This is a transcript of a "Getting Real" interview on the Scaling Up Business podcast in which host Bill Gallagher interviews Taryn Gavagan Bozzo, CEO of AV Images. They discuss AV Images' origins (founded by Taryn's father Sean in 1985), the company's trade-show and live-event focus, pivots to virtual events and live-streaming during the pandemic, leadership challenges balancing authenticity/femininity/family legacy, company culture rooted in aloha, and short-term vision to preserve the business and care for long-time employees. The episode also includes EO sponsorship and calls-to-action for scalingcoach.com and eonetwork.org.
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Are we live there? We are. It happens every day. Oh. All our paths as entrepreneurs are interesting and different. We're gonna get here a different path, a different story. Today. I'm excited. It's funny, we've been doing so many this week and I have recording, right. We released them to the widest audience only once a week, but this has been a big recording week. Hi again and welcome everyone to the Scaling Up Business podcast. I'm your host and scaling coach, Bill Gallagher. This is another one of our Getting Real episodes and the Getting Real episodes, our conversations with entrepreneurs about their journey and how they've grown and developed as entrepreneurs along the way. You can find these along with our tips and our deep dives with gurus and authors and experts in the world of scaling up. All that and more. Wherever you get your podcast content, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, YouTube, I don't know where else, like other places. SoundCloud, that's one I never mentioned. So you'll find all that and more or at our website, scalingcoach.com downloads of the tools, show notes, links, special offers, all that go to scalingcoach.com, subscribe there and you'll get them every week. So all that and more. These episodes are a deep dive into the lucky breaks, the challenges, the setbacks, things that frighten us, embarrass us, our regrets, our aspirations, how we're developing as leaders and what we're working on. This episode like this series is sponsored by the eo, the Entrepreneurs Organization Chapters of the Bay Area. Known normally as eo, this is a member led organization for entrepreneurs to learn, grow and develop along with others and to find those kinds of peers to connect with. I've been a member of the organization for. Well, I first joined about 20 years ago when we were known as Yeo back then. And I've been in the organization with several different companies now and in a variety of leadership roles both locally and internationally. The EO members of the Bay Area are also then connected globally with members across many countries and chapters. I think almost 200 chapters. I've been saying 61 chapters last little bit, but that was just like my brain not working. I think it's about 200 chapters across maybe 61 countries is probably the right stat, but. But anyway, be that as it may, I should actually have that correct in my notes. It's access to a world of entrepreneurship that is just extraordinary, whether you're traveling or need a connection or something like that. If you'd like more information about the EO organization or to apply for membership, go to eonetwork.org so eonetwork.org all right, listen in now as we talk with Taryn. Taryn, welcome to the show.
Hi, thanks for having me, Bill.
So I'm so such a spaz today. I'm really out of it. So Taryn, the CEO of AV Images and we're going to hear a little bit about your story. I think it's like so many, it's unique in this, in this realm. So hi and welcome to the show. Where are you today?
I am in my home in Livermore.
My home in Livermore.
My home in Livermore in my spare bedroom. In my master bedroom which I have, you know, made the bed today for you all. So thank you for that.
You know, it's funny like so many of us have things like this. So this is now home office and was once like a guest room, then became a kid's room, then like became a workout room, then eventually became the home office. Right. And I used to use it occasionally as I traveled. Now I use it all the time. So you come to. So talk to us. First of all, what does AV Images do?
So we are an audio visual production support company. The company was founded by my father Sean in 1985 and yeah, we incorporated early 90s. So pre pandemic we provided audio visual production support for mostly trade shows. It's kind of our bread and butter. But we also provided support, yes, huge, it's non stop and events and conferences, that sort of thing. So during the pandemic we've definitely been honing our virtual skills and live streaming and you know, this sort of deal that we have going on here for this interview and learning all the virtual platforms and trying to help our clients.
In the virtual space, it's truly a challenge. Right. You, you. There's a whole other set of considerations. I've been in conversation either with a guest or with someone we're coaching or that kind of thing. And kids come running in the room and dogs and UPS deliveries and construction and leaf blowers going on.
Yeah, it's been interesting. I mean there is, there's a whole shift I think in the, you know, preparation aspect of virtual. I'm sure as you know, doing this, there's a lot of prep that has to happen way before as opposed to, you know, the, the more physical aspect in a trade show or live event that we've had to, we've had to learn and kind of just ride the wave that all this is bringing with us.
So 1985. Your dad starts this business, right, and you grew up watching it?
