Brybe Founder Igor Fedenkoff Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Brybe Founder Igor Fedenkoff
Brybe founder Igor Fedenkoff joins us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast today.
He is the co-founder of Brybe, Inc. and a serial entrepreneur with a decade long history of creating successful startups in the healthcare and hospitality verticals, improving brand image and revenue 10x.
He holds an MBA, is a business instructor/trainer, marketing specialist, public speaker, and an investor.
Now he provides a platform for remote professionals and social media influencers looking for opportunities for brand collaborations and on-going work gigs.
Individuals and businesses that are interested in utilizing freelance professionals for digital creative services or influencers for social media promotion can access this platform as well.
He works with investors looking to be introduced to a profitable opportunity in the online marketplace sector, but for sure knows the nitty gritty, dirty details of
running a start-up and raising capital.
His mission is to share his mistakes and challenges to help other entrepreneurs to avoid some of the underwater rocks on their own journeys.
So what would be the most frequent mistake that he sees people making time and time again?
And if he could leap past his biggest mistake would he, or has it simply been another dot on the road to where he is today?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Igor Fedenkoff
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Igor such as:
Igor shared the fledgling steps to creating Brybe, and how he brought the platform to life by tapping into his own network.
We discussed the origins of the name Brybe and how it was influenced by the Virgin companies of 1972.
And lastly……
Igor reveals the complications and legalities of setting up a business like this and how many of them took him by surprise.
How To Connect Igor Fedenkoff
Return To The Top Of Brybe Founder Igor Fedenkoff
If you enjoyed this episode with Brybe, why not check out other inspirational chat with David Kadavy, Alana Hurd, Joshua Spodek, and the amazing Ken Magma Marshall
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy
Full Transcription Of Brybe Founder Interview
Intro [0:00]
Life shouldn’t be hard life should be a fun filled adventure every day. So now start joining up dots tap into your talents, your skills, your God given gifts and tell your boss, you don’t deserve me. I’m out of here. It’s time for you to smash that alarm clock and start getting the dream business and life you will, of course, are dreaming of. Let’s join your host, David Ralph from the back of his garden in the UK, or wherever he might be today with another JAM PACKED episode of the number one hit podcast. Join Up Dots.
David Ralph [0:40]
Yes, hello there having you had an apple verse for nearly a decade we’ve been bringing you Join Up Dots stories. Well, we got another one for you. Yes, we’ve got another one. We’ve got a guy who’s the co founder of bribe and a serial entrepreneur with a decade long history of creating successful startups in the healthcare and hospitality verticals, improving brand image and revenue 10 times. He holds an MBA is a business instructor, trainer, marketing specialist, public speaker, and an investor. And now he provides a platform for remote professionals and social media influencers, looking for opportunities for brand collaborations, and ongoing work gigs. Individuals and businesses that are interested in utilising Freelance Professionals for digital creative services, or influencers for social media promotion, can access this platform as well. Now he works with investors looking to be introduced to a profitable opportunity in the online marketplace sector but for sure knows the nitty gritty, dirty details of running a startup and raising capital. His mission is to share his mistakes and challenges to help other entrepreneurs to avoid some of the underwater rocks on their own journeys. So what would be the most underwater rock that he sees the frequent mistake that he sees people making time and time again? And if he could leap past his biggest mistake, Woody? Or would he simply see it as another doc on the road to where he is today? Well, let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Igor Fedenkoff. Morning to your Igor
Brybe Co-Founder [2:23]
What an amazing intro. Thank you so much. Appreciate the great words. It’s great to be here.
David Ralph [2:27]
It is lovely to have you here. So we were talking just beforehand. So you are based in Los Angeles, but you were originally from Russia. And you’ve done a little bit of sort of globe trotting, picking up accents along the way. Where’s your favourite place? Where Where? Where do you go? Yeah, this feels like home.
Brybe Co-Founder [2:48]
You know, back in the day, my dad used to always say Home is where you are. So realistically, this is how I look at my life. And I have lived in many different places on our planet. And for the past 26 years in the United States, but first years in New York. So I picked up on some of the New York personalities and then Midwest between Chicago and Minneapolis. And now Los Angeles with the sun and a relaxed attitude to life, I guess. But wherever I am, this is where the home is. So
David Ralph [3:19]
if you’re too nice, Igor, you’re too nice. I’m going to turn that question and say, what’s the worst place that you’ve you’ve lived in?
