Leveling the Playing Field in Employment with Ladan Davia from Beeya.com – Small Business Show 154

The Small business show, episode 154 for Wednesday, January 17, 2018. Greetings, folks, and welcome to the Small Business Show. The show by, for and about small business owners here in Durham, New Hampshire. I'm Dave Hamilton.

And in Lafayette, California, I'm Shannon Jean. How are you, Dave?

I'm good, man. How are you today?

Doing great.

Good, good, good, good. Shannon, we have an interesting guest with us today. It is the first guest that we've had that has previously been a sponsor of this show. Although I said I would point this out and I'm going to do it right up front. This episode is not a sponsored episode. This is something we just wanted to do because we thought this would be a great interview for. That's right. And so it is my extreme pleasure to welcome Ladan Davia from b dot com. Ladan, thanks for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Of course. Did I pronounce your name correctly? Ladan?

You did.

Sweet. Awesome.

Nobody ever does, but you did great.

Good.

All right, well, we're batting a thousand, folks. Thanks so much for listening. Goodbye. That's right.

Yeah. That's great. Well, I think it's interesting that when we did our kind of pre sponsor conversation when B sponsored a few episodes, both Dave and I immediately were like texting each other. Oh, we need to have her on the show. She's really got a great message and very passionate about it. So we're really happy to have you here today, Lyddon.

Thank you for having me. No, that's, I'm so glad you felt that way because I am very passionate about it. So I'm glad you took it that way instead of, oh, my God, she's upse best would be a good thing. Yeah, Some people I don't know.

Well, you have to have a champ, a champion.

Right?

And, and you know, we talk about that frequently on the show and you're certainly that champion and that, you know, you're marketing it, but just to everybody. Not even just to your customers, but to your employees, your partners, everyone. So that definitely came across in our conversations.

Thank you.

So, so let's, let's start with that. What, what, what led you to create B? You know, every business has spark moment. So I'm curious, what, what it was that, that, you know, in your history here that led you to create this?

Oh, I have absolutely no tech background at all. So the fact that I ended up here is very interesting. I wanted to do hard news reporting, so I actually went to film school and I double majored in broadcast Journalism and political science. So was on that track, really wanted to do that. And then as I started working in the industry, I just realized was more appealing to me than the actual work. I kind of thought, well, where do I go from here? For me, I didn't want to put my dues in, my hours in and years in working in small markets and then crossing my fingers to be transferred to a bigger one, which is what you have to do.

Hard news, you know, say that's how it generally, that's how it works. Yeah, that's the, that's how it works.

And that's why, you know, the people who have made it on, you know, as anchors on CNN or NBC, they've worked really, really hard to get there. And so I was willing to put the hard work in, but I didn't want to relocate and do it in that way. So I thought, okay, I have to do something else. I got into the entertainment industry and that was absolutely not what I wanted to do. It was a lot of fun, but for me at least it wasn't going to be a long term career. I could just tell that from day one. And so then I thought, okay, I have to try to figure out something else to do since my school and my training is in this field. So after about a year of working in entertainment industry, I how do I get another job? Maybe I could do production or maybe I could be a showrunner. You know, the options were there, but I didn't really know how to go about doing it because I had never applied for a job. I either had started my own thing or I was an intern and then got promoted that way. So this was new to me and all my peers were doing it because I actually graduated in three years instead of four from college. So kind of over the entertainment industry. It was around the same time all my friends were graduating from college. So we all were now in the boat of how to find a job. And that's when I realized it is so hard. You know, you go on all these different websites and none of them really work. I had put my resume and what I wanted to do, I think I tried over 20 different websites and I was getting matches, like ridiculous matches. I remember I got an email saying you have 400 matches. And I was like, oh my God, this is so easy. Why doesn't everyone love this? And so I go on the website and look at the matches and it's stuff for like a gardener or a handyman. And I'm thinking that seems to match.

The history you Just described perfectly.

Yeah, Yeah. I was like, how did you get this? From my resume and work experience. And that's when I realized it just. It doesn't. It doesn't take into that. Into consideration. Into consideration at all. It really only matches off of keywords, which means if you have the word computer in your resume, it's computer science jobs. But that doesn't mean that you want to work in computer science just because you have the word computer in your resume. So this is how these websites are built. And I just thought, this is crazy. You know, someone has to figure out a way to change this. And that's how the idea of BIA started.

Got it. Okay. So it really was. You found a problem on your own and you wanted to fix it. And it's the classic story, right? Of I have an itch to scratch and other people must have the same one, so let's go. Yep.

