June 17, 2025 • 49 mins
In this episode of the Beyond Normal Podcast, we sit down with Nate Robert-Eze, founder of Vision, to explore how he’s blending architecture, storytelling, and emerging technology to revolutionize the real estate space. From building foam models in college to launching immersive 3D property experiences powered by AI, Nate’s journey is one of vision, grit, and growth.
Tune in as we discuss the art of architectural storytelling, the rise of AI-powered property tours, and how founders like Nate are shaping smart cities and smarter customer experiences. Whether you’re in real estate, design, or tech, this conversation will inspire you to think bigger and build bolder.
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🔗 Learn more about Nate’s work at: https://www.nateroberteze.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kenny (00:33):
Welcome, welcome to another great episode of The
Beyond Normal Podcast.
I am your host, Kenny Groom.
We have a very special guesttoday, co.
The company, that they arebuilding, is called Vision.
It is in, the real estate realm,like it does, they're doing some
amazing things, but, the reasonwhy I wanted to have them on as
(00:54):
a guest today, many times whenit comes to, real estate.
And that and that topic, ofdiscussion.
People just think you have tolike to be in that business.
You just have to either buildthe homes.
Or you have to own the property.
And there's so many differentbusiness types, and as you all
know, I am on a big, B2B, kick,at this point in our beyond,
(01:19):
normal journey.
And so, I, I definitelyappreciate our, our guests,
Nate, Robert-Eze, for coming onand, and just, giving us a
little bit of a background into,what he's building in this
incredible company.
Called vision.
So without further ado, Nate,how's it going?
Nate (01:39):
Man, it's going well.
Thanks for having me, man.
Kenny (01:42):
Appreciate you coming on, for an episode and just wanting
to share your story with ourguests, our listeners.
many of our, our listeners havealready started along the path
of, being a founder, but othershaven't.
And so hearing perspectives frompeople like yourself.
Who have already taken that leapof faith and and are gambling on
(02:03):
themselves definitely allows'emto be a little bit more informed
on their entrepreneur journey.
so without further ado, tell ourlisteners a little bit about
what you were doing prior toeven taking that gamble on
yourself.
with vision.
Nate (02:20):
Well, I found entrepreneurship by way of
architecture.
I had always been a prettycreative kid.
I always tell people I, grew upsort of drawing in church.
I would get in trouble fordrawing on the offering
envelopes in church.
I.
And I just loved getting ideasout.
(02:41):
Just, you know, always lovedgetting ideas out and, so I, I
found architecture to be, youknow, with the drawing skills
and all those things, thecreativeness and just the
visionary thoughts, I foundarchitecture to be the best
outlet for that to, you know, toenter a career.
And so when I went to college, Irealized that that was, that was
(03:02):
very short-lived.
So
Kenny (03:05):
I
Nate (03:06):
ended up, pivoting to urban planning.
Which I did because I stillwanted to stay in the built
environment realm like, youknow, architecture s'cause you
learn about architecture and,you know, when you're studying
urban planning.
But I wanted to sort of expandthe reach and learn more about
the built environment ingeneral.
Kenny (03:24):
whether,
Nate (03:24):
whether it be policy, real estate, landscape architecture,
or you know, architecture, whichis kind of like what makes up
what we see as urban planning.
And so got into that andgraduated with that degree.
And then I got a master's inUrban Design and that's where
this real estate thing reallystarted to, to appeal to me.
(03:47):
I started really, really findingan appreciation for real estate
because I realized where thepower actually sort of like.
Where, where the power is heldlike by real estate developers
who actually think of thebuildings.
They hire an architect, and thenthe architect actually design,
and that's how it comes to life.
And so that's what I was moreintrigued by was like, okay, I.
Who is the person behind?
(04:07):
Who is the thought, who is themind behind this?
Who is the creative behind this?
and so I started digging deeperfun.
enough, I ended up going back toarchitecture, working for a few
architecture firms, but therewas always this draw, right?
There was always this draw tothe creative.
There was always this draw totechnology.
And so, I worked for twoarchitecture firms who both took
(04:29):
me under their wing and I thinkbecause they were, one of them
was pretty established, but youknow, they had pretty archaic
ways of doing business, like,especially when it comes to
business development and, youknow, proposal building and
marketing.
And so I was able to bring someof the young flare that I had
coming outta school and helpthem to scale.
And so I would see.
(04:50):
Directly how that was beneficialfor that company.
so when I, once I left thatcompany and went to the next
one, that one was a startup.
So I was able to take some ofthe skills that I learned at
the, at the other job and bringthem and, and translate them
directly to my new role.
And, you know, that's whenthings really took off.
so the, I guess theentrepreneurship spirit sort of
(05:13):
started brewing.
Again, you know, at around thattime,'cause I saw how direct
inputs and ideas sort of turnedinto business results.
And in 2020 I started, you know,my company and I, I started my
company under render vision andthat then was rebranded into
vision and here we are.
Kenny (05:36):
I love it.
I, I, I, I appreciate you takingus on that journey with you.
it's really interesting to, tohear that, you had that calling.
Towards architecture at a youngage.
I'm, I'm only imagining howmuch, what the repercussions
were for, drawing in church.
(05:57):
they probably weren't very good,repercussions at all.
They're probably very severe.
Nate (06:04):
Yeah.
Kenny (06:05):
but you getting at that outright in terms of your
creative outlet and that leadingyou down the path where you
actually went away from.
Architecture for a little bit,but now here you are still,
itching.
What is it?
Itching, scratching that itch.
Right?
And that, that, that's reallycool to hear.
Like that's a full circle,story.
(06:25):
You, you, you sitting theretelling us that.
I'm curious.
When I think of architects, Ithink of like this really cool.
Balance of like, you gotta knowsome of the technical, you gotta
have a technical skillset interms of the math and some of
the STEM skills.
(06:46):
But then there's also thiscreative element.
Everybody I've known who's inthis space is a really,
interesting thinker, if I cansay it that way.
So I'm curious for you like.
Has, has it been a bal ha ha.
Does it feel like that sort ofbalance, I guess, being in this
(07:07):
space now where you get toleverage both sides of the, the
creative side and then the, themuch more technical kind of stem
focus, because there aren't manycareer paths now where you find
a balance like that.
Nate (07:20):
Yeah.
Dude, that's a really goodquestion.
So, one thing that I realized inarchitecture school was that I
guess the technicality that Iwas drawn to was in technology,
and that's why I pivoted becausewe didn't have that.
It was more so sort of creativeside and then the technical side
(07:40):
from a math, you know,standpoint.
And I don't know, something justwould tell me back then that
things are gonna change veryfast.
when I get outta school justseeing where technology was
going,'cause I would always lovetechnology, but again, there was
really no way for me to scratchthat itch.
then, because, you know, we werealmost until our third year, we
(08:00):
were banned to using software.
and so like literally we werenot allowed to use software to
create our designs.
And, you know, for, for, I, Ithink the intention was, was
good, right?
Because they wanted people toreally be creative and get ideas
out of their mind without usingtech, you know, technology.
you know, it taught me a lot,but now it's like.
(08:22):
That's how we, that's like howwe ever get any idea out is
really by interacting with thiswith some type of machine.
and so
Kenny (08:31):
I
Nate (08:31):
would
Kenny (08:31):
say
Nate (08:33):
technology and entrepreneurship has given me
another outlet to be creativebecause as you mentioned
earlier, like there is thatbalance, right?
I, I made a LinkedIn postliterary about this like two
days ago.
I.
About how a lot of visionaries,start off in architecture
because they have that visionarymind.
Kenny (08:51):
Um.
And,
Nate (08:54):
and visionaries typically are led to entrepreneurship
because they can see things thatpeople, you know, other people
don't see in, in, in playingsight.
And so the ability to becreative within a business like
assembling a team, like that'screativity, right?
Like assembling systems to make.
You know, a lead generation flowlead to sales or lead to, you
(09:16):
know, book deployments.
And that lead to sales iscreativity.
Like you sit down and you, youthink about how this is gonna
work creatively for yourbusiness and you build it or you
get someone to build it.
And so, in that way, I thinkentrepreneurship has allowed me
to sort of be creative in, inways that, like I was looking
for that creativity inarchitecture.
(09:38):
And that's where sort of like,that's why I was drawn that way.
It led me to the builtenvironment, which I absolutely
fell in love with.
Like, okay, from a visionarystandpoint, a building could not
be there two years, you know,prior to.
And it's like a high rise couldsort of pop up, you know, kind
of out of nowhere.
And it could be this creativething that people interact with
that's basically alive in asense.
(09:59):
And so that was just so,intriguing to
Kenny (10:02):
me.
Nate (10:03):
And so, like I said, I mean, again, I found a way to
sort of bring all those worldstogether in, you know, working
in VR and, and entrepreneurshipand AI and things of that
nature.
Kenny (10:17):
That's super dope.
Like.
As you were just explainingthat, and you were saying the
programs that you were goingthrough before, a big
requirement of those programswas no software.
That almost feels like, well, Icould, I gotta imagine like a
kid coming up now hearing thatwould be like, what do you mean
(10:37):
you can't use any software andlike, would it.
So what were you building inthese moments?
Is it like I, my mind went tolike, all right, all right,
here's some popsicle sticks.
Nate (10:49):
Literally
Kenny (10:50):
build something.
Was it like that?
Nate (10:53):
we literally had, we, we withdraw.
would take boxes, we would takewhat we called, foam core.
So it was basically like, youknow, the equivalent to like
miniature like, yeah, like, likeminiature drywall or something
like that with like foam in themiddle, but two, you know, sides
(11:14):
of like paper, hard paper andcut it up, you know, and
literally make architecturalforms out of it.
And again, like IS it, it, itwas, it was good for what it,
the intention was good.
Like, they wanted you to thinkoutside of the box and like do
things that you've never donebefore, but.
I think nowadays, like youmentioned, like, you know,
(11:37):
people are looking at that, likeworld is moving so fast.
Like by the thing you know,you'll be able to literally look
at a screen, think of somethingand it'll pop up.
Like, you know, while people aremaking cardboard boxes.
So we, I think we gotta like, wegotta catch up.
Kenny (11:54):
Yeah, I think, I think the big platforms.
Or, me and my family and myfriends, we debate this all the
time, but do you have momentsnow where you're talking about
something with your friends or aloved one and then you go to
your phone and that thing is onthe phone?
Nate (12:12):
Yes.
