Sept. 22, 2021
Creating Culture Through Remote Relationships with Brian Roland and Travis Gravette
In episode 94, host Eric Dickmann interviews Brian Roland and Travis Gravette. Brian is a social entrepreneur and Founder of Abenity and Travis is its CEO. Abenity is a company that powers corporate perks for top businesses. They have partnered with the world’s top brands to provide member-only access to private discounts and corporate rates on everything from pizza and the zoo, to movie tickets, oil changes, car rentals, and hotels.
Abenity provides millions of subscribers with perks and benefits while pursuing the company’s social mission of fighting extreme poverty. Recently, the company exceeded a million dollars of total giving.
Together, Brian and Travis used their entrepreneurial skills to build a company using remote talent with a strong focus on corporate culture and making a social impact together with their corporate partners.
For more information and access to the resources mentioned in this episode, please visit: https://fiveechelon.com/creating-culture-through-remote-relationships-s6ep13/
Send us your questions or comments
A fractional CMO can help build out a comprehensive marketing strategy and execute targeted campaigns designed to increase awareness and generate demand for your business...without the expense of a full-time hire.
The Five Echelon Group - Fractional CMO and strategic marketing advisory services designed for SMBs looking to grow. Learn more at:
WEBVTT
00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.590
Welcome to The Virtual CMO podcast.
00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:35.564
I'm your host, Eric Dickmann.
00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:48.259
In this podcast, we have conversations with marketing professionals who share the strategies, tactics, and mindset you can use to improve the effectiveness of your marketing activities and grow your business.
00:00:48.763 --> 00:00:53.444
This week, I'm excited to welcome Brian Rolan and Travis Gravette to the program.
00:00:53.893 --> 00:00:59.653
Brian is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Abenity, while Travis, is it CEO.
00:01:00.123 --> 00:01:02.894
Abenity is a company that's powering corporate perks.
00:01:03.103 --> 00:01:14.953
They have partnered with the world's top brands to provide member only access to private discounts and corporate rates on everything from pizza and the zoo to movie tickets, oil changes, car rentals and hotels.
00:01:15.463 --> 00:01:23.263
Abenity provides millions of subscribers with perks and benefits while pursuing the company's social mission of fighting extreme poverty.
00:01:23.743 --> 00:01:27.584
Recently, the company exceeded a million dollars in total giving.
00:01:28.093 --> 00:01:34.393
Both Brian and Travis used their entrepreneurial skills and talent to build a company while making a social impact.
00:01:34.694 --> 00:01:36.373
I think you're going to enjoy this episode.
00:01:36.373 --> 00:01:44.833
As we dive into social purpose and also discuss creating culture through remote relationships, please help me welcome Brian and Travis to the program.
00:01:45.292 --> 00:01:46.432
Hey, Brian and Travis.
00:01:46.432 --> 00:01:48.563
Welcome to The Virtual CMO podcast.
00:01:48.563 --> 00:01:50.393
I'm so glad you both could join us today.
00:01:50.582 --> 00:01:51.132
Thank you, Eric.
00:01:51.132 --> 00:01:51.842
Great to see you.
00:01:52.362 --> 00:01:53.192
Yeah, glad to be here.
00:01:53.342 --> 00:01:58.152
We don't often get two guests at the same time, especially you know, two guests from the same company.
00:01:58.152 --> 00:02:12.793
So I'm really excited about our conversation today, because I know you guys have a great story to tell, especially about the company that you've created, the culture that you've created, and some of the exciting things that you're doing around remote work, which are all topics that I love to talk about.
00:02:13.073 --> 00:02:16.307
Brian, I know you're the Founder of the company, how did you guys get started?
00:02:17.223 --> 00:02:17.372
Yeah.
00:02:17.372 --> 00:02:25.216
So I went to Nashville for undergraduate music businesses, my businesses was focus, it wasn't the right fit for me.
00:02:25.336 --> 00:02:32.566
So I took an outside sales job and my boss basically said, Hey, you know, don't come back until you sold 30 phones.
00:02:33.135 --> 00:02:37.496
And you got 30 days to do it.
00:02:37.866 --> 00:03:12.076
And so you know I figured out how to sell 30 phones by talking to businesses about their corporate employee discounts for their cellular service which turned into a platform just for their cell phones to say, Hey, here's where you should send your employees to learn about the discounts they get on their cellular services which led the light bulb moment, which was like, these companies, HR departments should not be having to figure out how to manage all these personal perks for there people.
00:03:13.066 --> 00:03:23.986
So I went to my brother, this is 2006, and I said, Hey, why don't we build a platform that manages these merchant relationships for these HR folks?
00:03:24.426 --> 00:03:35.956
And just take that off their plate, take it off its plates, and we'll work with the merchants and we'll manage the perks and discounts, and that's what we did.
