Speaker 1: 0:20

Hey everybody, ryan Garland here, founder and chairman of Paradigm. Thank you very much for watching the Paradigm Shift podcast. We are here today, based off of all of your votes, my friends and family, to see my best friend, joe, my videographer. For the first time, he's actually in front of the camera instead of behind the camera and we're going to just let the conversation flow. He's got a list of questions from our marketing team that I have not seen yet.

Speaker 2: 0:52

So, joe, thank you very much for coming. Brother, I love you more. Welcome to the paradigm shift. It is an honor and I would say it's well overdue. We've tried to have multiple podcasts and either they just don't work out or you don't have time or way or shit doesn't go our way and things don't get right. I do have a whole. If you don't see Alexis over here Every time she sends a message, it's 17 swipes.

Speaker 1: 1:10

And she won't send them to me because she knows I won't read them Poor.

Speaker 2: 1:13

thing.

Speaker 1: 1:13

Love you, by the way.

Speaker 2: 1:15

Let's start with what is the most important thing with our friendship that has added value to not only your personal life, but your business culture as well.

Speaker 1: 1:28

Of course you're going to bring that up when I talked to you about this two days ago. It's hard to articulate because I think it's something that a lot of men don't talk about. I think, you see, a lot of people have their friendships. The girls got their girlfriends and they got this. But I think, because you work so closely with me, you feel my energy, you feel my stress and I know for a fact there's nobody else out there that knows me as well as you do yes, my wife does, but from a different level. In regards to true friendship, I can't hide things from you. You're with me every single day, for days and days. I've had to pull down that mask a long time ago. I don't have to be a specific way because you accepted me for all of my faults a long time ago. Ultimately, most people just want to be able to be that way in all of their relationships. They want to be themselves and so you've just proven yourself over time.

Speaker 1: 2:15

The community show up for me. You do call me out on my stuff, but you're so understanding because you're like, look, this is what's going on, but here I understand why, and so you're able to articulate ways that I maybe not be able to because I'm wrapped up emotionally into something or whatever the case may be, but you just have a really good vantage point. I'm very grounded because of our friendship. For example, kara the other day and let's be honest, I'm hoping she doesn't watch this podcast but my wife and she was saying that in all honesty, I'm jealous of your relationship with Joe and she goes because I don't have anybody like that in my life and and there's truth to that and I do feel bad for her because I know the value of having you in my life and a friend like that, and what it comes down to is this kind of like unwary, wavering loyalty. It's this brotherhood that nobody really has. You know that you'd be able to provide. I know you'll take a bullet for me and I think I would take one for you. There's no questions asked and if something were to happen, I already know you'll be there for my family and I think, at the end of the day, that's all we really want. But to be able to have somebody as close as we are in my life, even involved into the business side, is such a breath of fresh air.

Speaker 1: 3:29

Because in many ways, I look at you as an advisor, because I'm like, hey, dude, everything that's going on. Am I in the right mindset? Am I thinking clearly? Am I off? Should I not be feeling that way? Because on certain things you're like no, you justified this. This is what's going on.

Speaker 1: 3:41

Here is what my perspective is to find this. This is what's going on. Here is what my perspective is. And enough about the business. Three years, four years, so you're literally with me. You've been with me since, really, the growing side of the equity side, so there's not much you don't know. So a lot of that, a lot of that having the ability to bounce stuff off somebody that's going to be real is really valuable because it's not about the money Most people, it's about money, and then you have to tread water because you don't know how to navigate those With you. It's just 100% real. This is what I'm thinking, this is what you should be doing, but pray about it. You have a really good way of keeping me real grounded and making sure I don't make decisions that aren't going to be directly positive for everybody around, so it's been really fruitful, man.

Speaker 2: 4:24

Yeah, and I think the biggest thing and a lot of people that watch your stories, my stories and social media in general, it's the grunt, the real, the brutal, honest self that we both show to each other and individually that people are attracted to. It's contagious, because what I've learned since starting working with you is we you always say we're putting down the mask, and I think the more you and I both put our masks down so others can see our pain, see our suffering, and that's so valuable to show and it's probably what's been able to elevate your company and business better than ever, because watching everyone, seeing the DMs that come in, the more you show vulnerability, the more people are going to trust and want to write a check or want to go and inquire into Paradigm. So that's huge.