Kenny (12:13):
But to your point, like we kind of are already at this
point where the big platformscan kind of already start to
predict or see some of thosetrends that you're seeing.
And so if we're at that point.
Like it's going to be hard forthe generation that didn't know
or didn't have to go through,Hey, here's some popsicle
(12:36):
sticks.
Be creative
Nate (12:37):
Right,
Kenny (12:38):
go to that place.
Nate (12:39):
right.
Kenny (12:40):
Right.
And I think, I feel like itgives you an advantage going
through that.
I think the debate is definitelystill out if, previous learning
methods.
Are going to Trump the currentones with all the technology and
stuff.
How, like, do you have anythoughts about that?
(13:01):
Like in terms of how learning ischanging and like you said, kids
are not having to do the samethings that you went through in
order to get, get intoarchitecture for example.
Nate (13:14):
Well, I, I think, you know, a lot of time, creativity
is, creativity is limited to thetools you have in your, in your
toolbox.
And you could have tools in yourtoolbox.
But, I.
Kenny (13:27):
they're
Nate (13:27):
there literally, but you don't, you know, you don't know
how to use them.
so as it pertains toarchitecture, just, you know how
the educational system ischanging.
I hoped, you know, I went tocollege, you know, guess six
years ago, something like that.
Now I hope things have changeddramatically.
I don't think they have.
Not dramatically.
(13:48):
Um, but I think, I personallythink it hurts.
Innovation for our generation,like our generations are, are
supposed to be the ones creatingthe next technology for the next
generation as it pertains to.
Right, because at the time ourtool set was so limited, like,
(14:10):
you know, we were able to playaround with these tools after
school.
Right.
For me it was an extreme'cause Iwas still using it.
Like I didn't care bro.
I was still using it, you know?
not too crazy, but like, youknow, when I got to my junior,
senior year.
absolutely.
I was using SketchUp.
I was learning Revit.
'cause I would look at these joblistings online and I would
(14:32):
realize that they wanted twoyears of, of Revit experience,
which is a architectural programby the way.
and so
Kenny (14:41):
it
Nate (14:41):
just didn't make sense to me that we weren't learning this
in school.
It was just like, so I did it onmy own.
I took an independent study,like I did all types of stuff to
just try to get ahead myself.
but yeah, it, it was a thingthat I was very frustrated with
at the time.
'cause, know, I just knew whereI had an idea, I guess I would
say.
I didn't know, but like I had agood idea where things were
(15:02):
going.
But yeah, I think it kind ofcripples us the fact that, we're
not encouraged to startexploring these tools at our
disposal and other sectors in,in, in often cases are.
and that I believe is the, isthe.
One of the number one pieces of
Kenny (15:21):
stagnation
Nate (15:23):
when it comes to, revolutionizing architecture and
just the field of the builtenvironment in general.
Kenny (15:31):
Interesting man.
I, I'm learning, just sittinghere listening to you.
it, I don't know what the answeris, but I feel like
conversations like this.
It makes me, it, it makes mefeel a little bit better knowing
that there's people out therethat think like you, that are
doing some of the things thatyou're doing, because I think
(15:52):
the, the, the, the nextgeneration will definitely have
to learn from somebody.
they, they'll have the robots tolearn from for sure,
Nate (16:03):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (16:04):
but I think they'll definitely be looking for.
in terms of the inputs to therobots, Hey, I want to build
like so and so.
I want to build like Nate,right?
I want to, I see what Nate'sdoing, like how can I do
something like that?
And like almost reverseengineering stuff.
And so I think that's what thenext generation has to kind of,
(16:25):
kind of get a grasp of, because.
We had, we had blueprints, wehad some form of a blueprint,
right, that we could go to andwe could kind of reverse
engineer, but we would gothrough that process of reverse
engineering it ourself.
And by the, by the time you getto the end, like you, you, you
gain some proficiency
Nate (16:45):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (16:46):
now there is no real need to, to be proficient.
If you can go to a robot andthey can give you instructions
on the fly.
So that, that we're not gonna godown that rabbit hole, right?
Like, let's pivot a little bit.
We've talked enough about therobots.
Let's talk a little bit about,when I think of architecture, I
(17:07):
think of community, right?
I think of you're buildingsomething for a group of people
to get some value from.
That could be, your building,you know, now I'm in Charlotte.
We're in that in the NorthCarolina region, right?
And so they're building houseseverywhere.
When you build houses, you gottabuild restaurants, you gotta
(17:27):
build entertainment.
And so there's this communitythat is a really big focus right
now.
Let's talk about the communitythat, like what, what does your
tribe look like in this, in thismoment as you build out, what
you want, the capabilities forvision.
Like who is in your tribe?
(17:48):
And why do you have them therein this moment?
Nate (17:52):
so I, I think first of all, start
Kenny (17:54):
personally,
Nate (17:56):
other founders who are building really cool things.
I think we all really understandthat where AI is going and where
technology is headed.
And, being able to move fast andlearn the tools as fast as
possible is, is key.
from a community standpoint,from, you know, who I spend a
lot of my time with are peoplewho are eagerly trying to find
(18:19):
those tools and share thosetools, with each other and sort
of learn together, and, andshare what's working for us, et
cetera.
So that's, I would say, like mypersonal tribe and my personal
sort of community.
Um.
Is, is people with that mindset.
I also run a school communityactually.
(18:42):
it's basically a community of 3Dartists, students as well as
people who are trying, havestarted their own 3D uh.
Architectural visualizationcompanies or just 3D studios in
general that would like to learnhow to scale their companies.
so I created it, would say abouta year ago.
(19:05):
We have about a hundred memberson school.com.
And so if you wanna, if that'ssomething you've been interested
in, if you're watching orlistening to this, then I would
definitely suggest be a part ofthat.
'cause we talk about.
Tools as well.
You know, I give a lot of freegame on there of like how I
started and grew the company andhow I was able to, market and
(19:25):
get the first customer, get thefirst big job, you know, hire
people.
And I talk about where thingsare going as well in that
community.
also entrepreneurs, I would say.
And that kind of ties into thefirst point I made, you know,
just other people from a mindsetstandpoint that are.
You know,'cause this is not a.
(19:47):
Easy road.
I would say it's not an easyroad as well.
Like was just having aconversation with one of my
buddies out in Houston and wewere talking about of making
that pivot, making those moves,and when it's time to sort of,
reimagine what you're doing andmake a pivot towards the
direction that you're, thatyou're trying to move in.
And without community, I don'tthink you can have some of these
(20:08):
conversations.
'cause it's a, it's a, it can bea lonely road.
Like, you know, you're dealingwith what you're dealing with
and you're busy.
And you got responsibilities andyou got life and stuff like
that.
So like sitting down.
And then I think to be anentrepreneur too, you actually
have to have a, sort of mindsetthat doesn't really allow you to
complain much.
(20:30):
And you know, venting cansometimes seem like complaining.
So sometimes you need that otherperson that.
You can lean on that.
It doesn't feel like complaining'cause they get it too.
Like it's just something y'alldealing with.
So it's a, you know, it's aconversation.
So from a community standpoint,I would say those three pillars
are what I try to, and alsomembers or, or mentors.
Mentors and advisors.
(20:50):
You know, people who have ranthe, the route to already or,
you know, ran the race in theirown way and have something to
share.
and so those are, those are thecommunity, pillars.
I try to keep myself around.
Kenny (21:05):
I like that.
And from what I'm hearing, likeyou're definitely.
It could be deliberate, it maynot be, but you're connecting
with people at different pointsin their journey, right?
You're connecting with somebodywho's at the tail end of their
journey, like they're, maybethey're transitioning out of,
being a founder, being incorporate America.
Nate (21:28):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (21:28):
people add value.
You're, you've got those peoplewho are also in the trenches
just like you.
And then it's really cool to seeyou leverage that tool that you
mentioned school.
To really have a community ofpeople trying to learn and
figure out maybe their earlystage.
That's always good to hear.
And I'm assuming, or maybe Idon't even have to assume, I can
(21:49):
ask you, like you're able tolearn from people at these
different points in theirjourneys, right?
Like I.
Nate (21:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
I would say on, on, and funnyenough, I, I didn't even think
about it like that, but you'reexactly right.
Like it's different stages anddifferent journeys, and I think
there's something to learn fromeveryone, within their journey.
Even the people that, you know,I set out to teach or I set out
to help, know, I'll read some ofthe posts that they, that they
(22:16):
put on there sometimes, and I'llbe like, wow.
That's an interesting way to dothat,
Kenny (22:21):
Mm-hmm.
Nate (22:22):
you know, I never thought that way, or, you know, I'll see
people sort of talking to eachother and I'm, you know, I'm
just kind of blown away by thefact that, that community aspect
of people just being able tohave a platform to communicate
with each other,
Kenny (22:38):
know,
Nate (22:39):
allows people to share,
Kenny (22:41):
results
Nate (22:43):
and, you know, things of that nature, with each other and
help each other out.
So I learn stuff every day from,from people in general?
Kenny (22:51):
I love it.
Nate (22:52):
Yeah.
Kenny (22:53):
Let's, let's transition a little bit.
'cause you just mentioned,right, as a founder, you don't,
you have to be okay with givingfeedback, but then not
complaining, like you said,right?
Or taking some of that.
So I'm curious.
we all have to, in our journey,you're gonna have to deal with
customers that are not happy.
(23:15):
Let's, let's put it that way.
So I'm curious, when a customercomes to you and they're not
happy, right?
They're giving you that feedbackand it's not what you may want
to hear, like how do you goabout turning, turning that
situation or from just a problemto something else?
Nate (23:35):
Yeah, man, I, I don't know if I've ever gotten that
question, but I deal with it.
I've dealt with it.
so the first thing I think aboutis full ownership, like total
ownership.
Like, okay, I'm gonna figure outwhat's going on, right?
Like, I'm gonna figure outwhat's going on, even if it
(23:56):
takes some digging.
and the first thing I'm gonna dois.
You know, put company in theposition to where we say, okay,
these people paid us to do thisservice.
If they're not happy with it,there's something that we have
to look into.
Right.
I try my best not to brush awayany type of request or any type
(24:17):
of like.
You know, any type of concernbecause again, like it's a, it's
an exchange, right?
You exchange your money for aservice and if you don't feel
like you're getting the thingthat you're, you've came, you've
come for, we gotta approachthat.
So that's the first thing.
And the next thing I think aboutis impartiality and fairness,
right?
