Esther Riveroll: Transforming Data Governance in the Digital Age
A sports lover, trained for a cross country marathon of 45Kms, and passionate about mathematics to keep challenging her brain, Esther at a very young age realized that she was born to be a leader. After graduating high school, she cracked a position at IBM where her path in technology began. She sees failure as learning and an opportunity to do things differently, it is just that you are preparing yourself to grow. Big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning are transforming economies and innovation on a revolutionary scale. They have great economic potential. Indeed, some have already hailed data as “the new oil.” This may be an imperfect analogy, but it does capture the excitement and high expectations surrounding the data-driven economy. The prospect of extracting lucrative insights from rapidly growing pools of data is galvanizing entrepreneurs and investors in all sectors of industry. Esther Riveroll, Founder and CEO at Alldatum Business, brings a sophisticated capacity to collect, organize, control, and commercialize stores of data and intellectual property to help businesses with data governance. She accompanies them on their path to a successful digital transformation getting value on their data, as well as responding to the challenges presented by the digital economy and data management initiatives. Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? When I was 18, I studied at the “Colegio de Bachilleres”, a high school in Mexico that gives you a technical specialty and mine was accounting. This school did not have a direct pass to the government universities and my parents did not have the money to pay me for a private university, so I took the exam at UNAM Public school and I was not selected. There were students from another high school who had a direct pass and the career I had chosen which was “Applied Mathematics and Computing” was fashionable, I was not fortunate enough to be chosen. I had to work in the meantime in the Collective Transport System (Metro) for a year. There I realized that I did not want to be an administrative assistant, that I wanted to be a leader of something, and also with everything I saw, I realized that I wanted to help create a better world. After that year I took the exam again and now I was accepted. I taught aerobics classes daily (3 hours) to help my family. I loved sports, I trained for a Mexico – Cuernavaca cross country marathon (45 KMS) and that was my passion. I loved exercise so much that my friend from college was upset with me because I was always doing homework at the last moment. At that time, I wanted to put in a gym and I loved to make people happy through exercise and music which is also my passion. In this process, I had a car accident that stopped for a while the opportunity to continue teaching classes and that was where I received the message that my mission was not teaching aerobics, that I had to start to focus more on my professional career and that was when I tried harder in the University. I love mathematics, to challenge my brain to solve problems, the more difficult I like it and that also I was passionate about. When I was finishing school I wanted to work in a company that was the IT biggest Company, where I could learn more and be challenged. That’s where I found out back then that it was IBM and a friend’s sister took my resume to IBM. I went on a scholarship and that’s where my path in technology began. Since I was at school I always had the opportunity to be a leader. I was a group leader in secondary school for the 3 years in a row, and I loved it because I have the firm conviction that being a leader you can train and help people, and create high-potential teams. My first position as a manager was when I thought I was ready, I asked my manager at IBM what do I have to do to become a manager and he assigned me goals that I met and they gave me a management position. I learned that if you want something you need to ask for it. There is a lot of responsibility in being a leader because you become an example and inspiration for others, but if you do it well, you can create opportunities and a better world. When was Alldatum Business established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? Alldatum Business is a proudly Mexican company created in 2016. Our passion is to deliver and help customers derive value from their information and collaborate with them on their data strategy. Headquartered in Mexico City, Alldatum brings value to customers by being a business partner that accompanies them on their path to a successful digital transformation getting value on their data, as well as responding to the challenges presented by the digital economy and data management initiatives. We help companies to obtain the best information from their systems, and the vision of the data they don’t have today but need for future growth. create value with this data and thus share this data to the lines of business and the analytical area to make better decisions. We transform the data into wisdom for the companies. Data projects are not only technological projects. Many customers need help to understand all about the data and the best strategy to get value from it. Sometimes their first pain is on the silos and integration of their information, sometimes they do not have the data they need, sometimes they had internal political situations that are difficult to manage, and the owners do not want to share the data, the data is poor on quality, and many other situations. Data projects are
Maxim Behar: An Incredible Man Who Overcame Adversity With Creativity, Ethics, and Responsibilities
