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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: It's Calgary's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:15] SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Mario Toneguzi coming to you today with Calgary's Podcast, a member
[00:20] SPEAKER_00: of Canada's Podcast Network where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[00:25] SPEAKER_00: in Calgary, Alberta. So you can listen, discover and engage. Today's guest is Jose Azardis,
[00:34] SPEAKER_00: founder of Needham. Thanks for joining us today on our show Jose.
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Amanda. Thanks for having me.
[00:40] SPEAKER_00: Let me just start by asking you what is Needham? First of all, what is the name signify
[00:46] SPEAKER_00: and then tell me a little bit about what Needham is?
[00:50] SPEAKER_01: Needham is a stands for Nest in Latin and basically what Needham is, Needham is an impact
[00:56] SPEAKER_01: A-Shark tech company creating a VR or VR training, VR, a virtual reality training module for
[01:03] SPEAKER_01: high turnover businesses like restaurants, supermarkets and coffee shops. So we can help
[01:08] SPEAKER_01: them with their existing staffing issues that they're going through when they onboard or
[01:15] SPEAKER_01: train a new hire. But we leverage the output for social good by sharing these training modules
[01:22] SPEAKER_01: with a human service agencies that are working with intellectually or physically challenging
[01:27] SPEAKER_01: individuals, immigrants, veterans or refugees. So we can empower them with a highly relevant
[01:32] SPEAKER_00: information through their job hunting process. How did you start this and why?
[01:39] SPEAKER_01: That's a good question. So I started this actually. I started on his own. Let's put it that way.
[01:46] SPEAKER_01: Before I launched Needham, I launched a local boutique burger shop here in Kyder called Regrab.
[01:51] SPEAKER_01: That was back in 2015. So I think when the whole need of my idea started, what happened is that
[02:00] SPEAKER_01: when I started interviewing people for the restaurant, there was a one girl that came to me and she
[02:07] SPEAKER_01: had a plie for a job seven times. Like five to seven times. She had some social disabilities.
[02:14] SPEAKER_01: And I was very ignorant at that point. I had no idea. I was very judgmental. But she came one last
[02:20] SPEAKER_01: time and she told me, Jose, I really need a job. She applied for the last time and she came and
[02:24] SPEAKER_01: talked to me and she told me she said something that really resonated with me and she said, Jose,
[02:29] SPEAKER_01: I haven't had a job for three years. Nobody wants to give you an opportunity. And I was like, okay,
[02:33] SPEAKER_01: so at that point I knew there was something wrong. So I said, you know what, come and work with me.
[02:39] SPEAKER_01: And not surprisingly, she actually killed it. She did really, she did really, you know,
[02:44] SPEAKER_01: she worked at the company for almost two years and she performed really well. I'm not going to
[02:49] SPEAKER_01: sugarcoded at the beginning. It was a little bit a, a hard, you know, she needed some extra
[02:54] SPEAKER_01: training at the beginning. But after she got into that rhythm, she killed it. So that was actually
[02:58] SPEAKER_01: the seed of the needle. So after that I decided to change the HR practices at regrap. Okay,
[03:05] SPEAKER_01: so I decided to become very inclusive. You know, the company now hires 25 to 35% of its workforce
[03:11] SPEAKER_01: from these vulnerable communities. And I found that the value that that brought into the company
[03:18] SPEAKER_01: was immense, but really was huge. So in January, I decided to commit my next entrepreneurial journey
[03:27] SPEAKER_01: to attack this global issue. Okay, so I decided to move on from that company that I traded back in
[03:32] SPEAKER_01: 2015 and decided to commit to attack this global issue by joining an incubator in Copenhagen and
[03:40] SPEAKER_01: in the valley, an impact incubator that basically puts entrepreneurs together that are
[03:47] SPEAKER_01: willing to attack a global issue by merging it with emerging technologies.