00:03:35.956 --> 00:03:43.276
We launched with our first customers is Disney, Oracle and the US army back in 2006, which was a great start.
00:03:43.306 --> 00:03:45.886
It's who I was already working with the cellular phone stuff.
00:03:46.725 --> 00:03:48.076
And we've been doing it ever since.
00:03:48.586 --> 00:03:49.456
That's my background.
00:03:49.456 --> 00:03:50.206
I'm from Oracle.
00:03:50.206 --> 00:03:52.276
So yeah, we were on your first customer.
00:03:52.276 --> 00:03:52.725
Is that.
00:03:53.266 --> 00:03:53.776
Nice.
00:03:53.806 --> 00:03:53.986
Yeah.
00:03:54.076 --> 00:03:56.296
We're, we're probably a bullet point in there for you.
00:03:56.566 --> 00:03:57.286
Way back in the day.
00:03:57.356 --> 00:03:58.486
Interesting.
00:03:58.756 --> 00:04:02.496
And when did Travis, Travis, when did you come into the picture?
00:04:03.195 --> 00:04:05.846
I joined back in 2018.
00:04:05.866 --> 00:04:07.366
So it's been just over three years.
00:04:07.861 --> 00:04:08.040
Very
00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:08.191
Yep
00:04:08.191 --> 00:04:08.691
nice.
00:04:08.691 --> 00:04:15.181
And was that a challenge to come into a company that had been founded by two people in a family?
00:04:15.991 --> 00:04:28.353
You know, there's always benefits and drawbacks to things I would say overall, I think it was a strength, how small, how tight the team was, and we'll talk more about it.
00:04:28.353 --> 00:04:36.213
But you know, the team was remote since day one, so I think there was like a cultural aspect that promotes good communication, that promotes good.
00:04:36.752 --> 00:04:42.423
Uh, organization as a remote team that I think helps somebody come in and join the team.
00:04:42.423 --> 00:04:48.652
You know on the other side of that, it's a little harder to build those relational, personal dynamics when you're remote, sometimes you have to be intentional.
00:04:51.242 --> 00:04:53.512
I had a previous relationship with Brian.
00:04:53.512 --> 00:04:59.103
So I had been in a CEO group with Brian, so I had known Brian for probably close to 10 years.
00:04:59.103 --> 00:05:02.762
So he and I had a really strong dynamic personally, which really helped.
00:05:03.272 --> 00:05:04.952
Uh, and then got to know his brother.
00:05:05.282 --> 00:05:07.983
You know, there's always relational dynamics, especially the two brothers.
00:05:07.983 --> 00:05:09.582
It's fun, they interesting.
00:05:09.752 --> 00:05:11.702
Oh, yeah, I bet they do.
00:05:12.112 --> 00:05:32.293
Well, this is interesting too, because it sounds like you guys from the very beginning have really wanted to have a company that had a remote culture, that didn't have a bunch of people sitting in an office, and obviously because of the pandemic, many companies have been forced to go remote and some have been successful with it, some have really struggled with it.
00:05:32.592 --> 00:05:37.641
I'm very interested to know when you, when you created a remote only company, how did it go for you?
00:05:37.641 --> 00:05:47.481
Did you run into some of the same pitfalls that companies have had during the pandemic or because you kind of slowly moved into it, was it a little bit more intentional and thoughtful that way?
00:05:48.621 --> 00:05:49.101
Yeah.
00:05:49.192 --> 00:05:52.241
You know, we stumbled into remote
00:05:52.521 --> 00:05:52.942
Hm.
00:05:53.512 --> 00:05:55.671
just because it made the most sense.
00:05:55.701 --> 00:06:03.291
So in 2006, you know, there was there a lot more hurdles in the way back then too, for remote work to be super practical.
00:06:03.681 --> 00:06:12.891
And in fact, I remember it was probably 2014 before we started being very verbal about the fact that we are a remote team, just because of stigma that we were afraid.
00:06:13.311 --> 00:06:24.901
I mean we serve Fortune 100 companies, so we didn't want them assuming that we're all remote means that somehow we're somehow second class service.
00:06:24.921 --> 00:06:26.841
So we were just very cautious with that.
00:06:26.871 --> 00:06:31.449
But You know, it's just like the way I made the cell phone sales work was a disruptive move.
00:06:31.479 --> 00:06:33.620
My boss said, you know, don't come back.
00:06:35.589 --> 00:06:37.699
so I was like, well, what do I need to sell phones?
00:06:37.719 --> 00:06:39.279
And he's like, you need a contract.
00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:42.189
I was like, okay, can they fax in the contract?
00:06:42.659 --> 00:06:46.329
And so like, I don't care what they do.
00:06:46.359 --> 00:06:47.139
Just get the contract.
