in place and empowering them to act on your best interest is incredibly important if you want to truly grow and scale your business.

“ Say “Yes!” and then ﬁgure out how to do it!” — Loral Langemeier Founder & CEO

Integrated Wealth Systems, Inc

Where do you see yourself in the near future and what are your future goals? Cannabis, block chain and cryptocurrencies are the biggest areas I am currently exploring and making deals in. These have the potential to make the dot com era of the late 1990’s look like a dot bomb, and I am so excited with the variety of ways entrepreneurs will be creating their wealth during the next decade. What is your advice for budding and emerging Shepreneurs? The best piece of advice I was given and that I give out today is this: don’t give equity for what you can hire. I think too many people give equity away just because they want friends. If you can hire it, you don’t give equity away.

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Marina Tognetti: An Inspiring Leader in Technology

We need to show a different example of leadership, of what it means being a successful entrepreneur. A strong leader is not the one without faults, as we all have faults, but one who is so self-confident to be able to show her vulnerabilities without being scared that it might impact her strength. Marina Tognetti is one such selfconfident Shepreneur who believes that vulnerability can also be the strength of a female entrepreneur. She is a tech enthusiast, Founder and CEO of mYngle, a pioneer in live online language education that has become a significant player in its segment. Marina holds an MBA from INSEAD. She has a bit of an atypical profile as an entrepreneur, as before founding mYngle she had a successful corporate career in large multinationals. She has a professional experience in consumer marketing, business and product development at Procter & Gamble, Philips, Sara Lee; strategy consulting at The Boston Consulting Group and internet technology at eBay. She received a myriad of international recognitions for her contribution as a woman in technology, as the one of the 50 most inspiring women tech leaders in Europe 2015.

Comprehending the Potential of Internet It was when working as consultant on a project on internet strategy that Marina fell in love with the internet, she saw its potential to disrupt entire industries and change forever the way consumers buy/sell/interact. Following that, she went to work for eBay to learn about this new ‘world’ and from there she decided it was time to start a business for herself. With more than 20 years of experience as an international manager, Marina knows the benefits of communicating in a native language. Having resided in numerous countries and speaking 6 languages herself, she knows firsthand the difficulties one faces when learning a new language and culture. That is why she came up

“

Con dence comes not from always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong.

“

eing an entrepreneur comes with tough risks of its own. Being a female entrepreneur is exponentially tougher, despite all the improvements that have already been made. But if we start by recognizing challenges as opportunities, we are already on the path to change, and each of us can become a role model for the next women to come.

with the idea to start mYngle. She moved from managing large budgets, teams, projects to starting a company from scratch. Focused on the right Target Segments

One of the mistakes many start-ups do is to try to be everything for everyone. mYngle is very focused on its target segment and tries to understand the needs of its users in depth. It constantly monitors its users’ reactions and tries to adapt accordingly. This is also reflected in its internal KPIs and how it assesses its job, using adapted versions of NPS (Net Promoter Score), which defines that only excellence counts. Being OK is not good enough for mYngle. 95% of its learners rate mYngle trainings as excellent. The average lessons scores are 4.8/5.0. Adapting to Change Marina emphasizes that an entrepreneur should step out of the comfort zone and must not be afraid to take calculated risks. An entrepreneur should be able to constantly adapt. Dealing with uncertainty and change is in fact a key attribute of successful entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur should also be resilient, to be able to go through different phases and embrace, not fear, change. She strongly believes that the key to success is not constantly comparing with competition, but aligning with what customers want and satisfying their needs. “You are not going to win by being equal or better than competitors, you are going to win by being exactly what customers want”, she says. It was in following the direction given by customers that mYngle underwent two major shifts. The first was to move from an open marketplace to a quality online global school. The second was to move from B2C to B2B. Marina believes that change is an essential part of being an entrepreneur, and that was the key to success of mYngle. March 2019|

