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Sept. 6, 2024

926: Integrating TECH with HOLISTIC WELLNESS to empower individuals & practitioners w/ Andrew Ronchetto

What if you could transform your personal setbacks into revolutionary solutions that improve lives? Join us as we uncover the inspiring journey of Andrew Ronchetto, the visionary CEO and co-founder of Be On, a trailblazing digital holistic wellness platform. Andrew's story starts with his background as a consultant, where his own struggles with injury and the search for comprehensive support sparked a passion for creating impactful technological solutions. Discover how Andrew’s personal and professional experiences fueled his mission, leading him to develop Be On, a platform dedicated to seamlessly integrating technology with holistic well-being.

Andrew emphasizes that the heart of holistic wellness lies in the power of community and human connection. Through his experience, he learned that success is achieved when there is synergy between practitioners and individuals, rather than viewing them as separate entities. This episode sheds light on the broader dimensions of well-being, highlighting the importance of relationships and shared experiences in uplifting everyone in our community. We also discuss how Be On empowers individuals by placing them at the center of technology and service design, allowing clients to own their data and control their wellness journeys.

Finally, explore the transformative role of AI in enhancing human experiences and fostering meaningful connections. Andrew shares his insights on how AI can support deeper practitioner-client interactions and self-reflection, without replacing the invaluable human touch. He also discusses the significance of authenticity and individuality in entrepreneurship, encouraging listeners to stay true to themselves as the ultimate differentiator in business. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that reveals the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and personal development, and how platforms like Be On are designed to support comprehensive life journeys.

ABOUT ANDREW

Andrew Ronchetto is the CEO and Co-Founder of Be On, a pioneering digital holistic wellness platform. His personal mission to revolutionize holistic wellness stems from a time when he was injured and struggled to find balanced, integrated support. Feeling like a traffic cop coordinating between therapists and coaches, Andrew was inspired to create a solution. His superpower lies in bringing technology to life, making it a bridge rather than a barrier to holistic well-being. With a commitment to seamless and empathetic wellness experiences, Andrew leads Be On with vision and passion.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Chapters

00:00 - Holistic Wellness Entrepreneur Revolutionizes Industry

03:47 - Empowering Holistic Wellness Through Technology

14:09 - Centering Individual Ownership in Wellness

19:47 - Navigating the Wellness Industry Noise

32:25 - Embracing Authenticity in Entrepreneurship

36:40 - Gratitude for Guest Support

Transcript

WEBVTT

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and for this Featured Friday episode, we have got an incredible entrepreneur here in today's episode who I can genuinely say I don't like cliches, I don't like buzzwords, I don't like when we throw around the words like revolutionary and innovative, but I can you know, because I so rarely use those words I can genuinely say that what today's entrepreneur is doing within the holistic wellness space is truly unique and it is changing lives in so many different ways.

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And for all of us who, as entrepreneurs we are, we love personal development, we love growth journeys, we love holistic wellness and development and we're going to learn a lot from today's guest.

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His name is Andrew Ronchetto.

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Andrew is the CEO and co-founder of BeOn, which is a pioneering digital holistic wellness platform.

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His personal mission is to revolutionize holistic wellness and it stems from a time when he was injured and struggled to find balanced, integrated support.

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I love the fact that, from his own needs, he decided to be the change that he wishes to see in the world.

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Feeling like a traffic cop coordinating between therapists and coaches, andrew was inspired to create a solution.

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His superpower lies in bringing technology to life, making it a bridge rather than a barrier to holistic well-being, with a commitment to seamless and empathetic wellness experiences.

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Andrew leads Beyond with vision and passion and I can tell you as someone who's gone deep into what Beyond is doing.

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I think that Andrew, his company and his mission and his journey up to this point is a really shining example of how technology and business and entrepreneurship and looking for solutions moves the world and society and individuals forward.

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So I'm excited about this one.

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I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Andrew Ronchetto.

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All right, andrew, I'm so excited to have you here with us today.

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Welcome to the show.

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Thank you, Brian.

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I'm excited to be here as well, and I mean that intro for me phenomenal.

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I couldn't have said it better myself.

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Well, thank you, but it means that you've got a lot to live up for me phenomenal, I couldn't have said it better myself.

00:02:05.885 --> 00:02:08.508
Well, thank you, but it means that you've got a lot to live up to today, andrew.

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So, first things first, you're going to have to take us beyond the bio and tell us who's Andrew.

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How'd you start doing all this incredible stuff that you're into now?

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You know it's really begun with my whole career.

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I started as a consultant and through various engagements across multiple industries and facets I really came to enjoy technology and with that I found this unique kind of capability to see how it could fundamentally change people's lives.

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For the clients that I'm working with, sometimes on those very difficult engagements where you really need that little extra step and that kind of thrust me into this whole space of how technology can augment us, not because we have automation and we do, but and other factors that can make life easier and the way technology is revolutionizing and changing our lives in those ways, but just how it can fundamentally help us at the core of who we're trying to be and help everyone in that way.