(24:38):
sometimes my team is involved aswell.
So, the first stage is, okay,what's the problem?
I.
where did we go wrong?
within that problem if we did gowrong, and then we talk
internally about that.
So if I have, like for, forinstance, a project manager on
the job who actually didsomething wrong, the, the first
(24:59):
thing I try to do is sit thatperson down and say, Hey, like,
you know, let's make sure we'renot in the wrong before we.
we say something back, like,let's figure out what's going
on.
And sometimes, you know, it,depending on the relationship or
'cause business is all aboutrelationships, right?
We may not, like, we may sort oftake the brute for certain
things, right?
Just out of all fairness andagain, out of relationship
(25:22):
building.
But at the same time, like, youknow, it's, it's very important
for.
For us to look internally firstand say, okay, what did we do?
if we did anything, and thensort of approach the situation.
So I try to do that every time.
and then lastly, I'll say
Kenny (25:40):
contracts.
Nate (25:41):
Having stuff on paper is one of the best things you could
do.
And some of our best clauses andclauses in our, in our contracts
have come from a lot of pain.
Like have come from, you know,customers or clients or people
saying, Hey, you guys did this.
And we're like, no, we, youknow, no we didn't.
Right.
Like out of all good intention,we're like.
You know, we, or we didn't meanto do that or whatever, or you
(26:04):
guys said you were gonna do thisand well, we had the best
intention of course, workingwith you.
So we would've never, you know,just did that on purpose.
But because it's not on paper,it's hard to, it's, it's hard to
argue that,
Kenny (26:18):
know,
Nate (26:19):
and so, so every time something like that goes wrong,
you know, it, it becomes anotherexercise or becomes another
opportunity to look at ourcontracts.
And say, okay, what's missinghere?
Where was the, where was thedivide?
Where was the, misunderstanding?
And if we can put something inthat contract that prevents that
from happening again, again,we'll do it in a heartbeat.
(26:40):
And
Kenny (26:40):
I love it.
Nate (26:41):
yeah, those are some of the things that, that we try to
do, at vision.
Kenny (26:46):
That, that contract piece is big.
That's really big.
every time a contract is put infront of me, I immediately think
I will pay a lawyer whateverthey need so that I do not have
to see this contract again.
(27:06):
I kid you not Nate, like everysingle time.
'cause it's like.
This is, it's overwhelming andlike, but like you said, like
the beauty is in the details is,is, is a, is a, a phrase I
learned, from my time in salesand it truly is something where
(27:27):
it sets the expectations andthen once those signatures are
dried on that contract or signedelectronically, like that's the
commitment.
Nate (27:36):
Yeah.
Kenny (27:37):
you said, and, and, and if you have acknowledgement on
the front end, like you said interms of what did we do,
Nate (27:42):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (27:43):
where did this go off on the rails, along with that
acknowledgement of thecommitment,
Nate (27:48):
Right.
Kenny (27:49):
in a good place.
Nate (27:50):
Yeah.
Yeah,
Kenny (27:51):
Really good place.
Nate (27:52):
we, and, and you know, we try to, we try to do business in
a way that we're not veering toomuch away from what we're saying
we're doing on paper.
Sometimes people don't read thecontract.
So in that way, we, and evensometimes, even, even sometimes,
we decide internally or wedecide as a group to say, okay,
(28:13):
we get that you didn't read it.
Here's what we're gonna do.
Because in business you don'twanna leave a bad taste in
people's mouths.
Kenny (28:19):
it's
Nate (28:21):
just not, it's, it's not a good thing to do in business.
It doesn't help it, it doesn'thelp.
Right.
And I also read a book
Kenny (28:28):
called,
Nate (28:30):
the Laws of Success and it talks, one of the laws is do
more, do more than you're paidfor anyone that you see that has
reached a high level of success,they've done a lot more than
they're paid for.
And so we try to take thatphilosophy literally and say,
even though you didn't see thatin the contract, you know what?
(28:53):
We got it.
And a lot of companies won't dothat, but I think that's one of
the reasons.
You know, first, second year inbusiness, we grew 200%, right?
Because if you're hiring someoneto do something, you want the
highest form of leverage period,right?
I don't care if someone's payingme a hundred thousand dollars to
do something, they wanna make ahundred million and they wanna
(29:16):
make 200 million if possible.
And so it's not that they don'twant to pay you, it's literally
just, they just want the highestleverage.
And, you know, that's fair.
'cause you're in business andyou're in business to make
money.
And so, so if you just make surethat, that point of that, that
you're giving them thatleverage, and you're, you get
your fair reward for it.
(29:37):
There should be no issue.
Kenny (29:40):
That is a, a lesson to learn specifically, I think,
again, in B2B,
Nate (29:47):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (29:48):
like B2B specifically, where, like you said, you may
have to, the, the letter is theletter in some cases, but then
in other cases there's a,there's definitely some gray
area.
Nate (29:58):
Yeah.
Kenny (29:59):
and depending on where that you want that relationship
to grow is, you know, where youtake that gray area.
Nate (30:05):
Yeah.
Kenny (30:06):
You know?
I love that.
Nate (30:07):
At the high, it's happening at the highest levels.
I'll be the first to tell you.
it's small businesses.
They're the ones really lookingat contracts and being, you
know, stern.
We, that's a policy, you know,et cetera.
At the highest levels.
I'll tell you man, like they'reat lunch and dinner saying, you
know what?
I got you
Kenny (30:24):
Mm-hmm.
Nate (30:24):
You know, I got you.
Business owner to businessowner, or you know, just man to
man or woman to woman.
Like, I got you.
Kenny (30:32):
I love it.
So let's, let's talk a littlebit about, so the.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
The first product you offeredwas, was it render,
Nate (30:43):
Yeah.
Render vision.
Yeah.
Kenny (30:44):
render vision?
Right.
And so talk a little bit aboutwhat that product actually does
and like where do you grow fromthere in terms of the products
that you're gonna be offering.
Nate (30:59):
So it's all about visualization.
if you want someone to invest insomething or buy it, or you
know, approve it or whatever,they gotta be able to see it.
And so for a very, very longtime, people were trying to
pitch ideas with pitch decks andPDFs and and letters and lines,
(31:19):
it just doesn't work like that.
You know, there's so muchcompetition out here from a real
estate standpoint, from justlike general, you know,
marketplace standpoint, that youneed to be able to differentiate
yourself.
And so we started in 2020 still3D renderings, which at the time
it was extremely helpful'causeyou could take a piece of land
(31:40):
that, you know, you didn't knowwhat to do with, you had this,
you know, site plan or whatever.
And we, and you could give ussome mood images, inspirational
images.
I wanted to look like this andhave these type of windows and
we could assemble something thatlooked very close to, what was
actually gonna be there in avery short amount of time.
they were able to take that, youknow, raise money, get
(32:01):
approvals, things like that.
And that's how we grew
Kenny (32:02):
initially.
Nate (32:04):
And so, that then sort of graduated into animation videos.
So we started doing thesefly-throughs, which is even more
powerful, right?
because it's
Kenny (32:16):
storytelling,
Nate (32:17):
right?
The, the first thing gets peopleto see it.
It gets people to understand thecontext and you just, you know,
be able to imagine it.
But it still took someimagination.
It took the, an imaginativeindividual to turn that into a
story that they didn't bondinto.
And we know people buy storieslike you're in sales, like
people buy into stories andpeople buy even more and more
(32:39):
frequently when their heart isattached to it or when their
motion is.
And so we understood that andwent into animation
Kenny (32:44):
videos.
Nate (32:46):
that started to move and so, you know, share different
pieces of the property or itwould show a, a piece of B-roll,
a person that popped up that'ssmiling or happy or someone
using the place or, or whateverit is.
I.
And again, there again, we sawpeople get millions and millions
and millions and hundreds ofmillions of dollars in either
(33:07):
funding, approvals and stufflike that.
From, from doing
Kenny (33:10):
that,
Nate (33:11):
from there, we then just tried to solve the next problem.
Right?
What's the next problem?
Well, a lot of luxurydevelopments, a lot of bigger
developments, you would besurprised are having trouble
with sales.
They have a lot of issues withsales conversions.
because now the first two thingsthat I mentioned are even now
(33:34):
becoming pretty and archaic.
Then you mix in the issue of notbeing able to physically go to
certain places and that the factthat, you know, everything is
going online and more digital.
And so that created a uniqueopportunity for us to create an
immersive, AI powered.
(33:58):
Conversational
Kenny (34:00):
walkthrough
Nate (34:01):
or or property viewing tool and experience tool that
people can interact with fromthe comfort of their, of their
home from anywhere in the world.
And they could sort of literallyin the new place that they're
going to, buy or rent or leaseor whatever, um, while they're,
(34:23):
you know, in the comfort oftheir home.
And so that's what we'rebuilding now is like.
A more immersive, a more sort ofsensory and emotion driven,
approach to, propertywalkthroughs.
Kenny (34:42):
That's, I got the, thoughts popping into my head
all the time when, when peopleare, are, are, are talking.
And I promise you all, it wasn'tjust like a hamster in a wheel,
but uh.
I, I, as you were talking, I wasthink of thinking of the Disney
experience where you'd like dolike the four D movie or, I
(35:05):
think one time I wrote like theavatar ride and it was like, as
you go through the world, you'relike smelling stuff and like
wind and water's like hittingyour face, but you get the full
experience and for real estatein particular.
The only time we most, most ofthe time most of us get to see
(35:26):
the actual property.
It's like a blank canvas.
So to your point, likeimagining, like filling in the
blank for people a little bit sothat they can be immersed in it
and they can like actually seethemselves there.
That sounds like a four D movieexperience that I would pay for.
The way you explained it, Nate,like that sounds amazing.
Nate (35:46):
Well, you hit it right on the head, man.
I couldn't have explained itactually any better.
just imagine that plus agent, anAI agent that can walk you
through the, or teleport youthrough anywhere in the, in the
property tell you abouteverything about in, in the area
or about that particular unitgetting ready to buy or lease or
(36:08):
rent or whatever.
and being able to book meetingsfor you.
And basically do anything that,that you needed to do and as it
pertains
Kenny (36:16):
to,
Nate (36:17):
making that buying decision.
Kenny (36:19):
I love that.
Let's talk a little bit, sowhere do, so what does that look
like?
Is that gonna be a host ofproducts, right?
Is that where you're thinking,where there's a whole suite,
right, that vision provides atthe end of the day?