Reducing Communication Barriers It is in Marina’s nature to want to constantly improve, and it is in the nature of an entrepreneur to always see new opportunities or areas of development. She believes that the future for mYngle will surely hold new challenges, as it will need to keep on innovating and being ahead while the market moves from early stage to being more mature. Standing still is like going backwards, especially for tech companies. And for her personally, it will be time for the idealistic voice inside to speak, the voice that believes in giving something back for a better world. mYngle already is a very positive product: education overall is a positive force, and Marina believes that language education, in particular, can be a medium to bridge cultural differences and reduce communication barriers between people. Her future will hold new discoveries for the inner self, looking for ways to make a difference, and make the world a little bit better. Reflecting the True Self The advice that Marina gives to other Shepreneurs is to stop comparing to anyone else. She suggests to avoid thinking too much about all doomed scenarios and not to listen to people that only see limits and barriers. “All the stories we read about the few that ‘got it all’ are rare exceptions and often not the full truth”. She warns to not fall in the trap of trying to be perfect, but let go of the ‘not good enough feeling’ and all of that. She quotes, “Let go of trying to imitate types of leadership you see around but which are not you, and be really true to yourself.”

Marina Tognetti Founder & CEO

mYngle

March 2019|

Eﬀortless

Balancing the Needs of Business

am mumpreneur. I am very proud of this title. It evokes an image of a frazzled yet sincere, middle-aged woman effortlessly juggling the needs and expectations of loved ones, with running a business. In reality, it is very different, especially the ‘effortlessly’ part. Over the past 4 years I have been in over 100 classrooms teaching Mrs. Wordsmith or just observing how students learn. I have had the pleasure of working with highly regarded academics, fellow entrepreneurs, large companies and informed investors in the edtech sector. I have learned more than I have taught. Here is what I have learned in and out of the home and the classroom, and how it relates to being an entrepreneur. Lesson #1 It’s important to stand for - or against - something meaningful People love to rally around an idea or a mission. At Mrs Wordsmith, we stand for the fight against boredom, both in classrooms and at home. If you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them. Easier said than done. But in our case, we think about this every minute of every day. We vet our ideas and our products around this simple concept - can it hold the attention of a child? If we fail to 42

About the Author Sofia Fenichell is the Founder and CEO of Mrs Wordsmith. Mrs Wordsmith is on a mission to illustrate the English language with the awardwinning artists behind Madagascar and Hotel Transylvania - so children fall in love with learning words. We are the first company to illustrate the English language to re-imagine the dictionary for digital natives and the visual world we live in. Prior to Mrs Wordsmith, Sofia was the CEO and Founder of Rockpack, which created two of the most downloaded video curation apps, regularly featured by Apple. She has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Northwestern University. She is also an agented writer on a novel in the works, called Silicon Sally. March 2019|

SoďŹ a Fenichell

Founder & CEO Mrs Wordsmith

March 2019|

engage children, we have failed to deliver on the most critical aspect of learning.

delegate. The more you delegate, the faster you will learn how capable people are.

Lesson #2

Lesson #5

Lean hard into change until it feels like you are about to topple over

Don’t take your culture for granted

And don’t worry about falling over because you will. Heavily discount market perceptions that people are not looking for change. It’s not true. We are all looking for change - parents, teachers and schools. It’s just that we may not be able to articulate what we are looking for until you the entrepreneur show us what good looks like. There is so much we resist in life until someone shows us. When we ﬁrst started Mrs Wordsmith, everyone said to us, “you will never be able to illustrate words that aren’t nouns” and sure enough, it’s the hallmark of what we do. We know how to illustrate words that are diﬃcult to illustrate like ‘ambitious’ or ‘blaring’.

Culture is something you build, not inherit. Culture can be a powerful, single organising principle. It can also be a disease. You want people to feel safe but slightly unhinged so they can be creative. You want them to feel under pressure from the customer, not management, so they genuinely bring their A game to work. And lastly, take care of your people. They will feel more inspired. I have learned a lot from two - very diﬀerent - books on culture. One is called Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull the founder of Pixar and the other is Powerful, Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, by Patty McCord of Netﬂix.

