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This week, the SphereCast team speaks with Spencer Dobrik, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at SuperVisas. SuperVisas makes visa applications simple, affordable, and fast. Dobrik himself describes his company’s online platform as “the TurboTax for visas.” Through an extremely easy-to-use interface, a user can check eligibility, upload forms, consult with an immigration expert, and get approved to travel. The platform’s flat rate cost saves customers hundreds of dollars’ worth of fees, and the company boasts a 98 percent customer approval rating.

On the podcast, Spencer walks us through why he chose to cofound a company and gets into detail on the product strategy behind the platform. Spencer is also transparent about his company’s biggest challenges and gives some sage advice around staying grounded as a cofounder at a fast-moving startup.

Noteworthy Quotes:

"Learn how to fail early and fail quickly. You have an idea of what the ideal product is, but you really have to take steps on what's the best thing I can do today? And does that allow me to get to the next step? Yes, you want a website that's as good as Airbnb. But you don't get there in a month. You get there in four years. So how to I get to the next step that helps me keep going?"

"Our founding team is a hybrid model where we all meet in the middle and have different perspectives on the direction we're going as a company."

"Mine and my cofounders' own experiences have molded where we're going, why we built our company, and why we hold the values we have today."

"Regarding AI, we always want to keep humans in the loop. We always want people to have that peace of mind that someone is looking at their [visa or immigration] application. But it's really about augmenting them to perform better and have fewer mistakes."

"In the morning, I make my bed. I find it's great to start the day with a task that's accomplishable and brings that feeling of accomplishment."

"You don't feel as bad about your situation when you have someone to talk to who's gone through the same situation."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Spencer Dobrik

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SuperVisas

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This week, the SphereCast team interviews Ugochi Owo, CEO of Flindel — a platform that is making consumer returns as easy as ordering a pizza from your phone. Flindel’s “Automated Returns Machine” allows tenants to return purchases from hundreds of retailers to a single apartment drop box. While the platform specifics are currently unreleased, Flindel boasts an advisory board of founders and executives from some of the world’s most well-known tech unicorns, publications, and venture capital groups.

Ugochi’s story is one of finding a market gap, inspired by her own shopping displeasure. In a world of retail convenience, no one yet seems to have “cracked the code” on returns, and a negative experience drove Owo to find a solution. On the podcast, she details the incredible story of how her company was born, shares what went into her platform’s proof of concept, discusses how she stays healthy and productive as a CEO, and so much more. 

Noteworthy Quotes:

"Believe in yourself; be bullish on yourself... Sometimes you need to remind yourself of who you are to be in a positive mind-frame to kill your meetings or gain that partnership. It all starts with confidence."

"I used to work in 'sprints' and work for 2 days straight... I realized this was not healthy... Then I became that person who is focused on being the most optimal person I can be, energy-wise, and I'm more productive."

"We're pretty optimistic about technology's ability to create — to make something out of nothing and create magic."

"As an entrepreneur, you have to be very fluid and be married to the core idea of your business — not be married to the 'ideal picture.'"

"You never know who is willing to help you unless you ask. People aren't really that mean and scary in real life."

"We look for people who can give our company unfair advantages."

"Depending on what kind of business you have, it's okay to put out the crappiest version of your product. But if you're a B2B business, there's a certain level of 'togetherness' that you have to have as a company... Make sure you present yourself as polished to other businesses."

"We wanted to create a Jetsons-like experience, where things can happen instantly at the consumer's doorstep."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Ugochi Owo

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Flindel

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This week, the SphereCast team connects with Emile Chouha, Co-founder at LunchBox — a Montreal-based digital app, all about helping friends discover new restaurants at the lowest prices possible. Founded in late 2016, LunchBox first broke onto the scene through a partnership with the University of Montreal — a deal which ultimately landed LunchBox at the top of food app charts, surrounded by giants like Uber Eats. Chouha’s app is a hype machine for restaurants, allowing them to publicize their cuisine to massive audiences in a relatively short amount of time.

