Dio Speakers and the Art of Audio: The Pursuit of Seamless Sound with Akarsh Vinod
Akarsh Vinod is the founder & CEO of Dio Technologies, Inc. Dio speakers are the simplest, most robust, and most affordable whole home audio solution on the market.
In this engaging podcast episode, the conversation revolves around the entrepreneurial journey, underscoring the significance of perseverance and adaptability in the face of challenges.
The speakers, both entrepreneurs, delve into the nuances of launching a business, sharing personal anecdotes that highlight the steep learning curve associated with entrepreneurship. They explore the importance of networking and the immediate bond that often exists among fellow entrepreneurs, emphasizing that shared experiences can foster invaluable support systems.
One of the standout points in their discussion is the notion that success is not merely a product of talent or skill, but often a delightful blend of luck, timing, and the willingness to learn from failures. As they navigate through the intricacies of building a brand, they underscore the idea that every step, no matter how small, contributes to the larger narrative of entrepreneurial success, encouraging listeners to embrace their own journeys with curiosity and determination.
Visit dioconnect.com for more information on Dio Speakers!
Transcript
Your podcast.
Speaker A:And remember to keep it cold, but don't drink the Kool Aid.
Speaker A:So make you sick or kill you.
Speaker A:Take care, Blind knowledge dot com.
Speaker A:How do we actually pronounce your first name?
Speaker B:Well, first off, I'm very happy to be here.
Speaker B:And second off, not a lot of people get that on first try.
Speaker B:So, like, you know, I don't fault you at all.
Speaker B:But yeah, Akish Vinod, I appreciate that.
Speaker A:Because I should be faulted on that.
Speaker A:We've talked many times.
Speaker A:I am the worst with names.
Speaker B:I am bad with names, too.
Speaker B:Don't even worry about it.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:Well, that's a good start.
Speaker A:Or we're.
Speaker A:We're translating.
Speaker A:Well, you know, for those that don't know, myself and my friend here, we are both entrepreneurs.
Speaker A:He is right now on a way bigger scale than me.
Speaker A:And we met through wherever we met through.
Speaker A:We became connected.
Speaker A:And that's the important part, because you got to work well together as an entrepreneur, wouldn't you say?
Speaker A:You know, it's a network.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, Yeah.
Speaker B:I think that's one thing I've learned since becoming an entrepreneur is like, anytime you meet anyone else who is or was an entrepreneur, there's like an immediate connection there.
Speaker B:They're just like, oh, me too.
Speaker B:Like, hey, like, we totally get the kind of challenges and struggles and anxiety that, you know, is all part of the journey and so something there.
Speaker A:So people don't talk about that, man.
Speaker A:People don't talk about those, like, crazy hours that you work and managing all aspects of things.
Speaker A:You know, I'm finding as an entrepreneur, you know, I'm only four or five months in and I've learned so much about everything.
Speaker A:I didn't know.
Speaker A:That was all blind knowledge to me, dude.
Speaker A:I thought I was, like, just going to jump in.
Speaker A:Let's do it.
Speaker A:Let's go.
Speaker A:Yeah, we're going to be blind knowledge.
Speaker A:It's a huge thing right away.
Speaker A:And I didn't realize that a year is a year and it's a year of work and it's marketing, it's.
Speaker A:It's changing on the fly.
Speaker A:You know, it's a lot.
Speaker A:Have you had any struggle or challenges that you can speak on that you kind of got through and you see a better, better side of it now?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, the thing about me is I never even wanted to be an entrepreneur.
Speaker B:Like, you know, growing up and stuff.
Speaker B:I was always like, nah, I'll just, I'll work a day job.
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker B:And then I started working a day job, and it was not really, that fine.
Speaker B:I was like, wow, this is such a huge chunk of my life that I'm dedicating to other things.
Speaker B:And then I come home and I just have time in the evenings for, like, making dinner, you know, showering, exercising, going to bed, and I just start all over the next day.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know what's funny is that when I started this whole process with Dio, I didn't even start it as like a. I'm going to make like this speaker company that I'm going to be selling lots of speakers with and stuff.
Speaker B:It was really like, I think I can, like, make a product like this.
Speaker B:I don't know how to start a business.
Speaker B:You know, I don't know how to create a website, how to market, how to do any of those things.
Speaker B:But I can start by just understanding the technology and I just took it like, one step at a time.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so, like, obviously there's some big challenges, like even.
Speaker B:Just like learning how to incorporate your company.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Like that.
Speaker B:All the legal entity paperwork that you need to get ready.
Speaker B:And then from there, like, okay, how do you get like something that was started off as this little, like Raspberry PI development board that I bought that I just connected to like a speaker and did some, like, programming on it.
Speaker B:How do I change that into like a manufactured product?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And just all the steps in between and along the way that, yeah, I can't really even pinpoint to one specific challenge.
Speaker B:It's all just been a huge learning experience as they just approached one next step at a time.
Speaker A:You know, there's so many aspects I would never have thought of that unless I already knew about it.
Speaker A:That's blind knowledge.
Speaker A:You know, maybe people don't know about these aspects of hiring of just the nooks and crannies, you know, what are some little nooks and crannies that you've picked up on as you started along your journey?
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of different questions in there.
Speaker B:So they're starting at the high level.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:But I think you can.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:No, just.
Speaker B:Just starting at a very high level.
Speaker B:First off.
Speaker B:Yeah, I live in California, which is pretty judgment free for a lot of things.
Speaker B:I. I don't really care what people do with themselves and in their own time, in terms of, you know, even thinking about, like, employment, hiring, whatever.
Speaker B:Like, you know, there's.
Speaker B:I mean, there's.
Speaker B:There's a lot that's just compliance.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Like pure.
Speaker B:Just.
Speaker B:Here are the laws in these states.
Speaker B:Here's the laws in the country.
Speaker B:Here's, like, understanding all of those things, and that's a very.
Speaker B:I think, honestly for me, that's been one of the most daunting parts as an entrepreneur is just kind of like, how do you even figure all this stuff out?
Speaker B:Luckily, in the Internet age, there's obviously a lot of information out there, but there's a lot of services out there, too, that are pretty affordable to just help entrepreneurs get started with, like, you know, general compliance, understanding.
Speaker B:If you're hiring contractors, you know, like, filing all that paperwork and getting them the stuff they need for their taxes.
Speaker B:And that's something that I personally think as an entrepreneur, you shouldn't be spending a lot of time on.
Speaker B:And that's why all these services exist.
Speaker B:It's, you know, there's a lot of solutions packaged out there.
