As a Marine Corps veteran, he told war stories that would make Michael Bay blush, recounting the savage battles he fought all over the world, including being shot in the chest and blown up by an IED, during his career in special operations. His stories about life in the civilian world were just as dramatic, where he talked about stacking win after win until he had amassed fifty four companies generating nearly sixty million dollars in annual revenue in just a few years. He even boasted of prestigious clients like Nike, Black Rifle Coffee, and Grunt Style. 

Except it was all a lie. Including his real name, which is not Patch Baker. It’s Jefferson Scott Baker. But since most people know him as Patch, we’ll stick with that in this article.

According to information gathered during an extensive investigation, Patch Baker did serve in the Marine Corps, but his claims of deploying nineteen times over the course of fifteen years were pure fantasy. Not only did Baker not serve fifteen years—he only served four, but he also never deployed. And his stories of combat, while colorful and exciting, were also completely fabricated. In stark contrast to the image of a battle hardened warrior that he liked to present, Baker actually served in an administrative role. He was what infantry Marines refer to as a POG, which is an acronym for Person Other than Grunt. Basically, he stood around handing out backpacks in North Carolina for four years. 

Stolen valor—lying about military service—is a controversial topic for many. Especially for veterans. 

Technically, lying about military service is protected by the First Amendment. But, when false claims about military service are used for financial gain, it can become a federal crime thanks to the Stolen Valor Act, which was signed into law in 2005 by President George W. Bush. 

And that’s exactly what Baker did. He used these made up stories to build trust with other entrepreneurs and investors, and then reel them into his elaborate schemes to defraud them of their hard earned money.

In some cases, he preyed on entrepreneurs’ ambitions by promising to leverage his relationships and capital to catapult their businesses to massive success. Especially veteran-owned companies. He would then “partner” with them, making bold promises about all the amazing things he was going to do for their business, but those promises never materialized. Instead, he simply drained their bank accounts, borrowed money against their companies, and then ghosted them, according to many of Baker’s victims.

In other cases, he persuaded investors to put their money into what he called a Merchant Cash Advance fund, which he claimed was completely safe while promising outrageous returns. He told investors that he had invested millions of his own money into the fund, and managed to get dozens of them to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars each. In fact, some investors put in over a million dollars. Based on information from investors, it appears that his Ponzi scheme raked in over ten million dollars. 

Eventually though, as all scams do, Patch Baker’s scams began to unravel. 

People began talking about his unfulfilled promises. At first, he was able to rebut the rumors by claiming the entrepreneurs he partnered with didn’t deliver on their end. He claimed he was propping them up and that without him, they would have already gone out of business. 

“Bro, who are you going to believe? A guy like me who’s making sixty million a year or someone I’m keeping on life support?” he would ask with a deep southern drawl and a smile. But as his list of detractors grew, the truth became more obvious. 

It seems odd that someone supposedly making sixty million dollars a year would have been evicted because his fairly modest house was in foreclosure, forcing him to move into a tiny apartment, but that’s just another detail the investigation uncovered.

The same thing happened with his so-called Merchant Cash Advance fund. When some investors began trying to withdraw the money they had put into it, they were given nothing but excuses. One of the more outrageous excuses was that his bank, Wells Fargo, had frozen his accounts because they were trying to reverse engineer his business model. Baker claimed that Wells Fargo executives told him they had never seen someone make so much money and wanted to figure out how he was doing it so they could do the same. Any rational person can see that with over eighty billion in revenue and surging profit margins, it’s clear that Wells Fargo didn’t need help from Patch Baker to figure out how to make money. But he doubled down on this ludicrous claim anyway. 

After Baker failed to meet multiple deadlines to return money to investors, they organized to publicly share their experiences in an effort to prevent him from conning anyone else. They launched the website, Patch Baker Fraud, began sharing their stories on social media, and prepared a lawsuit. Since then, the Office of the Inspector General has also opened an investigation into Baker’s false claims about his military service.

The whole situation is a classic example of “fake it ‘till you make it” except Baker never “made” it. He just took it—from countless hard working entrepreneurs. And in the process, he desecrated the graves of the service members who died doing what he pretended he did. As a Marine veteran who actually did serve in the infantry with multiple deployments, I find his behavior appalling. 

In the end, he will face justice as the veteran community has ostracized him, investors are lining up to sue him, and various government agencies are preparing to prosecute him for his crimes. 