The whole business world including the communication business is currently witnessing the total change of everything – from sales to communications to industrial production. For a couple of years, we have been observing a very dynamic and fast merging of the three main elements of the public communications business – advertising, public relations, and digital. It is so obvious that they will unify and work as a new business soon but for now, there is a constant dispute for leadership. The advertising industry claims to be the winner as they own media shops and creators, and so the digital experts as their leadership abilities allow them to create applications, tabs, and software. However, the CEO & Founder of M3 Communications Group, Inc., Maxim Behar strongly feels that Public Relations experts and managers will be the leader of the future big, merged business. The thought that supports this concrete belief is quite simple, they are the “Kings of Content.” They are the masters of words and visions and in the modern world, wisdom comes from social media content. The Visionary CEO Maxim Behar has done graduation in the Executive Program on Leadership Decision Making from Harvard Kennedy School and now, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Global Public Relations Changes at Sofia University. His first graduation was from Prague University on International Economic Relations. As learning was/is his passion, he collected many degrees from Universities across the world including The Pacific Institute in Seattle, USA. At his initial stage, he started working as a machinery worker in a plant that was based in Sofia. After graduation, he worked as a journalist for 15 years and then launched one of the first private daily newspapers in Bulgaria – Standard News. Even with so much success, he decided to resign from the post of Managing Editor remembering what Sir Winston Churchill said, “you can achieve a lot with the journalism, but you should know exactly when to quit.” When Maxim was in high school, he ever since wanted to be a brilliant journalist. Even when he decided to quit this job the next logical step that came into his conscious was to upgrade his journalistic knowledge. Although jumped into Public Relations, he did not realize that it’s nothing but pure unique business surrounded by creativity, ethics, and responsibilities. About 27 years ago, Maxim from proudly launching a one-man-show company in a one-room rented apartment of a friend to owning a leading Public Relations and Social Media company, is streaming like water; partnered with one of the largest international US-based PR corporations, Hill+Knowlton Strategies with hundreds of clients from all over the world. With great projects come great challenges every single day, and that’s what Maxim loves to invest his life for. A Trusted Service Provider M3 Communications Group, Inc. was established in 1994. After 6 years Maxim Behar met the Executive Vice President of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, late Terence Billing, who turned out to be his teacher, mentor, partner, and of course, best friend. Through the journey, they witnessed failures and successes, and last but not least they emerged as a modern and successful corporation – a leading PR company in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, we provide the full range of public communications services – public, governmental and media relations, social media management, event and conventions, graphic design, web creations, and project management. We create a unique package for each of our clients ensuring the top-notch quality of our services. We also provide services such as social media development, content management, creating visuals, and more which keeps updating every week. With 35 clients on a retainer fee and at least double the number per project, we are available 24/7 for our clients that makes us ideal for crisis management, employers branding, and corporate communications. We serve what customers deserve i.e; increasing sales, better branding, and media presence. We believe in transparency that gives us the confidence to deliver exact reports back to the clients. Also, social media in addition to providing information targets messages properly. The most important aspect that affects us is ‘outcomes’ and to match those we focus on being creative, innovative, proactive, and knowledgeable. In the process, we pull out preparation for every post. We ensure every word, every picture should be catchy and effective on social media. Achievements To Appreciate Maxim Behar was twice awarded the Best PR Consultant in the world by Stevie Awards. Recently, PR Week announced him the Best Global PR Consultant. With more than 100 international business and leadership awards and books that top on Amazon, Maxim is proudly elected as an Advisory Board Member of one of the largest European Universities – Engage.eu, Germany. It is a privilege for him to be on the Board of the World PR Museum in New York City. In 2017, he was inducted into the Global PR Hall of Fame in London as the first-ever East European expert. The greatest achievement in life is his children, family, and the excellent M3 Communications Group family. PR’s Absolute Best Customer preferences are like seasons, they keep changing. Of course, this affects how clients emphasize themselves on social media and the reason is quite clear – these interactive technologies are fully measurable ever since the very beginning of the Guttenberg Press Machine. Social media is exponentially succeeding against traditional media only because clients can optimize their messages to certain target groups, and in minutes can analyze too. Clients have become sensitive and quick towards creative involvement and decision-making. This practice brings a big boost to our business – one who can take fast decisions and can communicate successfully will win, the others will be out of the business. We cannot deny the fact that customer feedback is crucial, however, we try to prove our point of view that our experts are devoted only to making their experience rich. “Zoom lockdown times” made our life a bit convenient which we appreciate through meeting clients and discussing tons of ideas. But also,
Kelly Bagla: Forging Roadmaps, Building Businesses
Kelly is a bestselling Author, an Inventor, winner of 2020 and 2021 Lawyers of Distinction, winner of 2020 Legal Awards for Best International M&A Law Firm USA and Corporate Attorney of the Year, and winner of many more. She is also the founder and CEO of GoLegalYourself.com an online company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses with the right legal documents. A multi-degree lawyer, Kelly Bagla, Esq. is an international award-winning corporate attorney who practices in San Diego, California. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and she lives by her own motto: “Grab the world by the pearls, it’s yours for the taking!” Kelly Bagla, CEO of Bagla Law Firm, is on a mission to empower businesses of all sizes with the best information with the help of the best legal minds in the business. With the mantra “Go Legal Yourself!” and by creating the “4 Legal Lifecycles” of a business, Kelly broke down how to start, grow, establish and exit a business into 4 easy steps that will make any business bulletproof and extremely successful! Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? I graduated from university back in England and made my way to America. The land of the free and the home of the brave! I got here with the hopes to achieve my ‘American Dream’, and I set out to do so. I put myself through Law School in California, and my focus on being the best landed me a career opportunity to work at the largest law firm in the world. I did that for some time and decided that working for someone else wasn’t what the ‘Dream’ I had envisioned. You see… I have ALWAYS wanted to be an Attorney. To use my platform to ‘save the world’ so to speak. But… I watched the “big business legal industry” just ‘nickel and dime’ every entrepreneur trying to get their start. I began to realize that the system set in place was designed to make it damn near impossible for the “little guy” to get their footing and have a fighting chance at success. So that’s when I started Bagla Law Firm, APC., an internationally recognized business law firm with its headquarters in beautiful San Diego, California. Besides my successful Law Firm, I ventured into: Toy invention, Authoring “Go Legal Yourself!” (and a handful more titles in the series), Keynote Public Speaking, Guest Hosting, Pitbull Rescue, Veteran Service, Podcast Hosting…. Sky Diving… LA Fashion Week?! So many things. I try not to limit myself, and always try to continue growing; Both professionally, and individually. When was Bagla Law Firm established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? I started Bagla Law in 2009. Our business model surrounds the idea of flat-rate fees for services rendered, and a relationship built where you feel comfortable coming back and asking questions should you have any. We offer a customer-service-based Business Law Practice, that puts its top priority on client satisfaction and transparent practices. We are pretty all-encompassing. Starting a business? Of any kind? From anywhere in the world? That’s any size big or small?? Already have a business and want to make sure you are set up in the safest situation available? We take care of all of that. And we do it in a way that is thorough, concise, comprehensive, flat rate fee oriented, and doesn’t require “long billable hours”. The same can be said of the Asset Protection side of the Practice. Do you need: offshore asset protection? Real estate asset protection? Buying or selling a business? We got you. Please tell us about the services/products your company is offering? How are they different from your competitors’ offerings? Bagla Law Firm, APC., is a Business Formation and Asset Protection Law Firm. We help individuals who want to start their own businesses and we help businesses, both domestic and international, who want general corporate counsel, including starting, growing, and selling their business. I am the “Queen of Business Law” for a reason. What I do, I do as an expert. If I don’t feel that I’m at a level of expertise in the current law surrounding the case, I won’t take the client. I have no issues referring out clientele to fellow attorneys that fill the yin to my yang. But I would only send a client to counsel I felt could treat them in the same manner that we treat our clients. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? Our firm has a deep-rooted core value of construct that also, despite conflicting with the money-making drive purpose of all businesses, has a burning desire to HELP. I run my law firm the same way I run my life: I know what we’re worth, I know our limitations, I know our expertise, and I know what we can and will do to help be a part of the solution. I won’t ever promise you the world if I can’t deliver on it. And on the flip side of that… ‘if I promise you the world.’ You can count on it being delivered. There are these unfortunately true stereotypes about lawyers “squeezing blood from a turnip”, and just being downright ‘blah’ people. Here at Bagla Law Firm, APC., we do everything within our power to make sure that our FLAT RATE pricing, and CLEAR, CONCISE, communication, keeps every interaction as pleasant, and as productive as possible. It also takes an entrepreneur to understand the business needs of another entrepreneur, as I run several businesses. I think that’s a huge part of the reason why our clients choose us because we understand them, can relate to them, and they appreciate talking to and working with real business owners – us. What are the unique challenges your company is
Ingmar Hogoy: Using Food Waste to Produce New Food
Why is waste management of concern, especially food waste? Food waste is now a global issue. If not properly dealt with, it poses a threat to public health and the environment. It is a growing issue linked directly to the way society produces and consumes. We need to find new and more sustainable solutions adapted to our urban lifestyle where we can upcycle the recourses in food leftovers to feed. Ingmar Hogoy, CEO and Co-Founder at Greentech Innovators AS, has the vision to produce more food to help people fight the food crisis. As an entrepreneur, he discovered a gap in waste management that triggered him to utilize waste from fisheries and aquaculture and develop new products such as feed, special feed, and proteins for human consumption. We at Fortunes Crown got into an interview to know more about Mr. Hogoy and his impact on food waste management. Let’s have a look! Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? I have had a passion for fisheries and aquaculture since I was a kid ad when I was 12, I started experimenting with microalgae in an aquarium using fertilizer for growth. I made a small pond and was catching wild trout fry for farming. When I was 15 years old, I started fish farming with rainbow trout in a homemade fish cage. My goal has never been to be a business leader as such, but my vision was to contribute to producing more food for a growing population and the answer to more food production is in the ocean. My inspiration has been the scientist Dr. Norman Borlaug who got the Nobel Price in 1970 and the book “The man who fed the world” describes the “Green revolution” and how it was possible to increase food production through modern and scientific agriculture methods. Aquaculture has the same potential for the “Blue revolution” and increasing food production from the ocean. My passion for aquaculture has led to several projects and positions in the whole aquaculture value chain through research, product development, processing, and sales. In the early stage of the Norwegian salmon industry, I was working in a salmon processing plant when I realized that there was no waste management solution for processed by-products like viscera and bones. This became an environmental problem. I found that the rest raw material from processing was a valuable resource containing high-quality protein and oil – left unutilized. I was hired at a pioneering company and built up a factory for processing the rest raw materials from the salmon industry into fish protein and oil as