Brybe Co-Founder [3:28]
Oh, my God, Bronx, the suburb of New York. I stayed there for a couple of weeks while looking for a spot to live and ended up living in Brooklyn later. But Bronx has been just an amazing experience. On the negative side. I’ve had my apartment broken into rodents, outdoor fights, you know, the ugly side of New York is something I’ve had the pleasure to experience. But
David Ralph [3:56]
you have to say that don’t you to be a real traveller I always think about these people that will travel first class and then go to the nicest hotels and stuff. Yeah, it’s lovely. But when I’ve travelled the Earth, which I used to do a lot of, I think the memories are of times when I ended up having to sleep on a bench overnight. And you know, it’s it’s the the rough times. They’re the ones that become your stories when you’re in bars and pubs and you say, Oh, I tell you about the Bronx. That’s the stuff that sticks with you.
Brybe Co-Founder [4:30]
Most definitely. There was another episode I actually just moved to Los Angeles and I ended up leaving for a week and out my car with my dog because I picked up a dog from the street and I fell in love with him and he lived with me for 14 years after that. But on that particular week, I got kicked out of my apartment because it was a restricted breed. And while looking for a place to live, we lived out of my you know 1991 Jaguar S type actually shout out to the UK where
David Ralph [4:59]
you want it actly slumming it. I was feeling sorry for you at that time, and then you’re sleeping in a jaguar?
Brybe Co-Founder [5:07]
Well, yeah, the land of contrasts the life of surprises.
David Ralph [5:10]
Yeah, absolutely. So is this is this kind of how your spirit is because you’re very much into startups and startups are very eclectic days one day can be totally different from another. Do you think that you were born to be that kind of person that will take the rough and the smooth and just make the best of it.
Brybe Co-Founder [5:33]
I would like to think that this has been my life story. And the biggest thing is, whatever experiences you pick up along the way, back in the day, that used to be something that you would adjust and try to fit your career if you kept it for the rest of your life. But nowadays, as you know, people switch their careers, what at least three, four or five times in their lifetime. And whatever experiences you pick up along the way, something that helps you, moves, you gives you the foundation, and you know, I have an MBA, and that helped me run a club in Los Angeles. So whatever life throws at you, you just get a look at it, find what you got, and use the necessary tools. And then if you want,
David Ralph [6:12]
yeah, that’s become the mantra of Join Up Dots that you really don’t know, even the worst experiences in life. When you get far enough away from them, you go, well, actually, it was awful. It was terrible. I’d never do it again. But God, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Now. You’re you’re the founder of bribe. And it’s interesting, actually. And I’ll be totally transparent with you. When your name came across the Join Up Dots team, and we looked at you, I kind of went on not another Instagram guy, no, this is different. This, this is totally different. And what I want to sort of bring about is the difference. That bribe is, as it says, built on simple yet innovative principles. It’s kind of like a freelance site. But it’s also a freelance site that taps into people of influence. So somebody can come along. An influencer will create a video and then share it with their followers. So it can be a big boost on your actual profile. I’ve never seen anything like this before. And that’s why I wanted to have you on the show. So how did it come to you? Because this is kind of genius. As I was looking at it, I thought, hang on, this is this is new, this is innovative.
Brybe Co-Founder [7:28]
Thank you so much for the good words. Well, this the long story short, in the beginning of year 2018, I actually switched my careers, and became well, I was a club owner in a restaurant or in Los Angeles. And then both spots were sold, luckily, right before the pandemic, and I was a father at the moment. So I figured I spent some time in my house when my babies and probably a month into it, I realised that, you know, this is fantastic, but I gotta do something else. And this is where miraculously, I got a text message from a friend of mine who had a technology company. And later with, I found out that this was a bait, but at that moment, it was eager. Do you know anybody who’s good with marketing? And my response was well, besides me. So couple of weeks.
David Ralph [8:20]
That’s what that’s what you’re saying he was a groomer.