Or do you feel like you're doingthat with your next, your next
product release, all thosethings that you talked about?
Nate (36:41):
Yeah, so all of that is in one product.
We want to make sure that thereare three that
Kenny (36:47):
are,
Nate (36:47):
are very strong, three features that are very strong,
like the immersive walkthrough,conversational AI agent, and
then the data, right, the datagathering.
we're adding some, you know,peppering some small features in
there as well, like being ableto sort
Kenny (37:07):
of
Nate (37:08):
talk, to the agent and say, Hey, change this couch in
here, and it immediately justchanges.
So we have that feature now thatwe've added, but it's gonna be a
process of letting people usethe software, having companies
use the, you know, use thesoftware.
figuring out what people want.
because while it's a B2Bproduct, it's very much so a
(37:30):
consumer user experience.
So we have to know, you know,what people are wanting to see.
of course we gotta think forthem a little bit, just like
Steve Jobs esque sort ofthinking, but.
You know, once we approach themwith the tools, like, here are
the things that you have at yourfingertips.
Now, it's really up to them tofigure out what's much more,
(37:51):
what's most important for them.
Kenny (37:53):
Got it.
So let's talk a little bit aboutyour team that you've built to,
to, offer the products thatyou're focusing on.
Like, what does your team looklike, what are their
backgrounds?
Or maybe for anybody who may beinterested, you throwing out
the, the, the topic of AI acouple times, right?
And so I'm curious like whatyour team looks like now and
(38:13):
maybe potentially areas whereyou may be looking for, some
additions to your team.
Nate (38:19):
Yeah, so again, you know, is different gears and I think,
you know, we're coming to an agewhere there'll be probably one
individual, or maybe two thatare responsible for each gear.
so we've become a lot more lean,within the past year.
(38:41):
And I'll just be honest, like wewere last year, we were at close
to 30
Kenny (38:46):
people.
Nate (38:47):
and that was everybody from leadership to middle
management
Kenny (38:52):
to
Nate (38:53):
artists, you know, things like that.
And we could be working on, youknow, every bit of 40 projects
at one time.
Things have gotten a lot leanerto where we're closer to 10 now.
And, that is artists and, someof them are 10 99, artists that
we work with, like 3D artists tobuild the
Kenny (39:13):
experiences.
Nate (39:15):
my assistant,
Kenny (39:17):
co-founder
Nate (39:19):
of path, which is the AI sort of assistant tool well as,
uh.
Some middle management and, andyeah, marketing.
Marketing, personnel.
Kenny (39:33):
I
Nate (39:34):
think things are gonna get even more leaner.
probably not for us, but just ingeneral.
You know, I think, I think that10 mark is like gonna become
the, the sweet spot, like eightto
Kenny (39:47):
Mm.
Nate (39:47):
individuals,
Kenny (39:48):
because
Nate (39:49):
there are really kind of like four core.
A functions of a business.
There's like finance, there'soperations production, there is
marketing and sales, and thenyeah, marketing and sales.
Kenny (40:02):
Got it.
Okay.
Nate (40:03):
Yeah.
So,
Kenny (40:06):
Interesting.
Yeah, it's interesting to hear,founders in this, this space
that we're in now.
There's a lot of uncertainty,
Nate (40:15):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (40:16):
around the things.
But the one thing I will say isthat the business owners I've
been talking to, they feel likethey can definitely do more with
less Now,
Nate (40:24):
Yeah.
Kenny (40:24):
the, the effects on the.
The job market and things likethat, I think they're still
playing out.
but just being able to do morewith less
Nate (40:33):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (40:34):
on in your business journey.
I think that's, that's a netwin, for businesses, more
businesses to survive past that,that critical, that critical
mass point of say like a year ortwo.
Right.
so that's good to hear.
Nate (40:48):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it's gonna dramaticallyshift the way that we earn and
the way that we, understand justtransactional marketplace
conditions.
I always give the analogy oflike.
The gener, the generationsbefore us, like to leap into our
(41:10):
entrepreneurship in a creativeway.
They didn't do that.
Right?
So telling someone that that isthe career that they're gonna
jump into, after high school islike telling them that you're
getting ready to create, youknow, to commit suicide or
something like that.
Right.
So it's like, know, things aregonna change for us too.
(41:30):
Like our children are gonna belike, yeah, I'm about to.
Like, I'm about to, I don't evenknow.
Like we don't even know what thefuture's gonna look like, but
it's gonna be different, right?
It's gonna be,
Kenny (41:42):
For sure.
That's for sure.
Nate (41:44):
yeah.
Yeah.
It may not even be starting abusiness, right?
It might just be being acreator.
Like, I'm going to do, gonna do,you know, music in a, or I'm in
a.
I don't know, man, it, it's,it's so hard to tell the, what
the next generation will bebuilding and what they will be
focused on, and I think becauseof the dramatic of invention
(42:08):
called ai, and this dramaticeffect on the marketplace.
It is hard to, the, the futureis quite blurry.
And this is for everyone.
You know this, like most expertsare saying that they have no,
absolutely no idea.
I mean, we have ideas about,implications on the marketplace
as we know it now, but I thinkwe'll be living in a different
(42:30):
world, like quite literally.
I think creators and, and, andpeople who have creative minds
will thrive.
And I actually wrote a book onit.
It's called Design to Win.
but generally I.
It is tough.
And I'll just say this lastthing, like I read a book called
The Co Coming Wave.
It talks about AI and it gavethis analogy of, the industrial
(42:55):
age and how people were workingon a farm.
And all of a sudden, like, youknow, they see a tractor ride,
pa ride past and you see likewhat you do as your job, like
literally driving past you.
And, you know, you're looking atall of your, the people who
you're working with and you'relike, what the heck was that?
Like?
And that's kind of where we'reat right now.
(43:16):
Like, you know, the tractor isliterally driving by and we're
still working and it's comingtowards us.
Kenny (43:24):
So, yeah.
I love to that man.
I am not, offended by yourshameless plug of your book
Designed to win.
I love that.
I love that.
I've been, I take, I, I read inbits and pieces.
So
Nate (43:40):
Yeah.
Kenny (43:40):
I'm not one of the people that reads a book front to back.
I, I read the pages and then Itry to apply them to my life.
but so far it's actually a quickread.
So for those that areinterested, definitely a quick
read and I appreciate, you notgiving us a really thick book
that I have to carry, carryaround.
So for those that are lookingfor, some reading material, make
(44:01):
sure you check out Nate's bookthere.
I am not ashamed of that plug.
Nate, I appreciate that.
Nate (44:07):
Man got.
Kenny (44:08):
So I wanna, you know, last question I'll ask is in
terms of, not dream clients, butwhere do you see, is there a
client or a group of, prospectsthat you haven't gotten in front
(44:32):
of yet that should be checkingout your, your product?
Nate (44:38):
My dream has always to be, has always been to work with
cities like futuristic, forwardthinking cities, because I'm
obsessed with cities in generaland just like the, you know,
ecosystem of cities.
And I'm obsessed with technologyand so.
(44:58):
That is my dream client.
so much so that I've eventhought about just packing up
and moving to Dubai.
'cause that seems like the next,the, the place that, that's
Kenny (45:09):
happening.
Nate (45:10):
But I Would say that is most likely, I, I might be of,
speaking in speaking intoexistence here, but man, that is
my absolute dream is to.
Work with a very forwardthinking city that has problems
that need to be solved
Kenny (45:28):
asap.
Nate (45:31):
Right.
and I, and I think that's wheresome of the solutions that we've
created are gonna become veryrelevant.
Right.
Um.
And so like I said, as we'vebeen growing the company, it's
become, the question has becomehow can we solve bigger
problems?
And I think we'll just continueand continue and continue and
continue to do that untilhopefully, you know, by God's
(45:51):
grace we get there to wherewe're working with, you know,
that dream
Kenny (45:55):
client.
Nate (45:56):
But, besides that, like I can't really think of anything
too high.
Yeah.
Kenny (46:04):
I was like, that seems like that's a big.
Yeah.
Yeah,
Nate (46:12):
yeah, man.
like I said, it's, it's one ofthe things that drew me to, to
architecture, and it's, it's thereason why I went into urban
planning is because to think atthe city scale, man, here's the
thing.
Everything is kind of one thing,you'll probably understand what
(46:34):
I'm saying.
What I'm saying with this alittle bit, a little bit deeper,
everything is kind of one thingand one thing is everything.
And so the way I look at abuilding or the way we look at,
you know, a piece of technology,I.
Or a problem that we're solvingis the way that it's looked at,
at the highest level.
So just like how a, you know,atom is, has the same sort of,
(46:59):
makeup as, we see as theuniverse.
And it, it is like, it's like ifwe can approach.
Or if I can approach the cityscale looking to solve problems,
just in the same manner thatwe're looking to solve problems
for a building or problems thata real estate developer is
having, then that would
Kenny (47:20):
absolutely,
Nate (47:22):
fulfill any sort of dream or whatever that I,
Kenny (47:25):
that I have.
Nate (47:27):
yeah.
Kenny (47:28):
I appreciate that answer, man.
In closing, I want to thank you.
For being a guest, sharing yourstory.
It's amazing.
I love what you're building withvision, the products that you're
offering, like render vision.
looking forward to hearing aboutthe companies that are out there
leveraging, your solution andeven consumers, like you said,
you've got a dual focus.
(47:50):
in closing two things.
how can folks stay, up to dateon the brand and then the
lasting thought that you wantour listeners and guests.
tuning in right now to take awayfrom this conversation.
Nate (48:04):
Yeah, so my socials, all my socials is just my name.
also what my website's, just myname nate robert aza.com.
Kenny (48:11):
so
Nate (48:12):
I post a lot of stuff on LinkedIn and stuff like that,
so, you know, all of it connectsto each other, so it won't be
too hard.
one thing that I want people totake away from this conversation
is that, first of all, nothinking is too big.
So I believe that we all havethis sort of fire in us deep
(48:38):
down somewhere that wants tocreate something, we all have
it.
and whatever you can imagine,never lose sight of it.
Never lose that touch ofwhatever that thing is, like
keep dreaming that, keep seeingit, believing it, and it is
(48:58):
gonna happen.
I.
the other thing is start small,right?
Start with something that youknow, you can start with today.
that be one step, whether thatbe one conversation, whether it
be, you know, one rep.
Just start with it today.
And that's how those small stepsstart to become big steps.
And, you know, you start to seethe stuff you dream about.
