February 24, 2025 • 36 mins
What if you could unlock the secrets to personal and professional growth with the power of artificial intelligence? This episode features an insightful conversation with Victor Rogers, founder and Chief Client Services Officer of Sustainable Growth Creative (SGC), who is on a mission to ignite "aha moments" by showcasing the practical applications of AI. Victor shares his compelling journey, from relocating to Richmond to becoming deeply woven into the community fabric. Listen as he reveals how AI has not only enhanced his written communication but also transformed various aspects of his life, including personal finance and business proposal writing.
Community empowerment through technology takes center stage as we discuss AI's role in workforce development and unemployment reduction in the Greater Richmond Region. Discover initiatives like AI Ready RVA, which fosters learning through community cohorts, and explore creative AI integrations with devices like Alexa to enhance daily interactions.
We invite you to engage with our content, and share your experiences, as we champion the boundless possibilities AI brings to both personal enrichment and community growth.
Want to join a community of AI learners and enthusiasts? AI Ready RVA is leading the conversation and is rapidly rising as a hub for AI in the Richmond Region. Become a member and support our AI literacy initiatives.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome RVA to Inspire AI, where we spotlight
companies and individuals in theregion who are pioneering the
development and use ofartificial intelligence.
I'm Jason McGinty from AI ReadyRVA.
At AI Ready RVA, our mission isto cultivate AI literacy in the
greater Richmond region throughawareness, community engagement
(00:24):
, education and advocacy.
Today's episode is madepossible by Modern Ancients
driving innovation with purpose.
Modern Ancients uses AI andstrategic insight to help
businesses create lasting,positive change with their
unique journey consultingpractice.
(00:44):
Find out more about how yourbusiness can grow at
modernagentscom, and thanks toour listeners for tuning in
today.
If you or your company wouldlike to be featured in the
Inspire AI Richmond episode,please drop us a message.
Don't forget to like, share orfollow our content and stay up
(01:07):
to date on the latest events forAI Ready RVA.
Today, we're thrilled towelcome a guest who's redefining
what it means to harnesstechnology for empowerment and
growth.
Victor Rogers is the founder andchief client services officer
of Sustainable Growth CreativeSGC, a visionary platform
(01:29):
dedicated to equippingindividuals and organizations
with practical AI-drivensolutions.
With over 15 years ofexperience in workforce
development and a proven trackrecord of helping others
navigate career challenges,victor has been a guiding force
for professionals looking tothrive in an ever-evolving job
(01:49):
market.
From crafting standout resumesto leveraging AI for
personalized career coaching, hebridges the gap between
technology and human potential.
Beyond his business, victor'scommitment to equity and
inclusion has been recognizedwith the President's Volunteer
Service Award for his 500-plushours of service.
(02:12):
A dynamic speaker and educator,victor knows how to break down
complex topics into actionablesteps that resonate with any
audience with any audience.
In this episode, we'll explorehow AI is shaping the future of
work, practical tools forpersonal and professional growth
(02:32):
, and why Victor believes theright technology can amplify the
potential in all of us.
So, without further ado, let'swelcome Victor Rogers to the
podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Good afternoon, good evening, good morning wherever
you are.
Super excited and I'm glad tobe here and shout out to that
bio man.
I don't know who that guy is,but looking forward to the next
little bit of Convo.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Awesome.
Thanks, Vic.
Can you tell us a little bitabout yourself, your business
and your interest in AI?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Came to Virginia back in like 2006, graduated from
ODU and got a gig up here inRichmond back in 2010.
Worked in the community for along time, whether it was with
the Urban League, my fraternityat NAACP, no-transcript, rva,
(03:55):
just finding the communities soI can learn and grow and be more
effective and efficient in thearea Nice.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
So you're really at the ground level, with the
community supporting theirdevelopment, which is a much
needed service, considering mostpeople out there haven't really
dug deep into the use cases ofAI these days.
Do you find that to be truestill?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, 100%.
And I think even meestablishing SGC, my whole goal
is every year I want to get athousand aha moments and aha
moment is like my first ever usecase.
Shout out, shout out toJonathan Cannon.
He actually is a businesspartner of mine product chief,
product owner and the aha momentwith him was in the middle of
(04:40):
him being in a transition,trying to find a new opportunity
.
Him being in a transition,trying to find a new opportunity
, I showed him the effectiveways that you can use artificial
intelligence to, you know,enhance his job market
capabilities.
And it took and I still got thescreenshot on my phone, but it
took me like six minutes for himto be like, oh snap, I didn't
even know you could do that.
And just from there, man, Ijust really enjoyed like just
(05:01):
going out and just having thatsame experience over and over
again, whether it's working downin Petersburg with the high
schoolers and teaching ethicalsolutions with AI.
Like you know, it's one ofthose things where, like you
don't know what you don't knowand I'm not saying I know a lot,
but compared to other people,you know people would say that I
kind of got a decentunderstanding of artificial
(05:21):
intelligence, so just being ableto help folks and, you know,
get people prepared for, youknow, this dynamic shift in the
world that's going to happenwith artificial intelligence.
It gets me excited and, youknow, glad to continue doing
that.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, definitely so.
You chase aha moments.
I love that.
I love that.
All right.
So how has AI transformed yourdaily life and what benefits
have you experienced with theintegration into both your
personal and professionalactivities?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I'll tell you one of the biggest things and this is
just for anybody listening Like,if you can find it intangible
for artificial intelligence tomeet, then you'll be able to
like really like lock on with it.
Never been the best writer ever, right?
You know, there's a statisticwhere it says you know, if you
can't read or write by the thirdgrade, there's a prison bed for
you.
I always like to say thatbecause I'm that anomaly,
(06:11):
because I definitely wasn't ableto.
But what AI did was it allowedfor me to articulate myself more
fluently, like in written form.
And once I saw that I was likeoh man, how else can I be better
with artificial intelligence?
But immediately I say justcrafting better emails, crafting
(06:32):
better communications written.
That was like a big aha momentfor me.
And then from there, whetherit's identifying real estate
solutions, working with lawyers,coming up with Dr Sebi, meal
prep plans for my buddies whoare trying, who I'm trying, to
convert over, to become vegan, alot of different use cases kind
of started to trickle in, butthe first one was for sure just
helping me be a bettercommunicator on paper.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Yeah, yeah.
Those moments of personaltransformation I think are are
things that people pick up on asthey start to use the tooling,
and you've named a few of themthat I've seen in myself.
It's a support crutch in all ofthose areas of my life as well.
So how do you integrate AI intoyour daily workflow,
(07:17):
specifically to enhanceproductivity and maintain what
makes us human?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
There's a lot of different tools that I'm using
right now, but Otter is one thatI like the most.
Like.
So, in meetings, instead ofhaving somebody you know take
minutes, now, tools like Ottercan transcribe everything so you
can go back and you can be ableto you know, kind of know what
was discussed in the sessionComing up with ideas, though,
like brainstorming, like I thinkthat's a big one being able to
(07:47):
craft a business plan like a lotfaster.
I know I've in my life hadother ventures that you know
I've tried to get off the ground, and one of the biggest things,
like even in creating SGC, waslike just getting a business
plan for, for, for a bank to toeven recognize you and want to,
you know, give you funding so Ican tell you, in creating my,
(08:09):
like my logo, my business plan,my, my, my core values, things
of that nature.
A lot of that is chat.
Gpt helped me create it, andthen I say another good one and
we'll probably get to this alittle bit later is just
following the market, like topay attention to the market as
much as I can.
(08:30):
I got onto the investing game alittle late, you know.
So just knowing like the properfunds to put your 401k in and
what the different expenseratios owes is, and you know,
just following differentcompanies and things of that
nature.
You know those are a couple ofdifferent ways that I've been
leveraging.
You know, artificialintelligence in my immediate,
(08:52):
and another one too that isimportant is with mental health.