[03:51] SPEAKER_01: And the incubator is run by Singular University, which is a very relevant name, you know,
[03:57] SPEAKER_01: when it comes down to emerging technologies and global issues. So I did that in April,
[04:01] SPEAKER_01: this April in 2019. And that's when need on basically started.
[04:08] SPEAKER_00: Tell me just a little bit about the benefits for an employer to hire people, which you're speaking.
[04:17] SPEAKER_01: So that's actually a very good point. So before I start talking about the benefits, okay,
[04:22] SPEAKER_01: it's necessary for people to understand that in order for you to do an impact, in order for you
[04:27] SPEAKER_01: to attack the global issue, you have to create some business value. Okay, and that's what need on
[04:33] SPEAKER_01: is all about. Need on is basically a creative business model. So what we did, we were able to
[04:38] SPEAKER_01: create a pure business value proposition for businesses because they were having issues
[04:42] SPEAKER_01: of staffing issues. And what we did, we were just able to extract some of that value that we
[04:47] SPEAKER_01: created for the business. And we are leveraging that for social good. And the reason I'm saying that
[04:53] SPEAKER_01: is because all the companies want to be inclusive, it doesn't work that way. You know, the reason why
[04:58] SPEAKER_01: it became inclusive, the reason why Riger became inclusive is because I was, I'm an immigrant,
[05:03] SPEAKER_01: just like most of us in Canada are. And my mom and my dad was also an immigrant in the country that
[05:08] SPEAKER_01: I was born. So I was basically related to it. But for some companies to become inclusive, they have
[05:14] SPEAKER_01: to basically start seeing the business value proposition. So that's the reason why there's a
[05:18] SPEAKER_01: moving nowadays with these impact startups. So what they do, they create a, they solve a problem for
[05:25] SPEAKER_01: these businesses and they allow them to move into an impact side, whether it's climate or social.
[05:32] SPEAKER_01: So in our case, it's inclusiveness. So now going to the benefits, what we found is that
[05:39] SPEAKER_01: for when companies they become inclusive, the culture of the company starts changing.
[05:46] SPEAKER_01: Engagement that you have with your employees starts changing dramatically.
[05:51] SPEAKER_01: Your employees are not seeing the company as a just as a bottom line type of a financial
[05:55] SPEAKER_01: company, but they're also seeing the company as a company that is trying to either give back to
[06:02] SPEAKER_01: the community or to attack a social issue. And that's one of the biggest because the benefits
[06:07] SPEAKER_01: that a company will have. And the next one is that these communities are highly reliable. They're
[06:15] SPEAKER_01: very committed. Why? Because they face skepticism and they face rejection through the whole job
[06:21] SPEAKER_01: haunting process. You know, like the unemployment rate for these communities is six times higher
[06:26] SPEAKER_01: than the one that we face. So when they get an opportunity, they just drive it and they just commit
[06:33] SPEAKER_01: to it and they perform. You may take them a little bit longer, but that's what you get.