Kenny (49:23):
I ain't gotta say else.
Nate, I appreciate you.
For coming on the, the, theplatform again.
And for our listeners, thankyou.
Thank you.
Thank you for tuning intoanother great episode of The
Beyond Normal Podcast
Nate (49:36):
Yeah.
it brother.
Kenny (49:39):
podcast.
Welcome, welcome to another great episode of The
Beyond Normal Podcast.
I am your host, Kenny Groom.
We have a very special guesttoday, co.
The company, that they arebuilding, is called Vision.
It is in, the real estate realm,like it does, they're doing some
amazing things, but, the reasonwhy I wanted to have them on as
(00:54):
a guest today, many times whenit comes to, real estate.
And that and that topic, ofdiscussion.
People just think you have tolike to be in that business.
You just have to either buildthe homes.
Or you have to own the property.
And there's so many differentbusiness types, and as you all
know, I am on a big, B2B, kick,at this point in our beyond,
(01:19):
normal journey.
And so, I, I definitelyappreciate our, our guests,
Nate, Robert-Eze, for coming onand, and just, giving us a
little bit of a background into,what he's building in this
incredible company.
Called vision.
So without further ado, Nate,how's it going?
Nate (01:39):
Man, it's going well.
Thanks for having me, man.
Kenny (01:42):
Appreciate you coming on, for an episode and just wanting
to share your story with ourguests, our listeners.
many of our, our listeners havealready started along the path
of, being a founder, but othershaven't.
And so hearing perspectives frompeople like yourself.
Who have already taken that leapof faith and and are gambling on
(02:03):
themselves definitely allows'emto be a little bit more informed
on their entrepreneur journey.
so without further ado, tell ourlisteners a little bit about
what you were doing prior toeven taking that gamble on
yourself.
with vision.
Nate (02:20):
Well, I found entrepreneurship by way of
architecture.
I had always been a prettycreative kid.
I always tell people I, grew upsort of drawing in church.
I would get in trouble fordrawing on the offering
envelopes in church.
I.
And I just loved getting ideasout.
(02:41):
Just, you know, always lovedgetting ideas out and, so I, I
found architecture to be, youknow, with the drawing skills
and all those things, thecreativeness and just the
visionary thoughts, I foundarchitecture to be the best
outlet for that to, you know, toenter a career.
And so when I went to college, Irealized that that was, that was
(03:02):
very short-lived.
So
Kenny (03:05):
I
Nate (03:06):
ended up, pivoting to urban planning.
Which I did because I stillwanted to stay in the built
environment realm like, youknow, architecture s'cause you
learn about architecture and,you know, when you're studying
urban planning.
But I wanted to sort of expandthe reach and learn more about
the built environment ingeneral.
Kenny (03:24):
whether,
Nate (03:24):
whether it be policy, real estate, landscape architecture,
or you know, architecture, whichis kind of like what makes up
what we see as urban planning.
And so got into that andgraduated with that degree.
And then I got a master's inUrban Design and that's where
this real estate thing reallystarted to, to appeal to me.
(03:47):
I started really, really findingan appreciation for real estate
because I realized where thepower actually sort of like.
Where, where the power is heldlike by real estate developers
who actually think of thebuildings.
They hire an architect, and thenthe architect actually design,
and that's how it comes to life.
And so that's what I was moreintrigued by was like, okay, I.
Who is the person behind?
(04:07):
Who is the thought, who is themind behind this?
Who is the creative behind this?
and so I started digging deeperfun.
enough, I ended up going back toarchitecture, working for a few
architecture firms, but therewas always this draw, right?
There was always this draw tothe creative.
There was always this draw totechnology.
And so, I worked for twoarchitecture firms who both took
(04:29):
me under their wing and I thinkbecause they were, one of them
was pretty established, but youknow, they had pretty archaic
ways of doing business, like,especially when it comes to
business development and, youknow, proposal building and
marketing.
And so I was able to bring someof the young flare that I had
coming outta school and helpthem to scale.
And so I would see.
(04:50):
Directly how that was beneficialfor that company.
so when I, once I left thatcompany and went to the next
one, that one was a startup.
So I was able to take some ofthe skills that I learned at
the, at the other job and bringthem and, and translate them
directly to my new role.
And, you know, that's whenthings really took off.
so the, I guess theentrepreneurship spirit sort of
(05:13):
started brewing.
Again, you know, at around thattime,'cause I saw how direct
inputs and ideas sort of turnedinto business results.
And in 2020 I started, you know,my company and I, I started my
company under render vision andthat then was rebranded into
vision and here we are.
Kenny (05:36):
I love it.
I, I, I, I appreciate you takingus on that journey with you.
it's really interesting to, tohear that, you had that calling.
Towards architecture at a youngage.
I'm, I'm only imagining howmuch, what the repercussions
were for, drawing in church.
(05:57):
they probably weren't very good,repercussions at all.
They're probably very severe.
Nate (06:04):
Yeah.
Kenny (06:05):
but you getting at that outright in terms of your
creative outlet and that leadingyou down the path where you
actually went away from.
Architecture for a little bit,but now here you are still,
itching.
What is it?
Itching, scratching that itch.
Right?
And that, that, that's reallycool to hear.
Like that's a full circle,story.
(06:25):
You, you, you sitting theretelling us that.
I'm curious.
When I think of architects, Ithink of like this really cool.
Balance of like, you gotta knowsome of the technical, you gotta
have a technical skillset interms of the math and some of
the STEM skills.
(06:46):
But then there's also thiscreative element.
Everybody I've known who's inthis space is a really,
interesting thinker, if I cansay it that way.
So I'm curious for you like.
Has, has it been a bal ha ha.
Does it feel like that sort ofbalance, I guess, being in this
(07:07):
space now where you get toleverage both sides of the, the
creative side and then the, themuch more technical kind of stem
focus, because there aren't manycareer paths now where you find
a balance like that.
Nate (07:20):
Yeah.
Dude, that's a really goodquestion.
So, one thing that I realized inarchitecture school was that I
guess the technicality that Iwas drawn to was in technology,
and that's why I pivoted becausewe didn't have that.
It was more so sort of creativeside and then the technical side
(07:40):
from a math, you know,standpoint.
And I don't know, something justwould tell me back then that
things are gonna change veryfast.
when I get outta school justseeing where technology was
going,'cause I would always lovetechnology, but again, there was
really no way for me to scratchthat itch.
then, because, you know, we werealmost until our third year, we
(08:00):
were banned to using software.
and so like literally we werenot allowed to use software to
create our designs.
And, you know, for, for, I, Ithink the intention was, was
good, right?
Because they wanted people toreally be creative and get ideas
out of their mind without usingtech, you know, technology.
you know, it taught me a lot,but now it's like.
(08:22):
That's how we, that's like howwe ever get any idea out is
really by interacting with thiswith some type of machine.
and so
Kenny (08:31):
I
Nate (08:31):
would
Kenny (08:31):
say
Nate (08:33):
technology and entrepreneurship has given me
another outlet to be creativebecause as you mentioned
earlier, like there is thatbalance, right?
I, I made a LinkedIn postliterary about this like two
days ago.
I.
About how a lot of visionaries,start off in architecture
because they have that visionarymind.
Kenny (08:51):
Um.
And,
Nate (08:54):
and visionaries typically are led to entrepreneurship
because they can see things thatpeople, you know, other people
don't see in, in, in playingsight.
And so the ability to becreative within a business like
assembling a team, like that'screativity, right?
Like assembling systems to make.
You know, a lead generation flowlead to sales or lead to, you
(09:16):
know, book deployments.
And that lead to sales iscreativity.
Like you sit down and you, youthink about how this is gonna
work creatively for yourbusiness and you build it or you
get someone to build it.
And so, in that way, I thinkentrepreneurship has allowed me
to sort of be creative in, inways that, like I was looking
for that creativity inarchitecture.
(09:38):
And that's where sort of like,that's why I was drawn that way.
It led me to the builtenvironment, which I absolutely
fell in love with.
Like, okay, from a visionarystandpoint, a building could not
be there two years, you know,prior to.
And it's like a high rise couldsort of pop up, you know, kind
of out of nowhere.
And it could be this creativething that people interact with
that's basically alive in asense.
(09:59):
And so that was just so,intriguing to
Kenny (10:02):
me.
Nate (10:03):
And so, like I said, I mean, again, I found a way to
sort of bring all those worldstogether in, you know, working
in VR and, and entrepreneurshipand AI and things of that
nature.
Kenny (10:17):
That's super dope.
Like.
As you were just explainingthat, and you were saying the
programs that you were goingthrough before, a big
requirement of those programswas no software.
That almost feels like, well, Icould, I gotta imagine like a
kid coming up now hearing thatwould be like, what do you mean
(10:37):
you can't use any software andlike, would it.
So what were you building inthese moments?
Is it like I, my mind went tolike, all right, all right,
here's some popsicle sticks.
Nate (10:49):
Literally
Kenny (10:50):
build something.
Was it like that?
Nate (10:53):
we literally had, we, we withdraw.
would take boxes, we would takewhat we called, foam core.
So it was basically like, youknow, the equivalent to like
miniature like, yeah, like, likeminiature drywall or something
like that with like foam in themiddle, but two, you know, sides
(11:14):
of like paper, hard paper andcut it up, you know, and
literally make architecturalforms out of it.
And again, like IS it, it, itwas, it was good for what it,
the intention was good.
Like, they wanted you to thinkoutside of the box and like do
things that you've never donebefore, but.
I think nowadays, like youmentioned, like, you know,
(11:37):
people are looking at that, likeworld is moving so fast.
Like by the thing you know,you'll be able to literally look
at a screen, think of somethingand it'll pop up.
Like, you know, while people aremaking cardboard boxes.
So we, I think we gotta like, wegotta catch up.
Kenny (11:54):
Yeah, I think, I think the big platforms.
Or, me and my family and myfriends, we debate this all the
time, but do you have momentsnow where you're talking about
something with your friends or aloved one and then you go to
your phone and that thing is onthe phone?
Nate (12:12):
Yes.
Kenny (12:13):
But to your point, like we kind of are already at this
point where the big platformscan kind of already start to
predict or see some of thosetrends that you're seeing.
And so if we're at that point.
Like it's going to be hard forthe generation that didn't know
or didn't have to go through,Hey, here's some popsicle
(12:36):
sticks.
Be creative
Nate (12:37):
Right,
Kenny (12:38):
go to that place.
