0:10

Hello and welcome to the Much Loved Podcast.

Today I have an exciting guest.

Everybody, please send your love electronically to Chrissybill Boulin.

Hi Nate.

It's amazing to be here with you.

Thank you so much for having me on today.

Yeah, it's my pleasure.

0:26

I'm going to go and read the intro so people have some context.

Who am I talking to?

But really we're talking to Chrissybill or Sybil because she's incredible.

And I think shortly you'll get to know why.

Thank you.

So here's the intro.

Chrissybill is a Miami based entrepreneur featured in Forbes 30 under 30 and has founded a tutoring service offering group and private lessons to students in Florida and also throughout the country.

0:50

Because my niece is going to be tutoring with her company shortly.

We're so excited.

They're gearing up to redesign their platform with new funding to incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning to open their program up to students nationwide and make tutoring more accessible.

1:06

Incredible mission.

I love the impact, but also Sybil's an incredible all around person, so I'm going to throw away my notes and we're just going to have a great chat.

Thanks for being on today.

Looking forward to it.

Thanks for having me.

Absolutely.

We got to know each other because slowly I'm getting to know a lot of these incredibly talented people on this Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

1:28

You guys have an incredible community.

It really is.

Being somebody who's kind of an outsider, I've always hated on lists, I'm like, to me the list is more indicative of the person making the list and who they're around versus like, you know what people do.

But as I've gotten to know a lot of you guys, like you're really incredible people.

1:47

Talk to me about how did you get found, get on the list and and what's what's been the benefit of being part of this incredible community.

Yeah.

So I actually would look at the people that made the list every single year for the last nine years, every single time the list came out, particularly the education category, I'd look to see what are the new trends happening, what's the impact that, you know, these entrepreneurs are having, how are they incorporating technologies and nuance ways to help students.

2:16

And so it was always a huge inspiration.

I definitely had no idea that one day I would be on it.

I just, I've always loved helping kids.

I started tutoring at like 12, and once I started my business and then the pandemic hit, I realized that we need to do more.

2:33

Tutoring is unaffordable for many families, and if the, you know, the whole point of school is supposed to be about social mobility, if those that need it the most can't have it, then we have a big problem.

And so after the pandemic hit, I started thinking about how we can incorporate technology in meaningful ways.

2:51

We raised some VC funding, and that made us eligible to be on the list.

And so I have a friend from high school who made the list the year before me, and I reached out to her.

I kid you not, Nate, probably like 3 days before this thing was due because I was very iffy.

3:08

I'm like, should I do it?

Should I not do it?

Am I going to make it?

I'm like, we haven't raised that much yet and I was just unsure.

And so I told her, I'm like, here's our attraction.

What do you think?

Do you think I should apply?

And she was like, duh, not only should you apply, but I will.

I'll actually recommend you.

3:24

And yeah, I waited a few weeks and I will never forget.

That day was December 1st.

I got AI, got an e-mail.

I saw my name on the Forbes website.

I started screaming.

I called my mom, my mom.

We made it.

And so, yeah, it's been, it's been an incredible journey.

3:41

It was totally unexpected.

I didn't work for any big corporations.

I didn't have any, like, super connections like some of the people, as you've mentioned on the list do.

And so for me, it was a huge shocker.

I didn't know, like everyday people could make the list.

But like, yeah, but like you, I realized that there are phenomenal individuals out there.

4:03

Like I feel better about the world knowing you know some what some of my peers are doing.

On the Forbes 30 on the 30 list, I've connected with people that are in impact and even those that are not.

It seems like there is very much this desire to give back, this desire to support one another.

4:19

It's not like super like dog eat dog.

Everyone wants to help.

I was super surprised to see how humble people were and how much they were doing to give back.

So the best part of being on the list is the community.

It's about being surrounded by entrepreneurs that are pushing the envelope everyday, disrupting industries and, you know, just there to support each other.

4:38

So I I needed a community like this and I'm really, really grateful that I'm on it.

That's cool.

That's very cool.

So for anyone who's listening or watching this right now, big take away If you've got an opportunity, go jump at it.

You know, don't be afraid.

Don't feel like you don't deserve it or you can't get it.

4:56

Think about, like, like, what Civil did.

Think about who do you know, who's actually been there, done that?

Ask them about, you know, how do I make this happen and then go do it because you'll be surprised.

I think a lot of times life rewards people who take those risks and put themselves out there. 100% I'm with you.

5:12

And I thought about that.

I'm like, man, I I almost didn't make it, and not because I couldn't, but just because I wasn't sure if I, you know, if I if I didn't, I didn't know if I would make it.

And you know, you you always miss the shots that you don't take in life.

And so that's right.

Yeah.

I think Michael Scott said that.

5:29

I mean, Wayne Gretzky said it too, but.

Yeah.

And then when we think about though your path to becoming a business owner, an entrepreneur, it's very non traditional, which I laugh when I hear that description because what's a traditional path?

Towards.

5:44

Business owner, I mean, other than coming from somebody who had a lot of money, who already owned businesses tonight, that might be the traditional path.

But talk to me a little bit about what your path was like so people get to know how you got started and and we'll talk a little bit about where you're going.

Awesome.

So I'm Haitian American.

6:03

I was conceived in Haiti.

My dad is a doctor there.

He's never lived in the United States.

My mom moved back to Haiti when she was in her early 20s or late 20s.

I met my dad.

He didn't want to come to the States, and that gave me the opportunity to basically be raised in both places.

6:23

So every summer, even though I grew up in New York, I'd go to Haiti and I made friends.

And at first, I honestly thought Haiti was paradise, because in New York, everyone's busy.

You know, I'm staying with babysitters.

Mom's working 14 hours a day.

