Building Smarter Tech: Transparency & Trust with Rea Hailley

Jeff: [00:00:07] Ever wonder what it really takes to build a business from the ground up? Welcome to Owner’s Roundtable, where successful business owners pull up a chair and swap stories and lessons from their own adventures in business. From surviving their first half baked business plan, the time they almost went broke, the time they got lucky, and the strategies and tactics they used along the way. This isn’t about a polished success story on the Company “About Us” page; it’s about the real story behind the business—the pain, the people, the setbacks, and the big break that changed everything. Each episode, you’ll sit down with the owners who’ve been in the trenches, built something meaningful, and lived to tell the tale. Whether you’re starting out, scaling up, or just curious what it takes to go the distance, there’s a seat at the Owner’s Roundtable for you. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. I’m Jeff McLarty, seasoned entrepreneur, executive coach, and business trainer, and I want you to have your own seat with us here at the Owner’s Roundtable. Real owners, real stories, real insights. Hello and welcome to Owner’s Roundtable. Today at the table is really co-founder of New Idea Machine, former merchant success manager at Shopify and one of the hosts of the long-running Leaders, Innovators, and Big Ideas podcast. We’ll be covering a wide range of topics, from the entrepreneurial ecosystem to the unromantic side of starting a business. So pull up a chair and join in with Rea and I as we discuss her journey to earning a seat here at the owners roundtable. All right. We’re back here at the Owner’s Roundtable. Our guest today is Rea Haley from New Idea Machine. Welcome, Rea.

Rea: [00:01:41] Thanks for having me, Jeff. Excited to be talking to you today.
Jeff: [00:01:45] I’m excited to be talking to you. We almost started the podcast before in our pre session, and we thought we should hit record and let everybody else listen in on our conversation. So before we start, we’ve had a chance to visit. But do you want to tell the listeners a little bit about who you are and what New Idea Machine is?
Rea: [00:02:00] Yes, absolutely. My name is Rea Hailley. I’m the co-founder of New Idea Machine. We started this business during the pandemic and have been growing since then. We are a software development agency, and I know a lot of people are thinking, oh, yay, another software development agency. That’s exactly what we did not need. However, we’re a little bit different in that we fill a very critical gap in the ecosystem. There’s a lot of first-time founders, business owners, that may also be pursuing second revenue streams that need software development, but they don’t know where to turn or who to trust. And they especially do not know what types of questions they need to be asking. And unfortunately, this is landing a lot of people in hot water. Business owners are losing thousands of dollars. They’re losing a lot of very valuable time. They’re experiencing severe setbacks. So I wanted to solve that problem by changing how the industry does business and being as transparent as possible and providing founders with as much free resources as possible, so that they know exactly what they’re getting themselves into. They know what types of questions to ask. They know how to protect themselves from bad developers and unfair contracts, and a whole bunch of other pitfalls that I’m sure we’ll touch on.
Jeff: [00:03:20] That’s great. That was actually one of the things I wanted to ask you about, and maybe a slight detour, but I think a lot of people know that part of business today is getting a good tech stack together. I always wondered what your advice would be on when it’s time to pull something off the shelf, and when it’s time to pursue custom solutions with somebody like yourself. Do you have any advice for anybody that’s kind of wondering how to solve that puzzle?
Rea: [00:03:45] Yes, definitely. I mean, every case is unique, but here’s the reality of off-the-shelf software, and there is a time and place for it, so I’m not against it. The challenges with off the shelf software is that you are becoming very reliant on that product and on that company. And more often than not, they own your data. You do not. So what happens when there’s an outage or what happens when there’s a breach? And if it’s a mammoth company, sometimes it’s very difficult to get ahold of a live person that can really help you. For example, with Shopify, if you encounter technical difficulties, you usually have to have your own in-house developer, in-house technical expert that can speak to their tech team to help navigate the problem. So a lot of business owners are not willing to take that on. Now, the nice thing about custom software, especially now that AI has made it so much more affordable, is that you own your data. You control where that data is stored, and if you’re dealing with compliance and security issues, more often than not, that data has to be stored on Canadian soil or at minimum, North American soil.