00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:47.658
So my journey with it as a consultant, across all of these different experiences, has kind of really gotten me into that space and, like you said, I about a year ago fundamentally changed my life, and that happened for a number of different reasons and what I've really come to appreciate through that, I'll say, evolution into a phase two, a new chapter of my life, is that I've come to appreciate technology in new and different ways than I did before and how they can help me technology in new and different ways than I did before, and how they can help me.

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I'll tell you, I'm one of those folks where I'm like, if it's not helping, let's jettison it.

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So very much it's at the core of what we do and how we try to build things.

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But then, secondly, because of that consulting experience, I recognize that we got to stop looking at things as kind of two different coins practitioners, coaches, mentors they have the one experience and then everybody else all of us have a totally different one, and I think that's the uniqueness for me.

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That's kind of gotten me to this point, because I've been through those, you know, dugouts where it's really a grind to get things done and you need the technology to be there with you.

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Yeah, I love the way that you state that and, andrew, I'm going to say this here on the air is that it just seems to me in all my conversations on air, and especially my conversations off air with all of you incredible guests that we're so grateful to have on the show, is that there's a rising wave I'm feeling it from this side of the microphone of the power of and thinking we're starting to recognize the power of all of these things coming together and I talked about it at the top of the episode about buzzwords.

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You know for how long have we heard the word coexist, whether it's in the political arena or whether it's just in society.

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And I feel like at the root of coexisting is that recognition of all of these things can and should play together, and the fact that you're bringing technology to holistic wellness and it's born out of things that you've experienced firsthand, I think that's super powerful.

00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:27.514
So I want to go deeper into, andrew, going from injured and struggling to find that balance of that and formula that we're talking about today to actually saying I'm going to take action, I'm going to be part of the solution, because, andrew, a lot of people feel pain and a lot of people see gaps in the marketplace, but they don't actually go do what it is that you're doing now.

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Well, I mean, I'm going to kick it off and just say it this way.

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It's because of folks like you, and I'm not just trying to say that because we're on the air here but one of the fundamental things I believe in holistic wellness is it's all about relationships, and you talk about rising tides.

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Well, I couldn't be where I'm at without the people in my life and with the people that I've been with, that have been my clients, that have been my partners, and so it starts with relationships.

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It starts with the human connection and I think you know you talk about like this growing capacity.

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I felt that success in my life because of those people around me, and what I think we have to try to do with technology is level up everybody, not just the individual or a practitioner, and think about it as one space or the other, and they're totally different experiences, but think about it as, like you said, and it's the practitioner and the individual.

00:06:26.742 --> 00:06:58.209
So putting the individual at the center of holistic wellness you think is commonplace, but how many of us feel like we're more like the product than the actual individual receiving the services, whether it's from technology or practitioners, and not to any fault of their own, but this reality that they need capabilities just as much as individuals do, and at the core of success and growth is really the relationship and the connection and the experiences that we have together with each other.

00:06:58.209 --> 00:07:01.403
So that, for me, is kind of how you know.

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You talk about my journey over the last year.

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That's what this last year has really been about is me being able to lean on those relationships when it's mattered most in my life and having gotten better myself over the course of that time.

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But then those relationships, those individuals in my life that I hold so dear, that they have actually helped propel me into this opportunity and given me the space to help build this opportunity.

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And that doesn't just include my immediate family, which I'm so grateful for, but it includes the community that I've met through South by Southwest, through the Houston Innovation Network at the ION, and so on and so forth.

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So it starts with community, it starts with relationships, it starts with those people around you, and I think the way we can best enable them is giving them the technologies and tools they need to help you out as well.

00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.386
Yeah, really well said in so many ways, andrew.

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I so appreciate the way that you articulate these things and listeners I'm just going to interject this really quickly for all of you is that Andrew and I were talking off air and he speaks here on the air about the importance of community and the people around you.

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And, andrew, you just listed off some of those South by Southwest.

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You're fortunate that it's in your backyard, essentially, but for all of us as entrepreneurs, this is a community.

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I mean, it's fun for me because when you and I connected here today, we've never spoken before this.

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Obviously, we've exchanged some emails, but I think that we just automatically connect because we have that shared belief that a rising tide lifts all boats and as entrepreneurs, we all know that we can help each other succeed and we succeed in the same process.

00:08:34.979 --> 00:08:45.208
So I think it's really powerful the way that you view these things, the way that you articulate and share them with us here on the air to thousands of people all around the world, and huge shout out to you in the way that you approach that.

00:08:45.568 --> 00:08:50.903
I want to unpack a key component of it, because we keep talking about holistic wellness.

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We've got to unpack what that actually means Andrew, because again, it's a term.

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We've all heard People want to apply that holistic label to so many different things.

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What's holistic wellness?

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Why is it so at the center of all the things that you work towards?