6:40

There's just no one really there to hang out with.

And so when I went to Haiti, people had time.

Like, they own their time.

You know, they're they're able to provide support.

We're playing the dominoes.

We're playing card games.

I'm a kid.

I'm free.

I'm out in nature.

I mean, for me it was a paradise.

6:55

And then I remember maybe being about six or seven years old.

I had an incredible day with my dad.

We went horseback riding, we went to the beach, and on our way home I saw kids that were the same age as me and they were chasing after his car.

And when he wouldn't stop, they would start to cry.

7:12

And so I asked him, I was like, dad, like, what is going on?

Why are these kids crying?

And she, he said to me, well, they don't have money.

And you know, at that age, I'm like, what's money?

He's so naive.

Right.

You have no idea.

Yeah.

I'm like, what is money?

7:28

And you know, he tried his best to explain to me that when you want things, you have to exchange something for it.

And he's like, when you go to the grocery store, think about mom, give something, right.

And I'm like, yeah, he's like, well, these kids, their families don't have anything to give.

And so they have to work, even though they're kids.

And I'm like, so they don't get to have a childhood.

7:44

And he was like, no, they have to survive.

Their childhood is about making it, you know, every single day.

They don't have electricity.

They don't have running water.

They don't have food.

And so they've got to help their families survive.

And I told him I was like, I don't know what money is, but this doesn't seem right, that I'm like, these are kids.

8:03

And why is it that I get to have these things and that they don't have it?

And I told him, I said, well, one day I'm going to come back and I I want to do something to help change it.

And honestly, I feel like that was a very defining moment in my life.

I still remember it till this day because it made me realize that I was in a place of privilege and that the things that I took for granted every day or things that people are literally dying for.

8:28

And it just made me feel a sense of responsibility and a sense of connectedness to what was happening in that country.

And honestly, that's been my driving force ever since.

What a profound experience to be six or seven years old.

8:43

The the self-awareness, the the humility.

You know, you mentioned the word privilege.

I think that that's like a a touchy word, especially in American culture right now.

Because, you know, a lot of times people hear white privilege and some people want to acknowledge it, some people don't.

9:01

To me, I think when you can acknowledge privilege, period, and you can look at what do I have going for me that somebody else might not, I think about the privilege.

I had to start my first business when I was 21.

9:17

I lived in my parents home.

I had so many things I didn't have to worry about that I could organically let something grow in a way other people don't have the luxury of.

Yet I didn't use that as an excuse to just not go out and do something with my life.

9:35

People let privilege be like, oh, I've got all this privilege and then they don't do anything with.

Anything.

Yeah, I'll tell a story in a little bit about that, but I want to get back to for you.

You took this childhood experience and you really became super motivated in school.

9:52

Talk to me about that journey and then also for the listeners, what flipped that ended up leading to you starting the business?

Yeah.

And so I just, I kept asking questions.

I didn't understand it.

I didn't understand how it was possible And becoming a little bit older, moving from New York and then living in Florida.

10:12

I mean it it it felt even crazier.

We're talking about a 90 minute plane ride.

And I'm in a completely different world.

And so I had to struggle with that.

I had to struggle with what does it even mean to be Asian American?

What does it mean to be from these two worlds?

And so at the time, school was my outlet, so I asked a lot of questions.

10:31

I got really interested in politics and economics.

When I was 12 years old, my teacher asked me if I'd be a peer tutor and she said there were kids, you know, my classmates that couldn't afford tutoring but that their parents could pay me something and that it could be a part time job.

10:48

And so I was in school and I started doing that and I stuck with it.

I never labeled myself as a teacher or an entrepreneur, but I just knew that I loved seeing people, you know, believe in themselves.

That aha moment when the light bulb goes, I was like, oh, I get it, that just, I just lived where I loved it.

11:07

And so I continued to do it.

Middle school, middle school, high school, college.

I when I was 18, my dream was to go to Duke.

I was a big, big, big nerd.

And you know, because I wanted to understand the world around me.

I worked very hard in school and so I had like a 4.8 GPA and I was like president of a bunch of clubs.

11:28

And when I, you know, I knew the day that the mailman was going to come by and my I was devastated when I saw a small envelope.

I'm like, I didn't get in.

I don't have a big glossy packet.

I didn't get in.

And you know, as I read through it, it said that I've been wait listed and then I spoke with the admissions counselor and she's like, you have such a strong application, but your SAT score just wasn't quite good enough.

11:51

And at that moment it just stung because it felt like, man, I did everything on my part.

But because my mom was a single mom and she was Haitian and she just didn't understand the importance of the SAT, nor could she have afforded like $10,000 for prep.

Now, my future is going to be limited in certain ways.

12:09

And so I told myself, well, you have two choices.

You can, you know, be defeated or you can rise to the occasion.

And so at that point, I pushed myself to get perfect score.

And then since I had been tutoring since I was 12, I'm like, I can, I want to create a curriculum.

I want to help other kids.

12:24

I don't want other kids to be in the position that I was in.

And so that's exactly what I did.

Created an SAT curriculum and just started helping kids, peers who wanted to get into good school, study for the exam.

And I went to Florida State.

12:39

I transferred out, went to Emory University, got my bachelor's in political science and international relations.

Took a gap year.

Went to Haiti, started a nonprofit to help kids, providing support for pre-existing schools, holding summer camps.

12:57

Came back to Florida, taught as a teacher.

Applied to the University of Cambridge, Got accepted and graduated with a degree in Development economics.

And so I'm like, okay now.

I understand how institutions normalized patterns.

And now I have a better understanding of, like, why poor countries are poor.

13:15

And, you know, what are the the main factors that are keeping development from happening.

And ultimately, I got a really great job in Paris working for a huge international governmental organization, very fancy job.

