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Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education,

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technology and design.

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I'm your host, Mr. Jason.

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Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting.

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Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories

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with an international flavor.

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This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International

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Community School of Bangkok.

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Hello and welcome back to Students Incorporated.

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I'm your host, Mr. Jason.

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In our first segment of this episode, we'll be talking with Mr. Byron and Mr. Matt of

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OhNow, a business that creates impact in Southeast Asia.

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And I'm super excited for all of you to hear about what they're doing.

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And for our second segment, we'll deliver part two of our story titled The Secrets of

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Alderado written and produced by us, the season two podcast team.

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If you missed part one, go back and listen to it first in episode 55.

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Part one was titled The Disappearance.

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But before we move on to our first segment, let's hear our quote of the day and get some

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headline news.

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Hey everyone, I'm Chania and our quote of the day comes from Jack Ma.

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He is quoted to have said, never deceive others in business or in life.

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In 1995, I was deceived by four companies, four companies that are now closed.

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A company cannot go far by deceit.

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This quote emphasizes the importance of honesty and integrity in both business and personal

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relationships.

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Mr. Jack Ma, a successful businessman shares his experience of being deceived by companies,

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highlighting the negative consequences, dishonesty and deceit can have on a business.

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All four of those companies have since closed.

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The quote serves as a reminder that honesty is essential for long-term success and sustainability,

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especially in business where it takes a lot of work to gain the trust of not only your

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customers, but your employees as well.

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And that's our quote of the day.

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Now onto some headline news with Premi.

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And now here's some headline business news from around the world.

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American retail giant Target has followed in the footsteps of its biggest rivals Walmart

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and Amazon in establishing a subscription program called Target Circle 360, a program

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for free delivery in less than an hour for order under $35 for $99 a year.

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While it may just have been another business decision to Target, the fact that the subscription-based

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industry has grown explosively in the recent years may be something for businesses to watch

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out for, as it is essentially a win-win for both companies and consumers.

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By 2026, this industry will potentially be valued at $784 billion, according to Forbes.

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After 50 years of economic partnership, Australian-Asian nations recently congregated at Melbourne,

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Australia on March 4th to 6th at the ASEAN-Australian Special Summit in order to further establish

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and strengthen their economic, cultural, educational and environmental cooperation.

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Over context, ASEAN has been the economic powerhouse of growth in the recent years,

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with economic growth of 3% annually.

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As close neighbours, Australia has vowed to establish a Southeast Asian Investment Financing

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Facility, which will aid Australian investments in Southeast Asian region, fund environmental

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conservation and also support the Southeast Asian infrastructure.

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And finally, a new addition in Bangna this year will be the official unveiling of the

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Forestry-Yass MQDC Development Company's flagship project that displays your pursuit

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of sustainability and quality of life.

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The Forest District, which consists of numerous condos and villas, will all be integrated

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into the District's green infrastructure that contains cooling systems, solar panels

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and natural carbon dioxide absorbers, with greenery all around.

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The Mulberry Grove Villas, which are nearing completion, should be completed by the end

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of the first quarter of 2024 and available for homeowners to move into.

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Additionally, there was a multitude of partnerships involved in the development of Forestry-Yass,

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such as the company's funding by its bondholders, investors and foreign entities such as Canada's

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world-renowned elder care centre, Baycrest, which helped with the development of Aspen

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Tree, a set of condos designed for lifetime care.

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Overall, the Forestry-Yass District will make Bangna a more lively place and also reduce

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carbon emissions.

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We are back with our first segment and I'm joined by co-host Premi and Chanya, along

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with two special guests from Oh Now, Mr. Byron and Mr. Matt.

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Premi will get us started.

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Hello and welcome to the show.

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Thanks so much for joining us.

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To start off, could you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do?

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Yeah, my name is Byron Hartzler.

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I am from Canada originally, also American.

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I have a wife and two kids.

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Lived in Asia since 2011.

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I like to create opportunities for people.

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It could be economic, it could be developmentally, spiritually.

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I want to create opportunities for people so they can take on a lot of different forms.

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So I've been involved in businesses and a lot of other things, but everything is driven

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by those things.

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Yeah, so my name is Matt Wallace.

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I'm from the United States originally.

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I moved to Asia in 2008.

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My thing really is about economic development, especially helping businesses create opportunity

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in their communities.

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So that means helping entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses, find their own ways

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forward in a way that benefits the communities around them through additional jobs.

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Wow, that's really inspiring.

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Our next question is for Mr. Byron.

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What did the early beginnings of Myanmar Adventure Outfitters look like and how did its journey

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take shape along the way?

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Thanks for the question.

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It'll be a little bit long, but I'll try to keep it tight.

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It's obviously based in Myanmar and we work in a fairly remote part of Myanmar.

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And so idealistically, we went to a place to start a tourism company in a place where

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there was no tourism yet at all.

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And because we had a mission objective about what we wanted to accomplish and why we wanted

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to do it.

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And so, you know, we would always say that Myanmar is a fairly off the beaten track country

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and we chose to live in an off the beaten track part of an off the beaten track country.

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And so it was a little bit out there.

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And so in order to start, we had to do a lot of research.

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We're going coming to a new area and we're doing adventure tours.

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And so we're out in the countryside in the villages, in the mountains, rivers, as you're

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doing a lot of research.

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But along the way, you need local advice and wisdom and understanding about the area.

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And so you're meeting with little villages with 30, 40 houses in them and talking with

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the village leaders and try to get to know the area from their perspective, introduce

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who we are and what we do, because for them, they've never had tourism there.

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So they don't even really know what it is.

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Most people are from an agricultural background.

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They farm, they grow rice or corn and no one in that community is thinking to themselves.

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When I harvest my rice, I'm going to go somewhere and take pictures of nature.

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This is not something that is in their mindset at all.

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So you have to explain the concept of tourism and how it can be a beneficial relationship

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for them as we are coming into their community.

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So for most of them, I was the first foreign person they'd ever encountered.

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And so it's just this weird thing.

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What is this?

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What's going on?

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And so they're really curious and want to know.

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And so you have to build a lot of relationship with places and people.

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And that's really what we're about.

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We want to create relationships.

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We want to build opportunities for people.

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And so you got to know people in order for that to happen.

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So as we grew as a company, at the beginning, I was doing a lot of adventure guiding myself.

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But as we developed and got more, we trained more guides, we grew more.

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And so by the time we were in our peak, we were doing mountain biking and motor biking,

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rock climbing, trekking, stand up paddle boarding, river work, working hot springs, waterfalls,

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overnight stays of villages, eating with locals in their houses like bamboo or wood houses

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or whatnot.

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And at the same time as we were building our company, we started in 2015, Myanmar was opening

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to the world.

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There was a big drastic change in Myanmar from 2014 onward, where there was a lot of

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openness to outside investment and tourism.

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And so the tourism numbers in Myanmar are growing rapidly at the same time.

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And so we were seeing our profits doubling year over year.

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Our team was growing.

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We were looking at expanding into new places.

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And at the same time, the more business you do, the more tours we're doing in these places,

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the more we get to know people, the more we get to know their situations and build relationships.

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And so it also led us into development projects with them.

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So we did education sponsorships because a lot of the youth from these villages, they

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don't have school.

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And so their parents send them to the Chinese border, which is oftentimes exploitative work.

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They're 13, 14 years old working in a foreign country and it's not so safe for them.

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So if they can stay in school, we wanted to help them do that.

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So we did projects with villages, water filtration projects, health education, clothing drives,

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all sorts of stuff.

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So the deeper we build relationships with them, I mean, the more business we did with

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them, the more times we spent with them, the deeper the relationships came.

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And so it also created opportunities for, yeah, to be missional in these communities

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and help them in various ways.

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So I would say everything was going great and smoothly.

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We were looking at expansion.

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Everything was awesome.

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And then COVID.

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COVID was the great tourism killer of the world.

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Thailand was a victim to this as well.

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Obviously they've survived okay now, I think.

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But yeah, COVID was our killer.

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It was the first nail in our coffin.

