December 10, 2024 • 51 mins
In this episode of The Intern Whisperer Podcast, host Isabella Johnston welcomes Spencer Elliott, the Director of Smart Cities at Plug and Play Tech Center. Spencer, an experienced CEO and investor, shares his journey from startup founder to venture partner and discusses how he’s helping shape the future of startups in Orlando and beyond.
Learn about the innovative ecosystem Plug and Play is building for startups, especially within the smart cities space, and how Spencer is connecting companies to valuable resources, partners, and funding opportunities.
Spencer also dives into the future of entrepreneurship, including trends like AI, smart cities, and how central Florida’s startup scene is evolving.
Reasons to Listen:
1. Gain insights on how Plug and Play helps accelerate startup growth and build impactful partnerships.
2. Discover how Spencer’s experience as a mentor and investor influences his approach to supporting entrepreneurs.
3. Learn about the concept of smart cities and its role in shaping future tech and infrastructure.
4. Hear Spencer’s advice for entrepreneurs seeking funding and how they can avoid common pitfalls.
5. Explore the future of AI, smart cities, and tech entrepreneurship, with a glimpse into Spencer’s predictions for 2030.
Links:
Website: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/locations/orlando-fl Website: https://www.futurefunders.vc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerelliott1/
We hope you enjoy this week's episode of The Intern Whisperer.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
We're on.
(00:03):
Hey, welcome to the Enter Wisper,
our show is all about the future of work.
So we're going to be printing.
Here we go.
Shows on.
So welcome to the Enter Wisper.
Our show is all about the future of work and innovation.
(00:27):
Today's guest is Spencer Elliott,
who was a previous Enter Wisper guest
when he founded Buse-Dub.
He is an experienced CEO investor,
exited founder, mentor,
and a graduate from University of Central Florida,
and UCF.
Oh, sorry, University of Florida.
Gosh, both of them.
And I actually went to both schools, that's shameful.
(00:49):
Okay, but good for you.
He supports the startup ecosystem here in Orlando,
and he is now with Plug and Play here in Orlando.
And he is overseeing the Smart Cities.
Spencer, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much Isabel for having me back.
I appreciate it so much.
Go Gators, right?
Go Knights.
Yes, go Gators.
(01:11):
We'll do that little thing right there too.
It's come to us today.
Say those schools.
It is.
It is.
You know, I remember when you were in my,
at one of my first shows, but you had a co-founder.
But I know you're the lead founder.
But anyway, this time it's you solo.
So I'm very, I'm very happy to have you back,
(01:32):
and this is exciting.
Let's kick it off with it.
If you would please share your personal story
about where you either went to school,
and I think we kind of covered it,
but you know, you can tell us a little more
about what you specialized in,
to how you got to where you are now.
(01:53):
Can you hear me?
I can't.
Yes, I think there's a little bit of a lag,
but I think I know where you're at.
So I grew up here in Central Florida,
and I've been going to schools here locally in Orlando.
I ended up going to Lake Howell High School
in the Winter Park to graduate,
and then went through to San Middle State,
which is a local state school here in Florida,
(02:16):
and was able to get my AA degree,
which gave me a direct transfer into UCF,
and being the first person in my family
to graduate from college,
it was really creating my own path,
and really understanding how to navigate the system.
So I was able to work my way through the restaurants
(02:39):
and hospitality jobs that I had,
as well as with internships,
that I remember one of them was paying me,
I think it was $500 a month,
and I thought that was a ton of money at the time,
and I was able to pay my rent with that,
but yeah, just kind of worked my way up through the ranks
and just tried to get as much experience as I could,
ended up working actually with one of my professors from UCF
(03:02):
in the UCF incubator for one of the first startups
that I ever had exposure to.
I was called Learn Everywhere,
and it was a great experience,
and that was my first exposure to what an investment
could look like into a company and how that can run.
And so, yeah, it's just been a long journey,
and ended up thinking that I should climb the corporate ladder
(03:25):
and worked at a company called TravelClick,
right out of UCF,
and I always thought that I wanted to get an MBA,
but there was some changes at UCF,
and I was no longer able to attend UCF
for my master's degree in business.
It was only engineering and medical school students at the time,
and so I ended up having to look around at other schools
(03:48):
and the University of Florida had a program
for entrepreneurship,
and I thought that was awesome
because I had been attending Orlando Tech events
at the Church Street Exchange building
right outside of the Starters Studio,
and I was very inspired to get into entrepreneurship,
but it was really just, I thought it was cool,
and Shark Tank was very popular at the time,
(04:10):
and all of these things,
but I didn't realize that I truly wanted to be an entrepreneur,
and I didn't really know what that was at the time,
and so, you know, I just thought,
you know, if I'm gonna get a master's degree,
I might as well get one that is in venture finance,
teaching me how to be a CEO.
We had overlapping classes with the master's of management,
the master of international business,
the MBA students, the master's of finance,
(04:33):
and so I thought that that was the perfect place for me,
and so went through the program,
started a company while I was there,
started a couple of small ventures
that I thought were fun,
and just worked through the process of
the first 100 days of running a company,
(04:55):
building out pitch decks,
and just really having a great experience,
you know, just kind of testing
and learning entrepreneurship,
and I worked for a company called
in Vipicity while I was there,
and that was a lot of fun,
and I was able to really see another startup
that had significant, I think they were, you know,
raising at the time,
but had raised several million dollars into the business,
and I saw an entrepreneur in the CEO
(05:19):
that managed multiple businesses,
and that was really the first exposure that I had
to someone who was a serial entrepreneur, first-hand,
and I remember one of my professors at UF at the time
had exited for $600 million,
and showed me, you know, that that's possible, right,
and I was just always asking him his experience,
and what it was like,
(05:40):
and anywhere that he was going,
I wanted to go, right, and so it was really a time
for me to soak up as much knowledge as I could,
and really just get my hands wet,
or hands dirty, or whatever you want to call it,
and feet wet, hands dirty,
and just jump right in,
and that was what I was doing,
and then so when I came back to Orlando,
I actually ended up working for TravelClick again,
(06:03):
and really wanted that stable kind of career path
for myself, and in quick time, you know,
I was able to, you know, save up enough
where I was able to take a risk on myself
and start VUSTUP, which we talked about last time
on the show, and you and I have been friends for a long time,
so you know the whole story,
but I ran that company for about five years,
and that was a lifetime of entrepreneurship in itself,
(06:26):
you know, being that COVID really spurred all of our demand
from the marketplace, and going up against the fastest
growing company in the history of the world,
which was Hoppin', and they had raised a billion dollars,
and we were raising a few million in Orlando, so.
Yeah, that's my story, I'm sticking to it.
Wow, that's amazing.
(06:48):
I forgot to mention also that you're your dad,
and I know that you always like to share
that you're a family man, so feel free to drop any
of those little things in there too, if you wish.
I know it's part of your story, so it's totally good.
That's really the reason I came back to Orlando
was for family, and we found out that we were pregnant
(07:10):
right when we graduated at UF, and so I thought,
man, I need to get back to a stable income,
and I can't be taking risks out here, you know, right now,
and so even though I was ready to start a business
at that time, that's really, you know, life comes at you
and gives you challenges, and you have to be able to adapt,
and so that's entrepreneurship itself, right?
(07:31):
And so we did, you know, and so we did that for about a year
and a half before we were able to feel comfortable enough.
And funny story, I'll be very transparent about it.
My wife and I thought about it, and we said,
you know, if this doesn't work in one year,
then, you know, and like my mentors that told me
at the time, you go back to where he started,
and for me, that was going back to the career
that I had already built in the travel
(07:52):
and hospitality industry for software.
You know, tech company.
It's like, cool, I can only take me back, right?
Or another company would take me back.
And so there was really no risk to me
who was like, okay, if not now, when?
You know, if I don't do this now,
it's just gonna get harder and harder for me
to take these risks.
And so, you know, I would encourage everybody
(08:13):
to take that leap of faith if you're feeling the urge,
because you'll figure it out.
That is very true, and many times,
and as you know, I've done this for a little while,
and one of my mentors had said, you know,
the way I understand that you've done this in phases.
So for those that are doing it for quite a few years,
and I'll pass it on, because I know you're a mentor,
they said, well, it sounds like your first couple of years,
(08:35):
you were doing a lot of research on it and discovery,
and I would go, well, that's true.
And he said, then you seem to have moved into a phase
of you were testing it as you as a service,
and you're the algorithm.
He said, that's true.
And he said, now you're going into the technology phase.
So really, you haven't, yes, you've validated it, that's true.
But doing it as a tech company, you haven't done that yet.
(08:58):
And I went, oh, that's hopeful.
So there's phases, who knew?
Yeah, I didn't think of it that way, but I do now.
Yeah, and if it's not challenging, it's not innovative,
and if it's not innovative, it's not worth doing, really.
And so you have to find that for yourself, you know,
and definitely has to be aligned with your passions.
And I do an exercise with some of the mentees that I talk to,
(09:21):
and kind of help them design their motivating factors
into alignment so that they can choose things
that are going to be more cohesive with something
that they're going to be successful in.
Let's just say, yes, that's a really good way
to start your career, especially for young students
coming out of college and things like that.
Because that's what I did.
I just wrote down on a piece of paper
(09:43):
all the themes in my life that I was interested in
and passionate about or things that I wanted to pursue.
And then I tried to prioritize them and group them.
And then I got to a short list, and then I determined
that I wanted to start VUCE though,
because I wanted to go to events for free,
but I didn't want to work at them.
But I wanted to make money from them,
and I wanted to be able to meet all the artists.