Brybe Co-Founder [8:24]
It totally did. And basically, for his technology company, we were coming up with some innovative marketing ideas to spread the word about their services that were in virtual reality markets. So from my club in days, I ended up thinking, why don’t we use some of the, you know, well known personalities to bring it up, because the idea was still new. And simultaneously, I started looking into influencer marketing platforms, and very quickly realised that a lot of them were built by engineers, and basically were a phenomenal analytical engines with beautiful statistics, and, but not really a direct contact to the influencers. So drop, some of those ended up using our own warm circle of influencers. And that was quite successful. We brought them up 10 times and revenue within a year. But simultaneous, we started building our own little database of influencers so we can reach out again, and again, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the video of influencers, direct messages on their phone, they appear about 10 per second. So if you try to reach somebody, good luck unless they’re looking at the phone at that particular very moment. So what was a pet project very quickly became a larger database. And then we added some programming and then we added some more funds, and then it grew to be a separate platform, which became grounds for opening our company, but Inc and basically The organic growth of the platform shows validated our existence because our model was not of discovery, but of interaction. Both my business partners and I come from a marketing background. So we figured we’ll play with bright colours, catchy name, and give an opportunity for brands and influencers to actually have direct contact on the platform in a safe environment, as well as if they do any kind of work, we also moderate the funds transfer, so make it a one stop shop for the programme. And realistically what we saw in the market that a lot of people and a lot of mega influencers were dominating the concept, while realistically smaller influencers was very, very engaged following actually give a lot more bang for the buck. So we directed our efforts at smaller to medium sized businesses and small to medium sized influencers, given them the platform to interact, for influencers to offer their services, actually, sometimes in a pre packaged manner. So it makes it even easier. So you want to post on Instagram here, this for 25 bucks, click, you’re done. And the same time for the brands to post, hey, I want my product promoted. And then influencers bidding on it made it a lot easier for the brands to find necessary connections. And that was going into the beginning of the pandemic. With all the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it, we realised that the majority of the world is at home on remote. And a lot of people potentially have lost their jobs. And we’re looking to do some kind of side gig in this is where the biggest idea I think, that made us very unique came up, why don’t we add freelance professionals to the platform as well. And we rolled out bribe as a digital creator marketplace in the beginning of this year, and have enjoyed an absolutely tremendous growth because like you said, this model is is not unique to the market, but it’s quite unique for the environment. Because you don’t need to look and find and try to get a hold of professionals or the brands you can go on the marketplace and in a two sided manner, have the negotiations have the acid exchange, make a payment and remain happy. And one of the general trends that we’re seeing right now is a lot of repeated orders. So companies that use us or influencers or freelance professionals that use us use us continuously,
David Ralph [12:31]
which, well, I’m gonna slow you down there because you know, it’s a fascinating story. But just to sort of summarise it. One of the things you did first of all, because it was I always look at these kinds of businesses. And I think it’s chicken and egg time, you know, do you create the platform? Or do you try to get the people on the platform first? And how do you get the people on the platform, if you haven’t got the platform? Now you tapped into your network that was already there. And that is a powerful statement, which a lot of people skip past I think they have to be creating new traffic forms, but you actually went where the traffic already was, which allowed for the quick growth, which, which is genius. Now, I’m sure you’ve been asked this a billion times. And this, hopefully is my only boring question. But bribe is one of those names that you think is that genius? Or is there you know, an undertone to that? How did you come up with bribe?
Brybe Co-Founder [13:32]
Well, the time of year to show because we are getting all kinds of feedback for the name. But first of all, we misspelt it as you can tell br y v because the original bribe was taken and they didn’t want to sell it. But realistically what we did, we looked back at Sir Richard Branson, and Virgin companies. Their idea was, hey, we’re new to the business back in I think 1972 Nick, Paul and him. They were virgins to the business, hence the name. So we figured that even a catchy shower.
David Ralph [14:07]
Come on, come on. You’ve seen what Richard Branson looked like in 1972. He was a virgin on everything. It wasn’t just his business. Surely.
Brybe Co-Founder [14:19]
I will not speculate on that. But basically that was travel would be a very similar situation. We thought the general idea behind the word bribe is getting something faster because you offer something different, right when you bribe somebody for something. So we wanted to bring a positive con and funny connotation to that because A is catchy and D will give an opportunity for brands to approach influencers in a much quicker manner with their proposal, or vice versa for a freelance professional defined, given to the brand by saying hey, this is what I do. Get me and that makes it a lot easier. So both sides of our marketplace in a way by each other into getting some really good work done. So the rest is history.
David Ralph [15:07]
The rest is history, very quick history. And it, it demonstrates in strange times, but a good idea will find its way through. A lot of people out there are frightened to actually start new businesses in the pandemic that we’re in. But in many ways a pandemic brings upon opportunities. So do you think that it’s found its feet quicker? Because of the situation? Or do you think it would have found itself in the same place anyway?