Yeah, so I was. That was the same year I was born. So he started the company the same year I was born in 1980, starting a newspaper.
I was working as a DJ at weekends and doing some engineering related stuff during the day while I went to school. Like 20 different things.
Yeah, yeah. He. He founded the company. So he really. He moved over here from Maui. He was raised in Maui and he just started renting, like, you know, those old projectors to, like, Pac Bell on San Ramon. Just starting really small. And I, I have a funny story from when I was little because he would take me on these runs to Pac Bell to drop off these projectors. And for the longest time being little, I always thought my dad worked for Pac Bell because I didn't know, you know, what his, what his deal was. But I did. He would take me to shows every now and again or me and a friend and I could see the setups and kind of behind the scenes. And then as I got older, into adulthood, obviously ended up taking on a very different role. And with his passing in 2010, getting even more involved with the board and eventually landing me here. Yeah.
So did you grow up thinking, I'm going to work in that company someday or I want to work in that company someday?
I didn't. I. I always, I always loved what he did. I thought it was really cool. He got to travel the world. He did really cool things. But I never had, I guess, my sights set on, you know, this is. I'm going to go into the family business. My dad was an incredible visionary and had this knack for client relationships and just having these connections with people. And I think that's what I saw more than the, you know, what we actually do side. So I think I probably clung on to that, you know, those skills more than the ability piece of it.
So we're going to talk about challenge, and you've alluded already to some of the challenges of the last year in your world. Tell me first, though, about something good. Have you had any lucky breaks since coming into the business?
Honestly, I've had a lot of lucky breaks. I think the first two years of being with the company. I joined the company in 2018, and the first two years was a lot of lucky breaks and just connecting with the right people and networking with the right people and being able to get a lot of help in the spaces that we needed help to kind of clean things up and get on the right track. We're a legacy company. So, you know, as far as the business goes, our client base and what we do is relatively consistent. We have a lot of longtime clients that we've been serving for decades. So the lucky breaks were, you know, more on the internal side of just really seen these pieces fall into place over a two year period of being able to get the company on track, thank God, so that we can, you know, now still be here. But to get it where it was, where it should have been years ago.
If you. So what challenges are you dealing with today? How have you adapted the kinds of things you're doing? Talk a little bit more about the challenges of this present time for you.
Well, I think obviously the live events industry in general is one of the, if not the hardest hit industry through this pandemic. You know, concerts, yes, concerts. I've heard so many just in the last week of like, God, I miss concerts. I want to go to concerts again. I'm one of those people too. I'm dying for a concert. You know, our industry has been severely, severely hit. And I. While there's many companies like ours who are sort of pivoting or diving deeper into the virtual capabilities, you know, for us, we've always been in the virtual space, but obviously until the pandemic, it didn't become a major need until now. So the challenge is just kind of figuring out what this new environment is. And I think reevaluating our identity in this environment has been huge. There's a lot of obstacles, of course, that come with, you know, starting up a. Not starting up a new ability of ours, but diving deeper into it and learning all of these different platforms and trying to figure out how we can help our clients. But also in the space of not everyone really understands what they're doing or how to proceed in the virtual environment. And so what's our role in that? It's been a huge learning lesson. And I think internally it's been an opportunity for all of us to really band together and go, okay, how are we going to keep this going and how are we going to, you know, sort of become this foundational piece moving forward? It's been really wonderful. On the internal side, I think my executive team is the strongest and most bonded that we've ever been. And I think that our, you know, the rest of our team, we're all just in it together and we're still meeting every week and talking every week, whether it's business or personal. And so it's sharing those challenges too. Right?
Sounds like this is both a personal And a family trait. Right. Your dad moves from Maui. You still have family in Hawaii?
Yeah.
Where are they?
They are up in Kula, up on Haleakala upcountry. His siblings are up there in the house that he grew up in. So we get to go back and visit with the family and stay at the house that, you know, my sisters and I have sort of grown up into. Our dad would take us back home a lot. Yeah. Yeah. So it's been. Yeah, it's been wonderful to have that.
And do you have family on. On the other islands?
I do. So my aunt, actually, my namesake, she lives in Oahu, and then kind of goes back and forth between Oahu and the house of Maui, and then we have extended family all throughout the islands.
So talk story. Connecting, not burning bridges. All that's, like, natural.
Yeah.
