00:00:00,366 --> 00:00:04,699
because that independence frees them up
from any potential agenda.

00:00:05,133 --> 00:00:07,099
I think I could make some money this way.

00:00:07,099 --> 00:00:09,633
I think I'll get a good job this way.

00:00:09,633 --> 00:00:12,466
And that's actually in its earliest
stages.

00:00:12,466 --> 00:00:16,833
The functioning of what eventually becomes
the most successful early stage

00:00:16,833 --> 00:00:21,166
public companies have independent members
of their board of directors.

00:00:21,833 --> 00:00:23,766
If you believe
we can change the narrative.

00:00:23,766 --> 00:00:25,999
If you believe,
we can change our communities.

00:00:25,999 --> 00:00:29,333
If you believe we can change the outcomes
and we can change the world.

00:00:30,066 --> 00:00:31,633
I'm Rob Richardson.

00:00:31,633 --> 00:00:34,633
Welcome to disruption. Now.

00:00:34,699 --> 00:00:35,866
Welcome to Disruption Now.

00:00:35,866 --> 00:00:37,933
I'm your host and moderator,
Rob Richardson.

00:00:37,933 --> 00:00:39,733
with me on the show today

00:00:39,733 --> 00:00:43,499
are the founders of the Dream Exchange,
the first African-American owned,

00:00:43,499 --> 00:00:48,499
exchange in America, Joseph Cecala,
as well as Dwain Kyles.

00:00:48,499 --> 00:00:50,633
They both have very unique backgrounds.

00:00:50,633 --> 00:00:54,133
very they're close to really kind of,
my backgrounds in some ways.

00:00:54,133 --> 00:00:57,299
They both dabble
in, civil rights before this,

00:00:57,299 --> 00:01:01,166
and now they're involved in economics
and really see the two together.

00:01:01,166 --> 00:01:04,566
So they're really disrupting,
what it means to be involved

00:01:04,566 --> 00:01:07,633
in, economics
and the opportunities for everyone. Joe.

00:01:07,633 --> 00:01:09,699
Duane, it's a pleasure
to have you on disruptor now.

00:01:09,699 --> 00:01:10,633
Thank you for coming.

00:01:10,633 --> 00:01:12,833
Thanks, Rob. Thanks for having me.

00:01:12,833 --> 00:01:13,199
Yeah.

00:01:13,199 --> 00:01:16,599
So I want to get a little bit
on your backgrounds because you both

00:01:16,599 --> 00:01:20,033
have lived many different lives like that,
so we have that in common.

00:01:20,133 --> 00:01:21,899
I've lived a lot of different lives, too.

00:01:21,899 --> 00:01:25,399
so I want to start with you, Joe.

00:01:25,699 --> 00:01:28,966
You are a civil rights attorney
as well as securities litigation attorney.

00:01:29,333 --> 00:01:31,033
Tell me, like, if you can.

00:01:31,033 --> 00:01:34,933
And a in a in a 1 or 2 sentences,
think about what

00:01:35,833 --> 00:01:39,333
how has that influenced what you're doing
now in terms of starting an exchange?

00:01:39,533 --> 00:01:42,533
What does being a civil rights attorney
have anything to do

00:01:42,666 --> 00:01:44,433
with being in economics?

00:01:44,433 --> 00:01:46,499
That's that's
pretty much where the question is going.

00:01:47,833 --> 00:01:48,433
no worries.

00:01:48,433 --> 00:01:51,233
yeah. My two lives converged.

00:01:51,233 --> 00:01:55,266
So, you know, I did a lot of private
equity venture capital deals

00:01:55,299 --> 00:02:00,066
and did some public deals,
and it really wasn't a side practice.

00:02:00,066 --> 00:02:05,566
I was a full time civil rights attorney,
and really the influence was I.

00:02:05,899 --> 00:02:07,333
I had a unique insight.

00:02:07,333 --> 00:02:10,466
And it was I realized that no, no matter

00:02:10,466 --> 00:02:13,466
how many civil rights cases I brought,

00:02:13,733 --> 00:02:17,233
I could bring 100 and I could bring 200.

00:02:17,233 --> 00:02:20,366
And it just felt like every time I emptied

00:02:20,366 --> 00:02:23,533
the pot, it filled up and empty
the pot and filled up.

00:02:23,999 --> 00:02:26,533
And then there was
this other side of my life, which was,

00:02:26,533 --> 00:02:29,599
you know,
being a finance professional and CPA

00:02:29,599 --> 00:02:32,599
and deal guy and, you know,

00:02:32,899 --> 00:02:37,033
the solution, on the one hand, to civil
rights

00:02:37,566 --> 00:02:42,599
has significantly more
to do with a lack of prosperity.

00:02:43,566 --> 00:02:45,766
So it was sort of like,

00:02:45,766 --> 00:02:50,033
I mean, maybe by design or accident,
I don't really care how I arrived.

00:02:50,399 --> 00:02:54,566
I just realized that
if we could have a more global solution,

00:02:55,366 --> 00:02:58,633
the and then I grew up
in the black community

00:02:58,633 --> 00:03:01,633
and I realized, you know,
Doctor King is my hero.

00:03:02,033 --> 00:03:04,333
And, you know,
the things that he kept saying

00:03:04,333 --> 00:03:09,033
and that I revisited over and over
and over was, you know, the final chapter

00:03:09,033 --> 00:03:13,099
of the civil Rights movement,
which is economic prosperity.

00:03:13,133 --> 00:03:13,599
It has.

00:03:13,599 --> 00:03:16,033
We haven't yet to write that chapter.

00:03:16,033 --> 00:03:16,633
Right. Yeah.

00:03:16,633 --> 00:03:20,966
Well, you know, if if you were alive
in World War Two, maybe you'd go to war.

00:03:20,966 --> 00:03:24,866
And if you were alive
when the things that were of the day,

00:03:25,166 --> 00:03:27,733
you would volunteer for that war.

00:03:27,733 --> 00:03:31,466
And this to me was the war
that I would get involved in.

00:03:31,466 --> 00:03:36,566
I was I was willing to die on this hill,
which is we're not really all free

00:03:37,233 --> 00:03:41,933
until we all have the equal opportunity
for prosperity in our own lives.

00:03:42,499 --> 00:03:42,666
Yeah.

00:03:42,666 --> 00:03:45,433
So that was the convergence of my careers.

00:03:45,433 --> 00:03:50,866
And, I mean, I have to admit, my partner
and my dearest friend Duane Kyles,

00:03:51,833 --> 00:03:54,466
was a tremendous influence on my life.

00:03:54,466 --> 00:03:59,766
I watched him be super courageous,
like to a to a level.

00:03:59,766 --> 00:04:01,866
I'd never really met before.

00:04:01,866 --> 00:04:04,866
and, you know, we've had

00:04:04,966 --> 00:04:07,966
we have our Joe and Duane,
therapy sessions.

00:04:08,199 --> 00:04:08,533
All right.

00:04:08,533 --> 00:04:09,099
That's good.

00:04:09,099 --> 00:04:12,133
That's so that's that's
kind of how it all came about was,

00:04:12,133 --> 00:04:14,466
you know, we've been together
for more than 20 years now.

00:04:14,466 --> 00:04:15,866
So that's a long time.

00:04:15,866 --> 00:04:18,333
So Duane,
thinking about that, switching to you,

00:04:18,333 --> 00:04:20,399
he mentioned Doctor Martin
Luther King again.

00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:24,333
I know your father was next to him
during the civil rights movement,

00:04:24,333 --> 00:04:27,333
specifically
during the Memphis sanitation strike,

00:04:27,333 --> 00:04:30,333
where we know,
you know, Doctor King lost his life.

00:04:30,533 --> 00:04:33,333
and so I if you had to think about

00:04:33,333 --> 00:04:36,433
the most important thing,
what was the most important thing?

00:04:36,433 --> 00:04:38,833
Your father passed down from
Doctor Martin Luther King?

00:04:40,766 --> 00:04:42,166
I think it was an appreciation

00:04:42,166 --> 00:04:45,166
for the extent to which we were obligated.

00:04:46,033 --> 00:04:50,633
If you're blessed with resources,
with intellect,

00:04:50,633 --> 00:04:54,433
with the ability to communicate
whatever your gifts may happen to be,

00:04:55,499 --> 00:04:59,933
if you're not prepared
to give your life in service,

00:05:00,466 --> 00:05:05,699
the people who have been responsible
for raising us for sustaining us,

00:05:06,033 --> 00:05:10,533
then you're taking up valuable space
on the planet.

