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<v Speaker 1>This is the Startup Still Say podcast. Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>tuning in. You're's a favor like subscribe on YouTube or LinkedIn.

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<v Speaker 1>Will be sure to give us your feeding if you

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy this episode.

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<v Speaker 2>Hell everyone, welcome to another brand new episode of Startups.

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<v Speaker 2>They'll say, this is Anthony Pracassi, your host is always

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<v Speaker 2>I am here joined by Sebastian Sulma, currently the co

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<v Speaker 2>founder of Quid. He joins us from Mexico City. Actually, Sebastian,

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<v Speaker 2>you're my first guest from Mexico and that part of

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<v Speaker 2>the world, so welcome. And before Sebastian introduces himself, I

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<v Speaker 2>mean I've found sebastian background to be super fascinating. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>he's a global citizen right now he's in Mexico, but

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<v Speaker 2>he's traveled to all different parts of the world, worn

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<v Speaker 2>multiple different hats. And what he's doing now is a Quid,

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<v Speaker 2>which is a security focused company, which he'll tell us

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<v Speaker 2>more about. But let's hear from Sebastian himself about background

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<v Speaker 2>and what what did what brought him to quit. So Sebastian,

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<v Speaker 2>welcome to the show.

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<v Speaker 1>Hi Anthony, great to be here. So I'm actually Czech,

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<v Speaker 1>Mexican Chexican. I've lived my whole life between very safe

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<v Speaker 1>Europe and unfortunately, let's safe Latin America, but beautiful of course,

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<v Speaker 1>hence what we're working on at QUIT, which i'll talk

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<v Speaker 1>about a bit later. My career started very young and

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<v Speaker 1>entrepreneur since I can remember. I always loved buying and

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<v Speaker 1>selling all sorts of stuff and had a big, a

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<v Speaker 1>pretty decent import expert company when I was a teen.

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<v Speaker 1>We sold over all sorts of stuff all the way

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<v Speaker 1>from watches to merchandising, and and then I went to

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<v Speaker 1>explored a couple of businesses in all sorts from from

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<v Speaker 1>liquor to all sorts of electronics products, et cetera. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I well studied and went into venture. I spent

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<v Speaker 1>two and a half years in venture, helped to build

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<v Speaker 1>a VC fund, raised a bunch of money, invested in

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<v Speaker 1>over forty companies myself, and that was a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>fun and I really enjoyed doing that. But then, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I had to turn to what my heart was telling me,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's what we're here today.

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<v Speaker 2>Excellent, as I rightly said, I mean fascinating background checksicon

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<v Speaker 2>is the term that I've never heard of before, so

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<v Speaker 2>I should get into that. So thanks to your parents,

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<v Speaker 2>I guess, you know, so let's maybe start there, Sebastian,

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<v Speaker 2>how much of your blended culture has kind of influenced

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<v Speaker 2>you in who you are? You said, you know, you

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<v Speaker 2>had a family business even when you were a teen.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm assuming the roots started growing back then into what

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<v Speaker 2>you wanted to do. There was a lot of childhood

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<v Speaker 2>focused to me now, influences from your childhood rather to

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<v Speaker 2>who you are. Can you share anything that you can

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<v Speaker 2>remember as to what your influences were?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, sure, so no, I'm absolutely very very grateful

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<v Speaker 1>and pactful to my right, I speak all the languages

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<v Speaker 1>next to them, and thanks to their efforts, and like

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<v Speaker 1>I said, you know, very grateful. I think you know,

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<v Speaker 1>what influenced me the most is really really the contrast

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<v Speaker 1>you know between those two cultures, Latin American cultures. Mexican

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<v Speaker 1>culture is a very warm culture. It's a culture where

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<v Speaker 1>you know, people on the street are very friendly and

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<v Speaker 1>the food is incredible, right, and everyone's like, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>very warm. It's a very relationship driven, right and versus

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Czech Republic in Central and Eastern Europe, they're

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<v Speaker 1>also a relationship driven, but it's a bit colder, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Like people don't smile necessarily, right, and the nonverbal language

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<v Speaker 1>is quite a bit different, right. So that helps a lot,

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<v Speaker 1>right in the business context to understand that it's not

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<v Speaker 1>meant meant in a negative way.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's when I said, let's blame it on the

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<v Speaker 2>weather and both the places right now.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, yeah, And my father he is a finance

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<v Speaker 1>guy and my mom is a designer. You never, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>driven me towards being an entrepreneur. I guess it's something

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<v Speaker 1>I was more or less born with. And the taking

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<v Speaker 1>you know, big risks and going all in, that's something

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<v Speaker 1>I've uh, I've been inspired by online, not really not

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<v Speaker 1>really there, got it?