You may know, I grew up. My family name is Kalani, and we lived on the North Shore and also in town for a while. So I, you know, I have a lot of affection, affinity for it, but it's definitely a different environment. Right. There's a different culture, a different way of speaking and connecting and that kind of thing. And to be honest, I'm not always. I'm a little brash today from too much time on the mainland. I'm here to do something.
Yeah. It's a much slower pace of life. It's a much. It's just much more relaxed. I mean, every time I go, as soon as I touch down, it's just that sort of, you know, the. Yeah, it's just like, okay, I can let go. I can let go and breathe. Yeah.
Yeah. It's a little different. I definitely see that coming into play, though, in the business. How much of that carries over in the culture of the company?
A lot, I think, particularly when I took over. I'm a lot like my dad in the sense that, you know, that aloha culture and connecting and staying true to your word. And that was. That was the legacy that he built, and that was the legacy he left. And that was probably the top thing that I wanted to continue bringing into the company was just that, you know, that we're family and it's a business, and, you know, we have to do what we have to do. But at the end of the day, we're all ohana and we all take care of each other. And that culture is very much instilled in our company and in our people and just, you know, depending on each other and trusting each other, and even it extends to our clients. I think we'd have a lot of our longtime clients who either knew my dad or didn't, where they would hear that and resonate with it. Also that our, you know, our client services team or always there to take care of them and, you know, listen to them. Whether it's professional or personal, there's. There's a very strong bond between everybody that isn't. It's not always able to be replicated. Right.
So is there something that you've never shared in a business setting before about not. Not a personal thing, but more of a business thing? What do you notice that nobody ever asks you. Oh. Or something people don't know. Right. About you as a leader?
I think one thing I've actually learned during this pandemic is I think about myself as a leader is that I feel like maybe I come off as a little too business sometimes. I think I have, you know, whether it's being a woman and, you know, having different challenges, being younger and still kind of finding my way right through being a leader and a business owner and the company is there's finding that balance between being the most authentic, which is connecting and being emotional and really hearing people out, and being the business leader of making decisions and sticking by them and being able to communicate that in a way that's well balanced. I think I struggle with that. I think that that comes with time and experience, so I'm not too hard on myself about it. But I think that, you know, anyone who knows me knows that I'm always coming with the best intentions, so I just hold true to that. And I know that eventually I'll find that balance in my communication.
Is it. I hear you speaking of this thing, and I think I recognize it as best I can, certainly as a guy and a guy with some years and at least the beginning of some gray here and there. Business culture is. Is large, by and large, male. Right. It's a. It's a male culture. So being a woman, and I hear kind of there's times when I'm really myself, which includes being a woman, and then times when I'm business and you. You adapt a Persona. But I think it's rare that we see women in business who are really feminine expressions of leadership, truly integrated, not flipping into sort of a more male environment, male role.
Yeah, I know for, you know, again, speaking for myself from experience, it's, it's. It's been a really, really challenging part of it for me. And, you know, that comes along with being a mother, too. I have two young kids, a five year Old and a two year old. The two year old. I actually essentially internally took over the company the day he was due. So there was a lot of, there was a lot of, you know, emotional stuff going on. Right. I'm due to have a baby any day. I'm taking over this company. I have to assert myself, but I also have to appeal. Not appeal, but connect with this team that I'm now stepping in to lead. And so there is, there's a lot of balancing all the time. And I think if I could tell my younger self something, it would be to, you know, don't be afraid to be unapologetically, unapologetically authentic. Just be you, follow your gut, be real. Yeah. Because that's, that's what people want to see inside and outside the company.
Years ago I took over, but I've come into a couple businesses. But the last one that I ran, I came in, my wife had been the founder, she stepped out as CEO. I came in as CEO and, and it was a little rough at first, a lot rough with some people and situations. They expected one thing from a CEO and I was never going to be that. And, and part of me just had to recognize what they were expecting and say, oh, I'm not going to be like that. I'm going to be different. And just sort of. But to deal with the expectation and then the breakdown and that kind of thing and eventually to bring myself to the business to add what I had to add to it, that would, that was new and useful in some ways. What have you had that's been surprising, difficult or whatever in coming into a company that you didn't start. Where was that rough, difficult, interesting for you, what's that been like?