Brybe Co-Founder [15:40]
I am not entirely sure. Because I think the need the general needs in the space and the general motion in the space existed prior to the pandemic, what pandemic has done is basically has given us a huge kick start. Because the so many systems and so many relationships, and so many business logics have changed. And I don’t think they will change back. People are working on remote bases, large corporations actually switching to remote workers, because it’s cheaper and lot more fluent, as long as you know what you’re doing. And in the meantime, it gives an opportunity for a lot of people to have either additional income or main income coming from the gig economy. So the pandemic, in a way, was a blessing to what we’re doing because we gave a platform to all those people to eliminate, eliminate the confusion, and we support them with education in our blog, and we’re actually about to roll out bribe Academy, to have a tonne of educational courses on how to do things. We’re given them my opportunity and assistance. And I think this is the biggest thing a startup can do is obviously everybody shoots for okay, what is the need? What is the specific problem we can sell? We’re not exactly solving a problem. But we’re making things easier. And I think this way, our approach is easier for people to understand and a lot more welcomed by our target base, because we’re not throwing something new at them. We’re telling them you are doing this, you can do it. We’re here to help.
David Ralph [17:17]
Let’s hear from Jim Carrey. And we will be back with Igor,
Jim Carrey [17:20]
my father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [17:47]
Now, following those words, have you ever had a safe job? Because living in a Jaguar being the door knocked down by a big rat in the Bronx, it seems like you’ve always been slightly on the age has there been an Igor that used to go to the corporate desk and sit there from eight till five and then go home waiting for the weekend.
Brybe Co-Founder [18:10]
That was the Igor that freshly came out of a school in Minnesota with his bachelor’s degree not entirely sure what to do. The next moment after catch on the hat that I threw up in the air at graduation. very fortunately, at that particular time, Prudential insurance was planning on going public and my college roommates father was working for the company. And they basically made the introduction I ended up working for the team that brought Prudential public at that time. And that was a year and a half long contract. The contract ran out and I was seeing a lot more opportunities with the company but at the same time, they were not offered. It was basically Okay, the project is done. So now you’re just sitting here crunching numbers with the same salary. And at that very particular day. I remember that was the day matrix came out with matrix in the movie. I watched it and Neil actually the character, he was sitting in such exact cubicle and you know, hating his life and I kind of build a parallel with that next day instead of signing the continuation of the contract. I ended up quitting Prudential.
David Ralph [19:27]
Did you take the blue or red tablet? I have to ask you.
Brybe Co-Founder [19:32]
I believe it was the one that led that led down the rabbit hole because the following couple of years were incredibly adventurous and also very tough, but simultaneously ended up going back to school. Are you seeing my MBA, seeing what else I can do with that and instead of going into the corporate gig, which I no longer wanted, I ended up studying my own financial practice as a part of a broker dealer and Many, many years later, when the 2007 2008 happened, my clients went down, you know, yeah, just a little bit as opposed to the rest of the market. So they were happy. And I almost ended up taking myself to a hospital. So I figured that would not be the right fit for me, just like the accountant father said, you know, you may as well fail at something that you don’t like. So.
David Ralph [20:25]
So when you look back, Igor, when you look back, and can you see that these were missteps on a personal nature, that they were never going to be really a fit? You know, I’m interested about what you was actually thinking when you were throwing your hat at graduation? Was it a relief? Or was it Oh, my God, now I need to decide what to do.
Brybe Co-Founder [20:49]
It was more the ladder because I enjoyed going to school, it was a lot of fun. It was a great university. But then that was a reality check. Because I got my diploma, which technically is a receipt for all the money in the effort. Then what exactly do I do with this receipt? You know, where do I move forward?
David Ralph [21:11]
And how do you how do you decide that? How do you decide because, well, I see so many people, my kids are going through university at the moment. And I always say to them, just enjoy yourself, just just do something you know, that you enjoy. And then you’re going to put more passion into it. And if it works out afterwards, it works out but you can make it work out. How do you find the passion for something when there’s a bit of you thinking? I’m not sure it’s the right turn here.