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<v Speaker 2>Got it? Okay, So you you obviously started off there.

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<v Speaker 2>But when it came to studying and growing up, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>what did you eventually choose to study before you actually

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<v Speaker 2>moved on to you know, investing and stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I did that a very neutral agree, business management.

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<v Speaker 1>I like engineering, and I've always thinker it around, but

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think that's where my my talent was. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>more of a business guy than than an engineer.

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<v Speaker 2>Got it. Got it? So, giving you a background Sebastian.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, do you spend a lot of time in

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<v Speaker 2>both parts of the world or I mean, so tell

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<v Speaker 2>us about that. How is that life?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah? Yeah, so our tech team is based mainly in

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<v Speaker 1>the Czech Republic. We'll they have one person supporting the

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<v Speaker 1>time zone and everything, and it's it's it's good because

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<v Speaker 1>the Church Republic has a lot of great technical talent,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of value for money, you know, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>been inflated by US prices like Mexico, right. And it's

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<v Speaker 1>also I think a place where people have understood already

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<v Speaker 1>what having equity in a company means, right, because there

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<v Speaker 1>have been a couple of success stories, whereas in Latin,

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<v Speaker 1>even though the culture towards equity, people will always tend

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<v Speaker 1>to go for cash. Right. That's my personal experience, at

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<v Speaker 1>least from what I've what I've seen and observed. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so right after you did your college, I mean

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<v Speaker 2>I see that you have a little bit of a

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<v Speaker 2>stint with y Combinator as well, I mean are and

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<v Speaker 2>then obviously you mentioned about the venture side of things.

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<v Speaker 2>So how is that? I mean, you know, working with startups,

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<v Speaker 2>working with you know, investors, scouting startups, and you also

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<v Speaker 2>said earlier, you invested in party plus startups yourself. What

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<v Speaker 2>was that experience, like, I mean, and what kind of

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<v Speaker 2>do you want to say? Okay, enough of this, enough

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<v Speaker 2>of putting my own money into other people's pockets. Let's

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<v Speaker 2>let's start quid where you know, I want to build

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<v Speaker 2>something on my own.

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<v Speaker 1>No, I love venture and I look forward to getting

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<v Speaker 1>back to it one day. I think it's super exciting.

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<v Speaker 1>I love it because you know, you get to meet

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<v Speaker 1>super interesting people, people that are solving real problems, not

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<v Speaker 1>made up problems. And that's where I think it gets exciting,

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<v Speaker 1>like things that really improve someone's life. And I'd say

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<v Speaker 1>that there's the best form of charity from my perspective,

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<v Speaker 1>right to create a business that will benefit humanity overall. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, while I was focused primarily on developing markets,

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<v Speaker 1>So the interesting part was that an interesting upside, Right,

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<v Speaker 1>we could take the startups early on, invest smaller checks,

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<v Speaker 1>their impact with those checks, and then ultimately also help

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<v Speaker 1>them a lot more thanks to our connections. Right, So

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<v Speaker 1>it was not just investing. It was a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>helping intro introducing them to other investors, et cetera, Right,

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<v Speaker 1>helping them build their teams and stuff, and that was

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<v Speaker 1>super satisfying. Right after, after a while, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>saw that there is you know, not as many as

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<v Speaker 1>many real problems, right, and that's why we're building Quid. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>Security has been something that's been always on my mind. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>It's it's it's been I have a very very hard

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<v Speaker 1>personal experience there. So my one of my family members

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<v Speaker 1>got chat dead in their own apartment, and you at

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<v Speaker 1>least bite having a traditional security system, right and cameras

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<v Speaker 1>they the system didn't prevent that from happening, right. It

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<v Speaker 1>really really frustrated me. Right, So security was one of

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<v Speaker 1>my focus areas invested in a couple of companies in

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<v Speaker 1>the space, and but I didn't see anyone, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>taking and building this one big, you know, market defining company, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>that that would that will really change all those lives, right,

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<v Speaker 1>which is what I always looked at for as an investor.

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<v Speaker 1>And so yeah, so that's why that's why we decided

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<v Speaker 1>to build.