But I hated it, hated it.

13:33

I was miserable.

I couldn't measure impact.

I felt like I was just a bureaucrat.

Like I was just pretending to help people.

And you know, like we talked about knowing what poverty is like, seeing people.

I love experiencing it, feeling helpless to help them.

I just felt like I needed to be able to look at myself in the mirror and say, you know, you're doing something to actually help.

13:55

And so I got offered a full time position after doing an internship.

Turned it down, took a leap of faith, moved back to my mom's house, driving my beat up 2001 Honda Civic, and I started Jumpstart.

I knew.

I just went back to what I always knew.

14:11

And I asked myself, I'm like, you know what?

The best way to really help people and to really help economic development flourish is to give people the ability to empower themselves.

And you know, education is definitely a key part of that.

And yeah, that's that's kind of how it all came about.

14:29

And you know, four years later, we've worked with thousands of kids.

We've got the highest SAT increases in Florida.

We're helping kids save millions of dollars each year off of college tuition.

So there are so many kids that, you know, would have been in the position I was in 1012 years ago who because of our program, you know, they're not in that position.

14:49

Their, their dreams are coming true.

And yeah, I just, I feel great.

I mean, I I, I may have a smaller impact now than what I would have had if I continued in that route and became like a diplomat or ambassador.

However, it's measurable, it's tangible and it's actually helping people.

15:04

And so yeah.

I love it.

I love it all.

And I I want to pause and acknowledge a few things.

How nonchalantly you went through that education to entry level till I got my my career.

I mean, that's such a huge accomplishment to do what you did just from going, hey, I didn't get into my dream school, but I'm going to go to this school and I'm going to do my best.

15:27

And you got into a better school, honestly, than your dream school.

We talked about this when I met you.

Like Emery kicks Duke's ass, which is what it is when it comes to and and then it's like, oh, in Cambridge, like, you know, OK, that's that's impressive.

Like you, you've got all the makings of a person who could go on and do anything in the corporate or academic world, yet it didn't feel right.

15:51

That big fancy job in Paris didn't feel right.

You came back home to what you knew, and now you're making incredible impact.

So I just, I love when somebody has that that touch, their Entombment with their attunement, with their soul, with their spirit, and they don't just make the this is what's going to look good to everyone else.

16:12

Move.

Yeah.

That to me, I respect that more than anything.

Oh, thank you.

Absolutely.

I mean now that you've you've had the four years, you've have all this super measurable impact.

Talk to me a bit about what's what's this V2 or this, this new venture and and why is, why is it different and unique and how's it going to help people?

16:32

Yeah.

And so, you know, as I mentioned, the most heartbreaking thing is for someone to ask you for help and to not be able to help them.

So during the pandemic, parents would call kids were falling behind.

I have to pay my tutors.

You know, we're a start up and you know, we couldn't afford to get free tutoring.

16:52

However, I started partnering with different schools and libraries and NGOs like the Urban League and the YMCAS, and through partnerships with them, we would get paid through our partners.

And then kids, you know, and continue to till this day, hundreds of kids are accessing our programs for free or very reduced cost through the partnerships.

17:10

However, there are millions of more students out there that are in that same boat, that are not a part of an Urban League or YMCA and whose parents can't afford it.

And So what happens to them?

You know, and that's when we really started doing some R&D and thinking about technology.

And, you know, everyone's throwing around AI, machine learning.

17:27

But when it comes to education, I truly believe that, first of all, we're really behind.

We've learned so much in the last 50 years about how people learn, how people process information.

And yet our school systems have not caught up with it.

17:43

We're not benefiting from all the new technologies out there.

And our kids are, you know, still left behind.

And so the idea came, you know, to think about like the AI tutor, you know, for kids who can't afford tutoring.

So we thought about what are the most effective factors in tutoring.

17:59

And it's really the personalization, being able to pinpoint a student's strengths and weaknesses, understanding how they learn their learning style, then presenting material to them in that way.

And ultimately, tracking progress over time, helping them come up with, you know, a plan to achieve their own personal.

18:20

And I'm not saying at all that a machine can replace a human.

That's never going to happen.

If everyone could have a tutor, that would be the best option.

But it's we don't live in a perfect world.

And I, you know, got together with a team of very smart people.

18:36

And yeah, we started, we started repackaging AI and we realized that, you know, it can really help students.

And so I just started a company, it's called Vero Learning and it's literally like an offspin of jumpstart.

But instead of having tutors come to your home or working with them online, we can significantly bring down the cost by using AI, machine learning.

18:58

So the idea is that a student will come on our platform, we'll be able to ask them, you know, what their grades are, what their goal is.

For example, we're starting with SAT.

When are they taking the next test with a taken assessment?

We evaluate where they're at, all their areas of strengths and weaknesses.

19:15

We give them a predicted score range of where we think they're going to end up.

And then from there we come up with a customized study plan to help them achieve their goals.

And so some of the ways that we're using AI is, for example, let's say you suck at algebraic expressions, right?

So the AI will create copycat questions, you know, with the same level of difficulty of what you're struggling with, so that you can really strengthen that weakness.

19:40

Another thing we're doing is figuring out what your learning style is.

So if you're someone that learns more hands on that, we need to engage you differently than someone that is more auditory, that's more visual.

And then, you know, going as far as in the future, matching students with certain learning styles, with teachers with certain teaching styles because they're going to be a better fit together.

20:01

And so there are a lot of really, really awesome ways that we can use this technology and.

And I think the coolest point is the data that we're collecting is going to be helpful for students not just on our platform, but when they're learning beyond our platform and you know, going into the classrooms because now an educator knows exactly where the students strengths and weaknesses are, exactly the best way to engage them.

