1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,660 Danny, tell me about your vision. 2 00:00:01,660 --> 00:00:05,120 My vision is the creation of a hybrid company that 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:10,020 helps other organizations understand what innovation means 4 00:00:10,020 --> 00:00:12,860 and how to make innovation actionable within their own walls 5 00:00:12,860 --> 00:00:16,700 and executes that on behalf of our clients and for ourselves. 6 00:00:16,700 --> 00:00:18,740 Tell me more about that, Danny. 7 00:00:18,740 --> 00:00:22,660 Basically, as a company, we help other organizations 8 00:00:22,660 --> 00:00:25,100 ideate and build new products and understand 9 00:00:25,100 --> 00:00:29,380 what the implications of a commitment to innovation are. 10 00:00:29,380 --> 00:00:33,780 And we hear a lot of companies today talking about innovation 11 00:00:33,780 --> 00:00:36,140 and acting like they are innovative. 12 00:00:36,140 --> 00:00:39,020 But in reality, if you dig into how those companies are 13 00:00:39,020 --> 00:00:41,520 structured and you start to look at the things that they are 14 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,180 doing to support their efforts around innovation, 15 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:46,620 it's all just kind of theater. 16 00:00:46,620 --> 00:00:47,700 It's all kind of fake. 17 00:00:47,700 --> 00:00:50,380 It's talking points more than action points. 18 00:00:50,380 --> 00:00:53,580 And one of our goals as a company 19 00:00:53,580 --> 00:00:57,380 is to help other organizations understand 20 00:00:57,380 --> 00:00:59,820 how to bridge the gap between innovation theater 21 00:00:59,820 --> 00:01:01,380 and innovation action. 22 00:01:01,380 --> 00:01:06,540 And so that generally ends up having impacts 23 00:01:06,540 --> 00:01:09,300 on company culture, on company operations, 24 00:01:09,300 --> 00:01:11,860 on the analytics and metrics that companies 25 00:01:11,860 --> 00:01:13,340 are keeping track of to understand 26 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:16,620 how they're performing, and then ultimately 27 00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:18,580 what the goals of that company are 28 00:01:18,580 --> 00:01:20,620 both near-term and long-term. 29 00:01:20,620 --> 00:01:25,740 And so we help companies unpack all of that 30 00:01:25,740 --> 00:01:27,980 and understand how to make innovation 31 00:01:27,980 --> 00:01:31,060 a tangible, actionable activity within their organization. 32 00:01:31,060 --> 00:01:35,740 And we start off by doing that with what we call an accelerated 33 00:01:35,740 --> 00:01:38,940 innovation lab, which is basically a two-day crash 34 00:01:38,940 --> 00:01:41,260 course in all things innovation. 35 00:01:41,260 --> 00:01:45,860 And then we can help companies further those efforts 36 00:01:45,860 --> 00:01:49,180 from that point in whatever manner fits for them. 37 00:01:49,180 --> 00:01:52,500 So that could mean helping them ideate and bring 38 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:54,220 to life their first product. 39 00:01:54,220 --> 00:01:57,820 That could mean helping them operationalize product 40 00:01:57,820 --> 00:02:01,020 and venture building activities within their own walls. 41 00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:05,500 Or that could be as simple as helping them reconsider 42 00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:07,780 how to structure the organization and the metrics 43 00:02:07,780 --> 00:02:11,060 that they're using so that they can move forward 44 00:02:11,060 --> 00:02:14,660 in a manner that lives up to the idea of innovation. 45 00:02:14,660 --> 00:02:16,620 And so we do that for our partners. 46 00:02:16,620 --> 00:02:19,460 And then we also hold ourselves to the same standards. 47 00:02:19,460 --> 00:02:23,660 And in doing so, we have created our own venture studio 48 00:02:23,660 --> 00:02:27,340 farm internally where we take those ideas, make them 49 00:02:27,340 --> 00:02:30,180 actionable, and create new products 50 00:02:30,180 --> 00:02:33,620 through the lens of innovation and longevity 51 00:02:33,620 --> 00:02:38,500 so that we can help bring new things to life. 52 00:02:38,500 --> 00:02:42,900 Where did that name Apollo 21 come from? 53 00:02:42,900 --> 00:02:45,260 Everybody loves that question. 54 00:02:45,260 --> 00:02:47,060 I was thinking about names for the company. 55 00:02:47,060 --> 00:02:50,700 And I don't remember what it was, 56 00:02:50,700 --> 00:02:53,020 but I was watching some movie or TV show or something 57 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:55,140 at the time that was space oriented. 58 00:02:55,140 --> 00:02:59,260 And that got me thinking about the Apollo program 59 00:02:59,260 --> 00:03:04,540 as the original sort of moonshot or the birth of the phrasing 60 00:03:04,540 --> 00:03:05,460 around moonshot. 