Your Happy Hour - Redefining The Pedestal

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

Welcome back to Your Happy Hour with Friday Feels!We’re digging in there this week with the curious, dynamic and community-centric entrepreneur, Vincent Mahloko who shared with us how his explorations of different cultures, continents and the role of communities (especially mentors!) has shaped his perspectives in achieving success.How are you defining or redefining “the why” behind your choices? And… most importantly, how are you celebrating those milestones this weekend? Hop in, let’s do it together today!Friday Feels is all about having those honest conversations, the power of community for personal growth and taking those actionable steps towards being our authentic selves.Thanks for tuning in! Keep it raw and real out there xYHH is produced by swartkat.co via the awesome tech platform: riverside.fm

It's the Friday Feels, and we're back with your first sip of the weekend. You're now tuned in to this week's episode of your happy hour i'm your host nicole carmine and it's amazing to have you here joining me this week as we uncover the truths about being a human and a working professional what are you up to this friday well whatever it is this moment is just for you. And we're back this Friday with another, our second episode of season two of Your Happy Hour. And today we're continuing this theme of reinventing your conditioning that we started last week. And today I have a very, very special guest joining me. He said I should just introduce him as the dope guy that I met on the streets of Paris that happens to also be South African. So I shall do just that. But today I'm having a very special South African friend who I met in Paris randomly at the South African

bar called La Pomme d'Eve in the heart of Paris, close to the Panthéon. And I'm super happy to introduce Vincent Malocco to you tonight. Vincent, as they call you in French. Welcome to the podcast. Welcome to your happy hour for joining us to the Friday Feels this weekend. And yeah, please just introduce yourself. Let us know who you are from a little bit that I have gotten to know you very well. So well that you are looking after my dog while we're actually having this conversation. Grace is on the other side of Paris.

She's right next to me trying to join the podcast. So if I look away, just know that someone is trying to join in and say her part about what we're going to discuss today Here's a very blessed and privileged to be here It's actually Maluku, but that's a totally different discussion So many of my non-South African friends are like Maluku And I'm like, you know what, I'm not going to correct people anymore I should have known that yeah i guess uh there's there's a lot maybe to say about who i am but a short brief introduction is uh i'm a parisian from south africa a beautiful

city called bloomfontein but many won't say it's beautiful so i just say i'm from cape town really beautiful city but yeah entrepreneur at the moment with a very big heart for community and people and and I guess building things at last and so I guess to an extent that's what we will be discussing more at length later as we go through today but yes adventurous love outdoors, and I'm a sporty person. So if you need, that's about Vince. If you need someone to go outdoors with, I am your guy. Yes, I know. I know you often jump on your, on your velo or your bike and cycle around Paris and such a beautiful, cycleable city.

So, yeah, thank you so much. You know, the bit that I've gotten to know about you, I know that you studied your MBA in Paris, which is a dream, I'm sure, for a lot of people out there. You're working on some very exciting projects. I want to ask you a little bit more about that later. But yeah, we're talking about

reinventing your conditioning. And I unpacked a little bit of that last week just by myself. But now it's really nice to be able to bring you into the conversation and I know we've spoken a little bit about your journey as you've traveled you know you've also lived in a lot of places you've also had moments where you've had to kind of redefine yourself. And so today's topic we are calling Redefining the Pedestal. So yeah, maybe you can just tell us a little bit

about like where you've lived, what's that journey been like? What does this topic mean to you when you think about it? It's an interesting one. I think I'll tackle both at the same time. So I've lived now in exactly three different continents. So that has really been a treat. I am originally from South Africa, grew up there and spent most of my life there.