00:09:03.505 --> 00:09:06.480
so at the center of all the things that you work towards.

00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:12.144
So for me, the holistic wellness is about all aspects of your life.

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I think we sometimes put it in this box of mental, physical, maybe spiritual, and we think about the time we need to spend meditating and maybe doing yoga.

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There's these very prescriptive, defined ways that we've looked at holistic wellness today.

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But I challenge that and, with the Beyond platform that we've built, we look to challenge that and say, well, holistically, there's so much more to you, and I know buzzword after buzzword, but if you look at your complete being, you think about the 24 hours in a day.

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24 hours in a day that is consumed by how much you may or may not sleep, whether you have a job or you're volunteering, whatever that go-to for you is family, friends, so your social relationships, maybe there's financial dimensions to it, so there's all these aspects that make you you, and we struggle sometimes to realize how limited and finite time is, and you know it's a no-duh kind of thing to make that statement.

00:10:09.831 --> 00:10:27.803
But I think, because we're always balancing these factors, some of them are more subconsciously looked at than consciously, and I think it's time for us when we look at wellness and we look at ourselves, that it's time to look at all these dimensions together.

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I mean, there's thousands of apps out there.

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We've seen them.

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We've probably all tried a few of them, but the thing that I keep struggling with is when I stop paying for it, I lose it.

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When I need to work with somebody else, a different practitioner, it's a totally different experience, and I think there's this need holistically to bring it all back to the center of the individual.

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What do I need to be successful?

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And I think some of those things from a comprehensive look at yourself begin with being able to see everything going on in your life.

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I talked about the 24 hours.

00:11:01.111 --> 00:11:28.590
Well, if you sleep eight hours of it, if you go to work or some other activity, for eight hours of it, I mean, there's two thirds of it gone, and we're not even talking about how the fact that we're not robots and we're not that efficient but I mean the reality is is consciously being able to understand all these facets of our life and then, more importantly, doing something about it or making decisions as to what's still, from a time perspective, is still available for us.

00:11:28.590 --> 00:11:53.090
I think it's the first step of looking at what it means to look at ourselves holistically, and it's that ability and that understanding at a deeper level of who we are, our motivations, our inspirations, making sure that we're, I'll say, balancing all of them, because what is balanced for you is not balanced for me or anybody else.

00:11:53.090 --> 00:12:03.259
It's just we're learning and experiencing different things and that's evolving our overall life and our expectations and our potential for growth.

00:12:04.105 --> 00:12:05.549
Yeah, really well said, andrew.

00:12:05.549 --> 00:12:09.509
There's a few things that I want to call out and a few things that for sure I want to go deeper into.

00:12:09.509 --> 00:12:16.986
The first thing is you for sure said it way nicer than I could when you said that if we're not taking control of these things, we're only subconsciously thinking about them.

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I actually a lot of times I wonder, and I'm just like are we even at all thinking about them or is life happening to us?

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It's something that I ask myself very frequently is am I living life or is life happening to me?

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And if we don't have that level of intentionality, which begins with taking a look at it, assessing the landscape, then how can we start to intentionally craft and grow and shape these experiences that we're having?

00:12:40.806 --> 00:12:46.229
And then, secondly and I want to go deeper here, andrew is that you talk about your balance is different from my balance.

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For example, everyone knows I do eight of these podcast interviews on recording days and, as an extreme extrovert, I love it.

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If I only have two, then I'm really disappointed.

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It doesn't give me enough energy.

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I want to do more of them, and so that's not for everybody.

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I know a bunch of other podcast hosts.

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One of them comes to mind.

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I was just on his show recently and he told point that it's all different, and I think you raised a really important point that when we download, you know let's go with a fitness app.

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There's one path to fitness according to this one fitness app is that we need to do this exercise plan for the next 30 days and then we'll do a different one.

00:13:23.943 --> 00:13:29.312
There's that one path, andrew, you cause I've gone deep into what Beyond Purpose is and what it looks like.

00:13:29.352 --> 00:13:33.480
You've got so many cool things on your website that really showcase it in action.

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How do you accommodate these things?

00:13:35.732 --> 00:13:46.581
When you talk about technology being the solution here, how have you built Beyond so that it is, I guess, flexible enough, diverse enough so that it can cater to all of our unique needs?

00:13:47.869 --> 00:13:53.832
No, that's a great question and I think the first thing I'd start off and say is is we, we had to pick a path and start there.

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So there's tons of things to continue to build.

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I appreciate you know what we can accomplish in a year and I think it's been phenomenal and we've opened up a path for practitioners really to engage with their clients at a deeper level and build those relationships.

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But to your question, I think the starting point of this begins with an understanding of how we put the individual at the center.

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And what I mean by that is it fundamentally means that the technology is oriented that way, which means the architecture is oriented that way, which means the policies and the interactions, everything is oriented with the individual at the center.