Rea: [00:04:54] Because of the way it’s built, it mimics your exact workflow, so you are no longer having to learn some other tool that someone else created that you are trying to make fit your business. You are now creating something that flows and operates exactly the way you think, which makes your life easier. And you do not have to worry about that learning curve. So the pros and cons with both, you know. So when I’m sitting down with someone, first of all, I need to know what their pain points are, and the first thing I do is look for existing solutions. What’s out there now that can help them that’s affordable? And are they wanting a short-term fix or a long-term fix? And if they’re looking at 2 or 3 or more different tools to run their business, then we really need to start looking at custom. And that’s when we start having that conversation about custom software. And once they understand the cost and the time investment, then they can make that decision for themselves as to when to go custom and when to go off-the-shelf.
Jeff: [00:05:58] It is hard, especially with all of the tools that are available right now to figure out what should and shouldn’t be in your tech stack. I’m sure I was paying for ten AI tools I didn’t need, and now I’m down to the 2 or 3 that I need. Is that a pretty common problem where people come and they’re just like, I have all of this stuff, it doesn’t actually fix my problem? Is that a problem a lot of people are facing that you’re coming across?
Rea: [00:06:23] Oh, yes. I spoke to one very successful business owner, very lean team, and he had 12 different applications that he was trying to make work for his business. And what’s funny is that he was not aware that some of these tools duplicated each other. He didn’t realize that Tool A performed the function that he needed, and so did Tool C, and when I pointed that out to him and asked him why he’s investing in so many tools, he said, you know, honestly, I’ve just been grabbing these tools as I go along. And I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to sit down and look at them closely. But I had no idea that I didn’t have to buy a bunch of them because I was already paying for something that would serve that function. Yeah, so that was a very interesting conversation. And then the features that he wanted that his paid services didn’t offer, there were free solutions that did, and he was not aware of them. So I was able to provide him with those options and stall the custom software development for a little bit longer until he had his organization in order. And then, we can now pursue custom software development.
Jeff: [00:07:33] I have so many more questions, but I don’t want to go too far down this rabbit hole. I want to switch gears for a minute and ask you, how did New Idea Machine come about? We’re right on your website involved a walk? Yes, and I want to know how you get from walking down the sidewalk to inventing or starting an app development software.
Rea: [00:07:51] Yes. So my partner is Chief Technology Officer. He’s been a developer for more than 32 years. And we’re walking the dog and he’s just, you know, he’s a passionate Italian. So, you know, he speaks with his hands and dives right into every topic and deeply feels it. And he was complaining about how businesses are being overcharged. And it’s easy to do so because they don’t know any better. So he would see this firsthand from places that he was working at. And he was flabbergasted at the, you know, estimates that these businesses were getting because sometimes they were triple, quadruple or more than what they needed to be. And he said, like, this is just ludicrous. And of course, I just casually said, why don’t you do something about it? And his response was, only if you do it with me. Well, I can’t say no to a challenge, like it’s in my DNA. I wish I could have said nothing, but I didn’t, and I said sure. And at the time I was thinking, well, I’ll just help, like I’ll just be at arms length and support him and be his cheerleader and support here and there.
Rea: [00:08:59] But I will not be fully immersed in this business because it’s tech. And you know, who am I to be in tech? My background is all business. And fast forward a few years and, you know, certain things just lined up and I stepped into this role full time. It’s been quite the journey. I can’t say all of it’s been roses. If you’re an entrepreneur, you totally know that. The first year especially was very challenging because we pivoted multiple times. We needed to, to respond to the economy and to respond to AI. But having my business background and my lack of tech knowledge, I was able to look at the landscape with a completely different lens. And I didn’t like what I saw at all, you know? And I completely understood what Al was saying about business owners, you know, being taken advantage of because they’re not technical. Because they have no idea if the quote that they’re receiving is reasonable or not. So, that’s when I decided to start creating resources and supporting entrepreneurs by educating them on all the things that they need to know before they make any decisions for their business.
Jeff: [00:10:14] One of the things that I wanted to ask you about, I noticed when you were talking to Julie Cole, you said… she said people tend to romanticize about entrepreneurship. And you mentioned it wasn’t all roses. What was your perception going in, and what was the wake up call that you’re like, oh, this is not what I thought I was getting when I signed up to start a business?