feed. Ever since, I have been dedicated to the circular economy, utilizing waste from fisheries and aquaculture by developing new products such as feed, special feed, and proteins for human consumption. The utilization of the rest raw materials from fisheries and aquaculture is now a large and profitable industry in Norway. When was Greentech Innovators AS established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? On my daily travel from home to work I met the trucks loaded with food waste going for incineration and the only result was GHG emission and pollution from the chimney. Through my experience with aquaculture and by solving the challenges of by-products from aquaculture and fisheries, I realized that we still have environmental challenges with food waste. In 2018, we established Greentech Innovators and the subsidiary Algaepro. The idea was to find more sustainable solutions to organic waste like food waste. The environmental challenges with today’s waste management solutions became more and more obvious. Please tell us about the services/products your company is offering? How are they different from your competitors’ offerings? Headquartered in Bergen, Norway, Greentech Innovators uses biotechnology for converting food waste into growth media for microbes and microalgae for the production of omega-3 and protein as sustainable feed for the aquaculture industry. We are upcycling food waste to feed. And our customers are waste management companies that need more sustainable solutions according to new regulations. We can offer feed producers more sustainable omega-3 and protein. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? During the last decade, it has become more and more obvious that we need to find more environmentally friendly ways of living. This includes the development of new and more sustainable waste management as all the commonly used solutions like landfills, incineration, composting, and biogas production are contributing to greenhouse gases and pollution of water and air. Political, social, and regulatory pressure to reduce greenhouse gases and go for more circular solutions is a driving force for our solution. It is also a global demand for new feed for the growing aquaculture industry. To continue growing, new and sustainable feed sources substituting fish meal and oil and soy in aquaculture feed must be developed. It is not sustainable to use 30% of global fish sources that can be used for direct food consumption as feed. Our solution uses something that we have too much of, food waste, to produce something in global demand like omega-3 and protein. What are the unique challenges your company is currently facing? How have they affected your company? Like many early-stage companies, we were also affected by the covid situations. Equipment that was normally no problem to get was in demand, and the whole process took more time and the education of employees was delayed because of restrictions. The largest challenge, however, was that investors became more risk reluctant, and it was hard to get equity for expansion and scaling of our innovative solution producing more food and at the same time reducing GHG emissions and pollution of water and air. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? Internally within the team we are
MOBILE APPLICATIONS AS THE CURRENT CATALYST OF BUSINESSES
The impact of mobile applications on people’s daily lives has grown exponentially within this decade. There’s not a lot of things to say about it because its emergence and improvement is evident. While the majority of users worldwide are taking advantage of mobile applications because of social media platforms and online shopping, there’s still a fair chunk of that massive user base that other sectors can grab. And sole proprietor businesses, in particular, took a shot and leveraged mobile applications. In this article, we will focus most on the clear benefits that mobile applications bring to any size of businesses and enterprises. Bigger boost in reach Both the Android OS and iOS have their application marketplace, where users can download any types of applications they want with or without a fee. Most businesses offer free access to users to increase their reach and accessibility. UberEats, for example, is a food delivery service that requires a specific amount of reach to become functional. McDonald’s, on the other hand, is a restaurant that mostly uses its application to advertise their menu, while still offering customers the option to deliver food at the doorsteps of their customers. Both of these make more profit, the more customers they serve, the more mobile applications are the perfect platform for them to achieve that goal. Accessibility and management One thing that most people adore from mobile applications is their accessibility. Indeed, it is an invention that has allowed people to become more organized than ever before. The mClinic application is an excellent example of the management side. It helps doctors and other medical professionals to organize their clinics and hospitals within just a couple of taps. This impact can be felt on the client’s end as well. Increased brand recognition Another beauty of having an application for a business despite it being costly to develop is slight to a high increase in brand recognition. Most businesses push this endeavor to stand out from the crowd and be ahead of their competitors. Tropical Roofing Products, for instance, saw this opportunity to grow because of the lack of roofing contractors and repairers on the app market. Many sole proprietor businesses can take advantage of this, including computer repair services, landscaping providers, accountants for hire, etc. Along with technology, businesses have also evolved and are now using a different approach to advertising, and generally reaching more people. Mobile applications have done such a great job combining all of these and benefiting both the businesses and their clients, as well. Contact us today to create your own mobile application. About Webster Solutions Vishal Dudhal, founder, Webster Solution, specializes in building unique, personalized, and easy to manage websites and applications. Having been in the web industry for over nine years, we have over 200 satisfied and recurring clients, across the world! We focus on quality, innovation, & speed. We utilize technology to bring results to grow our clients businesses. Throughout the years Webster Solutions has been able to create stunning Website designs and Mobile/Web applications in multiple verticals while allowing our clients to obtain an overall better web presence. Based in India, Webster Solution provides services such as Domain Registration And Web Hosting E-Commerce Development Search Engine Optimization WordPress Development Web Design And Development Mobile Application Development