For Patch Baker, as we used to say in the Marine Corps, it’s all over except for the crying.

The post Patch Baker: The Military Con Artist Behind an Elaborate Ponzi Scheme appeared first on Grit Daily News.

In one of the newest examples, London-based entrepreneur and strategist, Hugo de Sousa, has aligned a set of developers, organizations, and volunteers to create WeHelpUkraine.org, a nonprofit platform to match refugee families from Ukraine with host families and organizations through the world that are able to provide them with resources of all kinds.

In a model similar to dating sites and vacation property rentals, We Help Ukraine lets people create profiles and requests for the resources they need such transportation, airfare, and temporary housing accommodations. Organizations and individuals can also register profiles as host families, to provide financial help, or can specify other resources they are able to offer (like fulfilling volunteer shifts to match refugees and resource providers). The platform was created in less than 24 hours, and since then, thousands of people from different parts of the world have been contributing, and the President of the Republic of Portugal even voiced his support in a video message.

The program is not intended to replace government funded resources, but rather, is a way to match up those who need immediate help and those who have available resources as an effective way to provide and receive the forms of support they most urgently need. The site also invites the support of volunteers who can take shifts to answer incoming phone calls to help providers and recipients to make efficient use of the site.

Program creator Hugo de Sousa is an innovation strategist with 20 years’ experience in consulting private and government organizations, including Capita Plc, BearingPoint, Lionbridge, Arthur D. Little, Gfi and Portuguese Government Justice and Tourism sectors. Born in Lisbon, de Sousa resides in London, via Dublin. He’s appeared on CNN in several countries so far to talk about the new platform, which has received tremendous response so far.

Sponsoring organizations for We Help Ukraine include the Kaizen Institute, Outsystems, TalkDesk, EntraJuda, Innovation by Kaizen, Uddan, Teleperformance, Ivity, the Faculdade de Design-Universidade Europena, and Icste Executive Education. For more information, to sponsor or to volunteer, readers can visit WeHelpUkraine.org or email [email protected].

The post Hugo de Sousa Leverages Tech to Support Those Fleeing War in Ukraine appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Both his journey and his eventual success led him to his current mission — to help inspire and equip others to transform their own lives in the same way he did.
 
He explains, “No climb to the top is ever easy, that’s why they call it a climb. But it’s attainable especially if you take the stairs, climbing step by step to reach your ultimate goal. If my story helps others reach for the top or get back on track after hitting a bump in the road because they saw me do it, then I’m making a difference.”
 
This is a worthwhile mission in general, but it’s especially important now that the world is facing economic uncertainty and a rapidly changing work environment.
 
Since the pandemic, people have realized that no job is truly secure. This has led to many starting side hustles, part-time side businesses, and even full-time businesses. But the learning curve is steep. It’s not just technical skills like performing a service or manufacturing a product that are essential to succeed. You also need to master yourself. Soft skills, like how to develop the right mindset, set and achieve goals, and recover from failure are all essential as well.
 
Waller says it’s important to have a process, not just for how you handle tasks in your business, but also for how you approach life in general. And that’s why he published his latest book, Own Your Power, as a process of sorts. It’s based on the eight principles he used to transform his own life. The same principles that took him from being a broke teenager with a baby on the way into being a successful and wealthy entrepreneur.
 
Waller explains, “There are plenty of lessons I’ve learned to get to this point. Hopefully, my book teaches readers some of these things without having to live through them. If not that, then at least ignite a spark of inspiration that begins their own climb to the top. Each chapter reflects a principle I’ve learned on my path to success. They can be helpful to anyone looking to improve their lot in life.”
 
As economic uncertainty grows, driven by rising inflation, supply chain issues, and consolidation, more people will want to take more control of their lives. Especially considering that many are starting to look at how they can pursue their passion rather than staying in a job or business they are no longer inspired by.

You can forge this path through trial and error. But having done that myself, I can attest it’s almost always better to avoid mistakes by following a proven formula. And the principles laid out in Waller’s book, Own Your Power, are a proven formula considering how far they’ve taken him.

The post From the Trailer Park to CEO, Jayson Waller Shares His Story of Overcoming Adversity appeared first on Grit Daily News.

After suffering well-deserved backlash from the impromptu firing of 900 employees, all at once over a Zoom call, the company’s CEO, Vishal Garg, doubled down on his behavior by then bashing the fired employees on online message boards. 