20:23

We give them a study plan to help them keep track of things.

The biggest thing though that I'm really excited about is that we're not only focused on data, but we're focused on making it engaging.

And so we're onboarding like, you know, video gamers and designers, and we really want to make it reward base because teenagers just don't have the same sort of incentives to stick to their goals as an adult does.

20:45

And so we can create like a social platform and create different incentives for engagement.

I think that we can do something amazing, you know, where kids want to learn, but they're actually benefiting their futures from our platform, so.

I love it.

I think.

I think you're really well positioned for where I think the future of education is going.

21:05

First and foremost, just where you're at today, making it more cost effective to help more students.

Noble goal, great impact.

I think it's a no brainer.

But also what I think about for myself, I'd mentioned earlier ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, can't even say the word properly.

21:26

And I analyzed what was it like for me in a traditional school setting I could achieve.

But when I wasn't engaged, I was a problem for my teachers.

I was a distraction to other students.

I would rush to get my work done so I could go do something else.

I envision a world where, you know, I don't think federal education standards are going anywhere, but where, let's say there's maybe a national curriculum that kids have to spend 2 to 3 hours a day on.

21:53

And then there's some sort of tutoring system like yours where they spend another hour to two with concentrated help on the things they need more assistance with.

And then they spend more time pursuing their passions in the arts in like what I consider more athletics or hard business skills.

22:12

Things like really cultivate passion because ultimately where our economy has gotten is the most financial reward is being able to do the thing you like the most that other people can't do. 100%.

And if we can get our education system to a place where it's like, hey, let's check off the things you need to know, so then you can go spend time doing the things you want to know.

22:35

You want to know?

I There's already a lot of private businesses doing something like this, and I think your business is just going to fit really well into that ecosystem.

Before I transition in some of the more personal stuff, talk to me about what it's like working in this education space where sometimes you're dealing with schools, sometimes you're dealing with non profit groups.

22:56

I mean, how?

How have you found these institutions being open to change?

New ideas?

Yeah, I mean, our education system is outdated.

And I mean, when you look at other industrialized countries, you see that each year we're falling more and more behind despite spending more than other countries are on education.

23:15

There's a lot of red tape.

We were just recommended for a a school board contract.

And I kid you not, Nate, we've been working on it for over three years.

How many businesses would even still be around?

I mean, I think it's something like 99% of South Florida businesses die out before Year 5.

23:33

And so it's like 99 I.

Think the national average is 80?

Yeah.

I also, you know not to, you know, downgrade South Florida.

I think there's a lot of business fraud that goes on in that state if you look at what happened with the PPP money.

But I digress.

It still is.

23:49

Difficult.

We're a hot mess.

It's true.

Everyone calls this ratchet ass Florida for a reason.

Well, I mean, Miami.

Miami is Miami and that could be a whole other podcast, but there's there's so much that goes on around there.

But yeah, yeah, so that some of these institutions have have been a struggle, 3 years working on this contract, you're surviving.

24:12

Yeah, I mean, the red tape is is it's it's it's incredible.

I mean, there's a lot of politics.

It really should be about the kids, but it's about a lot of other things.

And so part of the reason it took so long to even get a contract like this is because we had to tell members of the school board like, hey, kids need this.

24:30

Have you looked at the recent reports?

Do you think a kid is going to be able to catch up, you know, from being behind two years of reading, two years of math, how many families are going to be able to afford tutoring?

We have to do more.

And so we need a lot of advocacy.

I think that if parents knew more about what was actually happening, you know, at school board meetings etcetera, that they would probably not be so happy with how funds are being spent.

24:55

I mean for us, I know academics are like the one of the lowest procurement areas that funding goes towards and you're thinking it's a school board.

But no, I mean it's all about construction and just a lot of other things.

I have nothing really to do with making sure our kids are prepared for tomorrow.

25:11

And so I think we need a lot more advocates.

The red tape is enormous and the students need to be the focus.

Not Ptsas, not student unions or politicians.

It really needs to be the students.

And so it's definitely been a big struggle breaking into school boards, yeah.

25:30

Well, when you talk about they're not preparing the students, I think the problem is the design of school systems works really well for creating compliant people.

It's designed to be like, hey, you're going to train to be compliant, you're going to sit in this place, you're going to do what we say when we.

25:51

Raise your hand.

Yeah, it's designed for creating factory workers.

And then we took factories out of a lot of these cities.

Have you watched The Wire at all?

No, but I hear it's great.

You need to watch The Wire and specifically for seasons 4:00 and 5:00, what a lot of people think The Wire is about is I think it's like a cops chasing bad guys show.

26:15

What it's really about is it's about all this social dynamics of a declining US city takes place in Baltimore.

And what you real at least what I realized is it's not it's not good and bad.

It's how well did the people in their perspective roles play, the role of how the system's designed and what happens when you buck the system.

26:35

Because the system always wins.

Whether you're a part of the crime family, whether you're part of the police, whether you're in the education system, you're a politician.

And it the more these seasons go on, the more you start to see these different dynamics play out.

26:51

And that just broke my heart to see how it's the students who suffer talk about though the what goes on for a person.

I'm a person very much motivated by art.

I think it's a great way to explain life and make sense of it.

When we first spoke, you talked to me about music.

27:07

I had a note.

I wanted to pick your brain about music.

Today, tell us about some of your background with music because you have you have a very impressive background and you also have just some fun to collect taste.

So tell us a little bit about what your kind of music background's like, and then I just want to chat music with.

27:25

Yeah, so my mom and dad always joked, they're like, we knew you were going to be something because when you were a few months old, we would be sleeping and we'd just hear whistling and we're like, where is that coming from?

And here's this like, baby, not even one, just like whistling.