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I will get to more of that.

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I think you have another question later on and I will get to more of that next.

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So thank you so much.

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And that really is powerful.

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And I think it makes all sense with what you were saying earlier about how you're passionate

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about creating the opportunities or relationships with all these people and communities and

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helping them along the way.

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So I love that.

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And also it's really cool to, I guess, the very early beginnings of tourism in that part

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of Myanmar, being the first to define tourism or explain what it is and then to create it.

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So that's really powerful.

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And for you, Mr. Matt, we'd love to hear how you and Mr. Byron know each other.

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Yeah, can I?

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Go for it.

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I think so the social entrepreneurship space in Myanmar is pretty small.

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And so when Byron was trying to figure out what he wanted to do, he came and had some

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conversations with us at Oh Now!

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Maybe about even joining in with the kind of work that we were doing, helping business

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owners get started.

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But we were doing it down in Yangon and it felt pretty clear early on that Byron had

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a call to a different place, to a more off the beaten track place than even Yangon.

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So that was just fun in the early days to get to talk to Byron about his tourism, social

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enterprise idea and then to be part of him even exploring those initial waterfalls, those

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initial kayaking journeys and single track motorcycle rides.

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And yeah, it was fun.

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I was just part of seeing it go.

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I didn't do much to support it, but it was fun to see it go.

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Yeah, we got going.

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We moved up there and Matt and his family came up and some of the other guys from Oh

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Now! came up and we were all friends with each other when we lived in Yangon.

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And so our kids went to school together in Yangon.

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And so as we moved up country, they were back in Yangon, they were like, wow, we can go

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and do all this thing on vacation.

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And so they would do like a father son camp out for our boys every year.

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The fathers and sons from Yangon would come up to Lashio where we were living and Lou

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not having a summer camp, we would do something like that every Songkran or ThinGen.

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And yeah, so we just, they kept on coming up because it was a great place to hang out

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with friends and also experience nature.

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So I just say one thing, business is one of the most difficult things to do.

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It's so complex and challenging.

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Traditional business takes it to another level of challenge and difficulty because a lot

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of times you're working in operating environments that are just way more difficult than a traditional

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business would ever choose to operate in.

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So when you're a person who runs a business and you find other people who are trying to

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do the same thing in similarly difficult circumstances, there's some camaraderie that develops there.

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There's some shared experience or understanding in a way that most people just can't imagine

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the kind of decisions you have to make when you run a company in a place that is so operationally

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challenging.

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So that's really been a key part of our relationship for 10 years.

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So you've previously mentioned how hard COVID hit and that actually connects to our next

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question which is what were some of the biggest challenges Myanmar adventure outfitters faced?

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Okay, I will start before COVID because the challenges of Myanmar existed far before COVID

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existed.

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Myanmar has had a civil war for 60 years and the area of Myanmar we were working in, probably

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the reason there was no tourism is because there was a not so distant, fairly recent

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history of civil war happening.

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And so we saw a lot of opportunity and for most of it, it was post-conflict areas that

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we were working in.

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But we had to evaluate all the time, is there something happening here or there or wherever

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and try to build a map of like, okay, is there a conflict?

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Is there a risk of conflict in these areas?

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It's not a widespread civil war, but in our area, it was just flare-ups here and there.

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So you have to have a pulse on what's going on geopolitically inside our region.

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And so that's the challenge.

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There's places that we started off going to that we stopped because it was not safe.

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And adventure is fun, but you don't want to take people in a war zone.

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So that's not the adventure that people are looking for, right?

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And so we have to be careful with people's safety.

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And so that was one big issue.

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The next one I would say is buy-in from local communities, like I mentioned, we're new.

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And then also from the government perspective, we're running adventure, which they hear as

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risky, they hear as dangerous.

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And we're saying, no, we can manage the risk, we can manage the danger, we can take care

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and be responsible the way we do things, right?

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So that's another aspect of it.

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From a business perspective, we were, like I said, off the beaten path and off the beaten

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path country.

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It's hard to find us.

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And so getting yourselves on the map and marketing yourselves and getting yourselves out there,

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getting people to go further out than they've ever thought of going to Myanmar was a challenge.

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And then COVID, though, is the next one.

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We know what COVID did to tourism.

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And then following COVID in 2000, I guess in the middle of COVID really, but in 2021,

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the military of Myanmar overthrew the democratically elected government.

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And it spun the economic situation in the country even further downhill.

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And so COVID was bad for tourism, but we were still seeing, we had a light at the end of

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the tunnel.

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We were feeling like, oh, there's promise and opportunity still.

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But with this military coup, it has driven the economy back in the dark ages of Myanmar.

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So yeah, there's just no tourism, like almost zero in the country now.

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And so for those purposes, really, we're working on selling that company at the moment

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and moving on to other things in Thailand.

254
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Thank you so much for sharing.

255
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Those are definitely some difficult challenges.

256
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And to follow up on that, we wonder what were some key insights you took away from that

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that you can share with us today?

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Geopolitically, you have to know what you're getting yourselves into.

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Matt will speak to this in a short two, but this is a challenge.

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I think you do your SWOT analysis and evaluate what your opportunities and threats are.

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But everything's changing all the time.

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So being flexible, especially when you're working in a complex economy and place, you

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have to be flexible all the time.

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Flexible, being flexible, being innovative, not taking no for an answer.

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None of what Matt and I have done in Myanmar happens unless you have some drive to just

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keep on pushing when everyone else says no.

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Yeah, we had a lot of hurdles along the way.

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I didn't even speak to half of them, but there's a lot.

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You have to have some stick to it in order to pull it off.

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Yeah, thank you for sure.

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Adaptability, flexibility, perseverance, definitely like very important qualities.

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We understand that you were working together now.

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Could you describe what that looks like?

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Well, I'll start with it and then Matt can get into it.

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The situation in Myanmar was devolving, this active conflicts in the areas that we were

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living in.

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And so we had the decision to move to Thailand.

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I lived in Thailand earlier in my stay in Asia.

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And so Thailand was an easy, easy move for us.

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But we wanted to work with still the remaining the Myanmar community.

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I don't know if you know about Myanmar, there's a lot of migrant workers in Myanmar, from Myanmar

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living in Thailand, upwards of five million, they say out of two and a half million officially,

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five million unofficially.

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And so there's a lot of people from Myanmar living here.

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And because of the situation, a lot more are moving here.

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And so I know what Matt does.

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I know their company already very well.

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So when we were looking at moving to Thailand, Onow was also looking at starting something

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else up in Thailand as well.

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And so it was an opportunity for us to finally engage in each other's business.

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I think we had explored working with them years before.

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And then this was the time to come together and work together.

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So now I'm just serving the bus.

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I don't know if that's true or not.

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But I think so the reality is there are a lot of Myanmar diaspora in northern Thailand,

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across Thailand, really.

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And so for Onow, as we look to expand what we do to other parts of Southeast Asia, it's

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a pretty natural step, almost like a half step to go to northern Thailand and do a similar

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kind of business model for impact with that Myanmar diaspora that exists up here in Thailand.

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So Byron has a ton of experience with that diaspora, with the Shan, especially the Shan

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people.

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And he has experience running a business.

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He has experience supporting community and impact.

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It makes a ton of sense for Byron to come along with us and even show us a little bit

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different way to do it with that community in particular.

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So it brings a lot of experience and knowledge that helps us figure out how to serve them

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more effectively.

308
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Yeah.

309
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And to follow up, what would you say is like the main vision and passion for Onow?

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Ah, yeah.

311
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So what we really exist for is primarily young female migrant or refugee women.

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We want to help them become financially capable and empowered entrepreneurs.

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So financially capable, we want them to be able to navigate managing their finances in

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safe and formal ways.

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We want them to do it using their mobile phones and structures like banks and microfinance

316
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institutions.

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We want them to do it safely and securely because the Internet is a risky place.

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And all of that in service of them being able, if they want to, to launch their own business.

319
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There's a word agency that we often use.