This public relations crisis has only just begun, and I predict the fallout will last for years to come. The story has been widely covered in business, tech, and real estate outlets in droves.

Christian Chapman, a former underwriter at Better, was one of the fired employees. He thought he was logging onto another of Garg’s regular town halls, but that clearly wasn’t the case, as he soon would learn. Unbeknownst to him, this would be his last call as an employee of the online mortgage company.

Garg started the call by saying, “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”

During this three-minute call, he displayed no empathy. No humanity. No leadership. And then the call ended just as abruptly as it began. 

His reputation on this topic is neither good nor new. Forbes revealed the contents of an email to employees last year from Garg that stated, “HELLO — WAKE UP BETTER TEAM. You are TOO DAMN SLOW. You are a bunch of DUMB DOLPHINS and…DUMB DOLPHINS get caught in nets and eaten by sharks. SO STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME.”

The outrage, justifiably so, began immediately following the now infamous Zoom call. Social media was filled with complaints of his behavior and media outlets of all types covered the story, resulting in an avalanche of negative publicity. 

As a publicist, the most valuable piece of advice I can give my clients in cases like this is to stop what you’re doing immediately and evaluate the situation thoroughly. Only then can you make the best decisions going forward. 

Garg did not do that. 

Instead, he doubled down by immediately going into online message boards and accusing the fired employees of “stealing” by being unproductive and only working two hours a day, according to an interview with Fortune.

Maybe that’s true. I can’t say. But here’s the thing—even if that was happening, which I highly doubt, for the problem to be that widespread, it would demonstrate an abysmal failure of leadership starting at the top with Garg himself. How else would 900 people consistently not perform their most basic duties and no one noticed until now? 

I believe he thought that by trashing the employees he so unceremoniously fired, he assumed everyone would just accept his claim at face value and think he made a good decision. 

But it didn’t work out that way. 

Several key executives, including Patrick Lenihan; head of public relations, Tanya Gillogley; and head of marketing, Melanie Hahn, and numerous other employees resigned shortly after that. Presumably, both because they saw the writing on the wall and because they wanted out of what appears to be a toxic work environment.

The damage from this will be widespread. Obviously, the negative publicity in the press and on social media will cause many potential clients to choose other lenders. But it will also hurt the company’s ability to recruit new employees. Career expert, Mark Anthony Dyson explains, “ Savvy job candidates are not only checking a company’s reputation and its CEO on website portals such as Glassdoor. Now, people are reporting “bad bosses” on all social channels, including podcasts, videos, and any accessible, conversational exchange where the behavior has occurred. Not only will they drop their pursuit of the company, but they will also tell others.”

And the negative publicity combined with an inability to hire quality employees will make investors and partners wary of getting involved with the company as well, severely limiting its options going forward. The timing makes this even worse because as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to fight growing inflation, mortgage rates will rise. Couple that with difficulty hiring new employees and partners and investors steering clear of Better, and you have a recipe for disaster.

From a public relations standpoint, I think there are only two solutions here. 

The ideal solution would be for the board of directors to fire Vishal Garg, apologize for his behavior, rehire or fairly compensate the fired employees, and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. If it does happen again, there’s virtually no way to recover. 

The less than ideal solution would be for Garg to remain in his position but still do everything else from the first solution I outlined. 

Based on his behavior and history, I suspect they will do nothing for several months or maybe even years, and then eventually still have to fire Garg anyway.

The post Better Needs a Better Response to its Mass Zoom Firing PR Crisis appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Every company affected had one thing in common. Their IT infrastructure was managed with network management and remote control software developed by U.S. technology firm, Kaseya. 

Hackers exploited over 1,500 businesses by leveraging zero-day exploits in Kaseya’s software used by cybersecurity firms, giving them full access to all of the devices managed by these firms.

Upon learning of the exploit, Kaseya warned customers to immediately shut down their on-premise servers. The company’s cloud service, believed not to be affected, was also taken offline as a precaution.

Cybersecurity expert and founder of ReachOut Technology, Rick Jordan, says this was completely avoidable, and he’s on a mission to prevent it from happening again. 

ReachOut Technology was also attacked by hackers trying to exploit vulnerabilities in the software, which was running on local servers in his firm’s data center. But his team identified the threat and shut it down in under four minutes. 