Speaker 1: 5:23

I feel like I watched. I love I scroll so much on Instagram. I always look at all these sayings and there was one that really caught my attention. It was from Jordan Peterson, talking about bringing the mask down. And when you bring down the mask, you're going to attract those people that also have brought down their mask. And we all talk about elevating and getting into the right rooms and growing as an individual, but being able to be okay with yourself, knowing you're going to get judgment regardless of whatever you do in life, but be okay with it and you know that you're doing everything that you should be doing and being open and honest. And when you're more open and honest, the people that you're going to attract are going to be those people, or you're going to weed out the people that aren't ready and, at the end of the day, that's all I want around me.

Speaker 1: 6:10

I'm getting tired as I get older. I don't have the energy for the BS. I just don't. I don't have the energy to put it out they talk about when your group is really small, you're happiest, and there's so much truth to that. Like my team, my, my happiness is about four people, and that includes my family, and but I'm more content and stable and grounded than I've ever been, even when I had hundreds of friends. In essence, it's just more of can you get comfortable with being yourself and allowing everybody to see you for who you are? Yeah, and I think my position in the world and what I do for a living, it is absolutely important. So I've had to really push myself outside my comfort zone to get there.

Speaker 2: 6:50

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:51

It's been hard but it's. But I'm seeing the results, doing it the right way, so I appreciate that comment too.

Speaker 2: 6:57

Yeah, of course. So let's go with. Lately, we've been having a lot of not necessarily necessarily drama, but I'd say a shift, as the name itself paradigm shift goes very well hand in hand. Team dynamics and some drama, I I would say has there been any moments where the team just hasn't agreed? And, if so, how do you deal with that? So, for instance, with everything that just happened, whether it's our marketing team and sales team, how do you manage that? Even though you're not supposed to, you're not supposed to be in the nitty gritty. You have Mike for that or you have me, but the reason why you still deal with it is why this company is where it is today.

Speaker 1: 7:41

Look, in history there's never been a great sales team and a marketing team that's been able to collab and do real well. It's just an ongoing thing. It's like saying real estate agents and mortgage loan officers always be like best friends. It just doesn't work that way. So there you have the at least the people that I try to hire from my company. I try to hire top tier players, so therefore these people have life experience. They've been around the block. They're very knowledgeable. That's why I brought them on. But they're going to be very stern in their beliefs and so when you bring people on and they're set their ways to try to get them to, in essence maneuver into a new way of thinking, because paradigm does not think normal and we don't operate normal. We're we're totally an innovative company that's growing and at a pace that's hard to follow for a long period of time. You get exhausted. And then I have marketing with a person that's probably one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met in the marketing realm, and I've hired Hawk Media. I've spent $17,000 a month in just strategy. I've spent $40,000 a month in ads. I've spent another $10,000 a month in creatives. I've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in marketing and I brought somebody on that blows them out of the water and her way of thinking is so different I knew that she was going to naturally clash with marketing. So there's this kind of I would say a component to it where I know where the issues are going to be and, as I come in, what I've created is trust with these people and what that meaning. And the only way to create trust is to show up every day, keep delivering, be the first one there, last one to leave like. Keep working hard, right, never give up. Show positive energy, but be right, meaning like I tell everybody, like I can be hard on people, but the reason why I continue to keep the respect is because I'm right more often than not. So that's why I own the company.

Speaker 1: 9:30

What's happened is that I've been able to get to a place with every individual that works with the company as a mentor. They look at me as this is a leveling up in my personal life and my business life, and I look at Ryan as a mentor. So now everything I say has an impact. So the time that I spend with them has an impact If I'm trying to take somebody and I want them to be a top tier player for the company and their department has a direct effect on other departments, because every person, if they don't do their job, it hurts other people. When I bring those people on and they trust enough, as long as I continue to invest into them, they're going to continue to grow in the ways that I need them to grow to be the most effective, and right now that's why I did what I did.

Speaker 1: 10:15

But we've grown so much. I think I just got off the phone we had $60 million under development. Now we boomed up to $200 million in development in six months just in the Cavasur loans. That's a big slug and a big take on in an economy like this. Now I have to hire to support that, whether it's on the front lines as construction or back office. We just launched a new fund and now we're raising more capital for more projects and we're thinking big 10 projects across the country. It's a push that you can't explain, but everybody has to be bought in.

Speaker 1: 10:45

So, to really answer your question, how do I decipher Really what it comes down to is? I have a mission. I don't care what it's going to take, I want to deliver. So if my team needs more of me. Fine, you're going to get it, but I do have to be smart and know where my time needs to be spent.