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There's very little that is as demonstrative of agency than a business owner choosing to

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launch her own business.

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So a lot of the women we worked with in the past, they were in factories, they were accepting

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whatever job they could find or even maybe they were sent to another city or another

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country to find work so they could send that money back home with their families.

325
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And usually that meant go find a factory job, probably not a very good job, probably dangerous.

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And so what we wanted to say to those young women was, hey, actually, you can do the same

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thing that your village or your family want you to do, but you can do it in a way that's

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more creative or more demonstrative of the right that you have to make some choices for

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yourself.

330
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So that meant helping her start her own business.

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And let me just essentially tell you, in Myanmar, we did this with initially about 300 women

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up until the point of the pandemic.

333
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And it was a very high touch, one-on-one coaching kind of interaction.

334
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And that's where we really realized that this is not a training.

335
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It can't be a training.

336
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You can't really train business.

337
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It needs to be experienced.

338
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And that means having a dedicated individual walk alongside that journey with those young

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women as they launch a business.

340
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So we don't want 25 in a room and just talk to them.

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We really want a cohort or a group that work together and know each other and encourage

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each other along with a dedicated coach who can talk to each of those individual women

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and the idea that they have can actually come out and get its time and get its focus that

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it deserves for it to be a successful business.

345
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I love that.

346
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Thank you so much.

347
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And I think that's definitely one of the key issues here in South Seat Asia or, I guess,

348
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Thailand, too, rural women.

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So I think empowerment, the empowerment and like you mentioned, helping them to find the

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agency and creating their own businesses so they don't have to fall into this mundane

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cycle of factory jobs is dangerous and doesn't pay very well as well.

352
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So I love that.

353
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And to build onto this as well, we understand that for a business to make an impact, it's

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not a guarantee.

355
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:46,840
What are some more specific ways ONAO can make an impact in people's lives?

356
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:50,080
Yeah, that's a great question.

357
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And it's a really good point that it's not guaranteed that business will have impact.

358
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We talk about a double and triple bottom line.

359
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So the bottom line of a business is, is it profitable?

360
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Most businesses start because they want to be profitable.

361
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If you don't have just as much emphasis on the impact bottom line, then a lot of times

362
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the impact bottom line will disappear in pursuit of either profitability or survival even.

363
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Our company has been through that.

364
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:25,360
And so the way we really think about impact is not only do we need to survive as a company,

365
00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:31,240
we also need to see very clearly that women are succeeding in their businesses.

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We have to measure profitability.

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We have to measure growth in their revenues.

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We have to measure jobs created.

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We need to build into our business model the plan for how we gather that data, analyze

370
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it and make sure that that's the actual outcome of what we're building.

371
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:53,080
We're always curious about how companies are using technology to help boost their business

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operations and efforts.

373
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How has technology helped play a role in your efforts?

374
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:03,800
Yeah, I mean, it's been a huge part of what we do at ONAO.

375
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:10,600
In fact, at this point, I would say we're more of a technology company than we ever

376
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would have considered when we first started.

377
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:18,040
And that's part of the changes in strategy and responding to the opportunities and the

378
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:19,560
threats that are around us.

379
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,880
But for us, what we found early on, this was kind of a three-step process.

380
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So the first step was we realized we can't just do entrepreneurship.

381
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We need to do that financial capability stuff.

382
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We need to do the financial literacy and the digital literacy pieces.

383
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,080
But we didn't want our coaches to just train on those ideas.

384
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:44,760
So we set out to actually build our own chatbots that these young women who were still while

385
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:49,720
they were working with us, they were still in factory jobs six days a week, 12 to 16

386
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hour days.

387
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So if we built a digital tool for them, like a chatbot and Facebook Messenger, they were

388
00:25:55,520 --> 00:26:02,120
actually able to learn about financial management, about digital literacy while they were away

389
00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:03,120
from us.

390
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:04,640
So our team built our own chatbots.

391
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It was a lot of fun.

392
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It was a really cool experience.

393
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,960
Those chatbots have been used at this point by more than 300,000 people.

394
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They've been incredibly effective.

395
00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:18,240
Secondly, though, we took technology and we started to put it into our operation.

396
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,960
So technology to our customer is one step.

397
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,760
Technology to support our own operation was the second step.

398
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And what that meant was we gathered a bunch of data from our business owners and we funneled

399
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:37,240
it to our coaches in a really efficient kind of manner so that a coach could do a ton more

400
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:43,120
support, far more focused on each individual, but for far more individuals.

401
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:48,340
So if you imagine a coach's job, right, they have a 40 hour week, they go out and they

402
00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:50,000
work with business owners.

403
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:55,560
We analyzed that time that they actually spend and we realized that they were spending 28

404
00:26:55,560 --> 00:27:02,600
hours of the 40 in reporting and reading and preparing for calls.

405
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,840
So they weren't actually coaching very much.

406
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,120
They were doing a ton more data entry and reporting.

407
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:12,940
So what we did with our technology was basically take all that away so that we could give them

408
00:27:12,940 --> 00:27:16,640
far more time actually coaching individual business owners.

409
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:21,080
So instead of 45 minutes of like asking questions and getting the information, they could spend

410
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:26,480
that 45 minutes talking about the business and being strategic and forming plans.

411
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,320
And that meant the coaching experience was better, the businesses benefited from it,

412
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:31,920
and they could support far more.

413
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:32,920
So let me give you a number.

414
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,980
We were supporting 300 businesses before the pandemic.

415
00:27:36,980 --> 00:27:42,600
With this technology change, we went to supporting more than 10,000 businesses with real time,

416
00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:46,400
one on one individualized coaching experiences.

417
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:52,000
So it was just a massive benefit when we applied technology to our operation.

418
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,640
That was a huge step for us.

419
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,600
Yeah, wow, that's amazing.

420
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:59,160
And that's like quite the big jump too, right?

421
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,760
And like absolutely, as you've mentioned before, like flexibility and adaptability are very

422
00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:09,000
important and tapping into digital literacy can bring so many advantages as you've seen,

423
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,500
as you've shown us in the numbers.

424
00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:15,240
And now looking forward, what does the future hold for O now?

425
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,800
Wow, okay, so it seems like you're...

426
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,160
Well, you can hear me like stumble, right?

427
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:23,160
Because it's never clear.

428
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,160
That is so the future.

429
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:28,000
We make our plans, we plan our steps.

430
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,320
It doesn't always go the way we're expecting it to go.

431
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,920
So a lot of our team is still in Myanmar.

432
00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:38,880
So we have engineers and front-end and back-end developers and data scientists, and almost

433
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,120
all of them are based in Myanmar still.

434
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:46,400
We have a team of almost 40 that build our technology and support business owners.

435
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,120
A lot of them right now are facing some major challenges.

436
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,940
They're very young, on average about 25 years old, 26 years old.

437
00:28:53,940 --> 00:28:56,960
They're facing some major challenges and threats to their life.

438
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:02,200
And so a lot of them are looking at leaving Myanmar and going to Thailand, going to Singapore,

439
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:06,200
going to Malaysia, finding work, escaping the current situation they're in.

440
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,020
So O now has to be flexible.

441
00:29:08,020 --> 00:29:13,960
We have to figure out what is our actual operational model look like in an environment where most

442
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,720
of our people are looking to move away from Myanmar as fast as they can.

443
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,260
And I wouldn't say we have any answers, but I do know a couple of things.

444
00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:25,540
Our model is really impactful and beneficial to the young women we work with.

445
00:29:25,540 --> 00:29:29,780
We want to find a way to expand that model to other countries.

446
00:29:29,780 --> 00:29:33,980
Number two, we want to share that model to a bunch of other organizations.

447
00:29:33,980 --> 00:29:39,780
So our technology that we built is specifically built for an organization like ours.

448
00:29:39,780 --> 00:29:44,760
And so now we're building it and giving it to many other organizations so they can scale

449
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,840
up their work with individual business support just like we did.

450
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:52,540
So those two things, we're going to take our model to other countries.