Mohammed Mubin Mallick: On the Forefront of Robot Solutions and Services
Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? I, Mohammed Mubin Mallick, am the CEO and Founder of Kiran Smart company in Kuwait, Dubai, and India. I am an innovator of Humanoid Robot Services and the Founder of Mi-Robots Company registered in India. Holding a Master’s Degree MBA from Cardiff University, UK. I have several professional certificates under his name. It was one of the childhood incidents that inspired me to be an Entrepreneur and be a leader to help others not only in business but in their personal life as well. Every journey has good and bad highlights so let me start with bad highlights first because they helped me forge my path to success. During the journey, I lost my father, lost money, was cheated several times, failed myself many times, and sacrificed a lot in my personal life. But I flipped the coin and built trust. People started recognizing me. I excelled in business. I have loyal customers and employees. I am able to expand my business in India and Dubai (UAE). I have bagged many awards for being advanced in the robotics field. Today, I am recognized as one of the Top Influencers in the field of robotics. When was Kiran Smart established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? Kiran Smart was established in the year 2019. We have IT solutions and services but in the recent year during COVID-19, we have diversified to Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, and Digital Transformation. Headquartered in Dubai, Kiran Smart is always different than its competitors offering because we always introduce advanced new technology and innovative product so that customers can be ahead and up to date with the latest technological solutions and services offered by us. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? The present scenario of business will vary from business to business. So if I share about my business then it is different than others as our core business is robotics services for different industries and the demand is increasing daily. Other than this we are also into IT solutions and services which is the ongoing business for us from past few years. Customer preferences keep changing from time to time as per the latest trends in the market and in terms of advanced technologies as well. So customers always prefer something innovative as well solve the problem. Previously, customers used to focus on resolving the issue but now the preferences have been widened in terms of innovation, technologies, quick services, and 24 hr availability. What are the unique challenges your company is currently facing? How have they affected your company? At present, we have one unique challenge which is Post Covid 19 recovery because this challenge is not only for us but it is for the whole world and it has affected every business. Financial-wise and work-wise it has affected our company but not to a very high extent as we have deployed the advanced technologies, especially robots to overcome these challenges. We were quite successful to overcome these challenges with our robots. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? Our working style is like a family in our working environment. Also, our working times are flexible. We offer employees their preferred time to work where they can have much more productivity. So as a holistic situation it helps to remain motivated and also increases productivity. We always think in a positive way so whatever criticism or disagreement comes from our customers we always take it as tips or lessons for ourselves to improve it and develop it to be better in the future. Because we believe that everyone is not perfect and from mistakes only we can learn to be better and better in our services. What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How much impact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies? It is very simple for us. We just listen to our customers carefully so that we can deliver the best solution as per the customer’s problems defined. Customer feedback is very important because it helps us to make a better strategy whether it is related to competition, market trends, customer demand, customer satisfaction, or employees’ services to customers. So for us, the feedback of customers is very important because it helps us to grow and develop. Are you planning to launch any new products/services or advancements to your existing offerings? If so, we would like to know about it. Yes, there are many but all of them are robots for different industries and verticals. We cannot disclose the information due to company policies.
Colin Brown: Serving Best Vehicle Insurance Against Eventualities
Business is booming and for the first time in two years an Underwriting Agency has made huge advances with many new auto products and services with great ideas, solutions, and technology. The growth in the last 24 months has defied the pandemic restrictions and Colin Brown, CEO & Founder of Stratford Underwriting Agency Inc. shares the same story. There are very few people with as deep an understanding of vehicle insurance as Colin Brown. From emigrating to investing 22 years of his life in a company, Mr. Brown claims to provide services against monopolies in the industry. Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? I emigrated from Ulster in October 1973. I had a degree in Geology and Geography from Queens University Belfast. I started my career as a management trainee at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) in January 1974 and the Corporation opened for business in March 1974. I worked at ICBC for 22 years and resigned as Chief Underwriter in 1995. During that time, I became a Chartered Insurance Professional, a Chartered Arbitrator, and also received an MA in Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University. In 1995, following my resignation, I founded Canadian Direct Insurance (CDI). CDI was the first direct writer in Western Canada and sold optional auto insurance coverage by phone and internet in competition with ICBC which is a quasi-monopoly. At the outset, CDI was a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC. It turned profitable in its fifth year and 2005 was sold to Canadian Western Bank (CWB) for $25 million, or 1.25 of book value. CWB were great owners and after a change in leadership in 2015, sold CDI to Intact (Canada’s largest insurer) for $200 million, or 2.5 times book value. CDI had additionally previously issued dividends of $35 million to the bank already to protect CDI’s capital ratio. It was a massive success. I was appointed Executive Officer of Intact, but I retired in 2016 at the age of 66. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? The auto insurance business in BC is dominated by ICBC. They have a monopoly on “the basic” which is the minimum cover that you have to buy to put a vehicle on the road. They also sell almost 90% of “optional” which are the add-ons for collision cover, comprehensive, etc. That optional market is worth $2.5 billion in BC. CDI had been the largest seller of optional. Following my retirement, I did a little consulting but was approached several times to start another company. I finally did so in 2018 and founded Stratford Underwriting Agency Inc. We are a Managing General Agency (MGA), essentially a wholesaler of niche products that are otherwise hard to find. Stratford started in 2020 with its own BC auto product (CDI 2.0), underwritten by a major reinsurer that I had worked with for 20 years. Customer preferences have not changed in this regard, they still want a viable option to a government monopoly. A better product, more bells and whistles, and a lower price. We sell through a network of 200 independent brokers. What are the prominent products/services offered by the company? How are they different from your competitors’ offerings? Stratford’s two current products are differentiated in price. Both offer products very similar to our competitors but priced better. Our products have better coverages in key areas that make them more attractive and in addition offer better features. This is achieved through smarter underwriting. Our primary product is designed to save 80% of BC motorists on their purchases. Currently, Stratford offers a full-service BC auto optional product and a replacement cost policy for the loss of value on new cars that may become a total loss. In 2021, we wrote a total of $27 million in premium, had revenue of $7 million, and lost $170,00 in our second year of business. We are very happy with that. We will write about $38 million in 2022 and make $1million+ in profit. We are developing two other non-auto products at this time. They will broaden our scope and spread our risk base. What are the unique challenges your company is currently facing? How have they affected your company? At the time we entered the marketplace, ICBC have declared BC to be a “no-fault” jurisdiction. Essentially cutting out the need for third-party liability cover and reducing the average premium available from $800 a policy to $500 a policy. This was effective May 1st, 2021. Stratford was forced to find a product to replace the lost premium. This was done in short order and a replacement cost policy was added in February 2021 and we sold $10 million worth of policies for the premium product in 2021. Opportunity and agility melded together on that one. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? As a company, our system was designed to be flexible. It is in the cloud and supports working from home. We encourage attendance at the office as needed. Staff who can influence key indicators are incentivized appropriately. All staff is bonused on the corporate performance. We have an open office plan which encourages open discussion and deals with any issues as they arise. We have a complaints officer who responds to any customer complaints. What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How much impact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies? We do have a complaints officer who is charged with dealing immediately with any issues that arise. As we sell through independent brokers, there are few complaints directly to us. Most would be claims disputes and there are formal procedures in place for dispute handling. If there is a consistent valid issue, we are quite at ease
Yasaf Burshan: Inspiring and Empowering Creators to Make an Impact
Israel is a very small country – two hours from Tel Aviv you are on the edge of the country. But due to its position as a global innovation powerhouse, investors from major countries are attracted to it. Identified as a hotspot for collaboration, Yasaf, an innovative Israeli entrepreneur helps businesses thrive through effectively integrating technologies in their education businesses. Yasaf Burshan, Founder and CEO of Team Genius, shares his journey of outgrowing and expanding abroad, connecting people with technology. We at Fortunes Crown got into an interview questionnaire to know more about the company and its impact on ed-tech businesses. Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? When it comes to formal education, I’m happy to say that I’ve obtained education in two major fields that I’m very passionate about, Technology and People. I have a BA in business management with a major in Information Technology and I’m a certified project management professional (PMP). Also, I am a certified Clinical NLP master and a graduate of the Tony Robbins platinum partnership program. This combination allowed me to have a very successful career in the traditional IT industry for over 20 years, in which I held multiple senior roles including the head of IT for IKEA in Israel. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? Team Genius’s mission is to inspire and empower creators to make an impact. We work with content and course creators all over the world (majorly in the US, Canada, and Australia) and we help them to unleash their creativity by effectively integrating technology into all areas of their business. Simply put, we keep them in their Zone of Genius, doing what they do best, as we help them create profitable online businesses. As a content creator myself, for my program “Anywhere Boss”, I know first-hand the challenges they are facing, and I’m also inspired by them to become better and better. While I’m still very much in the “tech zone” my ideal customer has changed from the finance/retail/consumer subject matters to the knowledge commerce business. What are the unique challenges your company is currently facing? How have they affected your company? I think that like most other companies these days working remotely and efficiently is a challenge. At the same time, one advantage we have on our side is that Team Genius was founded as a global organization with team members across multiple locations, so this is built right into our DNA. It drives us to be more open in our communications, efficient in the way we do business, and of course, rely on technology, we do for ourselves what we do for our customers. When was Team Genius established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? Team Genius was established in 2019. We are a certified Thinkific agency partner, certified Zapier experts and a certified Evernote partner. In addition, we have partnerships with other major brands like Microsoft and Monday that gives us a unique ability to look at our customers’ tech needs from a holistic point of view. We help our customers create profitable online courses, products and membership sites and convert sales funnels, but we don’t stop there. We apply automation and make them more efficient and productive in their business. And on a personal level, I also mentor and coach my customers on how to take things to the next level and build a lifestyle that excites them by becoming “Anywhere Bosses”. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? I encourage open and honest communication. It is my responsibility as the leader to make sure that everybody gets heard and to recognize what they have to say. Values and culture are the keys here and it starts with me leading by example, and by choosing Team Members that share the same values. Not the same opinions, the same values. Disagreements are inventible, nor they should be ignored. Every member of the team has the freedom to speak freely. Criticism is fine, as long as it is served as feedback that we can build on and improve. My response is always “bring it on, let’s talk about it so we can get better. What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How much impact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies? Communication is the key. Customer satisfaction is very important for us and it plays a major role in our growth and success strategies. Customer dissatisfaction is most likely to come when there is a gap between the customer expectation and the result or deliverable. So we communicate clearly from the first step what is to be expected, what is included in the scope of work, the timeline and the expected cost. Then we monitor expectations and communication throughout the lifecycle of the project and adjust as needed. We are not afraid to say that we don’t have the answer to something, and if such cases arise we see them as an opportunity to learn something new with a promise to come back with an answer in X amount of time. Please tell us about the services/products your company is offering? How are they different from your competitors’ offerings? We are certified Thinkific agency partners, and as such, we offer course creation, site-building and automation services. We also support all Thinkific superpowerups, from general consultation to setup and configuration. As Zapier experts, we effectively integrate technology in all areas of our customer’s business. Keeping them in their “Zone of Genius”, doing what they do best; teaching, empowering, creating, leading, and making sure they have efficient processes that are working for them so they can quickly and effortlessly scale. The successful partnerships we maintain with industry-leading vendors allows
Kelly Bagla: Forging Roadmaps, Building Businesses
Kelly is a bestselling Author, an Inventor, winner of 2020 and 2021 Lawyers of Distinction, winner of 2020 Legal Awards for Best International M&A Law Firm USA and Corporate Attorney of the Year, and winner of many more. She is also the founder and CEO of GoLegalYourself.com an online company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses with the right legal documents. A multi-degree lawyer, Kelly Bagla, Esq. is an international award-winning corporate attorney who practices in San Diego, California. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and she lives by her own motto: “Grab the world by the pearls, it’s yours for the taking!” Kelly Bagla, CEO of Bagla Law Firm, is on a mission to empower businesses of all sizes with the best information with the help of the best legal minds in the business. With the mantra “Go Legal Yourself!” and by creating the “4 Legal Lifecycles” of a business, Kelly broke down how to start, grow, establish and exit a business into 4 easy steps that will make any business bulletproof and extremely successful! Please tell us about your educational/professional background. Who inspired you to become a business leader? Would you like to mention some of the highlights from your journey? I graduated from university back in England and made my way to America. The land of the free and the home of the brave! I got here with the hopes to achieve my ‘American Dream’, and I set out to do so. I put myself through Law School in California, and my focus on being the best landed me a career opportunity to work at the largest law firm in the world. I did that for some time and decided that working for someone else wasn’t what the ‘Dream’ I had envisioned. You see… I have ALWAYS wanted to be an Attorney. To use my platform to ‘save the world’ so to speak. But… I watched the “big business legal industry” just ‘nickel and dime’ every entrepreneur trying to get their start. I began to realize that the system set in place was designed to make it damn near impossible for the “little guy” to get their footing and have a fighting chance at success. So that’s when I started Bagla Law Firm, APC., an internationally recognized business law firm with its headquarters in beautiful San Diego, California. Besides my successful Law Firm, I ventured into: Toy invention, Authoring “Go Legal Yourself!” (and a handful more titles in the series), Keynote Public Speaking, Guest Hosting, Pitbull Rescue, Veteran Service, Podcast Hosting…. Sky Diving… LA Fashion Week?! So many things. I try not to limit myself, and always try to continue growing; Both professionally, and individually. When was Bagla Law Firm established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? I started Bagla Law in 2009. Our business model surrounds the idea of flat-rate fees for services rendered, and a relationship built where you feel comfortable coming back and asking questions should you have any. We offer a customer-service-based Business Law Practice, that puts its top priority on client satisfaction and transparent practices. We are pretty all-encompassing. Starting a business? Of any kind? From anywhere in the world? That’s any size big or small?? Already have a business and want to make sure you are set up in the safest situation available? We take care of all of that. And we do it in a way that is thorough, concise, comprehensive, flat rate fee oriented, and doesn’t require “long billable hours”. The same can be said of the Asset Protection side of the Practice. Do you need: offshore asset protection? Real estate asset protection? Buying or selling a business? We got you. Please tell us about the services/products your company is offering? How are they different from your competitors’ offerings? Bagla Law Firm, APC., is a Business Formation and Asset Protection Law Firm. We help individuals who want to start their own businesses and we help businesses, both domestic and international, who want general corporate counsel, including starting, growing, and selling their business. I am the “Queen of Business Law” for a reason. What I do, I do as an expert. If I don’t feel that I’m at a level of expertise in the current law surrounding the case, I won’t take the client. I have no issues referring out clientele to fellow attorneys that fill the yin to my yang. But I would only send a client to counsel I felt could treat them in the same manner that we treat our clients. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? Our firm has a deep-rooted core value of construct that also, despite conflicting with the money-making drive purpose of all businesses, has a burning desire to HELP. I run my law firm the same way I run my life: I know what we’re worth, I know our limitations, I know our expertise, and I know what we can and will do to help be a part of the solution. I won’t ever promise you the world if I can’t deliver on it. And on the flip side of that… ‘if I promise you the world.’ You can count on it being delivered. There are these unfortunately true stereotypes about lawyers “squeezing blood from a turnip”, and just being downright ‘blah’ people. Here at Bagla Law Firm, APC., we do everything within our power to make sure that our FLAT RATE pricing, and CLEAR, CONCISE, communication, keeps every interaction as pleasant, and as productive as possible. It also takes an entrepreneur to understand the business needs of another entrepreneur, as I run several businesses. I think that’s a huge part of the reason why our clients choose us because we understand them, can relate to them, and they appreciate talking to and working with real business owners – us. What are the unique challenges your company is
Nick Lai: Marketing in the Digital Age, the Present and the Future
The world of digital media is changing at a phenomenal pace. Its constantly evolving technologies, and the way people are using them, are transforming not just how you access your information, but how you interact and communicate with your friends and colleagues on a global scale. It also has changed the way you choose and buy products and services. People are embracing digital technologies to communicate, in ways NickMetrics helping businesses integrate such technologies seamlessly into their everyday needs. Nick Lai, Managing Director at NickMetrics has worked client-side for a wide range of businesses, including start-ups and marketing leading corporations across a range of industries. He has built a large number of successful digital marketing strategies, both nationally and globally, and consulted for companies across the world. Inspiration Behind NickMetrics Nick was born in Malaysia and while growing up he realized that consumers have grown tired of mass media marketing, and are turning instead to the internet. They want more engagement, more interaction. Before his interest as a writer, he already had a successful experience of an online affiliated program back in 2009. Lasting for 2 years, the online venture later ignited an initiation of an online design and development firm in 2012 which enabled him to hit his first million. Nick explained, “I always felt I wanted to do more, so I turned back to writing, and it has been one delightful journey so far.” Continuing his admiration for writing, a leading digital marketing conference grabbed Nick’s attention where he witnessed the vast potential of digital marketing. The event became a turning point and an eye-opener for him to start living and serving businesses online presence. And that’s how Malaysia’s best Digital Marketing Agency, NickMetrics.com born in 2016. The Highway Today, Nick and his team as the generation of digital natives are entering the workplace and are spending like never before. This is the mass market of tomorrow, and for business people and marketers the challenge is to become fluent in this new digital language so that we can talk effectively to our target audience. As the managing director, he has contributed to the significant growth of several businesses in areas including digital marketing, offline marketing, branding, and relationship management. Moreover, to make this small agency effective he sits for sales, design, development, planning, and execution. He is also responsible for recruiting and training the best minds of 48+ employees which is their extraordinary assets. Laying Strong Digital Space Throughout Nick’s career, he has aimed at transforming the brand from a variety of verticals, developing intimate search knowledge and strategy for diverse clients. The agency is inclined for offering the trendiest and new-age digital marketing solutions to brands such as SOP to handle each client’s digital marketing campaign. Nick is responsible for the delivery of NickMetrics’ business plan across marketing which mostly includes Influencer Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Optimization, and Content Marketing. Such an effective package enhances its market leadership position and continues to deliver exceptional growth. NickMetrics Group apart from being industry-centric has another most comprehensive Malaysia’s Online Auto Insurance Comparison Website that has been developing a connection between insurance and consumer. The website helps insure both parties with better-informed decisions and facilitates them to make smart and easier insurance purchases. While offering consumers unbiased comparison for auto insurance, it majorly saves the hassle of consumers from the details and technical processes of auto insurance. World Wide Wild Since its inception, Nick and partners have extensive experience of serving more than 30 medium-to-big sizes clients helping them implement multi-channel brand-marketing strategies. With that, the agency has successfully flagged its location in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India. The agency has also launched packaged services where users can answer a few questionnaires and pay online. After that, the involving team will start working on it based on its SOP and the reports and results will be displayed on the user’s dashboard. Believing in his power of writing and entrepreneurial journey, Nick says, “there’s so much out there I plan to try out, but it’s all in the plans. Through writing and any entrepreneurial adventure I take on, my goal is to change the world, I plan to become even better, not just professionally but also personally, and writing gave me the voice to reach out to the world.”