[06:38] SPEAKER_00: Okay, when you engage with these communities. Now you're based in Calgary. What are the benefits
[06:44] SPEAKER_00: for you as a company being based and doing business in Calgary? One is that a Calgary is a very
[06:51] SPEAKER_01: friendly family driven city. Like the lifestyle that you can have here in Calgary is very
[06:57] SPEAKER_01: simple, but good. When I mean simple is not in a bad way. It's simply in a way that a transportation
[07:02] SPEAKER_01: is good. Finding a good paying job is actually good as well. So it's easy for you to set
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: out your family here. And another thing that I just realized a couple months ago is that
[07:14] SPEAKER_01: amount of a private or government programs that are setting place for either a small and medium
[07:21] SPEAKER_01: enterprises or startups to basically get going. So I think that's actually one of the things that I
[07:26] SPEAKER_00: found lately that I didn't know before. Now would you recommend, well, first of all, before asking
[07:32] SPEAKER_00: that question, I'll ask you what are the current challenges you face doing business specifically
[07:38] SPEAKER_01: by being in Calgary? It all depends on the type of business that you want to do. Okay, so if you're
[07:44] SPEAKER_01: a tech company, you're going to find some challenges when it comes down to the capital. How the
[07:51] SPEAKER_01: capital is being deployed in order for you to actually scale a company. So I think that's the biggest
[07:57] SPEAKER_01: challenge that I face, but mainly because I'm a tech company. But if you're a small and medium
[08:02] SPEAKER_01: enterprise, you may not find that issue. Okay, so coming down to Needham and me as a tech entrepreneur,
[08:09] SPEAKER_01: I think that's one of the biggest challenges that I'm facing right now. Why would you recommend Calgary
[08:15] SPEAKER_01: to entrepreneurs looking to start a business? I think Calgary is an open-coming entrepreneurial
[08:21] SPEAKER_01: city. And when I raise my tone a little bit when I sit entrepreneurial, because again, it varies
[08:28] SPEAKER_01: on whether, why can entrepreneur, entrepreneurial project you want to do? So it is an open-coming
[08:34] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurial hub is still a little bit infant when it comes down to technology, but it's getting
[08:40] SPEAKER_01: there. Okay, I'll take some time to get there. But in general, it is an open-coming entrepreneurial
[08:46] SPEAKER_01: city. What I also found is that there's a lot of talent here. There's a lot of talent. You just have
[08:51] SPEAKER_01: to dig deeper. And the talent that you'll find here will be a lot more cost effective that the
[08:58] SPEAKER_01: talent that you may find in other hubs, technology hubs like Austin, Boston, Copenhagen. I'm not
[09:10] SPEAKER_01: saying one of the benefits of launching a tech startup here in Calgary. What's your vision for
[09:17] SPEAKER_00: the company as you look forward and into the future? The vision slash mission of the company is to
[09:23] SPEAKER_01: make inclusion a de facto business practice. And what I mean with a de facto business practice
[09:28] SPEAKER_01: is that it's something that is not optional. So the whole idea of Needham is that we want to do the
[09:33] SPEAKER_01: same thing that Fairtrade did back in the days with the coffee industry. Back in the 80s or
[09:40] SPEAKER_01: in the 90s, the coffee industry was not a fair. You just throw the whole supply chain.
[09:46] SPEAKER_01: That's the reason why Fairtrade came in. They wanted to make sure that the producers of the
[09:50] SPEAKER_01: coffee back in Africa or Central America or South America were properly treated. You know, when it
[09:57] SPEAKER_01: comes down to the money that was going down to the supply chain. Okay. And what they did, it took
[10:03] SPEAKER_01: them 10 to 20 years to do that. But now if you go out there, if you go here in Canada, you go to
[10:08] SPEAKER_01: coffee shop or a coffee grocery. And you know that they don't have Fairtrade practices.
[10:13] SPEAKER_01: Most likely the market will not entertain or support that business. That's basically just became
[10:19] SPEAKER_01: a de facto business center. Because the same thing that we want to do with inclusion. What I see
[10:25] SPEAKER_01: not just with the company, but as what I visualized in the world is that it's 10 to 20 years on the
[10:30] SPEAKER_01: road. Inclusion is not an option for companies. I'll have to be embedded into their operations. And
[10:37] SPEAKER_01: I'll have to be embedded into their business model. What's been your biggest challenge in setting
[10:43] SPEAKER_01: this business up? That's actually a good question. What's been different? Understanding what I wanted to
[10:50] SPEAKER_01: do with the company. So what happens as an entrepreneur, you sometimes there's a lot of, I'll say
[10:56] SPEAKER_01: emotions. Yeah. A lot of emotions that go through you. And sometimes you have to understand what's
[11:02] SPEAKER_01: happening. Okay. You have to understand why you're building a company. Why you want to do why,
[11:09] SPEAKER_01: what you want to do. Sometimes it's ego. Sometimes it's a fame. Sometimes it's money. You know,
[11:14] SPEAKER_01: there's nothing wrong with any of those, but you just have to understand what they are.