So apparently music was a part of me before I could even speak and.

27:44

I didn't learn how to whistle until 7th grade, so I'm very the.

Funny thing is now I I don't even do it well anymore.

So, but they they knew that I was going to love music.

And for me it's it's, as you mentioned, it's very important in this world to be able to stay connected with your intuition, with your spirit.

28:03

And to me, music just transcends time and space.

You know, if you hear a song that you loved in your childhood, if it comes on right now, you're going to be able to close your eyes, remember where you were, who you were with, and most importantly, how you felt.

And so I think that music has always been important to me because as much as I am analytical and as much as, you know I want to get things done and I'm ambitious, it's always been that balance and that safe haven to just exist, right?

28:29

Like we just need to exist.

Life's not always about accomplishing and achieving.

It helps you connect to something innate, something invisible, something greater than yourself.

And so it's my love.

I love music.

I love singing.

I love listening to songs.

I've been to like about 4050 countries.

28:47

And the more that I travel, the more eclectic my taste is.

Like, I love worldly music.

I love the fusion between different sounds and how it comes together.

I really, really, really think that music is the, you know, great equalizer and it's the way that we as human beings can connect with ourselves and something greater than ourselves.

29:07

And so, you know, admittingly coming from a family that doesn't have a lot of money and you know, having responsibilities for my family, I have to focus more on my business now, but can't wait for the day that, you know, I can feel like I can prioritize that again because it's, it means everything to me.

29:24

Well, when we spoke with my buddy Cody, you had mentioned that if you didn't have to think about money, you'd spend your time making music.

What?

How do you make music?

Like?

What is it that your process is like and and what?

What sounds do you make and do you have anything people can listen to?

29:41

I'm working on it.

I'm going to send it to you.

I know you asked I I really, It's a great time to reprioritize it.

It keeps coming up.

So it's like, if you've loved something your whole life, you probably should do it at some point.

But for me, if I hear a really nice song that I like or a beat that I like, I will just, you know, take that sort of tempo and then create something new with it.

30:01

Sometimes I hear two different songs that have like a certain phrase that go well with one another and just seeing how like they blend and how they mixed.

Sometimes I'm just feeling something like maybe it's like a poem and, you know, turning that into, you know, like a melody sometimes just rhymes and beats just come to me.

30:20

I feel like my mind is a jukebox and it's just ciphering through, like all of my experiences and then finding that connecting point.

So yeah, it comes to me in different ways, but ultimately I think it's that, you know, finding the connection between two things that are opposite and then making them come together and be beautiful.

30:38

I think that's what I really love about it.

I love that you said that a lot of times.

I think about where where did the music of today come from?

Like, what's the what's the origin?

So, like, I grew up born in 93.

30:54

My parents listen to a lot of, like, pop and country and like Top 40 stuff.

It was right at the end of that mass market pop era before the Internet radicalized everything.

And then when I started choosing my own music, I got into hip hop and like alternative rock, really got to enjoy.

31:16

I got, I think, Napster.

When I was in second grade, first song I I downloaded was Country Grammar from Nelly.

And it took all night.

Remember I woke up and I'm like, oh, the song downloaded.

And.

Now with streaming, you know, Fast forward, you've got all you can go back.

31:34

And so I've I've spent, I think probably until college, I accumulated like 15,000 songs.

And then then I went to streaming and I went back and now I can hear everything.

Like Kanye West I think was so influential for my era of people who appreciate music.

31:52

He introduced me to so much stuff I didn't know.

And I go and then I hear that song, oh, he grabbed that.

Like, I think you could tell the the hip hop artists who only listen to hip hop because their music lacks that depth.

Where's like you, you listen to or like Kid Cudi.

32:10

I call him like he he's the second greatest Hummer I've ever heard.

But if you go back and listen to like Jim Croce, his home is like just pure.

And like Cudi evolved and turned his home into like the most recognizable hum of our generation.

By far.

32:26

So it's just like I that that like richness that I get, just like with my eyes light up like I to me it's so, so important.

So I again send me some music so I can listen to it.

This is.

Probably a hard question because I struggle whenever someone asks me, but do you have like a list of top artists or top songs or even top projects that you know mean something to you?

32:52

That's very, very hard question.

I've found lately that I've been looking more like back into the past for inspiration.

I'm more of like a ballad singer.

So I love like, you know, the Barbra Streisand, Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey days.

33:11

But it's really interesting to see new artists like taking a new twist with like R&B.

And, you know, I want to see how those worlds can kind of come back together.

But yeah, so favorite artists are definitely those people.

Michael Jackson, huge, huge inspiration.

I mean, he's larger than life.

33:28

It feels like he's still here.

And he he's been gone for so long.

And just listening to songs like Heal the world, Like as a child, that was my favorite song because I would just think about my friends in Haiti and I just felt it.

Bob Marley.

33:45

I was thinking about him when you were talking about music being the great equalizer.

I think the whole Marley family, what their impact has been on music.

I love the Distant relatives with Nas and Damian Marley.

So Damian's son just graduated from Jumpstart's home schooling program.

34:03

Oh, wonderful.

Such a small world.

Right.

Yeah.

And I can tell you they are the real deal.

They are the real deal.

Bob Marley is the real deal because generations later, his family continues to live that legacy.

So his son Elijah, not only is he super talented, watch out for him in the next 5-10 years.

34:21

He's he's going to be the next Mario to really blow up.

Super talented.

This kid plays drums.

This kid plays pianos.

His mind is literally a jukebox.

He hears something and he just connects with it.

But yeah, he's so humble.

Like, I remember he was telling me he's like, miss, you know, I just got a new iPhone.

34:37

I'm like, oh, that's cool.

He was like, yeah, but I don't really need it.