Speaker B:So that's kind of, I guess, the first part.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I don't think that should ever be the thing that causes the most anxiety, even though it is like, it is sometimes, like, oh, my goodness, I don't understand compliance at all.
Speaker B:The second part of it, too, though, is that one thing I've also learned just as an entrepreneur is you just tend to learn everything, like, related to just your business, to the industry, to make running businesses, whatever.
Speaker B:Like, there's, you know, I may not.
Speaker B:I'm not a lawyer, right.
Speaker B:But I've had to learn, like, you know, just legally how certain things are framed.
Speaker B:And, you know, again, even with, like, the incorporation stuff, with a lot of regulatory things related to manufacturing and shipping, like, just a bunch of these different aspects, you know, I'm also not an accountant, but I've had to learn, you know, business accounting to be able to, like, figure out how exactly where, you know, I'm doing pre orders, you know, how do you account for that?
Speaker B:When do you actually account for all the costs associated to it and stuff like that?
Speaker A:My head's gonna explode now, right?
Speaker B:It makes your head want to explode.
Speaker B:And at the same time, I'm.
Speaker B:I have an engineering background, so I've been, like, making a product, and then I've been running Facebook ads and learning all about copywriting and creatives and all that stuff.
Speaker B:So you kind of learned.
Speaker B:You had to learn the basis of everything that goes on.
Speaker B:But that also helps you quickly figure out what you can kind of push out to another service, like hiring an accounting firm or whatever, versus what you really do need to do yourself.
Speaker B:But it's a pretty cool experience, kind of learning a little bit of all of these things.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm taking it in.
Speaker A:CEO and founder of Do Technologies, Inc. Dio nodes do speakers.
Speaker A:Seamless audio.
Speaker A:High quality audio.
Speaker A:4 Out of 5 stars according to beta testers.
Speaker A:60% Less than your typical Sonos speaker.
Speaker A:Goes all around your house.
Speaker A:It is all through Apple.
Speaker A:It's all through airplay.
Speaker A:You can listen right from the front door.
Speaker A:Go to the bathroom real quick, maybe go upstairs to the bedroom, change, you know, relax down the stairs, then maybe even to the basement.
Speaker A:WI fi.
Speaker A:And that's the cool thing, man, you know.
Speaker A:These are speakers, Dio speakers.
Speaker A:So when you go through all these rooms, when you go up and down your house, you don't have to adjust.
Speaker A:Seriously.
Speaker A:You can actually listen to some awesome stuff seamlessly.
Speaker A:Dealconnect.com this is the man himself.
Speaker A:How'd you get started?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay, that's.
Speaker B:That's quite a story.
Speaker B:I really started from the customer standpoint, you know, like, really from.
Speaker B:As a guy who really liked listening to things.
Speaker B: So back in: Speaker B:I was commuting like 30 minutes back and forth, which isn't a bad commute, but I was constantly listening to things.
Speaker B:Any moment I got to just, like, keep myself busy.
Speaker B:So I started getting into podcasts, I started getting into audiobooks.
Speaker B:And, you know, my routine was like, yeah, I'll wake up in the morning, hop in the shower, I'll catch up on my news, right, With a podcast.
Speaker B:I jump out of the shower, and then I'm just kind of waiting there for the podcast episode to end.
Speaker B:And then I'd finally go out, get dressed, make breakfast, eat breakfast.
Speaker B:And that whole time it was like.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It started getting more and more frustrating that I had to constantly, like, pause, like, disconnect from a Bluetooth speaker in my bathroom and plug in headphones or connect to another Bluetooth speaker somewhere.
Speaker A:And I was like, annoying to do that.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I just wanted to have like a speaker in every corner of my home and connect to them all.
Speaker B:And I was like, why is this so inefficient?
Speaker B:Like, I'm sure I could make something like that.
Speaker B:That was my hubris speaking a bit.
Speaker B:But I.
Speaker B:So I kind of started just setting out on, like, okay, like, what exists out there.
Speaker B:Just, like how multi speakers have speakers that you can put everywhere and connect to them all at once shouldn't be that bad.
Speaker B:And I found that everything on the market that was doing something like that was pretty much like $200 or more per speaker.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:This doesn't make any sense.
Speaker B:That really is kind of my mission.
Speaker B:Like, that's what started me thinking about this concept more and more, getting kind of more frustrated and more Just kind of like the questions like, why?
Speaker B:Just kept coming back to me more and more.
Speaker B:And then finally I was like, I want to try this.
Speaker B:Like, I want to try doing something about this.
Speaker B:It can't be that bad.
Speaker B:So, you know, I just.
Speaker B:That's when I started to like, you know, put together speakers and get, you know, like development boards and being like, okay, can I like, get these to like, talk to each other and all of that.
Speaker B:Learning a lot more about how the technology works, really learning about another big issue, which is just not just getting the speakers to connect to each other, but how do you get your phone to send audio to all of those speakers at once?
Speaker B:Things like that, you know, and as I kind of went.
Speaker A:That's deep.
Speaker A:That's a good point.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:It's like things that I feel like a lot of people don't think about as you kind of go through this little by little, step by step.
Speaker B:And so, you know, finally I've landed where I am now, where I actually have like a fully designed product.
Speaker B:You know, I've tested a lot of different stuff on our website.
Speaker B:Running pre orders right now on Indiegogo, which is like a, you know, a crowdfunding platform that's really getting discounts for pre ordering the device and helping me get my first bit of inventory in.
Speaker A:So get the word out too.
Speaker A:Get the word out.
Speaker A:Check out dealconnect.com right now.
Speaker A:Dude, get there, get there.
Speaker A:Because right now you're getting in now, you know, so happy you're here because you get it, man.
Speaker A:You get it.
Speaker A:Tell me what you're thinking about.
Speaker A:Dio.
Speaker A:Where are you at these days?
Speaker B:Yeah, so where are we at?
Speaker B:And also for those of you who are trying to spell it out, it's do like audio.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Not like Neo, dude.
Speaker A:Dio.
Speaker B:Dio, exactly.
Speaker B:Dio.connect.com.
Speaker B:So where we're at right now?
Speaker B:Yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Because I've gone through this whole journey now where I've actually gotten a product fully designed.
Speaker B:I've got manufacturing lines set up.
Speaker B:You know, I have all the supply chain in place and it's just turning the keys to turn it all on and get the production running.
Speaker B:Right now we are running this, you know, Indiegogo campaign, which, like I mentioned, it's like pre orders.