Brybe Co-Founder [21:40]
You know, David, some people are blessed with knowing from the very beginning what they want to do, and they do it for the rest of their life, you know, the ballet dancers and musicians, the advertisers. For me, it was okay, so I learned finance, I learned marketing, I learned this, I learned that, which means I can basically go anywhere, which didn’t make it easier, but also gave that certain cushion of safety knowing that wherever I go, I have applicable knowledge. So a lot of times these days, I hear people saying, you know, quit school school does nothing. I would like to respectfully disagree, because no matter what it puts the knowledge into your head, you may not be able to use it right away. But seriously, now 20 years later, I’m still using some of the things that I didn’t think I would be using from the education I got from the school. So
David Ralph [22:31]
yeah, I agree with that. Yeah, I agree with that. Because a lot of times when I’ve been in corporate gigs, I use stuff that I learned bear. Now I’m not in the same jobs. But there were skills that I brought in, you know, I always say that I was a cold coder, I used to have to phone up to sell banking products, hour upon hour upon hour, just boning. Probably the best training I’ve ever had for being a podcaster. But I didn’t know it at the time. It was just what I was doing.
Brybe Co-Founder [23:03]
Now, absolutely 100% agree.
David Ralph [23:06]
But I’m glad I’m glad he go about your your my track. Let’s hear these words. And then we’ll be back with ego. If you’re inspired to live a life on your own terms, working when you want where you want, once you sit back and make the decision of how much you want to earn to and it’s all totally doable, and nowadays easier than ever, head over to the start of business school at join up dots.com And check out the video testimonials from just a few of the students that are now building their dream businesses after going through our coaching sessions. And if backsides then book a time to speak to me one to one to make sure you have what it takes to become the next success off our conveyor belt that started business school at join up dots.com. So I ego let’s go back to bribe and their worldwide self service influence. Now, what was the first thing that you brought on to it? Because I think a lot of people get hung up with seeing the dreams, seeing the vision and not being happy with where they are when they start the ugly stage. So how ugly was the business when you first launched it?
Brybe Co-Founder [24:19]
I wouldn’t say ugly at all, because it’s my baby. And I would never say that. But at the same time, we’ve made every single mistake you can potentially make. And I think we’ve invented mistakes and made them and then had to overcome them. But realistically, anything from developing the concept and the colour, especially if you’re not by yourself and you are part of the founding team. Obviously different people have different opinions. So I think the direct compartmentalization of the duties was something very smart that we did in the beginning. And all of our co founders of the company are doing exactly thanks to their expertise and then we come together on an open floor and discuss things. So, for instance, one of the longest things ever was to create an actual MVP. And this is, I think, the biggest trap a lot of startup owners fall into, they focus on the product, and they want to protect the product. And then they test and test and they do focus group and they test again. And this is the time that is lost. So realistically, when we rolled out a workable platform, I said, Okay, let’s go live. And my guys just went completely berserk. So Igor, we may have issues we need testing, Mike, okay, let’s testing open market. So we send out a message through a bunch of people that like I said, in our warm network said, Hey, this is already live, there is no ads for it yet. But go in, play with it, do what you want. And they actually ended up sending us the feedback. So we gave to the world, the product that needed testing, and we got the real world testing out of the way. And that was the biggest thing for us. Because then obviously, things started crashing, and something didn’t work. And this didn’t work out. But we were fixing it as the platform was live as the name existed, and the Word was spread. So that was probably one of the biggest challenges. Up until today, we’re still going through additional redesigns and UX UI, and we get a lot of feedback from our users. So it’s a never ending process. It’s like buying a house you bought a house you think is great, no, you can have plumbing issues and electrical issues, and the roof is leaking, and you won’t know until they rains. So this is the approach that we have taken as we are going into the experiential way. Rather than just sit in there and trying to perfect the product without people actually know anybody.
David Ralph [26:49]
I think I think that’s wise as, as I always say, if you’ve waited too long to get your product out, then you know, you’re always going to be embarrassed by your first thing, just get it out there, and then test and then find out real feedback. Now, as he was talking, I was on there, and I was flicking around. And one of the things that you know, we could link it link this in concept to something like Fiverr. Now, when I first started using Fiverr years ago, it was a fibre which, which was brilliant name. Now you go over there, it’s hundreds of dollars. And you know, they’re starting from that a lot of yours are very cheap, which is great. And a lot of yours has taken me by surprise, you know, I’m here, I’m on body treatment. I’m on a new beauty. There’s so much to it. So what kind of person do you think? Is your direct avatar? Or is it everyone everyone will find something for? Is it like the Amazon of freelancers that we can just find what we want?