00:05:12,066 --> 00:05:15,366
Doctor Kane believe
that my father believed that he was.

00:05:15,366 --> 00:05:18,366
You know, I was a very young man,
and he was involved with the struggle.

00:05:18,733 --> 00:05:23,233
But that lesson came to us
both through our work in the church,

00:05:23,699 --> 00:05:27,533
which was and, you know,
and the civil rights movement

00:05:27,533 --> 00:05:31,266
became an outgrowth of the work
we were doing, trying to help the people

00:05:31,599 --> 00:05:34,832
that were the members of our church and,
and the broader community.

00:05:34,866 --> 00:05:37,766
Just it just really kind of flowed
naturally.

00:05:37,766 --> 00:05:41,032
And I ended up in law school
because at a very early age,

00:05:41,066 --> 00:05:45,099
you know, when you're
the son of a preacher, you learn either

00:05:45,532 --> 00:05:50,199
to talk a lot or come to the,
you know, to argue to,

00:05:50,432 --> 00:05:55,032
and it was or to communicate in a way
that was persuasive.

00:05:55,466 --> 00:05:59,299
Yes. And I think I got that gift
from both of my parents,

00:05:59,299 --> 00:06:02,299
but particularly from my father,
because I was sitting there,

00:06:02,632 --> 00:06:05,599
you know, in the audience every Sunday

00:06:05,599 --> 00:06:09,732
when he was preaching
and as his sermons took on a more,

00:06:12,466 --> 00:06:13,532
strident tone

00:06:13,532 --> 00:06:17,532
relative to the kinds of,
well, let let me say this,

00:06:17,532 --> 00:06:21,432
but he grew up in Chicago,
born in Mississippi, grew up in Chicago.

00:06:21,932 --> 00:06:25,299
And so he was used to certain things
and moving in certain ways.

00:06:25,666 --> 00:06:28,666
And when we reverse commuted to Memphis,

00:06:29,199 --> 00:06:31,866
you know,
his mother thought he was losing his mind.

00:06:31,866 --> 00:06:33,232
Why would you go back to everything?

00:06:33,232 --> 00:06:34,932
And we just left. Right.

00:06:34,932 --> 00:06:38,432
he came back with kind of an attitude
and a chip on his shoulder,

00:06:38,766 --> 00:06:43,299
and I think Doctor King gave him an
opportunity to see that he was not alone,

00:06:43,899 --> 00:06:46,332
and to be part of a community
that was committed

00:06:46,332 --> 00:06:49,332
to making sure that his members
and his church

00:06:49,599 --> 00:06:54,532
could be as successful, as prosperous
as anyone else in that city.

00:06:55,032 --> 00:06:55,866
And he believed that.

00:06:55,866 --> 00:06:58,066
And he instilled that in me and I.

00:06:58,066 --> 00:07:02,299
And I remember hearing a quote that
you quote very often, from your father,

00:07:02,299 --> 00:07:05,299
I believe that you could kill the dreamer,
but you can't kill the dream.

00:07:05,499 --> 00:07:07,466
And and so that was passed down to you.

00:07:07,466 --> 00:07:09,432
And that still stays within both of you.

00:07:09,432 --> 00:07:13,166
So, as we think about this,
the transition from,

00:07:13,599 --> 00:07:17,766
how we fought for civil rights
during the 50s, in the 60s,

00:07:18,666 --> 00:07:22,532
what do you see
as the next transition now?

00:07:22,532 --> 00:07:25,966
Like,
what does the fight for equal opportunity

00:07:25,966 --> 00:07:29,599
civil rights look like now in 2024?

00:07:30,132 --> 00:07:31,399
You know, what do you feel like?

00:07:31,399 --> 00:07:33,232
This is the moment
that we have to focus on

00:07:33,232 --> 00:07:35,399
what is the most important thing
we have to do

00:07:35,399 --> 00:07:38,866
as a society to have a more equal
and a prosperous society.

00:07:39,066 --> 00:07:40,032
Either one of you could take that.

00:07:41,199 --> 00:07:42,766
Dwayne, you want to go first?

00:07:42,766 --> 00:07:43,532
Yeah.

00:07:43,532 --> 00:07:47,132
I really believe, Rob, that.

00:07:49,699 --> 00:07:54,299
This is an extraordinary opportunity
that is has been presented to us.

00:07:54,932 --> 00:07:57,666
You know, much of the work that Jonah

00:07:57,666 --> 00:08:00,766
have done throughout
our professional lives has centered

00:08:00,766 --> 00:08:04,032
on trying to help people who needed
the help, needed help the most.

00:08:04,732 --> 00:08:07,499
And when you keep running into,

00:08:07,499 --> 00:08:11,666
circumstances that belie

00:08:12,399 --> 00:08:15,599
what the broader
community enjoys in terms of access

00:08:15,599 --> 00:08:20,599
to capital, access to resources,
and you you see people who are struggling,

00:08:20,599 --> 00:08:24,666
who have great ideas, you know,
great work ethic, doing everything

00:08:24,666 --> 00:08:28,366
right by the book, but
they can't get access to those resources.

00:08:28,632 --> 00:08:31,399
Yeah, being able to access the public

00:08:31,399 --> 00:08:34,832
capital markets is a true game changer.

00:08:35,266 --> 00:08:35,699
Help.

00:08:35,699 --> 00:08:40,499
But most importantly,
having people understand, what that means

00:08:40,666 --> 00:08:44,532
and understand
the importance of putting the work in.

00:08:44,766 --> 00:08:46,966
I mean, so many of our community,
people in our community

00:08:46,966 --> 00:08:49,966
have put the work in only to hit that
brick wall.

00:08:50,199 --> 00:08:53,099
This is going to be an unprecedented

00:08:53,099 --> 00:08:57,466
opening of opportunity for people
who are prepared to do the work.

00:08:57,866 --> 00:09:01,832
If you're prepared to do the work, then,
unlike in days

00:09:01,832 --> 00:09:05,866
gone by, the public capital markets
really are there.

00:09:05,966 --> 00:09:08,532
That is working people's money.

00:09:08,532 --> 00:09:09,699
That's what we need to understand.

00:09:09,699 --> 00:09:11,299
That's working people's money

00:09:11,299 --> 00:09:14,732
that has not been able to circulate
its way back into the community.

00:09:15,199 --> 00:09:19,232
So what this tremendous leap forward means

00:09:19,666 --> 00:09:22,932
is that we are committed
to educating people,

00:09:23,232 --> 00:09:26,232
encouraging people, supporting people

00:09:26,332 --> 00:09:29,232
to make sure that if they're prepared
to put the work in, that it's

00:09:29,232 --> 00:09:32,532
not going to just fall in your lap
now, gonna put the work in.

00:09:32,532 --> 00:09:35,899
But if you're prepared to put the work in,
then we are

00:09:36,599 --> 00:09:39,732
very committed
to building a community of interest

00:09:40,332 --> 00:09:44,699
that will support each other,
and we will make sure that that hard work

00:09:44,699 --> 00:09:47,966
will pay off for your for generations
to come in

00:09:47,966 --> 00:09:50,966
your family and the families of the people
that work with you.

00:09:50,999 --> 00:09:51,399
I mean,

00:09:52,632 --> 00:09:54,732
capitalism is not a terrible thing.

00:09:54,732 --> 00:09:57,099
If people are doing it
with an understanding

00:09:57,099 --> 00:10:00,099
that we are our brother's keeper,
we do have cash.

00:10:00,099 --> 00:10:02,532
Yeah, you have to have a Sallie Mae.

00:10:02,532 --> 00:10:04,632
This was the way decided after you.

00:10:04,632 --> 00:10:07,299
It's something always stuck in my head
is that capitalism is great.

00:10:07,299 --> 00:10:10,099
By this.
The isms racism, sexism, classism.

00:10:10,099 --> 00:10:11,232
Go. It's it's the best.

00:10:11,232 --> 00:10:13,166
It's the best. Right?

00:10:13,166 --> 00:10:14,532
right there, it really is.

00:10:14,532 --> 00:10:17,866
Because what it does
is it incentivizes people

00:10:18,499 --> 00:10:21,166
to really do the best
and be the best that they can be.

00:10:21,166 --> 00:10:24,066
It really does,
because they're tangible benefits,

00:10:24,066 --> 00:10:27,132
not on weapons,
tangible benefits from doing so.

00:10:27,432 --> 00:10:27,632
Yeah.

00:10:27,632 --> 00:10:30,999
And those tangible benefits
people can see and be encouraged

00:10:31,499 --> 00:10:34,532
that they too can live a good life. Yeah.