But my time, I have traveled all over. I consider myself very lucky for that. I'm not going to lie. And so I've been to like around 19 countries over the world and so that includes everything from paris now uh to hong kong and a number of other countries in asia so thailand vietnam cambodia um i've visited other countries like your australia's as well india so i've gotten to really get a sense of like life through different cultures different people um different priorities and in a sense i'd say

at the same time being able to observe a lot of commonalities across the different spectrums i touch on that because i think the more i've traveled and have seen how different we are as people, the more I've still realized that the things that matter are somewhat still consistent across the different types of groups. Love whether it's around friendship whether it's around our love and passion for dance and music everyone I think I've gotten to see really those glimpses of what what at the core is a central theme of humanity And it's something that I really spend a lot of time thinking about Because I know I'm a weird extrovert who thinks deeply So like I find a space in between to sit and really be like I've seen this journey of life i've worked in cape town i've worked in paris and now obviously for the past i'd say 12 months oh wow the years for the past year i've worked for myself as well and i'd say i've

gotten to really see um the third of humanity what what are we like where are we standing for and that's how i really got to think a lot about like the pedestal because you you mentioned the theme of reinventing your conditioning and i for me there was something that stood out a lot around conditioning of people and i guess people around our age and maybe older which was around what matters like is it money is it success is it friendship is it community and so for different people different pedestals exist and I guess for me it was like exactly for all of us what should be at the pedestal it's something that I really sit and think a lot about and so that's how I ended up really wanting to get into this one more with you and

unpack it that's awesome yeah i think that's really something i've noticed too it's like no matter where you go you stay the same well you change as a person you grow but you stay who you are and the things that matter stay pretty similar do you you feel like having lived in, I mean, for us as South Africans, this is quite an interesting thing for me. I've never lived in Hong Kong. What's it like living in like, you know, working and living in a different place for you? Do you feel that it's really changed that pedestal for you? Or do you feel like your pedestal has stayed the same?

It's an interesting question i wouldn't say it has changed my pedestal and so i i will say i've observed that different places have different things that they put at the top so if you think of paris and i know to a big extent there's a stigma around like people in paris like the chill life, the work part is not a thing. But having been in startups in like the French scene, I can definitely say that like working hard is a thing. I've observed it. At the same time, I've been in the Hong Kong side and I've seen it's like working hard times like on steroids as well. So like the narrative of making it and really, I guess, the prestige that comes with it is really like fundamental and central to the people. Maybe not necessarily as much as like in the Paris side where it's like I will work hard.

I'll give you till the set time. But after that, I'm going to go to my bar and enjoy life with people and be choreo. It was an interesting one when I was in Thailand. I was really also just looking around and realizing here everyone works it's like like the child is already part of the family business all the way to like the grandfather who's like 80 like everyone works except like the like the experts are there who are traveling through and everything but like everyone works it's a way of life and it's like this nuance of service i i really enjoyed that like it's a weird one it's like here we'll serve you but everyone in this household is gonna feed you i can remember like

those days when i'd go to like a restaurant or call and like there will be the kids are the ones who are trying to speak english with me so that they can understand and tell the older people what vincent wants to eat so it's like i've been to places like that where i'm like i don't know i want this picture and don't ask me what it is but like it was so cool just seeing like you have a nine-year-old who's already part of the family business and they're working towards like something and again like in that regard i looked at i'm like i don't like being a successful business is not necessarily the pedestal of what's happening there like the pedestal there is like legacy and continuity and family and being with

like the family the hong kong side is like there's a narrative of like you're at the top you're prestigious you're wealthy and and success is big. Paris, I observed, it's a mixture of different nationalities, a lot, a lot of different nationalities. And so there, there's many different pedestals that exist as well, whether it's success or money or comfort. For me, in all of that, I wouldn't say who I am has changed as such. Like, I think I've been able to get to a place where I do let go or share off things that don't really matter anymore to me.

Like, you grow up in South Africa, there's things that you are used to as, like, this is how we do life. You grow up, you go to school, you get married, and then you continue, you have kids. I've gotten to grow and understand myself a lot through different contexts and know that things like kids for example don't necessarily mean as much to me personally which i know back home my parents would be like what but like as i grow up you know like it's just not what defines me and what i want or what i'm working towards and i don't think if i'd left south africa i would get to places like that so it's a weird thing it's just not what defines me and what I want or what I'm working towards. And I don't think if I'd left South Africa, I would get to places like that.

So it's a weird thing. It's like small things that, because you're so exposed to different realities, you are able to really carve out who you are. And for me, the commonality still remains friendship. Like, that's a big one. Community. Like, that's the real one. It's like relationships.