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And what that translates into and as we've thought about design and we thought about procedures is, for example, data.

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I mean we talk about it like you own it, and there are legal ramifications for not giving ownership to the individual.

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But what if we took it a step further and said look, practitioner, coach, mentor, you don't need to own the data.

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Let us help you transfer the ownership the moment you engage with the client to the client, so that what you own is your IP and everything else is theirs.

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And there's two things that happen in that immediately.

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One is for the practitioner they don't have all of this pent up anxiety and concerns about risk that otherwise generally tend to exist there in a digital world.

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I think why we see a lot of them use simple solutions Google Sheets and Google Forms or any other of that nature because they realize the risk to the business of having something go out into ether.

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We've heard a lot of these different data breaches recently, but losing that could be detrimental to their business.

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So us helping them kind of transact that that data becomes their client is a big win for them and for the client.

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It's a big win because after the service concludes, they just don't lose everything.

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It's their data at that point, which means it's their journey, it's their experience.

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And I think this goes to one of the things you were talking about and why I talk about the individual at the center is that we also aren't on 100% of the time and when we think about that, that's not a bad thing.

00:16:25.855 --> 00:16:37.359
I think this goes back to not just balance, but this looks at who we are and who we want to be, and not all of us want to be race car drivers or podcasters.

00:16:37.359 --> 00:16:38.908
I mean, I love building technology.

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This is hard for me today, but the fact that technology can be at the center for the individual and we can create experiences across all these different dimensions of well-being that have a similar experience at their core because the individual is the focus point it allows us to have a different conversation with practitioners, a different conversation about data, a different conversation about the journeys of life and how quickly people want to pursue them, or how quickly they want to or just take a break actually, not even how quickly they want to do something, but how quickly they want to take a break.

00:17:17.468 --> 00:17:22.117
So for me, that is, it's at the core of how we do it.

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It's the core of how you build.

00:17:23.228 --> 00:17:29.570
The company is putting that individual at the center, and then you think about how all these different facets come together.

00:17:29.570 --> 00:17:44.167
And the last thing I'll comment on this is there's a lot of this desire for instant feedback and instant replays, this gratification that we need, but there's also this reality that journeys are not instantaneous.

00:17:44.167 --> 00:17:54.719
They're maybe progressive over life, or progressive over at least a period of time, and so we got to think about the long haul aspect of it and still give that comfort and feedback.

00:17:54.719 --> 00:18:05.647
But the cadence is different and I think we need to encourage those behaviors a little bit more to help people really get after the things that they're looking for Again, putting the individual at the center.

00:18:06.230 --> 00:18:16.191
Yeah, I really appreciate the way that you share that with us Because I actually think, as an outsider looking in on your business, it's even prevalent in the way that you, your business, shows up in the world.

00:18:16.191 --> 00:18:24.089
I mean, even going to your website, you can see that you've got clear verbiage when you're talking to practitioners about the value add and how it transforms the game for them.

00:18:24.089 --> 00:18:33.676
You've got specific messaging with regards to the individuals leveraging this platform for their own unique journeys, like you talked about, how they can retain ownership of that journey.

00:18:33.676 --> 00:18:41.375
I want to ask you this because I imagine, just from a strategic and a business perspective, your answer will be a blend of all of what I'm about to ask you.

00:18:41.414 --> 00:18:43.583
But where do you view the value add?

00:18:43.583 --> 00:18:51.269
Because, obviously, when you set on this journey to develop and launch and continue to grow beyond, it serves so many different audiences.

00:18:51.269 --> 00:18:53.117
Practitioners are obviously at the root of it.

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Individuals are the end user benefiting from it.

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Where's that value add come from?

00:18:57.571 --> 00:18:58.816
Who are you building for?

00:18:58.816 --> 00:19:01.990
Who are you thinking about with all the moves that beyond is making?

00:19:02.873 --> 00:19:21.367
Well, I won't say everybody, but maybe I could say but my, what I would say is, the value add for us is about building services building services that are relevant for practitioners, building services for individuals and even for some that we have upcoming for corporations, and how those services interact with each other.

00:19:21.367 --> 00:19:39.611
So when I talk about the value add of Beyond, I'm thinking about how I give individuals, practitioners, coaches, mentors, companies the things they need to support these comprehensive life journeys, our portions of those journeys, and that, for me, is the key.

00:19:39.611 --> 00:19:46.741
We've got to put things in their hands that are tangible, meaningful, and I talk about this even with AI.

00:19:46.741 --> 00:20:31.223
I know AI is the whole rage these days, even though it's been around for a very long time, but what I think we miss and this is where we think about it, not just for AI, but we think about it for all the services is two things One, how do we make it intentional, both for maybe one or multiple different personas or user groups, and two, how do we make it supportive or supplemental, and that being the fact that, for all the AI in the world, for all the speed and intensity that it brings to every task you give it, at the core of that is still human human knowledge, human experiences, and so you.