Speaker 1: 10:59

And then start pushing people to do things on their own and make them get a little uncomfortable, kind of edge them into being more of a manager's mindset and look at this as a long-term play for their life. Because when you come in with paradigm, this is a career, this isn't now. You got to catch your. You may not fit in, but if you come in and you fit in and you pull you, you're able to hold your own. This is a full career. Yep, and there's a lot of upside to it. And so the way that I manage it is I take each individual, I identify their strengths, weaknesses, I capitalize on their strengths, we work on their weaknesses and then I let them swim on their own and I move over to the next people. Right now, as you've seen, all of the people that we have between marketing and I would call it investor relations they're cranking. I don't really have to do much now, so now I can spend more time either doing this or now traveling, raising capital.

Speaker 2: 11:52

Yeah, and I think it's important, like you mentioned some people, you're teaching them management skills on top of it, and I think, naturally, you've been able to put that trust into me to show that, and that's why the other day, I called our executive team and I said, look, don't call Ryan. Right now he needs to decompress. And the reason I said no one's getting pinpointed out for doing something wrong. It's more so. I'm giving you a fair warning because right now we all need to do our job. I'm out here in Tennessee doing my job, so I need you guys to perform and don't bother Ryan, because right now he's.

Speaker 2: 12:33

Regardless if you're overly stressed or you're a little stress, every man, every woman needs time to decompress. I don't care who you are. Kids, no kids shit hits the fan and you're like I need to zone out, I need whatever it is, and so that's what I wanted the team to understand. And so, going into that, I actually told you the other a week or two ago, I heard a podcast with Ed Milet and I forgot the guy's name. But difficult conversations, and I really want to touch on this one because it's something that Alexis touched on. So what I like about Ryan is he's comfortable enough to have a difficult conversation with us, whether that's his wife, his executive team or someone new. He's not afraid to share how he truly feels. It's whether you're able to reciprocate that on the other end and based off how you're going to perform, and so that is super key. What is a difficult conversation you've had to have with your team and or an individual?

Speaker 1: 13:41

the first thing that pops to mind is just the Monday morning kickoffs at nine o'clock. It's really hard for me to. I'm a, so I was telling Mike I said I'm a great peacetime CEO. When it's wartime I'm full blown wartime. I don't really have this in between. So when it's peacetime and we can scale, we can grow, I can get everyone on cloud nine and crank.

Speaker 1: 14:09

But when it's wartime and I tell everybody over and over we need to deliver this and whatever, I'm the guy that, like I have, I would say I have a little bit of an issue because I really don't like to fail. But I will be honest and I say this humbly I've never failed because I've gone all in like, literally mentally burned the bridges, burned the ships went, all in like I've never. That's why I can keep growing the companies, because and especially as with an experience now in 20 years of doing it, I can feel real good about what my gut tells me and then I push. So what happens is I do that too on my Monday morning calls with everybody and I start teeing off on where everybody needs to lay. But what I do is I don't want anybody to think, you know, I'm only teeing off on one person. Sometimes I do for a little while, then I move on, but the idea is to show that everybody has room for growth and that this is truly a full team effort and that this is an economy in itself, right. So this is a village. Everybody has their job and the village won't eat unless we all do our job, and that is really the culture that I try to create. So if this person's failing, the other person needs to come over here and help them up. Help, pick people up, be proactive and help each other, find out where everyone's missing, communicate, right.

Speaker 1: 15:15

So I would say a lot of times I've had times where I've called people and said I'm going to put you on notice. I have given you all this leeway. I've given us enough. This isn't, but you were having a problem delivering what I'm asking for. If you don't deliver by this time, it's on. And I talk to everybody about speed. Speed in our business is key.

Speaker 1: 15:34

So, whether it's building content, getting it out, creating the investment offerings and pitch decks and webinars and pipe, all of it has to do with time. That's why, right now, we're working late at night, it's seven o'clock. We work on the weekends, we I don't stop working Right, and neither do you in a lot of times, especially with your three kids, you really don't stop working. So the reality is, though, is we have to deliver, and so if I set out for something, not only I go so far, all in now, I have reputational risk. I have a lot of money invested, and far, all in Now, I have reputational risk.

Speaker 1: 16:07

I have a lot of money invested, and so now there's a lot more emotion that's involved, because now I have an entire team. They all need to work together. If they don't hit, I can let half the team go, and these are people, and I tell this all the time. I think the other problem that I have and this is Kara tells me this she's you have a problem cutting off people, and there's truth to that. I let people linger too long, and I help people a little bit too much, and we all probably have that issue, but I've really gone. I've given too many people too much leeway within the company, and it's happened over and over. It's truly a problem. I'm trying to focus on Getting better at identifying and start having the conversations earlier on, so when the time does come and I have to let them go, it's been prepared.