Lesson #3

Lesson #6

Don’t make incremental changes - kicking the can up the road is for hobos

Execute, iterate, and execute

You need to think big. Being an aggregator, making minor improvements to products or services that exist today - this isn’t innovation, it’s repackaging. There is a place for this. But don’t expect customers to pay for it, or students to truly beneﬁt from it. The single biggest problem in the education sector today is incrementalism. Instead of thinking about how to repackage spelling exercises, think about whether we need to teach spelling to primary kids at all? Should we bin the lists and just give kids the space and time to read? Instead of spending 80% of classroom time learning about our history and who we were, how about learning about the future and who we could become? Entrepreneurs shift the 80/20 rule in unexpected and meaningful ways. Lesson #4 Hire well You can’t do it alone. You can’t. Hire people you can learn from. You should admire the people you work with. Hire people who disagree with you, Hire a diversity of personas and mindsets. Make sure you feel a connection to them. You are going to debate a lot of issues together. And then

It’s been said so much. But that’s because it’s the hardest thing on earth. Execution is highly nuanced too. You have to read, think and listen a lot to execute well. You have to plan and iterate. Lesson #7 Saving the best for last. Family and exercise The idea for Mrs Wordsmith came from my children, because I was so connected to their needs at school. After a lot of fruitless searching for a product, I decided to create one. The entrepreneur’s story only has a happy ending if you remember to put your family ﬁrst, or at a minimum, on par with your business. Being an entrepreneur is hard work. There are times when the boundaries between work and home, or work and health, will be blurred. Only you can set these boundaries. It’s not always easy. But if you truly believe in what you do, you will play the long game. You will set the boundaries that make you a better wife, mother, person, friend - whatever it is that gives you perspective, anchors and rejuvenates you.

March 2019|

Pae Natwilai Revolutionizing Construction Industry with 3D Drone Mapping

Pae Natwilai Founder and CEO Trik

n an interview with Insights Success, the Founder and CEO, of Trik, Pae Natwilai, sheds a light on company’s cutting-edge innovation and shares her insights about the drone innovation and its future. She also explains the impact of digitalization on overall construction process. Below are highlights from the interview conducted between Pae and Insights Success: How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to appeal to the target audience? We have a key set of features which our software can perform and we rarely develop special tools for individual clients. In order to diversify our offering, we focus on finding user cases and explaining different benefits that each of our clients can receive from using our services. For example, our software has the capability to detect changes in 3D and track it through time. For asset management companies, they are more interested in seeing the progress of the whole project and track the change against budget. While insurance companies will be using this same feature for comparing before and after condition to evaluate the insurance cost. This is the same technical feature in our software but delivers completely different benefit to clients. By phrasing things into benefit with clear case

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study, we can diversify our offer to many industries without any change in our core software. Describe some of the vital attributes that every entrepreneur should possess. Practically, it doesn’t matter if you have an amazing idea, unless you figure out a way to make a sustainable business, the company won’t last. How do you strategize your game plans to tackle competition in the market? In the drone industry, competition is actually good for everyone. Because the technology is still very new, most of the work we do is educating the market of what they can do with drone data. Competition makes our clients know more about drone in general and can see different benefits the drone brings to different industries. We always keep a close eye on our competitors, but we realize that more than 80% of the people we thought were our competitors, were actually very good partners, as we were interested in the same clients but we can provide a different specialty. What are the frequent challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the workplaces and what are the ways to tackle them? I think the key challenge most woman entrepreneurs face in workplaces is most people making assumption that they’re not capable. You can’t change or educate the whole industry overnight. Though it would be nice if we can, one of the ways that I find very practical for me is to establish credibility for myself early on in the conversation. Another way that the whole industry could help is to make successful women and other role models more visible. When General Public is familiar with seeing

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My main vision is to make all the cutting edge technologies usable by someone who has absolutely no technical knowledge.

successful women in multiple fields, people will be more used to the idea that a woman is capable of doing anything. What were the primal challenges and roadblocks you faced during the initial phase of your career as an entrepreneur? One of the primary challenges I faced during the initial phase of my career as an entrepreneur is self-doubt. Everyone I met told me I need to find a co-founder to help me build the company, so I thought that is what I need. I wasted over a year trying to find the right person to work with, while in fact I have both the technical knowledge and industry experience to actually start the company by myself. This doesn’t mean that I don’t need a team. I do, I just don’t necessarily need a co-founder to start the company to begin with. Where do you see yourself in the near future and what are your future goals? My main goal is to grow the company internationally and have a better work life balance. I would like to establish a better supporting system inside the company