“Ultimately, this happened because the vast majority of people who provide cybersecurity are not qualified. I think they believe they know what they’re doing, but the truth is most do not. And that puts their clients in an incredibly vulnerable position,” explains Jordan.

Jordan has extensive training from the industry as well as government organizations including the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. He says that cybersecurity is a complex field. One that requires extensive ongoing training, as well as an extremely creative mindset.

“Cybersecurity professionals obviously have to understand how hardware and software work at a very deep level, but they also have to understand psychology. That’s because 98 percent of the hacks first get a foothold through social engineering,” he said. 

Social engineering is a term that describes using psychological manipulation to gain access to data, systems, and locations. And it’s surprisingly effective because most people don’t know what to look out for. 

In other words, the typical person is highly susceptible to social engineering and the typical business has little to no cybersecurity in place. When coupled with the dramatic increase in cyberattacks—particularly from organized crime and hostile nations, it becomes clear that consumers, businesses, and our economy as a whole are at tremendous risk.

He wants to change that by bringing enterprise-grade cybersecurity to the average user. 

“Cybersecurity is difficult and expensive because it requires a large team of highly skilled and highly specialized technicians. The average IT firm simply cannot afford the staff needed to do it right,” he explains. 

Peter Bookman, serial entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert, agrees. 

Bookman is founder and CEO of guardDog.ai, a company that protects wired and Wi-Fi networks against threats in “Edge Territory” – the locations outside the perimeter of the network or on attached devices that other solutions can’t see, including the many IoT devices that now occupy home and business networks such as digital doorbells, smart refrigerators, and game systems. 

He says, “Many companies with employees working from home through VPN connections believed they were safe. While many VPN connections are secure, a personal device may contain malware that now travels to the company, ironically, through the secure VPN. Or worse still, if the VPN makes a permanent connection to the family network, any internet-connected device on the family network is now able to access the company server as well.”

Imagine the shock when a security audit of an organization reveals 14 unknown internet connections, and upon correction of all 14, discovers an additional threat sitting on the conference room table in the form of an internet-connected “spy pen.” 

This demonstrates just how easy it is for devices other than computers to create additional threats most people would never even consider.

Rick Jordan plans to solve this ever-growing cybersecurity threat at scale through consolidation. 

His cybersecurity firm, ReachOut Technology, which recently went public, is on a massive acquisition spree. The company is buying up IT and cyber security firms generating between $500,000 to $5 million dollars with the intent of building a virtual army of cybersecurity experts, and then leveraging economies of scale to provide enterprise-grade cyber security to the masses.

He says nothing like this has ever been done before.

Others are taking notice. While speaking at an industry event among 4,000+ cybersecurity experts, the concept generated a lot of interest. And outsiders are seeing the opportunity as well. Pioneer of the infomercial and Shark Tank star, Kevin Harrington, is one of them. He recently partnered with Jordan to take the company public and expand its reach.

Harrington said, “I’ve always been able to spot great ideas before they take off, and when Rick came to me with this one, I knew it was going to be a winner. Every day, we all become more reliant on technology, and every day we face a growing number of threats. That’s not going to change. So a company that can solve this is going to do very well in the market. That’s why I put my money and brand behind the concept.”

It’s clear that as technology’s role in our lives grows, so will the risks we face as a result of that. So it’s clear that we need to do something to protect ourselves and our businesses. 

Jordan believes he has that solution, and so far, it seems that many agree. 

The post Cybersecurity Expert, Rick Jordan, Teams Up with Kevin Harrington in Cybersecurity IPO appeared first on Grit Daily News.

As of Monday, the airline had canceled two nearly thousand flights, including more than 1,000 flights, a shocking 29% of its schedule, on Sunday alone. On Saturday, the airline canceled 808 flights and had 1,187 flights delayed.

The reason? 

According to representatives of the company, the weather was to blame. 

Except this “weather” didn’t show up on any news outlets, and equally miraculous was that it didn’t affect any other airlines. 

That’s because it didn’t exist.

It was an obvious lie told in an attempt to save face. 

Predictably, the company was promptly dragged on social media for its blundering attempt to spin the growing PR crisis. Comments criticizing Southwest piled up not only on its posts about the situation itself, but also on older, non-related posts as well. The consensus was overwhelmingly negative. But rather than admit what was really going on, company spokespeople chose to double down on the lie.

So what was the real reason for canceled flights?