And so I wanted to be streaming.
(10:05):
And so I literally came up with the business
based on those things.
And then also that I wanted to solve a problem for myself,
which was I couldn't attend all of these events
that were happening across the country or across the world.
And they were all happening pretty much simultaneously,
but I could stream them.
And I could watch them if I wanted to watch the content.
(10:26):
And so that's what I agree with.
But that's the beginnings of VUCE though.
Yeah. And anyone can do that.
I just worked with an entrepreneur yesterday.
I went through that exercise.
We spent about 15 minutes and got down
to where he had a very pre-destined plan for himself.
So of course, we manifest these things, right?
But the plan that we outlined, the first thing I said,
(10:48):
is this is not where it's going to be when you end up, right?
This is just where you're starting.
This is where you're going.
Yeah.
You're going to adapt.
You're going to pivot.
And you're going to find where you should fit.
But you like all these things down that path.
At least what you should do is you should test it out, right?
To validate to your point, right?
(11:09):
Like so maybe, or the business very way,
maybe you could find someone else's a vendor
and you just get a job with them and see,
because you needed a job too.
So it's like, OK, well, you want to suffer a job.
Do this instead.
Don't get a suffer job if not aligned with where your end goal is.
He's thinking about these other jobs.
It's like, well, why don't you just,
you're going to get paid the same amount.
Why don't you do something that can at least give you exposure
(11:31):
to what you think you want to need.
And so those types of small changes in people's behavior
can really mean a lot in the end.
That's very true.
That's good advice.
Good advice there.
OK, so let's talk about your role with plug and play.
At plug and play, they're actually out of California.
I know that.
And I had met Alec, Alex Tran.
(11:55):
I don't know if you've met him yet.
But you know him?
Good.
I met him, I don't know, like four or five years ago.
We'll say five.
And he's still there.
And he really impressed me with what plug and play can do.
But I know you know more because you've been immersed in it.
They're always helping startups.
And they help in a lot of ways.
But a lot of it is they don't take equity too.
(12:19):
That's an amazing thing.
Can you walk us through the process of how plug and play
works with startups to accelerate their growth?
Absolutely.
And plug and play really is from what I've seen in the short time
that I've been in the role a few weeks now,
really focused on impact.
And I think that's one of the biggest things that they do
is really bring a win-win-win situation to all parties
(12:42):
involved.
And I love that they have three elements of their business
model built into the fabric.
So that we're not only accelerating the startups,
like you said, but we're investing in the startups
as the most active venture capital firm in the world.
And we're also working with our partners
to ensure that we're meeting their goals
(13:03):
by connecting them with these startups.
And so connecting is the other theme
that I see within the framework of plug and play as a model,
is that we're making sure that these startups are receiving
value, but also the partners are receiving value.
So whether that's a proof of concept or some type of trial
or the ability for us to have them really work together
(13:26):
as partners, or maybe that entity that we're working with,
like Orange County government or Duke Energy or TAVAS stock,
like known as our current partners.
And so we also have new partners that we just added.
I guess this is going to air at the right time,
but we have KPMG as well.
(13:47):
So these partner and UCF.
And so these partners all have their own interests
and goals, of course.
And so it's us in the middle of these competing efforts,
and really being that web and I think the glue
to really make it all happen.
And so I just think that plug and play
(14:08):
is a needed system that's put into place
inside of an environment or an ecosystem like Orlando
or like Florida that can really create a lot of exponential
growth.
And so that's why I love about it.
And for the startups, we don't think any equity.
(14:31):
We certainly would look to invest in those companies
ourselves, but then also it can be.
And so we want to help them grow their business.
And we also want to help them with their first customers
and connecting them with mentors.
And so we have a huge mentor network.
(14:52):
And we just try to do as much as we can,
including hundreds of attendees.
And so I think that's a great opportunity for them
as well to meet new investors in the community.
So I know just our listeners now,
we're experiencing a little bit of lag,
but just hang in there with us because it just comes right
back up.
It's the holidays.
(15:13):
What can we say?
So plug and play.
You mentioned something about being a Lake Nona.
I know there's an emphasis on a smart city.
What is the definition of a smart city?
And then what is it that you guys are doing out there
specifically in this smart city area?
Right.
I mean, smart cities really encompasses
(15:35):
so many different technologies, whether that be deep tech,
mobility, health, defense, semiconductors.
And so when we say smart cities, we're
just thinking about few Orlando in some respects.
And so we want to look at companies
that are investing in infrastructure, energy,
(15:58):
could be space, working with the military.
And so right now, smart cities is somewhat of a catchall.
And so we look at different industry verticals
based on where our partners have the most interest.
And so we can spin up a vertical with the university,
focused on research.
We've most recently started the semiconductor location.
(16:23):
And so that's been active for about a year.
And I know that there's several, maybe a dozen partners
over there involved in that building and in that campus.
And there's plans for expansion.
And so that's a unique undertaking.
But every time we go in with a custom approach.
And so every single day, our team is
looking to create value specifically
(16:46):
to the individual parties involved.
And so it's a very hands-on thing that we do.
So what trends are you seeing in the startup world
around this concept of smart cities?
I love the fact that you mentioned mobility, transportation,
and health care.
Those are a lot of things, as you will know.
(17:07):
One of the community roles that I have here in Orlando
is with GameJams and Startup Weeken.
So I see those organizations as OMG Labs,
Indie Nomicon, and Startup Weeken as ways
that we could help support what plug and play is doing.
But what are the trends that you think
(17:28):
are going to be happening in the startup world
around smart cities?
Awesome.
Yeah, great question.
And I think I've written some of the book on the wall
in the background of your picture here.
So I love our community.
I'm very excited about plug and play being involved here,
(17:50):
because I think it just brings a lot of excitement
and interest in some of the things that are happening.
But with the trends that we're seeing,
we certainly are very excited about space,
but we're very close and proximity to the space coast.
We love the augment of AI,
and love seeing where AI is being implemented
and new technologies.
(18:12):
And I think what it's doing is really increasing
our data capture capabilities,
and suggestive type of actions.
And so if the convenience factor goes up,
the people will spend money.
And so that's kind of where I think the luxury brands
start to take notice.
And I think that there's a lot of technology
(18:34):
that can implement AI.
And so we'll see where that will go.
But I also am really excited about just infrastructure.
And when I think about infrastructure,
I really think about mobility transportation to your point.
And so right now Orlando has a unique challenge
in that there's a lot of population growth.
(18:55):
And so I've just been kind of keeping my eye on how that is.
Unfolding and how the,
how the youth involved are maintaining and keeping up with the pace.
So that's a, that's an interesting task to accomplish.
So.
Let's talk about future funders.
I know that's something else that you've started.
(19:17):
And at some point I'm going to apply to come and pitch there.
At some point it's coming up pretty soon.
It's definitely 20, 25, first quarter.
Anyway, you've worked with countless startups and why did you choose to start
future funders?
I consider it maybe an angel investor group,
but I'm not sure maybe you're going in the direction of BC.
(19:40):
Yeah.
And funny enough, I ended up keeping this shirt on because I realized I put it
on this morning.
So to support our one million cups, then I know,
I know that they're there in that same building.
But yeah, it's, it's, it's fun.
You know, doing the pitch events is a, is a great time and,
and we want our members to be able to have access.
And so when I talk about future funders,
(20:02):
the first thing I think about is providing access.
And it's really about creating a community.
And so we want to be the first check into any company.
That's, that's kind of our first thesis.
And so being early stage is something that we're passionate about.
But also we believe that our thesis is potentially the most profitable model.
There, there could be with venture capital.
(20:24):
And so it's a very innovative approach to a somewhat stagnant industry.
I mean, of course, there's been crowdfunding in recent years and,
and there's been other changes.
And especially this year, there was legislation to allow non unlimited
non-accredited investors for up to 10,000 a year.
And so there's different things that are happening that are definitely
improvements.
(20:45):
But if you take certain elements of our model,
like the fact that we're a rolling fund.
And so we don't have a specific term or deadline to raise our, our fund.
Right.
Let me just make sure this is not affecting the audio.
You're good.
You totally good.
That's one element.
And we, we really want to allow non-accredited investors to invest in the
(21:08):
reason for that is because as a founder in central Florida,
I've just seen and participated and had the conversations around,
is there enough angel capital and do the funds that are preaching that?
Are they moving up, up that funnel?
And so, you know, not to, not to complain or anything,
but I think that there was room for improvement.
(21:30):
And one challenge that I tried to help with is, is that right?
And so I think this will allow folks that are not currently angel
investors or not professional investors to get interested in what's
happening in venture capital and have a lane that they can feel like
they're comfortable enough to invest with a fund like ours.
So it's, it's approachable.
(21:52):
And so with a minimum of, you know, $800 a month or $10,000 a year roughly,
you can participate, you can invest in this fund.
And you don't have to be an accredited investor and accredited,
meaning, you know, high net worth and high salary.
And so if, if you're just a regular person and you have some extra income,
then this is a fund for you, right?
(22:14):
And this is a fund where you can actually get into a lot of cool startups
based out of central Florida and actually come to some events.
And so the events that we hosted already was a comedy magic show.
And then we went and watched people on a bowl, do an, you know,
(22:35):
electronic bull riding thing and they're jumping off.
And so that was fun.
But we just tried to get together, invest often and be a part of our community.
That's really our motto.
Wow.
That, that is really refreshing because I know that I'm not throwing anybody under the bus,
(22:56):
but our ecosystem of investment or interest in investing in tech companies in central Florida is,
is just not where other places are like Miami or even Jacksonville and definitely Tampa.
