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I have a if I remember right uh

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isn't your your spouse speak

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in Spanish or yes my my most

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recent uh ex she does only

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speak Spanish. Okay. So, my

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daughter is bilingual leaning

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towards Spanish um and so it

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gives me a lot of motivation

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to master as much as I can

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every day. Awesome. Awesome.

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Yeah. How many kids do you have

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in your family? Yeah, one year

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old, three year old, five year

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old. Oh yeah. Same exact track

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too. Bless your heart. You're

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you know, man. You're in the

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thick of it. Yes, I I had the

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same exact age levels. The nice

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thing was at certain time of

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the year, it was very easy to

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remember their ages. Um right

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now, minor at the awkward stage

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of twelve, nine, and seven, and

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almost three, almost eight. So,

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it's a little bit hard to remember

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the ages. Yeah. Oh man. Uh no,

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especially time for sleep. Be

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ultra, ultra patient with each

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other. as as parents and

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spouses. You guys are in the,

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you are in the thick of it. I

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can think of no harder stage.

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No, it's fun. It's uh they're

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only every this age once. So,

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it uh we're we're certainly

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appreciate it. Actually, what

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you know, this is totally off

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topic but one of the things we

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do is we get rid of our

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smartphones and move to these

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old dumb phones because we want

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to spend more time like focus

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on the kids and what they're

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doing in the living room, you

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know, rather than looking down

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and scrolling. So, I I set up

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all those things to like stop

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myself from you know, wasting

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time on my smartphone and I

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would always get around those

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things like whether it's hiding

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an app or setting a screen time

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limit, I'd always break my own

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rules. So, I just got a dumb

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phone and I don't know if I

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have anything else. Yeah. That's

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a great life hack. Uh what's

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that? What's the outcome feel

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like? How you doing that for?

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Yeah, you know, we've been

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doing it for two and a half

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months now. So, the first month

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was a huge transition. It was

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it was like breaking habits

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and then uh uh but now, like I

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don't miss it at all. You know,

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the only thing I noticed is the

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other day we were driving

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through town. I'm like, wow, I

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wonder why all the flags are at

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the same time. Uh other than

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that, like no impact really.

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Well, except that, you know, I

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don't. Yeah, I have like four

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hours of my day. I feel like

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days are longer because I've

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gotten so much time back now.

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Um you know, that what that I

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will not spend it on a phone.

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There's a lot of like benefits

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you don't really, I never

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thought about it. Yeah, I'm I'm

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definitely a safer driver than

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I used to be. Yeah. That's a

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great question. So, what about

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startup financing options

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through government contracts

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with the Department of Defense

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and how to get those? Um you

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know, we've talked about this a

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couple times over the last

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several years and uh I guess as

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far as startups goes, um you

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know, tech startups

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specifically, what defines a

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tech startup? Yeah, so uh I

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mean, it's going to be it can

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be all the things like we've

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got uh companies in so many

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different ways. Uh no

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products, hardware, um and

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services, no no products at

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all. Uh but it's really it's a

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it's a new company founded um

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you know, by entrepreneurs who

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are looking to disrupt uh uh an

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industry. Uh they're trying to

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bring in innovation to a uh you

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know, new new category and

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that that I think is how I

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define a tech startup is one

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that you know is it's a it's a

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company that's not trying to

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you know sell pizzas and you

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know or mow lawns but they're

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trying to like uh actually you

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know, change an industry or and

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and bring something new to

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market. Alright, awesome. Um

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and is there any uh minimum

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minimum funding goal that that

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has to be in place for them.

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Alright, so, we're going to be

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doing some of the most amazing

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interviews for Vision Pros live

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with Jackson Calame. I'm your

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show host. We'll be doing

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interviews for visionary

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entrepreneurs and guest leaders

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who are building fantastic

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visions out there.

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Hey, welcome in Vision Pros. Uh

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I'm your show host, Jackson

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Calame, founder and CEO of

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First Class Business. I'm

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excited to be hosting Sam

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and what he does with SBIR and

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how he helps with these

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government contracts and

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getting you funding to work

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with the Department of Defense

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and just a little bit. We're

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going to be talking about a

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podcast episode we did years

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ago but before we do that, uh

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quick mention and shout out to

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the sponsors. Coldclick is what

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we use, the tool we use for

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LinkedIn Automation. Um we

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combine that by the way with uh

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you link and and octopus. Um

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there's and and Coldclick

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is what we use as well, making

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sure that we're compliant as we

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reach out to as many people as

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we can so that we're gathering

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the relationships that are kind

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of ready to go today. Um you

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may have heard the stat that uh

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at any given time, 5% of the

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market is kind of ready to go

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with whatever it is that you're

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selling. Now, that's different

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for luxury real estate. Um you

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know, or commercial real estate

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as it is for uh a pair of socks

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for instance. People tend to be

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more likely to buy a pair of

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socks than they are for a

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higher ticket item but it's

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just something that you should

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be aware of as you're going out

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and approaching people uh

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anticipate the word no more

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often and realize that what

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they're really saying is not

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now a lot of the times and

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your overreactions or if

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you've ever heard the term term

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of ghosting, people don't

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typically ghost you unless you

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do something awful or unethical.

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Um so, I would also break the

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habit of calling it that and

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I would say that's the cycle

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um that they're usually waiting

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for or need to pass through in

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order to move forward. Moving

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on to simply fast websites over

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here. Um if I was starting a

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new brand today, um I need to

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start from scratch. Um I was

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just impressed with the fact

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that Shane has websites

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starting at $179 and I would

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push them to that limit.

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Honestly, I would just say,

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hey, I'll do $179 website. Let

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me know what I need to fill out

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and then I would go full steam

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because as a business owner,

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you don't really have time to

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waste. You need to be

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productive and profitable and

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tinkering around with a website

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that's going to evolve, that's

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going to need to change is one

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of the last things that you

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need to be doing with your

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time. Um so, I would consider

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him in my lineup uh as you

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probably build out on Wix or

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Squarespace to get an idea as

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well as you perhaps contact

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people on Fiverr or Upwork.

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He's just another option that I

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thought was really cool. It's

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like, hey, um if I was starting

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out, I'm the person that I

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would turn to um and definitely

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interview further. Then,

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there's the water project. The

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water, I always look down because

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I'm looking for my water bottle

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and I don't have it right here.

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It's in the other room though

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and that's why I highlight the

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water project to talk about it

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every single episode because

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there's a lot of people in in

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life that have to walk miles

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and miles just to get to a

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source of water that may or may

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not be safe for their family.

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I'm sure that the levels of

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anxiety and stress that they've

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had to go through are probably

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something incomprehensible to

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most of us. Uh in addition to

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that, these kids are going to

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getting water and missing

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school time. The the parents or

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the grandparents, you know, it

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takes away from their ability

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to provide for their families

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too. Uh we all have the

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opportunity to give back

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whether that means sharing this

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message with somebody else who

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can give back. You never know.

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You might share it with one

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person who goes ahead and gives

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a $1000 which could fund um you

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know, one of these projects by

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itself in some cases. Uh and

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then the distribution looks

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like if you give a dollar, if

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you give $10000, whatever it is,

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you get to see exactly what

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they're going to build. You get

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to see the process of them

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putting their work to do it and

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then you get to see the outcome

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um of what their their lives

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look like after they have their

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borehole well as it's often

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called or their sand dam and

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learning about those

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experiences. Um to me, it just

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it just adds a little bit of

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joy and a little bit of peace

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and um I don't know. It's just

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an extra perk of of being able

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to do something good and and

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the business world, I've often

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heard this called clean energy.

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Um dirty energy, clean energy,

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one final concept. Uh something

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I learned from Taylor Welch

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talked about dirty energy being

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like when you listen to hype

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music before you you go and you

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go on stage or you you go to a

284
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,020
trade show and and speak there

285
00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:12,500
or um you know, I guess soda

286
00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:15,600
and soda is something that gets

287
00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,700
you going in the adrenaline in

288
00:09:15,660 --> 00:09:19,260
the moment. It's like you're

289
00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,860
not push forward um but it only

290
00:09:19,340 --> 00:09:22,400
lasts for for a few minutes or

291
00:09:20,940 --> 00:09:23,940
a few hours. Then, there's

292
00:09:22,460 --> 00:09:25,600
clean energy which are the

293
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things that help you sustain

294
00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:29,080
the success over a long period.

295
00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:30,680
Think about like the marathon

296
00:09:29,140 --> 00:09:32,540
runners that need to sustain

297
00:09:30,740 --> 00:09:34,480
their energy for a long time or

298
00:09:32,620 --> 00:09:35,940
like we've talked about those

299
00:09:34,540 --> 00:09:38,080
who need to sustain that over

300
00:09:36,020 --> 00:09:39,480
months at a time serving other

301
00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,160
people is a great way to build

302
00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:45,360
your energy um you know, per

303
00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:48,020
day drinking, I'm sorry, getting

304
00:09:45,420 --> 00:09:49,520
a walk um and and getting some

305
00:09:48,100 --> 00:09:51,060
sunshine in. Those are all

306
00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,560
clean energy activities,

307
00:09:51,140 --> 00:09:54,100
calling a friend and and

308
00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,640
expressing gratitude or you

309
00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,100
know, just sharing a memory of

310
00:09:55,700 --> 00:09:59,200
how much they mean to you from

311
00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:00,800
the past and walking up to a

312
00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,300
stranger and giving them a

313
00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,480
dollar and walking away whether

314
00:10:02,380 --> 00:10:05,080
they need it or not, just doing

315
00:10:03,540 --> 00:10:07,080
it. Those are all elements of

316
00:10:05,140 --> 00:10:09,580
clean energy that can boost you

317
00:10:09,580 --> 00:10:13,720
and as a visionary entrepreneur,

318
00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,560
you're going to need a lot of

319
00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,020
things to boost your energy um

320
00:10:15,620 --> 00:10:20,000
for the the long term. So, with

321
00:10:18,100 --> 00:10:21,560
that said, I'm going to bring

322
00:10:20,060 --> 00:10:23,700
Sam Rain on. Let me pull up

323
00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,300
here a little bit about Sam. I

324
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,900
just had an image open. What

325
00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,900
did I do with it? Uh

326
00:10:26,980 --> 00:10:29,700
Santiago, please,

327
00:10:28,980 --> 00:10:32,980
Compartir la Imagen con con

328
00:10:29,780 --> 00:10:34,740
Sam. Um so, Sam and I met a

329
00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,220
long time ago. I was, I think I

330
00:10:34,820 --> 00:10:38,420
just moved back to San Antonio

331
00:10:38,420 --> 00:10:42,120
and I related to the the

332
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,400
business world in San Antonio

333
00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,000
and I learned about this event

334
00:10:43,460 --> 00:10:46,400
for this launch of this

335
00:10:45,060 --> 00:10:48,860
podcast called the Startup Club

336
00:10:46,460 --> 00:10:52,340
in San Antonio. Um so, I go to

337
00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:54,140
the event, I meet Sam and Ricky