Brybe Co-Founder [27:54]
I guess the answer would be yes and no. And forgive me my ambivalence. In this particular case. Fiverr actually was a great model that we saw that worked, but they’ve been around for almost 20 years. So what they have established is a great customer base. But what happens right now, anybody new who jumps on fibre ends up at the end of the list. And if they don’t have reviews, or don’t have the stars or any kind of expectations, they’re not seen. So what we decided to do and why our model is so fresh right now is we’re giving everybody direct access. I wouldn’t say that is for every every everyone. But we are running an extending list of categories where 240 categories right now, there’s a lot of subcategories. And the goal is, again, this is to automate and make the process easier. We don’t have an agency approach. We don’t take people by the hand, except for very, you know, rare instances which I can address later. But this is something where you jump on and you find yourself in a familiar with the term bizarre, huh? Yes, the Middle East in mice. Absolutely. This is this is what it is we build a bizarre and when you go to the bazaar, you can find anything from cloth to clothing to foods to desserts, to you know electronics. So we’re giving people an opportunity to offer their services. If they’re not in the category, we actually add the category because they’re new, and at the same time. So many companies fail to understand that they have many different needs. For instance, a company that goes in to get their logo design, they also need to realise that they will need additional graphics and their logo has to correspond with their webpage and with their paper and with everything. So it’s a never ending chain chain of referrals. So we are offering an opportunity to the businesses and to freelancers to be a full grown part of that whole chain.
David Ralph [30:00]
Now one of the questions that’s got to be asked is, I’m looking at some of these things. And there’s some lovely ladies very, very beautiful ladies, we have quite a lot of influences. And they say, you know, we will promote your product to our employers. Now, I know this is how it works in the real world. But but it’s a question that needs to be asked, is there some kind of moral obligation for them to actually, you know, think that the products good before they promote it? You know, for example, say they use some cream that four days after they promote it by leg or starts going blistering and stuff? Is there some kind of recourse that they can take it back off? Or whatever, you know?
Brybe Co-Founder [30:43]
Absolutely. Actually, by going into this place, one of the first things that we did was connect with Robert Friedland, who is an attorney probably the only attorney right now, who has put together a Class A whole educational course for influencers, how to be an influencer, from the legal standpoint, we are a global platform, the majority of our business still comes from North America. And there are very, very strict and now becoming admin stricter regulations by the Federal Trade Commission, on how you advertise what you advertise. And if you say that you have used the product, you must use the product. And if there’s evidence that you haven’t, before, you would be, you know, find with a slap on the hand or a couple of $1,000. Right now it’s 45, or $46,000 per occurrence. So if you’re an influencer, who just, you know, said this cream is great, but in reality that doesn’t work, you are looking at a very substantial consequences.
David Ralph [31:44]
So it wouldn’t be you Igor, it would be bem, they’re theirs. They’re the ones that will be penalised, is correct, right.
Brybe Co-Founder [31:54]
Like I said, we are providing a platform for them to connect, we cannot guarantee be the judges of each single character. But we do educate on every step of the way, how influencers are expected to behave from fraudulent following, to not using the product to going into some financial schemes. And trust me, there’s so many of them, we get hit with some kind of hack or fraud on a regular basis. And it’s crazy. It’s crazy, how gullible sometimes people can be. But it also crazy how much fraud and lie is out there in online space right now. So this is something that is now becoming definitely the platform business is to provide the education as well as moderation as to what kind of deals are happening on the platform. Because right now there is no such particular concept as a secondary party liability for online marketing. But I think it’s not that far away. So we’re coming into this being prepared and making sure that we have all our T’s crossed and I’s dotted.
David Ralph [33:01]
Right. Okay, so So Brybe is doing great. You’ve gone past the legalities. And you’ve got everything set up on there. Now we have somebody who creates startups quite often the exciting bit is the startup and actually once the business is up and running, you get a little bit bored a little bit itchy, twitchy feet. Is that something that you are aware of? Are you somebody that after a while goes, I think I want to go again,
Brybe Co-Founder [33:28]
definitely want to go again. But the opportunities that we have right now, with our business model, I widen in every day. With the introduction of Metaverse, you’re looking at completely uncharted territory for any type of business. And I think the first people for instance that already present in the metaverse is the gamers and the freelancers. So this is another opportunity, a completely interesting project, which spawns off what we’re doing right now. So I think I was able to find something that will present never ending opportunities and challenges and opportunities for creativity. So, but we’re still young, and I think we still got a little bit of time.