There's so much more that's going on in those areas.
I don't know why central Florida just doesn't get on it, but it seems like most of the companies that have done well have had to leave central Florida,
(23:21):
definitely even Florida to get investment in those someplace else anywhere else in the United States.
So I'm glad you're wanting to be one of the people that can make that change happen here for us in central Florida because it's frustrating.
It definitely is.
I don't think it's a negative thing. I think it's one of the areas when you were saying something. I felt like you saw a problem and you were bringing a solution.
(23:46):
And it's just one of what I hope is many.
And it's exciting because as the fund grows, you know, somewhat unlimited.
We also have a follow on fund. We also have a later stage fund. So we're going to be able to participate in different,
in different phases of a company's life cycle. And I'm excited about that. So as they're going through the stages and growing from pre seed to seed,
(24:11):
we can keep investing. And I think that's really going to change the way that companies grow here in central Florida,
but also, you know, allowing them to have that foundation.
Similar to how companies that are coming out of the Peter Thiel fellowship or, you know, those that are getting a standard deal like ours.
That early boost prevents them from giving up, you know, and folding and I've seen that happen so many times where good founders start good companies, but can't get interest because they don't have enough traction, but they need.
(24:43):
It's like a chicken in the egg, right? So,
it's sometimes necessary for that first, just small check, you know, to get them to get their MVP built to get some customer interactions going and to be able to maybe even just support themselves so that they can eat.
(25:04):
Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
So, what do you think the most common mistakes startups make when they seek funding?
Well, I do see a lot of founders looking really far out into the future and projecting.
And I think that's just been common for a long time is to show a five year pro forma.
(25:27):
And so.
When I look at when I look at pitch decks, don't give too much credit beyond years two and three just because I do know that things will change.
It is important to have a realistic view on that so you can include five years.
And I think it should be very conservative in years four and five and it used to be that you want to show these spikes and returns.
(25:56):
I think that's for me as the investor to extrapolate on in my mind, right, or for us to talk about for expansion plans.
But I would rather see this is just me personally in my opinion, right? I would rather see what the what the operating expenses are going to be kind of like in a worst case scenario, right?
And so I kind of like to paint a really realistic picture.
(26:18):
And so that's where I coach a lot of startups that I work with is like, can we just get this to a place where we can both agree on it.
And then we could talk about, oh, if you know if things go great, you know, this is a rocket ship, of course.
So that's just one thing that sticks out when we're not talking about that.
But the first the big themes with the big themes with the big themes with the big themes that we're talking about.
With that same mindset of I need to plan everything out all the way through five years, right, or 10 years, 15 years.
(26:45):
However, do you want to think about it when realistically, some of these early stage startups are probably not even past the first, like five days, you know, a problem.
I need to do some more research on even the business problem, right?
Because sometimes when you ask them questions and they don't even have a full grasp of the problem that they're solving.
(27:06):
And so if you're not an expert in the problem that you're solving, then you're probably not going to be the best person to solve that problem.
There's probably other people who have put more time and effort into solving that problem than you currently have.
And so that's where I think founders can spend a little bit more time is talking with customers that they would potentially sell to and asking them to buy something.
(27:27):
And in that last piece is the most important because a lot of the time I do hear founders, they don't ask for the close and they want to give their product away for free as a trial or they, you know, they want to get beta users.
But that doesn't do anything for you. I would rather hear no, you know, to my proposal and then ask why, because then I'm going to get a lot of data and feedback from that interaction.
(27:51):
Right. So if I can ask the customer, hey, would you pay $100 for this and I'll start tomorrow.
And be dead serious, even though I have no software technology or anything, I'll figure it out, right, if they're willing to pay for it.
And it has to be at a price that makes it worth it for me to do that thing.
And then so if that doesn't work, then now I'm forced to go and figure out what's going on.
(28:16):
Okay. So then how can I scale this? Right. And so those hard pivots, I think need to happen very quickly.
And so it's a forced interaction and I'll give credit to Mike Mason, who taught me this, this concept and he was a mentor at VUSTUP.
And it really has changed the way I think about doing earlier.
And so it's a forced interaction and I'll give credit to Mike Mason, who taught me this, this concept and he was a mentor at VUSTUP.
(28:41):
And it really has changed the way I think about doing early stage business is because you just don't have enough time to, you know, go through the motions.
So to speak, you need to really just cut corners. Right. And so the easiest way to do that is just go full speed until you hit a brick wall and then be like, oh, that didn't work.
Let me try something else and then go full speed again, hit the brick wall and figure out why, you know what I mean? Every single time.
(29:06):
And I don't know if that's making sense, but that's kind of how I think about it.
It does. It does. It's just like that.
Facebook CEO had said is, you know, fail fast, right? So you're just talking about hitting the wall. You've got it Zuckerberg. You have to do that.
Otherwise, you probably just get burned out doing laps.
If that's the amount of money.
(29:27):
Yeah.
You're not really breaking any breaking any walls. You're not innovating. Right. You really need to be pushing all the time.
Well, we're going to take a moment and acknowledge our sponsor, Cat Five Studios, and we will be right back.
The end.
(29:53):
I'm going to go ahead and see if we can get back to the next one.
Actually, did that one well too.
I got it. I found a way to do this. I'm so happy and proud of myself.
So we're back to the second half of our show and today's guest is Spencer Elliott.
And we're going to be talking about in this part of the show, the future of jobs and industries in 2030.
(30:18):
So Spencer, what do you think the future is going to look like for your industry, whether it's startup or if it's in.
Funding investing. What do you think it's going to look like?
You know, from the industry perspective, I think that we are seeing that more VCs are using AI to evaluate companies.
(30:42):
And I think that's okay. It's kind of like with recruiting or when people are applying for jobs. There's, of course, that a layer.
And I think that has an opportunity because then that AI can provide feedback to the startup and to the founding team and really help them craft.
Their pitch prior to even meeting with meeting with the VC team. And so I think it'll help them to curate better, better outcomes.
(31:10):
So yeah, I think I think it's all positive from from that perspective.
And the future, you know, in general, for smart cities and kind of the concept that we're looking for in Florida is more of an interconnected.
Internet of things per se, but the ability for us to maximize, I think, our output and productivity as a society.
(31:36):
And of course, we've been doing that for decades, you know, in the information era and with technology, but even more so now.
And I think without our own.
So it's like prompting is very inherent inside of AI right now. It's, you know, we have to kind of ask it to do things.
(31:58):
But I see a future where it's deciding for us. And I think that's where a lot of the fear comes in and really trying to build technology.
And this is where I think there's a huge opportunity is building counter active technologies to protect us from AI.
If that makes sense. So I think that's where cybersecurity companies are going to pivot.
(32:24):
That's where I think there's going to be new majors coming out of school and it's kind of like a cyber warfare.
But against ourselves, not just foreign entities, right, because we're the ones still using the AI.
And I think that that's going to be very big, but also around authenticity.
And so those are the two themes. So proving that something is authentic coming out of AI. So a truth seeking AI that can that can really be foundational.
(32:52):
And I don't know where religion will come into this, but I think that everyone's going to try to lay some stake in it, especially governments.
And so they're going to everyone's going to try to impose their own declaration of independence or constitution on to this.
But it's going to be, it's going to be crazy. I think like the history that we know of today is coming to like an inflection point.
(33:18):
And there's going to be a new era. And the new era is just going to be built off of like, how do we create a technology that is resembling our society.
And that we can almost translate to intergalactic type of communications. And because we already are seeing all these drones.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but if we're planning on living on Mars, like, I think that they're in the next 20 years, is going to be some type of instance of communication with some extra terrestrial life form.
(33:54):
And so, if we're almost there, then I think that that's probably what we got to be thinking about. Right. How are we going to communicate with other other worlds.
And what's that going to mean for our safety as human beings on earth. And so I hope it unites us and bring everything full circle. And I think about this a lot. I think that that would be the one uniting thing is if it was like earth versus Mars, you know, or something like that.
(34:18):
I would love to see that not like that we get into war with another plan and another galaxy but that we unite as one as one race, you know, as, as like humans, right, human beings, because I think that's one of our biggest downfalls as a society.
That Oh, you live on one side of the planet so I don't like you.
That line. So I don't like you, you know, kind of, or you have a different in a way of life. I don't like you.
(34:44):
It's just, it's just how people look at it here on earth, right. You know, oh, you're from China. No, you know, because of whatever. So you're just expanding it so it's more outside of just this, this planet.
And people could be if you were thinking about it from the viewpoint of like Star Wars will go with Star Wars.
And you're going through and you see all of these different types of what we might call creatures but living beings, they will look different. They could be, you know, speaking our language. Maybe we have this new technology.
(35:18):
I've seen this advertised where you can put something in your ears, little earbuds and you can understand any language. When it would be amazing if it could do that with extraterrestrial languages.
Yeah, the one I love is it's been around for a long time, but we will translate the app to put it over text, like even signs, it'll translate into the language that you want.
(35:40):
Technology's been around for a long time and I always try to show it to people that don't know about it, especially when they're traveling because it makes it so much easier to just read in your own language.
But anyway, yeah, okay, you just taught me that I did not know that. Oh, great. I hope everyone goes and tries it. It's really amazing. Yeah, and you can translate it to other languages.
So, but it shows it right as an overlay right on the screen. I think I've been using it for over a decade, which is, you know, Google has some awesome stuff.
(36:08):
But, you know, with that whole unification and in utopia, I think they're still in our society. There will always be a common enemy, unfortunately, you know, that's kind of an evil will always have its place.