00:10:34,566 --> 00:10:37,966
But unfortunately there have been so many
barriers placed in our way.

00:10:38,266 --> 00:10:41,432
I mean, so many barriers
that it has taken,

00:10:42,299 --> 00:10:46,466
you know, this very unique opportunity
for two guys, you know,

00:10:46,466 --> 00:10:49,466
both from the West side of Chicago, living

00:10:49,799 --> 00:10:52,799
similar but different lives.

00:10:53,032 --> 00:10:58,032
who, because of extraordinary
circumstances, came together

00:10:58,432 --> 00:11:03,232
believing that they could make
a difference, both from humble beginnings.

00:11:03,232 --> 00:11:03,599
I mean,

00:11:04,766 --> 00:11:05,566
we believe.

00:11:05,566 --> 00:11:06,865
We believe it.

00:11:06,865 --> 00:11:10,099
Yes, but most of my life,
that belief has been

00:11:10,532 --> 00:11:14,699
something of a barrier
because people think I'm a dreamer.

00:11:14,699 --> 00:11:17,232
I'm a, you know,
I'm a, you know, kind of pine this guy.

00:11:17,232 --> 00:11:19,799
Okay, well, okay, I'll take that.

00:11:19,799 --> 00:11:20,465
I'll take that.

00:11:20,465 --> 00:11:20,932
Right.

00:11:20,932 --> 00:11:23,932
Well, I hooked up with another guy
who also

00:11:24,599 --> 00:11:29,732
is the pie in the sky dreamer,
who happens to have all the skills

00:11:29,732 --> 00:11:34,932
and was generous, has been so generous
about sharing what he knows.

00:11:34,932 --> 00:11:37,965
Because I'm telling you,
I work with a lot of people.

00:11:39,099 --> 00:11:42,432
I've never had anybody
that was as generous with regard

00:11:42,432 --> 00:11:43,899
to sharing information,

00:11:43,899 --> 00:11:48,165
making sure that people
really have access, that people have.

00:11:48,299 --> 00:11:50,599
I mean. We need more people like Joe.

00:11:50,599 --> 00:11:53,199
And it's not going to happen without
that is not going to happen.

00:11:53,199 --> 00:11:57,132
No. I mean, people that have the power
have to have to actually connect

00:11:57,132 --> 00:11:58,299
people to opportunities. So,

00:12:00,799 --> 00:12:01,199
Dwayne,

00:12:01,199 --> 00:12:04,299
since we're talking it
as I get to Joe, a quote of Doctor King is

00:12:04,332 --> 00:12:07,832
that people don't quote often, but I think
is one of his most powerful quotes.

00:12:08,099 --> 00:12:09,732
When he's talking about power.

00:12:09,732 --> 00:12:12,732
He says power without love is
reckless and abusive.

00:12:12,799 --> 00:12:16,399
But, love
without power is just a mental and anemic.

00:12:16,399 --> 00:12:19,332
You need both to change the world, right?
You need that.

00:12:19,332 --> 00:12:19,965
You need. Correct.

00:12:19,965 --> 00:12:23,865
You got to have somebody you need power
that's connected to actually trying

00:12:23,865 --> 00:12:25,399
to change things and help people.

00:12:25,399 --> 00:12:28,399
So Joe, under you with this like as you,

00:12:28,865 --> 00:12:32,999
the average business owner that's out
here, like, you know, black and brown,

00:12:32,999 --> 00:12:34,099
even just just

00:12:34,099 --> 00:12:37,065
starting out, business owners,
if they're not black and brown, everybody

00:12:37,065 --> 00:12:39,899
from a lot of different positions,
if you're not from a certain

00:12:39,899 --> 00:12:43,332
if you're not literally from, like,
usually Stanford or a few other places,

00:12:43,765 --> 00:12:48,799
you don't get the same access
to capital as hardly anybody else.

00:12:48,799 --> 00:12:52,465
Like, if you're I'm in the Midwest, it's
a very different you can be black, white,

00:12:52,632 --> 00:12:53,099
anything.

00:12:53,099 --> 00:12:56,499
It's that you have a much harder chance
of getting that capital

00:12:56,499 --> 00:12:59,899
unless you're connected
to a small circle of people.

00:12:59,899 --> 00:13:00,199
Really.

00:13:00,199 --> 00:13:04,932
So I would say, where is the where do you
start in terms of if you're a business?

00:13:04,932 --> 00:13:09,332
I think about positioning your business
to even be ready for a public raise.

00:13:09,965 --> 00:13:10,165
Yeah.

00:13:10,165 --> 00:13:13,632
I mean, to the audience on that,
you're you're 100% right.

00:13:13,799 --> 00:13:19,465
the fact is, and that even
in the positioning discussion.

00:13:19,465 --> 00:13:21,065
Okay. Because

00:13:22,532 --> 00:13:23,532
and let me just to

00:13:23,532 --> 00:13:26,732
reinforce what you said, it's ironic

00:13:27,732 --> 00:13:32,099
that we, you know, a black man
and a white man have been best friends

00:13:32,099 --> 00:13:36,432
for more than 20 years working on
these problems have come together

00:13:37,032 --> 00:13:39,465
with a solution

00:13:39,465 --> 00:13:43,032
to small and medium
sized companies in the entire country.

00:13:43,932 --> 00:13:46,632
Okay, that's a colorblind problem,

00:13:46,632 --> 00:13:50,265
because what you described
in terms of access to capital,

00:13:51,265 --> 00:13:56,232
it really is a meaningful
and very real barrier, right?

00:13:56,232 --> 00:13:59,832
So when you want to position yourself,
most people

00:14:00,332 --> 00:14:03,899
position themselves thinking, great,

00:14:03,899 --> 00:14:06,899
we're going to do a capital raise
and the cavalry's going to come.

00:14:07,732 --> 00:14:08,999
Yeah.

00:14:08,999 --> 00:14:09,999
Is that coming? Sorry.

00:14:09,999 --> 00:14:12,232
Yes. Coming.

00:14:12,232 --> 00:14:13,332
We're going to be so great.

00:14:13,332 --> 00:14:15,799
We're going to get on Shark Tank
or we're going to be so great.

00:14:15,799 --> 00:14:19,499
And, you know, Magic Johnson's VC
fund is coming.

00:14:19,732 --> 00:14:21,232
They're not coming.

00:14:21,232 --> 00:14:23,832
They're not the cavalry aren't coming.

00:14:23,832 --> 00:14:26,832
So the key
and this is what we're all about.

00:14:26,932 --> 00:14:31,165
First step is look carefully at your idea.

00:14:32,632 --> 00:14:35,032
Ideas that improve

00:14:35,032 --> 00:14:38,099
the lives of other people
that help us survive better and better.

00:14:38,832 --> 00:14:41,032
They're worth more money.

00:14:41,032 --> 00:14:43,665
Okay, so first off, you have to take

00:14:43,665 --> 00:14:47,732
a step back from the
the the intricacies of your company.

00:14:48,132 --> 00:14:51,932
You got to look at it
like you're filing a public company

00:14:51,932 --> 00:14:54,932
offering what your brand,

00:14:56,132 --> 00:14:58,632
what problems do you solve.

00:14:58,632 --> 00:15:01,632
Because public companies,
they're not interested in

00:15:02,065 --> 00:15:04,332
how can you solve the five minute problem?

00:15:04,332 --> 00:15:04,732
Right.

00:15:04,732 --> 00:15:09,132
People make an investment because they
want the five year, ten year solution.

00:15:09,399 --> 00:15:12,865
They make an investment early in a company

00:15:12,865 --> 00:15:16,465
because they believe
that the value of the company will expand.

00:15:16,465 --> 00:15:18,932
They're not interested in a dividend.

00:15:18,932 --> 00:15:21,932
If they wanted a dividend,
they go buy Chevron.

00:15:22,332 --> 00:15:24,799
they'd go buy, you know,

00:15:24,799 --> 00:15:28,032
one of the large dividend
producing public companies right now,

00:15:28,432 --> 00:15:32,965
their interest in the value is how much
will this company appreciate in value.

00:15:33,399 --> 00:15:37,599
And that's commensurate
with how valuable is your idea

00:15:37,965 --> 00:15:41,932
when you have that and you start
to organize administratively.

00:15:41,932 --> 00:15:43,565
So the advice I would give is

00:15:44,732 --> 00:15:46,299
make sure

00:15:46,299 --> 00:15:49,332
that you're
not continuing in your own shoe box.

00:15:49,732 --> 00:15:51,765
I've been in the shoe boxes.

00:15:51,765 --> 00:15:53,832
This is what to have in this. Your box.