Speaker 2: 16:42

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:46

And, at the end of the day, if I can have these conversations and communicate heavily from the beginning, then it was justified because the conversations have been had. Yep, so I'm realizing, through having hard conversations more often, it makes it easier when the real hard conversation has to come, and I would rather do that to be transparent and honest on where we stand, instead of trying to pump everybody up and be positive all the time. I don't think that's really real. I would rather be hey look, guys, here's my stress is how much I've invested into this team physically. This is where I think we need to go. I have reputational risk If we don't deliver. This is what we have. This is what I have. I have these people that rely on us. We got to perform. That's it.

Speaker 1: 17:22

If you guys want to work for this company big money doesn't come easy and if you want to be a part of a company, that, where we're going, you're going to have to carry it. There's no other way. You have to sacrifice something to gain something, so you're going to sacrifice maybe some hair, some sleep the list goes on, but we all know that it's just when you're in the moment. Can you continue to do? Can you deliver. Everybody talks about it, but how long can you sustain that stress? And that's something that I think I can do pretty well. I can sustain a lot of stress for a long period of time.

Speaker 2: 17:53

Yeah, I think you do a great job with that and I try and tell you all the time too. It's good to be a positive motivator, but there is a time, like I said, and why that was a topic is having difficult conversations because the whole saying you don't want to beat a dead horse and for me, being in the position that I'm in now, I almost get so irritated when I hear you say the same motivational stuff to the team and no one's performing and I can only only imagine how. If I'm feeling a certain way, I can only imagine how you're feeling. So it is.

Speaker 2: 18:29

There's that fine line of being able to be a motivator, but also you need to lay the hammer down and be real with the ones surrounded you, to be able to perform, but also to write the checks to close the doors that need to be closed and move past the bullshit and the drama, because, regardless of sales and marketing, don't get along. You're going to have someone new or an investor. Tiffany said you know a few weeks ago she's getting into it on the phone with someone banking or whatever, and it's so we all have to be able to isolate individually when we're going to react and overreact, and that's so key.

Speaker 1: 19:08

I think it also let me tee off a little further, you know, bringing up tip and kind of some of those conversations there. It's crazy Cause my father used to tell me all the time, with the things that I've been through as a child and I always he always looked back and go why? And I remember my father used to always tell me why God's preparing you for something bigger down the road. God's preparing you, and I've always remembered that as I went through hardship and for whatever reason, I keep coming out on the other side. Okay, and I've been through a lot, but I continue to come up on the other side. I have more faith now, so that is very powerful. So what happens is, I think, on a day-to-day the way I operate, I wake up with a purpose. I know what my mission is. I have a purpose. I have people around me that I love and love me too. It's not a question if they love me or not. Now it's just getting them to maneuver their time and allocate the right energy in the right direction. As long as they're bought in, I can guide them. And then it comes to just consistently delivering. And there it was funny because I was listening to another guy who was talking about success, he goes I had an executive team for years on out, every single day deliver. We got up, we worked hard and worked long hours, day in and day out for years and that's why this company is where it's at. And, to be honest with you, that is so true People right now. And it's crazy because and to be honest with you, that is so true people right now. And it's crazy because anybody who's in a place of employing people will say finding employees or labor is the hardest thing in the world now than it ever was before by far. And people want these instant gratifications, they want this instant income and they wanted us. But they just don't understand that's not how business goes.

Speaker 1: 20:43

Yeah, so a lot of my time, especially private equity, I tell everybody, even though we move at lightning speed, things don't happen fast. So it's like things don't close fast. So the reality is you got to get comfortable knowing that things don't happen fast. You got to try to enjoy the journey. But I can tell that there's been a huge shift. I have not been this way for a long time.

Speaker 1: 21:05

I think just over the last couple of years there's been a big shift where I really genuinely care about every, all the way down to my subs and my contractors, and I listened to them and where they are and I I actually give them advice on how to scale their company and grow their business. I'm positive and I give them my time and I think what happens is because people look at me at a certain level of success, especially when I came from literally answering phones in a freaking call center doing mortgages, dude, and now I'm at where I'm at and people look at that and go. You got to give him a respect because he figured it out, he got somewhere, and I'm still humble and there's a lot more to go. But the reality is that people look at that and go I want to be successful where he's at, I want to have the things that he has, or I want the marriage that he has, or I want the kids that he has, or whatever. On social media they want a piece of that.