Speaker B:And really all of that cash is just going into Being able to place that first order of speakers so we can start selling, become a business where right after all of this, you know, we are going to be selling from our website, setting up all of the E commerce stuff, all that fun stuff.
Speaker B:And really the goal has been to be the first like community led speaker company out there.
Speaker B:Because one of the big things about what I'm trying to do with Dio, right is as I kind of dived in as even as a customer, you find out very quickly that the audio space is very, very, there's a very few players in it and they're all really trying to push a lifestyle.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Which is essentially you want to have this beautiful looking speaker with all these features that you really don't need, you know, with this level of very small, tiny incremental changes in sound quality that you're never going to hear.
Speaker B:And we want you to pay a premium on all of that.
Speaker B:Yeah, and they're able to do that because there's like very few, you know, companies out there that are in the audio space.
Speaker B:I'm trying to build a company that is not trying to sell its customers a lifestyle, but it's trying to be led by its customers.
Speaker B:You basically help be part of the journey from the very beginning.
Speaker B:We even have perks on our Indiegogo page where you can become part of our deal product council.
Speaker B:So it really is something I'm trying to build to make speakers for the average home that people can have their input in, where it really is something that is useful for your home and accessible because we're also the most affordable home audio system out there at the same time.
Speaker B:And that's really been the goal, Right.
Speaker B:It's not really been to create another Sonos or Bose, but to create something that's really a little bit different, that really stands for something that is, you know, something just easier to get behind and that you can feel like you're a part of.
Speaker A:Okay, I'm starting to get a clearer picture why indiegogo, why take that approach?
Speaker B:So you know, indiegogo well, you know, a lot of audio products launch on Indiegogo constantly.
Speaker B:And so, you know, it's a platform that people who are there already are very aware of these, you know, kind of cool projects and products they even have, they provide some good visibility.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So more than that, I think it's also though the kind of the statement that we're making as a company by kind of going on indiegogo.
Speaker B:Because again this deal was, I haven't structured it, I haven't really built this, you know, to be this like big venture backed behemoth that is just like a corporate, you know, like a dry corporate entity that again, you know, is trying to like push product onto.
Speaker B:Onto people and try to like sell them lifestyles.
Speaker A:When you say it like that, yeah, that is out there.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's really supposed to be something that is like, you know, for example, the product we're offering, right?
Speaker B:It's every, everything that I have put into this product, every bit of thought has been around, how do we make this as easy to set up as possible, as seamless to use and integrate your home as possible.
Speaker B:Even the design is very simple.
Speaker B:And with that same mentality, it's like, you know, what statement are we making as a company?
Speaker B:By going on Indiegogo, we're saying like, hey, we are a company that is really here for you as a customer to help drive.
Speaker B:We're really not here to make things more complicated in your life.
Speaker B:The cool thing about podcasts, right, Like I said, I'm really into podcasts and stuff.
Speaker B:And the cool thing about podcasts is it really is a conversation, right?
Speaker B:And I think that's why people tune in sometimes.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think people really just enjoy hearing these people who are in, you know, doing different things in life and just having conversation about how they get there and what they're doing.
Speaker A:Real quick, man.
Speaker A:Sound quality, is it good?
Speaker B:No, no, no, no, it is great.
Speaker B:Here, let me, let me geek out for a minute if you don't mind.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm going to get a little bit technical here.
Speaker B:I think a lot of people don't know this and I feel like they'd be interested in it.
Speaker B:When you think of speakers nowadays, you really think of Bluetooth speakers, right?
Speaker B:You think about these, I mean, that is just Bluetooth speakers.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wireless blue speakers, they're pretty commonplace.
Speaker B:The thing is Bluetooth, right?
Speaker B:As a technology, it actually, and this is the big thing, this is what I mean by all the big speaker companies are trying to like sell you something, right, Rather than really look out for you.
Speaker B:Bluetooth as a technology is not good for audio in general.
Speaker B:Like just hands down, you know, Bluetooth wave, like if you think about that, you know, radio wave of Bluetooth that's going from your phone to your speaker.
Speaker B:The bandwidth is too small to actually pack all of your audio data into.
Speaker B:And so because of that, you know, there's.
Speaker B:You compress your audio, you actually get a lot of loss.
Speaker B:You know, for example, I'm using wireless Bose headphones right now.
Speaker B:And I got these after my wired Bose headphones that I got like 10 years ago finally broke down.
Speaker B:And the sound quality difference was almost immediate.
Speaker B:It's not as good, which is crazy because it was more expensive.
Speaker B:And the reason for that is really just because Bluetooth.
Speaker B:Streaming through Bluetooth makes you lose sound quality on the way.
Speaker B:The way that like a wired thing won't happen.
Speaker B:But here's the secret is that you can actually send wirelessly a bunch of audio data to a speaker or to an earphone to whatever.
Speaker B:But you need a bigger band.
Speaker B:And that's why we went on to WI fi.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So it has more bandwidth.
Speaker B:It actually takes all of that audio data.
Speaker B:It doesn't compress, it just sends it straight through and plays out of your speaker the way that like a wired speaker would.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so, so that's really dio.
Speaker B:You know, we.
Speaker B:I've been demoing this speaker at like cafes and stuff in the area and one of the biggest comments I keep getting is, whoa, they're so small.
Speaker B:Why do they sound so good?
Speaker B:Because people don't expect it.
Speaker B:And it's really just because they're not Bluetooth speakers.
Speaker B:And I'm not a company that's going to be trying to sell you something that you might not need.
Speaker B:And it's always ready for you to use through WI fi.
Speaker A:You know, all of that is just a better experience through WI Fi versus Bluetooth.
Speaker A:And I think that's, that's important for people to know.
Speaker A:I don't think that's actually well known.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, it's not well known at all.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so, you know, my main thing is if you're used to Bluetooth quality speakers, then like, yeah, you're going to be pretty damn happy.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's all that needs to be said.
Speaker A:Let's talk about what made you really start putting in the work.
Speaker A:You know, I saw like there was some soldering going on.
Speaker B:So that actually was not soldering.
Speaker B:I have soldered before.
Speaker B:But you know, I do have an engineering background, so I've done a lot of that stuff before.
Speaker B:But you know, what you were referring to was specifically this like off the shelf development board I had.
Speaker B:Since then it's been two and a half years.
Speaker B:So kind of step by step, even just on the product development side.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Is from there I pretty much, I started getting kind of basic working prototype zeros as I mentioned and I was like, okay, this is cool, this is cool.
Speaker B:And I started understanding the technology.