00:15:53,832 --> 00:15:56,765
Yeah. And so. Right.

00:15:56,765 --> 00:16:00,065
You know,
you kind of almost have to take time

00:16:01,032 --> 00:16:03,432
to work on your business

00:16:03,432 --> 00:16:06,465
deliberately rather than in your business.

00:16:06,465 --> 00:16:07,332
Yeah.

00:16:07,332 --> 00:16:10,365
So if you work on your business
and you pretend that day

00:16:10,365 --> 00:16:14,232
that you're the CEO of the 200,
500 person company, you might say,

00:16:14,232 --> 00:16:17,832
oh, what will my human resources
department look like?

00:16:18,099 --> 00:16:20,565
What will my marketing department
look like?

00:16:20,565 --> 00:16:23,565
How will my Treasury Department function?

00:16:23,699 --> 00:16:26,299
What are the production
areas of the company

00:16:26,299 --> 00:16:29,465
going to be organized
like how will I advertise my brand?

00:16:30,032 --> 00:16:31,132
And if you step back

00:16:31,132 --> 00:16:34,732
and it doesn't take a lot of time,
but it has to be deliberate time.

00:16:35,232 --> 00:16:38,565
It has to be something
you put on your calendar every week.

00:16:39,232 --> 00:16:40,432
Okay. Ignore it.

00:16:40,432 --> 00:16:41,298
You can't just go.

00:16:41,298 --> 00:16:43,698
I'll get to it next week.
I'll get to it next week.

00:16:43,698 --> 00:16:45,098
I'll get to it when?

00:16:45,098 --> 00:16:46,065
Oh boy. We have.

00:16:46,065 --> 00:16:47,532
We made a lot of sales.

00:16:47,532 --> 00:16:49,298
We're making a bunch of money.

00:16:49,298 --> 00:16:52,932
And then the venture capitalist
or the underwriter

00:16:52,932 --> 00:16:55,065
for your public deal wants to come in.

00:16:55,065 --> 00:16:58,665
And the first thing they're going to say
is, oh, well, let's start

00:16:58,665 --> 00:16:59,832
our legal due diligence.

00:17:00,765 --> 00:17:01,765
And you have no employee

00:17:01,765 --> 00:17:04,765
handbook
and you have no you've done nothing.

00:17:04,798 --> 00:17:09,565
So the characteristics of a company
that actually make it

00:17:10,098 --> 00:17:12,732
and they're a good number
of the characteristics

00:17:12,732 --> 00:17:15,732
are actually published in the white paper
that we wrote.

00:17:15,798 --> 00:17:18,798
It's in Oxford University's
Handbook on IPOs.

00:17:20,465 --> 00:17:22,332
Which when you read that you'll see.

00:17:22,332 --> 00:17:28,532
And I'll name the number one
most important, organizing feature.

00:17:28,732 --> 00:17:28,965
Okay.

00:17:28,965 --> 00:17:33,532
The number one most important organizing
feature for successful company is what.

00:17:33,998 --> 00:17:38,298
Making sure that in your earliest stages,

00:17:39,165 --> 00:17:42,465
you have some person or persons

00:17:43,132 --> 00:17:47,032
who function in an advisory role
and they're not paid

00:17:48,132 --> 00:17:50,265
and they don't own any of your company.

00:17:50,265 --> 00:17:52,665
They're fully independent

00:17:52,665 --> 00:17:56,998
because that independence
frees them up from any potential agenda.

00:17:57,432 --> 00:17:59,398
I think I could make some money this way.

00:17:59,398 --> 00:18:01,932
I think I'll get a good job this way.

00:18:01,932 --> 00:18:04,765
And that's actually in its earliest
stages.

00:18:04,765 --> 00:18:09,132
The functioning of what eventually becomes
the most successful early stage

00:18:09,132 --> 00:18:13,465
public companies have independent members
of their board of directors.

00:18:14,665 --> 00:18:15,365
Because there's

00:18:15,365 --> 00:18:18,665
nothing in it for them
other than liability.

00:18:19,032 --> 00:18:21,732
I would not have thought that
that that's incredible.

00:18:21,732 --> 00:18:24,132
Like I didn't I thought you were going
to say something else.

00:18:24,132 --> 00:18:25,632
No. That's amazing.

00:18:25,632 --> 00:18:29,565
So if you have independence in a board,
someone who's willing

00:18:29,565 --> 00:18:33,465
to attach themselves to you,
that is your actual cavalry.

00:18:34,098 --> 00:18:36,565
They don't have to invest piles of money,

00:18:36,565 --> 00:18:38,665
because as soon as somebody
invest the money they have,

00:18:38,665 --> 00:18:42,832
they're going to start like a venture
capital firm, show me a good VC deal,

00:18:42,832 --> 00:18:43,465
and I'll show you

00:18:43,465 --> 00:18:46,465
somebody who's struggling with the VC
telling them how to run the company.

00:18:47,065 --> 00:18:49,732
You don't need somebody to tell you
that your idea is good or bad.

00:18:49,732 --> 00:18:51,132
First of all, ignore that.

00:18:51,132 --> 00:18:55,098
That if my second piece of advice
to anybody in, in a small business

00:18:55,598 --> 00:18:57,765
is when people come up to you
and tell you you're nuts,

00:18:57,765 --> 00:18:59,098
you're crazy,
that's never going to happen.

00:18:59,098 --> 00:19:00,832
Ignore all those people.

00:19:00,832 --> 00:19:03,232
Get it? Get people who you get along with.

00:19:03,232 --> 00:19:06,832
15 years ago,
when 17 years ago, when I started this.

00:19:06,832 --> 00:19:09,798
I'm going to tell you who the greatest
champion I ever had in my life was.

00:19:09,798 --> 00:19:11,198
Duane Kyles.

00:19:11,198 --> 00:19:13,632
You never told me I was nuts, I was crazy.

00:19:13,632 --> 00:19:15,132
This never going to happen.

00:19:15,132 --> 00:19:16,898
You're. You're a loser.

00:19:16,898 --> 00:19:19,332
Yeah. No,
he wasn't tearing me down. Not ever.

00:19:19,332 --> 00:19:22,432
And I will tell you, over the last
17 years, I've been torn down.

00:19:22,432 --> 00:19:26,998
I've been punched and kicked
and, you know, and now some of it is fired

00:19:26,998 --> 00:19:29,998
shots across the bow because,
holy crap, we're actually pulling it off.

00:19:30,732 --> 00:19:31,598
Yeah.

00:19:31,598 --> 00:19:35,532
And so when you get those key
advisers, okay,

00:19:35,532 --> 00:19:39,765
and you get someone whose sole interest
and it may even take.

00:19:39,765 --> 00:19:44,932
Sorry for the way I'm going to
describe this, but it takes almost an ally

00:19:45,298 --> 00:19:48,298
that has a spiritual connection
to your idea

00:19:48,532 --> 00:19:51,132
that someone who believes in you,

00:19:51,132 --> 00:19:55,298
because you can find an audience of people
that don't believe in

00:19:55,298 --> 00:19:57,965
you and will criticize
you all day long, that's easy.

00:19:57,965 --> 00:19:58,332
You get.

00:19:58,332 --> 00:19:59,598
I'm sure there's
some people on the internet

00:19:59,598 --> 00:20:01,332
that's going to criticize us
after this figurehead.

00:20:01,332 --> 00:20:07,032
Yeah, but the point is,
if you actually look at some of the most,

00:20:07,032 --> 00:20:11,398
I mean, Apple computers, $1
trillion company, it started in a garage.

00:20:11,398 --> 00:20:14,232
Well, you know,
there was just some people there.

00:20:14,232 --> 00:20:15,132
They were undeterred.

00:20:15,132 --> 00:20:20,032
And no matter how many times somebody
shot them down or they always found a way

00:20:20,465 --> 00:20:22,732
because they believed in themselves
and they stuck with it.

00:20:22,732 --> 00:20:25,732
I mean, we could have called ourselves
to believe exchange.

00:20:25,765 --> 00:20:28,698
You really have to believe it, to manifest

00:20:28,698 --> 00:20:31,698
the idea into something physically.

00:20:31,798 --> 00:20:36,898
Production services measurable,
you know, number of desks sold.

00:20:37,165 --> 00:20:37,632
Okay.

00:20:38,698 --> 00:20:39,798
Before that gets

00:20:39,798 --> 00:20:42,798
there, it's it's in the ether.

00:20:42,798 --> 00:20:46,698
It's a concept
that your idea of a stock exchange isn't.