[11:18] SPEAKER_01: Because what happens, that's what's going to drive you. And that's what's going to allow you to
[11:21] SPEAKER_01: make decisions. That was the biggest thing that I had to go through. And if I can add something
[11:27] SPEAKER_01: else, I think it was Seren Deepety. Actually, I know it's going to sound kind of stupid and crazy,
[11:33] SPEAKER_01: but I think it was Seren Deepety that allowed me to actually start the company. You know, it was a
[11:39] SPEAKER_01: like a month of a different events that happened in my life that basically put me in a spot for me
[11:44] SPEAKER_01: to understand that this is something that I wanted to do. As an entrepreneur, you know,
[11:50] SPEAKER_00: thinking you get ideas all over the place in terms of stuff for your business, what are the
[11:55] SPEAKER_00: kind of things that you do away from the office that maybe, you know, any activities or pursuits
[12:01] SPEAKER_00: that you do that you get inspiration from an idea is come flowing, you know, about your company.
[12:08] SPEAKER_01: There's one, traveling. That's the airports. Airports and traveling. And what I mean,
[12:14] SPEAKER_01: traveling is not for business. And what I mean, traveling is not for tourism. So when I travel,
[12:20] SPEAKER_01: I do it with for exploration purposes. And I know it sounds kind of weird, but that's what I found
[12:26] SPEAKER_01: the majority of the administration and aha moment or just by exploring new cities, new cultures.
[12:37] SPEAKER_01: I found that when I travel when I explore cities, I'm able to not compare, but I'm able to see
[12:43] SPEAKER_01: different trends. So let's say that I was before I was in the restaurant, food and hospitality
[12:48] SPEAKER_01: industry. And I traveled to Austin or I traveled to Tokyo. I found different trends that maybe at the
[12:55] SPEAKER_01: in my city, by here in Taipei, we're not even we're not here or that I found that they could be
[13:00] SPEAKER_01: mashed with something that was going on here. So I think that's one of the biggest things that I
[13:05] SPEAKER_01: done in the last five years that allow me to find inspiration ideas. And also for best benchmark
[13:11] SPEAKER_00: purposes, speaking of travel, you have a favorite place that you've visited. Yeah, Tokyo. Oh wow, why?
[13:19] SPEAKER_01: Tokyo is just a society is not even the place is just society is so different. Like, uh, do you go
[13:25] SPEAKER_01: to Tokyo, Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world, but when you go into the city,
[13:29] SPEAKER_01: you also find that is one of the cleanest, most peaceful and organized cities in the world.
[13:36] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, even with all those people, right? That's what I'm saying. You just didn't make any sense
[13:40] SPEAKER_01: because I got there at two times. I went there in 2013 and I just came back from Tokyo and the
[13:46] SPEAKER_01: reason why I went to Tokyo is because I went needed inspiration for me to go to start this process
[13:51] SPEAKER_01: just with all those people. I find that they find a way to keep everything very clean, organized,
[13:58] SPEAKER_00: very, very peaceful. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received about being an entrepreneur?
[14:05] SPEAKER_01: Plan for the worst case scenario. I guess that was actually one of my mentors at a
[14:09] SPEAKER_01: San Croix. I used to work at a San Cro energy when I graduated from my master in engineering.