00:06:48.099 --> 00:07:03.069
So I was like, okay, so instead of knocking on doors and talking to businesses, and getting one contract on 30 phones, the exact opposite and I just called big companies and I said, Hey, you have thousands of people that get the sprint discount.
00:07:03.099 --> 00:07:07.689
None of them know about of it, if I send you a flyer, will you email it out to everybody with my phone number?
00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:11.759
And so I started getting hundreds of individual contracts.
00:07:13.169 --> 00:07:15.099
boss was like, I've got a contract.
00:07:15.099 --> 00:07:19.729
He's like this contract is from Nebraska, this contract is from California, and I'm in Tennessee.
00:07:20.109 --> 00:07:21.669
I was like, yeah, is that okay?
00:07:21.669 --> 00:07:25.839
He's like, I guess so, but we don't sell in those states.
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:27.370
And I was like, well, you do now.
00:07:28.219 --> 00:07:30.039
You didn't tell me not to.
00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:42.879
So when it came to remote work and we started Abenity, know, I was in Nashville and love the city, and my brother was getting his master's degree in Southern California.
00:07:43.689 --> 00:07:49.629
And you know, I was kind of the everything guy, the idea guy, and doing everything.
00:07:49.629 --> 00:07:55.229
And Mark was the software engineer and the architect and the designer.
00:07:55.870 --> 00:08:00.339
And so we just always worked separately over the internet.
00:08:01.089 --> 00:08:03.279
And when it came time to hire our first person.
00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:07.569
I had somebody in mind that I used to work with in the Nashville area.
00:08:08.769 --> 00:08:11.990
she's a part of a military family and her husband, you know, they move every two years.
00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:21.099
And so when they moved to Virginia, she's like, well, is there any reason that she can't do what we need her to do from Virginia?
00:08:21.099 --> 00:08:21.909
And the answer was no.
00:08:22.509 --> 00:08:40.060
And so for us, the talent pool drove the development of a remote team is because we went to where the people were that we knew and we trusted and really has become the kind of foundation for a healthy remote team.
00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:50.680
We very strategically Take a really hard first look at people who are just two or three degrees of separation from our existing team members.
00:08:51.100 --> 00:09:20.620
And that interestingly, really doesn't dilute diversity at all, what it does is it just brings in people that kind of already know who you are that have accountability to some other people on your team, and so it just lays this initial foundation of trust and respect that has taken us really far and helped us build a really healthy, tight knit culture when 90% of us had probably never met each other before.
00:09:20.889 --> 00:09:21.549
Interesting.
00:09:22.329 --> 00:09:30.039
One of the questions that I would have, you know, I've been a remote worker for many, many years, too during that time at Oracle, I was remote worker.
00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.409
So it's 25 years plus that I've done remote work.
00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:41.740
But even though we've had the capability, web conferencing has really only seemed to come into its own within the last year or two.
00:09:41.769 --> 00:09:44.699
Definitely during the pandemic, it went crazy, right?
00:09:44.699 --> 00:09:46.139
With Zoom calls and things like that.
00:09:46.439 --> 00:09:53.129
But prior to that, people seem to really prefer to jump on a telephone conference versus a web conference.
00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.090
It seemed like the only time video was in play was when there was a formal webinar.
00:09:57.419 --> 00:10:07.909
Did you see the same kinds of trends with your business or how has sort of video conferencing and being able to sort of see people over the web really change that whole dynamic of remote work?
00:10:09.169 --> 00:10:09.870
Yeah.
00:10:09.870 --> 00:10:11.919
You know, I think it's interesting.
00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:24.470
We did our best to do video when we could in the early days And, Generally had a learning curve to it or disrupted curve to it where it didn't work right away.
00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:39.370
and again, think that's where the, you know, having more to your relationship than just your to-do list is important because um, you know, we were able to navigate those kinds of ups downs.
00:10:39.370 --> 00:10:50.100
We have never built our remote team on video, and in fact, I personally feel that too much video is a bad thing.
00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.809
You know, part of that is my personality.
00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:56.879
I don't want to be tethered to something.
00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:02.250
I walk and talk and think a lot better than, Sitting still.
00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:18.100
But you know, I wrote an article which is on my brianroland.com site, but it really breaks down the rules of engagement that we've always done for a remote team, and the article is called Stop Sending Internal Emails.
00:11:18.610 --> 00:11:31.629
And Really the whole idea, especially with the remote team is if you're just communicating in any which way with each other then you're essentially setting yourself up for failure.
00:11:31.750 --> 00:11:45.970
And so you have to become pretty disciplined about how and when you communicate with one another, And really when you break down the technology, that's there to support your interactions and help you do well together, email doesn't have a place.
00:11:46.049 --> 00:11:54.009
In fact, email is like that drawer in your kitchen that you throw everything in and you can't find anything.
00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.960
That's really your email inbox, and there's no place for that within your team.