Nate (12:39):
right.
Kenny (12:40):
Right.
And I think, I feel like itgives you an advantage going
through that.
I think the debate is definitelystill out if, previous learning
methods.
Are going to Trump the currentones with all the technology and
stuff.
How, like, do you have anythoughts about that?
(13:01):
Like in terms of how learning ischanging and like you said, kids
are not having to do the samethings that you went through in
order to get, get intoarchitecture for example.
Nate (13:14):
Well, I, I think, you know, a lot of time, creativity
is, creativity is limited to thetools you have in your, in your
toolbox.
And you could have tools in yourtoolbox.
But, I.
Kenny (13:27):
they're
Nate (13:27):
there literally, but you don't, you know, you don't know
how to use them.
so as it pertains toarchitecture, just, you know how
the educational system ischanging.
I hoped, you know, I went tocollege, you know, guess six
years ago, something like that.
Now I hope things have changeddramatically.
I don't think they have.
Not dramatically.
(13:48):
Um, but I think, I personallythink it hurts.
Innovation for our generation,like our generations are, are
supposed to be the ones creatingthe next technology for the next
generation as it pertains to.
Right, because at the time ourtool set was so limited, like,
(14:10):
you know, we were able to playaround with these tools after
school.
Right.
For me it was an extreme'cause Iwas still using it.
Like I didn't care bro.
I was still using it, you know?
not too crazy, but like, youknow, when I got to my junior,
senior year.
absolutely.
I was using SketchUp.
I was learning Revit.
'cause I would look at these joblistings online and I would
(14:32):
realize that they wanted twoyears of, of Revit experience,
which is a architectural programby the way.
and so
Kenny (14:41):
it
Nate (14:41):
just didn't make sense to me that we weren't learning this
in school.
It was just like, so I did it onmy own.
I took an independent study,like I did all types of stuff to
just try to get ahead myself.
but yeah, it, it was a thingthat I was very frustrated with
at the time.
'cause, know, I just knew whereI had an idea, I guess I would
say.
I didn't know, but like I had agood idea where things were
(15:02):
going.
But yeah, I think it kind ofcripples us the fact that, we're
not encouraged to startexploring these tools at our
disposal and other sectors in,in, in often cases are.
and that I believe is the, isthe.
One of the number one pieces of
Kenny (15:21):
stagnation
Nate (15:23):
when it comes to, revolutionizing architecture and
just the field of the builtenvironment in general.
Kenny (15:31):
Interesting man.
I, I'm learning, just sittinghere listening to you.
it, I don't know what the answeris, but I feel like
conversations like this.
It makes me, it, it makes mefeel a little bit better knowing
that there's people out therethat think like you, that are
doing some of the things thatyou're doing, because I think
(15:52):
the, the, the, the nextgeneration will definitely have
to learn from somebody.
they, they'll have the robots tolearn from for sure,
Nate (16:03):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (16:04):
but I think they'll definitely be looking for.
in terms of the inputs to therobots, Hey, I want to build
like so and so.
I want to build like Nate,right?
I want to, I see what Nate'sdoing, like how can I do
something like that?
And like almost reverseengineering stuff.
And so I think that's what thenext generation has to kind of,
(16:25):
kind of get a grasp of, because.
We had, we had blueprints, wehad some form of a blueprint,
right, that we could go to andwe could kind of reverse
engineer, but we would gothrough that process of reverse
engineering it ourself.
And by the, by the time you getto the end, like you, you, you
gain some proficiency
Nate (16:45):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (16:46):
now there is no real need to, to be proficient.
If you can go to a robot andthey can give you instructions
on the fly.
So that, that we're not gonna godown that rabbit hole, right?
Like, let's pivot a little bit.
We've talked enough about therobots.
Let's talk a little bit about,when I think of architecture, I
(17:07):
think of community, right?
I think of you're buildingsomething for a group of people
to get some value from.
That could be, your building,you know, now I'm in Charlotte.
We're in that in the NorthCarolina region, right?
And so they're building houseseverywhere.
When you build houses, you gottabuild restaurants, you gotta
(17:27):
build entertainment.
And so there's this communitythat is a really big focus right
now.
Let's talk about the communitythat, like what, what does your
tribe look like in this, in thismoment as you build out, what
you want, the capabilities forvision.
Like who is in your tribe?
(17:48):
And why do you have them therein this moment?
Nate (17:52):
so I, I think first of all, start
Kenny (17:54):
personally,
Nate (17:56):
other founders who are building really cool things.
I think we all really understandthat where AI is going and where
technology is headed.
And, being able to move fast andlearn the tools as fast as
possible is, is key.
from a community standpoint,from, you know, who I spend a
lot of my time with are peoplewho are eagerly trying to find
(18:19):
those tools and share thosetools, with each other and sort
of learn together, and, andshare what's working for us, et
cetera.
So that's, I would say, like mypersonal tribe and my personal
sort of community.
Um.
Is, is people with that mindset.
I also run a school communityactually.
(18:42):
it's basically a community of 3Dartists, students as well as
people who are trying, havestarted their own 3D uh.
Architectural visualizationcompanies or just 3D studios in
general that would like to learnhow to scale their companies.
so I created it, would say abouta year ago.
(19:05):
We have about a hundred memberson school.com.
And so if you wanna, if that'ssomething you've been interested
in, if you're watching orlistening to this, then I would
definitely suggest be a part ofthat.
'cause we talk about.
Tools as well.
You know, I give a lot of freegame on there of like how I
started and grew the company andhow I was able to, market and
(19:25):
get the first customer, get thefirst big job, you know, hire
people.
And I talk about where thingsare going as well in that
community.
also entrepreneurs, I would say.
And that kind of ties into thefirst point I made, you know,
just other people from a mindsetstandpoint that are.
You know,'cause this is not a.
(19:47):
Easy road.
I would say it's not an easyroad as well.
Like was just having aconversation with one of my
buddies out in Houston and wewere talking about of making
that pivot, making those moves,and when it's time to sort of,
reimagine what you're doing andmake a pivot towards the
direction that you're, thatyou're trying to move in.
And without community, I don'tthink you can have some of these
(20:08):
conversations.
'cause it's a, it's a, it can bea lonely road.
Like, you know, you're dealingwith what you're dealing with
and you're busy.
And you got responsibilities andyou got life and stuff like
that.
So like sitting down.
And then I think to be anentrepreneur too, you actually
have to have a, sort of mindsetthat doesn't really allow you to
complain much.
(20:30):
And you know, venting cansometimes seem like complaining.
So sometimes you need that otherperson that.
You can lean on that.
It doesn't feel like complaining'cause they get it too.
Like it's just something y'alldealing with.
So it's a, you know, it's aconversation.
So from a community standpoint,I would say those three pillars
are what I try to, and alsomembers or, or mentors.
Mentors and advisors.
(20:50):
You know, people who have ranthe, the route to already or,
you know, ran the race in theirown way and have something to
share.
and so those are, those are thecommunity, pillars.
I try to keep myself around.
Kenny (21:05):
I like that.
And from what I'm hearing, likeyou're definitely.
It could be deliberate, it maynot be, but you're connecting
with people at different pointsin their journey, right?
You're connecting with somebodywho's at the tail end of their
journey, like they're, maybethey're transitioning out of,
being a founder, being incorporate America.
Nate (21:28):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (21:28):
people add value.
You're, you've got those peoplewho are also in the trenches
just like you.
And then it's really cool to seeyou leverage that tool that you
mentioned school.
To really have a community ofpeople trying to learn and
figure out maybe their earlystage.
That's always good to hear.
And I'm assuming, or maybe Idon't even have to assume, I can
(21:49):
ask you, like you're able tolearn from people at these
different points in theirjourneys, right?
Like I.
Nate (21:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
I would say on, on, and funnyenough, I, I didn't even think
about it like that, but you'reexactly right.
Like it's different stages anddifferent journeys, and I think
there's something to learn fromeveryone, within their journey.
Even the people that, you know,I set out to teach or I set out
to help, know, I'll read some ofthe posts that they, that they
(22:16):
put on there sometimes, and I'llbe like, wow.
That's an interesting way to dothat,
Kenny (22:21):
Mm-hmm.
Nate (22:22):
you know, I never thought that way, or, you know, I'll see
people sort of talking to eachother and I'm, you know, I'm
just kind of blown away by thefact that, that community aspect
of people just being able tohave a platform to communicate
with each other,
Kenny (22:38):
know,
Nate (22:39):
allows people to share,
Kenny (22:41):
results
Nate (22:43):
and, you know, things of that nature, with each other and
help each other out.
So I learn stuff every day from,from people in general?
Kenny (22:51):
I love it.
Nate (22:52):
Yeah.
Kenny (22:53):
Let's, let's transition a little bit.
'cause you just mentioned,right, as a founder, you don't,
you have to be okay with givingfeedback, but then not
complaining, like you said,right?
Or taking some of that.
So I'm curious.
we all have to, in our journey,you're gonna have to deal with
customers that are not happy.
(23:15):
Let's, let's put it that way.
So I'm curious, when a customercomes to you and they're not
happy, right?
They're giving you that feedbackand it's not what you may want
to hear, like how do you goabout turning, turning that
situation or from just a problemto something else?
Nate (23:35):
Yeah, man, I, I don't know if I've ever gotten that
question, but I deal with it.
I've dealt with it.
so the first thing I think aboutis full ownership, like total
ownership.
Like, okay, I'm gonna figure outwhat's going on, right?
Like, I'm gonna figure outwhat's going on, even if it
(23:56):
takes some digging.
and the first thing I'm gonna dois.
You know, put company in theposition to where we say, okay,
these people paid us to do thisservice.
If they're not happy with it,there's something that we have
to look into.
Right.
I try my best not to brush awayany type of request or any type
(24:17):
of like.
You know, any type of concernbecause again, like it's a, it's
an exchange, right?
You exchange your money for aservice and if you don't feel
like you're getting the thingthat you're, you've came, you've
come for, we gotta approachthat.
So that's the first thing.
And the next thing I think aboutis impartiality and fairness,
right?
(24:38):
sometimes my team is involved aswell.
So, the first stage is, okay,what's the problem?
I.
where did we go wrong?
within that problem if we did gowrong, and then we talk
internally about that.
So if I have, like for, forinstance, a project manager on
the job who actually didsomething wrong, the, the first
(24:59):
thing I try to do is sit thatperson down and say, Hey, like,
you know, let's make sure we'renot in the wrong before we.
we say something back, like,let's figure out what's going
on.