David Ralph [34:12]
I saw a Metaverse, I saw Zuckerberg talking about it. And I had a real strong rejection of the idea. I just thought this is madness. This is like living in a fantasy world is this is the matrix, you know, where people aren’t actually connecting. You saw it as an opportunity. You saw it as excitement, man. Yeah,
Brybe Co-Founder [34:37]
absolutely. Things that happen in digital worlds. A lot of times bring the changes that unfortunately are out of our control. But eventually we find you know, peace with that. The general concept of what you just mentioned, does not agree with me. Particularly either way because we’ll see in the matrix and I think I don’t know if you’ve seen the cartoon by Disney called Wally, by the robot and
David Ralph [35:02]
Ollie.
Brybe Co-Founder [35:04]
Yes, exactly. I think this is inherently lazy people are trying to create themselves the solutions to do less and yet still survive. But the general opportunity in the technology field for companies like ours is if everybody is moving there, and there are platforms that are available to assist people with doing this, this presents a great business opportunity for those of us who are in the field. So realistically, this is something we’re definitely looking into, from the standpoint of the business logic and technological development. But our biggest, biggest, biggest core competencies still is our online platform. It’s not nearly as populated as we would like it to be. So this is our main focus. But in the same context, and something you mentioned earlier about education, I think there is one more group of users that is actually missing from bribe, and we are working on adding them and that would be online coaches, we would like an opportunity for them to offer their courses through us. But at the same time, well, that makes our platform is that one place where even if you’re completely unaware of what you’re trying to do, you can find unnecessary experts, get the necessary knowledge, create your concept, and then get a freelancer that will help you with making an actual conceptual drawings or logos or designs. And then you can find an influencer that will help you to promote it. And considering these old gig workers and transactional work, it’s a lot cheaper, a lot more business budget friendly, than finding somebody full time and interviewing and then find hiring again. So
David Ralph [36:54]
it’s brilliant, really, because this stitch, yeah, I could be flicking a number on this all day. And I’m finding something new on there. So you know, family and genealogy being gaming have been greeting cards and videos and cooking. And so what was the first one? What was the first one that you put up?
Brybe Co-Founder [37:15]
The first one on the influencer side was your classic workout leaders, the beauty and makeup and travellers travellers obviously fell off pretty quickly with a pandemic. But then, very, very funny story. We did an analysis almost a year into it of the categories that are getting a lot of attention. And we found something that validated our existence. And that was the category of animal husbandry. I don’t think you can have any influencer platform tell you that this is the quarter category we specialise in, and neither did we. But it’s so turned out that this is one of the most underserved categories in either freelance or influencer markets. And we added it in alphabetical order. And all of a sudden, we noticed the traction and the traffic and people exchanging the knowledge and products. And that was quite interesting. So sometimes, not being able to actually focusing on some one category can make you skip some of the very interesting opportunities that you find out along the way, by opening up the doors to different categories.
David Ralph [38:31]
Yeah, and which you would only know by actually opening up the doors, if you’re sitting there trying to double guess and think about it, you just end up with a with a diluted version, don’t you? You know, I I look at this. And I think oh, yeah, I’d use that. And then I’d look at Oh, yeah, I’d use that there’s so many different things. And it’s very easy to find very easy to I haven’t found animal has husbandry on now. I don’t know where I’m, I’m looking for that. But um, yeah, there’s a load on there. Well, okay, so let’s take you away from that. And let’s take you back into the world of the motivational speeches. And this is one that was given back in 2005. So let’s hear it again, Steve Jobs. Of course,
Steve Jobs [39:13]
it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [39:47]
Now lay words that we should play in school. Now, I know you said earlier that education is so important but also that that creativity of spirit to believe something’s going to happen even when the dots haven’t been lined out for you. Is that something that is inspirational to you?
Brybe Co-Founder [40:07]
I could not agree more. And actually funny thing, I remember that speech and a lot of things that have happened in my life later kind of coincide with it, including the name of my restaurant company in Los Angeles, which was called the karma Restaurant Group. Looking back, it always makes sense looking forward, you can either be fearful and not take the risk. Or you can take the risk and at least see whether it works or not, I think the biggest risk is in not taking the risk. So my biggest advice in that particular context is, when you have that inherent inside you, that is looking forward, and maybe it’s an unknown, but hey, I want to try this, I want to give this a shot. Don’t ever shut it down by given all kinds of excuses, why not, you know, the incomes of this family situation, whatever. If you feel that you can, you can. And as trivial This may sound, I think I’ve proven to myself, this to be true, many times over.
