890: Thoughtful dialogue and building communities online AND offline w/ Josiah Kowles

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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 we are joined by an awesome entrepreneur here in today's episode that I'm so excited to tap into his experiences, his perspectives, his discipline, what motivates him.

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Because he is someone who, I think, embodies the excitement of what it means to be an entrepreneur and to interact with and serve others.

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So let me tell you about today's guest.

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His name is Josiah Coles.

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Josiah is driven by a passion for innovation and creating tangible, positive change.

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Josiah is the co-founder and CEO of Kudo, which is a groundbreaking community hub for thoughtful dialogue.

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Gosh, do we need more of that in society and in business?

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And pursuing studies in economics at Penn State University, Josiah's journey is marked by a diverse range of experiences.

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He's served in both the Army and the Navy.

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I've already thanked him for his service.

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I'm so excited to tap into all the things that have built him into the person and the entrepreneur that he is.

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He brings a unique perspective shaped by his military background.

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His dedication to innovation and fostering meaningful connections drives his work at KUDO, where he empowers individuals to share their voices and perspectives.

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I'm excited to dive into his journey today, so I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Josiah Coles.

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All right, Josiah, we are so very excited to have you here on the show.

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First things first.

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Welcome to the podcast.

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Yeah, thank you.

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Thank you for having me and shout out to your team for finding me and getting this happening.

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Heck.

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Yeah, we sure do take a lot of pride in our ability to find awesome entrepreneurs like yourself, so I so appreciate that on behalf of everyone who works behind the scenes.

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But let's get into your background.

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I love that you have really transitioned into making a positive change in ways that you want to and opportunities that you see to impact the world.

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So take us beyond the bio.

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How did you start doing all these cool things that you're up to with Kudo?

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Honestly it's.

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You know, when you look at culture, when you look at where things are at, there is, we have so many different ways to communicate, countless ways.

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You know we have text messages and then all these different companies, and yet we miss real community, real communication.

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You know it's all caught into what is easy to scroll.

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It's all based on just catching people's attention for short periods of time and not getting real value out of it.

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And so over time it kind of evolved into this thing of hey, let's try to counteract the negative aspects of current social media and create kind of a community hub.

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And so that's kind of what was born.

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When Kudo became a thing, you know, in the early days of before it was actually built was just studying the current social media and looking at people's attention spans.

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That like 12 seconds is a long time, and now it's like two to three seconds.

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So it's trying to create a place where people find value and then interact with each other thoughtfully.

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So yeah, that's kind of the big goal is just thoughtful interaction and getting people's viewpoints or perspectives on.

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You know, like, hey, why do you believe what you do?

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What do you think on this topic?

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You know, and feel free to share it in a safe environment where it's not just going to be a bunch of hate replies but it's going to be like hey, you know I disagree.

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Or you know agree, but it's based on this.

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Or this is where I, you know, agree, but it's based on this.

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Or this is where I, you know, this is what made it, you know and how it's formed.

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Josiah.

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I love that overview, especially because, gosh, you are preaching to the choir here.

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As someone who produces 30 to 40 minute pieces of content, I always wish our generation had a much longer attention span, and I'm so grateful for all of our podcast listeners.

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I always argue that podcasting is that rare platform where people are still consuming longer form content and I'm so appreciative of that.

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But I also love the fact that you I mean you called it out.

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You're not just talking about kind of the downsides of social media.

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You've pinpointed at that attention span problem that people are running into.

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It's too easy to just scroll through things and not even think about what we're consuming.

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But talk to me about this.

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I love getting into the mind of.

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You didn't just identify the problem, but you want to be part of the solution with what you're doing with Kudo.

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What made you actually take that leap?

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Man, that's an interesting question.

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So I mean Kudo itself, as funny as it sounds, it started out as a fitness company.

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You know, like, day one, go and build a fitness company, right.

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But then as I kept brainstorming, brainstorming, it's like, no, it's the mindset that I'm after.

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You know me personally, like, working out is great, but I do it for the mindset that it gives you.

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You know, like, and getting fit is a subsidiary product of it.

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And so when I looked at the business side of building something, I'm like we don't need more fitness stuff.

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The bigger problem is like our minds.

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That's what we're all trying to improve is like our mindsets.

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And then breaking it down even more, it's what is the most vital thing that we do every day to portray our ideas or portray who we are, and it's how we communicate.