I created an affirmation by it.
A lot of mornings I wake up andI'll prompt the bot and it'll
give me an affirmation and thenit'll also give me a book.
That's about 30 or 40 booksthat I prompted in there.
(09:13):
It'll give me a quote from thatand it's a good jolt of coffee
to get my day going.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Oh, that's so cool.
What's your favoriteaffirmation?
And if you could think of oneoff the cuff here.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, so the way it's set up is the affirmations take
from books, so like a book thatthat.
I think that is a good exampleand it's randomized so it's
never the same.
But let's go with Huey NewtonRevolutionary Suicide.
That's a great book.
So it'll give you a passage onrevolutionary suicide and then
(09:48):
from there it would give youlike words of wisdom like hey,
don't forget that when you'regoing out and you're trying to
conquer the day to take a secondbreathe, realize that you can't
eat an elephant all in one bite, and just take it one by one.
And then it'll give a passagefrom from that book and then you
know that's, that's the energythat I need.
(10:11):
So the way that up and I love toshare it you just type in the
word nip so artists by the nameof Nipsey Hussle, that I crafted
the affirmation by behind andthen it'll spit out a couple of
different things.
So before it's over I'll pullup something and see what it
says at the end, like maybe wecan end the podcast with today's
(10:34):
affirmation, so you can kind ofsee what it looks like on the
spot.
Yeah, let's do that Awesome.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Yep affirmations.
So you can kind of see what itlooks like on the spot yeah
let's do that awesome, yep, um.
So otter, ai, for your ummeeting notes, that's.
That's something that you know.
If you've been around ai, ohyou know long enough, you'll
definitely run into um randompeople's note takers joining
your calls and you're like wheredid that come from?
Uh, yeah, I would.
I would recommend that one aswell as your chat gpt.
(10:59):
That's the thing that that youuse the most for, like your
business startup, like support.
It's kind of like a, a businessmanager in a tool set, right.
You use it for havingconversations with the
legalities, uh, writing up yourbusiness proposals,
communicating the right messagesto clients, that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I'm not hiring a consultant anymore.
You have it in your hand.
You could save a lot of money.
And what?
Chatgpt Plus is 20 bucks amonth versus paying a consultant
.
You had a couple extra zerosbehind that every time.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, absolutely Absolutely.
So.
Tell me how has AI impactedyour confidence in written
communication Sounds like it'shad a tremendous impact but also
how has it contributed tofaster decision making and more
effective teamwork.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think the biggest thing is like, when I'm angry, I
can say put this in anempathetic tone and it sounds a
lot nicer.
So you know, instead of mehitting sin, when you know I got
a disagreement with something,I'll type it in how I don't.
I'll type it in how I feel andthen I'll just say take this
message, revise it to have anempathetic tone and a
(12:17):
professional style and tone aswell, and use brevity.
Because if you're not aware,you know every time you're using
these LLMs, you know they'llwrite you a whole soliloquy in a
book.
And if you really, once youreally really get into you know
using these tools.
If you got a band word list,that'll help too, because a lot
of times it's the same word,like tapestry and beacon.
(12:39):
Like, I hate those words theyall over and over, yeah, yeah,
you know what I mean.
So, like you know, that's,that's, uh, that's a, that's an
instant, instant way tocommunicate a lot more
efficiently and not be soemotional.
Um, when, when I can, uh, youknow, use that how about this
one?
Speaker 1 (12:53):
in a world where we all have real emotions, we need
to put them in check and use aito support that right.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Oh yeah.
And then it's like everythingis like you know, if you like
Sriracha, well how about this?
Or like it's like if not X,then Y.
It's like this formula thatit's consistent over and over
again.
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, you ask it for some information and it always
gives you 10 answers Exactly.
Ok, cool man, all right.
How about tell us about asuccess story where AI has
significantly impacted yourbusiness outcomes?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
So I went to this event in Atlanta called Invest
Fest, called Invest Fest, andwhile I was down there, you know
the objective is if you'refamiliar with the organization,
earn your leisure is to kind oflearn how to be more efficient
in how you're managing yourfinances.
But it's a great opportunity tonetwork.
You know the guys who put it on, they do, they do content and
they like to call it thehustlers hustlers bowl or
(13:54):
whatever, right?
So while I was down there, Iran into a buddy of mine and in
talking with him he had a friendof his who was interested in
figuring out, like yo, what isthis chat GPT and this AI?
You know how can you actuallyuse it?
He's a real estate guy.
So, you know, I shared myinformation with him and he set
up a consultant session with meand you know what we ended up
(14:16):
doing was he wanted to figureout how he could take the codes
that you need to have inestablishing or creating real
estate building codes and thingsof that nature, right?
So what we did was we talkedabout it.
He gave me a PDF of what he waslooking for.
I put that PDF in chat GPT andwe were able to.
I guess you consider a, a RAGmodel right, where you take the
(14:40):
information and you put it inthere and come up with solutions
Like now.
A better tool to use isNotebook GLM, but in the moment
I don't think that that was outyet.
But we were able to come upwith a solution to where he can
ask his customized GPT hey, doesthis house coordinates fit the
requirements and if not, whichcode does it not meet?
(15:02):
And that was his aha moment.
And then we just built on topof that and there were other
specifics that he was interestedin, but at the time I didn't
really think that I would beable to be of use to him.
So when we initially had ourfirst conversation he kind of
gave me a problem and I came upwith a solution that he found
valuable.
And you know that wasdefinitely a successful client
(15:24):
experience and he felt value outof the conversation.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah, you met.
You met this person at aninvestment trade show of sorts
and you connected with them someideas he had.
He had some needs, right, aproblem statement of how to.
He has.
He had some real estate and heneeded to get some information
about the code that ensured thatthe place was up to up to snuff
(15:49):
.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Pretty much yes.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So like each I guess each county in Virginia or each
area in Virginia, they havetheir own specific requirements
that you have to meet to be ableto Based on the coordinates of
where it's located, and you fedthat information into the system
and extrapolated the terms andconditions that were important
(16:16):
to this investor to make adecision about that piece of
property.
Right, yeah, and you madereference to something that
maybe our audience doesn'treally know about, and that's
the RAG model, which is aframework that enables users of
LLMs large language models toleverage the intelligence of
(16:37):
theLMs large language models, toleverage the intelligence of
the language model but focus itsattention on specific content.
And that's what you meant by.
You dropped that PDF into itand you told it use this to make
the decisions, and so it hadall of the knowledge of the
internet plus a focus ofattention on that one document
(16:59):
that was relevant to theresearch, and then they were
able to to make their own guideddecision from there.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Yes, sir.
And then creating a customizedprompt library, too is really
important in these conversationsthat I'm having with people
because, like, in a momentthey'll have that aha moment but
like leaving them with like acustomized prompt library that
they could just copy and pastethe information and get to the
get to the solution fast, um,that's something that I
specialized in and well as well,and, um, you know he, he was
(17:29):
very impressed.
So, you know, it's like one ofthose things where it's another
person now that is, you know, aipositive.
Like a lot of times.
I mean, I remember, like thefirst year, like the first year,
like the first year first, likemaybe like eight, 12 months, it
was like everybody was reallyanti-AI and it kind of got a
little frustrated.
So it was always a pleasure tolike convert people into the
other direction, and I'm nottrying to say that there's not,
(17:50):
you know, bad use cases outthere, but at the same time, I
don't think that if you can savetime, you shouldn't do it.
You know I like to tell peopleI sell a gift of time when I
provide them solutions.
Cool.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Can you tell us a little bit more about your, your
passion that bridges AI andfinance?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, I'm a finance nerd.
I listen to, like, bloombergall the time.
You know the day that I can getin front of Kramer and say, boo
, yeah, that'll be fun.