451
00:29:52,540 --> 00:29:56,820
We're also going to give our technology to other organizations so that in the end far

452
00:29:56,820 --> 00:30:03,440
more women who are on the margins have a chance to launch their own businesses and succeed

453
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,060
in their own businesses with individual support.

454
00:30:06,060 --> 00:30:08,220
So that's really what is that's what we're out for.

455
00:30:08,220 --> 00:30:13,020
It's what we're pursuing is a way to grow the company so we can grow our impact and

456
00:30:13,020 --> 00:30:14,020
provide some cool jobs.

457
00:30:14,020 --> 00:30:18,380
And at the same time, I would also drop the word because you have to the term artificial

458
00:30:18,380 --> 00:30:19,420
intelligence.

459
00:30:19,420 --> 00:30:22,300
If you're doing anything technology, you don't say that word.

460
00:30:22,300 --> 00:30:23,300
You're a big trouble.

461
00:30:23,300 --> 00:30:24,300
So we're doing that.

462
00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:25,300
OK.

463
00:30:25,300 --> 00:30:26,940
And if you want to know more about that, we can talk about it.

464
00:30:26,940 --> 00:30:27,940
Artificial intelligence.

465
00:30:27,940 --> 00:30:28,940
Yeah.

466
00:30:28,940 --> 00:30:33,180
Could you tell us a little bit more about the whole artificial intelligence thing?

467
00:30:33,180 --> 00:30:34,180
I can't.

468
00:30:34,180 --> 00:30:35,580
I'm intrigued.

469
00:30:35,580 --> 00:30:36,580
I can.

470
00:30:36,580 --> 00:30:39,540
Yeah, I'm glad to.

471
00:30:39,540 --> 00:30:43,540
So you know, in the past, we use something called a content management system.

472
00:30:43,540 --> 00:30:47,980
OK, if you ever do any kind of on if you ever go to YouTube, I'm sure all of us do.

473
00:30:47,980 --> 00:30:48,980
Right.

474
00:30:48,980 --> 00:30:50,660
The second most popular search engine in the world.

475
00:30:50,660 --> 00:30:54,140
YouTube on the back end of it, there's a content management system.

476
00:30:54,140 --> 00:30:55,140
OK.

477
00:30:55,140 --> 00:30:58,320
And whoever uploads a video, they upload it into the CMS.

478
00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,420
And that's true for everything you've ever done.

479
00:31:00,420 --> 00:31:06,420
If you ever go to Udemy and do an individual course, there's a CMS and a learning management

480
00:31:06,420 --> 00:31:07,980
system as well.

481
00:31:07,980 --> 00:31:12,980
In the past, when you created that content, it was the same for every person who used

482
00:31:12,980 --> 00:31:13,980
it.

483
00:31:13,980 --> 00:31:17,580
No matter who they are, no matter where they came from, they watched the same video.

484
00:31:17,580 --> 00:31:19,060
They read the same information.

485
00:31:19,060 --> 00:31:21,200
They looked at the same images.

486
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:25,540
We did the same thing for our chat bots and our technology for business owners.

487
00:31:25,540 --> 00:31:29,500
It was the same information for everyone, no matter what their business type was.

488
00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:32,460
But the problem is every business is different.

489
00:31:32,460 --> 00:31:34,540
So you need individual attention.

490
00:31:34,540 --> 00:31:41,220
Well, today, artificial intelligence lets us create a unique course for every single

491
00:31:41,220 --> 00:31:42,220
person.

492
00:31:42,220 --> 00:31:43,520
That's just one application of it.

493
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:48,500
Every individual business owner can have a different budgeting course.

494
00:31:48,500 --> 00:31:52,860
Every individual business owner can have a different experience on their learning how

495
00:31:52,860 --> 00:31:54,520
to manage their finances.

496
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:59,880
If you run a let's say a retail business that sells groceries, that's a very different

497
00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:03,940
business than like a salon business that cuts hair.

498
00:32:03,940 --> 00:32:09,420
So you can't expect to give them the same advice on how to do accounting.

499
00:32:09,420 --> 00:32:14,140
Artificial intelligence lets us give very different tailored kind of experiences to

500
00:32:14,140 --> 00:32:15,140
each of those.

501
00:32:15,140 --> 00:32:17,180
And that's just one application of it.

502
00:32:17,180 --> 00:32:19,980
I'd love to show you some to maybe I'll send you guys a demo and you can kind of play

503
00:32:19,980 --> 00:32:21,820
around with it and see what I'm talking about here.

504
00:32:21,820 --> 00:32:27,300
But everything is easier with artificial intelligence and also harder with artificial intelligence.

505
00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:29,020
So you got to learn it.

506
00:32:29,020 --> 00:32:30,020
All of you should learn it.

507
00:32:30,020 --> 00:32:32,900
Thank you so much for your time.

508
00:32:32,900 --> 00:32:38,180
For our last question, we always like asking our guests for advice.

509
00:32:38,180 --> 00:32:43,380
So if you could give one piece of advice to prospective entrepreneurs who would love to

510
00:32:43,380 --> 00:32:48,020
see the impact of their work on the lives of others, what would it be?

511
00:32:48,020 --> 00:32:50,060
I'll start, I guess.

512
00:32:50,060 --> 00:32:56,100
But there's a book by a guy named Simon Sinek called Storm With Why.

513
00:32:56,100 --> 00:32:57,700
And it's a really interesting book.

514
00:32:57,700 --> 00:32:59,140
You should read it.

515
00:32:59,140 --> 00:33:05,500
But in it, I mean, the title explains it, but you have to know why you do what you do.

516
00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:10,940
And if you're coming at your business from an impactful perspective, from impact perspective,

517
00:33:10,940 --> 00:33:15,520
you have to let that drive everything that you do.

518
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:17,060
It cannot be an afterthought.

519
00:33:17,060 --> 00:33:20,740
We're not about doing corporate social responsibility.

520
00:33:20,740 --> 00:33:24,580
We want the business to be the thing that drives the impact.

521
00:33:24,580 --> 00:33:29,560
And so it has to drive everything that you do.

522
00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:32,860
So there's going to be times where you're going to have to make decisions.

523
00:33:32,860 --> 00:33:41,660
Do I make decisions that are primarily a financial decision that hurts our opportunity for impact?

524
00:33:41,660 --> 00:33:47,340
Or am I going to choose to ride on what we're about, which is making impact?

525
00:33:47,340 --> 00:33:50,500
And so for us as a company, we had to make decisions.

526
00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:54,300
OK, there are things that I was interested to do, but hey, we're not going to do it

527
00:33:54,300 --> 00:33:58,300
because what we're about is creating opportunity for people in communities.

528
00:33:58,300 --> 00:34:03,100
If it takes us away from that, it's not going to be what we do, even if it makes financial

529
00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:04,100
sense.

530
00:34:04,100 --> 00:34:08,460
And so you have to make some of these decisions that the way to do business from an impact

531
00:34:08,460 --> 00:34:13,060
perspective is different than when you exist only for profit.

532
00:34:13,060 --> 00:34:17,580
And so you have to make decisions that are looking at multiple bottom lines like Matt

533
00:34:17,580 --> 00:34:18,580
talked about.

534
00:34:18,580 --> 00:34:26,980
And so it has to be at the forefront of your mind in almost every decision making process.

535
00:34:26,980 --> 00:34:28,060
Yeah.

536
00:34:28,060 --> 00:34:31,340
So I would take the next step on that.

537
00:34:31,340 --> 00:34:33,580
So we're essentially talking about being mission driven.

538
00:34:33,580 --> 00:34:36,700
OK, so a company exists for a purpose.

539
00:34:36,700 --> 00:34:39,420
And a company exists for a purpose.

540
00:34:39,420 --> 00:34:44,340
And the way they achieve that purpose is they develop products, they develop services.

541
00:34:44,340 --> 00:34:46,740
But those products and services are not the point.

542
00:34:46,740 --> 00:34:48,580
The mission is the point.

543
00:34:48,580 --> 00:34:56,500
So you as a CEO or as the leader, you have to be mission-allegiant, not product-allegiant.