Simply put, it was a pilot shortage. But it wasn’t that the airline did have enough pilots.

It was the fact that its pilots called out sick in protest of the company’s dictatorial vaccine mandates. And thousands of its pilots have taken to social media to say exactly that. 

But Southwest Airlines denies this. 

Much like their false claims about the weather being the culprit, the company representatives seem to believe that if they say something—anything—that the world will simply ignore the evidence they see and believe them instead.

Southwest’s approach is the exact opposite of how a PR crisis should be handled. And I suspect it will get worse as time goes on because desperate people do desperate things. 

My prediction is that soon, the airline will realize it can’t convince the public that some mystery weather conditions no one else can see are causing the cancellations, and will pivot to blaming the pilots.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. 

This move will further damage their reputation and trust. It will also cause more pilots to speak out, which will multiply the problem for Southwest. 

Based on its responses to the crisis so far, I predict the company will then attack the pilots by labeling them as “anti vaxxers” which would be an unfounded claim. It would also backfire on an epic scale. 

That’s because this isn’t about vaccines. Or even the COVID vaccine in particular. It’s about a company believing it has the right to force healthcare decisions on it’s employees.

Medically speaking, there are numerous reasons someone may not want this vaccine. Especially considering it’s only been in use for a short time, so there is no long-term data on its safety. And it doesn’t prevent the spread of the virus in the first place, so there is literally no logical justification to mandate it as a condition of employment. That’s why we’re seeing both unvaccinated and vaccinated employees alike pushing back on this.

Ultimately, the company has botched this crisis from the start and seems to keep making it worse at each step. If it continues down this path, it will destroy both company culture and public trust, which could result in a significant loss of market share over time. 

But maybe executives at Southwest Airlines will hire professionals to handle crisis PR for them, put emotions aside, and handle this properly. 

Only time will tell.

The post Southwest Airlines Crashes and Burns with Response to PR Crisis appeared first on Grit Daily News.

All signs indicate that number will continue to grow because of economic uncertainty, the side-hustle lifestyle, and vaccine mandates. So it’s only logical to conclude this level of growth in entrepreneurship will continue for the foreseeable future.

Fox Business Network has been quietly preparing for this growth with an all-new lineup of programs focused on the small business community and the American Dream. 

This is a tremendous opportunity because while this is the backbone of America, there hasn’t been much programming dedicated to it until now. 

What is small business?

The SBA defines it as any company with fewer than 1,500 employees and less than $38.5 million in revenue. 

That’s a lot of businesses. The potential audience is enormous. 

Today, there are 30.2 million small businesses in the United States, according to the Small Business Administration. This makes up 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses. Businesses with less than 100 workers employ the largest share of American workers. Those small businesses employ 48 percent of all US employees, a slight decline from 52 percent in the early 2000s. 18 percent of all US employees work for businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

While some outlets have done a phenomenal job at serving this audience, it has been underserved by news networks. 

Lauren Petterson, the president of Fox Business Network, said that the focus of the programming is “on success stories across key American industries.” 

The network believes this new programming will inspire entrepreneurs and give them the information to make better business decisions. This will be especially important with the economic turmoil many experts are expecting in the coming years.

American Built, with host, Stuart Varney

Stuart Varney, the host of one of FBN Prime’s new programs, shared his perspective, saying:

“American Built is a journey into engineering genius. The Americans who opened up this giant continent were innovative risk-takers. Similar in many ways to the young entrepreneurs who started today’s great American technology companies. It’s an exciting story and as an immigrant, I’m proud to tell it.

I started my career in America in a small, entrepreneurial business. Myself and two partners bought three hours of air time for my tiny cable station. We put on one of the earliest financial shows. That’s the thing about small business. They don’t care who you are or where you came from, they just want to know if you can do the job!”

From the insight shared by the hosts and guests, viewers will get breaking business news, up-to-date data, expert analysis, and forward-thinking ideas—all to help navigate the uncertain economy entrepreneurs face today. 

Small business plays a critical role in our economy

Without small business, I believe America would shrink to a fraction of what it is today. 

It’s the driving force behind a majority of innovation and it gives consumers more choices. Without it, we would be locked into a few monolithic corporations. That’s not conducive to a strong and stable economy, and it detracts from the freedom that makes this country so amazing.

The American Dream

As for the American Dream—despite what some may believe today, I believe it’s still alive and well. I also believe those who claim otherwise are blinded by the fact that life in America today is better than it’s ever been. As a result, many expect everything to come easy.