You know the day that I can getin front of Kramer and say, boo
, yeah, that'll be fun, oh, yeah.
(18:30):
So what I, what I've done, is Igot about like seven or eight
prompts after like thesespecific you know, finance
people that I, like I watch ontelevision.
So, like, it'll give me entrypoints and it'll tell me how to,
you know, watch the market andmonitor the market based on
these characters.
One of my favorite financialguys is a guy named Ian Dunlap,
and you know what I'll do iswhat you can actually.
Now, this is a little bit inthe weeds, but if you want to go
to like maybe a YouTube pageand like, take your favorite
(18:54):
finance guy, copy and paste thetranscript of a show and ask
chat, tell me the style and toneof this person, and then use
that moving forward to help youjust understand the market
better.
Whether it's what, why plant?
Was it plant here?
I think that's the new highstock Like.
Why is it gone from like 80 tolike 120 since Christmas?
(19:18):
And then, when is it?
Is it time to buy, is it timenot to buy?
And you know stuff like that,and just like learning more
about like Fibonacci trends andthings of that nature, like
making finance like easy for aperson that's really not from
that field to you know, kind offeel comfortable in it that was
one of the big aha moments forme.
And just you know, leveragingthe tool all the time, following
(19:41):
like Reddit trends and thingsof that nature.
You know that that that issomething that I've been very,
very happy with as far as likethe outcome of using AI.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, so you've seen some good personal returns.
Huh, that's nice.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah, long-term though, man.
So I ain't hit, I hit.
I hit a moonshot yet, you know.
But I tell you I did.
I was on a video a little early, you know.
So shout out to those guys ifthey want to sponsor a podcast
or something.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Definitely All right.
Let's pivot over to futureimplications.
Tell me what you see around AIadoption and the workforce
structures and industry dynamicsaround AI adoption and the
workforce structures andindustry dynamics.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Follow the money man.
So, whether it's like RobertSmith with the Vista Equity
Partners talking about how youknow what's going to happen over
time in his company, is thatit's going to help his company
when it comes to, like you know,making portfolio decisions or,
as McKinsey say, by 2030,there's going to be more
business decisions that are madefor optimal efficiency using
(20:40):
generative AI or Blackstone orlike any of these big hedge fund
companies.
Like the common thread is youneed to pay attention because
eventually, a lot of work isgoing to be in the hands of
these.
You know generative AI tools,you know, and if you don't know
how to use them, you could beleft in the dark.
You know my regular nine tofive I hire people for a living.
(21:02):
So, like that was one of thecatalysts that really motivated
me to like start payingattention to AI, because I feel
like, you know, do you reallyneed somebody to recruit
somebody when you could just putit in a generative AI tool and
just hey, the resume looks good.
Find a person, like now,because you always need to have
that.
You know person to person spaceright, so, like now, I can tell
you that you know, I'm prettygood at, you know losing a lot
(21:23):
of these different tools, butit's like you just follow where
the money.
You know follow where thepeople who are making the big
decisions and you know, if youlook at the current
administration, you know whatwas the 24 hours after.
You know, president Trump wasin office.
You know Stargate came out witha 500 billion dollar commitment
into artificial intelligence.
So it's like you know youfollow the money.
You'll get to the money quicker, but you know I think the
(21:44):
Luddites taught us somethingthat you know you can fight
technology as long as you want,but you'll get left in the dust.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Yeah, that seems right to me.
It's not a if, it's a whenright, and depending on how
accessible thoseresponsibilities are to
automation, you'll see it happenfaster in some areas than
others.
I get what you mean.
There's definitely signs forwake-up calls for everybody here
(22:15):
, that's for sure.
So, vic, what is your strategyfor implementing AI in business
operations?
Can you tell us some of thetips and tricks?
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Um, identifying pain points and crafting ways that
you can get around bottlenecks.
A good example of that is, likeindividuals who are looking for
jobs, right, so you know, thebottleneck is everybody's trying
to apply for this one job, butwhat?
What is the way that you'll getaround that?
(22:45):
Well, there's a.
There's a acronym ATS AfricanTracking System.
You'll get around that.
Well, there's a acronym ATSApplicant Tracking System.
If I'm teaching my clients that,hey, you need to make sure that
the resumes has X, y and Zwords that applicant tracking
systems are going to pick up,then that's going to get you to
the next step quicker, because alot of people don't even make
it into get in front of arecruiter, right.
(23:07):
So being able to do that, right,being able to measure your
results as well so, like, ifthis approach doesn't work,
iterating and then pivoting andthen asking, hey, what are some
other solutions?
I think that's one of thebiggest things that I can tell
you about AI is I can tell youthat I'll come through like 10
or 20 different ideas and ifnone of them go well, hey, these
(23:31):
didn't go well.
This is why they didn't go well.
Now tell me a more effectiveway to do this right and just
don't use one tool.
So, whether you're usingPerplexity, clive, whether
you're using Copilot or BARD orGemini whatever they want to
call it these days, right, usemultiple different tools to get
multiple different outcomes andthen come to a conclusion and,
like I think, iterating overtime is the best strategy to get
(23:52):
a high impact result.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Right.
So how do people know ifthey're hitting the right
keywords on their resume?
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Well, I mean, that's just if you get a job or not.
I mean, that's, that's easypeasy.
You know that's an easy peasything, like you know, if you
think that you are qualified fora job, you know not, not, not,
let's be clear.
There's a thing where, um, ifyou are shooting for the moon,
so like me, if I start applyingfor, like Java developer, um
positions I've never done code,I'm not going to be good.
(24:26):
So, like, if I can't breakthrough that, that barrier, then
that's not necessarily there'snot.
I mean, you could probably comeup with a creative way to craft
your resume, but that'sborderline unethical, because if
you don't know how to code, youdon't need to be writing, you
don't need to apply for a Javadeveloper role, right.
But if I am, you know, atalented architect that knows
(24:47):
how to build structures, and youknow I don't get past the first
level, but then I start usingthese AI solutions and I at
least get calls andconversations with the
recruiters.
I mean, I think that's thebiggest thing Like people need
to take advantage of.
Like, if you're on a call witha recruiter and they're telling
you stuff you don't want to hear.
(25:08):
If it's bad, that's not.
That's's not, that's not a badthing.
Um, you know, listen to whatthey're saying and then come
back and just you know, rinse,wash and repeat.
So like I think success is inthe eyes of beholder.
But like in that specific usecase, when you're looking for a
job and so somebody cuts you acheck, you're not winning
personally yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
so if someone's listening to this podcast and
they say I want, I want to knowwhat, what he knows, I'd love
some support, how do they, howdo they reach out to you to get
the, get the help?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah, I mean easy man .
So my name is Victor Rogers andyou can go to my website,
wwwvictorrogersai.
And if you can't remember that,the company's name is
Sustainable Growth Creative andyou can go to
sustainablegrowthcreat creativedot com or dot org as well.
We're real active on LinkedIn.
I'm really passionate aboutdemocratizing AI, constantly
posting on a lot of differentuse cases from a lot of
(26:00):
different places on LinkedIn.
Yeah, so one of the great thingsI got to shout out already RBA
is that they have these greatprograms and there was a
gentleman that came and taughtus how to make AI agents Agentic
.
Ai is going to be all the raveof 2025.
And one of the things that Ireally wanted to do to help
(26:20):
folks was I created an AI agent.
So if you go to our Instagrampage, sustainable Growth
Creative, you'll find that Ihave developed an agent that can
help you with empowering yourcareer trajectory.
Love this specific agent,because a lot of the stuff that
(26:41):
I would want to teach people ifI can't get in front of you, you
can use this agent and a lot ofgood feedback that I've gotten
from folks.
So, again, if you go to ourInstagram and it's Sustainable
Growth Creative, it's at the topof our links it says try our AI
character and just shout out toAI Ready for that Vic?