544
00:34:56,500 --> 00:35:01,180
And so a lot of times when we build our companies, we give into something called the sunk cost

545
00:35:01,180 --> 00:35:02,220
fallacy.

546
00:35:02,220 --> 00:35:05,660
We think, oh, I put all this work into building this product or building this service.

547
00:35:05,660 --> 00:35:07,420
I have to keep doing it.

548
00:35:07,420 --> 00:35:11,900
But if that product or service isn't achieving the impact you need, you have to kill it.

549
00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:12,900
You have to kill it fast.

550
00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:14,500
That doesn't mean killing the mission.

551
00:35:14,500 --> 00:35:16,340
It doesn't mean killing the business.

552
00:35:16,340 --> 00:35:20,700
It's killing a product or a service that isn't quite achieving the bottom line you really

553
00:35:20,700 --> 00:35:21,820
care about.

554
00:35:21,820 --> 00:35:28,140
So the way you decide to kill something is you learn as fast as you can if it's actually

555
00:35:28,140 --> 00:35:30,620
impactful or successful.

556
00:35:30,620 --> 00:35:35,420
If you take six months to figure that out, you might burn everything you have in that

557
00:35:35,420 --> 00:35:38,100
six months and the mission will die.

558
00:35:38,100 --> 00:35:42,860
But if you can learn everything you need to in a day or a week or a month, you can make

559
00:35:42,860 --> 00:35:47,380
that decision to kill something much sooner than you're preserving, conserving your resources

560
00:35:47,380 --> 00:35:50,060
to figure out how best to deliver the mission.

561
00:35:50,060 --> 00:35:51,780
So know what you exist for.

562
00:35:51,780 --> 00:35:58,960
Know that at the top and then be super flexible and really sometimes brutal in cutting the

563
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:02,780
things that just aren't contributing to the mission that you really set out for.

564
00:36:02,780 --> 00:36:04,420
And that is a tough call.

565
00:36:04,420 --> 00:36:07,340
And sometimes people get really upset about that.

566
00:36:07,340 --> 00:36:08,340
It's hard.

567
00:36:08,340 --> 00:36:09,340
It's so hard to do.

568
00:36:09,340 --> 00:36:10,660
It's really hard to do, especially in a team.

569
00:36:10,660 --> 00:36:13,980
But be mission driven, not product driven or service driven.

570
00:36:13,980 --> 00:36:14,980
Be mission driven.

571
00:36:14,980 --> 00:36:15,980
All right.

572
00:36:15,980 --> 00:36:18,860
Thank you so much again for joining us.

573
00:36:18,860 --> 00:36:21,500
It's been very really inspiring and really insightful.

574
00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:23,060
Thank you so, so much again.

575
00:36:23,060 --> 00:36:25,820
It's been an honor and honor to have you on the podcast today.

576
00:36:25,820 --> 00:36:26,820
Our pleasure.

577
00:36:26,820 --> 00:36:27,820
Our pleasure.

578
00:36:27,820 --> 00:36:28,820
Thanks a lot.

579
00:36:28,820 --> 00:36:30,260
And that ends segment one of this episode.

580
00:36:30,260 --> 00:36:35,100
I hope you've been inspired by hearing Mr. Matt and Mr. Byron's journey and work with

581
00:36:35,100 --> 00:36:36,100
O now.

582
00:36:36,100 --> 00:36:39,460
The topic of this segment was businesses that create impact.

583
00:36:39,460 --> 00:36:42,380
So I'd like to go back to something Mr. Matt said.

584
00:36:42,380 --> 00:36:48,140
He talked about the importance of a business being mission, Allegiant and not product Allegiant.

585
00:36:48,140 --> 00:36:50,780
This is a great takeaway from this segment.

586
00:36:50,780 --> 00:36:54,920
Businesses that desire to make a positive impact in people's lives should stay true

587
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:57,500
to their missional bottom line.

588
00:36:57,500 --> 00:37:02,420
Not just their products or services because those after all can change over time.

589
00:37:02,420 --> 00:37:04,580
So thank you for that great message.

590
00:37:04,580 --> 00:37:05,580
All right.

591
00:37:05,580 --> 00:37:11,460
Stick around as we will continue with part two of our story, the secrets of El Dorado.

592
00:37:11,460 --> 00:37:15,700
But first we'll be right back after this short PSA.

593
00:37:15,700 --> 00:37:21,220
One, two, three, four.

594
00:37:21,220 --> 00:37:25,060
We've been keeping a current project quiet for a while now, mainly because it's not

595
00:37:25,060 --> 00:37:26,180
completely done yet.

596
00:37:26,180 --> 00:37:30,620
It's no secret that we have a much smaller podcast team this season, which means all

597
00:37:30,620 --> 00:37:33,860
five of us are fulfilling multiple roles this season.

598
00:37:33,860 --> 00:37:37,860
On top of that, we all have other regular responsibilities outside the show.

599
00:37:37,860 --> 00:37:43,060
Currently, our show can be found on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Amazon podcasts

600
00:37:43,060 --> 00:37:44,060
and YouTube.

601
00:37:44,060 --> 00:37:47,740
We've hosted so many interesting guests over the last year and a half and we've learned

602
00:37:47,740 --> 00:37:49,460
so much from them.

603
00:37:49,460 --> 00:37:55,220
According to the data we've collected, our show has seen over 5,200 downloads from all

604
00:37:55,220 --> 00:37:56,220
over the world.

605
00:37:56,220 --> 00:37:59,980
We thought we'd share some of the more interesting places our show has reached and where some

606
00:37:59,980 --> 00:38:01,800
of our listeners are coming from.

607
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:07,380
Many you've heard from some of these places like Boardman in the USA, Sumaprakhan, Thailand,

608
00:38:07,380 --> 00:38:14,620
Paris, France, San Jose, California, USA, Brussels, Belgium, would be Canada, Singapore,

609
00:38:14,620 --> 00:38:22,300
Guadalajara, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Istanbul, Turkey, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Spain, Peru,

610
00:38:22,300 --> 00:38:26,340
Morocco, New Zealand, and Australia and so, so many others.

611
00:38:26,340 --> 00:38:31,060
Because of this, we want to make all that great episode content available in other online

612
00:38:31,060 --> 00:38:32,460
formats as well.

613
00:38:32,460 --> 00:38:36,660
So we're working on completing a website which will include not only episode, audio,

614
00:38:36,660 --> 00:38:41,340
and video, but we will also include a blog section that will be full of well-crafted

615
00:38:41,340 --> 00:38:42,340
articles.

616
00:38:42,340 --> 00:38:46,700
We will also make it easier to contact us and send us any inquiries about sponsoring

617
00:38:46,700 --> 00:38:47,700
episodes.

618
00:38:47,700 --> 00:38:50,180
Don't worry, we'll be sure to announce it when it's ready.

619
00:38:50,180 --> 00:38:55,540
But we thought we'd give you a heads up.

620
00:38:55,540 --> 00:38:59,820
We are back for our second segment and we will continue with part two of our story.

621
00:38:59,820 --> 00:39:02,520
Part two is titled, Uncovering Secrets.

622
00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:07,160
But first, Chania will give us a quick recap of part one from our last episode.

623
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:12,180
In the last episode of The Disappearance, we meet the characters of the story, Ava,

624
00:39:12,180 --> 00:39:17,780
Lily, Ethan, Sierra, and Professor James Hawthorne, and learn a little bit about their background

625
00:39:17,780 --> 00:39:19,940
and personality.

626
00:39:19,940 --> 00:39:25,500
Located in the heart of California, the story starts off with Lily, Ava, and Sierra at Ethan's

627
00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:26,500
Cafe.

628
00:39:26,500 --> 00:39:31,060
At the cafe, Sierra introduces Lily to Ava, her best friend.

629
00:39:31,060 --> 00:39:36,060
We hear from Lily that she is supposed to meet an acquaintance of hers in the cafe.

630
00:39:36,060 --> 00:39:39,260
This mysterious person she was going to meet never shows up.