to provide opportunity for young people and minority, and support personal growth for everyone in the team. What is your advice for budding and emerging Shepreneurs? Keep going and don’t forget to ask for help along the way. Asking for help doesn’t mean you are weak. It means that you are strong enough to accept your strength and weakness, and strong enough to let other people know that. I would not have made it to today without the advice, help and support of everyone around me along the way. About the Leader Pae Natwilai is a trailblazing innovator, technologist and thought leader in drone innovation and digital construction. As CEO and founder of Trik, she has developed and launched software that uses drone photography to create real-time 3D mapping of buildings and other architectural structures. The technology, which represents a revolution for the structural inspection industry, has won Pae a host of accolades, including selection for the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe, Industry list. Pae completed a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering at Chulalongkorn University in her native Thailand. She started her career as an inspection and maintenance engineer at the Thai national oil and gas company, PTTEP, before winning a scholarship to study an MA/M.Sc. in Global Innovation Design at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art (RCA).

Renée Safrata: Tenacious and Exemplary Entrepreneurial Voyage

ometimes the traits are inherited. Being born with extraordinary abilities in an extraordinary family is surely a blessing. However, evidently not every child is capable of enduring the glory. Refining those leverages is equally essential to step into the great shoes of legacy. If such intellectuals have a vision coupled with tenacity to evolve with time, no one can stop them from achieving what they desire. Born in the house of a successful entrepreneur and blessed with entrepreneurial traits from her childhood the CEO of renowned Vivo Team Development, Renée Safrata is that example for you. The Inception of Vivo Team Development Inspired by one of her mentor Phillip Moody’s statement ‘if I can do it, you can do it’, Renée launched her first ever venture in her twenties, Safrata Group Inc. a boutique interior design firm. After ensuring its success she transitioned and established her own children’s

Renée Safrata

CEO

Vivo Team Development 48

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clothing line – Wigglers after eleven years. A short stint with Wigglers set her up to co-own ViRTUS. Having such diversely successful and enriching experiences solidified her idea of never needing to work for someone else. After a bucket load of research on the future of agile and distributed teams, the influx of new generations in the workplace and the need for technology drive better solutions to train teams and leaders, Renée started Vivo Team Development in 2012 with a passion to solve the workplace disengagement crisis. Building Teams, Developing Leaders Vivo Team Development’s SaaS platform uses people analytics to describe and prescribe the most effective solutions for Team and Leader development. They target =companies that are interested in investing in their people so they more effectively achieve their business results. It helps companies that are tired of investing in talent but not seeing measurable improvement. Vivo Team Development also contributes to companies that are focused on working in agile and distributed teams and are looking to increase their productivity. Vivo Team Development has developed the first proven HR Predictive Analytics platform that can measure how leaders and employees behaviors contribute to the bottom line. Entrepreneurial Traits Renée exemplifies all vital entrepreneurial traits. To be a successful entrepreneur the top attribute is a tenacious entrepreneurial

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“Say many small and big yeses, help others learn to make decisions thoughtfully and quickly and help team members move forward with their best work.” spirit. You must have it, and you must look for it in the team that you build around you. Being an entrepreneur requires a strong stomach and an iron will. You are constantly evolving and being challenged and growing. It’s thrilling and rewarding; it is generally not for the faint-hearted people. Seduction of safety is much more dangerous than the perception of the risk. You also have to have a positive outlook and you should be a problem solver. No one succeeds as an entrepreneur unless they are able to see a problem as an opportunity and have the willingness to go over the edge of the fear. Unique and Innovative Approach Renée always looks for ways that how Vivo Team Development can serve its clients in a unique and innovative way. While she deﬁnitely has her ﬁnger on the pulse of what’s going on in Vivo Team’s market and competitive landscape, she focuses her energy more on developing the best product to provide value to organization’s clients rather than on what a perceived competitor might be doing.