Were you in there when theymade Vegan Vic?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah, so you know.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, that was Meta's training session.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Jabron, I believe, is his brother's name, came down
and he taught us how to make AIagents.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yeah, all right, cool .
So what inspired you to startworking in the field of AI and
maybe a little bit about yourpassion for this technology?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, I've always been a guy who needs to be in
constant motion.
So for many years I was a gigeconomy guy.
So, whether that's, at onepoint I was doing Uber, lyft,
grubhub, doordash, postmates andI would do them all
simultaneously at the same timeand I got really good at it.
But then I got in a situationwhere my my side hustle almost
(27:48):
messed up.
A situation where my sidehustle almost messed up, my main
hustle had a customer get alittle out of pocket and you
know, I decided that day thatyou know, I probably shouldn't
do that kind of work anymore,and that was on December 31st
2022.
And, as we're all aware, youknow that November in 2022,
that's when OpenAI releasedChatGPT.
So it was like it just wasserendipitous that, hey, what is
(28:11):
this AI thing?
How can I get more in tune toit?
So that's why I decided that Iwanted to create Sustainable
Growth Creative, and my initialfirst use case was I just wanted
to help people with, you know,refining their resumes and
preparing them for interviews.
But in a year, really, I wasable to create that AI agent
that I just mentioned and, likenow, I can like I don't want to
(28:31):
box myself in so I can do otherthings Right.
So that's really what led to itis like I just needed to switch
up my side hustle and you knowI'm happy that I did, because I
came across a great group ofpeople and I'm constantly
learning more every day abouthow, you know, I can help with a
lot of different use cases.
But you know, it was initiallythat, you know, I had to start a
tragedy.
Well, what turn limits intolimit?
(28:52):
A?
Yeah, it was a bad situationthat I had to, you know, get
myself out of.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
So, yeah, you were referring to AI Ready RVA there,
right?
And so tell us a little bitabout your work in that
organization.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
So as a board member, I try to show up and give my
opinion when necessary.
But I also got the opportunityto do one of the first public
events actually with you thatday, with CBS 6 sponsored it for
the finance cohort.
So, like earlier when we weretalking about me being a finance
nerd, I always learn more frompeople who are actually in the
space.
So, like I instantly gotattracted to the money and
finance cohort and been tryingto support what they got going
(29:34):
on.
I'm not sure when this comesout, but March 6th was March 3rd
or 6th, something like that.
Y'all know the date If you goto the website.
David Durr I believe is thegentleman's name is going to do
a dynamic speaking engagement atsingle stone.
So check that out.
So just being able to show up tostuff like that and just learn
from people who are like super,a lot more knowledgeable about
(29:56):
it, like I'm passionate about it, but it's like I don't know if
I'd say a hobby of mine toreally be in finance, but like
when you get to be around, likeyou know it's people in like cap
one and Markel and like youknow a lot of, a lot of people
that come to these events likethey really are, like finance
folks.
You know, just learning byosmosis is great, and then when
you throw AI on top of it, it10x is your ability to kind of
(30:18):
be able to comprehend the stuffthey're saying, because I'll sit
back in the corner, I don'tknow what they're talking about,
but I'll put it in chat, gpt,and then boom, I'm instantly
able to keep up with theconversation.
So you know, big, big proponentof money and finance, cohort
with AI Ready, rpa.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, and they have other cohorts as well, around
different communities ofengagement, like women in AI and
veterans in AI, education, etcetera, et cetera.
We're hoping to see more andmore of those microcosms spin up
so that like-minded individuals, people who are passionate or
(30:55):
just really want to just learnabout it and see how they can
use it to their advantage intheir community, will be given
the opportunity through thesecohorts as well.
So thanks for bringing that up,vic.
Oh, yeah, a hundred percentthrough these cohorts as well.
So thanks for bringing that up,vic.
Oh yeah, 100%.
So, finally, I'd like to knowwhat types of AI technologies or
solutions you're actuallybuilding towards and what
(31:18):
problems they're designed tosolve.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
I'm building towards reducing unemployment.
I want people to beoveremployed.
So upscaling people inartificial intelligence is a big
goal of mine in 2025.
Getting people prepared to beable to leverage these tools
effectively, that's a big goalof mine, especially at Richmond.
If you're in Richmond, thesurrounding area, I want to make
sure that when it comes toseeing a job application and
(31:42):
you're seeing words that you'venever seen, or they're asking
you to come up with solutionsthat you've never heard heard of
that I want to make sure that'snot foreign.
I don't care where you're fromin the diaspora like what
industry or anything like that.
I think that I can provide youa solution.
I think I can provide you helpand confidence.
That's the big thing.
I want to be able to provideconfidence.
Workforce developmentinitiatives across the greater
(32:04):
Richmond area.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Nice.
Yeah, that's a powerful goal ofyours and it definitely aligns
very, very well with AI ReadyRVA's mission.
So we appreciate your supportand definitely want to see you
thrive so that you can help thecommunity thrive as well.
Thank, you.
Finally, just a little funquestion here at the end.
I'd like to ask all of ourinterviewees If you could have
(32:29):
any superpower, Vic, what wouldit be and why?
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Oh, superpower, time travel.
I would say probably timetravel and go back and spend
time and learn from my eldersand figure out how to create a
better tomorrow for my futureself and my future network.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like that.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Also, you know, like going back and trying some of
those old school like meals thatyou can't get anymore.
You know that's always fun,like before they switched up,
like like the Big Mac or theWhopper.
I remember when I was a kid Ithink they had like a Fiesta
Whopper.
I don't even know why I'mthinking about that.
I'm a vegan.
But you know you could tryCoca-Cola before they switched
(33:19):
up the recipe and stuff likethat.
All those stuff like that'skind of cool.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Yeah, I wonder if they'll ever retire the McRib,
and then we'll be having anotherconversation, you know.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Oh yeah, you know, I'm curious what really is in
the McRib.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I don't have any clue .
I know some people that are allabout it.
Every time it comes around, youget super excited.
They share it on social media.
I'm not in that fan base, Sorryto say, but you know it's for
some, not for everyone.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
I'll fill you on that man.
Good branding though it looksgood on it, it looks good on the
commercial.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yeah, I'll give it.
I'll give them that for sure, Iguess there's a reason why they
don't keep it around, though.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
All right, man, it's been a,it's been a pleasure.
Thanks for coming on the showand sharing with the community
your hopes for empowering themand helping them solve their
(34:17):
AI-supported challenges.
And again, tell us one moretime how they can get in touch
with you so that we can sendthem your way when they're ready
to make a difference in theircareers and futures.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Easiest way to get in touch with me is VictorRogersai
, and then my social medias.
They're going to all beSustainable Growth Creative
LinkedIn is where we're the mostactive at.
Sustainable Growth Creative AIagent on Instagram is a great
use case and that I'd love toshare with folks Like if there's
nothing else you get from thecall, just try that out.
(34:55):
I get a lot of good feedbackfrom that.
And then also, as we close,another agent that I created,
the affirmation bot.
It was called.
It's called the NeighborhoodKnit Book Club, version 1.02
beta.
If you go into the customizedGPTs in chat GPT, you can find
it.
And then I asked it.
You know what the what today'saffirmation was.
(35:15):
And it said discipline isstrategy, the blueprint to
victory, and it says everybattle is won before it's ever
fought.
And it is quoting the art ofSan Zoo.
And then it talks about acouple more things.
But the biggest thing with thatwas the lesson is master your
environment by controllingyourself.
Patience, discipline andforesight will always give you
the upper hand when you're ableto.
You know wake up and you knowget affirmations like that.
(35:38):
I'm hoping that you know itjust gets you motivated to take
on any obstacle that's going tocome your way today.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Yeah, maybe you should find a way to tie that
into Alexa and so you know whenAlexa is asked about, you know
the weather, she can offer yourGPT to the audience and that's
like free joy for everyone.