Speaker B:I was able to start looking into Just what would it take to really get your phones to work with this, to really stream wirelessly from your phone to all these multiple speakers?
Speaker B:And as I kind of went through there and I understood the technology better, I started landing on this thing called Apple airplay, which is a really cool piece of technology that not a lot of people know about, that's built into your iPhone and really allows you to transfer, like, your audio, for example, to a bunch of different devices at once.
Speaker B:And it was like integrated right in there.
Speaker B:And it was like, it's cool stuff.
Speaker B:What I did right after that was like, I hit up Apple.
Speaker B:I just straight up was like, hey, I want to use your technology in my speakers.
Speaker B:So that works with all of this.
Speaker B:And they were like, yeah, all right, you're gonna have to go through like an application process.
Speaker B:But sure.
Speaker B:And so I went through this application process.
Speaker B:You know, like, they really dive deep into, into do into the background, all that stuff, you know, sign NDAs, all that good stuff.
Speaker B:They approved me.
Speaker B:They were like, yeah, this is a cool concept.
Speaker B:Let's.
Speaker B:Let's go ahead.
Speaker B:So after that I was like, great, what's the next?
Speaker A:And you didn't know about that stuff.
Speaker A:This was just kinda you learning on.
Speaker B:The way, me figuring it all out.
Speaker B:Of course, during this time too, I was kind of sketching, like, literally like sketching ideas, you know, and figuring out how the speaker is going to look, you know, and stuff like that.
Speaker B:And then I kind of took all of this to some manufacturers and I was like, hey, like, I know exactly how all this is supposed to come together.
Speaker B:And, you know, I've got the sketches of what I want to look like and stuff like that.
Speaker B:Do you guys want to join me and like, help me make this, like a manufactured product?
Speaker B:From there, you know, obviously, like negotiations and conversations, all those took place, landed on, you know, I kind of down selected one specific manufacturer that seemed to really have just the best capability and best support to bring this forward.
Speaker B:And they've been great working together with them to set up the production lines and do all that stuff.
Speaker B:And along the way, you know, I got like production samples, you know, like, we were tweaking different things on, like, really how, how is this going to be mass produced and how's it going to look?
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:So I got seven prototypes in the process.
Speaker B:Here I am now with the design locked in the just fully ready to actually build at scale and the tooling kicked off and all that stuff that you need to manufacture things.
Speaker B:And now next step is we need to get in our inventory, our mass produced batch of speakers, get them into people's homes, start selling, right.
Speaker B:And like that's kind of when I'm like, oh, then we'll get started.
Speaker B:But I'm sure that when that happens, I'll be like, no, no, no.
Speaker B:It's only when we like hit a certain number of sales or whatever, you know, like there's always going to be the next thing to kind of hit the next goal, the next step with Dio, I'm sure.
Speaker B:But I'm very excited because like I said, this speaker, it's ready.
Speaker B:I'm so excited to get this in people's homes.
Speaker B:We've got a website, dioconnect.com and when you go there you can read all about the product.
Speaker B:But if you want to really see the product, you've got to hit that pre order now button and it's going to take you to our indiegogo page over there.
Speaker B:I've got a few different videos.
Speaker B:I've got like a one big video showing the concept.
Speaker B:I've got a video actually that like demoing the speakers, right.
Speaker B:Me in my own little home showing you how it works.
Speaker B:And then I've got like a lot more information.
Speaker B:How do they compare to like some of the other big speakers?
Speaker B:You think about what our beta testers have said about this.
Speaker A:I love that you're teaching us because I know a lot about audio but I didn't know a lot of the data you have on there, a lot of the knowledge and I think that's, that's really cool.
Speaker A:Years speakers.
Speaker A:How do you get away from it?
Speaker A:You know, I know you're a musician.
Speaker A:You're a, you're a sick drummer, you know.
Speaker A:You still drumming?
Speaker A:Do you go for runs, sleep ever?
Speaker B:Yeah, the first two.
Speaker B:Not as much of the last.
Speaker B:I, yeah, drumming has been probably one of my biggest.
Speaker B:It's my biggest hobby.
Speaker B:It's been one of the biggest parts of my identity since I was young.
Speaker B:You know, I started when I was in middle school.
Speaker B:I, I was part of everything related to like band and percussion and drums.
Speaker B:I was part of my own neighborhood rock band.
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker B:I was part of the jazz band at school, percussion ensemble, you know, the band class, the community orchestra on the weekends.
Speaker B:So I've done the whole range, I think.
Speaker B:But drum set is like my actual passion.
Speaker B:Got my own little electronic drum set here in my home.
Speaker B:It's electronic so that I don't piss off the neighbors.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:I want to get back to my normal acoustic drum set once I can finally own a home.
Speaker B:But, you know, I'm a millennial, so that might never happen.
Speaker B:Who knows?
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:That's my dream.
Speaker B:Like, you know, I'm like, man, when.
Speaker B:When I can finally get my dream home built, it's gonna have, like, you know, its own little soundproof room at the bottom with my drum set in it, and I'm gonna be able to have speakers all over there, too, that I can play along with.
Speaker A:It's gonna be great.
Speaker A:In your dream home or not just a dream home.
Speaker A:I think it starts with a dream.
Speaker A:Everything really does.
Speaker A:Or maybe just a thought, but if.
Speaker A:Yo, man, if you have a drive, if you have a vision, if you want to go somewhere, if you want to get a house, if you want to have a career, whatever it may be, if you want to be a pro rock drummer, you know, you got to be.
Speaker A:You got to be focused, and you got to be.
Speaker A:I don't know, you gotta have a good team around you.
Speaker A:Maybe a little bit of luck here and there, you know, some good fortune, some good fate, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, mentioned earlier.
Speaker A:Yeah, go ahead, Go ahead.
Speaker B:We'll go.
Speaker B:You mentioned that bit about luck, right?
Speaker B:And that's honestly been one of my big life lessons.
Speaker B:Just doing.
Speaker B:Do.
Speaker B:Doing everything else in life.
Speaker B:You know, we always want to look at people who've done stuff in life, and I'm not even saying I've done anything like, major, I will see if Dio becomes successful or not.
Speaker B:But you always look at people like that, and we're just like, wow, they must have been so skilled or talented or smart or whatever.
Speaker B:But, like, when I even look back at my own life, like, so much of it I personally attribute to luck, you know?
Speaker B:Like, I. I really think that you.
Speaker B:You can't get anywhere without, like, just on your own, you know, you can.
Speaker B:You can only get there by really, you know, having the people in your life who are willing to give you some level of grace, some level of fortune, some level of support to help you push forward.