Speaker 1: 21:51

What I do is I share with them that on social media it's an iceberg. There's a lot of stress, a lot of fight, a lot of pressure. Underneath that, that's just strategy for algorithms and building awareness. That's all that is. But there cause. That's business. That's just playing chess, but I've shifted my way of thinking of if I can deliver results, the money will follow. Tony Robbins talks about if you can help people, the money will follow.

Speaker 1: 22:16

So if I could put other people first and it's true, what I've done is and it's a little different is when I help other people, they give me their loyalty and support and therefore that converts, and that has been the change in my life over the last two years.

Speaker 1: 22:31

I give more than I'm getting and I know a lot of people can't do that because they've been hurt. People have hurt them, but I continue to believe in people, even though I shouldn't Right, but I continue to do it. And if they deliver and I have that mask down and they can I just don't take things personally either and that's a whole nother conversation. But if I give to them and they give me back and I earn their trust and respect, then the likelihood of me receiving more goes through the roof. Referrals, which now is priceless, the list goes on. So that's really been my shift over the last two years. So I think even from a back office management paradigm, side down to construction, you're seeing this kind of protection, like almost all of these warriors. That's why I post about it all the time. I have all these warriors coming together to protect paradigm, which ultimately protects our clients, and we're all just wanting to help each other grow.

Speaker 2: 23:21

And now we're talking yeah, that's what it's going to take yep but I didn't know that until I had shifted my mindset and started seeing it firsthand I know we touched on a lot with the team dynamics, which is where I wanted to go, especially with coming out, where we are right now decompressing, recalibrating. Are there moments where it feels like the vertical integration model adds more stress, and how do you keep up with factoring and the issues with the team with that?

Speaker 1: 23:53

Oh yeah, when you talk about vertical integration, you're talking about more businesses inside the business, right? The reason why companies or private equity firms want businesses within the business is because you can have multiple revenue streams, less overhead, less problems, better oversight on compliance. The list goes on. So being vertically integrated is becoming more and more important, especially when you're having labor issues and employee issues. If you could use systems and software to protect the company and the brand, the likelihood of success goes up, and then, obviously, your cost to manage and overhead.

Speaker 1: 24:28

The reason why we are where we are and I'll be honest, I think one of the reasons why we are where we are is the fact that we have more systems than any firm that's really our size, that has X under management, our marking for our tax attorneys and all of our bookkeeping and all of us. When you look at, if I were to bring all of that in house, I'd probably had be about three or $400,000 more a year just in back office. By outsourcing them which, by the way, they protect, they provide all of our audits and audited financials, which, because I'm saving money, I'm able to then provide more transparency to my clients by providing audited financials. So you have to figure out a way to continue to generate more revenue and become more self-sufficient. And most people, if you think about it and let's just put it in a personal perspective most people just care about sustainability and longevity. If we know we have consistent income, how much stress would you have? Not much. It'd just be regular family stress or health stress. But if you always have a paycheck coming in and it's a good paycheck, everything else becomes easy. You look at life differently. You can create a vertically integrated systems that mold to what your mission is, provide that consistency, multiple revenue streams and more compliance and speed, and the whole list goes on.

Speaker 1: 25:57

But does it add stress? Absolutely, because ultimately, we're trying new things and there's times where we spend money in a direction and it didn't work out. We're going to freaking, eat that and then move, move on. But that's having the ability to shift and move is literally key when people dwell on it or stress on it and when, like, trim the fat and go we just talked about today, I'll get rid of this department, do this and I'll move on. I will give it a plenty of time, but I know what my bandwidth is. I make a target and say by this time. If it doesn't work, we kill it, we move on, go a direction. You got to get to a point where you learn how to stomach that. But the only way to learn and grow is to try, and even if you fail, you get back up and you try again. So, yeah, adding it adds a lot of weight. But think about even.

Speaker 1: 26:42

I mean, look, we have our own sales side, which isn't normal in private equity. We have our own marketing in-house, which isn't normal for private equity. We manage debt and equity, which isn't normal unless you're a big firm, so we operate like a bank. And then we have a development division with real estate construction. That's not normal either. Guys like us typically raise money for other people's projects. I've been burned on that. So now I'm done investing into people. I'm going to manage the money ourselves and go after and develop our own project.