And then, you know, that temptation and greed are always going to be a part of our nature, unfortunately, I do believe that. And so it's like we have to unify against something unfortunate.
(36:30):
I don't believe that will ever just have world peace. And that's just a sad truth. But if we can learn to live with that, then I think we can actually learn to work together.
So, as long as we all realize that, then I think we'd actually be better off. So.
Anyway, so what are the positive aspects of gen AI? What do you think it is?
(36:54):
Well, there's a touch to some of it.
Yeah, there's the clear cut ones, you know, just the time savings cost savings. It could be, you know, actually replacing team members, unfortunately, but what that does.
Big picture is it creates new jobs. Right. And so there's, there's always going to be a place for somebody to fit into the wheel. It's just what is that now going to be. And so one job might get phased out, but now who's creating the next AI.
(37:22):
Right. And so there's a new role. And so it's actually good. You know, a lot of people, you know, are afraid of that. It's one of the biggest fears is that it's going to take your job.
But, you know, that's evolution. Right. That's that's innovation. And so I don't think that's a bad thing.
Well, this is I'll play devil's advocate because people love this on the show too.
(37:45):
Yes, that's true. It will eliminate jobs, but there are jobs that are there for a reason. And it's to protect people, protected classes.
So those could be people with disabilities. Those could be somebody with Down syndrome. They may not be a computer programmer, but they are there and there are barista Starbucks or they are there and they greet people in McDonald's.
(38:07):
There's a McDonald's here in Orlando that has no people. There's places where having people is the highlight of them going out because this world is becoming because it is so digital.
It is becoming even more aware of how lonely people are. So I feel like there's a place that just because we can do it with AI doesn't mean we should do it with your AI.
(38:35):
Oh, yeah, and that's driving 100 miles per hour at the wall. And what's going to happen is that we're all going to sit and realize our reality and you're going to see restaurants coming out with.
We have real servers and do them if there's a real demand for it. Right. So as we go in the wrong direction, ever, we will always auto correct. Right. And so I think even, you know, Elon talk about that with, you know, removing agencies in the government.
(39:02):
Like if we remove one and it should go back, we'll put it back. Right. And so they even, you know, talk about it too. The biggest CEOs they talk about being back in the office. Right. They want their team back in the office. Right.
We don't want them to be working from home because it's not fair that your Uber Eats driver also has to get in the car and drive to your house. Right.
(39:23):
And the person that made your food. Right. Like, yes, a lot of us have the luxury to work from home. And you think that should be the norm. But what about the people that are building your road, right, or our performers, right, and in the arts.
We need these things. Right. This is part of our human nature is to be social and to interact and to be out in the, in the park, you know, throwing a frisbee or whatever.
(39:47):
Yes, it's supposed to be social. We're meant to be social. And so as such being, having a community is not just an online community. That is where people get together to have face-to-face interaction.
And the grid will go down someday. And when it does, if we don't know how to communicate more effectively, listen, not texting or messaging or whatever.
(40:12):
Or even the avoidance of having phone conversations. It's going to be something that's just direly needed. And it's that pendulum has already swung in that direction. So I'm hoping to see that people go, Oh, yeah, we do need to keep balance.
And I think that's a very interesting conversation. I know it's not a typical business conversation, but one thing to watch from that would be the birth rate going down. Right. So just over a long period of time, right, because if we're having physical interaction, I think you know, we're going that way.
(40:43):
That would be something that would be a consequence for sure is the less long term relationships, less nuclear family situation. And I think that could be a huge challenge for our, our well being as a society because, yeah, we'd be able to have more resources, but also less people to help.
You know, kind of grow the girl us grow our society. So.
(41:05):
I like that we're covering both sides of the questions because there's the gentleman, Jeffrey Hinton, and he's the creator of AI. He's called the Godfather of AI.
And it was in the late 50s, early 60s in that timeframe where there were a lot of white men that were up in schools that are in the northern area of the United States, you know, pick one and, you know, it's Harvard, MIT, all of these schools.
(41:27):
And he, he created, he said, one of the ways in which these systems AI might escape control is by writing their own computer code to modify themselves. So that means a human has allowed that to happen.
And if that is something that's happened, there's ethics that we're talking about that are in here. Hinton also said, and that's something that we need to seriously worry about.
(41:50):
And I would agree with that because we have created a lot of what we see and the people that were back in the late 50s, early 60s, if you ever saw the cartoon, the Jetsons, they're streaming it on Hulu.
It's right really entertaining because that show is not for kids. That show is for grownups because they were talking about cars that could fly. They were talking about microwaves, which had not been invented at that time.
(42:17):
They were talking about 3D printers. They were talking about all of these things that have been dreams and we've seen them coming to fruition. That's about 60 years ago.
So when we were hearing this and that's when they created AI, too, is way back at that time, we had it. This desire, and we'll go to the biblical stuff since you also opened something up there.
(42:41):
The thirst for knowledge to be like God, to know all, we're creating that. So I think it's important to remember that the ethical dilemmas are part of this kind of a conversation that you and I are having and people way above my favorite have already been doing, too.
Yeah, it is scary because everything that's written now has to be questioned. That's not something that's ever happened before. I guess it has, but it used to be the bias of the human. Right? And so, right, I think we all understood that. So now we're not even sure if it was human. Right? And so it's a concerning notion that we have to now discern.
(43:30):
Is this even us saying this from prompts, using people's likeness and their voice to say whatever, it's going to be really hard for us to trust anymore? Well, we see.
(43:52):
We've always kind of trusted. Oh, I saw a video, even like that's evidence in murder cases, right? But now it's like, was that doctored? It was transmitted through how many services, text message, and other platforms and has it been altered through those things in the telephone? Right? And now everyone has an opportunity.
(44:14):
So that's where the blockchain, I think, is going to become almost inconsequential, like, or consequential. Sorry. I think it's going to be very important to use something like the blockchain to just essentially validate things because otherwise,
there's without a ledger like that, there's going to be chaos.
(44:37):
I agree. So what is the best mentoring advice that we're at the end of the show? So hard to believe. But what is the best mentoring advice that you want to share with our listeners about the future?
Um, you know, I think it's something to be said about selling shovels to everyone while they're going to the goldmine or the gold rush.
(45:00):
And that's where I think some of the largest companies are going to come out of this, right? It's the ones that are building chips, you know, to support AI, right? And finding a way to not necessarily try to be so forward thinking that you're always having to continuously be pushing that, you know, to a point where you're never really capitalizing on the revenue side of things because you're spending so much time in
(45:28):
money, trying to be there. I like when I see a company that's right next to them and it's just feeding it. It's just feeding that, feeding that beast, right? And it can be a little bit more multifaceted and can have several different offerings and can support like a, like a web two and a web three environment, right?
(45:50):
Or like customers that are also still, you know, kind of outdated, right? Because then I think they have a wider net that they can cast.
And so I think only early adopters as a business model is a niche type of thing, right? Yeah, you could charge a premium, but I'd rather see a larger audience, right? And so it's kind of a small like theme that I would share is try to find a business model that looks like a business model.
(46:19):
And so it looks at a wider, more stable market. Because you see really cool, innovative.
Think of the future. You're telling them, don't just think of the problem now. Think of the future. What can go wrong? What can go great. Think of all of those things.
And then almost taking like before that, though, because that's the thing. There's a lot of companies, right? So they'll never be able to monetize because they're always chasing a market that's not there.
(46:48):
And so if they just take a step back and monetize today and then grow revenues, they can have an R&D department in their company that's pushing the boundaries, right?
And so I'm just trying to bring them back to revenue because that's really what a company needs to be sustainable.
And so that's the only thing I would say is just trying to think to a point where you can't make money because you're too far into the future.
(47:15):
Like, because I've done that. I've been there. I had a great business with Beyond 360, as you know, but hardware wasn't there yet.
It was what had to be tethered to a huge computer that was on the ground.
And you had a square with some cameras and that was your area. Now VR obviously is in a totally different place and people have headsets at their house, but it didn't used to be that way.
(47:38):
And it used to be a lot harder to create virtual environments and to create live streams inside of those environments.
And so we couldn't make money then, right? Because there wasn't enough market. There wasn't enough customers. Technology was there.
Sure, we built it. It worked. Who cares, right? Because it couldn't sell it.
And so that's where I just want to caution people is trying not to get to a place where you don't have the opportunity to sell it to anybody.
(48:04):
Well, that's great that you did it, but you also have to have a business model. And so that's, that's a lot of fun with that.
Is they have a really cool idea and it's, it is the future.
But how can you take it a step back so you could sell at least some of it now, while you're building it, right? And that's, that's what I think I would advise people.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Yeah, it does. So how can our listeners contact you? Typically, I give websites and you're linked in and who knew there was more than one Spencer Elliott.
(48:32):
So now I know why you have Spencer Elliott one at the end of that. We'll definitely supply your LinkedIn, but we were going to give plug in plays website and also future funders are those solid ways to reach out to you.
Absolutely. Yes.
So email me as well Spencer at future funders.vc or you can email me s.eliot at pnptc.com.
(48:57):
Yeah, and be sure to say that you heard him on the or watched him on the interim whisper podcast, then he'll know like, Hey, that worked too.
Yes, I would love to be any aspiring founders will love to learn about your companies if you think that they're investable.
And then we'd also love to connect with anybody from a corporate private partnership perspective or public entity that's looking to work with plug and play here in Florida.
(49:24):
And so, yeah, again, my name is Spencer. I'm so thankful for you doing this as well. This is a great show.