He's like, I feel like people just spend money on things that they don't really need.

And it's like, if your phone works, do you really need to get another one?

And he's like, I'm going to keep this for a while because there are people out there that really need other things and maybe I can have another impact.

34:53

I mean, he's, he's 12, you know, And it's like that tells you who Bob Marley was because his family continues that.

Well, especially when you have success.

So in the wealth management space, they talk about how ultra wealthy families a lot of times lose their money 3 generations in.

35:11

And a lot of times I think it's more the character in the lessons taught or not taught.

And it sounds like, you know, his wealth was far greater than the commercial impact of his music.

His wealth was how rich his spirit was and how much he saw and how how kind he was.

35:27

And and that love grew the more the world loved him and he passed that love on to his kids properly.

Like I think that's so much more important when I I think about my my nieces and nephews.

I've got a a niece Tenaya who went and stayed with her family in Mexico for a while and when she was there she told her mom she goes mommy.

35:51

Some of these kids they they don't have anything.

Instead of sending me money for XYZ like can we buy these kids some some clothes and some clothes and like she just wanted to give and share and and now we get to give back and she's going to go study with you and your company on on math and and who knows what her math skills are going to translate to her being able to give to the to the rest of the world That's that's like the stuff that matters most to me you know what's what's the content of of your your heart when you're you're out there you mentioned some of the the projects that hold a special place for you and and kind of how that song you can hear it and takes you back.

36:36

I have on my wall which I've I've shown before and I might insert a clip but I've got a poster of Jay-Z and then Biggie with lyrics from my first song which was the the last song on the black album which was supposed to be Jay ZS last album.

36:54

And the the whole point of the song is like to treat every day like it's your first day.

And to to treat to treat it like that because it's special.

It's a gift.

It is.

Most people lose that connection.

And I'll be honest, there's times in my life where I feel like a day is more of a burden than a blessing.

37:13

What do you do to keep that, that kind of perspective?

Because every time I talk to you, you've got great energy.

What keeps you focused and driven on on your goals and really the the big impact you're creating?

Yeah, First of all, I I agree with everything that you just said.

37:29

That's the point of life.

It's it's really passing on that love and, you know, passing on a wealth that can't be defined in money and dollars.

And Bobby used to say that he's like, I'm a rich man.

What makes me rich, Isn't it my soul that's rich, You know, like he would say this and.

And yeah, you're right, 100%.

37:47

Sorry.

What was your your last question?

I was so in that moment.

No, you're right.

I look, I I asked, you know, what you do to keep present and connected to that, that that hunger in that vision.

Because like, for example, three years you've been working on this contract, you've had a lot of adversity you've overcome, but you still hold true to what's mattered to you.

38:10

Since you're six years old, you know, what?

Would you have any kind of daily spiritual practice?

You have some sort of ritual or something that connects you to how you keep this wonderful energy.

The first thing I do when I wake up is I think about as many things as I can to be grateful for.

38:27

I mean, as small as I have a blanket that's covering me.

I have a soft sheet I want.

I'm watching the sunrise.

I have a home.

I have a family that cares for me.

I have friends.

And so always trying to start the day on the right foot.

I think, you know, our minds are kind of like tape recorders and whatever.

38:45

You're constantly replaying in your mind, believe it or not, it's just running in the background and it's affecting your mood.

It's affecting what you're attracting.

It's affecting your experience on life.

And I think cleaning the lens is really about, you know, reprogramming your mind with positive things.

If I'm going through a moment where things are particularly tough, I'll fall asleep listening to affirmations all night, and I'll wake up the next day and feel better because that tells me that I need to be telling myself a new message.

39:12

Our subconscious minds are super powerful.

And so, yeah, I start every day, you know, verbalizing what I'm grateful for, then writing it down in a journal.

Right now I'm really focused on like financial building, financial wealth for my family, for my projects.

And so I have an affirmation.

39:29

I write every single day specifically.

And it's like I don't work for money.

I I work for my personal satisfaction.

And this is my spiritual gift to myself and, you know, just kind of reminding that to myself.

Why do you want the money?

What is it for?

And remembering that there's this greater purpose behind it.

39:46

I also meditate every day.

I went to South Korea when I was 22, and it changed my life.

And there's something called bowing.

And it's super interesting because when you look back, like religions and cultures across time have bowed.

Whether it be the Native Americans or the Koreans or Africans or the Toltec.

40:06

And it's really about, you know, embracing this energy that's living inside of you and, you know, bowing to this higher part of yourself.

And so for me, this moving meditation is really, really great.

It helps me.

At some point you forget that you're moving and you're just feeling the energy flowing through your body.

40:26

I take time to visualize what I want.

So in the morning I'll close my eyes and I'll think about the next thing I want to accomplish, and I will literally stay in visualization until I can viscerally feel it.

I feel like that's really how you manifest, is being really clear and almost experiencing it as if it's happening now before you get it.

40:45

I love nature.

I I literally hug trees.

There's a tree in my my neighborhood that's been here for a few 100 years.

That tree is just a holy tree.

And I I promise you, it just takes away negative energy.

And if I'm not feeling great and I just stretch or I bow under that tree, I sit under that tree.

41:02

I breathe.

I feel better and lately working out like hate classes, the harder I go, the better it is because I I'm prone to anxiety and I'm prone to to stress and I I have to get it out of my body, get it out of my nervous system.

And so yeah, that and music and I spend time with my goddaughter.

41:21

I love her.

You know, kids just remind you of just the purity and the innocence that we all have inside of us.

So those are some things that I do that keep me grounded.

I love it.

I love to hear it.

I think that cultivating a practice that speaks to us and serves us is really important.

41:40

I've I've implemented different things throughout my time.