61 00:03:05,460 --> 00:03:08,820 And so I liked the idea that what 62 00:03:08,820 --> 00:03:11,860 started as man's attempt to reach the moon 63 00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:15,140 suddenly became a catch-all term for people that 64 00:03:15,140 --> 00:03:16,700 are taking big swings at things. 65 00:03:16,700 --> 00:03:20,380 And so I borrowed a bit of that thinking 66 00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:23,540 and then did some more research into the Apollo program 67 00:03:23,540 --> 00:03:27,980 and discovered that Apollo 20 was the last Apollo mission 68 00:03:27,980 --> 00:03:29,500 that was scheduled. 69 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:32,060 17 was actually the last one that launched. 70 00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:34,380 But 21 would have been next. 71 00:03:34,380 --> 00:03:37,220 And we opened our doors in 2021. 72 00:03:37,220 --> 00:03:39,340 And so it created a nice alignment in my mind 73 00:03:39,340 --> 00:03:43,740 between the ideals and goals of building new ventures 74 00:03:43,740 --> 00:03:46,780 and what we're doing as a company 75 00:03:46,780 --> 00:03:49,020 and helping to establish in people's minds 76 00:03:49,020 --> 00:03:51,980 the idea of pursuing something big. 77 00:03:55,020 --> 00:04:00,580 Danny, where did this mission or vision come from? 78 00:04:04,780 --> 00:04:08,180 It's come out of kind of a conglomeration of my experience 79 00:04:08,180 --> 00:04:09,100 throughout my career. 80 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:12,180 So I started my career in advertising. 81 00:04:12,180 --> 00:04:15,980 Very quickly got frustrated with the way 82 00:04:15,980 --> 00:04:18,700 that companies were utilizing advertising 83 00:04:18,700 --> 00:04:21,260 to interrupt people's lives, to try and sell them things 84 00:04:21,260 --> 00:04:23,540 that those people may or may not want. 85 00:04:23,540 --> 00:04:27,740 And so I made a concerted effort to get out 86 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:30,220 of the world of advertising and found myself 87 00:04:30,220 --> 00:04:33,740 as one of the earliest team members at an innovation 88 00:04:33,740 --> 00:04:35,420 consultancy here in New York. 89 00:04:35,420 --> 00:04:37,580 And so that was kind of my first exposure 90 00:04:37,580 --> 00:04:40,540 to a company that was helping other companies think 91 00:04:40,540 --> 00:04:43,020 differently about how to do things. 92 00:04:43,020 --> 00:04:48,260 And I joined them right in kind of fall of 2007. 93 00:04:48,260 --> 00:04:50,100 And so it was right around the time 94 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:51,420 when the first iPhone launched. 95 00:04:51,420 --> 00:04:55,700 And it was right at a time where social media was becoming 96 00:04:55,700 --> 00:04:57,020 what we know it as today. 97 00:04:57,020 --> 00:05:00,740 So it was becoming more mainstream and a thing 98 00:05:00,740 --> 00:05:02,380 that people checked every day. 99 00:05:02,380 --> 00:05:07,820 And it opened the doors to new, interesting, unique ways 100 00:05:07,820 --> 00:05:12,700 for companies to interact with their customers 101 00:05:12,700 --> 00:05:15,100 and the people who were championing them 102 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:17,220 that previously didn't exist. 103 00:05:17,220 --> 00:05:19,940 It used to be that if you had a problem with a company 104 00:05:19,940 --> 00:05:22,300 or you wanted to rave about a company, 105 00:05:22,300 --> 00:05:24,780 you wrote them a letter and hoped 106 00:05:24,780 --> 00:05:27,180 that somebody cared enough to say thank you 107 00:05:27,180 --> 00:05:29,500 for sending us a letter or somebody cared enough 108 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,140 to take care of whatever your problem was 109 00:05:31,140 --> 00:05:33,220 or maybe you called them. 110 00:05:33,220 --> 00:05:38,820 And around 2007, 2008, we saw this sudden change 111 00:05:38,820 --> 00:05:44,380 in the availability and access of companies 112 00:05:44,380 --> 00:05:45,900 to the average consumer. 113 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:47,900 And so we had new ways to interact 114 00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:50,620 with the companies around us. 115 00:05:50,620 --> 00:05:53,580 And those companies had new ways to create value 116 00:05:53,580 --> 00:05:55,260 for their customers. 