00:20:46,698 --> 00:20:49,665
We're not going to be looking at concepts
right.

00:20:49,665 --> 00:20:51,865
Where we have companies, they operate,
they have revenues.

00:20:51,865 --> 00:20:54,732
Then we have all kinds of requirements.

00:20:54,732 --> 00:20:58,198
But in order to get there,
and I think what Duane alluded to before

00:20:58,198 --> 00:21:01,898
about sharing the information
with people about this,

00:21:01,898 --> 00:21:05,432
this is to me the most valuable thing
we could be doing right now

00:21:06,098 --> 00:21:09,632
is, is saying to people two things.

00:21:09,632 --> 00:21:12,732
One is there is a pathway, there is

00:21:13,498 --> 00:21:16,998
and you are responsible
for creating the pathway.

00:21:17,365 --> 00:21:21,432
And we can partner with you in doing that
as we expand our exchange.

00:21:21,432 --> 00:21:23,598
That's that's the first thing.

00:21:23,598 --> 00:21:24,398
The second thing.

00:21:24,398 --> 00:21:27,398
And you touched on it with capital ism
and the isms.

00:21:27,565 --> 00:21:31,698
This is a this is something
I've been like shouting from the ramparts,

00:21:33,098 --> 00:21:35,232
stock exchanges

00:21:35,232 --> 00:21:38,232
are what are called auction markets.

00:21:38,232 --> 00:21:40,765
Okay. Auction markets work.

00:21:40,765 --> 00:21:44,898
It's like and and when something works,

00:21:45,565 --> 00:21:48,232
you can't start trying to analyze

00:21:48,232 --> 00:21:51,898
the workability of the thing that works.

00:21:52,598 --> 00:21:56,165
What we have to do is look at, oh, boy,

00:21:56,432 --> 00:22:00,865
there are ten MBA public companies
out of 6300 right now.

00:22:01,798 --> 00:22:03,165
Why is that?

00:22:03,165 --> 00:22:05,732
Is it because the auction markets.

00:22:05,732 --> 00:22:06,798
So say that again.

00:22:06,798 --> 00:22:08,898
Out of how many
how many public companies are there?

00:22:08,898 --> 00:22:14,065
There are about 6300 listed symbols
on stock exchanges that are traded today.

00:22:14,331 --> 00:22:14,798
Okay.

00:22:14,798 --> 00:22:16,765
And there are how many that are minority.

00:22:16,765 --> 00:22:19,765
1010. Okay.

00:22:19,931 --> 00:22:21,365
It's a very low percentage.

00:22:21,365 --> 00:22:23,565
That's less than one less less,
less than 1%.

00:22:23,565 --> 00:22:26,565
It's point two okay okay.

00:22:26,831 --> 00:22:29,831
So when you start examining that

00:22:29,931 --> 00:22:34,631
you could draw the incorrect conclusion
that, oh auction markets don't work.

00:22:35,098 --> 00:22:36,898
No. They just don't work for everybody.

00:22:36,898 --> 00:22:37,098
Yeah.

00:22:37,098 --> 00:22:39,731
And I now use this
kind of dangerous analogy.

00:22:40,765 --> 00:22:43,765
Water fountains work.

00:22:43,931 --> 00:22:46,265
But at one time in the country,

00:22:46,265 --> 00:22:49,165
one group people had to go to one water
fountain.

00:22:49,165 --> 00:22:51,431
And another group
people went to a different water fountain.

00:22:51,431 --> 00:22:52,965
Was it the water fountains fault?

00:22:52,965 --> 00:22:56,531
No, it's the the structure of how it was,

00:22:56,531 --> 00:22:59,698
how it was given out or how
or the accessibility of it, that's what.

00:22:59,698 --> 00:23:02,898
Yes, it was all
about the accessibility of it.

00:23:02,898 --> 00:23:09,098
So what we're laying
down is a bridge between one side

00:23:09,098 --> 00:23:13,565
of, of of the proverbial playing field
and the other side,

00:23:13,598 --> 00:23:17,831
which is all of the recruits
that we can bring onto the playing field.

00:23:18,398 --> 00:23:21,398
We bring we bring the players
across the bridge.

00:23:21,431 --> 00:23:25,598
And now, once,
all communities, all people,

00:23:25,598 --> 00:23:29,331
all small businesses, people who have
great ideas are able to get in the game.

00:23:30,031 --> 00:23:31,331
Well, Katie, bar the door.

00:23:31,331 --> 00:23:34,331
I mean, and I'm going to say
this is a it's a strange.

00:23:34,531 --> 00:23:36,231
You asked earlier how I got here.

00:23:37,331 --> 00:23:37,865
I found

00:23:37,865 --> 00:23:40,865
the most ingenious black business owners.

00:23:40,865 --> 00:23:41,865
Okay?

00:23:41,865 --> 00:23:42,631
They were geniuses.

00:23:42,631 --> 00:23:46,798
You want to know why they didn't actually
have the same resources as other people

00:23:46,798 --> 00:23:47,965
they had to come up with?

00:23:47,965 --> 00:23:51,698
Well, how do we put the duct tape here
and how are we going to make sure

00:23:51,698 --> 00:23:53,365
the wheels spins?

00:23:53,365 --> 00:23:56,365
And they didn't have all the normal tools

00:23:56,565 --> 00:23:59,831
that were available, but somehow they kept
keeping on, keeping on.

00:24:00,431 --> 00:24:03,598
And so once we provide access

00:24:04,265 --> 00:24:07,631
to a $37 trillion pool

00:24:08,331 --> 00:24:10,898
of public market capital

00:24:10,898 --> 00:24:14,031
to a very broad audience of quality

00:24:14,031 --> 00:24:17,031
companies with wonderful ideas,

00:24:17,431 --> 00:24:19,831
I think there's a number of things
that will happen.

00:24:19,831 --> 00:24:20,631
First of all.

00:24:20,631 --> 00:24:22,298
You know, before you get into that,
before we get to that,

00:24:22,298 --> 00:24:24,098
because I want you to go there
because I want to get to Duane.

00:24:24,098 --> 00:24:25,298
No, no, no, it's good, it's good.

00:24:25,298 --> 00:24:29,365
No, but but hold on to what that's
going to be, what success would look like.

00:24:29,631 --> 00:24:30,698
Duane? Like,

00:24:32,231 --> 00:24:33,231
how do you

00:24:33,231 --> 00:24:36,931
find and identify businesses
to be a part of the exchange?

00:24:37,398 --> 00:24:39,165
Like, how do you go about doing that?

00:24:39,165 --> 00:24:42,165
Because I, I hear all the time from people

00:24:42,598 --> 00:24:44,931
there, there's not enough
we don't have enough capacity.

00:24:44,931 --> 00:24:46,898
There are people are out there.
So on and so forth.

00:24:46,898 --> 00:24:50,665
The excuse how has the dream exchange
gone to identify,

00:24:50,931 --> 00:24:53,931
potential businesses
that others could not find?

00:24:54,831 --> 00:24:57,831
Well, let me answer that this way

00:24:58,031 --> 00:25:01,031
we would be not that smart

00:25:01,231 --> 00:25:05,298
if we thought we were going to build
this business on black owned

00:25:05,298 --> 00:25:09,331
companies and minority owned companies
that are ready to go public.

00:25:10,265 --> 00:25:11,865
Not a good idea.

00:25:11,865 --> 00:25:14,231
We are interested in making

00:25:14,231 --> 00:25:19,298
sure that any small business
that is prepared to go public,

00:25:19,631 --> 00:25:22,931
but has been left behind by the changes

00:25:22,931 --> 00:25:26,831
in the marketplace
which have existed for the last 20 years.

00:25:27,131 --> 00:25:30,131
Since the advent of electronic trading.

00:25:30,165 --> 00:25:33,365
Sure, there are lots and lots of companies
that have been dependent

00:25:33,365 --> 00:25:37,598
upon private equity,
you know, crowd funding.

00:25:37,631 --> 00:25:41,698
So funding over the counter,
you know, drama, I mean,

00:25:42,131 --> 00:25:46,031
they have really, really struggled
to get access to capital for us.

00:25:46,031 --> 00:25:48,098
That is the low hanging fruit.

00:25:48,098 --> 00:25:51,098
There are ten companies right now
in New York and New Jersey

00:25:51,565 --> 00:25:55,231
that are members that are approaching
$1 billion in revenue.

00:25:56,131 --> 00:25:57,431
Nobody's looking for them.

00:25:57,431 --> 00:25:59,798
Nobody's talking to them about listing.