[14:16] SPEAKER_01: He became my boss, but then he became basically more like a mentor to me. He told me, Jose,
[14:22] SPEAKER_01: always plan for worst scenario. You know, like, uh, you may not tell people what what your plan is
[14:28] SPEAKER_01: for worst scenario, but at least as you know it, then you'll be able to at least, uh, react and
[14:35] SPEAKER_01: don't get blindsided. So I think, and I've been applying that seems, uh, for everything, for
[14:41] SPEAKER_01: corporate or after I went to my entrepreneurial journey, even for my life. So how does somebody
[14:47] SPEAKER_00: that was an engineer become an entrepreneur in the food industry? I actually get my question quite
[14:54] SPEAKER_01: often. So I became an engineer not because I wanted to become an engineer. I became an engineer
[14:59] SPEAKER_01: because I know engineers, they have a different mindset. Okay. So engineers, basically the whole mindset
[15:05] SPEAKER_01: of engineers is to resolve issues with the least possible resources. So I knew engineering was
[15:10] SPEAKER_01: going to be just a stepping stone into my entrepreneurial journey. So that's the reason why I did an
[15:16] SPEAKER_01: engineering. And then I went into corporate because I wanted to get basically the structure and the
[15:21] SPEAKER_01: process driven mindset that corporate corporations have. And why I ended up in the food and hospitality
[15:27] SPEAKER_01: industry before I launched Needam. I think what happened before that, before regra, before that
[15:34] SPEAKER_01: local boutique burger shop that I did, I did a software company here in Tigray and related to
[15:38] SPEAKER_01: the oil and gas. And I had my first taste of a technology. So it went well, but then after I,
[15:47] SPEAKER_01: we have some issues with IP, then I decided to basically do something more grounded.
[15:53] SPEAKER_01: Technology sometimes it can get you out of a, and too much out there. I decided to do something
[15:58] SPEAKER_01: more on my more grounded, something that I could do on my own. I'm not a technical founder by
[16:03] SPEAKER_01: any means. So what I could be a cook, I could be a chef, right? Although I didn't want to,
[16:08] SPEAKER_01: I could do it on my own. So that's the reason. And the other reason is because when I came back to
[16:13] SPEAKER_01: Calgary, I found that there was a gap in the food and hospitality industry. So there were either
[16:18] SPEAKER_01: restaurants that had a burger section or burger joints. So I found a gap in the middle basically for
[16:26] SPEAKER_01: like a brand driven burger shop. And that's the reason why I did it.
[16:30] SPEAKER_00: You know, so you have the engineering background, you got the technology background,
[16:34] SPEAKER_00: you've got food and industry background. If you weren't doing what you're doing right now,
[16:39] SPEAKER_00: is there anything you'd like to do as a career or profession?
[16:44] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, actually, like it has crossed my mind even when I was jumping between my last entrepreneurial
[16:53] SPEAKER_01: project, you re-grab and now need them. I was in that process. It actually came into my mind.
[16:58] SPEAKER_01: Also, if you don't do entrepreneurship, what would you do? I think I would be working for a startup,
[17:04] SPEAKER_01: but maybe not early stage, maybe a little more stylish on the product development department.
[17:11] SPEAKER_01: I could leader myself a little bit of a creative person. I think those two attributes that allows me
[17:17] SPEAKER_01: to manage product development really well. So yeah, I could see myself working with a more stylish
[17:23] SPEAKER_00: startup, maybe in Copenhagen or in Berlin. So everybody these days has a bucket list,
[17:31] SPEAKER_00: something that they'd like to do in their lives at some point. Is there anything that is on the
[17:36] SPEAKER_00: top of your bucket list on the personal level, not business? I think there's two things that
[17:42] SPEAKER_01: will come to mind. One is that I would love to have the chance at least to travel to space,
[17:50] SPEAKER_01: not talking Mars, not talking Moon. At least just go out and see the Earth from outside and then come
[17:57] SPEAKER_01: back. I know people are going to have that chance. I don't know if I'm going to have that chance
[18:01] SPEAKER_01: within my lifetime, but that'll be also if I could experience that. And the other one is that
[18:07] SPEAKER_01: and I think this is actually more important. I would love to have the chance to have a deep
[18:13] SPEAKER_01: conversation with my kit. That's actually on my bucket list, like to have a deep
[18:21] SPEAKER_01: intellectual or even personal conversation with my kit. How old is that? He's four years old.