338
00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,640
and got to know some people at

339
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:56,740
their their little cool event

340
00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:57,740
and they decided they were

341
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,440
going to put me on their

342
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,440
podcast. Um this is probably

343
00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:03,420
like my third, second or third

344
00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,620
podcast interview. So, here we

345
00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,780
are, episode thirteen sitting

346
00:11:06,780 --> 00:11:11,680
in San Antonio munching on on

347
00:11:07,980 --> 00:11:13,160
on appetizers at the same time

348
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,660
and they presented it. We don't

349
00:11:13,220 --> 00:11:17,220
have a yeah, we have a geeked

350
00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,460
them in San Antonio. It's like

351
00:11:17,300 --> 00:11:19,800
the little startup incubator

352
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:20,700
and they do startup week San

353
00:11:19,860 --> 00:11:22,560
Antonio. That's right and they

354
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,000
were hosting the podcast during

355
00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,740
startup week as well and it was

356
00:11:24,060 --> 00:11:27,740
like the coolest thing ever for

357
00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,200
me. It's really it's one of the

358
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:31,140
things that inspired me to

359
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,880
launch this show and Sam has

360
00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,980
been helping people helping

361
00:11:32,940 --> 00:11:35,580
entrepreneurs get government

362
00:11:35,580 --> 00:11:38,580
involved in the business of

363
00:11:37,180 --> 00:11:40,060
events. Uh former military

364
00:11:38,660 --> 00:11:41,960
himself and we'll be bringing

365
00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,660
up more about uh his bio while

366
00:11:42,020 --> 00:11:45,700
we talk but Sam's become a good

367
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,220
friend and I moved away and

368
00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,200
then I thought he moved away

369
00:11:47,300 --> 00:11:49,260
didn't. So, now, we're going to

370
00:11:48,260 --> 00:11:50,700
be hanging out a lot more in

371
00:11:49,340 --> 00:11:52,900
person but without further ado,

372
00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,400
Sam, welcome to Vision Pros

373
00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,840
Live, man. Thanks for being

374
00:11:54,460 --> 00:11:57,540
here. Hey, yeah. Thanks for

375
00:11:55,900 --> 00:11:59,100
having me and despite, you know,

376
00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:01,080
I'm still in San Antonio and

377
00:11:59,180 --> 00:12:02,580
it's under 60 degrees and so,

378
00:12:02,580 --> 00:12:07,260
it's a little bit chilly. Yeah,

379
00:12:04,220 --> 00:12:08,560
absolutely and I got my my

380
00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,760
heater uh turned way up for all

381
00:12:08,620 --> 00:12:11,160
of you northerners who are like,

382
00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:12,620
what are y'all talking about?

383
00:12:11,220 --> 00:12:17,100
We don't do cold here. So, no,

384
00:12:12,700 --> 00:12:20,500
yeah, it's a it's a crisis.

385
00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:22,200
Yeah. Absolutely. So, Sam, who

386
00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:25,000
who should be listening today?

387
00:12:22,260 --> 00:12:26,500
Um and and tell me more about

388
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,000
what qualifies you for this

389
00:12:26,580 --> 00:12:30,180
process because in an all, you

390
00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,580
know, full disclaimer, I've

391
00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:35,560
worked with a company who did

392
00:12:32,980 --> 00:12:36,660
um but I I didn't get to learn

393
00:12:35,620 --> 00:12:39,020
as much about that process I

394
00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,520
wanted to and I've never worked

395
00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:44,000
with the Department of Defense.

396
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,560
I'm not military and you know,

397
00:12:44,060 --> 00:12:47,600
it's so these finance options

398
00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:49,100
are quite foreign to me. Um you

399
00:12:47,660 --> 00:12:50,600
know, and so tell us everything

400
00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:53,200
you can about about why you on

401
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:55,200
this. Yeah, sure. So, as far as

402
00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,780
uh you know, who who should be

403
00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,220
listening, I think any any

404
00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,720
entrepreneur or any small

405
00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,120
business owner who is

406
00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,920
interested in the Department of

407
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,220
Defense or the government um

408
00:13:03,980 --> 00:13:07,720
and making them a customer uh

409
00:13:06,300 --> 00:13:09,200
this this podcast can be for

410
00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,000
you at this discussion. I'm

411
00:13:09,260 --> 00:13:13,300
I'm looking forward to and and

412
00:13:11,060 --> 00:13:15,060
really like the the DOD, you

413
00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,640
know, to the outside seems like

414
00:13:15,140 --> 00:13:19,040
a giant black box. It's like uh

415
00:13:17,700 --> 00:13:20,980
oh, well, I don't sell weapons

416
00:13:19,100 --> 00:13:22,600
so I can't sell the DOD and

417
00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,780
that's not true. Like, you look

418
00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,440
at the Department of Defense or

419
00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,220
the government in general and

420
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,820
it is a it is almost a clone of

421
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,480
the commercial market and that

422
00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,620
is why you have these

423
00:13:32,220 --> 00:13:35,180
institutions. You have large

424
00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:37,920
medical facilities. You have

425
00:13:35,260 --> 00:13:39,360
schools. You have uh

426
00:13:37,980 --> 00:13:40,920
infrastructure with with uh

427
00:13:39,420 --> 00:13:42,720
neighborhoods that are on base

428
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,320
and you know, office buildings

429
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,500
and everything that you could

430
00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,160
sell to a a enterprise customer

431
00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:49,760
on the on that commercial in

432
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,740
this private industry side that

433
00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:54,000
that same market exists on the

434
00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:56,680
government DOD side and they

435
00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:58,740
have really stable long term,

436
00:13:58,740 --> 00:14:02,580
long term customers and so

437
00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:04,180
that's why the government is

438
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,620
really a great customer to be

439
00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,020
considering because uh as we

440
00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:10,720
kind of go into some unstable

441
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:12,280
uh market conditions uh you

442
00:14:10,780 --> 00:14:15,460
know, everyone looking for uh a

443
00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:17,060
long term customer uh that that

444
00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,900
could be the government. I

445
00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,660
mean, they are uh there's a

446
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:23,600
large moat but if you get over

447
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:26,740
that uh that moat and get into

448
00:14:26,740 --> 00:14:32,020
that moat, you know, uh diving

449
00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:34,660
into uh a little bit of a fear

450
00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,660
there. Um what if your product

451
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,020
falls short in the eyes of the

452
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,620
government? I mean, do you find

453
00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:43,060
yourself in Guantanamo? Um you

454
00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:45,160
know, and like, oh man, uh his

455
00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,660
shoes were late. Um you know,

456
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,340
that that he ordered and now

457
00:14:46,740 --> 00:14:49,940
they're going to arrest me,

458
00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,300
throw me in prison forever and

459
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,340
my name is going to be white

460
00:14:51,380 --> 00:14:54,300
from the record. Is that a

461
00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,680
fear or what does that look

462
00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,440
like? I love that question. I've

463
00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,680
never been asked that question

464
00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,280
but I've never thought of it

465
00:14:59,740 --> 00:15:03,680
but I'm glad I did. Yeah, I've

466
00:15:01,340 --> 00:15:04,680
never but that is uh um it's

467
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,080
amazing because you're you're

468
00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,120
right. Like the government puts

469
00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,020
out a lot of you see all the

470
00:15:07,180 --> 00:15:10,720
news stories of like, you know,

471
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:13,520
people going to jail for you

472
00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:15,600
know, or or or worse get fined

473
00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,160
a lot of money. Not worse but

474
00:15:15,660 --> 00:15:19,600
like some companies uh you know,

475
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,760
getting a lot of trouble

476
00:15:19,660 --> 00:15:22,300
because they got their pricing

477
00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,500
wrong or they they were price

478
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,480
gouging the government or

479
00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,980
something and they were trying

480
00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:29,540
to get into that mess and uh

481
00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,920
you know, cross a red tape that

482
00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,940
I didn't know existed uh and

483
00:15:31,980 --> 00:15:33,840
get in trouble with the

484
00:15:33,020 --> 00:15:35,380
government. So, that's a great

485
00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,580
question but the reality is

486
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,980
like uh it's it's much easier

487
00:15:37,660 --> 00:15:40,420
than people think. There's a

488
00:15:39,060 --> 00:15:41,820
lot less risk of that. If

489
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,420
you're if you're trying to do

490
00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,920
business the right way, the

491
00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:46,460
government has a lot of uh

492
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,360
flexibility for you and for

493
00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,400
small business. Um they're not

494
00:15:48,420 --> 00:15:52,900
trying to get you, you know,

495
00:15:50,460 --> 00:15:53,840
and so uh if if you're

496
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,520
trying to deliver or or making

497
00:15:54,780 --> 00:15:59,260
an honest effort to then you

498
00:15:58,580 --> 00:16:02,280
know, you're going to be fine

499
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,760
and uh especially with research

500
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,320
and development contracts which

501
00:16:03,820 --> 00:16:08,160
are the ones we we focus on and

502
00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:09,700
uh primarily go after which is

503
00:16:08,220 --> 00:16:11,260
called Small Business

504
00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,760
Innovation Research Program or

505
00:16:11,340 --> 00:16:15,260
Small Business Technology

506
00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,740
Transfer Program. The acronym

507
00:16:15,340 --> 00:16:20,100
for those are SBIR and STTR.

508
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:21,400
These are R and D contracts

509
00:16:20,180 --> 00:16:23,140
meaning they don't expect uh an

510
00:16:23,140 --> 00:16:27,940
immediate delivery of something.

511
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,480
It's funding to conduct research

512
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:33,040
and development to try

513
00:16:29,540 --> 00:16:34,580
hypothesis to figure out will

514
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,120
this work? Is this feasible?

515
00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,220
And you know, sometimes the

516
00:16:36,180 --> 00:16:38,580
answer is no and you get to the

517
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,080
end of that contract and you

518
00:16:38,660 --> 00:16:41,460
say, you know, we we tried our

519
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:42,860
best but weren't able to

520
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,860
deliver on what we thought we

521
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,520
were going to and that's okay.

522
00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:49,860
Like government accepts that

523
00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:52,060
risk with R and D and uh grant

524
00:16:52,060 --> 00:16:56,680
and so forth. Um yeah. So, I

525
00:16:54,300 --> 00:16:58,680
I think that that that's not a

526
00:16:56,740 --> 00:17:00,040
big uh a big fear if you're if

527
00:16:58,740 --> 00:17:01,340
you're trying to do things the

528
00:17:00,100 --> 00:17:02,640
right way, you're not going to

529
00:17:01,420 --> 00:17:03,520
run into issues and and

530
00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:06,920
certainly, there are a lot of

531
00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:09,380
people uh to help and you know,

532
00:17:06,980 --> 00:17:11,460
the SBA, uh Small Business

533
00:17:09,460 --> 00:17:12,960
Administration, uh they have

534
00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,020
local offices to help with that

535
00:17:13,020 --> 00:17:16,420
stuff too to make sure you're

536
00:17:14,100 --> 00:17:18,200
not getting any kind of um

537
00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:19,800
stepping in any potholes. Right.