But the American Dream was never about being handed a utopia. 

It was always about having the opportunity to pursue your dreams and build a better life for yourself. That opportunity never came with a guarantee, nor will it ever.

I believe many have lost sight of that fact. By educating people about what others have had to overcome to achieve their goals, I believe mindsets will be changed. Not only what’s possible, but more importantly, what it takes to achieve something of significance.

FBN Prime lineup & schedule

• American Built, with Stuart Varney, takes a deep dive into American innovation and accomplishments throughout America’s history and will air Mondays at 9 PM.
• How America Works hosted by Mike Rowe, showcases the Americans who work nonstop to keep our infrastructure in working order. The series airs Mondays at 8 PM.
• The Pursuit!, With John Rich, features in-depth interviews with music stars, celebrities, and entrepreneurs, and will air Wednesdays at 9 PM.
• Mansion Global, hosted by Kacie McDonnell, covers the exclusive world of ultra-luxury real estate. This series airs on Tuesdays at 9 PM.
• American Dream Home, hosted by Cheryl Casone, delves into the real estate markets across America as buyers search for their “forever home.” This series airs on Tuesdays at 8 PM.
• American Gold follows a family mining for gold in Bear Gulch, MT, and will air Wednesdays at 8 PM.

As an entrepreneur, I personally look forward to this new lineup and the value I expect it to bring. And I suspect a majority of other entrepreneurs do as well.

The post FBN Prime Launches New Lineup Focused on Small Business & the American Dream appeared first on Grit Daily News.

The end result is that events have gone hybrid, meaning that while some people will still attend events in person, many others will now attend virtually.

This evolution killed off many stagnate companies, allowing those that adapted to grow. In the process, many found new, more scalable revenue streams and more effective ways to engage with their target audience.

A pandemic-induced transformation

Most of the world was forced to work from home when the pandemic hit in 2020. Many enthusiastically jumped in, while some had to be dragged kicking and screaming.

While there was initially a tremendous amount of chaos and uncertainty, it worked out in the long run. Employers quickly learned that their employees could be just as productive if not more productive while working from home, and because their teams no longer had to come into the office, they could eliminate a lot of fixed overhead costs.

This was a win for almost everyone. But not for those who relied on events as a core part of their business model.

Many event-based businesses collapsed virtually overnight. This included event planners, catering companies, event venues, and AV companies, to name just a few. Businesses that relied on in-person events, such as networking organizations, mastermind groups, and training companies faced the same challenges.

Entrepreneurs who stuck their heads in the sand waiting for things to change quickly withered away. On the other hand, those who adapted found ways to stay afloat or even improve their business model.

Adversity creates opportunity

Before the pandemic, Board of Advisors, a mastermind group of the world’s top entrepreneurs, would meet in person each quarter. These in-person events delivered a highly polished experience, complete with a powerful stage presence, AV crew, and concierge team to foster connections between members. But when the pandemic struck, that all changed.

The company’s founder, Mike Calhoun, quickly rallied his team to deliver the same experience for their 2020 Q2 event. Except for this time, it would be entirely within a virtual environment. They invested heavily in customized software, Hollywood-grade AV equipment, and a team to remotely support everyone from behind the scenes.

“It was a lot of work, and we probably spent more than we needed to, but we learned a lot. We learned that we were able to deliver even more value in this environment. We also learned that our overall attendance was significantly higher. This was because many people who would have missed the event due to scheduling conflicts could now attend remotely. And we learned that people want the option to attend virtually. So it was a win for all the way around,” he explains.

Calhoun wasn’t the only entrepreneur who learned this lesson. But surprisingly, most still haven’t tapped into this option yet—more than a year after the start of the pandemic.

Technology is already far more ready than most realize

One of the biggest challenges in hosting hybrid events has always been getting the proper technology in place.

In the past, event organizers had to use a patchwork of tools and software to host a hybrid event. To make matters worse, many potential attendees didn’t have suitable hardware or bandwidth.

That has changed a lot over the years. Especially over the past 18 months.

Most people were forced to work from home during the pandemic, which required at least entry-level audio and video equipment. As a result, nearly everyone now has the technological capability to attend an event virtually. Today, there are software platforms that can handle every aspect of marketing and managing your event. Over 88% of prospective virtual attendees have broadband internet, and 78% own a webcam. So technology is no longer a problem.