Rea: [00:10:34] Okay, so I call myself the accidental CEO. I did not ever, ever imagine that I’d be in the position I’m in now. It was not on my goal list at all. I just thought I would work for a company until I retired, and then I’d spend the rest of my life gardening somewhere. That’s all I really wanted. But, you know, life is funny and things happen and opportunities come your way. And when an opportunity comes your way that forces you to grow out of your comfort zone, you can’t say no to it. And I can honestly say that this journey has forced me to grow more than the combination of all my life experiences. Entrepreneurship is tough. There are some really hard days and there are some amazing highs. When you have a win and client is thrilled and you’re just celebrating with them because of those severe highs and lows, you really need to look after your mental health, you know? And that’s something I did not expect. Like I knew it was going to be hard, but I did not expect it to be this hard. And I did not expect it to be all-consuming, because it does consume every part of you and every moment of every day. And we’re humans, so we can’t really shut it off. And, you know, shut the entrepreneur switch off and turn on the family switch. It doesn’t work that way, right? I’m still learning about myself and my strengths and my weaknesses, and I’m still learning how to communicate with a variety of vendors and other service providers in the ecosystem and founders. And every day is just a learning opportunity.
Jeff: [00:12:18] That’s one thing that it’s hard for people to appreciate until they’ve done it, is how much running a business changes you. Like, how it changes the way you think, the way you relate to the world, because it is one of the hardest things, at least, I’ve ever done, and I think a lot of people ever do. I think it almost builds this collegial respect for other entrepreneurs, even ones we may or may not agree with. You’re like, well, you went through it, and I have a certain amount of respect for the fact that you did it and survived. Do you find that with other business owners you have this kind of pre built in understanding of the world and a mutual understanding?
Rea: [00:12:53] A lot of sympathy as well. Like I used to look at entrepreneurs and think, oh, you’re so lucky. You work for yourself. You don’t have to work for anyone else. And now I look at employees and go, oh, you’re so lucky. You don’t have to make so many decisions every day.
Jeff: [00:13:13] Yeah. The thing that stood out for me, going from being an employee to running a business was as an employee, at a certain point, when you’re fed up enough, you can quit. You can end the pain when you choose and just go get a different job. But as an entrepreneur, when you put your money and sometimes your house and everything, you have to build out a company. That’s a different level of responsibility. When, even when you want to quit, you can quit for the day, but you’ve still got to get up and it’s still your problem tomorrow. That is the hardest thing that I think a lot of people don’t see coming.
Rea: [00:13:46] 100%. You know, when I was interviewing female entrepreneurs, I would ask them this question. How many times did you want to quit? And I think almost all of them said multiple times a day. And I’m like, yeah, that is 100% true because it is challenging and you can’t possibly try to explain it to someone. It’s like parenthood. You cannot explain parenthood to someone. You also can’t explain what it’s like driving a car or, you know, or nearly being in an accident. Everyone, I think, has to feel that they have to experience it to get it. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. And I know a lot of people say this, but there are some days I would not wish entrepreneurship on my worst enemy.
Jeff: [00:14:37] Yeah. Would you do it again? I don’t know, maybe. I don’t know.
Rea: [00:14:40] Yeah, I don’t know.
Jeff: [00:14:42] Yeah. So before you started this company, you worked at Spotify and you had a pretty large size portfolio, which I’m assuming came with a fair amount of responsibility. What was the biggest thing where you’re like, oh, well, I have all of this portfolio I’m responsible for. When you started your own business, what was kind of the major shift that you weren’t quite prepared for? Was there anything that stuck out to you, or were you pretty ready going in?
Rea: [00:15:07] Yes. So my pivot to Shopify was my first time pivoting into tech, right? And so I definitely felt like a fish out of water. And every single day I felt like I was learning a whole new language because in addition to managing my book of business and helping them grow their revenue, I had to learn all this technical stuff about the product and about how the product works with other products, and it was absolutely overwhelming. And I thought, I don’t know, I don’t know if I’m doing a good job. And honestly, I just put my head down and just did the best I could until one day, you know, someone tapped me on the shoulder virtually and said, are you aware that you’ve grown this portfolio by 90 million? I said, what, are you serious? And they said, yes, you’re doing a fantastic job. And I’m like, thank you, thank you. Like, I really appreciate you saying that. And the entire time I felt like I was just treading water. Owning and running this business, some days I still feel like I’m just treading water, keeping clients happy, looking for new clients, dealing with our marketing, dealing with vendors, dealing with contractors. There’s so many different moving pieces to running a business, and I couldn’t fully appreciate that before starting, you know, like, you just don’t know what you don’t know. Of course, I brought in a lot of my previous experience to this role, but I also learned and developed a whole other skill set so I could start swimming in the direction I want instead of just treading water.