538
00:17:18,260 --> 00:17:21,600
It makes sense. I mean, at the

539
00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,440
end of the day, it's uh the

540
00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:27,040
government, you know, it's it's

541
00:17:25,500 --> 00:17:29,540
been around for decades um and

542
00:17:27,100 --> 00:17:31,140
if they know their goal was to

543
00:17:29,620 --> 00:17:33,420
to squash everybody who came

544
00:17:31,220 --> 00:17:35,720
through those doors, um I think

545
00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:38,060
people would would be more aware

546
00:17:35,780 --> 00:17:39,520
of that. Um you know, now, I do

547
00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:40,560
want to, I do want to learn

548
00:17:39,580 --> 00:17:42,120
about some of these success

549
00:17:40,620 --> 00:17:43,520
stories that you've had. Um

550
00:17:42,180 --> 00:17:45,000
but as we dive into the success

551
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,520
stories, let's combine that

552
00:17:45,060 --> 00:17:48,060
with what your vision looks like

553
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,500
for those that you serve. Um

554
00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:50,600
let's talk about it from the

555
00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:52,940
beginning. What is their path

556
00:17:51,740 --> 00:17:53,740
look like and how many years

557
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,240
have you been doing this now,

558
00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,740
Sam? Yeah. So, I got out in

559
00:17:56,300 --> 00:18:00,320
2019 and that's when I got out

560
00:17:57,820 --> 00:18:02,020
of the uh uh government or I

561
00:18:00,380 --> 00:18:03,620
was an Air Force procurement uh

562
00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,060
officer. We call them

563
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:08,520
contracting officers in the DOD.

564
00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:11,660
Um I got out in 2019 after

565
00:18:08,580 --> 00:18:12,920
being in since 2009 and uh so

566
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,620
did about 10 years in and then

567
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,800
got out and and we've been

568
00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,800
working with tech startups,

569
00:18:15,860 --> 00:18:19,000
helping them do business with

570
00:18:16,860 --> 00:18:19,960
DOD ever since but uh hold on.

571
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,940
Let's talk about that though.

572
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:27,380
Because 2019. We met in one

573
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:29,340
year. Uh so, I think it was

574
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:31,940
2016, 2017. Yeah, when we we

575
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:34,080
first met. So, I was at, I was

576
00:18:32,020 --> 00:18:36,180
here at uh offensive cyber

577
00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:37,880
acquisitions in San Antonio.

578
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,960
So, that's what that was my

579
00:18:37,940 --> 00:18:41,320
career as a Air Force

580
00:18:40,020 --> 00:18:43,360
contracting officer as I was

581
00:18:41,380 --> 00:18:44,820
writing contracts for

582
00:18:43,420 --> 00:18:48,660
defensive offensive cyber

583
00:18:44,900 --> 00:18:49,760
capabilities and uh I was. You

584
00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:54,400
know, I was a volunteer at

585
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:57,280
school. Uh I was a volunteer at

586
00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,780
score uh which is a uh uh

587
00:18:57,340 --> 00:19:00,380
nonprofit organization for it's

588
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,840
like consulting for other small

589
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:04,620
business entrepreneurs and I

590
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:06,320
was also founded uh startup

591
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:09,080
club which was another 501 C3

592
00:19:06,380 --> 00:19:11,660
non-profit uh to help small

593
00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,920
business and entrepreneurs uh

594
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,620
starting their business, setting

595
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,960
up companies, and working with

596
00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:17,900
the government and so, you

597
00:19:17,900 --> 00:19:21,180
know, that's how I met. Yeah.

598
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,180
And that and so, I did get my

599
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,780
uh you know, get started to get

600
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,220
my chops at working with small

601
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,880
business and doing some

602
00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,480
consulting while I was still in

603
00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:30,780
the Air Force but it was all

604
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,760
in a in a volunteer non-profit

605
00:19:30,860 --> 00:19:34,260
capacity and uh working for

606
00:19:32,820 --> 00:19:35,820
those organizations which but I

607
00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:38,900
loved it. I had a real passion

608
00:19:35,900 --> 00:19:40,800
for teaching, educating, um and

609
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:43,440
uh and you know, seeing these

610
00:19:40,860 --> 00:19:44,900
small businesses succeed uh

611
00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:46,040
whether that was it raising

612
00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,100
money or working with the

613
00:19:47,100 --> 00:19:51,080
government or you and I met.

614
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,700
So, the startup club was was

615
00:19:51,140 --> 00:19:55,040
that it was a free resource for

616
00:19:52,780 --> 00:19:56,580
um San Antonio started with

617
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:58,080
San Antonio companies um and

618
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,520
then it kind of grew like we

619
00:19:58,140 --> 00:20:00,620
were kind of nationwide. So,

620
00:19:59,580 --> 00:20:02,080
it used to be called the the

621
00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,560
San Antonio Startup Club and we

622
00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:06,060
had to change that to just the

623
00:20:03,620 --> 00:20:07,020
startup club because uh it

624
00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,760
wasn't just San Antonio

625
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:11,020
anymore. So, um but yeah, it

626
00:20:09,820 --> 00:20:12,520
was we we put out a lot of

627
00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:15,700
education. Uh we put out a

628
00:20:15,700 --> 00:20:20,260
lot of resources through a lot

629
00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,700
of events and it's still going.

630
00:20:20,340 --> 00:20:24,040
Uh still supporting small

631
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,740
businesses in the area and uh

632
00:20:24,100 --> 00:20:27,700
as a member of a uh a chamber

633
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:29,480
and things like that. So, cool.

634
00:20:27,780 --> 00:20:30,440
Awesome and I know I I

635
00:20:29,540 --> 00:20:31,780
derailed you with that because

636
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,080
I just got I know we talked

637
00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,620
about this in twenty seventeen

638
00:20:34,140 --> 00:20:38,680
or so as well but okay, so

639
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,780
twenty nineteen uh those you

640
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:42,020
served vision. Let's go right

641
00:20:39,860 --> 00:20:44,020
back to that. Yeah, sure. Sounds

642
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,500
good. So, so what hasn't

643
00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:51,400
changed in in in 2019, who I

644
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:54,400
still serve is the the

645
00:20:51,460 --> 00:20:55,900
warfighter. The we use that

646
00:20:54,460 --> 00:20:57,500
term in the DOD as to describe

647
00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,940
the operational end user. We

648
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,500
call it. So, it's not just the

649
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,980
guys who pull triggers. It's

650
00:21:00,580 --> 00:21:04,180
it's anybody that that um

651
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,780
serves in the military. We

652
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,240
call them war fighters in in

653
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,380
general. So, it's not it's

654
00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:09,920
airmen, soldiers, special

655
00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:13,420
operations. They all fall under

656
00:21:09,980 --> 00:21:14,860
that kind of broader term. Um

657
00:21:14,860 --> 00:21:18,840
so, they support the mission of

658
00:21:16,460 --> 00:21:22,300
national security, national

659
00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:23,840
defense. Um they are uh anyone

660
00:21:22,380 --> 00:21:26,640
from, you know, maintainers of

661
00:21:23,900 --> 00:21:28,780
aircraft, engineers, to actual

662
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,780
trigger pullers and pilots and

663
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,280
and you know, um guys on the

664
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,780
ground and infantry and those

665
00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:34,660
kinds of scenarios but it can

666
00:21:33,860 --> 00:21:36,160
be all the way up to the

667
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,820
supply chain like all the the

668
00:21:36,220 --> 00:21:43,300
entire organization um needs to

669
00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:48,300
be there and that's really

670
00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:48,960
what's given the Department of

671
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,440
Defense their edge, you know,

672
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,460
since the beginning of America

673
00:21:50,500 --> 00:21:54,340
has been like our ability to

674
00:21:51,540 --> 00:21:55,200
innovate and to uh

675
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,400
industrialize, be the first to

676
00:21:55,280 --> 00:22:02,280
to um you know, bring bring

677
00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:05,280
new technologies to uh to bear

678
00:22:02,340 --> 00:22:06,520
and that uh in the last 2030

679
00:22:05,340 --> 00:22:08,280
years, I think has slowed down

680
00:22:06,580 --> 00:22:10,320
quite a bit and so what I saw

681
00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:12,820
when I was in the DOD was

682
00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:18,960
um like how we shared reports

683
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,960
to our supervisors uh to you

684
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:21,260
know, actual weaponry and

685
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,300
things like everything in

686
00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:26,800
between was outdated and um it

687
00:22:24,380 --> 00:22:28,740
was causing us to fall behind

688
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,140
and and lose our edge uh in a

689
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,740
lot of different ways and I

690
00:22:30,220 --> 00:22:33,280
think that's how there's a

691
00:22:31,820 --> 00:22:35,380
great uh I'll I'll send you the

692
00:22:33,340 --> 00:22:37,180
link after the after the video

693
00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,660
but last week actually was a

694
00:22:37,260 --> 00:22:42,180
great uh talk by um Andres and

695
00:22:42,180 --> 00:22:45,860
I think that's where um I I

696
00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:47,160
gotta give a 16 Z a lot of

697
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,960
credit for what they talked

698
00:22:47,220 --> 00:22:52,600
about um about America, the the

699
00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:54,200
DOD losing their edge and how

700
00:22:52,660 --> 00:22:57,960
how you might come to beat

701
00:22:54,260 --> 00:22:59,400
America is by you know uh

702
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,140
changing the culture of uh

703
00:22:59,460 --> 00:23:03,800
from an innovation to more of a

704
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:07,080
uh you know, zero risk, you

705
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,640
know, don't um don't innovate

706
00:23:07,140 --> 00:23:10,080
uh you know, and and be

707
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,540
comfortable uh kind of status

708
00:23:11,540 --> 00:23:17,520
in the DOD as we've we've been

709
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:19,680
um fighting, you know, in a war

710
00:23:17,580 --> 00:23:21,560
for a long time. We we started

711
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:25,120
in 2001 engaging uh other

712
00:23:21,620 --> 00:23:26,560
countries but those those uh

713
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,460
combatants, those enemies were

714
00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:31,560
not um peers. They were, you

715
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,040
know, um uh they were fighting

716
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,560
in caves with rocks and stones

717
00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:37,200
and sticks that stuff and so

718
00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,080
like that that enemy though,

719
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,480
you know, they were uh a threat

720
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:47,320
to us and so we've become um a

721
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:50,360
little too comfortable with our

722
00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:51,920
technology superiority that we

723
00:23:50,420 --> 00:23:54,420
let it wane quite a bit over

724
00:23:51,980 --> 00:23:57,020
the last 30 years to where now

725
00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:58,700
if we look at oh you know,