How do we build real, tangible relationships that bring meaning, love, connection to people? Vulnerability, trust, other things that we touch on, but like all of that, that's big ones for me as well. I love that. Yeah, and I've really felt the same. You don't know until you leave a certain situation what are the things that are important to you as a person you know and like i spoke about last week but there's a certain conditioning

that you don't realize that you've been boxed or you know that you have certain perspectives until you move and then you're like well oh there's a whole wide world out there that's you know doing things differently and it's okay if I prefer that and it's okay if I can stand up and say that's what I want to do which is not always so easy um I know South Africa's got quite a conservative way of molding people um you know which I think in Paris with the melting pot we have here and other places you know there's just such a diversity of humans so you really can find your tribe wherever you go which is great so maybe just to delve into that a little bit do you feel like there's something specific where you felt like this was the conditioning of my past and

you had to kind of let that go and rediscover yourself is a some examples you can think of it was quite difficult it's a tricky one because i wouldn't necessarily say it's a conditioning of my past either but what comes to mind first is i really come from a a tough neighborhood in a sense and like where i come from like the odds of just even making it out are just tiny they're stacked against you I guess I knew at the time like I'm gonna make it out so I will work hard and success will really be what defines and just brings joy to me and my family and I guess you get to be a light and perhaps hope for people who are to follow after you coming from the same place and I've worked hard and so to an extent I guess what defined me has been like my identity is rooted in having been brilliant at what I'm doing academically professionally

so that I could make it and be successful and I'd say right now even though that still drives me like the need to really be good at what I'm doing I don't think I'm defining success in that lens anymore so I'm conditioned to succeed which is good but what is that success looking like?

Is it still around being the best in your company is it the best professionally uh making a lot of money um i wouldn't say so i think it's around how do we really create impact in this world that has gotten so cold that has gotten so pessimistic where people have really gotten to be lonely and anxious and how do we really impact and leave a legacy of positivity and hope and passion and dreams in that and so i'm still driven by it but like by by the narrative of success is conditioned into me but like it's a redefined success and what it looks like. And it's weird because, like, some people think, like, the two can't coexist.

They do because if you know me, Nicole, I'm working on three different startup projects at the same time. So it's a weird one because I think the three startups is knowing that, like, the more I succeed in them, the more of a pedestal I do have to reach all the corners in the globes of the world to impact the other type of success that I'm seeking. Or rather to share my ideas and sow some seeds of what that type of success actually looks like. And like I said, for me, it's still centered around relationships, real leaders enacting and building policies that leave the world a better place. Things like that is where more I've defined success to be, but I understand the need to use this lever to get that side. No, I love that.

Yeah, I can still resonate with what you're saying because I think this is quite a South African thing too, you know, and I know you, you know, I did not come out of the kind of background that you did. So I can really appreciate that. I know that background and I know that, you know, that area. And so I can really appreciate that you've walked that journey to where you are today. And I think that's one of the things that really struck me about you when I met you was this really humble, successful person, you know, that's meandering the streets of Paris. And yeah, so I think I really feel that's something that we do struggle with when we come from South Africa is this, you you know sense of a lot of people that are born in places that the social structures work quite well aren't necessarily exposed to having to really survive um and make it like survival of the fittest but I'm so grateful that

we came out of those environments because it teaches you a street wiseness out in the world, if that's a word. And I think that what's really amazing is that you've been able to see that, at some point in your life, you define yourself in some way because there's a need for it. And then being able to say, well, look, maybe achievement is not the pedestal, but maybe a deeper purpose is. And I know that's something I felt recently is really having to learn how to slow down and understand the why behind what I'm doing. Because if you don't have a why, if there's not a bigger mission, I think, to what you're doing, then having different companies, having different ventures. mission I think to what you're doing then having different companies having different ventures and like they'd say here in France your project your projects you know you you won't succeed in them because you're just looking for

the success element of it but when you have a bigger mission like you do then it drives so much and then you actually find you probably could do a lot more than you realize so I'm curious like you kind of touched on this but like 10 years ago did you see yourself doing what you're doing now oh no not at all but I will say actually like I was thinking about this like 10 years ago was most probably the first pivotal anchor towards where I find myself now. So I was on a mission trip in India. And at the time, I was still at Stellenbosch University studying actuarial sciences. So obviously, like, a very difficult cause.