Speaker B:And that's been my biggest lesson, Right?
Speaker B:It's just kind of like, tune that ego down a bit and just like, oh, you know, I need people and I need luck to really keep pushing myself further.
Speaker B:So you try to do the best with.
Speaker B:With.
Speaker B:With that, right?
Speaker B:But you won't get anywhere without that.
Speaker A:So I. I love that.
Speaker A:This is why we.
Speaker A:This is why we hit it off, man.
Speaker A:Same philosophy.
Speaker A:Like, I. I register with so many of the different things that you have said all throughout this interview.
Speaker A:Feels like just five minutes because I just take it in, man.
Speaker A:I got three screens here.
Speaker A:I got four pieces of paper.
Speaker A:Like, I'm just, like, writing shit down because that will.
Speaker A:First of all, it's broadcasting.
Speaker A:I'm not used to video.
Speaker A:We'll get there.
Speaker A:I'll get something on the ceiling up here pretty soon.
Speaker A:But just like Dio, I'm starting out, too.
Speaker A:I just started Blind Knowledge four months ago.
Speaker A:It's nearly impossible to actually make this successful.
Speaker A:I know that.
Speaker A:But the other thing I know is that I've seen it done.
Speaker A: ernet radio network back from: Speaker A:I was in it, you know, I was fortunate to be there.
Speaker A:Things went really well, and things went really wrong, you know, and things went really good, and things went really bad.
Speaker A:There was just ups and downs, ebbs and flows, man.
Speaker A:It was a roller coaster and I burnt out.
Speaker A:I was like, you know what?
Speaker A:Screw this.
Speaker A:I'm just going to go do the regular thing.
Speaker A:And I got a job at a very good job at a very big insurance company.
Speaker A:And for six or seven years, I know how long I was there.
Speaker A:I was there for six and a half.
Speaker A:So six, seven, we'll call it that.
Speaker A:It's about, like five months.
Speaker A:Six years.
Speaker A:Five months.
Speaker A:And, you know, that lifestyle just wasn't for me.
Speaker A:And now I'm back in this thing, trying not to burn out kind of thing.
Speaker A:Trying not to overdo it.
Speaker A:Trying not to produce and host and book interviews and do ads and trying to figure out how the hell this is going to be successful and what is success and what is blind.
Speaker A:What the.
Speaker A:What the f. Or what the.
Speaker A:Whatever.
Speaker A:What is blind knowledge, dude?
Speaker A:You know, it's like all of these things.
Speaker A:Have you come to any of that?
Speaker A:Like, any.
Speaker A:Do you relate with any of that at all?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, I relate with all of it.
Speaker B:Like, I mean, there isn't.
Speaker B:Like, honestly, I don't.
Speaker A:Like, I hope so.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think even as.
Speaker B:As, you know, I've been working on this for two and a half years.
Speaker B:Even then, like, I'm pretty sure every single week I need to constantly keep having a check in with myself, being like, what am I doing?
Speaker B:Like, where's this going?
Speaker B:Like, what's the next steps?
Speaker B:And, you know, is this gonna be successful or not?
Speaker B:When.
Speaker B:When.
Speaker B:How do I catch that early enough, right?
Speaker B:Know when to put in more because it's gonna be successful or when to start pulling back if it's not.
Speaker B:I've constantly had to have those conversations with myself, and I think Every entrepreneur does.
Speaker B:So, yeah, you're not alone, man.
Speaker B:That's a.
Speaker B:It's a.
Speaker B:It is a journey.
Speaker A:I bring it up because, yo, you have two and a half years entrepreneur, you're not sure if it's successful yet.
Speaker A:You mentioned that.
Speaker A:You know, I think just having the balls to just do this thing and do.
Speaker A:And trust, try something, whatever it is, you know, at with where you're at in life, you know, you could just kind of say, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:This is cool.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:Whatever.
Speaker A:Maybe I'll.
Speaker A:Maybe I'll do volleyball or maybe I'll, like, you know, maybe I'll start knitting or something.
Speaker A:You know, maybe I'll fall in love with that passion or maybe falling in love with passions.
Speaker A:Doesn't matter to me.
Speaker A:Depends on the person, right?
Speaker A:Think it's.
Speaker A:I think this stuff just takes a certain drive.
Speaker A:And for me, I'm four months in.
Speaker A:I've always wanted to do this entrepreneurial stuff also.
Speaker A:Musician.
Speaker A:I'm creative as hell.
Speaker A:I try to be, like, really, really fun.
Speaker A:Business kind of sucks sometimes, but it's really interesting and it's kind of a way of.
Speaker A:The way of life.
Speaker A:Call it fortunate or unfortunate, whatever that is, you know.
Speaker A:So what I'm trying to get at here is I'm four months in, you're two and a half years in.
Speaker A:Anything you can give me is going to help me.
Speaker A:And hopefully that'll trickle down to anyone listening because there's got to be people in the same positions, whether it's you or me, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B:I mean, the first thing I would say is like, I'm two and a half years in, but I'm two and a half years in on a consumer hardware product, which is like a whole different timeline than like a lot of other businesses.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So I won't necessarily say it's like, oh, two and a half years of experience.
Speaker B:So far down, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm still a runt.
Speaker B:I'm still starting out when it comes to this space because it takes a while to build a consumer electronics product.
Speaker B:So that's something I definitely want.
Speaker B:Yeah, I definitely want to highlight that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And that comes out, like, if I was two years into like a software, like, product, that would be very different.
Speaker B:That would be like, wow, so experienced.
Speaker B:But for me, every step of it has been something brand new where I still feel like someone inexperienced who's learning something new.
Speaker B:And I think that's going to go on for a while.
Speaker A:And you know that that's a good thing that you Kind of have, you know, that you're ready for it.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:I think you need to.
Speaker B:You need to have a lot of self awareness as an entrepreneur.
Speaker B:You need to kind of be able to do those pulse checks.
Speaker B:You need to know what you don't know so that you can figure out how to figure that out.
Speaker B:So that's a pretty good.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker A:That's so true.
Speaker A:Can you say that again?
Speaker B:Yeah, you need to know what you don't know so that you can start figuring out what you had to figure out.
Speaker A:Yo, I actually, I think you should definitely trademark that and that should be a quote because that's inspirational stuff.
Speaker A:Dude, that's awesome.
Speaker A:Did you know that obviously?
Speaker A:Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, that's that angle too.
Speaker A:I wasn't even coming from that approach because like I said, there's business and there's just good stuff out there, like good music, good design, good, good arts.