00:20:31.785 --> 00:20:41.384
When I think about supportive and supplemental activities, I'm thinking about how we enhance that human experience, and that, for practitioners, is different than individuals.

00:20:41.605 --> 00:20:46.297
We could think about how practitioners can use AI to really discern more information.

00:20:46.424 --> 00:20:55.519
So it doesn't feel, when you go into that 15 minute session with them, that two thirds of it or more is all about them figuring out what you did between the last session and now.

00:20:55.538 --> 00:21:04.539
Of it, or more is all about them figuring out what you did between the last session and now, and more it's focused on the decisions you want to make with the client about what's going to happen between this session and the next.

00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:13.186
And then the second part, for the individual, is really thinking about how I can go deeper into who I am at a particular moment in time, and it's a complex topic.

00:21:13.186 --> 00:21:25.019
But helping use AI to create thought-provoking internal reflection is how we start to think about these things in a way that is helpful.

00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:40.551
So creating services that offer these capabilities is where the value is at, rather than just creating services with the intention of getting more data or collecting things or then being able to figure out how I one-up or upsell in a different area.

00:21:40.551 --> 00:21:46.695
I'm really thinking about this on a one-to-one, almost like grassroots campaign how I help you make your life better.

00:21:47.945 --> 00:21:51.955
Yeah, that's a big, bold statement, andrew, and I absolutely love it because it fits in.

00:21:51.955 --> 00:21:53.949
I mean, you so eloquently stated it.

00:21:53.949 --> 00:22:01.627
I'm actually going to read it out loud for listeners, because when I was doing our research ahead of today's episode, here's one thing that you wrote to describe what Beyond does.

00:22:01.627 --> 00:22:13.888
At Beyond, we bring together all dimensions of well-being into a single unified experience, encompassing physical, mental, emotional, social, occupational, spiritual, intellectual and environmental health.

00:22:13.888 --> 00:22:16.093
That's a big task, andrew.

00:22:16.133 --> 00:22:38.115
Those are some big topics that we're talking about here, and I want to ask you this because I've long been fascinated, as someone who majored in economics and I love behavioral economics, I always love looking at the motives of humans and what are our decision points to make changes in life, so that we're not just on autopilot, subconsciously thinking about these things and actually consciously taking control of them.

00:22:38.836 --> 00:22:50.806
From your perspective, as someone who's seen it from the practitioner side, as someone who sees it from the end user side, as someone who is looking at the corporate realm as part of what you're expanding into, what's the catalyst for people?

00:22:50.806 --> 00:23:01.688
Because a lot of people have life-changing events where maybe they get injured and that's their spark to actually do something, but a lot of us will just glide through life and all of these things may just happen to us.

00:23:01.688 --> 00:23:03.013
Maybe we focus on some of them.

00:23:03.013 --> 00:23:08.315
What's the spark, what's the catalyst for most people that you hope makes them say you know what.

00:23:08.315 --> 00:23:15.729
It's time today to start actually thinking about these things, other than I hope this podcast episode is that for them, but I'd love to hear your perspective on it.

00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:18.030
No, absolutely.

00:23:18.030 --> 00:23:25.837
So I'm going to say the catalyst for me is probably something we can experience from other parts of the world.

00:23:25.837 --> 00:23:45.914
So I'm talking specific to those of us in the US we don't like to ask for help and I think the catalyst here is in recognizing that in asking for help we can accomplish more in life or have a more fulfilling life.

00:23:45.914 --> 00:23:52.791
And I think that's the big part it's not done enough in corporations.

00:23:52.791 --> 00:23:55.836
I think there's a fear factor between employees and employers.

00:23:55.836 --> 00:24:00.269
There's, you know, a fear factor, a self of defeat.

00:24:00.269 --> 00:24:06.769
You know this feeling of defeat for an individual when they have to ask can you please help?

00:24:06.769 --> 00:24:10.194
But I think that's the catalyst.

00:24:10.296 --> 00:24:31.556
Like I've been through so many things in my life where, like I said before, if I didn't have those individuals around me my team supporting me, my partners, my bosses, really going out on a ledge for me I couldn't have accomplished what I've been able to do.

00:24:31.556 --> 00:25:00.862
My wife has been so fundamental in this journey and creating this space to go after it because I asked for help, and so if I think about that as a catalyst, that's the first thing moment where I just reach out to somebody in some way to connect and to look to grow that connection.

00:25:00.862 --> 00:25:09.451
I think that's what starts to turn the page on this and for us to start looking at these things more broadly, I mean from a platform perspective.

00:25:09.451 --> 00:25:15.030
We're focused on trying to create a space for you to do that when you're ready.

00:25:16.756 --> 00:25:18.721
Yeah, really well said, andrew.

00:25:18.721 --> 00:25:23.542
I think that is so important because we're not just talking holistic wellness right here.

00:25:23.542 --> 00:25:26.349
We are talking about business life.