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It comes down to communication, then just seeing the need, especially with tiktok and all that, it's just like we need a platform that is strictly thoughtful dialogue, and that was that.

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That's kind of what it's devolved into now.

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And so, obviously, fitness company you know that vanished really quick and then it turned into hey, let's build something that's focused on how we communicate and trying to.

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You know it's still a work in progress.

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It's going to change, so much you know.

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But as you learn more about people studying what people find community, you know what they value in community, how they decipher what it is, how they decipher what it is.

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And so as we try to study those different areas, that's kind of dictating how the direction of the platform goes and how we're trying to make small pivots every so often to try to make it better and more community oriented, to find out, you know what's you?

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you know, yeah, and I think that's powerful insights into the way that your mind works.

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Because you said the word pivot and I think that's what all of life in an entrepreneurial journey looks like is I love that.

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It was born first and foremost with the vision of being a fitness company before you realized wait, there's something that I'm more passionate about and that can serve people at an even deeper and more meaningful level, and I think that's powerful for you to be able to follow that pivot.

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So huge kudos to you in that.

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But I want to hone in on two words that you said that I think are so powerful and they're obviously at the core of what kudo is.

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As you said, thoughtful dialogue, josiah.

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I'm going to argue that our society, we're having less dialogue than ever before.

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We live in such a polarizing world and, as someone who talks for a living, I am firmly of the belief that we do need to have more conversations.

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We need more dialogue.

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And the fact that you're taking it one step further into thoughtful dialogue what does that look like?

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Why is it those two words?

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Because they pop up so much when I did my research ahead of today's episode.

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What is thoughtful dialogue and how do you go about facilitating that?

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What is thoughtful dialogue?

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and how do you go about facilitating that?

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That is such a key thing and you know, to narrow it down to those words and, like you're pointing at, there is a much bigger thought process behind it, because there is dialogue everywhere.

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You know, you go to Reddit, there's dialogue.

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You go to Facebook, all these programs there's dialogue, there's conversation.

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But the key problem is it's not thoughtful.

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It's just, you know, spraying out ideas or spraying this, because we're not looking to know, just, we're not looking for, hey, how's your day going or how's this.

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We're looking for what's your opinion on this.

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You know you.

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We're looking for what's your opinion on this, you know you.

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So the goal is that people.

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You know it's hard, trying to create it from the beginning, but it's that people will share.

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Hey, this is a current problem, right?

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So this is my thought process on this problem.

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They break it down and hopefully and I would love it if more people did it is cite like hey, these are sources that have helped form my opinion and so now you're supporting where you're coming from, or you use like background hey, this is what's formed my opinion over these experiences, and that's kind of what thoughtful dialogue.

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It's not just mindlessly throwing a quick little tweet or a quick little reply out there, but it's thinking through like, hey, why do I believe this?

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And the dialogue is so important?

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Because, as we have dialogue, we either find where we're wrong on some ideas or we're finding you know what.

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I think I'm more right than I was even realizing when I first had it.

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And then you might talk to somebody who has one perspective that they're talking from and then you realize, wait, you know what their perspective is actually right.

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I need to look more into it.

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It's not going with this closed mind and completely open mind, because you need to have you what you believe too, because that's important too at the end of the day, and to go in and be like, hey, this is why I believe, and this person talks about what they believe, and be okay to believe differently too, because we can't have all me, we can't have all you know, brian, you know it and that's the great thing.

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But we have to get to the core where, hey, let's talk about why we believe this way without getting destroyed on social media for it.

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Yes, amen to that, josiah.

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I so appreciate your message there and I think it's such an important one, and I think it also reveals itself in your work, where I want to pick on this word too, because it's just.

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It seems like you're so intentional about your words that you describe Kudo as a community hub.

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It's not a platform.

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It's not a social media platform, it's not an app.

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Talk to us about community hub because at the root of us listening to each other, at the root of us being open to other ideas, is this notion that we are a community and that we are together in this journey of life and business and all the other things that we go on.

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Talk to me about Community Hub and why it is that you position Kudo in that way.

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And people go there for their fast stimulations.

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Community is so much different.

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It's where people get to know a little bit about you.

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It's where it's a closer, it's a more closed, tight-knit group.

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Everybody is not your community, no matter where you go, and some communities aren't for you, whereas social media is really.