Jeff: [00:16:43] One of the things I always find interesting when people come out of senior upper level management positions and start a business. You’ve got a lot of skills. You dealt with people. You understand money, you understand a lot of things. And then all of a sudden you are responsible for absolutely every tiny detail. You’re like, how do I set up a QuickBooks file? I mean, I know a couple of guys that came out of mid-level banks. They were managing portfolios of $250 million, and then they started a business and literally didn’t know how to set up the accounting software. I mean, that’s not a shot at them. It’s, well, you’ve never had to do it. Why would you know how to do that? But I think that’s a thing that a lot of people forget is the little things that you all of a sudden become responsible for. There’s nobody to delegate, like, oh, I gotta order business cards. I got to do, like, all of these little things that you never… that just kind of happened for you in a bigger company all of a sudden become your responsibility. Did you trip over any of those? Was there one? You’re like, ah…?
Rea: [00:17:44] Every single one of them. Every single one. But that’s why. That’s why, Jeff, you just have to hire the right people to help you. Like people who’ve done it and people who enjoy doing it. People who are really good at doing it. You know, like, I can’t do your job, so why would I even try? You know, and and I’m sure you could do my job given you a background, but, like, you probably can’t do a developer’s job. You know, so why bother wasting your time and energy on that? I just think delegate as quickly as you can. Don’t be cheap. Like, you know, it’s so easy to say well, I’m going to save money. No. Do yourself a favour. You’re going to grow faster by hiring the right people.
Jeff: [00:18:21] I think you’re 100% spot on with that because, I mean, especially in the early stages, and you do have to bootstrap a little bit, but as soon as you can afford to delegate some of the things, that’s how a business grows. And when you try to maintain too much of that stuff in-house, yeah, you might be able to do it and save a buck, but what could you be doing with your time that would be producing more value for yourself in the business, right?
Rea: [00:18:44] Exactly, exactly. And you’re going to learn, and you could choose to learn the hard way, or you could choose to learn the easy way. And bringing in experts, you’re learning the easy way, and you’re going to get to where you want to be faster.
Jeff: [00:18:57] Even if you don’t get the perfect price when you bring somebody in. Like if it’s a little less efficient than it could be, you’ll get better. And whatever that premium that you overpaid is probably way cheaper than the premium you would have paid figuring out yourself, right?
Rea: [00:19:11] Yes, 100%. 100%. You know, nowadays people can vibe code and they think, well, I’ll just vibe code my app. I don’t need to hire a developer. And there’s so many things that are wrong with that. You can vibe code a prototype, but you need to have an expert to look after security and compliance and architecture so that your app doesn’t break as it scales and it’s not easily hacked. And just because you can muddle your way through it doesn’t mean that you should. You know, and I often tell people like, I could probably build a house, doesn’t mean I should, and it certainly doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy it.
Jeff: [00:19:50] That’s totally fair. With all the advent in vibe coding and using AI to program, for anybody that doesn’t know what vibe coding is, and where you can essentially create your own apps, what makes for a good business idea? Like I’m going to build an app or a website. Like what are the hallmarks of something that actually is a viable business case versus just a novelty that they’re building in an app? Do you have any thoughts on that?
Rea: [00:20:14] Yeah, I really simplify this. Anything that someone’s willing to pay for.
Jeff: [00:20:19] Fair enough.
Rea: [00:20:20] That’s it. It doesn’t matter how silly it is. You know, like, I’ve heard some spectacular ideas. In my mind, I thought, I don’t think that would make any money. And I was dead wrong, you know, because people out there were willing to pay for it. So I think if you can find someone who’s willing to part with their money for your application, go for it.
Jeff: [00:20:42] Yeah, I get, because of what I do, I get pitched on a lot of business ideas, like, is this a good idea? And I’m always hesitant to be like, no, that’s a dumb idea. You shouldn’t do that, because I just keep thinking of the guy that told Bill Gates, oh, that’s stupid. Nobody’s ever going to use a computer. So I’m like, even if I think it’s pretty questionable, I’m like, well, maybe there’s a way to make that work. I don’t think you’re quite there yet.