Oh, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure having you back on the show again. And I'm going to have one of your fellow coworkers on it's going to be Rose Angela Parker.
So we're going to be double dose in into plug and play. Awesome.
Well, you have a wonderful holiday and thanks for being available today this holiday season.
(49:51):
All right, Merry Christmas. Thank you, as well.
Bye.
So we want to thank our sponsor cat five studios and thank you to our video production team and music.
Gavin Staley is on the video side music is so feeling the intern whisper is brought to you by employers for change.
(50:15):
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(50:37):
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We're on.
(00:03):
Hey, welcome to the Enter Wisper,
our show is all about the future of work.
So we're going to be printing.
Here we go.
Shows on.
So welcome to the Enter Wisper.
Our show is all about the future of work and innovation.
(00:27):
Today's guest is Spencer Elliott,
who was a previous Enter Wisper guest
when he founded Buse-Dub.
He is an experienced CEO investor,
exited founder, mentor,
and a graduate from University of Central Florida,
and UCF.
Oh, sorry, University of Florida.
Gosh, both of them.
And I actually went to both schools, that's shameful.
(00:49):
Okay, but good for you.
He supports the startup ecosystem here in Orlando,
and he is now with Plug and Play here in Orlando.
And he is overseeing the Smart Cities.
Spencer, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much Isabel for having me back.
I appreciate it so much.
Go Gators, right?
Go Knights.
Yes, go Gators.
(01:11):
We'll do that little thing right there too.
It's come to us today.
Say those schools.
It is.
It is.
You know, I remember when you were in my,
at one of my first shows, but you had a co-founder.
But I know you're the lead founder.
But anyway, this time it's you solo.
So I'm very, I'm very happy to have you back,
(01:32):
and this is exciting.
Let's kick it off with it.
If you would please share your personal story
about where you either went to school,
and I think we kind of covered it,
but you know, you can tell us a little more
about what you specialized in,
to how you got to where you are now.
(01:53):
Can you hear me?
I can't.
Yes, I think there's a little bit of a lag,
but I think I know where you're at.
So I grew up here in Central Florida,
and I've been going to schools here locally in Orlando.
I ended up going to Lake Howell High School
in the Winter Park to graduate,
and then went through to San Middle State,
which is a local state school here in Florida,
(02:16):
and was able to get my AA degree,
which gave me a direct transfer into UCF,
and being the first person in my family
to graduate from college,
it was really creating my own path,
and really understanding how to navigate the system.
So I was able to work my way through the restaurants
(02:39):
and hospitality jobs that I had,
as well as with internships,
that I remember one of them was paying me,
I think it was $500 a month,
and I thought that was a ton of money at the time,
and I was able to pay my rent with that,
but yeah, just kind of worked my way up through the ranks
and just tried to get as much experience as I could,
ended up working actually with one of my professors from UCF
(03:02):
in the UCF incubator for one of the first startups
that I ever had exposure to.
I was called Learn Everywhere,
and it was a great experience,
and that was my first exposure to what an investment
could look like into a company and how that can run.
And so, yeah, it's just been a long journey,
and ended up thinking that I should climb the corporate ladder
(03:25):
and worked at a company called TravelClick,
right out of UCF,
and I always thought that I wanted to get an MBA,
but there was some changes at UCF,
and I was no longer able to attend UCF
for my master's degree in business.
It was only engineering and medical school students at the time,
and so I ended up having to look around at other schools
(03:48):
and the University of Florida had a program
for entrepreneurship,
and I thought that was awesome
because I had been attending Orlando Tech events
at the Church Street Exchange building
right outside of the Starters Studio,
and I was very inspired to get into entrepreneurship,
but it was really just, I thought it was cool,
and Shark Tank was very popular at the time,
(04:10):
and all of these things,
but I didn't realize that I truly wanted to be an entrepreneur,
and I didn't really know what that was at the time,
and so, you know, I just thought,
you know, if I'm gonna get a master's degree,
I might as well get one that is in venture finance,
teaching me how to be a CEO.
We had overlapping classes with the master's of management,
the master of international business,
the MBA students, the master's of finance,
(04:33):
and so I thought that that was the perfect place for me,
and so went through the program,
started a company while I was there,
started a couple of small ventures
that I thought were fun,
and just worked through the process of
the first 100 days of running a company,
(04:55):
building out pitch decks,
and just really having a great experience,
you know, just kind of testing
and learning entrepreneurship,
and I worked for a company called
in Vipicity while I was there,
and that was a lot of fun,
and I was able to really see another startup
that had significant, I think they were, you know,
raising at the time,
but had raised several million dollars into the business,
and I saw an entrepreneur in the CEO
(05:19):
that managed multiple businesses,
and that was really the first exposure that I had
to someone who was a serial entrepreneur, first-hand,
and I remember one of my professors at UF at the time
had exited for $600 million,
and showed me, you know, that that's possible, right,
and I was just always asking him his experience,
and what it was like,
(05:40):
and anywhere that he was going,
I wanted to go, right, and so it was really a time
for me to soak up as much knowledge as I could,
and really just get my hands wet,
or hands dirty, or whatever you want to call it,
and feet wet, hands dirty,
and just jump right in,
and that was what I was doing,
and then so when I came back to Orlando,
I actually ended up working for TravelClick again,
(06:03):
and really wanted that stable kind of career path
for myself, and in quick time, you know,
I was able to, you know, save up enough
where I was able to take a risk on myself
and start VUSTUP, which we talked about last time
on the show, and you and I have been friends for a long time,
so you know the whole story,
but I ran that company for about five years,
and that was a lifetime of entrepreneurship in itself,
(06:26):
you know, being that COVID really spurred all of our demand
from the marketplace, and going up against the fastest
growing company in the history of the world,
which was Hoppin', and they had raised a billion dollars,
and we were raising a few million in Orlando, so.
Yeah, that's my story, I'm sticking to it.
Wow, that's amazing.
(06:48):
I forgot to mention also that you're your dad,
and I know that you always like to share
that you're a family man, so feel free to drop any
of those little things in there too, if you wish.
I know it's part of your story, so it's totally good.
That's really the reason I came back to Orlando
was for family, and we found out that we were pregnant
(07:10):
right when we graduated at UF, and so I thought,
man, I need to get back to a stable income,
and I can't be taking risks out here, you know, right now,
and so even though I was ready to start a business
at that time, that's really, you know, life comes at you
and gives you challenges, and you have to be able to adapt,
and so that's entrepreneurship itself, right?
(07:31):
And so we did, you know, and so we did that for about a year
and a half before we were able to feel comfortable enough.
And funny story, I'll be very transparent about it.
My wife and I thought about it, and we said,
you know, if this doesn't work in one year,
then, you know, and like my mentors that told me
at the time, you go back to where he started,
and for me, that was going back to the career
that I had already built in the travel
(07:52):
and hospitality industry for software.
You know, tech company.
It's like, cool, I can only take me back, right?
Or another company would take me back.
And so there was really no risk to me
who was like, okay, if not now, when?
You know, if I don't do this now,
it's just gonna get harder and harder for me
to take these risks.
And so, you know, I would encourage everybody
(08:13):
to take that leap of faith if you're feeling the urge,
because you'll figure it out.
That is very true, and many times,
and as you know, I've done this for a little while,
and one of my mentors had said, you know,
the way I understand that you've done this in phases.
So for those that are doing it for quite a few years,
and I'll pass it on, because I know you're a mentor,
they said, well, it sounds like your first couple of years,
(08:35):
you were doing a lot of research on it and discovery,
and I would go, well, that's true.
And he said, then you seem to have moved into a phase
of you were testing it as you as a service,
and you're the algorithm.
He said, that's true.
And he said, now you're going into the technology phase.
So really, you haven't, yes, you've validated it, that's true.
But doing it as a tech company, you haven't done that yet.
(08:58):
And I went, oh, that's hopeful.
So there's phases, who knew?
Yeah, I didn't think of it that way, but I do now.
Yeah, and if it's not challenging, it's not innovative,
and if it's not innovative, it's not worth doing, really.
And so you have to find that for yourself, you know,
and definitely has to be aligned with your passions.
And I do an exercise with some of the mentees that I talk to,
(09:21):
and kind of help them design their motivating factors
into alignment so that they can choose things
that are going to be more cohesive with something
that they're going to be successful in.
Let's just say, yes, that's a really good way
to start your career, especially for young students
coming out of college and things like that.
Because that's what I did.
I just wrote down on a piece of paper
(09:43):
all the themes in my life that I was interested in
and passionate about or things that I wanted to pursue.
And then I tried to prioritize them and group them.
And then I got to a short list, and then I determined
that I wanted to start VUCE though,
because I wanted to go to events for free,
but I didn't want to work at them.
But I wanted to make money from them,
and I wanted to be able to meet all the artists.
And so I wanted to be streaming.
(10:05):
And so I literally came up with the business
based on those things.
And then also that I wanted to solve a problem for myself,
which was I couldn't attend all of these events
that were happening across the country or across the world.
And they were all happening pretty much simultaneously,
but I could stream them.
And I could watch them if I wanted to watch the content.
(10:26):
And so that's what I agree with.
But that's the beginnings of VUCE though.
Yeah. And anyone can do that.
I just worked with an entrepreneur yesterday.
I went through that exercise.
We spent about 15 minutes and got down
to where he had a very pre-destined plan for himself.
So of course, we manifest these things, right?
But the plan that we outlined, the first thing I said,
(10:48):
is this is not where it's going to be when you end up, right?
This is just where you're starting.
This is where you're going.