726
00:23:57,100 --> 00:24:00,760
threats that are ongoing in

727
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,540
Ukraine and Israel and other

728
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:05,400
parts of the world that hey, we

729
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:07,500
might be dragged into a much

730
00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:09,100
more superior uh fighting force

731
00:24:09,100 --> 00:24:15,500
that we've seen that are uh you

732
00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:17,260
know, more our peers than um

733
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,240
previously and when we're in

734
00:24:17,340 --> 00:24:21,640
that fight, do we still have

735
00:24:19,300 --> 00:24:23,140
our edge and are we uh

736
00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:25,840
disrupting that war or are we

737
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,480
catching up and I think what I

738
00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:30,080
saw from where I was sitting

739
00:24:27,540 --> 00:24:33,520
was if we had to fight tonight,

740
00:24:30,140 --> 00:24:35,020
you know, uh we would we were

741
00:24:33,580 --> 00:24:36,620
not the disruptors. We were we

742
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,060
were falling behind our peers

743
00:24:39,060 --> 00:24:43,040
and uh in 2019 cuz uh family

744
00:24:41,540 --> 00:24:45,480
issues and you know, I had a

745
00:24:43,100 --> 00:24:47,000
baby on the way. I didn't want

746
00:24:45,540 --> 00:24:49,480
to uh take another deployment

747
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:51,040
back to Afghanistan with uh with

748
00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:51,880
some things going on. So, I

749
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:53,320
decided it's time for me and my

750
00:24:51,940 --> 00:24:55,080
family to get out of the Air

751
00:24:53,380 --> 00:24:56,580
Force but I never stopped the my

752
00:24:55,140 --> 00:24:58,380
mission of trying to help

753
00:24:56,660 --> 00:25:00,060
support the war fighter in that

754
00:24:58,460 --> 00:25:01,560
I'm trying to get great

755
00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:03,120
technology into their hands to

756
00:25:01,620 --> 00:25:05,000
improve their lives, make their

757
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:11,000
lives better, and get into the

758
00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:11,900
DOD. Yeah. I shifted your

759
00:25:11,060 --> 00:25:13,200
question because yeah, that's

760
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,440
right into it. It was awesome.

761
00:25:13,260 --> 00:25:15,440
You went right into it which is

762
00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:17,200
what is your vision? Feel free

763
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:20,980
to expand on that. Yeah. So,

764
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:22,380
so my vision is trying to get

765
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,820
uh uh trying to help from this

766
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,480
side meaning I'm trying to help

767
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,220
tech startups and innovative

768
00:25:25,540 --> 00:25:29,580
companies get their technology

769
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,960
inserted into the DOD uh

770
00:25:29,660 --> 00:25:33,020
infrastructure, get it into

771
00:25:33,020 --> 00:25:37,120
the DOD, and so to make sure

772
00:25:35,020 --> 00:25:37,720
that that we're not disrupting

773
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,100
the next war that we're doing

774
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,100
that disrupting, right? That we

775
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,460
have all the the tech we need

776
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,000
to um to be that that's um

777
00:25:43,540 --> 00:25:47,440
superior because I think you

778
00:25:45,060 --> 00:25:49,040
know, our our generation, my my

779
00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:52,080
kids generation depend on that

780
00:25:49,100 --> 00:25:53,940
that we we maintain that um

781
00:25:52,140 --> 00:25:56,040
that technological superiority

782
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:58,020
and we maintain that edge and

783
00:25:56,120 --> 00:26:00,220
so uh my way of doing that is

784
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:02,020
helping to insert that

785
00:26:02,020 --> 00:26:05,020
opportunity into the DOD and

786
00:26:03,820 --> 00:26:06,460
the innovative companies that

787
00:26:05,100 --> 00:26:07,960
are on the outside looking into

788
00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,460
the DOD, helping them get their

789
00:26:08,020 --> 00:26:11,300
start and working with the

790
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,960
Department of Defense. I love

791
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:16,040
that. Now, you talked about um

792
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,540
you know, the you talked about

793
00:26:16,100 --> 00:26:19,940
the distraction. Ultimately,

794
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,480
they can exist. Um you know,

795
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,980
when you're when you kind of

796
00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:23,940
silo in and focus and you

797
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,040
talked about the 30 year war

798
00:26:24,020 --> 00:26:26,540
that's kind of been ongoing and

799
00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:27,580
and it makes a lot of sense.

800
00:26:26,620 --> 00:26:30,020
That's why a lot of people say

801
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,980
the good is the enemy of great

802
00:26:31,980 --> 00:26:35,960
and the bad is the enemy of

803
00:26:33,980 --> 00:26:37,960
something specific like what's

804
00:26:36,020 --> 00:26:39,920
our focal point in terms of

805
00:26:38,020 --> 00:26:41,460
war? Um you're you're bound to

806
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,920
have some types of blinders on

807
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,800
um you know, and then you're

808
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,000
overly focused and that's what

809
00:26:43,860 --> 00:26:46,560
you mean. It's not that we

810
00:26:45,060 --> 00:26:49,400
didn't care anymore. It's not

811
00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:51,900
that we weren't trying um but

812
00:26:49,460 --> 00:26:53,600
the the shift has been I mean,

813
00:26:51,980 --> 00:26:55,100
if you ask anybody, you know,

814
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,980
who is the last war where I

815
00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:58,580
think a lot of people, you

816
00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,880
know, would respond to

817
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:06,160
countries um and the the focal

818
00:27:03,180 --> 00:27:07,760
point would be very narrow. Um

819
00:27:06,220 --> 00:27:09,860
whereas you're talking about

820
00:27:07,820 --> 00:27:11,320
how the rest of the world um

821
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,800
you know that that hasn't gotten

822
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,900
as much involved with that

823
00:27:12,860 --> 00:27:15,000
reality that there may be

824
00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,600
countries in the world that

825
00:27:15,060 --> 00:27:20,800
have been preparing in other

826
00:27:16,660 --> 00:27:22,200
ways for strategic um let's

827
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,900
call them strategic

828
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,240
confrontations for now. Um with

829
00:27:23,980 --> 00:27:27,880
you know, who knows who's

830
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,320
preparing what um and what type

831
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,560
of strategy is going to be

832
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,000
focused on on like you said,

833
00:27:32,620 --> 00:27:36,760
people who are willing to fight

834
00:27:34,060 --> 00:27:38,260
from caves. Um that there there

835
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:42,140
would definitely be a dramatic

836
00:27:38,340 --> 00:27:43,780
change um and and strategy on

837
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,240
both entities because of the

838
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,080
the variables that exist with

839
00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:47,280
that on the preparation. So,

840
00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:49,340
we'll leave that where it's at.

841
00:27:47,340 --> 00:27:51,780
Um we'll dive right back into

842
00:27:49,420 --> 00:27:53,580
startup finance and and you

843
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:55,880
know, how how companies may

844
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:57,260
relate to this. Um let's before

845
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,780
we move into the worst

846
00:27:58,780 --> 00:28:02,080
contract, let's before we move

847
00:28:00,380 --> 00:28:04,180
into that, let's talk about how

848
00:28:02,140 --> 00:28:05,380
to get these contracts. Um you

849
00:28:04,260 --> 00:28:07,860
know, like where where do people

850
00:28:05,460 --> 00:28:09,220
start? Um are there websites for

851
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,360
it? I mean, you kind of blew my

852
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,220
mind with the application

853
00:28:10,420 --> 00:28:13,660
process. So, I'll have uh

854
00:28:12,300 --> 00:28:15,220
Cynthia as well help us with

855
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,700
some of the screen share on

856
00:28:15,300 --> 00:28:18,060
that um and I might pull it up

857
00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:19,660
too but Sam, what what do we do

858
00:28:18,140 --> 00:28:21,160
if we wanted to get a contract

859
00:28:19,740 --> 00:28:24,200
with the government to help

860
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:26,600
behind the scenes um with with

861
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,180
that what you call the the

862
00:28:28,180 --> 00:28:32,240
process of the contract. What

863
00:28:29,780 --> 00:28:35,120
would that look like? Yeah, for

864
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,620
sure. So, uh the DOD is uh they

865
00:28:35,180 --> 00:28:38,220
have a number of processes and

866
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,160
tools in their tool belt. How

867
00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:42,760
they do business with uh

868
00:28:40,220 --> 00:28:44,160
industry. Uh to oversimplify

869
00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:47,500
millions and millions of pages

870
00:28:44,220 --> 00:28:49,100
of of acquisition uh

871
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,100
regulations. Uh I'm gonna boil

872
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:53,660
it down to really three tools.

873
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,600
So, uh again for the the

874
00:28:53,740 --> 00:28:56,000
acquisition and procurement

875
00:28:54,660 --> 00:28:57,440
nerds out there, they're they're

876
00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,980
they're they're they're

877
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:03,860
really has three tools at their

878
00:29:01,060 --> 00:29:05,460
um disposal. So, they can go

879
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,420
public. They can reach out to

880
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:10,460
the public and and ask for uh a

881
00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:12,100
solution to the requirement and

882
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,840
we would do that through a

883
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:16,360
website called uh Sam.gov. It

884
00:29:14,900 --> 00:29:18,900
used to be called Beta Sam.

885
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:21,400
Before that, it was called uh

886
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,640
FedBizOpps. Um and so, it's

887
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,080
changed names a couple of times

888
00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:25,940
but Sam.gov is where you would

889
00:29:24,140 --> 00:29:27,380
go to look at what are the open

890
00:29:27,380 --> 00:29:32,340
source uh uh requests for quotes

891
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:34,140
that are out there. That's where

892
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:37,520
maybe 10% of government's

893
00:29:34,220 --> 00:29:40,320
budget is spent. Um another 10%

894
00:29:37,580 --> 00:29:41,980
is spent uh going sole source.

895
00:29:40,380 --> 00:29:43,560
So, instead of you know,

896
00:29:42,060 --> 00:29:45,420
publishing my requirements out

897
00:29:43,620 --> 00:29:46,820
there publicly for the whole

898
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,400
world to see and for them to

899
00:29:46,900 --> 00:29:51,400
bid on. Um I can take it sole

900
00:29:49,460 --> 00:29:52,920
source. I can find the uh

901
00:29:51,460 --> 00:29:54,400
company that I wanna work with,

902
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,240
that specific brand, that

903
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,480
company that I wanna work with,

904
00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,380
I can get a sole source

905
00:29:59,540 --> 00:30:02,120
contractor them. Now, why is

906
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,680
only 10% of the budget spent

907
00:30:02,180 --> 00:30:05,180
that way in sole source way?