Rea: [00:21:08] Yes, yes. And they might be looking at it a different way than you are. Right? Like, they may have a different vision and may not have articulated it properly. Right? So I reserve judgment. I heard, Brandy Olds from Edmonton say something very interesting the other day, and she said somebody had asked her, do you think my idea is like, it’s a good idea? Will it, will it fly? And she said, you’re asking the wrong person. I’m not your target audience. I should not be giving you my opinion. And that’s just the thing. We all have opinions and everyone has an opinion on our business. It doesn’t mean that it’s right.
Jeff: [00:21:43] Yeah. You know, I love that point. The amount of times somebody has talked to me about a business idea and I’ve asked them, okay, well, what does the people you think are going to buy this say? Well, I haven’t really talked to any.
Rea: [00:21:53] Yeah.
Jeff: [00:21:55] So you’re going to go, you’re ready to spend however much money building this thing, and you’ve never talked to somebody who might want to buy it. I mean, I think it is a bit of a challenge if you’re not already in that particular industry, to connect with somebody and get real answers. But I think it’s worth the time to test it out, because you might save yourself a pile of money or find that one little tweak will make that difference.
Rea: [00:22:17] Yes.
Jeff: [00:22:18] Have you found that as well?
Rea: [00:22:20] Absolutely. And if you’re not in that industry, you better become very familiar with it. If you’re planning to sell that industry, like you should know it inside and out, you know, and most of the founders that I work with are professionals, mid to late career. And they’ve identified a gap and they know a digital solution is going to fix it. And so they’re coming at it from a point of view of someone has to fix this, you know, like they’re not coming at it thinking, I’m going to make a lot of money. Somebody has to fix this. And then their second thought is, and I think this will generate a lot of money, you know, and I find that those founders are far more realistic. You know, when it comes to building out their idea and, and in my opinion, far more likely to succeed.
Jeff: [00:23:07] Yeah. I think you make a good point. Do you also get approached by a bunch of people that are the other way? And what advice do you give them when they come to you?
Rea: [00:23:15] Yes we do. And I have said to them, you’re not ready to build yet. You know, here are some resources. Go do your homework. You know, I can’t take their money because I know that they’re not going to do well. And so someone else could take their money, sure, but I need to sleep well at night.
Jeff: [00:23:36] Yeah. It’s, I have a personal philosophy. I actually refuse to write business projections for other people because they, if you don’t fundamentally understand what you’re trying to build to the point where you can do your own projections and convince somebody to invest in your company, I shouldn’t be allowing you to do an end run on that. And I think it’s a fine balance between, I mean, obviously you’re in business and you want to be able to welcome customers in, but I think it shows how committed you are to the work you do when you’re willing to say, look, I don’t think this is right for you right now. You need to go do some homework. Sure, we could build you something, but I don’t think that’s the way to spend it. So I applaud you for being willing to turn business away when it’s not the right fit. I have a lot of respect for businesses that do that, and I always question the ones that will take any kind of business from anywhere, because I don’t know if that’s the way to build a strong business.
Rea: [00:24:33] It is not. It is not. And, you know, like I would imagine, like if I was in their shoes, I would want someone to say to me, Rea, don’t pursue this, like you’re not ready yet. Go do some more research. You know, learn a bit. And, you know, I was I was in that place, you know, before I joined New Idea Machine fully, I really wanted to do event sponsorship. I love event sponsorship, but to me, it’s just so much fun. And I did it for a while, and I loved it. And I wanted to come up. I had this idea, you know, to automate event sponsorship, make it easier for all users. And I started doing my market research and I started diving in, but the idea wasn’t viable. Like, the market just wasn’t big enough for the idea to succeed. And even though I did do a soft launch, it didn’t go anywhere. I had a lot of people calling me saying, hey, I want your help, but I don’t have any money to pay you. It’s like, okay, well, it doesn’t work that way. Like I have my volunteer hours. I can’t spend all my time volunteering. I need to make money. So that idea didn’t go anywhere. But, you know, initially, I had people telling me, oh, that’s a great idea. Yes. Pursue it. And I wish they had said, hmm, maybe you should stop Rea, and look at these other factors before you pursue this, because it would have saved me a lot of time.
Jeff: [00:25:51] A lot of people are running it by one of the AIs, ChatGPT or things these days. I always tell people, the thing with ChatGPT is it’s like your best friends. It’ll lie to you to protect your feelings.
