August 4, 2025 • 41 mins
Entrepreneurship becomes truly fulfilling when it transforms lives and creates opportunities for underserved communities around the world. Liderman Duin, the founder of Toucan Talent shares his journey of building a global tech academy that identifies talented individuals and equips them with skills for successful careers in technology.
• Building a mission-driven business that spans 11 countries and helps underserved communities
• Finding purpose during the pandemic by pivoting from healthcare software to global tech education
• Creating life-changing opportunities that allow team members to purchase homes and provide better education for their children
• Navigating the immigrant experience, from Venezuela to Kansas City, Italy, and Brazil
• Partnering with state governments and universities to develop apprenticeship programs and certifications
• Preparing the workforce for future jobs in AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing
• Finding personal fulfillment through helping others achieve their potential
Disclaimer:
The views shared on Career Cheat Code are those of the guests and don’t reflect the host or any affiliated organizations. This podcast is for inspiration and information, highlighting unique career journeys to help you define success and take your next step.
If you enjoyed this episode, please like, rate, and subscribe to this podcast on whatever platform you’re using, and share this podcast with your friends and your networks. For more #CareerCheatCode, visit linktr.ee/careercheatcode.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The most rewarding thing in life is really helping
others.
You're helping yourself whenyou help others, because that
fuels you and makes you findfulfillment.
I do find fulfillment throughhelping others, and I believe
everybody does, whether theywant to accept it or not.
(00:23):
That's a different story.
Whether they want to accept itor not, that's a different story
, but everybody findsfulfillment.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
On helping others.
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.
All right, Leader man, welcometo the show.
You want or are searching forit?
This is the podcast for you.
All.
Right, Liederman, welcome tothe show.
Hey, thanks for the invitation.
I appreciate you taking thetime to connect today.
(00:51):
I'm excited to have thisconversation.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah, this is great.
Thank you, I'm looking forwardto it as well.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, let's dive right in.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah, definitely so.
I'm an entrepreneur.
I've been an entrepreneur sinceI was a kid, so we focus on
software development and we havea global tech academy, which
basically what that means isthat we find youth from
underserved communities aroundthe world and we teach them how
to do tech and become greatsoftware developers or great
entrepreneurs that want to usetech as becoming entrepreneurs
in tech.
So that's what we do.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
That's great.
Tell me more about the name ofyour company and how long you've
been doing this, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So Toucan Talent is the name of our company.
I have a second company that isBlueprint 2, which is
healthcare.
I've had that one for about 14,which is healthcare.
I've had that one for about 14,15 years now.
And Toucan Talent, it's beenthree years in the market, about
four years, three years sincewe incorporated and it's a
company that was created duringthe pandemic.
(01:54):
Basically, the idea startedkind of evolving during the
pandemic.
So we operate in 11 countries.
Now we have software developersmainly in latin america, and
our headquarters is in kansascity.
And, uh, we have a team, asmall team, in europe as well.
But yeah, that's what we dothat's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
How many, how many people are in your companies now
so about uh, 50 60 right now.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Uh, we've grown.
We've grown fast.
We've gotten to about probably70 full-time and now we're
probably around 50-ish.
But in the three years thatwe've been in business we have
put probably over 100 peoplethrough our academy.
Everything started just doingsoftware development right, but
(02:42):
then it gradually, organicallygrew to finding talent from
underserved communities andgiving them opportunities to
join our team, work with ourexperts, and turn out that we
realized that, oh my God, we'redoing something really
meaningful and really cool.
Now, how do we scale that?
And then we formalized it more.
As a part of the organizationis the Global Talent Academy.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
So this sounds really impactful, right?
So how are you able to monetizesomething with such deep impact
?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yeah, so that's been the million dollar question,
right, because as a softwaredevelopment, all our clients are
here in the and our clientstrust us because of our
expertise and our capabilities.
But once we start adding youknow youth that we have to go
train.
Then it's a huge cost for avery long time until we can get
(03:37):
them, you know, to be moremarketable and really provide
more value to the team.
But really the reality is thatI fell in love with the mission
of the Global Talent Academy,that I could not just wait for
more revenue to come in throughthe doors in order for me to do
the academy.
So I just felt the calling togo do it.
(03:59):
So I invested a lot of my owndollars to make sure that we get
more youth to become part ofthe Global Talent Academy.
We've reinvested our profitsback into the mission of the
company of the Global TalentAcademy.
But now we are lining up withcertain foundations that want to
(04:22):
help states that want to help,with certain foundations that
want to help states that want tohelp, because even here in the
US there is a lot that we couldbe doing to help underserved
communities, focus on workforcedevelopment and get people from
certain communities thattypically don't have the
opportunities to work in hightech and for us to go and train
(04:43):
them and give them a path, acareer that is enjoyable,
meaningful and so forth.
And sometimes what I think andI see these all over the world
is opportunities are not asspread equally right, but talent
is.
So how do we go and find thosetalented people, from whatever
(05:04):
background they may have, rightand now give them an opportunity
to have a career?
So that's our focus needs ofwhat that population needs,
right.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So if the state of Kansas or Missouri right is.
Like you know, we know we needmore people in these industries
(05:33):
and they partner with you tohelp both find and then train
those folks.
And then on the other side, youalso have relationships with
tech companies.
It sounds like that would sayyou know, we need to fill some
of these roles, but we need totrain people to do that.
Is that typically how the modelworks?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Yes, that's very similar.
So it's like you build themission and you find the
foundations and the states, likeyou said, and agencies and
government that ties to themission and provides guidance,
financials, you know and provide.
Also, they already may alreadyhave certain incentives right
(06:12):
for companies like ours to justbe able to drive the mission.
And then we have the ecosystemof companies tech companies.
In any industry really, we haveclients that are not in tech but
they do require tech.
They still, you know, the CFOwants to see a dashboard with
numbers that are meaningful tothem to be able to make
(06:33):
decisions right.
It may not be in tech, it maybe in food and beverage or
manufacturing, but they stillhave those needs of a CRM or an
application or a website thatallows them to collect
information from their clients.
Whatever it might be, and itcould be very high-tech
companies too, startups.
(06:54):
They have brilliant ideas, butthey don't quite have the
workforce to go and reallydevelop those ideas for them.
So in some cases we're justbuilding those MVPs right, those
proof of concepts, so they cango and then be able to raise
capital or at least, you know,take something to the market and
(07:15):
let the market tell them ifthey're after something good or
not.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
What made you start this company?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, great question.
So pandemic right.
Going back to the pandemic InJanuary 2020, we were ready to
take over the world.
That year or so it felt like wehad a strong pipeline.
We had a software that was veryinnovative within the
(07:42):
healthcare market that we weregoing to release in 2020.
We were working with manyinnovation departments at
hospitals all around the nationand we've been working on this
for years.
We've been burning cash,growing organically, but all the
cash that we were makingthrough consulting and some
(08:03):
other software that we customsoftware development that we've
done for many hospitals we'reputting into this great idea
Pandemic hits, all thoseinnovation departments are
decimated, they're gone.
And now I find myself that, youknow, because healthcare found
itself actually on like savinglives, we don't have time to go
(08:25):
on figure out what the next bigthing is right and put too much
into innovation.
I need to focus on treatingpatients.
So my whole pipeline went awaythe clients that we had on this
software that were struggling topay.
We couldn't get anyappointments at any hospital at
the time and then I had the ideaof okay, there are certain
(08:48):
features that we need to createand maybe now, during the
pandemic, is a good time for usto go and focus on those
features.
If you remember, we thought wewere going to be pandemic for a
month or two, maybe three.
Didn't think it was going to beso long.
Pandemic for a month or two,maybe three, I didn't think it
was going to be so long.
But I thought if I can focusfor the next three, six months
(09:09):
on driving some of the features,that'd be great.