00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:30.659
Any journey that we're on Asking for help is the key Listeners.

00:25:30.659 --> 00:25:36.830
This is a huge takeaway and, andrew, I don't know how you're going to surpass that when, at the end of today's episode, I ask you for your one takeaway.

00:25:36.830 --> 00:25:43.045
But, listeners, even if there's only one thing you take from today's episode, this is a powerful one, and it's something that I was fortunate.

00:25:43.185 --> 00:25:49.807
When I started my first business when I was 19 years old, I wasn't conditioned by corporate America, yet I wasn't conditioned by society.

00:25:49.807 --> 00:25:55.193
I was just shamelessly emailing all of my so-called competitors, being like, hey, I have no idea what I'm doing.

00:25:55.193 --> 00:25:55.733
Can you help me?

00:25:55.733 --> 00:25:57.215
Can I glean some insights off of you?

00:25:57.215 --> 00:26:14.471
And that was my fast track to starting to understand how the heck to grow a business, andrew, because, quite frankly, I didn't have an idea and I feel like, especially as entrepreneurs, we put so much pressure on ourselves to have the answers, because our clients look towards us to have the answers.

00:26:14.471 --> 00:26:19.071
We're serving others, but we have to remember that this is so at the root of all of that.

00:26:19.071 --> 00:26:26.574
So I love this transparency that you're bringing to this episode, and I do wanna transition a little bit and talk to you entrepreneur to entrepreneur, because you're one of us.

00:26:26.704 --> 00:26:32.646
It's the fun part about this show is you're not just talking about your yeah, you're not just talking about the subject matter at hand.

00:26:32.646 --> 00:26:34.549
You subject matter at hand, you're also running a business.

00:26:34.549 --> 00:26:35.531
You're growing a business.

00:26:35.531 --> 00:26:39.317
You've built a technology platform that's really changing the game in your space.

00:26:39.317 --> 00:26:48.136
With all of that in mind, what's been some of the most surprising things for you in starting your business a year ago that you've gone holy cow?

00:26:48.136 --> 00:26:49.221
I wanted to get into the holistic wellness space.

00:26:49.221 --> 00:26:51.787
I didn't anticipate these things as a business owner.

00:26:53.430 --> 00:26:54.631
I'm going to say noise.

00:26:54.631 --> 00:26:59.817
There's so much noise in the system.

00:26:59.817 --> 00:27:04.289
There's noise for an entrepreneur what to use, what not to use.

00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:14.213
There's noise for potential practitioners, clients, on everything that they could use, how this is going to be better than the next.

00:27:14.213 --> 00:27:22.540
And I've kind of just I've said, okay, after I've been through all of that, what do I understand?

00:27:22.540 --> 00:27:23.765
What have I heard from others?

00:27:23.765 --> 00:27:27.415
That's going to help me succeed and kind of move through the noise.

00:27:27.897 --> 00:27:35.625
And I'm hoping that through these types of conversations we can start to reduce the noise, because we see it in social media.

00:27:35.625 --> 00:27:36.425
I mean whether you spend an hour on it.

00:27:36.425 --> 00:27:37.106
Because we see it in social media.

00:27:37.106 --> 00:27:39.868
I mean whether you spend an hour on it, 15 minutes, it doesn't matter.

00:27:39.868 --> 00:27:49.939
We get kind of inundated with lights and audio and all these factors that overstimulate us.

00:27:49.939 --> 00:27:53.301
And the same happens in, I would say, entrepreneurship.

00:27:53.301 --> 00:28:04.430
You know you start a company and in two days everybody is reaching out to you saying I've got the best thing for you, hr, I'm like, but there's just me or there's just two of us, whatever it might be.

00:28:05.332 --> 00:28:31.368
So it's the noise factor and moving through that that, I think, is, for me, been the biggest eye opening, because I also contributed to that biggest eye opening, because I also contributed to that, to be fair on the other side and so I have a new appreciation, on you know, of what it means to move through the noise, to work with different factors of it and then to decide and discern from all of that what I want to go after and leverage to look to be successful.

00:28:31.449 --> 00:28:46.853
And I think the last part is here is I know I'm going to make mistakes, and I think the last part is here is I know I'm going to make mistakes, I know that we're going to have to pivot and maybe call that as a nuance of the fact that we built a platform to help people go through journeys, and so pivoting is just naturally a part of that.

00:28:46.853 --> 00:28:54.448
But I have realized that pivoting is hard and, as an entrepreneur, sometimes it can be detrimental.

00:28:54.448 --> 00:29:17.633
If you don't and I think that's been important for us is to focus on how we just continue to learn and understand and move through the noise and continue to make decisions that we think are right in the moment, but then recognize that when new data comes and it's translated in information, there's going to be new decisions, that they might contradict the old ones, but that we're using it to move forward.

00:29:18.494 --> 00:29:22.910
Yeah gosh, andrew, this is such a fun entrepreneurial conversation for me to have.