Best Time to be Shepreneur Renée says that various tests and challenges on the way keep her alive, on-her-toes, sharper than others perhaps. She chooses to remain curious in such situations. She handles challenges by tapping into her patience, repeating back the questions she is being asked before jumping to the solution and she tries to stay focused on her goal. She says, “right now is a fantastic time to be a woman business leader - like never before!” Looking Forward Near future, Renée aims to close on its ﬁrst round of seed capital after years of being the solo investor in growing company Vivo Team Development. She says that 2019 is going to be a big year of scaling and growth and a lot of new learning for her and her team. Her Future goal is to grow a thriving global tech company that provides all employees with the vehicle to live their dream. She has spent the past six years working most waking minutes. She looks forward to lifting oﬀ and to be able to enjoy the fruits of a lot of hard work. Enhancing Right People Renée advises to aspiring Shepreneurs, “Find the Robin to your Batwoman.” She says that she cannot stress enough the importance of building the right team around oneself. She suggests hiring only those people who are aligned with one’s vision and one’s work ethic. She adds, “Develop your people, invest in their happiness and there’s nothing that can hold you back. Our business is built on enhancing our key asset our people - and in my experience as an entrepreneur, the right people are a game changer.”

The Art of Leading

Attributes of a

Good L

eadership is about using the power of a position to empower a group of people in order to attain a common goal. A leader’s task is to implement the plans that usually look good on paper, through a delegated team, in a speciﬁc time with an ongoing motion. She/he may use the traditional method or may think out of the box. It depends on the leader as how to do it; the ultimate motive is to get the job done. Although, each and every individual has a diﬀerent approach on leadership, some might say it is about setting examples, some might say it is about sharing the authority; what matters is, taking the right decision when it is most needed. Leadership varies from one organization to another. An organization is a dynamic body and

creates new probabilities every now and then. And with new probabilities, come new challenges. Although, it is impossible to overcome every challenge, the business environment has adopted certain leadership styles for the efficiency of business: The Participative Leader Participative Leadership is the process of sharing authority with the work force in order to get optimum efficiency. The team, after getting access to certain powers, works responsibly to accomplish the goals set by its leader. The shared leadership also helps in case of any requirement of change, as the employees adapt quickly in such environment. Incidentally, this style of leadership fits best in a scenario when there is a limitation of time.

The Transformational Leader A transformational leader inspires the team through effective communication and an intellectual environment. However, these individuals require more detail oriented managers to successfully implement their strategies. Transformational Leadership is considered among the most effective employees of the organization. One of the examples of this type of leadership is when a leader is assigned on a higher level for effective environment. The Transactional leader The transactional leadership, as the name suggests, enables the leader to incentivize the team corresponding to their performance. The team gets rewarded when it attains the goals and the Leader has the power to review the results and act

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accordingly when the team fails to do the same. The goals and the strategy to attain them are decided by the leader and the team itself. The Situational leader Situational leadership is a theory that the best leader will adapt to the required leadership style according to need of the hour. A Situational leader may adopt democratic style while discussion business with senior executive, but may switch to transactional at the time of team review. However every individual has a natural style of leadership and it may be diﬃcult to switch roles at a certain point of time. Qualities of a good leader There is an old proverb that says, “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.” So is the case with leadership. One of the basic qualities of a Leader is to pass on the leadership skills.

Integrity C.S. Lewis said, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” Be it giving credit to one of the team members or be it admitting a mistake, a leader wears integrity as a badge of honor. They do what is right, no matter what. Ÿ

Ÿ Empowerment As mentioned earlier, Leadership is about using the power of one’s position to empower a group of people in order to attain a common goal. A good leader shares his authority with the team in order to get the job done. By doing this, he shows conﬁdence in the team and obliged by the gesture, the team works with full enthusiasm to accomplish the goal.

Decision making There is risk in decision to making. Great leaders take great decisions when the stake is high and it is the success of those decisions that make them great. To add up, a good leader takes right decision at the right time. In conclusion, a good leader can be deﬁned by the dynamics of his style in leadership, the values that he brings to the organization, the methods he uses to make the best of the resources, and the kind of decision he makes in the given situations. At the end it is about the attitude of an individual to bring the change for good. Ÿ

Following are some of the qualities of a good leader: Ÿ Communication Skills Communication is the basic requirement for eﬃciency in a business. As the level of hierarchy elevates, the requirement of communication grows. Especially, when it comes to leadership, there is no scope for lack of communication. A Leader who fails to develop this skill is looked up as incompetent, because it is his job to send the message loud and clear. Although, it is also important to listen as it is an integral part of communication.

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SOPHIE THOMPSON A Determined Believer Beyond Prejudices

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The biggest attribute an entrepreneur must have is determination and belief - both of which should be strong enough to endure the inevitable tough times.