And sometimes, you know, it,depending on the relationship or
'cause business is all aboutrelationships, right?
We may not, like, we may sort oftake the brute for certain
things, right?
Just out of all fairness andagain, out of relationship
(25:22):
building.
But at the same time, like, youknow, it's, it's very important
for.
For us to look internally firstand say, okay, what did we do?
if we did anything, and thensort of approach the situation.
So I try to do that every time.
and then lastly, I'll say
Kenny (25:40):
contracts.
Nate (25:41):
Having stuff on paper is one of the best things you could
do.
And some of our best clauses andclauses in our, in our contracts
have come from a lot of pain.
Like have come from, you know,customers or clients or people
saying, Hey, you guys did this.
And we're like, no, we, youknow, no we didn't.
Right.
Like out of all good intention,we're like.
You know, we, or we didn't meanto do that or whatever, or you
(26:04):
guys said you were gonna do thisand well, we had the best
intention of course, workingwith you.
So we would've never, you know,just did that on purpose.
But because it's not on paper,it's hard to, it's, it's hard to
argue that,
Kenny (26:18):
know,
Nate (26:19):
and so, so every time something like that goes wrong,
you know, it, it becomes anotherexercise or becomes another
opportunity to look at ourcontracts.
And say, okay, what's missinghere?
Where was the, where was thedivide?
Where was the, misunderstanding?
And if we can put something inthat contract that prevents that
from happening again, again,we'll do it in a heartbeat.
(26:40):
And
Kenny (26:40):
I love it.
Nate (26:41):
yeah, those are some of the things that, that we try to
do, at vision.
Kenny (26:46):
That, that contract piece is big.
That's really big.
every time a contract is put infront of me, I immediately think
I will pay a lawyer whateverthey need so that I do not have
to see this contract again.
(27:06):
I kid you not Nate, like everysingle time.
'cause it's like.
This is, it's overwhelming andlike, but like you said, like
the beauty is in the details is,is, is a, is a, a phrase I
learned, from my time in salesand it truly is something where
(27:27):
it sets the expectations andthen once those signatures are
dried on that contract or signedelectronically, like that's the
commitment.
Nate (27:36):
Yeah.
Kenny (27:37):
you said, and, and, and if you have acknowledgement on
the front end, like you said interms of what did we do,
Nate (27:42):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (27:43):
where did this go off on the rails, along with that
acknowledgement of thecommitment,
Nate (27:48):
Right.
Kenny (27:49):
in a good place.
Nate (27:50):
Yeah.
Yeah,
Kenny (27:51):
Really good place.
Nate (27:52):
we, and, and you know, we try to, we try to do business in
a way that we're not veering toomuch away from what we're saying
we're doing on paper.
Sometimes people don't read thecontract.
So in that way, we, and evensometimes, even, even sometimes,
we decide internally or wedecide as a group to say, okay,
(28:13):
we get that you didn't read it.
Here's what we're gonna do.
Because in business you don'twanna leave a bad taste in
people's mouths.
Kenny (28:19):
it's
Nate (28:21):
just not, it's, it's not a good thing to do in business.
It doesn't help it, it doesn'thelp.
Right.
And I also read a book
Kenny (28:28):
called,
Nate (28:30):
the Laws of Success and it talks, one of the laws is do
more, do more than you're paidfor anyone that you see that has
reached a high level of success,they've done a lot more than
they're paid for.
And so we try to take thatphilosophy literally and say,
even though you didn't see thatin the contract, you know what?
(28:53):
We got it.
And a lot of companies won't dothat, but I think that's one of
the reasons.
You know, first, second year inbusiness, we grew 200%, right?
Because if you're hiring someoneto do something, you want the
highest form of leverage period,right?
I don't care if someone's payingme a hundred thousand dollars to
do something, they wanna make ahundred million and they wanna
(29:16):
make 200 million if possible.
And so it's not that they don'twant to pay you, it's literally
just, they just want the highestleverage.
And, you know, that's fair.
'cause you're in business andyou're in business to make
money.
And so, so if you just make surethat, that point of that, that
you're giving them thatleverage, and you're, you get
your fair reward for it.
(29:37):
There should be no issue.
Kenny (29:40):
That is a, a lesson to learn specifically, I think,
again, in B2B,
Nate (29:47):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (29:48):
like B2B specifically, where, like you said, you may
have to, the, the letter is theletter in some cases, but then
in other cases there's a,there's definitely some gray
area.
Nate (29:58):
Yeah.
Kenny (29:59):
and depending on where that you want that relationship
to grow is, you know, where youtake that gray area.
Nate (30:05):
Yeah.
Kenny (30:06):
You know?
I love that.
Nate (30:07):
At the high, it's happening at the highest levels.
I'll be the first to tell you.
it's small businesses.
They're the ones really lookingat contracts and being, you
know, stern.
We, that's a policy, you know,et cetera.
At the highest levels.
I'll tell you man, like they'reat lunch and dinner saying, you
know what?
I got you
Kenny (30:24):
Mm-hmm.
Nate (30:24):
You know, I got you.
Business owner to businessowner, or you know, just man to
man or woman to woman.
Like, I got you.
Kenny (30:32):
I love it.
So let's, let's talk a littlebit about, so the.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
The first product you offeredwas, was it render,
Nate (30:43):
Yeah.
Render vision.
Yeah.
Kenny (30:44):
render vision?
Right.
And so talk a little bit aboutwhat that product actually does
and like where do you grow fromthere in terms of the products
that you're gonna be offering.
Nate (30:59):
So it's all about visualization.
if you want someone to invest insomething or buy it, or you
know, approve it or whatever,they gotta be able to see it.
And so for a very, very longtime, people were trying to
pitch ideas with pitch decks andPDFs and and letters and lines,
(31:19):
it just doesn't work like that.
You know, there's so muchcompetition out here from a real
estate standpoint, from justlike general, you know,
marketplace standpoint, that youneed to be able to differentiate
yourself.
And so we started in 2020 still3D renderings, which at the time
it was extremely helpful'causeyou could take a piece of land
(31:40):
that, you know, you didn't knowwhat to do with, you had this,
you know, site plan or whatever.
And we, and you could give ussome mood images, inspirational
images.
I wanted to look like this andhave these type of windows and
we could assemble something thatlooked very close to, what was
actually gonna be there in avery short amount of time.
they were able to take that, youknow, raise money, get
(32:01):
approvals, things like that.
And that's how we grew
Kenny (32:02):
initially.
Nate (32:04):
And so, that then sort of graduated into animation videos.
So we started doing thesefly-throughs, which is even more
powerful, right?
because it's
Kenny (32:16):
storytelling,
Nate (32:17):
right?
The, the first thing gets peopleto see it.
It gets people to understand thecontext and you just, you know,
be able to imagine it.
But it still took someimagination.
It took the, an imaginativeindividual to turn that into a
story that they didn't bondinto.
And we know people buy storieslike you're in sales, like
people buy into stories andpeople buy even more and more
(32:39):
frequently when their heart isattached to it or when their
motion is.
And so we understood that andwent into animation
Kenny (32:44):
videos.
Nate (32:46):
that started to move and so, you know, share different
pieces of the property or itwould show a, a piece of B-roll,
a person that popped up that'ssmiling or happy or someone
using the place or, or whateverit is.
I.
And again, there again, we sawpeople get millions and millions
and millions and hundreds ofmillions of dollars in either
(33:07):
funding, approvals and stufflike that.
From, from doing
Kenny (33:10):
that,
Nate (33:11):
from there, we then just tried to solve the next problem.
Right?
What's the next problem?
Well, a lot of luxurydevelopments, a lot of bigger
developments, you would besurprised are having trouble
with sales.
They have a lot of issues withsales conversions.
because now the first two thingsthat I mentioned are even now
(33:34):
becoming pretty and archaic.
Then you mix in the issue of notbeing able to physically go to
certain places and that the factthat, you know, everything is
going online and more digital.
And so that created a uniqueopportunity for us to create an
immersive, AI powered.
(33:58):
Conversational
Kenny (34:00):
walkthrough
Nate (34:01):
or or property viewing tool and experience tool that
people can interact with fromthe comfort of their, of their
home from anywhere in the world.
And they could sort of literallyin the new place that they're
going to, buy or rent or leaseor whatever, um, while they're,
(34:23):
you know, in the comfort oftheir home.
And so that's what we'rebuilding now is like.
A more immersive, a more sort ofsensory and emotion driven,
approach to, propertywalkthroughs.
Kenny (34:42):
That's, I got the, thoughts popping into my head
all the time when, when peopleare, are, are, are talking.
And I promise you all, it wasn'tjust like a hamster in a wheel,
but uh.
I, I, as you were talking, I wasthink of thinking of the Disney
experience where you'd like dolike the four D movie or, I
(35:05):
think one time I wrote like theavatar ride and it was like, as
you go through the world, you'relike smelling stuff and like
wind and water's like hittingyour face, but you get the full
experience and for real estatein particular.
The only time we most, most ofthe time most of us get to see
(35:26):
the actual property.
It's like a blank canvas.
So to your point, likeimagining, like filling in the
blank for people a little bit sothat they can be immersed in it
and they can like actually seethemselves there.
That sounds like a four D movieexperience that I would pay for.
The way you explained it, Nate,like that sounds amazing.
Nate (35:46):
Well, you hit it right on the head, man.
I couldn't have explained itactually any better.
just imagine that plus agent, anAI agent that can walk you
through the, or teleport youthrough anywhere in the, in the
property tell you abouteverything about in, in the area
or about that particular unitgetting ready to buy or lease or
(36:08):
rent or whatever.
and being able to book meetingsfor you.
And basically do anything that,that you needed to do and as it
pertains
Kenny (36:16):
to,
Nate (36:17):
making that buying decision.
Kenny (36:19):
I love that.
Let's talk a little bit, sowhere do, so what does that look
like?
Is that gonna be a host ofproducts, right?
Is that where you're thinking,where there's a whole suite,
right, that vision provides atthe end of the day?
Or do you feel like you're doingthat with your next, your next
product release, all thosethings that you talked about?
Nate (36:41):
Yeah, so all of that is in one product.
We want to make sure that thereare three that
Kenny (36:47):
are,
Nate (36:47):
are very strong, three features that are very strong,
like the immersive walkthrough,conversational AI agent, and
then the data, right, the datagathering.
we're adding some, you know,peppering some small features in
there as well, like being ableto sort
Kenny (37:07):
of
Nate (37:08):
talk, to the agent and say, Hey, change this couch in
here, and it immediately justchanges.