Emile is a fountain of wisdom, and his deep introspection calls for a somewhat different podcast format. During the conversation, Luke and Xenia actually use a series of social media posts to help guide the conversation with Chouha — a conversation that touches on productivity and the nature of good work, on the strong tie between passion and motivation, on the humanity of startup companies, and, of course, on his own journey of building something from scratch.

Noteworthy Quotes:

"If you're mindful about today, tomorrow will be better... That idea could motivate a lot of people to put more effort into the present moment to change things."

"In a startup, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger goal while giving attention to those little hiccups on a daily basis."

"Passion is overrated, and preparation is underrated."

"Startups are different than Wall Street. A startup is more human. Wall Street is more savage... There's no place for spirituality in Wall Street. Startups don't lie — you're creating value for another human."

"Motivation is a consequence of finding your passion."

"You never fix a problem in one shot. It's a painting — a canvas. You take your brush, and you design a little thing. But then you come back to it the next day, and you're seeing something additional where, in the first day, you couldn't have seen. Because what you wrote on your whiteboard the first day is just a seed that's going to blossom in your head."

"When I started my first company, I was scared of not fitting in as an entrepreneur... I wasn't being real with myself. That mind state slowed me down as an entrepreneur."

"It's easy to work 12 hours, 15 hours — or more. It's more difficult to actually make progress. And, at the end, that's the only thing that matters."

"I think a startup is a science experiment. And you're trying to prove something with statistical significance about a certain type of customer that wants your product. That should be your only focus."

"If you can do valuable work in 40 hours, do it. If you can do more valuable work in 80 hours, do it. But start with 40 hours. You shouldn't need more."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Emile Chouha

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This week, the SphereCast team speaks with Yaniv Grinblat, Head of Business Development at Bridgify — a Tel Aviv-based travel and hospitality startup that uses technology to take the pain out of travel planning. At this point in his career, Yaniv is a travel industry expert. Prior to joining the team at Bridgify, he founded his own business — TripN’wize — which sought to make public transportation in Tel Aviv more accessible for area tourists.

It’s no exaggeration to claim that Yaniv, as the head of sales at a hospitality startup, might have the hardest job in the world right now. As a global pandemic has upended his beloved industry, Yaniv has been forced to innovate — creative sales strategies, nontraditional pricing models. Whatever it takes to keep the lights on and reach the post-pandemic travel boom. On the podcast, Yaniv deep dives on how COVID-19 has changed travel forever and how he’s been forced to live “outside the box” in 2020 to offer a product that can truly bring value to both businesses and consumers.

Noteworthy Quotes:

"As the head of business development and sales, I have to think, 'What are the ways to bring cashflow to our company within the COVID days, when I know that our most valued customers cannot pay.'"

"When we approach hotels now [post-COVID], we tell them that it's not just about delivering a better experience for travelers. It's also about helping you, as a hotel, recover faster. We're helping you get extra money from something you don't currently earn from."

"As a startup in the travel industry, we quickly found out that, in order to be a successful B2C company, we needed to have deep pockets marketing-wise. It's hard to acquire customers, especially in the early stages when you have no funds."

"I think the travel industry will try to forget as fast as she can what has happened here in 2020. Honestly, I'm unsure if there's any way to prepare for this type of scenario."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Yaniv Grinblat

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Bridgify

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This week, the SphereCast team interviews Alexandra Detweiler, Director of Channel Partnerships, North America, at monday.com. Detweiler’s company is a “Work OS” — an open, visually-driven SaaS platform that allows teams to plan, organize, and track projects, all in one unified place. The platform features fully customizable workflows and a variety of off-the-shelf integrations with some of the world’s most popular software solutions. monday.com boasts more than 7,000 reviews of 4.6 out of 5 or higher on reputable review sites, including G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, TrustRadius, and GetApp.