And one I really, really hated. And it's funny. This is where it goes down. You were told growing up, you study actuarial sciences because you are smart and you are good at mathematics and you're going to make a lot of money. That was a condition that I grew up with.

I don't necessarily have formal mentorship and tutelage around what other avenues exist of making it in the world in terms of entrepreneurship. It's a different conversation that I'm very passionate around. But like the access to mentorship from people who've made it before is not as prominent in a black community because most have not necessarily made it before. So most have not even been to university. So it's like you don't have that people like no no don't study actuarial sciences because of this and that it's more on like what can make money or you're gonna be a doctor and accountant actuarial scientists but

actuarial sciences I only came across because yes I was still also a very curious individual so I knew it exists but but when i told my parents i want to study actuarial sciences they're like what is that i know it's a reality but it's a good anchor because i got into it already for the wrong reasons which was i want to be i want to make money and i want to make it so that like my family gets better but it was like more centered in money but I found myself two and a half years of something I totally hated like and don't get me wrong I learned a lot because it was still tied into like finance which is something I'm really good at and I'm passionate about but like I did learn a lot in those two and a half years around that but at the same time I had to drag myself to go to class and when we went to

India it was the first time where I was with a group of other guys and we could sit and for me only in the rice villages in Pratap Nagar if I remember correctly was in the villages after teaching like kids how to dance and speak English and I I remember thinking, like, what am I doing with my life? Like, I'm doing something that I hate with the guise and, I guess, motivation of money, which may not necessarily really define or matter as much to me, as much as I come from a poor background. But, like, there's so many different ways to get to money, as an example. And it should not necessarily be through something that I fully hate like this. And so it was an interesting time where i had to make a big decision and that's when i actually decided yo i'm gonna change to investment and financial management why because

i've already spent two and a half years here this will credit me i can't i didn't have the luxury to start over i'm like my already i had to work hard to get into the top 100 of my province so that i could qualify for scholarship to study to begin with. So it's not like I could afford to just change and start afresh. But there I was like, cool, we'll start this. And when I come back, I'll change to investment and financial management, which I did. And to this day, most probably one of the biggest and best reasons.

It's so weird how small things like this. But it's probably one of the biggest reasons why i find myself where i am today 10 years later but i would not have imagined like i'd be in australia sorry not australia in paris working on my own startups with a global network of friends and meeting honestly amazing and diverse people every single day i get to interact with people across all different types very successful to just normal you and me and from all of them we just we still learn we still learn and i wanted to touch on something you were saying there around like money I've seen

many rich people in the past year and a half I've seen some of that riches and be very empty and be very lonely moments like this make me realise yes there's more to it

um but what is that more yeah it's so true i think money makes life easier but definitely doesn't bring you that inner joy and i i love that you had the courage to change direction um you know even though you were still on that line. I think in a time where, now when we're a bit older, not to give away our age, but when you're in your 20s, any change feels quite hard to do.

And I think when you look back, you're like, oh, well, that was, it was easy to make that change, but it wasn't in that moment because it's difficult when you've already committed to something. And I find it really interesting that you had to go to India to make that change, but it wasn't in that moment because it's difficult when you've already committed to something. And I find it really interesting that you had to go to India to see that.

You know, I think it's quite, quite an eat, pray, love moment there. So I love that. And so now you're working on your cool stuff and I know that you are a bit of a visionary behind something called Sugar Me. And you're also the founder of something very exciting that I'm very passionate about too called Lumine so just tell us a little bit about

both if you don't mind and just sharing and then also just where you see yourself in a year from now all all entwined in that answer yeah interesting ones and one thing i've gotten a question that's familiar with people is like how did you decide what you wanted to work on so maybe like as i share my story you'll get to that because i i realize a lot of people want to take that leap of entrepreneurship but so many are like how to out where do i start what is this but yes i'm working on two three but i don't yeah like the two that you mentioned one is sugar in me and so this is a mobile application that we started actually working on in 2022 or so with one with my housemate at the time it was a diabetes mobile application focused primarily