00:11:59.409 --> 00:12:07.069
And so we say, Hey, look, if there's a to do, put it in your task management system, we use Asana and we like it a lot.
00:12:07.809 --> 00:12:13.579
If you have a quick question, don't call me because it takes 10 times as long for the phone call.
00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:16.179
Just pop me a quick message in our chat system.
00:12:17.710 --> 00:12:32.860
you have a big question, save it for our next huddle when we're scheduled to talk to each other or just give me a quick call right away.We try to get folks face to face with each other once a month as an entire team.
00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:38.439
And once a month within their individual teams so marketing with marketing, operations with operations.
00:12:39.069 --> 00:12:43.960
Um, But outside of that, we try to avoid needless meetings and we try to stay on point.
00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:46.539
There's a lot of things to do to build a healthy remote team.
00:12:46.539 --> 00:12:51.960
We look at personality profiles a lot to make sure people stay happy and have what they need.
00:12:52.409 --> 00:13:02.409
But those rules of engagement are something that really helped us and so video was always a nice to have, but never a must have in our situation.
00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:12.429
I like that because you know, we're certainly almost overwhelmed with the kinds of tools that we have at our disposal, whether it's chat tools or video tools.
00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:26.259
And instead of using them all, I like the fact that you guys have really put down some rules about how each one of the tools can be used, because yeah, I've been on far too many Zoom calls where you're looking at a screen full of zombies, because people are just glued to their chairs.
00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:42.970
And you know, one of the things that I thought was interesting as you talk about building a team and a couple of degrees of separation amongst team members is I know one of the things that's been important to your company is also having a culture, a mission, something beyond just what you're doing.
00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:50.649
And Travis, maybe you could talk to about a little bit more about what has that culture meant and how does that bond people within the company together?
00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:52.779
for sure.
00:13:52.779 --> 00:13:55.990
I think you know, having a bigger purpose.
00:13:56.110 --> 00:14:03.439
You know obviously we're all here for our families and to drive a profitable and grow a profitable company to support our families and our lifestyles.
00:14:03.439 --> 00:14:13.809
But I think when you have something bigger than the company, bigger than what you're selling, it just as a great common place for people to come together to also mark their progress.
00:14:13.929 --> 00:14:17.259
So World Vision is a a big strategic partner for us.
00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:25.100
I actually have a background working in Africa, I did a lot of community development Africa before this, This how I met Brian.
00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:27.429
I was, you know running a nonprofit and leading that.
00:14:27.970 --> 00:14:30.819
and so I personally had a big connection to that.
00:14:30.819 --> 00:14:40.840
Love that that's a big part of what we support, but a lot of our team members as well, they tie various aspects of what of the work that they're doing to those results and those outcomes.
00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:46.120
So sponsoring a child, we try to partner that up with clients subscriptions that we do.
00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:48.100
So there's kind of some nice metrics there.
00:14:48.649 --> 00:14:51.210
But Beyond just the numbers, it's the stories.
00:14:52.120 --> 00:15:01.559
and It's been a really cool to see our team members as well on their own, dive even deeper in and partner with World Vision and even greater ways outside of what we're doing corporately.
00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:08.189
And the cool part too is a lot of people, sort of the flavor of the month, if you will.
00:15:08.350 --> 00:15:16.389
And so you know, one month he might be doing a little project here at the nonprofit or here with a nonprofit, which is great, and everybody has their different strategies.
00:15:16.389 --> 00:15:22.329
One of the things I admire and always liked about Brian and Mark is they've been committed to World Vision since day one.
00:15:22.449 --> 00:15:34.329
And so I think the benefit you get when you commit to one organization, one cause over the long term as you get to see you know that long-term impact versus just the short term projects.
00:15:34.329 --> 00:15:36.909
I mean you know, they've given well over a million dollars.
00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.899
We, you know crossed that threshold, Uh, not too long ago.
00:15:41.289 --> 00:15:45.490
And it's just been really cool to see that longterm impact and have the team rally around that.
00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:53.769
So I think it's one of those things that just gives everybody additional purpose, and definitely helps with a relational aspect as well.
00:15:55.992 --> 00:15:58.842
Hey, it's Eric here and we'll be right back to the podcast.
00:15:58.842 --> 00:16:03.702
But first, are you ready to grow, scale, and take your marketing to the next level?
00:16:03.913 --> 00:16:10.273
If so, The Five Echelon Group's Virtual CMO consulting service may be a great fit for you.
00:16:10.543 --> 00:16:16.452
We can help build a strategic marketing plan for your business and manage its execution, step-by-step.
00:16:16.692 --> 00:16:19.242
We'll focus on areas like how to attract more leads.
00:16:19.513 --> 00:16:23.653
How to create compelling messaging that resonates with your ideal customers.
00:16:24.013 --> 00:16:27.582
How to strategically package and position your products and services.