00:25:59,798 --> 00:26:02,931
We are you
know, we're going to go out of our way

00:26:03,065 --> 00:26:06,231
to make sure that companies

00:26:06,431 --> 00:26:10,765
that can be successful
and that can help to rebuild

00:26:10,765 --> 00:26:14,698
communities from the inside out,
are going to get access to this capital.

00:26:14,698 --> 00:26:18,365
And I promise you the biggest fear,
you know, that Joe and I have

00:26:18,565 --> 00:26:21,565
is that once, particularly when
the venture exchange is up and running,

00:26:21,998 --> 00:26:24,965
there's the, you know, I mean,
you thought you we're going to be drinking

00:26:24,965 --> 00:26:26,931
from a firehose as he is want to say.

00:26:26,931 --> 00:26:28,865
Because that's exactly
what's going to happen.

00:26:28,865 --> 00:26:32,198
It's not for lack of there are millions of
businesses in this country.

00:26:33,598 --> 00:26:36,765
There are 6300 list public companies
listed.

00:26:37,398 --> 00:26:38,998
You want

00:26:38,998 --> 00:26:41,365
anybody that can do math at all can figure

00:26:41,365 --> 00:26:44,365
that they're going to be
a lot of companies that are available

00:26:44,365 --> 00:26:48,198
to be, listed on stock or on stock
exchanges.

00:26:48,498 --> 00:26:53,831
The key, though, for us
is that we have to make sure that in

00:26:54,865 --> 00:26:57,365
we we're creating an ecosystem.

00:26:57,365 --> 00:26:58,198
Right.

00:26:58,198 --> 00:27:01,198
And that ecosystem will involve

00:27:01,265 --> 00:27:05,998
kids going to Harrell Academy and learning
about producers and consumers.

00:27:05,998 --> 00:27:11,531
For the last 25 years in Chicago,
that will include students who have

00:27:11,798 --> 00:27:14,298
who are going for their MBAs,
who want to get connected

00:27:14,298 --> 00:27:17,298
to entrepreneurs, are looking to exit,
don't have any kids,

00:27:17,731 --> 00:27:20,698
can't figure out
how to get the best bang for their buck.

00:27:20,698 --> 00:27:23,698
They want to make sure
that the company continues to exist,

00:27:23,898 --> 00:27:26,898
so that the jobs that they've created in
that community can go on.

00:27:27,465 --> 00:27:28,598
We are linking.

00:27:28,598 --> 00:27:32,298
We will be linking those people,
you know, we'll be linking

00:27:33,798 --> 00:27:36,798
mature
businesses that are looking for exits

00:27:36,931 --> 00:27:40,731
that, are not connected
to the right people.

00:27:40,731 --> 00:27:41,665
Yeah. Make sense?

00:27:41,665 --> 00:27:47,664
We will we will provide a very holistic,
environment and what we really hope to do.

00:27:47,664 --> 00:27:50,664
And I know this this is where it gets
to be pie in the sky.

00:27:51,098 --> 00:27:54,098
We are really focused
on people's integrity.

00:27:54,464 --> 00:27:57,531
And then bringing, bringing
if not spiritual,

00:27:57,531 --> 00:28:00,531
some certainly ethical,

00:28:00,731 --> 00:28:04,031
baseline to the mix.

00:28:04,031 --> 00:28:07,564
Because if we continue down the path
that we are

00:28:08,498 --> 00:28:11,998
and we all know that, you know,
from the days of slavery,

00:28:11,998 --> 00:28:15,198
we've been taught not to trust each other
is not just to just kind of happen.

00:28:15,898 --> 00:28:18,164
It has been ingrained in us.

00:28:18,164 --> 00:28:22,664
And then you get people who are hustling
and, you know, fast and loose with stuff.

00:28:22,664 --> 00:28:25,664
And when stuff goes south, you know,

00:28:25,764 --> 00:28:28,598
the word is you can't trust
and you can't do business.

00:28:28,598 --> 00:28:30,164
Well, we got to get rid of that.

00:28:30,164 --> 00:28:30,431
Yeah.

00:28:30,431 --> 00:28:34,698
You know, people have to be evaluated
and judged to the extent

00:28:34,698 --> 00:28:38,531
that you can judge anyone on their merits,
on what they do, what are they

00:28:39,431 --> 00:28:40,564
what what have they done?

00:28:41,564 --> 00:28:43,831
If we
can begin to do that kind of analysis

00:28:43,831 --> 00:28:46,231
and really making sure
that if you're going to act out

00:28:46,231 --> 00:28:48,731
and you're going to come in
and you're going to just,

00:28:48,731 --> 00:28:51,731
you know, elbow your way
to the front of the room and

00:28:52,264 --> 00:28:55,264
don't care about how other people
are being impacted you.

00:28:55,264 --> 00:28:57,631
This is not your team.
We're not going to get everybody.

00:28:57,631 --> 00:28:58,198
Well, that's good.

00:28:58,198 --> 00:29:00,498
Because I want. Everybody
because most people don't care about that.

00:29:00,498 --> 00:29:03,931
That's I think that's a that's an
honorable way to, to actually do business.

00:29:04,331 --> 00:29:08,298
But as, we're going to like probably
try to, wrap up in the next

00:29:08,431 --> 00:29:11,198
3 to 5 minutes or so.
So I want to get some things out here.

00:29:11,198 --> 00:29:15,798
really this question
kind of kind of sticks with me.

00:29:16,864 --> 00:29:18,798
I think
a lot of people think like public markets.

00:29:18,798 --> 00:29:19,764
Why is that important?

00:29:19,764 --> 00:29:22,064
Why does it even
why does that part even matter?

00:29:22,064 --> 00:29:23,798
Being a part of a public market,

00:29:23,798 --> 00:29:27,598
people probably see that as something
that only a certain type of person

00:29:27,598 --> 00:29:28,164
could get into.

00:29:28,164 --> 00:29:31,431
Like even if they have a successful
business that is at that level, like,

00:29:31,564 --> 00:29:34,398
what is the advantage of having access
to a public market?

00:29:34,398 --> 00:29:37,398
Why make that transition versus
just staying where they are?

00:29:37,531 --> 00:29:39,464
What is your answer to that?

00:29:39,464 --> 00:29:41,831
I'll go first. I'll jump. Yeah. Just so.

00:29:41,831 --> 00:29:42,498
You know.

00:29:42,498 --> 00:29:45,498
And then again, the irony,

00:29:45,931 --> 00:29:47,564
at one time in our country,

00:29:47,564 --> 00:29:51,198
we had perhaps as many as 15, 16,000
public listings.

00:29:51,198 --> 00:29:52,964
We have 6300 today.

00:29:52,964 --> 00:29:56,831
So it's this just as a, American problem

00:29:57,198 --> 00:30:00,864
that audience of companies
has shrink, shrunken.

00:30:01,731 --> 00:30:05,231
And so the importance of it,
why is it important that we have public

00:30:05,231 --> 00:30:06,664
capital markets?

00:30:06,664 --> 00:30:10,898
Well, the capital
that's in that market, as Duane alluded to

00:30:10,898 --> 00:30:16,164
earlier, is really,
the the rank and file American,

00:30:16,398 --> 00:30:19,231
whether you know it
because you invested directly in a stock

00:30:19,231 --> 00:30:22,431
or whether you put your money in a pension
fund every week, and that pension

00:30:22,431 --> 00:30:26,298
fund dollars ends up in,
you know, Tesla, Apple and IBM.

00:30:26,898 --> 00:30:30,164
So without large, public companies, we're

00:30:30,198 --> 00:30:35,098
we're we kind of have a difficult time
investing that money and having it grow.

00:30:35,764 --> 00:30:38,431
But the important thing that we've lost
and Duane

00:30:38,431 --> 00:30:41,431
alluded to this in the last 24 years,

00:30:41,531 --> 00:30:45,264
at one time, 70, 80, 90%

00:30:45,264 --> 00:30:49,764
of all new public
offerings raised $50 million or less.

00:30:51,031 --> 00:30:52,131
And then as soon as the

00:30:52,131 --> 00:30:55,931
advent of electronic trading,
I take some responsibility for this.

00:30:55,931 --> 00:30:59,164
I was the one of the four people
that helped get archipelago

00:30:59,164 --> 00:31:02,164
the first venue off the ground in 95.

00:31:02,231 --> 00:31:06,264
Well after five years of electronic
trading being born,

00:31:07,031 --> 00:31:11,798
we cut the number of public companies
every year by 70, 80, 90%.

00:31:12,398 --> 00:31:15,264
So you only see a large,
multibillion dollar company

00:31:15,264 --> 00:31:18,431
with hundreds of millions of shares
that trade in nanoseconds.