Rea: [00:26:01] Yes, yes. You’re 100% right. Yeah.
Jeff: [00:26:04] So if you ask him, I think this is a good idea. Do you think this is a good idea? Oh, that’s a great idea.
Rea: [00:26:09] Yes, but ask it to poke holes at your idea.
Jeff: [00:26:12] Yeah.
Rea: [00:26:13] Now it’s not so friendly.
Jeff: [00:26:14] And that’s the whole, I think, thing people are learning is how to structure a prompt to get good information. And I think that’s a big thing that a lot of people need to learn about how to use AI. You mentioned something about ideas that didn’t happen. I have a pretty healthy dead projects drawer myself, and I’m pretty sure most entrepreneurs do. And we never talk about the 40 things we decided were bad ideas after some research. Was there an idea that sticks out to you that you wish would have worked, or something you explored and decided against?
Rea: [00:26:42] For me, personally? Yeah. Sure. You know, so when my, years and years ago, when my daughter was very, very young, I did actually explore this idea and it did do well, but I just didn’t have the stamina to keep it going. But at the time, there weren’t a lot of options for non-toxic toys for children. It wasn’t an app idea, but I opened up my own moms and tots shop and built a community around it, and I was selling non-toxic toys to other parents. And, you know, I had business. It was doing well, but I didn’t understand margins very well, which I know you and I were chatting about this earlier. So the business wasn’t sustainable. And, no wonder I was burnt out because I wasn’t making enough money doing it, so I had to eventually let it die a very slow death. And it was very, very sad because I didn’t want to see go, because I loved the community that was being built, and I loved the idea behind it, but I didn’t have the capacity. You know, as a mom of a very young child, I didn’t have the right team members. I didn’t have the right mentors and service providers in place. Yeah. So that’s another one of my ideas that didn’t do as well as I had hoped it would do.
Jeff: [00:27:56] And I think, but it’s a learning experience, right? And I think for people who want to become entrepreneurs and want, for some crazy reason, to run their own business, one of the things that doesn’t get talked about is sometimes you get halfway down the path and decide, maybe this is not such a great idea, and that’s okay. People feel like if once they’ve had an idea, this is the only idea they’re ever going to have, and they must follow through on it, or they’re never going to have another business idea. And I wish somebody would have told me earlier that it’s okay to have an idea that’s not workable and to move on to the next one.
Rea: [00:28:28] Yes, because you are right. You learn a lot and it’s okay to fail. It really is. I mean, it sucks. Nobody wants to fail. It’s just part of life. And I have a lot of respect for people who say, yeah, I had this idea and it didn’t work out. Awesome. So few people take a chance on their idea, you know, and then they live with that regret their whole lives. At least you gave it a go.
Jeff: [00:28:51] I mean, explore it till you find out why you shouldn’t do it. And hopefully you keep exploring and you never find that reason.
Rea: [00:28:57] Yes.
Jeff: [00:28:59] Awesome. Well, I had one more question for you that I stole from you. So we’ll see how you handle one of your own questions. What’s the question no one has ever asked you and should?
Rea: [00:29:12] Mmm. What brings me the most joy and ask me what brings me the greatest sorrow? And I think if you ask me those two questions, you’ll really get a sense of who I am.
Jeff: [00:29:22] Well, I think we might as well ask you that.
Rea: [00:29:25] Oh. Greatest joy. My greatest joy is seeing joy in others. And if I can play a part in that, oh my gosh, it is such a high for me, you know? And I think that’s why I really do celebrate with our clients. I just love to see them win. It’s just so fulfilling. I absolutely love it. The greatest sorrow is seeing animals or people or even the planet just being abused, taken advantage of, disrespected, you know, like that lack of love, that darkness that happens. That weighs heavily on my heart and more often than not. And I really wish I could, you know, turn that switch off, but I can’t.
Jeff: [00:30:05] I think those are, I mean, that’s a big part of what’s going on in the world today. And I think those are things everybody should be thinking about for sure. Well, with that segue, I can’t not ask you about the Alberta Rainforest and how you’re involved with that. And, we should probably do a free promo for your podcast, which I had a listen to, and that was pretty awesome. Can you tell us a little bit about those two other?