Yeah. Something else, actually, that was disheartening happened too. I had a really good friend from college who was on scholarship, and she came from a very poor family, and she was the first person in our class or in her family to go to college. So I found that she had such a hard time finding something because she just didn't have the connections that other kids from my university had from their parents. And I thought that was, you know, I thought, here's a girl who has straight A's, two majors, she's super intelligent, super hardworking, but she's not getting the same opportunities that other people are getting who are. Are much less qualified than she is, only because their parents are better connected. And I didn't like that. I just felt like there. There needs to be a way to even the playing field, you know, if you. You should get jobs based on your merit.

Sure.

And unfortunately, that's not how the world. I think we're seeing a trend where that's. That's kind of not happening anymore.

Right.

Oh, that's great. That's a great mission. I mean, you know, giving everybody that. That same opportunity.

Yeah. And the way BIA works is you make a profile. It's free. And you put your resume, references, portfolio, a video, whatever you want. You can make it as in depth as you really want to. And based on that, you answer some questions on the industries you want to work in, and they will automatically match you with jobs that meet what you're looking for. So it takes the human bias out of it. You know, math is math. Numbers are numbers. If you're a 90% match for a job, I Think that employer will want to talk to you versus, oh, here's so and so's niece. You should consider interviewing her matches like a 42%. So I. That was my way of feeling like, okay, fix this issue. Which I think it is one.

Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like it. It makes sense.

Yeah.

So, okay, you know, you're on paper and this is where, you know, maybe there's a meta trend here. When Shannon and I started this show three years ago, we said, all right, look, we're going to have people on that are, you know, business owners that are just, you know, slogging it out every day and are doing the cash thing. Let's stay away from all the, you know, businesses. Like, it's really sexy to have a funded business, but.

Yeah, right.

You know, but. But that's different than what we're doing here. And there's no shows that do that. Now, of course, we've broken that here because your story was so interesting, but you are a funded business. In fact, as far as I know, you don't have any regular revenue coming in yet. Although obvious there's plans for that. So tell us a little bit. You are therefore our first guest. I guess Mihirsha from Drobo sort of fits into that funding realm, although that was a little bit of a different story. But you're effectively our first guest that has started a business that is funded and talking about that here. So I would. I am curious to hear what that process was like. So you had this idea, you started doing it. Like, what was that next step like?

Yeah, also, I. I totally get what you're saying about businesses, because I have a lot of friends, actually, and colleagues who. They have a startup, they raise crazy money. Like, I have. I do have a friend. She raised $1.8 million and her company was done in like, six months.

Whoa. Wow.

It was just.

That's a crazy burn rate.

It is.

She was spending money on crazy things. And I think that is what puts people off about companies now because. Because you really can get funding. It's pretty difficult to actually get the funding, but it is so easy to spend the money once it's there. So, yeah, so I. I get what you guys are saying. Started this again. It really was about evening the playing field, bringing opportunities to people who didn't have them and making it fair for everyone for. So I knew of what I was going to be doing, people were not going to immediately pay for that. A lot of people who need these jobs and obviously need work, they don't have extra money to pay to use another website. I knew I had to leave it free, at least for a little while. So that left me with the only other option, which is to raise money. Started that and just kind of went down the list of people in my own network. By going through my network, I heard a lot of no's and I got a few yeses. We actually had offers from a few different people to this. And I think that they, the people, the people who offered us money, crazy on their part only because we didn't have anything, you know, we didn't have a product. All we had was. All I had was a business plan, I guess, if you want to say that. And I think the whole mission behind BIA is something they also believed in. So when I ended up going with the investor that I went with, he also shared that vision. And I think it's so important to find someone who shares your vision and isn't. And that's really hard because obviously you want to get your money back. You want to make. You want people to make their money back. The worst feeling in the world is, I think, losing someone else's money. It's worse than even losing your own.

Yeah.

So, yeah, of course there needs to be a plan in place, but I do think it's really important to find someone who also believes in what you're doing because there are so many ups and downs that, that if you're gonna get. If you're gonna get criticized and yelled at every time something goes wrong, it's just not going to work because then you'll get yelled at, you know, every day.

Yeah, yeah.

You won't be able to continue with a positive attitude.

Someone else, I would say. Oh, go ahead, Go ahead, Dave. Well, I was gonna say you need someone else to also be your champion. Right. That shares that same vision that you've got that can keep you going when. Because I know, you know, things go up.

And of course, and we went through. I don't know if I told you guys this when we spoke, went through a really bad loss. I originally had hired who were highly referred to me by the president of the. Of my university. And they were very well vetted. I had my investor interview them. I had my. One of my board members interview them, and they all said they were great. And those two engineers actually ended up, after eight months of working on the website, they stole $50,000 and they just left. And that was my first real kind of gut wrenching experience in my life. I think, of course, when you go through a personal trials and tribulations, it's one thing, but again, when you're dealing with someone else's money, it's so hard to then tell that person, okay, we lost $50,000. Now that I look back, it could have been avoided. I think I was a little too trusting. But then again, you know, if people are con artists.