Co-founder

VirtualSpeech

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Sophie Thompson

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nderneath your fear lies the greatest of opportunities. Conquering something that scares you the most and tearing down the invisible barriers that discrete you from the ideal life, you become the person you’ve always dreamt of: the best of you. A crafted blend of belief and determination can open that door and enable you to pave the way beyond prejudices. Meet Sophie Thompson, a young resilient believer who conquered her fear in an inventively unusual way and marked a global success. Sophie once had a fear about speaking in public. A millennial found an exceptional solution to overcome this adversity: a VR powered immersive training platform, VirtualSpeech. Sophie recalls the app was initially co-created for fun and was not expected to become a business. However, today it is a recognized solution worldwide, which enables people to learn and practice key business skills in virtual reality (VR). Within 18 months of creating VirtualSpeech, Sophie went from not being able to order her own food at a restaurant to being interviewed live on BBC World News all with the help of VirtualSpeech. Positive Integrations VirtualSpeech’s offering has diversified over the years to cater for the growing needs of a global audience. The platform now offers online training courses combined with VR for an array of business skills, for individuals and small businesses, as well as offering the ability to integrate them into company LMS systems for wider-scale adoption. The solution is also available as a standalone option to coaches and trainers, who are looking to diversify their own in-person training packages. Sophie has been integral to the evolution of the business and streamlining growth of the platform to ensure they over the best solution available.

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Enduring Tough Times Sophie recalls she faced two main challenges during the initial phase of her tenure. The first one was related to operating in a relatively nascent market. According to Sophie, putting extensive efforts to sell a VR solution, when a high proportion of people didn’t even know what VR was and its exceptional benefits for education was quite a challenge. Selling to large enterprises was another perspiring task. Sophie was 22 when she began selling VirtualSpeech and, being so young, she felt a pressure to disprove stereotypes and prove herself and her knowledge. However, she mentions, proving to know the product, market, and understanding customers’ needs was key to persuading people that age didn’t matter. In addition to this, Sophie commented on an unconscious bias engrained in many people towards female entrepreneurs. She mentioned that sometimes she is not taken as seriously as her male co-founder, although acknowledges that people probably don’t mean harm by this. According to her, female entrepreneurs need to develop a thick skin and realize it’s not personal. And the best way to tackle this is to display your expertise with confidence and don’t let anyone dim that or take that away from you. Her never- ending enthusiasm and an unwavering belief in her product have kept her motivated and helped her to overcome any obstacles she’s encountered. Committed to Build the Best Customer satisfaction has always been the first and foremost priority for VirtualSpeech. When asked about tackling competition, she asserted, “Focusing too much on the competition can become a huge distraction to a business, so we just try to focus on building the best product we can.” She further adds, “Our focus

is on our customers and providing a solution which the market demands, not on what others in the market are doing.” Personifying Traits of Success A young, globally successful entrepreneur, Sophie believes the biggest attribute an entrepreneur must have is determination and belief - both of which should be strong enough to endure the inevitable tough times. She comments, “Entrepreneurs need to be visionary with their ideas but at the same time, realistic about how they’re going to get there, and have bucketloads of motivation to match.” Sophie surely has a promising future ahead. In the coming year, along with leading VirtualSpeech’s growth, she envisions advocating teens and young women to pursue careers in tech, through entrepreneurship or otherwise. For Sophie, it’s important that women are represented in the industry. She comments, “The tech industry has massively influenced our lives to date and will continue to do so, and it’s important that women are represented in the industry, and influence how tech is developed so it’s not entirely from, typically, one demographic’s perspective.” The determined VirtualSpeech cofounder serves her vision in every possible way and encourages woman to do the same with her work and words. She states, “Have the confidence to believe in yourself and your product. I often speak to women with amazing ideas and the thing that stops them is their lack of confidence, but you miss every shot that you don’t take!”