00:16:27.913 --> 00:16:32.322
How to increase lead conversion, improve your margins, and scale your business.
00:16:32.653 --> 00:16:40.423
To find out more about our consulting offerings and schedule a consultation, go to fiveechelon.com and click on Services.
00:16:40.872 --> 00:16:42.133
Now back to the podcast.
00:16:43.433 --> 00:16:44.323
I really love that.
00:16:44.644 --> 00:16:50.244
Companies that have a solid foundation, something above and beyond themselves I think is such an important thing.
00:16:50.514 --> 00:16:54.563
And I'm curious, how have your corporate partners, your customers responded to that?
00:16:54.774 --> 00:16:59.093
Do they gravitate to the mission or even if they don't is that okay for the company?
00:16:59.093 --> 00:17:01.494
Because you know this is something that you want to do.
00:17:01.494 --> 00:17:06.324
I'm just curious as to how that comes into play as you talk with your various corporate customers.
00:17:07.433 --> 00:17:09.004
Yeah, I like that question a lot.
00:17:09.094 --> 00:17:13.903
The thing we didn't necessarily introduce in the beginning.
00:17:13.903 --> 00:17:27.173
We got to the point where I felt like I was no longer the CEO leader that our company needed, and that led to where we felt like Travis was the best fit for that role.
00:17:27.653 --> 00:17:27.953
And.
00:17:28.374 --> 00:17:29.634
That was a month before.
00:17:30.683 --> 00:17:31.884
March 2020.
00:17:32.754 --> 00:17:33.144
Wow.
00:17:33.203 --> 00:17:37.847
were like, Hey, you're your first initiative as CEO is Navigate a global pandemic.
00:17:38.672 --> 00:17:42.175
And over that time, you know going through the learning curve.
00:17:42.235 --> 00:17:51.875
It's good to know that it's about a six to nine month learning curve in our case to get Travis up to the speed where he can be very effective in that top seat leadership role.
00:17:53.516 --> 00:17:59.046
but along the way, I really began debriefing, like you know what what's worked for us?
00:17:59.046 --> 00:18:02.435
What helped us cross the million dollars of giving threshold?
00:18:02.705 --> 00:18:05.625
What allowed us to stay remote over the last 13 years?
00:18:05.625 --> 00:18:16.746
What us on the Inc 5000 list six times in a And really, a big part of it is an answer to your question.
00:18:16.836 --> 00:18:23.165
And so I really broke down the unexpected perks of a social mission.
00:18:23.695 --> 00:18:34.105
And so for me back to the selling those phones, right out of school, I was doing really well, I was making six figures, making more than my dad, pretty much right away.
00:18:34.445 --> 00:18:44.496
um, And it wasn't where the financial success was not a goal.
00:18:44.925 --> 00:18:51.425
It was an output of serving people well, and so really started Abenity with my brother.
00:18:51.455 --> 00:18:53.855
I said, look, I hope we do really well.
00:18:53.855 --> 00:18:55.776
I expect we'll do very well.
00:18:56.076 --> 00:19:03.945
Um, Money is not I it's not gonna help me keep going.
00:19:04.355 --> 00:19:15.885
so we, created this social mission so that there was an output to a cause for every input to the business, and we really created a formula around that.
00:19:15.885 --> 00:19:26.105
We kept it to ourselves for a number of years, but in 2014 we started sharing it more openly with our team, and then we expanded it to our customers.
00:19:26.105 --> 00:19:29.945
So we started telling our customers, it became slides in our sales presentations.
00:19:29.945 --> 00:19:32.675
It became the last 30 seconds of our promotional videos.
00:19:34.715 --> 00:19:43.036
And as we were doing these big pitches with these companies, and we went through that last slide, we found we got a lot of connection points with that.
00:19:43.036 --> 00:19:47.945
And really at the end, we started giving our customers a gift from the world.
00:19:48.036 --> 00:19:53.975
World vision has a catalog where they have local artisans that make things, bracelets, necklaces, your earrings.
00:19:54.756 --> 00:20:06.306
we started paying for the gift of the choice from the catalog for clients and direct shipping it to the clients as a thank you for supporting our mission as a connection point, and that really went a long way.
00:20:06.665 --> 00:20:12.965
And we found that, that the inclusion of our clients in our social mission.
00:20:14.615 --> 00:20:16.326
set us apart in our industry.
00:20:16.746 --> 00:20:21.786
And then a lot of ways provided us with a competitive advantage that we didn't have before.
00:20:22.296 --> 00:20:27.355
And so that was really great.
00:20:27.355 --> 00:20:33.695
And that's on top of the strength that it gave our team and the shared purpose that it brought for our team.
00:20:34.215 --> 00:20:45.635
on top of the meaningful work that it gave me and Mark as founders for, Building a SaaS company over 13 years is not an easy lift, Right.