It's great that you're puttingthat out there.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
You get the whole house motivated.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
Yeah, man, all right.
Well, thanks again, vic.
We'll talk to you soon.
Take care, and thanks to ourlisteners for tuning in today.
If you or your company wouldlike to be featured in the
Inspire AI Richening episode,please drop us a message.
Don't forget to like, share orfollow our content and stay up
(36:28):
to date on the latest events forAI Ready RVA.
Thank you again and see younext time.
Welcome RVA to Inspire AI, where we spotlight
companies and individuals in theregion who are pioneering the
development and use ofartificial intelligence.
I'm Jason McGinty from AI ReadyRVA.
At AI Ready RVA, our mission isto cultivate AI literacy in the
greater Richmond region throughawareness, community engagement
(00:24):
, education and advocacy.
Today's episode is madepossible by Modern Ancients
driving innovation with purpose.
Modern Ancients uses AI andstrategic insight to help
businesses create lasting,positive change with their
unique journey consultingpractice.
(00:44):
Find out more about how yourbusiness can grow at
modernagentscom, and thanks toour listeners for tuning in
today.
If you or your company wouldlike to be featured in the
Inspire AI Richmond episode,please drop us a message.
Don't forget to like, share orfollow our content and stay up
(01:07):
to date on the latest events forAI Ready RVA.
Today, we're thrilled towelcome a guest who's redefining
what it means to harnesstechnology for empowerment and
growth.
Victor Rogers is the founder andchief client services officer
of Sustainable Growth CreativeSGC, a visionary platform
(01:29):
dedicated to equippingindividuals and organizations
with practical AI-drivensolutions.
With over 15 years ofexperience in workforce
development and a proven trackrecord of helping others
navigate career challenges,victor has been a guiding force
for professionals looking tothrive in an ever-evolving job
(01:49):
market.
From crafting standout resumesto leveraging AI for
personalized career coaching, hebridges the gap between
technology and human potential.
Beyond his business, victor'scommitment to equity and
inclusion has been recognizedwith the President's Volunteer
Service Award for his 500-plushours of service.
(02:12):
A dynamic speaker and educator,victor knows how to break down
complex topics into actionablesteps that resonate with any
audience with any audience.
In this episode, we'll explorehow AI is shaping the future of
work, practical tools forpersonal and professional growth
(02:32):
, and why Victor believes theright technology can amplify the
potential in all of us.
So, without further ado, let'swelcome Victor Rogers to the
podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Good afternoon, good evening, good morning wherever
you are.
Super excited and I'm glad tobe here and shout out to that
bio man.
I don't know who that guy is,but looking forward to the next
little bit of Convo.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Awesome.
Thanks, Vic.
Can you tell us a little bitabout yourself, your business
and your interest in AI?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Came to Virginia back in like 2006, graduated from
ODU and got a gig up here inRichmond back in 2010.
Worked in the community for along time, whether it was with
the Urban League, my fraternityat NAACP, no-transcript, rva,
(03:55):
just finding the communities soI can learn and grow and be more
effective and efficient in thearea Nice.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
So you're really at the ground level, with the
community supporting theirdevelopment, which is a much
needed service, considering mostpeople out there haven't really
dug deep into the use cases ofAI these days.
Do you find that to be truestill?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, 100%.
And I think even meestablishing SGC, my whole goal
is every year I want to get athousand aha moments and aha
moment is like my first ever usecase.
Shout out, shout out toJonathan Cannon.
He actually is a businesspartner of mine product chief,
product owner and the aha momentwith him was in the middle of
(04:40):
him being in a transition,trying to find a new opportunity
.
Him being in a transition,trying to find a new opportunity
, I showed him the effectiveways that you can use artificial
intelligence to, you know,enhance his job market
capabilities.
And it took and I still got thescreenshot on my phone, but it
took me like six minutes for himto be like, oh snap, I didn't
even know you could do that.
And just from there, man, Ijust really enjoyed like just
(05:01):
going out and just having thatsame experience over and over
again, whether it's working downin Petersburg with the high
schoolers and teaching ethicalsolutions with AI.
Like you know, it's one ofthose things where, like you
don't know what you don't knowand I'm not saying I know a lot,
but compared to other people,you know people would say that I
kind of got a decentunderstanding of artificial
(05:21):
intelligence, so just being ableto help folks and, you know,
get people prepared for, youknow, this dynamic shift in the
world that's going to happenwith artificial intelligence.
It gets me excited and, youknow, glad to continue doing
that.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, definitely so.
You chase aha moments.
I love that.
I love that.
All right.
So how has AI transformed yourdaily life and what benefits
have you experienced with theintegration into both your
personal and professionalactivities?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
I'll tell you one of the biggest things and this is
just for anybody listening Like,if you can find it intangible
for artificial intelligence tomeet, then you'll be able to
like really like lock on with it.
Never been the best writer ever, right?
You know, there's a statisticwhere it says you know, if you
can't read or write by the thirdgrade, there's a prison bed for
you.
I always like to say thatbecause I'm that anomaly,
(06:11):
because I definitely wasn't ableto.
But what AI did was it allowedfor me to articulate myself more
fluently, like in written form.
And once I saw that I was likeoh man, how else can I be better
with artificial intelligence?
But immediately I say justcrafting better emails, crafting
(06:32):
better communications written.
That was like a big aha momentfor me.
And then from there, whetherit's identifying real estate
solutions, working with lawyers,coming up with Dr Sebi, meal
prep plans for my buddies whoare trying, who I'm trying, to
convert over, to become vegan, alot of different use cases kind
of started to trickle in, butthe first one was for sure just
helping me be a bettercommunicator on paper.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Yeah, yeah.
Those moments of personaltransformation I think are are
things that people pick up on asthey start to use the tooling,
and you've named a few of themthat I've seen in myself.
It's a support crutch in all ofthose areas of my life as well.
So how do you integrate AI intoyour daily workflow,
(07:17):
specifically to enhanceproductivity and maintain what
makes us human?
Speaker 2 (07:23):
There's a lot of different tools that I'm using
right now, but Otter is one thatI like the most.
Like.
So, in meetings, instead ofhaving somebody you know take
minutes, now, tools like Ottercan transcribe everything so you
can go back and you can be ableto you know, kind of know what
was discussed in the sessionComing up with ideas, though,
like brainstorming, like I thinkthat's a big one being able to
(07:47):
craft a business plan like a lotfaster.
I know I've in my life hadother ventures that you know
I've tried to get off the ground, and one of the biggest things,
like even in creating SGC, waslike just getting a business
plan for, for, for a bank to toeven recognize you and want to,
you know, give you funding so Ican tell you, in creating my,
(08:09):
like my logo, my business plan,my, my, my core values, things
of that nature.
A lot of that is chat.
Gpt helped me create it, andthen I say another good one and
we'll probably get to this alittle bit later is just
following the market, like topay attention to the market as
much as I can.
(08:30):
I got onto the investing game alittle late, you know.
So just knowing like the properfunds to put your 401k in and
what the different expenseratios owes is, and you know,
just following differentcompanies and things of that
nature.
You know those are a couple ofdifferent ways that I've been
leveraging.
You know, artificialintelligence in my immediate,
(08:52):
and another one too that isimportant is with mental health.
I created an affirmation by it.
A lot of mornings I wake up andI'll prompt the bot and it'll
give me an affirmation and thenit'll also give me a book.
That's about 30 or 40 booksthat I prompted in there.
(09:13):
It'll give me a quote from thatand it's a good jolt of coffee
to get my day going.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Oh, that's so cool.
What's your favoriteaffirmation?
And if you could think of oneoff the cuff here.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, so the way it's set up is the affirmations take
from books, so like a book thatthat.