Speaker A:But anyway, it's just a good quote that.
Speaker A:I like that a lot.
Speaker A:That, that connected.
Speaker A:I felt it.
Speaker A:You know, they say good art.
Speaker A:They say the definition of good art is something you can feel whether it's negative or positive.
Speaker A:So I really take that into my life, my everyday living.
Speaker A:And you're a musician, man.
Speaker A:How do you balance that?
Speaker A:You know, the business and the creativity.
Speaker A:Is it easy for you?
Speaker A:Is it difficult?
Speaker A:Was it hard?
Speaker A:Now it's easy.
Speaker A:You know, how is that just balance.
Speaker A:How do you do it?
Speaker B:Yeah, no, that's a great question.
Speaker B:That's something I'm still trying to figure out, to be completely honest.
Speaker B:You know, something I've learned.
Speaker B:You know, when it comes to creativity, there have been a lot of opportunities in building D O where I've had the opportunity to funnel my creativity into it.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like even my website, like something as basic as a website, I have personally designed the website for Deal.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I have put all of my thought into it, into, you know, what goes where, you know, what sort of like font sizes, whatever.
Speaker B:Figuring out what sort of generates.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Figuring out the assets to generate too, right?
Speaker B:Like what sort of speaker images and stuff do I want on there?
Speaker B:Like what's the, what's the content say?
Speaker B:What's the flow going to say?
Speaker B:That stuff, I find that really interesting because that's my way of kind of unplugging from the, like from the business side.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And then really it's a lot for most, I think, creative project.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I guess what you're saying, I, I get what you're saying.
Speaker A:I, I love this stuff.
Speaker A:I love this conversation right now, I.
Speaker A:That would, I think that would make my head explode if I wasn't thinking that way.
Speaker A:It's just like migraine.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's so cool that you like it though, because if you didn't, then I don't know how the hell anyone could do it.
Speaker B:Oh, don't get me wrong, sometimes it makes my head explode too.
Speaker B:Sometimes I'm like, I can't do this.
Speaker A:So you do have those moments.
Speaker B:Oh, yes.
Speaker B:Oh, I have those moments all the time.
Speaker B:But you know, in terms of just balancing creativity.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It's like, I mean, of course I've got my drum set too.
Speaker B:Like I. I try to.
Speaker A:Okay, so you're getting the energy out.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Some people run.
Speaker B:I'll be honest with you.
Speaker B:I have a drum that like, oh, munch.
Speaker B:Which is terrible for me.
Speaker B:I used to do it every single day and now it's like, oh no.
Speaker B:Every day, every evening, every weekend is so jam packed.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And all you want to do is just drum for five friggin minutes.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker A:I totally get it.
Speaker A:I didn't touch my guitar for like since I started December 1st, dude.
Speaker A:I was like, I just restrung it for the first time.
Speaker A:I didn't touch it like.
Speaker A:And then I felt it again.
Speaker A:I caressed its body.
Speaker A:It was just.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker A:It just came back like right away.
Speaker A:I didn't even miss a beat, dude.
Speaker A:It was just boom.
Speaker A:I like calluses are still there.
Speaker A:Which is impressively impressive.
Speaker A:It's impressively impressive.
Speaker A:Maybe that's my trademark, but anyway, impressive.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I, I mean drums.
Speaker B:There's all this muscle memory and stuff too.
Speaker B:And I'm pretty happy it hasn't gone away yet, but it's what I'm saying.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, that's, that's a good thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, of course, of course.
Speaker A:Those are the nooks and crannies of it.
Speaker A:Maybe we'll call this episode Nooks and Crannies at this point.
Speaker A:But I'm saying, like, it's just so difficult to do the things you want to really do that are leisure versus the things you want to really do that are business and that balance.
Speaker A:And it's been difficult for me too.
Speaker A:But I think we have to find that time.
Speaker A:We have to.
Speaker A:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:So I hope you drum after this interview on this episode.
Speaker A:Man.
Speaker A:Keep drumming.
Speaker A:Maybe we can jam.
Speaker A:Maybe we can do something, man.
Speaker A:You know, I did an interview with a gentleman, DLP Dilapo.
Speaker A:He's in Africa.
Speaker A:Really, really good singer, Interesting range.
Speaker A:DLP Music.
Speaker A:Check him out.
Speaker A:DLP Music on Spotify.
Speaker A:Also, Winston Wayne.
Speaker A:You know, we were just talking.
Speaker A:We were just having a conversation, and now we're jamming on a song, we're sending tracks to each other, you know, through WhatsApp.
Speaker A:And that's why I actually picked up the guitar and strung it is because it was just, like, inspiring.
Speaker A:What inspired you to start Dio?
Speaker A:What was that spark?
Speaker A:You know, you said you had that interest.
Speaker A:You said you wanted to solve a problem.
Speaker A:Was there a certain thing that got you to start thinking about that?
Speaker A:What, did it happen in school?
Speaker A:Was it just.
Speaker A:Maybe there wasn't a spark?
Speaker A:You know, if that's the case too.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, there were.
Speaker B:There were a couple.
Speaker B:There were a couple factors.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, there are definitely a couple factors in here.
Speaker B:So I think one thing that I also kind of learned, right.
Speaker B:Was like I said, I never.
Speaker B:I never thought.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:I never thought that I was going to be an entrepreneur.
Speaker B:But it got to a point where when I started thinking about just like connected speakers, just.
Speaker B:Just affordable, connected speakers are easy to use, I started thinking about the concept.
Speaker B:I was literally there.
Speaker B:There have been times where I was having dreams, like, about Dio, and.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm not even joking.
Speaker A:Literally dreaming about Dio.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was on.
Speaker B:It was on my mind so much.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:That I was like, I gotta do something about this.
Speaker B:Like, I have to do something about this.
Speaker B:You know, it's gotta be out in the world.
Speaker A:Like you're a business robot and it must be done.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And so that was really where my.
Speaker B:My spark.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, for me, it got to a point where it's like, when I started, when it was just on my mind so much, I was.
Speaker B:When I was like, okay, I know I've got to do something about this.
Speaker B:I also, at that time period, had just quit my job because I was about to go into my MBA program.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was going into an MBA program and I was like, I'm gonna have two years off my.
Speaker B:Off my career.
Speaker A:Maybe.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I had.
Speaker B:I had the space to really think it through, to really start working on it a little bit, you know, and things like that.
Speaker B:So I had the space.
Speaker B:And then I also just had it on my mind constantly.