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<v Speaker 2>It with Yeah, yeah, that's thanks for sharing the background.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean I was gonna ask you, I mean, was

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<v Speaker 2>there a personal influence? I Mean I didn't imagine it

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<v Speaker 2>will be a sad one, but I mean, you know

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<v Speaker 2>here we are, right, I mean, you know that's that's

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<v Speaker 2>your inspiration every day, to prevent those sort of things

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<v Speaker 2>from happening, not only in your part of the world,

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<v Speaker 2>but I mean elsewhere as well. So let's deep dive

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<v Speaker 2>into cred itself. I mean, you know, so you saw

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<v Speaker 2>this tragic incident happen in your household, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>obviously there's so many different hardware manufacturing security providers out there,

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<v Speaker 2>and you already said, you know, I mean it's not preventing.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean it's it's almost a ditterent. For example, and

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<v Speaker 2>I have a home security system in my house as well.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you know, for the most part, I mean

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<v Speaker 2>we open, we we when the alarm is on, we

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<v Speaker 2>we we kill it and say it not to call

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<v Speaker 2>the cops or whatnot. I mean, you know, that's that's

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<v Speaker 2>the only thing. I mean, you know, people can pay,

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<v Speaker 2>for example, switch off your power supply from outside. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>the security system just just goes off. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>nobody can do anything right. So again, I mean, given

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<v Speaker 2>that the market is kind of much filled with units,

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<v Speaker 2>whether it's from this part of the world or Asia,

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<v Speaker 2>it is so many people out there. I mean, what

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<v Speaker 2>did you set out to do as your vision with

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<v Speaker 2>quit and I mean especially focused on the demographic that

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<v Speaker 2>you're going after, Sebastian, what will be a right?

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<v Speaker 1>So the vision is to prevent Fred from happening and

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<v Speaker 1>to make security accessible, right, And I believe if this

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<v Speaker 1>cannot be achieved with a great IoT product or with

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<v Speaker 1>the same professional product that we've been selling over the

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<v Speaker 1>last one hundred and fifty years. So literally, right, Like,

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<v Speaker 1>if you take a look at what ADT stands for,

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<v Speaker 1>do you know what it sounds for? Just a good question?

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<v Speaker 2>Is it detection something an.

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<v Speaker 1>American American district telegraph? Right? It tells you a lot

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<v Speaker 1>about you know, the age of the company, right. And

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<v Speaker 1>it goes all the way back, you know, to the

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<v Speaker 1>first alarm systems in New York City being implemented and

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<v Speaker 1>directly being connected to the police stations with a trick wire. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>And when you think of the censor of today, right,

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<v Speaker 1>the modern sensor of today, right, which are in the

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<v Speaker 1>vast majority of traditional security systems, it's very similar rights

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<v Speaker 1>this trick wire, which is not folk proof, right. It

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<v Speaker 1>results in ninety nine plus percent of alarms actually being

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<v Speaker 1>false positives. Right, So it's just not a real alarm.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, yeah, so so so you know due to you know,

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<v Speaker 3>eighty percent can be can be prevented and twenty percent

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<v Speaker 3>is the hard heart stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Right. So right when we when we started quit, right,

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<v Speaker 1>the last thing we wanted to do is hardware. We me,

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<v Speaker 1>coming from a VC background, you know, hardware is hard, right,

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<v Speaker 1>that's always you know what you hear, what you see,

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<v Speaker 1>and you try, you know to prevent it those and

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<v Speaker 1>then and then you know, unless it's like something you know,

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<v Speaker 1>more simple to build and very very very direct. But

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<v Speaker 1>then again, you know, like can you do real innovation

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<v Speaker 1>without doing the hard work, like I'm talking about life

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<v Speaker 1>changing real innovation, right, And we very quickly found out,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, after getting access to SKI and s d

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<v Speaker 1>ks and all this stuff from all the manufacturers, right,

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<v Speaker 1>we really in detail try to make it work, but

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<v Speaker 1>unfortunately we didn't improve the experience in the in the

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<v Speaker 1>way we needed to write to actually you know, achieve

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<v Speaker 1>our mission. And that's why, you know, for my past

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<v Speaker 1>I reached out to a bunch of contexts that unfortunately

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<v Speaker 1>had and that's how we how we started doing our

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<v Speaker 1>own own devices right where you know, the devices are

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<v Speaker 1>a lot faster in terms of reaction, right, it enables

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<v Speaker 1>us to do a lot more stuff and to provide

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<v Speaker 1>this this great experience that actually prevent scream from company.

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<v Speaker 2>Got it? So maybe we can go onto the hood

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit, Sebastian, I mean, so I totally support

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<v Speaker 2>the vision make it accessible and prevent this from happening.

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<v Speaker 2>What are you doing differently? I mean you did say

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<v Speaker 2>you try to not get into the hardware, but I

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<v Speaker 2>mean you do have some hardware sort of companies right now,

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<v Speaker 2>So can you talk a little bit about what is

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<v Speaker 2>the offering and what what happens? Let's say, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>or if I need to set it up in my house,

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<v Speaker 2>how do I go about doing it?