Speaker 1: 27:10

It's all trial and error and learning over time. But yeah, it's very stressful. This isn't for the week, no, that's why not everybody's doing it. So you gotta have. You gotta have kind of this mental toughness great, you gotta be able to to just keep going and not give up. And you have to have this almost like this biblical kind of strength internally, of like, no matter what happens in your marriage or happens here or happens, you're just going to keep going because you have a mission and you want to fulfill that mission.

Speaker 1: 27:39

But you want to bring people that you love with you and if you have people that love you, the power that you receive is you can't even explain it because every women, people, wars are fought over love. Right, people, men dies for love, whether it's a brotherhood love or if it's a wife love or husband love. When it did, I will keep going and that's where I think, no matter what, this company will be okay, because it's just, we won't stop, we don't know how, so we'll maneuver, we'll shift. They were like Paradigm has always just had this consistency and growth and just, you have never stopped. Another guy was like hey, every time you say you're going to do something, you literally do it.

Speaker 1: 28:20

Oh, yeah, I've never met somebody that says they're going to do something and they always do it. There we go. Yeah, he's like, I don't doubt it, you will do it. I've known him for 15 years.

Speaker 2: 28:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 28:29

So that was a cool thing, but those little conversations keep me going.

Speaker 2: 28:32

Yep, that's what drives you.

Speaker 1: 28:33

So it's really, I feel, blessed man, but it's that's why I'm here to decompress, spend time with my brother, talk about this on the mic and just open up to the world and say and that's why I wanted this specific, you know podcast.

Speaker 2: 28:52

I'm sure we'll be able to do more later down the line, but a lot of people who listen to you don't just come what you know for the sunshine and rainbows, the Lambos and all that your boats. They come because they want to know how to scale their business, the ins and outs. So I think it's really important for you to discuss how the team operates and how you manage and sometimes don't manage because you need to step away and I think for those others that are listening, it's really important to. Ryan builds a team based off of who is loyal, and we just had this conversation with a couple new people being onboarded, and I would have never thought three years ago I'd be a part of getting the founder and chairman and you know our VP controller president asking me like, hey, what is their job description? And then also what it is that you're going to manage for them, and it's an honor.

Speaker 2: 29:54

One but two Ryan can't make all those decisions. So that's what's also important, because you need to be able to put your trust into other people to help be able to manage the rest of the company Because, at the end of the day. Yes, you can let everyone go, but you are going to need one or two people that you don't know how to do their job and you can fulfill that gap and you can be endless. You even say you can raise the capital on your own, and it's true, because the team we have Look, it's really about having a consistent a brand.

Speaker 1: 30:34

This is my perspective, this is my target Having a consistency in a brand and our company running in the manner in which it is right now. If everybody just operates at the level that they are right now, it'll continue to run. It just won't stack. Right now, the only reason that there's a little bit of a slowness is because of the election. But as I push harder during this time, during 2020, we built our $100 million fund and launched it in January of 21. We went into strategy in July of 2020. After all, that money was being pumped into the economy During December of 20, because we give everybody office like a month for a Christmas vacation of 20, because we give everybody office like a month for a Christmas vacation.

Speaker 1: 31:10

During that time, my wife and I were in Nashville moving our headquarters. We got our apartment, we furnished the apartment. Everybody comes back to work in January and goes hey, so what's going on? And we're like, by the way, we moved our headquarters and we staffed up. They're like wait, hold on. So when I have downtime, I move mountains. I get so much done, right, yep. So what's happening is, with this downtime, you're watching and I've said this respectfully.

Speaker 1: 31:34

A lot of our competitors are slowing down. I'm hearing through the grapevines and I want to go to them and say, hey, even though we're competitors, don't go harder. This is your time to go harder, because on the other side is going to be consistency and longevity, but you have to position yourself for it and but that's all. But I've done it so many times now that I it's just when it, when things get off, I'm like we go harder and I'm just that's what makes us different and I don't get scared to put our hand in the sand. You know, I like to take my time and think it through, of course, but we go push. But I would say that you know the when it comes to the way the company's moving right now, as long as everybody operates at the level that they are, I'm also giving everybody the opportunity to wear more hats. So what happens is I'm hiring people that I see they have specific skill sets, that as I scale the company, I can just put another hat on them. Give them more income because they're in with the company. They have more loyalty, yeah. Or like, we've already vet, we kissed, we've gone through the dating process so I could trust them. And now look at our controller. She started as an executive assistant on the marketing side I never even talked to her literally and now she's our vice president and our controller. She worked her way up and in many ways you did too. Let's talk about that real quick.

