1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,360
Tell me about your vision.

2
00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:05,560
I think when you talk about vision,

3
00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:08,520
I have had the privilege of running

4
00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:10,600
a couple of businesses in my career

5
00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,520
and also being in leadership positions in others.

6
00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,240
So I think vision has a lot to do with the time in your life

7
00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:19,440
that you're at.

8
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,720
So because I've been running businesses now

9
00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,680
for 30 years, you get a lot of things

10
00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,720
that change from an optimistic person before I had family

11
00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:30,920
and not having built a business and then

12
00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:32,080
having built a business.

13
00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,240
And I'm not saying cynicism comes into this at all.

14
00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,840
I'm just saying that the vision changes

15
00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:39,480
or the application of the vision.

16
00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:42,960
My vision has always been about contribution.

17
00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,240
It's how can I contribute to whatever industry I'm in

18
00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,480
or the people that I work with or, alternatively,

19
00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,080
the business that I'm trying to build.

20
00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,280
So probably the common theme through everything for me

21
00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,440
would be contribution and creating a little less

22
00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,920
friction and taking away a little bit of pain.

23
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,800
So I think that would probably be the way that I

24
00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:07,120
would classify as my vision.

25
00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:11,880
That's a pretty broad term.

26
00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,880
And you're absolutely correct.

27
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:21,440
As life passes on, our vision changes and our goals change.

28
00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:27,720
So what is your current focus?

29
00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:28,280
Very good.

30
00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,520
The business that I'm building at the moment is,

31
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:31,640
I'm very fortunate.

32
00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:32,600
It's my second.

33
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,400
I have had the privilege of exiting my first.

34
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:38,600
This business is really about how

35
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,360
we can contribute to the growth digitally

36
00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:45,360
of the financial industry, the FI space.

37
00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,920
And how can we do it with a way that it's a win for everybody?

38
00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,920
And how can we do it so that we're actually

39
00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,800
building financial literacy and financial understanding

40
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:57,840
while still contributing to the growth

41
00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,520
factors of the financial institutions,

42
00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,560
whether they be a bank or a fintech, how can we help?

43
00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:04,960
How can we help grow them?

44
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,360
So that's my vision, is actually to change the way

45
00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:13,840
that financial institutions see acquisition of new customers

46
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,680
as a way of not only just building their brand,

47
00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,760
but also building really good quality relationships.

48
00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,600
Wow.

49
00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:25,040
Tell me more about that.

50
00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,800
It's a very intriguing thing.

51
00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,080
Really?

52
00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:34,160
And how you think about banks is not

53
00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,320
the norm that most people want to think about.

54
00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,080
Because, hey, I missed a payment.

55
00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:38,800
I did something.

56
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:39,920
I did crazy, right?

57
00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:41,360
Oh, my house is gone.

58
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:43,360
Maybe my business is gone now.

59
00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,400
So where did this all come from?

60
00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,800
I think, like anything, it evolves.

61
00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,920
The type of business and technology that we have

62
00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:55,640
is partner marketing or affiliate marketing.

63
00:02:55,640 --> 00:03:02,200
So I've always had a very strong pull towards relationship

64
00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,160
building and having relationships.

65
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,200
I think it was Stephen Covey that said,

66
00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,720
begin with the end in mind and always be in a win-win situation.

67
00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,440
And those two things really stuck with me over time.

68
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,680
And what I really feel that we do as a technology business

69
00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,600
is we are looking to growing in a win-win-win, where

70
00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,840
the bank wins, the customer wins, we win,

71
00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,080
and then the third parties that we work with,

72
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:31,920
being the publishers, also win.

73
00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,160
So technologically, our business model

74
00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,480
is based on everybody winning.

75
00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:44,920
And I see where finance is such an important factor

76
00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:46,800
in quality of life.

77
00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,160
So things like financial literacy,

78
00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,520
things like having access to the right product

79
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,120
at the right time of your life, having the ability

80
00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,960
to have really good, innovative products available

81
00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:00,920
to the market.

82
00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:02,960
I feel like we can contribute to all of this.

83
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,480
We're not the driver of any of it,

84
00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,040
but we're the driver of growth for all of it.

85
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,720
So that's the way that I see it.

86
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:15,280
How did you get started into the financial sector?

87
00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,920
Like most things, I see life as about windows and doors

88
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,400
that you can either open and crawl out of or doors

89
00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,600
that you open and walk through.