An Ofcer of Leadership

uzanne Grant is the Co-founder of iBIONICS, iBIONICS a medical technology company. Under her leadership, iBIONICS recruited a world class team, raised $4.8M in grants and investment and has been recognized as a top retina innovator within the international retina surgical community and by CB Insights. iBIONICS has won multiple awards including the National Startup Canada Award for Innovation and the Creative Business Cup. The med tech innovator has appeared on Bloomberg TV, CTV, AMI and CBC radio and in the Global Mail and BioWorld Med Tech. Suzanne was recently awarded a 50 over 50 Award (WISE) and a Female Founder Award (Startup Canada). She shared the Keynote Stage at The Interface Health Brain Machine Connection Summit in Vancouver - with visionaries Geordie Rose, Founder of Sanctuary.ai and Yoshua Bengio Cofounder of Element AI. Suzanne believes that there are three distinct chapters that can be carved from her winding career trajectory; military 56

engineering oﬃcer, strategic communications & publishing entrepreneur (in an international market), and brain machine interface startup cofounder/CEO. Her main takeaways from each of these experiences were mission focus, collaboration, and imagining beyond what’s known. According to Suzanne, “Each of my roles has provided an opportunity to serve.” As a military oﬃcer, she served her country. While leading an agency and publishing house in a frontier market, she served her team, clients, and the public. As a medical technology entrepreneur, developing solutions for devastating disease, she served humanity alongside her team. “I’m grateful for the opportunities I have been entrusted, the mentors who have guided me, and the teams of diverse, brilliant people who have taught me the meaning of leadership. On this path, we are forever learning.” asserts Suzanne.

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Relevant and Meaningful Suzanne understands that every business has a unique approach depending on the problem(s) they are solving and their market. At iBIONICS the system/product design process addresses multiple issues. At the core, the company had to understand how it could technically and surgically design an implant to deliver optimum vision to blind people with the safest and most eﬃcient surgery.

environment, social and political considerations are all part of the analysis.

“We looked at what was in the realm of the thinkable (not just the possible) and also considered the draw backs of other bionic vision solutions on and coming to market.” says Suzanne. The team also considered how converging technology, that will only be available in the future, could enhance the overall system and experiences for all stakeholders.

Overseas Adversities Suzanne started her entrepreneurship journey shortly after moving to the developing country of Qatar. Despite having limited business experience and knowing little about Middle Eastern culture, she started a strategic communications agency called ‘The Art of Business’. Qatari values and culture were foreign to her and she made mistakes in her early days. She read about 2 MBAs worth of business books and tested what did and didn’t work within that culture on the daily. She learned quickly, and used her own challenges to build and market lucrative cultural orientation programs to international banks, universities and oil companies.

“The art of the possible.” — Suzanne Grant, Co-founder, iBIONICS

In her opinion, the competition for a bionic vision solution is not just other bionic and vision solutions, but medical technology disruption itself. Hospitals and clinics are busy places, and medical technologies are moving at light speed. Adoption moves at human speed. Being relevant and meaningful enough to float above the noise of other technologies is essential to adoption at the health system, hospital and clinic levels. Entrepreneurial Attributes Speaking about the attributes the young guns in the field of entrepreneurship must possess, Suzanne suggests that there are numerous aspects that they must seek including leadership, hero making, self-awareness, ability to learn and adapt very quickly, mission drive, curiosity, ability to connect the dots, selflessness and humility, openness to the ideas of others and strategic, analytical and critical thinking. Understand Your Customer According to Suzanne, it’s highly unlikely that two products or services are equal. It’s critical to understand the customers, their problems and needs, how they use the product, the life they are living and understand deeply the advantages and limitations of on market and up and coming competitive products. Deep knowledge of the market, the people, trends and new technologies, regulations, the March 2019|

She believes gaining insight directly from customers and stakeholders is golden. “Don’t expect them to anticipate or understand products and technologies not yet on the market though.” she asserts. “User tests of prototypes are an important part of the product development process.”

Culture was an internal challenge from a leadership perspective as well. When her team grew to 12 members, they represented 9 distinctive cultural backgrounds, each with their own expectations of a boss and work environment. She had to figure out how to treat each team member fairly (the same) and communicate/posture with them individually differently. The businesses she started in the Middle East were all bootstrapped. When her team started iBIONICS in Canada, she received a lot of advice about fundraising. Some of it was helpful, but most of it wasn’t. She believes “The best people to ask about this are investors (and they all will have a different view) and other entrepreneurs fundraising in your space.” Experience is Golden Suzanne also shares insights from her wealth of experience for the young, enthusiastic, budding entrepreneurs to develop their own leadership style. She suggests; surround yourself with the smartest people you know; look for mentors that care about your career and you – not just your current project; structure your mentorship relationships and set monthly goals; ask questions; network strategically and with purpose; build relationships and keep it real. A piece of advice she gives on expanding globally is that if you are planning on being an international concern, structure your company to work in the countries where your biggest customer base is. Lastly, she gives one of the most important suggestions on learning and that is, “Get as much insight as you can from your entrepreneur peers – lean on each other!” 57