So I'm going to go ahead andhire some software developers
from Venezuela, which is whereI'm originally from, and one or
two that can help us out in themeantime, and so I hired the
first one, and then it didn'ttake long for me to notice that
we were really transforming hislife and the life of his family
(09:34):
by being employed at our company.
So at that moment I justrealized I had the aha moment,
the mission in life type ofmoment.
That was it for me, whateverage I was At the time 45, 46,
perhaps but that's when Irealized this is my mission,
(09:57):
this is my calling, this is whatI want to do for the rest of my
life.
I want to build a business thatcreates high impact on the
lives of others and helps themtransform their lives and open
opportunities that probably theynever even dreamed of.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
So it sounds like two things One, you're clearly a
serial entrepreneur for real,and then, two, you basically
stumbled upon this while tryingto work on other things.
It sounds like you just hadthat moment where you're like,
wait, instead of building thisother thing, I'm actually
helping this person's life andtheir family's lives by just
(10:38):
employing them in this sector.
Maybe I should do that moreoften.
Like that's remarkable to methat you basically pivoted in
the middle of building somethingto something that just felt
like you were going to have moreimpact with that's exactly
right.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Exactly, that's well said.
I love the way you put it.
You said, yeah, that's exactly.
Uh's exactly how it was.
That was that eureka momentthat you know.
We spend our lifetime sometimeslooking for that passion,
looking for that thing that wefeel like this is the mark that
I can leave on this planet, orwhatever drives us right.
(11:15):
And for me, that was it.
I found that recently, you know, four or five years ago.
That's when I realized this isit?
So?
Then, every day since then, ithas been how do I make a good
business out of it, businessthat is profitable, business
that drives value to our clientsand a business that is really
(11:38):
helping transform those lives,the lives of everybody.
That is part of it.
And how do I scale that?
See, for me it's been.
You know, there's always thisthing that we think that to
change the world is so difficult, it's so complex.
But forget about changing theworld for a moment.
Think about changing somebody'sworld right, and then you have
(11:59):
more and more people right, andthen, all of a sudden, you're
making that huge impact andhundreds, thousands of lives,
hopefully millions of lives, andthen you know that is super
cool.
And what I have found out isnot that difficult.
It really isn't that difficult.
Once we put our minds to reallydo something impactful and
(12:22):
meaningful, we put our mindstogether and we set that well,
we can do it.
We can achieve it.
I mean, I've seen it.
I don't want to be.
What I mean to say is we'redoing it, we're making, we're
improving the lives of many, andwe love doing that, and we want
to do more and more of it.
We're making, we're improvingthe lives of many, and we love
doing that, and we want to domore and more of it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And you all are not a non-profit right.
You all are a for-profit techcompany.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
We're a for-profit tech company.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
That is mission-driven and operates with
the end impact in mind theentire time.
Correct.
I love that.
I think that approach isremarkable and I think you know
a lot of us sometimes think thatin order to have impact,
aligned career or business, youhave to be in the nonprofit
sector or you have to be in thegovernment sector or anything,
and you have found a way todispel that right and to really
(13:13):
really say no, I can actuallylead by mission and have a
profitable business along theway.
Correct.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Correct and our people are paid well.
You know, we work, we really goafter very high tech projects
and we compete in the market andwe don't win them all, but we
do win great projects that arecomplex and clients are
demanding and for them, you know, the quality of the product is
(13:44):
the number one mission, and weget that, we understand it and
we train our people to reallybecome the best of the best.
So, in terms of a nonprofit, Ido want to create a nonprofit as
well, but I couldn't wait, so Idecided I'm going to do it on a
(14:05):
for-profit because it is doableand it's a model that I hope
many others replicate and do aswell.
I welcome the competition andwhat we're doing, because if
more and more people are moremindful of the impact and more
(14:26):
driven about making whateverimpact it is, then we're lifting
people up, we're helping peopleget out of poverty, we are
developing the workforce oftomorrow, and so then we're all
contributing to humankind.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So can you speak a little to how people can join,
partner and take advantage ofthe things that you all are
offering, both from thepartnership side?
And if I were just in my 20strying to figure out how does
someone connect with ToucanTalent and figure out if there's
(15:02):
a good match there.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, definitely.
Go to our websitewwwtoucan-talentus and there's a
form right there, simple form,just to be connected.
So that's an easy way.
Mainly we connect through theorganizations, through the
partners we are.
(15:24):
We are just looking for moreclients because as we get more
and more clients that havesoftware development demands,
then that gives us theopportunity to be in those
projects and be able to go andbe able to build a bigger pool
of apprentices that we have.
So we're currently working withthe state of Kansas and the
(15:47):
state of Kansas has beenincredible making sure that
mission-driven organizationslike ours find a path through
the state to acquire moreclients as well as programs and
for them to really understandwhat is it that we, the
entrepreneurs that aremission-driven, need.
So the state can canaccommodate those needs.
(16:10):
So we're working with the uhapprenticeship model here in the
state of kansas.
So, which is a beautifulprogram that they have.
They help subsidize a goodportion of the cost, right, so
we can go into those underservedcommunities and sign up
apprentices to become part ofour company and we put them
(16:31):
through a training program.
That training program alsoincludes other organizations
that we have aligned withuniversities.
We're working this moment withfew universities to build
specific short-termcertifications, 10, eight-week
certifications on data science,ai, cybersecurity, icloud
(16:54):
computing.
So now imagine a kid, a youth,a young adult from any place in
the world you name it, senegal,just just mention one, right but
now he or she could have thosecertifications from these
american universities, as wellas the certification from tucan
talent, the hands-on trainingthat we provide, right also the
(17:19):
communication and working withour clients.
And then for us to be able toprovide internship, either Tuken
Talent or through the ecosystemof companies that we're
building that can also provideand benefit from these
internships, and they can go andhire those individuals, or will
(17:39):
hire some of them and keep themfull-time employees with with
tucan talent.
But, more importantly, now theyhave a path, now they have
opportunities.
Now they have a career ahead ofthem, they have the hands-on
training, they havecertifications.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Now they're powerful and that's a mutually beneficial
arrangement.
Right, like the state of kansashas has its needs and they can
partner with homegrownorganizations to meet those
needs.
Right, and they don't have to,you know, look elsewhere.
But the talent that is alreadyin the backyard and knows the
communities and knows how toactually uplift those, those
skill sets, from people.
So that's, you know, I thinkthat's a great approach and
(18:15):
clearly you've been able to growit into a 50-plus employee
organization that operatesglobally now.
So that's truly exciting.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah, yeah, thanks, and yes, you're right
organizations like mine to helpthem solve some of those
problems, and they welcomeorganizations that can tap into
their apprenticeship program togo and train individuals and
(18:46):
have the workforce of the future, which is not so much of the
future If you think about it onthe technical side.
The Global Economic Forum justcame out with not too long ago.
The Global Economic Forum justcame out not too long ago.
I think we're losing 96 millionjobs in the US and we're
(19:08):
gaining 120 million new jobs,and you may think, okay, well,
we have a delta of 24 million.
But no, it's not true, becausewe're losing a lot of
manufacturing jobs.
We're losing a lot of jobs thatare going to be displaced with
AI, and when you look at thelist of the jobs of the future
and the future meaning 2030,we're just talking four and a
(19:28):
half years into the future areAI, cybersecurity, cloud
computing, computer literacy.
I mean just the four top thingsthat they're looking for or
saying that are going to be thejobs that we are going to be
meeting in just a little overfour years.
(19:49):
Are jobs that most of thepeople that are going to be
displaced from the workforce arenot trained on, so there's a
bigger delta.
We have to go fast and trainpeople Now.
I'm talking about the UnitedStates of America, right, the
most powerful country in thehistory of the planet.