I think that is a good exampleand it's randomized so it's
never the same.
But let's go with Huey NewtonRevolutionary Suicide.
That's a great book.
So it'll give you a passage onrevolutionary suicide and then
(09:48):
from there it would give youlike words of wisdom like hey,
don't forget that when you'regoing out and you're trying to
conquer the day to take a secondbreathe, realize that you can't
eat an elephant all in one bite, and just take it one by one.
And then it'll give a passagefrom from that book and then you
know that's, that's the energythat I need.
(10:11):
So the way that up and I love toshare it you just type in the
word nip so artists by the nameof Nipsey Hussle, that I crafted
the affirmation by behind andthen it'll spit out a couple of
different things.
So before it's over I'll pullup something and see what it
says at the end, like maybe wecan end the podcast with today's
(10:34):
affirmation, so you can kind ofsee what it looks like on the
spot.
Yeah, let's do that Awesome.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Yep affirmations.
So you can kind of see what itlooks like on the spot yeah
let's do that awesome, yep, um.
So otter, ai, for your ummeeting notes, that's.
That's something that you know.
If you've been around ai, ohyou know long enough, you'll
definitely run into um randompeople's note takers joining
your calls and you're like wheredid that come from?
Uh, yeah, I would.
I would recommend that one aswell as your chat gpt.
(10:59):
That's the thing that that youuse the most for, like your
business startup, like support.
It's kind of like a, a businessmanager in a tool set, right.
You use it for havingconversations with the
legalities, uh, writing up yourbusiness proposals,
communicating the right messagesto clients, that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
I'm not hiring a consultant anymore.
You have it in your hand.
You could save a lot of money.
And what?
Chatgpt Plus is 20 bucks amonth versus paying a consultant
.
You had a couple extra zerosbehind that every time.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, absolutely Absolutely.
So.
Tell me how has AI impactedyour confidence in written
communication Sounds like it'shad a tremendous impact but also
how has it contributed tofaster decision making and more
effective teamwork.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think the biggest thing is like, when I'm angry, I
can say put this in anempathetic tone and it sounds a
lot nicer.
So you know, instead of mehitting sin, when you know I got
a disagreement with something,I'll type it in how I don't.
I'll type it in how I feel andthen I'll just say take this
message, revise it to have anempathetic tone and a
(12:17):
professional style and tone aswell, and use brevity.
Because if you're not aware,you know every time you're using
these LLMs, you know they'llwrite you a whole soliloquy in a
book.
And if you really, once youreally really get into you know
using these tools.
If you got a band word list,that'll help too, because a lot
of times it's the same word,like tapestry and beacon.
(12:39):
Like, I hate those words theyall over and over, yeah, yeah,
you know what I mean.
So, like you know, that's,that's, uh, that's a, that's an
instant, instant way tocommunicate a lot more
efficiently and not be soemotional.
Um, when, when I can, uh, youknow, use that how about this
one?
Speaker 1 (12:53):
in a world where we all have real emotions, we need
to put them in check and use aito support that right.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Oh yeah.
And then it's like everythingis like you know, if you like
Sriracha, well how about this?
Or like it's like if not X,then Y.
It's like this formula thatit's consistent over and over
again.
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, you ask it for some information and it always
gives you 10 answers Exactly.
Ok, cool man, all right.
How about tell us about asuccess story where AI has
significantly impacted yourbusiness outcomes?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
So I went to this event in Atlanta called Invest
Fest, called Invest Fest, andwhile I was down there, you know
the objective is if you'refamiliar with the organization,
earn your leisure is to kind oflearn how to be more efficient
in how you're managing yourfinances.
But it's a great opportunity tonetwork.
You know the guys who put it on, they do, they do content and
they like to call it thehustlers hustlers bowl or
(13:54):
whatever, right?
So while I was down there, Iran into a buddy of mine and in
talking with him he had a friendof his who was interested in
figuring out, like yo, what isthis chat GPT and this AI?
You know how can you actuallyuse it?
He's a real estate guy.
So, you know, I shared myinformation with him and he set
up a consultant session with meand you know what we ended up
(14:16):
doing was he wanted to figureout how he could take the codes
that you need to have inestablishing or creating real
estate building codes and thingsof that nature, right?
So what we did was we talkedabout it.
He gave me a PDF of what he waslooking for.
I put that PDF in chat GPT andwe were able to.
I guess you consider a, a RAGmodel right, where you take the
(14:40):
information and you put it inthere and come up with solutions
Like now.
A better tool to use isNotebook GLM, but in the moment
I don't think that that was outyet.
But we were able to come upwith a solution to where he can
ask his customized GPT hey, doesthis house coordinates fit the
requirements and if not, whichcode does it not meet?
(15:02):
And that was his aha moment.
And then we just built on topof that and there were other
specifics that he was interestedin, but at the time I didn't
really think that I would beable to be of use to him.
So when we initially had ourfirst conversation he kind of
gave me a problem and I came upwith a solution that he found
valuable.
And you know that wasdefinitely a successful client
(15:24):
experience and he felt value outof the conversation.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah, you met.
You met this person at aninvestment trade show of sorts
and you connected with them someideas he had.
He had some needs, right, aproblem statement of how to.
He has.
He had some real estate and heneeded to get some information
about the code that ensured thatthe place was up to up to snuff
(15:49):
.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Pretty much yes.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So like each I guess each county in Virginia or each
area in Virginia, they havetheir own specific requirements
that you have to meet to be ableto Based on the coordinates of
where it's located, and you fedthat information into the system
and extrapolated the terms andconditions that were important
(16:16):
to this investor to make adecision about that piece of
property.
Right, yeah, and you madereference to something that
maybe our audience doesn'treally know about, and that's
the RAG model, which is aframework that enables users of
LLMs large language models toleverage the intelligence of
(16:37):
theLMs large language models, toleverage the intelligence of
the language model but focus itsattention on specific content.
And that's what you meant by.
You dropped that PDF into itand you told it use this to make
the decisions, and so it hadall of the knowledge of the
internet plus a focus ofattention on that one document
(16:59):
that was relevant to theresearch, and then they were
able to to make their own guideddecision from there.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Yes, sir.
And then creating a customizedprompt library, too is really
important in these conversationsthat I'm having with people
because, like, in a momentthey'll have that aha moment but
like leaving them with like acustomized prompt library that
they could just copy and pastethe information and get to the
get to the solution fast, um,that's something that I
specialized in and well as well,and, um, you know he, he was
(17:29):
very impressed.
So, you know, it's like one ofthose things where it's another
person now that is, you know, aipositive.
Like a lot of times.
I mean, I remember, like thefirst year, like the first year,
like the first year first, likemaybe like eight, 12 months, it
was like everybody was reallyanti-AI and it kind of got a
little frustrated.
So it was always a pleasure tolike convert people into the
other direction, and I'm nottrying to say that there's not,
(17:50):
you know, bad use cases outthere, but at the same time, I
don't think that if you can savetime, you shouldn't do it.
You know I like to tell peopleI sell a gift of time when I
provide them solutions.
Cool.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Can you tell us a little bit more about your, your
passion that bridges AI andfinance?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, I'm a finance nerd.
I listen to, like, bloombergall the time.
You know the day that I can getin front of Kramer and say, boo
, yeah, that'll be fun.
You know the day that I can getin front of Kramer and say, boo
, yeah, that'll be fun, oh, yeah.
(18:30):
So what I, what I've done, is Igot about like seven or eight
prompts after like thesespecific you know, finance
people that I, like I watch ontelevision.
So, like, it'll give me entrypoints and it'll tell me how to,
you know, watch the market andmonitor the market based on
these characters.
One of my favorite financialguys is a guy named Ian Dunlap,
and you know what I'll do iswhat you can actually.