00:29:22.910 --> 00:29:34.972
So I'm 16 years into my entrepreneurial journey and when I look back at my first, honestly, let's lump in like my first six years the noise that, right there, you just touched on such an important topic.

00:29:34.972 --> 00:29:37.486
I didn't have the ability back then.

00:29:37.486 --> 00:29:38.888
Now one I was young too.

00:29:38.888 --> 00:29:41.455
I was just fresh when it came to being an entrepreneur.

00:29:41.455 --> 00:29:50.433
I didn't have the ability to discern the noise from the stuff that matters, and so I want to totally put you on the spot here and ask you about what is that stuff that matters?

00:29:50.433 --> 00:29:53.208
How do we discern the noise from the meaningful stuff?

00:29:53.208 --> 00:29:58.440
Because and you talked about the next best solution Everything's the next best solution, I remember.

00:29:58.759 --> 00:29:59.803
So I'm from Boston originally.

00:29:59.803 --> 00:30:01.809
I started my first business in the Boston area.

00:30:01.809 --> 00:30:03.618
Vistaprint is a Boston-based company.

00:30:03.618 --> 00:30:10.346
Vistaprint has a really powerful brand and great marketing, and they'll convince you that business cards that's the most important thing.

00:30:10.346 --> 00:30:13.632
So, andrew, I spent a month working on the perfect business cards.

00:30:13.632 --> 00:30:17.880
Then your website is the most important thing, then your branding is the most important thing.

00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:19.742
So that's what I got wrong.

00:30:19.742 --> 00:30:22.711
Navigate us through discerning the noise from the good stuff.

00:30:24.036 --> 00:30:30.892
Well, I actually wrote about this recently and posted it on LinkedIn about operations.

00:30:30.892 --> 00:30:47.228
I think the most important thing is having solid operations and I've loved the experience working with you, getting to this day and getting to the point and the opportunity to talk with you today, because it was.

00:30:47.228 --> 00:31:12.675
Your operations were fluid and it didn't feel unnatural and it felt very specific and pointed, all in the effort of making sure that my experience as a guest was beneficial both to me and to you, but also just a great experience, and I think not enough is focused today on operations.

00:31:12.675 --> 00:31:16.134
I hear this with a lot of feedback from entrepreneurs.

00:31:16.134 --> 00:31:17.748
You'll get there and I'm like man.

00:31:17.788 --> 00:31:20.155
Companies have been saying that for decades.

00:31:20.155 --> 00:31:32.616
Operations is always like the third or the fourth or the fifth wheel and by the time we focus on it, it's because we're in a crisis and I'm just like, well, what if you focus on it at the beginning and you don't have to go crazy?

00:31:32.616 --> 00:31:54.805
But just when you're starting to make decisions about how to build your organization, I honestly believe it's like think about the things that when I'm ready to pull the trigger to buy X or to use Y, that I actually have already thought about what it means to incorporate that into my organization rather than just saying, oh, I'll leave it to later.

00:31:54.805 --> 00:31:57.907
So for me, operations is critical.

00:31:57.907 --> 00:32:00.797
It's what helps you create the right experience.

00:32:00.797 --> 00:32:10.278
It's what helps you keep a little bit of your sanity, and it's helped me keep my sanity from day one as I've built out beyond.

00:32:11.045 --> 00:32:12.069
Yeah, gosh, andrew.

00:32:12.069 --> 00:32:14.623
So first of all, I really appreciate those kind words.

00:32:14.623 --> 00:32:20.167
Honestly, it means the world to me and obviously we have an entire team that supports making this podcast possible.

00:32:20.167 --> 00:32:25.614
So I really appreciate your insights there and I'll transparently share, from my perspective, what you just spoke to.

00:32:25.693 --> 00:32:43.444
I'm a sucker for the feels and I once spoke to someone from the car manufacturing business and we were talking about how brands like Kia and Hyundai they are making legitimate luxury cars these days and what we used to know as budget brands still retain that budget price point but they feel luxurious.

00:32:43.444 --> 00:32:45.311
And I asked what's the key there?

00:32:45.311 --> 00:32:52.519
And this person told me he said well, the key is think about what you feel, you physically feel when we get into a car.

00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:53.122
What do we feel?

00:32:53.122 --> 00:32:54.105
We feel the steering wheel.

00:32:54.105 --> 00:32:56.914
The steering wheel has to feel luxurious.

00:32:56.914 --> 00:32:59.053
We touch the buttons of the car.

00:32:59.053 --> 00:33:06.153
We need to focus on those touch points, the actual places where people feel things tactile-wise with their fingers.

00:33:06.153 --> 00:33:09.432
That's where we need to focus on and improve that user experience.

00:33:09.925 --> 00:33:18.656
And, andrew, here you are talking about we're talking about something completely different from car manufacturing, but building this process into our operations and the experience such a key word.