Yeah.
You're going to adapt.
You're going to pivot.
And you're going to find where you should fit.
But you like all these things down that path.
At least what you should do is you should test it out, right?
To validate to your point, right?
(11:09):
Like so maybe, or the business very way,
maybe you could find someone else's a vendor
and you just get a job with them and see,
because you needed a job too.
So it's like, OK, well, you want to suffer a job.
Do this instead.
Don't get a suffer job if not aligned with where your end goal is.
He's thinking about these other jobs.
It's like, well, why don't you just,
you're going to get paid the same amount.
Why don't you do something that can at least give you exposure
(11:31):
to what you think you want to need.
And so those types of small changes in people's behavior
can really mean a lot in the end.
That's very true.
That's good advice.
Good advice there.
OK, so let's talk about your role with plug and play.
At plug and play, they're actually out of California.
I know that.
And I had met Alec, Alex Tran.
(11:55):
I don't know if you've met him yet.
But you know him?
Good.
I met him, I don't know, like four or five years ago.
We'll say five.
And he's still there.
And he really impressed me with what plug and play can do.
But I know you know more because you've been immersed in it.
They're always helping startups.
And they help in a lot of ways.
But a lot of it is they don't take equity too.
(12:19):
That's an amazing thing.
Can you walk us through the process of how plug and play
works with startups to accelerate their growth?
Absolutely.
And plug and play really is from what I've seen in the short time
that I've been in the role a few weeks now,
really focused on impact.
And I think that's one of the biggest things that they do
is really bring a win-win-win situation to all parties
(12:42):
involved.
And I love that they have three elements of their business
model built into the fabric.
So that we're not only accelerating the startups,
like you said, but we're investing in the startups
as the most active venture capital firm in the world.
And we're also working with our partners
to ensure that we're meeting their goals
(13:03):
by connecting them with these startups.
And so connecting is the other theme
that I see within the framework of plug and play as a model,
is that we're making sure that these startups are receiving
value, but also the partners are receiving value.
So whether that's a proof of concept or some type of trial
or the ability for us to have them really work together
(13:26):
as partners, or maybe that entity that we're working with,
like Orange County government or Duke Energy or TAVAS stock,
like known as our current partners.
And so we also have new partners that we just added.
I guess this is going to air at the right time,
but we have KPMG as well.
(13:47):
So these partner and UCF.
And so these partners all have their own interests
and goals, of course.
And so it's us in the middle of these competing efforts,
and really being that web and I think the glue
to really make it all happen.
And so I just think that plug and play
(14:08):
is a needed system that's put into place
inside of an environment or an ecosystem like Orlando
or like Florida that can really create a lot of exponential
growth.
And so that's why I love about it.
And for the startups, we don't think any equity.
(14:31):
We certainly would look to invest in those companies
ourselves, but then also it can be.
And so we want to help them grow their business.
And we also want to help them with their first customers
and connecting them with mentors.
And so we have a huge mentor network.
(14:52):
And we just try to do as much as we can,
including hundreds of attendees.
And so I think that's a great opportunity for them
as well to meet new investors in the community.
So I know just our listeners now,
we're experiencing a little bit of lag,
but just hang in there with us because it just comes right
back up.
It's the holidays.
(15:13):
What can we say?
So plug and play.
You mentioned something about being a Lake Nona.
I know there's an emphasis on a smart city.
What is the definition of a smart city?
And then what is it that you guys are doing out there
specifically in this smart city area?
Right.
I mean, smart cities really encompasses
(15:35):
so many different technologies, whether that be deep tech,
mobility, health, defense, semiconductors.
And so when we say smart cities, we're
just thinking about few Orlando in some respects.
And so we want to look at companies
that are investing in infrastructure, energy,
(15:58):
could be space, working with the military.
And so right now, smart cities is somewhat of a catchall.
And so we look at different industry verticals
based on where our partners have the most interest.
And so we can spin up a vertical with the university,
focused on research.
We've most recently started the semiconductor location.
(16:23):
And so that's been active for about a year.
And I know that there's several, maybe a dozen partners
over there involved in that building and in that campus.
And there's plans for expansion.
And so that's a unique undertaking.
But every time we go in with a custom approach.
And so every single day, our team is
looking to create value specifically
(16:46):
to the individual parties involved.
And so it's a very hands-on thing that we do.
So what trends are you seeing in the startup world
around this concept of smart cities?
I love the fact that you mentioned mobility, transportation,
and health care.
Those are a lot of things, as you will know.
(17:07):
One of the community roles that I have here in Orlando
is with GameJams and Startup Weeken.
So I see those organizations as OMG Labs,
Indie Nomicon, and Startup Weeken as ways
that we could help support what plug and play is doing.
But what are the trends that you think
(17:28):
are going to be happening in the startup world
around smart cities?
Awesome.
Yeah, great question.
And I think I've written some of the book on the wall
in the background of your picture here.
So I love our community.
I'm very excited about plug and play being involved here,
(17:50):
because I think it just brings a lot of excitement
and interest in some of the things that are happening.
But with the trends that we're seeing,
we certainly are very excited about space,
but we're very close and proximity to the space coast.
We love the augment of AI,
and love seeing where AI is being implemented
and new technologies.
(18:12):
And I think what it's doing is really increasing
our data capture capabilities,
and suggestive type of actions.
And so if the convenience factor goes up,
the people will spend money.
And so that's kind of where I think the luxury brands
start to take notice.
And I think that there's a lot of technology
(18:34):
that can implement AI.
And so we'll see where that will go.
But I also am really excited about just infrastructure.
And when I think about infrastructure,
I really think about mobility transportation to your point.
And so right now Orlando has a unique challenge
in that there's a lot of population growth.
(18:55):
And so I've just been kind of keeping my eye on how that is.
Unfolding and how the,
how the youth involved are maintaining and keeping up with the pace.
So that's a, that's an interesting task to accomplish.
So.
Let's talk about future funders.
I know that's something else that you've started.
(19:17):
And at some point I'm going to apply to come and pitch there.
At some point it's coming up pretty soon.
It's definitely 20, 25, first quarter.
Anyway, you've worked with countless startups and why did you choose to start
future funders?
I consider it maybe an angel investor group,
but I'm not sure maybe you're going in the direction of BC.
(19:40):
Yeah.
And funny enough, I ended up keeping this shirt on because I realized I put it
on this morning.
So to support our one million cups, then I know,
I know that they're there in that same building.
But yeah, it's, it's, it's fun.
You know, doing the pitch events is a, is a great time and,
and we want our members to be able to have access.
And so when I talk about future funders,
(20:02):
the first thing I think about is providing access.
And it's really about creating a community.
And so we want to be the first check into any company.
That's, that's kind of our first thesis.
And so being early stage is something that we're passionate about.
But also we believe that our thesis is potentially the most profitable model.
There, there could be with venture capital.
(20:24):
And so it's a very innovative approach to a somewhat stagnant industry.
I mean, of course, there's been crowdfunding in recent years and,
and there's been other changes.
And especially this year, there was legislation to allow non unlimited
non-accredited investors for up to 10,000 a year.
And so there's different things that are happening that are definitely
improvements.
(20:45):
But if you take certain elements of our model,
like the fact that we're a rolling fund.
And so we don't have a specific term or deadline to raise our, our fund.
Right.
Let me just make sure this is not affecting the audio.
You're good.
You totally good.
That's one element.
And we, we really want to allow non-accredited investors to invest in the
(21:08):
reason for that is because as a founder in central Florida,
I've just seen and participated and had the conversations around,
is there enough angel capital and do the funds that are preaching that?
Are they moving up, up that funnel?
And so, you know, not to, not to complain or anything,
but I think that there was room for improvement.
(21:30):
And one challenge that I tried to help with is, is that right?
And so I think this will allow folks that are not currently angel
investors or not professional investors to get interested in what's
happening in venture capital and have a lane that they can feel like
they're comfortable enough to invest with a fund like ours.
So it's, it's approachable.
(21:52):
And so with a minimum of, you know, $800 a month or $10,000 a year roughly,
you can participate, you can invest in this fund.
And you don't have to be an accredited investor and accredited,
meaning, you know, high net worth and high salary.
And so if, if you're just a regular person and you have some extra income,
then this is a fund for you, right?
(22:14):
And this is a fund where you can actually get into a lot of cool startups
based out of central Florida and actually come to some events.
And so the events that we hosted already was a comedy magic show.
And then we went and watched people on a bowl, do an, you know,
(22:35):
electronic bull riding thing and they're jumping off.
And so that was fun.
But we just tried to get together, invest often and be a part of our community.
That's really our motto.
Wow.
That, that is really refreshing because I know that I'm not throwing anybody under the bus,
(22:56):
but our ecosystem of investment or interest in investing in tech companies in central Florida is,
is just not where other places are like Miami or even Jacksonville and definitely Tampa.
There's so much more that's going on in those areas.
I don't know why central Florida just doesn't get on it, but it seems like most of the companies that have done well have had to leave central Florida,
(23:21):
definitely even Florida to get investment in those someplace else anywhere else in the United States.
So I'm glad you're wanting to be one of the people that can make that change happen here for us in central Florida because it's frustrating.
It definitely is.
I don't think it's a negative thing. I think it's one of the areas when you were saying something. I felt like you saw a problem and you were bringing a solution.
(23:46):
And it's just one of what I hope is many.
And it's exciting because as the fund grows, you know, somewhat unlimited.