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<v Speaker 1>Yep RT. So the way it works today right is

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<v Speaker 1>we do we do have a complete set of devices.

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<v Speaker 1>It's twelve skaus, so we govern essentially everything you know,

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<v Speaker 1>all the way from smart access to the actual video

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<v Speaker 1>monitoring right to sensors, et cetera. For you to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to live in one app right and not have

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<v Speaker 1>to leave leave that ecosystem. Then you know, the core

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<v Speaker 1>component here is the combination of AI and humans. So

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<v Speaker 1>we contextually understand what's going on in a location, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's a home or business. We understand if it's you

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<v Speaker 1>entering your home or if it's a potential intruder. And

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<v Speaker 1>if we see the moment that there is a in

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<v Speaker 1>the moment that we see that the potential intrusion is

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<v Speaker 1>about to happen or is ongoing right before you enter

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<v Speaker 1>your parameter, essentially, right, we immediately activate and learn. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>let you know and when in a couple of seconds

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<v Speaker 1>someone from our monitoring center connects and take a look

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<v Speaker 1>at what's going on. Right in the monitoring center, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the same thing, right, they see who the property members are.

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<v Speaker 1>They only get access to the cameras you allow right

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<v Speaker 1>within the protocol. And essentially there they have this modern

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<v Speaker 1>right VMS and ticketing system which allows them to take

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<v Speaker 1>action really fast. Firstly prevent right and then send help

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<v Speaker 1>as fast as possible if it's needed. Right. So I

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<v Speaker 1>think I think that's really where you know our edulized.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, we're not just a company doing nice devices

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<v Speaker 1>or a nice app, right, or have the AI vision

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<v Speaker 1>component right, which is which is super important and it

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<v Speaker 1>being fast. Right, we also have this VMS and service stack, right.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's a very complex product, right, it took us

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of time to develop a lot more than

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<v Speaker 1>we wanted to right and right now the service is

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<v Speaker 1>only available in Mexico, but because you're a front, we

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<v Speaker 1>can send you some to test out and it will

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<v Speaker 1>unfortunately not be connected to a monitoring center yet but soon.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, I'm curious to see some demos of this

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<v Speaker 2>and see the whole AI part of it in action,

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<v Speaker 2>which is which will be pretty cool. So I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>how has that option been so far, Sebastian, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>but what stage is the company in. What's the early

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<v Speaker 2>feedback that you're getting from early adopters?

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<v Speaker 1>Yea, so we are. We've raised about eight hundred thousand

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<v Speaker 1>to date. How we have a functioning product and service

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<v Speaker 1>right and we're still calling it being up because we're

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<v Speaker 1>by perfectionists in that sense, but we should, we should

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<v Speaker 1>have the full version coming out very very soon in

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<v Speaker 1>this quarter. And what stage are we in? Well, we

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<v Speaker 1>are alive in Mexico and we have about dirty customers

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<v Speaker 1>right now. Most of them are businesses that are piloting

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<v Speaker 1>right our solution for several of their locations to bring

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<v Speaker 1>it out to hundreds. And I'd say Mexico is a

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<v Speaker 1>great place to be doing that because even though Mexican

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<v Speaker 1>customers are more demanding on the service level per se,

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<v Speaker 1>they're they're less demanding on the product level, right. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's not like they're going to sue you if you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a button doesn't work properly, right and you don't get

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<v Speaker 1>a response, right, which is it can be a life

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<v Speaker 1>or life that you know, threatening kind of situation.

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<v Speaker 2>Right.

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<v Speaker 1>So of course this is super important for us. That's

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<v Speaker 1>why that's why we're holding back, let's say, on growth

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<v Speaker 1>to other countries directly on their our platform, right, which

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<v Speaker 1>is quick.

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<v Speaker 2>Quick, where are you doing the manufacturing of the hardware?

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<v Speaker 1>Meanly in Asia?

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<v Speaker 2>So okay, yeah, got it right now.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to I'd love to work with Mexican manufacturers.

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<v Speaker 1>The thing is that the technology is not here and

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<v Speaker 1>the prices are not here, right, or we're open to

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<v Speaker 1>other other places, but it's just where we found fund Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean I understand. I mean, you know, especially

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<v Speaker 2>with your vision to make it accessible to people, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>you need to figure out buying balance between you know,

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<v Speaker 2>what you put into your hardware and I mean how

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<v Speaker 2>how does that whole package become accessive? So the other

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<v Speaker 2>question I had on the product itself Sebastianism. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>is it like self install or for businesses? I mean

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<v Speaker 2>you guys do the install as well.