Now, this is a little bit inthe weeds, but if you want to go
to like maybe a YouTube pageand like, take your favorite
(18:54):
finance guy, copy and paste thetranscript of a show and ask
chat, tell me the style and toneof this person, and then use
that moving forward to help youjust understand the market
better.
Whether it's what, why plant?
Was it plant here?
I think that's the new highstock Like.
Why is it gone from like 80 tolike 120 since Christmas?
(19:18):
And then, when is it?
Is it time to buy, is it timenot to buy?
And you know stuff like that,and just like learning more
about like Fibonacci trends andthings of that nature, like
making finance like easy for aperson that's really not from
that field to you know, kind offeel comfortable in it that was
one of the big aha moments forme.
And just you know, leveragingthe tool all the time, following
(19:41):
like Reddit trends and thingsof that nature.
You know that that that issomething that I've been very,
very happy with as far as likethe outcome of using AI.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, so you've seen some good personal returns.
Huh, that's nice.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah, long-term though, man.
So I ain't hit, I hit.
I hit a moonshot yet, you know.
But I tell you I did.
I was on a video a little early, you know.
So shout out to those guys ifthey want to sponsor a podcast
or something.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Definitely All right.
Let's pivot over to futureimplications.
Tell me what you see around AIadoption and the workforce
structures and industry dynamicsaround AI adoption and the
workforce structures andindustry dynamics.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Follow the money man.
So, whether it's like RobertSmith with the Vista Equity
Partners talking about how youknow what's going to happen over
time in his company, is thatit's going to help his company
when it comes to, like you know,making portfolio decisions or,
as McKinsey say, by 2030,there's going to be more
business decisions that are madefor optimal efficiency using
(20:40):
generative AI or Blackstone orlike any of these big hedge fund
companies.
Like the common thread is youneed to pay attention because
eventually, a lot of work isgoing to be in the hands of
these.
You know generative AI tools,you know, and if you don't know
how to use them, you could beleft in the dark.
You know my regular nine tofive I hire people for a living.
(21:02):
So, like that was one of thecatalysts that really motivated
me to like start payingattention to AI, because I feel
like, you know, do you reallyneed somebody to recruit
somebody when you could just putit in a generative AI tool and
just hey, the resume looks good.
Find a person, like now,because you always need to have
that.
You know person to person spaceright, so, like now, I can tell
you that you know, I'm prettygood at, you know losing a lot
(21:23):
of these different tools, butit's like you just follow where
the money.
You know follow where thepeople who are making the big
decisions and you know, if youlook at the current
administration, you know whatwas the 24 hours after.
You know, president Trump wasin office.
You know Stargate came out witha 500 billion dollar commitment
into artificial intelligence.
So it's like you know youfollow the money.
You'll get to the money quicker, but you know I think the
(21:44):
Luddites taught us somethingthat you know you can fight
technology as long as you want,but you'll get left in the dust.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Yeah, that seems right to me.
It's not a if, it's a whenright, and depending on how
accessible thoseresponsibilities are to
automation, you'll see it happenfaster in some areas than
others.
I get what you mean.
There's definitely signs forwake-up calls for everybody here
(22:15):
, that's for sure.
So, vic, what is your strategyfor implementing AI in business
operations?
Can you tell us some of thetips and tricks?
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Um, identifying pain points and crafting ways that
you can get around bottlenecks.
A good example of that is, likeindividuals who are looking for
jobs, right, so you know, thebottleneck is everybody's trying
to apply for this one job, butwhat?
What is the way that you'll getaround that?
(22:45):
Well, there's a.
There's a acronym ATS AfricanTracking System.
You'll get around that.
Well, there's a acronym ATSApplicant Tracking System.
If I'm teaching my clients that,hey, you need to make sure that
the resumes has X, y and Zwords that applicant tracking
systems are going to pick up,then that's going to get you to
the next step quicker, because alot of people don't even make
it into get in front of arecruiter, right.
(23:07):
So being able to do that, right,being able to measure your
results as well so, like, ifthis approach doesn't work,
iterating and then pivoting andthen asking, hey, what are some
other solutions?
I think that's one of thebiggest things that I can tell
you about AI is I can tell youthat I'll come through like 10
or 20 different ideas and ifnone of them go well, hey, these
(23:31):
didn't go well.
This is why they didn't go well.
Now tell me a more effectiveway to do this right and just
don't use one tool.
So, whether you're usingPerplexity, clive, whether
you're using Copilot or BARD orGemini whatever they want to
call it these days, right, usemultiple different tools to get
multiple different outcomes andthen come to a conclusion and,
like I think, iterating overtime is the best strategy to get
(23:52):
a high impact result.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Right.
So how do people know ifthey're hitting the right
keywords on their resume?
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Well, I mean, that's just if you get a job or not.
I mean, that's, that's easypeasy.
You know that's an easy peasything, like you know, if you
think that you are qualified fora job, you know not, not, not,
let's be clear.
There's a thing where, um, ifyou are shooting for the moon,
so like me, if I start applyingfor, like Java developer, um
positions I've never done code,I'm not going to be good.
(24:26):
So, like, if I can't breakthrough that, that barrier, then
that's not necessarily there'snot.
I mean, you could probably comeup with a creative way to craft
your resume, but that'sborderline unethical, because if
you don't know how to code, youdon't need to be writing, you
don't need to apply for a Javadeveloper role, right.
But if I am, you know, atalented architect that knows
(24:47):
how to build structures, and youknow I don't get past the first
level, but then I start usingthese AI solutions and I at
least get calls andconversations with the
recruiters.
I mean, I think that's thebiggest thing Like people need
to take advantage of.
Like, if you're on a call witha recruiter and they're telling
you stuff you don't want to hear.
(25:08):
If it's bad, that's not.
That's's not, that's not a badthing.
Um, you know, listen to whatthey're saying and then come
back and just you know, rinse,wash and repeat.
So like I think success is inthe eyes of beholder.
But like in that specific usecase, when you're looking for a
job and so somebody cuts you acheck, you're not winning
personally yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
so if someone's listening to this podcast and
they say I want, I want to knowwhat, what he knows, I'd love
some support, how do they, howdo they reach out to you to get
the, get the help?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah, I mean easy man .
So my name is Victor Rogers andyou can go to my website,
wwwvictorrogersai.
And if you can't remember that,the company's name is
Sustainable Growth Creative andyou can go to
sustainablegrowthcreat creativedot com or dot org as well.
We're real active on LinkedIn.
I'm really passionate aboutdemocratizing AI, constantly
posting on a lot of differentuse cases from a lot of
(26:00):
different places on LinkedIn.
Yeah, so one of the great thingsI got to shout out already RBA
is that they have these greatprograms and there was a
gentleman that came and taughtus how to make AI agents Agentic
.
Ai is going to be all the raveof 2025.
And one of the things that Ireally wanted to do to help
(26:20):
folks was I created an AI agent.
So if you go to our Instagrampage, sustainable Growth
Creative, you'll find that Ihave developed an agent that can
help you with empowering yourcareer trajectory.
Love this specific agent,because a lot of the stuff that
(26:41):
I would want to teach people ifI can't get in front of you, you
can use this agent and a lot ofgood feedback that I've gotten
from folks.
So, again, if you go to ourInstagram and it's Sustainable
Growth Creative, it's at the topof our links it says try our AI
character and just shout out toAI Ready for that Vic?
Were you in there when theymade Vegan Vic?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Yeah, so you know.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yeah, that was Meta's training session.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Jabron, I believe, is his brother's name, came down
and he taught us how to make AIagents.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yeah, all right, cool .
So what inspired you to startworking in the field of AI and
maybe a little bit about yourpassion for this technology?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, I've always been a guy who needs to be in
constant motion.
So for many years I was a gigeconomy guy.
So, whether that's, at onepoint I was doing Uber, lyft,
grubhub, doordash, postmates andI would do them all
simultaneously at the same timeand I got really good at it.