I think for me, because my dad had founded the company and you know, everyone, the majority of the team had known me since I was little. They've been with the company for most of its entirety. And I think for me it was how. How do I transition from my dad's company to now? This is my vision and this is my, you know, my path that I want to go on. Being right, respectful of everything that everyone had built, being respectful of the other executives in the company and just really, really trying to make that transition as smooth as possible while also learning the industry and learning the company and learning all of the sort of technical details right was a lot to take on and ensure a smooth transition. Looking back, I think I did okay. I'm still here and that's awesome. But that was a big thing for me, finding my own identity and my own path that I wanted to take the company on while still paying homage to what my dad built and everyone else and, you know, always being respectful and acknowledging that.
What do you work on now? What are you trying to accomplish? The company, what's your vision for? Where are you going with it? What are you building now? What's going to be your impact on the company five, ten years down the road?
So right now I think our view is definitely shorter span than it was before. Right. We're, we're looking more like a few days in front of us as opposed to years right now. But overall this, this company was built and has, you know, sustained because of the people that are a part of our team and, and part of my dad's legacy. And what I would love to continue and am trying to continue is ensuring that we leave something that will take care of everyone and their families for years to come. What that looks like in detail, I don't know, but that was his dream, that was his goal. And again, going back to the culture and who we are as a family, why wouldn't you want to do that? Of course I want to continue building and strengthening this thing to take care of everyone who has been a part of it for so long.
So it's a business that lasts and takes care of the team. Interesting. Yeah, it's good. I hear definitely the family values and the continuation there. The thing that we frequently do with our leaders is we have them spend some time creating a vision for the future that's, that's very rich and involved. So they stand in the future outside the concerns of the present. Right. Well, past having overcome these things, usually it's about a five year thing. Sometimes we'll do ten years or something like that. But very often a five year time horizon is enough to get people out of that. And then we imagine what is it that we really want in that time frame? What are we built? What would we build if we had a choice? Right. So what are we building? What are we intending? What are we wishing for? And we imagine that future state and we walk through it in our minds. The feeling, the sensation, the smells, the sounds, the work we do, the kind of people, the, the. All of that. And then after doing some of that visualization, we open our eyes and we write everything down and then we build this vivid vision, Jim Collins term for it. And we've done a couple shows about this in particular with Brian Scudamore talking about that process in the past of creating that vision that I think is so critical. In fact, I've got some of our local members doing that here real soon, creating that so that they can then invite the rest of the team to be part of it. And they can also start to see if that's what I'm building five years out in the future. There's things to get started on right now that don't feel like they're connected to this year. Right. They don't. I wouldn't otherwise think of them if I hadn't, if I didn't have that vision in mind.
Right.
So what do you think is going to be your challenge in the next little bit in navigating as a leader? What's going to be the struggle for you or the gap in getting through, through the next couple years and down the road on this?
I think, you know, our struggle right now is just the unknown. We don't know when things are going to start trickling back. We don't know what that scale is going to look like. Is it going to trickle back or is it going faucet is going to be, you know, fully on? So that in the short term is kind of our challenge of being able to, you know, make sure that we have everything we need for whatever dictates our capacity at that point. But I think it's just going to be working to get back to where we were pre pandemic and we were, we were going really strong. We're still a really strong team. Like I said, we've, you know, we're still connected and still on board. But I think coming back and being able to hit the ground running and not. I'm a big balance person. I like to try and achieve balance in all areas. And for me, I just want to make sure that we're ready, we can deliver just as we've delivered before, if not better, but that we are very conscious about, you know, how hard people are going or how fast they're going and making sure that we're not getting caught up in the wave, God help us, that there is one. And just being able to take care of everybody and make sure that things continue to be balanced in the future.
To manage through it. Right. Juggling.
Yes.
Yeah, I hear that. A reminder to our listeners and viewers that these episodes are sponsored by the Bay Area Entrepreneurs Organization. We're known more commonly as eo. It's a member led organization for entrepreneurs to meet, learn and grow and connect with other entrepreneurs to go through their stage with. We deal with all aspects of business, personal. The integration of the two that kind of thing. I've been a member for over 20 years, so obviously I dig it. I'm, I'm for it. I'm the incoming president of our new chapter in, in the next year. Our EO members are connected then globally to all of the other chapters around the world. Over 14,000 members worldwide. A whole world of entrepreneurship. And we have local, regional, Bay Area, west coast and events and things to connect with other people with common interests and things like that. So whether it's a very personal thing like I was looking for, who's planning sailing events next year as I want to get out and do some things in the world again, or to more practical business things like who's working on certain kind of online marketing. Excuse me. So all of that kind of access and more through that global network of entrepreneurs. If you like more information about the EEO organization, go to eonetwork.org and you can get information there, Learn more about it, see what's around your area, or you can apply for membership if that's of interest to you. Eonetwork.org is the place to get that information. Taryn, any other thoughts or things to share with our listeners? Viewers about kind of where you're going, what you're working on now?