It's funny you mentioned bowing.

I'm watching on HBO Max right now.

Tokyo Vice Have you seen it?

No.

I think it's fast, so if you can't tell like I watch a lot, I.

Send recommendations my way.

41:56

I need some good things to watch.

I like high quality entertainment.

I don't want to be, don't want to be watching something just for the sake of I want to learn.

And Tokyo Vice is great because it's half Japanese, half English, and so I watch the subtitles the whole time.

I'm not on my phone.

42:12

I'm locked in and I find that the the cultural learning of like nuance and subtlety and and seeing like what's said but also what's not said.

And.

And how people play the role.

42:27

Again, it's very similar to The Wire and a lot of aspects of really intense social commentary and understanding of culture.

You've travelled a lot.

You mentioned you've been to 50 countries when we spoke the first time.

You told me Korea was one of the the favorite places you've been.

42:44

You just got back from the Bahamas.

How was that?

Amazing.

Oh my goodness the bluish oceans ever like just beautiful.

Loved it.

Needed it.

Yeah, I've it's one of my favorite places on earth is Paradise Island.

43:02

You fly into Nassau and you take a boat.

Go to this yoga ashram from the Sivananda Yoga.

It's it's a place that's literally saved my life.

I was so burnt out.

Maybe May 2019.

43:18

I was going through a lot personally.

My my parents were getting divorced.

I dealt with growing pains of my company scaling April 24th.

Maybe I'm ready to burn everything to the ground.

I booked a trip and like I'm going to Florida to see my family for three days.

43:36

I'm going to the ashram for 11 days.

It turns out they had a spiritual retreat specifically for people in recovery.

I've been dober for a while and so it was the first time in years that I had a 12 step meeting every single day for 11 days and eat all vegetarian yoga in the morning, go to the beach, enjoy the ocean like the Bahamas.

44:00

Have a very special place in my heart.

That sounds incredible.

I'm so happy that you were able to have that experience.

Sounds kind of similar to something I experienced in Korea.

And those things just stay with you for the rest of your life.

Yeah.

You talk about a music, a food, a place, and it creates that, that culmination of the senses, that those memories that we keep.

44:23

I love it.

One question I ask all my guests is if you can connect with anyone in the world who do you want to connect with and why?

And then I challenge the audience to help us make that happen.

Whoa, that's a big one.

44:43

If I could connect with anyone in the world.

So they've got to be.

I got so many heroes that are dead.

Anyway, just anyone you'd want to meet, whether they can help your your vision, you think, like, hey, if this person could help me take Vero to the next level, or like, maybe this person cooks a dish really well or they make music that's touched you.

45:01

I mean, who?

Who's somebody that you just like?

You know what?

If I can meet this person, that would be incredible.

So one of my biggest dreams, one of my life goals, is to spend some time like on a reservation, a Native American reservation or an indigenous reservation.

45:19

So my family's from Haiti, and people don't know that the group of people that were on the island before Africans were enslaved in Haiti were Tainino, Native Americans.

And the Taino were a very special group because they were pretty advanced in terms of agriculture and travel.

45:41

They had regions of like Puerto Rico and South Florida and Haiti, I mean thousands of miles, 1000 miles plus from each other where they, you know, set up territories.

But what was interesting about them is that to be a leader in in Taino culture, you had to become enlightened.

45:58

And so it wasn't about who had the most money or who was the most popular, but it was really about who had the most wisdom, who was really connected to their intuition and who could use that for true leadership.

I went to Mexico recently and I had an opportunity I should take to stay in a village.

46:16

And at that time, I guess I was a little scared didn't do it.

But I'd love to, to like, go someplace with Indigenous and just learn more about how they live and how they keep their culture alive.

I think it'd be life changing for me.

46:31

I know there's a part of my heart that, you know, is so connected to the tiny nose.

And yeah, I mean if anyone knows.

I love that.

No, because it's such a such a selfless thing, you know, You didn't ask for somebody who's going to help put you on somebody you want to learn from and respect for and want to appreciate their culture.

46:49

That's that's fascinating to me.

I've been spending a lot of time in my personal therapy work, just dealing with trauma and looking at things that I never wanted to shine a light on.

You know, whether I didn't want to see people in a certain light or I didn't want to admit something affected me.

47:08

I've probably spent more time feeling at a deep level the stuff that I used to just put on a shelf and say we've got to get through this because we have shit to do right now.

And for whatever reason, God put me in a place today where I don't have to be in survival mode of get shit done.

47:25

It's like you've got a little bit of pause.

You know you're going to be OK.

And one of the things I'm feeling is just the intergenerational trauma within my own family line of like, well, why did this happen?

Well, what was their experience like?

What was their experience like for you to have the the thought process like, well, who was in my country of origin before my people were there.

47:48

So to not even just talk about your own cultural poverty or trauma, but like who is displaced along the way and what do we have to learn from them?

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

I mean, something that people don't know is that Africans, you know, came to the Americas before slavery.

48:07

So I our family is from a tribe that is mixed with Native American and Africans.

But Africans that had been there for hundreds and hundreds of years and after trading with natives just decided, hey, like what?

This is going to be our home.

And so there's just such a beautiful history of like black natives and that just gets completely forgotten.

48:27

I think that, you know, when we think about Christopher Columbus and we think about colonization, we forget about the silent genocide.

So it's not only that tiny nosed don't exist probably only exists because I had I'm half blood.

So I, you know, we could pass, but we we forget about, you know, the silent genocide of not sharing these stories of not even acknowledging.

48:47

Right.

Like that.

There were people that were there before.

I remember I went to Spain and they were like, Oh yeah, we discovered America and I was like, oh, my ancestors were there for thousands of years.

How did you just?