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<v Speaker 1>You can self install it, but we in Mexico do everything.

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<v Speaker 1>So we have a network of installer partners that we've trained,

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<v Speaker 1>and essentially we're three sixties kind of solution, right, So

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<v Speaker 1>you could say customers appreciate.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that makes sense. So, first of all, on Quid,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, congratulations on the launch and the growth. I

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<v Speaker 2>mean it feels like a really important startup. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>especially considering I mean the crime rate and everything you

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<v Speaker 2>see on TV. So hopefully Quid comes in as a

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<v Speaker 2>big factor to help bring that down and help people

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<v Speaker 2>be safe. But I want to go back to a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit Sebastian to your days as a venture guy,

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<v Speaker 2>if you will, and obviously you already mentioned it. I

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<v Speaker 2>mean you mean, you meet so many people with the

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<v Speaker 2>real purpose behind there start up, solving for real world problems.

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<v Speaker 2>And given that this show it kind of talks about

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<v Speaker 2>both sides of the coin, both founders and investors, I

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<v Speaker 2>mean I want to hear from you about any big

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<v Speaker 2>takeaways or learnings that you had round meetings with those

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<v Speaker 2>founders about you know do's and don'ts that you tried

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<v Speaker 2>to kind of bring into Quid and said, Okay, I

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<v Speaker 2>mean I will not be like that particular founder if

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<v Speaker 2>you will, or you know, here are my learnings that

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<v Speaker 2>I'm putting into my real life or my startup. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>any anything that you can think of as big takeaways

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<v Speaker 2>from your career as a VC, right.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean the first I'm gonna mention, it's really it's

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<v Speaker 1>really hard, right, Like what we're doing at Quid is

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<v Speaker 1>the hardest thing I've done in my life by far, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And I think evaluating that that as hard as you

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<v Speaker 1>can is very very important, right, because I think Jensen

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<v Speaker 1>hunts at something quite quite interesting, right, he said, you

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<v Speaker 1>know the superpower founders is that right, you don't know

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<v Speaker 1>how hard it is, and we'll get the superpower is

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<v Speaker 1>that we keep lying to ourselves, right, And that's true.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we're doing it's freaking crazy, right, then, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd say the other aspect is as validated as hard

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<v Speaker 1>as as as much as you can. I think one

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<v Speaker 1>of our mistakes is we had very early on we

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<v Speaker 1>had over ten thousand customers signed up, right, And which

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<v Speaker 1>is which is amazing, Right, this SELP does raise and everything.

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<v Speaker 1>We didn't ask those customers opinion, right we made We

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<v Speaker 1>made a couple of right bets right on on that.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, even we didn't convert many of them,

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<v Speaker 1>right like because the willing to having the difference. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>oh hey this is actually quite expensive, right, So so

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<v Speaker 1>always like try to transact as early as possible.

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<v Speaker 2>Right.

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<v Speaker 1>And then another one I'd say, is is team a

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<v Speaker 1>critical right we made even though you know it came

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<v Speaker 1>from a venture background, and the things I'm saying now,

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<v Speaker 1>I sent them to founders and I said, a bunch

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<v Speaker 1>of time, I still make those mistakes right in one

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<v Speaker 1>way or another the founding team. It's just so important

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, we made a couple of wrong choices

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<v Speaker 1>on on the technical side right of the team. I

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<v Speaker 1>think most startups wouldn't have survived what we have. We

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<v Speaker 1>have and today I'm really happy to say, you know

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<v Speaker 1>that we're shipping on a weekly basis, We have a

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<v Speaker 1>weekly demo, we have stuff really to show for and

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<v Speaker 1>and I'd say having that from the beginning, right like,

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<v Speaker 1>especially if you're non technical, like have a demo at

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<v Speaker 1>least once a week, right, if not more with your

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<v Speaker 1>technical team to show them what they're actually progressing on, right, like,

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<v Speaker 1>like actually what they're what they're what they're getting done,

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<v Speaker 1>get into GitHub, understand it, right, because you know, it

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<v Speaker 1>can be quite dangerous, you know, especially if you raise money,

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<v Speaker 1>right and you're like, ah, yeah, sure a twelve months,

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<v Speaker 1>right or have ten months? You know, it can be

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<v Speaker 1>quite easy to disassociate yourself with that, right, especially if

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<v Speaker 1>it's you know, not someone that's built a billion dollar

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<v Speaker 1>plus business before, even if they built big businesses, which

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<v Speaker 1>was in our case, right like they were they were

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<v Speaker 1>unicorn engineers, right, it is engineers from unicorns. But the