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It's for everybody.

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You post on there, you know you, you get your stimulant rush when you get your likes or comments, but like that's, that's about as deep as it goes most of the time, and so we're really focusing on community hub because people need community.

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When I think of my circle, there's a few people that are really tight where I go to for advice and that's community, and so trying to build that in a virtual world is very tough, but it's very needed because we all don't have the time to spend hours each week doing it in person.

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So this gives you and plus this will grow your community if you do it right, if you're actually out here engaging with people, and so the goal is, hey, you're going to see people's different perspectives and it's over time, you're going to start to engage and befriend the ones that you really are engaging with and seeing eye to eye, and maybe not even seeing eye to eye, you know.

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But it's getting people where they can disagree but respectfully agree and respect each other's opinions and build that community of hey.

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We know, when we talk, we're going to talk about deep topics.

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We're going, you know, we're going to talk about deep topics.

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We're going, you know it's going to build that bond.

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Yeah, I love that, josiah, especially because I would argue that's where our bonds come from.

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Even just think about you and I.

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Before we hit record here today, we were talking about soccer, before we talked about other things, and I think it's these common interests that are so powerful to us connecting to each other, not just through, you know, a video call over the internet, but us actually connecting as individuals.

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I think it's so powerful and I want to call out, because I think it's fascinating, that you've started Kudo while you're still also pursuing studies and economics at Penn State University.

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Talk to us about that, because I feel like I'm fortunate in that I started my first business back in 2008.

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It was the summer after my freshman year of school, and that was a part of my life where I was exposed to conversation sitting in college classrooms.

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It broadened my horizons.

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Talk to us about what you've seen, because I know academia is a little bit different than when I was still in school, and so, with that in mind, how do you complement what you're doing in the classroom, whether it's virtual or in person, with what you want to implement in Kudo, because all of us, as adults, we're starving for kind of those academic environments.

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We all love our brains being tickled and it sounds like that mental stimulation is at the core of what you believe in, kudo you you know.

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It's interesting.

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You say that you know the classroom and how, and you're referring to it as a more social type of stimulating environment.

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And it's interesting because about two months ago, when I was at Penn State for their startup week, a lot of professors came to me saying this is so interesting, what you're building, because we lack community here, like because of COVID.

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They're like there is, it's very hard to find community.

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And I was blown away by that thought process because up until that point I had the viewpoint of you know, like school, academia, like this is the world of we communicate and all this.

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And for them to say that so honestly, that's something I'm still processing, because I was like this is so much more community than outside of here.

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But yet they were saying there's a real need for community in the school, there's a real need for community in the school, in the university.

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So that's kind of what I found.

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I can't say it's solved yet, but it's interesting.

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One of the things that we're pivoting to I love the word pivot but we're making adjustments to is hosting live events.

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Like Kudo is not just a real person, I mean a virtual thing, but seeing people in real life hosting events where it's kind of like a reverse panel, where, hey, instead of a panel that says the answers to questions, we're going to ask questions and let the crowd, let the people that come share the what they view on that topic and it's and hopefully through that people will start connecting more in person.

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Because that's the thing, kudo, I don't want it to just be this virtual thing.

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That's why we're trying to implement like video and things like that over the next month or so, because face like keyboards is great.

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Virtual video it's great, but there's nothing like in person.

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You know, I love over the cup, over a cup of coffee, like that's.

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That, to me, is we're real connections, you can't beat that yes, I totally agree.

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I know that generations long before us have always talked about breaking bread to.

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To me, being able to go to a coffee shop and just sitting there with no agenda, no cell phones, that's the one thing I always ask for.

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That is such a powerful mechanism for connection, and I love the fact that you painted the contrast between colleges, because it's kind of the assumption that I had, having been out of academia for so long, is that COVID changed the world, and I remember it was so easy.

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Freshman year is that COVID changed the world, and I remember it was so easy freshman year.

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Just leave your door propped open and anyone will walk in to play FIFA and you can make friends so easily.

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But times have changed in academia, they've changed societally, and I think it makes your business even more important.

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And that's why I also wanna ask about your military background.

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Obviously, you served in both the Army and the Navy and I would imagine that there's so much discipline, there's so many other skills and traits that you developed along the way there.

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Talk to us about some of those things and how they've set you up for success as an entrepreneur.

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Yeah, like, honestly, discipline.