David Ralph [41:12]
And so what would be looking back, the biggest risk that you took that actually was, as we say, over here, squeaky bum time, that you actually thought, Oh, I think this is too too big, actually. But you still went ahead with it.
Brybe Co-Founder [41:27]
There were quite a few one of the biggest ones was walking away from Prudential like I told you before. And then the subsequent one right before I got into the hospitality industry, I actually was thinking about going back to finance and I had a baby on the way and I figured I need some kind of a safety net. And it still went into the complete unknown and it actually pays off by building the most incredible chapter of my life. So that would be it.
David Ralph [41:58]
So no risk is too big for you ego
Brybe Co-Founder [42:03]
you’re risking if you’re not taking the risk, and then Russia we say those who don’t risk don’t drink champagne, and I happen to really like champagne. So
David Ralph [42:12]
I speak very good English, obviously speak to you to say Yeah, cuz you don’t love it. But yeah, they I understood. Yeah. Unless I’m suddenly fluent in Russian.
Brybe Co-Founder [42:22]
I think it’s both David. Like I said, I used to speak more or less perfect English. And then 26 years in America definitely ended the Yankee tone to me. So
David Ralph [42:32]
perfect stuff. Yeah, yeah. You’re a globetrotter that’s inspiring as you go. Now, this is the end of the show. And this is a bit that we’ve been leading up to. And it’s the part that we call the Sermon on the mic when we get to send you back in time to speak to the young ego. But of course, the big question is, what age ego would you just love to speak to? And what advice would you like to give him to get him to where you are now? Well, we’re going to find out because we’re going to play the music. And when it fades, it’s your time to talk. This is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [43:09]
Here we go with the best bit of the show the Sermon on the mind, the sermon on him.
Brybe Co-Founder [43:30]
Dear Igor, the 22 year old Igor, you’re facing a big choice. You’re looking at the contract with Deloitte and Touche, or you’re looking at the passion that you’re wanting to pursue. And it makes a lot more sense to go into the safe direction. But don’t you dare do that. Your six senses telling you go to the right, go into the unknown. And as scary as it is, you got it, you made it. Don’t change the thing.
David Ralph [44:03]
Show advice, but powerful statement. So Igor, what’s the number one best way that our audience who have been listening can can review.
Brybe Co-Founder [44:13]
The easiest way to get ahold of me is via LinkedIn. My name is in the description of the show. And if you want to see us, and it’s bribe.com, br y v.com.
David Ralph [44:22]
And we have all the links on the show notes to make it as easy as possible. Eagle, thank you so much for spending time with us today and joining up those dots. And please come back again, when you’ve got more dots to join up. Because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our pasts is actually the best way to build our futures. Igor, thank you so much.
Brybe Co-Founder [44:41]
Thank you, David. It was a privilege.
David Ralph [44:45]
That was more from a bribe. Yeah, it’s good. Go over there. And you’ve got the freelancers. It’s a bit like Fiverr as I say, but it seems a lot more clean. I was very, very impressed by it. If you’re interested that is be RYB a.com back course you can come over to the show notes. And it’s another idea for you, if you’re sitting out there, then you can do the same. It makes no difference. There’s enough crumbs out there for everybody to have a lovely income. And that’s what Join Up Dots is all about. It’s not just having conversations about struggles and achievements as about giving you ideas of businesses that you could do. And you’ve now got nearly 2000 of the shows to listen to and think, yeah, I could do that. But of course, if you do want help even more than that, come over to Join Up Dots go to the Bisco and join in with the community that we are helping shape their futures and their dream lifestyle. And we are start providing even more free content to you by video directly to your inbox you ask us what you need help with and we will do it and that is join up dots.com forward slash Bisco until next time, my friends you look after yourselves you stay sexy, and I’ll see you again. Cheers. See ya. Bye bye.
Outro [45:59]
That’s the end of Join Up Dots. You heard the conversation. Now it’s time for you to start taking massive action. Create your life is he only Eli? God will be back again real soon. Join Up Dots join the gods, gods, the gods Jolina Join Up Dots