We also have a follow on fund. We also have a later stage fund. So we're going to be able to participate in different,
in different phases of a company's life cycle. And I'm excited about that. So as they're going through the stages and growing from pre seed to seed,
(24:11):
we can keep investing. And I think that's really going to change the way that companies grow here in central Florida,
but also, you know, allowing them to have that foundation.
Similar to how companies that are coming out of the Peter Thiel fellowship or, you know, those that are getting a standard deal like ours.
That early boost prevents them from giving up, you know, and folding and I've seen that happen so many times where good founders start good companies, but can't get interest because they don't have enough traction, but they need.
(24:43):
It's like a chicken in the egg, right? So,
it's sometimes necessary for that first, just small check, you know, to get them to get their MVP built to get some customer interactions going and to be able to maybe even just support themselves so that they can eat.
(25:04):
Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
So, what do you think the most common mistakes startups make when they seek funding?
Well, I do see a lot of founders looking really far out into the future and projecting.
And I think that's just been common for a long time is to show a five year pro forma.
(25:27):
And so.
When I look at when I look at pitch decks, don't give too much credit beyond years two and three just because I do know that things will change.
It is important to have a realistic view on that so you can include five years.
And I think it should be very conservative in years four and five and it used to be that you want to show these spikes and returns.
(25:56):
I think that's for me as the investor to extrapolate on in my mind, right, or for us to talk about for expansion plans.
But I would rather see this is just me personally in my opinion, right? I would rather see what the what the operating expenses are going to be kind of like in a worst case scenario, right?
And so I kind of like to paint a really realistic picture.
(26:18):
And so that's where I coach a lot of startups that I work with is like, can we just get this to a place where we can both agree on it.
And then we could talk about, oh, if you know if things go great, you know, this is a rocket ship, of course.
So that's just one thing that sticks out when we're not talking about that.
But the first the big themes with the big themes with the big themes with the big themes that we're talking about.
With that same mindset of I need to plan everything out all the way through five years, right, or 10 years, 15 years.
(26:45):
However, do you want to think about it when realistically, some of these early stage startups are probably not even past the first, like five days, you know, a problem.
I need to do some more research on even the business problem, right?
Because sometimes when you ask them questions and they don't even have a full grasp of the problem that they're solving.
(27:06):
And so if you're not an expert in the problem that you're solving, then you're probably not going to be the best person to solve that problem.
There's probably other people who have put more time and effort into solving that problem than you currently have.
And so that's where I think founders can spend a little bit more time is talking with customers that they would potentially sell to and asking them to buy something.
(27:27):
And in that last piece is the most important because a lot of the time I do hear founders, they don't ask for the close and they want to give their product away for free as a trial or they, you know, they want to get beta users.
But that doesn't do anything for you. I would rather hear no, you know, to my proposal and then ask why, because then I'm going to get a lot of data and feedback from that interaction.
(27:51):
Right. So if I can ask the customer, hey, would you pay $100 for this and I'll start tomorrow.
And be dead serious, even though I have no software technology or anything, I'll figure it out, right, if they're willing to pay for it.
And it has to be at a price that makes it worth it for me to do that thing.
And then so if that doesn't work, then now I'm forced to go and figure out what's going on.
(28:16):
Okay. So then how can I scale this? Right. And so those hard pivots, I think need to happen very quickly.
And so it's a forced interaction and I'll give credit to Mike Mason, who taught me this, this concept and he was a mentor at VUSTUP.
And it really has changed the way I think about doing earlier.
And so it's a forced interaction and I'll give credit to Mike Mason, who taught me this, this concept and he was a mentor at VUSTUP.
(28:41):
And it really has changed the way I think about doing early stage business is because you just don't have enough time to, you know, go through the motions.
So to speak, you need to really just cut corners. Right. And so the easiest way to do that is just go full speed until you hit a brick wall and then be like, oh, that didn't work.
Let me try something else and then go full speed again, hit the brick wall and figure out why, you know what I mean? Every single time.
(29:06):
And I don't know if that's making sense, but that's kind of how I think about it.
It does. It does. It's just like that.
Facebook CEO had said is, you know, fail fast, right? So you're just talking about hitting the wall. You've got it Zuckerberg. You have to do that.
Otherwise, you probably just get burned out doing laps.
If that's the amount of money.
(29:27):
Yeah.
You're not really breaking any breaking any walls. You're not innovating. Right. You really need to be pushing all the time.
Well, we're going to take a moment and acknowledge our sponsor, Cat Five Studios, and we will be right back.
The end.
(29:53):
I'm going to go ahead and see if we can get back to the next one.
Actually, did that one well too.
I got it. I found a way to do this. I'm so happy and proud of myself.
So we're back to the second half of our show and today's guest is Spencer Elliott.
And we're going to be talking about in this part of the show, the future of jobs and industries in 2030.
(30:18):
So Spencer, what do you think the future is going to look like for your industry, whether it's startup or if it's in.
Funding investing. What do you think it's going to look like?
You know, from the industry perspective, I think that we are seeing that more VCs are using AI to evaluate companies.
(30:42):
And I think that's okay. It's kind of like with recruiting or when people are applying for jobs. There's, of course, that a layer.
And I think that has an opportunity because then that AI can provide feedback to the startup and to the founding team and really help them craft.
Their pitch prior to even meeting with meeting with the VC team. And so I think it'll help them to curate better, better outcomes.
(31:10):
So yeah, I think I think it's all positive from from that perspective.
And the future, you know, in general, for smart cities and kind of the concept that we're looking for in Florida is more of an interconnected.
Internet of things per se, but the ability for us to maximize, I think, our output and productivity as a society.
(31:36):
And of course, we've been doing that for decades, you know, in the information era and with technology, but even more so now.
And I think without our own.
So it's like prompting is very inherent inside of AI right now. It's, you know, we have to kind of ask it to do things.
(31:58):
But I see a future where it's deciding for us. And I think that's where a lot of the fear comes in and really trying to build technology.
And this is where I think there's a huge opportunity is building counter active technologies to protect us from AI.
If that makes sense. So I think that's where cybersecurity companies are going to pivot.
(32:24):
That's where I think there's going to be new majors coming out of school and it's kind of like a cyber warfare.
But against ourselves, not just foreign entities, right, because we're the ones still using the AI.
And I think that that's going to be very big, but also around authenticity.
And so those are the two themes. So proving that something is authentic coming out of AI. So a truth seeking AI that can that can really be foundational.
(32:52):
And I don't know where religion will come into this, but I think that everyone's going to try to lay some stake in it, especially governments.
And so they're going to everyone's going to try to impose their own declaration of independence or constitution on to this.
But it's going to be, it's going to be crazy. I think like the history that we know of today is coming to like an inflection point.
(33:18):
And there's going to be a new era. And the new era is just going to be built off of like, how do we create a technology that is resembling our society.
And that we can almost translate to intergalactic type of communications. And because we already are seeing all these drones.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but if we're planning on living on Mars, like, I think that they're in the next 20 years, is going to be some type of instance of communication with some extra terrestrial life form.
(33:54):
And so, if we're almost there, then I think that that's probably what we got to be thinking about. Right. How are we going to communicate with other other worlds.
And what's that going to mean for our safety as human beings on earth. And so I hope it unites us and bring everything full circle. And I think about this a lot. I think that that would be the one uniting thing is if it was like earth versus Mars, you know, or something like that.
(34:18):
I would love to see that not like that we get into war with another plan and another galaxy but that we unite as one as one race, you know, as, as like humans, right, human beings, because I think that's one of our biggest downfalls as a society.
That Oh, you live on one side of the planet so I don't like you.
That line. So I don't like you, you know, kind of, or you have a different in a way of life. I don't like you.
(34:44):
It's just, it's just how people look at it here on earth, right. You know, oh, you're from China. No, you know, because of whatever. So you're just expanding it so it's more outside of just this, this planet.
And people could be if you were thinking about it from the viewpoint of like Star Wars will go with Star Wars.
And you're going through and you see all of these different types of what we might call creatures but living beings, they will look different. They could be, you know, speaking our language. Maybe we have this new technology.
(35:18):
I've seen this advertised where you can put something in your ears, little earbuds and you can understand any language. When it would be amazing if it could do that with extraterrestrial languages.
Yeah, the one I love is it's been around for a long time, but we will translate the app to put it over text, like even signs, it'll translate into the language that you want.
(35:40):
Technology's been around for a long time and I always try to show it to people that don't know about it, especially when they're traveling because it makes it so much easier to just read in your own language.
But anyway, yeah, okay, you just taught me that I did not know that. Oh, great. I hope everyone goes and tries it. It's really amazing. Yeah, and you can translate it to other languages.
So, but it shows it right as an overlay right on the screen. I think I've been using it for over a decade, which is, you know, Google has some awesome stuff.
(36:08):
But, you know, with that whole unification and in utopia, I think they're still in our society. There will always be a common enemy, unfortunately, you know, that's kind of an evil will always have its place.
And then, you know, that temptation and greed are always going to be a part of our nature, unfortunately, I do believe that. And so it's like we have to unify against something unfortunate.
(36:30):
I don't believe that will ever just have world peace. And that's just a sad truth. But if we can learn to live with that, then I think we can actually learn to work together.
So, as long as we all realize that, then I think we'd actually be better off. So.
Anyway, so what are the positive aspects of gen AI? What do you think it is?
(36:54):
Well, there's a touch to some of it.
Yeah, there's the clear cut ones, you know, just the time savings cost savings. It could be, you know, actually replacing team members, unfortunately, but what that does.
Big picture is it creates new jobs. Right. And so there's, there's always going to be a place for somebody to fit into the wheel. It's just what is that now going to be. And so one job might get phased out, but now who's creating the next AI.