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I think that is the key word.

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That is the one thing I look for.

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Anybody that I want to work with or bring on is discipline.

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It's so hard to find people with that, but that is a make or break thing in the world of building something or building a business or just building your character as a person.

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It's the thing that's going to get you up on the days where you don't want to and, as you know, you started plenty of businesses.

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It's not fun.

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Most of the time it's really just a grind.

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And that takes pure discipline to be able to go through the bad days and still build and do what you're supposed to.

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And military definitely helped with that, because when you're not, when things aren't going right in your personal life, you still have to go there, put on the front, take care of your junior guys and get the job done.

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And I mean it's very big in the military's discipline.

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You know that's I don't want to tell anybody that new, but it's the key to it's the key to building anything.

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And then I think the military also helped me experiment with more just being vulnerable, with more just being vulnerable, being willing to take risks.

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And so when you get out in the business world I mean it's a very vulnerable experience You're always concerned, like you know, I build this.

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If it doesn't work out, you know, like what's the crowd going to say, and you have to get to the point where you don't care, like you don't care about the noise, and you have to really hone in on who you listen to.

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And then you've got to be vulnerable.

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You've got to be willing to be like you know what I'm all in.

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I'm going to take the risk and if it doesn't work, it's okay, I'll build something new, I'll try something new.

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But I think discipline over time helps you to create that space where you're willing to be vulnerable.

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And once you've been willing to be vulnerable, I mean you're going to fail.

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It's whoever you build first is going to be ugly and it's great.

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Yeah, I love that perspective, josiah.

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This is the real stuff.

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I don't think we talk about it open enough within the world of entrepreneurship.

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Is that these are the building blocks, this mindset that you're sharing with us?

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It's the only thing that's going to get any of us through this journey because, like you said, I have certainly had my pivots along the years, and it's that resilience and discipline that comes along with it.

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However, I'm going to say that discipline is much easier to talk about than it is to actually do, and I always share with people.

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You can't just do things when you're motivated.

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I'm a big fan of motivational content.

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I watch a lot of motivational YouTube videos, I listen to different podcasts and those get me excited.

00:20:14.935 --> 00:20:18.740
But am I going to do things even on the days that I don't feel like it?

00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:24.467
So talk to us about some of I don't know if it's strategies that you have that keep you disciplined.

00:20:24.467 --> 00:20:25.280
I don't know if it's it's strategies that you have that keep you disciplined.

00:20:25.280 --> 00:20:34.637
I don't know if there's quotes that you think of or what, but on those days where Josiah Coles doesn't feel like doing it, what helps you actually show up and do the work?

00:20:36.722 --> 00:20:37.605
So it's funny.

00:20:37.605 --> 00:20:39.930
So it's, it's funny.

00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:47.565
I know I, I I started this, oh, I think before the military was Instagram.

00:20:47.565 --> 00:21:03.821
I have this little collection, this saved list on there, which has grown to be quite large over the last few years, of just reels of people just talking about like the mindset, people talking about like business, people who've been there, who failed, who've done it.

00:21:03.821 --> 00:21:14.997
You hear a guy who's built like eight businesses, seven of them failed or it just took them years, or four years without a customer on their first business.

00:21:14.997 --> 00:21:25.153
And then, or like last week, it was Mark Zuckerberg saying that if he knew how to build a community, if he knew how to build Facebook, he would have never built it.

00:21:25.153 --> 00:21:26.916
And it's just stuff like that.

00:21:26.916 --> 00:21:32.473
And listening to him talk about just the ugliness of, you know, facebook 1.0.

00:21:32.473 --> 00:21:37.182
And and that's the stuff that you know motivates me.

00:21:37.442 --> 00:21:43.980
Um, one of my go-to is just hilarious is always, you know, the Conor McGregor movie.

00:21:43.980 --> 00:22:05.502
You know, when he's fighting jose aldo for some odd reason, like that's one of the most motivating things in my life because you have this nobody coming up to fight this unbeaten guy and just the mindset to go in and do it, and that's the stuff I mean it's, it's a crazy uh playlist of little reels on there, but like that's probably my biggest tool.

00:22:05.502 --> 00:22:13.862
The other one is just like you know it's one of the things I tell myself somebody wants is harder than I do.

00:22:13.862 --> 00:22:21.872
You know somebody's gonna build this if I don't, and when I'm sleeping they're gonna be out there stealing my dream.