Expert's Outlook

The Fuss about AI I

have been a strong advocate of conversational technology (VoiceTech/NLP) and AI and have pitched for it in various conferences, Guest Lectures at leading business institutes and to corporates and I am often being asked what will happen to our jobs? So this is true that Artificial intelligence seems like a big untameable monsters to most, and everyone is little anxious about future. And that could be true sitting in 2010, but past few years new old research and young progressive companies and devision of enterprises are willing to make it their sole purpose that the infuse digital transformation in their company and provide assistance to others. But, with the prevailing reputation that comes at a cost of educating everyone, really everyone. They see it as a risk and any have burnt their hands trying to tame novice early stage AI models. But thats fine, thats how we grow. I believe that we are intellectual beings with curious minds, why would we want to do repeatable jobs which machines can do with greater efficiency. We can delegate these chores and teach the machines to help us better and imitate human decision making, innovate at personal level and “Democratise Artificial Intelligence”. Democratising AI through platforms for like voice technology - Natural Language processing so the technical algorithms can stay with specific user base while use of the AI algorithms can be made as simple as conversing with machines. Thats a sure shot way to upskilling resources for example: Team of Analysts can train dashboards and Business Intelligence tools to map business KPIs and generate Compelling Business Stories and Insights in natural language for everyone in the organisation to benefit from, and then keep building the training over it through machine learning. We are personally running trials with Fortune 50 companies on this, so when I say you need to start looking at ways to incorporate new technologies I mean it. 58

For enterprises there are certain imminent crisis that demand that they change rapidly and market is not at all as forgiving as it was a few decades back, someone is constantly rooting for you to make a mistake.This is leading enterprise to transform under the integrated environment of Digital Transformation Voice Technology has lately become a stable AI process and would completely change the way we interact with technology in the future. Visualization will remain at the heart of it however with conversational technology, we can expect a shift to more verbal ads, like radio, but more personalized and actionable, but still to make a decision on which product to buy you would want to see it visually. Also search will become more speciﬁc and hyperlocal, where we will be prompted to give verbal feedbacks, that would amount to popularity of products and places, how it happens with mobile applications today. Siri, Cortana, Alexa have brought conversation technology to people for some time now. They come bundled up with smart phones and can be used to do basic searches, to look up certain things, cue up songs etc. Speech technology has come much further than that. With its advancement we can now control our oven, tv and other house hold devices, can search complex data from cloud or can make phone calls for ourselves. It can change the way we function in our daily lives, our time with our family, services we receive and the jobs we do. It can eliminate learning curve of devices, repeatable chores, and compiling excel sheets. And it will not happen eventually, it’s happening now. Developers will innovate to create more audio centric user interface, there will be discovery period for them to ﬁnd out how to minimally prompt user to give inputs and implement voice modulated visual commands. We can see speech approaching a point where it would become so reliable that we can just use it, like how we do it with other humans, and not even think about it. March 2019|

I am personally inspired to bring acceptance for conversational technology globally and I believe that the real success for this would not be when big corporations and industries would be using it but when every small and medium business and every household would be using it and help us to get a hold of our receding grip on reality from visually attractive and distracting screens on our tv, on out laptops and our smart phones. We have seen this kind of a shift with automated technologies and processes which has led to reduced laborious work, eďŹ&#x192;ciency increased and averted accidents. Smart phones brought technologies closer to the end user. So, I took side with ArtiďŹ cial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies, that will aid seamlessly while co-existing in our realities. And impact is not just on us in our personal capacity but for businesses too and professionals who spend endless nights collating data and make pretty ppts to show to the bosses. I believe that spreading the word on changing technological demography is not our responsibility or our burden. But you know why I make it my purpose?? Because it is a major step in evolution of technology and I know we need to harness it, shape it now, before someone else does it for you.

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