631
00:39:39,260 --> 00:39:45,420
A cryptic text message sparks mystery and intrigue from the trio of ladies in the cafe.

632
00:39:45,420 --> 00:39:50,140
Thank you Chania, and without further ado, let's dive back into our story as we join

633
00:39:50,140 --> 00:40:11,460
Ava, Lily, Sierra, Ethan, and the Professor as they begin to uncover secrets.

634
00:40:11,460 --> 00:40:14,300
You pick up where we left off at Ethan's Cafe.

635
00:40:14,300 --> 00:40:18,280
By now, it's closer to noon hour and Ava and Lily have been talking together about

636
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,580
life and other things for the better part over an hour or so.

637
00:40:21,580 --> 00:40:25,540
Occasionally, Sierra would pop over to their table in the cafe to chime in when time allowed

638
00:40:25,540 --> 00:40:30,980
her to, mainly between taking orders, delivering orders, and cleaning tables for other customers

639
00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:31,980
of the cafe.

640
00:40:31,980 --> 00:40:36,840
Lily seemed to have forgotten about the text messages and was talking about forensic science

641
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:40,700
in college with Ava, saying that forensic science was very challenging and required

642
00:40:40,700 --> 00:40:44,380
an in-depth understanding of scientific principles and techniques.

643
00:40:44,380 --> 00:40:48,820
She also told Ava that she wasn't getting enough sleep due to the amount of homework.

644
00:40:48,820 --> 00:40:54,120
However, there was something about that text message that just didn't sit well with Ava.

645
00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:58,620
Maybe it was just her curiosity or maybe it was her investigative nature that kept it

646
00:40:58,620 --> 00:41:00,060
on top of mind.

647
00:41:00,060 --> 00:41:03,060
Either way, Ava wanted to bring it up again with Lily.

648
00:41:03,060 --> 00:41:05,380
Can I see that text message again?

649
00:41:05,380 --> 00:41:06,380
Ava asked Lily.

650
00:41:06,380 --> 00:41:11,820
Sure, it'll be replied, Lily passed her phone to Ava just as Sierra was talking back

651
00:41:11,820 --> 00:41:12,820
in.

652
00:41:12,820 --> 00:41:16,460
Are you guys still trying to figure out what that message means?

653
00:41:16,460 --> 00:41:18,540
Sierra said as she walked by.

654
00:41:18,540 --> 00:41:20,620
Ava reads it again to herself.

655
00:41:20,620 --> 00:41:24,540
I know we don't know each other very well, but it's very important that we meet tomorrow

656
00:41:24,540 --> 00:41:26,500
morning in person if possible.

657
00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:30,260
It's quite urgent and there's something I need to give you for safekeeping.

658
00:41:30,260 --> 00:41:31,980
Ava thinks to herself again.

659
00:41:31,980 --> 00:41:36,940
This is a message from a person named Chen, probably a guy, and Lily didn't know him

660
00:41:36,940 --> 00:41:37,940
very well.

661
00:41:37,940 --> 00:41:40,540
Ava looks up at Lily and asks, who's Chen?

662
00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:45,060
Before Lily could respond to Ava's question, Ava says, I think we need to find who Chen

663
00:41:45,060 --> 00:41:48,740
is first and then maybe you'll be able to solve your little mystery of why he stood

664
00:41:48,740 --> 00:41:49,740
you up this morning.

665
00:41:49,740 --> 00:41:55,340
Lily responds, I met him only a couple of times over in the science department labs

666
00:41:55,340 --> 00:41:58,100
during the first semester this year.

667
00:41:58,100 --> 00:42:02,460
We did not talk much, but I do know that he is also from China.

668
00:42:02,460 --> 00:42:08,780
He is or was working as an assistant to one of the professors at the college and he graduated

669
00:42:08,780 --> 00:42:10,060
several years ago.

670
00:42:10,060 --> 00:42:15,580
We exchanged contact information and briefly talked about where we were from in China.

671
00:42:15,580 --> 00:42:20,580
Besides that a little bit, we really did not interact with each other or in the same circle

672
00:42:20,580 --> 00:42:21,760
of friends.

673
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:26,740
At this point in the conversation, Sierra is standing right over Ava and Lily's table,

674
00:42:26,740 --> 00:42:29,180
looking down at them with a half smile.

675
00:42:29,180 --> 00:42:32,780
I have an idea for a fun lunch break activity.

676
00:42:32,780 --> 00:42:37,820
Since Ethan's making me work a longer shift today, he's allowing me to take a 90-minute

677
00:42:37,820 --> 00:42:40,580
lunch break which starts in five minutes.

678
00:42:40,580 --> 00:42:45,340
Anyway, why don't we go over to the science lab and see if Professor Sharpton is still

679
00:42:45,340 --> 00:42:48,900
in and just ask him if he's seen Chen around.

680
00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:53,300
Professor Sharpton won't mind if we show up and ask him, especially if I bring him

681
00:42:53,300 --> 00:42:55,380
a pastrami sandwich.

682
00:42:55,380 --> 00:43:00,300
He comes in here two to three times a week for lunch and has his own tab.

683
00:43:00,300 --> 00:43:03,740
I guess Ethan and him have an agreement or something.

684
00:43:03,740 --> 00:43:08,740
Actually, many of the professors from the college have that agreement with Ethan.

685
00:43:08,740 --> 00:43:11,060
No wonder why they all love this place.

686
00:43:11,060 --> 00:43:13,500
Lily, how about it, Sierra asks Lily.

687
00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:16,100
Sure, are both of you going to come with me?

688
00:43:16,100 --> 00:43:17,820
They ask Ava and Sierra.

689
00:43:17,820 --> 00:43:20,620
Ava responds, yeah, I need to stretch my legs anyway.

690
00:43:20,620 --> 00:43:24,440
I've been sitting here all morning working on this story for the bee and it's not really

691
00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:25,820
going anywhere right now.

692
00:43:25,820 --> 00:43:26,820
So yeah, let's go.

693
00:43:26,820 --> 00:43:27,820
I can drive.

694
00:43:27,820 --> 00:43:30,100
My car is parked right in front already.

695
00:43:30,100 --> 00:43:34,800
Sierra watches as the clock turns to noon and then informs Ethan that she'll be back

696
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:39,020
around 1.30 p.m. after her long lunch break is over.

697
00:43:39,020 --> 00:43:43,620
Sierra appreciated that Ethan was totally fine with her taking her long break over the

698
00:43:43,620 --> 00:43:46,420
peak lunchtime of the cafe.

699
00:43:46,420 --> 00:43:50,580
Ethan always schedules more staff to work during the summer season.

700
00:43:50,580 --> 00:43:54,860
His position would be covered by two other part-time staff who just clocked in.

701
00:43:54,860 --> 00:43:58,300
Ethan was happy if his customers and employees were happy.

702
00:43:58,300 --> 00:44:02,780
He did as much as he could to make sure that his VIP employees were well taken care of.

703
00:44:02,780 --> 00:44:08,620
Sierra being one of those VIP employees, Ethan knew that she often did the work of two people,

704
00:44:08,620 --> 00:44:12,340
which meant she was saving him money every shift she worked.

705
00:44:12,340 --> 00:44:14,300
And the customers loved her.

706
00:44:14,300 --> 00:44:18,460
It would be a sad day when she moves on from the cafe to a different job.

707
00:44:18,460 --> 00:44:22,140
He knew she was wanting to start her teaching career and figured that she would probably

708
00:44:22,140 --> 00:44:25,140
be leaving this job after the summer was over.

709
00:44:25,140 --> 00:44:29,140
Before Sierra was able to leave the cafe, Ethan had a quick question in her favor to

710
00:44:29,140 --> 00:44:30,140
ask her.

711
00:44:30,140 --> 00:44:35,520
You see, Ethan still had Silicon Valley blood flowing through his veins and was always working

712
00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:37,660
on side technology projects.

713
00:44:37,660 --> 00:44:40,060
Ethan hands Sierra what looks like a small paper clip.