Yeah.

They're most of the time just gonna find a way to con you anyway, so.

That's right.

I think it's very.

Yeah, no, for sure. But I would say that your feelings about being the steward of someone else's money will definitely have a positive impact on your overall success because you're going to be working as hard for their money as you would if it was your own, maybe even harder.

Oh, of course. And that was one of the hardest conversations I had to have, was telling my investor that steal that. And his response to me was, that's the cheapest mistake you will ever make in business.

That's a good investor. No, I mean, we talk about making mistakes here all the time. And Shannon and I have made. We're just not going to count them up now because that's not a conversation you want to win.

No, it's not. And I just went into it, knew that this was a situation where I did my due diligence. I met with them times a week. So it wasn't like I was giving someone money and saying, hey, I'm gonna go on a vacation and hope you're working on bn. It's great. I mean, I was really into it with them. So when they did that and. And did kind of the artists and did what they did, he said, my. My company, you know, I lost $16 million once off people stealing from me. And so in the grand scheme of things, $50,000 is nothing. And I thought, well, okay, well, I guess when you're comparing it to numbers like that. But for me, it was a very big loss and it actually made me a lot stronger and taught me, I think, how to deal with people, unfortunately. Maybe not to be so trusting, but I think that's something that everyone needs to learn on their own anyway.

There are those lessons that we all need to learn on our own, that's for sure. All right, we took a little break there, folks, to see if we could cut out some of those cutouts in la. Dan's audio there, because this interview's going great and I don't want to. I don't want anything to happen. So. So this was, you know, we always Ask people what's the biggest mistake you made in. In starting your business? And it sounds like you may have just told us that story, but is. Is there. Is there anything else on the mistake front that you would want to add to that, or is this really it?

I actually think that's really it. I think that nothing. I didn't view anything else as a mistake. Nothing was as bad as that.

Yeah. Yeah. Losing other people's money is. I've been through that.

Yeah. And you certainly. Next time you go to make interviews and hire those contractors and that kind of thing, you're going to be a much different person. Right. I'm sure you.

Oh, absolutely. And it actually also made me realize that paperwork kind of doesn't mean anything because guys moved out of their homes, changed their phone numbers, change their email addresses. I mean, they. They left. So no amount of paperwork I had signed from them really meant anything. If you can't find them, sure.

Wow. Oh, so they really were intending to. To scam you? This wasn't like something went awry and. And there was 50 grand that, you know, someone might argue.

Oh, no.

Oh, wow.

They really were intending to do damage.

Wow, that's awful.

Yeah.

Grand. That sets.

You know, that's not enough. I know. Yeah. I mean, for me, I'd have to add at least a couple of zeros to that number.

I know. And split between the two of them, so.

That's right. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Shannon, mark that down, man. If we're ever gonna scam somebody. That's not nearly enough.

No, it's not enough. I mean, at least make it enough to maybe.

Yeah. You're gonna take off. That's right. That's too funny.

So I've got. I got a question for you, Ladan. So we met you through, you know, sponsorship and talking about podcasts, and, yes, we know this is just a straight interview, but so what. What led you to the podcast sponsorship thing that were a way that you wanted to go out and. And reach, you know, potential clients, employers, or employees? Where'd you come up with that?

I actually was approached by someone else a few months ago to do a podcast on his show. That. And he's a. It was. It was just really fun. I really liked doing it. And when I did that podcast, I mean, I know this sounds maybe naive, but I really didn't realize how many people listen to podcasts. I didn't know the audience that these shows do have. So when I did that and saw that, wow, people are really listening to this. I thought, what A great way to get the word out about a new product. Because these other websites in the career space or the job searching space have so much money to dump in Google Ads, $16 million or whatever it is in Google advertisements, their websites are going to come up first. So websites like mine will not. And so you need to get creative in outreach and having people find out about you and your brand and what you're doing. So I thought that podcasts were just a cool way of doing that. And, you know, I'm a people person. I love meeting new people and making new relationships. So I just thought, I do that and I'm happy I did it.

It's great. It's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, very cool.

We would agree with everything you just said.

Yeah, that's great. For sure. Yeah. Well, and, you know, kind of to add our own experience to that conversation. You know, I've been doing podcasts for. It'll be 13 years in a few months here. And it is by far the best, the most effective way to get into someone's head. Right. Because you're having your message delivered by a host that they not only trust, but they have gone out of their way to listen to. It's not just something that's on in the background. I mean, it's a pretty powerful thing and it's a fun thing to be a part of. Yeah, very cool.