And as technology continues to evolve, so will the events industry. Faster processors and internet, along with better visual devices, will enable new types of interactive experiences for attendees.

Industry adoption of virtual and hybrid events

The virtual events market was estimated to be a 94.04 billion industry in 2020. It’s expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 23.7% from 2021 to 2028, according to a report by Grand View Research. As a result, organizations of all types and sizes have begun leveraging this opportunity to drive awareness, brand loyalty, and revenue.

But not everyone is new to this.

Spencer Elliott and Patrick VanDusen had launched their event streaming software company, ViewStub, several years ago. While the platform had already been growing steadily since inception, it blew up once the pandemic hit.

This is unsurprising because the pandemic created an increased demand for virtual events and VeiwStub was perfectly positioned to capitalize on this. It handles nearly every aspect of a hybrid event, from marketing, to sales, to execution. And it’s affordable for tiny events, yet can scale to handle events of almost any size. That’s a powerful selling point, especially for entrepreneurs who may not have a huge budget and a dedicated AV crew.

“Event organizers are starting to realize they are missing out on attendees and revenue by not offing a virtual option. But it’s not just about the event organizer and their profits. A virtual option lets people attend events they would have otherwise skipped due to travel restrictions, cost, or scheduling conflicts. So hybrid events benefit everyone, and that’s why the industry is growing so rapidly right now,” Elliott explains.

Throughout the pandemic, businesses across a wide range of industries have been using hybrid events, as have chart-topping entertainers. In some cases, both even have teamed up to collaborate on events together.

A hybrid event with two powerhouse brands

In 2020, Home Depot partnered with Brad Paisley for an exclusive concert for customers who bought Home Depot gift cards. The campaign was a massive success, generating over 6 million in gift card sales while providing entertainment at the height of the pandemic.

“This event was especially powerful because it was an experience that attendees would always remember,” ViewStub co-founder Patrick VanDusen said. “By focusing on that, Home Depot generated a significant return on investment. But more importantly, they improved brand loyalty. This will have a compounding effect on all of their marketing efforts for a long time to come. When executed properly, as Home Depot did, events can generate both short-term revenue and a positive long-term impact for the brand.”

Hybrid events aren’t just for giant brands

David Phelps, founder of the investment community Freedom Founders, says virtual attendance has been a vital part of his business model for several years now.

His community of highly-vetted, accredited investors collaborate on large investment opportunities. This enables them to profit from deals they wouldn’t otherize have access to. But the types of people who have the liquid capital necessary to participate in these deals typically have challenging schedules, so he had to make it easy for them to participate.

“My business is very much relationship-based, but our members are busy and travel often,” Phelps explains. “We have to ensure they could participate in the deals we bring to the table. But we also had to make it easy for them to build and nurture relationships with other members. They need that level of trust, which can be tough to achieve if they can’t make it to the in-person event. So several years ago, we began offering a virtual component to our traditional in-person meetings.”

Phelps says it has paid off because he can directly track both growth and an increase in member engagement to this strategy. That translates into increased revenue per member.

Engagement is key. It’s easy for virtual attendees to tune out because they’re sitting at home with every distraction possible at their fingertips.

“Engagement helps people process and retain the information they learn at your event, which gives them more value. But it also makes them feel valued,” Phelps explains. “So after a presentation, it’s critical to organize breakout sessions. When attendees talk about the content amongst themselves, it becomes more personal and relevant to them. It’s also important to have your team engage with virtual attendees throughout the event from within the platform and look for ways to make their attendance more impactful for them.”

What does the future hold for hybrid events?

As with all technology, hybrid events will continue to evolve with an ever-growing list of features. This will enable event organizers to deliver increasing value.

New capabilities will give attendees the ability to engage more easily. AR and VR will come into play as wearable devices become more cost-effective, AI will start to play a role in keeping attendees engaged, and as more people host and attend hybrid events new improvements will come faster.

Those who stay at the front of this race will reap tremendous advantages over their slower competitors.

The post The Future of Events is Hybrid appeared first on Grit Daily News.

This study was run by Dr. Don Vaughn, an academic neuroscientist, along with his team of researchers from UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior with the goal of discovering exactly how riding motorcycles affects the brain and body. It consisted of monitoring riders’ brain activity and hormone levels during three different scenarios—on a motorcycle, in a car, and in different sitting positions.