(20:10):
Now imagine when we go toAfrica, latin America, asia and
some Asian countries that havehuge struggles as well.
How can we also offer anopportunity for people globally
to train and get equipped andskilled up with the knowledge
(20:35):
that is needed, right To be ableto go ahead and supply this
demand that is just coming?
I think we have a greatopportunity now to do amazing
things.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Absolutely, absolutely, yeah.
So what's?
Two questions One, what is yourfavorite part of being an
entrepreneur in this way?
And then two have you had amoment where you have seen that
impact directly and how it'sactually changing someone's life
?
I know you mentioned the reasonwhy you started.
It was because of that.
But in the five-year sense,have you had a moment where
(21:05):
you're like, oh, this thing isactually working?
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I'm sorry to your firstquestion about what I like.
I just love solving problemsthat are impactful, that are
meaningful.
You know I probably shouldsometimes.
Solving problems that areimpactful, that are meaningful,
you know I probably shouldsometimes should focus on a
(21:27):
little bit more trivial things,I feel like sometimes, but I
just love solving complex socialproblems that will impact lives
of others.
Now to your second question.
There are many, many examples,but so we have in our company,
you know, primarily at the verybeginning of the company, right,
and I could see that, forexample, somebody who built his
(21:52):
own home with his own hands in aremote part of Venezuela,
oaxacan, was able to acquire ahome right, a better home in the
city, was able to affordprivate school for their kids.
And right there, you know, ifyou think about terms of Latin
(22:13):
America, just the access to aprivate school is a
life-changing event.
Your future has now improved,you know, tenfold, twentyfold,
just by having access to bettereducation.
So those kids, first of all,they're not poor anymore, their
family is not poor anymore andthose kids have great chances to
(22:38):
achieve great things justbecause of having access to
better education.
You know, when we see youth inLatin America buying their first
vehicle, buying their apartment, house, which in many places it
is almost impossible to buyproperty right and now they can
(23:00):
and they and they're doing it.
So to me that those are, thoseare some of the examples, right
and they can.
And they'll say I mean, we have.
We have one young person in ourteam.
He, he has, uh, two properties.
Now you know he got a littlemicro loan from the company so
he could get the second onewithout selling the first one.
But in many places in LatinAmerica that is extremely
(23:25):
difficult to achieve and whenyou see somebody who's 21, 22,
23 years old and they're able todo that, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
That's life-changing work right there.
Yeah, absolutely.
So I know you mentionedVenezuela, so tell me, let's go
back now.
Let's talk a little bit aboutwhere were you born, raised and
kind of how your early childhoodtime were.
And did you at an early age, inyour teenage years, know that
you were going to be anentrepreneur and all that?
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Great question.
So yeah, so I'm from Venezuela.
I'm from a small town in themiddle of the country it's more
(24:22):
like a farming town very faraway from any type of
entrepreneur ecosystem or VCs orany tech innovation at all.
So grew up full of you know,very.
I don't want, I don't want tosay that my family was poor
because we were not.
We were actually very richbecause we had so much love and
care, and that is the realrichness.
Now we're very limitedfinancially and my grandmother
helped raise me so my mom couldgo to college.
My mom was 19 when I was born,but not just my grandmother
helped raise me so my mom couldgo to college.
My mom was 19 when I was born,but not just my grandmother.
(24:44):
My mom is one of the youngestout of seven and all my uncles
and my aunts they were also myparents, so they everybody
pitched in to make sure that mymom could go to college and have
a better future and be able toget out of where we were Not
that it wasn't safe, not that itwas bad, but, you know just to
(25:05):
be able to have a better future.
So we were very rich.
Because of that, I mean, I havean incredible amount of support
from my family.
The love has always been justhard to describe and sometimes
difficult for many people tounderstand how somebody can have
(25:26):
so much love for the wholeextended family.
My mom graduated from collegeand we moved to another, moved
to another city, a bigger citywith more opportunities, so I
was able to go to privateschools and have, you know, more
access.
My mom was very successful.
I was raised by, also by twoparents, so my biological dad,
(25:52):
as well as another stepdad thatI had when my mom graduated from
high school and who was anincredible force in my life
perhaps Force is a word you knowvery successful individual who
just really gave me a lot ofopportunities to see the world
from a different, different lens.
(26:12):
And he passed in front of mewhen I was 11 and he had an
aneurysm so he died.
That was very traumatic.
But then a little after that,about a year later, my mom and
my biological dad met again anddecided they were going to get
married.
So they got married and then,you know, I had my siblings from
(26:33):
my dad's side of the family, mysiblings and then more kids.
So you know, we've grown likejust one big family and by the
age of 20, I left venezuela andcame to the united states.
The drive for me to leavevenezuela was my dad was a
politician and I felt like maybepolitics was the easiest thing
(26:56):
for me to do and what I shouldhave.
That was the path for me, right?
But I did not want to be apolitician, I wanted to be an
entrepreneur.
I had been an entrepreneursince I was a kid.
Jews stand on one of thebiggest squares in Minnesota
with my best friend and you knowwe were always figuring out how
(27:19):
to open more stands and hiremore people and build something
bigger, right?
So, very entrepreneurial sincewe were kids, and that was my
path.
That's what I wanted.
My passion was that was notpolitics, and so I was kind of
running away from politics and Ithought at the time, the best
(27:40):
way for me to really, you know,live out my dreams is I need to
learn English as a secondlanguage, which is what brought
me to the United States at theage of 20.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
So at 20, you come here.
Did you come here by yourselfat that time, or like was the
rest of your family like, yeah,let's all go?
How did that go?
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Oh, it was just by myself.
It was by myself, a friend of afriend.
So a guy, a good friend of thefamily that worked for my dad at
the time, just had a friend inKansas City and he said, hey,
you know, know, I have a friendthat can maybe help you a little
bit.
You know, get situated when youare, when you go to school, and
(28:21):
all that.
And at first, for me, first ofall, I wanted to go to
California, I wanted to go toNew York, I wanted to go
somewhere cool and big and neverthought of Kansas City until I
understood how expensive it isfor an international student to
be able to support himself at anAmerican college to learn
(28:45):
English as a second language.
So then you know the numbersbasically presented to me Kansas
City and yeah, maybe the helpfrom that friend of yours, maybe
I'll take it.
So that's how I ended up here.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Wow, Okay, so from Venezuela.
Then you end up in Kansas Cityas a 20-year-old going to
college, start building yourlife there.
So you graduate college.
With what type of degree?
And what did you think you weregoing to do when you graduated?
And then what actually happened?
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Oh gosh, do we have three more hours of this?
So yeah, so at the end I cameover to learn English as a
second language and I did that,and then I took some college
classes.
I went to college in Venezuela,first advertising and marketing
, and I didn't finish there, butI came here and after I was
(29:38):
able to, you know, I had to passa test it's called the TOEFL
test which is, you know,proficiency in English in order
for you to be able to takeclasses at a college level.
Then I took some businessclasses at a community college
and then I moved some businessclasses at a community college
in um and then I moved to Italy.
So I was here in the US for acouple years maybe yeah, a
(30:02):
couple of years and then Idecided I'm gonna do it all over
again, but in Italy right now.
So I ended up moving toFlorence, italy, and learning
Italian as a second language andtaking some business classes,
more business classes there.
Now, since I was a kid,everybody would tell me that my
career should be in tech,because I love computers and I
(30:27):
could figure out computerseasily.
Now, I grew up back in the 80s,right, growing up computers was
a new thing personal computer.
And in my hometown I was one ofthe first ones that had a
personal computer.
So I was always creatingsomething on the computer.
So everybody would tell me thatthat should be my career, and
(30:48):
to me it was like no, I'm toocool for that, I'm going to be a
businessman, I'm not going tobe a tanking person.