on type 1 diabetes and the the why behind that one was because his girlfriend at the time who is now his wife basically was a type 1 diabetic and he basically saw some of her struggles around managing the disease and like just the struggles on the doctor side and just the struggles on the data connectivity side across the country as well and so he started working on how can we build a solution for this and because we're housemates at the time and i was studying my post-grad business diploma at the Stellenbosch business school i had to do i had to do as um an entrepreneurship module uh you know like that business plan thing and it just happened to be that like we could he's started something and i'm like i need to work on something so i'll do

research on actually the diabetes market and understand what's happening and i realized there was a lot of opportunity to really one make good change because especially for the poor people in the public sector which is our focus like their access and affordability for just managing this disease is not easy and so i i started working and finalizing the strategy on that and then he was still developing and building the product and three years later we've basically finished the the minimum viable product and last year already we started just oh this year still 2024 this year we still uh like really working closely with doctors around the electronic health record side of it so the hr element of it because they we started building it for type 1 diabetics but the doctors have been more excited about it because

like this solves our problems so deeply for the public sector and actually like the past three weeks what we've been discussing is changing some things to actually focus on a whatsapp first approach for the patient side and interlink that to the doctor ehr side and so still an interesting project again focus primarily on the public sector we'll see how like that continues to grow a lot of interesting opportunities for partnership exist and it's exciting. Whenever I say partnerships, you're the first person that comes to my mind.

I'm not going to lie. And then the second project I've been working on, Lumini, like you said, is around how do we enable property ownership for the middle income? Over the past few years, property ownership for the middle income is getting more and more unattainable.

And this is primarily driven by property prices skyrocketing on one end, while salaries on the other end have remained flat. And my conviction that I strongly hold is that the future thereof is buying property as a group. So my friends, my family, or other investor grade individuals, but like real property ownership, not like fractional. So we're moving away from like the crowdfunding approach or the real investment trust

where you own like 0.1%. This is enabling you, Nicole and Vincent and someone else to just basically pull our sources together, increase our buying power, be able to buy property seamlessly in your Dubai's, in your London's, in your Paris's, in the South Africa's. So I'm really looking at a global market for it.

And it's been a good journey, difficult, but a really good journey for both of them. And yeah, I can share more really about both the difficulty of that side or around i guess the inspirations of the why but one year from now i think where that all translates to is really with the lumini side because it's so big it's so grand i've already mapped out the next eight years for what this looks like but you realize that you have to start somewhere. And so for next year, there's three core functionality

that I'm focusing on just releasing into the world. Working with Donnie in London, which you, by the way, introduced me to partnerships. Which Saj introduced me to my previous co-host. So look how beautiful that works. Exactly. Yeah, he's really good. And so we're defining the scope and just like the deliverables,

but at the same time doing fundraising. So in the US and in Dubai. And so hopefully by next year, one year from now, like your question says, we have some really good product that is out in the world and that we can really start getting good traction from to be clear like by march that should be out but by december are a bit more traction and direction on what's priority for now on the sugar me hopefully would have rolled out to three

hospitals by then fantastic oh this is also exciting um Vincent. I eagerly watch from the side. I get a little bit involved as well. I love sharing ideas, but it's really awesome what you're doing. in what I know in South Africa we call it the stock fell kind of principle where people are buying together there's already a lot of that happening out in the world where people are you know collating what they have their resources and and and what I really love about that and especially it's a very Friday feels the topic because it's about community yeah it's about coming together as people and you know not this individual i mean we all are individuals and we need to be successful in our own right but just being able to come together and do some cool stuff in the world and which uh which is what entrepreneurship's about and we all know that's tough which is what family's about which is what

friendship's about so i think that's really, which is what family is about, which is what friendship is about. So I think that's really awesome and obviously I will support you as much as I can in that venture. And I know you mentioned the challenges. I know you mentioned that it's been difficult. We've often spoken to a lot of startups and entrepreneurs.