I It's funny you say that because I use that, that term all the time.

49:03

Like whenever I I discover something, I always go, Oh yeah, like Christopher Columbus.

I discovered sushi burritos.

If a shit thing, like a thing's there, like you discover it, you just learned about it.

You just learned about it.

Exactly.

I mean, I remember learning about Leif Erickson as a kid and being like, oh, there are people from another area and that was just what I had been exposed to.

49:27

But I I think that especially in an American culture today, we tend to overcorrect to like the victim history and we don't share enough about the no.

There's people who who did their own thing too.

49:45

I get like I'll hear a lot of times when people will talk about like the N word for example, although, well, do you know the roots are actually from culture way before white people were even a thing.

And when you look like there's countries Nigeria and Nigeria, why would they have those names if that started as an offensive, derogatory thing?

50:06

Like why don't we.

I feel like on one hand you have to respect where a word has gone and the impact it can have based on someone's lived experience.

But you also need to know how to go backwards and say you're actually only giving credit to an oppressive part of history and you're not considering where that comes from really from representing kings and Queens and understanding the power of of ancestry of words.

50:35

So I, I love that you just brought up the idea of like, no, there were people who were here way before slavery, black people who came here and and lived and traded.

Clearly, I like history and I I like to to study.

What would you say is probably, in your opinion, your end goal of the impact you're trying to create?

50:55

I know you want to make education helpful for for all, affordable for all.

You want to impact the youth, but do you see like once the missions accomplished with the business, Like what?

What do you want to be able to just give back without any kind of financial journey or mission associated with it?

51:14

Yeah, that's a really beautiful question.

So when I was 21, I mentioned briefly after graduating from Emory that instead of like getting a high paying job or something like I went to Haiti and started a nonprofit.

I really want to be able to continue that work, not just in Haiti, but developing countries or underdeveloped countries helping kids.

51:33

I I've just even as a kid I was an advocate for kids.

They are literally the light of the world.

And I think we owe it to ourselves, to this planet, to really take care of them.

And so I would love to one day expand my nonprofit and not just focus on math, reading and science, but really focus on mindfulness, focus on meditation, focus on visualization, focus on, you know, dealing with these inner traumas, bring them up to the surface, creating a new experience for yourself, I think, you know, and that's why I'm so connected with the indigenous people.

52:10

They, we've lost something.

We've lost something.

They, they had a connection to the planet.

They had a connection to the animals.

I mean, you know, when Christopher Columbus came to Haiti, he said that it was a paradise.

He said there were millions of fishes in the ocean, vegetation galore.

And like, you look at our planet now and it's just not like that anymore.

52:29

And so we've lost something.

And for me, I think that my legacy will be mixing ancient wisdom with technology to empower the people in the world that need it the most, particularly children.

And you know, that's something that I'm going to continue to work on.

52:46

Oh, I love it.

I'm absolutely touched as I've been on this journey of figuring out what's my ultimate gift.

I think it's really connecting with interesting people like you, helping find what's what's unique, what's that thing that you know, not just the how do we do a quick hey, here's my business card.

53:05

What's your business card?

How do we exchange goods?

But really this, this mind melding and and sharing what's on my soul and hearing what's on yours.

I think a big part of why I'm on this earth is to help people who have such a connection to a mission like yours get out to a broader audience, meet the right people, and make their their dreams happen quicker, especially when it's so selfless.

53:29

Anything I can do to help, please let me know.

I'm going to include in the description of this video all the different links, but what can somebody do who wants to get involved or wants to support your mission?

Thank you so much.

And by the way, Nate, it was a breath of fresh air to meet you because, you know, going to these meetings, talking with entrepreneurs, for a lot of people, it's just the bottom line.

53:50

And it was so clear to me immediately that you are someone who is impact focused, you're someone that cares about legacy, cares about making a difference in this world.

And just that vulnerability, that openness really resonates with me.

And so likewise, I'm so grateful that we met.

54:07

Anything I can do to support you or your wife or your family, I'm here.

Really glad to be helping your niece, but if anyone wants to help our mission, I will share.

I'll share a link with you.

We have a wee funder page for Vero learning.

It's particularly difficult to raise funds at the precede stage, especially as a black woman.

54:27

I think it's like less than 100 black women that have raised more than $1,000,000 of VC funding that were like head of head of a company.

So that's a huge glass ceiling and even with Cambridge and Emery and Forbes, I mean it's definitely been a hurdle for us.

54:43

We went, we had a service business and now we are building out technology.

I bootstrap jumpstart with 500 bucks taking it to where it is today.

But I won't be able to do that with Vero.

And so with we funder, it allows people to invest in what we're doing with as little as $100.

55:02

We want to hit a goal of $100,000 in the next few weeks so that we can start building out our prototype.

Once we have our MVP in the market, it's going to be a lot easier for us to go back to institutional investors and really raise out our round.

55:18

And so, yeah, anyone that wants to support our we funder campaign, they'll be investing in US, investing in the future of education and we'd be super grateful for that.

And if there are anyone you know, any angels out there that are listening that really want to be part of, you know, a mission driven but also you know, lucrative adventure, I really would love for them to reach out to us.

55:38

Today it's SAT prep, but tomorrow it's going to be a professional certifications, career exploration, ready to make apprenticeship programs for for hire.

You know, it's really limitless what we can do with this multi use technology and we love support.

55:54

Absolutely.

Well, we're going to get a a lot, a lot of this info out to the right people.

If you haven't already at this point in the video, please take a look at the links in the description.

Let's help Sybil because she's doing her part and we can do ours.

Thanks for being a guest on the Much Loved podcast.

56:11

It's been a real pleasure.

I'm looking forward to the next time.

Thank you so much for having me, Nate.