Speaker B:And I was like, let's try it.
Speaker B:You know, this is a risk free, you know, Cool.
Speaker A:That's a good attitude.
Speaker A:It's not like, oh, I can't.
Speaker A:I can't do it.
Speaker A:I can't do it.
Speaker A:There's no way.
Speaker A:I suck.
Speaker A:It's like, let's do it.
Speaker A:Let's try it.
Speaker A:That's the worst thing.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:That's the attitude, man.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's the attitude you got to.
Speaker A:Have in anything, really.
Speaker A:And I don't.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm 36, is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker A:It took me until I started blind knowledge, until I just said, let's just do it.
Speaker A:Let's try and see, you know, when I was.
Speaker B:When I was like, I'm never going to be an entrepreneur versus now.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:One big difference.
Speaker B:How do you phrase it?
Speaker B:Like, people who were already committed in a way.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Versus what I've learned is the best attitude is just a trial attitude.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, start with let's try something.
Speaker B:How do I try something where it's not going to require me to, like, you know, just put in my entire life savings into it?
Speaker B:How do you start with that?
Speaker B:And then how do you just go one step at a time after that?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Like, let me just try the next.
Speaker B:Let me try the next step.
Speaker B:Eventually you're gonna take so many steps, you're gonna end up, like, where I am, where it's like, oh, wow, I have a product ready now and I have people who are actually willing to pre order it.
Speaker B:And yeah, so let's take that next step again and let's see where that goes.
Speaker B:I think that is one of the healthiest, like, attitudes you can have towards stuff like this because it helps you just feel like, you know, again, I'm not.
Speaker B:I'm not building my whole life, finances and identity around this thing.
Speaker B:I'm just taking it one step at a time and I'm trying something out.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I think, yeah, that's smart.
Speaker A:You're not throwing all.
Speaker A:Everything in.
Speaker A:You know, for me, I have my.
Speaker A:I have priorities.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:My priority right now is my company.
Speaker A:You must be pulling a lot of hours.
Speaker A:You know, how much do you sleep at night?
Speaker A:Do you sleep?
Speaker A:We got like, what's your.
Speaker B:I mean, you got to sleep a little bit, but.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, it depends on.
Speaker B:Yeah, it depends on what's going on with Deal.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:There are times, like, for instance, when this Indiegogo, first week that this launched, I was averaging like four hours of sleep a night for the entire week.
Speaker B:It was really bad.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:I was kind of dying.
Speaker B:But it was.
Speaker B:It was a lot because, you know, I basically had to.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was trying to tidy up the page and get everything all set up before the campaign started, and then I immediately threw into, like, you know, it went live and now I need to send out emails at certain.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:It's like I needed to make sure that I was answering questions that people were sending.
Speaker B:I need to make sure that I'm just like getting, you know, taking the most advantage of the, of the launch situation and like kind of pushing forward.
Speaker B:That was tough.
Speaker B:And I also like you.
Speaker B:I'm working a full time job.
Speaker B:I'm here in Silicon Valley.
Speaker B:I work for a tech company.
Speaker B:I work in supply chain stuff.
Speaker B:So I have a lot of hours with China in the evenings and I'm also working US time.
Speaker B:And on top of that I was like trying to do deal stuff and balance it all off and be like, okay, I need a hard cut off at like 7 or 8pm hard work.
Speaker B:Work so that I can on dio stuff to like 1am or so it was, it was tough, right?
Speaker B:It was really tough.
Speaker B:But you know, if it's worth it, it's worth it.
Speaker B:And like, you know, it was one week off my back, not a big deal.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, but, but it happens and I, I try to try to practice some self care.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like you got to do that as well.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So yeah.
Speaker B:So I just went on a run this morning.
Speaker B:You do run?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I had a feeling there was some running going on here.
Speaker A:I've said it twice.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:I mean when you say drums though, my whole attention is like, yes, drums.
Speaker A:Oh, I get that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Running is like that.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:I used to run a lot.
Speaker A:Right now I haven't.
Speaker A:And that's because I'm kind of in this grind.
Speaker A:I'm, I'm.
Speaker A:I'll be honest, I'm gaining weight.
Speaker A:I'm not eating right, I'm not sleeping right.
Speaker A:You know, it's, it's like, whoa.
Speaker A:It's a lot, you know, and especially at the beginning.
Speaker A:At the beginning.
Speaker A:And if this is the beginning and it's like I don't even know how long I can sustain at this pace.
Speaker A:And then I realized I cannot sustain at this pace.
Speaker A:Need a hard stop.
Speaker A:I need to just switch gears.
Speaker A:It's hard to switch gears, you know, going from full time job to business to this and that.
Speaker A:And I think maybe it's not about switching gears.
Speaker A:Maybe I'm learning right now.
Speaker A:Maybe it's about encompassing it all and figuring out where the puzzle pieces fit.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:What do you any advice for me as an entrepreneur?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:I mean I think at the beginning it's gonna feel like a lot because it's gonna feel like a lot of chaos.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:There's a lot you don't know, and it's like this big, you know, obscure, just like Journey.
Speaker B:You don't know what.
Speaker B:What has to happen, and then suddenly you figure it out, and it has to happen right then.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's exciting as hell.
Speaker A:Don't get me wrong.
Speaker A:It's exciting as how I love it.
Speaker A:But it's.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, no, that.
Speaker B:That happens.
Speaker B:It starts getting more clear.
Speaker B:I think the more you start kind of getting the pieces together, the more you're gonna, you know, get more direction on what needs to happen next.
Speaker B:And then you can start planning out two, three, four, five, six steps away and really start kind of feeling a little bit calmer about what needs to happen.
Speaker B:And you can even take time when you know you can take time because you know what's coming up next.
Speaker B:But at the beginning, it's hard because you don't know what's coming up.
Speaker A:All right, it's good to hear that from you, man.
Speaker A:It's good to hear that from anybody, because I'm so new to this.
Speaker A:I'm so new to the entrepreneur.
Speaker A:Like, entrepreneurial.
Speaker A:I should say the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
Speaker A:And I'm not.
Speaker A:I don't even know if I am an entrepreneur.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I don't know, like, if that defines me with where I am right now, but nevertheless, whatever, you know, on that.
Speaker A:But it's like, wow, there's just so much.
Speaker A:It's so much.
Speaker A:And I'm used to being a producer.
Speaker A:That's my background.
Speaker A:I'm a musician.
Speaker A:We used to produce and create Internet radio shows.
Speaker A:That's what I did in person.
Speaker A:This Internet stuff is.