It is. And I think that I've been. I've really just been focused on BIA for the last few years, and so I. I just didn't even realize that the podcast world has grown so much just within the last few years. Kind of came up for air and saw this. I thought, why am I not a part of this? Like, I should definitely explore this and see what options are out there.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Very cool. Very, very cool. Where do you want to go, Shannon? Take it. Go.

Yeah. So one of the things we talk about on the Small Business show a lot is, you know, how. I mean, making money is never enough. I mean, in the sense of, you know, driving you and, you know, when things get tough, I mean, you know, and that certainly cash is king and you have to have it to keep the business going. And that's one type of measurement for your success. But I imagine you might a different or something else to add to that, as most business do. So how do you measure success beyond cash? What's the yardstick? Beyond the monetary rewards that. That keep you personally as well as, you know, the company and your team.

Moving forward of Course, like you said, the goal of any business is to make money. But I feel like we are living. And I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna get too political, but I feel like we're living in a time right now where, oh, weird. They're just overall weird. And there's so much happening that shouldn't be happening and so many people being hurt that shouldn't be hurt. And I just feel like people need to step up and try to make a positive impact on this world that we're living in, because it's easy to see things that are wrong, complacent, and I don't believe in that. I think that you should always try to leave a positive mark on what you're doing. And so for me, was to make money just so we can keep running. But I feel like this is my positive contribution to Finn if it got that big, because it's giving people opportunities that they didn't see before. Like with bia, you don't have to apply to a job. You make your profile, and jobs come to you. Like the matches just come. And for employers, you're getting matched with employees who want to be there, they want to work for you, they want to work in your company. They believe in your mission statement. And I think that is to be around people who want to be there. You know, there's nothing worse than waking up every morning thinking, oh, I really don't want to go to work today or hating Monday. You know, I hate that. I hate that people again, because we're at work most of our lives, so you should do something that you want to do. And that's what keeps me going. I want people to be happy and feel like they have a purpose in their life. And I feel like be a really, you know, it's not giving you jobs and opportunities that you don't want. It's giving you jobs and opportunities that match what you're looking for. For. So if you have a job that you like and you're happy, you're going to be an overall happier person. And maybe, you know, our world would be in a better place if. If people were just overall happier.

Yeah, that's awesome.

That makes sense. Yeah.

Yeah. It's an employment website that you. You're also affecting, you know, positive social change with it. So I think, yeah, it's a great message.

Yeah. At least you know what we're trying to do. It's not all about and corporate greed, and I don't even believe in that. I think that without corporations like I mean, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people would not have jobs. So I don't think corporations are the bad guys here. I actually think that everyone overall needs to be to the people around us. I know that sounds so cliche and kind of like that's really what I.

It makes sense. And I'm. I'm with you on that. Yeah. Corporations, as it. Corporations in general are not a bad thing. I mean, it. We. Yeah, there's. There are. You know, Shannon and I talk about this all the time. There are people that, that. That want to be employed, and there are people that want to employ. We talk about ourselves as being patently unemployable. A lesson that certainly personally I proved to myself over and over again. But, you know, like, that's part of what makes the world go round, is it?

So many amazing companies that people just don't even know about. I mean, they are giving full benefits, 401k, amazing salaries, and they're happy environments. And that's what everyone wants. Everyone wants to be happy. I don't think people's. I don't think anyone has the goal of being depressed. Of course, you know, no one, no one tries to be unhappy. I think that it's very easy to be unhappy, though. And so if you work in a happy, positive environment, that's just better for everyone. And there are so many companies and corporations that are doing that, and if people just knew about them, you know, maybe, you know, a trend where other corporations would say, oh, you know, people are leaving to go work at these companies that have a better company culture. Maybe we should take a note and do that as well.

I love it. I couldn't agree more. To me, that's a good spot for us to kind of put a dot on this. I think that's great. Thanks so much for joining us and telling your story and sharing your not so fun parts of the story, because that's never fun to share, but it's cathartic. So that's good. We appreciate it.

Thank you so much. This was so fun.

Good you guys made that.

That went by so fast.

Here.

Yeah, yeah, you're telling your story. It's authentic and, you know, we're certainly with you. We, you know, we'll enjoy watching you live the charmed life as you, you know, build this business and your next one after that.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, thanks for coming on the show. Of course, you can find Ladan at be it.com b E-E-Y-A.com, which, as she said, is free to sign up for. We'll see you back here, businessshow co. Next week. Keep living that charmed life, folks.