00:20:45.725 --> 00:20:46.475
not at all.
00:20:46.635 --> 00:20:53.802
there's plenty of times privacy law is now saying this, compliance laws now saying this, tax law is now saying this.
00:20:53.802 --> 00:21:02.482
There's plenty of times that you know, the why we get into this business is you know, overshadowed by the what we have to do to make it work.
00:21:02.502 --> 00:21:07.272
And so that foundational, why it's like you know, look we're sponsoring these kids.
00:21:07.272 --> 00:21:09.522
These kids are sponsored because of the success we're doing.
00:21:10.272 --> 00:21:11.562
That's a fantastic why.
00:21:12.192 --> 00:21:12.732
Yeah.
00:21:13.182 --> 00:21:18.552
One final point with that we have several hundred kids that we sponsor at this point now with World Vision.
00:21:19.032 --> 00:21:30.552
We got a letter last Friday that said, Hey, I don't know if you're going to think this is good news or if this is going to be sad for you, But we have listed an entire community out of poverty, which is our one goal.
00:21:30.613 --> 00:21:32.262
They are now self-sustainable.
00:21:32.623 --> 00:21:35.113
And so World Vision is leaving their community.
00:21:35.232 --> 00:21:35.623
You know?
00:21:35.623 --> 00:21:42.702
We've dug the wells they've needed, we've them how to farm, we provided them with the micro finance loans they need to keep going.
00:21:43.242 --> 00:21:53.772
and look, when we're talking about extreme poverty, we're talking about serving the people whose kids are still walking five miles a day to get dirty water for the family to drink.
00:21:53.802 --> 00:21:58.212
So we're not talking about American poverty, which is very important.
00:21:58.583 --> 00:22:14.232
So we lifted this community out, so 116 of the kids you've sponsored have graduated, they're no longer a part of our program and we're going to replace them with 116 more in another region, and in Africa that we're supporting.
00:22:14.232 --> 00:22:17.762
And that was the first time that that's happened.
00:22:18.012 --> 00:22:26.653
And on that note, the United Nations' goal, their number one sustainability goal is to eradicate extreme poverty by the year 2030.
00:22:27.222 --> 00:22:31.153
There's about 500 million people left in the world in extreme poverty.
00:22:31.542 --> 00:22:37.812
And that to me, when we got that note was a clear indicator that we're in the home stretch of this for people around the world.
00:22:38.143 --> 00:22:45.492
And what we're doing is adding tremendous value, especially for those 116 kids in that community that just graduated.
00:22:46.603 --> 00:22:49.932
I love that because while there are two things there that you said that I loved.
00:22:49.932 --> 00:23:02.743
And one of them was giving your corporate partners, your customers, something that somebody had made, you know, a way to really tie in the mission of what you're doing, who you're serving with something very tangible.
00:23:02.743 --> 00:23:04.304
I bet that went over really well.
00:23:04.513 --> 00:23:12.283
And then how nice to see that the gifts that you've been providing are actually making such a meaningful difference in at least one community.
00:23:12.493 --> 00:23:14.263
So that's really exciting to hear.
00:23:14.594 --> 00:23:25.811
And I'm curious, you know, you've obviously grown this business as business has gotten bigger, and we live in an era where the whole idea of perks and benefits is changing a little bit, right?
00:23:25.811 --> 00:23:33.882
You have out on the West Coast and Silicon Valley, you've got the Googles and the Facebooks who built these campuses and have cafeterias full of food.
00:23:33.882 --> 00:23:37.152
And you know, these tremendous offices where people would work.
00:23:37.182 --> 00:23:46.122
Well, now all of a sudden, people are talking about hybrid offices where they don't want to go into work, where things that were of value before are not of value today.
00:23:46.392 --> 00:24:02.922
So when you look at your business and the kinds of things that you offer in terms of the savings and the discounts, are you seeing this world of benefits and perks that companies are offering, changing or the kinds of things that they want to offer to their ultimate customers?
00:24:02.922 --> 00:24:05.132
How are you seeing the marketplace change?
00:24:05.132 --> 00:24:06.281
Travis, you want to take a stab at it?
00:24:07.331 --> 00:24:07.602
Yeah.