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<v Speaker 1>thing is that it's very different to be in an

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<v Speaker 1>enterprise and to be shipping under that than to be

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<v Speaker 1>building everything by yourself, right, even if they had hobby projects,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera. A lot of things can come in between.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'd say that like focus on results, on transacting

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<v Speaker 1>and try to you know, I think there's two paths

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<v Speaker 1>you can take here. One you can try to raise

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of money, right. Two you don't raise and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, don't have this burden on your shoulders. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it depends very much on the company.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, great, great insights. Thanks for shedding, and you

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<v Speaker 2>mentioned team as well. It's back to QUID. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>you did mention earlier you have a team in Mexico

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<v Speaker 2>as well as some folks are. How did you go

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<v Speaker 2>about constructing your team? I mean when you decided to

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<v Speaker 2>build QUID, I mean, did you have a fairly neat

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<v Speaker 2>idea of saying, Okay, these are the people I want

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<v Speaker 2>or you know, I mean you had to build it

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<v Speaker 2>brick by brick.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, I had some ideas, but it ended up

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<v Speaker 1>being break by brick, right, same thing right, Like, same

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<v Speaker 1>thing with team building, but getting the right people on

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<v Speaker 1>board that's really hard. It's really hard to to to

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<v Speaker 1>sell right, Like in our space. It's not like a

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<v Speaker 1>sass you know, where you get a lead and you're

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<v Speaker 1>like okay, bay here and you link them up, you

404
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<v Speaker 1>mboard them, boom, right, And this is this is quite complicated,

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<v Speaker 1>and I think because of the complexity of security is

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<v Speaker 1>why many investors shy away from investing in security, which

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<v Speaker 1>I understand, right, because it's because it's very hard for

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<v Speaker 1>smaller teams to execute well in this industry, right, very hard.

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<v Speaker 1>It's it's it's it's complex, right, you have all these

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<v Speaker 1>moving layers, right, and if you take a look at

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<v Speaker 1>how the security companies have today operate right, like to

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<v Speaker 1>give the specific example in this space, right, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>it's a glued together puzzle kind of thing, right where

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<v Speaker 1>there's missing pieces of the puzzle over the place. And

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<v Speaker 1>I find it insane. You know that that it's still

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<v Speaker 1>it's still works this way. So that's why that's why

417
00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:56.359
<v Speaker 1>we see such a huge opportunity and building quick come

418
00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:00.000
<v Speaker 1>and yeah, now that makes sense.

419
00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:04.880
<v Speaker 2>So what's what's next for Quinn Sebastian. What what's the

420
00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:07.039
<v Speaker 2>next twelve months twenty four months looking like?

421
00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:10.519
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so I'm happy to say actually that we're living

422
00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:15.799
<v Speaker 1>off our revenues now, so thanks, it's pretty rare. We

423
00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:19.240
<v Speaker 1>did over one hundred thousand revenues last year. We're probably

424
00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:21.599
<v Speaker 1>going to do over one hundred thousand this quarter. Projecting

425
00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:26.720
<v Speaker 1>well beyond that, you you can you can request my

426
00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:30.680
<v Speaker 1>deck if you're an investor. And what we're planning is

427
00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.960
<v Speaker 1>this year we're planning to two more devices which are

428
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.400
<v Speaker 1>going to take take us to the next level really

429
00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:43.119
<v Speaker 1>like on top global security device level. Another thing is

430
00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:46.319
<v Speaker 1>we're also probably going to open up more countries this

431
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.359
<v Speaker 1>year already. So we have a closed deal for the

432
00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:51.440
<v Speaker 1>Czech Republic with a huge partner to build a big

433
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.200
<v Speaker 1>challenger there, and we're also working on about half a

434
00:24:55.240 --> 00:25:02.119
<v Speaker 1>dozen others. Yeah, we're going to raise around soon end

435
00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:05.559
<v Speaker 1>of this quarter. We're going to raise one and if

436
00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:09.119
<v Speaker 1>not earlier, and existing investors are committing. So I'm quite

437
00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:13.799
<v Speaker 1>excited about that. And beyond that, you know, I definitely

438
00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:17.200
<v Speaker 1>see how we're going to reach beyond a billion dollars

439
00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:20.000
<v Speaker 1>in nerve Ansota the next ten years. Right, It's going

440
00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:22.079
<v Speaker 1>to take us longer than we'd like to clearly, but

441
00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:23.720
<v Speaker 1>a straight face.

442
00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:26.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that is awesome. I mean, that is great progress.