Somehow this podcast seems to draw those people. But I want to ask you what has been the best professional advice you've received along the route? And maybe it has been in the last year of entrepreneurship, maybe it hasn't, but kind of what has been keeping you going

and that you can share with people out there? I think because I'm so extroverted, it really grants me the beautiful privilege and opportunity to speak with brilliant many people all over the world and so like I have tons of advice that I think has just gotten etched and entrenched into my heart I'm a big proponent of mentorship and so like I really have good mentors who just walk the journey with me and I intentionally just see them at least monthly. One of the best, I think, advices that I personally got,

and it's really weird, but like for some people, it may be a downer, but for me, it was important. And the advice was around like, don't always think you have time. And it's tricky because there's two sides. For me, it's like, no, I'm building something that has to echo into eternity, into the next decades, into, like, kids 100 years from now should be able to really, not just these two startups but obviously like what i'm gonna work on and some of the ideas and things on my heart it's like i'm

thinking ahead in time like 100 years okay cool what are we building then and how do we start getting towards that now um and and so that advice really in a sense goes contra to what i'm working on it's like i'm working towards 100 years but like the the the um the the mentor who said this was i don't always think you have time he's very successful in like the business entrepreneurship um realm and he meant it in a really good way it's just like you know what we always push off so many of our dreams and our passions and sometimes even in the business lens plans because we're cool maybe we can do this in three times or maybe we can do this in six months

and in the startup worlds you realize like they're like things move very quickly so i am vincent i'm building something at my own pace that i really want to end value so it's not like going to be a thing of like growth at all costs for me it's like how do we build it to really impact people's lives for the better but at the same time don't always think you have time because time is limited like you don't really know when your last is and what for me that translates to then was that it gave me a dual purpose in that if you look at me Nicole you know Vincent is a lover of life. I'm all about here now. I'm present and I'll always have fun in each and every moment because, again, I think when he said it, he meant it in business,

but for me it really reminded me on my other side that I may not speak with Nicole tomorrow. And so when we are having this coffee, this phone will not even be something I touch. I'm going to enjoy this moment. We're going to be present in this moment. When I i'm seeing my friends when i am at a party when i'm at a braai when we are hiking like all of these things i intentionally plan them because you don't know if you really have enough time so like for me my thing is and this was a big moment for me by the

way and something i live by it's like like if you were to to pass on tomorrow like would you regret the life you've lived today like would you regret that you've not achieved some of the things that you wanted to and for me it's so important to look back and say hey because my success is not defined by having built great startups um my success is built by having touched people's lives and brought joy to people's lives encouraged those who needed encouragement um cried with those who needed crying laughed with those needed laughing and celebrated with people because that's where my success really lies yes i would pass on into the next life having lived that having utilized my time properly and so when i plan my

week now to this day i'll still look at it and say okay cool my calendar is enough yellows because the yellow for me is like the social time i mean like am i am i doing the things that bring me life that make me happy and that actually are with other people and it's not like it starts there it's that first then i'm like cool let's put in all the business work and all the other things it's like redefining my pedestal my my pedestal is not like okay cool i've gone to these meetings so very cool have i put in the things that brings me joy which is love relationship networking with other people yes okay cool then let me squeeze in other things into my calendar and i think that's an important way to really live the life that we've been interested with there what is it but like you

we always see this quote as i don't ever believe it when someone says they don't have time for you just means you're not high up on their priority so for me it's okay cool i run my life like that i do start my calendar with the people that i need to meet then i'll put in all the other things because for me priority is people and and then the other things will squeeze in there so my advice is I don't know if I have time so with what I have with today with tomorrow I'll always spend it on just doing the things that bring me joy and just one day at a time trying to make someone else's day better oh I love that so much and yeah I really do feel that when I spend time with you.

So I know what you're saying is sincere and true. You know, and my motto is very much about follow your joy. And people do tend to say, follow your joy and money will follow. So let's hope that happens as much as possible. Anyway, but I love that you've put your calendar in colors. I think that's also something for everyone listening out there to kind of take away. I've started doing something similar recently. And it's very helpful to see your life in terms of color because we are very visual people.