00:22:21.872 --> 00:22:24.137
So like that's, that's one of the biggest ones.

00:22:24.137 --> 00:22:34.913
And just last week this one still is my latest save is Dennis Cook.

00:22:34.913 --> 00:22:46.010
He started Songhouse and he was like people die with some days in their pocket and that's really sticking with me because it's so true in their pocket.

00:22:46.010 --> 00:22:57.089
And that's really sticking with me because it's so true like if I don't start today, if I don't work today, my dreams going by in my pocket and I will have never had a chance at achieving it, let alone have a chance at failing at it, because I failed on default for not trying.

00:22:57.089 --> 00:23:03.298
And yeah, it's just quotes like that, like I have quotes on my computer screen.

00:23:03.318 --> 00:23:09.357
Honestly, quotes and reels that are motivational are big, but at the end of the day, motivation is fake.

00:23:09.357 --> 00:23:16.549
That's why you can watch a video and suddenly you're motivated, but just as fast as you watch the video it disappears.

00:23:16.549 --> 00:23:31.377
So at the end, it's big to either build a business or whatever it is, to find something that's really you at its core and pursue it, because if it's not, it's not going to be real.

00:23:31.377 --> 00:23:38.317
If I just built Kudo based off of reels and motivational quotes, it wouldn't be happening.

00:23:38.317 --> 00:23:45.060
I would have given up way before I ever built anything, and so it has to be.

00:23:45.060 --> 00:23:51.518
Whatever you believe or whatever is giving you fulfillment at the end of the day, like whatever.

00:23:51.518 --> 00:23:57.362
When you look back on your life, that's the thing that's going to make you feel like you added value.

00:23:58.109 --> 00:23:59.957
Yeah, and that's the heavy stuff.

00:23:59.957 --> 00:24:03.328
I love thinking about that stuff because it kind of is.

00:24:03.328 --> 00:24:20.884
Someone might say, well, oh my gosh, if I die with some regrets or some some days in my pockets, that's a sad ending, but that should be the fuel that pushes us on, and I love the fact that you have so transparently really shown us here in a meaningful way, which I expect because it's part of the ethos of kudos.

00:24:20.884 --> 00:24:32.877
You've shared that with us because these are the real conversations that we need to be having more of, and so I love hearing about your perspective on all things mindset and growth and all of those things and the pivots that come along with it.

00:24:32.877 --> 00:24:44.336
But I also love in these conversations is connecting with you, not only in this topic, but entrepreneur to entrepreneur, because I love the fact that you're so committed to growing kudo, and I see it on your LinkedIn.

00:24:44.415 --> 00:24:46.018
You're really putting it everywhere.

00:24:46.018 --> 00:24:50.743
You want the world to know what you're building, which is why we're so excited that you're here sharing it with us today.

00:24:50.743 --> 00:24:52.365
What's that long-term vision?

00:24:52.365 --> 00:24:56.329
Obviously, there's so many different business models and you talk about going to startup week.

00:24:56.329 --> 00:25:00.116
There's a lot of directions to take it in, but where's your mind go?

00:25:15.950 --> 00:25:17.432
Because it is important work and it is meaningful work.

00:25:17.432 --> 00:25:19.013
What's the business behind it that you're right now working towards?

00:25:19.013 --> 00:25:34.080
The big, the big vision is in-person events like in-person events that start this and then you continue it online, and that would be the ideal thing, because there's nothing like getting people in a room full, getting a person in a room full of people and they share.

00:25:34.080 --> 00:25:36.971
Hey, this is what I believe, or this is what I think.

00:25:36.971 --> 00:25:38.255
You know it can be anything.

00:25:38.255 --> 00:25:38.777
It can be.

00:25:39.377 --> 00:25:44.688
You know, it would be great to be able to talk from on a political topic, as much as that would be scared.

00:25:44.688 --> 00:25:55.656
People would be scared to engage in that just because of climates to anything on you know academic topic or you know technological topic or whatever.

00:25:55.656 --> 00:26:04.320
It's just current topics, current things that we see in our culture, and let's have a real life conversation where anybody can be involved.

00:26:04.320 --> 00:26:06.044
But they just need to be thoughtful.

00:26:06.044 --> 00:26:15.403
It's not going to be attractive to somebody who just wants to go out there and just scream ideas without really caring about them.