But then I got in a situationwhere my my side hustle almost
(27:48):
messed up.
A situation where my sidehustle almost messed up, my main
hustle had a customer get alittle out of pocket and you
know, I decided that day thatyou know, I probably shouldn't
do that kind of work anymore,and that was on December 31st
2022.
And, as we're all aware, youknow that November in 2022,
that's when OpenAI releasedChatGPT.
So it was like it just wasserendipitous that, hey, what is
(28:11):
this AI thing?
How can I get more in tune toit?
So that's why I decided that Iwanted to create Sustainable
Growth Creative, and my initialfirst use case was I just wanted
to help people with, you know,refining their resumes and
preparing them for interviews.
But in a year, really, I wasable to create that AI agent
that I just mentioned and, likenow, I can like I don't want to
(28:31):
box myself in so I can do otherthings Right.
So that's really what led to itis like I just needed to switch
up my side hustle and you knowI'm happy that I did, because I
came across a great group ofpeople and I'm constantly
learning more every day abouthow, you know, I can help with a
lot of different use cases.
But you know, it was initiallythat, you know, I had to start a
tragedy.
Well, what turn limits intolimit?
(28:52):
A?
Yeah, it was a bad situationthat I had to, you know, get
myself out of.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
So, yeah, you were referring to AI Ready RVA there,
right?
And so tell us a little bitabout your work in that
organization.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
So as a board member, I try to show up and give my
opinion when necessary.
But I also got the opportunityto do one of the first public
events actually with you thatday, with CBS 6 sponsored it for
the finance cohort.
So, like earlier when we weretalking about me being a finance
nerd, I always learn more frompeople who are actually in the
space.
So, like I instantly gotattracted to the money and
finance cohort and been tryingto support what they got going
(29:34):
on.
I'm not sure when this comesout, but March 6th was March 3rd
or 6th, something like that.
Y'all know the date If you goto the website.
David Durr I believe is thegentleman's name is going to do
a dynamic speaking engagement atsingle stone.
So check that out.
So just being able to show up tostuff like that and just learn
from people who are like super,a lot more knowledgeable about
(29:56):
it, like I'm passionate about it, but it's like I don't know if
I'd say a hobby of mine toreally be in finance, but like
when you get to be around, likeyou know it's people in like cap
one and Markel and like youknow a lot of, a lot of people
that come to these events likethey really are, like finance
folks.
You know, just learning byosmosis is great, and then when
you throw AI on top of it, it10x is your ability to kind of
(30:18):
be able to comprehend the stuffthey're saying, because I'll sit
back in the corner, I don'tknow what they're talking about,
but I'll put it in chat, gpt,and then boom, I'm instantly
able to keep up with theconversation.
So you know, big, big proponentof money and finance, cohort
with AI Ready, rpa.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, and they have other cohorts as well, around
different communities ofengagement, like women in AI and
veterans in AI, education, etcetera, et cetera.
We're hoping to see more andmore of those microcosms spin up
so that like-minded individuals, people who are passionate or
(30:55):
just really want to just learnabout it and see how they can
use it to their advantage intheir community, will be given
the opportunity through thesecohorts as well.
So thanks for bringing that up,vic.
Oh, yeah, a hundred percentthrough these cohorts as well.
So thanks for bringing that up,vic.
Oh yeah, 100%.
So, finally, I'd like to knowwhat types of AI technologies or
solutions you're actuallybuilding towards and what
(31:18):
problems they're designed tosolve.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
I'm building towards reducing unemployment.
I want people to beoveremployed.
So upscaling people inartificial intelligence is a big
goal of mine in 2025.
Getting people prepared to beable to leverage these tools
effectively, that's a big goalof mine, especially at Richmond.
If you're in Richmond, thesurrounding area, I want to make
sure that when it comes toseeing a job application and
(31:42):
you're seeing words that you'venever seen, or they're asking
you to come up with solutionsthat you've never heard heard of
that I want to make sure that'snot foreign.
I don't care where you're fromin the diaspora like what
industry or anything like that.
I think that I can provide youa solution.
I think I can provide you helpand confidence.
That's the big thing.
I want to be able to provideconfidence.
Workforce developmentinitiatives across the greater
(32:04):
Richmond area.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Nice.
Yeah, that's a powerful goal ofyours and it definitely aligns
very, very well with AI ReadyRVA's mission.
So we appreciate your supportand definitely want to see you
thrive so that you can help thecommunity thrive as well.
Thank, you.
Finally, just a little funquestion here at the end.
I'd like to ask all of ourinterviewees If you could have
(32:29):
any superpower, Vic, what wouldit be and why?
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Oh, superpower, time travel.
I would say probably timetravel and go back and spend
time and learn from my eldersand figure out how to create a
better tomorrow for my futureself and my future network.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like that.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Also, you know, like going back and trying some of
those old school like meals thatyou can't get anymore.
You know that's always fun,like before they switched up,
like like the Big Mac or theWhopper.
I remember when I was a kid Ithink they had like a Fiesta
Whopper.
I don't even know why I'mthinking about that.
I'm a vegan.
But you know you could tryCoca-Cola before they switched
(33:19):
up the recipe and stuff likethat.
All those stuff like that'skind of cool.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Yeah, I wonder if they'll ever retire the McRib,
and then we'll be having anotherconversation, you know.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Oh yeah, you know, I'm curious what really is in
the McRib.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I don't have any clue .
I know some people that are allabout it.
Every time it comes around, youget super excited.
They share it on social media.
I'm not in that fan base, Sorryto say, but you know it's for
some, not for everyone.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
I'll fill you on that man.
Good branding though it looksgood on it, it looks good on the
commercial.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yeah, I'll give it.
I'll give them that for sure, Iguess there's a reason why they
don't keep it around, though.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
All right, man, it's been a,it's been a pleasure.
Thanks for coming on the showand sharing with the community
your hopes for empowering themand helping them solve their
(34:17):
AI-supported challenges.
And again, tell us one moretime how they can get in touch
with you so that we can sendthem your way when they're ready
to make a difference in theircareers and futures.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Easiest way to get in touch with me is VictorRogersai
, and then my social medias.
They're going to all beSustainable Growth Creative
LinkedIn is where we're the mostactive at.
Sustainable Growth Creative AIagent on Instagram is a great
use case and that I'd love toshare with folks Like if there's
nothing else you get from thecall, just try that out.
(34:55):
I get a lot of good feedbackfrom that.
And then also, as we close,another agent that I created,
the affirmation bot.
It was called.
It's called the NeighborhoodKnit Book Club, version 1.02
beta.
If you go into the customizedGPTs in chat GPT, you can find
it.
And then I asked it.
You know what the what today'saffirmation was.
(35:15):
And it said discipline isstrategy, the blueprint to
victory, and it says everybattle is won before it's ever
fought.
And it is quoting the art ofSan Zoo.
And then it talks about acouple more things.
But the biggest thing with thatwas the lesson is master your
environment by controllingyourself.
Patience, discipline andforesight will always give you
the upper hand when you're ableto.
You know wake up and you knowget affirmations like that.
(35:38):
I'm hoping that you know itjust gets you motivated to take
on any obstacle that's going tocome your way today.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Yeah, maybe you should find a way to tie that
into Alexa and so you know whenAlexa is asked about, you know
the weather, she can offer yourGPT to the audience and that's
like free joy for everyone.
It's great that you're puttingthat out there.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
You get the whole house motivated.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
Yeah, man, all right.
Well, thanks again, vic.
We'll talk to you soon.
Take care, and thanks to ourlisteners for tuning in today.
If you or your company wouldlike to be featured in the
Inspire AI Richening episode,please drop us a message.
Don't forget to like, share orfollow our content and stay up
(36:28):
to date on the latest events forAI Ready RVA.
Thank you again and see younext time.
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