90
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,040
And I think what happens is that there

91
00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:32,040
is no right way of doing it and no wrong way of doing it.

92
00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,960
But what I have always been very appreciative of

93
00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,120
is that if I choose to walk through it,

94
00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,040
I choose to walk through it with a gusto.

95
00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,160
So there is no prize for the faint-hearted.

96
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,840
And what I mean by that is I've been

97
00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:51,880
doing affiliate marketing or partnership marketing

98
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,360
for about 22 years, so a very long time.

99
00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,760
My first business was in the same type of genre.

100
00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,960
And what happened was a client came to us and said,

101
00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:03,200
you're in Canada.

102
00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,520
We're a Canadian business.

103
00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,280
We've got legacy technology.

104
00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,480
Can you integrate with legacy technology?

105
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,600
And we don't quite know what we're doing,

106
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:12,920
but you seem to.

107
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,680
Can you please work with us or respond to our RFP

108
00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:17,760
or whatever else?

109
00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:18,640
And I said yes.

110
00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,360
And that happened to be Scotiabank, which

111
00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,480
is one of Canada's top five banks.

112
00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,240
And I started working with them in the early 2010s.

113
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,840
So I think we started working with them 2010 or 2012.

114
00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:35,600
So I've been around this portion of the industry

115
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,840
for a long time, but I owned my other business

116
00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:41,120
at that time, which was much, much bigger.

117
00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:47,120
So this business literally just moved at its own pace,

118
00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,200
just gently evolved itself.

119
00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,400
And then once I'd sold the other business,

120
00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:52,880
I took a little bit of time off.

121
00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,560
And then I decided to see if I could scale this one.

122
00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:58,400
And that's how it happened.

123
00:05:58,400 --> 00:05:59,960
So I literally took an opportunity

124
00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:03,040
that was presented.

125
00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,280
Nikki, I want you to know there's

126
00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:11,560
a very few people who can see the scope of things you do.

127
00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:12,920
I'm one of them.

128
00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,200
And I'm fortunate to be one of them.

129
00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,920
Then goes to my next question for you.

130
00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,840
Then what is your goal for being on the show?

131
00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:26,960
I think it's very pragmatically, I

132
00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,160
think that we all learn from one another.

133
00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,520
So if I can share something that is just a little bit of insight

134
00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,880
or a little bit of support for somebody else out there that

135
00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:43,320
is doing what they're doing and know that there is a light

136
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,760
at the end of the tunnel, it's to be encouraging.

137
00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,360
I think that's probably the best way of doing it,

138
00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:51,520
the best way of saying it.

139
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,440
So how long ago did you started getting on podcasts

140
00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:56,880
and talking about this?

141
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,800
Where there is an interest from someone else,

142
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,600
I'm very happy to participate.

143
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,400
And there's just a lot of different people

144
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,680
out there doing a lot of different, very cool stuff.

145
00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,720
And sometimes our agendas meet, and sometimes they don't,

146
00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,440
and sometimes it's the next time.

147
00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,680
But I think there is the opportunity

148
00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:22,960
to get out there and just share stories.

149
00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,160
I mean, this is just really stories.

150
00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,520
It's just my experience, and it's just a story.

151
00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,600
And somebody will actually hear it and say,

152
00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,680
that took courage, or that's a risk.

153
00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,360
I can do that in my world and my little sector,

154
00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,800
because I don't think it really matters how big something is.

155
00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,720
And I don't think it really matters about how small it is.

156
00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,320
But it's our journey to be able to go

157
00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,320
through those different stages.

158
00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,680
So somebody's mountain is somebody else's molehill

159
00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,320
and vice versa.

160
00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,800
So I just have the privilege of doing something

161
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,280
that other people think is pretty cool,

162
00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,640
and it is, because I really like it.

163
00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:02,960
And so sometimes just sharing and saying,

164
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,120
we're all just human beings doing the very best we can.

165
00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:07,480
Thank you for being here today.

166
00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,000
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.

167
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,160
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these

168
00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:14,880
episodes continue to move forward.

169
00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:16,600
This is going to get more and more fun.

170
00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,440
We'll have more and more engagement as well.

171
00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,520
We'll invite people to participate in the show.

172
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,920
And thank you for giving us your time and attention.

173
00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,640
Have an excellent time building out your vision

174
00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:53,400
and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.