908
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:05,920
Because you're really not

909
00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:07,360
supposed to. Like the federal

910
00:30:05,980 --> 00:30:09,260
acquisition regulations are set

911
00:30:07,420 --> 00:30:11,420
up that to maximize

912
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,200
competition, to maximize uh

913
00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:16,160
value, and to get the best

914
00:30:13,260 --> 00:30:18,340
price for the government, and

915
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:20,260
to uh encourage competition uh

916
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:22,040
for you know, the economy and

917
00:30:20,340 --> 00:30:23,780
the US small business and and

918
00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:25,280
all the businesses. They really

919
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,320
don't want to be in a practical

920
00:30:26,740 --> 00:30:30,180
not pick their favorites and go

921
00:30:28,380 --> 00:30:32,220
sole source. They should

922
00:30:30,260 --> 00:30:33,720
compete it. So, um for that

923
00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,320
reason, even though going sole

924
00:30:33,780 --> 00:30:36,720
source is super fast and

925
00:30:35,380 --> 00:30:39,200
usually you can get a contract

926
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,600
done in 30 to 90 days that way.

927
00:30:39,260 --> 00:30:43,760
Um you know, most of the budget

928
00:30:41,660 --> 00:30:46,160
is not spent that way. Uh and

929
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,160
then the other 80% of the

930
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,700
budget, the the biggest piece

931
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,200
of the iceberg is below the

932
00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:52,800
surface and that is spent

933
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,280
through what we call what I

934
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:59,220
call IDIQs, BPAs, uh

935
00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:00,740
government contract vehicles,

936
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,220
and I'll explain some of those.

937
00:31:00,820 --> 00:31:04,060
So, IDIQ is indefinite

938
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,720
delivery, indefinite quantity,

939
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:07,280
BPA is blanket purchase

940
00:31:05,780 --> 00:31:09,160
agreement. It's like some of

941
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:11,720
those contract vehicles uh that

942
00:31:09,220 --> 00:31:13,000
you may have heard of are

943
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,760
they're basically catalogs. So,

944
00:31:13,060 --> 00:31:16,460
you compete to initially get on

945
00:31:14,820 --> 00:31:18,040
the catalog and then once

946
00:31:16,540 --> 00:31:19,700
you're on the catalog, then the

947
00:31:18,100 --> 00:31:21,400
government can order off of

948
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,840
that catalog uh as much as they

949
00:31:21,460 --> 00:31:24,200
want and they don't have to go

950
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,540
through and collect a number of

951
00:31:25,580 --> 00:31:28,280
vendors, the cool kids that are

952
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,780
on those contracts that they

953
00:31:28,340 --> 00:31:32,280
know, okay, this group of

954
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,620
vendors can provide these

955
00:31:32,340 --> 00:31:35,620
services. So, I'll only compete

956
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:37,220
my requirement among that that

957
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:39,480
group who are on that hold the

958
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:41,220
contract vehicle or on that

959
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,760
catalog and that way, it speeds

960
00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:44,460
up my acquisition timeline

961
00:31:42,820 --> 00:31:46,100
because if I go public and you

962
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:48,060
know, I spend 10% of my budget

963
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,500
that way. Why? Because it takes

964
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:50,660
so long. If I go public, it's

965
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,160
going to be a 10 to 12 month

966
00:31:50,740 --> 00:31:53,200
process. I'm going to put it

967
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,560
through a lot of small kids,

968
00:31:54,300 --> 00:31:57,400
from small businesses all around

969
00:31:55,620 --> 00:31:59,060
the country and and large

970
00:31:57,460 --> 00:32:00,640
businesses and I'm going to

971
00:31:59,140 --> 00:32:02,640
have to sort through all of

972
00:32:00,700 --> 00:32:04,100
those proposals. I'm going to

973
00:32:02,700 --> 00:32:05,700
have to pick my favorites, the

974
00:32:04,180 --> 00:32:07,440
best, whittle that group down,

975
00:32:05,780 --> 00:32:08,640
finally make a selection, and

976
00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:09,340
then I'm going to get

977
00:32:08,700 --> 00:32:10,840
protested. Everybody's going to

978
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,180
complain that they weren't

979
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,040
picked and it's going to, you

980
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:14,920
know, there's a formal process

981
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:16,420
to protest that effectively

982
00:32:14,980 --> 00:32:19,120
freezes that acquisition. I

983
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:21,120
can't move forward. So, all of

984
00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:22,560
these uh you know, prescribed

985
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,540
by the public purchase means

986
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,280
that it's probably going to

987
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,800
take me 9 to 12 months to buy

988
00:32:27,340 --> 00:32:30,440
something. That's not fast

989
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,480
enough. So, that's why only 10%

990
00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:34,540
of budget is spent that way.

991
00:32:32,540 --> 00:32:35,640
Most of it is tried. We try to

992
00:32:34,620 --> 00:32:37,180
spend it on something that's

993
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,780
much faster. We either spend it

994
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:41,560
on a private solicitation or or

995
00:32:39,860 --> 00:32:43,080
reduce whole source but 80% of

996
00:32:41,620 --> 00:32:45,020
the budget is probably spent

997
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:46,620
and requirements are spent on

998
00:32:45,100 --> 00:32:48,100
these on those private

999
00:32:46,700 --> 00:32:50,500
solicitations on these GSA

1000
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:52,100
schedules, BPAs, IDIQ, catalog

1001
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:56,200
and so on. I can get a contract

1002
00:32:53,700 --> 00:32:58,940
out in 90 days to maybe 6

1003
00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:00,540
months at the uh you know, on

1004
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,140
the long end and the reason is

1005
00:33:00,620 --> 00:33:03,620
so much faster is because I'm

1006
00:33:02,220 --> 00:33:05,320
only I'm only competing in

1007
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,820
against maybe 20 companies,

1008
00:33:05,380 --> 00:33:10,020
maybe 100 companies at most and

1009
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,820
I have way fewer proposals to

1010
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:13,360
evaluate. I can set the rules

1011
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,820
of that catalog. I can say,

1012
00:33:13,420 --> 00:33:17,100
hey, if it if the requirement

1013
00:33:14,900 --> 00:33:18,560
is uh less than 100 million

1014
00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:20,760
dollar contract and you're not

1015
00:33:18,620 --> 00:33:21,760
allowed to protest and you

1016
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:26,320
can't get on the contract. So,

1017
00:33:22,780 --> 00:33:28,520
I can kind of set the rules of

1018
00:33:26,380 --> 00:33:31,000
my own catalog uh which allow

1019
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:33,500
me to go a lot faster. The

1020
00:33:31,060 --> 00:33:36,000
problem with this, the problem

1021
00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:37,700
with these three tools is small

1022
00:33:36,060 --> 00:33:40,200
business as an entrepreneur,

1023
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:42,100
startup, you know, today, I can

1024
00:33:40,260 --> 00:33:43,640
only see 10% of the

1025
00:33:42,180 --> 00:33:45,640
requirements and 10% of the

1026
00:33:43,700 --> 00:33:47,240
budget that are being published

1027
00:33:45,700 --> 00:33:48,640
because the only thing I can go

1028
00:33:47,300 --> 00:33:49,780
out and Google and find a

1029
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:50,780
requirement to work with the

1030
00:33:50,780 --> 00:33:53,680
other ones but I'm not seeing

1031
00:33:51,980 --> 00:33:55,260
the rest of that iceberg

1032
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,660
beneath the surface of all

1033
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,760
those requirements, all that

1034
00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:00,260
budget I'm missing out on um

1035
00:33:58,820 --> 00:34:03,660
because it's going through, you

1036
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:04,660
know, non public meet. So, the

1037
00:34:03,740 --> 00:34:06,140
way as a small business, I I

1038
00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:07,740
have to go about that is either

1039
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:10,400
a, I can I can wait around for

1040
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:12,880
a catalog to be competed. I can

1041
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:14,140
bid on it. Um you know, and

1042
00:34:12,940 --> 00:34:16,380
they come out about every 5

1043
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:18,120
years and I can get on the next

1044
00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,780
one and I can be one of the

1045
00:34:19,780 --> 00:34:22,820
people that I have to partner

1046
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,480
with someone who's already on

1047
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,980
the catalog and so I find those

1048
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,580
businesses that hold that

1049
00:34:26,060 --> 00:34:30,220
contract and I have to sub

1050
00:34:27,660 --> 00:34:31,820
underneath them and um you

1051
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,200
know, those those small

1052
00:34:31,900 --> 00:34:34,820
businesses or those companies

1053
00:34:33,260 --> 00:34:36,020
that own that catalog, they

1054
00:34:34,900 --> 00:34:37,660
know how valuable it is and

1055
00:34:36,100 --> 00:34:40,140
they tend to use that as

1056
00:34:37,740 --> 00:34:41,660
leverage and so you you know,

1057
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:44,140
end up giving a ton of margin

1058
00:34:41,740 --> 00:34:45,100
away uh uh which is very

1059
00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:46,200
important to a small business

1060
00:34:45,180 --> 00:34:48,680
survival. If you're giving away

1061
00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,480
something to be able to work

1062
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:53,740
with this company, your prime

1063
00:34:52,540 --> 00:34:55,440
will start to squeeze you as a

1064
00:34:53,820 --> 00:34:58,120
subcontractor. It's very

1065
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:59,320
difficult uh to work under the

1066
00:34:58,180 --> 00:35:00,320
under the budgets that the

1067
00:34:59,380 --> 00:35:03,720
primes are giving you and things

1068
00:35:00,380 --> 00:35:07,020
like that and so um so it's not

1069
00:35:03,780 --> 00:35:08,720
ideal. Um the other way is to

1070
00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:11,420
do it sole source but that

1071
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:12,900
requires this huge BD effort. I

1072
00:35:11,500 --> 00:35:14,160
have to go out and find the

1073
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,600
engineers, the program managers,

1074
00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:17,800
the project guys and make them

1075
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,780
aware that the product exists

1076
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:23,080
that I'm here and that I can be

1077
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,640
sole source and and that

1078
00:35:23,140 --> 00:35:26,120
requires a lot of business

1079
00:35:24,720 --> 00:35:27,720
development to go out and find

1080
00:35:26,180 --> 00:35:31,120
those those buyers, those

1081
00:35:27,780 --> 00:35:32,420
requirement um holders, owners

1082
00:35:31,180 --> 00:35:34,020
that that's a better word for

1083
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,720
requirement owners. I have to

1084
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,900
go find those people, make them

1085
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,400
aware that I exist that I can

1086
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,800
solve their problems and so for

1087
00:35:38,460 --> 00:35:41,760
a small business, who's just

1088
00:35:39,860 --> 00:35:43,940
getting started, that's a lot

1089
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,140
of time and money spent on

1090
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,500
business development that they

1091
00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:51,480
can go to the public and go,

1092
00:35:47,860 --> 00:35:53,940
you know, private and sell to uh

1093
00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:56,540
B to B much faster with way

1094
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:59,020
less spin on sales and and BD

1095
00:35:56,620 --> 00:36:00,020
and so uh that's that's often

1096
00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:01,380
you know, the route to go is

1097
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:02,820
we'll just avoid doing business

1098
00:36:01,460 --> 00:36:05,420
with the government because it's

1099
00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:07,920
not not worth it and so um that

1100
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:10,420
that's the problem with those

1101
00:36:07,980 --> 00:36:11,920
that that setup how my company

1102
00:36:10,500 --> 00:36:13,700
helps out, you know, what we've

1103
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:16,060
identified as a need here is

1104
00:36:16,060 --> 00:36:19,900
that we're in the DOD as one

1105
00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:21,340
giant black box and not knowing

1106
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,900
where to begin. Who do I talk

1107
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,500
to? Who who should be my

1108
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:26,040
customers? My requirement uh

1109
00:36:24,580 --> 00:36:29,080
who has requirements that I can

1110
00:36:26,100 --> 00:36:30,540
solve? That's where we come in.