Vaughn discovered that when subjects were riding a motorcycle, their sensory processing and visual attention significantly enhanced. That finding, along with increased epinephrine levels and a decreased cortisol to DHEA-S ratio, suggested riders had increased focus. Because their brain was in a heightened state, they were also better at passive sensory monitoring.

The data showed

• Riders experienced a calming effect immediately upon starting the ride.
• Their cortisol levels dropped during travel.
• When compared to driving a car, they found motorcycle riders were more focused on the road.
• Riders could focus better for at least ten minutes after riding a motorcycle.

Based on this data, researchers can definitively conclude that riding a motorcycle positively impacts both the mental and physical health of a rider.

A game-changing marketing strategy

Harley-Davidson changed the game with this research. Particularly since they conducted it through an authoritative, trustworthy source.

They wanted to prove what customers had been saying for years. In the end, they achieved exactly that, giving the company a powerful new tool to use in its marketing efforts. Third-party validation is always important in marketing, but it’s critical when a brand is going to make a specific claim. This enables the brand to effectively solve both the logical and emotional objections in their prospective customers’ minds.

The potential impact of this data is immeasurable. Not only can Harley-Davidson appeal to customers’ nostalgia, brand loyalty, and sense of adventure, but they now can also claim health benefits! But there’s a hidden benefit to this strategy as well. If other motorcycle brands talk about the mood-enhancing effect of riding a motorcycle, it will inevitably lead to Vaughn’s study. This will create more exposure for Harley-Davidson.

This essentially forces other motorcycle manufacturers into one of two choices. Either not using this claim for risk driving more business to Harley-Davidson, or conducting and publicizing their own duplicate study. It’s a brilliant example of properly leveraging science and data from an independent third party to create a powerful marketing advantage. And it will serve the brand for years to come.

In my opinion, this was a brilliant marketing strategy on all counts.

The post How Harley-Davidson Used Science for Better Marketing appeared first on Grit Daily News.

That factor is art, and more often than not, it’s treated as an afterthought by most developers. He believes this is a disservice to the project, its investors, and its tenants. This is because art can impact the emotions someone experiences while in a building. 

Choose the right art, and you’ll create an empowering environment that fosters excitement, creativity, and collaboration. You’ll put people in a receptive mood where they’re more likely to make a buying decision. And you’ll encourage people to feel good, which cements their experience there firmly into their memories. Choose the wrong art and you’ll get the opposite.

Choosing the right art, however, is neither easy nor quick. 

“A lot of thought goes into it,” said Bryan Ezralow, the CEO of the Ezralow Company in Los Angeles. “We’re always thinking about how art can help our spaces from the very beginning of a project.”

It’s not as simple as visiting Amazon.com a week before opening to find a few generic prints or sculptures. The art needs to be relevant to the building and the people who will use it, and ideally, it should be connected to the local community.

That’s why Ezralow believes in working with local artists to nurture strong, organic partnerships. He also relies on art consultants and referrals to help him find the perfect art for each property. 

He explains, “We want to start with the community, so we always start there to find artists for our projects. There’s a lot about soaking up the history and the culture in a place that you’re in, so why not do something for locals in the area?”

Local artists have adorned Ezralow’s LA 1446 with swirly wall sculptures and paintings in its apartments, Qwil with framed watercolors, and Bellevue with colorful paintings on bedroom walls. But he doesn’t just buy art for the properties he builds. Ezralow is also an avid art collector himself and owns art by Ed Rusha, Richard Prince, and Wolfgang Tillmans. His passion for art is both personal and business.

Perhaps some of his success can be attributed to how he sees and acts on this concept. 

Rather than treating this aspect of a property as just another item to check off on a list, he treats it as an essential part of the development process. 

“Art and architecture are always intertwined,” said Ezralow. “Some of the greatest architecture comes from the minds of artists.”

So rather than using art to simply fill empty space in a building, he treats it as an integral part of the overall design of the building. Something that affects the success and emotions of everyone involved long beyond the completion of the project. 

As people return to a normal, post-pandemic world, this will be especially important for real estate developers. It will also be a valuable opportunity for artists. Particularly those who have the skills to effectively market themselves to developers.

It’s a powerful synergy where everyone wins. 

The post Bryan Ezralow on the Critical Role of Art in Marketing Real Estate appeared first on Grit Daily News.