714
00:44:40,060 --> 00:44:43,860
He asks, I'm working on the small tracking device system and I finished the small transmitter

715
00:44:43,860 --> 00:44:47,980
part last night late, but I haven't been able to test it out yet today.

716
00:44:47,980 --> 00:44:51,020
Anyway, could you put it in your pocket and take with you?

717
00:44:51,020 --> 00:44:55,340
I want to check it and see if the tracking software I wrote last week will work with

718
00:44:55,340 --> 00:44:57,020
this small transmitter I built.

719
00:44:57,020 --> 00:45:00,540
Basically, I need you to give it a field test for me.

720
00:45:00,540 --> 00:45:01,540
That's all.

721
00:45:01,540 --> 00:45:06,260
Sierra was half listening to Ethan's explanation, took the small paper clip and put it in her

722
00:45:06,260 --> 00:45:09,700
pocket and said, sure, no problem, Ethan.

723
00:45:09,700 --> 00:45:14,500
Thank you, Ethan said as the three ladies left this cafe.

724
00:45:14,500 --> 00:45:18,420
A few minutes later, Ava found herself parking the car in front of the four story science

725
00:45:18,420 --> 00:45:19,420
building at the college.

726
00:45:19,420 --> 00:45:24,420
Lily, Sierra, and Ava enter the building and make their way to the front reception desk

727
00:45:24,420 --> 00:45:27,060
area and notice that no one is around.

728
00:45:27,060 --> 00:45:29,740
Makes sense, since the semester is pretty much done.

729
00:45:29,740 --> 00:45:33,220
They decide to go check out the labs and see if anyone there is working.

730
00:45:33,220 --> 00:45:37,460
They walk over to the lab elevator, which is secured by key card entry only.

731
00:45:37,460 --> 00:45:42,460
Lily's student ID allows her to gain access to the basement lab area, which consists of

732
00:45:42,460 --> 00:45:47,420
many different lab rooms, which are also secured by key card entry only.

733
00:45:47,420 --> 00:45:51,620
The labs are in the basement of the building, which helps keep the different experiments,

734
00:45:51,620 --> 00:45:55,620
equipment, and chemicals away from the upper floor offices and classrooms.

735
00:45:55,620 --> 00:46:01,060
Lily notices that only one of the lab rooms is open and that Professor Shepton is in there

736
00:46:01,060 --> 00:46:06,180
helping supervise several students who had begun working on their summer projects.

737
00:46:06,180 --> 00:46:10,300
However, Lily didn't recognize any of the students' interns.

738
00:46:10,300 --> 00:46:14,060
Lily looked to be an upperclassman or post-graduates.

739
00:46:14,060 --> 00:46:18,940
Either way, Lily didn't think much about it, nor did she mention it to Ava or Sierra

740
00:46:18,940 --> 00:46:20,660
at that time.

741
00:46:20,660 --> 00:46:25,980
After having a brief conversation with Professor Shepton, the trial found out from Professor

742
00:46:25,980 --> 00:46:31,500
Shepton that Chen actually works as an assistant to Professor James Harthorne in the history

743
00:46:31,500 --> 00:46:34,260
department, which is one building over.

744
00:46:34,260 --> 00:46:38,420
Professor Shepton also revealed that even though Chen doesn't technically work as

745
00:46:38,420 --> 00:46:43,300
an assistant to any of the professors in the science department, Chen still had the freedom

746
00:46:43,300 --> 00:46:48,460
to use the labs when projects overlap between the two different departments, which they

747
00:46:48,460 --> 00:46:49,620
do a lot.

748
00:46:49,620 --> 00:46:54,860
The trio also noticed that Chen's name was on one of the lockers in the hallway outside

749
00:46:54,860 --> 00:46:56,020
the lab room.

750
00:46:56,020 --> 00:47:00,780
As the trio was leaving the science building, Sierra notices that Ava has a big smile on

751
00:47:00,780 --> 00:47:01,780
her face.

752
00:47:01,780 --> 00:47:04,500
What's with the big smile, Ava?

753
00:47:04,500 --> 00:47:05,500
Sierra asks.

754
00:47:05,500 --> 00:47:10,300
Ava quickly responds, I love doing this kind of stuff, you know, trying to solve a quote

755
00:47:10,300 --> 00:47:11,300
unquote mystery.

756
00:47:11,300 --> 00:47:15,340
Besides, this is so much more interesting than my half-written article I was working

757
00:47:15,340 --> 00:47:16,740
on back at the cafe.

758
00:47:16,740 --> 00:47:21,140
Lily asks, do you have time to go with me to the history building?

759
00:47:21,140 --> 00:47:23,500
We can just walk there from here since it's close.

760
00:47:23,500 --> 00:47:27,380
I'm a bit nervous since I don't really know anyone from that department.

761
00:47:27,380 --> 00:47:28,860
Sure, Ava replies.

762
00:47:28,860 --> 00:47:33,580
No problem, I have like an hour before I have to go back to work, Sierra says.

763
00:47:33,580 --> 00:47:36,540
The three walk over to the history building and enter through the front.

764
00:47:36,540 --> 00:47:40,780
They then search the main floor directory and find that Professor James' office is

765
00:47:40,780 --> 00:47:41,820
on the third floor.

766
00:47:41,820 --> 00:47:44,500
They walk to the elevator and push the up button and wait.

767
00:47:44,500 --> 00:47:46,660
The elevator dings and the door opens.

768
00:47:46,660 --> 00:47:50,260
There stands Professor Hawthorne, ready to exit the elevator.

769
00:47:50,260 --> 00:47:54,380
Professor Hawthorne looks up as the doors are opening and there stands three people.

770
00:47:54,380 --> 00:47:59,300
Two of them he somewhat recognizes, Lily and Sierra, having been former students of his

771
00:47:59,300 --> 00:48:00,960
from a previous year.

772
00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:05,060
But he didn't recognize Ava, but he could tell that they were all together.

773
00:48:05,060 --> 00:48:06,060
May I help you?

774
00:48:06,060 --> 00:48:07,060
Prof Hawthorne asks.

775
00:48:07,060 --> 00:48:11,060
Lily speaks up first since she could tell he recognized her.

776
00:48:11,060 --> 00:48:16,280
She had taken one of his archeology classes the previous year and really enjoyed the way

777
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:20,420
the class connected well with some of her forensic science classes.

778
00:48:20,420 --> 00:48:25,620
Lily spoke up and said, Professor Sharpton said that you have an assistant working for

779
00:48:25,620 --> 00:48:27,020
you by the name of Ching.

780
00:48:27,020 --> 00:48:29,860
If he's here, could we talk with him?

781
00:48:29,860 --> 00:48:34,300
We tried to text him and call him, but I didn't get any replies.

782
00:48:34,300 --> 00:48:37,100
Hmm, funny you asked, said Prof Hawthorne.

783
00:48:37,100 --> 00:48:41,100
He's supposed to be here today, but he never showed up this morning, which is not like

784
00:48:41,100 --> 00:48:42,100
him.

785
00:48:42,100 --> 00:48:45,180
If you know Ching, you know he's very punctual and responsible.

786
00:48:45,180 --> 00:48:50,220
The reason why so many of his professors wanted him as their research assistant this year.

787
00:48:50,220 --> 00:48:52,220
So I was pretty lucky to get him.

788
00:48:52,220 --> 00:48:56,740
I tried calling him earlier today as well and did not get a reply, which is not like

789
00:48:56,740 --> 00:48:58,020
him either.

790
00:48:58,020 --> 00:49:01,860
He's pretty good about returning calls, especially when it's related to his responsibilities

791
00:49:01,860 --> 00:49:02,860
here in this department.

792
00:49:02,860 --> 00:49:07,300
However, before he left work yesterday, I do recall him telling me that he was going

793
00:49:07,300 --> 00:49:09,300
to come back later in the evening.

794
00:49:09,300 --> 00:49:12,500
He said he'd come back around 8pm I think.

795
00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:17,420
He wanted to use one of the science labs in the other buildings for about an hour or so.