1111
00:36:29,140 --> 00:36:31,980
Um you know, we're a business

1112
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,480
development as a service and so

1113
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,720
we're helping you connect to

1114
00:36:33,540 --> 00:36:35,920
these customers, find the

1115
00:36:34,780 --> 00:36:37,980
buyers or requirement owners

1116
00:36:35,980 --> 00:36:39,720
and have those conversations.

1117
00:36:38,060 --> 00:36:41,420
Ideally, to go sole source if

1118
00:36:39,780 --> 00:36:42,920
they have money, we want to go

1119
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,020
on contract. We want to not

1120
00:36:42,980 --> 00:36:45,520
compete for it. We want to go

1121
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:48,940
on contract. We want to go on

1122
00:36:46,980 --> 00:36:50,380
contract. But um and of course,

1123
00:36:49,020 --> 00:36:51,320
we're looking for public stuff

1124
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,720
too. We're going after

1125
00:36:51,380 --> 00:36:54,880
everything and we see that that

1126
00:36:52,780 --> 00:36:56,420
is a fit um on the public side

1127
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,920
but we're really going after

1128
00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,520
the beneath the surface

1129
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:01,300
opportunities and trying to

1130
00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,860
find the the the requirement

1131
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:04,460
owners that maybe maybe they

1132
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:05,860
have a problem. They don't know

1133
00:37:04,540 --> 00:37:06,860
a solution is out there. They

1134
00:37:05,940 --> 00:37:08,360
don't even know one exists. So

1135
00:37:06,940 --> 00:37:09,940
they're not asking for it

1136
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:11,440
publicly because they don't they

1137
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,900
don't even identify their own

1138
00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:15,480
problem and so what we're there

1139
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:19,180
to do is we're going to go to

1140
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,680
the customers who have missions

1141
00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,440
who have requirements that meet

1142
00:37:20,740 --> 00:37:23,940
uh the small businesses

1143
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,920
capabilities, their solutions

1144
00:37:24,020 --> 00:37:27,380
and get them talking and when

1145
00:37:25,980 --> 00:37:29,920
we get them talking, that

1146
00:37:27,460 --> 00:37:32,820
usually leads to uh the next

1147
00:37:29,980 --> 00:37:34,320
problem, right? Is you know,

1148
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:36,820
nine times out of ten, you're

1149
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,420
talking to the government uh

1150
00:37:36,900 --> 00:37:39,900
in a in your, you know, we've

1151
00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:41,400
did all the work to set up this

1152
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:42,040
meeting, facilitate the

1153
00:37:41,460 --> 00:37:43,840
conversation, you're sitting on

1154
00:37:42,100 --> 00:37:45,360
the other side of the the desk

1155
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:48,560
and you're like, you've got a

1156
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,060
really cool technology or

1157
00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:51,740
solution. I'd love to use it.

1158
00:37:50,140 --> 00:37:53,640
This would help my life be a

1159
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:56,000
lot easier. The next thing they

1160
00:37:53,700 --> 00:37:58,380
say though is, oh but I I don't

1161
00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:59,880
have any money. Um you hear

1162
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:01,380
that a lot with government and

1163
00:37:59,940 --> 00:38:02,240
of course, you're like, yeah,

1164
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:03,780
a lot in the world, my friend.

1165
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:05,920
That's just. Yeah. That's the

1166
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,380
universal lingo of. Yeah. I'm

1167
00:38:05,980 --> 00:38:08,280
it's so frustrating because

1168
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,180
you're like, I have a

1169
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,360
customer. I have a willing

1170
00:38:09,260 --> 00:38:11,360
champion but they just don't

1171
00:38:10,420 --> 00:38:15,160
have any money. They can't can't

1172
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:20,440
have any problems if you can

1173
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:22,440
just get that contract and so

1174
00:38:20,500 --> 00:38:24,040
uh what when we run into that

1175
00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:25,600
issue here, we've got a

1176
00:38:24,100 --> 00:38:27,100
customer who doesn't have money

1177
00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:28,680
and there's good reasons why

1178
00:38:27,180 --> 00:38:30,180
that they as a government, they

1179
00:38:28,740 --> 00:38:32,580
have to think very long term.

1180
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:34,080
They're forecasting, you know,

1181
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,180
two years out what they're

1182
00:38:34,140 --> 00:38:36,780
going to spend their money on

1183
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:38,180
and so they're they have to

1184
00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:40,580
think about what their

1185
00:38:38,260 --> 00:38:42,560
requirements are in 2025,

1186
00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:47,460
twenty-four to pay for that and

1187
00:38:44,620 --> 00:38:48,920
so when you're talking to them,

1188
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,420
you know, they're not saying I

1189
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:53,300
don't have money. They have

1190
00:38:50,500 --> 00:38:54,900
money. Uh they just don't they

1191
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,800
don't. It's all spoken for all

1192
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:58,500
that money has a name already.

1193
00:38:56,860 --> 00:39:00,540
That every dollar has a name

1194
00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,840
and so they're saying, hey,

1195
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:02,900
come back to me next fiscal

1196
00:39:01,900 --> 00:39:04,480
year. I might have money for

1197
00:39:02,980 --> 00:39:05,780
you then. You you weren't on my

1198
00:39:04,540 --> 00:39:07,980
radar two years ago when I

1199
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,480
wrote my budget. Um so come

1200
00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:10,420
back to me two years from now

1201
00:39:09,540 --> 00:39:11,880
and I'll write you into my

1202
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:15,080
email. That's not an answer.

1203
00:39:13,380 --> 00:39:17,880
Like, you gotta report to your

1204
00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:19,820
investor. Water now. Right. You

1205
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,920
you have to meet quarterly uh

1206
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:23,360
sales targets or else, you

1207
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,900
know, you're laying off uh

1208
00:39:23,420 --> 00:39:27,400
people and so uh you can't wait

1209
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:28,900
a year for a contract. Maybe

1210
00:39:27,460 --> 00:39:30,360
Boeing and Lockheed can, you

1211
00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:33,300
know, but a small business can't

1212
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:34,600
wait a year and and so now we

1213
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:36,300
got, you know, there's problem

1214
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,900
number two. I've got this

1215
00:39:36,380 --> 00:39:40,380
customer. They just need money

1216
00:39:40,380 --> 00:39:44,940
to come in. Uh these are these

1217
00:39:42,940 --> 00:39:46,440
are uh programs that were

1218
00:39:45,020 --> 00:39:48,940
created back in the 80s by by

1219
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:51,420
Congress that said, hey, you

1220
00:39:49,020 --> 00:39:53,520
know, every every uh federal

1221
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:54,920
entity who has an R and D

1222
00:39:53,580 --> 00:39:56,620
budget has to set aside a

1223
00:39:54,980 --> 00:39:57,720
portion of that to go to small

1224
00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,060
business and so for the

1225
00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:01,800
Department of Defense, it's

1226
00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:03,300
three billion dollars a year uh

1227
00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,860
which is only three. It's

1228
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:07,040
three point 2% of the DOD's

1229
00:40:04,940 --> 00:40:08,200
total R and D budget uh but

1230
00:40:07,100 --> 00:40:09,340
it's a lot of money. It's three

1231
00:40:09,340 --> 00:40:12,320
billion dollars a year. So,

1232
00:40:10,540 --> 00:40:13,880
you know, you can go to small

1233
00:40:12,380 --> 00:40:15,380
business and say, hey, you have

1234
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,260
to spend this on on small

1235
00:40:15,460 --> 00:40:18,760
business. So, as a as an

1236
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,360
entrepreneur, as a startup, you

1237
00:40:18,820 --> 00:40:21,900
can say to that customer, hey,

1238
00:40:20,420 --> 00:40:23,260
it's okay. You don't have

1239
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:24,100
money, you know, and you want

1240
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,560
to work with me and you don't

1241
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,260
have budget. That's okay. We're

1242
00:40:25,620 --> 00:40:29,240
going to go use other people's

1243
00:40:27,340 --> 00:40:31,240
money. We're going to go tap

1244
00:40:29,300 --> 00:40:32,540
into the SBIR STTR budgets and

1245
00:40:31,300 --> 00:40:34,300
we're going to use that money

1246
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:36,280
to start working with you now

1247
00:40:34,380 --> 00:40:37,280
and uh bridge the gap between

1248
00:40:36,340 --> 00:40:38,880
today and next fiscal year when

1249
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:41,820
you're a customer, this is huge

1250
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:42,860
because you're telling them,

1251
00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:45,360
wait, I can get my hands on

1252
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:47,320
commercial tech that can help

1253
00:40:45,420 --> 00:40:48,920
me today on a really fast

1254
00:40:47,380 --> 00:40:50,900
contract and it's zero risk to

1255
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:52,900
me like no, you know, it's no

1256
00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,900
risk to my budget or my

1257
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:57,240
schedule like it's huge. So,

1258
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:59,140
they they're very supportive of

1259
00:40:57,300 --> 00:41:00,640
it um and so it's a win win for

1260
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:01,900
everybody. It's win for the

1261
00:41:00,700 --> 00:41:04,300
small, win for the government

1262
00:41:01,980 --> 00:41:05,880
customer, you know, why not? So,

1263
00:41:04,380 --> 00:41:07,880
so that's what we do. We've got

1264
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:11,260
a lot of people interested in

1265
00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:12,860
the product. We've helped find

1266
00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:14,260
uh and they just need money.

1267
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:16,760
Then, we'll go get money using

1268
00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:18,320
the SBIR STTR program and then

1269
00:41:16,820 --> 00:41:19,900
if that government customer by

1270
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,300
the way does have money, they

1271
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,860
say, hey, you're in luck. I had

1272
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:24,900
a, you know, a project cancel.