On the podcast, Alexandra digs deep on the value of monday.com — a value that teams from some of the world’s largest and most successful companies have come to find. Companies like NBC, BBC Studios, Hulu, Discovery Networks, Adobe, and Coca Cola. Alexandra also talks through her career journey, including what drove her move from a large enterprise to a scrappy startup and what makes for a good mentor.

Noteworthy Quotes:

"What we see on monday.com is that brilliant and not often seen combination of simplicity and complexity. Simplicity of use, and complexity of use cases and integrations."

"It's hard to know if you've ever made 'the right choice.' What's the measure? There's the work you do. The people you work with. The results of the company. There's not just one thing."

[On moving to a smaller company] "I wanted to be a part of building something and creating an infrastructure, not just working within one."

"I find inspiration most in people who rise to whatever they're doing and however they find success in nontraditional ways. I'm attracted to people who fail before they succeed. And I love seeing people succeed because they really did what they loved."

"I probably stayed at the large corporation for two years too long. But I felt that 'itch,' and I knew that I wanted to create something of my own."

[On mentorship] "I surrounded myself with people who were committed to my success and wanted to help me. And me, them. It's a two-way relationship."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Alexandra Detweiler

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monday.com

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This week, the SphereCast team interviews Aleksandra Efimova, CEO of RP Group International. RP Group began with a single brand — Russian Pointe — which Aleksandra began out of her college apartment. For over two decades, Russian Pointe has provided hundreds of thousands of student and professional ballet dancers with quality pointe shoes. Her shoe brand has since expanded into a popular podcast, and most recently, RP Group acquired FLX, which is a brand of innovative performance equipment and training for flexibility, strength, and recovery.

Aleksandra boasts an impressive resume — a Harvard business degree, countless speaking engagements, multiple Entrepreneur of the Year awards, several appearances on the vaunted Inc. 5000 list. However, as Aleksandra would attest, none of these accolades came easy. Aleksandra is an embodiment of the “American dream” — a US immigrant who got her hands dirty and built her empire from the ground. On the podcast, Aleksandra speaks to the entrepreneurial spirit, how to achieve your dream career, and the role that technology has played in making her own dreams a reality.

Noteworthy Quotes:

"Think about: What is it that you love? What do you know? What are the market trends and global trends? What are people willing to pay for? See where there's a synergy between those four lists that you've put together to see if you can develop a dream career."

"Make technology strategy part of the overall strategy of the business. If you're not doing it, you're falling behind on the competition... It is a driving force for every business."

"One of the most important things that we can do as brands is to create value and build community."

"In college, I was tasked to write a business plan. So, when I was 20 years old, I asked myself, 'What do I know? And what do I love?' And I wrote a business plan based on my passion."

"Uncertain times are the best times to go back to your core, identify what you want to do with your life, fine tune your idea, and do the market research. There's never a good time to start a business. At some point, you just need to do it."

"In business school, I learned that you need to make decisions with three letters — R.O.I. — and not make decisions with the other three letters — E.G.O."

"Talk to your customers. Ask them what is working and what is not working. Be willing to adjust your product to the current market."

"Just because I love dance and didn't become a professional ballerina on stage doesn't mean I can't still have a career in that area."

"I had an unstoppable desire to be successful. I didn't know how, and I didn't know when. But I knew I wanted to be successful."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Aleksandra Efimova

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This week, the SphereCast team speaks with Sergiy Mesropyan, Managing Director and Head of Skunk Works at TransMarket Group — a Chicago-based global proprietary trading firm that uses technology to capture opportunities and manage risk in financial markets. Mesropyan joined TransMarket Group in 2010 and has since climbed the ranks into his current position, where he leads tech experts that are essentially free to drive whatever projects their hearts desire. Sergiy is an industry veteran, bringing nearly two decades of experience to the financial trading space.