So anyway, I moved to Italy,learned Italian, took some
business classes and went toBrazil for a short period of
time Sao Paulo, brazil and thencame back to Kansas City, got a
job, met a girl, two kids.
(31:09):
I was later, you know, I stayedhere so and then I started my.
When I came back I went forit's called MCSC, which is a I
don't know if you remember this,but back in the 90s and early
2000s Microsoft and Cisco werebuilding.
They have these certificationsthat you know.
You will go to school to getprepared for these
(31:31):
certifications, but it is justtechnical certifications, to
prepare for these certifications, but it is just technical
certifications.
So I got the MCSE, which is aMicrosoft Computer System
Engineering certification.
It was called a degree, butit's a certification, and that
is what gave me my access to myfirst tech job at a company here
in Kansas City Because in a wayI feel like what I'm doing now
(31:52):
is very similar.
It's almost replicating in away.
I feel like what I'm doing nowis very similar.
It's almost replicating in away.
Life is so interesting.
Back in the early 2000s youcould go to college for four
years but the demand was we havea ton of computers and we're
building networks.
(32:13):
We need people who understandhow to build networks for
Microsoft, which was the mainproduct, as well as Cisco on
telecom.
Microsoft, as well as Cisco,built these programs to be able
to train narrowly focus, trainpeople narrowly focused on what
(32:35):
matters of the jobs and workneeded at the time.
So that path was sometimes evenmore important than a four-year
college degree in computerscience.
So I feel like what I'mbuilding now is very similar to
it.
Sometimes I'm going that pathas well.
Nothing wrong with theuniversities, nothing wrong with
(32:55):
higher ed.
No, it's just like we havedemands and we don't have enough
people to go and cover thosedemands.
How can we get some people thatmaybe choose a different route,
don't want, you know, four-yeardegree route, and still we give
them skills to be productiveand transform their lives?
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Absolutely so.
First, I definitely want to saykudos to you, because I always
look at people like you thathave the audacity to leave their
country, where they were born,where they have their friends,
their family, their support,cast everything and go to a
place where they don't know thelanguage and say I'm going to
start this over.
And then you did that again.
(33:36):
After that, right, like youwent to the United States and
then you're like, ah, let's tryit again in Italy.
Oh, let's go to Brazil for alittle bit.
And then to come back to KansasCity, you know, I think that's
to me remarkable, right, I wasalso an immigrant, right, so I
came from Dominican Republic,but I came as a child.
Right, like the one with theaudacity, there was my mom.
It's like, oh snap, you reallydid that.
(34:00):
And then, like, I really look atpeople like that as like beyond
superhero status.
It's like you all just like doit boldly, fearlessly, and then
you do it with a smile on yourface at the end of it and it's,
like, you know, remarkable.
And even, to add to that, youknow, I think what brings me joy
is also seeing people like youthat are immigrants, that are
doing such remarkable thingsright.
So you are employing people inthe United States, you are
(34:22):
employing people worldwide, youare helping to shape communities
right and you are uplifting andupskilling people here.
And to me that is great becausethat also changes the narrative
of immigration and it changesthe narrative of like, oh,
people come here to take jobs orpeople come here to do bad.
You're here building jobs,you're here educating people,
(34:43):
you're here, you know, breakingall of those stereotypes.
So I just appreciate andcommend you for just doing the
great work.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Thanks, raleigh, for saying that.
You're almost about to bringtears to my eyes with your words
.
It is incredible.
We're living weird times.
The most difficult decision I'veever made in my life was to
leave my family, leave mycountry, leave my people, leave
my friends to go to a foreignplace and learn the language to
(35:16):
be able to communicate withothers.
That was definitely the biggest, the most scariest and the most
difficult decision I ever made.
I remember the day that I hadto leave my two youngest sisters
, the day I said goodbye to thembecause I'm 16 or 14 years
(35:36):
older than the two youngest, oneand um.
So at the time I felt likeanother dad to them.
Right, they were, I was thereevery day with them and and
anyway, just living, living them.
It just broke my heart, as wellas living my mom, my dad and
the and the rest of the family,my sister I have a sister that
(35:58):
is we're the closest in age andwe are best friends leaving her
and my brother leaving everybody.
Anyway, it was extremelydifficult, but we do that,
immigrants.
We do that because we'relooking for better opportunities
, opportunities that are notnaturally in our country, and
sometimes it's worse than that.
Sometimes it's more important.
(36:18):
Sometimes it's security safety.
I did not grow up in a hostileenvironment and I was not in a
endangered zone by any means,but I could tell at the age of
20 that there was a scarcity ofopportunities In Venezuela.
(36:38):
This is 1995.
This is pre-Shabbes and I couldsense it back then and it
turned out to be a greatdecision.
Right At the time, most peoplewould tell me in Venezuela
you're crazy, why are youleaving everything behind?
Things are fine here inVenezuela, but I didn't think so
because I wanted to become anentrepreneur and I wanted to do
(37:01):
big things and the Americandream is a real thing.
The United States of America isthe most innovative country on
the planet and I felt like Ineed to take my chances and that
is where I will find theenvironment that I need to be
able to fulfill my dreams.
But yeah, it was tough.
(37:22):
It was rough to do that, likeyour mom did.
I don't know how to describe itother than a very, very
difficult decision.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Absolutely Now.
You did become thatentrepreneur decision.
Absolutely Now.
You did become thatentrepreneur.
You have since starteddifferent businesses and you're,
you know, continuing to growyour business and employ other
people.
At what point did you realizeyou needed to hire your first
person, and what was that role?
Speaker 1 (37:47):
The first one was a software developer for for
Toucan Talent, when it was asoftware developer.
In same thing for Blueprint 2,which I got it for over a decade
, it was a software developer.
Same thing for Blueprint 2,which I've had it for over a
decade.
It was a software developer,because usually that's where I
need the help, right, becauseit's a tech company.
But for Token Talent, it wassoftware development.
And the first I don't knowprobably five to ten people were
(38:12):
software developers.
And then is when we starteddoing a little bit more.
Okay, maybe we needed apart-time accountant or
different roles that are notnecessarily billable, right?
Because that's part of thechallenge for startups too, and
primarily like startup, likemine, we don't have investors.
(38:34):
We haven't had investors, so wegrew organically.
So so you gotta go secure thecontract, get paid some money to
go hire some people to the low,deliver the contract, get the
profit, and then you go and hireanother person and you go find
another contract and you know.
So it takes time.
It takes time, but it has beenso.
(38:56):
It was a software developer,was the first person that I
needed to hire that makes sense,are there any?
Speaker 2 (39:02):
I like to call these forms of media right, so they
can be books, podcasts, movies,right, um, that you have
consumed, that have shaped youpersonally or professionally
yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely,definitely.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
I mean, there are so many stories, but I think for me
, more than books, more thananything else, has been mentors.
You know, people that havetaken the time to learn about me
, to guide me and help mesomehow, and that's universal.
(39:39):
And what I love about that isthat it doesn't matter where you
go in the world, you will findpeople that will lend you a hand
, that will want to know fromyou and will want to contribute
positively to your life, tocontribute positively to your
life, and you can find thatuniversally.
So for me, it has been morethan anything else.
(39:59):
It has been that it's just thementors, the people along the
journey in my life that haveencouraged me, that have helped
me and have given me the fuel togo do something, as well as
when I'm doing something wrong,have said, hey, I think you're
on the wrong path, you know,kind of you know and guided me.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
So for me, it's more more of that the mentors is
there anything else that wehaven't discussed that the world
should know about liederman?
Speaker 1 (40:32):
um, well, just want more people to join me and let's
you know, let's, let's do,let's do incredible work.
I think it is the mostrewarding thing in life is
really helping others.
You're helping yourself whenyou help others, but you know,
because, because that fuels youand makes you find fulfillment.