00:26:15.403 --> 00:26:24.866
It's attractive to somebody who has a passion, who wants to create change, who wants to be like hey, here's the problem, here's the solution, let's try to get to that solution.

00:26:24.866 --> 00:26:26.789
He wants to be like hey, here's the problem, here's the solution.

00:26:26.789 --> 00:26:31.332
Let's try to get to that solution and I think there's going to be a lot of good that comes out of it.

00:26:31.352 --> 00:26:47.452
And that's the big long-term is just, let's get people in person talking about this which is a huge challenge and then continue online and then give them the option of hey, let's do video, let's do video, group video calls about this too.

00:26:47.452 --> 00:26:52.305
And build, you know, build.

00:26:52.305 --> 00:26:54.309
Let's build some change in how we communicate.

00:26:54.309 --> 00:27:03.413
I think it's the big end goal and I know whatever Kudo is today, in a year from now it might not look like this.

00:27:03.413 --> 00:27:09.190
You know, I'm sure there's plain more changes and so, honestly, I can't really predict the future.

00:27:09.190 --> 00:27:15.804
It's really just seeing what does what works and what doesn't and what are people liking.

00:27:15.804 --> 00:27:16.854
What do they want?

00:27:16.854 --> 00:27:19.817
The need, you know, what do they want the solution to be?

00:27:19.817 --> 00:27:27.044
Because that's the big thing is, trying to listen to the users really hard is the important one.

00:27:27.851 --> 00:27:42.915
Yeah, and I think that's really powerful insight into your mindset and I think it's such an open and honest admission from your part that I think would benefit all of us in our own mindsets towards our businesses is you don't know what Kudo is going to look like a year from now, and that's perfectly OK.

00:27:42.915 --> 00:27:45.534
Kudo is going to look like a year from now, and that's perfectly okay.

00:27:45.534 --> 00:27:53.618
You're going to figure it out along the way, by that last part of listening to your users and thinking about the role that Kudo can fulfill in facilitating those public conversations.

00:27:53.618 --> 00:28:07.695
So I love that real life glimpse into your own entrepreneurial and CEO's mindset and I want to ask you this along those lines, because obviously Kudo has a part to play in structuring this and facilitating this thoughtful dialogue.

00:28:07.695 --> 00:28:10.352
I know that you're on the hunt for interns, which I'm so excited about.

00:28:10.392 --> 00:28:14.970
So, listeners, if any of you want to work with Josiah on Kudo, here's your opportunity.

00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:20.321
But with that in mind, what is the role that Kudo itself plays in this part, is it?

00:28:20.321 --> 00:28:26.423
You know you structure these conversations, you initiate the topics of the conversations.

00:28:26.423 --> 00:28:27.152
How do you?

00:28:27.152 --> 00:28:28.919
Obviously you're talking about in-person events.

00:28:28.919 --> 00:28:32.569
There's planning that goes into that, there's logistics and execution of that.

00:28:32.569 --> 00:28:47.567
But, josiah, talk to us about the gap that Kudo plays, because obviously it takes some resources to make this stuff happen, because it's not happening, happening enough organically because it's not happening enough organically.

00:28:48.710 --> 00:29:05.718
Yeah, so our current way things are currently is people are writing articles, we have thought leaders who write articles, and then we're pulling topics from those articles and then we have like a Kickstarter where it's like pulling three points to get people's minds engaged.

00:29:05.718 --> 00:29:08.692
You'll be like hey, so why is your perspective this way?

00:29:08.692 --> 00:29:10.013
Like what's it based off of?

00:29:10.013 --> 00:29:10.074
Or?

00:29:10.074 --> 00:29:15.920
And so I think we're taking this is actually a next month change.

00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:25.489
So we're getting away from that, believe it or not, and we're going to make it more open for anybody, not just thought leaders, to be engaging.

00:29:25.489 --> 00:29:27.671
We're going to make the content a little bit shorter.

00:29:27.671 --> 00:29:29.311
It's not article based anymore.

00:29:29.311 --> 00:29:40.398
We're trying really hard to not shut people down because you can't.

00:29:40.398 --> 00:29:41.082
So the thing is, I mean, we're not.

00:29:41.082 --> 00:30:02.390
There's no shutting down of conversations, right, but the big thing we really want to make sure we stay stare, steer away from is that people you know are going to be blasting people, putting people on blast because, like you want disagreements but you don't want to, you know, have a controlled, uh, communication flow.