Speaker 1: 32:48

But you know the at the end of the day, you know I like for example, you saw that post that my well, my guy reached out to me that's in Dubai raising capital. He's hey, where are you at? Are you coming out here? So the reason I bring that up is because the nature of the structure of our firm we can take in money abroad. In fact, parkview our project that we had in Denver. We In fact Parkview our project that we had in Denver we brought in money from France.

Speaker 1: 33:09

So if anybody has tracked me over the years and you saw that I was in London and Europe and all that before the pandemic, I was raising capital abroad and a lot of people were moving money out of France because the tax rate was going into Monaco and do an entity in Monaco and then from Monaco goes into the US and then a lot of times those investors want to keep their money in the US because they have kids that want to go to college, ucla, so it's big family office conversations. So at the end of the day, we come to them and say we have an opportunity for you and they're looking at conservative investments, things they're going to pay off in a certain period of time and as long as we present that, we can do it. So I can millions of dollars, but it's about getting the back office, sustainability and the longevity inside, because once those investors start parking their money, they want to see that we have the longevity and that we have the infrastructure and that we have the right people involved in managing all of that. We're going to take on. And that's why when I say, hey, we moved up to 200 million in development in the last six months from 60 million, that's a big deal, because now we're staffing up to support that. And then I'm going, hey, we want to go from this to a billion in the next five years. So in essence, I'm going to double this over the next couple of years. So it's people that want to write that check are going to be like do you have the infrastructure? Yep, and that's the most important is making sure that it's there so we don't fail and that we can perform. But now the t off. But to go back, like bringing people on and creating the loyalty and the trust with them and then giving them more hats to wear as the company grows that's where I'm at right now.

Speaker 1: 34:40

But look at you like it's funny, because I think I was talking to karen and I said who would have thought that you know, a videographer is going to be sitting at an executive level chair with a private equity firm? You never. That's not normal, but it's because of how you held your ground, how you carried yourself, how you were an intricate part. You listened, you cared, you were putting on more hats than just being the videographer. You became friends with everybody. You understand everybody. You came to them and say try this, try this. You know me, so you're helping other people understand me better. Hey, joe, do you deal with this, because I got this other stuff to do and then you go and handle it and then it's now Joe can do that part then.

Speaker 1: 35:23

So now Joe's not only shooting content and building, but dude, talk about somebody that can deliver the message that we're trying to deliver, like that is that's priceless. But then have somebody that understands how the funds are structured, how the capital's moved. You know a lot of the inner workings of the company. It's not normal for a videographer to be that far, but the reason why is because you've been so close to be closer to anybody else in the company. So all all those conversations of travel, days in, days out, all over the country. Who'd have thought you would have got to the point where you are now?

Speaker 2: 35:54

Yeah, I say it humbly that God opened the door that I needed at that time, but I also know I earned it. So, regardless of, anyone else could have been in the position I'm in. But I also know I put the work in to prove to you and the team I have family tattooed on me for a reason, because family to me is very important, and I really think that me and you became family through the process of being a professional in the industry that I'm in. But then it led to building relationships and we've had plenty of difficult conversations. But throughout that time I know that you can rely on me more than anyone else in this company because of the fact that I know everything that you pretty much know. Now, obviously, certain data numbers and mortgage terms I may not, but if Ryan were to say, hey, I need you to go handle these people over here because they're interested too and I'm trying to close this deal, I could pitch Paradigm with my eyes closed. You're a shogun and I did it at.

Speaker 2: 37:06

Shogun's and shit. I did it at Bass Pro Shops too. We were trying to go get some ammo and this girl, bless her heart, she's just trying to do her job, trying to sell us a trip Three dudes. We got Santa CEO and Habibi Diesel over here trying to sell us some things. And then Ryan is oh, we have a project here.

Speaker 1: 37:26

She's like you can get all these vacation trips. I'm like I got a project there and a project there and a project there, so I already know everything about the city and then a few minutes later she comes up and she's what's that paradigm?

Speaker 2: 37:36

and then I go and pitch it and but yeah, it's been an honor. But, dude, I wouldn't change. I. I retired from training after a decade. I got three kids. My wife is probably upset that I'm still here, gonna be seven days straight as of tomorrow, but I'll be home in two days. But it's an honor, it's a blessing, but it's also something that I believe me and you individually needed, this relationship that we've established. I fulfilled something in your company and in your heart that you haven't been able to find. And then I also found another niche in my life my presence. Your dad says it all the time and shit. Now your own mom says it I'm the brother you never had, and I feel the same because I only have a sister, and so I believe that you know, for anyone out there listening, it's so important for you to find that person in your life, regardless of the fact if they have a certain title in your company. It just so happens to be. We do business together and I'm also that friend for you.