You know, we're just, we're just taking it day by day at this point, I think, you know, with the more stimulus coming and just more effort being pushed in our industry specifically, you know, we're hoping that a little bit more help comes our way to ride through this. We're hoping that by the end of this year things start to kind of come back and we can, we can get out there again. But it's, you know, I have, I have a great team. I'm obsessed with my team. They're amazing. And the EO specifically has been a fantastic resource.
You know, our best clients and some of our most successful member companies in EO this year are doing multiple pivots. The trade shows are down. Let's do virtual events, the whatever. Let's set up home networks for people. Let's, you know, let's deploy our workforce in this way or that way. And we've seen that again and again. And I hear that in what you're saying, like, okay, we're going to be ready to step staff this way or that way, we're going to do this or that. And if we're not doing AV for trade shows, we're going to do it in some other environment. And I think that's the really cool thing. And we've seen many people like, we built this whole little studio in this last year and got better and better at doing online video just because of this. And I was watching Tony Robbins the other day doing stuff and they've got this whole, I mean obviously he's, he's a full time baller right up there and huge video screens and crews and things like that, but each of us in our own way finding ways to keep pivoting, pivoting. And you know, there's never, we never really go back to normal. Right. If you think about it, you can't go greet friends arriving from out of town in an airport anymore. You know, before 2001, you take the family, you go meet somebody getting off a plane when I was a little kid, you'd land in Hawaii, somebody'd come plain sight and greet you with leis and that kind of thing. That doesn't happen anymore. You have to take your shoes off, right. You're never gonna walk through without taking your shoes off again. Something happened. And I think that like even although things will be more and more as more people get vaccinated, as, as things progress, right. There will be a shift, except it's not ever really going to be the same because there'll be like next one and the next one and people will be worried about whatever and we'll change the way our offices work and the way our trade shows work and there'll be temperature sensors and sanitizing stations and you know, things like that.
Yeah. And. Well, and I think that's the challenge in itself is being able to gauge what that next iteration of our company is going to be. We definitely see it being hybrid for a while, but, but what we've heard repeatedly is there's nothing like live events. There's nothing like the face to face connection and the face to face networking. Yeah, it's totally different and people need that and as soon as they're able to, they're gonna wanna go out and get it. And you know, just, I mean our team specifically, that's what we do, that's what we thrive on, is that face to face connection. So we can't wait to get back to it. But it's, it's been a great learning experience and I, I think it's just another challenge that we can put in our, our history book and look back on. But there's, like you said, there's, there's going to be a, I hate this phrase, but a new normal. There's going to be a different iteration when we come out of this that I I'm convinced will be stronger and better and more prepared for anything else.
This is a funny thing to say live, but I am starting to think about our events for our local EO organization next year. I'd love to do. We should do a luau. Do a big old. We've never done anything like that. Maybe buy one lakeside or something like that. Big emu Kalua pig, the whole everything. Make it right.
That would be great.
All right, reminders and shout out. Oh, that was weird. My whole screen did a weird thing there on some reminders and thank yous to people. Thank you to Lucy behind the scenes producing the show and getting things going and that kind of thing. I want to remind our listeners, viewers that if the show is helpful and interesting to you, please share it with somebody else if you like it and give us a review that helps us. If you subscribe, then you get them every week without fail. And we do a tip show a deep dive with a guru author and the Getting Real episodes every week now. So you can subscribe and do all that wherever you get this show now. Or you can go to scalingcoach.com where you can search the whole back catalog of shows. So if you want to see that show with Brian Scudmore, we talk about the vivid vision go type vivid vision in or 1-800-got junk and you'll see his thoughts and how he grew his business to over 500 million using this vivid vision approach. So all that and more@scalingcoach.com of course, we can also help you find a coach, get a copy of the book for free or all that. Special thanks to Vern Harnish, creator of the Scaling Up Framework and the original Rockefeller Habits and co founder of the EO why then Yeo Organization. Our audio is edited by Albert Burge and Podply Productions and our show notes are written up by Anne Kadina and proofread by Tim McGowan. Thanks everyone for listening and watching. Keep Scaling Up. Thank you Taryn.
Thank you.
And a big mahalo and aloha. Bye bye everyone.