(40:55):
I do find fulfillment throughhelping others and I believe
everybody does, whether theywant to accept it or not.
That's a different story, buteverybody finds fulfillment on
helping others.
So, yeah, I just want moreorganizations, more people, more
(41:22):
companies to help us keepgrowing and keep making a
positive contribution to theworld.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
That's great.
Well, Liederman, thanks forjoining us today.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
Thank you so much, brady, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
rate and subscribe to thispodcast on whatever platform
you're using, and share thispodcast with your friends and
your networks.
Make sure you follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn at Career
Cheat Code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
The most rewarding thing in life is really helping
others.
You're helping yourself whenyou help others, because that
fuels you and makes you findfulfillment.
I do find fulfillment throughhelping others, and I believe
everybody does, whether theywant to accept it or not.
(00:23):
That's a different story.
Whether they want to accept itor not, that's a different story
, but everybody findsfulfillment.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
On helping others.
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.
All right, Leader man, welcometo the show.
You want or are searching forit?
This is the podcast for you.
All.
Right, Liederman, welcome tothe show.
Hey, thanks for the invitation.
I appreciate you taking thetime to connect today.
(00:51):
I'm excited to have thisconversation.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah, this is great.
Thank you, I'm looking forwardto it as well.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, let's dive right in.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah, definitely so.
I'm an entrepreneur.
I've been an entrepreneur sinceI was a kid, so we focus on
software development and we havea global tech academy, which
basically what that means isthat we find youth from
underserved communities aroundthe world and we teach them how
to do tech and become greatsoftware developers or great
entrepreneurs that want to usetech as becoming entrepreneurs
in tech.
So that's what we do.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
That's great.
Tell me more about the name ofyour company and how long you've
been doing this, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
So Toucan Talent is the name of our company.
I have a second company that isBlueprint 2, which is
healthcare.
I've had that one for about 14,which is healthcare.
I've had that one for about 14,15 years now.
And Toucan Talent, it's beenthree years in the market, about
four years, three years sincewe incorporated and it's a
company that was created duringthe pandemic.
(01:54):
Basically, the idea startedkind of evolving during the
pandemic.
So we operate in 11 countries.
Now we have software developersmainly in latin america, and
our headquarters is in kansascity.
And, uh, we have a team, asmall team, in europe as well.
But yeah, that's what we dothat's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
How many, how many people are in your companies now
so about uh, 50 60 right now.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Uh, we've grown.
We've grown fast.
We've gotten to about probably70 full-time and now we're
probably around 50-ish.
But in the three years thatwe've been in business we have
put probably over 100 peoplethrough our academy.
Everything started just doingsoftware development right, but
(02:42):
then it gradually, organicallygrew to finding talent from
underserved communities andgiving them opportunities to
join our team, work with ourexperts, and turn out that we
realized that, oh my God, we'redoing something really
meaningful and really cool.
Now, how do we scale that?
And then we formalized it more.
As a part of the organizationis the Global Talent Academy.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
So this sounds really impactful, right?
So how are you able to monetizesomething with such deep impact
?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yeah, so that's been the million dollar question,
right, because as a softwaredevelopment, all our clients are
here in the and our clientstrust us because of our
expertise and our capabilities.
But once we start adding youknow youth that we have to go
train.
Then it's a huge cost for avery long time until we can get
(03:37):
them, you know, to be moremarketable and really provide
more value to the team.
But really the reality is thatI fell in love with the mission
of the Global Talent Academy,that I could not just wait for
more revenue to come in throughthe doors in order for me to do
the academy.
So I just felt the calling togo do it.
(03:59):
So I invested a lot of my owndollars to make sure that we get
more youth to become part ofthe Global Talent Academy.
We've reinvested our profitsback into the mission of the
company of the Global TalentAcademy.
But now we are lining up withcertain foundations that want to
(04:22):
help states that want to help,with certain foundations that
want to help states that want tohelp, because even here in the
US there is a lot that we couldbe doing to help underserved
communities, focus on workforcedevelopment and get people from
certain communities thattypically don't have the
opportunities to work in hightech and for us to go and train
(04:43):
them and give them a path, acareer that is enjoyable,
meaningful and so forth.
And sometimes what I think andI see these all over the world
is opportunities are not asspread equally right, but talent
is.
So how do we go and find thosetalented people, from whatever
(05:04):
background they may have, rightand now give them an opportunity
to have a career?
So that's our focus needs ofwhat that population needs,
right.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So if the state of Kansas or Missouri right is.
Like you know, we know we needmore people in these industries
(05:33):
and they partner with you tohelp both find and then train
those folks.
And then on the other side, youalso have relationships with
tech companies.
It sounds like that would sayyou know, we need to fill some
of these roles, but we need totrain people to do that.
Is that typically how the modelworks?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Yes, that's very similar.
So it's like you build themission and you find the
foundations and the states, likeyou said, and agencies and
government that ties to themission and provides guidance,
financials, you know and provide.
Also, they already may alreadyhave certain incentives right
(06:12):
for companies like ours to justbe able to drive the mission.
And then we have the ecosystemof companies tech companies.
In any industry really, we haveclients that are not in tech but
they do require tech.
They still, you know, the CFOwants to see a dashboard with
numbers that are meaningful tothem to be able to make
(06:33):
decisions right.
It may not be in tech, it maybe in food and beverage or
manufacturing, but they stillhave those needs of a CRM or an
application or a website thatallows them to collect
information from their clients.
Whatever it might be, and itcould be very high-tech
companies too, startups.
(06:54):
They have brilliant ideas, butthey don't quite have the
workforce to go and reallydevelop those ideas for them.
So in some cases we're justbuilding those MVPs right, those
proof of concepts, so they cango and then be able to raise
capital or at least, you know,take something to the market and
(07:15):
let the market tell them ifthey're after something good or
not.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
What made you start this company?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, great question.
So pandemic right.
Going back to the pandemic InJanuary 2020, we were ready to
take over the world.
That year or so it felt like wehad a strong pipeline.
We had a software that was veryinnovative within the
(07:42):
healthcare market that we weregoing to release in 2020.
We were working with manyinnovation departments at
hospitals all around the nationand we've been working on this
for years.
We've been burning cash,growing organically, but all the
cash that we were makingthrough consulting and some
(08:03):
other software that we customsoftware development that we've
done for many hospitals we'reputting into this great idea
Pandemic hits, all thoseinnovation departments are
decimated, they're gone.
And now I find myself that, youknow, because healthcare found
itself actually on like savinglives, we don't have time to go
(08:25):
on figure out what the next bigthing is right and put too much
into innovation.
I need to focus on treatingpatients.
So my whole pipeline went awaythe clients that we had on this
software that were struggling topay.
We couldn't get anyappointments at any hospital at
the time and then I had the ideaof okay, there are certain
(08:48):
features that we need to createand maybe now, during the
pandemic, is a good time for usto go and focus on those
features.
If you remember, we thought wewere going to be pandemic for a
month or two, maybe three.
Didn't think it was going to beso long.
Pandemic for a month or two,maybe three, I didn't think it
was going to be so long.
But I thought if I can focusfor the next three, six months
(09:09):
on driving some of the features,that'd be great.
So I'm going to go ahead andhire some software developers
from Venezuela, which is whereI'm originally from, and one or
two that can help us out in themeantime, and so I hired the
first one, and then it didn'ttake long for me to notice that
we were really transforming hislife and the life of his family
(09:34):
by being employed at our company.
So at that moment I justrealized I had the aha moment,
the mission in life type ofmoment.
That was it for me, whateverage I was At the time 45, 46,
perhaps but that's when Irealized this is my mission,
(09:57):
this is my calling, this is whatI want to do for the rest of my
life.