443
00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:31.720
<v Speaker 2>Congratulations to you and your team. I'm sure whoever's looking

444
00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:35.400
<v Speaker 2>to invest, I mean, this is the great place to invest,

445
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:39.440
<v Speaker 2>just based off of your numbers. And speaking of the numbers, Sebastian,

446
00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:43.279
<v Speaker 2>one of the things I find in a lot of

447
00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:46.920
<v Speaker 2>startups that do well is a founder lead sales and

448
00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:50.039
<v Speaker 2>founder lad growth in the early stages. I mean, you know,

449
00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:52.640
<v Speaker 2>there are a bunch of startups that I've seen, I

450
00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:55.240
<v Speaker 2>mean where the CEO or one of the founders says

451
00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:56.680
<v Speaker 2>I don't want to be part of sales, I mean,

452
00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.599
<v Speaker 2>leave me behind the scenes and I will take care

453
00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.200
<v Speaker 2>of this. But the most successful ones, at least in

454
00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.599
<v Speaker 2>the early stages, the founders are out there, you know,

455
00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:07.640
<v Speaker 2>doing road shows on the street, I mean, talking to

456
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:10.880
<v Speaker 2>people and selling even before they think of bringing in

457
00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:15.119
<v Speaker 2>someone to you know, just do sales full time, right.

458
00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.559
<v Speaker 2>I mean, what is your opinion on that sort of concept?

459
00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:20.559
<v Speaker 2>I mean, has that worked for you? I mean, based

460
00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:23.000
<v Speaker 2>on what you're saying, it looks like I mean you're

461
00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:24.559
<v Speaker 2>always out there selling.

462
00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:30.559
<v Speaker 1>Right, Yeah, we're out here selling. I'd say it's very

463
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.759
<v Speaker 1>So I'd take two things. One is, I think it's

464
00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.559
<v Speaker 1>very important for founders to be involved in sales because

465
00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.880
<v Speaker 1>of the product componant. If you want to build a

466
00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:41.680
<v Speaker 1>great product, right, you need to know what your customers want, right,

467
00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:44.160
<v Speaker 1>or at least get feedback from them in some form, right,

468
00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.880
<v Speaker 1>So it's quite important to have that. On the other side,

469
00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.400
<v Speaker 1>I do say, like you have to be efficient. Time

470
00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:54.680
<v Speaker 1>is the most scarce resource, so you have to be

471
00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:57.680
<v Speaker 1>as efficient as possible. You only have a couple of

472
00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:03.039
<v Speaker 1>bets you can make. You can everything. No, you should not, right,

473
00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:09.160
<v Speaker 1>even if you let's say that in that perspective, like

474
00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:11.680
<v Speaker 1>if you're a founder, try to be very savvy in

475
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:17.240
<v Speaker 1>your time. Try to you know, can use AI. Try

476
00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:20.799
<v Speaker 1>It depends very much on your on your self process. Right.

477
00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:23.079
<v Speaker 1>If you have a bunch of inbound, that's amazing. If

478
00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:26.759
<v Speaker 1>you're doing a hardcore outbound, then get some AI tools,

479
00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:30.440
<v Speaker 1>get help. Consider either you know a great outbound agency

480
00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.640
<v Speaker 1>or higher person right that that knows how to do

481
00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:36.759
<v Speaker 1>it well. And yeah, i'd say get this you know

482
00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:39.640
<v Speaker 1>b DR component going. And then and then you know,

483
00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:42.799
<v Speaker 1>come in into the to the real discussions right where

484
00:27:42.839 --> 00:27:46.960
<v Speaker 1>you're where you can really bring a lot. You know,

485
00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.200
<v Speaker 1>if you if you're in a stage where you don't

486
00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:51.319
<v Speaker 1>have the cash and you're figuring it out, let's say,

487
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:53.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, do it yourself right, like we've we've done

488
00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:57.839
<v Speaker 1>everything right, Like yeah that quit. So yeah, we've tried

489
00:27:57.839 --> 00:27:58.279
<v Speaker 1>it all out.

490
00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:01.799
<v Speaker 2>Yeah that makes sense. That makes sense. Speaking of AI, Sebastian,

491
00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:05.039
<v Speaker 2>I mean, you you are using AI heavily. Looks like

492
00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:09.200
<v Speaker 2>in Quid what sort of AI are you using? Is

493
00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:12.680
<v Speaker 2>that homegrown? I mean are you adopting some of the

494
00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:16.119
<v Speaker 2>technologies out there and building it into Quid's products. And

495
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.400
<v Speaker 2>I mean, and I'm assuming you know there are skeptics

496
00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.960
<v Speaker 2>out there on AI. There are people who are gung

497
00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:24.400
<v Speaker 2>ho on AI that it might potentially replace us and

498
00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:26.640
<v Speaker 2>all of that. So it's a two part question. I mean,

499
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.200
<v Speaker 2>you know, what's AI is influence and quid and then

500
00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:34.720
<v Speaker 2>your general opinion on how AI is reshaping our world

501
00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:35.440
<v Speaker 2>of technology.