00:33:18.656 --> 00:33:19.950
I want to keep echoing it.

00:33:19.950 --> 00:33:22.734
I think that it's so important for all of our businesses.

00:33:22.734 --> 00:33:26.632
So huge kudos to you for highlighting that A year into your entrepreneurial journey.

00:33:26.632 --> 00:33:30.316
I don't believe it, andrew, but obviously you've had a lifetime of experience up to this point.

00:33:30.316 --> 00:33:35.192
I want to ask you this, because we ask it at the end of every episode and I have no idea which way you'll take it.

00:33:35.192 --> 00:33:37.715
But what's the one takeaway with so much?

00:33:37.715 --> 00:33:42.615
I feel like you dropped on us so much entrepreneurial advice, as well as the holistic wellness stuff.

00:33:42.615 --> 00:33:55.105
How the heck do you want to summarize for listeners worldwide, knowing that there may be seven figure entrepreneurs entrepreneurs who are just making a modest living and they're replacing their full-time income, or all the entrepreneurs who are tuning in?

00:33:55.105 --> 00:33:58.835
Andrew, what's the one takeaway you hope they walk away from today's episode with?

00:33:59.777 --> 00:34:00.397
Wait for it.

00:34:00.397 --> 00:34:03.213
I'm going to tell you be yourself.

00:34:03.213 --> 00:34:12.016
That is the biggest takeaway, I think you being as genuine of an individual as you are and being you.

00:34:12.016 --> 00:34:13.800
This isn't about individualism.

00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:42.356
This is about you being you, and you're an entrepreneur, you are a go-getter, you are a stay-at-up-all-night creative, whatever it might be, be you, because that is what's going to change the world, and I fundamentally believe that that is what drives us each day to wake up, drives us each day to be as excited about what we do and engage with those around us that we want to be in their lives with.

00:34:42.356 --> 00:34:52.128
It all begins with you being you, and so if you want to work on that, if you want to make it better, if you want to change it, go for it.

00:34:52.128 --> 00:34:59.608
If you like you, that is the most important thing Be you Boom Right there.

00:34:59.889 --> 00:35:00.230
Andrew.

00:35:00.230 --> 00:35:02.273
That is a heck of an answer.

00:35:02.273 --> 00:35:03.976
I absolutely love that.

00:35:03.976 --> 00:35:17.476
That's what you chose for this final piece of advice, because I'll tell you what in the world of business, and as someone who spent a lot of money in four years, I don't know why I was sitting in a business classroom, but I was and they always talk about looking for unique differentiators.

00:35:17.476 --> 00:35:20.735
There is no differentiator more unique than you being you.

00:35:20.735 --> 00:35:26.177
So, Andrew, that is incredible advice for everyone, wherever we are in our entrepreneurial journeys.

00:35:26.177 --> 00:35:35.175
I also love the fact that that advice fits right in with Beyond's mission of focusing and really improving all of these different dimensions of our lives.

00:35:35.175 --> 00:35:43.690
So, for listeners who want to go deeper into all the incredible work that you're doing, both with Beyond and all the great stuff that you're putting out on your LinkedIn as well, I want to give you huge kudos to that.

00:35:43.690 --> 00:35:45.170
Drop those links on us.

00:35:45.170 --> 00:35:46.630
Where should listeners go from here?

00:35:47.905 --> 00:35:52.637
Well, look for us at hashtag Beyond Platform or at Beyond Platform.

00:35:52.637 --> 00:35:58.956
We've made it happen across all the social media and that's where we're going to be, so stay tuned for more to come.

00:35:59.617 --> 00:36:09.501
Yes, listeners, and you already know the drill we are linking to Andrew's business website, beyondpurposeio, down below in the show notes, as well as a link to his personal LinkedIn and his social.

00:36:09.501 --> 00:36:13.590
So definitely check below in the show notes, wherever it is that you're tuning into today's episode.

00:36:13.590 --> 00:36:19.418
Otherwise, andrew, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:36:19.418 --> 00:36:25.077
Thank you so much, brian.

00:36:25.077 --> 00:36:25.963
This has been awesome.

00:36:25.963 --> 00:36:30.340
Thank you, hey, it's Brian here and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:36:30.340 --> 00:36:33.170
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:36:33.170 --> 00:36:39.612
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:36:40.025 --> 00:36:42.393
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:36:42.393 --> 00:36:51.153
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:36:51.153 --> 00:36:53.213
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:36:53.213 --> 00:36:54.811
These are not infomercials.

00:36:54.811 --> 00:36:59.268
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:36:59.268 --> 00:37:09.266
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:37:09.266 --> 00:37:17.771
So thank you to not only today's guests but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:37:17.771 --> 00:37:19.114
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00:37:19.114 --> 00:37:23.713
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00:37:23.713 --> 00:37:25.157
Initiate a live chat.

00:37:25.157 --> 00:37:34.554
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.