117 00:05:55,260 --> 00:05:59,260 And so that line of thinking was integral to just about everything 118 00:05:59,260 --> 00:06:02,220 that we did in my work at the Innovation Studio 119 00:06:02,220 --> 00:06:05,820 and then ultimately led me to thinking more and more 120 00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:09,820 about not only how large brands can interact with customers, 121 00:06:09,820 --> 00:06:14,460 but how startups and how new brands can live and breathe 122 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:16,940 that mentality from day one. 123 00:06:16,940 --> 00:06:21,900 And so after leaving that innovation consultancy, 124 00:06:21,900 --> 00:06:25,820 I spent the next 12 years of my career bouncing 125 00:06:25,820 --> 00:06:31,260 between starting companies and serving in senior level roles 126 00:06:31,260 --> 00:06:32,140 at startups. 127 00:06:32,140 --> 00:06:36,700 And so it kind of all came together there. 128 00:06:36,700 --> 00:06:41,340 And then in my last startup job about four years ago, 129 00:06:41,340 --> 00:06:44,860 I sort of found myself leading a SWAT team that 130 00:06:44,860 --> 00:06:49,260 was dedicated to helping our other portfolio companies better 131 00:06:49,260 --> 00:06:53,060 utilize technology for anything from operations 132 00:06:53,060 --> 00:06:56,340 to customer engagement to sales to whatever. 133 00:06:56,340 --> 00:06:59,700 And after about a year of doing that, 134 00:06:59,700 --> 00:07:01,660 somebody kind of tapped me on the shoulder 135 00:07:01,660 --> 00:07:05,580 from within our investors and my founding team 136 00:07:05,580 --> 00:07:08,660 and basically said, hey, you should really 137 00:07:08,660 --> 00:07:10,100 go think about doing this. 138 00:07:10,100 --> 00:07:12,860 And so that led to the birth of Apollo 21. 139 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:17,940 Great story. 140 00:07:17,940 --> 00:07:21,100 Danny, then what would you say is why do you still 141 00:07:21,100 --> 00:07:23,060 do what you do? 142 00:07:23,060 --> 00:07:26,940 Because solving problems is fun. 143 00:07:26,940 --> 00:07:28,940 Plain and simple. 144 00:07:28,940 --> 00:07:30,420 I like to solve problems. 145 00:07:30,420 --> 00:07:34,780 I like technology and I like the combination of those things. 146 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:40,900 And I like helping companies think about, to put it bluntly, 147 00:07:40,900 --> 00:07:41,900 how to do better. 148 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:43,540 And whether that's better operationally 149 00:07:43,540 --> 00:07:47,260 or better for their customers or better for themselves, 150 00:07:47,260 --> 00:07:48,940 I think there's a huge opportunity there 151 00:07:48,940 --> 00:07:52,060 that a lot of companies don't pay attention to. 152 00:07:52,060 --> 00:07:57,540 And so I enjoy that process of helping companies solve problems 153 00:07:57,540 --> 00:07:58,940 and bring new things to life. 154 00:07:58,940 --> 00:08:01,340 So tell me this. 155 00:08:01,340 --> 00:08:03,500 What makes you stick to Apollo 21 156 00:08:03,500 --> 00:08:04,900 and not something else to solve? 157 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:13,220 Apollo 21 has, I have constructed Apollo 21 158 00:08:13,220 --> 00:08:15,260 to kind of serve all of those interests. 159 00:08:15,260 --> 00:08:17,780 So the consulting side of our business 160 00:08:17,780 --> 00:08:20,220 gives myself and my team the opportunity 161 00:08:20,220 --> 00:08:22,300 to help other people solve problems. 162 00:08:22,300 --> 00:08:24,660 The venture building arm of our business 163 00:08:24,660 --> 00:08:26,940 gives us the opportunity to do that for ourselves 164 00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:31,100 and to create new products and the companies that 165 00:08:31,100 --> 00:08:31,860 support them. 166 00:08:31,860 --> 00:08:35,660 And so it kind of scratches both itches for me. 167 00:08:35,660 --> 00:08:40,780 And so with that in mind, I would rather work for myself 168 00:08:40,780 --> 00:08:42,380 and build the team that I believe in 169 00:08:42,380 --> 00:08:45,980 and create a culture and a company that I'm excited about 170 00:08:45,980 --> 00:08:48,940 than going to do this for somebody else. 171 00:08:48,940 --> 00:08:50,380 Thank you for being here today. 172 00:08:50,380 --> 00:08:52,780 I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 173 00:08:52,780 --> 00:08:56,620 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes 174 00:08:56,620 --> 00:08:57,660 continue to move forward. 175 00:08:57,660 --> 00:08:59,380 This is going to get more and more fun. 176 00:08:59,380 --> 00:09:01,300 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 177 00:09:01,300 --> 00:09:03,340 I invite people to participate in the show. 178 00:09:03,340 --> 00:09:05,700 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 179 00:09:05,700 --> 00:09:08,420 Have an excellent time building out your vision 180 00:09:08,420 --> 00:09:32,100 and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.