[18:27] SPEAKER_01: And the reason why I say that is because and this is also one of the reasons that I didn't
[18:32] SPEAKER_01: mention it before because I know it. I share it. I normally share it, but it's just I normally
[18:37] SPEAKER_01: comes organically. And when my kid was born four years ago, he was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
[18:44] SPEAKER_01: Remember when I told you about serendipity? That's why I started the company. That was my
[18:49] SPEAKER_01: interesting event that happened in my life that told me, Jose, you got to go and basically
[18:55] SPEAKER_01: commit the next phase of your entrepreneurial life to attack this global issue. And the reason
[19:01] SPEAKER_01: why I said that is one of my bucket list is because sometimes depending on the security of the
[19:06] SPEAKER_01: Down syndrome, kids with these diagnosis are able to talk or not. So that's the reason why
[19:13] SPEAKER_01: right there on my bucket list because I remember all the deep talks that I have in my
[19:17] SPEAKER_01: dad and with my mom. And I would love to have those kind of deep talks with my kit.
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: Interesting. Yeah. How would you describe yourself in a word? And why?
[19:28] SPEAKER_01: Resilient. I'll say that I'm like sometimes I want to talk I'm talking with my girlfriend or
[19:32] SPEAKER_01: just with a relative. Like I think I developed these rubber balls skill, you know, meaning that
[19:39] SPEAKER_01: anybody in personal, professional business, you go through a lot of setbacks. So I'm very resilient.
[19:46] SPEAKER_01: Okay, I'm able to get back. I'm not going to say that I enjoy failing or going through setbacks.
[19:52] SPEAKER_01: But I don't know. There's something in me that gives me that energy, maybe not the same day or the
[19:57] SPEAKER_01: day after that allows me to get back and just say, you know what? Just figure it out. Okay, find your
[20:02] SPEAKER_01: way to get back up and to get to get out there. Do you have a daily routine, something that
[20:11] SPEAKER_01: like a ritual that you do every day? I try. I'll be honest with you. I read this in many,
[20:16] SPEAKER_01: many, many books and you know about having a ritual, getting up, a meditate exercise. I try.
[20:22] SPEAKER_01: But I haven't been able to actually set a habit, but I do see the value of having a habit.
[20:29] SPEAKER_01: So depending on where I'm right now, I'm building the company, I need to be basically committed
[20:36] SPEAKER_01: to the company 18 hours a day, you know, depending on the stage of the company, you have more free time.
[20:41] SPEAKER_01: Well, I guess the only habit that I have in the morning, that it actually that I don't let go sideways,
[20:46] SPEAKER_01: whether it's good or not, is that I have two espresso in the morning.
[20:51] SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's good. So why?
[20:53] SPEAKER_01: I get up in the morning and I have two espresso and then if I have time to listen to some meditation
[20:58] SPEAKER_01: and music, then I do it and if I don't, but that's the only thing that I don't change. I haven't changed it.
[21:04] SPEAKER_00: In terms of reading, do you like to read the books and stuff like that?
[21:09] SPEAKER_01: I love reading now. When I was in school, high school, or even university, I hate it reading.
[21:16] SPEAKER_01: It was until I did my MBA at McGill in Montreal. In order for you to join the first week,
[21:23] SPEAKER_01: you had to read this book called The World Is Flat. Thomas Friedman, if I remember well.
[21:30] SPEAKER_01: And that book showed me the power of reading, reading and getting knowledge from other people.
[21:37] SPEAKER_01: So since then, I read and I read it, not only business, but also personal, depending on what I'm
[21:44] SPEAKER_00: going to present a scenario to you and see how you react to it. So just imagine a beautiful,
[21:52] SPEAKER_00: tropical island in the middle of the ocean and there's only one phone booth there and with no
[21:57] SPEAKER_00: internet, no other technology. Now we're going to drop you off there. You can spend as much time as
[22:04] SPEAKER_00: you want there and making a phone call back to us if you want to leave. Now, how long do you think
[22:10] SPEAKER_00: it would take you before you make that phone call and say, hey, I want to get out of here.