502
00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:40.960
<v Speaker 1>Right, I'll start with the ladder because I find it

503
00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.160
<v Speaker 1>quite funny. Like in Mexico, we often come across people

504
00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:50.119
<v Speaker 1>that you know, are like, hey, you know, and how

505
00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:52.359
<v Speaker 1>can we trust the I you know, when they have

506
00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:55.480
<v Speaker 1>guards that work twenty four hours a day, right, like

507
00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:59.279
<v Speaker 1>twenty four to twenty four hour shifts, which you know

508
00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:02.119
<v Speaker 1>what that means is they sleep on the job, right,

509
00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:04.200
<v Speaker 1>there is no other way to do it right, or

510
00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:07.400
<v Speaker 1>they get very distracted if they don't. So I find

511
00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:09.839
<v Speaker 1>that funny because they're like asking me if they can

512
00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:12.519
<v Speaker 1>trust a technology that doesn't sleep and you know, works

513
00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:17.039
<v Speaker 1>twenty four seven versus a person right that you know,

514
00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:20.680
<v Speaker 1>probably won't catch an intruder coming in if they're sleeping, right.

515
00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:24.640
<v Speaker 1>So I'd say we're battling that you know, traditional thinking.

516
00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:28.680
<v Speaker 1>But we definitely see this changing even in a you know,

517
00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:34.640
<v Speaker 1>traditional country like Mexico where labor force is not necessarily expensive. Right,

518
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:39.119
<v Speaker 1>even in Mexico, we're seeing this price demand push. Right.

519
00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:43.240
<v Speaker 1>Our product is less expensive than having a twenty four

520
00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:46.079
<v Speaker 1>hour security guard at your door, right, whether it's a

521
00:29:46.119 --> 00:29:47.160
<v Speaker 1>business or home.

522
00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:47.759
<v Speaker 2>Right.

523
00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:51.000
<v Speaker 1>So yeah, what we're what we're doing is, of course,

524
00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:54.599
<v Speaker 1>we're taking everything we can from the open source world.

525
00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:57.440
<v Speaker 1>I honestly think that it's very very hard to compete

526
00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:02.000
<v Speaker 1>as any startup with open source components and division space. Right.

527
00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:06.160
<v Speaker 1>So we are experimenting with several models, you know, especially

528
00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:11.119
<v Speaker 1>in relation to the contextual understanding, which is which is

529
00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:13.640
<v Speaker 1>what i'd say it is a core differentiator. Yeah, you know,

530
00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:17.079
<v Speaker 1>there's a big difference between hey, understanding if it's a human,

531
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:21.039
<v Speaker 1>or understanding if it's a view right entering or if

532
00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:23.440
<v Speaker 1>it's an actual intruder, and what are the signs of

533
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:25.720
<v Speaker 1>that being an intruder and how fast do we need

534
00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:27.960
<v Speaker 1>to react and all of that it's very very important.

535
00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:30.599
<v Speaker 1>So for that, we're using what can be called selective

536
00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:33.799
<v Speaker 1>structured state spased sequence models. And we have a couple,

537
00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:35.640
<v Speaker 1>you know, more things we're going around with.

538
00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:42.279
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, thanks for sharing, Sebastian. I mean so so

539
00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:44.799
<v Speaker 2>cool what you guys are doing with quid. I'm so

540
00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:48.759
<v Speaker 2>glad I ran into you. So I'm going to keep

541
00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:50.920
<v Speaker 2>track of what you guys are up to. Wish you

542
00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:53.880
<v Speaker 2>guys well. I'll be a cheerleader here, keep us posted

543
00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:57.039
<v Speaker 2>on what you're doing next and your next round of fundraising.

544
00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:00.440
<v Speaker 2>Will be sure to share all your details to to

545
00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:04.279
<v Speaker 2>our community. But thanks so much Sebastian for jumping on

546
00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:07.640
<v Speaker 2>startup still Say and sharing a story, a super and

547
00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:10.920
<v Speaker 2>super awesome one at that, and we should the very best.

548
00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:14.880
<v Speaker 1>Thanks. Thanks, Anthony, I appreciate your time and having us here.

549
00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:17.200
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, welcome. Take care of Sebastian.

550
00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:28.000
<v Speaker 1>You two have a good one.