00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.590
00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:35.564
00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:48.259
00:00:48.763 --> 00:00:53.444
00:00:53.893 --> 00:00:59.653
00:01:00.123 --> 00:01:02.894
00:01:03.103 --> 00:01:14.953
00:01:15.463 --> 00:01:23.263
00:01:23.743 --> 00:01:27.584
00:01:28.093 --> 00:01:34.393
00:01:34.694 --> 00:01:36.373
00:01:36.373 --> 00:01:44.833
00:01:45.292 --> 00:01:46.432
00:01:46.432 --> 00:01:48.563
00:01:48.563 --> 00:01:50.393
00:01:50.582 --> 00:01:51.132
00:01:51.132 --> 00:01:51.842
00:01:52.362 --> 00:01:53.192
00:01:53.342 --> 00:01:58.152
00:01:58.152 --> 00:02:12.793
00:02:13.073 --> 00:02:16.307
00:02:17.223 --> 00:02:17.372
00:02:17.372 --> 00:02:25.216
00:02:25.336 --> 00:02:32.566
00:02:33.135 --> 00:02:37.496
00:02:37.866 --> 00:03:12.076
00:03:13.066 --> 00:03:23.986
00:03:24.426 --> 00:03:35.956
00:03:35.956 --> 00:03:43.276
00:03:43.306 --> 00:03:45.886
00:03:46.725 --> 00:03:48.076
00:03:48.586 --> 00:03:49.456
00:03:49.456 --> 00:03:50.206
00:03:50.206 --> 00:03:52.276
00:03:52.276 --> 00:03:52.725
00:03:53.266 --> 00:03:53.776
00:03:53.806 --> 00:03:53.986
00:03:54.076 --> 00:03:56.296
00:03:56.566 --> 00:03:57.286
00:03:57.356 --> 00:03:58.486
00:03:58.756 --> 00:04:02.496
00:04:03.195 --> 00:04:05.846
00:04:05.866 --> 00:04:07.366
00:04:07.861 --> 00:04:08.040
00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:08.191
00:04:08.191 --> 00:04:08.691
00:04:08.691 --> 00:04:15.181
00:04:15.991 --> 00:04:28.353
00:04:28.353 --> 00:04:36.213
00:04:36.752 --> 00:04:42.423
00:04:42.423 --> 00:04:48.652
00:04:51.242 --> 00:04:53.512
00:04:53.512 --> 00:04:59.103
00:04:59.103 --> 00:05:02.762
00:05:03.272 --> 00:05:04.952
00:05:05.282 --> 00:05:07.983
00:05:07.983 --> 00:05:09.582
00:05:09.752 --> 00:05:11.702
00:05:12.112 --> 00:05:32.293
00:05:32.592 --> 00:05:37.641
00:05:37.641 --> 00:05:47.481
00:05:48.621 --> 00:05:49.101
00:05:49.192 --> 00:05:52.241
00:05:52.521 --> 00:05:52.942
00:05:53.512 --> 00:05:55.671
00:05:55.701 --> 00:06:03.291
00:06:03.681 --> 00:06:12.891
00:06:13.311 --> 00:06:24.901
00:06:24.921 --> 00:06:26.841
00:06:26.871 --> 00:06:31.449
00:06:31.479 --> 00:06:33.620
00:06:35.589 --> 00:06:37.699
00:06:37.719 --> 00:06:39.279
00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:42.189
00:06:42.659 --> 00:06:46.329
00:06:46.359 --> 00:06:47.139
00:06:48.099 --> 00:07:03.069
00:07:03.099 --> 00:07:07.689
00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:11.759
00:07:13.169 --> 00:07:15.099
00:07:15.099 --> 00:07:19.729
00:07:20.109 --> 00:07:21.669
00:07:21.669 --> 00:07:25.839
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:27.370
00:07:28.219 --> 00:07:30.039
00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:42.879
00:07:43.689 --> 00:07:49.629
00:07:49.629 --> 00:07:55.229
00:07:55.870 --> 00:08:00.339
00:08:01.089 --> 00:08:03.279
00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:07.569
00:08:08.769 --> 00:08:11.990
00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:21.099
00:08:21.099 --> 00:08:21.909
00:08:22.509 --> 00:08:40.060
00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:50.680
00:08:51.100 --> 00:09:20.620
00:09:20.889 --> 00:09:21.549
00:09:22.329 --> 00:09:30.039
00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.409
00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:41.740
00:09:41.769 --> 00:09:44.699
00:09:44.699 --> 00:09:46.139
00:09:46.439 --> 00:09:53.129
00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.090
00:09:57.419 --> 00:10:07.909
00:10:09.169 --> 00:10:09.870
00:10:09.870 --> 00:10:11.919
00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:24.470
00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:39.370
00:10:39.370 --> 00:10:50.100
00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.809
00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:56.879
00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:02.250
00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:18.100
00:11:18.610 --> 00:11:31.629
00:11:31.750 --> 00:11:45.970