I want to build a business thatcreates high impact on the
lives of others and helps themtransform their lives and open
opportunities that probably theynever even dreamed of.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
So it sounds like two things One, you're clearly a
serial entrepreneur for real,and then, two, you basically
stumbled upon this while tryingto work on other things.
It sounds like you just hadthat moment where you're like,
wait, instead of building thisother thing, I'm actually
helping this person's life andtheir family's lives by just
(10:38):
employing them in this sector.
Maybe I should do that moreoften.
Like that's remarkable to methat you basically pivoted in
the middle of building somethingto something that just felt
like you were going to have moreimpact with that's exactly
right.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Exactly, that's well said.
I love the way you put it.
You said, yeah, that's exactly.
Uh's exactly how it was.
That was that eureka momentthat you know.
We spend our lifetime sometimeslooking for that passion,
looking for that thing that wefeel like this is the mark that
I can leave on this planet, orwhatever drives us right.
(11:15):
And for me, that was it.
I found that recently, you know, four or five years ago.
That's when I realized this isit?
So?
Then, every day since then, ithas been how do I make a good
business out of it, businessthat is profitable, business
that drives value to our clientsand a business that is really
(11:38):
helping transform those lives,the lives of everybody.
That is part of it.
And how do I scale that?
See, for me it's been.
You know, there's always thisthing that we think that to
change the world is so difficult, it's so complex.
But forget about changing theworld for a moment.
Think about changing somebody'sworld right, and then you have
(11:59):
more and more people right, andthen, all of a sudden, you're
making that huge impact andhundreds, thousands of lives,
hopefully millions of lives, andthen you know that is super
cool.
And what I have found out isnot that difficult.
It really isn't that difficult.
Once we put our minds to reallydo something impactful and
(12:22):
meaningful, we put our mindstogether and we set that well,
we can do it.
We can achieve it.
I mean, I've seen it.
I don't want to be.
What I mean to say is we'redoing it, we're making, we're
improving the lives of many, andwe love doing that, and we want
to do more and more of it.
We're making, we're improvingthe lives of many, and we love
doing that, and we want to domore and more of it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And you all are not a non-profit right.
You all are a for-profit techcompany.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
We're a for-profit tech company.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
That is mission-driven and operates with
the end impact in mind theentire time.
Correct.
I love that.
I think that approach isremarkable and I think you know
a lot of us sometimes think thatin order to have impact,
aligned career or business, youhave to be in the nonprofit
sector or you have to be in thegovernment sector or anything,
and you have found a way todispel that right and to really
(13:13):
really say no, I can actuallylead by mission and have a
profitable business along theway.
Correct.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Correct and our people are paid well.
You know, we work, we really goafter very high tech projects
and we compete in the market andwe don't win them all, but we
do win great projects that arecomplex and clients are
demanding and for them, you know, the quality of the product is
(13:44):
the number one mission, and weget that, we understand it and
we train our people to reallybecome the best of the best.
So, in terms of a nonprofit, Ido want to create a nonprofit as
well, but I couldn't wait, so Idecided I'm going to do it on a
(14:05):
for-profit because it is doableand it's a model that I hope
many others replicate and do aswell.
I welcome the competition andwhat we're doing, because if
more and more people are moremindful of the impact and more
(14:26):
driven about making whateverimpact it is, then we're lifting
people up, we're helping peopleget out of poverty, we are
developing the workforce oftomorrow, and so then we're all
contributing to humankind.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So can you speak a little to how people can join,
partner and take advantage ofthe things that you all are
offering, both from thepartnership side?
And if I were just in my 20strying to figure out how does
someone connect with ToucanTalent and figure out if there's
(15:02):
a good match there.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, definitely.
Go to our websitewwwtoucan-talentus and there's a
form right there, simple form,just to be connected.
So that's an easy way.
Mainly we connect through theorganizations, through the
partners we are.
(15:24):
We are just looking for moreclients because as we get more
and more clients that havesoftware development demands,
then that gives us theopportunity to be in those
projects and be able to go andbe able to build a bigger pool
of apprentices that we have.
So we're currently working withthe state of Kansas and the
(15:47):
state of Kansas has beenincredible making sure that
mission-driven organizationslike ours find a path through
the state to acquire moreclients as well as programs and
for them to really understandwhat is it that we, the
entrepreneurs that aremission-driven, need.
So the state can canaccommodate those needs.
(16:10):
So we're working with the uhapprenticeship model here in the
state of kansas.
So, which is a beautifulprogram that they have.
They help subsidize a goodportion of the cost, right, so
we can go into those underservedcommunities and sign up
apprentices to become part ofour company and we put them
(16:31):
through a training program.
That training program alsoincludes other organizations
that we have aligned withuniversities.
We're working this moment withfew universities to build
specific short-termcertifications, 10, eight-week
certifications on data science,ai, cybersecurity, icloud
(16:54):
computing.
So now imagine a kid, a youth,a young adult from any place in
the world you name it, senegal,just just mention one, right but
now he or she could have thosecertifications from these
american universities, as wellas the certification from tucan
talent, the hands-on trainingthat we provide, right also the
(17:19):
communication and working withour clients.
And then for us to be able toprovide internship, either Tuken
Talent or through the ecosystemof companies that we're
building that can also provideand benefit from these
internships, and they can go andhire those individuals, or will
(17:39):
hire some of them and keep themfull-time employees with with
tucan talent.
But, more importantly, now theyhave a path, now they have
opportunities.
Now they have a career ahead ofthem, they have the hands-on
training, they havecertifications.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Now they're powerful and that's a mutually beneficial
arrangement.
Right, like the state of kansashas has its needs and they can
partner with homegrownorganizations to meet those
needs.
Right, and they don't have to,you know, look elsewhere.
But the talent that is alreadyin the backyard and knows the
communities and knows how toactually uplift those, those
skill sets, from people.
So that's, you know, I thinkthat's a great approach and
(18:15):
clearly you've been able to growit into a 50-plus employee
organization that operatesglobally now.
So that's truly exciting.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Yeah, yeah, thanks, and yes, you're right
organizations like mine to helpthem solve some of those
problems, and they welcomeorganizations that can tap into
their apprenticeship program togo and train individuals and
(18:46):
have the workforce of the future, which is not so much of the
future If you think about it onthe technical side.
The Global Economic Forum justcame out with not too long ago.
The Global Economic Forum justcame out not too long ago.
I think we're losing 96 millionjobs in the US and we're
(19:08):
gaining 120 million new jobs,and you may think, okay, well,
we have a delta of 24 million.
But no, it's not true, becausewe're losing a lot of
manufacturing jobs.
We're losing a lot of jobs thatare going to be displaced with
AI, and when you look at thelist of the jobs of the future
and the future meaning 2030,we're just talking four and a
(19:28):
half years into the future areAI, cybersecurity, cloud
computing, computer literacy.
I mean just the four top thingsthat they're looking for or
saying that are going to be thejobs that we are going to be
meeting in just a little overfour years.
(19:49):
Are jobs that most of thepeople that are going to be
displaced from the workforce arenot trained on, so there's a
bigger delta.
We have to go fast and trainpeople Now.
I'm talking about the UnitedStates of America, right, the
most powerful country in thehistory of the planet.
(20:10):
Now imagine when we go toAfrica, latin America, asia and
some Asian countries that havehuge struggles as well.
How can we also offer anopportunity for people globally
to train and get equipped andskilled up with the knowledge
(20:35):
that is needed, right To be ableto go ahead and supply this
demand that is just coming?
I think we have a greatopportunity now to do amazing
things.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Absolutely, absolutely, yeah.
So what's?
Two questions One, what is yourfavorite part of being an
entrepreneur in this way?
And then two have you had amoment where you have seen that
impact directly and how it'sactually changing someone's life
?
I know you mentioned the reasonwhy you started.