Or we think in different ways. And sometimes we try the normal diary or the task list or the whatever it is but maybe maybe that's something that works for people out there you know and i can also highly recommend it and you get to see where you spend your energy and your time quite easily instead of having to go and dig deep into that and and figure it out so thank you for sharing that and for everyone else out there who's listening what does this topic mean to you you know what are you feeling about the pedestal in your life what have you set as your pedestals do you feel like they need defining or redefining please let us know

all your feels so we can support you along the journey of reinventing your conditioning and I just want to take a quick moment to give a little shout out at this point to places, people and spaces that have kind of inspired and who are redefining the pedestal and the conditioning. And this week I had a privilege to go to a little cafe called Umami Matcha Cafe. It's in Paris. check it out we'll put

in the socials and i know a lot of people are moving away from the conditioning of coffee i still love my coffee but matcha seems to be quite an interesting thing that people are trying these days and i had a really lovely matcha cappuccino there and they have a really cool vibe so just wanted to give them a shout out they're doing something different in the world really loved your feels guys so thank you for that and then on the topic of giving shout outs and sharing gems now something we do every week on this podcast is to to share a little bit about what our week was like and um yeah i i wanted to start and then i can kind of give you an idea of what it's like vincent and you can share yours for me it's really been about slowing down i mentioned

this earlier but it's it's been very like a big topic for me this week as well maybe it's that sense of conditioning maybe it's that pedestal of achievement. I wake up in the morning and I start thinking about all the things that I need to do. And I also have tons of projects that I'm working on. So I've really had to kind of just slow down and be very mindful of my time. Like you mentioned, where am I spending my time? Where am I spending my space and energy? And it's been so amazing to do that. I've kind of really been able to get back to self

and notice small things I didn't notice before and really just take in the world around me, so very grateful for that realization. Still actively having to work hard at it every single second of the day, but yeah, that's been really a dream for me um how about you my week uh it actually this is funny by the way this is again for me this year for me really takes the the point of the pedestal home and this was not planned because obviously like it's not like we're gonna do this now but um I told you I'm working on three projects.

And the third project obviously launched yesterday. And you know the past two months have most probably been some of the more challenging ones in my life as well. And don't worry, it doesn't define me because I still find joy. And I have amazing people in the midst of all of that. And still dance it up. But like they have been really difficult. And so yesterday, like finally launched another project. And I was excited about it.

Like I was like, yes, we've worked hard. This is going to be the moment. And like I think for me, it was one of those things where you've dreamed something. And it's so interesting when you tangibly see it rolled out and people give good reviews. Because the feedback from the people, the initial users we've onboarded was really good. Everyone was like, oh, this isn't a good idea. We love it. Let's see how it grows.

So that was really interesting and amazing. That moment hit where we launched it and i sent and people could start signing it was one of the best feelings ever like i was amazing celebrating with him to say yo we've made it and then the day went and like obviously like this project is in the product is out there and it was an interesting feeling where like okay cool you've reached a goal that you worked hard towards uh it's a startup it's a project that's actually not going to be out there but for me i was like it feels empty when i'm not celebrating this with anyone and it was an interesting moment again like i said where i was so glad that it reminded me or reaffirmed my belief that yo even in the greatest success

men like the people are gonna be what's important so don't neglect your people and so like even in that i just sat down and wrote down people i was like every time something big happens always to make sure these people know you may have gotten a message but you knew that like people launched you like yo this is our like what's happening um and just reminded me again like yo that is it's really success and money the pedestal no no it's not it's like the people that you get to celebrate those achievements with so like when I sent like those images to people like you actually launched us now officially like that was amazing then it felt like hey one line that came this is like it's not

about like proving the doubters wrong but about proving the believers right and for me it was that moment where I could be like you've believed in me so many times this year even in the past two months when it was rough I just wanted to tell you we launched today and it actually is going well like that was such a proud moment to say you're building big all of us are building big all of us have really big dreams that we're working towards I will just say hold on to your people through that journey that's amazing that's such a gem and yeah i'm very grateful that i could share a little bit in that moment with you as i was dropping off some poop bags for context but uh um but that's really amazing and um yeah i