00:11:46.049 --> 00:11:54.009
00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.960
00:11:59.409 --> 00:12:07.069
00:12:07.809 --> 00:12:13.579
00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:16.179
00:12:17.710 --> 00:12:32.860
00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:38.439
00:12:39.069 --> 00:12:43.960
00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:46.539
00:12:46.539 --> 00:12:51.960
00:12:52.409 --> 00:13:02.409
00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:12.429
00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:26.259
00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:42.970
00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:50.649
00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:52.779
00:13:52.779 --> 00:13:55.990
00:13:56.110 --> 00:14:03.439
00:14:03.439 --> 00:14:13.809
00:14:13.929 --> 00:14:17.259
00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:25.100
00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:27.429
00:14:27.970 --> 00:14:30.819
00:14:30.819 --> 00:14:40.840
00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:46.120
00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:48.100
00:14:48.649 --> 00:14:51.210
00:14:52.120 --> 00:15:01.559
00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:08.189
00:15:08.350 --> 00:15:16.389
00:15:16.389 --> 00:15:22.329
00:15:22.449 --> 00:15:34.329
00:15:34.329 --> 00:15:36.909
00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.899
00:15:41.289 --> 00:15:45.490
00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:53.769
00:15:55.992 --> 00:15:58.842
00:15:58.842 --> 00:16:03.702
00:16:03.913 --> 00:16:10.273
00:16:10.543 --> 00:16:16.452
00:16:16.692 --> 00:16:19.242
00:16:19.513 --> 00:16:23.653
00:16:24.013 --> 00:16:27.582
00:16:27.913 --> 00:16:32.322
00:16:32.653 --> 00:16:40.423
00:16:40.872 --> 00:16:42.133
00:16:43.433 --> 00:16:44.323
00:16:44.644 --> 00:16:50.244
00:16:50.514 --> 00:16:54.563
00:16:54.774 --> 00:16:59.093
00:16:59.093 --> 00:17:01.494
00:17:01.494 --> 00:17:06.324
00:17:07.433 --> 00:17:09.004
00:17:09.094 --> 00:17:13.903
00:17:13.903 --> 00:17:27.173
00:17:27.653 --> 00:17:27.953
00:17:28.374 --> 00:17:29.634
00:17:30.683 --> 00:17:31.884
00:17:32.754 --> 00:17:33.144
00:17:33.203 --> 00:17:37.847
00:17:38.672 --> 00:17:42.175
00:17:42.235 --> 00:17:51.875
00:17:53.516 --> 00:17:59.046
00:17:59.046 --> 00:18:02.435
00:18:02.705 --> 00:18:05.625
00:18:05.625 --> 00:18:16.746
00:18:16.836 --> 00:18:23.165
00:18:23.695 --> 00:18:34.105
00:18:34.445 --> 00:18:44.496
00:18:44.925 --> 00:18:51.425
00:18:51.455 --> 00:18:53.855
00:18:53.855 --> 00:18:55.776
00:18:56.076 --> 00:19:03.945
00:19:04.355 --> 00:19:15.885
00:19:15.885 --> 00:19:26.105
00:19:26.105 --> 00:19:29.945
00:19:29.945 --> 00:19:32.675
00:19:34.715 --> 00:19:43.036
00:19:43.036 --> 00:19:47.945
00:19:48.036 --> 00:19:53.975
00:19:54.756 --> 00:20:06.306
00:20:06.665 --> 00:20:12.965
00:20:14.615 --> 00:20:16.326
00:20:16.746 --> 00:20:21.786
00:20:22.296 --> 00:20:27.355
00:20:27.355 --> 00:20:33.695
00:20:34.215 --> 00:20:45.635
00:20:45.725 --> 00:20:46.475
00:20:46.635 --> 00:20:53.802
00:20:53.802 --> 00:21:02.482
00:21:02.502 --> 00:21:07.272
00:21:07.272 --> 00:21:09.522
00:21:10.272 --> 00:21:11.562
00:21:12.192 --> 00:21:12.732
00:21:13.182 --> 00:21:18.552
00:21:19.032 --> 00:21:30.552
00:21:30.613 --> 00:21:32.262
00:21:32.623 --> 00:21:35.113
00:21:35.232 --> 00:21:35.623
00:21:35.623 --> 00:21:42.702
00:21:43.242 --> 00:21:53.772
00:21:53.802 --> 00:21:58.212
00:21:58.583 --> 00:22:14.232
00:22:14.232 --> 00:22:17.762
00:22:18.012 --> 00:22:26.653
00:22:27.222 --> 00:22:31.153
00:22:31.542 --> 00:22:37.812
00:22:38.143 --> 00:22:45.492
00:22:46.603 --> 00:22:49.932
00:22:49.932 --> 00:23:02.743
00:23:02.743 --> 00:23:04.304
00:23:04.513 --> 00:23:12.283
00:23:12.493 --> 00:23:14.263
00:23:14.594 --> 00:23:25.811
00:23:25.811 --> 00:23:33.882
00:23:33.882 --> 00:23:37.152
00:23:37.182 --> 00:23:46.122
00:23:46.392 --> 00:24:02.922
00:24:02.922 --> 00:24:05.132
00:24:05.132 --> 00:24:06.281
00:24:07.331 --> 00:24:07.602