00:31:18,764 --> 00:31:19,164
Yeah.

00:31:19,164 --> 00:31:22,164
So what we did was we transitioned

00:31:22,164 --> 00:31:27,331
away from the public markets
being a place to form capital

00:31:27,931 --> 00:31:31,064
into a trading environment
for the most part.

00:31:31,331 --> 00:31:31,864
Yeah.

00:31:31,864 --> 00:31:34,864
And form and only forming capital
for multibillion dollar.

00:31:35,331 --> 00:31:36,431
That's right.

00:31:36,431 --> 00:31:38,098
Well, what's ironic about that?

00:31:38,098 --> 00:31:42,964
What's the importance now, this is the
Treasury Department speaking, not me.

00:31:43,631 --> 00:31:46,298
92% of the jobs that a company

00:31:46,298 --> 00:31:49,598
creates happen after it goes public.

00:31:50,831 --> 00:31:53,564
So if you've
got a small company with 100 people,

00:31:53,564 --> 00:31:57,298
if it can reach the public markets,
it grows to a thousand employees.

00:31:57,831 --> 00:31:59,498
It stabilizes their banking

00:31:59,498 --> 00:32:02,998
relationships,
it stabilizes their vendor relationships.

00:32:03,264 --> 00:32:06,964
It puts a large amount
of really ethical compliance

00:32:06,964 --> 00:32:10,131
into the company, because naturally
they have to do securities reporting.

00:32:10,698 --> 00:32:13,898
So once they reach that
public capital marketplace,

00:32:14,231 --> 00:32:16,898
they actually have market arm's

00:32:16,898 --> 00:32:19,898
length valuation and the instant ability

00:32:20,098 --> 00:32:23,831
not I can who can I call what venture
capital might be interested?

00:32:24,331 --> 00:32:25,798
Oh, we need more capital.

00:32:25,798 --> 00:32:28,031
Let's do a public debt
offering on our company.

00:32:28,031 --> 00:32:30,498
Oh, we need more capital.
Let's do a preferred offering.

00:32:30,498 --> 00:32:31,498
Oh, we need more capital.

00:32:31,498 --> 00:32:36,131
Let's do a stock split
with all the options available instantly.

00:32:36,198 --> 00:32:37,898
By really just drafting.

00:32:37,898 --> 00:32:41,831
The documents are now available to
that company, especially if they're small.

00:32:42,464 --> 00:32:43,231
Right.

00:32:43,231 --> 00:32:46,798
So what we'd like to see is a restoring

00:32:47,098 --> 00:32:50,531
of the on ramp
into public capital markets.

00:32:50,531 --> 00:32:53,031
This is a good thing
for the whole country.

00:32:53,031 --> 00:32:53,631
Makes sense.

00:32:53,631 --> 00:32:57,998
And we're targeting what we call
the underserved communities.

00:32:58,298 --> 00:33:02,598
And there are the underserved communities
are you know, obviously,

00:33:02,598 --> 00:33:06,631
we're targeting the black community first
and foremost to develop those companies.

00:33:06,631 --> 00:33:10,031
But underserved includes
marketplace is where

00:33:10,031 --> 00:33:13,031
Silicon Valley venture capitalists
don't go.

00:33:13,031 --> 00:33:14,531
Like the Midwest, for one. Yes.

00:33:14,531 --> 00:33:15,131
If we're the.

00:33:15,131 --> 00:33:17,831
Rust, the Rust Belt,
we call it the Rust Belt.

00:33:17,831 --> 00:33:19,398
We've we've identified from

00:33:19,398 --> 00:33:22,631
there's a corridor from Milwaukee
all the way around to Gary, Indiana.

00:33:22,631 --> 00:33:25,631
There's probably about 3500 companies
that we kind of

00:33:25,631 --> 00:33:28,631
are aware
of who could make this marketplace.

00:33:28,997 --> 00:33:31,097
And they're in communities

00:33:31,097 --> 00:33:34,097
where if you put a headquarters
of a public company there

00:33:34,131 --> 00:33:37,131
and you have job creation
within that company,

00:33:37,164 --> 00:33:41,531
it's not just that you have now a career
path job in a small public company.

00:33:42,031 --> 00:33:46,197
It's the ecosystem around public companies
that affects communities.

00:33:46,497 --> 00:33:46,864
Yeah.

00:33:46,864 --> 00:33:50,797
So your car dealer, your restaurants,
your, you know, your dry cleaners,

00:33:50,997 --> 00:33:51,831
whatever it is,

00:33:51,831 --> 00:33:55,764
if you look at a large headquarters
of a public company anywhere in America,

00:33:56,164 --> 00:33:59,264
show me the community around it
and I'll show you a flourishing

00:33:59,264 --> 00:34:00,364
and prospering community.

00:34:00,364 --> 00:34:00,964
Absolutely.

00:34:00,964 --> 00:34:06,597
And, but my my one, my one kind of
reservation is that you said the reason.

00:34:06,597 --> 00:34:10,297
Part of the reason for this big transition
from IPO's

00:34:10,297 --> 00:34:14,664
to being more publicly accessible
was, was electronic trading, correct?

00:34:14,964 --> 00:34:15,831
Yes. Yes, yes.

00:34:15,831 --> 00:34:19,431
So, you know,
a lot of what I do is in AI and algorithms

00:34:19,964 --> 00:34:23,131
that's now increasing, not,
not decreasing.

00:34:23,497 --> 00:34:25,064
And I don't see that trend,

00:34:25,064 --> 00:34:28,764
especially with AI becoming generative,
which means you learn more.

00:34:29,197 --> 00:34:32,464
So how do we disrupt that then in terms of
how do you

00:34:32,764 --> 00:34:36,197
how do you have your how do you fulfill
your mission when you're up against

00:34:37,064 --> 00:34:40,164
essentially algorithms
that are going to be able to

00:34:40,164 --> 00:34:43,164
to move faster
than any collection of humans can?

00:34:43,164 --> 00:34:46,531
Yeah, that's a that this might be on
another podcast, but I will.

00:34:46,631 --> 00:34:49,231
Yeah. Yeah I'll give you the short.
Answer, the short answer.

00:34:49,231 --> 00:34:50,997
And then we can have another podcast
about it.

00:34:50,997 --> 00:34:54,564
The short the short answer is
we have written

00:34:54,564 --> 00:34:57,764
AI federal law, which has moved
through the Congress in 2018.

00:34:57,764 --> 00:35:00,064
It passed both chambers
unanimously, by the way.

00:35:00,064 --> 00:35:02,997
Oh, it's called the Main Street
Growth Act.

00:35:02,997 --> 00:35:05,664
And in that law, there's a brand

00:35:05,664 --> 00:35:09,997
new type of stock exchange
that alters market structure

00:35:10,631 --> 00:35:14,331
and in the alteration of market structure,
small cap company.

00:35:14,797 --> 00:35:17,131
Well, they may not trade every day.

00:35:17,131 --> 00:35:19,564
They may have an auction once a week.

00:35:19,564 --> 00:35:22,997
The tick sizes of the trades,
we can customize them.

00:35:23,431 --> 00:35:27,864
We can actually customize
the onboarding process and lower the,

00:35:27,931 --> 00:35:32,764
the listing requirements
without lowering the listing standards.

00:35:32,764 --> 00:35:35,764
So you have a company that has integrity,
but it's small.

00:35:35,897 --> 00:35:40,064
It can make a marketplace
where the main market,

00:35:40,131 --> 00:35:44,064
the high volatility, the 25% of all stock

00:35:44,731 --> 00:35:48,264
every day trades in 1.64 seconds.

00:35:49,297 --> 00:35:50,097
Okay.

00:35:50,097 --> 00:35:52,831
Out of the 8 billion shares a day, 2
billion

00:35:52,831 --> 00:35:55,831
shares transact in 1.64 seconds.

00:35:55,931 --> 00:35:58,497
That doesn't work for a small company.

00:35:58,497 --> 00:36:02,097
So the law creates a brand
new type of stock exchange

00:36:02,097 --> 00:36:05,564
that has never existed before,
which we will be the pioneers in.

00:36:05,831 --> 00:36:06,364
Oh, wow.

00:36:06,364 --> 00:36:09,264
And we're allowed to accept listings,

00:36:09,264 --> 00:36:12,264
smaller cap, smaller share prices,

00:36:12,764 --> 00:36:15,797
same reporting standards or similar.