[22:16] SPEAKER_01: And what do you think you'd be doing there? I guess the time for me to realize whether I want to
[22:22] SPEAKER_01: call back or not, it'll be based on how scared I am of being a new place. So I'll be honest. If I
[22:28] SPEAKER_01: when it comes down to wild animals or anything like that, I become a whooist. So if it all depends on
[22:37] SPEAKER_01: how scared I am of being a new place. But if I realize it is a peaceful place, it's a place that I
[22:42] SPEAKER_01: can basically embrace for thinking, for using, enjoying myself, it'll take me longer. So if I'm
[22:49] SPEAKER_01: scared, I'll call right away within within within minutes or hours. And if I find that that is
[22:55] SPEAKER_01: peaceful and that I'm safe there, it'll take me a longer for sure. So Jose, is there anything you'd
[23:01] SPEAKER_01: like to add before you leave us today? Yes, there's actually one thing that I want to make sure that
[23:07] SPEAKER_01: two things that I want people to know about the type of companies that the type of company that I'm
[23:12] SPEAKER_01: creating. And not only me, because there's a bunch of companies that are being created this way.
[23:18] SPEAKER_01: There's a new wave of companies thought of being created. Okay. And that's the reason why
[23:22] SPEAKER_01: Nidum, I classified as an impact, a shark tech company. The impact tag has a huge
[23:31] SPEAKER_01: not value, but it has a huge treasure to it. So when I spend time in Copenhagen and in Western
[23:37] SPEAKER_01: Europe, I realized that the startup community is actually moving away from just creating companies
[23:43] SPEAKER_01: to solve a business problem. There are actually these companies in like the say Verlene,
[23:48] SPEAKER_01: Copenhagen, Stockholm, London, they not only attack a business issue or a pain point,
[23:57] SPEAKER_01: they know that they have to have an impact whether it's climate or prosperity or social
[24:03] SPEAKER_01: attached to it. And it's not an option. It becomes a business center. Okay. And it's crazy how this
[24:10] SPEAKER_01: is happening in these areas of the world, like the Nordic or Western Europe. Now it's happening
[24:16] SPEAKER_01: in Canada and it's happening in the States. I just want to let every entrepreneur out there
[24:22] SPEAKER_01: that when you're thinking about trading a company or launching a startup, think about how you can
[24:28] SPEAKER_01: create business value, but how can you leverage that business value in order for you to attack a
[24:35] SPEAKER_01: global issue and global issues can be anything, can be prosperity, climate change, like I said before.
[24:41] SPEAKER_01: So that's one message that I want to send out there. And the other message that I want to send
[24:45] SPEAKER_01: out is that in order for GT Create an impact company or a company that is attacking a global issue,
[24:50] SPEAKER_01: you don't have to be related to it. You know, in terms of a, because most people will say,
[24:56] SPEAKER_01: okay, Jose, you're doing an inclusive A-Shartite company because your whole family were immigrants,
[25:03] SPEAKER_01: you know, from the beginning, all that today and now all the way to Canada. And also,
[25:07] SPEAKER_01: you experience some inclusion issues, you know, when you launch your last company and even more
[25:14] SPEAKER_01: related to it, you know, you have a, I keep that was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Like I just want
[25:19] SPEAKER_01: to make sure that people don't see it that way, you know, because one of the biggest issues that we
[25:24] SPEAKER_01: have nowadays with social issues is bystanderism. You know, it's when we have people experiencing
[25:30] SPEAKER_01: global issues or climate issues and they just, they're just a bystander. So that's actually one of
[25:37] SPEAKER_01: the biggest messages that I want to send out there. For you to create an impact company, you don't
[25:41] SPEAKER_01: have to be related to the problem. You just have to be passionate about it. Okay, super. Thanks a
[25:46] SPEAKER_00: lot Jose for joining us today on Calgary's podcast. Hey there, thanks for taking the time today to
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: listen to Calgary's podcast on Canada's podcast network. We hope you enjoyed the show today.
[26:01] SPEAKER_00: Make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes and then connect
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[26:14] SPEAKER_00: other entrepreneurs are doing across the country. See you next time.