1273
00:41:22,940 --> 00:41:26,300
I've got extra funds. Then, we

1274
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,240
know how to get that on

1275
00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:28,900
contract and a full source way

1276
00:41:27,300 --> 00:41:31,400
too. So, we'll help help go

1277
00:41:28,980 --> 00:41:35,880
that way but really, you know,

1278
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:42,420
as a way to get in there, build

1279
00:41:40,340 --> 00:41:43,720
a relationship, build a beach

1280
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,780
head with each of these

1281
00:41:43,780 --> 00:41:47,380
customers, a a paid pilot if

1282
00:41:45,860 --> 00:41:49,220
you will to get in there and

1283
00:41:47,460 --> 00:41:50,860
have them adopt the technology,

1284
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:52,320
provide feedback, you get a

1285
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:53,320
little funding to do

1286
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:55,320
adaptation, integration work

1287
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,900
that you need to do to to get

1288
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,860
that product into the

1289
00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:00,860
customer's hands. Um but you

1290
00:41:58,940 --> 00:42:02,460
know, it's all uh it's all in

1291
00:42:00,940 --> 00:42:03,900
an effort to make sure that

1292
00:42:02,540 --> 00:42:05,300
next year, you're

1293
00:42:05,300 --> 00:42:09,020
going to be able to do a real

1294
00:42:06,780 --> 00:42:10,520
contract and do a real contract

1295
00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:12,420
using um you know, non-SBIR

1296
00:42:10,580 --> 00:42:13,880
money but you're using it to

1297
00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:15,320
build a relationship with these

1298
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,760
customers and you can use as

1299
00:42:15,380 --> 00:42:17,860
many as you want. So, like,

1300
00:42:16,820 --> 00:42:19,920
you're not limited to how many

1301
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:22,000
phase twos or SBIR contracts

1302
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,900
that you have. So, you're just,

1303
00:42:22,060 --> 00:42:24,700
it's just a matter of how many

1304
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:26,300
customers can I find that want

1305
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:28,200
to use my product that need

1306
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:30,840
funding. I can go use SBIR as a

1307
00:42:28,260 --> 00:42:32,240
mechanism as a tool uh to

1308
00:42:30,900 --> 00:42:33,200
start working with those

1309
00:42:32,300 --> 00:42:34,240
customers now and start

1310
00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:37,360
working with them to become the

1311
00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:38,800
incumbent so that, you know,

1312
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,840
next year when they do have

1313
00:42:38,860 --> 00:42:42,100
money, of course, they're going

1314
00:42:39,900 --> 00:42:43,600
to go with you. Right, right,

1315
00:42:42,180 --> 00:42:45,140
right. That makes sense. Um it

1316
00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:46,780
makes a lot of sense. In fact,

1317
00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:48,040
uh there's a lot of this that

1318
00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,140
didn't make sense for me for

1319
00:42:48,120 --> 00:42:50,820
those who are listening. So, I

1320
00:42:49,220 --> 00:42:52,620
wrote down a ton of acronyms

1321
00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:54,080
and took a lot of notes. Um you

1322
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,680
know, and and anybody who's

1323
00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:57,080
listening, that's you know, 6

1324
00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:58,660
years ago, Sam and we talked

1325
00:42:57,160 --> 00:42:59,820
about this. I'm when we talked

1326
00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:01,060
about this actually, I may or

1327
00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:02,800
may not have peed my pants a

1328
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:06,280
little bit of of foreign

1329
00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:08,780
language that exists in that.

1330
00:43:06,340 --> 00:43:09,940
But um since then, you know, I

1331
00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:12,520
I I had a contract with a

1332
00:43:10,020 --> 00:43:14,020
company in Canada. Um I'm a

1333
00:43:12,580 --> 00:43:15,020
very very small equity owner of

1334
00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:16,680
that company now but what we

1335
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,820
were doing is we're working

1336
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:20,120
with um we had a loan, not a

1337
00:43:18,880 --> 00:43:22,820
loan, we had a grant writing

1338
00:43:20,180 --> 00:43:24,220
company that you know, may or

1339
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:26,000
may not have been associated

1340
00:43:24,300 --> 00:43:27,600
with our entity. Um that and I

1341
00:43:26,060 --> 00:43:30,340
don't know how that worked but

1342
00:43:27,660 --> 00:43:31,840
we would get these grants for

1343
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:35,640
$9000 or whatever it was up

1344
00:43:33,300 --> 00:43:38,140
front that was required for

1345
00:43:35,700 --> 00:43:39,820
this grant process and within

1346
00:43:38,220 --> 00:43:41,880
72 hours, they would end up

1347
00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:43,520
with $36000 and marketing

1348
00:43:41,940 --> 00:43:46,160
budget that would all come to

1349
00:43:43,580 --> 00:43:47,760
us. We'd return the $9000 um

1350
00:43:46,220 --> 00:43:49,260
and the you know, they were

1351
00:43:47,820 --> 00:43:50,760
able to move forward with these

1352
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:52,220
massive marketing budgets that

1353
00:43:50,820 --> 00:43:54,500
they couldn't otherwise access.

1354
00:43:52,300 --> 00:43:56,160
It sounds very similar. Um and

1355
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:57,460
I've been looking for this on

1356
00:43:56,240 --> 00:43:58,660
you know, in the United States.

1357
00:43:57,540 --> 00:43:59,660
It's like, alright, what's the

1358
00:43:58,740 --> 00:44:01,140
equivalent to what the heck

1359
00:44:01,140 --> 00:44:04,140
they were doing because this

1360
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:05,700
dramatically changed the game

1361
00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:07,340
for these entrepreneurs to be

1362
00:44:05,780 --> 00:44:08,880
able to compete and and finally

1363
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:10,580
have a budget to do something

1364
00:44:08,940 --> 00:44:11,580
with. So, um I'm going to be

1365
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:13,140
talking to you more offline

1366
00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:14,840
about this because um I think

1367
00:44:13,220 --> 00:44:16,380
there's there's ways that this

1368
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:17,880
applies to first class business

1369
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:19,520
too. Yeah, there's a lot of uh

1370
00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:21,160
there's other there's other

1371
00:44:19,580 --> 00:44:24,360
barriers that we haven't talked

1372
00:44:21,220 --> 00:44:25,860
about that that uh that this

1373
00:44:24,420 --> 00:44:27,360
solves and so like why should

1374
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:28,860
you care about small business

1375
00:44:28,860 --> 00:44:32,700
like this? Why should you care

1376
00:44:30,340 --> 00:44:33,800
about the art program? Well, for

1377
00:44:32,780 --> 00:44:35,100
one, it's because you don't have

1378
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:36,540
to have any past performance.

1379
00:44:35,180 --> 00:44:37,340
And so, like normally, if you

1380
00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:38,280
want to work with the

1381
00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:39,840
government, if you wanted to go

1382
00:44:38,340 --> 00:44:41,280
compete and win a catalog

1383
00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:42,740
contract that I talked about

1384
00:44:41,340 --> 00:44:44,780
earlier, you have to have this

1385
00:44:42,820 --> 00:44:46,280
positive Yelp review with the

1386
00:44:44,860 --> 00:44:48,660
government. They have to, you

1387
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:51,360
have to earn your your, you

1388
00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:53,220
know, five star review uh by

1389
00:44:51,420 --> 00:44:55,160
working as a subcontractor for

1390
00:44:53,300 --> 00:44:56,800
a long time and gaining that uh

1391
00:44:55,220 --> 00:44:58,400
that they call CPARS. So, it's

1392
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:02,840
not a Yelp. Um it's not Yelp but

1393
00:45:00,140 --> 00:45:05,040
it's I got you. I got what you

1394
00:45:02,900 --> 00:45:06,340
meant. Right. So, you have to

1395
00:45:05,100 --> 00:45:07,880
earn that past performance to be

1396
00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:10,340
able to go and compete and win

1397
00:45:07,940 --> 00:45:12,520
a a prime contract uh direct

1398
00:45:10,420 --> 00:45:14,120
with the government. Um well,

1399
00:45:12,580 --> 00:45:15,620
under SBIR, that's not required.

1400
00:45:14,180 --> 00:45:17,060
You can come off the street, be

1401
00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:18,080
the first time you're working

1402
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:20,320
with the government and you can

1403
00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:21,620
be a direct uh contractor. You

1404
00:45:20,380 --> 00:45:23,320
have a direct contract with the

1405
00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:25,260
government and then you use

1406
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:28,200
that to start to build your

1407
00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:33,140
own reviews and so uh then when

1408
00:45:31,140 --> 00:45:34,780
you go and compete with uh

1409
00:45:33,220 --> 00:45:36,220
competitive contracts, you know,

1410
00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:37,620
that are not SBIR that that

1411
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:39,080
you're finding out on the

1412
00:45:37,680 --> 00:45:41,480
street, you have that that

1413
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:43,760
background of experience and um

1414
00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:45,320
and good reviews to to allow

1415
00:45:43,820 --> 00:45:47,600
you to be competitive on those

1416
00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:49,600
other awards but the second

1417
00:45:47,660 --> 00:45:51,700
thing is is like you get soul

1418
00:45:49,660 --> 00:45:53,060
source rights and this is

1419
00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:54,600
really powerful and this is why

1420
00:45:53,140 --> 00:45:57,100
a lot of large businesses still

1421
00:45:57,100 --> 00:46:01,080
have a SBIR. If you win a small

1422
00:45:59,540 --> 00:46:03,520
business innovation research uh

1423
00:46:01,140 --> 00:46:05,580
contract, then every federal

1424
00:46:03,580 --> 00:46:07,120
entity is mandated by statute

1425
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:08,420
that if they have a

1426
00:46:07,180 --> 00:46:10,120
requirement that matches a

1427
00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:11,960
solution that a small business

1428
00:46:10,180 --> 00:46:13,460
has won an SBIR for, they're

1429
00:46:12,020 --> 00:46:15,020
mandated by statute. They have

1430
00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:17,000
to go sole source to you to the

1431
00:46:15,100 --> 00:46:18,500
maximum extent practical. Uh so

1432
00:46:17,060 --> 00:46:21,060
that means if you if you win an

1433
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:23,040
SBIR for your product uh for

1434
00:46:21,140 --> 00:46:25,540
your novel solution, then every

1435
00:46:25,540 --> 00:46:29,980
federal entity um now, it's on

1436
00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:31,540
the it's it's on the onus is on

1437
00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:32,740
the small business to make the

1438
00:46:31,620 --> 00:46:33,880
government aware that, hey, I've

1439
00:46:32,820 --> 00:46:34,920
got a sole source contract

1440
00:46:33,940 --> 00:46:37,220
vehicle. You're supposed to go

1441
00:46:34,980 --> 00:46:39,060
with me but uh it's a very

1442
00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:40,760
powerful tool that uh a lot of

1443
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:42,420
larges keep an eye on because

1444
00:46:40,820 --> 00:46:43,960
they look for products that can

1445
00:46:42,500 --> 00:46:45,400
be sole source that they can

1446
00:46:44,020 --> 00:46:47,960
integrate into their systems to

1447
00:46:45,460 --> 00:46:49,860
make their whole, you know, if

1448
00:46:48,020 --> 00:46:51,560
it's a component of one of their

1449
00:46:49,940 --> 00:46:53,160
larger systems, they make their

1450
00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:55,100
whole system sole source and

1451
00:46:55,100 --> 00:46:59,100
then they get a sole source

1452
00:46:57,040 --> 00:47:01,100
contract. Um and then also they

1453
00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:02,640
they look at uh acquiring

1454
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:05,140
companies with that kind of uh

1455
00:47:02,700 --> 00:47:07,080
sole source rights and so we

1456
00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:08,940
see uh that you know, even if a

1457
00:47:07,140 --> 00:47:10,440
company is acquired or they

1458
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,040
sell the product rights to

1459
00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:13,080
somebody else, that sole

1460
00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,120
source ability goes with the

1461
00:47:13,140 --> 00:47:16,120
product. It's not tied to the

1462
00:47:14,180 --> 00:47:17,580
small business uh to the name

1463
00:47:16,180 --> 00:47:20,080
of the company. It's tied to

1464
00:47:17,660 --> 00:47:21,560
the product um and then finally

1465
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:22,620
you get IP and data rights. So

1466
00:47:21,620 --> 00:47:23,720
normally if you win a

1467
00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:25,060
government contract and they pay

1468
00:47:25,060 --> 00:47:27,480
you a hundred percent of the

1469
00:47:26,420 --> 00:47:30,660
things you develop. Uh right.