Rea: [00:30:25] Yes. So you may have heard of Alberta Rainforest. This is a grassroots movement that was happening in Calgary and Edmonton years ago, long before the pandemic. And my CTO, Aldo Degan said. You know, there’s so many amazing people that come to these meetings, but nobody’s really talking about them. Like, we really need to shine a light on them. Why don’t we have a podcast? So he actually launched The Leaders, Innovators, and Bold Ideas podcast, or LIBI for short. And it’s open to the community. So anyone can be a host. Anyone can be a guest. You know, last year I went out to interview female entrepreneurs, and that was fantastic. There was so much wisdom to be shared. Currently, I’m interviewing founders of products. So if you’re a product founder, I’d love to chat with you. It’s just a community movement that’s open to everyone. And I got into it because I needed to get out of my comfort zone. I really needed to get comfortable in front of the camera and in front of the mic, just because of what it is that I do. I’m constantly speaking to potential clients and I thought, you know, I really love getting to know people on a deeper level. That’s also very satisfying to me. So I’ll join the podcast and start interviewing fantastic entrepreneurs in the ecosystem. And it’s been amazing. I’ve met incredible people and hearing their stories and their lessons and their insights is definitely inspiring.
Jeff: [00:31:52] I think a lot of people don’t know how much of an ecosystem is available to support entrepreneurs in Alberta, whether that’s specifically in tech or in the broader community. There’s various resources, and I’d suggest people look around if they’re trying to start a company of just what might be available, either through Alberta Innovates or through Alberta Rainforest. And there’s various tech incubators in Calgary and Edmonton and other communities as well.
Rea: [00:32:16] Yes, there are, there are, but not everyone’s aware of them. And, you know, like I speak to founders who are not even aware of Alberta Innovates or Edmonton Regional Innovation Network or even Platform Calgary, like they’ve never heard of it. And that’s so shocking to me. And so when I was speaking to Alberta Innovates and I was telling them this, they said, oh yeah, we’re aware of that. And I’m like, how could that be? Because, you know, they’re very well known. But then I thought about it. I’m like, okay, I’m immersed in the ecosystem. So to me it’s very obvious. But if someone’s not immersed in the tech ecosystem, it’s very likely that they’ve never heard of these resources that are available to them. And that’s why one of the things I’m doing is pulling together all this information. So one of the resources we have on our website is the Tech Innovation Roadmap that walks you step by step, like what’s available to you at various stages of your journey. Like here are all the resources you could tap into, including mentorship, including grants and everything else just so that they have a roadmap and they know where to go.
Jeff: [00:33:13] And that’s a great resource, and I’ll try to pull some into the comments for this show, but I’ll direct them to your website as well so that they can check that stuff out as well. Awesome. Well, I really appreciate your time. Is there one thing that you think we should have talked about or you wanted to mention before we wrap everything up today?
Rea: [00:33:31] Yes, and you may wish to include this or you may wish to remove it. That’s completely fine, but I have this idea of creating a collective of service providers who are invested in founders’ success as much as New Idea Machine is, and my vision is to have someone like yourself, Jeff, and a marketing expert, and grant expert, obviously New Idea Machine, like be a part of this so that when an entrepreneur approaches any one of us, they know that they’re in exceptionally good hands and everyone that they deal with will go above and beyond to support them. Because that’s one thing that I’ve noticed is very hard for founders. They don’t know who to trust, they don’t know what questions to ask, and as a result, they end up hiring the wrong people. Right? As we talked about earlier. So I want to create that soft landing pad, you know, where entrepreneurs can come and just know that whatever they need, there’s an expert that’s going to help them every step of the way and point them in the right direction.
Jeff: [00:34:41] Yeah, I think that’s one of the biggest things in business, is figuring out who you can trust and rely on as a supplier or a partner to build your business. And I’m all for any effort that helps make it easier for all the entrepreneurs that are looking to build out a new idea.
Rea: [00:34:56] Fantastic.
Jeff: [00:34:58] Well, thank you very much for spending the time with us. And, I always enjoy our conversations. I’ll look forward to the next one.
Rea: [00:35:05] Thank you. Jeff. Thanks for having me.
Jeff: [00:35:11] That’s all for us here at the Owner’s Roundtable. If you’re looking for more support for your business or your own ownership journey, you can contact us at www.focalpointedmonton.com. Thanks for pulling up a chair. And don’t forget to like and subscribe so you don’t miss out on more great success stories, misadventures, lessons, and advice from real business owners just like you.