00:36:15,964 --> 00:36:21,031
Not as expensive, but we put them in
a cloistered, protected marketplace where

00:36:21,031 --> 00:36:25,997
exchange oversight of the potential abuses
of any high speed trading.

00:36:25,997 --> 00:36:27,864
There won't be any high speed
trading at all

00:36:27,864 --> 00:36:30,064
that they'll be an it's
an investing market.

00:36:30,064 --> 00:36:32,097
It's a capital formation market.

00:36:32,097 --> 00:36:34,631
So yeah, we have a complete solution

00:36:34,631 --> 00:36:37,864
to that marketplace,
which is exactly that's goods.

00:36:37,864 --> 00:36:39,031
You're creating a law around it.

00:36:39,031 --> 00:36:40,797
Which is, which is which is brilliant.

00:36:40,797 --> 00:36:42,497
Yeah. As we think about this now.

00:36:42,497 --> 00:36:43,931
So I have a conference every year,

00:36:43,931 --> 00:36:48,697
which I invite you to I'll be in Chicago,
actually in a few weeks, in July.

00:36:48,697 --> 00:36:51,697
But, I'm going to Chicago,
I think, Startup Week or something.

00:36:51,897 --> 00:36:56,964
but it's, policy is missing
from a lot of our conversations, right?

00:36:56,964 --> 00:36:57,497
You can't.

00:36:57,497 --> 00:37:00,964
And, we have a term at Midwest kind
that we call policy innovation.

00:37:00,964 --> 00:37:01,131
Right?

00:37:01,131 --> 00:37:03,897
We need to have policies
that promote innovation,

00:37:03,897 --> 00:37:05,697
and we have to be intentional
about our policy.

00:37:05,697 --> 00:37:09,197
And I love the fact that you're think
that you've already thought about the fact

00:37:09,197 --> 00:37:13,231
of how data and AI algorithms
are playing into that sector.

00:37:13,231 --> 00:37:14,931
They're playing into every sector.

00:37:14,931 --> 00:37:18,431
And we're going to have to be
very intentional as a society about what

00:37:18,431 --> 00:37:19,897
we want our future to look like.

00:37:19,897 --> 00:37:25,364
And we and it's, something
that is underappreciated by those in power

00:37:25,364 --> 00:37:28,531
and those who are just watching
because they think they don't understand.

00:37:28,531 --> 00:37:32,697
the the big thing that's happening
right now is how

00:37:32,697 --> 00:37:36,831
algorithms and data are being used
for a lot of great reasons.

00:37:36,831 --> 00:37:39,297
But there also has to be
some thought about what does

00:37:39,297 --> 00:37:42,864
the future look like, who owns the data,
who has access to the data,

00:37:43,097 --> 00:37:46,097
and how is all this going to work,
and who is it going to work for?

00:37:46,697 --> 00:37:48,631
so, I mean, these are things
that are really important.

00:37:48,631 --> 00:37:49,831
And I'm so glad that you

00:37:49,831 --> 00:37:51,664
that you both were ahead of the game
for for that,

00:37:51,664 --> 00:37:53,597
at least
when it comes to publicly traded markets.

00:37:53,597 --> 00:37:54,797
And you're to be commended.

00:37:54,797 --> 00:37:57,297
Final question before we end.
And then I love it.

00:37:57,297 --> 00:37:58,764
We'll talk a little bit after the stream.

00:37:58,764 --> 00:38:04,697
If you were to go into the future 2040

00:38:05,431 --> 00:38:10,197
what what what what would success
look like for the dream exchange?

00:38:11,997 --> 00:38:14,031
Let me,
let me let me take a crack at that.

00:38:14,031 --> 00:38:15,797
2040.

00:38:15,797 --> 00:38:21,431
I am very optimistic
that we will have forged relationships

00:38:22,031 --> 00:38:26,631
with legacy organizations
in our communities to teach them,

00:38:26,631 --> 00:38:31,131
help them to be more entrepreneurial,
help them to amass significant,

00:38:33,064 --> 00:38:36,831
endowments, and to really be in a position

00:38:36,831 --> 00:38:40,631
to better educate
and support their memberships

00:38:41,364 --> 00:38:44,997
because they have become distribution
channels for the kind of information

00:38:45,331 --> 00:38:48,331
that will be pushing into the community

00:38:48,464 --> 00:38:53,064
that is is designed
to encourage entrepreneurship and

00:38:53,397 --> 00:38:58,430
and create some supportive environments
where entrepreneurs can really thrive.

00:38:59,197 --> 00:38:59,564
Yeah.

00:38:59,564 --> 00:39:02,564
So what is what does success look like?

00:39:02,830 --> 00:39:04,497
Yeah. And it's in my lifetime.

00:39:04,497 --> 00:39:06,797
So the 2040 expect to be here.

00:39:06,797 --> 00:39:11,797
so for me, the the dream exchange

00:39:12,197 --> 00:39:15,197
and whatever
it may end up getting called dream acts

00:39:15,430 --> 00:39:18,430
becomes a household

00:39:18,430 --> 00:39:23,164
brand in America
where everything we stand for

00:39:23,164 --> 00:39:28,664
and everything we represent is
now known as something that the the.

00:39:28,664 --> 00:39:31,030
You can be proud
to be associated with that.

00:39:31,030 --> 00:39:34,330
Oh, you,
you know, someday you could make it.

00:39:34,330 --> 00:39:38,330
And Dreamworks,
that's to me in 2040 right now

00:39:38,330 --> 00:39:40,630
we're trying to tell
people dream exchange exists.

00:39:41,630 --> 00:39:45,364
but in
15 years, I'm hoping that there are.

00:39:45,364 --> 00:39:48,164
And even TV shows
like the Shark Tank anymore.

00:39:48,164 --> 00:39:50,697
So people aren't holding their hat
while begging a billionaire

00:39:50,697 --> 00:39:54,397
for a 500,000 to to to make their dream
come true.

00:39:54,630 --> 00:39:56,897
It's like, oh, pretty much standard.

00:39:56,897 --> 00:40:00,564
We have our we have a position in the
dream exchange called the Dream Catcher.

00:40:00,830 --> 00:40:02,197
They go out there interviewing.

00:40:02,197 --> 00:40:04,864
Human interaction is happening
amongst the companies.

00:40:04,864 --> 00:40:05,864
They're getting their help,

00:40:05,864 --> 00:40:08,864
they're getting the necessary
educational tools.

00:40:08,997 --> 00:40:11,897
So they develop themselves
from the earliest possible stage

00:40:11,897 --> 00:40:13,164
preparing for this.

00:40:13,164 --> 00:40:18,530
And then we give all of our investment
dollars into the companies

00:40:18,530 --> 00:40:22,464
that promote the greatest potential
for human beings to survive.

00:40:23,097 --> 00:40:24,930
This is what we have to do with our money.

00:40:24,930 --> 00:40:26,164
It's why we have.

00:40:26,164 --> 00:40:27,130
It's why we have AI.

00:40:27,130 --> 00:40:28,864
It's why we have electric cars.

00:40:28,864 --> 00:40:30,664
It's why we have forced air heat.

00:40:30,664 --> 00:40:33,164
Because we're not in a cave anymore.

00:40:33,164 --> 00:40:37,764
Every time we had a great idea,
we kept putting our human

00:40:37,930 --> 00:40:40,930
and our financial capital
behind those things.

00:40:40,964 --> 00:40:45,164
And it has made life on earth
changed for eternity.

00:40:45,830 --> 00:40:48,297
And so we want to represent that. Well,

00:40:49,297 --> 00:40:50,164
that's a great vision.

00:40:50,164 --> 00:40:54,730
Joe Joseph seller, Dwayne Kyle's
the Dream Exchange, the first black owned

00:40:54,730 --> 00:40:57,930
drain exchange, the first black
owned exchange in the world.

00:40:58,197 --> 00:41:01,197
I believe, at least in U.S
America, in America, history.

00:41:01,197 --> 00:41:01,664
Excuse me.

00:41:01,664 --> 00:41:02,830
I'm sure there's some in Latin America

00:41:02,830 --> 00:41:06,164
in terms of, a minority owned,
but the first black owned in America

00:41:06,697 --> 00:41:10,497
disrupting, disrupting what it means
to create wealth and opportunities.

00:41:10,497 --> 00:41:11,697
Thank you for your work.

00:41:11,697 --> 00:41:13,930
I definitely look forward
to working with you more.

00:41:13,930 --> 00:41:14,497
Stay on.

00:41:14,497 --> 00:41:17,564
after we end the stream
for a couple minutes, if you can ask him.

00:41:17,564 --> 00:41:18,964
Thanks, Rob. Thank you so much.