1470
00:47:27,560 --> 00:47:32,120
But in this case, whether it's

1471
00:47:30,720 --> 00:47:33,620
developed at your expense or

1472
00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:35,220
the government's expense,

1473
00:47:33,700 --> 00:47:38,100
anything that's that's created

1474
00:47:35,300 --> 00:47:40,460
in an SBIR uh contract is your

1475
00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:42,260
IP. It's 100% Oh, wow. Your

1476
00:47:40,540 --> 00:47:43,800
data rights and so uh for 20

1477
00:47:42,340 --> 00:47:45,640
years after the life of the

1478
00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:47,300
last uh CYBR contracts. So,

1479
00:47:45,700 --> 00:47:49,540
that's very powerful tool. Um

1480
00:47:47,380 --> 00:47:51,440
that, hey, I can go get non

1481
00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:53,620
diluted funding to develop my

1482
00:47:53,620 --> 00:47:59,120
own IP and uh um I you still

1483
00:47:55,840 --> 00:48:00,380
own 100% of the IP. Uh that's

1484
00:47:59,180 --> 00:48:01,580
important if you want to go

1485
00:48:00,460 --> 00:48:03,060
out and raise money from VC.

1486
00:48:01,660 --> 00:48:05,260
They want to know that you

1487
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:08,460
know that uh you you have all

1488
00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:10,960
the data rights and uh uh rights

1489
00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:12,360
to the IP that you own um and

1490
00:48:11,020 --> 00:48:14,960
what they're investing into and

1491
00:48:12,420 --> 00:48:16,160
so yeah, it's uh that there's

1492
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:17,640
three good reasons, right? So,

1493
00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:19,140
no, no path performance, keep

1494
00:48:17,700 --> 00:48:20,500
the data rights, and you have

1495
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:22,180
that sole source tool which is

1496
00:48:22,180 --> 00:48:25,680
the IP. So, I'm going to call

1497
00:48:23,780 --> 00:48:26,740
us um I'm going to call us a

1498
00:48:25,740 --> 00:48:28,040
two-part episode now. I hope

1499
00:48:26,820 --> 00:48:30,180
you're okay with that, Sam. I'm

1500
00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:31,540
I'm committing you. Um so, I'd

1501
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:33,380
love to I'd love to have you

1502
00:48:31,620 --> 00:48:35,180
back sooner than later. Um I

1503
00:48:33,460 --> 00:48:36,720
also, I want to take this

1504
00:48:35,260 --> 00:48:38,120
conversation offline, do my own

1505
00:48:36,780 --> 00:48:40,020
research with this process. Um

1506
00:48:38,180 --> 00:48:41,420
you know, and and ultimately

1507
00:48:40,100 --> 00:48:42,520
consult with you on on what does

1508
00:48:41,500 --> 00:48:43,720
this look like for first class

1509
00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,700
business? You talked about a

1510
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:46,260
solution to a problem people

1511
00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:47,960
don't know they have. Um I

1512
00:48:46,340 --> 00:48:50,200
think it's so awkward and

1513
00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:52,140
ironic that you and I know that

1514
00:48:52,140 --> 00:48:56,580
we have a four percent success

1515
00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:58,080
rate in a school, right? You

1516
00:48:56,660 --> 00:48:59,580
would never send your child to

1517
00:48:58,160 --> 00:49:01,060
school with a four percent

1518
00:48:59,660 --> 00:49:03,620
success rate and we have a four

1519
00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:05,600
percent survival rate in

1520
00:49:03,700 --> 00:49:07,100
business. Get entrepreneurs are

1521
00:49:05,660 --> 00:49:08,160
accepting that. They they they

1522
00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:09,460
don't hear that. They don't

1523
00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:10,640
want to hear it. Um you know, I

1524
00:49:09,540 --> 00:49:13,140
get it but it's not you're not

1525
00:49:10,700 --> 00:49:14,600
you're not a statistic. However,

1526
00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:16,080
in order to overcome the

1527
00:49:14,680 --> 00:49:17,000
statistics, we have to make

1528
00:49:16,140 --> 00:49:18,280
moves that are different than

1529
00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:20,080
what we're accustomed to making

1530
00:49:18,340 --> 00:49:21,680
and that's ultimately what we

1531
00:49:21,680 --> 00:49:24,380
need to do is to make a

1532
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:25,780
difference in business to help

1533
00:49:24,460 --> 00:49:26,960
with that process. So, anyway,

1534
00:49:25,860 --> 00:49:28,160
we've gotta we gotta talk

1535
00:49:27,020 --> 00:49:29,620
offline about it. I'll be

1536
00:49:28,220 --> 00:49:31,460
bringing Sam back as long as

1537
00:49:29,700 --> 00:49:33,500
he's willing to. Um we'll dive

1538
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:34,700
deeper into some of the

1539
00:49:33,560 --> 00:49:36,200
specifics of this. We'll also

1540
00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:37,600
cover at that time, worst

1541
00:49:36,260 --> 00:49:39,000
leadership experience, best

1542
00:49:37,660 --> 00:49:40,340
leadership experience, and and

1543
00:49:39,060 --> 00:49:41,500
his powerful lessons but I

1544
00:49:40,400 --> 00:49:43,000
think this was far more

1545
00:49:41,580 --> 00:49:44,580
powerful for those of you who

1546
00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:46,340
um you know, are in a position

1547
00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:47,940
where you need funding. Um you

1548
00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:50,620
need a source to go to that is

1549
00:49:50,620 --> 00:49:54,580
a venture capitalist and you

1550
00:49:53,180 --> 00:49:56,120
know, you're you're willing to

1551
00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:58,620
explore what opportunities you

1552
00:49:56,180 --> 00:50:00,780
have. I I showed earlier uh

1553
00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:02,560
that Sam.gov and I want to

1554
00:50:00,860 --> 00:50:04,320
point out a few. That's not

1555
00:50:02,620 --> 00:50:05,620
Sam rain.gov by the way. Yeah.

1556
00:50:04,400 --> 00:50:06,920
It's just am.gov. He just

1557
00:50:05,700 --> 00:50:08,600
happens to be named same same

1558
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,700
same name. Anyway, um some of

1559
00:50:08,660 --> 00:50:12,160
the questions on there just

1560
00:50:10,760 --> 00:50:14,640
drive me nuts. So, you can see

1561
00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:16,160
how bad this process is and and

1562
00:50:14,700 --> 00:50:18,000
why you need some guidance. It

1563
00:50:16,240 --> 00:50:19,540
says, how do you know if you

1564
00:50:19,540 --> 00:50:24,040
have a registration is on on

1565
00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:26,200
their site tells you what a what

1566
00:50:24,100 --> 00:50:28,980
a crap show the process is and

1567
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:30,980
then it says um what why isn't

1568
00:50:29,040 --> 00:50:32,580
my registration active yet and

1569
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:34,840
what happens if my

1570
00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:36,520
registration fails validation.

1571
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:38,980
If those are your warnings on

1572
00:50:36,580 --> 00:50:41,960
your home page, you know it's a

1573
00:50:39,060 --> 00:50:43,460
difficult process. Um you can

1574
00:50:42,020 --> 00:50:44,920
certainly use these resources

1575
00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:45,960
to try to go about it on your

1576
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:47,460
own but if you want to get a

1577
00:50:46,020 --> 00:50:48,500
hold of Sam, he's on LinkedIn.

1578
00:50:48,500 --> 00:50:50,880
He's on Twitter and he's on

1579
00:50:49,700 --> 00:50:52,320
social media and he's on

1580
00:50:50,940 --> 00:50:53,720
Instagram and he's on all of

1581
00:50:52,380 --> 00:50:54,720
those other things. So, you

1582
00:50:53,780 --> 00:50:55,420
can go check him out. I'll get

1583
00:50:54,780 --> 00:50:56,320
you running for our next

1584
00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:57,080
episode, Sam but I'd love to

1585
00:50:56,380 --> 00:50:58,560
have you back. Are you cool

1586
00:50:57,160 --> 00:50:59,960
with that? Yeah, I'd love to.

1587
00:50:58,620 --> 00:51:01,520
Okay, my friend. We'll we'll

1588
00:51:00,020 --> 00:51:02,960
definitely do that and uh uh

1589
00:51:01,580 --> 00:51:05,400
how can how can I book with

1590
00:51:03,020 --> 00:51:06,920
you? Yeah. So, just uh you can

1591
00:51:05,460 --> 00:51:10,500
have use my calendar link. So,

1592
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:13,400
it's uh Calendly.com slash Sam

1593
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:14,500
dash SBIR. I'm going to drop

1594
00:51:13,460 --> 00:51:16,300
that in the comments in so

1595
00:51:14,560 --> 00:51:17,800
people have it um and I will be

1596
00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:20,780
happy to have you back.

1597
00:51:19,380 --> 00:51:21,780
Everybody take care. Thank you

1598
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:23,020
for being here today. I'm

1599
00:51:21,840 --> 00:51:24,420
really happy that you tuned in

1600
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:26,020
to Vision Pros Live. I'm

1601
00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:27,780
looking forward to seeing your

1602
00:51:26,080 --> 00:51:29,220
reactions as these episodes

1603
00:51:27,860 --> 00:51:30,460
continue to move forward. This

1604
00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:31,920
is going to get more and more

1605
00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:32,760
fun. We'll have more and more

1606
00:51:31,980 --> 00:51:34,020
engagement as well. We'll

1607
00:51:34,020 --> 00:51:49,820
bring our next episode of