It was because of that.
But in the five-year sense,have you had a moment where
(21:05):
you're like, oh, this thing isactually working?
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I'm sorry to your firstquestion about what I like.
I just love solving problemsthat are impactful, that are
meaningful.
You know I probably shouldsometimes.
Solving problems that areimpactful, that are meaningful,
you know I probably shouldsometimes should focus on a
(21:27):
little bit more trivial things,I feel like sometimes, but I
just love solving complex socialproblems that will impact lives
of others.
Now to your second question.
There are many, many examples,but so we have in our company,
you know, primarily at the verybeginning of the company, right,
and I could see that, forexample, somebody who built his
(21:52):
own home with his own hands in aremote part of Venezuela,
oaxacan, was able to acquire ahome right, a better home in the
city, was able to affordprivate school for their kids.
And right there, you know, ifyou think about terms of Latin
(22:13):
America, just the access to aprivate school is a
life-changing event.
Your future has now improved,you know, tenfold, twentyfold,
just by having access to bettereducation.
So those kids, first of all,they're not poor anymore, their
family is not poor anymore andthose kids have great chances to
(22:38):
achieve great things justbecause of having access to
better education.
You know, when we see youth inLatin America buying their first
vehicle, buying their apartment, house, which in many places it
is almost impossible to buyproperty right and now they can
(23:00):
and they and they're doing it.
So to me that those are, thoseare some of the examples, right
and they can.
And they'll say I mean, we have.
We have one young person in ourteam.
He, he has, uh, two properties.
Now you know he got a littlemicro loan from the company so
he could get the second onewithout selling the first one.
But in many places in LatinAmerica that is extremely
(23:25):
difficult to achieve and whenyou see somebody who's 21, 22,
23 years old and they're able todo that, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
That's life-changing work right there.
Yeah, absolutely.
So I know you mentionedVenezuela, so tell me, let's go
back now.
Let's talk a little bit aboutwhere were you born, raised and
kind of how your early childhoodtime were.
And did you at an early age, inyour teenage years, know that
you were going to be anentrepreneur and all that?
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Great question.
So yeah, so I'm from Venezuela.
I'm from a small town in themiddle of the country it's more
(24:22):
like a farming town very faraway from any type of
entrepreneur ecosystem or VCs orany tech innovation at all.
So grew up full of you know,very.
I don't want, I don't want tosay that my family was poor
because we were not.
We were actually very richbecause we had so much love and
care, and that is the realrichness.
Now we're very limitedfinancially and my grandmother
helped raise me so my mom couldgo to college.
My mom was 19 when I was born,but not just my grandmother
helped raise me so my mom couldgo to college.
My mom was 19 when I was born,but not just my grandmother.
(24:44):
My mom is one of the youngestout of seven and all my uncles
and my aunts they were also myparents, so they everybody
pitched in to make sure that mymom could go to college and have
a better future and be able toget out of where we were Not
that it wasn't safe, not that itwas bad, but, you know just to
(25:05):
be able to have a better future.
So we were very rich.
Because of that, I mean, I havean incredible amount of support
from my family.
The love has always been justhard to describe and sometimes
difficult for many people tounderstand how somebody can have
(25:26):
so much love for the wholeextended family.
My mom graduated from collegeand we moved to another, moved
to another city, a bigger citywith more opportunities, so I
was able to go to privateschools and have, you know, more
access.
My mom was very successful.
I was raised by, also by twoparents, so my biological dad,
(25:52):
as well as another stepdad thatI had when my mom graduated from
high school and who was anincredible force in my life
perhaps Force is a word you knowvery successful individual who
just really gave me a lot ofopportunities to see the world
from a different, different lens.
(26:12):
And he passed in front of mewhen I was 11 and he had an
aneurysm so he died.
That was very traumatic.
But then a little after that,about a year later, my mom and
my biological dad met again anddecided they were going to get
married.
So they got married and then,you know, I had my siblings from
(26:33):
my dad's side of the family, mysiblings and then more kids.
So you know, we've grown likejust one big family and by the
age of 20, I left venezuela andcame to the united states.
The drive for me to leavevenezuela was my dad was a
politician and I felt like maybepolitics was the easiest thing
(26:56):
for me to do and what I shouldhave.
That was the path for me, right?
But I did not want to be apolitician, I wanted to be an
entrepreneur.
I had been an entrepreneursince I was a kid.
Jews stand on one of thebiggest squares in Minnesota
with my best friend and you knowwe were always figuring out how
(27:19):
to open more stands and hiremore people and build something
bigger, right?
So, very entrepreneurial sincewe were kids, and that was my
path.
That's what I wanted.
My passion was that was notpolitics, and so I was kind of
running away from politics and Ithought at the time, the best
(27:40):
way for me to really, you know,live out my dreams is I need to
learn English as a secondlanguage, which is what brought
me to the United States at theage of 20.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
So at 20, you come here.
Did you come here by yourselfat that time, or like was the
rest of your family like, yeah,let's all go?
How did that go?
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Oh, it was just by myself.
It was by myself, a friend of afriend.
So a guy, a good friend of thefamily that worked for my dad at
the time, just had a friend inKansas City and he said, hey,
you know, know, I have a friendthat can maybe help you a little
bit.
You know, get situated when youare, when you go to school, and
(28:21):
all that.
And at first, for me, first ofall, I wanted to go to
California, I wanted to go toNew York, I wanted to go
somewhere cool and big and neverthought of Kansas City until I
understood how expensive it isfor an international student to
be able to support himself at anAmerican college to learn
(28:45):
English as a second language.
So then you know the numbersbasically presented to me Kansas
City and yeah, maybe the helpfrom that friend of yours, maybe
I'll take it.
So that's how I ended up here.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Wow, Okay, so from Venezuela.
Then you end up in Kansas Cityas a 20-year-old going to
college, start building yourlife there.
So you graduate college.
With what type of degree?
And what did you think you weregoing to do when you graduated?
And then what actually happened?
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Oh gosh, do we have three more hours of this?
So yeah, so at the end I cameover to learn English as a
second language and I did that,and then I took some college
classes.
I went to college in Venezuela,first advertising and marketing
, and I didn't finish there, butI came here and after I was
(29:38):
able to, you know, I had to passa test it's called the TOEFL
test which is, you know,proficiency in English in order
for you to be able to takeclasses at a college level.
Then I took some businessclasses at a community college
and then I moved some businessclasses at a community college
in um and then I moved to Italy.
So I was here in the US for acouple years maybe yeah, a
(30:02):
couple of years and then Idecided I'm gonna do it all over
again, but in Italy right now.
So I ended up moving toFlorence, italy, and learning
Italian as a second language andtaking some business classes,
more business classes there.
Now, since I was a kid,everybody would tell me that my
career should be in tech,because I love computers and I
(30:27):
could figure out computerseasily.
Now, I grew up back in the 80s,right, growing up computers was
a new thing personal computer.
And in my hometown I was one ofthe first ones that had a
personal computer.
So I was always creatingsomething on the computer.
So everybody would tell me thatthat should be my career, and
(30:48):
to me it was like no, I'm toocool for that, I'm going to be a
businessman, I'm not going tobe a tanking person.
So anyway, I moved to Italy,learned Italian, took some
business classes and went toBrazil for a short period of
time Sao Paulo, brazil and thencame back to Kansas City, got a
job, met a girl, two kids.
(31:09):
I was later, you know, I stayedhere so and then I started my.
When I came back I went forit's called MCSC, which is a I
don't know if you remember this,but back in the 90s and early
2000s Microsoft and Cisco werebuilding.
They have these certificationsthat you know.
You will go to school to getprepared for these
(31:31):
certifications, but it is justtechnical certifications, to
prepare for these certifications, but it is just technical
certifications.