i feel like i know you're still in launch phase with this project. So we would love to celebrate when you go into your bigger launch. Please keep us updated. And we will share with the socials and the people in the community out there. So everyone can try it and onboard. And yeah, just a really, really big congratulations. I know sometimes the wins, you know are they're so much more rewarding when you go through the tough times as someone once said to me it's like life's like a

like a ruler right you know if you cut on the one side you cut another side you have to feel the pain sometimes to feel the joy so thank you so much um for sharing that moment with us and yeah and so for for the community out there for everyone who's listening you know i'm curious uh how your how has your week been what are the gems that have been coming up for you what have you stumbled upon what has surprised you what do you feel that you've learned And before we go to the last section of today's podcast, which is a very important new little stint that we're doing, I just want to place the spotlight on our partner for the month, and that is Riverside FM.

So we've had some amazing collaborations come through in the last while, and they are one of them. Riverside FM is a platform that is made for podcasters content creators and now live streaming is involved in this as well so it's super exciting who knows what we'll be able to to get done on this podcast in the future and more things to come so thanks so much, for being an incredible community around us as we create this content for everyone out there. Yeah, and then I just really wanted to close with one thing.

We started something really cool called The Stack, which is our reading list. And we're building this reading list of recommendations from the books we're reading, but also the books and quotes and just amazing words out there that you know people like yourself as a guest are experiencing in the world and we wanted to keep people reading a bit more so a last question to you is vincent what is in your stack at the moment or what is in the stack that you can share that you've really had a good read beginning of the year i read an amazing book called uh how big things get done and

it was funny because it was a book given to me by a mentor like i said team mentorship um and it was like this is some of the mistakes that I've made on my journey. And like, like, I wish I had this book three years earlier before I started the entrepreneurship journey. So he gave it to me and by far one of the best things I've written. One of the best things I've read. Sorry. That is not English, but yes, one of the best things I've read by far it was funny because

obviously it's like 10 11 months later and I looked at some of the notes and stuff I made and read from it and I was like you made so many of these mistakes and I love that so I guess you know so that's what I will say is that like life is difficult, not going to lie. And I know people have a lot of real things that they struggle through and are working through. And so my reminder to you is that like, just be kind on yourself.

When you take the leap of faith into running after something that you really are passionate about and believe in, like I did with entrepreneurship, you will still make mistakes and so don't be kind don't be hard on yourself when you are making the mistakes just know it's part of the journey I've had a privilege of working with some really amazing co-founders at a company called Pelicod now at this moment and I've really got to just learn their journey and their journey inspires me to know that that it's not actually it was never meant to be easy to be a successful entrepreneur or founder

and so I've enjoyed just learning from them and through their experiences I've learned to be kind to myself when I'm not getting things right. And that's important. So if you want to read it, How Big Things Get Done, absolutely impeccable. An amazing toolkit for managing and navigating complex projects. And let's be serious, like in the 21st century, your own life feels like a complex project. So maybe it'll help you with that as well. Yeah, that's amazing. I love that.

How big things get done. We'll definitely add that to the stack. Thank you for that recommendation. I definitely have to read that book as well because yes, entrepreneurship journey is not easy, but whatever project people are working on, whatever you're finding yourself in this week, in this next month,

and as this next year approaches, it's a worthwhile endeavor if you're following your joy. And so may the big things be the amazing things that you create in the world. So thank you so much for coming to share all your insights and learnings and just being raw and real, which is what we

want people to be on this podcast. So thank you so much for that and we wish you all the best for this next endeavor, this next year and thank you for looking after beautiful Gracie. I'll see you guys very very soon yes thanks so much Nicole if you haven't just yet follow Friday Feels on Instagram Facebook

TikTok and LinkedIn you can share with us all your feels this week by tagging us at fridayfeels.co and you can also find the website at that handle. And now as you ease into this weekend, take a moment, celebrate who you've become, what you've overcome and what is yet to come as you do the crazy and cool things that you do as the authentic you. You know, the truth about life and work is that it's hard, but the beauty is this global working experience that you're in, well, we earn it together. So keep connecting, empowering, and inspiring this week. And of course, keep it raw and real.

Until next time.