00:30:02.390 --> 00:30:05.384
So like that's a major challenge at this point.

00:30:05.384 --> 00:30:15.605
While we're small, it's just a lot of heavy moderation, like relying on moderators, um, so it's not like fancy.

00:30:15.605 --> 00:30:19.069
Of course, eventually it'll be, you know, over time.

00:30:19.734 --> 00:30:22.340
The goal is have AI implement some stuff.

00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:27.542
So it just, you know, scan some things or report, report like things that people flag.

00:30:27.542 --> 00:30:39.767
To make sure, you know, because it's very open with people flagging, it's really reliant on users flagging like hey, this, this person is, you know, just saying a bunch of cuss words or something to that effect.

00:30:39.767 --> 00:30:47.808
You know it's so it's reliant more on the users to flag things at this point and then moderators, moderators, will look over it.

00:30:47.808 --> 00:30:53.563
But over time, you know, put a little a new speed, bump you, you know, people flag it.

00:30:53.563 --> 00:30:59.623
Ai will scan, you know, do its thing and then, whatever, we'll check on that.

00:30:59.623 --> 00:31:09.016
So it just because you know people can post a million times in a day and to have the time to be able to scan through all that is, you know, it's ridiculous.

00:31:09.016 --> 00:31:21.585
So at this point it's while it's small, it's just relying on the users, and the great thing about being small is you can really hone in on who the users are Like.

00:31:21.625 --> 00:31:57.093
I always tell people I mean, the only difference between LinkedIn and Facebook in its beginning stage was who they had the audience be, because the audience was so small, they trained the audience to not post facebook content, and so that's a big thing we've worked on is, while the audience is small, we really want to help shape them, because they really control the direction of where it goes, because new users see how they post, so they're going to post a similar format, they're going to create a similar format and so going forward.

00:31:57.093 --> 00:32:17.778
I mean our format, whatever it is today, it's going to change a lot next month because you have a lot of new upgrades and updates we're doing, and so it's going to be a challenge over the next month because content's a lot longer now, so to shorten it, but it's going to be way more engaging, which is really exciting.

00:32:17.778 --> 00:32:27.656
It's going to bring out more of that community vibe, because I think that's what we were missing was between by having thought leaders, we were missing out on every person's voice.

00:32:28.038 --> 00:32:42.684
They only got it on the topic that we hosted, and so that's the big change coming, yeah, and I think that's super valuable insights, because what you're talking about here is, again, it comes back to being responsive, being flexible.

00:32:42.684 --> 00:32:51.263
You are looking at the realities of your user base, and I think that one thing I wanna highlight that you shared is it is an asset.

00:32:51.263 --> 00:32:54.065
It is valuable to you to be small.

00:32:54.065 --> 00:33:06.227
All of us start out small in all of our different industries, products, services, whatever it is that we do and the fact that you're viewing that as your superpower right here, out of the gates learn as much as you can while you're small.

00:33:06.227 --> 00:33:17.238
With that view of growing, and the fact that you're doing things that aren't scaling you talk about AI down the line it's important the feedback you're gaining today through doing manual work, relying on users.

00:33:17.238 --> 00:33:20.651
That's only going to make Kudo a stronger platform in the future.

00:33:20.711 --> 00:33:37.978
So I love hearing your real life insights there, josiah, I have no idea which direction you're going to take this last question in, because it sounds like you have so many intentional thoughts about growth, about discipline, about the way that you are strategically step-by-step growing and pivoting your own business.

00:33:37.978 --> 00:33:40.324
But what's your best piece of advice?

00:33:40.324 --> 00:33:48.720
What's that one takeaway for listeners, knowing that they are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs all over the world at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:52.116
What's that one thing that you want to leave them with in today's episode?

00:33:53.961 --> 00:34:07.186
Do it, whatever it is, whatever that thing that's in your mind, like if it's where starting a business, or you know you have this new piece of data but you're that you want to make the change with, but you know you're hesitant.

00:34:07.186 --> 00:34:11.905
Honestly, if you already have the business throw out to the users, ask them.

00:34:11.905 --> 00:34:15.240
If you don't have a business, do it today.

00:34:15.240 --> 00:34:19.239
If you don't start today, the odds of it starting is just not going to happen.