796
00:49:17,420 --> 00:49:22,580
Lily steps forward and shows Prof Hawthorne the text message she received on Ching last

797
00:49:22,580 --> 00:49:23,820
evening.

798
00:49:23,820 --> 00:49:27,580
She had received the message around 9.15pm.

799
00:49:27,580 --> 00:49:30,940
Prof Hawthorne pulls out his phone and tries to call Ching again.

800
00:49:30,940 --> 00:49:33,540
It rings for a while and goes into voicemail.

801
00:49:33,540 --> 00:49:35,180
Ching, Prof Hawthorne here.

802
00:49:35,180 --> 00:49:37,980
If you get this message, call me back when you get a chance.

803
00:49:37,980 --> 00:49:38,980
Thanks.

804
00:49:38,980 --> 00:49:42,560
Prof Hawthorne knew that Ching was working on something special in the lab.

805
00:49:42,560 --> 00:49:45,060
Something Ching had even talked to him about recently.

806
00:49:45,060 --> 00:49:49,820
He also knew that Prof Sharpton, the science department chair, had approved Ching's side

807
00:49:49,820 --> 00:49:53,980
project so long as it did not interrupt Ching's other responsibilities at work.

808
00:49:53,980 --> 00:49:58,100
Prof Hawthorne asks Lily, so you don't know what Ching was going to give you for safe

809
00:49:58,100 --> 00:49:59,100
keeping?

810
00:49:59,100 --> 00:50:01,180
No, and I'm not sure why either.

811
00:50:01,180 --> 00:50:02,180
Lily responded.

812
00:50:02,180 --> 00:50:07,780
Meanwhile, Ava is taking notes on her phone as the conversation continues between Prof

813
00:50:07,780 --> 00:50:09,500
Hawthorne and Lily.

814
00:50:09,500 --> 00:50:14,660
Ava is thinking to herself quietly about the series of articles she's needing to write

815
00:50:14,660 --> 00:50:20,340
this summer for the beef and is again quietly hoping this situation could turn into maybe

816
00:50:20,340 --> 00:50:21,500
a larger story.

817
00:50:21,500 --> 00:50:26,060
Sierra chimes in and says, hey guys, I got to get back to work soon.

818
00:50:26,060 --> 00:50:29,100
You can stay and chat if you want, but I have to head back.

819
00:50:29,100 --> 00:50:32,980
I'm sure Ethan is swamped and needs me back at the cafe.

820
00:50:32,980 --> 00:50:38,260
Lily and Ava decide to head back to the cafe with Sierra as the conversation with Prof

821
00:50:38,260 --> 00:50:40,940
James Hawthorne was ending anyway.

822
00:50:40,940 --> 00:50:45,340
As the trio were leaving, Prof Hawthorne said, I was going to head over to Ethan's to grab

823
00:50:45,340 --> 00:50:48,160
a bite to eat, so maybe I'll see you over there.

824
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:51,940
As the trio left, Prof Hawthorne heads back up to his office.

825
00:50:51,940 --> 00:50:57,140
The entire conversation about Chen sparked a memory of an interaction he had with Chen

826
00:50:57,140 --> 00:50:58,740
the week before.

827
00:50:58,740 --> 00:51:03,020
He hadn't thought much about it until now, especially after seeing the text message Chen

828
00:51:03,020 --> 00:51:04,540
had sent to Lily.

829
00:51:04,540 --> 00:51:09,440
Now back in his office, Prof Hawthorne grabs an old book from his shelf, opens it up to

830
00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:13,980
one of the inner pages which was hiding a folded up piece of paper Chen had given him

831
00:51:13,980 --> 00:51:15,660
the week before.

832
00:51:15,660 --> 00:51:19,940
Prof Hawthorne would often hide papers and notes in his old books.

833
00:51:19,940 --> 00:51:24,700
This was done more as a habit from his old days doing field work on dig sites.

834
00:51:24,700 --> 00:51:29,740
As he took notes at dig sites, he would slip those notes into a book for safekeeping.

835
00:51:29,740 --> 00:51:33,740
Let's face it, you can't carry a filing cabinet with you into the field, and back in those

836
00:51:33,740 --> 00:51:37,220
days, they were not taking laptops out to the field either.

837
00:51:37,220 --> 00:51:41,900
On this piece of paper was written some sort of formula, along with several Chinese characters

838
00:51:41,900 --> 00:51:44,840
that Prof Hawthorne had not been able to translate yet.

839
00:51:44,840 --> 00:51:49,780
He had tried to use his language translation app, even looked in some old books, but could

840
00:51:49,780 --> 00:51:52,420
not find a way to translate the characters.

841
00:51:52,420 --> 00:51:55,580
Next he calls Prof Sharpton to inquire about Chen.

842
00:51:55,580 --> 00:51:58,820
The conversation was short and a little awkward.

843
00:51:58,820 --> 00:52:03,660
After hanging up, Prof Hawthorne noticed that Prof Sharpton seemed a little abrupt and not

844
00:52:03,660 --> 00:52:05,300
himself on that call.

845
00:52:05,300 --> 00:52:10,180
After the brief call with Prof Sharpton and as he was getting ready to leave his office,

846
00:52:10,180 --> 00:52:15,140
Professor Hawthorne knew he had seen those Chinese characters somewhere before.

847
00:52:15,140 --> 00:52:21,020
Ah, he thought to himself, he remembers where he's seen them before, goes to the filing

848
00:52:21,020 --> 00:52:25,700
cabinets and retrieves a Manila folder from the back.

849
00:52:25,700 --> 00:52:29,500
Inside of the folder was an old manuscript from the 1930s.

850
00:52:29,500 --> 00:52:34,920
The manuscript had never been published at that time because it was deemed not credible.

851
00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:39,580
But there were several things in the manuscript that Hawthorne was still curious about, and

852
00:52:39,580 --> 00:52:43,100
he's pretty sure some of those Chinese characters are in the manuscript.

853
00:52:43,100 --> 00:52:47,540
The local library had allowed him to borrow the manuscript several years ago when he was

854
00:52:47,540 --> 00:52:49,980
doing research for one of his old books.

855
00:52:49,980 --> 00:52:55,340
However, he forgot to return it and the library never called him about getting it back.

856
00:52:55,340 --> 00:53:04,780
So there it sat, in his office in the back of a filing cabinet.

857
00:53:04,780 --> 00:53:09,020
As Professor Hawthorne makes his way over to Ethan's Cafe for a late lunch, he's

858
00:53:09,020 --> 00:53:14,380
got two things on his mind, a delicious pastrami sandwich and the items in his briefcase.

859
00:53:14,380 --> 00:53:19,300
The folded up note from Chen and the old manuscript.

860
00:53:19,300 --> 00:53:20,500
And that ends part two.

861
00:53:20,500 --> 00:53:21,900
Thank you for listening.

862
00:53:21,900 --> 00:53:28,020
Tune in next episode as we continue with part three of our story titled, The Map.

863
00:53:28,020 --> 00:53:32,220
And we have the privilege of talking with one of the marketing directors of Harper Collins

864
00:53:32,220 --> 00:53:45,380
out of New York City.

865
00:53:45,380 --> 00:53:50,580
As we end this episode, I hope you've been inspired by our guest's story in segment one

866
00:53:50,580 --> 00:53:54,560
and the missional business they have dedicated themselves to.

867
00:53:54,560 --> 00:54:00,140
And I hope you stay curious about what will happen to our characters, Ava, Lily, Sierra,

868
00:54:00,140 --> 00:54:03,860
Ethan and Professor Hawthorne next.

869
00:54:03,860 --> 00:54:09,100
As always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our international

870
00:54:09,100 --> 00:54:11,180
student production team.

871
00:54:11,180 --> 00:54:16,880
All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives

872
00:54:16,880 --> 00:54:20,740
sharing copyright free images, videos and music.

873
00:54:20,740 --> 00:54:23,140
And we are signing off until next time.

874
00:54:23,140 --> 00:54:40,580
Be your students incorporated because your voice matters.