So I got the MCSE, which is aMicrosoft Computer System
Engineering certification.
It was called a degree, butit's a certification, and that
is what gave me my access to myfirst tech job at a company here
in Kansas City Because in a wayI feel like what I'm doing now
(31:52):
is very similar.
It's almost replicating in away.
I feel like what I'm doing nowis very similar.
It's almost replicating in away.
Life is so interesting.
Back in the early 2000s youcould go to college for four
years but the demand was we havea ton of computers and we're
building networks.
(32:13):
We need people who understandhow to build networks for
Microsoft, which was the mainproduct, as well as Cisco on
telecom.
Microsoft, as well as Cisco,built these programs to be able
to train narrowly focus, trainpeople narrowly focused on what
(32:35):
matters of the jobs and workneeded at the time.
So that path was sometimes evenmore important than a four-year
college degree in computerscience.
So I feel like what I'mbuilding now is very similar to
it.
Sometimes I'm going that pathas well.
Nothing wrong with theuniversities, nothing wrong with
(32:55):
higher ed.
No, it's just like we havedemands and we don't have enough
people to go and cover thosedemands.
How can we get some people thatmaybe choose a different route,
don't want, you know, four-yeardegree route, and still we give
them skills to be productiveand transform their lives?
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Absolutely so.
First, I definitely want to saykudos to you, because I always
look at people like you thathave the audacity to leave their
country, where they were born,where they have their friends,
their family, their support,cast everything and go to a
place where they don't know thelanguage and say I'm going to
start this over.
And then you did that again.
(33:36):
After that, right, like youwent to the United States and
then you're like, ah, let's tryit again in Italy.
Oh, let's go to Brazil for alittle bit.
And then to come back to KansasCity, you know, I think that's
to me remarkable, right, I wasalso an immigrant, right, so I
came from Dominican Republic,but I came as a child.
Right, like the one with theaudacity, there was my mom.
It's like, oh snap, you reallydid that.
(34:00):
And then, like, I really look atpeople like that as like beyond
superhero status.
It's like you all just like doit boldly, fearlessly, and then
you do it with a smile on yourface at the end of it and it's,
like, you know, remarkable.
And even, to add to that, youknow, I think what brings me joy
is also seeing people like youthat are immigrants, that are
doing such remarkable thingsright.
So you are employing people inthe United States, you are
(34:22):
employing people worldwide, youare helping to shape communities
right and you are uplifting andupskilling people here.
And to me that is great becausethat also changes the narrative
of immigration and it changesthe narrative of like, oh,
people come here to take jobs orpeople come here to do bad.
You're here building jobs,you're here educating people,
(34:43):
you're here, you know, breakingall of those stereotypes.
So I just appreciate andcommend you for just doing the
great work.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Thanks, raleigh, for saying that.
You're almost about to bringtears to my eyes with your words
.
It is incredible.
We're living weird times.
The most difficult decision I'veever made in my life was to
leave my family, leave mycountry, leave my people, leave
my friends to go to a foreignplace and learn the language to
(35:16):
be able to communicate withothers.
That was definitely the biggest, the most scariest and the most
difficult decision I ever made.
I remember the day that I hadto leave my two youngest sisters
, the day I said goodbye to thembecause I'm 16 or 14 years
(35:36):
older than the two youngest, oneand um.
So at the time I felt likeanother dad to them.
Right, they were, I was thereevery day with them and and
anyway, just living, living them.
It just broke my heart, as wellas living my mom, my dad and
the and the rest of the family,my sister I have a sister that
(35:58):
is we're the closest in age andwe are best friends leaving her
and my brother leaving everybody.
Anyway, it was extremelydifficult, but we do that,
immigrants.
We do that because we'relooking for better opportunities
, opportunities that are notnaturally in our country, and
sometimes it's worse than that.
Sometimes it's more important.
(36:18):
Sometimes it's security safety.
I did not grow up in a hostileenvironment and I was not in a
endangered zone by any means,but I could tell at the age of
20 that there was a scarcity ofopportunities In Venezuela.
(36:38):
This is 1995.
This is pre-Shabbes and I couldsense it back then and it
turned out to be a greatdecision.
Right At the time, most peoplewould tell me in Venezuela
you're crazy, why are youleaving everything behind?
Things are fine here inVenezuela, but I didn't think so
because I wanted to become anentrepreneur and I wanted to do
(37:01):
big things and the Americandream is a real thing.
The United States of America isthe most innovative country on
the planet and I felt like Ineed to take my chances and that
is where I will find theenvironment that I need to be
able to fulfill my dreams.
But yeah, it was tough.
(37:22):
It was rough to do that, likeyour mom did.
I don't know how to describe itother than a very, very
difficult decision.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Absolutely Now.
You did become thatentrepreneur decision.
Absolutely Now.
You did become thatentrepreneur.
You have since starteddifferent businesses and you're,
you know, continuing to growyour business and employ other
people.
At what point did you realizeyou needed to hire your first
person, and what was that role?
Speaker 1 (37:47):
The first one was a software developer for for
Toucan Talent, when it was asoftware developer.
In same thing for Blueprint 2,which I got it for over a decade
, it was a software developer.
Same thing for Blueprint 2,which I've had it for over a
decade.
It was a software developer,because usually that's where I
need the help, right, becauseit's a tech company.
But for Token Talent, it wassoftware development.
And the first I don't knowprobably five to ten people were
(38:12):
software developers.
And then is when we starteddoing a little bit more.
Okay, maybe we needed apart-time accountant or
different roles that are notnecessarily billable, right?
Because that's part of thechallenge for startups too, and
primarily like startup, likemine, we don't have investors.
(38:34):
We haven't had investors, so wegrew organically.
So so you gotta go secure thecontract, get paid some money to
go hire some people to the low,deliver the contract, get the
profit, and then you go and hireanother person and you go find
another contract and you know.
So it takes time.
It takes time, but it has beenso.
(38:56):
It was a software developer,was the first person that I
needed to hire that makes sense,are there any?
Speaker 2 (39:02):
I like to call these forms of media right, so they
can be books, podcasts, movies,right, um, that you have
consumed, that have shaped youpersonally or professionally
yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely,definitely.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
I mean, there are so many stories, but I think for me
, more than books, more thananything else, has been mentors.
You know, people that havetaken the time to learn about me
, to guide me and help mesomehow, and that's universal.
(39:39):
And what I love about that isthat it doesn't matter where you
go in the world, you will findpeople that will lend you a hand
, that will want to know fromyou and will want to contribute
positively to your life, tocontribute positively to your
life, and you can find thatuniversally.
So for me, it has been morethan anything else.
(39:59):
It has been that it's just thementors, the people along the
journey in my life that haveencouraged me, that have helped
me and have given me the fuel togo do something, as well as
when I'm doing something wrong,have said, hey, I think you're
on the wrong path, you know,kind of you know and guided me.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
So for me, it's more more of that the mentors is
there anything else that wehaven't discussed that the world
should know about liederman?
Speaker 1 (40:32):
um, well, just want more people to join me and let's
you know, let's, let's do,let's do incredible work.
I think it is the mostrewarding thing in life is
really helping others.
You're helping yourself whenyou help others, but you know,
because, because that fuels youand makes you find fulfillment.
(40:55):
I do find fulfillment throughhelping others and I believe
everybody does, whether theywant to accept it or not.
That's a different story, buteverybody finds fulfillment on
helping others.
So, yeah, I just want moreorganizations, more people, more
(41:22):
companies to help us keepgrowing and keep making a
positive contribution to theworld.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
That's great.
Well, Liederman, thanks forjoining us today.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
Thank you so much, brady, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (41:30):
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
rate and subscribe to thispodcast on whatever platform
you're using, and share thispodcast with your friends and
your networks.
Make sure you follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn at Career
Cheat Code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
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