00:34:19.239 --> 00:34:23.416
You got to take that first step, like for me, like the first thing for kudo.

00:34:23.416 --> 00:34:26.164
I did which is crazy because I was still in the military.

00:34:26.164 --> 00:34:30.985
This was like three and a half four years ago and I created the logo.

00:34:30.985 --> 00:34:32.610
I created the name.

00:34:32.610 --> 00:34:41.987
I created the logo and for years afterwards I just brainstormed on it and that original logo obviously is no longer exists, but it was something.

00:34:41.987 --> 00:34:42.976
You know I did something.

00:34:43.496 --> 00:34:46.505
Whatever your first step is, it's going to be a bad step.

00:34:46.505 --> 00:34:52.894
Probably it's going to be, you know, it's probably not going to be what you use, but just take it so it evolves into something.

00:34:52.894 --> 00:34:54.838
Because you got to take that first step.

00:34:54.838 --> 00:34:59.867
Like you were saying, you know you started small, I'm starting small, but you still got to do it.

00:34:59.867 --> 00:35:03.521
You know you don't wake up and have meta the next day.

00:35:04.101 --> 00:35:07.679
Yeah, I love that, Especially that emphasis you put on that first step.

00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:15.784
It reminds me one of my favorite quotes of all time is that Martin Luther King Jr quote where he said you don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

00:35:15.784 --> 00:35:18.228
And that is powerful advice from you, Josiah.

00:35:18.228 --> 00:35:27.286
I love hearing the way that you think about your business, the way you think about growth and, most importantly, I love how deeply impactful and meaningful the work is that you're doing at Kudo.

00:35:27.286 --> 00:35:34.943
So I'm excited to follow your own growth journey for listeners who want to follow along or, if they want to get involved, drop those links on us.

00:35:34.943 --> 00:35:36.485
Where should listeners go from here?

00:35:38.947 --> 00:35:40.128
Yeah, honestly, linkedin.

00:35:40.128 --> 00:35:42.431
That's probably the best place to connect with.

00:35:42.431 --> 00:35:43.980
Me personally is just LinkedIn.

00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:49.115
I have a love-hate relationship with it, but it's the best place to connect.

00:35:49.115 --> 00:35:53.244
Yeah, or visit Kudo kudoplus.

00:35:53.244 --> 00:35:56.369
I mean, see what we're about.

00:35:56.369 --> 00:36:04.882
I mean, you know it's going to be tough to get in without an account, so I go through that process, but it's great, I mean yeah.

00:36:05.574 --> 00:36:07.362
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:36:07.362 --> 00:36:10.364
We are making it as easy as possible for you to find Kudo online.

00:36:10.364 --> 00:36:11.579
Josiah just told you that link.

00:36:11.579 --> 00:36:13.061
It's Kudoplus.

00:36:13.061 --> 00:36:17.458
We're also linking to Josiah's personal LinkedIn down below in the show notes.

00:36:17.458 --> 00:36:27.097
Wherever it is that you're tuning into today's episode and I also love right on Kudo's website, the first button you're going to see is right in line with what you heard in today's episode.

00:36:27.097 --> 00:36:29.784
It doesn't say sign up, it doesn't say anything else.

00:36:29.784 --> 00:36:39.204
It says take the first step, and I think that's such an appropriate way towards viewing the work that it is that you're doing and especially your entrepreneurial mindset as well.

00:36:39.204 --> 00:36:44.487
So, josiah, on behalf of myself and all the listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:36:46.215 --> 00:36:50.945
Yeah, thanks for having me honestly Super happy and excited to be part of this.

00:36:50.945 --> 00:36:51.648
Thank you so much.

00:36:52.416 --> 00:36:58.000
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:02.000
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:11.199
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at the entrepreneur showcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:19.985
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.

00:37:20.025 --> 00:37:22.018
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00:37:22.018 --> 00:37:23.621
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00:37:23.621 --> 00:37:27.115
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00:37:27.115 --> 00:37:38.063
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00:37:38.063 --> 00:37:46.567
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00:37:46.567 --> 00:37:47.900
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00:37:47.900 --> 00:37:52.525
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00:37:52.525 --> 00:37:53.927
Initiate a live chat.

00:37:53.927 --> 00:37:55.639
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00:37:55.639 --> 00:38:03.356
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