So we have that feature now thatwe've added, but it's gonna be a
process of letting people usethe software, having companies
use the, you know, use thesoftware.
figuring out what people want.
because while it's a B2Bproduct, it's very much so a
(37:30):
consumer user experience.
So we have to know, you know,what people are wanting to see.
of course we gotta think forthem a little bit, just like
Steve Jobs esque sort ofthinking, but.
You know, once we approach themwith the tools, like, here are
the things that you have at yourfingertips.
Now, it's really up to them tofigure out what's much more,
(37:51):
what's most important for them.
Kenny (37:53):
Got it.
So let's talk a little bit aboutyour team that you've built to,
to, offer the products thatyou're focusing on.
Like, what does your team looklike, what are their
backgrounds?
Or maybe for anybody who may beinterested, you throwing out
the, the, the topic of AI acouple times, right?
And so I'm curious like whatyour team looks like now and
(38:13):
maybe potentially areas whereyou may be looking for, some
additions to your team.
Nate (38:19):
Yeah, so again, you know, is different gears and I think,
you know, we're coming to an agewhere there'll be probably one
individual, or maybe two thatare responsible for each gear.
so we've become a lot more lean,within the past year.
(38:41):
And I'll just be honest, like wewere last year, we were at close
to 30
Kenny (38:46):
people.
Nate (38:47):
and that was everybody from leadership to middle
management
Kenny (38:52):
to
Nate (38:53):
artists, you know, things like that.
And we could be working on, youknow, every bit of 40 projects
at one time.
Things have gotten a lot leanerto where we're closer to 10 now.
And, that is artists and, someof them are 10 99, artists that
we work with, like 3D artists tobuild the
Kenny (39:13):
experiences.
Nate (39:15):
my assistant,
Kenny (39:17):
co-founder
Nate (39:19):
of path, which is the AI sort of assistant tool well as,
uh.
Some middle management and, andyeah, marketing.
Marketing, personnel.
Kenny (39:33):
I
Nate (39:34):
think things are gonna get even more leaner.
probably not for us, but just ingeneral.
You know, I think, I think that10 mark is like gonna become
the, the sweet spot, like eightto
Kenny (39:47):
Mm.
Nate (39:47):
individuals,
Kenny (39:48):
because
Nate (39:49):
there are really kind of like four core.
A functions of a business.
There's like finance, there'soperations production, there is
marketing and sales, and thenyeah, marketing and sales.
Kenny (40:02):
Got it.
Okay.
Nate (40:03):
Yeah.
So,
Kenny (40:06):
Interesting.
Yeah, it's interesting to hear,founders in this, this space
that we're in now.
There's a lot of uncertainty,
Nate (40:15):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (40:16):
around the things.
But the one thing I will say isthat the business owners I've
been talking to, they feel likethey can definitely do more with
less Now,
Nate (40:24):
Yeah.
Kenny (40:24):
the, the effects on the.
The job market and things likethat, I think they're still
playing out.
but just being able to do morewith less
Nate (40:33):
Mm-hmm.
Kenny (40:34):
on in your business journey.
I think that's, that's a netwin, for businesses, more
businesses to survive past that,that critical, that critical
mass point of say like a year ortwo.
Right.
so that's good to hear.
Nate (40:48):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it's gonna dramaticallyshift the way that we earn and
the way that we, understand justtransactional marketplace
conditions.
I always give the analogy oflike.
The gener, the generationsbefore us, like to leap into our
(41:10):
entrepreneurship in a creativeway.
They didn't do that.
Right?
So telling someone that that isthe career that they're gonna
jump into, after high school islike telling them that you're
getting ready to create, youknow, to commit suicide or
something like that.
Right.
So it's like, know, things aregonna change for us too.
(41:30):
Like our children are gonna belike, yeah, I'm about to.
Like, I'm about to, I don't evenknow.
Like we don't even know what thefuture's gonna look like, but
it's gonna be different, right?
It's gonna be,
Kenny (41:42):
For sure.
That's for sure.
Nate (41:44):
yeah.
Yeah.
It may not even be starting abusiness, right?
It might just be being acreator.
Like, I'm going to do, gonna do,you know, music in a, or I'm in
a.
I don't know, man, it, it's,it's so hard to tell the, what
the next generation will bebuilding and what they will be
focused on, and I think becauseof the dramatic of invention
(42:08):
called ai, and this dramaticeffect on the marketplace.
It is hard to, the, the futureis quite blurry.
And this is for everyone.
You know this, like most expertsare saying that they have no,
absolutely no idea.
I mean, we have ideas about,implications on the marketplace
as we know it now, but I thinkwe'll be living in a different
(42:30):
world, like quite literally.
I think creators and, and, andpeople who have creative minds
will thrive.
And I actually wrote a book onit.
It's called Design to Win.
but generally I.
It is tough.
And I'll just say this lastthing, like I read a book called
The Co Coming Wave.
It talks about AI and it gavethis analogy of, the industrial
(42:55):
age and how people were workingon a farm.
And all of a sudden, like, youknow, they see a tractor ride,
pa ride past and you see likewhat you do as your job, like
literally driving past you.
And, you know, you're looking atall of your, the people who
you're working with and you'relike, what the heck was that?
Like?
And that's kind of where we'reat right now.
(43:16):
Like, you know, the tractor isliterally driving by and we're
still working and it's comingtowards us.
Kenny (43:24):
So, yeah.
I love to that man.
I am not, offended by yourshameless plug of your book
Designed to win.
I love that.
I love that.
I've been, I take, I, I read inbits and pieces.
So
Nate (43:40):
Yeah.
Kenny (43:40):
I'm not one of the people that reads a book front to back.
I, I read the pages and then Itry to apply them to my life.
but so far it's actually a quickread.
So for those that areinterested, definitely a quick
read and I appreciate, you notgiving us a really thick book
that I have to carry, carryaround.
So for those that are lookingfor, some reading material, make
(44:01):
sure you check out Nate's bookthere.
I am not ashamed of that plug.
Nate, I appreciate that.
Nate (44:07):
Man got.
Kenny (44:08):
So I wanna, you know, last question I'll ask is in
terms of, not dream clients, butwhere do you see, is there a
client or a group of, prospectsthat you haven't gotten in front
(44:32):
of yet that should be checkingout your, your product?
Nate (44:38):
My dream has always to be, has always been to work with
cities like futuristic, forwardthinking cities, because I'm
obsessed with cities in generaland just like the, you know,
ecosystem of cities.
And I'm obsessed with technologyand so.
(44:58):
That is my dream client.
so much so that I've eventhought about just packing up
and moving to Dubai.
'cause that seems like the next,the, the place that, that's
Kenny (45:09):
happening.
Nate (45:10):
But I Would say that is most likely, I, I might be of,
speaking in speaking intoexistence here, but man, that is
my absolute dream is to.
Work with a very forwardthinking city that has problems
that need to be solved
Kenny (45:28):
asap.
Nate (45:31):
Right.
and I, and I think that's wheresome of the solutions that we've
created are gonna become veryrelevant.
Right.
Um.
And so like I said, as we'vebeen growing the company, it's
become, the question has becomehow can we solve bigger
problems?
And I think we'll just continueand continue and continue and
continue to do that untilhopefully, you know, by God's
(45:51):
grace we get there to wherewe're working with, you know,
that dream
Kenny (45:55):
client.
Nate (45:56):
But, besides that, like I can't really think of anything
too high.
Yeah.
Kenny (46:04):
I was like, that seems like that's a big.
Yeah.
Yeah,
Nate (46:12):
yeah, man.
like I said, it's, it's one ofthe things that drew me to, to
architecture, and it's, it's thereason why I went into urban
planning is because to think atthe city scale, man, here's the
thing.
Everything is kind of one thing,you'll probably understand what
(46:34):
I'm saying.
What I'm saying with this alittle bit, a little bit deeper,
everything is kind of one thingand one thing is everything.
And so the way I look at abuilding or the way we look at,
you know, a piece of technology,I.
Or a problem that we're solvingis the way that it's looked at,
at the highest level.
So just like how a, you know,atom is, has the same sort of,
(46:59):
makeup as, we see as theuniverse.
And it, it is like, it's like ifwe can approach.
Or if I can approach the cityscale looking to solve problems,
just in the same manner thatwe're looking to solve problems
for a building or problems thata real estate developer is
having, then that would
Kenny (47:20):
absolutely,
Nate (47:22):
fulfill any sort of dream or whatever that I,
Kenny (47:25):
that I have.
Nate (47:27):
yeah.
Kenny (47:28):
I appreciate that answer, man.
In closing, I want to thank you.
For being a guest, sharing yourstory.
It's amazing.
I love what you're building withvision, the products that you're
offering, like render vision.
looking forward to hearing aboutthe companies that are out there
leveraging, your solution andeven consumers, like you said,
you've got a dual focus.
(47:50):
in closing two things.
how can folks stay, up to dateon the brand and then the
lasting thought that you wantour listeners and guests.
tuning in right now to take awayfrom this conversation.
Nate (48:04):
Yeah, so my socials, all my socials is just my name.
also what my website's, just myname nate robert aza.com.
Kenny (48:11):
so
Nate (48:12):
I post a lot of stuff on LinkedIn and stuff like that,
so, you know, all of it connectsto each other, so it won't be
too hard.
one thing that I want people totake away from this conversation
is that, first of all, nothinking is too big.
So I believe that we all havethis sort of fire in us deep
(48:38):
down somewhere that wants tocreate something, we all have
it.
and whatever you can imagine,never lose sight of it.
Never lose that touch ofwhatever that thing is, like
keep dreaming that, keep seeingit, believing it, and it is
(48:58):
gonna happen.
I.
the other thing is start small,right?
Start with something that youknow, you can start with today.
that be one step, whether thatbe one conversation, whether it
be, you know, one rep.
Just start with it today.
And that's how those small stepsstart to become big steps.
And, you know, you start to seethe stuff you dream about.
Kenny (49:23):
I ain't gotta say else.
Nate, I appreciate you.
For coming on the, the, theplatform again.
And for our listeners, thankyou.
Thank you.
Thank you for tuning intoanother great episode of The
Beyond Normal Podcast
Nate (49:36):
Yeah.
it brother.
Kenny (49:39):
podcast.
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