(37:22):
Right. And so there's a new role. And so it's actually good. You know, a lot of people, you know, are afraid of that. It's one of the biggest fears is that it's going to take your job.
But, you know, that's evolution. Right. That's that's innovation. And so I don't think that's a bad thing.
Well, this is I'll play devil's advocate because people love this on the show too.
(37:45):
Yes, that's true. It will eliminate jobs, but there are jobs that are there for a reason. And it's to protect people, protected classes.
So those could be people with disabilities. Those could be somebody with Down syndrome. They may not be a computer programmer, but they are there and there are barista Starbucks or they are there and they greet people in McDonald's.
(38:07):
There's a McDonald's here in Orlando that has no people. There's places where having people is the highlight of them going out because this world is becoming because it is so digital.
It is becoming even more aware of how lonely people are. So I feel like there's a place that just because we can do it with AI doesn't mean we should do it with your AI.
(38:35):
Oh, yeah, and that's driving 100 miles per hour at the wall. And what's going to happen is that we're all going to sit and realize our reality and you're going to see restaurants coming out with.
We have real servers and do them if there's a real demand for it. Right. So as we go in the wrong direction, ever, we will always auto correct. Right. And so I think even, you know, Elon talk about that with, you know, removing agencies in the government.
(39:02):
Like if we remove one and it should go back, we'll put it back. Right. And so they even, you know, talk about it too. The biggest CEOs they talk about being back in the office. Right. They want their team back in the office. Right.
We don't want them to be working from home because it's not fair that your Uber Eats driver also has to get in the car and drive to your house. Right.
(39:23):
And the person that made your food. Right. Like, yes, a lot of us have the luxury to work from home. And you think that should be the norm. But what about the people that are building your road, right, or our performers, right, and in the arts.
We need these things. Right. This is part of our human nature is to be social and to interact and to be out in the, in the park, you know, throwing a frisbee or whatever.
(39:47):
Yes, it's supposed to be social. We're meant to be social. And so as such being, having a community is not just an online community. That is where people get together to have face-to-face interaction.
And the grid will go down someday. And when it does, if we don't know how to communicate more effectively, listen, not texting or messaging or whatever.
(40:12):
Or even the avoidance of having phone conversations. It's going to be something that's just direly needed. And it's that pendulum has already swung in that direction. So I'm hoping to see that people go, Oh, yeah, we do need to keep balance.
And I think that's a very interesting conversation. I know it's not a typical business conversation, but one thing to watch from that would be the birth rate going down. Right. So just over a long period of time, right, because if we're having physical interaction, I think you know, we're going that way.
(40:43):
That would be something that would be a consequence for sure is the less long term relationships, less nuclear family situation. And I think that could be a huge challenge for our, our well being as a society because, yeah, we'd be able to have more resources, but also less people to help.
You know, kind of grow the girl us grow our society. So.
(41:05):
I like that we're covering both sides of the questions because there's the gentleman, Jeffrey Hinton, and he's the creator of AI. He's called the Godfather of AI.
And it was in the late 50s, early 60s in that timeframe where there were a lot of white men that were up in schools that are in the northern area of the United States, you know, pick one and, you know, it's Harvard, MIT, all of these schools.
(41:27):
And he, he created, he said, one of the ways in which these systems AI might escape control is by writing their own computer code to modify themselves. So that means a human has allowed that to happen.
And if that is something that's happened, there's ethics that we're talking about that are in here. Hinton also said, and that's something that we need to seriously worry about.
(41:50):
And I would agree with that because we have created a lot of what we see and the people that were back in the late 50s, early 60s, if you ever saw the cartoon, the Jetsons, they're streaming it on Hulu.
It's right really entertaining because that show is not for kids. That show is for grownups because they were talking about cars that could fly. They were talking about microwaves, which had not been invented at that time.
(42:17):
They were talking about 3D printers. They were talking about all of these things that have been dreams and we've seen them coming to fruition. That's about 60 years ago.
So when we were hearing this and that's when they created AI, too, is way back at that time, we had it. This desire, and we'll go to the biblical stuff since you also opened something up there.
(42:41):
The thirst for knowledge to be like God, to know all, we're creating that. So I think it's important to remember that the ethical dilemmas are part of this kind of a conversation that you and I are having and people way above my favorite have already been doing, too.
Yeah, it is scary because everything that's written now has to be questioned. That's not something that's ever happened before. I guess it has, but it used to be the bias of the human. Right? And so, right, I think we all understood that. So now we're not even sure if it was human. Right? And so it's a concerning notion that we have to now discern.
(43:30):
Is this even us saying this from prompts, using people's likeness and their voice to say whatever, it's going to be really hard for us to trust anymore? Well, we see.
(43:52):
We've always kind of trusted. Oh, I saw a video, even like that's evidence in murder cases, right? But now it's like, was that doctored? It was transmitted through how many services, text message, and other platforms and has it been altered through those things in the telephone? Right? And now everyone has an opportunity.
(44:14):
So that's where the blockchain, I think, is going to become almost inconsequential, like, or consequential. Sorry. I think it's going to be very important to use something like the blockchain to just essentially validate things because otherwise,
there's without a ledger like that, there's going to be chaos.
(44:37):
I agree. So what is the best mentoring advice that we're at the end of the show? So hard to believe. But what is the best mentoring advice that you want to share with our listeners about the future?
Um, you know, I think it's something to be said about selling shovels to everyone while they're going to the goldmine or the gold rush.
(45:00):
And that's where I think some of the largest companies are going to come out of this, right? It's the ones that are building chips, you know, to support AI, right? And finding a way to not necessarily try to be so forward thinking that you're always having to continuously be pushing that, you know, to a point where you're never really capitalizing on the revenue side of things because you're spending so much time in
(45:28):
money, trying to be there. I like when I see a company that's right next to them and it's just feeding it. It's just feeding that, feeding that beast, right? And it can be a little bit more multifaceted and can have several different offerings and can support like a, like a web two and a web three environment, right?
(45:50):
Or like customers that are also still, you know, kind of outdated, right? Because then I think they have a wider net that they can cast.
And so I think only early adopters as a business model is a niche type of thing, right? Yeah, you could charge a premium, but I'd rather see a larger audience, right? And so it's kind of a small like theme that I would share is try to find a business model that looks like a business model.
(46:19):
And so it looks at a wider, more stable market. Because you see really cool, innovative.
Think of the future. You're telling them, don't just think of the problem now. Think of the future. What can go wrong? What can go great. Think of all of those things.
And then almost taking like before that, though, because that's the thing. There's a lot of companies, right? So they'll never be able to monetize because they're always chasing a market that's not there.
(46:48):
And so if they just take a step back and monetize today and then grow revenues, they can have an R&D department in their company that's pushing the boundaries, right?
And so I'm just trying to bring them back to revenue because that's really what a company needs to be sustainable.
And so that's the only thing I would say is just trying to think to a point where you can't make money because you're too far into the future.
(47:15):
Like, because I've done that. I've been there. I had a great business with Beyond 360, as you know, but hardware wasn't there yet.
It was what had to be tethered to a huge computer that was on the ground.
And you had a square with some cameras and that was your area. Now VR obviously is in a totally different place and people have headsets at their house, but it didn't used to be that way.
(47:38):
And it used to be a lot harder to create virtual environments and to create live streams inside of those environments.
And so we couldn't make money then, right? Because there wasn't enough market. There wasn't enough customers. Technology was there.
Sure, we built it. It worked. Who cares, right? Because it couldn't sell it.
And so that's where I just want to caution people is trying not to get to a place where you don't have the opportunity to sell it to anybody.
(48:04):
Well, that's great that you did it, but you also have to have a business model. And so that's, that's a lot of fun with that.
Is they have a really cool idea and it's, it is the future.
But how can you take it a step back so you could sell at least some of it now, while you're building it, right? And that's, that's what I think I would advise people.
Hopefully that makes sense.
Yeah, it does. So how can our listeners contact you? Typically, I give websites and you're linked in and who knew there was more than one Spencer Elliott.
(48:32):
So now I know why you have Spencer Elliott one at the end of that. We'll definitely supply your LinkedIn, but we were going to give plug in plays website and also future funders are those solid ways to reach out to you.
Absolutely. Yes.
So email me as well Spencer at future funders.vc or you can email me s.eliot at pnptc.com.
(48:57):
Yeah, and be sure to say that you heard him on the or watched him on the interim whisper podcast, then he'll know like, Hey, that worked too.
Yes, I would love to be any aspiring founders will love to learn about your companies if you think that they're investable.
And then we'd also love to connect with anybody from a corporate private partnership perspective or public entity that's looking to work with plug and play here in Florida.
(49:24):
And so, yeah, again, my name is Spencer. I'm so thankful for you doing this as well. This is a great show.
Oh, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure having you back on the show again. And I'm going to have one of your fellow coworkers on it's going to be Rose Angela Parker.
So we're going to be double dose in into plug and play. Awesome.
Well, you have a wonderful holiday and thanks for being available today this holiday season.
(49:51):
All right, Merry Christmas. Thank you, as well.
Bye.
So we want to thank our sponsor cat five studios and thank you to our video production team and music.
Gavin Staley is on the video side music is so feeling the intern whisper is brought to you by employers for change.
(50:15):
We thank you. Sorry, the intern whispers brought to you by employers for change.
We want to thank you for the amazing information.
You can see how hiring teams recruit and upscale interns to employees through the employees through mission vision values beliefs and core skills.
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Learn more at www.e4c.tech.
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