Speaker 1: 38:52

So yeah, there's so much support in that, and my piece too because you don't feel alone. It's like having a friend that's going through a breakup you're like, bro, like.

Speaker 1: 39:02

I've heard this everywhere, it's like it's a broken real, because we're constantly growing the company, so there's always adversity, yeah. But that adversity you and I talk about and handle every single day and I think that's where some of that I would say brotherhood's really coming in is that we literally are having hard conversations all the time, every day, not personally between you and I, but just the business, the growth and what needs to be done and how fast we need to deliver it. Well, who needs to perform and what have you? You are literally hearing the politics inside the company too. But you can see, the reason why I burned your trust, joe, is because I have been able to show you I'm trying to do everything right, yeah, and I'm trying to help people. I'm trying to give people opportunity and give people chances.

Speaker 1: 39:48

Unfortunately, I've probably gone too far to help people. I mean, it's hurt me, but that's why I'm getting the love from you and even people within my company that's been with me a long time. They're like Ryan's heart is. We can't not support the guy Like he. Just his heart is so big that, like we believe that, because he's that way is why the company, why the universe, will help the company grow. Yep, it's true, and I think there's. I think that it sucks because I get aware of that, because I'm still emotionally tied to that for a longer period of time Mm-hmm, boom, but it is. I think there's a lot of truth to that.

Speaker 1: 40:22

Brie brought that up the other day. She was like you know, it's your heart that's going to make this company run and it's your heart and the way you deliver for everybody that you love, that trust you, and you trust them. She's like you. The reason this company is going to be where it's going to go is because of who you are. Oh no, don't get me wrong. I teed off on her so I couldn't be here without you, and the list goes on. But you know, I really I don't like to talk too much about myself on there, but I do want people to know that those are the conversations that are being had and I think you know that's a very. When you're getting to a point where you're having humbled conversations, you know you really care for people and you're trying to help people and you're trying to keep them on board or you're trying to do. That is where I think it's just a. Really. That's family conversations, that's like heart to heart.

Speaker 1: 41:07

Hey, every decision I make has a direct effect on everybody in the company and it's so important that I continue to communicate what I see, what I feel, what I struggles are and having a board that all has their own perspective with their own talents and have been with me for a long period of time and have knowledge.

Speaker 1: 41:25

And there's times where I'm wrong and everyone's like on one side and I'm on the other side of the fence and so I'm like, okay, then I'll just lean with you guys. But that's what I think makes someone a good leader is being able to have two ears and whatnot. Listen to whatever other people that you trust say you know Dan Stevenson, he said the same thing. He said when you bring on a board, you got to learn to trust them. But I told him, how do you know how to trust them? He's all they got to earn it and it usually takes the guy that's on his board. The least has been 17 years, the longest has been 28 years. So I'm like I'm not quite there, but at the end of the day I understood what he was trying to say.

Speaker 2: 41:58

I think this was a very fruitful podcast for discussing the ins and outs of the company. We will have plenty more. I would like to talk about the brotherhood, fatherhood aspect, get a little bit more emotional, share some stories. I think this one can be, you know, because the goal with this you know obviously me being a part of the marketing team the strategy between a podcast and informative message to viewers. I believe that shorter podcasts, less than an hour, for 30, 45 minutes max. I want to be able to do segments and with me being here, I can pinpoint. So this one was perfect. It talked about team dynamics, ins and outs of the company, the difficult conversations you as a founder and chairman have to have. So I think this one could be an end of our discussion here and then we go on to the next with the next episodes that we go forward with. But if there's anything else you want to touch on, if not, you know what to do.

Speaker 1: 43:00

Good, good man, I think you're right. We'll talk a little bit more on, maybe, fatherhood and the struggles of husbands, wives and fathers. That's probably a good one. To talk about how to manage a family with growing a company. I think that's probably a really good conversation. Yeah, because that's a whole different. It's a whole different segment in your brain. Yeah, but other than that, man, I love you, brother, I'm glad you're here and let's move on. So thanks everybody. Hopefully that was fruitful for you. Just really show you a little bit of our brotherhood and kind of the emotional depths, I think, of the company and how I navigate these waters and how you can still trust people and you can find people that are trying to bring down that mask, and how you can scale a company really based on culture. So truly appreciate you guys and if anybody has any questions, know how to reach out. Thank you, see you soon.