Speaker A:Is a trip, but I'm getting.
Speaker A:And I get it quick, and I'm learning.
Speaker A:And like you said, it's like, all right, solve this problem.
Speaker A:Onto the next one.
Speaker A:Solve this problem.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:We did it.
Speaker A:Onto the next one.
Speaker A:Oh, shit.
Speaker A:Solve this problem.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Thank God.
Speaker A:Onto the next one.
Speaker A:Holy.
Speaker A:Like, it's just.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:It's like, I don't even know if I want to be doing this business shit.
Speaker A:Like, I just want to just podcast.
Speaker A:Like, I haven't had time to do that.
Speaker A:But at the deeper down, I know that this could be a really positive thing just for people in general, and it could be great just to do something you love forever, you know, whatever forever is for me.
Speaker A:So I'm sticking with it.
Speaker A:I might have to call you for advice now that I know that we're on, like, the same track, you know?
Speaker A:And do you ever go to like conferences, do you talk to other entrepreneurs?
Speaker A:Because I feel so isolated sometimes.
Speaker A:Like, I don't know who to bounce things off of.
Speaker A:Even in my own network right now.
Speaker A:It's so new, you know, it's.
Speaker A:Especially with everyone's remote.
Speaker A:I'm used to having a studio, you know, you get to know people.
Speaker A:Do you find yourself reaching out to others a lot?
Speaker A:Like, outside?
Speaker B:I mean, the pandemic's just been isolating, I think, in general, a lot.
Speaker B:So I totally feel you.
Speaker A:It makes you anxious.
Speaker A:It makes you, like, just overthink.
Speaker A:Just like it's hard to just step back and take a breath, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I mean, I've got, you know, I've got my network.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So one cool thing is I did my MBA right, when I know a lot of people and alum and stuff like that who are entrepreneurs.
Speaker B:And I live in Silicon Valley, so there's a lot of people who work on tech here in general.
Speaker B:So I think one of the big things is like, you know, you got to, like, find those people within your industry who you think are just kind of like key thought leaders of some kind or who've been through some of this and try to make those connections.
Speaker B:Because the big thing is entrepreneurs are always willing to help entrepreneurs.
Speaker B:Like, when you.
Speaker B:If you find someone who's done something similar to you in the past and at their own company, just hit them up, you know, honestly, like, more likely than not, they're going to respond to you, like LinkedIn or whatever.
Speaker B:They'll respond to you and be like, yeah, I'm happy to give you some free advice.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like, let's hop on a phone call for 30 minutes so you can build those connections.
Speaker A:I think I thought about doing all that just randomly just say, hey, you know, because I do it.
Speaker A:I do anyway.
Speaker A:I reach out to, like, Tony Nagy.
Speaker A:We did Tony Nagy interview, and she's gonna come back and we're kind of have the collective community thing going because I keep in touch with everybody and.
Speaker A:Yeah, I didn't even think of that.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:Thank you for saying that.
Speaker A:Because just randomly reaching out to an entrepreneur or just someone that I think would connect or I could connect with.
Speaker A:I'm gonna try that.
Speaker A:You know, that's cool.
Speaker A:I didn't realize that it's kind of a community too.
Speaker B:Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, I think when you've been through the journey, in my opinion, even from the mentors and stuff that I've had, they get it.
Speaker B:Like, they know it's tough and people you know, advice is free.
Speaker B:Taking 30 minutes of someone's time is not that much.
Speaker B:And so just saying, hey, can I hop on a quick call with you at some point this week and just get your advice?
Speaker B:Obviously, make it worth their while.
Speaker B:I mean, what I mean is, like, when I say, make it worth their while, I don't mean, like, you need to offer them something.
Speaker B:But I've had those times where I reached out to people, hopped in a phone call, and I didn't even know what I wanted to ask them, and it was a waste of their time, and it was a waste of my time, and that's not a good look.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But I've had the times where I've hopped on the phone call, and then I've been like, hey, yeah, I have these very specific issues I'm dealing with.
Speaker B:I just want to know if you've ever been through something like this.
Speaker B:Can you offer me some advice?
Speaker B:And then those are constructive conversations.
Speaker B:And then it's like, they.
Speaker B:They're like, yeah, I'm glad I offered this person 30 minutes of my time.
Speaker B:They used it up well, so that's one of the things, too, you know, is just make sure that you're not wasting their time when you.
Speaker B:When you actually call them up.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I try not to do that now.
Speaker B:There's some free advice right there.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:This has been so fun.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining me.
Speaker A:I know you need to go the founder and CEO of Do Speakers of Do Technology, Inc.
Speaker A:Specifically, but they have DO Speakers.
Speaker A:Check out the deal node, man.
Speaker A:Check out this company.
Speaker A:They're four out of five stars on betas.
Speaker A:They're.
Speaker A:They're great.
Speaker A:I hope to have you back.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for joining me.
Speaker A:This was fun, man.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:And I learned a lot.
Speaker A:I learned a lot.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And, you know, we have corrected a lot of the issues that those who didn't give us 5 stars for beta testers, you know, had with our speakers.
Speaker B:So it's going to be even better when it's actually rolling out into your home through with the final production unit.
Speaker B:So just want to put that out there, too.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:So you're actually a four and a half.
Speaker A:You better update that website, bro.
Speaker A:Cool, man.
Speaker A:Thanks again for joining me.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:For sure.
Speaker B:Thank you, Joe.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:No, Anytime, dude.
Speaker A:Anytime, anytime.
Speaker A:I'm gonna push you back to the green room.
Speaker A:There he goes.
Speaker A:There he goes.
Speaker A:He's the man.
Speaker A:He's the deal man.
Speaker A:A gosh man.
Speaker A:He's a good dude.
Speaker A:He's a good dude, and we met randomly, and he just taught me so many good things.
Speaker A:He really did.
Speaker A:Just, like, so many things.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:There are aspects that I don't know, and I'm learning.
Speaker A:So if we could have helped someone, then I think that's cool, because that helped me.
Speaker A:I'm gonna sign off, y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker A:I'm Joey.
Speaker A:Check you later, man.
Speaker A:Yo.
Speaker A:Hey, what up, y'?
Speaker B:All?
Speaker A:My name is Joey B. I am the founder of Blind Knowledge.
Speaker A:Blind Knowledge is podcasts, streamers, it's gamers.
Speaker A:Yo.
Speaker A:It's digital content creation.
Speaker A:We're a community.
Speaker A:Check us out.
Speaker A:Blindknowledge.
Speaker A:Com.