With the help of some smart technology, TransMarket Group is able to augment its traders’ expertise to bring a new level of hindsight and foresight to financial markets. However, Sergiy knows that the performance of artificial intelligence and machine learning is only as good as its dataset. On the podcast, Sergiy deep dives on the ins and outs of how to make machine learning work for your business and sprinkles in some words of advice around failing fast and using time and energy wisely. 

Noteworthy Quotes:

"The two critical pieces at being successful with AI are people and data... When it comes to dealing with data in AI, the old adage of 'garbage in, garbage out' still holds."

"Failing fast requires you to go and try to solve the problem that you feel least comfortable solving. Which is psychologically hard. But it saves a lot of trouble, resources, and money in case you can't solve it."

"Humans are terrible at actually failing at anything. We avoid it at all costs... In some cases, we're so bad at failure that our brains will rewrite reality in order to avoid emotional pain. So being able to tackle the hardest problems first is against human nature. It's hard."

"When it comes to technology, we all like toys. But we lose sight of the most important thing — the business needs to make money. So will this technology project help my business become more competitive?"

"Should I dive into machine learning? The short answer is that, if you don't have to, don't. The long answer is more nuanced."

"It's always a lot cheaper to learn from someone else's experiences."

"My professional journey has been an amazing journey so far. A path from an individual contributor to the business owner and executive — latitude to take whatever projects I want. A path of personal growth as well as business growth. Many people helped me on the way."

Bullet List of Resources – 

Sergiy Mesropyan

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TransMarket Group

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This week, the SphereCast team interviews René Pfitzner, Co-Founder and CEO at experify.io. Pfitzner’s company fills a market gap for direct-to-consumer brands, connecting product shoppers with real product owners to get a hands-on trial before purchase. Experify boasts a “new way of authentic consumerism” and allows shoppers to cut through unreliable online reviews to more informed decision-making. The company is based in Zurich, Switzerland and is backed by various international think tanks. Pfitzner himself, prior to founding experify.io, worked as a data scientist in one of Switzerland’s most renowned news publications.

On the podcast, Pfitzner lays out the journey of experify.io thus far, including the process of identifying and meeting a market need. René spares no details in retelling his company’s story and even briefly highlights his platform’s infrastructure, which is built for speed and on-demand scale. Though only a business for 18 months, Pfitzner can attest to the ups and downs of startup life but shares how, even in the hardship, the proverbial “grind” is worth it to work alongside people you trust in building something that you truly believe in.

Noteworthy Quotes:

“There’s this saying: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go as a team.’ And, as a team, that is something that we truly believe in… We founders have three completely different personalities, but we have common ground. And the common ground is important."

“Our story is really not a typical ‘founder's story' where you start building something, then you try to sell it. It was really the other way around. We were first trying to see if there was a business and if people would actually use it.”

“As a startup, moving forward is success. If you feel like you’re moving forward and growing more comfortable with what you’re doing and gaining more clarity on the vision, that is success… At the moment, success is very much still being here."

“The most rewarding thing for me personally is to get up in the morning and know that you are actually moving forward with a team of people that you really like and trust on a project that you truly believe in."

“In terms of our technical strategy, the focus is on speed. Lightweight and organically scalable. Which is why I wanted a ‘backend-as-a-service’ approach where, at the end, I’d only feel the cost impact if things pick up and I’d have to scale, but I wouldn’t have to worry about picking up five more servers or something."

“Progress at the beginning of a startup is very slow. You develop skin as thick as an elephant because, at the beginning, getting buy-in is difficult — especially in Switzerland."

“The emotional support of others in a startup is super important. If you go on this journey, it’s full of ups and downs. You sometimes think, ‘Why am I actually doing this?’ You have to believe what you’re doing can really make an impact and is really worthwhile."

“To me, technology is a tool to achieve something. It’s not an end in itself. So I always prioritize the business side of things.”

Bullet List of Resources – 

René Pfitzner

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experify.io

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Welcome to Spherecast. A podcast all about technology — technology advice, technology inspiration, and how real entrepreneurs have used technology to build their businesses from the ground up.